Multi-series battery control system

• US 7,471,065 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2005
• Issued: 12/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Company Limited (Resonac Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Yoshihara, Shigeyuki, Emori, Akihiko, Kudo, Akihiko, Sasazawa, Kazuyoshi, Horiba, Tatsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ullah; Akm E
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMADAN, RAMY O
• Application Number:
  US11/117,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20050242776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 320/116, 320/128, 320/162, 320/164, 429/320, 702/63, 324/434
• US Class Current: 320/116
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/19 Switching between serial connection and parallel connection of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/22 Balancing the charge of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0019 using switched or multiplexed charge circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

A multi-series battery control system comprises a unit battery cell of which unit consists of multiple battery cells, control IC comprising a control IC chip containing a control circuit for controlling the unit battery cell and a cell monitor IC chip for monitoring the voltage of the unit battery cell, and main controller that sends and receives signal to/from the control IC via insulation of which cell monitor IC chip and control IC chip are paired to control the unit battery cell.

Claims

1. A multi-series battery control system comprising a plurality of unit battery cells, each unit battery cell of which unit consists of multiple battery cells, a control IC arrangement including a control IC chip containing a control circuit for controlling the unit battery cell and a cell monitor IC chip for monitoring the voltage of the unit battery cell, wherein the control IC arrangement includes a plurality of voltage input terminals configured to receive respective terminal voltages of respective battery cells of the unit battery cell, a voltage detection circuit which detects a terminal voltage of a selected voltage input terminal, first input and output terminals to send or receive a command and/or terminal voltages detected by the voltage detection circuit, second input and output terminals to send or receive a normal/abnormal-signal for indicating a normality/abnormality, wherein the control IC arrangement is configured such that the second output terminal sends an abnormal-signal indicating an abnormality when the second input terminal receives an abnormal-signal,

the multi-series battery control system further including a main controller that sends and receives signal to/from the control IC arrangement via insulation communication components;

where the control IC arrangement controls the unit battery cell;

a plurality of control IC chips and a plurality of cell monitor IC chips, configured in pairs together, with each pair having one control IC chip and one cell monitor IC chip to control a mutually-different common unit battery cell of the plurality of unit battery cells in a ranking from highest to lowest,

wherein a highest-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up by a first signal outputted from the main controller via the insulation communication components, and then each lower-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up one after another by the first signal relayed from a neighboring higher-ranking cell monitor IC chip to the lower-ranking cell monitor IC chip, and

a highest-ranking control IC chip is woken up by a second signal outputted from the main controller via the insulation communication components, and then each lower-ranking control IC chip is woken up one after another by the second signal relayed from a neighboring higher-ranking control IC chip to the lower-ranking control IC chip.

2. A multi-series battery control system comprising:

a plurality of unit battery cells, each unit battery cell of which unit consists of multiple battery cells, a control IC arrangement including a control IC chip containing a control circuit for controlling the unit battery cell and a cell monitor IC chip for monitoring the voltage of the unit battery cell, wherein the control IC arrangement includes a plurality of voltage input terminals configured to receive respective terminal voltages of respective battery cells of the unit battery cell, a voltage detection circuit which detects a terminal voltage of a selected voltage input terminal, first input and output terminals to send or receive a command and/or terminal voltages detected by the voltage detection circuit, second input and output terminals to send or receive a normal/abnormal-signal for indicating a normality/abnormality, wherein the control IC arrangement is configured such that the second output terminal sends an abnormal-signal for indicating an abnormality when the second input terminal receives an abnormal-signal,

the multi-series battery control system further including a main controller that sends and receives signal to/from the control IC arrangement via insulation communication components;

where the control IC arrangement controls the unit battery cell;

a plurality of control IC chips and a plurality of cell monitor IC chips, configured in pairs together, with each pair having one control IC chip and one cell monitor IC chip to control a mutually-different common unit battery cell of the plurality of unit battery cells in a ranking from highest to lowest,

wherein a highest-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up by a first signal outputted from the main controller via the insulation communication components, and then each lower-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up one after another by the first signal relayed from a neighboring higher-ranking cell monitor IC chip to the lower-ranking cell monitor IC chip, and

a highest-ranking control IC chip is woken up by a second signal outputted from the main controller via the insulation communication components, and then each lower-ranking control IC chip is woken up one after another by the second signal relayed from a neighboring higher-ranking control IC chip to the lower-ranking control IC chip;

wherein the highest-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up by the first signal outputted from the main controller and, after the highest-ranking cell monitor IC chip has been woken up, each lower-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up one after another by the first signal relayed from a neighboring higher-ranking cell monitor IC chip to the lower-ranking cell monitor IC chip, until a lowest-ranking cell monitor IC chip is woken up;

a power supplied from the unit battery cell connected with the highest-ranking cell monitor IC chip is supplied to the insulation communication components so that the insulation communication components become conductive; and

the highest-ranking control IC chip is woken up by the second signal outputted from a main controller and, after the highest-ranking control IC chip has been woken up, each lower-ranking control IC chip is woken up one after another by the second signal relayed from a neighboring higher-ranking control IC chip to the lower-ranking control IC chip, until a lowest-ranking control IC chip is woken up.