Power-on method of battery system, battery system and power utilization device

Abstract

The invention discloses a power-on method of a battery system, the battery system and a power utilization device, which can improve the power conversion performance of the battery system. The battery system comprises a plurality of battery replacing units which are connected in parallel, each battery replacing unit comprises a battery and a first battery management unit, the battery system further comprises a second battery management unit connected with the first battery management unit in the battery replacing units, and the power-on method is executed by the second battery management unit. The power-on method comprises the steps that a first power-on signal sent by a vehicle control unit is received; and in response to the first power-on signal, a second power-on signal is sent to the first battery management unit, and the second power-on signal is used for indicating the first battery management unit to control the corresponding battery replacement unit to perform high-voltage power-on.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of batteries, and more specifically, to a power-on method for a battery system, a battery system, and an electrical device. Background Art

[0002] Battery swap stations can realize rapid battery replacement for electric vehicles. However, as the number of battery packs in electric vehicles increases and their distribution locations become more flexible, how to improve their battery swap performance has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a method for powering on a battery system, a battery system, and an electrical device, which can improve the battery replacement performance of the battery system.

[0004] In a first aspect, a power-on method for a battery system is provided, wherein the battery system includes a plurality of battery exchange units connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit includes a battery and a first battery management unit thereof, and the battery system also includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit among the plurality of battery exchange units, and the power-on method is executed by the second battery management unit, and the power-on method includes: receiving a first power-on signal sent by a vehicle control unit; in response to the first power-on signal, sending a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit, and the second power-on signal is used to instruct the first battery management unit to control the corresponding battery exchange unit to perform high-voltage power-on.

[0005] The battery system of the present application includes multiple battery exchange units, each of which includes a battery and a corresponding first battery management unit. The first battery management units of the multiple battery exchange units are connected to the second battery management unit. Therefore, the multiple battery exchange units do not need to be used in a bundled manner, and only part of the battery exchange units can be replaced and charged. The mixed use of battery exchange units is supported, so that the battery exchange efficiency is high and the construction and operation of battery exchange stations are convenient. When the battery system is powered on at high voltage, the second battery management unit can receive the first power-on signal sent by the vehicle control unit, and in response to the first power-on signal, send a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit, so that the first battery management unit controls the corresponding battery exchange unit to perform high-voltage power-on, thereby effectively realizing the high-voltage power-on of the battery system.

[0006] In a possible implementation, the power-on method also includes: determining the number of the multiple battery replacement units; wherein, sending the second power-on signal to the first battery management unit includes: sending the second power-on signal to the first battery management unit when the number of the multiple battery replacement units is equal to a preset number.

[0007] Determining whether the number of battery swap units is equal to the preset number before high-voltage power-on can avoid the risks caused by problems such as battery swap unit failure and improve the reliability of the battery system's power-on process.

[0008] In one possible implementation, determining the number of the multiple battery exchange units includes: sending a coding signal to the first battery management unit of the first battery exchange unit among the multiple battery exchange units, wherein the coding signal is used to be transmitted in sequence between the first battery management units among the multiple battery exchange units to encode the multiple battery exchange units in sequence; receiving the coding result sent by the first battery management unit of the last battery exchange unit among the multiple battery exchange units; and determining the number of the multiple battery exchange units based on the coding result.

[0009] In this implementation, a coding signal is sent to the first battery management unit of the first battery exchange unit, and the coding signal is transmitted in sequence among the multiple battery exchange units until the first battery management unit of the last battery exchange unit receives the coding signal, so as to realize the coding of multiple battery exchange units. The second battery management unit receives the coding result sent by the first battery management unit of the last battery exchange unit, so as to determine whether the current number of battery exchange units is the preset number.

[0010] In a possible implementation, sending the second power-on signal to the first battery management unit includes: determining at least one battery replacement unit to be powered on among the multiple battery replacement units; and sending the second power-on signal to the first battery management unit in the at least one battery replacement unit.

[0011] In order to reduce the risks existing in the battery system, the second battery management unit can determine whether to power on each battery replacement unit with high voltage according to the actual situation of each battery replacement unit.

[0012] In a possible implementation, determining at least one battery swap unit to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units includes: determining at least one battery swap unit to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units based on voltages of the multiple battery swap units.

[0013] The second battery management unit can determine whether to power on each battery replacement unit with high voltage according to the voltage condition of each battery replacement unit to reduce the risks in the battery system.

[0014] In a possible implementation, determining at least one battery exchange unit to be powered on among the multiple battery exchange units based on the voltages of the multiple battery exchange units includes: when the voltage difference between a battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and a battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units is greater than or equal to a voltage threshold, determining that the at least one battery exchange unit includes a battery exchange unit whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage is less than the voltage threshold.

[0015] In this implementation, when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units is greater than or equal to the voltage threshold, in order to reduce the risks in the battery system, only the battery exchange units whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage is within a predetermined range may be selected as the battery exchange units that need to be powered on with high voltage.

[0016] In a possible implementation, determining at least one battery exchange unit to be powered on among the multiple battery exchange units based on the voltages of the multiple battery exchange units includes: when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units is less than or equal to a voltage threshold, determining that the at least one battery exchange unit includes the multiple battery exchange units.

[0017] In this implementation, since the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units is less than or equal to the voltage threshold, the voltage difference between other battery exchange units and the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage will also be less than or equal to the voltage threshold. Therefore, multiple battery exchange units can be powered on with high voltage at the same time.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the battery replacement unit also includes a slave high-voltage box connected to the battery, and the slave high-voltage box includes a first relay unit, wherein the second power-on signal is specifically used to instruct the first battery management unit to control the corresponding first relay unit to close.

[0019] The first relay unit may, for example, include a main positive relay and / or a main negative relay on the battery main circuit, and the second power-on signal is used to instruct the first battery management unit of the battery exchange unit to be powered on to control the first relay unit in the corresponding battery exchange unit to close, so as to realize high-voltage power-on of the battery exchange unit.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the battery system also includes a main high-voltage box, the slave high-voltage box is connected to the main high-voltage box through a pluggable electrical connector, the main high-voltage box includes a second relay unit, and the power-on method also includes: after the first relay unit in the at least one battery replacement unit is closed, controlling the second relay unit to close.

[0021] After the first relay units in the slave high-voltage box of each battery exchange unit to be powered on are closed, the second battery management unit controls the second relay unit in the master high-voltage box to close, so that the energy provided by the batteries of each battery exchange unit can reach the high-voltage electrical equipment at the same time, thereby providing it with a more stable high-voltage signal.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the power-on method further includes: after the second relay unit is closed, sending a power-on completion signal to the vehicle control unit.

[0023] After the high-voltage power-on is completed, the second battery management unit needs to inform the vehicle control unit that the battery end has completed the high-voltage power-on, so that the vehicle control unit controls the vehicle end to perform high-voltage power-on.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the power-on method also includes: sending information on the allowable power of the battery system, wherein the allowable power of the battery system is the sum of the allowable powers of the multiple battery replacement units, thereby facilitating charging and discharging between external devices and the battery system and improving the reliability of the charging and discharging process.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the power-on method further includes: receiving a wake-up signal; and performing low-voltage power-on on the second battery management unit according to the wake-up signal. Since the second battery management unit and the first battery management unit require a low-voltage signal as a power source, before the second battery management unit controls the battery system to perform high-voltage power-on, the second battery management unit needs to perform low-voltage power-on according to the received wake-up signal.

[0026] In a second aspect, a power-on method for a battery system is provided, wherein the battery system includes a plurality of battery exchange units connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit includes a battery and a first battery management unit thereof, and the battery system also includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit among the plurality of battery exchange units, and the power-on method is executed by a vehicle control unit, and the power-on method includes: determining whether the battery system meets a high-voltage power-on condition; if the high-voltage power-on condition is met, sending a first power-on signal to the second battery management unit, and the first power-on signal is used to instruct the second battery management unit to control the battery system for high-voltage power-on.

[0027] The battery system of the present application includes multiple battery exchange units, each of which includes a battery and a corresponding first battery management unit. The first battery management units of the multiple battery exchange units are connected to the second battery management unit. Therefore, the multiple battery exchange units do not need to be used in a bundled manner, and only some of the battery exchange units can be replaced and charged. The mixed use of battery exchange units is supported, so that the battery exchange efficiency is high and the construction and operation of battery exchange stations are convenient. When the battery system is powered on at high voltage, the vehicle control unit sends a first power-on signal to the second battery management unit, thereby controlling the battery system to be powered on at high voltage through the second battery management unit, effectively realizing the high voltage power-on of the battery system.

[0028] For example, the high-voltage power-on condition includes at least one of the following: all relays in the battery system are in a disconnected state; and high-voltage electrical equipment connected to the battery system is not enabled.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the power-on method also includes: receiving a power-on completion signal sent by the second battery management unit, the power-on completion signal being used to indicate that the battery system has completed high-voltage power-on; and controlling the closure of a relay in a main circuit between the battery system and the high-voltage electrical equipment according to the power-on completion signal.

[0030] When the vehicle control unit receives the power-on completion signal sent by the second battery management unit and determines that the battery system has completed high-voltage power-on, it controls the relay in the main circuit between the battery system and the high-voltage electrical equipment to close, that is, the battery system is powered on at high voltage first, and then the high-voltage electrical equipment is powered on at high voltage, so as to reduce the risks caused by sudden startup of the high-voltage electrical equipment.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the power-on method further includes: receiving a wake-up signal; and performing low-voltage power-on on the vehicle control unit according to the wake-up signal. Since the vehicle control unit and the like require a low-voltage signal as a power source, before the vehicle control unit controls the high-voltage electrical equipment to perform high-voltage power-on, the vehicle control unit needs to perform low-voltage power-on according to the received wake-up signal.

[0032] In a third aspect, a battery system is provided, comprising: a plurality of battery exchange units, the plurality of battery exchange units being connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit comprises a battery and a slave high-voltage box connected thereto, the slave high-voltage box comprising a first battery management unit of the battery; and a main high-voltage box, the slave high-voltage box being connected to the main high-voltage box via a pluggable electrical connector, the main high-voltage box comprising a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit of the plurality of battery exchange units.

