Patent Application
20200064408
The present disclosure relates to a vehicular battery monitoring system.
Conventionally, a technique for monitoring a plurality of cells that constitute a battery using a battery monitoring device has been provided. For example, JP 2015-79585A discloses a battery monitoring device provided with satellite substrates (circuit boards) that respectively correspond to a plurality of assembled batteries, each satellite substrate being provided with a monitoring IC for monitoring voltages across the cells of the corresponding assembled battery. Also, the plurality of satellite substrates are connected to each other via a coupling wire, and one of the satellite substrates is connected to a main substrate via a connecting wire.
However, since the battery monitoring device disclosed in JP 2015-79585A requires the coupling wire, which couples the satellite substrates with each other, and the connecting wire, which couples the satellite substrate and the main substrate, resulting in an increase in the number of wires, which may cause the problem that the battery monitoring device is heavy and large. Moreover, there is also the problem that, due to the increase in the number of wires, the wiring design is complicated.
As a method for solving the aforementioned problems, the inventor of the present application has arrived at a configuration in which information generated by a battery monitoring device is transmitted to the outside via wireless communication. According to this configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring device or a battery monitoring system for which the number of wires can be reduced.
However, when information generated by the battery monitoring device is transmitted to the outside via wireless communication in this way, there may be cases where wireless communication is not likely to be performed well, such as a case where a device to which the information is to be transmitted is located far away or a case where there is an obstacle on the way to the device to which the information is to be transmitted.
The present disclosure was made in view of the aforementioned circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide a vehicular battery monitoring system for which the number of wires can be reduced and with which information can be better transmitted.
According to the present disclosure, a battery monitoring system includes a battery monitoring device provided with a detection unit configured to detect at least one of a voltage at a predetermined position of a battery installed in a vehicle and a temperature of the battery. A wireless communication unit configured to wirelessly transmit detection information that indicates at least one of the voltage and the temperature of the battery based on a detection result of the detection unit. A relay provided with a receiving unit configured to receive the detection information transmitted from the wireless communication unit of the battery monitoring device. A transmitting unit configured to wirelessly transmit the detection information received by the receiving unit to an external device, wherein the battery monitoring device and the relay are arranged in a metal housing in which the battery and the external device are housed, part of the metal housing is arranged as an obstacle portion between the battery monitoring device and the external device, and the relay is arranged in a positional relationship such that there is a space without the obstacle portion between the battery monitoring device and the relay, and there is a space without the obstacle portion between the external device and the relay.
According to the present disclosure, since detection information (information indicating at least one of a voltage and a temperature of the battery) obtained based on a detection result of the detection unit can be transmitted via wireless communication, it is possible to effectively reduce the number of wires. Furthermore, when the detection information is transmitted to the external device, the detection information can at least be relayed by the relay and then transmitted to the external device, and thus the information can be better transmitted as long as the external device is arranged at a position at which wireless transmission is possible from the relay.
Furthermore, it is possible to well perform wireless communication in an environment in which a wireless communication medium is likely to be impaired when wireless transmission is performed directly from the battery monitoring device to the external device.
Moreover, a metal housing can be used to prevent external impact or external interference of radio waves or the like, and in the metal housing, the number of wires is reliably reduced and communication between the battery monitoring device and the external device is likely to be performed well.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the disclosure will be described.
