TWI523369B - System of communication between stacked integrated circuits powered by different voltage supply levels in multiple cell-stacked battery pack - Google Patents

Description

Stacked integrated circuit communication system powered by different voltage supply levels of multi-cell stacked battery packs

The present invention relates to a communication system, and more particularly to a stacked integrated inter-circuit communication system powered by different voltage supply levels of a multi-cell stacked battery pack.

Rechargeable batteries are widely used in many products, such as notebook computers, tablets, mobile phones, and even large electric vehicles. Generally, a rechargeable battery is composed of a plurality of rechargeable battery cells of the same specification connected in series and in parallel with each other to meet a specific power supply demand. Because each rechargeable battery cell may have unique physical conditions, such as power capacity, when many rechargeable battery cells are connected to each other (charging or discharging), the difference between the two rechargeable battery cells will cause the battery to become unbalanced. Battery imbalance can further lead to charging Shortened battery life. Therefore, the battery management system is used to monitor the condition of the rechargeable battery cells and provide countermeasures for battery imbalance conditions.

It can be determined that the function of a battery management system is not limited to the above. The design of the battery management system becomes complicated when the number of rechargeable battery cells inside the rechargeable battery increases. If a battery management system fails to meet the goal of managing all rechargeable battery cells, several battery management systems must operate in series or a battery management system must operate with the assistance of many subunits. A common battery management system operation concept is to provide master-servant management communication, and the related prior disclosure is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 8,237,405. The '405 patent provides a battery management system comprising a rechargeable battery having a plurality of rechargeable battery cells, a plurality of devices connected to the rechargeable battery, and a control unit coupled to a first device in the device. These devices can evaluate the status of the rechargeable battery cells. The control unit can communicate with a destination device of the devices via a preset path, and if a bad state occurs on the preset path, the device can also communicate with the destination device via an alternate path.

A feature of the '405 patent is the communication method applied to the battery management system. This communication method uses master-servant control and enables the battery management system to be extended for use with many connected cells. However, under such an architecture, the transmitted signal is achieved by current and charge transfer. This will result in higher power consumption. In addition, the '405 patent cannot be used in many commonly used protocols for internal communication.

Therefore, it consumes less power and is used in many common interiors. A master-servant management communication system of the agreement is urgently needed for research and development by the industry. The communication system must also operate effectively in the battery management system.

It is known that a master servant management system for a battery management system consumes a relatively high amount of power but can only be used in a limited internal communication protocol, and thus can be used for a main servant management that consumes less power and is applied to many commonly used internal protocols. Communication system is urgently needed for industry research and development. The communication system must also operate effectively in the battery management system. According to one aspect of the present invention, a stacked integrated inter-circuit communication system powered by different voltage supply levels of a multi-cell stacked battery pack includes: a plurality of battery cells stacked to provide power; and a plurality of integrated circuits Each integrated circuit is connected to at least one other integrated circuit and includes: a battery detecting unit for monitoring the most upstream battery core, the most downstream battery core or at least two connected battery cells among the plurality of battery cells a battery state, and obtaining a battery state of the most upstream battery core, the most downstream battery core, or at least two connected battery cells; a data transceiver unit electrically connected to the battery detection unit for receiving by an external device or a reply message transmitted from an integrated circuit connected to the upstream side and a demand command, receiving a reply message transmitted from an integrated circuit connected to the downstream side, transmitting the reply message, and/or a response message to the Connected to the integrated circuit on the upstream side, transmits the clock to the integrated circuit connected to the downstream side, and if the demand command needs to be transmitted to an integrated circuit on the downstream side, Send the demand command to the integrated circuit connected to the downstream side, if not There is another integrated circuit connected to the downstream side to stop transmitting the clock; and a power acquisition unit electrically connected to the battery detecting unit and the data transceiver unit for supplying power to the units for operating the battery detection Unit and data transceiver unit.

