阅读说明：本技术 电池管理设备 (Battery management apparatus ) 是由 安洋洙 于 2019-09-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开涉及电池管理设备,更具体地,涉及用于监测安装在电池组的输入和输出端子中的汇流条的状态的电池管理设备。本发明的一个方面的优点在于,可以适当地诊断安装到电池组的输入和输出端子中的汇流条的故障。(The present disclosure relates to a battery management apparatus, and more particularly, to a battery management apparatus for monitoring the state of bus bars mounted in input and output terminals of a battery pack. An aspect of the present invention is advantageous in that it is possible to appropriately diagnose a fault of bus bars mounted into input and output terminals of a battery pack.)

1. A battery management apparatus that monitors the state of bus bars electrically connected to input and output terminals of a battery pack including at least one battery module, the battery management apparatus comprising:

a voltage measurement unit having a plurality of measurement channels electrically connected to a plurality of battery cells included in the battery module, respectively, and configured to measure voltages applied to the plurality of measurement channels;

a measurement target changing unit having a first measurement line for electrically connecting a positive terminal of a first battery cell of the plurality of battery cells to a first measurement channel of the plurality of measurement channels, a second measurement line for electrically connecting the bus bar to the first measurement channel, and a first switching element for electrically connecting or disconnecting the second measurement line; and

a processor configured to control an operation state of the first switching element and calculate a bus bar voltage applied to the bus bar based on the voltage applied to the first measurement channel and the voltages applied to measurement channels other than the first measurement channel among the plurality of measurement channels.

2. The battery management apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the processor is configured to control an operation state of the first switching element to an on state, and calculate the bus bar voltage.

3. The battery management apparatus of claim 2,

wherein, after the operating state of the first switching element is controlled to the on state, the processor is configured to calculate a cell voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells except the first battery cell based on a voltage applied to a measurement channel except the first measurement channel, calculate a first voltage difference between the voltage applied to the first measurement channel and a voltage applied to a second measurement channel electrically connected to a negative terminal of the first battery cell, and calculate the bus bar voltage by using the first voltage difference and the cell voltage.

4. The battery management apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the processor is configured to calculate the bus bar voltage by using a second voltage difference between a voltage applied to the first measurement channel after the operating state of the first switching element is controlled to the on state and a voltage applied to the first measurement channel before the operating state of the first switching element is controlled to the on state.

5. The battery management apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the processor is configured to control an operation state of the first switching element to an off state when a cell voltage measurement request signal requesting measurement of a cell voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells is received.

6. The battery management apparatus of claim 5,

wherein, after the operating state of the first switching element is controlled to an off state, the processor is configured to calculate a second voltage difference between a voltage applied to the first measurement channel and a voltage applied to a second measurement channel electrically connected to a negative terminal of the first battery cell as a cell voltage of the first battery cell.

7. The battery management apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a current measurement unit configured to measure a battery pack current flowing at the input and output terminals of the battery pack,

wherein the measurement target changing unit includes a second switching element configured to electrically connect or disconnect the first measurement line, and

wherein the processor is configured to diagnose whether a fault occurs at the bus bar based on the battery pack current and the bus bar voltage, and control an operation state of at least one of the first switching element and the second switching element based on a diagnosis result.

8. The battery management apparatus of claim 7,

wherein, when it is diagnosed that a fault occurs at the bus bar, the processor is configured to control the operation states of the first switching element and the second switching element to an off state.

9. A battery pack comprising a battery management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A vehicle comprising a battery management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Technical Field

The present application claims priority from korean patent application No.10-2018-0107983, filed in korea at 9/10.2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a battery management apparatus, and more particularly, to a battery management apparatus for monitoring the state of bus bars mounted to input and output terminals of a battery pack.

Background

Recently, as the demand for portable electronic products such as laptop computers, video cameras, mobile phones, and the like is rapidly increasing, and the development of electric vehicles, secondary batteries for energy storage, robots, satellites, and the like is being earnestly performed, high-performance batteries capable of being repeatedly charged and discharged are actively studied.

