Battery charging control apparatus and method, and system including same

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a battery charging control apparatus and method, and a battery system including the same may charge a battery with a predefined charging current amplitude belonging to a corresponding section based on a state of charge (SOC) of the battery to be charged, the battery is charged by adjusting the charging current downward to the amplitude of the charging current of the next section when the battery voltage exceeds a predefined threshold during charging, and the amplitude of the charging current of each section is determined based on real-time voltage information instead of charging state information of the battery. And charging the battery with the determined charging current until the battery is fully charged, and thus lithium precipitation and battery degradation due to rapid charging can be prevented and charging time can be shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0152598 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on November 15, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a device and method for controlling the charging of a battery and a battery system including the device and method, and more specifically to a device and method for controlling the charging of a battery and a battery system including the device and method for controlling the amplitude of a charging current used for charging a battery and a battery system including the device and method for charging a battery based on charging state information and a voltage value of the battery. Background Art

[0003] As the price of energy rises due to the depletion of fossil fuels and increasing interest in environmental pollution, the demand for secondary batteries as an environmentally friendly alternative energy source is rapidly increasing.

[0004] Due to the fact that secondary batteries can be repeatedly charged and regenerated, secondary batteries are being applied to large industrial fields such as automobiles, robots, and energy storage devices, as well as small devices such as mobile phones and laptop computers as a response to today's environmental regulations and high oil price issues.

[0005] Among secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries have attracted attention due to their advantages such as small memory effect, low self-discharge rate, and high energy density compared with nickel-based secondary batteries.

[0006] As the frequency of use of lithium batteries increases, fast / quick charging technology has been introduced to quickly charge the batteries.

[0007] Conventional fast charging technology uses a fast charging map to obtain information about the magnitude of a charging current for fast charging based on the temperature and state of charge (SOC) of a battery to be charged so as to quickly charge the battery.

[0008] However, since the conventional fast charging scheme does not take into account the voltage state of the battery to be charged, this leads to disadvantages of battery degradation and reduced efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0009] [Technical issues]

[0010] To solve one or more problems of the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for controlling charging of a battery.

[0011] In order to solve one or more problems of the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for controlling charging of a battery.

[0012] In order to solve one or more problems of the related art, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a battery charging system.

[0013] [Technical solution]

[0014] To achieve the purpose of the present disclosure, an apparatus for controlling the charging of a battery system may include: a memory and a processor, the processor executing at least one instruction in the memory, and the at least one instruction may include: instructions for monitoring the state of charge (SOC) of a battery to be charged; instructions for charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; instructions for determining a charging current value based on a voltage value of the battery regardless of the charging state when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during the charging process of the battery; and instructions for charging the battery according to the determined charging current value.

[0015] Here, the instruction for charging the battery according to the predefined charging current value may include an instruction for checking an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs and an instruction for charging the battery with the stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth section.

[0016] Here, a charging current value corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0017] Meanwhile, the instruction for determining the charging current value may include an instruction for monitoring whether the voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0018] Here, the instruction for determining the charging current value may include an instruction for determining a stored charging current value corresponding to the N+1th section as the charging current value for charging the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0019] Here, a voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value greater than a voltage threshold corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0020] Meanwhile, the at least one instruction may further include an instruction for controlling to terminate the charging process of the battery when the battery voltage value reaches the voltage threshold of the last section.

[0021] To achieve the purpose of the present disclosure, a method for controlling charging of a battery may include: monitoring a state of charge (SOC) of a battery to be charged; charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; determining a charging current value based on a voltage value of the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during the charging process of the battery; and charging the battery according to the determined charging current value.

[0022] Charging the battery according to the predefined charging current value may include: checking an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs; and charging the battery with a stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth section.

[0023] A charging current value corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0024] Determining the charging current value may include monitoring whether a voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth segment.

[0025] Determining the charging current value may include determining a stored charging current value corresponding to the N+1th section as a charging current value for charging the battery if the voltage value of the battery reaches a voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0026] A voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value greater than a voltage threshold corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0027] The method may further include controlling to terminate the charging process of the battery when the battery voltage value reaches the voltage threshold of the last section.

