Battery management system and communication management method therefor

Abstract

Disclosed is a battery management system for communicating, as a master board, with a plurality of slave boards, the system comprising: a light-emitting element performing wireless communication with the plurality of slave boards, each including a light-receiving element; a resistor circuit which is connected to the light-emitting elements in series and which includes a plurality of resistors that can be connected in parallel to each other according to the opening / closing of a switch; and a controller, wherein the controller controls at least some of switches such that the resistance of the resistance circuit is reduced by connecting in parallel at least some of the plurality of resistors in response to the detection of a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from the light-emitting element to at least some of the light-receiving elements.

Description

Battery management system and its communication management method

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to Republic of Korea Patent Application No. 2023-0148004, filed October 31, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a battery management system as a master board that manages communication with a plurality of slave boards and a communication management method thereof.

[0003] Battery management systems can adopt various topologies, one of which is the master-slave architecture. This architecture allows a single master board to manage multiple slave boards. Wireless communication between the master board and the slave boards is widely known for this architecture, and wireless communication is widely used due to its advantage of eliminating wiring issues. There are various wireless communication methods, but optical communication using light-emitting elements such as diodes is known to be the most commonly used. However, while optical communication using light-emitting elements offers many advantages, communication quality can deteriorate due to deterioration of the light transmission ability caused by factors such as aging of the light-emitting elements or dust and condensation, and maintenance is somewhat difficult. Therefore, a method is needed to diagnose the communication status of a battery management system that utilizes light-emitting element-based optical communication and to facilitate maintenance.

[0004] The disclosed embodiments provide an electronic device and a method for providing information thereon. Specifically, the battery management system, which serves as a master board that manages communication with a plurality of slave boards, and the communication management method thereof, enable diagnosis of the communication status between the master board and slave boards and facilitate maintenance thereof.

[0005] The technical tasks to be achieved by this embodiment are not limited to the technical tasks described above, and other technical tasks can be inferred from the following embodiments.

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery management system that communicates with a plurality of slave boards as a master board, the battery management system comprising: a light-emitting element that performs wireless communication with the plurality of slave boards including a light-receiving element; a resistance circuit that is connected in series with the light-emitting element and includes a plurality of resistors that can be connected in parallel with each other according to the opening and closing of a switch; and a controller, wherein the controller controls at least some of the switches so that the resistance size of the resistance circuit is reduced by connecting at least some of the plurality of resistors in parallel in response to detecting a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from the light-emitting element to at least some of the light-receiving elements.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the light-emitting element may include a battery management system in which the amount of light emitted increases as the resistance size of the resistance circuit decreases, thereby increasing the current flowing therein.

[0008] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that controls at least some of the switches to allow current to flow to the light-emitting elements so that the intensity of light transmitted to at least some of the light-receiving elements corresponds to an initial value, in response to detecting a decrease in the intensity of the light.

[0009] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that controls at least some of the switches so that at least some of the plurality of resistors selected based on the intensity of the light whose degradation is detected and the initial value are connected in parallel.

[0010] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that calculates a recovery value based on the light intensity and the initial value, and then selects at least some of the plurality of resistors such that the resistance size of the resistor circuit corresponds to the recovery value when connected in parallel.

[0011] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that selects at least some of the plurality of resistors based on a rate of change of the intensity of the light, such that the larger the rate of change, the smaller the resistance size.

[0012] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the reduction in the intensity of the light may include a battery management system, wherein the reduction is determined by detecting a decrease below a threshold value in the magnitude of the current generated as light from the light-emitting element is transmitted to at least some of the light-receiving elements.

[0013] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the current magnitude reduction may include a battery management system that is detected by periodically measuring the current magnitude generated by receiving light from the light-emitting element in at least some of the light-receiving elements.

[0014] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the reduction in the intensity of the light may include a battery management system, which detects a disconnection of the communication that was connected as light from the light emitting element is transmitted to at least some of the light receiving elements.

[0015] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that determines cause information of the decrease in the light intensity based on at least some of (i) information on a decrease in the amount of current generated by receiving light from the light-emitting element, which is detected by at least some of the light-receiving elements, (ii) information on the position of the specific light-receiving element, and (iii) information on the ratio of the number of the specific light-receiving elements to the number of the light-receiving elements.

[0016] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that determines information on the cause of the decrease in light intensity based on at least some of turbidity information and condensation information inside the battery pack, which are obtained based on one or more sensors included in the battery pack that operate in conjunction with the battery management system.