[0033] The battery system of the present application includes a plurality of battery exchange units, each of which is provided with a battery and a slave high-voltage box connected thereto, a corresponding first battery management unit is arranged in the slave high-voltage box, and a main high-voltage box connected to the slave high-voltage box of each battery exchange unit is also arranged in the battery system, and a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit in each slave high-voltage box is arranged in the main high-voltage box. Due to the adoption of a three-level architecture formed by a cell sampling circuit, a first battery management unit and a second battery management unit, during the battery exchange process, the battery exchange unit can be separated by means of a pluggable electrical connector between the slave high-voltage box and the main high-voltage box, so that a plurality of battery exchange units can be independently disassembled, and a plurality of battery exchange units do not need to be used in a bundle, and only part of the battery exchange units can be replaced and charged, supporting the mixed use of battery exchange units, making the battery exchange efficiency higher, facilitating the construction and operation of battery exchange stations, and expanding the battery exchange scenarios to which the battery system can be applied.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the electrical connector includes a high-voltage interface and a low-voltage interface, and the high-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box is connected to the high-voltage circuit in the master high-voltage box via the high-voltage interface, and the low-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box is connected to the low-voltage circuit in the master high-voltage box via the low-voltage interface.

[0035] The electrical connector includes a high voltage interface and a low voltage interface to achieve high voltage connection and low voltage connection between the slave high voltage box and the master high voltage box.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the main high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box also include an insulation tester, which is used to detect the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus to the ground. The insulation tester in the main high-voltage box and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling.

[0037] In this implementation, the insulation testers in the main high-voltage box and the slave high-voltage box are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling. For example, during the charging process of the battery swap unit, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box of each battery swap unit detects the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus in the battery swap unit to the ground; when the battery system is installed on the vehicle, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box is enabled to detect the insulation impedance corresponding to the battery system, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is not enabled by default, which is beneficial to improve the accuracy of the detection results output by the insulation tester.

[0038] In one possible implementation, when the battery system is installed on an electrical device, the insulation tester in the master high-voltage box is configured to be enabled, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is configured to be disabled; and / or, when the battery system is charged in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is configured to be enabled.

[0039] When the battery system is installed in an electrical device, the insulation tester in the master high-voltage box is enabled. If the insulation testers in the slave high-voltage boxes are also enabled at this time, high-voltage coupling will occur, causing mutual interference. Since multiple battery swap units are connected in parallel, the resistance is reduced after multiple battery swap units are connected in parallel. The insulation impedance corresponding to a battery swap unit will be incorporated into the insulation impedance corresponding to another battery swap unit, thereby lowering the insulation impedance corresponding to the entire battery system and affecting the test results output by the insulation tester. When the battery system is charging in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is enabled to detect the insulation impedance corresponding to its corresponding battery swap unit.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the master high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box further include a high-voltage detection circuit, which is used to detect the voltage of the high-voltage bus and / or the voltage across the relay. In this way, the first battery management unit can timely determine the risk of the battery system, such as determining whether the relay is stuck, based on the voltage information detected by the high-voltage detection circuit.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the slave high-voltage box further includes a main positive relay connected to the positive pole of the slave high-voltage box, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative pole of the slave high-voltage box. When the battery system is installed in an electrical device for discharge, the main positive relay and the main negative relay can protect the kinetic energy output; when the battery system is charged in a battery swap station, the main positive relay and the main negative relay can protect the kinetic energy input.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the slave high-voltage box includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, the high-voltage connector includes a main circuit connector for connecting the master high-voltage box, and a branch connector for connecting the battery on each branch, and the low-voltage connector includes an external low-voltage connector for connecting the master high-voltage box, and a low-voltage input / output connector for connecting the cell sampling circuit of the battery on each branch. Through the high-voltage connector and the low-voltage connector in the slave high-voltage box, high-voltage connection and low-voltage connection between the slave high-voltage box and the battery and the master high-voltage box can be achieved, thereby achieving effective transmission of high-voltage signals and low-voltage signals.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the electrical connector is disposed on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit, the high-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect the main circuit connector of the slave high-voltage box, and the low-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect the external low-voltage connector of the slave high-voltage box. In this embodiment, the electrical connector can be disposed on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit, and specifically, the main circuit connector and the external low-voltage connector on the slave high-voltage box can be connected to the high-voltage interface and the low-voltage interface of the electrical connector, respectively, so that the connection between the slave high-voltage box and the master high-voltage box can be achieved through the electrical connector.

[0044] In a possible implementation, a current sensor is provided on each branch in the slave high-voltage box, and the current sensor is used to detect the current on the corresponding branch. The current information corresponding to each branch can be sent to the first battery management unit in real time, so that the first battery management unit can perform overcurrent judgment and SOC calculation.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box further includes a main positive relay connected to the positive electrode of the main high-voltage box, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative electrode of the main high-voltage box. The main positive relay and the main negative relay in the main high-voltage box are controlled by the second battery management unit to cut off and close the external high-voltage output of the entire battery system.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box further includes a positive charging relay connected to the positive electrode of the main high-voltage box, and / or a negative charging relay connected to the negative electrode of the main high-voltage box, and the positive charging relay and the negative charging relay are used to connect to the socket of the power-consuming device to charge the battery system. In this way, when the power-consuming device needs temporary power replenishment, the power-consuming device can be charged by a charging device outside the battery swap station, such as a charging pile plug.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box also includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, the high-voltage connector includes a subsystem connector for connecting the slave high-voltage box, and a main circuit connector for connecting the vehicle control unit, and the low-voltage connector includes a low-voltage connector for communicating with the slave high-voltage box, and a low-voltage connector for communicating with the vehicle control unit. Through the high-voltage connector and the low-voltage connector in the main high-voltage box, the high-voltage connection and the low-voltage connection between the main high-voltage box and the battery and the vehicle control unit can be realized, thereby realizing the effective transmission of high-voltage signals and low-voltage signals.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box also include a manual maintenance switch, and a fuse unit is integrated on the manual maintenance switch. In this way, the slave high-voltage box can implement overload and short-circuit protection for the corresponding battery swap unit through the manual maintenance switch, and has a plug-in function, which can cut off the external high voltage of the battery swap unit during maintenance. The main high-voltage box can implement overload and short-circuit protection for the entire battery system through the manual maintenance switch, and has a plug-in function, which can cut off the external high voltage of the entire battery system during maintenance.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, a high-voltage box of a battery system is provided, wherein the high-voltage box is the main high-voltage box of the battery system, and the battery system also includes a plurality of battery exchange units connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit includes a battery and a slave high-voltage box connected thereto, the main high-voltage box is connected to the slave high-voltage box via a pluggable electrical connector, the slave high-voltage box includes a first battery management unit of the battery, and the master high-voltage box includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit among the multiple battery exchange units.

[0050] The main high-voltage box of the present application is connected to the slave high-voltage boxes in multiple parallel battery exchange units through a pluggable electrical connector. Therefore, the multiple battery exchange units can be disassembled independently, and the multiple battery exchange units do not need to be bundled for use. Only some of the battery exchange units can be replaced and charged, which supports the mixed use of battery exchange units, thereby improving the battery exchange efficiency and facilitating the construction and operation of battery exchange stations.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the electrical connector includes a high-voltage interface and a low-voltage interface, the high-voltage circuit in the master high-voltage box is connected to the high-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box through the high-voltage interface, and the low-voltage circuit in the slave master pressure box is connected to the low-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box through the low-voltage interface.

[0052] The electrical connector includes a high voltage interface and a low voltage interface to achieve high voltage connection and low voltage connection between the slave high voltage box and the master high voltage box.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the main high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box also include an insulation tester, which is used to detect the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus to the ground. The insulation tester in the main high-voltage box and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling.

[0054] In this implementation, the insulation testers in the main high-voltage box and the slave high-voltage box are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling. For example, during the charging process of the battery swap unit, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box of each battery swap unit detects the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus in the battery swap unit to the ground; when the battery system is installed on the vehicle, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box is enabled to detect the insulation impedance corresponding to the battery system, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is not enabled by default, which is beneficial to improve the accuracy of the detection results output by the insulation tester.

[0055] In one possible implementation, when the battery system is installed on an electrical device, the insulation tester in the master high-voltage box is configured to be enabled, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is configured to be disabled; and / or, when the battery system is charged in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is configured to be enabled.

[0056] When the battery system is installed in an electrical device, the insulation tester in the master high-voltage box is enabled. If the insulation testers in the slave high-voltage boxes are also enabled at this time, high-voltage coupling will occur, causing mutual interference. Since multiple battery swap units are connected in parallel, the resistance is reduced after multiple battery swap units are connected in parallel. The insulation impedance corresponding to a battery swap unit will be incorporated into the insulation impedance corresponding to another battery swap unit, thereby lowering the insulation impedance corresponding to the entire battery system and affecting the test results output by the insulation tester. When the battery system is charging in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is enabled to detect the insulation impedance corresponding to its corresponding battery swap unit.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the master high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box further include a high-voltage detection circuit, which is used to detect the voltage of the high-voltage bus and / or the voltage across the relay. In this way, the first battery management unit can timely determine the risk of the battery system, such as determining whether the relay is stuck, based on the voltage information detected by the high-voltage detection circuit.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the electrical connector is disposed on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit, the high-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect the main circuit connector of the slave high-voltage box, and the low-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect the external low-voltage connector of the slave high-voltage box. In this embodiment, the electrical connector can be disposed on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit, and specifically, the main circuit connector and the external low-voltage connector on the slave high-voltage box can be connected to the high-voltage interface and the low-voltage interface of the electrical connector, respectively, so that the connection between the slave high-voltage box and the master high-voltage box can be achieved through the electrical connector.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box further includes a main positive relay connected to the positive electrode of the main high-voltage box, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative electrode of the main high-voltage box. The main positive relay and the main negative relay in the main high-voltage box are controlled by the second battery management unit to cut off and close the external high-voltage output of the entire battery system.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box further includes a positive charging relay connected to the positive electrode of the main high-voltage box, and / or a negative charging relay connected to the negative electrode of the main high-voltage box, and the positive charging relay and the negative charging relay are used to connect to the socket of the power-consuming device to charge the battery system. In this way, when the power-consuming device needs temporary power replenishment, the power-consuming device can be charged by a charging device outside the battery swap station, such as a charging pile plug.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box also includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, the high-voltage connector includes a subsystem connector for connecting the slave high-voltage box, and a main circuit connector for connecting the vehicle control unit, and the low-voltage connector includes a low-voltage connector for communicating with the slave high-voltage box, and a low-voltage connector for communicating with the vehicle control unit. Through the high-voltage connector and the low-voltage connector in the main high-voltage box, the high-voltage connection and the low-voltage connection between the main high-voltage box and the battery and the vehicle control unit can be realized, thereby realizing the effective transmission of high-voltage signals and low-voltage signals.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the main high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box also include a manual maintenance switch, and a fuse unit is integrated on the manual maintenance switch. In this way, the slave high-voltage box can implement overload and short-circuit protection for the corresponding battery swap unit through the manual maintenance switch, and has a plug-in function, which can cut off the external high voltage of the battery swap unit during maintenance. The main high-voltage box can implement overload and short-circuit protection for the entire battery system through the manual maintenance switch, and has a plug-in function, which can cut off the external high voltage of the entire battery system during maintenance.

