Battery system

Abstract

To shorten a work time of a worker in a case where any one of a plurality of battery cell packs is exchanged.SOLUTION: A battery system 1 comprises: a plurality of battery cell packs 10 each including a plurality of battery cells 11 and a cell controller 12, which is connected to the plurality of battery cells 11, and mounted at a predetermined mounting position; and a main controller 30 which is connected to the plurality of battery cell packs 10. The main controller 30 includes: a management unit 32 for recording in an associated manner specific ID information 101, battery control information 102 and positional information 103, which is previously allocated to the mounting positions where the plurality of battery cell packs 10 are mounted, for each battery cell pack 10; a first acquisition unit 34 which acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102; and a second acquisition unit 36 which acquires the ID information 101 and the positional information 103 when the plurality of battery cell packs 10 are mounted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery system.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a power supply device including a plurality of functional modules connected in series and a main controller connected to the plurality of functional modules. The functional module includes a battery block in which battery cells are stacked, a battery state detection unit for detecting the state of the battery block, a memory unit, and a communication interface for communicating with a main controller and the like.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a battery information update system in which data is transmitted and received between a vehicle equipped with a battery and a server. In the vehicle, based on the detection result of a battery monitoring means for detecting the state of the battery, the degree of deterioration of the battery is obtained, and the battery information stored in the memory is updated based on the obtained degree of deterioration. When the battery pack including the battery is replaced, battery data associating the battery ID of the battery pack before replacement with the battery information is transmitted to the server, and the battery ID of the battery pack after replacement is transmitted to the server. At the server, the already stored battery information is updated to the battery information transmitted from the vehicle, and the battery data corresponding to the battery ID after replacement is transmitted to the vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, in the power supply device disclosed in Patent Document 1, any one of a plurality of functional modules (hereinafter also referred to as a battery cell pack) may deteriorate. In that case, the deteriorated functional module is replaced with a new functional module. At this time, it is necessary to reconnect the existing functional module and the new functional module in series. Here, in order for the operator to make the main controller store the connection order of the reconnected plurality of functional modules, for example, the operator needs to use an external tool or the like to obtain information regarding the connection order from the server, which takes working time. Such working time is preferably as short as possible.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a battery system capable of shortening the working time of an operator when any one of a plurality of battery cell packs is replaced in a battery system including a plurality of battery cell packs.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The battery system disclosed herein includes a plurality of battery cell packs and a main controller. Each battery cell pack has a plurality of battery cells and a cell controller connected to the plurality of battery cells, and is attached to a predetermined attachment position. The main controller is connected to the cell controllers of the plurality of battery cell packs. The main controller includes a management unit, a first acquisition unit, and a second acquisition unit. The management unit records, for each battery cell pack, in association with each other, unique ID information, battery control information, and position information pre-assigned to the attachment position where the plurality of battery cell packs are attached. The first acquisition unit acquires the ID information and the battery control information. The second acquisition unit acquires the ID information and the position information when the plurality of battery cell packs are attached.

[0008] According to the above battery system, in the battery system, for each battery cell pack, the ID information, the battery control information, and the position information can be associated and managed. Therefore, in the battery system, when a battery cell pack is replaced, in the battery system, the ID information, the battery control information, and the position information of the replaced battery cell pack are associated, so that for each battery cell pack, the battery control information and the mounting position can be specified. In this way, in the battery system, since the ID information and the position information are automatically associated and managed for each battery cell pack, the working time of the operator required when a plurality of battery cell packs are replaced can be shortened.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the battery system disclosed here will be described. It should be noted that the embodiments described here are not intended to limit the present invention in particular. In addition, members and parts having the same function are appropriately given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions are appropriately omitted.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a battery system 1 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the battery system 1 is connected to a load (not shown). The load is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a driving device such as an electric motor of a vehicle. Here, the battery system 1 is mounted on, for example, a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, and is used as a power source for supplying power to a motor that drives the vehicle. However, the battery system 1 is not limited to being used for vehicles.

