KR-102963791-B1 - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING BATTERY PACK

KR102963791B1KR 102963791 B1KR102963791 B1KR 102963791B1KR-102963791-B1

Abstract

A battery pack management device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a device for managing a battery pack equipped with a fuse and a charge/discharge switch in a charge/discharge path through which a charge/discharge current of a battery flows, and comprises: a voltage measuring unit configured to measure the voltage of the battery and output a battery voltage value for the measured battery voltage; a short detection unit configured to measure the current of the battery, determine whether a short current flows in the charge/discharge path based on a battery current value for the measured battery current, and, if it is determined that a short current flows in the charge/discharge path, control the operation state of the charge/discharge switch to a turn-off state; and a control unit connected to the voltage measuring unit, configured to receive the battery voltage value, compare the received battery voltage value with a preset threshold voltage value, and control the operation of at least one of the charge/discharge switch and the short detection unit according to the comparison result.

Inventors

정원전

Assignees

주식회사 엘지에너지솔루션

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20200720

Claims (14)

A device for managing a battery pack equipped with a fuse and a charge/discharge switch in a charge/discharge path through which the charge/discharge current of the battery flows, A voltage measuring unit configured to measure the voltage of the above battery and output a battery voltage value corresponding to the measured battery voltage; A short-circuit detection unit configured to measure the current of the battery, determine whether a short-circuit current flows in the charge-discharge path based on a battery current value for the measured battery current, and, if it is determined that the short-circuit current flows in the charge-discharge path, control the operating state of the charge-discharge switch to a turn-off state; and A battery pack management device characterized by including a control unit configured to receive the battery voltage value connected to the voltage measuring unit, compare the received battery voltage value with a preset threshold voltage value, and control the operation of at least one of the charge/discharge switch and the short-circuit detection unit according to the comparison result.
In paragraph 1, The above control unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured to control the operating state of the charge/discharge switch to a turn-on state when the battery voltage value is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage value, and to control the short-circuit detection unit so as not to determine whether the short-circuit current flows in the charge/discharge path, even though the current of the battery can be measured.
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In paragraph 2, The above short detection unit is, When the above battery current value is less than or equal to the lower limit current value, it is configured to output a fuse open signal to the control unit, and The above control unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured to control the operating state of the charge/discharge switch to the turn-off state when receiving the fuse open signal from the short circuit detection unit.
In paragraph 2, The above control unit is, It is configured to set the threshold voltage value based on the maximum allowable current of the above-mentioned charge/discharge switch, and The above charge/discharge switch is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured such that the maximum allowable current is set smaller than the maximum allowable current of the fuse.
In paragraph 1, It further includes a temperature measuring unit configured to measure the temperature of the battery and output a battery temperature value for the measured battery temperature, and The above control unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured to receive the battery temperature value connected to the temperature measuring unit, estimate the charge state of the battery based on the battery voltage value and the battery temperature value, compare the charge state value for the estimated charge state with a threshold charge state value, and control the operation state of at least one of the charge/discharge switch and the short circuit detection unit according to the comparison result.
In paragraph 6, The above control unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured to control the operating state of the charge/discharge switch to a turn-on state when the estimated charge state value is greater than or equal to the threshold charge state value, and to control the short detection unit so as not to determine whether the short current flows in the charge/discharge path, while being able to measure the current of the battery.
In paragraph 1, The above short detection unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being connected to a current measuring element provided in the charge/discharge path, measuring the battery current through the current measuring element, and determining that the short current flows in the charge/discharge path if the state in which the battery current value is greater than or equal to an upper limit current value persists for a preset time.
In paragraph 8, The above short detection unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being directly connected to the above-mentioned charge/discharge switch and configured to control the operating state of the above-mentioned charge/discharge switch to a turn-off state when it is determined that the above-mentioned short current flows in the above-mentioned charge/discharge path.
In paragraph 1, The above short detection unit is, When it is determined that the short current flows in the above charging/discharging path, the operating state of the above charging/discharging switch is configured to be controlled to the above turn-off state for a preset short circuit cutoff time, and The above control unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured to receive the battery current value connected to the short circuit detection unit, estimate the internal resistance value of the battery based on the battery voltage value and the battery current value, and set the threshold voltage value based on the short circuit cutoff time and the estimated internal resistance value.
In Paragraph 10, The above control unit is, It is configured to determine a voltage value corresponding to the estimated internal resistance value in a voltage-current table pre-set to correspond to the short circuit interruption time, and to set the determined voltage value as the threshold voltage value. The above voltage-current table is, A battery pack management device characterized by being preset to indicate a corresponding relationship between the voltage and allowable current of the above-mentioned charge/discharge switch.
In Paragraph 10, The above control unit is, A battery pack management device characterized by being configured to change the threshold voltage value to correspond to the changed internal resistance value when the estimated internal resistance value is changed.
A battery pack comprising a battery pack management device according to any one of paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 through 12.
A method for managing a battery pack equipped with a fuse and a charge/discharge switch in a charge/discharge path through which the charge/discharge current of the battery flows, A measurement step for measuring the voltage and current of the above battery; A voltage comparison step for comparing the battery voltage value measured in the above measurement step with a preset threshold voltage value; A first control step for controlling the operating state of the charge/discharge switch to a turn-on state if, as a result of the comparison in the above voltage comparison step, the measured battery voltage value is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage value; and A battery pack management method characterized by including a second control step, wherein if, as a result of comparison in the voltage comparison step, the measured battery voltage value is less than the threshold voltage value, the method determines whether a short current flows in the charge/discharge path based on the battery current value measured in the measurement step, and if it is determined that the short current flows in the charge/discharge path, the method controls the operation state of the charge/discharge switch to a turn-off state.