If the demand command requires, the response message is generated; the reply message is sent by the data transceiver unit in another integrated circuit on the downstream side; according to the present concept, the power acquisition unit of each two-phase connected integrated circuit is connected to At least one of the same battery cells causes the two-phase connected integrated circuit to share the power of the battery cells and have the same voltage level. Therefore, the clock, the demand command, the reply message, and the response message exist in a change form of the voltage level; the integrated circuit connected to the upstream end receives the clock and the demand command by the external device, and transmits the reply according to the demand command. A message and/or a response message regarding the status of the battery is given to the external device. Compared with the previous method of using current and charge transfer, the concept of using voltage-transmitted signals in this case can consume less power.

According to the present invention, the integrated circuit is connected to the data transceiver units via circuitry on a printed circuit board. The power acquisition unit is connected to the most upstream side battery cell, the most downstream side battery core, or at least two connected battery cells to obtain power. The power from a connected battery cell supports the communication of the clock, demand command, reply message or reaction message to an upstream integrated circuit, and the power from the other connected battery core supports the clock, demand command Respond to the communication of the message or response message to a downstream integrated circuit. Receive and transmit of clock, demand command, reply message or response message conforms to internal integrated circuit (Inter-Integrated Circuit) agreement or Service Provider Interface agreement.

In addition, the data transceiver unit transmits the clock, the demand command, the reply message or the response message by switching the voltage level. The clock triggers the receipt and transmission of the demand command, reply message or response message between the integrated circuits. The integrated circuit exists in the form of a package or a die. The external device is a controller.

10‧‧‧System

101‧‧‧First battery core

102‧‧‧second battery core

103‧‧‧third battery core

201‧‧‧First integrated circuit

202‧‧‧Second integrated circuit

203‧‧‧ Third integrated circuit

204‧‧‧fourth integrated circuit

300‧‧‧ Controller

401‧‧‧ Data Transceiver Unit

402‧‧‧Battery detection unit

403‧‧‧Power acquisition unit

4114‧‧‧Upstream output line

4115‧‧‧Upstream input line

4116‧‧‧Upstream clock line

4121‧‧‧ downstream clock line

4122‧‧‧ downstream output line

4123‧‧‧Downstream input line

4124‧‧‧Upstream output line

4125‧‧‧Upstream input line

4126‧‧‧Upstream clock line

4211‧‧‧First anode line

4212‧‧‧First Cathode Line

4221‧‧‧Second anode line

4222‧‧‧Second cathode line

4231‧‧‧3rd anode line

4232‧‧‧third cathode line

4311‧‧‧First power supply line

4312‧‧‧First grounding line

4321‧‧‧Second power supply line

4322‧‧‧Second grounding line

4331‧‧‧ Third power supply line

4332‧‧‧ Third grounding line

50‧‧‧ system

501‧‧‧First integrated circuit

502‧‧‧Second integrated circuit

503‧‧‧ Third integrated circuit

1 is a block diagram of a stacked integrated inter-circuit communication system powered by different voltage supply levels of a multi-cell stacked battery pack, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a portion of the system.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of another part of the system.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of another part of the system.

Figure 5 is a block diagram of a further portion of the system.

Figure 6 is a block diagram of still another embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

The invention will be more specifically described by reference to the following examples.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 5. Figure 1 is a diagram in accordance with the present invention. Embodiments, a block diagram of a stacked integrated inter-circuit communication system powered by different voltage supply levels of a multi-cell stacked battery pack. Figures 2 through 5 are block diagrams of different parts of the system of Figure 1.

A system 10 for communication between stacked integrated circuits powered by different voltage supply levels of a multi-cell stacked battery pack is shown in FIG. The system 10 can function as a battery management system. The system 10 includes three battery cells (a first battery core 101, a second battery core 102 and a third battery core 103) and four integrated circuits (a first integrated circuit 201 and a second integrated circuit). 202. A third integrated circuit 203 and a fourth integrated circuit 204). System 10 is further coupled to a controller 300. The first battery core 101, the second battery core 102, and the third battery core 103 are connected in series (stack) to provide electric power. The three battery cells form the core of a battery. The arrows in each figure represent the current direction of the battery. For a better description of the present embodiment, the direction of the current (from left to right) is used to indicate the relationship between the two connected cells or integrated circuits. If a battery cell (or integrated circuit) is on the upstream side, it is located on the left side of the other battery cells (or integrated circuits). Conversely, if a battery cell (or integrated circuit) is located on the downstream side, it is located on the right side of the other battery cells (or integrated circuits). For example, the first battery core 101 is located on the upstream side of the second battery core 102, the third integrated circuit 203 is located on the downstream side of the second integrated circuit 202, and the like. According to the present invention, the number of battery cells may be greater than or equal to or two. This embodiment refers to three for the description only. The battery cell can be a disposable or rechargeable battery core. The invention is not limited.

