POWER SUPPLY DEVICE

• US 20200136412A1
• Filed: 10/16/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: TOMURA, Shuji, YANAGIZAWA, Naoki, OOTSUKA, Kazuo, TANEMURA, Kyosuke, GOTO, Shigeaki, IZUMI, Junta, KIMURA, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 11,757,291 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage

Abstract

A power supply device includes a plurality of battery modules, the battery modules are connected to one another in series according to a gate driving signal from a controller, the power supply device delays the gate driving signal in a gate driving signal processing circuit included in each of the battery modules, and thereafter, transmits the gate driving signal from an upstream to a downstream of the series connection, and the power supply device controls the battery modules by superimposing a control signal for the battery module on the gate driving signal.

Claims

1. A power supply device including a plurality of battery modules having secondary batteries, the battery modules being connected to one another in series according to a gate driving signal from a controller,

the power supply device delaying the gate driving signal in a gate driving signal processing circuit included in each of the battery modules, and thereafter, transmitting the gate driving signal from an upstream to a downstream of the series connection,

the power supply device controlling the battery modules by superimposing a control signal for the battery module on the gate driving signal.

2. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein

the gate driving signal processing circuit removes the control signal from the gate driving signal on which the control signal is superimposed so as to generate a waveform-shaped gate driving signal with a shaped waveform, and controls the battery module concerned by using the control signal and the waveform-shaped gate driving signal, and transmits the gate driving signal on which the control signal is superimposed to the battery module located downstream.

3. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein:

the battery module includes a disconnecting unit that forcibly disconnects the other battery module from the series connection regardless of the gate driving signal; and

the control signal is a signal for forcibly disconnecting the battery module from the series connection by the disconnecting unit.

4. The power supply device according to claim 1, wherein:

the battery module includes a connecting unit that forcibly connects the other battery module to the series connection regardless of the gate driving signal; and

the control signal is a signal for forcibly connecting the battery module to the series connection by the connecting unit.

5. A power supply device including a plurality of battery modules having secondary batteries, the battery modules being connected to one another in series according to a gate driving signal from a controller,

the power supply device delaying the gate driving signal in a gate driving signal processing circuit included in each of the battery modules, and thereafter, transmitting the gate driving signal from an upstream to a downstream of the series connection, and returning the gate driving signal from the battery modules located on a downstream to the controller,

the power supply device transmitting a state of the battery module to the controller by superimposing a state signal indicating the state of the battery module on the gate driving signal.

6. The power supply device according to claim 5, wherein

the gate driving signal processing circuit removes the state signal from the gate driving signal on which the state signal is superimposed so as to generate a waveform-shaped gate driving signal with a shaped waveform, controls the battery module concerned by using the waveform-shaped gate driving signal, and transmits the gate driving signal on which the state signal is superimposed to the battery module located downstream.

7. The power supply device according to claim 5, wherein

the state signal includes information regarding at least one of a voltage, a temperature, and SOC of the battery module.