Batteries currently commercialized include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries, and lithium batteries. Among these batteries, lithium batteries are freely charged and discharged with little memory effect, and have a very low high self-discharge rate and high energy density, compared to nickel-based batteries. Therefore, lithium batteries have received much attention.

Recently, in order to provide a high voltage, there is an increasing demand for a battery pack including two or more battery modules connected in series by bus bars and having bus bars mounted at input and output terminals for charging and discharging. One end of a bus bar mounted between the battery modules is connected to a positive terminal of one battery module, and the other end of the bus bar is connected to a negative terminal of the other battery module, thereby providing a current path through the two battery modules. In addition, one of the bus bars mounted to the input terminal and the output terminal of the battery pack is connected to the positive terminal of the battery module having the highest potential, and the other bus bar is connected to the negative terminal of the battery module having the lowest potential.

However, the connection state between the bus bars and the battery modules may be deteriorated due to the aging of the bus bars themselves or external impact. For example, if cracks occur in the bus bars or the contact area between one end of the bus bars and the terminals of the battery modules is reduced, the resistance of the current path between the two battery modules may increase, resulting in severe heat generation. In severe cases, two battery modules may be completely electrically disconnected.

Therefore, there is an increasing need for a technique of appropriately diagnosing a fault of a bus bar, which provides a current path between two battery modules and to input and output terminals of a battery pack.

For this reason, the conventional bus bar diagnosis device electrically connects the bus bar to the measurement channel of the voltage measurement unit to measure the voltage of the bus bar, and diagnoses the fault of the bus bar using the measured voltage of the bus bar.

In this case, some measurement channels of the voltage measurement unit for measuring the voltage of each of the plurality of battery modules, the voltages of the plurality of battery cells included in each of the battery modules, and the like should be used to measure the voltage of the bus bar.

Therefore, in order to measure the voltages of the plurality of battery modules and the plurality of battery cells and further measure the voltage of the bus bar, the conventional bus bar diagnosis apparatus must include a plurality of voltage measurement units to increase the number of measurement channels.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery management apparatus capable of measuring the voltage of bus bars mounted to input and output terminals of a battery pack by using a measurement channel of a voltage measurement unit for measuring a cell voltage of a battery cell.

In addition, the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery management apparatus capable of diagnosing a fault of a bus bar based on a voltage of the bus bar and a cell voltage of a battery cell.

These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be understood from the following detailed description, and will become more apparent from the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, it will be readily understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by means illustrated in the appended claims and combinations thereof.

Technical scheme

Various embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object are as follows.

The battery management apparatus according to the present disclosure monitors the state of bus bars electrically connected to input and output terminals of a battery pack including at least one battery module.

The battery management apparatus includes: a voltage measurement unit having a plurality of measurement channels electrically connected to a plurality of battery cells included in the battery module, respectively, and configured to measure voltages applied to the plurality of measurement channels; a measurement target changing unit having a first measurement line for electrically connecting a positive terminal of a first battery cell of the plurality of battery cells to a first measurement channel of the plurality of measurement channels, a second measurement line for electrically connecting the bus bar to the first measurement channel, and a first switching element for electrically connecting or disconnecting the second measurement line; and a processor configured to control an operation state of the first switching element, and calculate a bus bar voltage applied to the bus bar based on the voltage applied to the first measurement channel and the voltages applied to measurement channels other than the first measurement channel among the plurality of measurement channels.

The processor may control an operation state of the first switching element to an on state and calculate a bus bar voltage.

After the operating state of the first switching element is controlled to the on state, the processor may calculate a cell voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells except for a first battery cell based on voltages applied to measurement channels except for the first measurement channel, calculate a first voltage difference between the voltage applied to the first measurement channel and a voltage applied to a second measurement channel electrically connected to a negative terminal of the first battery cell, and calculate the bus bar voltage by using the first voltage difference and the cell voltage.

The processor may calculate the bus bar voltage by using a second voltage difference between a voltage applied to the first measurement channel after the operation state of the first switching element is controlled to the on state and a voltage applied to the first measurement channel before the operation state of the first switching element is controlled to the on state.

The processor may control an operation state of the first switching element to an off state when a cell voltage measurement request signal requesting measurement of a cell voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells is received.

