KR101504274B1 - Apparatus and method for diagnosis of electric contactor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an apparatus and a method for determining whether or not an electrical contactor has failed. A high-potential electrical contactor for connecting a battery to a load according to the present invention and an electrical contactor diagnostic device for diagnosing failure of the low-potential electrical contactor are used for determining whether the high- potential electrical contactor and the low- Common diagnostic resistor; The common diagnostic resistor is connected between the high potential electrical contactor and the negative terminal of the battery (first connection mode), or between the low potential electrical contactor and the positive terminal of the battery (second connection mode) ; A resistance voltage measuring unit for measuring a first voltage and a second voltage respectively applied to the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode and the second connection mode; And a diagnostic controller for determining whether the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor has failed using the first voltage and the second voltage. The battery voltage measuring unit may further include a battery voltage measuring unit for measuring a voltage of the battery, and the diagnosis control unit may control the first voltage and the second voltage to a variable reference voltage Value of the low-potential electrical contactor is compared with the value of the high-potential electrical contactor to diagnose the failure of the high-potential electrical contactor and the low-potential electrical contactor. According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the electrical contactor is faulty regardless of the characteristics of the device in the diagnostic apparatus.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DIAGNOSIS OF ELECTRIC CONTACTOR [0002]

The present invention relates to a diagnostic apparatus and method for determining whether an electrical contactor is malfunctioning, and more particularly, to a diagnostic apparatus and method for detecting failure of an electrical contactor employed in a battery power supply system requiring high voltage such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle The present invention relates to a diagnostic apparatus and a diagnostic method.

In recent years, due to exhaustion of fossil energy and environmental pollution, there is a growing interest in electric products that can be driven by batteries without using fossil energy.

As a result, the demand for secondary batteries as energy sources is rapidly increasing as technology development and demand for mobile devices, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, power storage devices, and uninterruptible power supply devices are increasing. BACKGROUND ART [0002] A secondary battery used in an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle is a high-output, large-capacity secondary battery.

Along with a great demand for secondary batteries, research on peripheral parts and devices related to secondary batteries is also being carried out. A battery pack made up of two or more secondary batteries connected to each other, a BMS for controlling the charging and discharging of the battery pack and monitoring each battery condition, a case for protecting the battery from a safety accident such as an explosion, Various contact parts and devices such as an electrical contactor are connected to the load.

Particularly, an electric contactor is a switch that connects a battery pack and a load and controls whether or not electric power is supplied. For example, in the case of an electric car or a hybrid vehicle, a motor that drives a car requires a battery voltage of about 240V to 280V. The operating voltage of a widely used lithium ion secondary battery is about 3.7V to 4.2V. In order to provide a high voltage, a plurality of secondary batteries are connected in series to constitute a battery pack. The electric contactor that connects the battery pack and the motor is a part that always passes high-voltage, high-output electric energy, and it is very important to monitor the failure.

1 shows a structure of a check circuit disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2010-0138172 as an example of a prior art related to an apparatus for checking whether an electric contactor is faulty.

1, the inspection circuit 1 according to the prior art includes a zener diode 4, an overcurrent protection resistor 5, a constant current diode 6 and a light emitting diode 7. In the check circuit 1, when the main connector 3 operates normally, a high voltage equal to or higher than the breakdown voltage is applied to the Zener diode 4 by the battery pack 2. Therefore, the zener diode 4 is energized to light the light emitting diode 7, and the inspector can see the light of the light emitting diode 7 and judge whether the main connector 3 is operating normally or not.

