TWI756409B - Battery module - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery module is disclosed. The battery module includes a switch circuit, a first resistor, a battery set, a controller, a breaking apparatus, a second resistor and a protection circuit. The switch circuit is coupled in a current loop, controlled by a control signal to be turned on or cut off. The first resistor is coupled to the switch circuit in series. The controller is coupled to the switch circuit, the first resistor and the battery set, and used to provide the control signal. The breaking apparatus is coupled in the current loop, and cuts off the current loop according to a first breaking control signal. The second resistor coupled in the current loop. The protection circuit is coupled to the second resistor, and generates the first breaking control signal according to a voltage difference between two ends of the second resistor.

Description

battery module

The present invention relates to a battery module, and in particular, to a battery module that can effectively pass a limited power source (Limited Power Source, LPS) test.

With the advancement of electronic technology, electronic devices have become an indispensable tool in people's lives. In order to provide sufficient operating power for electronic devices, various portable or fixed battery modules have been proposed.

However, in addition to the convenience of use, the safety of the battery module is a more important factor. Therefore, the safety test performed on the battery module is a subject that must be paid attention to by those skilled in the art. In the safety standard IEC 60950-1, it is required that a suitable fireproof enclosure must be installed on the electronic device. At the same time, it is stipulated that when the operating power received by the electronic device is powered by a limited power source (LSP), if the electronic parts are installed on a printed circuit board with a fire rating of V-1 or higher, the electronic product It may not be necessary to provide a fireproof enclosure. Therefore, suppliers of electronic devices require battery modules to meet the requirements of limited power sources (LPS) as much as possible.

The present invention provides a battery module that can pass a limited power source (Limited Power Source, LPS) test.

The battery module of the present invention includes a switch circuit, a first resistor, a battery pack, a controller, a circuit breaker, a second resistor and a protection circuit. The switch circuit is coupled to the current loop between the first load terminal and the second load terminal, and is controlled by the control signal to be turned on or off. The first resistor is coupled to the current loop and is coupled in series with the switch circuit. The battery pack is coupled between the first load terminal and the second load terminal. The controller is coupled to the switch circuit, the first resistor and the battery pack, and provides a control signal. The breaking device is coupled to the current loop, and cuts off the current loop according to the first breaking control signal. The second resistor is coupled between the first load terminal and the second load terminal. The protection circuit is coupled between the first load end and the second load end, and is coupled to the second resistor, and generates the first disconnection control signal according to the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the test mode, the current loop receives the test current, and both ends of the switch circuit and at least one of the first resistors are short-circuited.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the above-mentioned test mode, the second resistor receives a test current, and generates a voltage difference according to the test current. The protection circuit generates a first disconnection control signal according to the comparison voltage difference and a preset reference voltage.

Based on the above, in the embodiment of the present invention, by setting the protection circuit and the second resistor, and when the test current flows through the second resistor, it is determined whether to cut off the current by detecting the magnitude of the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor loop. In this way, the battery module can successfully pass the Limited Power Source (LPS) test action, which complies with the safety regulations.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the following embodiments are given and described in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention. The battery module 100 includes a switch circuit 110 , a first resistor R1 , a battery pack 120 , a controller 130 , a circuit breaker 140 , a second resistor R2 and a protection circuit 150 . The switch circuit 110 is coupled between the load end LE1 and the load end LE2, and is coupled in the current loop CL1 between the load end LE1 and the load end LE2 in the form of a series connection. The switch circuit 110 is further coupled to the controller 130 and receives the control signal CTR generated by the controller 130 . The switch circuit 110 is controlled by the control signal CTR, and is turned on or off according to the control signal CTR. The first resistor R1 is also coupled in the current loop CL1 in series, and is connected in series with the switch circuit 110 between the load end LE1 and the load end LE2. The battery pack 120 is coupled between the load terminal LE1 and the load terminal LE2, and is used for providing a discharge current to the load terminal LE1 and the load terminal LE2, or receiving a charging current from the load terminal LE1 and the load terminal LE2 in a normal working state. The disconnect switch 140 is coupled in the current loop CL1, and is coupled in series with the switch circuit 110 and the first resistor R1. The disconnect switch 140 receives the disconnect control signal COFF, and determines whether to be disconnected according to the disconnect control signal COFF. Wherein, when the disconnect switch 140 is turned off, the current loop CL1 is correspondingly cut off.

