KR102167426B1 - Charging system and method for battery pack of low voltage statement - Google Patents

Abstract

Battery pack; charger; And a charging control unit. In the battery pack charging system in a low voltage state, the charging control unit comprises: a normal chargeability determination unit that determines whether normal charging is possible by comparing a main IC driving voltage value and a voltage value of the battery pack; A charging voltage setting unit configured to control a charger to increase and charge the charging voltage when the determination result of the normal charging possibility determination unit is impossible to charge normally; A battery pack charging system in a low voltage state is provided, comprising: a.

Description

Battery pack charging system and method in low voltage condition {CHARGING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BATTERY PACK OF LOW VOLTAGE STATEMENT}

The present invention relates to a battery pack charging system and method in a low voltage state, and more specifically, a battery pack charging system in a low voltage state capable of stably charging a battery pack that has been left in a low voltage state for a long time after complete discharge. And a method.

Recently, research and development for secondary batteries has been actively conducted. Here, the secondary battery is a battery capable of charging/discharging, and includes all of a conventional Ni/Cd battery, a Ni/MH battery, and the like and a recent lithium ion battery. Among the secondary batteries, lithium ion batteries have an advantage in that energy density is much higher than that of conventional Ni/Cd batteries and Ni/MH batteries. In addition, lithium-ion batteries can be manufactured in a small size and tendency, and are used as power sources for mobile devices.

However, in the case of a battery used as a power source of a mobile device, frequent charging and discharging is performed, and thus, the problem of battery charging becomes an important technical issue.

On the other hand, the voltage of the battery pack left for a long time after complete discharge may become a very low voltage state. A battery pack state in which the voltage value of the battery pack in such a low voltage state is 3V or less is referred to as a precharge state. In the precharge state, only a minute current can flow in the battery pack.

In a pre-charged battery pack capable of flowing only a small current, when the charging voltage is supplied by the conventional constant voltage charging method, the charging voltage is reduced to the battery pack voltage in a low voltage state, making charging impossible (battery pack It becomes impossible to increase the voltage of). In this case, there is a problem in that the voltage value of the battery pack does not satisfy the driving voltage of the main IC that must operate to properly charge the battery pack, so that the main IC cannot be operated normally and the battery pack cannot be charged normally.

Accordingly, there is a need to develop a technology capable of normally charging a battery pack that has been left for a long time in a low voltage state after complete discharge.

KR 10-2011-0089481 A

The present invention is a battery in a low voltage state in which, when charging of a battery pack that has been left in a low voltage state for a long time after complete discharge is impossible, by applying a charging voltage boosted from the normal charging voltage to the battery pack until normal charging is possible. It is intended to provide a pack filling system and method.

A battery pack charging system in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a battery pack; charger; And a charging control unit; A battery pack charging system in a low voltage state comprising: a charging control unit comprising: a normal chargeability determination unit configured to determine whether normal charging is possible by comparing a main IC driving voltage value and a voltage value of the battery pack; A charging voltage setting unit configured to control a charger to increase and charge the charging voltage when the determination result of the normal charging possibility determination unit is impossible to charge normally; It may include.

The charger may include a normal charging voltage setting unit configured to output a charging voltage as a normal charging voltage according to a command of the charging control unit; And a boosted charging voltage setting unit configured to output a charging voltage as the boosted charging voltage according to a command from the charging control unit. It may further include.

The charging control unit may further include a charging voltage setting unit, and the charging voltage setting unit may include a determination result of the normal charging possibility determination unit; A boosted voltage setting command unit that determines whether to charge the battery pack with the boosted voltage, and instructs the charger to charge the boosted voltage when normal charging is impossible; And a boost voltage charging termination command unit for stopping charging the boosted voltage and instructing the charger to charge the normal voltage when normal charging is possible.

A method of charging a battery pack in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: measuring a voltage value of a battery pack; A battery pack voltage comparison step of comparing the measured voltage value of the battery pack with a preset main IC driving voltage value; Determining whether or not charging is possible when the measured voltage of the battery pack is smaller than the main IC driving voltage value as a result of comparing the battery pack voltage; And a charging voltage setting step of setting a charging voltage according to a result of the charging possibility determination step. It may include.