[0012] The battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery cell packs 10 and a main controller 30. Here, a plurality of battery cell packs 10 are connected in series to the main controller 30. In the following description, a collection of a plurality of battery cell packs 10 connected in series is referred to as a pack series 5. The number of pack series 5 is not particularly limited, and may be one or a plurality. The number of pack series 5 is appropriately set according to the magnitude of the output from the battery system 1 to the load. Also, the number of battery cell packs 10 constituting one pack series 5 is not particularly limited and is a predetermined number. The number of battery cell packs 10 in each pack series 5 may be the same or different. In the present embodiment, there are two pack series 5, namely a first pack series 5A and a second pack series 5B. The number of battery cell packs 10 in one pack series 5 is three. Here, the battery cell pack 10 constituting the first pack series 5A is also referred to as the first battery cell pack 10A, and the battery cell pack 10 constituting the second pack series 5B is also referred to as the second battery cell pack 10B.

[0013] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the battery cell pack 10. As shown in Figure 2, the battery cell pack 10 includes a plurality of battery cells 11 and a cell controller 12. The battery cells 11 are capable of charge and discharge. The plurality of battery cells 11 are connected in series. The number of battery cells 11 in one battery cell pack 10 is not particularly limited and is a predetermined number. The number of battery cells 11 in each battery cell pack 10 may be the same or different. In the present embodiment, a plus connector 13A and a minus connector 13B are connected to both ends of the plurality of battery cells 11 connected in series. The plus connector 13A is connected to the minus connector 13B of one adjacent battery cell pack 10 in series, and the minus connector 13B is connected to the plus connector 13A of another adjacent battery cell pack 10 in series.

[0014] The cell controller 12 is connected to the plurality of battery cells 11. Here, the cell controller 12 is not constituted by a so-called microcontroller and does not have a so-called memory. The cell controller 12 is constituted by a substrate and is provided with a so-called register. The cell controller 12 is communicably connected to the main controller 30 (see Figure 1). A communication interface (hereinafter also referred to as communication I / F) 14 is connected to the cell controller 12 and is connected to the main controller 30 via the communication I / F 14.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2, the cell controller 12 includes a voltage measurement IC 16. The voltage measurement IC 16 measures the cell voltage of the entire plurality of battery cells 11 and is constituted by, for example, a sensor. A unique identifier 17 is pre-assigned to the voltage measurement IC 16. Information regarding the identifier 17 is pre-stored in the cell controller 12 (specifically, the register). The identifier 17 identifies the voltage measurement IC 16 and is constituted by, for example, a sequence of numbers or characters. In the present embodiment, the identifier 17 can identify the battery cell pack 10.

[0016] The main controller 30 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a microcontroller (so-called microcomputer). The main controller 30 includes, for example, an interface (I / F) for communicating with the cell controller 12, a central processing unit (CPU) that executes instructions of a control program, a ROM (read only memory) that stores the program executed by the CPU, a RAM (random access memory) used as a working area for expanding the program, and a storage device such as a memory that stores the program and various data.

[0017] In this embodiment, the main controller 30 is provided for each pack series 5. The main controller 30 has a first main controller 30A connected to a plurality of first battery cell packs 10A in the first pack series 5A and a second main controller 30B connected to a plurality of second battery cell packs 10B in the second pack series 5B. The first main controller 30A and the second main controller 30B are configured to be able to communicate with each other.

[0018] In this embodiment, the plurality of battery cell packs 10 connected to the main controller 30 are attached to predetermined attachment positions. The attachment positions are relative attachment positions with respect to the main controller 30. Here, attachment positions P1 to P6 with respect to the main controller 30 are predetermined. Each battery cell pack 10 is attached to one of the predetermined attachment positions among P1 to P6.