On the other hand, the controller 130 is further coupled to the battery pack 120 and generates the control signal CTR by detecting various states of the battery pack 120 (eg, temperature status, power status). Through the control signal CTR, the controller 130 can control the battery pack 120 to perform charging operation, discharging operation, over-temperature protection operation, over-voltage protection operation and over-current protection operation. In addition, the controller 130 is coupled to both ends of the first resistor R1, and detects the voltage difference between the two ends of the first resistor R1 as a basis for generating the control signal CTR. In addition, the controller 130 can also generate the disconnection control signal COFF2 according to various states of the battery pack 120 and/or the voltage difference between the two ends of the first resistor R1. The disconnection control signal COFF2 can be provided as the disconnection control signal COFF, and in the case of safety concerns, the disconnection device 140 can cut off the current loop CL1 through the disconnection control signal COFF2.

It should be noted that the protection circuit 150 and the second resistor R2 are coupled in the current loop CL1 and are coupled in series with the switch circuit 110 , the breaking device 140 and the first resistor R1 . The protection circuit 150 is coupled to both ends of the second resistor R2, and generates the disconnection control signal COFF1 by detecting the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor R2. Specifically, the protection circuit 150 can detect the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor R2, and make the voltage difference (eg, the voltage difference VDA) between the two ends of the second resistor R2 to compare with a preset reference voltage Compare. When the voltage difference VDA is greater than the reference voltage, the protection circuit 150 can generate the enabled disconnection control signal COFF1 and transmit the disconnection control signal COFF1 to the disconnection device 140 . The breaking device 140 receives the breaking control signal COFF which is equivalent to the breaking control signal COFF1, and cuts off the current loop CL1 according to the breaking control signal COFF. On the other hand, when the voltage difference VDA is not greater than the reference voltage, the protection circuit 150 can generate a disabled disconnection control signal COFF1. The disconnection device 140 receives the disconnection control signal COFF which is equivalent to the disconnection control signal COFF1, and maintains the current loop CL1 in a conducting state according to the disconnection control signal COFF.

Please note here that the above-mentioned voltage difference VDA may be equal to the product of the resistance value of the second resistor R2 and the current in the current loop CL1 . The preset reference voltage can be set according to the above-mentioned product. That is to say, when the voltage difference VDA is greater than the reference voltage, it means that the current on the current loop CL1 is too large, and a safety protection mechanism needs to be activated. Therefore, the protection circuit 150 can drive the circuit breaker 140 to cut off the current loop CL1 through the enabled circuit breaker control signal COFF1.

It is worth mentioning that, in this embodiment, the voltage value of the above-mentioned reference voltage is positively correlated with the resistance value of the second resistor R2. Moreover, the enabled disconnection control signal COFF1 may be a logic high level or a logic low level, with no specific limitation. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the disconnection control signal COFF can be generated through a logical operation with respect to the disconnection control signal COFF1 and the disconnection control signal COFF2. Taking the logic high level as the enabled state as an example, the above-mentioned logic operation may be an OR operation. On the contrary, taking the logic low level as the enable state as an example, the above-mentioned logic operation may be an AND operation.

Regarding the testing operation of the battery module 100, please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram illustrating the testing operation of the battery module according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2 , when the battery module 100 enters a test mode (eg, a limited power source test mode), at least one of the switch circuit 110 and the first resistor R1 needs to be set to a short-circuit state. In addition, the battery module 100 needs to receive the test current I1 (eg, supplied by the current source TC) through the load terminals LE1 and LE2 . When the test current I1 is sufficiently large (eg, 8 amps), it is determined whether the battery module 100 meets the requirements of the limited power source by checking whether the battery module 100 can effectively start the protection action.

It is worth mentioning that when both ends of the first resistor R1 are set to a short-circuit state, the controller 130 cannot effectively generate the disconnection control signal COFF2 to perform the protection action. When both ends of the switch circuit 110 are set to a short-circuit state, the controller 130 cannot perform the protection action through the switch circuit 110 . Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, in the test mode, the battery module 100 can detect the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor R2 through the protection circuit 150, and determine the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor R2 by determining the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor R2. Whether the voltage difference is greater than the preset reference voltage to generate the enabled disconnection control signal COFF1. The circuit breaker 140 can cut off the current loop CL1 according to the enabled circuit breaker control signal COFF1, so as to start the protection action. In this way, the battery module 100 can pass the test action of the limited power source and meet the requirements of the limited power source.

It is worth mentioning that the circuit breaking device 140 in this embodiment may be a fuse, or may also be a fuseless switch. When the breaking device 140 is a fuse, the breaking device 140 can be blown according to the enabled breaking control signal COFF, thereby cutting off the current loop CL1. When the circuit breaker 140 is a non-fuse switch, the circuit breaker 140 can disconnect the connection between the two ends of the circuit breaker 140 according to the enabled circuit breaker control signal COFF, so as to cut off the current loop CL1 .

