KR102342842B1 - Battery management apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The battery management device according to the present invention includes a plurality of slave BMSs connected to each of a plurality of battery modules to charge and discharge a plurality of battery cells provided in the plurality of battery modules, and a master BMS connected through communication with the plurality of slave BMSs. wherein the plurality of slave BMSs includes: a balancing circuit unit for balancing cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells; and a slave processor for controlling the balancing of the balancing circuit unit, respectively, wherein the master BMS selects a target cell for balancing based on cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells, and performs balancing according to the outside temperature for each number of cells A master processor for selecting a balancing target cell based on the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit and controlling the slave processor so that balancing is performed only on the cell voltage of the balancing target cell from among the plurality of battery cells.

Description

Battery management apparatus

The present invention relates to a technology for managing a battery pack, and more particularly, to an apparatus for balancing voltages between battery cells included in a battery module in a battery pack.

In recent years, as the demand for portable electronic products such as laptops, video cameras, and mobile phones has rapidly increased, and energy storage batteries, robots, and satellites have been developed in earnest, high-performance secondary batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged have been developed. Research is being actively conducted.

Currently commercialized secondary batteries include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, nickel zinc batteries, and lithium secondary batteries. Among them, lithium secondary batteries have almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based secondary batteries, so charging and discharging are free, Due to its advantages such as a very low self-discharge rate and high energy density, it is receiving a lot of attention.

On the other hand, as carbon energy is gradually depleted and interest in the environment increases, the demand for electric powered vehicles such as electric bicycles and electric scooters as well as hybrid and electric vehicles worldwide, including the United States, Europe, Japan, and Korea, is increasing. is gradually increasing. Since such an electrically driven vehicle obtains vehicle driving power by using the charging and discharging energy of the battery pack, it is well received by many consumers in that it has excellent fuel efficiency and can emit no or reduce pollutants compared to a vehicle using only an engine. . Accordingly, more attention and research are being focused on a battery, which is a key component of an electric driving vehicle.

In addition, recently, a technology for storing energy such as a smart grid system is also one of the most popular technologies. The smart grid system is an intelligent power grid system that aims to increase the efficiency of power use through the interaction between power supply and consumption by applying information and communication technology to the production, transport, and consumption processes of power. One of the important components to build such a smart grid system is a battery pack that stores power.

As described above, batteries are used in various fields, and fields in which batteries are used a lot recently, such as electric driving vehicles and smart grid systems, often require large capacity. In order to increase the capacity of the battery pack, there may be a method of increasing the capacity of the secondary battery, that is, the battery cell itself. has Therefore, in general, a battery pack in which a plurality of battery cells are connected in series and parallel is widely used.

The plurality of battery cells constituting the battery pack has a difference in capacity performance between the batteries due to differences in essential characteristics or manufacturing environments as usage time elapses, diversity in system application, etc. This causes a difference in the cell terminal voltage or a state of charge (SOC) difference.

The difference is that when a plurality of battery cells having a difference in relative electrical characteristics are driven as one battery pack, the charging or discharging ability of the entire battery pack is limited by a specific battery cell with reduced performance, the battery pack ages, and the battery pack ages. , overvoltage, etc. may occur.

In order to solve this problem, various cell balancing technologies for balancing voltages between battery cells have been researched and tried in the related art. In such a cell balancing technology, various aspects must be considered, and among them, a representative one can be said to be a technical implementation possibility, manufacturing cost, design problem, etc.

Among the various types of cell balancing devices proposed in the prior art, a certain cell balancing device performs cell balancing using passive balancing in which a battery cell having a higher charging voltage than other battery cells is connected with a balancing resistor. Such a conventional cell balancing device performs cell balancing through discharging through the balancing resistor, so that not only the PCB on which the balancing resistor is mounted, but also the temperature inside the battery pack increases due to heat generation of the balancing resistor during the cell balancing process. have.

Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery management device capable of balancing battery cells in consideration of the external temperature of the battery pack and the temperature of the balancing circuit unit. .

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be understood by the following description, and will become more clearly understood by the examples of the present invention. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the appended claims.

