Battery Pack and Method of Preventing Cap Disassembly or Cell Replacement in the Battery Pack

• US 20110117396A1
• Filed: 07/28/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Inventors: Park, In-Kyu, Kim, Beom-Gyu, Yang, Jong-Woon, Hwang, Eui-Jeong, Yun, Han-Seok, Sim, Se-Sub, Kim, Jin-Wan, Okada, Tetsuya, Segawa, Susumu
• Application Number:
  US12/845,642
• Publication Number:
  US 20110117396A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/50
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• 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 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2200/00 Safety devices for primary or secondary batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2200/103 Fuse
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/583 in response to current, e.g. fuses
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/84 Recycling of batteries or fuel cells

Abstract

A battery pack having a function for preventing operation of the battery pack when an abnormal replacement of a battery cell is detected or preventing a use of the battery pack in which a cap has been removed. The battery pack generates an encryption code and writes the encryption code to data flash when a battery cell is normally discharged according to a first voltage, and if an abnormal power-on reset is detected on the battery cell, the battery pack may check the stored encryption code to a second encryption code generated upon power-on reset. If the codes do not match, firmware of the battery pack is deleted and/or a fuse is blown, making it is possible to prevent the battery pack from being re-used when the battery cell has been replaced or in which a cap has been removed.

Claims

1. A battery pack comprising:

a voltage determining unit for determining whether a battery cell voltage of a battery cell is equal to or less than a first voltage;

an encryption code generating unit for generating a first encryption code according to information of the battery cell when the battery cell voltage is equal to or less than the first voltage; and

a control unit for writing the first encryption code to an area of a data flash, checking whether the first encryption code and a second encryption code, generated by using the information of the battery cell after a power-on reset, match with each other, and prohibiting operation of the battery pack when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

2. The battery pack of claim 1, the voltage determining unit determining whether the battery cell voltage of the battery cell after the power-on reset is equal to or greater than a second voltage;

the encryption code generating unit generating the second encryption code according to the information of the battery cell, when the battery cell voltage is equal to or greater than the second voltage; and

the control unit checking whether the first encryption code and the second encryption code match with each other.

3. The battery pack of claim 1, the control unit blowing a fuse when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

4. The battery pack of claim 1, the control unit deleting firmware when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

5. The battery pack of claim 3, the control unit deleting firmware when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

6. The battery pack of claim 1, the control unit turning off when the battery cell voltage is equal to or less than the first voltage.

7. The battery pack of claim 1, the information of the battery cell comprising at least one of the group consisting of a production date, a serial number, a full charge capacity (FCC), and a cycle count.

8. A battery pack comprising a battery cell and a protective circuit having an analog front end (AFE), a charge-discharge switch, a fuse, and a microcomputer, the microcomputer comprising:

a voltage determining unit for determining whether a battery cell voltage detected by the analog front end is equal to or less than a first voltage;

an encryption code generating unit for generating a first encryption code by using information of the battery cell when the battery cell voltage is equal to or less than the first voltage, the information comprising at least one of the group consisting of a production date, a serial number, a full charge capacity (FCC), and a cycle count of the battery cell; and

a control unit for writing the first encryption code to an area of a data flash, checking whether the first encryption code and a second encryption code, generated by using the information of the battery cell after a power-on reset, match with each other, and prohibiting operation of the battery pack when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

9. The battery pack of claim 8, the control unit blowing the fuse when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

10. The battery pack of claim 8, the control unit deleting firmware of the microcomputer when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

11. The battery pack of claim 9, the control unit deleting firmware of the microcomputer when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

12. The battery pack of claim 8, the control unit turning off the microcomputer when the battery cell voltage is equal to or less than the first voltage.

13. A method of preventing cap disassembly or battery cell replacement in a battery pack comprising a battery cell and a protective circuit having an analog front end (AFE), a charge-discharge switch, a fuse, and a microcomputer, the method comprising steps of:

determining whether a battery cell voltage of a battery cell is equal to or less than a first voltage;

generating a first encryption code according to information of the battery cell, when the battery cell voltage is determined to be equal to or less than the first voltage;

writing the first encryption code to an area of a data flash;

checking whether the first encryption code and a second encryption code, generated by using the information of the battery cell after a power-on reset, match with each other; and

prohibiting operation of the battery pack, when the first encryption code and the second encryption code do not match with each other.

14. The method of claim 13, the step of checking comprising:

determining whether the battery cell voltage of the battery cell after the power-on reset is equal to or greater than a second voltage;

generating the second encryption code according to the information of the battery cell, when the battery cell voltage is equal to or greater than the second voltage; and

checking whether the first encryption code and the second encryption code match with each other.

15. The method of claim 13, the step of prohibiting comprising deleting firmware of the microcomputer.

16. The method of claim 13, the step of prohibiting further comprising blowing the fuse.

17. The method of claim 15, the step of prohibiting further comprising blowing the fuse.

18. The method of claim 13, the information of the battery cell comprising at least one of the group consisting of a production date, a serial number, a full charge capacity (FCC), and a cycle count.