Auxiliary battery management system and method

• US 9,487,103 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2014
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Berman, Cody D., Shripathy, Vivekananda, Timpf, Thomas John Jr., Wede, Godwin
• Primary Examiner(s): Hilgendorf, Dale W
• Application Number:
  US14/468,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20160059726A1
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0023 Detecting, eliminating, remedying or compensating for drive train abnormalities, e.g. failures within the drive train
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/10 for monitoring or controlling batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/18 of two or more battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/20 having different nominal voltages
• 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: B60W 10/26 for electrical energy, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/42 Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells H01M10/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/46 for ICE-powered road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/1423 with multiple batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 903/907 : Electricity storage, e.g. battery, capacitor

Abstract

A battery management method includes the following steps: (a) reading, via a battery management processor, a non-volatile memory to determine if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of a brownout in the auxiliary battery module; (b) receiving, via the battery management processor, at least one input signal from at least one brownout detector of at least one smart device having a device processor in order to determine a brownout condition in at least one smart device; (c) determining, via the battery management processor, that a triggering event has occurred if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module or the at least one smart device exhibits a brownout condition; and (d) commanding, via the battery management processor, the main battery module to electrically charge the auxiliary battery module of the hybrid vehicle if the triggering event has occurred.

Claims

1. A battery management method for managing an auxiliary battery module and a main battery module of a hybrid vehicle, the method comprising:

determining that a battery management controller has experienced a loss of electrical power such that a battery management processor of the battery management controller was completely turned off due to the loss of electrical power, wherein the battery management controller further includes a non-volatile memory;

determining whether the non-volatile memory is intact after the loss of electrical power;

reading, via the battery management processor, the non-volatile memory to determine if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of a brownout in the auxiliary battery module;

receiving, via the battery management processor, at least one input signal from at least one brownout detector of at least one smart device having a device processor in order to determine a brownout condition in the at least one smart device, wherein the at least one smart device is configured to receive electrical energy from the auxiliary battery module;

determining, via the battery management processor, that a triggering event has occurred if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module or the at least one smart device exhibits the brownout condition; and

commanding, via the battery management processor, the main battery module to electrically charge the auxiliary battery module of the hybrid vehicle if the triggering event has occurred.

2. The battery management method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes powering up the battery management controller.

3. The battery management method of claim 1, wherein determining, via the battery management processor, whether the battery management controller has experienced the loss of electrical power occurs after powering up the battery management controller.

4. The battery management method of claim 2, wherein the battery management processor reads the non-volatile memory to determine if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module if the non-volatile memory is intact after the loss of electrical power.

5. The battery management method of claim 4, wherein the battery management processor receives the at least one input signal from the at least one brownout detector if the non-volatile memory is intact after the loss of electrical power.

6. The battery management method of claim 1, further comprising incrementing, via the battery management processor, a brownout counter after the battery management processor determines that the triggering event has occurred.

7. The battery management method of claim 6, further comprising determining, via the battery management processor, whether a value of the brownout counter is greater than a predetermined brownout threshold.

8. The battery management method of claim 7, activating, via the battery management processor, a diagnostic code if the value of the brownout counter is greater than the predetermined brownout threshold.

9. The battery management method of claim 1, further comprising determining, via the battery management processor, whether a crank request has been received.

10. The battery management method of claim 9, further comprising writing, via the battery management processor, data indicative of the crank request in the non-volatile memory if the crank request was received, wherein the data indicative of the crank request is part of the data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module.

11. The battery management method of claim 10, further comprising detecting a cranking event interruption after the crank request has been received, and the data indicative of the crank request is also indicative of the cranking event interruption.

12. The battery management method of claim 1, further comprising detecting unfiltered battery voltage transients in the auxiliary battery module.

13. The battery management method of claim 12, further comprising writing, via the battery management processor, data indicative of the unfiltered battery voltage transients in the non-volatile memory if unfiltered battery voltage transients were detected, wherein the data indicative of the unfiltered battery voltage transients is part of the data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module.

14. The battery management method of claim 1, further comprising determining, via the battery management processor, if at least one high current device has been requested to be driven with electrical power from the auxiliary battery module.

15. The battery management method of claim 14, further comprising writing, via the battery management processor, data indicative that at least one high current device has been requested to be driven in the non-volatile memory if at least one high current device has been requested to be driven, wherein the data indicative that at least one high current device has been requested to be driven is part of the data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module.

16. The battery management method of claim 1, further comprising determining, via the battery management processor, if the main battery module electrically charged the auxiliary battery module.

17. The battery management method of claim 16, further comprising writing, via the battery management processor, data indicative that the main battery module electrically charged the auxiliary battery module in the non-volatile memory if the main battery module electrically charged the auxiliary battery module, wherein the data indicative that the main battery module electrically charged the auxiliary battery module is part of the data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module.

18. The battery management method of claim 17, further comprising increasing an amount of time that the main battery module electrically charges the auxiliary battery module if the non-volatile memory previously contains data indicative that the main battery module electrically charged the auxiliary battery module.

19. A battery management system for a hybrid vehicle having an auxiliary battery module and a main battery module, the battery management system comprising:

a non-volatile memory;

a battery management processor in communication with the non-volatile memory, wherein the battery management processor is programmed to;

determine that the battery management processor experienced a loss of electrical power such that the battery management processor was completely turned off due to the loss of electrical power;

determine whether the non-volatile memory is intact after the loss of electrical power;

read the non-volatile memory to determine if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of a brownout in the auxiliary battery module of the hybrid vehicle;

receive input signals from at least one brownout detector of at least one smart device having a device processor in order to determine a brownout condition in the at least one smart device, wherein the at least one smart device is configured to receive electrical energy from the auxiliary battery module;

determine that a triggering event has occurred if the non-volatile memory contains data indicative of the brownout in the auxiliary battery module or the at least one smart device exhibits the brownout condition; and

command the main battery module to electrically charge the auxiliary battery module of the hybrid vehicle if the triggering event has occurred.