[0063] In a fifth aspect, a battery replacement device is provided, which is applied to a battery system, wherein the battery system includes a plurality of battery replacement units in parallel, wherein each battery replacement unit includes a battery and its first battery management unit, and the battery system also includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit among the plurality of battery replacement units, and the battery replacement device includes: a receiving module for receiving a first power-on signal sent by a vehicle control unit; a sending module for sending a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit in response to the first power-on signal, and the second power-on signal is used to instruct the first battery management unit to control the corresponding battery replacement unit to perform high-voltage power-on.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the battery exchange device also includes: a processing module for determining the number of the multiple battery exchange units; wherein the sending module is specifically used to: send the second power-on signal to the first battery management unit when the number of the multiple battery exchange units is equal to a preset number.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the processing module is specifically used to: control the sending module to send a coding signal to the first battery management unit of the first battery replacement unit among the multiple battery replacement units, and the coding signal is used to be transmitted in sequence between the first battery management units among the multiple battery replacement units to encode the multiple battery replacement units in sequence; control the receiving module to receive the coding result sent by the first battery management unit of the last battery replacement unit among the multiple battery replacement units; and determine the number of the multiple battery replacement units based on the coding result.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the processing module is also used to: determine at least one battery replacement unit to be powered on among the multiple battery replacement units; the sending module is specifically used to: send the second power-on signal to the first battery management unit in the at least one battery replacement unit.

[0067] In a possible implementation, the processing module is specifically used to determine at least one battery swap unit to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units according to the voltages of the multiple battery swap units.

[0068] In one possible implementation, the processing module is specifically used to: when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units is greater than or equal to a voltage threshold, determine that at least one battery exchange unit includes a battery exchange unit whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage is less than the voltage threshold.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the processing module is specifically used to determine that the at least one battery exchange unit includes the multiple battery exchange units when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units is less than or equal to a voltage threshold.

[0070] In a possible implementation, the battery replacement unit also includes a slave high-voltage box connected to the battery, and the slave high-voltage box includes a first relay unit, wherein the second power-on signal is specifically used to instruct the first battery management unit to control the corresponding first relay unit to close.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the battery system also includes a main high-voltage box, the slave high-voltage box is connected to the main high-voltage box through a pluggable electrical connector, the main high-voltage box includes a second relay unit, and the processing module is also used to control the second relay unit to close after the first relay unit in the at least one battery exchange unit is closed.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the sending module is further used to: after the second relay unit is closed, send a power-on completion signal to the vehicle control unit.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the sending module is further used to: send information on the allowable power of the battery system, where the allowable power of the battery system is the sum of the allowable powers of the multiple battery replacement units.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the receiving module is further used to: receive a wake-up signal; and the processing module is further used to: perform low-voltage power-on on the second battery management unit according to the wake-up signal.

[0075] In a sixth aspect, a battery replacement device is provided, which is applied to a battery system, wherein the battery system includes a plurality of battery replacement units in parallel, wherein each battery replacement unit includes a battery and its first battery management unit, and the battery system also includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit among the plurality of battery replacement units, and the battery replacement device includes: a processing module for determining whether the battery system meets the high-voltage power-on condition; a sending module for sending a first power-on signal to the second battery management unit when the high-voltage power-on condition is met, and the first power-on signal is used to instruct the second battery management unit to control the battery system to perform high-voltage power-on.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the high-voltage power-on condition includes at least one of the following: all relays in the battery system are in a disconnected state; and high-voltage electrical equipment connected to the battery system is not enabled.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the battery replacement device also includes a receiving module, which is used to: receive a power-on completion signal sent by the second battery management unit, and the power-on completion signal is used to indicate that the battery system has completed high-voltage power-on; the processing module is also used to: control the closure of a relay in the main circuit between the battery system and the high-voltage electrical equipment according to the power-on completion signal.

[0078] In a possible implementation, the battery exchange device also includes a receiving module, which is used to: receive a wake-up signal; the processing module is also used to power on the vehicle control unit at a low voltage according to the wake-up signal.

[0079] In the seventh aspect, a battery exchange device is provided, including a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, and the processor being used to call and apply the computer program stored in the memory to execute the power-on method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; or, to execute the power-on method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0080] In an eighth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is used to call and apply a computer program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the power-on method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; or, executes the power-on method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0081] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the power-on method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; or, to execute the power-on method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0082] In the tenth aspect, an electrical device is provided, comprising the battery system described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, and a high-voltage electrical device connected to the battery system, wherein the battery system is used to provide power for the high-voltage electrical device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0083] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the drawings without paying creative work.

[0084] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a battery system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0085] Figure 2 It is a specific architecture of a possible battery system of an embodiment of the present application.

[0086] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a single-pack battery replacement according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0087] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of communication between the second battery management unit and the first battery management unit in an embodiment of the present application.

[0088] Figure 5 It is a flow chart of the power-on method of the battery system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0089] Figure 6 It is a coding diagram of multiple battery replacement units in a battery system.

[0090] Figure 7 It is a flow chart of a method for powering on a battery system according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0091] Figure 8 yes Figure 5 and Figure 7 A flowchart of a possible specific implementation of the power-on method is shown.

[0092] Fig. 9 It is a schematic block diagram of a battery replacement device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] In the drawings, the drawings are not drawn to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0094] The following detailed description and drawings of the embodiments of the present application are used to illustrate the principles of the present application, but cannot be used to limit the scope of the present application, that is, the present application is not limited to the described embodiments.

[0095] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means more than two; the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating directions or positional relationships, are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting this application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0096] In the description of this application, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0097] The term "and / or" in this application is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists. In addition, the character " / " in this application generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0098] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this application have the same meanings as those commonly understood by technicians in the technical field of this application; the terms used in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application or the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order or a primary and secondary relationship.

[0099] Reference to "embodiments" in this application means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described in this application may be combined with other embodiments.

[0100] With the development of new energy technologies, batteries are being used in more and more fields, such as providing power to electrical devices or supplying electricity to electrical devices. For example, batteries can be used as a power source to provide power to vehicles. When the battery power in the vehicle is not enough to support the vehicle to continue driving, the vehicle can be charged using charging equipment such as charging piles or chargers, that is, the battery in the vehicle can be charged to achieve the battery charge and discharge cycle. However, battery charging takes a long time, which limits the vehicle's endurance.

[0101] In order to improve the vehicle's endurance utilization rate, battery swapping technology came into being. Battery swapping technology adopts the "vehicle-battery separation" method, and can provide battery replacement services for vehicles through battery swapping stations, that is, the battery can be quickly removed or installed from the vehicle. The battery removed from the vehicle can be placed in the battery swapping cabinet of the battery swapping station for charging, in preparation for subsequent battery swapping for vehicles entering the battery swapping station. The advantage of battery swapping technology is that it can complete the battery swap within a few minutes, and consumers can rent or purchase batteries to reduce the initial cost of purchasing a car. Therefore, battery swapping technology has been unanimously favored by consumers.

[0102] The battery described in the embodiments of the present application may be, for example, a lithium ion battery, a lithium metal battery, a lead-acid battery, a nickel-cathode battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, a lithium-sulfur battery, a lithium-air battery or a sodium ion battery, etc., which are not limited here. In terms of scale, the battery may be a battery cell, a battery module or a battery pack, which are not limited here.

[0103] For passenger cars, a battery swapping cabinet is provided in the battery swapping station. The battery swapping cabinet may be provided with multiple charging compartments, and the battery pack used for battery swapping may be placed in the charging compartment of the battery swapping cabinet. A charging unit is provided in the charging compartment, and the charging unit can charge the battery in the charging compartment. For example, the charging unit may include an AC / DC module or other components, devices or equipment with charging functions, which are not limited here. The charging unit may be provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the charging compartment, or multiple charging compartments may share one charging unit, which is not limited here.

[0104] For heavy trucks, the battery is installed in a battery box, and multiple batteries can be installed in one battery box. When replacing the battery at a battery swap station, you are actually replacing the battery box. In other words, the battery box on the vehicle is replaced with the battery box in the battery swap station. The battery box in the battery swap station can charge the batteries in the battery box through the charging device installed in the battery swap station.

[0105] Usually, heavy trucks use rear-mounted battery replacement, that is, the battery box is set behind the seat. Since the batteries are arranged in a concentrated position and the entire battery system is integrated into a battery replacement package, a conventional two-level architecture can be adopted, that is, an architecture formed by a cell sampling circuit (CSC) and a battery management unit (BMU), where the CSC is used to collect information such as the voltage and temperature of the battery cells, and the BMU is used to manage the battery based on this information.

[0106] For heavy trucks with battery chassis layout, since the battery parts are scattered, multiple battery swap packs are usually used, that is, multiple battery swap packs are arranged in different positions of the vehicle chassis. If the conventional two-level architecture is still used, the following problems may occur.

[0107] First, since the BMU needs to follow the battery box to calculate the state of charge (SOC), health status (SOH) and other status (SOX) information based on the battery history data, and trace the source, the BMU needs to be set in one of the battery swap packs, and the high and low voltages need to be short-circuited between multiple battery swap packs, so that multiple battery swap packs need to be bound together all the time, which makes the battery swap efficiency low, increases the construction and operation costs of the battery swap station, and has poor applicability in battery swap scenarios.

[0108] Secondly, due to the use of multiple battery swap packs, the number of battery sampling circuits increases, and the number of sampling nodes that a general battery management unit can support is limited, making a single battery management unit unable to meet the demand.

[0109] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a multi-pack battery system and a power-on method thereof, aiming to solve the problems of low battery replacement efficiency, high construction and operation costs of battery replacement stations, and poor applicability of battery replacement scenarios by improving the electrical architecture of the battery system, and effectively achieve high-voltage power-on of the battery system through a reasonable power-on process.

[0110] It should be understood that the power-consuming device in the embodiment of the present application may be a vehicle, and in the future it may also be a device as small as a robot or as large as a ship or an airplane that uses batteries to provide power or electricity. The embodiment of the present application is described using a vehicle as an example.