[0028] To achieve the purpose of the present invention, a battery charging system for controlling battery charging may include: a battery; a charging device for charging the battery by applying a charging current to the battery; and a battery charging control device configured to control the amplitude of the charging current provided by the charging device, wherein the battery charging control device is configured to: monitor the state of charge (SOC) of the battery to be charged; control the charging device to charge the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; determine a charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during the charging process of the battery; and control the charging device to charge the battery according to the determined charging current value.

[0029] The battery charging control device may also be configured to check an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs and charge the battery with a stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth section.

[0030] A charging current value corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0031] The battery charging control device may also be configured to monitor whether the voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0032] The battery charging control device may be further configured to determine a stored charging current value corresponding to the N+1th section as a charging current value for charging the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0033] A voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value greater than a voltage threshold corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0034] The battery charging control apparatus may also be configured to control the charging device to terminate charging the battery when the battery voltage value reaches a voltage threshold of the last section.

[0035] [Beneficial Effects]

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a battery charging control device and method according to an embodiment of the present invention and a battery system including the device and method can charge a battery with a predefined charging current amplitude belonging to a corresponding segment based on the state of charge (SOC) of a battery to be charged, charge the battery by adjusting the charging current downward to the amplitude of the charging current of the next segment when the battery voltage exceeds a predefined threshold during charging, determine the amplitude of the charging current of each segment based on real-time voltage information rather than the state of charge (SOC) information of the battery, and charge the battery with the determined charging current until the battery is fully charged, and thus lithium precipitation and battery degradation due to rapid charging can be prevented and the charging time can be shortened. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery system to which embodiments of the present invention may be applied.

[0038] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a battery charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a battery charging control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a battery charging control method executed by a processor in a battery charging control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 5 is a table summarizing the state information of the battery in the battery charging control method executed by the battery charging control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 6 It is used to explain the embodiment according to the present invention based on Figure 5 The table is a graph of the battery charging control method.

[0043] Figure 7 is a graph for explaining a battery charging control method according to a comparative example of the present invention.

[0044] 1000: Battery 3000: Charging equipment

[0045] 5000: Battery charging control device

[0046] 100: Memory 200: Processor

[0047] 300: transceiver 400: input interface

[0048] 500: output interface 600: storage device

[0049] 700: Bus DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The present invention can be modified in various forms and has various embodiments, and its specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. However, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but on the contrary, the present invention will cover all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. Throughout the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements.

[0051] It should be understood that although various elements may be described herein using terms such as first, second, A, B, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one of a combination of a plurality of associated listed items or a plurality of associated listed items.

[0052] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "coupled" or "connected" to another element, it can be directly coupled or connected to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another element, there are no intervening elements.

[0053] The terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. If there is no obvious contrary meaning in the context, the singular form includes the plural form. In this application, it should be understood that the term "including" or "having" indicates that the features, quantities, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof described in the specification exist, without excluding the possibility of pre-existing or adding one or more other features, quantities, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined as such herein.

[0055] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery system to which embodiments of the present invention may be applied.

[0056] refer to Figure 1 , a battery pack or battery module may include a plurality of battery cells connected in series. The battery pack or module may be connected to a load through a positive terminal and a negative terminal to perform charging or discharging. The most commonly used battery cell is a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery cell.

[0057] A battery management system (BMS) 100 may be connected to a battery module or a battery pack.

[0058] The battery management system can monitor the current, voltage and temperature of each battery cell or module to be managed, and calculate the state of charge (SOC) of the battery based on the monitoring results to control charging and discharging. Here, the state of charge (SOC) refers to the current state of charge of the battery, expressed in percentage points [%], and the state of health (SOH) can be the current condition of the battery compared to its ideal condition, expressed in percentage points [%].

[0059] The BMS can monitor the battery cells, read the cell voltages, and transmit them to other systems connected to the battery.

[0060] In addition, the battery management system monitors at least one electrical component constituting the battery system and transmits their status data to other systems. To this end, the BMS includes a communication module for communicating with other systems in the device including the battery system.