The integrated circuits are connected in series (stacked) to each other, and therefore, each integrated circuit is connected to at least one other integrated circuit. This means that there are two integrated circuits located on the most upstream side (first integrated circuit 201) and the most downstream side (fourth integrated circuit 204). These two integrated circuits have different operating modes from other integrated circuits, which will be described in detail later.

According to this embodiment, the hardware design of each integrated circuit is the same, but the operation is different. Referring to FIG. 2, the second integrated circuit 202 and the first battery cell 101 and the second battery cell 102 are cut out by the system 10 as an example to show the design of an integrated circuit and how it operates. In this embodiment, the integrated circuit is of a package type, that is, the integrated circuit is covered with a protective material such as an epoxy resin, and is connected to an external circuit via a plurality of pins. In accordance with the spirit of the present invention, integrated circuits can exist in the form of crystal grains that can be connected to external circuits by wire bonding. In Fig. 2, the integrated circuit 202 has ten pins. It is to be noted that the number of the pins 410 is not limited to ten, and the number thereof varies depending on the design of the integrated circuit and other functions.

The second integrated circuit 202 includes a data transceiver unit 401, a battery detection unit 402, and a power acquisition unit 403. The battery detecting unit 402 can monitor the battery state of the two connected battery cells, such as a voltage difference, a current value, a temperature, etc., and obtain the battery state from the battery core. It should be noted that the battery detection unit in each integrated circuit has different number of connected and monitored battery cells because of the different positions and functions. The first integrated circuit 201 monitors only the most upstream battery core (first battery core 101), and the fourth integrated circuit 204 monitors only the most downstream battery core (third The battery cells 103) are each taken from the monitored battery cells to obtain their battery status. In FIG. 2, the battery detecting unit 402 monitors the battery states of the first battery cell 101 and the second battery core 102 and obtains the battery state from the two battery cells. In fact, the battery state of the first battery cell 101 and the second battery cell 102 is monitored by the second integrated circuit 202 and the battery state of the two battery cells is obtained. Similarly, the third integrated circuit 203 monitors the battery states of the second battery cell 102 and the third battery core 103, and obtains the battery state of the two battery cells. The battery detecting unit 402 is connected to a first anode line 4211 connected to the anode of the first battery core 101, and a first cathode line 4212 connected to the cathode of the first battery core 101 for monitoring and acquisition ( That is, detection). It is also connected to a second anode line 4221 that is in contact with the anode of the second battery cell 102, and a second cathode line 4222 that is in contact with the cathode of the second battery core 102 for detection.

The data transceiver unit 401 is electrically connected to the battery detection unit 402. It can receive a clock via an upstream clock line 4126, receive a demand command from the first integrated circuit 201 connected to the upstream side via an upstream input line 4125, and receive a connection from the downstream side via a downstream input line 4123. A reply message of the triple integrated circuit 203. The data transceiver unit 401 can also transmit the response message and/or a response message about the battery status of the detected battery core (the first battery core 101 and/or the second battery core 102) via an upstream output line 4124 to The first integrated circuit 201 on the upstream side transmits the clock to the third integrated circuit 203 connected to the downstream side via a downstream clock line 4121, and if the demand command needs to be sent to the integrated circuit on the downstream side , for example That is, to the fourth integrated circuit 204, the demand command is transmitted to the third integrated circuit 203 connected to the downstream side via a downstream output line 4122. If the demand command requires it, the response message will be generated. The reply message is sent by another data transceiving unit in the third integrated circuit 203 on the downstream side. It should be noted that the power acquisition unit of each two-phase connected integrated circuit is connected to at least one identical battery cell, so that the two-phase connected integrated circuit can share the power of the battery core and have the same voltage level. For example, the power acquisition units of the third integrated circuit 203 and the fourth integrated circuit 204 are all connected to the third battery core 103, so that the data transceiver units of the third integrated circuit 203 and the fourth integrated circuit 204 can share the battery. The power of the core has the same voltage level, so the clock, demand command, reply message and response message are in the form of voltage levels. The data transceiver unit in each integrated circuit transmits a clock, a demand command, a reply message or a response message by switching the voltage level. It avoids the drawback that current flows from one integrated circuit to another, so that power consumption can be relatively small compared to conventional digital communication methods.