In the charging voltage setting and charging step, when it is determined that charging is not possible according to the result of the charging possibility determination step, a boost charging setting command and charging for determining boost charging, commanding boosting charging to a charger, and charging the battery pack step; And when it is determined that the charging is not in a non-charging state, a step-up charging termination and normal charging command step of determining normal charging, commanding normal voltage charging to the charger, and charging the battery pack. It may further include.

The step of determining whether the charge is possible may be performed periodically until normal charging of the battery pack being boosted charging is possible, and repeatedly performed until normal charging is possible.

The charging and method of charging a battery pack in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention prevents charging malfunction compared to the conventional constant voltage charging method in which the battery pack could not be normally charged when recharging a battery pack that has been left for a long time after complete discharge. It can be charged stably.

1 is a configuration diagram of a battery pack charging system in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is an overall flowchart of a method of charging a battery pack in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a detailed flowchart of a charging voltage setting and charging step in a method of charging a battery pack in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, only the present embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is provided to fully inform you.

The battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention may store and provide electrical energy. Such a battery pack may include a plurality of rechargeable and dischargeable battery cells.

In addition, each of the battery cells constituting a plurality of battery cells included in the battery pack according to the embodiment of the present invention may be connected in series and/or parallel to each other in various ways so as to conform to specifications such as battery pack or load. I can.

In addition, the type of the battery cell according to the embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, the type of battery cell may include a lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a nickel hydride battery, and a nickel zinc battery.

In describing the system and method for charging a battery pack in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention, various terms are defined as follows.

The voltage value of the battery pack according to the embodiment of the present invention may mean an average voltage value calculated from voltage values of each of a plurality of battery cells constituting the battery pack.

The normal charging voltage according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention refers to a charging voltage generally supplied to a battery pack capable of normal charging by operating the main IC normally, as the residual voltage value of the battery pack is greater than or equal to the main IC driving voltage value.

The boosted charging voltage according to an embodiment of the present invention is a charging voltage supplied to the battery pack when normal charging is difficult because the residual voltage value of the battery pack in the low voltage state is less than the main IC driving voltage value and the main IC cannot be normally driven. , It means the charging voltage boosted from the normal charging voltage.

1. Battery pack charging system in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention

In the present invention, when charging does not proceed because the voltage value of the battery pack left for a long time in a low voltage state after complete discharge is lower than the main IC driving voltage value, when the voltage value of the battery pack in the low voltage state becomes higher than the main IC driving voltage value. It is a battery pack charging system in a low voltage state to enable normal charging after charging by increasing the charging voltage.

The present invention is a battery pack charging system in a low voltage state in which a charging control unit measures a voltage value of a battery pack, compares it with a main IC driving voltage value, determines a charging voltage, and commands a charger to output a charging voltage to charge the battery pack.

To this end, the present invention includes a battery pack 100, a charging control unit 200, and a charger 300.

Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

The battery pack 100 of the present invention is a battery pack 100 capable of general charging/discharging, and in order to be normally charged, a voltage value remaining in the battery pack 100 must be a voltage value sufficient to drive the main IC. .

However, when the battery pack 100 is completely discharged and has a voltage value less than the voltage value of the main IC, the main IC cannot be normally driven, and thus charging cannot be performed normally.

In this case, the battery pack 100 receives and charges the boosted charging voltage from the charger 300 under the control of the charging control unit 200, and when the voltage value of the battery pack 100 becomes equal to or greater than the main IC driving voltage value Charging proceeds with the boosted charging voltage until.

Thereafter, when the voltage value of the battery pack 100 is greater than or equal to the main IC driving voltage value, a normal charging voltage is output from the charger 300 to perform charging.

The charging control unit 200 measures the voltage value of the battery pack 100, stores the main IC driving voltage value, compares the voltage value of the battery pack with the main IC driving voltage value, and determines whether normal charging is possible to charge. It functions to set the voltage.

The charging control unit 200 includes a voltage measurement unit 210, a main IC driving voltage storage unit 220, a normal chargeability determination unit 230, and a charging voltage setting unit 240.