[0061] The communication module of the BMS can communicate with other systems in the device using CAN (Controller Area Network). Here, the components, modules or systems in the BMS are connected to each other via the CAN bus. Therefore, the battery management system (BMS) can use CAN communication to remotely transmit the status data obtained by monitoring the battery pack or module and at least one electrical component constituting the battery management system (BMS) to other systems.

[0062] In addition, a battery management system (BMS) can equally balance the charge of the battery cells in order to extend the life of the battery system.

[0063] The BMS 100 may include various components such as fuses, current sensing elements, thermistors, switches, and balancers to perform such operations. In most cases, a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a battery monitoring integrated chip (BMIC) for intercommunication and control of these components is additionally included in the BMS.

[0064] Meanwhile, the battery charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided as a component of a battery management system (BMS), and can control rapid charging of a battery.

[0065] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a battery charging system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0066] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a battery charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] refer to Figure 2 , the battery charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a system for controlling fast / quick charging of a battery.

[0068] In more detail, the battery charging system may include a battery 1000 , a charging device 3000 , and a battery charging control apparatus 5000 .

[0069] The battery 1000 may be provided in a form in which a plurality of battery cells are connected. The battery 1000 is connected to a charging device 3000 to be described later, and the battery may be charged by a charging current applied from the charging device 3000. Here, the charging current may be adjusted and provided to a charging current level that avoids lithium precipitation by a battery charging control device 5000 to be described later in consideration of charging state information of the battery 1000.

[0070] The charging device 3000 is electrically connected to the battery 1000 and may charge the battery 1000. More specifically, the charging device 3000 may be electrically connected to an anode (+) and a cathode (−) of the battery 1000 and charge the battery 1000.

[0071] Meanwhile, the charging device 3000 may be connected to the battery charging control device 5000. According to one embodiment, the charging device 3000 may be connected to the battery charging control device 5000 through CAN communication. Therefore, as described above, the charging device 3000 may provide a charging current to the battery 1000 according to the charging current value received from the battery charging control device 5000. In other words, the charging device 3000 may charge the battery 1000 by applying a charging current of a magnitude determined by the battery charging control device 5000 to the battery 1000.

[0072] The battery charging control device 5000 may monitor the battery 1000 by receiving at least one state information of the battery 1000. According to an embodiment, the state information may include at least one of a state of charge (SOC), a voltage (V), and a current (I) of the battery 1000.

[0073] The battery charging control device 5000 may include information about the charging current value provided for each section of the charging state information of the battery 1000. Therefore, as described above, the battery charging control device 5000 may be connected to the charging device 3000, check the charging current value in the section to which the charging state information of the battery 1000 belongs, and transmit the charging current value to the charging device 3000.

[0074] As the battery charging progresses, the battery charging control device 5000 may adjust the charging current value downward to prevent lithium precipitation. In other words, as the charging state information increases, the charging current value may decrease. Therefore, the battery charging control device 5000 according to an embodiment of the present invention may control the charging current value according to the real-time charging state information of the battery, and provide the charging current of the amplitude adjusted by the charging device 3000 to the battery 1000, thereby preventing lithium precipitation and stably charging the battery.

[0075] Meanwhile, the battery charging control device 5000 may include voltage threshold information of the battery provided for each section of the battery charging state information. Here, the voltage threshold of the battery may be information set to prevent battery degradation.

[0076] According to an embodiment, the battery charging control apparatus 5000 may check the real-time voltage state of the battery 1000 obtained by monitoring while the battery 1000 is being charged by the charging device 3000. Therefore, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches a preset voltage threshold, the battery charging control apparatus 5000 may determine the charging current value of the battery based on the voltage value of the battery regardless of the charging state information.

[0077] The method of controlling the charging current of the battery charging control device 5000 will be described in more detail when the battery charging control method is described later.

[0078] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a battery charging control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] In more detail, regarding the reference Figure 3 Each component of the battery charging control device 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a memory 100 , a processor 200 , a transceiver 300 , an input interface 400 , an output interface 500 , and a storage device 600 .