The power acquisition unit 403 is electrically connected to the battery detection unit 402 and the data transceiver unit 401 to provide power. Therefore, the battery detecting unit 402 and the data transceiving unit 401 can operate. The power acquisition unit 403 is connected to the first battery core 101 and the second battery core 102 to obtain power. It is connected to a first power supply line 4311 that is in contact with the anode of the first battery cell 101, and is connected to a first ground line 4312 that is in contact with the cathode of the first battery core 101. At the same time, the power acquisition unit 403 is also connected to a second power supply line that is in contact with the anode of the second battery core 102. The circuit 4321 has a second ground line 4322 connected to the cathode of the second battery cell 102.

It should be noted that the power from the connected first battery cell 101 (on the upstream side) is required to support the communication of the clock, demand command, reply message or reaction message to the first integrated circuit 201 (on the upstream side). This means that communication with the upstream clock line 4126 via the upstream output line 4124 and the upstream input line 4125 can be achieved by the power from the first battery cell 101. Similarly, power from the connected second battery cell 102 (on the downstream side) is required to support the communication of the clock, demand command, reply message or reaction message to the second integrated circuit 202 (on the downstream side). Thus, communication via the downstream clock line 4121, the downstream output line 4122, and the downstream input line 4123 can be achieved.

When the two integrated circuits are connected, there are three different cases: the two integrated circuits have other integrated circuits connected to the upstream side and the downstream side; one integrated circuit is not connected to other integrated circuits on the upstream side; The body circuit is not connected to other integrated circuits on the downstream side. These three cases are illustrated in Figures 3 through 5, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3, the second integrated circuit 202 is connected to the third integrated circuit 203 for communication operation. In order to simplify the illustration and achieve a better understanding, items with the same name have the same function (the appearance may not be consistent) regardless of the symbol. For example, 'downstream input line' 4133 has the same function as 'downstream input line' 4123, and so on.

The second battery core 102 and the third battery core 103 are used to provide power. The downstream clock line 4121, the downstream output line 4122 and the downstream input line 4123 are each connected to an upstream clock line, an upstream input line and an upstream output line, to which a data transceiver unit of the third integrated circuit 203 is connected ( Indicated by an ellipse) so that communication can work in between. The third integrated circuit 203 is further connected to a downstream clock line 4131, a downstream output line 4132 and a downstream input line 4133 to communicate with the fourth integrated circuit 204. This is the upstream line of an integrated circuit connected to the downstream line of the corresponding other integrated circuit, used to establish the communication channel between them. In addition, the third integrated circuit 203 is connected to a second anode line 4221 connected to the anode of the second battery core 102, and a second cathode line 4222 connected to the cathode of the second battery core 102 to detect the second battery core. 102. At the same time, a third anode line 4231 connected to the anode of the third battery cell 103 and a third cathode line 4232 connected to the cathode of the second battery core 103 are connected to the third battery core 103. Similarly, it is connected to a second power supply line 4321 that is in contact with the anode of the second battery cell 102, a second ground line 4322 that is in contact with the cathode of the second battery core 102, and a cathode that is in contact with the anode of the third battery core 103. The third power supply line 4331 and a third ground line 4332 that is in contact with the cathode of the third battery core 103 are used to obtain power required for operation.

Please refer to Figure 4. The first integrated circuit 201 is connected to the second integrated circuit 202 for communication operation. Note that the other integrated circuits are not connected to the upstream side of the first integrated circuit 201. The method of establishing communication channels has been described above. The first integrated circuit 201 is connected to an upstream output line 4114, an upstream An input line 4115 and an upstream clock line 4116 are in communication with the controller 300. The controller 300 will initiate a clock through the upstream clock line 4116 to the first integrated circuit 201, which will then pass downstream to all of the integrated circuits. The clock can trigger the transmission and reception of demand commands, reply messages or reaction message data between integrated circuits.