A battery management device according to the present invention for achieving the above object, a plurality of slave BMS and the plurality of slave BMS connected to each of a plurality of battery modules for charging and discharging a plurality of battery cells provided in the plurality of battery modules. and a master BMS connected via communication.

Preferably, the plurality of slave BMS includes: a balancing circuit unit for balancing cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells; and a slave processor for controlling the balancing of the balancing circuit unit.

Preferably, the master BMS selects a target cell for balancing based on the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells, and selects a target cell for balancing based on the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells according to the outside temperature and a master processor for controlling the slave processor so that balancing is performed only with respect to the cell voltage of the balancing target cell among the plurality of battery cells.

Preferably, the master processor corresponds to the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit with the smallest temperature difference from a preset reference temperature among the maximum expected temperatures of the balancing circuit unit for each number of cells performing balancing according to the outdoor temperature. can be checked

Preferably, the master processor may compare the confirmed number of cells to be balancing with the number of cells to be reserved for balancing, and select the balancing target cell from among the plurality of battery cells in response to the comparison result.

Preferably, the master processor selects the balancing target cells from among the plurality of battery cells by the number of the checked balancing cells when the number of cells to be balancing is less than the number of cells to be balancing as a result of the comparison. can

Preferably, as a result of the comparison, if the number of cells for balancing is greater than or equal to the number of cells to be balancing, the master processor selects the balancing target cells from among the plurality of battery cells by the number of cells to be reserved for balancing. You can choose.

Preferably, the master processor may select the balancing target cells in an order of increasing cell voltage.

Preferably, the master processor may use the temperature of the balancing circuit unit measured after the balancing is completed to update the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of cells performing balancing according to the outdoor temperature.

The battery pack according to the present invention may include the battery management device.

The vehicle according to the present invention may include the battery management device.

According to the present invention, by balancing the battery cells in consideration of the external temperature of the battery pack and the temperature of the balancing circuit part, overheating of the surroundings of the battery pack and the balancing circuit part can be prevented.

The following drawings attached to the present specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with the detailed description of the present invention to be described later. should not be construed as being limited only to
1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a battery pack including a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a slave BMS of a battery management apparatus and a connection configuration with a plurality of battery cells according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a master BMS of a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a table showing the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells according to the outdoor temperature used by the master BMS of the battery management device according to an embodiment of the present invention to check the number of balancing cells.
5 is a table showing the expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells according to the outdoor temperature used by the master BMS of the battery management device according to another embodiment of the present invention to check the number of balancing cells.

The above-described objects, features and advantages will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar components.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a battery pack P including a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a slave BMS ( 100a) is a diagram schematically illustrating a connection configuration of a plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4, and FIG. 3 is a master BMS of a battery management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram schematically showing the functional configuration of 200 .

1 to 3 , in the battery management apparatus according to the present invention, when a plurality of battery modules 10a, 10b, and 10c are included in a battery pack P, a plurality of battery modules 10a, 10b, and 10c ) as a device for balancing the voltage between a plurality of battery cells (10a-1, ..., 10a-4) provided in each, including a plurality of slave BMS (100a, 100b, 100c) and a master BMS (200) can

First, a connection configuration between the battery management apparatus and the battery pack P will be described. The battery pack P may include a plurality of battery modules 10a , 10b , and 10c each having a plurality of battery cells. At this time, the plurality of slave BMS (100a, 100b, 100c) is respectively connected to the plurality of battery modules (10a, 10b, 10c) to charge and discharge the plurality of battery modules (10a, 10b, 10c), and to control the electrical characteristics and can manage Master BMS 200 is connected through communication with a plurality of slave BMS (100a, 100b, 100c) to control the plurality of slave BMS (100a, 100b, 100c) to control and manage the electrical characteristics of the battery pack (P). can

On the other hand, in the present specification, three battery modules (10a, 10b, 10c) are included in the battery pack (P), and three slave BMS (100a, 100b, 100c) are respectively three battery modules (10a, 10b, 10c) Although described and illustrated as being connected to, the number may not be limited. That is, the battery management apparatus according to the present invention may include the number of slave BMSs corresponding to the number of battery modules included in the battery pack P. Also, the plurality of slave BMSs 100a, 100b, and 100c are components performing the same role, and may include the same components therein.