[0080] According to an embodiment, the respective components 100 , 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , 600 included in the battery charging control device 1000 may be connected through a bus 700 to communicate with each other.

[0081] The memory 100 and the storage device 600 among the components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 may include at least one of a volatile storage medium and a nonvolatile storage medium. For example, the memory 100 and the storage device 600 may include at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0082] Among them, the memory 100 may include at least one instruction executed by the processor 200 .

[0083] According to an embodiment, at least one instruction may include: an instruction for monitoring the state of charge (SOC) of a battery to be charged; an instruction for charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; an instruction for determining a charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery regardless of the charging state when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during the charging process of the battery; and an instruction for charging the battery according to the determined charging current value.

[0084] Here, the instruction for charging the battery according to the predefined charging current value may include an instruction for checking an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs and an instruction for charging the battery with the stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth section.

[0085] Here, a charging current value corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0086] Meanwhile, the instruction for determining the charging current value may include an instruction for monitoring whether the voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0087] Here, the instruction for determining the charging current value may include an instruction for determining a stored charging current value corresponding to the N+1th section as the charging current value for charging the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

[0088] Here, a voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section may be defined as a value greater than a voltage threshold corresponding to the N−1th section.

[0089] The at least one instruction may further include an instruction for controlling to terminate the charging process of the battery when the battery voltage value reaches a voltage threshold of the last section.

[0090] Meanwhile, the processor 200 may mean a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor on which the method according to the embodiment of the present invention is performed.

[0091] As described above, the processor 200 may execute at least one program command stored in the memory 100 .

[0092] A battery charging system including a battery charging control device according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Hereinafter, a battery charging control method performed by a processor operation of the battery charging control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0093] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a battery charging control method executed by a processor in a battery charging control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0094] refer to Figure 4 , the battery charging control device 5000 according to the embodiment of the present invention may check the charging state information of the battery 1000 according to the operation of the processor 200 (S1000).

[0095] According to one embodiment, the battery charging control device 5000 can monitor the status information of the battery 1000 in real time, and obtain and confirm the charging status information.

[0096] According to another embodiment, the battery charging control apparatus 5000 may receive the state information of the battery 1000 from a separate monitoring device (not shown) in real time. Therefore, the battery charging control apparatus 5000 may check the charging state information of the battery 1000 among the state information received from the monitoring device.

[0097] Thereafter, the battery charging control device 5000 may check the section to which the charging state information belongs, and check a charging current value corresponding to the section ( S2000 ).

[0098] Then, the battery charging control device 5000 may transmit the confirmed charging current value to the charging apparatus 3000 ( S3000 ). Therefore, the charging apparatus 3000 may charge the battery 1000 by applying a charging current of a magnitude corresponding to the charging current value to the battery 1000 .

[0099] Thereafter, the battery charging control device 5000 may check a voltage value obtained through real-time monitoring of the battery 1000 while charging the battery 1000 according to the charging current value.

[0100] According to an embodiment, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches the voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth segment, the battery charging control device 5000 may adjust the charging current value, and the Nth segment is the charging state information segment in which the corresponding charging current value is set (S4000). For example, the battery charging control device 5000 may retransmit the charging current value corresponding to the N+1th segment of the charging state information to the charging device 3000 (S5000). Therefore, the magnitude of the charging current of the charging device 3000 may be changed from the charging current value corresponding to the Nth segment to the charging current value corresponding to the N+1th segment.

[0101] Here, as described above, the magnitude of the charging current value may decrease as the state of charge (SOC) increases. Therefore, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches the voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth segment, the battery charging control device 5000 may adjust the magnitude of the charging current for the charging device downward, and the Nth segment is the charging state information segment in which the corresponding charging current value is set.

[0102] Thereafter, the battery charging control device 5000 may determine a charging current value based on the voltage state of the battery regardless of a change in the charging state information of the battery 1000 until charging of the battery 1000 is completed, and transmit the determined charging current value to the charging apparatus 3000 ( S6000 ).