However, the above-mentioned prior art has a disadvantage in that the main connector 3 can not be properly inspected according to the characteristics of the Zener diode 4. First, the zener diode 4 can not easily change the initially set breakdown voltage. That is, if the breakdown voltage of the Zener diode 4 is equal to the full charge voltage of the battery pack 2, the check of the main connector 3 is possible only when the battery pack 2 is fully charged. In addition, the zener diode 4 generates heat due to the characteristics of the semiconductor device. Therefore, if a high voltage higher than the breakdown voltage is frequently applied to the check circuit 1, the characteristics of the Zener diode 4 may be deteriorated due to heat generation. That is, there is a possibility that the breakdown voltage of the Zener diode 4 changes as the voltage is used. In addition, the inspector can determine whether the main connector 3 is faulty through the light emitting diode 7, but the main system of the electric car has a limitation that it can not recognize the failure of the main connector 3.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for determining whether an electrical contactor is malfunctioning.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality of a low-potential electrical contactor and a high-potential electrical contactor for connecting a battery and a load according to the present invention, A common diagnostic resistor used to determine fault; And a switch unit for selectively connecting the common diagnostic resistor between the high potential electrical contactor and the negative terminal of the battery (first connection mode) or between the low potential electrical contactor and the positive terminal of the battery (second connection mode) ; A resistance voltage measuring unit for measuring a first voltage and a second voltage respectively applied to the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode and the second connection mode; And a diagnostic controller for determining whether the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor has failed using the first voltage and the second voltage.

The apparatus for diagnosing an electrical contactor according to the present invention may further include an overcurrent protection resistor connected to the common diagnostic resistance in the first connection mode or the second connection mode.

Preferably, the switch unit according to the present invention further comprises: a first switch unit for connecting the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode between the high potential electrical contactor and the negative terminal of the battery; And a second switch portion for connecting a common diagnostic resistor between the low potential electrical contactor and the positive terminal of the battery.

Preferably, the resistance voltage measuring unit according to the present invention further comprises: a sensing unit for sensing a voltage of the diagnostic resistor; And a conversion unit converting the analog voltage value received by the sensing unit into a digital voltage value.

The diagnostic control unit diagnoses the failure of the high potential electrical contactor and the low potential electrical contactor by comparing the first voltage and the second voltage with a reference voltage value.

Preferably, the electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus further includes a memory section for storing a reference voltage value used for determining whether the diagnostic control section has failed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for diagnosing electrical contactor failure may further include a battery voltage measuring unit for measuring a voltage of the battery.

In this case, the diagnosis control unit compares the first voltage and the second voltage with a variable reference voltage value corresponding to the voltage value of the battery measured by the battery voltage measurement unit, and controls the high potential electrical contactor and the low potential electrical It is possible to diagnose whether the contactor is malfunctioning or not. To this end, the electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus may include a memory section in which the variable reference voltage value is stored. According to an aspect of the present invention, the diagnostic control unit may calculate a variable reference voltage value by the following equation.

≪ Equation &

(Where V _bat is the measured voltage of the battery, R _daig is the common diagnostic resistance, R _total is the resistance inside the electrical contactor diagnostic device, and V _s is the variable reference voltage).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a diagnostic apparatus for an electrical contactor, wherein the diagnostic apparatus further comprises a transfer section for forming a communication interface with an external device, and the diagnosis control section controls the transfer section to transfer the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor Information on whether or not a fault has occurred can be transmitted to the external device. At this time, the external device may be a battery analyzer or a control device of a system equipped with a battery.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for diagnosing an electrical contactor further includes a warning section for outputting a visual or auditory warning signal, and the diagnosis control section is operable to cause a failure in the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor A visual or auditory warning signal can be output through the warning unit

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for diagnosing an electrical contactor comprising: a battery; An electrical contactor positioned on a line connecting the battery and the load; And a load that is supplied with electric power from the battery.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for diagnosing failure of a high potential electrical contactor and a low potential electrical contactor for connecting a battery and a load using a common diagnostic resistor, Selectively connecting between a high potential electrical contactor and a negative terminal of the battery (first connection mode) or between a low potential electrical contactor and a positive terminal of the battery (second connection mode); (b) measuring a first voltage and a second voltage respectively applied to the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode and the second connection mode; And (c) determining whether the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor is faulty using the first voltage and the second voltage.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the electrical contactor is malfunctioning regardless of the characteristics of the elements included in the diagnostic apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, since it is possible to set or change the reference voltage value that is a criterion for determining whether the electric contactor is faulty, it is possible to accurately diagnose whether the electric contactor is faulty considering the characteristics of the diagnostic device and the load effect .