[0019] Incidentally, if the battery system 1 continues to be used, the plurality of battery cell packs 10 may deteriorate. At this time, individual differences may occur among the plurality of battery cell packs 10, and the State of Charge (SOC) or State of Health (SOH) of a certain battery cell pack 10 may become lower than a predetermined threshold value. In such a case, the corresponding battery cell pack 10 is replaced. For example, when replacing one battery cell pack 10, first, all the battery cell packs 10 are removed from the main controller 30, and after replacing the corresponding battery cell pack 10, all the battery cell packs 10 are reconnected to the main controller 30. At this time, the mounting positions of the plurality of battery cell packs 10 may be changed from before removal. In the present embodiment, even after replacing the battery cell pack 10, the main controller 30 automatically associates and manages each battery cell pack 10 with its mounting position.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the main controller 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the main controller 30 includes a management unit 32, a first acquisition unit 34, a second acquisition unit 36, a failure diagnosis unit 38, and an equalization processing unit 39. The management unit 32, the first acquisition unit 34, the second acquisition unit 36, the failure diagnosis unit 38, and the equalization processing unit 39 may be provided in either one of the first main controller 30A and the second main controller 30B, or may be provided in both. The management unit 32 manages the mounting position destination for each battery cell pack 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the information managed by the management unit 32. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the management unit 32 associates and records unique ID information 101, battery control information 102, and position information 103 for each battery cell pack 10. Here, the unique ID information 101 is information pre-assigned to each battery cell pack 10, and the battery cell pack 10 can be specified from the ID information 101. The type of the ID information 101 is not particularly limited as long as the battery cell pack 10 can be specified. Here, the ID information 101 is an identifier 17 (see FIG. 2) attached to the voltage measurement IC 16 of the battery cell pack 10.

[0021] The battery control information 102 refers to the information used when the main controller 30 or the cell controller 12 controls the charging and discharging of a plurality of battery cell packs 10. The battery control information 102 is, for example, the SOC, SOH, or the internal resistance of the battery cell pack 10. The SOH may be SOHC or SOHR. Here, SOHC refers to the capacity retention rate of the current full charge capacity with respect to the initial full charge capacity. SOHR refers to the resistance increase rate of the current internal resistance value with respect to the initial internal resistance value. The position information 103 refers to the information pre-assigned to the mounting position where the battery cell pack 10 is mounted. That is, the position information 103 refers to the information regarding to which mounting position among the mounting positions P1 to P6 (see FIG. 1) the battery cell pack 10 is assigned.

[0022] The first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 in each battery cell pack 10. Here, the first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 in association with each other for each battery cell pack 10. Note that the acquisition sources of the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 are not particularly limited. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, in the battery cell pack 10, the cell controller 12 stores the identifier 17 of the voltage measurement IC 16 as the ID information 101. The first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 by acquiring the identifier 17 of the voltage measurement IC 16 from the cell controller 12 of each battery cell pack 10. Further, the first acquisition unit 34 acquires the cell voltage of the battery cell pack 10 measured by the voltage measurement IC 16 from the cell controller 12, and calculates the SOC, SOH, etc. based on the acquired cell voltage to acquire the battery control information 102.

[0023] In addition, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an external tool 40 and a server 50 are communicably connected to the main controller 30. Here, the main controller 30 is communicably connected to the external tool 40 and communicably connected to the server 50 via the external tool 40. The external tool 40 is a tool for acquiring the ID information 101 (for example, the identifier 17 of the voltage measurement IC 16) of the battery cell pack 10. For example, the battery cell pack 10 is attached with an identification label (not shown) in which the ID information 101 (here, the identifier 17) is stored. This identification label is, for example, a barcode such as a 1D barcode and a 2D barcode, or an RFID such as an IC tag. The external tool 40 is a barcode reader capable of reading barcodes, an RFID reader capable of reading RFID, or the like. The ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 are stored in the server 50 in an associated manner. The battery control information 102 stored in the server 50 is the so-called battery control information 102 (SOC, SOH, etc.) before use (in other words, at the time of shipment) and the battery control information 102 (SOC, SOH, etc.) at the time of replacement for each battery cell pack 10. Here, the operator reads the above identification label of the battery cell pack 10 for which the battery control information 102 has been acquired with the external tool 40. As a result, the external tool 40 can acquire the ID information 101 from the read identification label. Therefore, the first acquisition unit 34 can acquire the ID information 101 from the external tool 40. Further, the first acquisition unit 34 can acquire the battery control information 102 associated with the ID information 101 from the server 50 based on the ID information 101 acquired from the external tool 40.