[0111] Hereinafter, the battery box in the battery replacement scenario is referred to as a battery replacement unit. The battery replacement unit may be, for example, the above-mentioned battery replacement pack. In the application scenario of heavy trucks, the battery replacement unit may also be referred to as a battery replacement cabinet.

[0112] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the battery system of the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery exchange units 10, and the plurality of battery exchange units 10 are connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit 10 includes a battery 11 and a slave high-voltage box 12 connected thereto, and the slave high-voltage box 12 includes a first battery management unit 13 of the battery 11. The battery system 1 also includes a main high-voltage box 20, and the slave high-voltage box 12 is connected to the main high-voltage box 20 via a pluggable electrical connector 30, and the main high-voltage box 20 includes a second battery management unit 21 connected to the first battery management unit 13 in the plurality of battery exchange units 10.

[0113] Usually, the high voltage box is also called a high voltage distribution box or a distribution box. It can be understood that although it is called a high voltage box, the high voltage box includes not only a high voltage circuit and corresponding components, but also a low voltage circuit and corresponding components.

[0114] The battery system 1 adopts a three-level architecture formed by a CSC, a first battery management unit and a second battery management unit, wherein the first battery management unit and the second battery management unit can be collectively referred to as a battery management system. The battery 11 can be a battery pack, which is usually formed by a plurality of battery cells connected in series, in parallel or in a mixed connection, wherein the mixed connection is a mixture of parallel and series connection, and a cell sampling circuit (CSC) is provided on each battery cell to collect information such as the voltage and temperature of the corresponding battery cell. The first battery management unit 13 has a complete battery management system (BMS) function, including the calculation of information such as SOC, SOH, ..., SOX of the battery 11, fault diagnosis, battery balancing, monitoring and protection, etc. The second battery management unit 21 is responsible for information collection, arbitration, and interaction with external devices for all battery replacement units 10, including but not limited to a vehicle control unit (VCU) or a charging device for charging the battery 11, such as a charging pile or a charger.

[0115] The first battery management unit described in the embodiment of the present application may be, for example, a sub-battery management unit (SBMU), and the second battery management unit may be, for example, a master battery management unit (MBMU). Hereinafter, the technical solution of the present application is described by taking the first battery management unit as an SBMU and the second battery management unit as an MBMU as an example.

[0116] The electrical connector 30 is a special connector for realizing quick electrical connection and separation between the battery and the vehicle, and between the battery and the battery swap cabinet in the battery swap station, for example, it is composed of a plug and a socket. Since the electrical connector 30 is mainly used in battery swap scenarios, it is also called a "battery swap connector" or a "quick-swap connector".

[0117] In some embodiments, the electrical connector 30 includes a high-voltage interface and a low-voltage interface, and the high-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box 12 is connected to the high-voltage circuit in the main high-voltage box 20 through the high-voltage interface, and the low-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box 12 is connected to the low-voltage circuit in the main high-voltage box 20 through the low-voltage interface, thereby realizing the high-voltage connection and low-voltage connection between the slave high-voltage box 12 and the main high-voltage box 20. Among them, the high-voltage interface includes, for example, a positive high-voltage interface and a negative high-voltage interface, the positive high-voltage interface is used to connect the positive electrode of the battery 11, and the negative high-voltage interface is used to connect the negative electrode of the battery 11.

[0118] In the embodiment of the present application, each battery exchange unit 10 is provided with a battery 11 and a slave high-voltage box 12 connected thereto, and a corresponding SBMU 13 is configured in the slave high-voltage box 12. The battery system 1 is also provided with a main high-voltage box 20 connected to the slave high-voltage box 12 of each battery exchange unit 10, and the main high-voltage box 20 is configured with an MBMU 21 connected to the SBMU 13 in each slave high-voltage box 12. Since a three-level architecture formed by CSC, SBMU and MBMU is adopted, during the battery exchange process, the battery exchange unit 10 can be separated by the pluggable electrical connector 30 between the slave high-voltage box 12 and the main high-voltage box 20. Therefore, multiple battery exchange units 10 can be disassembled independently, and multiple battery exchange units 10 do not need to be bound for use. Only part of the battery exchange units 10 can be replaced and charged, and the mixed use of the battery exchange units 10 is supported, so that the battery exchange efficiency is higher, the construction and operation of battery exchange stations are convenient, and the battery exchange scenarios that the battery system 1 can be applied to are expanded.

[0119] As an example, Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a possible specific architecture of a battery system 1 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2As shown, the battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery exchange units 10, i.e., a plurality of battery exchange packs or a plurality of battery exchange cabinets, and a main high-voltage box 20 is configured in the battery system 1, and each battery exchange unit 10 includes a battery 11 and is configured with a corresponding slave high-voltage box 12. The battery exchange unit 10 is connected to the main high-voltage box 20 via a pluggable electrical connector 30.

[0120] The battery 11 in each battery replacement unit 10 is composed of a plurality of battery cells, for example, Figure 2 As shown, multiple battery cells are first connected in series and then in parallel to form an electric box, and multiple electric boxes are connected in series or in parallel to form a battery 11. Optionally, a CSC can be provided on each battery cell to collect information such as the voltage and temperature of the battery cell. The battery 11 is connected to a slave high-voltage box 12, and an SBMU 13 is integrated in the slave high-voltage box 12, which is responsible for the management of the corresponding battery exchange unit 10 and uploads relevant data to the MBMU 21 in the main high-voltage box 20. The MBMU 21 is responsible for the operation management of the entire battery system 1, and interacts with external devices such as the VCU and the charging device.

[0121] Figure 2 The figure shows a case where the battery system 1 is installed in an electrical device such as a vehicle. The voltage platform of multiple battery exchange units 10 is the same. The multiple battery exchange units 10 are a parallel system and are connected in parallel in the main high-voltage box 20 to output energy.

[0122] Multiple battery swap units 10 do not need to be bundled for charging. Each battery swap unit 10 can be charged individually, or multiple battery swap units 10 can be charged together as a system. Figure 3 As shown in the schematic diagram of single-pack charging, each battery swap unit 10 can be connected to the battery swap body of the battery swap station through an electrical connector 30 for charging.

[0123] In some embodiments, the master high voltage box 20 and / or the slave high voltage box 12 also include a detection circuit, which may also be referred to as a high voltage box (HVB), and the detection circuit may be connected to the SBMU to transmit the detection result to the SBMU through a low voltage line between the two. The detection circuit, for example, includes an insulation detector, which is used to detect the insulation impedance of the high voltage bus to the ground. Since the high voltage positive electrode or the high voltage negative electrode connected to the ground will cause certain risks, the insulation impedance between the high voltage bus and the ground should usually be maintained at a certain level. The insulation detector can detect the insulation impedance. When the insulation impedance does not meet the requirements, it is convenient to detect or repair the battery system 1 to reduce the risk of the battery system 1.

[0124] Among them, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box 20 and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling, that is, when the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box 20 is enabled, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 is prohibited from being enabled; when the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 is enabled, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box 20 may not be enabled.

[0125] For example, when the battery system 1 is installed on an electrical device, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box 20 is configured to be enabled, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 is configured to be disabled; and / or, when the battery system 1 is charged in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 is configured to be enabled.

[0126] by Figure 2 and Figure 3 For example, the slave high-voltage box 12 of the battery exchange unit 10 includes a first detection circuit 14, and the master high-voltage box 20 includes a second detection circuit 22. The first detection circuit 14 and the second detection circuit 22 are both provided with insulation detectors, and the insulation detectors in the first detection circuit 14 and the insulation detectors in the second detection circuit 22 are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling. In the process of charging the battery exchange unit 10 in the battery exchange station, the insulation detector in the first detection circuit 14 in the slave high-voltage box 12 of each battery exchange unit 10 is enabled to detect the insulation impedance of the positive and negative poles of the high-voltage bus in the battery exchange unit 10 to the ground; when the battery system 1 is installed in the vehicle, the insulation detector in the second detection circuit 22 in the master high-voltage box 20 is enabled to detect the insulation impedance of the positive and negative poles of the high-voltage bus in the master high-voltage box 20 to the ground, and the insulation detector in the first detection circuit 14 in the slave high-voltage box 12 is not enabled by default, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the detection result output by the insulation detector in the second detection circuit 22.

[0127] Specifically, when the battery system 1 is installed on the vehicle, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box 20 is enabled. If the insulation testers in the slave high-voltage boxes 12 are also enabled at this time, high-voltage coupling will occur, resulting in mutual interference. Since multiple battery exchange units 10 are connected in parallel, the resistance of multiple battery exchange units 10 is reduced after being connected in parallel. The insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus of a battery exchange unit 10 to the ground will be incorporated into the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus of another battery exchange unit 10 to the ground, thereby lowering the corresponding insulation impedance of the entire battery system 1, and further affecting the detection results output by the insulation tester. When the battery system 1 is charged in a battery exchange station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 needs to be enabled to detect the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus of its corresponding battery exchange unit 10 to the ground.

[0128] The detection circuit in the master high-voltage box 20 and / or the slave high-voltage box 12, for example, also includes a high-voltage detection circuit, which is used to detect the voltage of the high-voltage bus, and / or the voltage at both ends of the detection relay, such as the main positive relay and / or the main negative relay. In this way, the SBMU 13 can timely determine the risk of the battery system, such as determining whether the relay is stuck, based on the voltage information detected by the high-voltage detection circuit.

[0129] In some embodiments, the master high voltage box 20 and / or the slave high voltage box 12 may also include other devices, such as a relay unit, a manual service disconnect (MSD), a current sensor, a high voltage sampling board, and various connectors for internal or external connection, etc. The relay unit includes at least a main positive relay and / or a main negative relay located in the main circuit of the battery system 1.

[0130] The slave high-voltage box 12 includes a main positive relay connected to the positive pole of the slave high-voltage box 12, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative pole of the slave high-voltage box 12. When the battery system 1 is mounted on an electrical device for discharge, the main positive relay and the main negative relay in the slave high-voltage box 12 can protect the kinetic energy output; when the battery system 1 is charged in a battery swap station, the main positive relay and the main negative relay in the slave high-voltage box 12 can protect the kinetic energy input.

[0131] The main high-voltage box 20 includes a main positive relay connected to the positive electrode of the main high-voltage box 20, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative electrode of the main high-voltage box 20. The main positive relay and the main negative relay in the main high-voltage box 20 are controlled by the MBMU 21 to cut off and close the external high-voltage output of the entire battery system 1.