Meanwhile, although it has been described and illustrated in the present specification that four battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 are provided in one battery module 10a, the number may not be limited.

Hereinafter, one slave BMS 100a will be described on behalf of the plurality of slave BMSs 100a, 100b, and 100c. The contents described below may be described in the same manner with respect to the other slave BMSs 100b and 100c.

The slave BMS 100a may include a balancing circuit unit 110a-1, ..., 110a-4, a slave sensing unit 120a, a slave memory unit 130a, a slave processor 140a, and a slave communication unit 150a. can

The balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 may be connected to each of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., and 10a-4 to perform balancing between cell voltages.

More specifically, the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 perform passive balancing of discharging the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., and 10a-4 to thereby perform a plurality of battery cells ( It is possible to reduce the imbalance between the cell voltages of 10a-1, ..., 10a-4).

To this end, the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 include balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4, and switching elements 112a-1, ..., 112a-4, respectively. ) and power paths 113a-1, ..., 113a-4.

The balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4 are a plurality of battery cells 10a-1, provided in the battery pack P through the power paths 113a-1, ..., 113a-4. ..., 10a-4) may be electrically connected to each other. That is, the balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4 are connected to the plurality of battery cells 10a- provided in the battery module 10a through the power paths 113a-1, ..., 113a-4. 1, ..., 10a-4) may be connected in series with each other.

The balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4 may be mounted together on a board on which the components of the battery management device are mounted and installed in the battery pack P.

On the other hand, the switching elements (112a-1, ..., 112a-4) is provided in each of the power paths (113a-1, ..., 113a-4) balancing resistors (111a-1, ..., 111a-) 4) and the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 may be electrically connected or cut off.

In other words, the switching elements 112a-1, ..., 112a-4 are controlled to be turned on or off by the slave processor 140a, and the balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4 are controlled by the slave processor 140a. ) and the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 may be electrically connected or disconnected from each other.

For example, when the switching elements 112a-1, ..., 112a-4 are controlled to be turned on, the balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4 and the plurality of battery cells 10a-1 , ..., 10a-4) may be electrically connected. Accordingly, each cell voltage of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 is applied to each of the balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4, and the plurality of battery cells 10a -1, ..., 10a-4) may be discharged.

Conversely, when the switching elements 112a-1, ..., 112a-4 are controlled to be turned off, the balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4 and the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, . .., 10a-4) may not be electrically connected. Accordingly, each cell voltage of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 is not applied to each of the balancing resistors 111a-1, ..., 111a-4, and the plurality of battery cells (10a-1, ..., 10a-4) may not be discharged.

The slave sensing unit 120a is operatively coupled to the slave processor 140a. That is, the slave sensing unit 120a may be connected to the slave processor 140a to transmit an electrical signal to the slave processor 140a or to receive an electrical signal from the slave processor 140a.

The slave sensing unit 120a may measure measurement data used when the slave processor 140a performs balancing between cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4.

To this end, the slave sensing unit 120a includes a cell voltage applied between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4, and the plurality of battery cells 10a every preset period. -1, ..., 10a-4) and the cell current flowing into or flowing out and the circuit part temperature of the balancing circuit parts 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 are repeatedly measured, and the measured cell voltage, cell current and A measurement signal representing the circuit unit temperature may be provided to the slave processor 140a.

Here, the circuit unit temperature may be the temperature of the printed circuit board on which the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 are mounted.

The slave sensing unit 120a includes a current sensor configured to measure currents of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4. Also, the slave sensing unit 120a may further include a voltage sensor configured to measure voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4. In addition, the slave sensing unit 120a may further include a temperature sensor configured to measure the circuit unit temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4.

The slave processor 140a receives a measurement signal from the slave sensing unit 120a, through signal processing, the cell voltage, cell current, and balancing circuit unit ( Each digital value of the circuit unit temperature of 110a-1, ..., 110a-4) may be determined and stored in the slave memory unit 130a.

