Wireless Battery Management System, Node for Wireless Communication, and Data Transmission Method

Abstract

Wireless battery management system, node for wireless communication, and data transmission method. The present disclosure relates to a wireless battery management system, and more particularly, to a wireless battery management system, a node for wireless communication, and a data transmission method that ensure stability and efficiency when obtaining battery data through wireless communication. A wireless battery management system includes: a manager node that obtains battery data from a plurality of monitoring nodes based on wireless communication by using a first channel and a second channel as communication channels; a first monitoring node that collects first battery data and transmits the first battery data to the manager node through the first channel during a first dedicated time slot; and a second monitoring node that collects second battery data and transmits the second battery data to the manager node through the second channel during the first dedicated time slot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless battery management system, and more particularly, to a wireless battery management system, a node for wireless communication, and a data transmission method that ensure stability and efficiency when obtaining battery data through wireless communication. Background Art

[0002] As the demand for portable electronic products such as notebook computers, video cameras, and mobile phones has rapidly increased and electric vehicles, storage batteries for energy storage, robots, and satellites have truly developed, high-performance batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged are being actively studied.

[0003] The smallest unit of each battery can be referred to as a battery cell, and a plurality of battery cells connected in series with each other can form a battery module. In addition, a plurality of battery modules can be connected in series or parallel with each other, and thus a battery pack can be formed.

[0004] Generally, a battery pack equipped in an electric vehicle or the like includes a plurality of battery modules connected in series or parallel with each other. The battery pack includes a battery management system that monitors the states of the respective battery modules and performs control operations corresponding to the monitored states.

[0005] The battery management system includes a controller for obtaining and analyzing battery data. However, since each battery module included in the battery pack includes a plurality of battery cells, there are limitations in monitoring the states of all the battery cells included in the battery pack using a single controller. Therefore, recently, the following method has been used to distribute the load of the controller and quickly and accurately monitor the entire state of the battery pack: a controller is assembled in each of a certain number of battery modules included in the battery pack, one of these controllers is set as the main controller, and the other controllers are set as slave controllers.

[0006] The slave controllers assembled in each of a certain number of battery modules are connected to the main controller through a wired communication network such as a controller area network (CAN), collect the battery data of the battery modules controlled by the slave controllers, and transmit the battery data to the main controller.

[0007] In order to prevent inefficiencies in space that occur when constructing a CAN for communication between the main controller and the slave controllers, a technique has been proposed in which a short-range wireless channel is provided between the main controller and the slave controllers and short-range wireless communication between the main controller and the slave controllers is performed.

[0008] However, like interference, degradation of wireless signals, and conflicts between wireless signals, wireless communication instability often occurs in a short-range wireless communication environment. In the case where the state of the wireless communication channel is unstable, the following situations occur: The master controller cannot obtain battery data from the slave controller or cannot control the slave controller at an appropriate time, resulting in a problem of a decrease in the overall quality of the battery pack. Summary of the Invention

[0009] Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to providing a wireless battery management system, a node for wireless communication, and a data transmission method that substantially eliminate one or more problems caused by the limitations and deficiencies of the related art.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to providing a wireless battery management system, a node for wireless communication, and a data transmission method that support stable communication between a manager node set as a master node and a monitoring node set as a slave node in a wireless communication environment.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to providing a wireless battery management system, a node for wireless communication, and a data transmission method that increase the availability of a wireless channel.

[0012] Additional advantages and features of the present disclosure will be partially described in the following description, and will be partially obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following, or can be learned through the practice of the present invention. The objectives and other advantages of the present disclosure can be achieved and obtained through the structures specifically pointed out in the written description, its claims, and the drawings.

[0013] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present disclosure, as specifically implemented and widely described herein, there is provided a wireless battery management system including: a manager node that obtains battery data from a plurality of monitoring nodes based on wireless communication by using a first channel and a second channel as communication channels; a first monitoring node that collects first battery data and transmits the first battery data to the manager node through the first channel during a first dedicated time slot; and a second monitoring node that collects second battery data and transmits the second battery data to the manager node through the second channel during the first dedicated time slot.

[0014] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a manager node is provided, which includes: a first wireless communication unit having a communication channel set to a first channel based on a first frequency; a second wireless communication unit having a communication channel set to a second channel based on a second frequency; and a manager controller that, during a first dedicated time slot shared by a first monitoring node and a second monitoring node, receives first battery data from the first monitoring node by using the first wireless communication unit and receives second battery data from the second monitoring node by using the second wireless communication unit.

[0015] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a monitoring node sharing a dedicated time slot with another monitoring node is provided, which includes: a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with a manager node; an interface connected to a battery module; and a monitoring controller that collects battery data by using the interface, sets the communication channel of the wireless communication unit to a first channel different from the communication channel of the other monitoring node during a first dedicated time slot shared by the other monitoring node, and sends the battery data to the manager node through the first channel.

[0016] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for sending battery data in a wireless battery management system is provided, which includes the steps of: enabling a first monitoring node and a second monitoring node to share a plurality of dedicated time slots; and during the Nth (where N is a natural number) dedicated time slot, sending first battery data to a manager node through a first channel by using the first monitoring node and sending second battery data to the manager node through a second channel by using the second monitoring node.

[0017] It should be understood that both the above general description and the following detailed description of the present disclosure are exemplary and explanatory, and are intended to provide further explanation of the claimed present disclosure. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this application. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless battery management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a data frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting a method of assigning dedicated time slots in a wireless battery management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 4 is an example of a data frame with a dedicated time slot assigned thereto;

[0023] Figure 5 is another example of a data frame with a dedicated time slot assigned thereto;

[0024] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a wireless link formed at the first dedicated time slot timing of each group;

[0025] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a channel used at the first sequence dedicated time slot timing of each group;

[0026] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a wireless link formed based on a transmission failure of battery data;

[0027] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating a data frame that appears when the transmission of data fails for the first time;

[0028] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating a data frame that appears when the transmission of data fails for the second time;

[0029] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating a data frame that appears when the transmission of data fails for the third time;

[0030] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a manager node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 13 is a flowchart depicting a method of assigning dedicated time slots by using a manager node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 14 is a flowchart depicting a method of changing a channel based on data omission by using a manager node according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a monitoring node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0034] Figure 16 is a flowchart depicting a method of transmitting battery data by using a monitoring node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0035] In the specification, it should be noted that, whenever possible, like reference numerals have been used for like elements that have been used to represent similar elements in other figures. In the following description, when functions and configurations known to those skilled in the art are not relevant to the basic configuration of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. The terms described in this specification should be understood as follows.