In the battery monitoring system according to the present disclosure, the receiving unit of the relay may function to, if predetermined instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the external device, receive this instruction information. The transmitting unit of the relay may function to wirelessly transmit the instruction information upon the instruction information being received by the receiving unit. The battery monitoring device may include a control unit configured to perform control that corresponds to an instruction given from the outside. The wireless communication unit may function to receive the instruction information when the instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting unit. The control unit may function to perform control that corresponds to the instruction information upon the instruction information being received by the wireless communication unit.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring system in which the battery monitoring device can perform control that corresponds to an instruction from an external device, with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
In the battery monitoring system according to the present disclosure, the receiving unit of the relay may function to, if predetermined notification instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the external device, receive this notification instruction information. The transmitting unit of the relay may function to wirelessly transmit the notification instruction information upon the notification instruction information being received by the receiving unit. When the notification instruction information is received by the wireless communication unit, the control unit may cause the wireless communication unit to wirelessly transmit the detection information indicating at least one of the voltage and the temperature of the battery to the relay.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring system in which information detected by the battery monitoring device (detection information indicating at least one of a voltage and a temperature of a battery) can be transmitted to an external device in accordance with an instruction from the external device, with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
In the battery monitoring system according to the present disclosure, the receiving unit of the relay may function to, if predetermined cell balance instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the external device, receive this cell balance instruction information. The transmitting unit of the relay may function to wirelessly transmit the cell balance instruction information upon the cell balance instruction information being received by the receiving unit. The detection unit may detect, with respect to the battery in which a plurality of battery cells are connected to each other, voltage information that specifies inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells. When the cell balance instruction information is received by the wireless communication unit, the control unit may cause the plurality of battery cells to charge or discharge so that the inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells are equalized, based on detection results of the detection unit.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring system in which the battery monitoring device can perform cell balance control to equalize inter-terminal voltages of a plurality of battery cells in accordance with an instruction from an external device, with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
The battery monitoring system according to the present disclosure may include a plurality of battery monitoring devices. The relay may function to receive items of information wirelessly transmitted from the plurality of battery monitoring devices, and wirelessly transmit the received items of information to the external device.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a system in which a plurality of battery monitoring devices can communicate with a common external device, with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
Particularly, if a plurality of battery monitoring devices are arranged in a distributed manner, and wires are provided so that communication is possible between the respective battery monitoring devices and the external device, the larger number of wires are required, and thus an increase in size and weight is inevitable. In contrast thereto, according to the above-described configuration, when the plurality of battery monitoring devices communicate with the common external device, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of wires, and thus larger effects of reductions in size and weight can be achieved.
The battery monitoring system according to the present disclosure may include the external device.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring system in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted, with the external device included therein.
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described.
First, an overview of a vehicular power supply system 100, which is an application example of the present disclosure, will be described.
The battery 10 is, for example, a lithium-ion battery constituted by a plurality of battery cells 12, and is used as, for example, a power source that outputs electric power for driving an electromotive driving device (such as a motor) of a vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle (EV). The battery 10 is charged by a not-shown power-generating unit installed in the vehicle.
The battery 10 has a configuration in which a plurality of battery cells 12 configured as lithium-ion batteries are connected in series to each other to constitute one assembled battery 11, and a predetermined number of assembled batteries 11 are connected in series to each other to constitute one stack 10A, the stack 10A being housed in a case. Also, a plurality of thus-configured stacks 10A are connected in series to each other to constitute the battery 10 that can output a desired output voltage (for example, a few hundred V).
As shown in
The following will describe the battery monitoring devices 30 in detail.
In the example of
The control unit 40 is made of a microcomputer or another hardware circuit, and may be configured to be able to perform, at least when the wireless communication unit 60 receives an instruction from the outside, control that corresponds to this instruction. In the present configuration, as shown in
In the example shown in
The detection unit 50 includes the detection/adjustment circuit unit 36 that functions as a voltage detection unit for detecting the voltage at a predetermined position of the battery 10, and a temperature detection unit 38 for detecting the temperature of the battery 10.
The detection/adjustment circuit unit 36 detects voltage information that specifies inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells 12 of the battery 10, in which the plurality of battery cells 12 are connected to each other. The detection/adjustment circuit unit 36 is provided with a plurality of voltage signal lines 14, and a plurality of discharge units 16 that are respectively connected in parallel with the plurality of battery cells 12. Note that, in
As shown in
The control unit 40 can detect terminal voltages of the battery cells 12 (per unit battery) based on the analog voltage signals input through the respective voltage signal lines 14. Note that the control unit 40 includes an A/D converter that converts analog voltage signals input through the respective voltage signal lines 14 into digital signals. Because the control unit 40 can recognize the potentials of the electrode portions 11A, 11B, and 11C, the control unit 40 can also calculate inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells 12 (a voltage of each battery cell 12).
