Patent Description:
A rechargeable or secondary battery is different from a primary battery for providing a non-reversible transformation of a chemical material into electrical energy in that the rechargeable battery may repeat charging and discharging. A low-capacity rechargeable battery is used as a power supply device for small electronic devices such as portable telephones, laptops computers, and camcorders, and a high-capacity rechargeable battery is used as a power supply device for an energy storage system (ESS) or uninterruptible power supply (UPS) using medium or large batteries used for electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid vehicles (HVs), for home or industry system, etc..

In general, the rechargeable battery includes an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator provided between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, a case for receiving the electrode assembly, and an electrode terminal electrically connected to the electrode assembly. An electrolyte solution is injected into a case so as to allow the battery to be charged and discharged by the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and an electrochemical reaction of an electrolyte solution. A shape of the case, such as a cylinder or a rectangle, is changeable depending on the use of the battery.

The rechargeable battery is used in the form of a battery module including a plurality of unit battery cells connected in series and/or in parallel, thereby providing high energy density for running, e.g., a hybrid vehicle. That is, the battery module is, for example, formed by interconnecting electrode terminals of a plurality of unit battery cells according to an amount of power required to implement a high-power rechargeable battery for an electric vehicle. One or more battery modules are mechanically and electrically integrated to form a battery system.

It is not sufficient to statically manage output and discharge of the battery power in order to satisfy dynamic power demands of various electricity consumers connected to the battery pack. Accordingly, information must be steadily or intermittently exchanged between the battery pack and the controllers of electricity consumers. This information includes an actual state of charge (SoC) of the battery pack, potential electrical performance, charging capability, internal resistance, and actual or predicted power demand or consumer surplus.

To monitor, control, and/or set the above-noted parameters, the battery pack includes control devices, for example, a battery system manager (BSM), a battery management system (BMS), a battery monitoring unit (BMU), a battery management module (BMM), and a system basis chip (SBC).

Recently, the cases where the control devices in the battery pack are designed to communicate by a radio communication method are increasing. When the control device of each battery module communicates with the main control device of the battery pack by wire, a communication connection between the control devices is made in a daisy chain structure, making it possible to identify connection orders and positions of the battery modules. However, when the control device of each battery module wirelessly communicates with the main control device of the battery pack, it is difficult for the main control device to grasp the connection orders and positions of the battery modules because they are not physically connected to each other.

Document <CIT> discloses a battery monitoring apparatus to improve the accuracy of specifying positions of battery state detection devices. A processing unit is configured to give an identification information indicating arrangement positions of the battery state detection devices based on a plurality of wireless communication strengths.

The present disclosure attempts to provide a battery pack for detecting positions of battery modules when control devices in the battery pack wirelessly communicate with each other.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a battery pack including: a plurality of battery modules, each including at least one cell and a control device for managing the at least one cell; a main control device configured to wirelessly communicate with each of the control devices; and a plurality of structures each corresponding to one of the plurality of battery modules, each of the structures being configured to adjust signal intensity of a respective radio signal transmitted to the main control device from the control device of the corresponding battery module from among the plurality of battery modules.

Each of plurality of structures may be further configured to perform the adjusting the signal intensity of the respective radio signal according to a position or a connection order of the corresponding battery module.

Each of the structures may comprise a conductive material that adjusts the signal intensity of the respective radio signal passing through the conductive material through at least one of: reflection, scattering, diffraction, and absorption of electromagnetic waves of the radio signals by the conductive material.

The main control device may be further configured to identify positions or a connection order of the plurality of battery modules based on received signal intensities of the radio signals received from the control devices.

Each of the plurality of structures may include a respective shield filter. The shield filter may comprise a conductive material that at least one of reflects, scatters, diffracts, and absorbs electromagnetic waves of the radio signal so as to adjust the signal intensity of the radio signal.

The plurality of structures may be configured so that at least one of a surface shape, a component, and a thickness of a conductive material of the shield filters is different for different ones of the structures.

Each of the plurality of structures may includes a respective antenna module connected to the corresponding control device.

The plurality of structures may be configured so that antenna patterns of the antenna modules differ in at least one of size, area, component, and shape.

Each of the plurality of structures may includes a noise generator for generating a noise signal for the respective radio signal.