[0036] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods for implementing the same will be clarified by the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in different ways and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. Additionally, the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

[0037] The shapes, sizes, ratios, angles, and numbers disclosed in the drawings for describing the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely examples, and thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the illustrated details. Like reference numerals always refer to like elements. In the following description, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration unnecessarily obscures the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0038] In cases where "comprising", "having", and "including" described in this specification are used, another part may be added unless "only~" is used. A term in the singular form may include the plural form unless stated otherwise.

[0039] When understanding an element, the element is interpreted as including a range of errors even though not explicitly described.

[0040] When describing a temporal relationship, for example, when a temporal order is described as "after~", "subsequently~", "then~", and "before~", a discontinuous case may be included unless "exactly" or "precisely" is used.

[0041] It should be understood that although terms such as "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element.

[0042] The term "at least one" should be understood to include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example, the meaning of "at least one of the first item, the second item, and the third item" represents all combinations of two or more of the first item, the second item, and the third item, as well as the first item, the second item, or the third item.

[0043] As can be fully understood by those skilled in the art, the features of various embodiments of the present disclosure can be partially or fully coupled or combined with each other, and can interoperate with each other in various ways and be technically driven. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed independently of each other, or can be executed together in a mutually dependent relationship.

[0044] Figure 1 FIG. is an illustration of a wireless battery management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] As Figure 1 illustrated in, the wireless battery management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a manager node 100 and a plurality of monitoring nodes 200-N, and the manager node 100 and each monitoring node 200-N may perform wireless communication therebetween.

[0046] In the wireless battery management system according to an embodiment, the manager node 100 may include a controller set as a master controller, and each monitoring node 200-N may include a controller set as a slave controller.

[0047] In an embodiment, the manager node 100 and each monitoring node 200-N may perform wireless communication therebetween according to a short-range wireless communication protocol based on IEEE802.15.4+. In another embodiment, the manager node 100 and each monitoring node 200-N may perform wireless communication therebetween according to a protocol based on one of IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, and IEEE802.15.4, or may perform wireless communication therebetween according to a short-range wireless protocol based on another scheme.

[0048] Each monitoring node 200-N may be disposed in one or more battery modules each including a set of batteries, and may collect battery data including voltage, current, temperature, humidity, etc. occurring in the battery module. In addition, each monitoring node 200-N may autonomously check the state of the battery module equipped with the corresponding monitoring node by measuring the analog front end (AFE) of the battery module and checking the state of the battery module (i.e., diagnostic test), thereby generating self-diagnostic data including the check result.

[0049] The manager node 100 may receive battery data including one or more of current, voltage, temperature, and self-diagnostic data from respective monitoring nodes 200-N, and may analyze the received battery data to monitor the state of each battery module or the state of the battery pack. The manager node 100 may analyze the data of each battery module received from the respective monitoring nodes 200-N to estimate the state of each battery module (e.g., state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH)) and the overall state of the battery pack.

[0050] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the manager node 100 may include two or more wireless communication units (e.g., a first wireless communication unit and a second wireless communication unit) 110 and 120. The wireless communication units 110 and 120 may each include a circuit and an antenna for performing short-range wireless communication. The wireless communication units 110 and 120 may be set for different communication channels in the manager node 100. For example, the first wireless communication unit 110 may be set for a first channel based on a first frequency, and the second wireless communication unit 120 may be set for a second channel based on a second frequency.

[0051] The manager node 100 may simultaneously receive multiple battery data from a pair of monitoring nodes 200-N by using the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120. For example, at a specific timing (i.e., a dedicated time slot), the manager node 100 may receive first battery data from the monitoring node #1 200-1 by using the first wireless communication unit 110, and may receive second battery data from the monitoring node #2 200-2 by using the second wireless communication unit 120. Additionally, when the manager node 100 fails to receive battery data by using the first channel and the second channel, the manager node 100 may change the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to a third channel, or may change the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a fourth channel. Here, a channel may represent a wireless communication path, and the wireless communication units 110, 120, and 210-N may each be set for one of multiple channels. That the wireless communication unit is set for a specific channel may mean that each of the wireless communication units 110, 120, and 210-N is set for a communication frequency corresponding to the specific channel. Channels may have different frequencies. The frequency of the first channel and the frequency of the second channel may be set to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined frequency value or more based on the interference therebetween.

[0052] The manager node 100 and the respective monitoring nodes 200-N may communicate with each other by using data frames having a predefined format. The manager node 100 may send a beacon arranged at a first part of the data frame to the respective monitoring nodes 200-N to synchronize the time slot timing included in the data frame.

[0053] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a data frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] Referring to Figure 2 , a data frame for wireless communication according to the present disclosure may include a plurality of time slots including a manager slot and a transmission slot, and may have a certain time length of T ms. A predetermined time period may be allocated to the manager slot and the transmission slot of the data frame, and the arrangement order of the manager slot and the transmission slot may be constant. In the data frame, the manager slot arranged first may be a dedicated slot for the manager node 100 and may include a beacon. The beacon may perform a function of notifying the start of the data frame and may thus synchronize the slot timing. The manager node 100 may continuously transmit the beacon at a certain periodic interval. The manager node 100 may transmit the beacon through each of the main channel and the secondary channel.

[0055] Each monitoring node 200-N may identify the start time of the data frame based on the beacon and may extract the manager slot and the transmission slot each having a previously allocated time from the data frame based on the beacon.

[0056] In the data frame, the manager slot may be a slot for the manager node 100 to control the monitoring nodes 200-N.

[0057] The transmission slot may be a period for transmitting data of each monitoring node 200-N and may be a dedicated slot for each monitoring node 200-N. The transmission slot may be divided into a first sub-transmission slot T-Slot1 and a second sub-transmission slot T-Slot2. The first sub-transmission slot T-Slot1 may have a time length longer than that of the second sub-transmission slot T-Slot2, or the first sub-transmission slot T-Slot1 and the second sub-transmission slot T-Slot2 may have the same time length.

[0058] The first sub-transmission slot T-Slot1 may be a period using the first channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 and may be divided into a plurality of dedicated slots. In addition, the second sub-transmission slot T-Slot2 may be a period using one or more of the third channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the fourth channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 and may be divided into a plurality of dedicated slots.

[0059] Each monitoring node 200-N may include a wireless communication unit 210-N and may communicate with the manager node 100 and the peripheral monitoring nodes 200-N by using the wireless communication unit 210-N. Each monitoring node 200-N may collect battery data including one or more of self-diagnosis results and sensed information (e.g., temperature, humidity, voltage, current, etc.) regarding one or more battery modules equipped with the corresponding monitoring node, and may report the battery data to the manager node 100 based on the control of the manager node 100.