[0103] According to an embodiment, the battery charging control device 5000 may use the charging current value and voltage threshold information preset for each section based on the charging state information of the battery when determining the charging current value. For example, the information may be as follows: Figure 5 The types of tables shown in the table are provided in the form of charging diagrams.

[0104] Figure 5 is a table summarizing the state information of the battery in the battery charging control method performed by the battery charging control device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6 It is used to explain the embodiment according to the present invention based on Figure 5 The table is a graph of the battery charging control method.

[0105] refer to Figure 5 , in the charging map of the battery charging control device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the charging current value and the voltage threshold of the battery may be preset for each section based on the state of charge (SOC).

[0106] According to an embodiment, in a first section in which the state of charge (SOC) is equal to or greater than 10% but less than 20%, a charging current value may be provided as 250A, and a corresponding voltage threshold may be set to 3.5V.

[0107] In addition, in the second section in which the charging state information is equal to or greater than 20% but less than 30%, the value of the charging current may be provided as 200A, and the corresponding voltage threshold may be set to 3.6V.

[0108] In the third section in which the charging state information is equal to or greater than 30% but less than 50%, the charging current value may be provided as 150A, and the corresponding voltage threshold may be set to 3.8V.

[0109] In the fourth section in which the charging state information is equal to or greater than 50% but less than 70%, the value of the charging current may be provided as 100A, and the corresponding voltage threshold may be set to 4.0V.

[0110] Finally, in the fifth section in which the charging state information is equal to or greater than 70% but less than 90%, the value of the charging current may be provided as 75A, and the corresponding voltage threshold may be set to 4.1V.

[0111] In summary, the magnitude of the charging current used to charge the battery 1000 may be controlled for each section according to the charging state information and the voltage threshold.

[0112] According to an embodiment, as described above, the charging current value may be reduced as the segment number becomes higher in order to prevent lithium plating that may occur on the negative electrode surface of the battery when the battery is rapidly charged.

[0113] Meanwhile, the voltage threshold may increase as the segment number becomes higher to prevent battery degradation.

[0114] Therefore, if Figure 6 As shown in , the battery charging control device 5000 according to an embodiment of the present invention can set the charging current value in a specific segment (the Nth segment) based on the real-time charging status information of the battery to prevent lithium precipitation and monitor the real-time voltage measurement value of the battery, and, when the predefined voltage threshold in the corresponding segment (the Nth segment) is reached, the battery charging control device can adjust the previously set charging current value downward to the charging current value belonging to the next segment (the N+1 segment) to prevent battery degradation.

[0115] Thereafter, the battery charging control device 5000 according to the embodiment of the present invention can determine the charging current value based on the voltage state of the battery without considering the change of the charging state information of the battery 1000, such as Figure 4 As shown in step S6000 , the determined charging current value may be transmitted to the charging device 3000 .

[0116] For example, in more detail, when the real-time charging state information of the battery 1000 is 15% (P1) belonging to the first section, the battery charging control device may determine 250A belonging to the first section as the charging current value and transmit the charging current value to the charging device 3000. Therefore, the battery 1000 may be charged with a charging current of 250A.

[0117] Afterwards, the battery charging control device may monitor the state information of the battery 1000 charged with a charging current of 250A. Here, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 is 3.4V lower than the voltage threshold of the first section, and the state of charge (SOC) reaches 20% and enters the second section (P2), the battery charging control device 5000 may transmit a signal for changing the charging current value to the charging device 3000, so that the battery 1000 is charged with 200A, which is the charging current value corresponding to the second section. Therefore, the battery 1000 can be charged with a charging current of 200A.

[0118] Afterwards, the battery charging control device may monitor the state information of the battery 1000 charged with a charging current of 200A. Here, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 is 3.5V lower than the voltage threshold of the second section, and the state of charge (SOC) reaches 30% and enters the third section (P3), the battery charging control device 5000 may transmit a signal for changing the charging current value to the charging device 3000, so that the battery 1000 is charged with 150A, which is the charging current value corresponding to the third section. Therefore, the battery 1000 can be charged with a charging current of 150A.