The demand command is required to be passed by the controller 300 to the second integrated circuit 202 via the upstream input line 4115. After the clock has passed to all of the integrated circuits, the controller 300 issues the demand command for battery management purposes. For example, if the controller 300 requests to obtain the battery state of the second battery cell 102, the demand command will carry the message and be transmitted to a data transceiver unit (not shown) of the first integrated circuit 201. Since the first integrated circuit 201 does not detect the second battery cell 102, the demand command will continue to be transmitted to a data transceiver unit (data transceiver unit 401) of the second integrated circuit 202 (on the downstream side) until it reaches the responsible detection. The integrated circuit of the second battery cell 102. At this time, the data transmission and reception unit of the second integrated circuit 202 and the third integrated circuit 203 will generate a reaction message including the battery state of the second battery cell 102. The data transceiving unit of the third integrated circuit 203 transmits the response message to the data transceiving unit of the second integrated circuit 202. The response message becomes a reply message of the data transceiver unit of the second integrated circuit 202. The data transceiving unit of the second integrated circuit 202 transmits the reply message to the data transceiving unit of the first integrated circuit 201 after it reacts itself. The data transceiving unit of the first integrated circuit 201 will receive only two products from the downstream side. The reply message of the body circuit. Finally, the reply message will arrive at controller 300 via upstream output line 4114.

Like the other integrated circuits, the first integrated circuit 201 obtains electric power by being connected to the first power supply line 4311 and the first ground line 4312. However, the communication with the second integrated circuit 202 is supported by the power from the first battery core 101. The communication between the first integrated circuit 201 and the controller 300 is enabled by the controller 300, and the operation therebetween is different from the operation between the second integrated circuit 202 and the third integrated circuit 203.

It can be understood that the integrated circuit is connected by the connected data transceiver unit by a circuit on a printed circuit board (not shown). Controller 300 can also be replaced by other devices that provide the same functionality. For example, a wireless communication device. In this embodiment, the receipt and transmission of the clock, demand command, reply message, or response message conforms to an Inter-Integrated Circuit. In practice, it can also be in accordance with other communication protocols, such as the Service Provider Interface.

Please refer to Figure 5. The third integrated circuit 203 is connected to the fourth integrated circuit 204 for communication operation. Note that no other integrated circuit is connected to the downstream side of the fourth integrated circuit 204. The method of establishing communication channels has been described above and will not be repeated here.

The fourth integrated circuit 204 obtains electric power by being connected to the third power supply line 4331 and the third ground line 4332. Because there is no other integrated circuit that can communicate on the downstream side, and no other battery cells provide power, The function of communication on the downstream side of the body circuit is cut off. This means that the quadrature integrated circuit 204 stops transmitting the clock. Similarly, the fourth integrated circuit 204 is connected to the third anode line 4231 and the third cathode line 4232 to detect the third battery core 103.

In the above embodiment, the two integrated integrated circuits simultaneously monitor the battery state of a battery cell and obtain the battery state of the battery cell. According to the spirit of the present invention, two connected integrated circuits can simultaneously monitor two or more connected battery cells, and the power obtaining unit can obtain power for operation from the battery cells. Referring to Fig. 6, the operation state of the present invention will be described in another embodiment using this figure. In a system 50, a plurality of cells are provided in series to provide the operation of system 50, and a plurality of integrated circuits having the structure described in the previous embodiment are used to monitor four connected cells. Take some of them for explanation. In Fig. 6, a first integrated circuit 501 monitors the first, second, third, and fourth battery cells from the left side, and obtains sufficient power from itself to operate; similarly, a second integrated body The circuit 502 monitors the third, fourth, fifth and sixth battery cells from the left side and obtains operating power therefrom; a third integrated circuit 503 monitors the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth from the left side. The battery core gets the operating power from it. The dotted line in the figure indicates the corresponding relationship of monitoring

According to the present invention, a voltage transfer signal can be utilized when two connected integrated circuits are connected to more than one battery cell because the shared battery cell provides a uniform voltage level for the two integrated circuits connected. In the present embodiment, the first integrated circuit 501 and the second integrated circuit 502 share the third and fourth battery cells from the left side, and the second integrated circuit 502 and the third integrated circuit. The 503 shares the fifth and sixth battery cells from the left side, so that the signals can be transmitted between the upstream and downstream integrated circuits. Different from the previous embodiment, the number of battery cells shared in the two integrated circuits connected in this embodiment is two. It can be seen in Fig. 6 that not every battery cell is necessarily monitored as in the previous embodiment, for example, the last battery cell on the left side may be ignored for special reasons, which is also included in the present invention. The way of change.