The voltage measurement unit 210 measures the voltage value of the battery pack 100 and transmits voltage value data of the battery pack 100 to the normal chargeable determination unit 230.

The main IC driving voltage storage unit 220 stores the main IC driving voltage and transmits the main IC driving voltage value data to the normal chargeable determining unit 230 so that the voltage value of the battery pack 100 can be compared.

The normal chargeable determination unit 230 compares the voltage value of the battery pack 100 transmitted by the voltage measuring unit 210 with the main IC driving voltage value transmitted by the main IC driving voltage storage unit 220.

As a result of the comparison, when the voltage value of the battery pack 100 is less than the main IC driving voltage value, it is determined that normal charging is not possible.

The comparison with the main IC driving voltage value may be determined by checking whether the difference between the voltage value of the battery pack 100 and the IC driving voltage value is less than or equal to a predetermined range.

The charging voltage setting unit 240 includes a boosted voltage setting command unit 241 and a boosted voltage charging termination command unit 242 that determines a charging voltage according to a result of the charging possibility determination unit 230.

The boosted voltage setting command unit 241 determines to charge with the boosted voltage when normal charging is not possible as a result of the determination of the normal chargeable determination unit 230, and commands the charger 300 to charge the boosted voltage. do.

The boosted voltage charging termination command unit 242 functions to command the charger 300 to charge the normal voltage when normal charging is possible as a result of the determination by the normal charging possibility determination unit 230.

The charger 300 functions to supply charging power to the battery pack 100.

The charger 300 may include a normal charging voltage setting unit 310 and a boosted charging voltage setting unit 320, and outputs a charging voltage set according to a command of the charging control unit 200.

The normal charging voltage setting unit 310 charges the battery pack 100 by outputting a preset normal charging voltage as a charging voltage when the charging control unit 200 commands the supply of the normal charging voltage.

The boosted charging voltage setting unit 320 charges the battery pack 100 by outputting a preset boosted charging voltage as a charging voltage when the charging control unit 200 commands the boosted charging voltage to be supplied.

At this time, the preset boosted charging voltage is a voltage value higher than the normal charging voltage that enables charging even when the voltage of the battery pack is lower than the main IC driving voltage.

2. Method for charging a battery pack in a low voltage state according to an embodiment of the present invention

In the present invention, the voltage value of the battery pack 100 in a low voltage state is measured and compared with the main IC driving voltage value, and if the voltage value of the battery pack 100 is lower than the main IC driving voltage value, it is determined as a normal charging impossible state. After charging the boosted charging voltage by supplying the boosted charging voltage to the battery pack 100, the voltage value of the battery pack 100 is measured again and compared with the main IC driving voltage value, if it is determined that it is not in a charging state, normal charging This is a method of charging the battery pack 100 in a low voltage state in which the battery pack 100 is charged with a voltage.

The charging method of the present invention includes a battery pack 100 voltage measurement step (S110), a battery pack 100 voltage comparison step (S120), a chargeable determination step (S130), and a charging voltage setting and charging step (S140). It is composed by

Hereinafter, each step will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

The voltage measurement step S110 of the battery pack 100 is a step of measuring the voltage of the battery pack 100.

The voltage comparison step S120 of the battery pack 100 is a step of comparing the voltage value of the battery pack 100 measured in the voltage measurement step S110 of the battery pack 100 with a preset main IC driving voltage value.

In step S130 of determining whether charging is possible, when the voltage value of the measured battery pack 100 is less than the main IC driving voltage value as a result of the comparison in the voltage comparison step S120 of the battery pack 100 It is a step to judge as.

As a result of the determination, if charging is not possible, boost charging is performed in the next charging voltage setting step (S140), and when normal charging is possible, normal charging is performed.

On the other hand, in the case of the battery pack 100 undergoing boosted charging, if it is determined that normal charging is possible by periodically performing the step S130 of determining whether charging is possible, the boosted charging is terminated and normal charging is performed.

In the charging voltage setting and charging step (S140), the charging voltage is set according to the result of performing the chargeable determination step (S130), and the boosted charging setting and charging step (S141) and the boosted charging termination and normal charging step (S142) It can be composed of.