[0060] The monitoring node 200-N may set one of a first channel and a second channel as a main communication channel and may transmit the battery data to the manager node 100 by preferentially using the channel set as the main communication channel. The monitoring node 200-N may set the channel used in a first dedicated time slot among a plurality of dedicated time slots assigned thereto as the main communication channel. When the monitoring node 200-N is unable to transmit the battery data by using the main communication channel, the monitoring node 200-N may retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 by using another channel. For example, when the monitoring node 200-N is unable to transmit the battery data by using other channels, the monitoring node 200-N may change the currently set communication channel to another channel and may retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 again.

[0061] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of assigning dedicated time slots in a wireless battery management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] Refer to Figure 3 , when powered on or when a network is formed, the manager node 100 may broadcast a message requesting identification information and issuing a request to join the network based on short-range wireless communication in operation S301 so that the peripheral monitoring nodes 200-N can join the short-range wireless network. The manager node 100 may transmit the message during a manager time slot of a data frame.

[0063] Subsequently, when each monitoring node 200-N receives the message, each monitoring node 200-N may send a join response including its own identification information (e.g., MAC address) to the manager node 100 in operation S303. In this case, in order to prevent response conflicts, each monitoring node 200-N may send a join response including its own identification information to the manager node 100 when another monitoring node 200-N is not sending a response based on the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA-CA) technique.

[0064] Subsequently, in step S305, the manager node 100 may check the identification information of each monitoring node 200-N that has received the join response, and may count the number of monitoring nodes 200-N to check the number of monitoring nodes 200-N joining the short-range wireless network. Subsequently, in operation S307, the manager node 100 may group the monitoring nodes into multiple groups to generate groups including elements with a number equal to a specific number (e.g., two). Additionally, when there are remaining monitoring nodes fewer than the specific number and these monitoring nodes are not included in a group, the manager node 100 may generate a group so that the remaining monitoring nodes are included in one group. The manager node 100 may set the number of wireless communication units 110 and 120 to the number of elements. Additionally, the manager node 100 may group the monitoring nodes 200-N randomly or in the order of receiving the join response into multiple groups. For example, as Figure 1 shown, in the case where six monitoring nodes join the short-range wireless network, the manager node 100 may set monitoring node #1 200-1 and monitoring node #2 200-2 as the first group, set monitoring node #3 200-3 and monitoring node #4 200-4 as the second group, and set monitoring node #5 200-5 and monitoring node #6 200-6 as the third group.

[0065] Subsequently, in operation S309, the manager node 100 may assign multiple dedicated time slots to each group. Specifically, the manager node 100 may equally divide the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 into time slots with a number equal to group * N, and may respectively assign the divided transmission time slots to each group. In addition, the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 may be equally divided into time slots with a number equal to group * N, and the divided transmission time slots may be respectively assigned to each group. Additionally, the manager node 100 may equally assign the dedicated time slots of a specific group to the monitoring nodes 200-N included in the corresponding group, and thus may enable the dedicated time slots to be shared by the monitoring nodes in the same group. Additionally, the manager node 100 may generate channel setting information for each dedicated time slot. The channel setting information may include channel identification information used during the dedicated time slot, and the manager node 100 may generate the channel setting information so that nodes in the same group use different channels during the dedicated time slots shared by these nodes. Subsequently, in operation S311, the manager node 100 may generate assignment information for each monitoring node 200-N including information about the dedicated time slot assigned to the monitoring node 200-N (e.g., start point and end point) and the channel setting information for each dedicated time slot, and may send the assignment information to the corresponding monitoring node 200-N.

[0066] Subsequently, in operation S313, the monitoring node 200-N can check each dedicated time slot information and channel setting information in the assignment information to set a plurality of time periods corresponding to the dedicated time slot information of the transmission time slot of the data frame as dedicated time slots. In addition, the monitoring node 200-N can check the channels for the respective dedicated time slots based on the channel setting information. For example, each monitoring node 200-N can set Figure 4 the plurality of dedicated time slots illustrated in

[0067] Figure 4 and can check the channels for the respective dedicated time slots. Each monitoring node 200-N can check the identification information of the channels used during the first sequence of dedicated time slots in the assignment information, and can set the wireless communication unit 210-N to correspond to the identification information of the channels.

[0068] Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figures 7 to 10 In

[0069] Figure 4 Figure 4 Figure 5 and Figures 7 to 10 the "M" illustrated in can represent a monitoring node, the "P" can represent a wireless communication path for communicating with the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100, and the "S" can represent a wireless communication path for communicating with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100. In addition, "(CHn)" in the parentheses can represent channel identification information, and in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first channel can be represented by "CH11", the second channel can be represented by "CH17", the third channel can be represented by "CH13", and the fourth channel can be represented by "CH19". Furthermore, it is described that the first group includes the monitoring node #1M1 200-1 and the monitoring node #2M2 200-2, the second group includes the monitoring node #3M3 200-3 and the monitoring node #4M4 200-4, and the third group includes the monitoring node #5M5 200-5 and the monitoring node #6M6 200-6.

[0069] As Figure 4As illustrated, when the number of groups is three and the number of wireless communication units 110 and 120 equipped therein is two, the manager node 100 may assign dedicated time slots and may set channels. That is, the manager node 100 may divide the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 into multiple time slots to generate multiple dedicated time slots (e.g., the first dedicated time slot to the sixth dedicated time slot) 41 to 46, assign the first dedicated time slot 41 and the second dedicated time slot 42 to the first group, assign the third dedicated time slot 43 and the fourth dedicated time slot 44 to the second group, and assign the fifth dedicated time slot 45 and the sixth dedicated time slot 46 to the third group. The manager node 100 may use the result obtained by multiplying the number of groups (i.e., 3) by the number of wireless communication units 110 and 120 (i.e., 2) as the number of divisions of the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. In addition, the manager node 100 may equally divide the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 into time slots equal to the number of groups to generate multiple dedicated time slots (e.g., the seventh dedicated time slot to the ninth dedicated time slot) 47 to 49, assign the seventh dedicated time slot 47 to the first group, assign the eighth dedicated time slot 48 to the second group, and assign the ninth dedicated time slot 49 to the third group.

[0070] Monitoring nodes included in the same group may be set to communicate with different wireless communication units 110 and 120 during dedicated time slots shared by the monitoring nodes. To this end, the manager node 100 may generate channel setting information for each monitoring node such that, during a specific dedicated time slot, one of the monitoring nodes 200-N included in the same group communicates with the first wireless communication unit 110, and during the specific dedicated time slot, another monitoring node 200-N communicates with the second wireless communication unit 120.

