Patent Publication Number: US-2021167610-A1

Title: Balancing apparatus, and battery management system and battery pack including the same

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to technology for balancing a state of charge of a plurality of battery cells. 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0129069 filed in the Republic of Korea on Oct. 26, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Recently, there is dramatically growing demand for portable electronic products such as laptop computers, video cameras and mobile phones, and with the extensive development of electric vehicles, accumulators for energy storage, robots and satellites, many studies are being made on high performance batteries that can be recharged repeatedly. 
     Currently, commercially available batteries include nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, lithium batteries and the like, and among them, lithium batteries have little or no memory effect, and thus they are gaining more attention than nickel-based batteries for their advantages that recharging can be done whenever it is convenient, the self-discharge rate is very low and the energy density is high. 
     A battery pack may include a plurality of battery cells and a battery management system. The battery management system is provided to manage the condition of the plurality of battery cells. With the increasing charge/discharge cycles of the battery pack, an imbalance in the state of charge between the plurality of battery cells occurs. Despite the imbalance, if the battery pack is continuously repeatedly charged and discharged, the battery pack cannot be fully used, and the life of the plurality of battery cells reduces rapidly. To solve these problems, suggestions have been made as to a balancing apparatus for balancing the state of charge of the plurality of battery cells. 
     However, the balancing apparatus according to the related art can perform the operation of balancing the state of charge of the plurality of battery cells only while power required to operate the balancing apparatus is being supplied from an auxiliary battery (e.g., a lead-acid battery) separately provided in an electrically powered device (e.g., an electric vehicle) having the battery pack mounted thereon. 
     DISCLOSURE 
     Technical Problem 
     The present disclosure is designed to solve the above-described problem, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a balancing apparatus for maintaining an operation of balancing a state of charge of a plurality of battery cells using the plurality of battery cells as a power source even when the power supply from an auxiliary battery is stopped during the operation of balancing the state of charge of the plurality of battery cells, and a battery management system and a battery pack including the same. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be understood by the following description and will be apparent from the embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, it will be readily understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by the means set forth in the appended claims and a combination thereof. 
     Technical Solution 
     A balancing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a voltage regulator configured to selectively generate a first high level voltage from a voltage of an auxiliary battery, a power switch including a first current terminal, a second current terminal and a control terminal, the first current terminal being electrically connected to a high voltage node of a battery group, a DC-DC converter including a voltage input terminal and a voltage output terminal, the DC-DC converter being configured to generate a second high level voltage from a voltage applied to the voltage input terminal and output the second high level voltage to the voltage output terminal, and the voltage input terminal being electrically connected to the second current terminal, a balancing unit including a plurality of balancing circuits, the plurality of balancing circuits being connected in parallel to a plurality of battery cells included in the battery group, respectively, and a control unit including a power terminal, a hold terminal and a plurality of balancing terminals, the power terminal being electrically connected to the voltage output terminal, the hold terminal being electrically connected to the control terminal, and the plurality of balancing terminals being electrically connected to the plurality of balancing circuits, respectively. The control unit is configured to hold the first high level voltage through the hold terminal in response to the second high level voltage being applied to the power terminal. 
     Each balancing circuit includes a resistor and a balancing switch connected in series. Each balancing switch is electrically connected to each balancing terminal. 
     When the control unit receives a balancing request message including information indicating a cell identification number and a required balancing period from a master controller, the control unit may be configured to set any one battery cell corresponding to the cell identification information among the plurality of battery cells as a balancing target. The control unit may be configured to control the balancing switch of the balancing circuit connected in parallel to the balancing target among the plurality of balancing circuits to an ON-state, while the second high level voltage is applied to the power terminal. 
     The control unit may be configured to count a period of time during which the balancing switch of the balancing circuit connected in parallel to the balancing target is controlled to the ON-state. The control unit may be configured to stop holding the first high level voltage when the counted period of time reaches the required balancing period. 
     The balancing apparatus may further include a communication circuit configured to connect the master controller and the control unit to allow bidirectional communication. 
     The power switch may be turned to the ON-state when the first high level voltage is applied to the control terminal. The second high level voltage may be applied to the power terminal while the power switch is in the ON-state. 
     The power switch may be an n-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect transistor (MOSFET) including a source as the first current terminal, a drain as the second current terminal and a gate as the control terminal. 