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is possible to diagnose both the high potential electrical contactor and the low potential electrical contactor using a common diagnostic resistor, so that it is not expensive to implement the device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when the electrical contactor is diagnosed, the voltage of the battery is measured and the failure is determined according to the variable reference voltage value reflecting the voltage. Therefore, more accurate electrical contactor failure diagnosis It is possible.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is an advantage that a failure of the electric contactor can be notified to a controller or an external device of a battery-mounted device through a transfer unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when a failure occurs, the user is informed of the occurrence of a failure of the electrical contactor through the warning unit, so that the user can take appropriate measures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the description of the invention given below, serve to further the understanding of the technical idea of the invention, And should not be construed as limiting.
1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional check circuit used for checking whether an electric contactor is faulty.
2 is a circuit block diagram of an electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a circuit block diagram of an electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for diagnosing an electrical contactor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of diagnosing an electrical contactor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary terms, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concepts of the terms appropriately It should be interpreted in accordance with the meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, It is to be understood that equivalents and modifications are possible.

2 is a circuit diagram of an electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, an apparatus 100 for diagnosing an electrical contactor according to the present invention is connected between a high potential electrical contactor 103 and a low potential electrical contactor 104 connecting a battery 102 and a load 117, A common diagnostic resistor 105, a switch unit 106, a resistance voltage measurement unit 110, and a diagnosis control unit 113.

The battery 102 includes at least one cell. The type of the battery is not particularly limited. The battery 102 may be a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a nickel hydride battery, or a nickel zinc battery. can do.

The type of the load 117 is not particularly limited and may be constituted by a portable electronic device such as a video camera, a portable telephone, a portable PC, a PMP, or an MP3 player, a motor of an electric car or a hybrid car, or a DC to DC converter .

The voltage of the battery 102 is applied to the common diagnosis resistor 105 when the high potential electrical contactor 103 and the low potential electrical contactor 104 are normally operated. Therefore, the common diagnostic resistor 105 can determine whether the high potential electrical contactor 103 and the low potential electrical contactor 104 are faulty by monitoring the applied voltage.

The switch unit 106 includes a first switch unit 107 and a second switch unit 108. The first switch unit 107 turns on when the common diagnostic resistor 105 is connected between the high potential electrical contactor 103 and the negative terminal of the battery 102 (hereinafter referred to as a first connection mode) do. The second switch unit 108 is turned on when the common diagnostic resistor 105 is connected between the low potential electrical contactor 104 and the positive terminal of the battery 102 (hereinafter referred to as the second connection mode). The first connection mode and the second connection mode may be controlled by the diagnosis control unit 113 or may be controlled by the main controller of the external device. The voltage of the battery 102 is applied to the common diagnostic resistor 105 by the selective connection of the switch portion 106 through the first switch portion 107 and the second switch portion 108.

The switch unit 106 is divided into a first switch unit 107 and a second switch unit 108 and two switch devices are included in the first switch unit 107 and the second switch unit 108 The present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the present invention is applicable to all switch elements capable of selectively connecting the common diagnostic resistor 105 with the high potential electrical contactor 103 and the low potential electrical contactor 104 through the first connection mode and the second connection mode, Structure is to be understood. As the switching element, a semiconductor element such as a mechanical relay switch or an electric field effect transistor (FET) can be used.

The resistance voltage measuring unit 110 measures a voltage applied to the common diagnostic resistor 105 in the first connection mode and the second connection mode, which are made by selective connection of the switch unit 106. [ For convenience of explanation, the voltage applied to the common diagnostic resistor 105 in the first connection mode is referred to as a first voltage, and the voltage applied to the common diagnostic resistor 105 in the second connection mode is referred to as a second voltage .

The diagnosis control unit 113 determines whether the high potential electrical contactor 103 and the low potential electrical contactor 104 are faulty using the first voltage and the second voltage measured by the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 do.