[0071] Refer to Figure 4, during the first dedicated time slot 41, the first monitoring node 200-1 can communicate with the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100 via the first channel CH11, and the second monitoring node 200-2 can communicate with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100 via the second channel CH17. Additionally, during the second dedicated time slot 42, the first monitoring node 200-1 can communicate with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100 via the second channel CH17, and the second monitoring node 200-2 can communicate with the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100 via the first channel CH11. As another example, during the third dedicated time slot 43, the third monitoring node 200-3 can communicate with the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100 via the first channel CH11, and the fourth monitoring node 200-4 can communicate with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100 via the second channel CH17. Additionally, the manager node 100 can generate channel setting information such that another channel is used during the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2. As Figure 4 described, the manager node 100 can generate channel setting information such that the first channel CH11 and the second channel CH17 are used during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 and the third channel CH13 and the fourth channel CH19 are used during the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2.

[0072] The reason for using different channels in the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 is to prevent the situation where the transmission of battery data fails due to interference occurring in the first channel CH11 and the second channel CH17 used during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. That is, the monitoring node 200-N that is unable to transmit battery data due to interference during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 can change the wireless channel and then re-transmit the battery data to the manager node 100.

[0073] In Figure 4When assigned to dedicated time slots as in [description], the monitoring node 200-N can send battery data to the manager node 100 during the first sequence of dedicated time slots, and when the transmission of the battery data fails, the monitoring node 200-N can retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 during the next sequence of dedicated time slots. For example, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can send battery data to the manager node 100 during the first dedicated time slot 41, and when the transmission of the battery data fails, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 during the second dedicated time slot 42. Additionally, when the transmission of the battery data fails during the second dedicated time slot 42, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can send the battery data to the manager node 100 for the third time during the seventh dedicated time slot 47.

[0074] The length of the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 can be the same as the length of the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2.

[0075] Figure 5 is another example of a data frame with dedicated time slots assigned to it.

[0076] In Figure 4 In the data frame illustrated in [description], the length of the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 can be longer than the length of the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2. On the other hand, in Figure 5 In the data frame illustrated in [description], the length of the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 can be the same as the length of the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2.

[0077] As Figure 5 illustrated in [description], the manager node 100 can divide the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 into six time slots to generate six dedicated time slots 41 to 46. Additionally, the manager node 100 can divide the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 into six time slots to generate six dedicated time slots 47 to 49 and 51 to 53. Among the dedicated time slots 47 to 49 and 51 to 53 included in the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2, the manager node 100 can assign the seventh dedicated time slot 47 and the tenth dedicated time slot 51 to the first group, the eighth dedicated time slot 48 and the eleventh dedicated time slot 52 to the second group, and the ninth dedicated time slot 49 and the twelfth dedicated time slot 53 to the third group. In the case of using Figure 5 the data frame, when the transmission of the battery data fails, the monitoring node 200-N can retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 a total of three times.

[0078] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the wireless link formed at the timing of the first dedicated time slot of each group.

[0079] Figure 7 It is a diagram illustrating channels used at the timing of the first sequence dedicated time slots of each group.

[0080] Referring to Figure 6 and Figure 7 the manager node 100 can set the communication channels of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120 to the channels used in the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. That is, the manager node 100 can set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to the first channel CH11, and can set the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to the second channel CH12. In addition, each monitoring node 200-N can check the identification information of the channel used during the first sequence dedicated time slots among the dedicated time slots assigned to it (i.e., the identification information of the main channel), and can set the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210-N to the channel corresponding to the identification information of the channel. That is, the monitoring node #1 200-1, the monitoring node #3 200-3, and the monitoring node #5 200-5 can respectively set the communication channels of the wireless communication units 210-1, 210-3, and 210-5 to the first channel CH11 for communicating with the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100, and the monitoring node #2 200-2, the monitoring node #4 200-4, and the monitoring node #6 200-6 can respectively set the communication channels of the wireless communication units 210-2, 210-4, and 210-6 to the second channel CH12 for communicating with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100.

[0081] In a state where the communication channel is set, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can transmit first battery data to the manager node 100 during the first dedicated time slot 41 by using the wireless communication unit #1 210-1 set to the first channel CH11, and the monitoring node #2 200-2 can transmit second battery data to the manager node 100 during the first dedicated time slot 41 by using the wireless communication unit #2 210-2 set to the second channel CH17. Similarly, the monitoring node #3 200-3 can transmit third battery data to the manager node 100 during the third dedicated time slot 43 by using the wireless communication unit #3 210-3 set to the first channel CH11, and the monitoring node #4 200-4 can transmit fourth battery data to the manager node 100 during the third dedicated time slot 43 by using the wireless communication unit #4 210-4 set to the second channel CH17. Additionally, the monitoring node #5 200-5 can transmit fifth battery data to the manager node 100 during the fifth dedicated time slot 45 by using the wireless communication unit #5 210-5 set to the first channel CH11, and the monitoring node #6 200-6 can transmit sixth battery data to the manager node 100 during the fifth dedicated time slot 45 by using the wireless communication unit #6 210-6 set to the second channel CH17.

[0082] By using the first wireless communication unit 110 set to the first channel CH11 and the second wireless communication unit 120 set to the second channel CH17, the manager node 100 can collect the first battery data and the second battery data simultaneously during the first dedicated time slot 41, collect the third battery data and the fourth battery data simultaneously during the third dedicated time slot 43, and collect the fifth battery data and the sixth battery data simultaneously during the fifth dedicated time slot 45.

[0083] The transmission of one or more of these battery data may fail.

[0084] In this case, each monitoring node 200-N can retransmit the battery data by using the next sequential dedicated time slot in the dedicated time slot assigned to it.

[0085] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a wireless link formed based on the failure of the transmission of battery data.

[0086] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating a data frame that appears when the transmission of data fails for the first time.

[0087] Refer to Figure 8 and Figure 9, when the monitoring node #1 200-1 fails to send the first battery data to the manager node 100 during the first dedicated time slot 41, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can change the communication channel of the wireless communication unit #1 210-1 from the first channel CH11 to the second channel CH17 to form a wireless link with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100. The monitoring node #1 200-1 can send the first battery data to the manager node 100, but when it does not receive an acknowledgment (ACK) from the manager node 100 within a predetermined time, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can determine that the data transmission has failed. During the second dedicated time slot 42, the monitoring node #1 200-1 with the changed communication channel can send the first battery data to the manager node 100. At this time, the first battery data can be sent to the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100. In Figure 9 's data frame, the state where the first battery data is re-sent to the manager node 100 during the second dedicated time slot 42 is illustrated. The transmission of battery data from the monitoring node 200-N to the manager node 100 and the transmission of the ACK message from the manager node 100 to the monitoring node 200-N can all be executed during one dedicated time slot.