The slave memory unit 130a is a semiconductor memory device that writes, erases, and updates data generated by the slave processor 140a, and the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4. Stores a plurality of program codes prepared to perform balancing between the two. Also, the slave memory unit 130a may store preset values of various predetermined parameters used when practicing the present invention.

The type of the slave memory unit 130a is not particularly limited as long as it is a known semiconductor memory device capable of writing, erasing, and updating data. As an example, the slave memory unit 130a may be DRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, ROM, EEPROM, register, or the like. The slave memory unit 130a may further include a storage medium storing program codes defining the control logic of the slave processor 140a. The storage medium includes an inactive storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The slave memory unit 130a may be physically separated from the slave processor 140a or may be integrated with the slave processor 140a.

The slave communication unit 150a may transmit a signal to the master BMS 200 or receive a signal from the master BMS 200 under the control of the slave processor 140a.

More specifically, the slave communication unit 150a is, under the control of the slave processor 140a, the cell voltage of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 measured by the slave sensing unit 120a, The cell current and circuit temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 may be transmitted to the master BMS 200 .

Also, the slave communication unit 150a may receive operation control signals of the switching elements 112a-1, ..., 112a-4 from the master BMS 200 under the control of the slave processor 140a.

To this end, the slave communication unit 150a may communicate with the master BMS 200 using one or more of wired communication and wireless communication. Here, the communication method used by the slave communication unit 150a is not limited.

On the other hand, the slave processor 140a may control the operation state of the switching elements 112a-1, ..., 112a-4 to turn on or turn off in response to the operation control signal received from the slave communication unit 150a. have.

The slave processor 140a may selectively include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits, registers, communication modems, data processing devices, and the like known in the art to execute various control logics. At least one or more of various control logics that can be executed by the slave processor 140a are combined, and the combined control logics may be written in a computer-readable code system and recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. The type of the recording medium is not particularly limited as long as it can be accessed by the slave processor 140a included in the computer. As an example, the recording medium includes at least one selected from the group consisting of ROM, RAM, registers, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, hard disk, floppy disk, and an optical data recording device. In addition, the code system may be modulated into a carrier signal and included in a communication carrier at a specific time, and may be distributed and stored and executed in networked computers. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the combined control logics can be easily inferred by programmers in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Hereinafter, the master BMS 200 will be described.

The master BMS 200 may include a master communication unit 210 , a master sensing unit 220 , a master memory unit 230 , a master processor 240 , and a master notification unit 250 .

The master communication unit 210 transmits a signal to the slave communication unit 150a of the slave BMS 100a or receives a signal from the slave communication unit 150a of the slave BMS 100a under the control of the master processor 240 .

More specifically, the master communication unit 210 under the control of the master processor 240, the slave processor 140a of the slave BMS (100a) is the operating state of the switching elements (112a-1, ..., 112a-4) may transmit an operation control signal to the slave communication unit 150a to control the .

In addition, the master communication unit 210 includes the cell voltage, cell current, and balancing circuit units 110a-1, .. ., 110a-4) may receive the temperature of the circuit unit from the slave communication unit 150a.

To this end, the master communication unit 210 may communicate with the slave communication unit 150a of the slave BMS 100a using one or more of wired communication and wireless communication. Here, the communication method used by the master communication unit 210 is not limited.

In this case, when the measurement signal is received from the master communication unit 210 , the master processor 240 may store it in the master memory unit 230 .

The master sensing unit 220 is operatively coupled to the master processor 240 . That is, the master sensing unit 220 may be connected to the master processor 240 to transmit an electrical signal to the master processor 240 or to receive an electrical signal from the master processor 240 .

The master sensing unit 220 may measure measurement data used when the master processor 240 performs balancing between cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4.

To this end, the master sensing unit 220 may repeatedly measure the outside air temperature of the battery pack P at a preset period and provide a measurement signal indicating the measured outside air temperature to the master processor 240 .

Here, the outside temperature may be the outside temperature of the battery pack P.

The master sensing unit 220 may further include a temperature sensor configured to measure the outside temperature of the battery pack P.

When the measurement signal is received from the master sensing unit 220 , the master processor 240 may determine a digital value of the outdoor temperature of the battery pack P through signal processing and store it in the master memory unit 230 .