First, the case where the high-potential electrical contactor 103 is judged to be faulty through the first connection mode will be described. Here, the first connection mode is formed when the first switch unit 107 is turned on with the high-potential contactor 103 turned on. When the first connection mode is established, a state in which electric current can flow through the electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100 is formed through the high potential electrical contactor 103. Therefore, if there is no failure in the high potential electrical contactor 103, the voltage of the battery 102 is distributed to the common diagnostic resistor 105 according to the resistance component existing in the line. In this state, the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 measures a voltage applied to both ends of the common diagnostic resistor 105 and outputs a first voltage signal to the diagnosis control unit 113 side. Then, the diagnosis control unit 113 compares the first voltage received from the resistance voltage measurement unit 110 with a reference voltage value to determine whether the high-potential electrical contactor 103 is faulty. That is, when the current does not flow at all due to the failure of the high potential electrical contactor 103, or when the current leaks to the outside, a voltage of a level lower than the anticipated level voltage is applied to the common diagnosis resistor 105. Therefore, if the first voltage has a value lower than the reference voltage value, the diagnosis controller 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the high potential electrical contactor 103. [

Next, a case where the low potential electrical contactor 104 is judged to be faulty through the second connection mode will be described. Here, the second connection mode is formed when the second switch portion 108 is turned on with the low-potential contactor 104 turned on. In the second connection mode, there is a difference that the voltage of the battery 102 is distributed to the common diagnostic resistor 105 according to the resistance component existing in the line through the low potential electrical contactor 104, unlike the first connection mode. When the second connection mode is established, the diagnosis control unit 113 receives the second voltage signal through the resistance voltage measurement unit 110 and disconnects the low-potential electrical contactor 104 when the second voltage is lower than the reference voltage value. It is judged that a failure such as leakage of current or the like occurs.

When the battery 102 is a high-output, high-voltage battery used in an electric car, a hybrid vehicle, etc., an excessive current may flow in the common diagnostic resistor 105 when the first connection mode or the second connection mode is formed. In view of this, the electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100 may further include an overcurrent protection resistor 109 connected to the common diagnostic resistor 105. In this case, it is preferable to set the resistance value of the overcurrent protection resistor 109 appropriately to limit the voltage applied to the common diagnosis resistor 105 to 5 V or less. Thus, there is an advantage that the cost of the circuit elements constituting the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 can be reduced and the service life can be extended. It is obvious that the connection positions and the number of the overcurrent protection resistors 109 shown in FIG. 2 are only examples, and that various modifications are possible.

The reference voltage value used to determine whether the electrical contactors 103 and 104 are faulty in the diagnosis control unit 113 may be variously set according to the measurement timing, the measurement environment, the resistance value of the overcurrent protection resistor 109, have.

The measurement time may vary depending on the state of charge of the battery 102. [ For example, when the diagnosis of the electrical contactors 103 and 104 is performed while the battery 102 is fully charged, the reference voltage value is set to a high level value corresponding to the full charge voltage of the battery 102 do.

In addition, the measurement environment may be varied depending on whether all of the electrical contactors 103, 104 are turned on, or whether only one of the high potential electrical contactor 103 or the low potential electrical contactor 104 is turned on. For example, when diagnosis is performed in a state that both the high potential electrical contactor 103 and the low potential electrical contactor 104 are turned on, the reference voltage value is set in consideration of the load effect. On the other hand, when diagnosis is performed while only the electrical contactors 103 and 104 to be diagnosed are selectively turned on, a reference voltage value that does not take account of the load effect can be set.

On the other hand, the voltage applied to the common diagnosis resistor 105 varies depending on whether or not the overcurrent protection resistor 109 is connected and the resistance value of the overcurrent protection resistor 109. Therefore, the reference voltage value can be set differently according to the resistance value of the overcurrent protection resistor 109.

The electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100 may further include a memory unit 114 for storing data corresponding to the reference voltage value. The memory unit 114 includes a mass storage medium such as a known semiconductor device or a hard disk, which is known to record and erase data such as a RAM, a ROM, and an EEPROM.

