US-20260128394-A1 - PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD COUPLING

Abstract

A battery management system is disclosed. The battery management system comprises a plurality of printed circuit boards. A first printed circuit board ( 126 ) and a second printed circuit board are galvanically isolated from each other and arranged for transferring an electronic signal via a non-conductive electronic coupling between each other. Further, a method for arranging and operating the battery management system is disclosed.

Inventors

• Christian Walther
• Markus Ekler
• Philipp Vogel
• Maximilian Mönikes

Assignees

• INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20250908

Priority Date

20241105

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A battery management system comprising a plurality of printed circuit boards, wherein a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board are galvanically isolated from each other and arranged for transferring an electronic signal via a non-conductive electronic coupling between each other.
2. 2 . The battery management system of claim 1 , wherein the non-conductive electronic coupling is a capacitive coupling.
3. 3 . The battery management system of claim 1 , wherein the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board at least partially overlap with each other.
4. 4 . The battery management system of claim 1 , wherein the first printed circuit board comprises a first conducting layer and a first isolating layer, wherein the second printed circuit board comprises a second conducting layer, wherein the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are at least partially arranged such that the first conducting layer and the second conducting layer are spatially separated by the first isolating layer.
5. 5 . The battery management system of claim 4 , wherein the second printed circuit board further comprises a second isolating layer, wherein the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are at least partially arranged such that the first conducting layer and the second conducting layer are spatially separated by the first isolating layer and the second isolating layer.
6. 6 . The battery management system of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first conducting layer and the second conducting layer is a structured layer.
7. 7 . The battery management system of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first conducting layer and the second conducting layer is configured for carrying out an electronic function.
8. 8 . The battery management system of claim 1 , further comprising a third printed circuit board, wherein the second printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board are galvanically isolated from each other and arranged for transferring electronic signals via a non-conductive electronic coupling between each other.
9. 9 . The battery management system of claim 8 , wherein the first printed circuit board, the second printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board are arranged for transferring an electronic signal between the first printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board via the second printed circuit board.
10. 10 . The battery management system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the printed circuit boards is a flexible printed circuit board.
11. 11 . The battery management system of claim 1 , wherein the battery management system is a distributed battery management system.
12. 12 . The battery management system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the printed circuit boards carries a cell supervision circuit configured for monitoring a battery cell.
13. 13 . The battery management system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one battery cell connector configured for connecting a plurality of battery cells.
14. 14 . The battery management system of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the printed circuit boards is electronically connected to the battery cell connector.
15. 15 . The battery management system of claim 13 , further comprising at least one carrier configured for carrying at least the battery cell connector, wherein at least one of the printed circuit boards is mechanically attached to the carrier.
16. 16 . A method comprising: a) arranging a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board within a battery management system such that the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are galvanically isolated and electronically coupled via a non-conductive electronic coupling, and b) transferring an electronic signal between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board via the non-conductive electronic coupling between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board.
17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the non-conductive electronic coupling between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board is a capacitive coupling.
18. 18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: c) arranging a third printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board such that the second printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board are galvanically isolated and electronically coupled via a non-conductive electronic coupling, and d) transferring an electronic signal between the second printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board via the non-conductive electronic coupling between the second printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board.
19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: e) transferring an electronic signal between the first printed circuit board and the third printed circuit board via the second printed circuit board.
20. 20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the method is used for an automotive application.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a battery management system, a method for arranging and operating the battery management system and a use thereof. The disclosed battery management system and the disclosed method may specifically be used in an automotive application, such as for controlling battery cells in a vehicle. However, other applications may of course also be feasible. BACKGROUND Battery management systems typically control several battery cells in at least partially different voltage domains. Thus, several cell supervision circuits, each controlling different battery cells, may be interconnected for forming the battery management system. Specifically, the cell supervision circuits may be arranged in a daisy chain. The cell supervision circuits may be galvanically isolated, such as a by using a capacitor for providing the galvanic isolation. In practice, the cell supervision circuits are typically daisy chained by using a two-wire communication bus, such that two plugs need to be placed during manufacturing. This typically involves a labor-intensive process, which specifically requires manual labor. Thus, there specifically is a need for reducing the effort for arranging the battery management system and more specifically for eliminating manual labor in this process. SUMMARY In a first aspect, a battery management system is disclosed. The battery management system comprises a plurality of printed circuit boards. A first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board are galvanically isolated from each other. The first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are further arranged for transferring an electronic signal via a non-conductive electronic coupling between each other. In a further aspect, a method is disclosed. The method comprises: a) arranging a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board within a battery management system such that the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are galvanically isolated and electronically coupled via a non-conductive electronic coupling, andb) transferring an electronic signal between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board via the non-conductive electronic coupling between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board. In a further aspect, a use of the battery management system and/or the method for an automotive application is disclosed. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar or identical elements. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. The features of the various illustrated examples can be combined unless they exclude each other. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of an electronic setup of a battery management system. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of an arrangement of two printed circuit boards within the battery management system. FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an example of an arrangement of three printed circuit boards within the battery management system. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an example of a mechanical setup of the battery management system. IG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method for arranging and operating the battery management system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The examples described herein provide considerable advantages. Specifically, the disclosed battery management system comprises a plurality of printed circuit boards which are arranged for transferring an electronic signal via a non-conductive electronic coupling, such as a capacitive coupling. Thus, the printed circuit boards, which may carry cell supervision circuits for monitoring the battery cells, may be arranged so that they form a capacitive coupling between each other, such as by at least partially overlapping with each other. Such an arrangement of the printed circuits boards can be automated during manufacturing. As a result, a manual placing of plugs for connecting the cell supervision circuits may not be required anymore, such that the manufacturing effort for arranging the battery management system can be significantly reduced. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of an electronic setup of a battery management system 110. The battery management system 110 may be configured for controlling, monitoring or regulating one or more battery cells 112. Thus, the battery management system 110 may be configured for determining a physical property of at least one battery cell 112, such as a charging status, a temperature or an output voltage. The battery cells 112 or at least some of the battery cells 112 may form a