The plurality of structures may be configured so that output power or output intensity of the noise signals output by the noise generators are different from each other.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a battery pack including: a plurality of battery modules, each including at least one cell and a control device for managing the at least one cell; a main control device configured to wirelessly communicate with each of the control devices; and a plurality of signal generating modules, each corresponding to one of the plurality of battery modules, and being configured to generate a voltage signal having a voltage value that depends upon a position or a connection order of the corresponding battery module from among the plurality of battery modules. For each of the plurality of battery modules, the respective control device may be further configured to acquire position identification information based on the voltage signal of the corresponding signal generating module from among the plurality of signal generating modules, and to transmit a radio signal including the position identification information to the main control device.

The main control device may be the further configured to identify positions or a connection order of the plurality of battery modules based on the position identification information detected from the radio signal.

Each of the plurality of signal generating modules may include a voltage dividing circuit for generating the voltage signal.

Each of the plurality of voltage dividing circuits may include a plurality of resistors, wherein for different ones of the plurality of voltage dividing circuits, resistances of resistors are different from each other.

Each of the plurality of signal generating modules may further include an analog-to-digital converter for transmitting the voltage signal to the control device of the corresponding battery pack.

According to the embodiment, the position of the battery module may be detected when communication between the control devices in the battery pack is performed wirelessly.

An operation effect and a method of implementing the same according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same elements, and redundant explanations will be omitted. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms, and should not be construed as being limited only to the embodiments shown herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and will fully convey aspects and features of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Accordingly, processes, elements, and techniques deemed not necessary to those skilled in the art for complete understanding of aspects and features may not be described. The relative sizes of elements, layers, and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. The use of "can/may" in describing an embodiment of the present disclosure indicates "at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the following description of embodiments of the present disclosure, terms in the singular form may include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

It will be understood that the terms "first" and "second" are used to describe various elements, but these elements should not be limited by these terms. For example, a first constituent element may be referred to as a second constituent element, and the second constituent element may be referred to as the first constituent element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. An expression such as "at least one" precedes a list of elements, modifying the entire list of elements and not individual elements of the list.

As used in this specification, the terms "substantially", "approximately", and similar terms are used as approximate terms but are not used as degree terms, and they are not intended to illustrate inherent deviations of measured or calculated values evident to those skilled in the art. In addition, when the term "substantially" is used in combination with a characteristic that can be expressed using numerical values, the term "substantially" refers to including a range of +/-<NUM> % of the value.

When one component or layer is described as "on", "connected", or "coupled" for other components or layers, "on", "connected" and "coupled" include all formed directly or by interposing one or more other components or layers. In addition, when it is disclosed that one component or a layer is "between" two components or layers, it should be appreciated that the corresponding component or layer is a single component or layer or there are one or more interposed other elements or layers.

Electric connection of two constituent elements includes not only a case where the two constituent elements are directly connected, but also a case where the two constituent elements are connected through another constituent element interposed therebetween. Other constituent elements may include a switch, a resistor, a capacitor, and the like. In describing the embodiments, the expression "connection" means electrical connection unless there is an expression "direct connection".

<FIG> shows a configuration diagram of a battery pack according to an embodiment. <FIG> shows a disposition structure of a battery module and structures in a battery pack according to an embodiment.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the battery pack 1a may include a plurality of battery modules <NUM> and a control module <NUM>.

The respective battery modules <NUM> may include a cell assembly <NUM> including at least one cell connected to each other in series and/or in parallel. The respective battery modules <NUM> may include a control device (refer to the BMM <NUM> of <FIG>) for monitoring and managing states (voltage, current, temperature, etc.,) of the corresponding cell assembly <NUM>.

The control module <NUM> may include a main control device (refer to the main BMS <NUM> of <FIG>) for controlling general operations such as charge and discharge, balancing, diagnosis of the battery pack 1a.

The main BMS <NUM> uses state information (voltage, current, temperature, etc.,) of the respective battery modules <NUM> for the purpose of a charge and discharge control, a cell balancing control, and diagnosis. Therefore, the main BMS <NUM> may receive information on the respective battery modules <NUM> from the respective BMMs <NUM> by communication.

The main BMS <NUM> may communicate with the BMMs <NUM> of the respective battery modules <NUM> by radio communication. For example, the main BMS <NUM> may communicate with the BMMs <NUM> of the respective battery modules <NUM> by a radio communication method such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee.

In this embodiment, the battery pack 1a may further include a plurality of structures <NUM> to adjust signal intensity of radio signals (or information) transmitted to the main BMS <NUM> from the respective BMMs <NUM>.

Equation <NUM> expresses a method for calculating a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the respective main BMSs <NUM> to determine intensity (i.e., sensitivity) of the signals received from the respective BMMs <NUM>.

Here, PS represents average signal power, and NS indicates average noise power.