After the operating state of the first switching element is controlled to the off state, the processor may calculate a second voltage difference between a voltage applied to the first measurement channel and a voltage applied to a second measurement channel electrically connected to the negative terminal of the first battery cell as a cell voltage of the first battery cell.

The battery management apparatus may further include a current measurement unit configured to measure a battery pack current flowing at input and output terminals of the battery pack.

The measurement target changing unit may include a line second switching element configured to electrically connect or disconnect the first measurement.

The processor may diagnose whether a fault occurs at the bus bar based on the battery pack current and the bus bar voltage, and control an operation state of at least one of the first switching element and the second switching element based on a result of the diagnosis.

When it is diagnosed that a fault occurs at the bus bar, the processor may control the operation states of the first switching element and the second switching element to an off state.

A battery pack according to the present disclosure includes a battery management device.

A vehicle according to the present disclosure includes a battery management apparatus.

Advantageous effects

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, since the voltage of the bus bars mounted to the input and output terminals of the battery pack is measured using the measurement channel of the voltage measurement unit for measuring the cell voltage of the battery cell, the number of measurement channels that must be provided in the voltage measurement unit may be reduced.

In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately diagnose the failure of the bus bars mounted to the input and output terminals of the battery pack.

The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood from the description of the claims by those skilled in the art.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the foregoing disclosure, serve to provide a further understanding of the technical features of the present disclosure, and therefore, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery pack including a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 and 4 are circuit diagrams showing current paths according to the operation state of the first switching element.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery management apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery pack including a battery management apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a current path according to the operation states of the first switching element and the second switching element.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as limited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation.

Accordingly, the description set forth herein is merely a preferred example for the purpose of illustration and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In addition, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted.

The use of ordinal terms (e.g., first and second) for the purpose of distinguishing any of various components from other components is not intended to limit the components by terminology.

Throughout the specification, when a component "includes" a certain component, it means that the component may further include other components without excluding other components, unless otherwise specified.

Further, throughout the specification, when one component is "connected" to another component, this includes not only the case where these components are "directly connected", but also the case where these components are "indirectly connected" with other elements interposed therebetween.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery pack 1 including the battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 3 and 4 are circuit diagrams showing current paths according to an operation state of a first switching element 123.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, the battery pack 1 includes a first input and output terminal P +, a second input and output terminal P-, a first battery module 11, a second battery module 12, a bus bar 20, a contactor 30, and a battery management apparatus 100.

The first battery module 11 includes a plurality of battery cells C1₁、……、C1_n. The second battery module 12 includes a plurality of battery cells C2₁、……、C2_n. The first battery module 11 includes a positive electrode terminal 11a and a negative electrode terminal 11 b. The second battery module 12 includes a positive terminal 12a and a negative terminal 12 b.

Although it is described that the battery pack 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes two battery modules, a battery pack according to another embodiment may include at least one battery module. That is, the battery pack according to another embodiment may include one battery module or three or more battery modules.

The bus bar 20 is mounted on the high potential side or the low potential side of the battery pack 1. The bus bar 20 is electrically connected to the first input and output terminal P + or the second input and output terminal P-of the battery pack 1. Here, the high potential side may be a high current path between the positive terminal 11a of the first battery module 11 and the first input and output terminal P +, and the low potential side may be a high current path between the negative terminal 12b of the second battery module 12 and the second input and output terminal P-.

Further, the bus bar 20 may be electrically connected to the contactor 30, which will be explained later.

For example, the bus bar 20 may be electrically connected to the contactor 30 mounted on the high potential side of the battery pack 1.

That is, the bus bar 20 may have one end electrically connected to the positive terminal 11a of the first battery module 11 and the other end electrically connected to the contactor 30.

The contactor 30 is mounted on the high potential side or the low potential side of the battery pack 1. The operation state of the contactor 30 is controlled to be an on state or an off state according to a switching signal from a processor 130 of the battery management apparatus 100 described later.

When the contactor 30 is in the on state, the battery pack current may flow through the high current path of the battery pack 1. In addition, when the contactor 30 is in the off state, the flow of the battery pack current through the high current path of the battery pack 1 is interrupted.