[0017] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that controls at least some of the switches to release the connection of at least some of the plurality of resistors connected in parallel when the cause corresponding to the cause information is confirmed to be resolved based on at least some of the turbidity information and condensation information inside the battery pack.

[0018] In addition, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication unit that is communicatively connected to a control unit of a user terminal or a vehicle may be further included, and the controller may include a battery management system that provides a warning notification related to the intensity of the light to the control unit of the user terminal or the vehicle through the communication unit when a switch of the resistance circuit having a threshold ratio or higher of the switches is closed.

[0019] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that provides the warning notification including information on the cause of the decrease in the light intensity to the user terminal or the control unit of the vehicle.

[0020] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that provides the user terminal or the control unit of the vehicle with the warning notification including information on power consumed by the resistance circuit when the switch is closed above the threshold ratio.

[0021] Additionally, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may include a battery management system that sequentially controls at least some of the switches so that, whenever a decrease in the light intensity is detected, at least some of the plurality of resistors are sequentially connected in parallel, and thus the resistance size of the resistor circuit is sequentially reduced.

[0022] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a method for managing communication in a battery management system, comprising: a step of detecting a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from a light-emitting element to at least some of the light-receiving elements included in a plurality of slave boards; a step of controlling at least some of the switches of a resistance circuit connected in series with the light-emitting element so that at least some of the plurality of resistors included in the resistance circuit are connected in parallel so that the resistance size of the resistance circuit is reduced, thereby increasing the current flowing into the light-emitting element and increasing the light emission amount thereof; and a step of providing a warning notification related to the intensity of the light to a control unit of a user terminal or a vehicle when a switch of a threshold ratio or more among the switches is closed.

[0023] Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

[0024] According to the proposed embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be expected.

[0025] According to the embodiment of the present specification, the communication status of a battery management system to which optical communication using a diode is applied can be diagnosed and easily maintained.

[0026] In addition, according to the embodiment of the present specification, when it is detected that the intensity of light transmitted to the light-receiving element has decreased, the intensity of light can be restored by connecting a plurality of resistors included in a resistor circuit connected in series with the light-emitting element in parallel.

[0027] In addition, according to the embodiment of the present specification, when a resistance exceeding a critical ratio among a plurality of resistors included in a resistor circuit connected in series with a light-emitting element is connected in parallel, a notification may be provided to a user terminal to induce maintenance of the light-emitting element.

[0028] The effects according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a battery management system for managing communication according to one embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the interlocking relationship between a light-emitting element, a resistance circuit, and a controller according to one embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication management method of a battery management system according to one embodiment.

[0032] Figures 4a to 4c are examples of caution notifications delivered to a user terminal according to one embodiment.

[0033] FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram showing a case where light from a light-emitting element is not transmitted due to an interference factor only to some slave boards in some directions according to one embodiment.

[0034] The terms used in the examples have been selected from widely used, current terms, taking into account the functions of the present disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in certain cases, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant, in which case their meanings will be described in detail in the relevant description. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should not be defined simply as names, but rather based on the meanings of the terms and the overall content of the present disclosure.

[0035] When a part of a specification is said to "include" a component, this does not mean that it excludes other components, but rather that it may include other components, unless otherwise stated.

[0036] The expression "at least one of a, b, and c" described throughout the specification may encompass 'a alone', 'b alone', 'c alone', 'a and b', 'a and c', 'b and c', or 'all of a, b, and c'.

[0037] The "terminal" mentioned below may be implemented as a computer or portable terminal that can connect to a server or other terminal via a network. Here, the computer includes, for example, a notebook, desktop, laptop, etc. equipped with a web browser, and the portable terminal may include, for example, a wireless communication device that guarantees portability and mobility, and may include all types of handheld-based wireless communication devices such as communication-based terminals such as IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), smartphones, tablet PCs, etc.

[0038] Below, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0039] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0040] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a battery management system for managing communication according to one embodiment.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 1, the present disclosure basically assumes a case where a battery management system (100) as a master board wirelessly communicates with a plurality of slave boards, and for convenience of explanation, only one slave board (200) among the plurality of slave boards and its light-receiving element (210) are illustrated in FIG. 1. The battery management system (100) may include a light-emitting element (110) for performing wireless communication, and a resistor circuit (130) connected in series therewith, which is a component used for communication management. The light-emitting element (110) may be implemented by a photodiode, but is not limited thereto. The resistor circuit (130) may have an internal switch controlled by a controller (120), and a specific configuration thereof will be described later with reference to FIG. 2. In addition, the battery management system (100) may include a communication unit (140) used for communicating with external devices, and this may operate in conjunction with the controller (120).