The respective structures <NUM> may adjust the signal intensity of the signal transmitted to the main BMS <NUM> from the BMM <NUM> of the corresponding battery module <NUM> by artificially adjusting the NS of Equation <NUM> by generating noise.

In this embodiment, in order for the main BMS <NUM> to identify the position (or a connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> based on the signal received wirelessly from the respective BMMs <NUM>, the respective structures <NUM> may vary adjustment degrees of signal intensity according to the position (or a connection order) where the corresponding battery module <NUM> is disposed in the battery pack 1a.

The farther the corresponding battery module <NUM> is disposed from the main BMS <NUM>, or the closer the corresponding battery module <NUM> is connected to a negative output terminal of the battery pack 1a (or the farther it is connected from a positive output terminal of the battery pack 1a), the respective structures <NUM> may be configured to increase NS. Referring to <FIG> as an example, NS generated by the respective structures <NUM> may be different depending on the position (or the connection order) of the battery module <NUM> corresponding to - 30dBm, -33dBm, -36dBm, -39dBm, -42dBm, -45dBm, -48dBm, and -50dBm.

The structures <NUM> may be disposed on a path through which radio signals are transmitted to the main BMS <NUM> from the respective BMMs <NUM>. For example, the structures <NUM> may be disposed between the battery modules <NUM> and the control module <NUM>. Referring to <FIG> as an example, the respective structures <NUM> may be coupled to an opposite side of the control module <NUM> in the corresponding battery module <NUM>.

Each structure <NUM> may include a shield filter for adjusting radio signal intensity by using an electromagnetic wave characteristic. <FIG> shows a cross-sectional view of a shield filter according to an embodiment. Referring to <FIG>, the shield filter 12a may include a substrate 121a and a conductive material 121b disposed on one side of the substrate 121a. The shield filter 12a may adjust the signal intensity of radio signals passing through the shield filter through reflection, scattering, diffraction, and absorption of electromagnetic waves by the conductive material 121b. The conductive material 121b may include an amorphous alloy. Surface shapes, components, and thicknesses of the conductive material 121b of the shield filters 12a may be differently configured in order to vary the adjustment degrees of signal intensity according to the position (or a connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> in the battery pack 1a.

The respective structures <NUM> may be antenna structures for transmitting radio signals to the main BMS <NUM> from the respective BMMs <NUM>. In this case, the respective structures <NUM> are connected to a communication device of the corresponding BMM <NUM>, and may wirelessly transmit signals generated by the respective BMMs <NUM> to the main BMS <NUM>. <FIG> shows a cross-sectional view of an antenna structure according to an embodiment. Referring to <FIG>, the antenna structure 12b may include a substrate 122a, and an antenna pattern 122b disposed on one side of the substrate 122a. The antenna pattern 122b may include a conductive wire disposed in a specific shape. Sizes, areas, components, and shapes of the antenna pattern 122b of the antenna structure 12b may be differently configured in order to vary the adjustment degrees of signal intensity according to the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> in the battery pack 1a.

The respective structures <NUM> may include a noise generator (not shown) for applying jamming signals (or noise signals) for signals transmitted to the main BMS <NUM> from the respective BMMs <NUM>. The noise generator may be configured to output a noise signal having different output power (or output intensity) according to a disposed position (or a connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> in the battery pack 1a.

The noise generator may be connected to the antenna module of the respective BMMs <NUM> and may directly apply a noise signal to the antenna module. The noise generator may apply the noise signal according to a signal interference method, regarding the radio signal transmitted from the antenna module of the respective BMMs <NUM>.

As described above, the radio signals transmitted from the respective BMMs <NUM> may be received by the main BMS <NUM>, with the signal intensity thereof adjusted by the respective structures <NUM>. Therefore, when receiving radio signals from the respective BMMs <NUM>, the main BMS <NUM> identifies from which battery module <NUM> the corresponding radio signal is transmitted from among identification information included in the radio signals (i.e., identification information of the respective BMMs <NUM>), and may identify the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> based on the received signal intensity of the radio signals.