[0119] After that, the battery charging control device may monitor the state information of the battery 1000 charged with the charging current of 150A. Here, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches 3.8V, which is the voltage threshold of the third section, and the state of charge (SOC) remains at 45% in the third section (P4), the battery charging control device 5000 may transmit a signal for changing the charging current value to the charging device 3000 so that the battery 1000 is charged with 100A, which is the charging current value corresponding to the fourth section. Therefore, the battery 1000 may be charged with the charging current of 100A.

[0120] Thereafter, the battery charging control device may monitor the state information of the battery 1000 charged with the charging current of 100 A. Here, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 is 3.9 V which is still lower than the voltage threshold of the fourth section, and the state of charge (SOC) increases to 75% corresponding to the fifth section (P5), the battery charging control device 5000 may maintain the charging current value of 100 A belonging to the fourth section, and charge the battery 1000 without any change in the charging current, although the state of charge (SOC) corresponds to the fifth section.

[0121] After that, the battery charging control device may monitor the state information that the battery 1000 is charged with the charging current of 100A, and then, when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches 4.0V belonging to the fifth section (P6), regardless of the charging state information, the battery charging control device 5000 may transmit a signal for changing the charging current value to the charging device 3000 so that the battery 1000 is charged with 75A, which is the charging current value corresponding to the fifth section. Therefore, the battery 1000 can be charged with the charging current of 75A.

[0122] Thereafter, the battery charging control device 5000 may monitor the state information of the battery 1000 charged with the charging current of 75A, and when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches 4.1V which is the voltage threshold of the fifth section (the last section) (P7), the battery charging control device 5000 may transmit a charging termination signal to the charging device 3000. Therefore, charging of the battery 1000 may be terminated.

[0123] In other words, when the voltage value of the battery does not reach the predefined threshold value of each section, as in the case of P1 to P3 , the battery charging control device 5000 may determine the charging current value step by step by using the charging state information of the battery 1000 .

[0124] Meanwhile, when there is no segment change regarding the charging state information of the battery but the voltage value of the battery reaches the predefined threshold value of the corresponding segment, as in the case of P4, the battery charging control device 5000 may change the charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery 1000. In addition, the battery charging control device may gradually determine the charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery 1000 without considering the charging state information of the battery 1000, as in the cases of P5 and P6 in the subsequent segments, and when the voltage value of the battery 1000 reaches the threshold value of the final segment, as in the case of P7, the battery charging control device may transmit a charging termination signal.

[0125] Figure 7 is a graph for explaining a battery charging control method according to a comparative example of the present invention.

[0126] refer to Figure 7 According to the comparative example, the battery charging control device 5000 controls the charging current of the charging device 3000 by temporarily adjusting the charging current value downward only in the corresponding section (Nth section) to prevent battery degradation, and therefore cannot apply a charging current amount equivalent to area A, thereby increasing the charging time and reducing the charging efficiency.

[0127] On the contrary, the battery charging control device 5000 according to the embodiment of the present invention can determine the charging current value of each section based on the voltage value of the battery 1000 after the downward adjustment of the charging current, thereby maintaining the charging current value without any reduction until the voltage threshold predefined for each section is reached. Therefore, the battery charging control device 5000 according to the embodiment of the present invention can compensate for the charging loss equivalent to the area A in the Nth section due to the downward adjustment of the charging current value in the next SOC section (such as A') after the Nth section, and thus lithium precipitation and battery degradation due to rapid charging can be prevented and the charging time can be shortened.

[0128] The battery charging control device and method and the battery system including the same according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described above.

[0129] A battery charging control device and method according to an embodiment of the present invention and a battery system including the device and method can charge a battery with a predefined charging current amplitude belonging to a corresponding segment based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery to be charged, charge the battery by adjusting the charging current downward to the amplitude of the charging current of the next segment when the battery voltage exceeds a predefined threshold during charging, determine the amplitude of the charging current for each segment based on real-time voltage information rather than the battery's charging state information, and charge the battery with the determined charging current until the battery is fully charged, and thus lithium precipitation and battery degradation due to rapid charging can be prevented and the charging time can be shortened.