     The control unit may further include a hold capacitor connected between the hold terminal and the ground. The control unit may further include a hold switch connected in parallel to the hold capacitor. The control unit may be configured to control the hold switch to the OFF-state in response to the second high level voltage being applied to the power terminal. 
     The control unit may further include a disable terminal electrically connected to the high voltage node. The control unit may be configured to control the hold switch to the ON-state when a voltage applied to the disable terminal is less than a threshold voltage. 
     A battery management system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes the balancing apparatus. 
     A battery pack according to still another aspect of the present disclosure includes the battery management system. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to maintain an operation of balancing a state of charge of a plurality of battery cells using the plurality of battery cells as a power source for a balancing apparatus even when the power supply from an auxiliary battery is stopped. 
     In addition, it is possible to automatically stop the operation of balancing the state of charge of the plurality of battery cells when there is a risk that a battery pack will be overdischarged. 
     The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and these and other effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, and together with the detailed description of the present disclosure described below, serve to provide a further understanding of the technical aspects of the present disclosure, and thus the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a battery pack according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a voltage hold circuit included in a control unit shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a battery pack according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a battery pack according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     BEST MODE 
     Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to the description, it should be understood that the terms or words used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as being limited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define the terms appropriately for the best explanation. 
     Therefore, the embodiments described herein and illustrations shown in the drawings are just a most preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, but not intended to fully describe the technical aspects of the present disclosure, so it should be understood that a variety of other equivalents and modifications could be made thereto at the time of filing the application. 
     Additionally, in describing the present disclosure, when it is deemed that a certain detailed description of relevant known elements or functions renders the key subject matter of the present disclosure ambiguous, the detailed description is omitted herein. 
     The terms including the ordinal number such as “first”, “second” and the like, are used to distinguish one element from another among various elements, but not intended to limit the elements by the terms. 
     Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, it will be understood that the term “comprises” or “includes” when used in this specification, specifies the presence of stated elements, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements. Additionally, the term &lt;control unit&gt; as used herein refers to a processing unit of at least one function or operation, and this may be implemented in hardware or software alone or in combination. 
     In addition, throughout the specification, it will be further understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may be present. 
       FIG. 1  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a battery pack  10  according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 2  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a voltage hold circuit  280  included in a control unit  270  shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the battery pack  10  includes a battery group  20  and a battery management system  50 , and may supply power to an electric motor of an electric vehicle. 
     The battery group  20  includes a high voltage terminal  21 , a low voltage terminal  22  and a plurality of battery cells  30 . The plurality of battery cells  30  may be electrically connected in series between the high voltage terminal  21  and the low voltage terminal  22 . The battery cell  30  is not limited to a particular type and may include any rechargeable one, for example, the lithium ion cell  30 . 
     The battery management system  50  includes a master controller  100  and a balancing apparatus  200 . 
     The master controller  100  is operably coupled to the balancing apparatus  200 . The master controller  100  is configured to control the balancing apparatus  200  based on notification information from the balancing apparatus  200 . The master controller  100  may control a voltage regulator  210  to supply the power from an auxiliary battery  40  to the balancing apparatus  200  in response to the start-up of the electric vehicle having the battery pack  10  mounted thereon. 
     The balancing apparatus  200  includes the voltage regulator  210 , a power switch  220 , a DC-DC converter  230 , a balancing unit  240  and a control unit  270 . The balancing apparatus  200  may further include a communication circuit  260 . 
     While in operation, the voltage regulator  210  is configured to generate a first high level voltage (e.g., 5V) from the voltage (e.g., 12V) of the auxiliary battery  40 . The voltage regulator  210  may be a low-dropout (LDO) regulator. The auxiliary battery  40  may include, for example, a lead-acid battery. While the electrically powered device having the battery pack  10  mounted thereon is working, the master controller  100  may operate the voltage regulator  210 , and accordingly, the voltage regulator  210  may output the first high level voltage to the power switch  220 . While the electric vehicle is stopped, the master controller  100  may stop the operation of the voltage regulator  210 , and accordingly, the voltage regulator  210  may stop outputting the first high level voltage. 
