KR-20260067771-A - Battery pack charging control apparatus and method

KR20260067771AKR 20260067771 AKR20260067771 AKR 20260067771AKR-20260067771-A

Abstract

A battery pack charging control device according to the present invention comprises: a connection unit configured to set or release electrical connections between a plurality of battery packs and a power source for each battery pack; and a control unit configured to control the connection unit to alternately charge the plurality of battery packs, wherein, before charging the plurality of battery packs, the control unit determines a charging cycle in which charging for each of the plurality of battery packs is completed once, and a charging duration for each battery pack to be alternately charged during the charging cycle, and is configured to alternately charge the plurality of battery packs during the charging cycle, wherein each battery pack is charged for the corresponding charging duration.

Inventors

이병규
최연식
이근욱
이정훈

Assignees

주식회사 엘지에너지솔루션

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241106

Claims (15)

A battery pack charging control device for controlling the charging of multiple battery packs that can be charged independently of one another, A connection unit configured to enable or disable the electrical connection between the plurality of battery packs and the power source for each battery pack; and It includes a control unit configured to control the above connection unit to alternately charge the plurality of battery packs, and A battery pack charging control device configured such that, before charging the plurality of battery packs, the control unit determines a charging cycle in which charging for each of the plurality of battery packs is performed once, and a charging duration for each battery pack to be charged alternately during the charging cycle, and charges the plurality of battery packs alternately during the charging cycle, and charges each battery pack for the corresponding charging duration.
In paragraph 1, The above connection unit includes a plurality of switches electrically connected to each of the plurality of battery packs, and A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the plurality of switches are configured to be electrically connected to the power source.
In paragraph 1, A battery pack charging control device characterized by the above-described control unit including a charging cycle determination module configured to predict the connection maintenance time between the plurality of battery packs and the power source and determine a period shorter than the connection maintenance time as the charging cycle.
In the third, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the charging cycle determination module is configured to predict the connection maintenance time based on the current location information of the plurality of battery packs.
In paragraph 4, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the above-described charging cycle determination module is configured to predict the connection maintenance time by referring to charging history information, which is pre-stored charging history information, wherein the location of the plurality of battery packs and the total charging time of the plurality of battery packs at the corresponding location are recorded.
In paragraph 3, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the charging cycle determination module is configured to determine a cycle repeatable two or more times during the predicted connection maintenance time as the charging cycle.
In paragraph 1, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the above control unit includes a charging scheduling module configured to determine the charging duration of each battery pack based on the State of Charge (SOC) value of each battery pack.
In Paragraph 7, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the charging scheduling module is configured to determine the charging duration of a battery pack with a relatively small SOC value among the plurality of battery packs to be longer than the charging duration of another battery pack with a relatively large SOC value.
In Paragraph 7, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the charging scheduling module is configured to further determine the charging order of each of the plurality of battery packs based on the SOC value of each of the plurality of battery packs.
In Paragraph 9, A battery pack charging control device characterized by the charging scheduling module determining the charging order such that, among the plurality of battery packs, a battery pack with a relatively small SOC value is charged before another battery pack with a relatively large SOC value.
In paragraph 1, A battery pack charging control device characterized in that the above control unit includes a connection control module configured to control the connection unit to electrically connect each of the battery packs to the power source for a corresponding charging duration.
In paragraph 1, A battery pack charging control device characterized by the above-described control unit being configured to determine the next charging cycle and the next charging duration of each battery pack corresponding to the next charging cycle when the above-described charging cycle is completed.
In paragraph 1, A battery pack charging control device characterized by the above-described control unit being configured to gradually decrease the charging current rate of each battery pack as the SOC value of each battery pack increases.
A vehicle comprising a battery pack charging control device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 and a plurality of battery packs.
A battery pack charging control method for controlling the charging of multiple battery packs that can be charged independently of each other, A processor determines a charging cycle in which charging for each of the plurality of battery packs is completed in one cycle; The above processor determines the charging duration of each battery pack to be charged alternately during the charging cycle; and A battery pack charging control method comprising the step of the processor controlling a connection unit configured to set or release an electrical connection between the plurality of battery packs and a power source for each battery pack, thereby alternately charging the plurality of battery packs during the charging cycle, and charging each battery pack for a corresponding charging duration.

Description

Battery pack charging control apparatus and method The present invention relates to a battery pack charging control device and method, and more specifically, to a battery pack charging control device and method for controlling the charging of a plurality of battery packs that can be charged independently of each other. Generally, a secondary battery refers to a battery capable of repeated charging and discharging, such as lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, and nickel-zinc batteries. A battery cell, which is the most basic type of secondary battery, can provide an output voltage of approximately 2.5V to 4.2V. Recently, as these secondary batteries are applied to devices requiring high output voltage and large charging capacity, such as electric vehicles or Energy Storage Systems (ESS), battery packs that include multiple battery cells directly or multiple battery modules configured by connecting these multiple battery cells in series and/or parallel are widely used. In particular, interest and research on multi-battery pack systems, in which homogeneous or heterogeneous battery packs are applied together, are increasing in order to further increase electrical energy storage capacity or to use battery packs with different characteristics depending on the situation. However, existing technology has a problem in that the charging sequence for the remaining battery pack only proceeds after one of the two battery packs has finished charging. If charging is interrupted midway due to insufficient charging time, a severe charging imbalance occurs between the two battery packs, which leads to damage caused by inrush current when the two battery packs are interconnected. In addition, the existing technology has a problem in that if charging is interrupted midway as described above, charging of the next-priority battery pack does not occur, making it impossible to operate the battery packs individually according to a predetermined scenario. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a battery pack charging control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the first connection state between a plurality of battery packs and a power source. Figure 3 is a diagram showing a second connection state between a plurality of battery packs and a power source. Figure 4 is a timing diagram showing the switching sequence of the connection unit during the first charging cycle. Figure 5 is a timing diagram showing the switching sequence of the connection unit during the second charging cycle. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a battery pack charging control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a charging scheduling procedure of a battery pack charging control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is a graph showing the total SOC over time when two battery packs are fully charged one by one. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the total SOC over time when two battery packs are charged alternately according to the present invention. Figure 10 is a graph comparing Figures 8 and 9. FIG. 11 is a drawing showing a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings to clarify solutions corresponding to the technical problems of the present invention. However, in describing the present invention, if a description of related prior art would obscure the essence of the present invention, such description may be omitted. Furthermore, terms used in this specification are defined considering their functions in the present invention, and these may vary depending on the intentions or conventions of designers, manufacturers, etc. Therefore, the definitions of terms described below should be based on the content throughout this specification. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a battery pack charging control device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a battery pack charging control device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to control the charging of a plurality of battery packs (BP1 to BPn) that can be charged independently of each other. The battery pack (10) that is the target of control by the battery pack charging control device (100) according to the present invention may be a battery pack manufactured in a cell-to-pack manner by directly housing a plurality of battery cells in a battery pack case, or a battery pack manufactured by housing a battery module, which is manufactured by housing a plurality of battery cells in a separate case, back into a battery pack case. In addition, the plurality of battery packs (BP1 to BPn) may be battery packs of the same type having identical specifications and characteristi