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EP-4513615-B1 - BATTERY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING A BATTERY SYSTEM

EP4513615B1EP 4513615 B1EP4513615 B1EP 4513615B1EP-4513615-B1

Inventors

  • Gombats, Ilya
  • HARING, FRITZ

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230825

Claims (13)

  1. A battery system (100), comprising: a battery pack (10) comprising a plurality of battery cells (12); a cell monitoring circuit (14) and a conductor arrangement (16) comprising a plurality of conductor lines (18), wherein the conductor arrangement (16) comprises a flexible flat cable (20) and a plurality of printed circuit boards (22) which overlap with the flexible flat cable (20), wherein a first end (24) of the conductor lines (18) is connected to the cell monitoring circuit (14) via the flexible flat cable (20) and a second end (26) of the conductor lines (18) is electrically connected to live parts (28) of the battery cells (12) via the printed circuit boards (22), wherein the flexible flat cable (20) comprises portions of the conductor lines (18) which are routed through and fixed to openings (30) of the printed circuit boards (22) in an electrically conduction manner..
  2. The battery system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the conductor lines (18) are routed along the flexible flat cable (20) and branched into the plurality of printed circuit boards (22).
  3. The battery system (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the portions of the conductor lines (18) which are routed through and fixed to the openings (30) of the printed circuit boards (22) are soldered to the openings (30) of the printed circuit boards (22).
  4. The battery system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible flat cable (20) and/or the printed circuit board (22) comprises at least one stability enhancing element (32) which is routed through and fixed to the openings (30) of the printed circuit boards (22).
  5. The battery system (100) according to claim 4, wherein the stability enhancing element (32) is isolated from the cell monitoring circuit (14) by at least one cut out (34) which interrupts the stability enhancing conductor (32).
  6. The battery system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein all printed circuit boards (22) connecting the flexible flat cable (20) with the live parts (28) are identical.
  7. The battery system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of printed circuit boards (22) comprises a temperature sensor (36) and all printed circuit boards (22) comprising one of the temperature sensors (36) are identical.
  8. The battery system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the printed circuit boards (22) connecting the flexible flat cable (20) with one of the live parts (28) comprises a fuse (38).
  9. The battery system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one of the printed circuit boards (22) comprises a temperature sensor (36) and the conductor line (18) is electrically connected to live parts (28) of a battery cell (12) via the temperature sensor (36).
  10. The battery system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the conductor arrangement (16) comprises an additional printed circuit board (40) with a plurality of fuses (42, 44, 46, 48) connected between the flexible flat cable (20) and the cell monitoring circuit (14).
  11. A battery monitoring unit (50) comprising a cell monitoring circuit (14) and a conductor arrangement (16) comprising a plurality of conductor lines (18), wherein the conductor arrangement (16) comprises a flexible flat cable (20) and a plurality of printed circuit boards (22) which overlap with the flexible flat cable (20), wherein a first end (24) of the conductor lines (18) is connected to the cell monitoring circuit (14) via the flexible flat cable (20) and a second end (26) of the conductor lines (18) is electrically connectable to live parts (28) of the battery cells (12) via the printed circuit boards (22), wherein the flexible flat cable (20) comprises portions of the conductor lines (18) which are routed through and fixed to openings (30) of the printed circuit boards (22) in an electrically conduction manner.
  12. An electric vehicle comprising the battery system (100) according to anyone of claims 1 through 10.
  13. A method for assembling a battery system (100), wherein the method comprises the steps of: a) providing a battery system (100) as defined in claim 1; b) connecting a first end (24) of the conductor lines (18) to the cell monitoring circuit (14) via the flexible flat cable (20), c) connecting a second end (26) of the conductor lines (18) to live parts (28) of the battery cells (12) via the printed circuit boards (22).

Description

Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates to a battery system, a battery monitoring unit for the battery system and a method of assembling the battery system. Technological Background Recently, vehicles for transportation of goods and peoples have been developed that use electric power as a source for motion. Such an electric vehicle is an automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries. An electric vehicle may be solely powered by batteries or may be a form of hybrid vehicle powered by for example a gasoline generator or a hydrogen fuel power cell. A hybrid vehicle may include a combination of an electric motor and conventional combustion engine. Generally, an electric-vehicle battery, EVB, or traction battery is a battery used to power the propulsion of battery electric vehicles, BEVs. Electric-vehicle batteries differ from starting, lighting, and ignition batteries in that they are designed to provide power for sustained periods of time. A rechargeable or secondary battery differs from a primary battery in that it is designed to be repeatedly charged and discharged, while the latter is designed to provide only an irreversible conversion of chemical to electrical energy. Low-capacity rechargeable batteries are used as a power supplies for small electronic devices, such as cellular phones, notebook computers and camcorders, while high-capacity rechargeable batteries are used as a power supplies for electric and hybrid vehicles and the like. Generally, rechargeable batteries include an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive and negative electrodes, a case receiving the electrode assembly, and an electrode terminal electrically connected to the electrode assembly. An electrolyte solution is injected into the case in order to enable charging and discharging of the battery via an electrochemical reaction of the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the electrolyte solution. The shape of the case such as cylindrical or rectangular, may be selected based on the battery's intended purpose. Lithium-ion (and similar lithium polymer) batteries, widely known via their use in laptops and consumer electronics, dominate the most recent group of electric vehicles in development. Rechargeable batteries may be used as a battery module formed of a plurality of unit battery cells coupled to each other in series and/or in parallel so as to provide a high density such as for motor driving of a hybrid vehicle. For example, the battery module may be formed by interconnecting the electrode terminals of the plurality of unit battery cells in an arrangement or configuration depending on a desired amount of power and in order to realize a high-power rechargeable battery. Battery modules can be constructed in either a block design or in a modular design. In the block design each battery is coupled to a common current collector structure and a common battery management system and the unit thereof is arranged in a housing. In the modular design, pluralities of battery cells are connected together to form submodules and several submodules are connected together to form the battery module. In automotive applications, battery systems generally include of a plurality of battery modules connected in series for providing a desired voltage. The battery modules may include submodules with a plurality of stacked battery cells and each stack includes cells connected in parallel that are, in turn, connected in series (XpYs) or cells connected in series that are, in turn, connected in parallel (XsYp). A battery pack is a set of any number of (usually identical) battery modules. The battery modules may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage, capacity, and/or power density. Components of a battery pack include the individual battery modules, and the interconnects, which provide electrical conductivity between the battery modules. A battery system may also include a battery management system (BMS), which is any suitable electronic system that is configured to manage the rechargeable battery, battery module, and battery pack, such as by protecting the batteries from operating outside their safe operating area, monitoring their states, calculating secondary data, reporting that data, controlling its environment, authenticating it and/or balancing it. For example, the BMS may monitor the state of the battery as represented by voltage (e.g., a total voltage of the battery pack or battery modules and/or voltages of individual cells), temperature (e.g., an average temperature of the battery pack or battery modules, coolant intake temperature, coolant output temperature, and/or temperatures of individual cells), coolant flow (e.g., flow rate and/or cooling liquid pressure), and current. Additionally, the BMS may calculate values based on the above parameters