The master memory unit 230 is a semiconductor memory device, and the cell voltage, cell current, and balancing circuit unit 110a-1 of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 received from the master communication unit 210 are , ..., 110a-4) stores the circuit part temperature. Also, the master memory unit 230 stores the outdoor temperature of the battery pack P measured by the master sensing unit 220 .

Meanwhile, the master memory unit 230 writes, erases, and updates data generated by the master processor 240 , and balances cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4. Stores a plurality of program codes prepared for execution. Also, the master memory unit 230 may store preset values of various predetermined parameters used when practicing the present invention.

As long as the master memory unit 230 is a semiconductor memory device known to be capable of writing, erasing, and updating data, there is no particular limitation on the type thereof. As an example, the master memory unit 230 may be a DRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, ROM, EEPROM, register, or the like. The master memory unit 230 may further include a storage medium storing program codes defining the control logic of the master processor 240 . The storage medium includes an inactive storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The master memory unit 230 may be physically separated from the master processor 240 , or may be integrally integrated with the master processor 240 .

The master processor 240 selects a target cell for balancing based on the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4, and the balancing circuit unit 110a for each number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature A cell to be balancing may be selected based on the maximum expected temperature of -1, ..., 110a-4).

More specifically, the master processor 240 calculates the cell voltage deviation between the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4, and whether the calculated cell voltage deviation is equal to or greater than the reference voltage deviation In response, it may be determined whether balancing is performed. Then, the master processor 240 balancing among the plurality of battery cells (10a-1, ..., 10a-4) based on the cell voltage of the plurality of battery cells (10a-1, ..., 10a-4) A spare target cell can be selected.

At this time, the master processor 240 calculates the cell voltage deviation between the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 to the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4. It can be calculated as the average deviation of the cell voltage of

Thereafter, the master processor 240 may determine that balancing is performed when the calculated cell voltage deviation is equal to or greater than the reference voltage deviation. When it is determined that balancing is performed, the master processor 240 may select a preset number of cells to be balancing from among the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 in the order of the highest cell voltage.

4 is a table showing the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells according to the outdoor temperature used by the master BMS 200 of the battery management device according to an embodiment of the present invention to check the number of balancing cells.

4 , the master processor 240 may select a balancing target cell based on the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells performing balancing according to the outside temperature.

More specifically, the master processor 240 has the smallest temperature difference from the preset reference temperature among the maximum expected temperatures of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 for each number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature. The number of balancing cells corresponding to the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 may be checked.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4 , the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of balancing cells performed according to the outdoor temperature is determined according to the outdoor temperature of the current battery pack P. When balancing in which an arbitrary number of battery cells are completely discharged is performed, it may be an experimental value obtained by measuring the circuit part temperature of the balancing circuit parts 110a-1, ..., 110a-4.

The maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature may be stored in the master memory unit 230 .

The preset reference temperature may be the maximum temperature at which the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4, the slave BMS 110a, the master BMS 200, and the battery pack P are not damaged. That is, when the circuit part temperature of the balancing circuit parts 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 exceeds a preset reference temperature, the balancing circuit part 110a-1, ..., 110a-4, the slave due to high heat The BMS 110a, the master BMS 200 and the battery pack P may be damaged.

For example, the master processor 240 is the current external temperature of the battery pack (P) from the master sensing unit 220 is "32 ℃", when the preset reference temperature is "32 ℃", the outdoor temperature "32 ℃" Maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 for each number of cells performing balancing according to "40℃", "48℃", "56℃", "64℃", "72℃ You can check the number of two balancing cells corresponding to the maximum expected temperature “48° C.” of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 with the smallest temperature difference from the preset reference temperature “32° C.” have.

Thereafter, the master processor 240 compares the number of cells to be balancing with the number of cells to be balancing, and a balancing target cell among the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 in response to the comparison result. can be selected.

More specifically, the master processor 240 compares the number of cells for balancing with the number of cells to be balancing, and if the number of cells for balancing is less than the number of cells to be reserved for balancing, a plurality of battery cells 10a-1 , .