[0024] The second acquisition unit 36 acquires the ID information 101 and the position information 103 when a plurality of battery cell packs 10 are attached. Here, when the battery cell pack 10 is attached means when it is connected to the main controller 30, and means when it is arranged at any one of the attachment positions P1 to P6. The second acquisition unit 36 associates and stores the ID information 101 and the position information 103 for each battery cell pack 10. In the present embodiment, the second acquisition unit 36 acquires the ID information 101 and the position information 103 from the cell controller 12. The second acquisition unit 36 acquires the ID information 101 by acquiring the identifier 17 of the voltage measurement IC 16 from the cell controller 12 of each battery cell pack 10. Note that the timing at which the second acquisition unit 36 acquires the ID information 101 and the timing at which the first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 may be the same or different.

[0025] The failure diagnosis unit 38 diagnoses whether the battery cell pack 10 connected to the main controller 30 has failed. Here, "failure" means deterioration of the battery cell pack 10. Here, the failure diagnosis unit 38 determines that there is a failure when the SOC difference or the SOH difference of a plurality of battery cell packs 10 is larger than a predetermined reference difference. The failure diagnosis unit 38 determines that the battery cell pack 10 is deteriorated and has failed when the SOH of the battery cell pack 10 is smaller than a predetermined failure threshold. In this way, the battery cell pack 10 determined to have failed (for example, deteriorated) by the failure diagnosis unit 38 may be replaced.

[0026] The equalization processing unit 39 performs an equalization process for equalizing the battery capacities of a plurality of battery cell packs 10. Here, an equalization circuit (not shown) for equalizing the battery capacities of the plurality of battery cell packs 10 according to a predetermined target value is incorporated in the equalization processing unit 39. The equalization circuit may have a circuit configuration in which, for example, a closed circuit with a resistor connected to the battery cell pack 10 is formed, and the opening and closing of the closed circuit are controlled by a switch. When the battery cell pack 10 is short-circuited to the resistor, the power of the battery cell pack 10 is consumed and the battery capacity decreases. In the equalization process, for example, the battery capacity of the battery cell pack 10 with the lowest battery capacity among the plurality of battery cell packs 10 may be set to the equalization target value. By such an equalization process, the battery capacities of the plurality of battery cell packs 10 are equalized.

[0027] Next, the procedure when the battery cell pack 10 is replaced will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. Here, among the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10f in FIG. 1, the battery cell pack 10e is deteriorated, and the procedure when the battery cell pack 10e is replaced with the battery cell pack 10x in FIG. 6 will be described.

[0028] First, in step S101 of FIG. 5, a charge / discharge process is performed on the newly replaced battery cell pack 10x. Here, the charge / discharge process is performed on the battery cell pack 10x so as to reach a predetermined replacement SOC when the battery cell pack 10x is replaced.

[0029] Next, in step S103 of FIG. 5, the operator replaces the battery cell pack 10e (see FIG. 1) with the battery cell pack 10x (see FIG. 6). Here, first, the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10f in FIG. 1 are removed from the main controller 30. Then, the operator replaces the battery cell pack 10e with the battery cell pack 10x. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the operator connects the battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, and 10x to the main controller 30. Here, each of the battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, and 10x is arranged at any one of the mounting positions P1 to P6. At this time, the operator does not have to worry about the connection order of the battery cell packs 10, and the operator can freely determine which mounting positions P1 to P6 to arrange the battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, and 10x. Here, the operator connects the battery cell packs 10f, 10c, and 10b to the first main controller 30A and arranges the battery cell packs 10f, 10c, and 10b at the mounting positions P1, P2, and P3, respectively. Also, the operator connects the battery cell packs 10d, 10x, and 10a to the second main controller 30B and arranges the battery cell packs 10d, 10x, and 10a at the mounting positions P4, P5, and P6, respectively. In this embodiment, when the battery cell pack 10 is arranged at the mounting position, the main controller 30 stores the position information 103 (see FIG. 4) regarding the mounting position.