[0132] For example, Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a first relay unit is provided in the slave high-voltage box 12, including a main positive relay K1 and a main negative relay K2, which are connected in series in the main circuit of the battery 11. Among them, one end of the main positive relay K1 is used to connect the positive pole of the battery 11, and the other end is used to connect the electrical connector 30; one end of the main negative relay K2 is used to connect to the negative pole of the battery 11, and the other end is used to connect the electrical connector 30. The SBMU 13 controls the closing and opening of the main positive relay K1 and the main negative relay K2. A second relay unit is provided in the master high-voltage box 20, including a main positive relay K3 and a main negative relay K4, which are connected in series in the main circuit of the battery 11, and the MBMU 21 controls the closing and opening of the main positive relay K3 and the main negative relay K4.

[0133] Optionally, the first relay unit and the second relay unit may also include other relays. For example, the main high-voltage box 20 may also include a charging positive relay connected to the positive pole of the main high-voltage box 20, and / or a charging negative relay connected to the negative pole of the main high-voltage box 20, and the charging positive relay and the charging negative relay are used to connect to the socket of the electrical device to charge the battery system 1.

[0134] As an example, Figure 2 As shown, the main high-voltage box 20 includes a charging positive relay K5 and a charging negative relay K6. The main high-voltage box 20 can be connected to a charging socket in an electrical device, such as a vehicle-mounted charging socket, through the charging positive relay K5 and the charging negative relay K6. In this way, when an electrical device, such as a vehicle, needs to be temporarily recharged, the vehicle can be charged through a charging device outside the battery swap station, such as a charging pile plug.

[0135] It can be understood that the positive pole of the main high-voltage box 20 and the slave high-voltage box 12 refers to the interface for connecting the positive pole of the battery 11, and the negative pole of the main high-voltage box 20 and the slave high-voltage box 12 refers to the interface for connecting the negative pole of the battery 11.

[0136] For example, Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the slave high-voltage box 12 may be provided with an MSD 15, and the master high-voltage box 20 may be provided with an MSD 23. Both the MSD 15 and the MSD 23 are connected in series to the main circuit of the battery 11 and are connected to one side of the positive electrode of the battery 11. For example, a safety unit may be integrated on the MSD 15 and / or the MSD 23. In this way, in a high-voltage environment, in order to deal with the safety of maintenance personnel or to cope with emergencies, the connection of the high-voltage circuit may be quickly disconnected, so that maintenance and other work are in a safer state. The MSD 15 and the MSD 23 may be used as maintenance protection switches and may also play a role in short-circuit protection.

[0137] Specifically, the slave high-voltage box 12 can implement overload and short-circuit protection for the corresponding battery exchange unit 10 through the MSD 15, and has a plug-in function, which can cut off the external high voltage of the battery exchange unit 10 during maintenance; the main high-voltage box 20 can implement overload and short-circuit protection for the entire battery system 1 through the MSD 23, and has a plug-in function, which can cut off the external high voltage of the entire battery system 1 during maintenance.

[0138] For example, Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, a plurality of current sensors 16 can also be provided in the high voltage box 12, for example, N current sensors 16 are provided in the parallel branches 1 to N, wherein each branch is provided with at least one electric box connected in series, and the current sensor 16 is used to detect the current in the branch where it is located. The current information corresponding to each branch can be sent to the SBMU 13 in real time, so that the SBMU 13 can perform overcurrent judgment and state of charge (SOC) calculation.

[0139] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, in addition to the high-voltage circuit, the battery system 1 is also equipped with a low-voltage circuit. The high-voltage circuit is used to provide high-voltage power to the high-voltage electrical equipment in the vehicle, and the low-voltage circuit is used to provide low-voltage power to low-voltage electrical modules such as SBMU 13, MBMU 21, VCU 2, etc., and is used for the transmission of low-voltage signals to achieve internal and external communications. Figure 2 The solid line and dotted line shown in the figure represent high-voltage lines and low-voltage lines respectively. The high-voltage line in the battery exchange unit 10 is connected to the high-voltage line in the main high-voltage box 20 through the high-voltage interface of the electrical connector 30, and the low-voltage line in the battery exchange unit 10 is connected to the low-voltage line in the main high-voltage box 20 through the low-voltage interface of the electrical connector 30.

[0140] The master high voltage box 20 and the slave high voltage box 12 are also provided with various connectors, or also called interfaces. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The connectors on the master high voltage box 20 and the slave high voltage box 12 are described in detail.

[0141] In some embodiments, the secondary high voltage box 12 includes at least one high voltage connector and at least one low voltage connector, for example Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the high-voltage connector includes a main circuit connector E3 for connecting the main high-voltage box 20, and a branch connector E1 for connecting the battery on each branch, wherein the main circuit connector E3 includes a main circuit positive connector E3+ and a main circuit negative connector E3-, and the branch connector E1 includes a branch positive connector E1+ and a branch negative connector E1-; the low-voltage connector includes an external low-voltage connector E4 for connecting the main high-voltage box 20, and a low-voltage input / output connector of the CSC for connecting the battery on each branch, wherein the low-voltage input / output connector includes a low-voltage output connector E21 and a low-voltage input connector E22. Through the high-voltage connector and the low-voltage connector in the slave high-voltage box 12, the high-voltage connection and the low-voltage connection between the slave high-voltage box 12 and the battery and the main high-voltage box 20 are realized, thereby realizing the effective transmission of high-voltage signals and low-voltage signals.

[0142] In some embodiments, Figure 2and Figure 3 As shown, the electrical connector 30 is arranged on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit 10, the high-voltage interface on the electrical connector 30 is used to connect to the main circuit connector E3 of the high-voltage box 12, and the low-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect to the external low-voltage connector E4 of the high-voltage box 12.

[0143] That is to say, the electrical connector 30 can be integrated on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit 10. Specifically, the main circuit connector E3 and the external low-voltage connector E4 on the slave high-voltage box 12 can be respectively connected to the high-voltage and low-voltage interfaces of the electrical connector 30. In this way, the connection between the slave high-voltage box 12 and the main high-voltage box 20 can be achieved through the electrical connector 30.

[0144] In some embodiments, the main high-voltage box 20 further includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, for example Figure 3 As shown, the high-voltage connector includes a subsystem connector E5 for connecting to the slave high-voltage box 12, and a main circuit connector E6 for connecting to the VCU, wherein the subsystem connector E5 includes a subsystem positive connector E5+ and a subsystem negative connector E5-, and the main circuit connector E6 includes a main circuit positive connector E6+ and a main circuit negative connector E6-; the low-voltage connector includes a low-voltage connector E8 for communicating with the slave high-voltage box 12, and a low-voltage connector E9 for communicating with the VCU 2. Through the high-voltage connector and the low-voltage connector in the main high-voltage box 20, the high-voltage connection and the low-voltage connection between the main high-voltage box 20 and the battery and the VCU 2 can be realized, thereby realizing the effective transmission of high-voltage signals and low-voltage signals.

[0145] Figure 4 It is shown that the MBMU 21 and the SBMU 13 in the multiple battery exchange units 10, the MBMU 21 and the detection circuit in the main high-voltage box 20, and the SBMU 13 and the corresponding detection circuit in the slave high-voltage box 12, the CSC and the current sensor can communicate based on certain communication lines, such as through a controller area network (CAN) bus to achieve data transmission. Figure 4 The solid line and dotted line shown in represent the high-speed CAN bus and the low-speed CAN bus, respectively.

[0146] An embodiment of the present application also provides a method for powering on a battery system 1, which can effectively realize high-voltage powering on the above-mentioned battery system 1. The battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery exchange units 10 connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit 10 includes a battery 11 and its SBMU 13. The battery system 1 also includes an MBMU 21 connected to the SBMU 13 in the plurality of battery exchange units 10.

[0147] Figure 51 is a flow chart of the power-on method 100 of the embodiment of the present application. The power-on method 100 can be executed by the first battery management unit 13, the second battery management unit 21 and the vehicle control unit 2, etc. Figure 5 Take the first battery management unit 13 as SBMU 13 and the second battery management unit 21 as MBMU 21 as an example. Figure 5 As shown, the power-on method 100 includes part or all of the following steps.

[0148] In step 110 , the VCU 2 sends a first power-on signal to the MBMU 21 .

[0149] The first power-on signal is used to instruct the MBMU 21 to control the battery system 1 to perform high voltage power-on.

[0150] The high voltage power-on is also referred to as high voltage power-on, that is, connecting the high voltage line in the battery system 1 .

[0151] In step 120 , the MBMU 21 receives the first power-on signal sent by the VCU 2 .

[0152] In step 130 , the MBMU 21 sends a second power-on signal to the SBMU 13 in response to the first power-on signal.

[0153] The second power-on signal is used to instruct the SBMU 13 to control the corresponding battery replacement unit 10 to perform high voltage power-on.

[0154] In an embodiment of the present application, when the battery system 1 is powered on at high voltage, VCU 2 sends a first power-on signal to MBMU 21, MBMU 21 receives the first power-on signal sent by VCU 2, and in response to the first power-on signal, sends a second power-on signal to SBMU 13, SBMU 13 receives the second power-on signal, and controls the corresponding battery exchange unit 10 to perform high voltage power-on according to the second power-on signal, thereby effectively realizing the high voltage power-on of the battery system 1.

[0155] In some embodiments, Figure 5 As shown, step 110 includes step 111 and step 112 .

[0156] In step 111 , the VCU 2 determines whether the battery system 1 meets the high voltage power-on condition.

[0157] In step 112 , when the high voltage power-on condition is met, the VCU 2 sends the first power-on signal to the MBMU 21 .

[0158] The high-voltage power-on condition may include, for example: all relays in the battery system 1 are in a disconnected state; and / or the high-voltage electrical equipment connected to the battery system 1 is not enabled.

[0159] Among them, the high-voltage electrical equipment includes, for example, loads such as motors, oil pumps, and air conditioners in the vehicle. Before high-voltage power-on, the VCU 2 needs to determine that these high-voltage electrical equipment are not in operation, and / or that the relays in the battery system 1 are all in a disconnected state. Optionally, the high-voltage power-on condition may also include whether the vehicle is in neutral, D gear, and whether other faults occur. In this way, the risk of sudden startup of high-voltage electrical equipment after high-voltage power-on can be reduced.