Please refer to FIG. 3 below. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a protection circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The protection circuit 300 includes a comparator CMP1 and a reference voltage generator 310 . The reference voltage generator 310 is used for generating the reference voltage VR and providing the reference voltage VR to the comparator CMP1. The comparator CMP1 can be constructed through a differential amplifier, wherein the negative input terminal of the comparator CMP1 receives the reference voltage VR, and the positive input terminal of the comparator CMP1 is coupled to one terminal of the second resistor R2. The protection circuit 300 couples the other end of the second resistor R2 to the ground voltage terminal VSS, wherein the voltage on the ground voltage terminal VSS may be zero volts. In this way, the voltage VDA on the terminal of the second resistor R2 received by the positive input terminal of the comparator CMP1 is substantially equal to the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor R2.

In this embodiment, the comparator CMP1 generates the comparison result CMR by comparing the reference voltage VR and the voltage VDA. Wherein, when the voltage VDA is greater than the reference voltage VR, the comparator CMP1 can generate a logic high level comparison result CMR. On the contrary, when the voltage VDA is not greater than the reference voltage VR, the comparator CMP1 can generate a logic low level comparison result CMR. Compare results with CMR. In the embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent the generated voltage level of the disconnection control signal COFF1 from generating an unstable state, the comparator CMP1 can be constructed through a hysteresis amplifier.

In addition, the protection circuit 300 can directly provide the comparison result CMR to generate the disconnection control signal COFF1 , or generate the disconnection control signal COFF1 through logic operation or voltage offset according to the comparison result CMR.

It is worth mentioning that the reference voltage generator 310 can receive the selection signal OCD, and adjust the voltage value of the reference voltage VR according to the selection signal OCD. The selection signal OCD may be a digital signal having one or more bits. Moreover, the selection signal OCD can be set according to the resistance value of the second resistor R2 and/or the current value of the test current. The selection signal OCD may be built in the protection circuit 300, or may be input to the protection circuit 300 through an external signal, with no specific limitation.

Regarding the hardware structure of the reference voltage generator 310 , the reference voltage generator 310 can generate a variable voltage through a low drop-out (LDO) voltage regulator, or any other variable voltage known to those skilled in the art There are no specific restrictions on the voltage generation circuit to be constructed.

Please refer to FIG. 4 below. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a switch circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The switch circuit 400 includes switches SW1 and SW2 constructed by transistors T1 and T2, respectively. The switches SW1 and SW2 are coupled to each other in series, and the control terminals of the transistors T1 and T2 respectively receive the control signals CTR1 and CTR2 and are turned on or off according to the control signals CTR1 and CTR2 respectively. In other embodiments of the present invention, the number of switches in the switch circuit 400 may be one, or may be three or more, and there is no specific limitation.

In addition, in this embodiment, the switches SW1 and SW2 are constructed by field enhancement transistors (Field Enhancement Transistor, FET) T1 and T2. In other embodiments of the present invention, the switches SW1 and SW2 can also be constructed by other The present invention is constructed with a type of transistor, and the illustration in FIG. 4 of the present invention is only an exemplary example, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 5 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. The controller 500 includes an analog front-end circuit 510 and a gas gauge circuit 520 . An analog front end circuit (Analog Front End Circuit, AFE Circuit) 510 is coupled to the battery pack and coupled to the first resistor R1. The analog front-end circuit 510 can detect multiple states of the battery pack, and learn whether the battery pack has at least one of overcharge, overdischarge, overcurrent, short circuit, and overtemperature. And obtain the voltage detection value generated by detecting the voltage of the battery pack. In addition, the analog front-end circuit 510 can be coupled to both ends of the first resistor R1, and obtains the magnitude of the current on the current loop of the battery module by detecting the voltage difference between the two ends of the first resistor R1.

The power detection circuit 520 is a controller circuit with computing capability, and can be used to provide relevant information such as the remaining power of the battery pack, the remaining power supply time, the battery voltage, the temperature and the average current measurement value. The power detection circuit 520 can also be coupled to both ends of the first resistor R1, and obtains the magnitude of the current on the current loop of the battery module by detecting the voltage difference between the two ends of the first resistor R1. The power detection circuit 520 can be built with a memory device (eg, a flash memory), and is used to store a plurality of information.

In this embodiment, the analog front-end circuit 510 can generate the control signals CTR1 and CTR2 to control the on or off states of the switches in the switch circuit. The power detection circuit 520 can provide the disconnection control signal COFF2 according to the voltage difference between the two ends of the first resistor R1, and provide the disconnection control signal COFF2 to the disconnection device in the battery module. The circuit breaking device in the embodiment of the present invention can determine whether to cut off the current loop in the battery module according to the circuit breaking control signal COFF2.

The analog front-end circuit 510 and the power level detection circuit 520 can be implemented by the hardware structure of the analog front-end circuit and the power level detection circuit well known to those skilled in the art, and there are no special limitations.