     The power switch  220  includes a first current terminal  221 , a second current terminal  222  and a control terminal  223 . The power switch  220  may include an n-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect transistor (MOSFET). The n-channel MOSFET includes a source (or a drain) as the first current terminal  221 , a drain (or a source) as the second current terminal  222  and a gate as the control terminal  223 . The first current terminal  221  is electrically connected to the high voltage terminal  21  of the battery group  20 . The control terminal  223  is electrically connected to the voltage regulator  210  to receive the first high level voltage from the voltage regulator  210 . The power switch  220  is controlled to an ON-state in response to the first high level voltage being applied to the control terminal  223 . While the power switch  220  is in the ON-state, the current may flow from the first current terminal  221  to the second current terminal  222 . The power switch  220  is turned to an OFF-state in response to a low level voltage (e.g., 0V) less than the first high level voltage being applied to the control terminal  223 . While the power switch  220  is in the OFF-state, the flow of current between the first current terminal  221  and the second current terminal  222  may be interrupted. 
     The DC-DC converter  230  includes a voltage input terminal  231  and a voltage output terminal  232 . The DC-DC converter  230  may include a voltage drop circuit such as, for example, a switched mode power supply (SMPS). The voltage input terminal  231  is electrically connected to the second current terminal  222 . While the power switch  220  is in the ON-state, the DC-DC converter  230  is configured to generate a second high level voltage from the voltage applied to the voltage input terminal  231 , and output the second high level voltage to the voltage output terminal  232 . The second high level voltage may be used as a power source for the operation of the control unit  270 . While the power switch  220  is in the OFF-state, the generation of the second high level voltage by the DC-DC converter  230  is stopped. 
     The balancing unit  240  includes a plurality of balancing circuits BC. The plurality of balancing circuits BC is connected in parallel to the plurality of battery cells  30  included in the battery group  20 . That is, the balancing circuit BC that can be connected in parallel to each battery cell  30  is provided to each battery cell  30 . Each balancing circuit BC includes a discharge resistor R D  and a balancing switch SW D  electrically connected in series. That is, the balancing unit  240  includes a plurality of discharge resistors R D  and a plurality of balancing switches SW D . The balancing switch SW D  may include a known switching device such as an n-channel MOSFET. The plurality of balancing switches SW D  is controlled into the ON-state or the OFF-state by the control unit  270 . 
     The communication circuit  260  is configured to connect the master controller  100  and the control unit  270  to allow bidirectional communication. The communication circuit  260  supports wired or wireless communication between the master controller  100  and the control unit  270 . The wired communication may be, for example, controller area network (CAN) communication, and the wireless communication may be, for example, Zigbee or Bluetooth communication. 
     The control unit  270  may be implemented in hardware using at least one of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), microprocessors and electrical units for performing other functions. Additionally, the control unit  270  may have a memory device embedded therein, and the memory device may include, for example, RAM, ROM, register, hard disk, optical recording media or magnetic recording media. The memory device may store, update and/or erase programs including various types of control logics that are executed by the control unit  270 , and/or data created when the control logics are executed. The control unit  270  may be referred to as a ‘slave controller’ due to being under the control of the master controller  100 . 
     The control unit  270  includes a plurality of sensing terminals P S , a power terminal P P , a hold terminal P H , a power hold circuit  280  and a plurality of balancing terminals P B . 
     The plurality of sensing terminals P S  is electrically connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal of each of the plurality of battery cells  30 . Accordingly, the control unit  270  may detect a voltage between adjacent pairs among the plurality of sensing terminals P S  as a voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells  30 . 
     The power terminal P P  is electrically connected to the voltage output terminal  232  of the DC-DC converter  230  to receive the second high level voltage. The second high level voltage may refer to a voltage or a voltage range required for the operation of the control unit  270 . 
     The hold terminal P H  is electrically connected to the control terminal  223  to receive the first high level voltage. Accordingly, the first high level voltage from the voltage regulator  210  may be simultaneously applied to the control terminal  223  and the hold terminal P H . 
     The power hold circuit  280  may include a hold capacitor CH and a hold switch SW H . The hold capacitor CH is electrically connected between the hold terminal P H  and the ground. The hold switch SW H  is electrically connected in parallel to the hold capacitor CH. The power hold circuit  280  may further include a discharge resistor RH. The discharge resistor RH is electrically connected in series to the hold switch SW H , and is electrically connected in parallel to the hold capacitor CH. 