[0088] The monitoring node #1 200-1 may fail to send the first battery data during the second dedicated time slot 42.

[0089] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the data frame that appears when the second transmission of data fails.

[0090] When the monitoring node #1 200-1 fails to send the first battery data during the second dedicated time slot 42, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can change the communication channel of the wireless communication unit #1 210-1 from the second channel CH17 to the first channel CH11 to form a wireless link with the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100. As Figure 10 illustrates, the monitoring node #1 200-1 can re-send the first battery data to the manager node 100 during the seventh dedicated time slot 47. The first battery data can be sent through the fourth channel CH19 formed between the wireless communication unit #1 210-1 of the monitoring node #1 200-1 and the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100.

[0091] In addition, in as Figure 5In the case where four dedicated time slots are assigned to the monitoring nodes as in [the previous description], when the monitoring node #1200-1 fails to send the first battery data during the third sequence dedicated time slot (i.e., the seventh dedicated time slot 47), the monitoring node #1200-1 can retransmit the first battery data to the manager node 100 during the tenth dedicated time slot 51 of the fourth sequence.

[0092] Figure 11 It is a diagram illustrating a data frame that appears when the transmission of data fails for the third time.

[0093] When the monitoring node #1200-1 fails to send the first battery data during the seventh dedicated time slot 47, the monitoring node #1200-1 can change the communication channel of the wireless communication unit #1210-1 from the fourth channel CH19 to the third channel CH13 to form a wireless link with the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100. As Figure 11 illustrated in [the previous description], the monitoring node #1200-1 can retransmit the first battery data to the manager node 100 during the tenth dedicated time slot 51.

[0094] As described above, the monitoring nodes 200-N included in the same group and sharing dedicated time slots can communicate with the manager node 100 through different channels at the same transmission timing (i.e., dedicated time slots). Additionally, when each monitoring node 200-N fails to send battery data during the Nth sequence (where N is a natural number) dedicated time slot among the dedicated time slots assigned to it, during the (N + 1)th sequence dedicated time slot, each monitoring node 200-N can change the communication channel and can retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100.

[0095] Figure 12 It is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a manager node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0096] As Figure 12 illustrated in [the previous description], the manager node 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a first wireless communication unit 110, a second wireless communication unit 120, a manager storage unit 130, and a manager controller 140.

[0097] The first wireless communication unit 110 can communicate with the monitoring nodes 200-N through a specific channel.

[0098] The second wireless communication unit 120 can communicate with the monitoring nodes 200-N through a channel different from the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110.

[0099] The first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120 may each include a radio frequency (RF) circuit for performing short-range wireless communication. Additionally, each of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120 may broadcast a beacon at certain periodic intervals. The transmission timing of the beacon transmitted by the first wireless communication unit 110 may be the same as or different from the transmission timing of the beacon transmitted by the second wireless communication unit 120.

[0100] The manager storage unit 130 may be a storage device such as a memory or a disk device, and may store various programs and data for operating the manager node 100. In particular, the manager storage unit 130 may store a program (or instruction set) that defines an algorithm for performing the operations of the manager node 100 described above. Additionally, the manager storage unit 130 may store battery data received from each of the plurality of monitoring nodes 200-N. The manager storage unit 130 may store a join list.

[0101] The manager controller 140, as an operation processing device such as a microprocessor, may control the overall operation of the manager node 100 and may generate data for controlling the monitoring nodes 200-N. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the manager controller 140 may install data associated with the program (or instruction set) stored in the manager storage unit 130 in a memory and may perform wireless communication and time slot assignment operations.

[0102] The manager controller 140 may obtain the battery data of each of the monitoring nodes 200-N by using the first wireless communication unit 110 or the second wireless communication unit 120, and may analyze the battery data to check the status of the battery module including the monitoring nodes 200-N. Additionally, the manager controller 140 may generally analyze the battery data to check the status of the battery pack and may control charging and discharging based thereon.

[0103] By using all of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120, the manager controller 140 may receive a plurality of battery data from a plurality of monitoring nodes 200-N. The manager controller 140 may set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to a first channel CH11, and may set the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a second channel CH17, and then may receive battery data from the monitoring nodes 200-N by using all of the first channel CH11 and the second channel CH17 during a first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. Additionally, the manager controller 140 may set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to a third channel CH13, and may set the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a fourth channel CH19, and then may receive battery data from the monitoring nodes 200-N by using one or more of the third channel CH13 and the fourth channel CH19 during a second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2. The battery data received through the third channel or the fourth channel may be data that could not be received during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1.

[0104] In addition, the manager controller 140 may group the monitoring nodes 200-N into a plurality of groups, assign dedicated time slots to each group during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1, and assign dedicated time slots to each group during the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2. The manager controller 140 may generate setting information regarding the channels for each dedicated time slot. The manager controller 140 may generate assignment information including information regarding the dedicated time slots assigned to the corresponding monitoring nodes 200-N and the channel setting information for the dedicated time slots, and may send the assignment information to the corresponding monitoring nodes 200-N by using one or more of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120.

[0105] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of assigning dedicated time slots by using a manager node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0106] Referring to Figure 13 , when initially setting up the network, in operation S1310, the manager controller 140 may broadcast a message requesting to join the network and requesting identification information by using one or more of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120. Additionally, in operation S1303, the manager controller 140 may start timing the time. The manager node 100 may broadcast the message during a manager time slot.

[0107] Subsequently, in operation S1305, the manager controller 140 may monitor whether the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120 receive join responses from the respective monitoring nodes 200-N. When a join response is received, the manager controller 140 may check the identification information (e.g., MAC address) regarding the corresponding monitoring node 200-N, and may record the identification information regarding the corresponding monitoring node 200-N in the join list of the manager storage unit 130.

[0108] The manager controller 140 may check whether the elapsed time has reached a predetermined expiration time, and when the elapsed time has not reached the predetermined expiration time (No) in operation S1307, the manager controller 140 may perform operation S1305 again to prepare for receiving a response.

[0109] On the other hand, when the elapsed time has reached the predetermined expiration time (Yes) in operation S1307, the manager controller 140 may check the number of monitoring nodes recorded in the join list to check the number of monitoring nodes 200-N that have joined the short-range wireless network. Additionally, in operation S1309, the manager controller 140 may group the monitoring nodes to generate a plurality of groups including elements equal in number to the number of wireless communication units 110 and 120 (e.g., two). The manager controller 140 may randomly or in the order of receiving join responses group the monitoring nodes 200-N into a plurality of groups.