[0042] In Fig. 1, for the convenience of explanation, a case where a signal is transmitted from a battery management system (100) to a slave board (200) is illustrated, and signal transmission in the opposite direction is omitted, but this is also considered to be included in the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the battery management system (100) may include a photodetector, and the slave board may include a light-emitting element that can be used to transmit an optical signal to the battery management system (100). That is, the battery management system (100) and each slave board may include both light-emitting and light-receiving elements, and in the drawing, only elements used for one-way communication are illustrated for the convenience of explanation. In addition, in such a case, the battery management system and each slave board may use a single element, for example, a photodiode, so that the single element performs the roles of both a light-emitting and a light-receiving element. Additionally, the communication management method of the present disclosure and the configuration therefor, which will be described below, can also be applied to the management of communication from a slave board to a battery management system (100). That is, each slave board also includes a configuration that performs functions similar to those of a controller (120) and a resistance circuit (130), and can be managed so that communication with the master board can be maintained by operating in a manner similar to that described below.

[0043] Refer to FIG. 2 to explain the interlocking relationship between the light-emitting element (110), the resistance circuit (130), and the controller (120).

[0044] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the interlocking relationship between a light-emitting element, a resistance circuit, and a controller according to one embodiment.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that a light-emitting element (110) and a resistance circuit (130) are connected in series, and an internal voltage (VDD) is applied to them. Here, the resistance circuit (130) includes a basic load resistor (131-0), and may include a plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) that can be connected in parallel therewith, and a plurality of switches (132-1 to 132-N) that can control whether or not these are connected in parallel. In addition, such a plurality of switches (132-1 to 132-N) can be controlled by a controller (120). Here, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0046] A communication management method based on the configurations of Figures 1 and 2 described above will be described with reference to Figure 3.

[0047] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication management method of a battery management system according to one embodiment.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 3, the controller (120) can detect a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from the light-emitting element (110) to at least some of the light-receiving elements included in the plurality of slave boards (S310). Next, the controller (120) can control at least some of the plurality of switches (132-1 to 132-N) of the resistance circuit (130) so that at least some of the plurality of resistors included in the resistance circuit (130) connected in series with the light-emitting element (110) are connected in parallel to reduce the resistance size of the resistance circuit (130), thereby increasing the current flowing into the light-emitting element (110) and thus increasing its light emission amount (S320). In addition, the controller (120) can provide a warning notification related to the intensity of light to the control unit of the user terminal or the vehicle when a threshold ratio or more of the switches among the plurality of switches (132-1 to 132-N) are closed. Hereinafter, each step and a configuration for performing the same will be described in more detail.

[0049] First, the controller (120) can detect a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from the light-emitting element (110) to at least some of the light-receiving elements included in the plurality of slave boards. Here, the decrease in the intensity of light can be detected through one of two methods.

[0050] According to one embodiment, a decrease in the intensity of light can be confirmed by detecting a decrease in the size of the current generated as light emitted from the light emitting element (110) is transmitted to at least some of the light-receiving elements. That is, optical communication at such a close distance detects the current generated according to the photoelectric effect that occurs according to the transmitted light and recognizes it as a digital signal. If the intensity of the transmitted light becomes weaker, the corresponding current will become smaller, and therefore, a decrease in the size of the current generated as the light is transmitted can be detected as a decrease in the intensity of light. For example, the size of the corresponding current can be regarded as the intensity of light. Therefore, the size of the current generated as light from the light emitting element is received by at least some of the light-receiving elements of the slave board is periodically measured, and when the size of the current becomes below a threshold, it can be determined that a decrease in the intensity of light has occurred.

[0051] In another embodiment, a decrease in light intensity can be detected by detecting a disconnection in the communication that was connected as light from the light-emitting element (110) is transmitted to at least some of the light-receiving elements. That is, the controller (120) can determine that the light intensity has decreased when the measured current is weak enough to cause a disconnection in the communication. An advantage of this method is that no additional load is generated on the battery management system (100) as a whole.