[0160] In some embodiments, the power-on method 100 further includes: the MBMU 21 determines the number of the plurality of battery swapping units; wherein, in step 120 , when the number of the plurality of battery swapping units is equal to a preset number, the MBMU 21 sends the second power-on signal to the SBMU 13 .

[0161] Before high-voltage power-on, MBMU 21 determines whether the number of battery swap units is equal to the preset number, which can avoid the risks caused by problems such as battery swap unit failure and improve the reliability of the power-on process of the battery system 1. For example, for the three-guarantee system, that is, the battery system 1 includes 3 battery swap units 10. If a battery swap unit 10 fails, it may cause the number of currently detected battery swap units 10 to be not equal to 3, indicating that the current battery swap system 1 is not matched and the fault needs to be reported. MBMU 21 sends the second power-on signal to SBMU 13 only when it determines that the number of battery swap units 10 is equal to the preset number, i.e. 3, to instruct SBMU 13 to control the corresponding battery swap unit for high-voltage power-on.

[0162] In some embodiments, the MBMU 21 may send a coding signal to the SBMU 13 of the first battery swap unit 10 among the multiple battery swap units 10, and the coding signal is used to be transmitted sequentially between the SBMUs 13 in the multiple battery swap units 10 to sequentially encode the multiple battery swap units 10. The MBMU 21 receives the coding result sent by the SBMU 13 of the last battery swap unit 10 among the multiple battery swap units 10, and determines the number of the multiple battery swap units 10 based on the coding result.

[0163] For example, Figure 6As shown, a method similar to reporting is adopted between multiple battery exchange units 10. It is assumed that the battery system 1 is an N-pack system, that is, the battery system 1 includes N battery exchange units 10. In the process of determining the number of current battery exchange units 10, MBMU21 sends a coding signal to the SBMU 13 of the first battery exchange unit 10, and the number information carried by the number signal is 1; the SBMU 13 of the first battery exchange unit 10 continues to send the coding signal to the SBMU 13 of the second battery exchange unit 10, and the number information carried by the number signal is updated to 2; ...; the coding signal is transmitted in sequence between multiple battery exchange units 10 until the SBMU 13 of the last battery exchange unit 10 receives the coding signal, and the number information carried by the number signal is updated to M. The SBMU 13 of the last battery exchange unit 10 sends the coding result M to MBMU 21, and MBMU 21 receives the coding result M sent by the SBMU 13 of the last battery exchange unit 10, and determines whether the current number M of battery exchange units 10 is the preset number N. If M=N, the encoding is passed and high voltage power-on can be performed normally; if M≠N, MBMU 21 reports fault information that the battery swap system 1 does not match.

[0164] In order to reduce the risks in the battery system 1, the MBMU 21 may determine whether to power up each battery replacement unit 10 with high voltage according to the actual situation of each battery replacement unit 10. For example, in some embodiments, step 120 may include step 121 and step 122.

[0165] In step 121 , the MBMU 21 determines at least one battery swap unit 10 to be powered on among the plurality of battery swap units 10 .

[0166] In step 122 , the MBMU 21 sends the second power-on signal to the SBMU 13 in at least one battery swap unit 10 .

[0167] In some embodiments, in step 121 , the MBMU 21 may determine at least one battery swap unit 10 to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units 10 based on the voltages of the multiple battery swap units 10 .

[0168] For example, MBMU 21 can determine that at least one battery exchange unit 10 includes a battery exchange unit 10 whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage is less than a voltage threshold when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units 10 is greater than or equal to the voltage threshold.

[0169] For another example, MBMU 21 can determine that at least one battery exchange unit 10 includes multiple battery exchange units 10 when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units 10 is less than or equal to a voltage threshold.

[0170] Specifically, first, the battery swap unit 10 with the highest voltage among the multiple battery swap units 10 can be selected as one of the battery swap units 10 to be powered on. This is because the battery swap unit 10 with the highest voltage also has the highest power, which is beneficial to the vehicle's endurance. Therefore, the battery swap unit 10 with the highest voltage can be preferentially selected as one of the battery swap units 10 to be powered on.

[0171] Next, the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage is calculated, and the magnitude relationship between the voltage difference and a preset voltage threshold is determined, and the voltage threshold can be determined according to the safety performance requirements of the battery system 1. If the voltage difference between the two battery exchange units 10 is greater than the voltage threshold, a larger current may flow between the two, thereby increasing the risk of the battery system 1.

[0172] If the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units 10 is less than or equal to the voltage threshold, the voltage difference between other battery exchange units 10 and the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage will also be less than or equal to the voltage threshold. Therefore, multiple battery exchange units 10 can be powered on with high voltage at the same time, that is, at least one battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on includes these multiple battery exchange units 10.

[0173] If the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units 10 is greater than or equal to a voltage threshold, in order to reduce the risks existing in the battery system 1, only the battery exchange units 10 whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage is within a predetermined range can be selected as the battery exchange units 10 that need to be powered on with high voltage, that is, at least one battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on includes a battery exchange unit 10 whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage is less than the voltage threshold.

[0174] The battery exchange unit 10 also includes a slave high-voltage box 12 connected to the battery 11, and a first relay unit is provided in the slave high-voltage box 12, for example, including a main positive relay and / or a main negative relay on the main circuit of the battery 11. The second power-on signal is specifically used to instruct the SBMU 13 to control the first relay unit in the corresponding battery exchange unit to close, so as to realize high-voltage power-on of the battery exchange unit 10.

[0175] For example, Figure 7 As shown, in step 140 , the SBMU 13 receives the second power-on signal sent by the MBMU 21 .

[0176] In step 150, the SBMU 13 controls the corresponding battery swap unit 10 to perform high voltage power-up according to the second power-up signal. For example, the SBMU 13 controls the first relay unit in the corresponding battery swap unit 10 to close.

[0177] In some embodiments, the battery system 1 also includes a main high-voltage box 20, which is connected to the main high-voltage box 20 through a pluggable electrical connector 30. A second relay unit is provided in the main high-voltage box 20, for example, including a main positive relay and / or a main negative relay connected in series on the main circuit of the battery 11.

[0178] Among them, Figure 7 As shown, in step 160, MBMU 21 controls the main high voltage box 20 to power on the high voltage. For example, after SBMU 13 controls the first relay unit in the slave high voltage box 12 of at least one power exchange unit 10 to close, MBMU 21 controls the second relay unit in the main high voltage box 20 to close.

[0179] After all relays in the first relay unit in the slave high-voltage box 12 of each battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on are closed, the MBMU 21 controls the closure of all relays in the second relay unit in the master high-voltage box 20, so that the energy provided by the battery 11 of each battery exchange unit 10 can reach the connected high-voltage electrical equipment at the same time, so as to provide a more stable high-voltage signal for it. It can be understood that the first relay unit in the slave high-voltage box 12 of each battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on can be closed at the same time, or can be closed in sequence.

[0180] In some embodiments, the power-on method 100 further includes step 170 , step 180 , and step 190 .

[0181] In step 170 , after the MBMU 21 controls the second relay unit in the main high voltage box 20 to close, the MBMU 21 sends a power-on completion signal to the VCU 2 .

[0182] In step 180 , the VCU 2 receives a power-on completion signal sent by the MBMU 21 .

[0183] The power-on completion signal is used to indicate that the battery system 1 has completed high-voltage power-on.

[0184] In step 190, the VCU 2 controls the relay in the main circuit between the battery system 1 and the high-voltage electrical equipment to close according to the power-on completion signal.

[0185] After the high-voltage power-on of the battery system 1 is completed, the MBMU 21 needs to inform the VCU 2 that the battery end has completed the high-voltage power-on, so that the VCU 2 controls the vehicle end to power on the high voltage. When the VCU 2 receives the power-on completion signal sent by the MBMU 21 and determines that the battery system 1 has completed the high-voltage power-on, it controls the relay in the main circuit between the battery system 1 and the high-voltage electrical equipment to close. The high-voltage power-on sequence of "battery first, then vehicle" is adopted, that is, the battery system 1 is powered on first, and then the high-voltage electrical equipment on the vehicle end is powered on, which can reduce the risks caused by the sudden start of the high-voltage electrical equipment.

[0186] In some embodiments, the power-on method 100 further includes: the MBMU 21 sends information about the allowed power P of the battery system 1 , wherein the allowed power P of the battery system 1 is the sum of the allowed powers of the multiple battery swapping units 10 .

[0187] MBMU 21 needs to provide information about its allowed power P to the outside. For example, the battery system 1 includes N battery exchange units 10, and the allowed powers of the N battery exchange units 10 are P1, P2, ..., Pn, respectively, then P = P1 + P2 + ... + Pn. It can be understood that if there is a battery exchange unit 10 whose voltage does not meet the aforementioned voltage threshold requirements or a battery exchange unit 10 that is powered off due to a fault or other reasons among the N battery exchange units 10, the allowed power P does not include the allowed power corresponding to these battery exchange units 10, that is, the allowed power P is the sum of the allowed powers of the remaining battery exchange units 10.

[0188] For example, MBMU 21 can send information about the allowed power P to VUC 2 so that VCU 2 knows the output power that the battery system 1 can provide; for another example, MBMU 21 can send information about the allowed power P to the charging device so that the charging device can provide appropriate power when charging multiple battery replacement units 10 in the battery system 1 at the same time.

[0189] In some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, the power-on method 100 may further include step 171 and step 172 .

[0190] In step 171, the VCU 2 receives a wake-up signal and performs low-voltage power-up according to the wake-up signal.

[0191] The low voltage power-up is also referred to as low voltage power-up, that is, the low voltage line in the battery system 1 is connected.

[0192] Since low-voltage power modules such as VCU 2 require low-voltage signals as power sources, before VCU 2 controls the vehicle end to power on at high voltage, VCU 2 needs to perform low-voltage power-on according to the received wake-up signal.

[0193] In step 172 , the MBMU 21 receives the wake-up signal and performs low voltage power-up according to the wake-up signal.

[0194] Since low-voltage power modules such as MBMU 21 and SBMU 13 require low-voltage signals as power sources, before MBMU 21 controls the battery system 1 to perform high-voltage power-up, MBMU 21 needs to perform low-voltage power-up according to the received wake-up signal.

[0195] The wake-up signal received by the VCU 2 and the MBMU 21 may be, for example, a signal triggered when the vehicle is started by a vehicle key.

[0196] Figure 8 yes Figure 5 and Figure 7 A flowchart of a possible specific implementation of the power-on method 100 is shown in FIG. Figure 8 As shown, the power-on method 100 may include part or all of steps 101 to 116 .