The battery management apparatus 100 includes a voltage measuring unit 110, a measurement target changing unit 120, and a processor 130. The battery management apparatus 100 may further include a communication unit 140.

The voltage measuring unit 110 is implemented using an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or the like. The voltage measuring unit 110 includes a plurality of battery cells C1 electrically connected to the battery cells included in the first battery module 11, respectively₁、……、C1_nA plurality of measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1And respectively measuring the voltages applied to the plurality of measurement channels S from the plurality of battery cells C11, … …, C1n₁、……、S_n+1The voltage of (c).

To this end, the voltage measuring unit 110 may further include at least one voltage sensor (not shown).

Multiple measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1May be electrically connected to a plurality of battery cells C1 provided in the first battery module 11, respectively₁、……、C1_n. More specifically, in a plurality of measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1In the first measurement channel S₁Is electrically connected to a plurality of battery cells C1₁、……、C1_nMiddle high-potential side battery cell "C1₁"positive electrode terminal. In a plurality of measuring channels S₁、……、S_n+1From the second to the nth measuring channel S₂、……、S_n+1Are respectively electrically connected to the battery cells C1₂、……、C1_nIn the meantime. In a plurality of measuring channels S₁、……、S_n+1Middle, n +1 th measurement channel S_n+1Is electrically connected to a plurality of battery cells C1₁、……、C1_nMiddle low potential side battery cell "C1_n"is used as the negative electrode terminal.

For example, if the first battery module 11 includes two battery cells C1₁、C1₂The voltage measurement unit 110 may comprise three measurement channels S₁、S₂、S₃. At this time, three measurement channels S₁、S₂、S₃In the first measurement channel S₁Is electrically connected to two battery cells C1₁、C1₂Middle high-potential side battery cell "C1₁"positive electrode terminal. In three measuring channels S₁、S₂、S₃Middle, second measuring channel S₂Is electrically connected to cell "C1₂"and cell" C1₂"in between. In three measuring channels S₁、S₂、S₃The third measurement channel S3 is electrically connected to two battery cells C1₁、C1₂Middle low potential side battery cell "C1₂"is used as the negative electrode terminal.

Therefore, it is possible to synthesize a plurality of battery cells C1₁、……、C1_nThe voltage obtained from the cell voltage of (a) is applied to the first measurement channel S1.

The voltage measurement unit 110 may apply an indication to a plurality of measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1A signal of the voltage of each of the voltage is output to the processor 130.

The measurement object changing unit 120 includes a first measurement line 121, a second measurement line 122, and a first switching element 123.

The first measurement line 121 electrically connects the positive terminal of the first cell C1 of the plurality of cells C1, … …, C1n to the plurality of measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1Of (2) a first measurement channel S₁. To this end, one end of the first measuring wire 121 is electrically connected to the positive terminal 11a of the first battery module 11, thereby being electrically connected to the first battery cell C1₁The positive electrode terminal of (1). Further, one end of the first measurement line 121 is electrically connected to one end of the bus bar 20. The other end of the first measurement line 121 and the first measurement channel S₁And (6) electrically connecting.

The second measurement line 122 electrically connects the bus bar 20 to the first measurement channel S₁. For this, one end of the second measurement line 122 is electrically connected to the other end of the bus bar 20. The other end of the second measuring line 122 and the first measuring channel S₁And (6) electrically connecting.

The first switching element 123 electrically connects or disconnects the second measurement line 122. Specifically, the first switching element 123 is installed at the second measurement line 122. The operating state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to be an on state or an off state according to a switching signal from the processor 130 of the battery management apparatus 100, which will be explained later.

When the first switching element 123 is in an on state, a current does not flow through the first measurement line 121 but flows through the second measurement line 122, so that a voltage applied to the other end of the bus bar 20 is applied to the first measurement channel S₁。

In contrast, when the first switching element 123 is in the off state, the current to the second measurement line 122 is interrupted and the current flows through the first measurement line121 such that the first battery cell C1₁Is applied to the first measurement channel S₁. Here, when the first switching element 123 is in an off state, it is applied to the first measurement channel S₁May be the voltage of the positive terminal 11a of the first battery module 11, which is equal to the voltage applied to the first battery cell C1₁Voltage of the positive terminal of (1).