3 is a circuit diagram of an electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 101 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3, the electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 101 is connected between a high potential electrical contactor 103 and a low potential electrical contactor 104 connecting the battery 102 and the load 117, A switch unit 106, a resistance voltage measurement unit 110, a battery voltage measurement unit 118, and a diagnosis control unit 113. [

The battery 102, the load 117, the high potential electrical contactor 103, the low potential electrical contactor 104, the common diagnostic resistor 105, the switch unit 106, the resistance voltage measurement unit 110, (113) have been described above, so redundant description will be omitted.

The electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 101 further includes a battery voltage measurement unit 118. [ The battery voltage measuring unit 118 measures the voltage of the battery 102 and outputs a battery voltage signal to the diagnosis control unit 113 when the electrical contactor fails.

The diagnostic control unit 113 calculates the variable reference voltage value differently according to the voltage value of the battery 102 received from the battery voltage measurement unit 118. When the first voltage or the second voltage is equal to or less than the variable reference voltage value by comparing the variable voltage reference value with the first voltage and the second voltage, the high potential electric contactor 103 or the low potential electric contactor 104, It is determined that a failure has occurred.

The variable reference voltage value is variable according to the voltage of the battery 102. Therefore, by diagnosing the failure of the electrical contactor using the variable reference voltage value, it is possible to diagnose the failure of the electrical contactor irrespective of the state of charge or aging of the battery 102.

The variable reference voltage value may be stored in the memory unit 114 in advance.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a variable reference voltage value corresponding to a measured voltage of the battery 102 may be previously stored in the memory 114 in the form of a mapping table. In this case, the diagnosis control unit 113 can obtain a variable reference voltage value corresponding to the measured voltage of the battery 102 with reference to the mapping table.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the diagnosis control unit 113 calculates a variable reference voltage value by the following equation.

(Wherein, V _bat is the measured voltage of the battery, R _daig is common diagnostic resistance, R _total is the resistance of the internal electrical contactor diagnosis apparatus (for example: R _total = common diagnostic resistance + current protection resistor), V _s is a variable voltage reference .)

The variable reference voltage value V _s in Equation (1) is a voltage value applied to the common diagnostic resistor R _diag by voltage division according to a resistance component when the first connection mode or the second connection mode is formed.

In the above-described embodiments, the electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100, 101 may further include a transfer unit 115 forming a communication interface with an external device. In this case, the diagnosis control unit 113 transmits information about whether the high-potential electrical contactor 103 or the low-potential electrical contactor 104 has failed through the transfer unit 115 to the external device. The diagnosis control unit 113 may form a communication interface with an external device through a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication network, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The external device may be a battery analyzer or a controller of a system on which a battery is installed.

The electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100, 101 may further include a warning unit 116 for outputting a visual or auditory warning signal. In this case, the diagnosis control unit 113 may cause the failure of the electrical contactors 103 and 104 through the warning unit 116 when a failure occurs in the high potential electrical contactor 103 or the low potential electrical contactor 104 Output facts visually or audibly.

For example, the warning unit 116 may include an LED, an LCD, an alarm alarm, or a combination thereof. In this case, the warning unit 116 may flash an LED, output a warning message to the LCD, or generate an alarm buzzer sound to alert the user to the occurrence of a failure of the electrical contactor.

The warning unit 116 may be included in an external device connected to the transmission unit 115. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. It is to be appreciated that the LED, LCD and alarm alarm are only examples of the alarm unit 116, and that various modified forms of the visual or auditory alarm device can be employed as the alarm unit 116 Do.

The resistance voltage measuring unit 110 and the battery voltage measuring unit 118 may include sensing units 112 and 119 and conversion units 111 and 120. In this case, The sensing units 112 and 119 measure voltages of the common diagnostic resistor 105 and the battery 102 and output an analog voltage signal to the converters 111 and 120. [ Then, the conversion units 111 and 119 convert the received analog voltage signal into a digital voltage signal, and output the digital voltage signal to the diagnosis control unit 113.