[0197] In step 101, the VCU 2 receives a wake-up signal and performs low-voltage power-up.

[0198] In step 102, the MBMU 21 receives the wake-up signal and performs low voltage power-up.

[0199] In step 103, the VCU 2 determines whether the high voltage power-on condition is currently met.

[0200] Wherein, when the high voltage upper voltage condition is met, step 104 is executed first.

[0201] In step 104 , the VCU 2 sends a first power-on signal to the MBMU 21 .

[0202] In step 105 , the MBMU 21 encodes the plurality of battery swapping units 10 , and determines whether the number of codes of the plurality of battery swapping units 10 is equal to a preset number.

[0203] In step 106 , the MBMU 21 detects whether the first power-on signal sent by the VCU 2 is received.

[0204] If in step 105, the encoding of multiple battery exchange units 10 passes, and in step 106, MBMU 21 receives the first power-on signal, step 107 is executed. If the encoding of multiple battery exchange units 10 fails, MBMU 21 reports the fault information of the battery system 1 mismatch.

[0205] In step 107 , the MBMU 21 determines at least one battery swap unit 10 to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units 10 .

[0206] For example, at least one battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on can be determined based on the voltages of multiple battery exchange units 10, wherein the voltage difference between any two battery exchange units 10 in at least one battery exchange unit 10 is less than a voltage threshold.

[0207] In step 108, the MBMU 21 sends a second power-on signal to the SBMU 13 corresponding to the battery swap unit 10 to be powered on.

[0208] After receiving the second power-on signal, the SBMU 13 controls the corresponding main positive relay and main negative relay in the slave high-voltage box 12 connected in series with the battery 11 to close according to the second power-on signal, so as to complete the high voltage power-on in the slave high-voltage box 12, so that the high voltage line in the slave high-voltage box 12 is connected.

[0209] In step 109 , the MBMU 21 controls the main positive relay and the main negative relay in the main high-voltage box 20 connected in series with the battery 11 to close, so as to complete the high voltage power-up in the main high-voltage box 20 , so that the high voltage line in the main high-voltage box 20 is connected.

[0210] In step 110 , the MBMU 21 determines whether the battery system 1 has completed high voltage power-up.

[0211] If the high-voltage power-on of the battery system 1 is completed, step 111 is executed; otherwise, the high-voltage power-on of the battery system 1 fails.

[0212] In step 111 , the MBMU 21 sends a power-on completion signal to the VCU 2 .

[0213] In step 112 , the VCU 2 detects whether a power-on completion signal sent by the MBMU 21 is received.

[0214] If the VCU 2 receives the power-on completion signal in step 112 , step 113 is executed.

[0215] In step 113, the VCU 2 controls the relay on the main circuit between the battery system 1 and the high-voltage electrical equipment to close, so that the vehicle end is powered on at high voltage.

[0216] In step 114, the VCU 2 determines whether the relay on the main circuit of the vehicle end is closed.

[0217] If the relays on the main circuit of the vehicle end are all closed, the high-voltage power-on of the vehicle end is completed, and step 115 is executed; otherwise, the high-voltage power-on of the vehicle end fails.

[0218] In step 115 , high voltage power-up is completed.

[0219] An embodiment of the present application also provides a high-voltage box, which is applied to the battery system 1. The high-voltage box is the main high-voltage box 20 of the battery system 1. The battery system 1 also includes a plurality of battery exchange units 10 in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit 10 includes a battery 11 and a slave high-voltage box 12 connected thereto. The main high-voltage box 20 is connected to the slave high-voltage box 12 via a pluggable electrical connector 30. The slave high-voltage box 12 includes a first battery management unit 13 of the battery 11. The main high-voltage box 20 includes a second battery management unit 21 connected to the first battery management unit 13 of the plurality of battery exchange units 10.

[0220] The main high-voltage box 20 of the embodiment of the present application is connected to the slave high-voltage box 12 in the multiple parallel battery exchange units 10 through a pluggable electrical connector 30. Therefore, the multiple battery exchange units 10 can be disassembled independently, and the multiple battery exchange units 10 do not need to be bundled for use. Only some of the battery exchange units 10 can be replaced and charged, which supports the mixed use of the battery exchange units 10, thereby improving the battery exchange efficiency and facilitating the construction and operation of battery exchange stations.

[0221] In some embodiments, the electrical connector 30 includes a high-voltage interface and a low-voltage interface. The high-voltage line in the main high-voltage box 20 is connected to the high-voltage line in the slave high-voltage box 12 through the high-voltage interface, and the low-voltage line in the master high-voltage box is connected to the low-voltage line in the slave high-voltage box 12 through the low-voltage interface.

[0222] In some embodiments, the main high-voltage box 20 and / or the slave high-voltage box 12 also include an insulation detector, which is used to detect the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus to the ground. The insulation detector in the main high-voltage box 20 and the insulation detector in the slave high-voltage box 12 are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling.

[0223] In some embodiments, when the battery system 1 is installed on an electrical device, the insulation tester in the main high-voltage box 20 is configured to be enabled, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 is configured to be disabled; and / or, when the battery system 1 is charged in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box 12 is configured to be enabled.

[0224] In some embodiments, the master high-voltage box 20 and / or the slave high-voltage box 12 further include a high-voltage detection circuit, and the high-voltage detection circuit is used to detect the voltage of the high-voltage bus and / or the voltage across the relay.

[0225] In some embodiments, the electrical connector 30 is disposed on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit 10, and the high-voltage interface on the electrical connector 30 is used to connect to the main circuit connector E3 of the high-voltage box 12, and the low-voltage interface on the electrical connector 30 is used to connect to the external low-voltage connector E4 of the high-voltage box 12.

[0226] In some embodiments, the main high-voltage box 20 further includes a main positive relay K3 connected to the positive pole of the main high-voltage box 20 , and / or a main negative relay K4 connected to the negative pole of the main high-voltage box 20 .

[0227] In one possible implementation, the main high-voltage box 20 also includes a charging positive relay K5 connected to the positive pole of the main high-voltage box 20, and / or a charging negative relay K6 connected to the negative pole of the main high-voltage box 20, and the charging positive relay K5 and the charging negative relay K6 are used to connect to the socket of the electrical device to charge the battery system 1.

[0228] In some embodiments, the main high-voltage box 20 also includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, the high-voltage connector includes a subsystem connector E5 for connecting to the slave high-voltage box 12, and a main circuit connector E6 for connecting to the vehicle control unit 2, and the low-voltage connector includes a low-voltage connector E8 for communicating with the slave high-voltage box 12, and a low-voltage connector E9 for communicating with the vehicle control unit 2.

[0229] In some embodiments, the master high voltage box 20 and / or the slave high voltage box 12 further include a manual maintenance switch, and a safety unit is integrated on the manual maintenance switch.

[0230] It can be understood that the specific details of the main high-voltage box 20 can refer to the aforementioned description of the battery system 1, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0231] The present application also provides a battery replacement device 3, which is applied to a battery system 1. The battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery replacement units 10 connected in parallel, wherein each battery replacement unit 10 includes a battery 11 and a first battery management unit 13 thereof, and the battery system 1 also includes a second battery management unit 21 connected to the first battery management unit 13 in the plurality of battery replacement units 10. The battery replacement device 3 may be, for example, the second battery management unit 21. Fig. 9 The schematic block diagram of the battery exchange device 3 shown in the figure includes a receiving module 310 and a sending module 320. Among them, the receiving module 310 is used to receive the first power-on signal sent by the vehicle control unit 2. The sending module 320 is used to send a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit 13 in response to the first power-on signal, and the second power-on signal is used to instruct the first battery management unit 13 to control the corresponding battery exchange unit 10 to perform high-voltage power-on.

[0232] In some embodiments, the battery exchange device 3 also includes a processing module 330, which is used to determine the number of multiple battery exchange units 10; wherein the sending module 320 is specifically used to: when the number of multiple battery exchange units 10 is equal to a preset number, send a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit 13.

[0233] In some embodiments, the processing module 330 is specifically used to: control the sending module 320 to send a coding signal to the first battery management unit 13 of the first battery exchange unit 10 among the multiple battery exchange units 10, and the coding signal is used to be transmitted in sequence between the first battery management units 13 among the multiple battery exchange units 10 to encode the multiple battery exchange units 10 in sequence; control the receiving module to receive the coding result sent by the first battery management unit 13 of the last battery exchange unit 10 among the multiple battery exchange units 10; determine the number of multiple battery exchange units 10 based on the coding result.

[0234] In some embodiments, the processing module 330 is also used to: determine at least one battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on among multiple battery exchange units 10; the sending module 320 is specifically used to: send a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit 13 in at least one battery exchange unit 10.

[0235] In some embodiments, the processing module 330 is specifically used to: determine at least one battery exchange unit 10 to be powered on among the multiple battery exchange units 10 based on the voltages of the multiple battery exchange units 10 .

[0236] In some embodiments, the processing module 330 is specifically used to: when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units 10 is greater than or equal to a voltage threshold, determine that at least one battery exchange unit 10 includes a battery exchange unit 10 whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage is less than a voltage threshold.

[0237] In some embodiments, the processing module 330 is specifically used to determine that at least one battery exchange unit 10 includes multiple battery exchange units 10 when the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit 10 with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit 10 with the lowest voltage among multiple battery exchange units 10 is less than or equal to a voltage threshold.

[0238] In some embodiments, the battery replacement unit 10 also includes a slave high-voltage box 12 connected to the battery 11, and the slave high-voltage box 12 includes a first relay unit, wherein the second power-on signal is specifically used to instruct the first battery management unit 13 to control the corresponding first relay unit to close.

[0239] In some embodiments, the battery system 1 also includes a main high-voltage box 20, and the slave high-voltage box 12 is connected to the main high-voltage box 20 through a pluggable electrical connector 30. The main high-voltage box 20 includes a second relay unit, and the processing module 330 is also used to: control the second relay unit to close after the first relay unit in at least one battery exchange unit 10 is closed.

[0240] In some embodiments, the sending module 320 is further used to send a power-on completion signal to the vehicle control unit 2 after the second relay unit is closed.

[0241] In some embodiments, the sending module 320 is also used to: send information about the allowable power of the battery system 1 , where the allowable power of the battery system 1 is the sum of the allowable powers of multiple battery replacement units 10 .

[0242] In some embodiments, the receiving module 310 is further used to: receive a wake-up signal; and the processing module 330 is further used to: perform low-voltage power-on on the second battery management unit 21 according to the wake-up signal.