Note that current-limiting resistors may be provided on the respective voltage signal lines 14 to limit a current that flows into the control unit 40 from the battery cells 12 although, in
The temperature detection unit 38 is constituted by, for example, a well-known temperature sensor, and is arranged in such a manner that it is in contact with a surface of the assembled battery 11 or the stack 10A that is shown in
The monitoring IC 32 including the control unit 40 and the detection/adjustment circuit unit 36 serves as a cell balance circuit that makes the voltages or capacities of the battery cells 12 equal to each other. This cell balance circuit is, for example, a circuit that minimizes the variation in the voltages of the plurality of battery cells 12 as much as possible so that they are equal to each other. For example, it is conceivable to use a passive cell balance circuit that detects, from the assembled battery 11 assigned to a battery monitoring device 30, the battery cell 12 that has the smallest difference in potential between its positive electrode and negative electrode (inter-terminal voltage), and causes the other battery cells 12 to discharge to bring their voltages closer to the voltage of the detected battery cell 12 (that is, the battery cell 12 that has the smallest inter-terminal voltage).
The wireless communication unit 60 may be a circuit that performs wireless communication using a well-known wireless communication method, and the medium and frequency of wireless signals are not limited. For example, radio waves may be appropriately used as a medium, but infrared light or the like may also be used. Alternatively, electromagnetic waves may also be used instead.
The wireless communication unit 60 operates, when a wireless signal is transmitted from a wireless communication unit 24 of the battery ECU 20, so as to receive this wireless signal via the relay 90 or directly. For example, when a wireless signal transmitted from the wireless communication unit 24 of the battery ECU 20 is received by a receiving unit 92 of the relay 90 and is wirelessly transmitted by a transmitting unit 94, the wireless communication unit 60 operates so as to receive the wireless signal wirelessly transmitted from the relay 90. Furthermore, when a wireless signal is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 24 of the battery ECU 20 directly to the wireless communication unit 60, the wireless communication unit 60 can receive the wireless signal.
The wireless communication unit 60 performs wireless transmission in accordance with control of the control unit 40, and operates to transmit at least information relating to battery 10 to the wireless communication unit 24 of the battery ECU 20. For example, if a temperature detection instruction is given from the battery ECU 20, the control unit 40 controls communication of the wireless communication unit 60, and the wireless communication unit 60 transmits information based on a detection result of the detection unit 50 (detection information indicating the voltage and temperature of the battery 10) to the battery ECU 20 using a wireless communication method. In this case, the detection information wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 60 is received at least by the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90, and is wirelessly transmitted to the battery ECU 20 by the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90. Note that the detection information may also be wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 60 directly to the battery ECU 20.
As shown in, for example,
In the example of
The temperature sensor that constitutes the temperature detection unit 38 shown in
The following will describe the battery ECU 20.
The battery ECU 20 shown in
The battery ECU 20 includes the wireless communication unit 24, which performs wireless communication, and a determination unit 22, which performs various types of determination such as voltage abnormality determination. Specifically, as shown in
The thus-configured battery ECU 20 is able to wirelessly communicate with the battery monitoring devices 30 directly or via the relay 90, and can receive detection information (detection information indicating at least one of the voltage and the temperature of the battery) transmitted by the wireless communication units 60 of the battery monitoring devices 30. Furthermore, the battery ECU 20 may give various instructions to the battery monitoring devices 30 via wireless communication.
The thus-configured battery monitoring system 1 can be arranged, as shown in
In the battery monitoring system 1, an obstacle portion 82 including a metal material (in the example of
In this way, it is desirable to arrange the metal housing 80 in which the battery 10 and the battery monitoring system 1 are housed, at a position within the vehicle that is apart from a noise generation source such as a motor or an alternator that serves as a traveling power source, and, for example, the metal housing 80 can be appropriately arranged at a position below a seat provided in the vehicle. Furthermore, if the motor, the alternator, or the like that serves as a traveling power source is arranged at a position close to the front end of the vehicle, the battery monitoring system 1 is preferably arranged at a position close to the back end of the vehicle. In contrast, if the motor, the alternator, or the like that serves as a traveling power source is arranged at a position close to the back end of the vehicle, the battery monitoring system 1 is preferably arranged at a position close to the front end of the vehicle. Note however that these examples are merely preferred examples, and the battery monitoring system 1 may be arranged at any position in the vehicle.
As shown in
The following will describe the relay 90.
The relay 90 includes the receiving unit 92 that receives a wireless signal, and the transmitting unit 94 that transmits a wireless signal, the relay 90 having functions to receive a wireless signal from the outside at the receiving unit 92 and retransmit the received wireless signal from the transmitting unit 94.