[0110] Subsequently, in operation S1311, the manager controller 140 may assign group-based dedicated time slots in the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1, and may assign group-based dedicated time slots in the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2. The manager controller 140 may divide the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 into time slots equal in number to the number obtained by multiplying the number of groups by the number of wireless communication units 110 and 120 to generate a plurality of dedicated time slots, and may equally assign the plurality of dedicated time slots to these groups respectively. Additionally, the manager controller 140 may divide the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 into time slots equal in number to the number of groups to generate a plurality of dedicated time slots, and may independently assign each of the plurality of dedicated time slots to the corresponding group among these groups. In another embodiment, like dividing the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1, the manager controller 140 may divide the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 into time slots equal in number to the number obtained by the product to generate a plurality of dedicated time slots, and may equally assign the plurality of dedicated time slots to these groups respectively.

[0111] In addition, in operation S1313, the manager controller 140 may set channels for respective dedicated time slots such that the monitoring nodes included in the same group communicate with one of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second wireless communication unit 120 by using different channels at the same transmission timing (i.e., during the same transmission time slot).

[0112] Subsequently, in operation S1315, the manager node 140 may generate assignment information including assigned dedicated time slot information (e.g., start point and end point) and channel setting information for respective dedicated time slots for each monitoring node, and may send the assignment information to the corresponding monitoring nodes 200-N.

[0113] The manager node 100 may communicate with the monitoring nodes 200-N by using a predetermined default channel until the communication channels for respective dedicated time slots are set. That is, the manager controller 140 may set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 or the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a predetermined default channel, and may communicate with the monitoring nodes 200-N to send or receive a request message, a join response, and assignment information. In addition, after sending the assignment information, the manager controller 140 may set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to a first channel, and may set the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a second channel. The default channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 may be the first channel, and the default channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 may be the second channel. In addition, the default channel of the monitoring nodes 200-N may be one of the first channel and the second channel.

[0114] According to an embodiment, when the time corresponding to the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 arrives, the manager controller 140 may change the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 from the first channel to a third channel, and may change the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 from the second channel to a fourth channel. In addition, in the embodiment, when the time corresponding to the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 arrives, the manager controller 140 may change the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to the first channel, and may change the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to the second channel. That is, according to the embodiment, as the period corresponding to the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1 and the period corresponding to the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 arrive, the manager controller 140 may alternately set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to the first channel and the third channel, and may alternately set the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to the second channel and the fourth channel.

[0115] In another embodiment, the manager controller 140 may selectively change the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 or the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 during the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 only when an omission of data (i.e., battery data is not received) occurs.

[0116] Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of changing a channel based on an omission of data by using a manager node according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0117] Referring to Figure 14 , in operations S1401 and S1403, the manager controller 140 may initially set the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 to a first channel and may set the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 to a second channel. Subsequently, the manager controller 140 may check whether a data collection period has arrived, and when the data collection period arrives in operation S1405, the manager controller 140 may broadcast, in operation S1407, a message requesting the reporting of battery data during the manager time slot to all monitoring nodes 200-N. In this case, the manager controller 140 may broadcast the message by using all of the first wireless communication units 110 and the second wireless communication units 120.

[0118] Subsequently, in operation S1409, the manager controller 140 may receive battery data from each of the monitoring nodes 200-N through the first channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the second channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. Subsequently, the manager controller 140 may determine whether battery data has been received from all of the monitoring nodes 200-N during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. That is, in operation S1411, the manager controller 140 may determine whether the reception of battery data has been omitted during the first sub-transmission time slot T-Slot1. The manager controller 140 may determine whether battery data has been received from all of the monitoring nodes 200-N registered in the join list and may thus determine whether an omission of data has occurred.

[0119] When data omission occurs, in operations S1413 and S1415, the manager controller 140 may change the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 from the first channel to the third channel, and may change the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 from the second channel to the fourth channel. Additionally, in operation S1417, the manager controller 140 may receive the omitted battery data from the corresponding monitoring node 200-N during the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 by using one or more of the third channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 and the fourth channel of the second wireless communication unit 120. After the second sub-transmission time slot T-Slot2 has passed, the manager controller 140 may change the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit 110 from the third channel to the first channel, and may change the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit 120 from the fourth channel to the second channel, thereby restoring each channel to its original channel.

[0120] The above Figure 14 method may correspond to one period, and the manager node 100 may repeatedly execute Figure 14 the method.

[0121] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a monitoring node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0122] As Figure 15 illustrated in

[0123] The wireless communication unit 210 may set the communication channel to a channel corresponding to a frequency in the frequency band, and may perform wireless communication with the first wireless communication unit 110 or the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100. The wireless communication unit 210 may include a radio frequency (RF) circuit for performing short-range wireless communication.

[0124] The monitoring storage unit 220 may be a storage device such as a memory or a disk device, and may store various programs and data for operating the monitoring node 200. In particular, the storage unit 220 may store a program (or instruction set) defining an algorithm for performing the operations of the above-described monitoring node 200.

[0125] The interface 230 may be an element supporting a communication connection with the battery module 10 equipped with the monitoring node 200, and may use a bus cable, a cable, etc., or may use CAN communication. The monitoring node 200 may obtain battery data generated in the battery module 10 through the interface 230.

[0126] The monitoring controller 240, as an operation processing device such as a microprocessor, can control the overall operation of the monitoring node 200. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring controller 240 can install data associated with a program (or instruction set) stored in the storage unit 220 in the memory and can perform wireless communication and channel change operations.

[0127] The monitoring controller 240 can obtain various data such as the temperature, current, and voltage of the battery module 10 through the interface 230, can measure the AFE of the battery module 10, and can check the state of the battery module 10 (i.e., diagnostic test). In addition, the monitoring controller 240 can send battery data including one or more of current, voltage, temperature, and self-diagnostic data to the manager node 100 by using the wireless communication unit 210.

[0128] When the monitoring controller 240 receives the assignment information from the wireless communication unit 210, the monitoring controller 240 can check each dedicated time slot information and channel setting information among the assignment information to set a plurality of periods corresponding to the dedicated time slot information of the transmission time slot of the data frame as dedicated time slots, and can check the channels for each dedicated time slot based on the channel setting information. Each dedicated time slot can be shared by another monitoring node in the same group, and the monitoring controller 240 can set the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210 so that a different channel from another monitoring node is used during the dedicated time slot. The monitoring controller 240 can check the channel setting information and identification information about the channel (i.e., the main channel) for the first sequence of dedicated time slots among the assigned dedicated time slots, and can initially set the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210 to correspond to the channel identification information. When the monitoring controller 240 cannot send the battery data during the Nth sequence of dedicated time slots, the monitoring controller 240 can check the channel identification information for the (N + 1)th sequence of dedicated time slots among the channel setting information during the (N + 1)th sequence of dedicated time slots, change the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210 to correspond to the channel identification information, and re-send the battery data to the manager node 100 by using the wireless communication unit 210.

