Event system and timekeeping for battery management and protection system

• US 9,054,528 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Holsen, Eivind, Onsum, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRANT, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US12/976,898
• Publication Number:
  US 20120166841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,630 Days
• Field of Search: 320/134
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/396 Acquisition or processing of data for testing or for monitoring individual cells or groups of cells within a battery
• 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 10/486 for measuring temperature
• 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: 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: H02H 7/18 for batteries; for accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Operating a battery management and protection system includes generating a set of events each of which has a respective frequency F/n₁, F/n₂ . . . F/n_m, where n_i are integers. One or more of the events are provided to one or more modules in the system. The events, which are generated and provided to the modules independently of a central processing unit, trigger performance of respective actions by the modules.

Claims

1. A battery management and protection system comprising:

a plurality of modules each of which is configured to determine whether a respective operational characteristic of a battery is within a predetermined range;

memory storing safety parameters and timing information; and

a timekeeper operable to generate, independently of a central processing unit, pulse signals configured to trigger actions by the modules, the pulse signals having different respective frequencies,

wherein a first one of the modules is arranged to select a first one of the pulse signals having a first frequency, and a second one of the modules is arranged to select a second one of the pulse signals having a different second frequency, and

wherein each respective pulse signal selected by a particular module triggers a measurement or a safety detection by the particular module based on the safety parameters and timing information in the memory.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the pulse signals are divided from one another.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the pulse signals are divided respectively from one another by powers of two.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the pulse signals include a first pulse signal having a frequency F, a second pulse signal having a frequency F/2, a third pulse signal having a frequency F/4, a fourth pulse signal having a frequency F/8 and a fifth pulse signal having a frequency F/16.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the pulse signals are synchronous.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the modules is arranged to monitor at least one of voltage, current or temperature of a battery when the battery is coupled to the system, and wherein at least one of the pulse signals triggers an action related to the monitoring in the at least one module.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein at least one of the modules is arranged to use one or more of the pulse signals to scan measurements of battery operating characteristics and to trigger responses to the measurements.

8. The system of claim 1 further including a dedicated routing network to pass respective ones of the pulse signals from the timekeeper to respective ones of the modules.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the dedicated routing network passes the respective ones of the pulse signals directly from the timekeeper to the respective modules.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the dedicated routing network passes the respective ones of the pulse signals from the timekeeper to the respective modules independently of the central processing unit.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein one or more of the modules that receive a pulse signal from the timekeeper are arranged to receive signals indicative of at least one of voltage, current or temperature of a battery when the battery is coupled to the system.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the dedicated routing network is arranged to pass an event from a first one of the modules to another module, wherein the event is indicative of a change in state detected by the first one of the modules.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the system has one or more low-sleep modes, wherein the modules are operable to receive and respond to pulse signals from the timekeeper even if the module is in a low-power sleep mode.

14. A method of operating a battery management and protection system, the method comprising:

generating, by a timekeeper, independently of a central processing unit, a set of pulse signals having different respective frequencies; and

providing, independently of the central processing unit, one or more of the pulse signals from the timekeeper to a plurality of modules in the system,

wherein a first one of the modules selects a first one of the pulse signals having a first frequency, and a second one of the modules selects a second one of the pulse signals having a different second frequency, wherein the selected pulse signals trigger performance of respective actions by the modules, and

wherein each respective pulse signal selected by a particular module triggers a measurement or a safety detection by the particular module based on safety parameters and timing information stored in memory.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the pulse signals are divided from one another.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the pulse signals are divided respectively from one another by powers of two.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the pulse signals include a first pulse signal having a frequency F, a second pulse signal having a frequency F/2, a third pulse signal having a frequency F/4, a fourth pulse signal having a frequency F/8 and a fifth pulse signal having a frequency F/16.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the pulse signals are synchronous.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the modules receive the selected pulse signals and perform the respective actions even if the modules are in a low-power sleep mode.