The receiving unit 92 may be a circuit that can receive a wireless signal transmitted by a well-known wireless communication method, in which the medium and frequency of the wireless signal are not limited. Specifically, the receiving unit 92 is configured to at least be able to receive a wireless signal (a signal containing detection information and the like) transmitted from the wireless communication unit 60 of the battery monitoring device 30 or a wireless signal (a signal containing instruction information and the like) transmitted from the wireless communication unit 24 of the battery ECU. The transmitting unit 94 may be a circuit that can transmit a wireless signal using a well-known wireless communication method, in which the medium and frequency of the wireless signal are not limited. Specifically, the transmitting unit 94 is configured to be able to transmit a signal equivalent to the wireless signal (a signal containing detection information and the like) transmitted from the wireless communication unit 60 of the battery monitoring device 30, and a signal equivalent to the wireless signal (a signal containing instruction information and the like) transmitted from the wireless communication unit 24 of the battery ECU.
The following will describe an operation of the battery monitoring system 1.
In the battery monitoring system 1, the battery ECU 20 performs control in a flow as shown in
After the start of the control of
If, in step S1, it is determined that a notification request has been made by the power management ECU 120, the battery ECU 20 wirelessly transmits, in step S2, predetermined notification instruction information to all of the battery monitoring devices 30 with which wireless communication is possible. The notification instruction information is instruction information that prompts the battery monitoring devices 30 to transmit a predetermined item of information. Note however that when, in step S2, notification instruction information is wirelessly transmitted, the instruction information is relayed such that it is received by the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90, and is retransmitted from the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 to the battery monitoring devices 30. Accordingly, upon receiving either notification instruction information transmitted from the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 or notification instruction information transmitted directly from the battery ECU 20, each battery monitoring device 30 can recognize the notification instruction information.
The battery monitoring devices 30 are configured to perform control in a flow as shown in
After the start of the control of
After having detected the inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells 12 and the temperature of the assembled battery 11 in step S24, the control unit 40 wirelessly transmits, in step S25, information relating to them (detection information) to the battery ECU 20. Note however that when, in step S25, detection information is wirelessly transmitted, the detection information is relayed such that it is received by the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90 and is retransmitted from the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 to the battery ECU 20. Accordingly, upon receiving either detection information transmitted from the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 or notification instruction information transmitted directly from the battery monitoring devices 30, the battery ECU 20 can recognize the detection information.
Note that, in the above-described description, an example is taken in which, in step S24, inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells 12 constituting each assembled battery 11 and the temperature of the assembled battery 11 are detected, but it is also possible to calculate the overall voltage, internal resistance, capacity, or degradation level of the assembled battery 11, or the internal resistances, capacities, degradation levels, or the like of the battery cells 12, and transmit information indicating them, in step S25, to the battery ECU 20.
As shown in
After having received information from the battery monitoring devices 30 in step S3, the battery ECU 20 determines the condition of the battery 10 based on the information received in step S3. Specifically, the determination unit 22 (that is, the microcomputer 21) calculates the overall voltage of the battery 10 (battery voltage) based on the information transmitted from the plurality of battery monitoring devices 30. For example, the overall voltage of the battery 10 can be calculated by integrating the overall voltages of the assembled batteries 11 to which the battery monitoring devices 30 are respectively assigned. Alternatively, the overall voltage of the battery 10 can be calculated by integrating the inter-terminal voltages of all of the battery cells 12. Also, the determination unit 22 determines whether or not the thus-calculated overall voltage of the battery 10 (battery voltage) is in an overcharge condition in which it exceeds a predetermined first threshold, and whether or not the battery voltage is in an overdischarge condition in which it is less than a predetermined second threshold value, which is lower than the first threshold. Furthermore, the determination unit 22 determines, based on the temperature information obtained from the battery monitoring devices 30, whether or not the temperature of any of the assembled batteries 11 is in an overtemperature condition in which it exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold. Thus, the determination unit 22 determines whether or not the voltage and the temperature of the battery 10 are abnormal based on the detection information received by the wireless communication unit 24.