[0129] The wireless communication unit 210 can use a predetermined default channel as the communication channel until the assignment information is received. In this case, the monitoring controller 240 can receive a request message and assignment information from the manager node 100 by using the wireless communication unit 210 set for the default channel, and can send a join response to the manager node 100. The default channel of the wireless communication unit 210 can be the first channel or the second channel.

[0130] Figure 16It is a flowchart describing a method of transmitting battery data by using a monitoring node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0131] Referring to Figure 16 , when the wireless communication unit 210 receives assignment information from the manager node 100, the monitoring controller 240 may check each dedicated time slot information and channel setting information among the assignment information. The monitoring controller 240 may set a plurality of periods corresponding to the dedicated time slot information of the transmission time slot of the data frame as the dedicated time slots of the monitoring node 200. The plurality of dedicated time slots set by the monitoring controller 240 may be shared by another monitoring node in the same group. In addition, the monitoring controller 240 may check the channels for each dedicated time slot based on the channel setting information, and may set the channel used during the first sequence of dedicated time slots as the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210. In the description given in Figure 16 , as Figure 4 , Figure 7 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 , it is described that the monitoring controller 240 assigns the dedicated time slots of the monitoring node 200 in the order of the first dedicated time slot 41, the second dedicated time slot 42, and the seventh dedicated time slot 47 in the data frame, uses the first channel CH11 during the first dedicated time slot, uses the second channel CH17 during the second dedicated time slot, and uses the fourth channel CH19 during the seventh dedicated time slot.

[0132] When the wireless communication unit 210 receives a message requesting to send report data from the manager node 100, in operation S1601, the monitoring controller 240 may check the collected battery data by using the interface 230, and may send the battery data to the manager node 100 through the first channel formed between the wireless communication unit 210 and the first wireless communication unit 110 of the manager node 100 during the first sequence of dedicated time slots (e.g., the first dedicated time slot). The first dedicated time slot may be shared by another monitoring node in the same group, and the wireless communication unit 210 may communicate with the manager node 100 by using the first channel CH11 different from the second channel CH17 formed in another monitoring node.

[0133] Subsequently, in operation S1603, the monitoring controller 240 may check whether the wireless communication unit 210 has received an ACK. That is, the monitoring controller 240 may check whether the wireless communication unit 210 has received an ACK indicating that the battery data has been normally received.

[0134] When an ACK is not received within a certain time, in operation S1605, the monitoring controller 240 may check the channel (e.g., the second channel) for the second sequence dedicated time slot (e.g., the second dedicated time slot), and may change the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210 from the first channel CH11 to the second channel CH17. Additionally, in operation S1607, the monitoring controller 240 may retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 through the second channel formed between the wireless communication unit 210 and the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100 during the second sequence dedicated time slot (e.g., the second dedicated time slot).

[0135] Subsequently, in operation S1609, the monitoring controller 240 may check whether the wireless communication unit 210 has received an ACK indicating that the battery data has been received normally. When an ACK is not received within a certain time, the monitoring controller 240 may check the channel (e.g., the fourth channel) for the third sequence dedicated time slot (e.g., the seventh dedicated time slot), and may change the communication channel of the wireless communication unit 210 from the second channel to the fourth channel in operation S1611. Additionally, in operation S1613, the monitoring controller 240 may retransmit the battery data to the manager node 100 again through the fourth channel formed between the wireless communication unit 210 and the second wireless communication unit 120 of the manager node 100 during the third sequence dedicated time slot (e.g., the seventh dedicated time slot).

[0136] When the monitoring controller 240 is unable to send the battery data during the last sequence dedicated time slot, the monitoring controller 240 may output an error message to request the administrator to check the battery management system.

[0137] Figure 16 The method can correspond to one cycle, and whenever the battery data is sent, the monitoring node 200 may repeatedly execute Figure 16 the process.

[0138] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring nodes set as a group may communicate with the manager node simultaneously through different channels during the dedicated time slots shared by the monitoring nodes, thereby increasing the availability of the wireless channels.

[0139] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple dedicated time slots may be assigned to the monitoring nodes. Then, when the monitoring node is unable to send the battery data during the first dedicated time slot, the monitoring node may change the channel and then may send the battery data to the manager node during the second dedicated time slot, thereby preventing data omission and supporting stable wireless communication.

[0140] The above-described features, structures, and effects of the present disclosure are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, but are not limited to only one embodiment. In addition, those skilled in the art can implement the features, structures, and effects described in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure by combining or modifying other embodiments. Therefore, the content related to the combination and modification should be construed as falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0141] All of the disclosed methods and processes described in the present disclosure can be implemented, at least in part, using one or more computer programs or components. These components can be provided as a series of computer instructions on any conventional computer-readable medium or machine-readable medium, which includes volatile and non-volatile memories such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, magnetic disks or optical discs, optical memories, or other storage media. The instructions can be provided as software or firmware and can be implemented, in whole or in part, in hardware components such as ASICs, FPGAs, DSPs, or any other similar devices. The instructions can be configured to be executed by one or more processors or other hardware components, and when the one or more processors or other hardware components execute a series of computer instructions, they perform or facilitate the execution of all or part of the disclosed methods and processes.

[0142] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to cover modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0143] Cross-reference to related applications

[0144] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0095221, filed on August 5, 2019, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0082670, filed on July 6, 2020, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth herein.

Claims

1. A wireless battery management system, the wireless battery management system comprising: A plurality of monitoring nodes, each of the plurality of monitoring nodes collecting battery data; And A manager node, the manager node obtaining the battery data from the plurality of monitoring nodes based on a wireless communication network, the manager node including two or more wireless communication units, Wherein, the manager node is configured to: Divide the plurality of monitoring nodes into a plurality of groups, the number of monitoring nodes in each of the plurality of groups corresponding to the number of the wireless communication units; Divide a first sub-transmission time slot into a number of time slots equal to the number obtained by multiplying the number of the plurality of groups by the number of the wireless communication units, to generate a first plurality of dedicated time slots; Equally assign the first plurality of dedicated time slots to the plurality of groups respectively; Divide a second sub-transmission time slot into a number of time slots equal to the number of the plurality of groups, to generate a second plurality of dedicated time slots; and Independently assign each of the second plurality of dedicated time slots to a corresponding one of the plurality of groups; Wherein, the manager node communicates with the plurality of monitoring nodes by using a predetermined default channel until a communication channel is set for each of the first plurality of dedicated time slots and the second plurality of dedicated time slots, Wherein, a first monitoring node in one of the plurality of groups sends first battery data to the manager node through a first channel during a first dedicated time slot, and a second monitoring node in the one of the plurality of groups sends second battery data to the manager node through a second channel during the first dedicated time slot, and Wherein, based on interference between the first channel and the second channel, the frequency of the first channel and the frequency of the second channel are set to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined frequency value or a frequency value greater than the predetermined frequency value.

