DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR A BATTERY SYSTEM

• US 20170373356A1
• Filed: 05/28/2017
• Published: 12/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Energy Solution Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Chem Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Katrak, Kerfegar K.
• Granted Patent: US 10,148,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/033 characterised by the use of electrical cells or batteries for propulsion puposes B60K1/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06; testing of charge state G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/14 Handling requests for interconnection or transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/38 Information transfer, e.g. on bus G06F13/14 takes precedence
• 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 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• 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: H01M 50/569 Constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals battery terminal connectors with integrated measuring arrangements G01R31/364
• 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 diagnostic system for a battery system having a battery module electrically coupled to a contactor is provided. The battery module has first, second, and third battery cells. The diagnostic system includes a first microcontroller that transitions the contactor to an open operational state if the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag is equal to the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag value. The first microcontroller further transitions the contactor to the open operational state if the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag is equal to the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value.

Claims

1. A diagnostic system for a battery system, the battery system having a battery module electrically coupled to a contactor, the battery module having first, second, and third battery cells, comprising:

a first microcontroller obtaining a first initialization value and first, second, and third battery cell analog overvoltage flag values from a memory device, the first, second, and third analog overvoltage flag values being associated with the first, second, and third battery cells, respectively;

the first microcontroller further obtaining a second initialization value and first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag values from the memory device, the first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag values being associated with the first, second, and third battery cells, respectively;

the first microcontroller initializing each of first, second, and third battery cell analog overvoltage flags to the first initialization value;

the first microcontroller receiving first, second, and third output voltage values from a second microcontroller, the first, second, and third output voltage values corresponding to first, second, and third output voltages, respectively, from the first, second, and third battery cells, respectively;

the first microcontroller setting the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag equal to the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag value if the first output voltage value is greater than a first threshold voltage value;

the first microcontroller setting the second battery cell analog overvoltage flag equal to the second battery cell analog overvoltage flag value if the second output voltage value is greater than the first threshold voltage value;

the first microcontroller setting the third battery cell analog overvoltage flag equal to the third battery cell analog overvoltage flag value if the third output voltage value is greater than the first threshold voltage value; and

the first microcontroller transitioning the contactor to an open operational state if the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag is equal to the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag value or the second battery cell analog overvoltage flag equal to the second battery cell analog overvoltage flag value or the third battery cell analog overvoltage flag equal to the third battery cell analog overvoltage flag value;

the first microcontroller initializing each of first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flags to the second initialization value;

the first microcontroller receiving first, second, and third comparator bits from the second microcontroller;

the first comparator bit having a first fault value if the first output voltage is greater than a voltage comparator threshold voltage;

the second comparator bit having the first fault value if the second output voltage is greater than the voltage comparator threshold voltage;

the third comparator bit having the first fault value if the third output voltage is greater than voltage comparator threshold voltage;

the voltage comparator threshold voltage having a magnitude that is greater than the first threshold voltage value;

the first microcontroller setting the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag equal to the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value if the first comparator bit is equal to the first fault value;

the first microcontroller setting the second battery cell comparator overvoltage flag equal to the second battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value if the second comparator bit is equal to the first fault value;

the first microcontroller setting the third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag equal to the third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value if the third comparator bit is equal to the first fault value; and

the first microcontroller transitioning the contactor to the open operational state if the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag is equal to the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value or the second battery cell comparator overvoltage flag is equal to the second battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value or the third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag is equal to the third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag value.

2. The diagnostic system of claim 1, wherein the first microcontroller obtains the first initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell analog overvoltage flag values by reading a first table stored in the memory device, the first table being associated with the battery module;

the first table having the first initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell analog overvoltage flag values therein.

3. The diagnostic system of claim 2, wherein the first microcontroller obtains the second initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag by reading a second table stored in the memory device;

the second table being associated with the battery module;

the second table having the second initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag values therein.

4. The diagnostic system of claim 1, wherein the first initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell analog overvoltage flag values each have a Hamming distance of at least two from each other;

and the second initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag values each have a Hamming distance of at least two from each other.