After step S4, it is determined, with respect to each of the assembled batteries 11, whether or not the variation between the inter-terminal voltages of the plurality of battery cells 12 is within a predetermined value (step S5). For example, it is determined based on the information received from the battery monitoring devices 30 whether or not, in any of the assembled batteries 11, the difference in inter-terminal voltage between the battery cell 12 with the largest inter-terminal voltage and the battery cell 12 with the smallest inter-terminal voltage exceeds a predetermined value, and if, in any assembled battery 11, this difference exceeds the predetermined value (Yes in step S5), cell balance instruction information is transmitted, in step S6, to the battery monitoring device 30 to which this assembled battery 11 is assigned. The cell balance instruction information refers to information that contains an instruction to instruct the battery monitoring device 30 to execute cell balance processing, and is, for example, a command specified by predetermined information. Also in this case, when cell balance instruction information is wirelessly transmitted in step S6, the cell balance instruction information is relayed such that it is received by the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90, and is retransmitted from the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 to the battery monitoring device 30. Accordingly, upon receiving either cell balance instruction information transmitted from the transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 or cell balance instruction information transmitted directly from the battery ECU 20, the battery monitoring device 30 can recognize the cell balance instruction information.
As shown in
When having performed the cell balance processing in step S23 in
Note that, if cell balance instruction information is transmitted selectively to any of the battery monitoring devices 30 from the battery ECU 20, the cell balance instruction information may preferably contain address information that indicates the address of the target battery monitoring device 30. When such a method is used, it is preferable that each battery monitoring device 30 has stored in advance its own address information, and the battery monitoring device 30 determines, based on the address information contained in the cell balance instruction information, whether or not the received cell balance instruction information is an instruction given to the battery monitoring device 30 itself. In other words, the battery monitoring device 30 only needs to execute the processing in step S23 when having received cell balance instruction information containing information indicating its own address. Note that a configuration is also possible in which, without using such a method, cell balance instruction information is given to all of the battery monitoring devices 30 from the battery ECU 20.
When having transmitted the cell balance instruction information in step S6 in
In the determination in step S5 in
Hereinafter, examples of effects of the present configuration will be described.
Since the above-described battery monitoring devices 30 and battery monitoring system 1 can transmit detection information based on detection results of the detection units 50 (information indicating at least one of the voltage and the temperature of the battery) via wireless communication, it is possible to effectively reduce the number of wires. Furthermore, when the detection information is transmitted to the battery ECU 20 (external device), the detection information can at least be relayed by the relay 90 and then transmitted, and thus the information can be better transmitted as long as the battery ECU 20 is arranged at a position at which wireless transmission is possible from the relay 90.
If predetermined instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the battery ECU 20 (external device), the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90 functions to receive this instruction information. The transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 functions to wirelessly transmit the instruction information upon the instruction information being received by the receiving unit 92. Each battery monitoring device 30 includes a control unit 40 configured to perform control that corresponds to an instruction given from the outside. The wireless communication unit 60 functions to receive the instruction information when the instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting unit 94. The control unit 40 performs control that corresponds to the instruction information upon the instruction information being received by the wireless communication unit 60.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring system 1 in which the battery monitoring device 30 can perform control that corresponds to an instruction given from the battery ECU 20 (external device), with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
If predetermined notification instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the battery ECU 20 (external device), the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90 functions to receive this notification instruction information. The transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 functions to wirelessly transmit the notification instruction information upon the notification instruction information being received by the receiving unit 92. When the notification instruction information is received by the wireless communication unit 60, the control unit 40 causes the wireless communication unit 60 to wirelessly transmit the detection information that indicates at least one of the voltage and the temperature of the battery 10 to the relay 90.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a battery monitoring system 1 in which information detected by the battery monitoring device 30 (detection information indicating at least one of the voltage and the temperature of the battery 10) can be transmitted to the battery ECU 20 in accordance with an instruction given from the battery ECU 20 (external device), with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
If predetermined cell balance instruction information is wirelessly transmitted from the battery ECU 20 (external device), the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90 functions to receive this cell balance instruction information. The transmitting unit 94 of the relay 90 functions to wirelessly transmit the cell balance instruction information upon the cell balance instruction information being received by the receiving unit 92. The detection unit 50 can detect, with respect to the battery 10 in which the plurality of battery cells 12 are connected to each other, voltage information that specifies the inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells 12. When the cell balance instruction information is received by the wireless communication unit 60, the control unit 40 causes the plurality of battery cells 12 to charge or discharge so that the inter-terminal voltages of the battery cells 12 are equalized, based on detection results of the detection unit 50.