[0243] It can be understood that the battery replacement device 3 is used to execute the part of the above-mentioned power-on method 100 executed by the second battery management unit 21. The specific details of the battery replacement device 3 can refer to the aforementioned description of the power-on method 100. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0244] The embodiment of the present application also provides a battery replacement device, which is applied to a battery system 1, wherein the battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery replacement units 10 connected in parallel, wherein each battery replacement unit 10 includes a battery 11 and its first battery management unit 13, and the battery system 1 also includes a second battery management unit 21 connected to the first battery management unit 13 in the plurality of battery replacement units 10. The battery replacement device may be, for example, a vehicle control unit 2. The battery replacement device includes a processing module and a sending module. Among them, the processing module is used to determine whether the battery system 1 meets the high-voltage power-on condition. The sending module is used to send a first power-on signal to the second battery management unit 21 when the high-voltage power-on condition is met, and the first power-on signal is used to instruct the second battery management unit 21 to control the battery system 1 to perform high-voltage power-on.

[0245] In some embodiments, the high-voltage power-on condition includes at least one of the following: all relays in the battery system 1 are in a disconnected state; and the high-voltage electrical equipment connected to the battery system 1 is not enabled.

[0246] In some embodiments, the battery replacement device also includes a receiving module, which is used to: receive a power-on completion signal sent by the second battery management unit 21, and the power-on completion signal is used to indicate that the battery system 1 has completed high-voltage power-on; the processing module is also used to: control the closure of the relay in the main circuit between the battery system 1 and the high-voltage electrical equipment according to the power-on completion signal.

[0247] In some embodiments, the battery exchange device also includes a receiving module, which is used to: receive a wake-up signal; the processing module is also used to power on the vehicle control unit 2 at a low voltage according to the wake-up signal.

[0248] It can be understood that the battery swapping device is used to execute the part of the above-mentioned power-on method 100 executed by the vehicle control unit 2. The specific details of the battery swapping device can refer to the aforementioned description of the power-on method 100. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0249] An embodiment of the present application also provides a battery replacement device, including a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store computer programs, and the processor being used to call and apply the computer programs stored in the memory to execute the part of the power-on method 100 described in any of the above embodiments that is executed by the second battery management unit 21 or the vehicle control unit 2.

[0250] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, including a processor, which is used to call and apply a computer program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the part of the power-on method 100 described in any of the above embodiments that is executed by the second battery management unit 21 or the vehicle control unit 2.

[0251] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which enables a computer to execute the part of the power-on method 100 described in any of the above embodiments that is executed by the second battery management unit 21 or the vehicle control unit 2.

[0252] An embodiment of the present application also provides an electrical device, including the battery system 1 described in any of the above embodiments, and a high-voltage electrical device connected to the battery system 1, wherein the battery system 1 is used to provide power for the high-voltage electrical device.

[0253] When an electrical device uses the battery system 1 to provide electrical energy, the electrical device may be, for example, a heavy truck. Optionally, the heavy truck may be a 6*4 tractor or an 8*4 dump truck. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the model of heavy trucks. Of course, the battery system 1 in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to passenger cars or other single-pack battery replacement models.

[0254] It should be noted that, under the premise of no conflict, the various embodiments described in this application and / or the technical features in each embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with each other, and the technical solution obtained after the combination should also fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0255] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0256] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0257] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0258] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

Claims

1. A method for powering on a battery system, characterized in that: The battery system includes a plurality of battery exchange units connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit includes a battery and a first battery management unit thereof, the battery system also includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit among the plurality of battery exchange units, the power-on method is performed by the second battery management unit, and the power-on method includes: Receiving a first power-on signal sent by a vehicle control unit; In response to the first power-on signal, a second power-on signal is sent to the first battery management unit, and the second power-on signal is used to instruct the first battery management unit to control the corresponding battery replacement unit to perform high-voltage power-on.

2. The power-on method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power-on method further includes: Determining the number of the plurality of battery swapping units; The sending of a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit includes: When the number of the multiple battery replacement units is equal to a preset number, the second power-on signal is sent to the first battery management unit.

3. The power-on method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The determining the number of the plurality of battery swapping units comprises: Sending a coding signal to a first battery management unit of a first battery replacement unit among the multiple battery replacement units, wherein the coding signal is used to be transmitted sequentially between the first battery management units among the multiple battery replacement units to sequentially encode the multiple battery replacement units; Receiving a coding result sent by a first battery management unit of a last battery replacement unit among the multiple battery replacement units; According to the encoding result, the number of the multiple battery replacement units is determined.

4. The power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The sending a second power-on signal to the first battery management unit includes: Determining at least one battery swap unit to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units; The second power-on signal is sent to the first battery management unit in the at least one battery replacement unit.

5. The power-on method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The determining at least one battery swap unit to be powered on among the multiple battery swap units includes: According to the voltages of the multiple battery exchange units, at least one battery exchange unit to be powered on is determined among the multiple battery exchange units.

6. The power-on method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The determining, according to the voltages of the plurality of battery swapping units, at least one battery swapping unit to be powered on among the plurality of battery swapping units comprises: When the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units is greater than or equal to a voltage threshold, it is determined that at least one battery exchange unit includes a battery exchange unit whose voltage difference with the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage is less than the voltage threshold.

7. The power-on method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The determining, according to the voltages of the plurality of battery swapping units, at least one battery swapping unit to be powered on among the plurality of battery swapping units comprises: When the voltage difference between the battery exchange unit with the highest voltage and the battery exchange unit with the lowest voltage among the multiple battery exchange units is less than or equal to the voltage threshold, it is determined that the at least one battery exchange unit includes the multiple battery exchange units.

8. The power-on method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that: The battery replacement unit also includes a slave high-voltage box connected to the battery, and the slave high-voltage box includes a first relay unit, wherein the second power-on signal is specifically used to instruct the first battery management unit to control the corresponding first relay unit to close.

9. The power-on method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The battery system further includes a main high-voltage box, the slave high-voltage box is connected to the main high-voltage box via a pluggable electrical connector, the main high-voltage box includes a second relay unit, and the power-on method further includes: After the first relay unit in the at least one power exchange unit is closed, the second relay unit is controlled to be closed.

10. The power-on method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The power-on method further includes: After the second relay unit is closed, a power-on completion signal is sent to the vehicle control unit.

11. The power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The power-on method further includes: The information of the allowable power of the battery system is sent, where the allowable power of the battery system is the sum of the allowable powers of the multiple battery replacement units.

12. The power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The power-on method further includes: receiving a wake-up signal; According to the wake-up signal, the second battery management unit is powered on at a low voltage.

13. A battery system, characterized in that: include: A plurality of battery exchange units, wherein the plurality of battery exchange units are connected in parallel, wherein each battery exchange unit comprises a battery and a secondary high-voltage box connected thereto, wherein the secondary high-voltage box comprises a first battery management unit of the battery; as well as, A main high-voltage box, wherein the slave high-voltage box is connected to the main high-voltage box via a pluggable electrical connector, and the main high-voltage box includes a second battery management unit connected to the first battery management unit in the multiple battery exchange units.

14. The battery system according to claim 13, characterized in that: The electrical connector includes a high-voltage interface and a low-voltage interface. The high-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box is connected to the high-voltage circuit in the master high-voltage box via the high-voltage interface, and the low-voltage circuit in the slave high-voltage box is connected to the low-voltage circuit in the master high-voltage box via the low-voltage interface.

15. The battery system according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that: The main high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box also include an insulation detector, which is used to detect the insulation impedance of the high-voltage bus to the ground. The insulation detector in the main high-voltage box and the insulation detector in the slave high-voltage box are configured to prohibit simultaneous enabling.

16. The battery system according to claim 15, characterized in that: When the battery system is installed in an electric device, the insulation tester in the master high-voltage box is configured to be enabled, and the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is configured to be disabled; And / or, when the battery system is charged in a battery swap station, the insulation tester in the slave high-voltage box is configured to be enabled.

17. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that: The master high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box further include a high-voltage detection circuit, and the high-voltage detection circuit is used to detect the voltage of the high-voltage bus and / or the voltage at both ends of the relay.

18. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that: The slave high-voltage box further includes a main positive relay connected to the positive pole of the slave high-voltage box, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative pole of the slave high-voltage box.

19. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that: The slave high-voltage box includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, the high-voltage connector includes a main circuit connector for connecting to the master high-voltage box, and a branch connector for connecting the battery on each branch, and the low-voltage connector includes an external low-voltage connector for connecting to the master high-voltage box, and a low-voltage input / output connector for connecting the cell sampling circuit of the battery on each branch.

20. The battery system according to claim 19, characterized in that: The electrical connector is arranged on the outer frame of the battery exchange unit, the high-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect the main circuit connector of the slave high-voltage box, and the low-voltage interface on the electrical connector is used to connect the external low-voltage connector of the slave high-voltage box.

21. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 20, characterized in that: A current sensor is provided on each branch in the secondary high-voltage box, and the current sensor is used to detect the current on the corresponding branch.

22. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 21, characterized in that: The main high-voltage box further includes a main positive relay connected to the positive pole of the main high-voltage box, and / or a main negative relay connected to the negative pole of the main high-voltage box.

23. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 22, characterized in that: The main high-voltage box also includes a positive charging relay connected to the positive pole of the main high-voltage box, and / or a negative charging relay connected to the negative pole of the main high-voltage box. The positive charging relay and the negative charging relay are used to connect to the socket of an electrical device to charge the battery system.

24. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 23, characterized in that: The master high-voltage box also includes at least one high-voltage connector and at least one low-voltage connector, the high-voltage connector includes a subsystem connector for connecting to the slave high-voltage box and a main circuit connector for connecting to the vehicle control unit, and the low-voltage connector includes a low-voltage connector for communicating with the slave high-voltage box and a low-voltage connector for communicating with the vehicle control unit.

25. The battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 24, characterized in that: The master high-voltage box and / or the slave high-voltage box further include a manual maintenance switch, and a safety unit is integrated on the manual maintenance switch.

26. A battery replacement device, characterized in that: Used to execute the power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

27. A battery replacement device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and apply the computer program stored in the memory to execute the power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

28. A chip, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, wherein the processor is used to call and execute a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: Used to store a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the power-on method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

30. An electrical device, characterized in that: It comprises a battery system according to any one of claims 13 to 25, and a high-voltage electrical device connected to the battery system, wherein the battery system is used to provide power for the high-voltage electrical device.

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