5. The diagnostic system of claim 4, wherein each of the first initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell analog overvoltage flag values have the Hamming distance of at least two from each of the second initialization value and the first, second, and third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag values.

6. The diagnostic system of claim 1, wherein:

the second microcontroller includes an analog-to-digital converter with first, second, and third analog-to-digital converter differential channels measuring the first, second, and third output voltages, respectively, of the first, second, and third battery cells, respectively;

the analog-to-digital converter generating the first, second, and third output voltage values based on the first, second, and third output voltages, respectively.

7. The diagnostic system of claim 6, wherein:

the second microcontroller operably communicates with the first microcontroller utilizing a communication bus; and

the second microcontroller sending the first, second, and third output voltage values to the first microcontroller utilizing the communication bus.

8. The diagnostic system of claim 7, wherein the second microcontroller further includes first, second, and third voltage comparators therein which are electrically coupled to the first, second, third, and fourth battery cells, respectively;

the first voltage comparator setting the first comparator bit equal to the first fault value if the first output voltage of the first battery cell is greater than the voltage comparator threshold voltage;

the second voltage comparator setting the second comparator bit equal to the first fault value if the second output voltage of the second battery cell is greater than the voltage comparator threshold voltage;

the third voltage comparator setting the third comparator bit equal to the first fault value if the third output voltage of the third battery cell is greater than the voltage comparator threshold voltage; and

the second microcontroller sending the first, second, and third comparator bits to the first microcontroller utilizing the communication bus.

9. A diagnostic system for a battery system, the battery system having first, second, third and fourth battery modules electrically coupled in series to a contactor, the first battery module having at least a first battery cell;

the second battery module having at least a first battery cell;

the third battery module having at least a first battery cell;

the fourth battery module having at least a first battery cell, comprising;

a memory device having first, second, and third tables stored therein;

the first table having first, second, third and fourth battery module numbers associated with the first, second, third and fourth battery modules, respectively;

the first, second, and third battery module numbers having a Hamming distance of at least two from each other;

a first microcontroller reading the first table stored in the memory device to obtain the first, second, third and fourth battery module numbers;

the first microcontroller setting a first battery cell analog overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the first battery module to a first value;

the first microcontroller storing the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag and the first battery module number in a first record in the second table;

the first microcontroller setting a first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the first battery module to a second value;

the first microcontroller storing the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag and the first battery module number in a first record in the third table.

10. The diagnostic system of claim 9, wherein the first record in the second table has the first battery module number appended to an end of the first battery cell analog overvoltage flag.

11. The diagnostic system of claim 10, wherein the first record in the third table has the first battery cell comparator overvoltage flag appended to an end of the first battery module number.

12. The diagnostic system of claim 9, wherein:

the first microcontroller setting a second battery cell analog overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the second battery module to a third value;

the first microcontroller storing the second battery cell analog overvoltage flag and the second battery module number in a second record in the second table;

the first microcontroller setting a second battery cell comparator overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the second battery module to a fourth value; and

the first microcontroller storing the second battery cell comparator overvoltage flag and the second battery module number in a second record in the third table.

13. The diagnostic system of claim 12, wherein:

the first microcontroller setting a third battery cell analog overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the third battery module to a fifth value;

the first microcontroller storing the third battery cell analog overvoltage flag and the third battery module number in a third record in the second table;

the first microcontroller setting a third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the third battery module to a sixth value; and

the first microcontroller storing the third battery cell comparator overvoltage flag and the third battery module number in a third record in the third table.

14. The diagnostic system of claim 13, wherein:

the first microcontroller setting a fourth battery cell analog overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the fourth battery module to a seventh value;

the first microcontroller storing the fourth battery cell analog overvoltage flag and the fourth battery module number in a fourth record in the second table;

the first microcontroller setting a fourth battery cell comparator overvoltage flag associated with the first battery cell in the fourth battery module to an eighth value; and

the first microcontroller storing the fourth battery cell comparator overvoltage flag and the fourth battery module number in a fourth record in the third table.