[0030] Next, in step S105 of FIG. 5, the operator connects the external tool 40 to the main controller 30 and sets the main controller 30 to the cell pack replacement mode as shown in FIG. 6. By doing this, the main controller 30 is connected to the server 50 via the external tool 40. Note that the timing of connecting the external tool 40 may be, for example, before step S101. Here, the cell pack replacement mode is a mode for the main controller 30 that is set when replacing the battery cell pack 10. By setting the main controller 30 to the cell pack replacement mode, equalization processing for a plurality of battery cell packs 10 is performed. The method by which the operator sets the main controller 30 to the cell pack replacement mode is not particularly limited. For example, the mode of the main controller 30 may be switched to the cell pack replacement mode by pressing a button for switching the mode arranged on the main controller 30.

[0031] Next, in step S107 of FIG. 5, information on each battery cell pack 10 is acquired. Here, the first acquisition unit 34 in FIG. 3 acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 of the battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, and 10x. In the present embodiment, the first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102 of the non-replaced battery cell packs 10a to 10d and 10f from the main controller 30. For example, the first acquisition unit 34 acquires the identifier 17 of the voltage measurement IC 16 as the ID information 101, and also acquires the cell voltage measured by the voltage measurement IC 16, calculates the SOC and the like from the cell voltage, and acquires the battery control information 102. Further, the first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 of the battery cell pack 10x after replacement from the external tool 40 that has read the identification label attached to the battery cell pack 10x, and based on the acquired ID information 101, acquires the battery control information 102 of the battery cell pack 10x from the server 50.

[0032] Also, in the present embodiment, when a plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x are attached, the second acquisition unit 36 in FIG. 3 acquires the ID information 101 and the position information 103 of the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x. Here, the second acquisition unit 36 acquires the identifier 17 of the voltage measurement IC 16 as the ID information 101 from the cell controller 12, and acquires the position information 103 which is information regarding the attachment position when the battery cell pack 10 is attached.

[0033] Next, in step S109 of FIG. 5, the management unit 32 in FIG. 3 associates and records the unique ID information 101, the battery control information 102, and the position information 103 for each battery cell pack 10. Here, the management unit 32 manages, in association with the ID information 101, which attachment position among the attachment positions P1 to P6 each battery cell pack 10 is arranged at after replacement.

[0034] Next, in step S111 of FIG. 5, the equalization processing unit 39 in FIG. 3 executes an equalization process for equalizing the battery capacities of the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x connected to the main controller 30 after replacement. By this, the battery capacities of the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x connected to the main controller 30 after replacement can be equalized, and the SOC difference among the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x can be reduced. If the equalization process is not executed for the battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x after replacement, for example, since the SOC of the replaced battery cell pack 10x is high, the SOC difference among the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x may become larger than the reference difference. In this case, although no failure has occurred in the plurality of battery cell packs 10, there is a possibility that the failure diagnosis unit 38 determines it as a failure. However, in the present embodiment, since the equalization process is executed in step S111, the SOC difference among the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x can be reduced. As a result, the failure diagnosis unit 38 does not determine that the plurality of battery cell packs 10a to 10d, 10f, 10x have failed.

[0035] As described above, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the battery system 1 includes a plurality of battery cell packs 10 and a main controller 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the battery cell pack 10 has a plurality of battery cells 11 and a cell controller 12 connected to the plurality of battery cells 11, and is attached to a predetermined attachment position. As shown in FIG. 1, the main controller 30 is connected to the cell controllers 12 of the plurality of battery cell packs 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the main controller 30 includes a management unit 32, a first acquisition unit 34, and a second acquisition unit 36. The management unit 32 records, for each battery cell pack 10, the unique ID information 101 shown in FIG. 4, the battery control information 102, and the position information 103 pre-assigned to the attachment position where the plurality of battery cell packs 10 are attached, in association with each other. The first acquisition unit 34 acquires the ID information 101 and the battery control information 102. The second acquisition unit 36 acquires the ID information 101 and the position information 103 when the plurality of battery cell packs 10 are attached. As a result, in the battery system 1, the ID information 101, the battery control information 102, and the position information 103 can be managed in association with each other for each battery cell pack 10. Therefore, when the battery cell pack 10 is replaced in the battery system 1, the ID information 101, the battery control information 102, and the position information 103 of the replaced battery cell pack 10 are associated with each other in the battery system 1, so that the battery control information 102 and the attachment position can be specified for each battery cell pack 10. In this way, in the battery system, since the ID information 101 and the position information 103 are automatically associated and managed for each battery cell pack 10, the working time of the operator required when replacing the plurality of battery cell packs 10 can be shortened.