The diagnostic control unit 113 may be a microprocessor capable of executing a program code of the electrical contactor diagnostic control logic according to the present invention or may be implemented as a customized semiconductor Chip, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus 100, 101 according to the present invention can be a component of a battery driving system including a battery 102, a load supplied with power from the battery 102, and the like.

Examples of the battery driving system include an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid vehicle (HEV), an electric bicycle (E-Bike), a power tool, an energy storage system, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) A portable computer, a portable telephone, a portable audio device, a portable video device, and the like. An example of the load is a power supply provided by a battery or a motor that provides a rotational force by a battery, The power conversion circuit may be a power conversion circuit that converts the power to the power.

Hereinafter, a method for diagnosing an electrical contactor will be described in detail with reference to the above-described configuration.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of diagnosing an electrical contactor using the apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the diagnostic control unit 113 stores the reference voltage value in the memory unit 114 (S310). It is already described that the reference voltage value can be variously set according to the measurement timing, the measurement environment, the resistance value of the overcurrent protection resistor 109, and the like.

Next, the diagnosis control unit 113 controls the switch unit 106 to selectively turn on the first switch unit 107 to form the first connection mode (S320). When the first connection mode is established, the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 senses the voltage applied to both ends of the common diagnostic resistor 105 under the control of the diagnosis control unit 113 and outputs the first voltage signal. Then, the diagnosis control section 113 receives the first voltage signal outputted from the resistance voltage measurement section 105 (S325).

Next, the diagnostic control unit 113 controls the switch unit 106 to selectively turn on the second switch unit 108 to form a second connection mode (S330). When the second connection mode is established, the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 senses a voltage applied to both ends of the common diagnostic resistor 105 under the control of the diagnosis control unit 113 and outputs a second voltage signal. Then, the diagnosis control unit 113 receives the second voltage signal output from the resistance voltage measurement unit 110 (S335).

The diagnostic control unit 113 compares the first voltage and the second voltage output from the resistance voltage measurement unit 110 with the reference voltage stored in the memory unit 114 and outputs the comparison result to the electrical contactors 103 and 104. [ (Step S350). That is, if the first voltage is lower than the reference voltage value, the diagnosis controller 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the high potential electrical contactor 103. If the second voltage is lower than the reference voltage value, the diagnosis controller 113 determines that the low potential electrical contactor 104 has failed.

If the diagnosis control unit 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the electrical contactors 103 and 104 (YES in S350), the diagnosis control unit 113 can transmit a failure signal to the external device through the transfer unit 360 (S360). When the diagnosis control unit 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the electrical contactors 103 and 104 (YES in S350), the diagnosis control unit 113 outputs a failure signal to the warning unit 116 to warn the user that a failure has occurred (S370).

The step of transmitting a failure signal to the external device (S360) and the step of outputting a failure signal to the warning unit (S370) may be selectively performed or all of them may be performed.

5 is a flowchart schematically showing an electrical contactor diagnostic method using the apparatus shown in FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the diagnosis control unit 113 may store the variable reference voltage value in the memory unit 114 (S410). It has already been described that the variable reference voltage value can be stored in the form of a mapping table. Meanwhile, if the variable reference voltage value is calculated using Equation 1 without using the mapping table, step S410 may be omitted.

Next, the diagnosis control unit 113 controls the switch unit 106 to selectively turn on the first switch unit 107 to form a first connection mode (S420). When the first connection mode is established, the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 senses the voltage applied to both ends of the common diagnostic resistor 105 under the control of the diagnosis control unit 113 and outputs the first voltage signal. Then, the diagnosis control unit 113 receives the first voltage signal output from the resistance voltage measurement unit 110 (S425). Then, the diagnosis control unit 113 controls the switch unit 106 to selectively turn on the second switch unit 108 to form a second connection mode (S430). When the second connection mode is established, the resistance voltage measuring unit 110 senses a voltage applied to both ends of the common diagnostic resistor 105 under the control of the diagnosis control unit 113 and outputs a second voltage signal. Then, the diagnosis control section 113 receives the second voltage signal outputted from the resistance voltage measurement section 105 (S435).