2. The wireless battery management system according to claim 1, wherein, When the transmission based on the first channel fails, the first monitoring node changes the communication channel to the second channel and re-sends the first battery data to the manager node through the second channel during a second dedicated time slot, and When the transmission based on the second channel fails, the second monitoring node changes the communication channel to the first channel and re-sends the second battery data to the manager node through the first channel during the second dedicated time slot.

3. The wireless battery management system according to claim 2, wherein, When the transmission based on the second channel fails, the first monitoring node changes the communication channel to a fourth channel and re-sends the first battery data to the manager node through the fourth channel during a third dedicated time slot, and When the transmission based on the first channel fails, the second monitoring node changes the communication channel to a third channel and re-sends the second battery data to the manager node through the third channel during the third dedicated time slot.

4. The wireless battery management system according to claim 3, wherein, The manager node changes the first channel to the third channel and changes the second channel to the fourth channel.

5. The wireless battery management system according to claim 3, wherein, The first monitoring node and the second monitoring node share the first dedicated time slot, the second dedicated time slot, and the third dedicated time slot.

6. A manager node, the manager node comprising: A first wireless communication unit having a communication channel set to a first channel based on a first frequency; A second wireless communication unit having a communication channel set to a second channel based on a second frequency; And A manager controller that obtains battery data from a plurality of monitoring nodes through the first wireless communication unit and the second wireless communication unit, wherein the manager controller is configured to: Divide the plurality of monitoring nodes into a plurality of groups, with two monitoring nodes in each of the plurality of groups; Divide a first sub-transmission time slot into a number of time slots equal to the number obtained by multiplying the number of the plurality of groups by two to generate a first plurality of dedicated time slots; Equally assign the first plurality of dedicated time slots to the plurality of groups respectively; Divide a second sub-transmission time slot into a number of time slots equal to the number of the plurality of groups to generate a second plurality of dedicated time slots; Independently assign each of the second plurality of dedicated time slots to a corresponding group among the plurality of groups; and During a first dedicated time slot shared by a first monitoring node and a second monitoring node in one of the plurality of groups, receive first battery data from the first monitoring node by using the first wireless communication unit and receive second battery data from the second monitoring node by using the second wireless communication unit, wherein the manager node communicates with the plurality of monitoring nodes by using a predetermined default channel until a communication channel is set for each of the first plurality of dedicated time slots and the second plurality of dedicated time slots, and wherein, based on interference between the first channel and the second channel, the first frequency and the second frequency are set to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined frequency value or a frequency value greater than the predetermined frequency value.

7. The manager node according to claim 6, wherein, The manager controller sets different channels for different monitoring nodes in each of the plurality of groups for each of the first plurality of dedicated time slots and the second plurality of dedicated time slots, such that the different monitoring nodes use the different channels during the shared dedicated time slots.

8. The manager node according to claim 6, wherein When the manager controller fails to receive the first battery data during the first dedicated time slot, the manager controller receives the first battery data from the first monitoring node by using the second wireless communication unit during a second dedicated time slot, and When the manager controller fails to receive the second battery data during the first dedicated time slot, the manager controller receives the second battery data from the second monitoring node by using the first wireless communication unit during the second dedicated time slot.

9. The manager node according to claim 8, wherein, when the manager controller fails to receive the first battery data during the second dedicated time slot, the manager controller changes the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit to a third channel during that period and receives the first battery data from the first monitoring node through the first wireless communication unit during a third dedicated time slot, and when the manager controller fails to receive the second battery data during the second dedicated time slot, the manager controller changes the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit to a fourth channel during that period and receives the second battery data from the second monitoring node through the second wireless communication unit during the third dedicated time slot.

10. The manager node according to claim 9, wherein, when the manager controller fails to receive the first battery data during the third dedicated time slot, the manager controller receives the first battery data from the first monitoring node through the second wireless communication unit whose communication channel is changed to the fourth channel during a fourth dedicated time slot, and when the manager controller fails to receive the second battery data during the third dedicated time slot, the manager controller receives the second battery data from the second monitoring node through the first wireless communication unit whose communication channel is changed to the third channel during the fourth dedicated time slot.

11. The manager node according to claim 6, wherein, The manager controller alternately sets the communication channel of the first wireless communication unit to the first channel and the third channel, and alternately sets the communication channel of the second wireless communication unit to the second channel and the fourth channel.

12. A method for transmitting battery data in a wireless battery management system, the method comprising the following steps: dividing, by a manager node including two or more wireless communication units, a plurality of monitoring nodes into a plurality of groups, the number of monitoring nodes in each of the plurality of groups corresponding to the number of the wireless communication units; dividing, by the manager node, a first sub-transmission time slot into a number of time slots equal to the number obtained by multiplying the number of the plurality of groups by the number of the wireless communication units to generate a first plurality of dedicated time slots; equally assigning, by the manager node, the first plurality of dedicated time slots to the plurality of groups respectively; dividing, by the manager node, a second sub-transmission time slot into a number of time slots equal to the number of the plurality of groups to generate a second plurality of dedicated time slots; independently assigning, by the manager node, each of the second plurality of dedicated time slots to a corresponding group among the plurality of groups; communicating, by the manager node, with the plurality of monitoring nodes using a predetermined default channel until a communication channel is set for each of the first plurality of dedicated time slots and the second plurality of dedicated time slots; enabling, by the manager node, the monitoring nodes in each of the plurality of groups to share the dedicated time slot assigned to the group; and During the Nth dedicated time slot, first battery data is sent to the manager node via a first channel using a first monitoring node and second battery data is sent to the manager node via a second channel using a second monitoring node, where N is a natural number. Wherein, based on interference between the first channel and the second channel, the frequencies of the first channel and the second channel are set to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined frequency value or a frequency value greater than the predetermined frequency value.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The step of sending first battery data to a manager node via a first channel using the first monitoring node and sending second battery data to the manager node via a second channel using the second monitoring node includes the steps of: forming a wireless link via the first channel by the first monitoring node together with a first wireless communication unit of the manager node, and forming a wireless link via the second channel by the second monitoring node together with a second wireless communication unit of the manager node.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein The first monitoring node or the second monitoring node that has been unable to send data during the Nth dedicated time slot changes the channel and re-sends the first battery data or the second battery data to the manager node via the changed channel during the (N + 1)th dedicated time slot.

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