In the step-up charging setting and charging step (S141), when it is determined that the charging is not possible as a result of the charging possibility determination step (S130), it is determined to charge the battery pack 100 with the boosted charging voltage, and the charger 300 In this step, charging is commanded to output the boosted charging voltage and the battery pack 100 is charged.

When it is determined that the charging is not possible as a result of the charging possibility determination step (S130) in the step-up charging termination and normal charging step (S142), it is determined to charge the battery pack 100 with the normal charging voltage, and the charger ( In this step, the charging command 300) outputs the normal charging voltage and charging the battery pack 100 to the normal charging voltage.

In addition, when the step (S130) of determining whether the battery pack 100 being charged with the boosted charging voltage can be normally charged after the step-up charging setting and charging step (S141) is periodically determined, if it is determined that normal charging is possible, the boosted charging Termination and normal charging step (S142) is performed.

After that, the battery pack 100 receives a normal charging voltage from the charger 300 and performs charging.

Thereafter, when the battery pack 100 is charged to a normal charging voltage and fully charged, charging is terminated.

100: battery pack 200: charging control unit
210: voltage measuring unit 220: main IC driving voltage storage unit
230: normal charging possible determination unit 240: charging voltage setting unit
241: boost voltage setting command unit 242: boost voltage charge termination command unit
300: charger 310: normal charging voltage setting unit
320: boost charging voltage setting unit

Claims (6)

A battery pack comprising a main IC;
charger;
A charge control unit controlling charging of the battery pack;
In the battery pack charging system in a low voltage state comprising a,
The main IC is driven by the voltage of the battery pack,
The charging control unit,
Normal charging for determining whether the voltage of the battery pack is sufficient to operate the main IC by measuring the voltage of the battery pack and comparing the preset main IC driving voltage value of the battery pack with the voltage value of the battery pack. Possible judgment unit;
A charging voltage setting unit configured to control a charger so as to boost the charging voltage when normal charging is impossible because the voltage of the battery pack is lower than the main IC driving voltage as a result of the determination by the normal charging capability determination unit;
Battery pack charging system in a low voltage state, comprising a.
The method according to claim 1,
The charger,
A normal charging voltage setting unit for outputting a charging voltage as a normal charging voltage according to a command of the charging control unit; And
A boosted charging voltage setting unit configured to output a charging voltage as a boosted charging voltage according to a command of the charging control unit;
Battery pack charging system in a low voltage state, characterized in that it further comprises.
The method according to claim 1,
The charging voltage setting unit,
A determination result of the normal chargeable determination unit;
When normal charging is impossible because the voltage of the battery pack does not become a sufficient voltage to operate the main IC normally, it is determined whether to charge the battery pack with a boosted voltage, and a boosted voltage setting that commands the charger to charge the boosted voltage Command; And
When normal charging is possible, the boosted voltage charging termination command unit for stopping charging the boosted voltage and instructing the charger to charge the normal voltage;
Battery pack charging system in a low voltage state, characterized in that the configuration further comprises.
In the battery pack charging method in a low voltage state,
A battery pack voltage measurement step of measuring a voltage value of the battery pack;
A battery pack voltage comparison step of comparing the measured voltage value of the battery pack with a preset main IC driving voltage value to compare whether the battery pack voltage is a voltage sufficient to drive the main IC of the battery pack;
Determining whether or not charging is possible when the measured voltage of the battery pack is smaller than the main IC driving voltage value and the main IC cannot be driven as a result of comparing the battery pack voltage;
In the step of determining whether the charge is possible,
A step-up charging setting command and charging step of determining boosted charging, commanding boosting charging to a charger, and charging the battery pack when it is determined that the charging is not possible; And
Step-up charging termination and normal charging command steps of determining normal charging, instructing normal voltage charging to the charger, and charging the battery pack when it is determined that the charging is not in a non-charging state;
A method of charging a battery pack in a low voltage state, comprising: a.
delete The method of claim 4,
The step of determining whether the charge is possible,
A method of charging a battery pack in a low voltage state, characterized in that it is periodically determined whether the battery pack can be normally charged, and repeatedly performed until normal charging is possible.

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