[0130] The operation of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention and the experimental examples can be implemented as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system is stored. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium can be distributed in a network-connected computer system to store and execute the computer-readable program or code in a distributed manner.

[0131] In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may include hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine language codes created by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter.

[0132] Although some aspects of the present invention have been described in the context of an apparatus, it can also be represented by a description according to a corresponding method, wherein a block or apparatus corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, the aspects described in the context of a method can also represent a feature of a corresponding block or item or a corresponding apparatus. Some or all of the method steps can be performed by (or using) a hardware device, such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer, or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, one or more of the most important method steps can be performed by such an apparatus.

[0133] In the foregoing, the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that various corrections and changes may be made to the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for controlling charging of a battery system, the device comprising: Memory; as well as a processor, the processor executing at least one instruction in the memory; The at least one instruction includes: Instructions for monitoring the state of charge (SOC) of a battery to be charged; instructions for charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; instructions for determining the charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery regardless of the charging state when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during a charging process of the battery; and Instructions for charging the battery according to the determined charging current value.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The instruction for charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value includes: an instruction for checking an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs; and Instructions for charging the battery with the stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth segment.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The charging current value corresponding to the Nth section is defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N-1th section.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The instructions for determining the charging current value include instructions for monitoring whether the voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein: The instructions for determining the charging current value include instructions for determining a stored charging current value corresponding to the N+1th section as the charging current value for charging the battery if the voltage value of the battery reaches the voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section is defined as a value greater than the voltage threshold corresponding to the N-1th section.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one instruction further comprises: Instructions for controlling termination of the charging process of the battery when the battery voltage value reaches the voltage threshold of the last section.

8. A method for controlling charging of a battery, the method comprising: monitoring the state of charge (SOC) of the battery to be charged; charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; determining the charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during a charging process of the battery; as well as The battery is charged according to the determined charging current value.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: Charging the battery according to a predefined charging current value includes: checking an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs; and The battery is charged using the stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth section.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The charging current value corresponding to the Nth section is defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N-1th section.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining the charging current value includes monitoring whether the voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Determining the charging current value includes determining a stored charging current value corresponding to an N+1th section as the charging current value for charging the battery if the voltage value of the battery reaches the voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section is defined as a value greater than the voltage threshold corresponding to the N-1th section. 14 . The method according to claim 8 , further comprising controlling to terminate the charging process of the battery when the battery voltage value reaches the voltage threshold of a last section.

15. A battery charging system for controlling battery charging, the system comprising: Battery; a charging device, the charging device being used to charge the battery by applying a charging current to the battery; as well as a battery charging control device configured to control the magnitude of the charging current provided by the charging device, Wherein, the battery charging control device is configured to: monitor the state of charge (SOC) of the battery to be charged; control the charging device to charge the battery according to a predefined charging current value based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery; determine the charging current value based on the voltage value of the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches a preset threshold during the charging process of the battery; And controlling the charging device to charge the battery according to the determined charging current value.

16. The battery charging system according to claim 15, wherein: The battery charging control device is further configured to check an Nth section to which the SOC of the battery belongs and to charge the battery with a stored charging current value corresponding to the Nth section.

17. The battery charging system according to claim 16, wherein: The charging current value corresponding to the Nth section is defined as a value smaller than a charging current value corresponding to the N-1th section.

18. The battery charging system according to claim 16, wherein: The battery charging control device is further configured to monitor whether the voltage value of the battery reaches a stored voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

19. The battery charging system according to claim 18, wherein: The battery charging control device is further configured to determine a stored charging current value corresponding to the N+1th section as the charging current value for charging the battery when the voltage value of the battery reaches the voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section.

20. The battery charging system according to claim 19, wherein: The voltage threshold corresponding to the Nth section is defined as a value greater than the voltage threshold corresponding to the N-1th section.

21. The battery charging system according to claim 15, wherein: The battery charging control device is further configured to control the charging device to terminate charging of the battery when the battery voltage value reaches the voltage threshold of the last section.

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