On the other hand, the diagnosis control unit 113 controls the battery voltage measuring unit 118 to measure the voltage of the battery 102. Then, the diagnosis control unit 113 receives the battery voltage signal output by the battery voltage measurement unit 118 (S440). Next, the diagnostic control unit 113 calculates the variable reference voltage value using the battery voltage signal (S445). The variable reference voltage value may be calculated using the variable reference voltage value mapping table stored in advance in the memory unit 114 or using Equation (1).

Next, the diagnosis control unit 113 compares the first voltage and the second voltage output from the resistance voltage measurement unit 110 with the variable reference voltage to determine whether the electric contactors 103 and 104 are faulty S450). That is, when the first voltage is lower than the variable reference voltage value, the determination unit 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the high potential electrical contactor 103. [ When the second voltage is lower than the variable reference voltage value, the determination unit 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the low potential electrical contactor 104. [

If the determination unit 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the electrical contactors 103 and 104 (YES in S350), the determination unit 113 can transmit a failure signal to the external device through the transfer unit 115 (S360). If the determination unit 113 determines that a failure has occurred in the electrical contactors 103 and 104 (YES in S350), the determination unit 113 outputs a failure signal to the warning unit 116 to warn the user that a failure has occurred (S370).

The step of transmitting a failure signal to the external device (S360) and the step of outputting a failure signal to the warning unit (S370) may be selectively performed or all of them may be performed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the electrical contactor is malfunctioning regardless of the characteristics of the elements included in the diagnostic apparatus. In addition, since the reference voltage value, which serves as a criterion for determining whether the electric contactor is faulty, can be set or changed, it is possible to accurately diagnose whether or not the electric contactor is faulty, taking into consideration the characteristics of the diagnostic apparatus and the load effect. In addition, common diagnostic resistors can be used to diagnose both high and low potential electrical contactors, so that the device implementation is not expensive. Further, when the electrical contactor is diagnosed, the voltage of the battery is measured, and it is determined whether the failure is caused by the variable reference voltage value that reflects the voltage. Thus, more accurate diagnosis of the electrical contactor can be performed considering the state of charge or aging of the battery.

On the other hand, there is an advantage that a failure of the electric contactor can be notified to a controller or an external device of a device equipped with a battery through a transfer unit. In addition, when a failure occurs, the user can be informed of the occurrence of a failure of the electrical contactor through the warning unit, thereby enabling the user to take appropriate measures.

In the meantime, in describing the present invention, each configuration of the apparatus 100, 101 of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is not a physically separated component but rather a logically separated component .

That is, since each configuration corresponds to a logical component for realizing the technical idea of the present invention, even if each component is integrated or separated, if the functions performed by the logical configuration of the present invention can be realized, And it is to be understood that any component that performs the same or similar function should be construed as being within the scope of the present invention irrespective of the consistency of the name.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details thereof and that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. And various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

1: Main connector check circuit 2: High voltage battery pack
3: Plus main connector 4: Zener diode
5: Overcurrent protection resistor 6: Constant current diode
7: Light emitting diode 8: Negative main connector
100, 101: Electrical contactor diagnostic device 102: Battery
103: high potential electrical contactor 104: low potential electrical contactor
105: common diagnosis resistor 106: switch part
107: first switch unit 108: second switch unit
109: Overcurrent protection resistor 110: Resistance voltage measurement unit
111: sensing unit 112: conversion unit
113: diagnosis control section 114: memory section
115: Transmission unit 116: Warning unit
117: load 118: battery voltage measuring unit
119: sensing unit 120: conversion unit

Claims (20)