[0036] In this embodiment, when the SOC difference between a plurality of battery cell packs 10 is greater than a predetermined reference difference, the main controller 30 includes a failure diagnosis unit 38 (see FIG. 3) that diagnoses a failure. When any one of the plurality of battery cell packs 10 is replaced, the first acquisition unit 34 is connected to a server 50 (see FIG. 1) that stores the battery control information 102 of the battery cell pack 10 before use via an external tool 40 (see FIG. 1), and acquires the battery control information 102 of the replaced battery cell pack 10 (in FIG. 6, the battery cell pack 10x). Here, the external tool 40 reads the identification label attached to the battery cell pack 10x to acquire the ID information 101, and based on this ID information 101, the battery control information 102 of the battery cell pack 10x is acquired from the server 50. In this way, by acquiring the battery control information 102 of the replaced battery cell pack 10 from the server 50 via the external tool 40, the SOC difference between the plurality of battery cell packs 10 can be reduced, so that it is possible to prevent the failure diagnosis unit 38 from erroneously determining a failure.

[0037] In this embodiment, the battery control information 102 is the SOC, SOH, or internal resistance of the battery cell pack 10. By acquiring the SOC, SOH (especially SOHC, SOHR), and internal resistance as the battery control information 102, the charge / discharge allowable current and power considering the safety of the battery cell pack 10 can be calculated. Then, by performing the charge / discharge process using this charge / discharge allowable current and power, safety can be ensured.

[0038] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the cell controller 12 of the battery cell pack 10 has a voltage measurement IC 16 that measures the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells 11. The first acquisition unit 34 acquires the cell voltages measured by the voltage measurement IC 16, and calculates the SOC or SOH based on the cell voltages to acquire the battery control information 102. As a result, it is not necessary to calculate the SOC or the like in the battery control information 102 on the cell controller 12 side, so that the cell controller 12 can be realized with a simple configuration.

[0039] In this embodiment, the ID information 101 is the identifier 17 pre-assigned to the voltage measurement IC 16. By this, without attaching new ID information 101 to the battery cell pack 10, the ID information 101 can be managed using the identifier 17 pre-assigned to the voltage measurement IC 16.

[0040] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the main controller 30 has a first main controller 30A and a second main controller 30B communicably connected to the first main controller 30A. The plurality of battery cell packs 10 have a first battery cell pack 10A connected to the first main controller 30A and a second battery cell pack 10B connected to the second main controller 30B. Thus, here the main controller 30 is realized by a combination of a plurality of main controllers. Therefore, by increasing or decreasing the number of main controllers 30 that make up the main controller 30, the overall battery capacity of the battery system 1 can be easily increased or decreased.

[0041] In this embodiment, the main controller 30 is constituted by a microcontroller. The cell controller 12 is not constituted by a microcontroller. By this, the main controller 30 constituted by a microcontroller executes complex processing, so that the cell controller 12 can be realized with a simple configuration.

[0042] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the main controller 30 is provided for each pack row 5 and has a first main controller 30A and a second main controller 30B. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the number of main controllers 30 may be one. In this case, the main controller 30 may be connected in series to a plurality of first battery cell packs 10A in the first pack row 5A and also connected in series to a plurality of second battery cell packs 10B in the second pack row 5B.

[0043] Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the first main controller 30A and the second main controller 30B, the main controller 30 may have an integrated main controller 30C. In this case, the integrated main controller 30C may be communicably connected to the first main controller 30A and the second main controller 30B. And the integrated main controller 30C may include the management unit 32, the first acquisition unit 34, the second acquisition unit 36, the failure diagnosis unit 38, and the equalization processing unit 39 shown in FIG. 3.

[0044] As described above, the invention disclosed herein has been variously described. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments described herein do not limit the present invention. Also, the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein can be variously modified, and unless there are particular problems, each component and each process mentioned herein can be appropriately omitted or appropriately combined.

