Battery management system

• US 10,644,360 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kurosaki, Yuta, Kamikawa, Takahiro, Aga, Etsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Application Number:
  US15/747,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20180212278A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: 320107, 320116, 320117, 320128, 320132, 320137, 320140
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• 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 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery management system includes a circuit board having a first region provided with a voltage measuring unit, a second region provided with a controller, a relay region that is disposed at a first insulation distance from the first region and at a second insulation distance from the second region, and a third region provided with an interface connecting unit. The third region is disposed at a third insulation distance from the second region. The third insulation distance is shorter than each of the first and the second insulation distances. The battery management system further includes a first insulating device connecting between the first region and the relay region, a second insulating device connecting between the relay region and the second region, and a third insulating device connecting between the second region and the third region.

Claims

1. A battery management system comprising:

a voltage measuring unit to measure a voltage of a battery;

a controller to output signals in accordance with data sent from the voltage measuring unit;

an interface connecting unit to let the controller communicate with an external unit;

a circuit board having a first region provided with the voltage measuring unit, a second region provided with the controller, a third region provided with the interface connecting unit, and a relay region that is disposed at a predetermined first insulation distance from the first region and at a predetermined second insulation distance from the second region, a ground (GND) potential for the first region and a GND potential for the second region being mutually independent potentials;

a first insulating device connecting between the first region and the relay region facing each other through the first insulation distance, the first insulating device being configured to transmit data on the voltage of the battery measured by the voltage measuring unit to the relay region; and

a second insulating device connecting between the relay region and the second region facing each other through the second insulation distance, the second insulating device being configured to transmit data on the voltage of the battery transmitted to the relay region by the first insulating device to the second region,

wherein an insulation distance between the first region and the second region is defined by the first insulating device and the second insulating device.

2. The battery management system according to claim 1, wherein the second region has a circuit power supply connecting unit to receive circuit driving electric power with a predetermined circuit voltage lower than the voltage of the battery from a circuit power supply that is separate from the battery.

3. The battery management system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a voltage converter for the second region, the voltage converter being configured to convert the circuit voltage into an operating voltage for the second region;

a voltage converter for the relay region, the voltage converter being configured to convert the circuit voltage into an operating voltage for the relay region; and

a voltage converter for the first region, the voltage converter being configured to convert the operating voltage for the relay region into an operating voltage for the first region.

4. The battery management system according to claim 1, wherein the third region is disposed at a predetermined third insulation distance from the second region, in which the third insulation distance is shorter than each of the first insulation distance and the second insulation distance.

5. The battery management system according to claim 3,

wherein the voltage converters for the relay region and the first region are isolated-type voltage converters,

wherein the voltage converter for the relay region is disposed between the second region and the relay region that face each other through the second insulation distance, and

wherein the voltage converter for the first region is disposed between the relay region and the first region that face each other through the first insulation distance.

6. The battery management system according to claim 1,

wherein the battery includes two or more battery cells electrically connected to each other in series, and

wherein the voltage measuring unit measures a voltage applied across both ends of the electrically series connected battery cells.

7. The battery management system according to claim 1,

wherein the voltage measuring unit includes a voltage dividing resistor part to divide a voltage applied across terminals of the battery and an analog/digital converter to convert analog data on the voltage divided by the voltage dividing resistor part into a digital signal, and

wherein the analog/digital converter and the first insulating device are incorporated in a single package of an integrated circuit for battery voltage measurement.

8. The battery management system according to claim 1, wherein the voltage converter for the first region, which converts the operating voltage for the relay region into the operating voltage for the first region, is incorporated in an insulating device integrated circuit that contains the first insulating device.

9. The battery management system according to claim 1,

wherein in the circuit board, the first region and the relay region are disposed at one recess on an outline of the second region, and

wherein a fourth insulation distance that is a shortest interval between the first region and the second region is longer than each of the first insulation distance and the second insulation distance.

10. The battery management system according to claim 9, wherein the fourth insulation distance is longer than a sum total of the first insulation distance and the second insulation distance.