Conventionally, since the positions of the battery modules <NUM> including the respective BMMs <NUM> are different from each other, the radio signals transmitted to the main BMS <NUM> from the respective BMMs <NUM> may have slightly different received signal intensities. However, when the volume of the battery pack is not very large, the difference in received signal intensity due to the difference in the positions of the respective battery modules <NUM> may be very minute, and the main BMS <NUM> may have difficulty in identifying the same. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, discrimination in the main BMS <NUM> may be increased by artificially adjusting the received signal intensities using structure <NUM> to increase the difference in received signal intensities for the different BMMs <NUM>. In addition, by configuring the structure <NUM> that adjusts signal intensity separately from the battery module <NUM>, it is not necessary to change the structure of the battery modules <NUM> or a setting value of the BMM <NUM> for the purpose of identifying positions in the manufacturing process, and the battery module <NUM> may be replaced without any additional work for identifying positions.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a method for identifying positions of respective battery modules in a battery pack according to an embodiment. The method of <FIG> may be performed by the main BMS <NUM> of the battery pack 1a described with reference to <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, when receiving a radio signal from one of the BMMs <NUM> (S11), the main BMS <NUM> may detect identification information (identification information of the BMM having transmitted the corresponding radio signal) and received signal intensity from the received signal (S12). In addition, the main BMS <NUM> may identify the battery module <NUM> having transmitted the corresponding signal based on the identification information detected from the received signal, and may determine the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> based on the detected received signal intensity (S13).

When transmitting the radio signal to the main BMS <NUM>, the respective BMMs <NUM> may include their identification information in the signal and may transmit the same. Accordingly, the main BMS <NUM> may detect identification information from the received signal and may identify the corresponding BMM <NUM> and the battery module <NUM> including the same according to the detected identification information.

The signals transmitted from the respective BMMs <NUM> may be transmitted to the main BMS <NUM> with the signal intensity adjusted by the corresponding structure <NUM>. The adjustment degrees of signal intensity by the structures <NUM> may vary according to the position (or the connection order) of the battery module <NUM> corresponding to the respective structures <NUM>. Therefore, the main BMS <NUM> may identify the corresponding BMM <NUM> and the position (or the connection order) of the battery module <NUM> including the corresponding BMM <NUM> according to the received signal intensity detected from the received signal. To this end, the main BMS <NUM> may predetermine and store a range of the received signal intensity corresponding to the position (or the connection order) of the battery module <NUM>. The main BMS <NUM> may determine the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> by checking which position (or the connection order) in the range of the received signal intensity the received signal intensity range of the received signal is included in.

<FIG> shows a configuration diagram of a battery pack according to another embodiment, and <FIG> shows a configuration diagram of a signal generating circuit of <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the battery pack 1b according to another embodiment may include a plurality of battery modules <NUM> and a control module <NUM>.

The respective battery modules <NUM> may include a cell assembly <NUM> including at least one cell connected to each other in series and/or in parallel, and a control device (refer to the BMM <NUM> of <FIG>) for monitoring and managing states (voltage, current, temperature, etc.,) of the corresponding cell assembly <NUM>.

The control module <NUM> may include a main control device (refer to the main BMS <NUM> of <FIG>) for controlling general operations of the battery pack 1a such as charging and discharging, balancing, and diagnosis.

The main BMS <NUM> and the BMMs <NUM> of the respective battery modules <NUM> may communicate with each other through a radio communication.

In this embodiment, the battery pack 1b may further include a signal generating module <NUM> for generating a signal whose value varies according to a position (or a connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM>. The signal generating module <NUM> may include a voltage generating circuit <NUM> and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) <NUM>. The voltage generating circuit <NUM> may generate a voltage signal whose voltage value varies according to a position (or a connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM>. For example, the voltage generating circuit <NUM> may include a voltage dividing circuit including a plurality of resistors. In this case, resistances of the resistors constituting the voltage generating circuit <NUM> may vary according to the position (or a connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM>.

The voltage generating circuit <NUM> may be configured so that the voltage value of the output voltage signal increases as the farther the corresponding battery module <NUM> is disposed from the main BMS <NUM>, or the closer the corresponding battery module <NUM> is connected to the negative output terminal of the battery pack 1b (or the farther it is connected from the positive output terminal of battery pack 1b). The voltage generating circuit <NUM> may be configured so that the voltage value of the output voltage signal decreases as the farther the corresponding battery module <NUM> is disposed from the main BMS <NUM>, or the closer the corresponding battery module <NUM> is connected to the negative output terminal of the battery pack 1b (or the farther it is connected from the positive output terminal of the battery pack 1b).

The ADC <NUM> may convert the voltage signal generated by the voltage generating circuit <NUM> into a digital signal and may transmit the digital signal to a corresponding controller (not shown) of the BMM <NUM>. Upon receiving this, the controller of the BMM <NUM> may generate position identification information (e.g., a media access control (MAC) address, etc.) for indicating the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> according to the output signal of the ADC <NUM>. In addition, the respective BMMs <NUM> may transmit a radio signal including the generated position identification information and its own identification information to the main BMS <NUM>.

