Battery cell with monitoring device, and corresponding operating method

• US 10,340,558 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2016
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Hellenthal, Berthold, Hinterberger, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Vincent Q
• Application Number:
  US15/550,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20180040924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 324433-436, 320112, 320164
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/15 with additional electric power supply with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/364 Battery terminal connectors with integrated measuring arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3833 using analog integrators, e.g. coulomb-meters
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4264 with capacitors
• 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: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• 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

A battery cell with a monitoring device including a data processing unit for processing state data of the battery cell as a function of a trigger pulse and a triggering unit, which is connected to the data processing unit, to generate the trigger pulse and to provide the trigger pulse to the data processing unit. The triggering unit is designed to evaluate a measurement signal, which correlates with an electrical energy of the battery cell in order to generate the trigger pulse as a function of the measurement signal. The invention further relates to a battery having such a battery cell as well as to a motor vehicle having such a battery. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for monitoring at least one such battery cell.

Claims

1. A battery cell with a monitoring device, comprising:

a data processing unit for processing state data of the battery cell as a function of a trigger pulse,

a triggering unit, which is connected to the data processing unit, for generating the trigger pulse, and provision of the trigger pulse to the data processing unit,

wherein the triggering unit is designed to evaluate a measurement signal, which comes from the battery cell and correlates with an electrical energy of the battery cell, and to generate the trigger pulse as a function of the measurement signal,

wherein the triggering unit is designed to generate the trigger pulse at a first point in time, at which the battery cell has a first electrical energy content and to generate the trigger pulse at a second point in time, at which the battery cell has a second electrical energy content, wherein the first electrical energy content and the second electrical energy content differ by a pre-definable energy value, and

wherein the measurement signal is proportional to an electric current through the battery cell or proportional to an electrical power of the battery cell, wherein the triggering unit has means to generate an integration signal as a function of the measurement signal and when the integration signal falls below or exceeds a pre-definable threshold value, is designed to generate the trigger pulse and to reset the integration signal to a start value.

2. The battery cell according to claim 1, wherein the triggering unit has a first capacitor, which is electrically connected to a first analog input of the data processing unit as well as to a first comparator unit for generating the integration signal, wherein the integration signal can be provided to the first capacitor by a first electric voltage and the comparator unit is designed to generate the trigger pulse upon the exceeding of a pre-definable first threshold value by the first electric voltage at the first capacitor.

3. The battery cell according to claim 2, wherein the first capacitor is electrically connected to a first bidirectional connection terminal (of the data processing unit by way of a first resistor, wherein the first bidirectional connection terminal is designed to take on one of the three following states:

low level with an electrically conductive connection to a reference potential of the data processing unit,

high level with an electrically conductive connection to a supply potential of the data processing unit, wherein a supply voltage of the data processing unit is present between the supply potential and the reference potential, or

nonexistence of a conductive connection.

4. The battery cell according to claim 2, wherein the triggering unit has a second capacitor, which is electrically connected to a second bidirectional connection terminal of the data processing unit by a second resistor and is electrically connected to a second analog input of the data processing unit as well as to a second comparator unit, wherein a reference signal can be provided by a second electric voltage at the second capacitor, and the comparator unit is designed to generate the trigger pulse upon the exceeding of a pre-definable second threshold value by the second electric voltage, wherein the triggering unit has a common current source with a pre-definable constant current, which is designed to impose a compensating current in the first capacitor and in the second capacitor to compensate for self-discharging currents of the first capacitor and of the second capacitor.

5. The battery cell according to claim 4, wherein the triggering unit is designed to reset the second electric voltage to a reference state and to feed an equalization charge quantity to be introduced into the second capacitor also into the first capacitor when the pre-definable second threshold value is exceeded by the second electric voltage.