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EP-3965257-B1 - CHARGING SYSTEM AND CHARGER FOR REDUCING INRUSH CURRENT

EP3965257B1EP 3965257 B1EP3965257 B1EP 3965257B1EP-3965257-B1

Inventors

  • SIM, SESUB
  • PARK, JONGSAM

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210902

Claims (12)

  1. A charger (20), configured to be connectable to a battery pack (10), comprising: terminals including first and second pack terminals (P+, P-) and a communication terminal (DATA); a connector (21) configured to detect a connection with the battery pack (10), the battery pack (10) including at least one battery cell (12), a sensor resistor (16) on a high current path, and a battery management module (11), the battery management module (11) detecting a voltage of the least one battery cell (12) and a current of the least one battery cell (12) using the sensor resistor (16); a communicator (22) configured to communicate with the battery management module (11) of the battery pack (10) using the communication terminal (DATA); and a controller (23) configured to control charging of the battery pack (10), characterized in that the controller (23) is configured to: output a wake-up voltage when the connection with the battery pack (10) is detected through the connector (21); receive a value of a battery voltage from the battery management module (11) through the communicator (22); determine a charging start voltage based on the value of the battery voltage; and output the charging start voltage to the battery pack (10) through the first and second pack terminals (P+, P-) and start charging the battery pack (10), wherein the controller (23) is further configured to determine the charging start voltage to be greater than the value of the battery voltage by a margin value that is set in advance, and wherein the margin value is a voltage set in advance based on a line resistance value to the at least one battery cell (12) and a charging current value that is set in advance.
  2. The charger (20) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (23) is configured to output a charging current having a preset magnitude to the at least one battery cell (12) when the battery pack (10) starts being charged, and output a charging voltage having a preset magnitude to the battery pack (10).
  3. The charger (20) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller (23) is configured to transmit a signal to the battery management module (11) through the communicator (22) to allow the battery management module (11) to detect a connection with the charger (20).
  4. The charger (20) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the controller (23) is configured to: stop charging the battery pack (10) when a charging stop signal is received from the battery management module (11) through the communicator (22).
  5. The charger (20) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the controller (23) is configured, when release of the connection with the battery pack (10)is detected and then a connection with the battery pack (10) or another battery pack (10) is detected again, to output a voltage or a current to the battery pack (10) or the other battery pack (10).
  6. The charger (20) as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the controller (23) is configured to not charge the battery pack (10) until release of the connection with the battery pack (10) is detected after the charging stop signal is received from the battery management module (11) through the communicator (22), even though the battery pack (10) is connected.
  7. The charger (20) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, the controller (23) is configured to not start charging the battery pack (10), when the value of the battery voltage is less than the wake-up voltage.
  8. A charging system, comprising: a battery pack (10) including terminals including pack terminals (P+, P-) and a communication terminal (DATA), at least one battery cell (12) between battery terminals, a charging switch between one of the pack terminals (P+, P-) and one of the battery terminals, a sensor resistor between one of the pack terminals (P+, P-) and one of the battery terminals, and a battery management module, the battery management module (11) being configured to detect a voltage of the least one battery cell (12) and a current of the least one battery cell (12) using the sensor resistor and controlling the charging switch; and a charger (20) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the battery management module (11) is configured to turn on the charging switch after the battery management module (11) receives the charging start voltage from the charger (20).
  9. The charging system as claimed in claim 8, wherein: the battery management module (11) is inactivated when the at least one battery cell (12) does not provide power to a load for a preset period of time and no power is received from the charger (20), and the battery management module (11) is activated when the wake-up voltage is received.
  10. The charging system as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the battery management module (11) is configured to detect a connection with the charger (20) by receiving a signal transmitted from the communicator (22) of the charger (20) through the communication terminal (DATA).
  11. The charging system as claimed in claim 8, 9, or 10, wherein the battery pack (10) further includes a switch configured to forcibly activate the battery management module (11).
  12. The charging system as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the battery management module (11) is configured to, when a charging stop condition is detected, transmit a charging stop signal requesting an output stop to the controller (23) of the charger.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Field Embodiments relate to a charging system and a charger for reducing an inrush current. 2. Description of the Related Art An inrush current is generated when a difference between a voltage of a charger and a voltage of a battery is great. JP 2015/05936, US 2011/304299, EP 2887492, US 2016/0064776 and EP 2615715 all make disclosures related to batteries. SUMMARY According to an aspect, there is provided a charger according to Claim 1. Details of embodiments are provided in the dependent claims. Embodiments are directed to a charging system including a battery pack including at least one battery cell and a battery management module, and a charger including a connector configured to detect a connection with the battery pack, a communicator configured to communicate with the battery management module, and a controller configured to control charging of the battery pack. The controller of the charger is configured to output a wake-up voltage when the connection with the battery pack is detected through the connector, receive a value of a battery voltage from the battery management module through the communicator, determine a charging start voltage based on the value of the battery voltage, and start charging the battery pack after outputting the charging start voltage. The controller of the charger may be configured to output a charging current having a preset magnitude to the at least one battery cell when the battery pack starts being charged, and output a charging voltage having a preset magnitude to the battery pack. The controller of the charger is configured to determine the charging start voltage to be greater than the value of the battery voltage by a margin value that is set in advance. The margin value is set in advance based on a line resistance value to the at least one battery cell and a charging current value that is set in advance. The battery management module may be inactivated when the at least one battery cell does not provide power to a load for a preset period of time and no power is received from the charger, and may be activated when the wake-up voltage is received. The battery management module may be configured to detect a connection with the charger by receiving a signal transmitted from the communicator of the charger. The battery pack may further include a switch configured to forcibly activate the battery management module. When a charging stop condition is detected, the battery management module may be configured to transmit a charging stop signal requesting an output stop to the controller of the charger. The controller of the charger may be configured to stop charging the battery pack when the charging stop signal is received, and when a release of the connection with the battery pack is detected and then a connection with another battery pack is detected again, the controller of the charger may be configured to output a voltage or a current to the battery pack or the other battery pack. The controller of the charger may be configured to not charge the battery pack until release of the connection with the battery pack is detected after the charging stop signal is received, even though the battery pack is connected. When the value of the battery voltage is less than the wake-up voltage, the controller of the charger may be configured to not start charging the battery pack. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a charger includes a connector configured to detect a connection with a battery pack including at least one battery cell, a communicator configured to communicate with a battery management module of the battery pack, and a controller configured to control charging of the battery pack, wherein the controller is configured to output a wake-up voltage when the connection with the battery pack is detected through the connector, receive a value of a battery voltage from the battery management module through the communicator, determine a charging start voltage based on the value of the battery voltage, and output the charging start voltage and start charging the battery pack. The controller may be configured to output a charging current having a preset magnitude to the at least one battery cell when the battery pack starts being charged, and output a charging voltage having a preset magnitude to the battery pack. The controller is configured to determine the charging start voltage to be greater than the value of the battery voltage by a margin value that is set in advance. The margin value is set in advance based on a line resistance value to the at least one battery cell and a charging current value that is set in advance. The controller may be configured to transmit a signal to the battery management module through the communicator to allow the battery management module to detect a connection with the charger. The controller may be configured to stop charging the battery pack when a charging stop signal is received from the battery management mod