To sum up, the present invention adds a second resistor in the current loop formed between the load terminals in the power supply. In the power supply execution test mode, a protection circuit is provided to detect the voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor, and according to the magnitude of the voltage difference, to provide a circuit breaker control signal, and to make the circuit breaker switch off according to the circuit breaker control signal. circuit breaker. In this way, the power supply can effectively pass the test action of the limited power source and comply with the safety specifications of the limited power source.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above by the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100‧‧‧Battery modules 110, 400, 500‧‧‧Switch circuit 120‧‧‧Battery pack 130‧‧‧Controller 140‧‧‧Circuit device 150, 300‧‧‧Protection circuit 310‧‧‧Reference voltage generation Device R1‧‧‧First Resistor R2‧‧‧Second Resistor LE1, LE2‧‧‧Load Terminal CL1‧‧‧Current Loop CTR, CTR1, CTR2‧‧‧Control Signal COFF, COFF1, COFF2‧‧‧Open Circuit Control Signal TC‧‧‧Current source I1‧‧‧Test current CMP1‧‧‧Comparator VR‧‧‧Reference voltage VDA‧‧‧Voltage CMR‧‧‧Comparison result OCD‧‧‧Select signal T1, T2‧‧‧Transistor SW1 , SW2‧‧‧Switch 510‧‧‧Analog front-end circuit 520‧‧‧Power detection circuit

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a test operation of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a protection circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a switch circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

100‧‧‧Battery Module

110‧‧‧Switch circuit

120‧‧‧battery pack

130‧‧‧Controller

140‧‧‧Disconnecting device

150‧‧‧Protection circuit

R1‧‧‧First resistor

R2‧‧‧Second resistor

LE1, LE2‧‧‧Load side

CL1‧‧‧Current Loop

CTR‧‧‧Control Signal

COFF, COFF1, COFF2‧‧‧open circuit control signal

Claims (13)

A battery module, comprising: a switch circuit coupled to a current loop between a first load terminal and a second load terminal, controlled by a control signal to be turned on or off; a first resistor, coupled to the current loop and coupled in series with the switch circuit; a battery pack coupled between the first load terminal and the second load terminal; a controller coupled to the switch circuit, the first load terminal The resistor and the battery pack provide the control signal; a circuit breaker is coupled to the current loop and cuts off the current loop according to a first circuit breaker control signal; a second resistor is coupled to the first load end and the second load terminal; and a protection circuit, coupled between the first load terminal and the second load terminal, and coupled to the second resistor, according to a voltage difference between the two ends of the second resistor to The first disconnection control signal is generated, wherein the disconnection device is used to cut off the connection relationship between the battery pack and the switch circuit according to the first disconnection control signal. The battery module as claimed in claim 1, wherein in a test mode, the current loop receives a test current, and both ends of at least one of the switch circuit and the first resistor are short-circuited. The battery module of claim 2, wherein in the test mode, the second resistor receives the test current, and generates the power according to the test current The voltage difference, the protection circuit generates the first disconnection control signal according to the comparison of the voltage difference and a preset reference voltage. The battery module of claim 3, wherein in the test mode, when the voltage difference is greater than the reference voltage, the protection circuit provides the first disconnection control signal to make the disconnection device cut off the current loop. The battery module as described in claim 3, wherein in the test mode, when the voltage difference is not greater than the reference voltage, the circuit breaker maintains the current loop in a conducting state. The battery module of claim 3, wherein the protection circuit comprises: a comparator, coupled to the second resistor, to compare the reference voltage with the reference voltage to generate a comparison result, and the protection circuit according to the comparison As a result, the first disconnection control signal is generated. The battery module as claimed in claim 6, wherein the protection circuit further comprises: a reference voltage generator for generating the reference voltage, wherein the reference voltage generator receives a selection signal, and according to the selection The signal adjusts the voltage value of the reference voltage. The battery module of claim 7, wherein the voltage value of the reference voltage is positively correlated with the resistance value of the second resistor. The battery module of claim 2, wherein the test mode is a limited power source test mode, and the test current is 8 amperes. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the controller provides a second disconnection control signal according to the voltage difference across the first resistor. The battery module of claim 10, wherein the controller comprises: an analog front-end circuit coupled to the battery pack, the first resistor and the switch circuit to provide the control signal; and a power level detection The circuit is coupled to the analog front-end circuit and the first resistor, and provides the second disconnection control signal. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the switch circuit comprises: a first switch and a second switch, the first switch and the second switch are coupled to the current loop in series, and are respectively Controlled by a first control signal and a second control signal. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the circuit breaking device is a fuse or a fuseless switch.

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