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize the battery monitoring system 1 in which the battery monitoring device 30 can perform cell balance control to equalize the inter-terminal voltages of the plurality of battery cells 12 in accordance with an instruction given from the battery ECU 20 (external device), with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted.
In the battery monitoring system 1, the obstacle portion 82 that contains a metal material (part of the metal housing 80 in the example of
With this measure, it is possible to well perform wireless communication in an environment in which wireless communication medium is likely to be impaired when wireless transmission is performed directly from the battery monitoring devices 30 to the battery ECU 20 (external device).
The battery monitoring devices 30 and the relay 90 are arranged in the metal housing 80 in which the battery 10 and the battery ECU 20 (external device) are housed.
With this measure, the metal housing 80 can be used to prevent external impact, external radio wave interference, or the like, and in the metal housing 80, the number of wires is reliably reduced and communication between the battery monitoring devices 30 and the battery ECU 20 (external device) is likely to be performed well.
The battery monitoring system 1 includes the plurality of battery monitoring devices 30. The relay 90 functions to receive items of information wirelessly transmitted from the plurality of battery monitoring devices 30, and wirelessly transmit the received items of information to the battery ECU 20 (external device).
According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to realize a system in which a plurality of battery monitoring devices 30 can communicate with a common battery ECU 20 (external device), with a configuration in which the number of wires can be reduced and information can be well transmitted. Particularly, if a plurality of battery monitoring devices 30 are arranged in a distributed manner, and wires are provided so that communication is possible between the respective battery monitoring devices 30 and the battery ECU 20, the larger number of wires are required, and thus an increase in size and weight is inevitable. In contrast thereto, according to the above-described configuration, when the plurality of battery monitoring devices 30 communicate with the common battery ECU 20, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of wires, and thus larger effects of reductions in size and weight can be achieved.
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the description above and the drawings, and the technical scope of the present disclosure encompasses, for example, the following embodiments. Furthermore, the above-described embodiment and below-described embodiments may be combined with each other unless they contradict each other.
In Embodiment 1, an example of cell balance processing is taken, but the cell balance processing may also be performed using a well-known method. In the example of Embodiment 1, individual battery cells 12 are configured to be able to discharge, and their inter-terminal voltages are equalized by controlling discharge of the battery cells 12, but a configuration is also possible in which individual battery cells 12 are able to discharge and charge, and their inter-terminal voltages are equalized by controlling discharge and charge of the battery cells 12.
In Embodiment 1, one battery monitoring device 30 is assigned to one assembled battery 11, but one battery monitoring device 30 may also be assigned to a plurality of assembled batteries 11. Alternatively, one assembled battery 11 may also be divided into a plurality of areas, and one battery monitoring device 30 may be assigned to each of the areas.
In Embodiment 1, an example is taken in which the substrate portion 70 is directly fixed to the battery 10, but the substrate portion 70 may also be fixed indirectly to the battery 10 via another member.
In Embodiment 1, the battery ECU 20 is taken as an example of the external device, but the external device is not limited to the battery ECU 20 as long as it is an onboard electronic device arranged outside of the battery monitoring device 30.
In Embodiment 1, an example is taken in which a battery monitoring device 30 is assigned to an assembled battery 11 including an assembly of a plurality of battery cells 12, but a configuration is also possible in which the battery monitoring device 30 is attached to one battery (a single battery), and the battery voltage or the battery temperature of this battery is transmitted to the battery ECU 20 using a wireless communication method, directly or via the relay 90.
In Embodiment 1, an example is taken in which the battery monitoring system 1 is housed in a metal housing, but it does not need to be housed in the metal housing.
In Embodiment 1, an example is taken in which a wireless signal received by the receiving unit 92 of the relay 90 is wirelessly transmitted by the transmitting unit 94. The wireless signal received by the receiving unit 92 may also be amplified and then wirelessly transmitted by the transmitting unit 94.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-214061 | Nov 2016 | JP | national |
This application is the U.S. national stage of PCT/JP2017/036739 filed Oct. 11, 2017, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2016-214061 filed Nov. 1, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/036739 | 10/11/2017 | WO | 00 |