In addition, not every integrated circuit monitors the same number of cells. Depending on the design requirements, some integrated circuits can monitor a larger number of cells than the associated integrated circuit, but only if the two connected integrated circuits are connected to at least one of the same cells. Of course, the number of cells shared in the two integrated circuits connected will also vary, even between any two integrated circuits. Therefore, the power that each integrated circuit obtains from the battery core for its own operation is also different. The power supply mode set in accordance with any integrated circuit and battery cell configuration (the integrated circuit averages the power obtained from the connected battery cells, or has a different ratio according to the order of the upstream and downstream connections of the battery cells, etc.), The invention is not limited.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10‧‧‧System

101‧‧‧First battery core

102‧‧‧second battery core

103‧‧‧third battery core

201‧‧‧First integrated circuit

202‧‧‧Second integrated circuit

203‧‧‧ Third integrated circuit

204‧‧‧fourth integrated circuit

300‧‧‧ Controller

Claims (9)

A stacked integrated inter-circuit communication system powered by different voltage supply levels of a multi-cell stacked battery pack, comprising: a plurality of battery cells stacked to provide power; a plurality of integrated circuits each connected to the integrated circuit At least one other integrated circuit and comprising: a battery detecting unit, configured to monitor a battery state of the most upstream battery core, the most downstream battery core, or at least two connected battery cores of the plurality of battery cells, and obtain the most a battery state of the upstream battery core, the most downstream battery core or at least two connected battery cells; a data transceiver unit electrically connected to the battery detection unit for receiving an integrated device or an integrated body connected to the upstream side a clock sent from the circuit and a demand command, receiving a reply message transmitted from an integrated circuit connected to the downstream side, transmitting the reply message and/or a response message to the integrated circuit connected to the upstream side Transmitting the clock to the integrated circuit connected to the downstream side, and if the demand command needs to be transmitted to an integrated circuit on the downstream side, transmitting the demand command to the connection The integrated circuit on the downstream side stops transmitting the clock if no other integrated circuit is connected to the downstream side; and a power obtaining unit is electrically connected to the battery detecting unit and the data transceiver unit for the units Providing power to operate the battery detecting unit and the data transceiver unit; If the demand command requires, the response message is generated; the reply message is sent by the data transceiver unit in another integrated circuit on the downstream side; and the integrated circuit connected to the upstream end receives the clock from the external device. And transmitting, by the demand command, the reply message and/or a response message regarding the state of the battery to the external device; and wherein the integrated circuit is connected to the data transceiver unit via a circuit on a printed circuit board . The communication system of claim 1, wherein the power acquisition unit is connected to the most upstream battery cell, the most downstream battery core, or at least two connected battery cells to obtain power. In the communication system of claim 3, the power from a connected battery cell supports the communication of the clock, the demand command, the reply message or the reaction message to an upstream integrated circuit, and The power from the other connected battery cell is required to support the communication of the clock, the demand command, the reply message or the reaction message to a downstream integrated circuit. According to the communication system of claim 2 or 3, the power obtaining unit of each two-phase connected integrated circuit is connected to at least one identical battery cell, so that the integrated circuit of the two-phase connection can share the battery. Core power. The communication system of claim 4, wherein the clock, the demand command, the reply message, or the receiving and transmitting of the response message conforms to an Inter-Integrated Circuit protocol or a service provider interface (Service) Provider Interface). The communication system of claim 4, wherein the data transceiving unit transmits the clock, the demand command, the reply message or the response message by a switching voltage level. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the clock triggers the request, the reply message, or the receipt and transmission of the response message between the integrated circuits. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit is in the form of a package or a die. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the external device is a controller.