Method and device for operating a battery, in particular a lithium ion battery, in a consumer

• US 10,336,209 B2
• Filed: 01/02/2015
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Roeder, Patrick, Baba, Niluefer
• Primary Examiner(s): Berhanu, Samuel
• Application Number:
  US15/112,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20160332530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,642 Days
• Field of Search: 320109, 320132
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/12 Bikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/22 Standstill, e.g. zero speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/24 for controlling the temperature of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/25 by controlling the electric load
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/443 in response to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00309 Overheat or overtemperature protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a device for operating a battery, in particular a lithium ion battery, in a load. For this purpose, a determination (S10) is carried out of at least one operating parameter which describes the state of the battery or the load, a comparison (S20) of the at least one determined operating parameter with one reference value in each case in order to recognize whether a predefined state exists, and a discharge (S32) of the battery until the charge state of the battery lies below a specified critical charge state of the battery if it has been identified that the predefined state exists, wherein by discharging the battery, an energy store is charged by a discharge flow from the battery.

Claims

1. A method for operating a battery in a consumer, the method comprising:

determining (S10) at least one operating parameter which describes the state of the battery or the consumer;

comparing (S20) the at least one determined operating parameter with one reference value in each case in order to recognize whether a predefined state exists;

determining a specified critical charge state (SOC_krit), the specified critical charge state (SOC_krit) being an upper charge state limit below which a thermal runaway of the battery does not occur; and

discharging (S32) the battery until a charge state of the battery is below a specified critical charge state (SOC_krit) of the battery if the predefined state exists, wherein by discharging the battery, an energy store is charged by a discharge flow from the battery.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the energy store is an additional battery.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the energy store is an additional consumer equipped to store energy for the operation of the additional consumer.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the consumer is a vehicle,

one of the operating parameters is a speed of the vehicle, and

the predefined state exists if there is no movement of the vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the consumer is a vehicle,

one of the operating parameters is a sensor signal that indicates whether a standing support of the vehicle is folded out, and

the predefined state exists if the standing support of the vehicle is folded out.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein

one of the operating parameters is a temperature of the battery, and

the predefined state exists if the temperature of the battery is above a predetermined temperature threshold value.

7. The method for operating a battery according to claim 1, wherein the specified critical charge state of the battery lies between 80% and 90% of the full state of charge of the battery.

8. The method for operating a battery according to claim 1, wherein energy stored in the energy store is used to charge the battery if the defined state no longer exists.

9. The method for operating a battery according to claim 1, wherein the predefined state is only determined to exist if at least one of the operating parameters of the battery and/or the consumer exists over a predetermined time interval.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the battery is a lithium ion battery (1).

10. A device for operating a battery in a consumer, the device comprising:

a detection unit (2) which is configured to detect at least one operating parameter which describes the state of the battery or of the consumer,

an evaluation unit (3) which is configured to compare the at least one operating parameter with one reference value in each case in order to recognize whether a predefined state exists, and

a discharge unit (4) which is configured to discharge the battery, when the predefined state exists, until the charge state of the battery lies below a specified critical charge state SOC_krit of the battery, wherein an energy store (9) is charged by a discharge flow of the battery when the battery is being discharged;

wherein the specified critical charge state (SOC_krit) is an upper charge state limit below which a thermal runaway of the battery does not occur.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the device is a lithium ion battery (1).