     The control unit  270  is configured to control the hold switch SW H  to the OFF-state to hold the first high level voltage applied to the control terminal  223  through the hold terminal P H  in response to the second high level voltage being applied to the power terminal P P . 
     Holding the first high level voltage represents that the first high level voltage applied to the control terminal  223  is charged in the hold capacitor CH through the hold terminal P H . While the first high level voltage is being held by the hold capacitor CH, even when the voltage regulator  210  stops outputting the first high level voltage, the power switch  220  is kept in the ON-state, and thus the control unit  270  may continue the operation of balancing the state of charge of the plurality of battery cells  30  using the plurality of battery cells  30  as a power source for the control unit  270 . 
     The plurality of balancing terminals P B  is electrically connected to the plurality of balancing circuits BC. That is, the plurality of balancing switches SW D  may be electrically connected to each of the plurality of balancing terminals P B  one by one. The control unit  270  is configured to selectively output a switching signal for controlling the ON/OFF of each of the plurality of balancing switches SW D  to the plurality of balancing terminals P B . 
     The control unit  270  is electrically connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of each of the plurality of battery cells  30  through the balancing unit  240 . The control unit  270  is configured to detect an open circuit voltage (OCV) of each of the plurality of battery cells  30  using a plurality of differential amplifiers and an analog-digital converter provided in the control unit  270 , and generate notification information including a voltage signal indicating the detected open circuit voltage. The notification information may be transmitted to the master controller  100  through the communication circuit  260 . 
     The master controller  100  determines the state of charge of each of the plurality of battery cells  30  based on the voltage signal by referencing a lookup table in which data indicating a relationship between the state of charge and the open circuit voltage is recorded. The master controller  100  determines a maximum, a minimum and a cell ID from the state of charge of each of the plurality of battery cells  30 , and determines a required balancing period based on a difference between the maximum and the minimum. The cell ID indicates identification information of the battery cell  30  having the maximum state of charge. Additionally, the required balancing period may be proportional to the difference between the maximum and the minimum. Subsequently, the master controller  100  may generate a balancing request message including information indicating the cell ID and the required balancing period. The balancing request message may be transmitted to the control unit  270  through the communication circuit  260 . 
     When the control unit  270  receives the balancing request message through the communication circuit  260 , the control unit  270  sets one battery cell  30  corresponding to the cell ID among the plurality of battery cells  30  as a balancing target. While the second high level voltage is applied to the power terminal P P , the control unit  270  may control the balancing switch SW D  of one balancing circuit BC connected in parallel to the balancing target among the plurality of balancing circuits BC to the ON-state, and control all the remaining balancing switches SW D  into the OFF-state. Accordingly, as electrical energy of the battery cell  30  set as the balancing target is consumed by the discharge resistor R D  of the balancing circuit BC including the balancing switch SW D  being controlled to the ON-state, the state of charge of the balancing target gradually reduces toward the minimum. 
     The control unit  270  may count an accumulated balancing period of the balancing target using a timer provided in the control unit  270 . The accumulated balancing period is a period of time during which the balancing switch SW D  of the balancing circuit BC connected in parallel to the balancing target is controlled to the ON-state in response to the balancing request message received by the control unit  270 . 
     When the accumulated balancing period reaches the required balancing period, the control unit  270  may stop holding the first high level voltage. Stopping holding the first high level voltage represents that the control unit  270  controls the hold switch SW H  to the ON-state to discharge the hold capacitor CH. Accordingly, the first high level voltage cannot be held by the hold capacitor CH from the time point at which the accumulated balancing period reaches the required balancing period, and the power switch  220  may be turned to the ON-state only when the voltage regulator  210  re-starts outputting the first high level voltage. 
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a battery pack  10  according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Description in common between the battery pack  10  according to the second embodiment as shown in  FIG. 3  and the first embodiment described above with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2  is omitted herein to avoid redundancy, and their difference(s) will be described below. 
     A difference between the battery pack  10  of the second embodiment and the battery pack  10  of the first embodiment is that the balancing apparatus  200  further includes a voltage divider  292 , and the control unit  270  further includes a disable terminal P D . 