Conversely, the master processor 240 compares the number of cells to be balancing with the number of cells to be balancing, and if the number of cells to be balancing is greater than or equal to the number of cells to be balancing, a plurality of battery cells 10a-1, . .., 10a-4), the balancing target cells may be selected as many as the number of balancing cells in the order of the highest cell voltage.

When a cell to be balancing is selected, the master processor 240 controls only the switching element of the balancing circuit unit connected to the selected balancing cell to be turned on to discharge the balancing target cell, through the master communication unit 210, the slave BMS (100a) A control signal may be transmitted to the slave communication unit 150a of the .

Accordingly, upon receiving the control signal from the slave communication unit 150a, the slave processor 140a may control only the switching element of the balancing circuit unit connected to the selected balancing target cell to be turned on to discharge the balancing target cell.

According to this configuration of the present invention, when the battery management device performs balancing of the battery cells, the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 for each number of balancing cells according to the outside temperature is determined. In consideration of the high heat generated by balancing, it is possible to prevent damage to the balancing circuit parts 110a-1, ..., 110a-4, the slave BMS 110a, the master BMS 200 and the battery pack P. have

On the other hand, the master processor 240 uses the circuit temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 measured after the balancing is completed. The maximum expected temperature of -1, ..., 110a-4) can be updated.

For example, the master processor 240 completes the balancing of the two battery cells at an outside temperature of “32° C.” and then receives the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a from the slave sensing unit 120a When the circuit part temperature of -4) is measured as "50 ℃", the maximum of the balancing circuit parts 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 corresponding to two balancing cells according to the outdoor temperature "32 ℃" The expected temperature “48°C” can be updated to “50°C”.

The master processor 240 may optionally include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits, registers, communication modems, data processing devices, and the like known in the art to execute various control logics. At least one or more of various control logics that can be executed by the master processor 240 are combined, and the combined control logics are written in a computer-readable code system and recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. The type of the recording medium is not particularly limited as long as it is accessible by the master processor 240 included in the computer. As an example, the recording medium includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a ROM, a RAM, a register, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a hard disk, a floppy disk, and an optical data recording device. In addition, the code scheme may be modulated into a carrier signal and included in a communication carrier at a specific time, and may be distributed and stored and executed in networked computers. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the combined control logics can be easily inferred by programmers in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Meanwhile, in the present specification, the master processor 240 and the slave processor 140a have been described as being physically separated, but may be integrated into one. That is, the master processor 240 and the slave processor 140a may be integrated into any one of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), another chipset, a logic circuit, and a data processing device.

The master notification unit 250 receives an input from the master processor 240 or whether balancing is performed and whether the master processor 240 is stored in the master memory unit 230 to determine whether balancing is performed and the identification code of the balancing target cell, and The identification code of the selected balancing target cell may be output, and it may be output to the outside.

More specifically, the master notification unit 250 is a display unit that displays whether balancing is performed and the identification code of the balancing target cell using one or more of a symbol, number, and code, and whether balancing is performed and the identification code of the balancing target cell sound It may include one or more of the speaker devices that output to

Hereinafter, a battery management apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the battery management device according to another embodiment of the present invention, compared to the battery management device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the master processor 240 is used to check the number of balancing cells, and data stored in the master memory unit 230 is used. The only difference is whether other components are included and the roles of each component may be the same. Accordingly, repeated descriptions will be omitted.

5 is a balancing circuit unit (110a-1, ..., This is a table showing the expected temperature of 110a-4).

5 , the master memory unit 230 according to another embodiment may store the expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature. .

In this case, the master memory unit 230 may store the expected temperatures of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature for each cell balancing voltage.

Here, the cell balancing voltage may be a voltage discharged from a balancing target battery cell among the plurality of battery cells 10a-1, ..., 10a-4 for balancing.

For example, when the cell balancing voltage is "0.1V", the master memory unit 230 sets the expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature. It can be saved as a data table of In addition, when the cell balancing voltage is "0.2V", the master memory unit 230 calculates the expected temperature of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of balancing cells performed according to the outside temperature as one data. It can be stored as a table.