[0045] As described above, this specification includes the disclosures described in the following respective sections. Item 1: A battery system comprising: a plurality of battery cells; a cell controller connected to the plurality of battery cells; a plurality of battery cell packs attached to a predetermined mounting position; a main controller connected to the cell controllers of the plurality of battery cell packs; and the main controller includes: a management unit that associates and records, for each of the battery cell packs, unique ID information, battery control information, and position information pre-assigned to the mounting position where the plurality of battery cell packs are mounted; a first acquisition unit that acquires the ID information and the battery control information; a second acquisition unit that acquires the ID information and the position information when the plurality of battery cell packs are attached; and

[0046] Item 2: The main controller includes a failure diagnosis unit that diagnoses a failure when the SOC difference between a plurality of the battery cell packs is greater than a predetermined reference difference. The battery system according to item 1, wherein when any one of the plurality of battery cell packs is replaced, the first acquisition unit acquires the battery control information of the replaced battery cell pack via an external tool connected to a server in which the battery control information of the battery cell pack before use is stored.

[0047] Item 3: The battery system according to item 1 or 2, wherein the battery control information is the SOC, SOH, or internal resistance of the battery cell pack.

[0048] Item 4: The cell controller of the battery cell pack has a voltage measurement IC that measures the cell voltages of a plurality of the battery cells. The battery system according to item 3, wherein the first acquisition unit acquires the cell voltage measured by the voltage measurement IC and calculates the SOC or the SOH based on the cell voltage, thereby acquiring the battery control information.

[0049] Item 5: The battery system according to item 4, wherein the ID information is an identifier pre-assigned to the voltage measurement IC.

[0050] Item 6: The main controller has a first main controller and a second main controller communicably connected to the first main controller, and a plurality of the battery cell packs has a first battery cell pack connected to the first main controller and a second battery cell pack connected to the second main controller. The battery system according to any one of items 1 to 5.

[0051] Item 7: The main controller is constituted by a microcontroller, The cell controller is not constituted by a microcontroller, and the battery system according to any one of Items 1 to 6.

Description of Signs

[0052] 1 Battery system 10 Battery cell pack 10A First battery cell pack 10B Second battery cell pack 11 Battery cell 12 Cell controller 16 Voltage measurement IC 17 Identifier 30 Main controller 30A First main controller 30B Second main controller 32 Management unit 34 First acquisition unit 36 Second acquisition unit 38 Fault diagnosis unit 40 External tool 50 Server 101 ID information 102 Battery control information 103 Location information P1 to P6 Mounting positions

Claims

1. A battery system comprising a plurality of battery cells, a cell controller connected to the plurality of battery cells, a plurality of battery cell packs attached to a predetermined mounting position, a main controller connected to the cell controllers of the plurality of battery cell packs, wherein the main controller comprises a management unit that associates and records, for each battery cell pack, unique ID information, battery control information, and position information pre-assigned to the mounting position where the plurality of battery cell packs are attached; a first acquisition unit that acquires the ID information and the battery control information; a second acquisition unit that acquires the ID information and the position information when the plurality of battery cell packs are attached; a fault diagnosis unit that diagnoses a fault when the SOC difference between the plurality of battery cell packs is greater than a predetermined reference difference. wherein when any one of the plurality of battery cell packs is replaced, the first acquisition unit acquires the battery control information of the replaced battery cell pack via an external tool connected to a server storing the battery control information of the battery cell pack before use.

2. The battery system according to claim 1, wherein the battery control information is the SOC, SOH, or internal resistance of the battery cell pack.

3. The cell controller of the battery cell pack has a voltage measurement IC that measures the cell voltages of the plurality of battery cells, and the first acquisition unit acquires the cell voltages measured by the voltage measurement IC and calculates the SOC or SOH based on the cell voltages to acquire the battery control information.

4. The battery system according to claim 3, wherein the ID information is an identifier pre-assigned to the voltage measurement IC.

5. The main controller comprises a first main controller, and a second main controller communicably connected to the first main controller. wherein the plurality of battery cell packs comprises a first battery cell pack connected to the first main controller, and a second battery cell pack connected to the second main controller. The battery system according to claim 1.

6. The main controller is constituted by a microcontroller. The battery system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cell controller is not constituted by a microcontroller.

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