The processor 130 is operatively coupled to the voltage measurement unit 110 and the measurement target changing unit 120. The processor 130 may also be operatively coupled to the contactor 30 and the communication unit 140.

Measure multiple cells C1 if a request is received₁、……、C1_nThe processor 130 controls the operation state of the first switching element 123 to an off state.

Thereafter, processor 130 calculates as a plurality of battery cells C1₁、……、C1_nIs applied to a plurality of measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1Is measured in the first channel and the voltage difference between the voltages of the adjacent measurement channels in (b). Specifically, processor 130 calculates as nth cell C1_nRespectively applied to the n-th measurement channel S_nAnd n +1 th measurement channel S_n+1Voltage difference of the voltage of (1). Here, n may be a constant of 1 or more. For example, processor 130 calculates as second cell C1₂Respectively applied to the second measuring channel S₂And a third measurement channel S₃Voltage difference of the voltage of (1).

At this time, the processor 130 controls the operation state of the first switching element 123 so as to calculate the first cell C1₁The cell voltage of (1). Specifically, the processor 130 controls the operation state of the first switching element 123 to the off state, and calculates as the first battery cell C1₁Respectively applied to the first measurement channel S₁And a second measurement channel S₂Voltage difference of the voltage of (1).

In addition, receiving a bus bar voltage measurement request signal requesting measurement of the bus bar voltage of the bus bar 20, the processor 130 controls the operation state of the first switching element 123 to an off state or an on state.

The processor 130 controls the operating state of the first switching element 123 and is based on the application to the first measurement channel S₁And applied to a plurality of measurement channels S₁、……、S_n+1Except for the first measurement channel S₁External measuring channel S₂、……、S_n+1To calculate the bus bar voltage applied to the bus bar 20. Here, the bus bar voltage may be a voltage applied between one end and the other end of the bus bar 20.

The processor 130 calculates the bus bar voltage after controlling the operation state of the first switching element 123 to the on state.

Specifically, after the operation state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state, the processor 130 is based on the application to the first measurement channel S except for the first measurement channel S₁Other measuring channels S₂、……、S_n+1A plurality of battery cells C1 are calculated₁、……、C1_nExcept for the first cell C1₁Outer battery cell C1₂、……、C1_nCell voltage of each of the cells.

Thereafter, in a state where the operation state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state, the processor 130 calculates the voltage applied to the first measurement channel S₁Voltage of and applied to the first battery cell C₁Second measurement channel S electrically connected to the negative terminal of₂A first voltage difference between the voltages of.

Next, the processor 130 calculates a bus bar voltage by using the calculated first voltage difference and the cell voltage.

At this time, the processor 130 calculates the value excluding the first cell C1₁Outer battery cell C1₂、……、C1_nAnd calculating a voltage difference between the first voltage difference and the cell voltage average value as a bus bar voltage.

If the processor 130 control the first switching element 123 to the on-state, as shown in fig. 3, towards the first measurement channel S₁Applied through a synthetic cell C1₁、……、C1_nAnd the bus bar voltage applied to the bus bar 20 and except the first battery cell C1 by synthesis₁External, cell C1₂、……、C1_nIs applied to the second measurement channel S₂. Accordingly, in a state in which the operation state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state, the first voltage difference calculated by the processor 130 may be by controlling the first battery cell C1₁And the bus bar voltage.

In addition, since the plurality of battery cells C1 are included in the same battery module₁、……、C1_nHas a predetermined voltage difference, except for the first cell C1₁Outer battery cell C1₁、……、C1_nMay be estimated as the first cell C1₁The cell voltage of (1).

Using this, the processor 130 calculates a voltage difference between the first voltage difference and the cell voltage average value as a bus bar voltage.

The battery management apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may be different from the battery management apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure only in the process of the processor 130' calculating the bus bar voltage.