By repeating this, the master memory unit 230 performs balancing according to the outside temperature when the cell balancing voltage for every “0.1V” is balanced in the “0.1V” to “3.5V” voltage section, and the balancing circuit unit 110a for each number of cells performed balancing according to the outside temperature. The predicted temperatures of -1, ..., 110a-4) may be stored as data tables, respectively.

The master processor 240 may determine the balancing voltage based on a cell voltage deviation between the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 10a - 1 , ..., 10a - 4 .

More specifically, the master processor 240 is the average voltage of the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells (10a-1, ..., 10a-4) and the plurality of battery cells (10a-1, ..., 10a-4) ), a voltage difference between the minimum cell voltages exceeding the average voltage among the cell voltages may be determined as the balancing voltage.

Thereafter, the master processor 240 corresponds to the balancing voltage determined from among the expected temperatures of the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 for each number of balancing cells performing balancing according to the outdoor temperature stored in the master memory unit 230. You can read the data table.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the master processor 240 determines that the balancing voltage is “1.0V”, the balancing circuit units 110a-1, ..., 110a-4 according to the number of cells performing balancing according to the outside temperature. A data table with a cell balancing voltage of “1.0V” can be read out of the expected temperature.

Thereafter, the master processor 240 may perform balancing in the same manner as the master processor 240 according to the above-described embodiment using the read data table.

According to this configuration of the present invention, the master processor 240 according to another embodiment is a balancing circuit unit (110a-1, .. ., 110a-4), balancing may be performed in consideration of the circuit part temperature.

Meanwhile, the battery management apparatus according to the present invention may be applied to a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. That is, the vehicle according to the present invention may include the battery management device according to the present invention.

As described above, although the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the technical idea of the present invention and the following by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Of course, various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of equivalents of the claims to be described.

On the other hand, although the term 'part' is used in this specification, it indicates a logical structural unit, and does not necessarily indicate a component that can or must be physically separated between each structural unit, and each structural unit It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention does not necessarily have to be physically implemented by one element or device.

P: battery pack
100a, 100b, 100c: Slave BMS
200: master BMS

Claims (9)

In the battery management apparatus comprising: a plurality of slave BMSs connected to each of a plurality of battery modules to charge and discharge a plurality of battery cells provided in the plurality of battery modules; and a master BMS connected through communication with the plurality of slave BMSs,
The plurality of slave BMS is
a balancing circuit unit for balancing cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells; and
Each of the slave processors for controlling the balancing performance of the balancing circuit unit,
The master BMS is
Selecting a balancing target cell based on the cell voltage of the plurality of battery cells, selecting a balancing target cell based on the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells performed according to an outdoor temperature, and selecting the plurality of battery cells and a master processor for controlling the slave processor so that balancing is performed only with respect to the cell voltage of the cell to be balanced.
According to claim 1,
The master processor
A battery management device for confirming the number of balancing cells corresponding to the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit having the smallest temperature difference from a preset reference temperature among the maximum expected temperatures of the balancing circuit unit for each number of cells performing balancing according to the outdoor temperature.
3. The method of claim 2,
The master processor
The battery management apparatus compares the checked number of cells to be balancing with the number of cells to be reserved for balancing, and selects the balancing target cell from among the plurality of battery cells in response to the comparison result.
4. The method of claim 3,
The master processor
As a result of the comparison, if the number of cells to be balancing is less than the number of cells to be reserved for balancing, the number of cells to be balancing is selected from among the plurality of battery cells by the number of cells to be balancing.
4. The method of claim 3,
The master processor
As a result of the comparison, if the number of cells to be balancing is greater than or equal to the number of cells to be balancing, the battery management device for selecting the balancing target cells from among the plurality of battery cells by the number of cells to be reserved for balancing.
According to claim 1,
The master processor
A battery management device that selects the balancing target cells in order of increasing cell voltages.
According to claim 1,
The master processor
A battery management apparatus for updating the maximum expected temperature of the balancing circuit unit for each number of balancing cells according to an outdoor temperature by using the temperature of the balancing circuit unit measured after the balancing is completed.
The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7
Included battery pack.
The battery management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7
Including car.

Images