Battery monitoring using a redundant neighbor measurement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10436852-B2
Application number	US-201615228994-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2016
Priority date	Aug 4, 2016
Publication date	Oct 8, 2019
Grant date	Oct 8, 2019

Abstract

In one example, a circuit includes a first integrated circuit and a second integrated circuit. The first integrated circuit is configured to detect a first battery voltage that is associated with a first battery cell and output a representation of the first battery voltage. The first integrated circuit is further configured to detect a second battery voltage that is associated with a second battery cell that is connected in series with the first battery cell and output a status signal indicating whether the second battery voltage satisfies a first threshold. The second integrated circuit is configured to detect the first battery voltage and output a status signal indicating whether the first battery voltage satisfies a second threshold. The second integrated circuit is further configured detect the second battery voltage and output a representation of the second battery voltage.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A circuit comprising:
a first integrated circuit configured to:
detect a first battery voltage that is associated with a first battery cell;
output, based on the detected first battery voltage, a representation of the first battery voltage;
detect a second battery voltage that is associated with a second battery cell that is connected in series with the first battery cell; and
output, based on a comparison of the detected second battery voltage and a first threshold, a status signal indicating whether the second battery voltage satisfies the first threshold; and

a second integrated circuit configured to:
detect the first battery voltage;
output, based on a comparison of the detected first battery voltage and a second threshold, a status signal indicating whether the first battery voltage satisfies the second threshold;
detect the second battery voltage; and
output, based on the detected second battery voltage, a representation of the second battery voltage.

2. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the second integrated circuit is further configured to:
detect a third battery voltage that is associated with a third battery cell that is connected in series with the first and second battery cells; and
output, based on a comparison of the detected third battery voltage and a third threshold, a status signal indicating whether the third battery voltage satisfies the third threshold.

3. The circuit according to claim 2 , further comprising a control module configured to:
receive, from the first integrated circuit, a first set of status information, the first set of status information comprising the representation of the first battery voltage and the status signal indicating whether the second battery voltage satisfies the first threshold;
receive, from the second integrated circuit, a second set of status information, the second set of status information comprising the representation of the second battery voltage, the status signal indicating whether the first battery voltage satisfies the second threshold, and the status signal indicating whether the third battery voltage satisfies the third threshold; and
determine, based on the first and second sets of status information, whether the first, second, and third battery cells are operating in a safe state.

4. The circuit according to claim 3 , wherein:
the first battery voltage extends from a first voltage that is less than a local ground of the second integrated circuit to the local ground of the second integrated circuit;
the second battery voltage extends from the local ground of the second integrated circuit to a second voltage that is greater than the local ground; and
the third battery voltage extends from the second voltage to a third voltage that is greater than the second voltage.

5. The circuit according to claim 4 , wherein:
the first battery cell has a negative terminal coupled to a local ground of the first integrated circuit and a positive terminal coupled to the local ground of the second integrated circuit;
the second battery cell has a negative terminal coupled to the positive terminal of the first battery cell and a positive terminal; and
the third battery cell has negative terminal coupled to positive terminal of the second battery cell and a positive terminal.

6. The circuit according to claim 5 , wherein the first, second, and third battery voltages are substantially equal.

7. The circuit according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a third integrated circuit configured to:
detect the second battery voltage;
output, based on a comparison of the detected second battery voltage and a fourth threshold, a status signal indicating whether the second battery voltage satisfies the fourth threshold;
detect the third battery voltage; and
output, based on the detected third battery voltage, a representation of the third battery voltage.

8. The circuit according to claim 7 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth thresholds are equal.

9. The circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the first integrated circuit detects the first battery voltage with less error than the second battery voltage.

10. A method comprising:
detecting, by a first integrated circuit, a first battery voltage associated with a first battery cell;
outputting, by the first integrated circuit, based on the detected first battery voltage, a representation of the first battery voltage;
detecting, by the first integrated circuit, a second battery voltage associated with a second battery cell that is connected in series with the first battery cell;
outputting, by the first integrated circuit, based on a comparison of the detected second battery voltage and a first threshold, a status signal indicating whether the second battery voltage satisfies the first threshold;
detecting, by a second integrated circuit, the first battery voltage;
outputting, by the second integrated circuit, based on a comparison of the detected first battery voltage and a second threshold, a status signal indicating whether the first battery voltage satisfies the second threshold;
detecting, by the second integrated circuit, the second battery voltage; and
outputting, by the second integrated circuit, based on the detected second battery voltage, a representation of the second battery voltage.

11. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising:
detecting, by the second integrated circuit, a third battery voltage associated with a third battery cell that is connected in series with the first and second battery cell; and
outputting, by the second integrated circuit, based on a comparison of the detected third battery voltage and a third threshold, a status signal indicating whether the third battery voltage satisfies the third threshold.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the first, second, and third thresholds are equal.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the first battery voltage extends from a local ground of the first integrated circuit to a local ground of the second integrated circuit.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein:
the first battery cell includes a negative terminal coupled to the local ground of the first integrated circuit and a positive terminal coupled to the local ground of the second integrated circuit;
the second battery cell includes a negative terminal coupled to the positive terminal of the first battery cell and a positive terminal; and
the third battery cell includes a negative terminal coupled to the positive terminal of the second battery cell and a positive terminal.

15. A system comprising:
a plurality of battery cells electrically coupled to each other in series to form a battery pack, the plurality of battery cells comprising a first battery cell and a second battery cell;
a first integrated circuit configured to:
detect a first battery voltage of the first battery cell;
output, based on the detected first battery voltage, a representation of the first battery voltage;
detect a second battery voltage of the second battery cell; and
output, based on a comparison of the second battery voltage and a first threshold, a status signal indicating whether the second battery voltage satisfies the first threshold; and

a second integrated circuit configured to:
detect the second battery voltage of the second battery cell;
output, based on the detected second battery voltage, a representation of the second battery voltage;
detect the first battery voltage of the first battery cell; and
output, based on a comparison of the first battery voltage and a second

Assignees

• Infineon Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Ruiz Sevillano Jesus
• Hofer Guenter

Classifications

• G01R19/16542

  for batteries (charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36) · CPC title

• G01R31/371

  with remote indication, e.g. on external chargers · CPC title

• G01R31/3835

  involving only voltage measurements · CPC title

• G05B9/03

  with multiple-channel loop, i.e. redundant control systems · CPC title

• G01R19/2509

  Details concerning sampling, digitizing or waveform capturing · CPC title