Specifically, the processor 130' according to another embodiment may be applied to the first measurement channel S after the operation state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state by using a voltage applied to the first measurement channel S₁Is applied to the first measurement channel S before the operating state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state₁The bus bar voltage is calculated from a second voltage difference between the voltages of (a) and (b).

Specifically, if the bus bar voltage measurement request signal is received, the processor 130' according to another embodiment operates at the first switching element 123Storing the application to the first measurement channel S before the state is controlled to the on-state₁The voltage of (c). That is, when the operation state of the first switching element 123 is the off state, the processor 130' according to another embodiment stores the signal applied to the first measurement channel S₁The voltage of (c).

Thereafter, the processor 130' according to another embodiment controls the operation state of the first switching element 123 to an on state, and stores the operation state applied to the first measurement channel S when the operation state of the first switching element 123 is the on state₁The voltage of (c).

As described above, if the processor 130' controls the first switching element 123 to enter the ON state, as shown in FIG. 3, towards the first measurement channel S₁Application by Synthesis of all cells C1₁、……、C1_nAnd a bus bar voltage applied to the bus bar 20. Conversely, if the processor 130' controls the first switching element 123 to enter the off state, as shown in fig. 4, then the first measurement channel S is fed to₁Application by synthesis of all cells C1 only₁、……、C1_nThe cell voltage of (a).

With this, the processor 130' according to another embodiment may calculate the voltage applied to the first measurement channel S after the operation state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state₁Is applied to the first measurement channel S before the operating state of the first switching element 123 is controlled to the on state₁A second voltage difference between the voltages of (a) as a bus bar voltage.

According to the present disclosure, by measuring the cell voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells included in the battery module using any one of the measurement channels of the voltage measurement unit 110, the bus bar voltage may be measured by using the voltage measurement unit 110 having a limited number of measurement channels.

The processor 130, 130' may be implemented in hardware by using at least one of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Digital Signal Processing Device (DSPD), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a microcontroller, and an electrical unit for performing other functions. The processors 130, 130' may have built-in memory. In the memory, a program for executing a method described later and various data may be stored. The memory may include at least one storage medium selected from, for example, a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a Solid State Disk (SSD) type, a silicon disk drive type, a multimedia card micro type, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), and a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM).

The communication unit 140 is configured to support bidirectional communication between the processor 130 and the external device 2. The communication unit 140 may transmit a message indicating the bus bar voltage calculated by the processor 130 to the external device 2. The communication unit 140 may transmit a command from the external device 2 to the processor 130.

Hereinafter, a battery management apparatus 100 ″ according to still another embodiment will be described.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery management apparatus 100 "according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, fig. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a functional configuration of a battery pack 1 including the battery management apparatus 100" according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 7 is a circuit diagram showing current paths according to operation states of a first switching element 123 and a second switching element 124 ".

Referring to fig. 5 to 7, a battery management apparatus 100 ″ according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure is different from the battery management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in that the configuration of the measurement target changing unit 120 ″ and the role of the processor 130 ″ are partially different, and further includes a current measuring unit 150 ″. Except for them, components included in the battery management device 100 ″ according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure and roles thereof may be the same as those included in the battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, a duplicate description will be omitted.

The measurement target changing unit 120 "of the battery management apparatus 100" according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first measurement line 121, a second measurement line 122, a first switching element 123, and a second switching element 124 ".

The second switching element 124 "is electrically connected to or disconnected from the first measurement line 121. Specifically, the second switching element 124 ″ is mounted to the first measurement line 121. The operating state of the second switching element 124 "is controlled to be an on state or an off state according to a switching signal from the processor 130".

At this time, when the second switching element 124 ″ is in an off state and the first switching element 123 is in an on state, a current does not flow through the first measurement line 121 but a current flows through the second measurement line 122, so that the voltage applied to the other end of the bus bar 20 is applied to the first measurement channel S1.

In addition, when the second switching element 124 ″ is in an on state and the first switching element 123 is in an off state, the current flowing to the second measurement line 122 is interrupted and the current flows through the first measurement line 121, so that the voltage of the positive terminal of the first battery cell C11 is applied to the first measurement channel S₁。

Further, when the second switching element 124 ″ and the first switching element 123 are in an off state, the current flowing to the first measurement line 121 and the second measurement line 122 is interrupted, so that a voltage is not applied to the first measurement channel S₁。

The processor 130 ″ according to still another embodiment may calculate the bus bar voltage of the bus bar 20 in the same manner as the processor 130 according to the embodiment and the processor 130' according to another embodiment.