Description

Battery Pack Management Apparatus and Method The present invention relates to a battery pack management device and method, and more specifically, to a battery pack management device and method for protecting a battery pack from short-circuit current. Recently, as the demand for portable electronic products such as laptops, video cameras, and mobile phones has increased rapidly, and the development of electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, robots, and satellites has accelerated, research on high-performance batteries capable of repeated charging and discharging is actively underway. Currently commercialized batteries include nickel-cadmium, nickel-hydrogen, nickel-zinc, and lithium batteries. Among these, lithium batteries are gaining attention for their advantages, such as the ability to freely charge and discharge with almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based batteries, a very low self-discharge rate, and high energy density. Conventionally, a protection device for protecting a battery pack including such a battery has been developed (Patent Document 1). Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration for protecting a battery pack and a battery by melting a fuse provided in the battery pack or by controlling a switching element to cut off the current flow. However, Patent Document 1 does not recognize the problem that if a switching element is cut off while a short current is flowing in a path where the switching element is installed, the switching element may be damaged by the short current. That is, when the battery voltage is in a high voltage state, the short current may increase in proportion to the battery voltage. And, if the short current exceeds the safe operating area (SOA) of the switching element, the switching element may be damaged when the operation of the switching element is switched. Therefore, it is necessary to develop technology that can effectively protect the battery pack and switching elements by controlling the operation of the switching elements in consideration of the battery voltage. The following drawings attached to this specification serve to further enhance understanding of the technical concept of the invention in conjunction with the detailed description of the invention set forth below; therefore, the invention should not be interpreted as being limited only to the matters described in such drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery pack management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery pack including a battery pack management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a battery pack including a battery pack management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a voltage-current table and a first relationship for a charge-discharge switch. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a voltage-current table, a first relationship, and a second relationship for a charge-discharge switch. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery pack management method according to another embodiment of the present invention. Terms and words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted in a meaning and concept consistent with the technical spirit of the invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the terms to best describe his invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention; thus, it should be understood that various equivalents and modifications that can replace them may exist at the time of filing this application. In addition, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known components or functions may obscure the essence of the invention, such detailed description is omitted. Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., are used for the purpose of distinguishing one of the various components from the rest, and are not used to limit the components by such terms. Throughout the specification, when a part is described as "including" a certain component, this means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components. Additionally, terms such as "control unit" described in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Additionally, throughout the specification, when i