Accordingly, when receiving the radio signal from the respective BMMs <NUM>, the main BMS <NUM> may identify the battery module <NUM> having transmitted the corresponding radio signal based on the identification information (BMM identification information and position identification information) detected therefrom, and the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM>. To this end, the respective main BMSs <NUM> may predetermine and store position identification information corresponding to the position of the battery module <NUM>. The main BMS <NUM> may determine the position of the corresponding battery module <NUM> by comparing position identification information detected from the received signal and stored position identification information.

Meanwhile, <FIG> shows the case where the signal generating module <NUM> includes the ADC <NUM> as an example, but the signal generating module <NUM> may be modified to include the voltage generating circuit <NUM>. In this case, the voltage signal generated by the voltage generating circuit <NUM> may be input to an ADC included in the corresponding BMM <NUM> or in the controller of the BMM <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of a method for identifying positions of respective battery modules in a battery pack according to another embodiment. The method of <FIG> may be performed by the main BMS <NUM> of the battery pack 1b described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, when receiving a radio signal from any one of the BMMs <NUM> (S21), the main BMS <NUM> may detect identification information and position identification information of the corresponding BMM <NUM> from the received signal (S22). The main BMS <NUM> may identify the battery module <NUM> having transmitted the signal based on the identification information (BMM identification information and position identification information) detected from the received signal, and may identify the position (or the connection order) of the corresponding battery module <NUM> based on the detected received signal intensity (S23).

The BMMs <NUM> may generate position identification information indicating the position of the corresponding battery module <NUM> based on the output signal of the signal generating module <NUM> for generating a voltage signal whose voltage value varies according to the position of the corresponding battery module <NUM>. The respective BMMs <NUM> may transmit the position identification information generated in this way to the main BMS <NUM> along with its own identification information.

Accordingly, the main BMS <NUM> may detect BMM identification information from signals received from the respective BMMs <NUM> and may identify the corresponding BMM <NUM> and the battery module <NUM> including the same according to the detected BMM identification information. The main BMS <NUM> may detect position identification information from signals received from the respective BMMs <NUM>, and may identify the corresponding BMM <NUM> and the position (or the connection order) of the battery module <NUM> including the same according to the detected position identification information.

According to the aforementioned embodiments, the main BMS <NUM> may automatically identify positions (or the connection order) of the respective battery modules <NUM> communicating wirelessly. Accordingly, when a replacement is required due to a failure of one battery module <NUM>, the main BMS <NUM> transmits position information of the failed battery module <NUM> to a replacement device (not shown) so that a worker or the replacement device may identify the position of battery module <NUM> to be replaced without a separate job for identifying the position of the failed battery module <NUM>.

Electronic or electrical devices according to embodiments of the present invention and/or other related devices or constituent elements may be realized by using appropriate hardware, firmware (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit), software, or combinations of software, firmware, and hardware. For example, various configurations of the above-noted devices may be positioned on one integrated circuit (IC) chip or an individual IC chip. Various configurations of the above-noted devices may be realized on a flexible printed circuit film, a tape carrier package (TCP), a printed circuit board (PCB), or one substrate. The electrical or mutual connections described in the present specification may, for example, be realized by the PCB, wires on different types of circuit carriers, or conductive elements. The conductive elements may, for example, include metallization such as surface metallization and/or pins, and may include conductive polymers or ceramics. Electrical energy may be transmitted by electromagnetic radiation or a light-using radio access.

The various configurations of the devices may be performed by at least one processor so as to perform the above-described various functions, they may be performed in at least one computing device, and they may be processes or threads for performing computer program instructions and interacting with other system constituent elements. The computer program instruction is stored in a memory realizable in a computing device using a standard memory device such as a random access memory (RAM). The computer program instruction may also be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium such as a CD-ROM or a flash drive.

Claim 1:
A battery pack (1a, 1b) comprising:
a plurality of battery modules (<NUM>), each including at least one cell (<NUM>) and a control device (<NUM>) for managing the at least one cell;
a main control device (<NUM>) configured to wirelessly communicate with each of the control devices; and characterized by
a plurality of structures (<NUM>) each corresponding to one of the plurality of battery modules, each of the structures being configured to adjust signal intensity of a respective radio signal transmitted to the main control device from the control device of the corresponding battery module from among the plurality of battery modules,
wherein each of the plurality of structures is configured to perform the adjusting the signal intensity of the respective radio signal according to a position of the corresponding battery module.