However, the processor 130 ″ according to still another embodiment controls the second switching element 124 ″ in addition to the first switching element 123, and thus may use a plurality of measurement channels S applied to the voltage measurement unit 110₁、……、S_n+1The bus bar voltage of the bus bar 20 is calculated from at least one of the voltages of (a).

The current measuring unit 150 ″ measures the battery pack current flowing through the high current path of the battery pack 1. For example, as shown, a current measuring unit 150 ″ may be mounted between the negative terminal 12b and the second input and output terminal P-of the second battery module 12. Here, the current measuring unit 150 ″ may also be mounted between the positive electrode terminal 11a and the first input and output terminal P + of the first battery module 11. The current measurement unit 150 "outputs a current signal indicative of the measured battery pack current to the processor 130".

The processor 130 ″ according to yet another embodiment diagnoses whether a fault occurs at the bus bar 20 based on the calculated bus bar voltage and the measured battery pack current.

Specifically, the processor 130 ″ according to still another embodiment calculates a bus bar resistance of the bus bar 20 by using the calculated bus bar voltage and the measured battery pack current, and diagnoses whether the bus bar 20 has a fault by comparing the calculated bus bar resistance with a reference resistance.

At this time, the processor 130 ″ according to still another embodiment calculates the bus bar resistance by using the following equation 1.

< formula 1>

R_b＝V_b/I_p

Here, R_bIs the bus bar resistance, V_bIs the bus bar voltage, and I_pIs the battery current.

According to yet another embodiment, the processor 130 "diagnoses a fault at the bus bar 20 if the calculated bus bar resistance is greater than the reference resistance. In contrast, if the calculated bus bar resistance is less than the reference resistance, the processor 130 ″ according to yet another embodiment diagnoses that no fault has occurred at the bus bar 20.

Here, the failure may mean a state in which a crack is generated at the bus bar 20 or the bus bar 20 is separated from the pack case of the battery pack 1 without being closely attached to the pack case of the battery pack 1.

The processor 130 "according to still another embodiment controls the operation state of at least one of the first switching element 123 and the second switching element 124" based on the diagnosis result as to whether a fault occurs at the bus bar 20.

Specifically, if a fault is diagnosed at the bus bar 20,the processor 130 "according to still another embodiment controls the operation states of the first and second switching elements 123 and 124" to an off state. Therefore, as shown in fig. 7, the bus bar voltage may not be applied to the first measurement channel S of the voltage measurement unit 110₁。

In contrast, if it is diagnosed that the fault does not occur at the bus bar 20, the processor 130 "according to still another embodiment does not control the operation states of both the first switching element 123 and the second switching element 124" to the off state.

According to the present disclosure, if a fault does not occur at the bus bar 20, the operation states of the first and second switching elements 123 and 124 ″ are controlled to be the off state, thereby preventing the high voltage applied to the bus bar 20 from being applied to the first measurement channel S of the voltage measurement unit 110 when a fault occurs₁Thereby increasing the resistance.

The communication unit 140 may transmit a diagnosis message indicating the diagnosis result from the processor 130 ″ to the external device 2.

The embodiments of the present disclosure described above may be implemented not only by the apparatus and method but also by a program that implements functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments of the present disclosure or a recording medium on which the program is recorded. From the description of the above embodiments, a program or a recording medium can be easily realized by those skilled in the art.

The present disclosure has been described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Further, since the above-described present disclosure may be replaced, modified and changed in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical idea of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited by the above-described embodiments and drawings, and all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined to implement various modifications.

(description of reference numerals)

1: battery pack

11: first battery module

12: second battery module

20: bus bar

30: contactor

100. 100': battery management apparatus

110: voltage measuring unit

120. 120': measurement object changing unit

130. 130', 130 ": processor with a memory having a plurality of memory cells

140: communication unit

150": current measuring unit