A device for diagnosing the failure of a high potential electrical contactor and a low potential electrical contactor connecting a battery and a load,
A common diagnostic resistor used to determine whether the high potential electrical contactor and the low potential electrical contactor have failed;
The common diagnostic resistor is connected between the high potential electrical contactor and the negative terminal of the battery (first connection mode), or between the low potential electrical contactor and the positive terminal of the battery (second connection mode) ;
A resistance voltage measuring unit for measuring a first voltage and a second voltage respectively applied to the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode and the second connection mode; And
And a diagnosis controller for determining whether the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor is faulty using the first voltage and the second voltage. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an overcurrent protection resistor connected to the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode or the second connection mode. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
A first switch unit for connecting the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode between the high potential electrical contactor and the negative terminal of the battery,
And a second switch portion for connecting the common diagnostic resistor in the second connection mode between the low potential electrical contactor and the positive terminal of the battery. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the resistance voltage measuring unit comprises: a sensing unit for sensing a voltage of the diagnostic resistor; And
And a conversion unit converting the analog voltage value received by the sensing unit into a digital voltage value. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the diagnosis control unit diagnoses a failure of the high potential electrical contactor and the low potential electrical contactor by comparing the first voltage and the second voltage with a reference voltage value. 6. The method of claim 5,
Further comprising a memory unit for storing the reference voltage value. The method according to claim 1,
And a battery voltage measuring unit for measuring a voltage of the battery,
Wherein the diagnosis control unit compares the first voltage and the second voltage with a variable reference voltage value corresponding to a voltage value of the battery measured by the battery voltage measuring unit to detect a malfunction of the high potential electrical contactor and the low potential electrical contactor And diagnoses the electric contactor. 8. The method of claim 7,
Further comprising a memory unit for storing the variable reference voltage value. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the diagnostic control unit calculates a variable reference voltage value by the following equation.
≪ Equation &

(Where V _bat is the measured voltage of the battery, R _daig is the common diagnostic resistance, R _total is the resistance inside the electrical contactor diagnostic device, and V _s is the variable reference voltage). The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a transmitting unit forming a communication interface with an external device,
Wherein the diagnostic control unit transmits information on whether or not the high-potential electrical contactor or the low-potential electrical contactor has failed through the transfer unit to the external device. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the external device is a battery analyzer or a controller of a system on which a battery is installed. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a warning section for outputting a visual or auditory warning signal,
Wherein the diagnostic control unit outputs a visual or auditory warning signal through the warning unit when a failure occurs in the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor. battery;
An electrical contactor positioned on a line connecting the battery and the load;
The electrical contactor diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, which diagnoses whether or not the electrical contactor is faulty. And
And a load that is supplied with power from the battery. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the load is an electric drive means or a portable device. A method for diagnosing failure of a high potential electrical contactor and a low potential electrical contactor for connecting a battery and a load using a common diagnostic resistor,
(a) selectively connecting the common diagnostic resistor between the high potential electrical contactor and the negative terminal of the battery (first connection mode) or between the low potential electrical contactor and the positive terminal of the battery (second connection mode) ;
(b) measuring a first voltage and a second voltage respectively applied to the common diagnostic resistor in the first connection mode and the second connection mode; And
(c) determining whether the high-potential electrical contactor or the low-potential electrical contactor is faulty using the first voltage and the second voltage. 16. The method of claim 15,
Comparing the first voltage and the second voltage with a reference voltage value to determine whether the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor is malfunctioning; Wherein the electrical contactor is electrically connected to the electrical contactor. 16. The method of claim 15,
And measuring the voltage of the battery,
The step (c) includes comparing the first voltage and the second voltage with a variable reference voltage value corresponding to the measured battery voltage to determine whether the high-potential electric contactor or the low-potential electric contactor is faulty Wherein the electrical contactor is electrically connected to the electrical contactor. 18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the variable reference voltage value is calculated by the following equation.
≪ Equation &

(Where V _bat is the measured voltage of the battery, R _daig is the common diagnostic resistance, R _total is the resistance inside the electrical contactor diagnostic device, and V _s is the variable reference voltage). 16. The method of claim 15,
Further comprising the step of transmitting information on whether the high-potential electrical contactor or the low-potential electrical contactor has failed, to an external device. 16. The method of claim 15,
Further comprising the step of providing a visual or audible warning to the user when a failure occurs in the high potential electrical contactor or the low potential electrical contactor.

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