     The voltage divider  292  is configured to generate a diagnosis voltage using the voltage of the high voltage terminal  21 . The voltage divider  292  includes a protection resistor R P1  and a protection resistor R P2  connected in series between the high voltage terminal  21  and the ground. That is, one end of the protection resistor R P1  is electrically connected to the high voltage terminal  21 , one end of the protection resistor R P2  is electrically connected to the ground, and the other end of the protection resistor R P1  is electrically connected to the other end of the protection resistor R P2 . Accordingly, the voltage between the high voltage terminal  21  and the ground is divided by the protection resistor R P1  and the protection resistor R P2 . The diagnosis voltage is a voltage across the protection resistor R P2 . When V G  is the voltage between the high voltage terminal  21  and the ground, r P1  is the resistance of the protection resistor R P1 , r P2  is the resistance of the protection resistor R P2 , and V D  is the diagnosis voltage, V D =V G ×{r P2 /(r P1 +r P2 )}. 
     The disable terminal P D  is electrically connected to the other end of the protection resistor R P2 . When the diagnosis voltage applied to the disable terminal P D  is less than a predetermined threshold voltage, the control unit  270  may control the hold switch SW H  into ON to prevent the battery group  20  from being overdischarged. 
     As described above, controlling the hold switch SW H  into ON represents that the hold capacitor CH cannot be charged with the first high level voltage. Even before the accumulated balancing period reaches the required balancing period, when the diagnosis voltage is less than the threshold voltage, the power terminal P P  cannot be maintained at the first high level voltage any longer. Accordingly, the power switch  220  is turned OFF, thereby protecting the battery group  20  from overdischarge. 
       FIG. 4  is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration of a battery pack  10  according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Description in common between the battery pack  10  according to the third embodiment as shown in  FIG. 4  and the first and second embodiments described above with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3  is omitted herein to avoid redundancy, and their difference(s) will be described below. 
     A difference between the battery pack  10  of the third embodiment and the battery pack  10  of the first embodiment is that the balancing apparatus  200  further includes a voltage divider  294  and a protection switch SW P . 
     The voltage divider  294  is configured to generate a protection voltage using the voltage of the high voltage terminal  21 . The voltage divider  294  includes a protection resistor R P3  and a protection resistor R P4  connected in series between the high voltage terminal  21  and the ground. That is, one end of the protection resistor R P3  is electrically connected to the high voltage terminal  21 , one end of the protection resistor R P4  is electrically connected to the ground, and the other end of the protection resistor R P3  is electrically connected to the other end of the protection resistor R P4 . Accordingly, the voltage between the high voltage terminal  21  and the ground is divided by the protection resistor R P3  and the protection resistor R P4 . The protection voltage is a voltage across the protection resistor R P4 . When V G  is the voltage between the high voltage terminal  21  and the ground, r P3  is the resistance of the protection resistor R P3 , r P4  is the resistance of the protection resistor R P4 , and V P  is the protection voltage, V P =V G ×{r P4 /(r P3 +r P4 )}. 
     The protection switch SW P  includes a first current terminal  295 , a second current terminal  296  and a control terminal  297 . The protection switch SW P ) may include a known switching device such as an n-channel MOSFET. The first current terminal  295  of the protection switch SW P  is electrically connected to the voltage output terminal  232  of the DC-DC converter  230 . The second current terminal  296  of the protection switch SW P  is electrically connected to the power terminal P P  of the control unit  270 . The control terminal  297  of the protection switch SW P  is electrically connected to the other end of the protection resistor R P4 . 
     When the protection voltage is equal to or higher than a third high level voltage, the protection switch SW P  is turned to the ON-state. On the contrary, when the protection voltage is less than the third high level voltage, the protection switch SW P  is turned OFF. The protection voltage less than the third high level voltage may represent that the state of charge of the battery group  20  fell below the lower limit (e.g., 20%) of a predetermined normal range. While the protection switch SW P  is in OFF, the power transmission path from the high voltage terminal  21  to the power terminal P P  of the control unit  270  is interrupted, thereby preventing the battery group  20  from being overdischarged. 
     While the present disclosure has been hereinabove described with regard to a limited number of embodiments and drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made thereto within the technical aspects of the present disclosure and the equivalent scope of the appended claims. 
     Additionally, as many substitutions, modifications and changes may be made to the present disclosure described hereinabove by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical aspects of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited by the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and some or all of the embodiments may be selectively combined to allow various modifications.