[0052] Next, when a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted to the light-receiving element of the slave board is detected, the controller (120) may, in response thereto, connect at least some of the plurality of resistors in parallel. That is, the controller (120) may close at least some of the switches (132-1 to 132-N) of FIG. 2 so that at least some of the resistors (131-1 to 131-N) corresponding to the closed switches are connected in parallel, thereby reducing the resistance of the resistor circuit (130). In this case, since the resistance of the resistor circuit (130) connected in series with the light-emitting element (110) is reduced, the current flowing into the light-emitting element (110) increases. When the current flowing into the light-emitting element (110) increases, the amount of light emitted by the light-emitting element (110) increases, and accordingly, the intensity of light transmitted to the light-receiving element may increase. This process may be performed whenever a decrease in the intensity of light is detected. Accordingly, a plurality of switches (132-1 to 132-N) are sequentially controlled to be closed, and a plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) corresponding to them can also be sequentially connected in parallel, and the resistance size can also be sequentially reduced.

[0053] In one embodiment, the controller (120) may close each switch (132-1 to 132-N) of the resistor circuit (130) one by one whenever a decrease in light intensity is detected. The advantage of this embodiment is that the switches are controlled according to a rather simple logic, so that the computational load on the battery management system (100) is reduced. In this case, as a more direct embodiment, the resistor circuit (130) may have a plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) of the same size, and each switch (132-1 to 132-N) may be closed one by one whenever a decrease in light intensity is detected. Alternatively, the sizes of the plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) may be made smaller the later they are connected, so that the current flowing into the light emitting element (110) increases by a greater margin. The configuration of the resistors described above is merely an example, and may be used in various ways according to the designer's intention.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the controller (120) can control at least some of the switches so that a current that causes the light intensity to become the initial value can flow into the light-emitting element (110). That is, the controller (120) can select and control at least some of the switches corresponding to a plurality of resistors that cause the light intensity to become the same as the initial value. In this case, there is an advantage in that light can be transmitted to the light-receiving element with a light intensity that more accurately corresponds to the initial value.

[0055] More specifically, the controller (120) may select at least some of the plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) based on the intensity of the light detected as reduced and the initial value. As described above, the intensity of the light transmitted to the light-receiving element may be measured as the magnitude of the current according to the photoelectric effect generated thereby. Therefore, the intensity of the light detected as reduced and the initial value mentioned in this way may correspond to the magnitude of the current in the light-receiving element. That is, the intensity of the light detected as reduced may correspond to the magnitude of the current generated in the light-receiving element at that point in time, and the initial value may correspond to the magnitude of the current generated in the light-receiving element by the light of the light-emitting element at an initial point in time when all environments are normal.

[0056] According to one embodiment, the controller (120) can calculate, based on the measured, decreased light intensity and the initial value, how much the light intensity has weakened compared to the initial value as a ratio, and, based on the ratio, calculate how much more current should flow through the light-emitting element, and calculate the corresponding resistance size that the resistance circuit (130) should have, i.e., the recovery value. For example, the recovery value may be calculated by multiplying the ratio between the aforementioned light intensity and the initial value by the initial load resistance (131-0). In this case, when the resistance circuit (130) has a resistance size corresponding to the recovery value, the current flowing through the light-emitting element increases by the reciprocal of the ratio between the aforementioned light intensity and the initial value, and thus the amount of light emitted increases, so that the intensity of light transmitted to the light-receiving element can be increased. Accordingly, the controller (120) may select at least some of the plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) included in the resistor circuit (130) so that the resistance size of the resistor circuit (130) can correspond to the recovery value when connected in parallel, and control at least some of the plurality of switches (132-1 to 132-N) corresponding thereto. In this case, the configuration of the plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) may be configured in various ways according to the designer's intention. For example, in order to achieve maximum efficiency by balancing communication quality and additional power consumption by allowing the resistance to be finely adjusted when connected in parallel, a plurality of resistors larger than the load resistor (131-0) may be included, and in order to immediately improve communication quality, a plurality of resistors smaller than the load resistor (131-0) may be included.

[0057] According to one embodiment, the controller (120) may record the light intensity at each measurement point in time series, calculate the rate of change of the light intensity based on the time series, and then select at least some of the plurality of resistors based on the rate of change. For example, the controller (120) may select the resistors so that the resistance size of the resistor circuit (130) becomes smaller as the rate of change increases. That is, the controller (120) controls the resistor circuit (130) so that the light intensity transmitted to the light-receiving element (210) corresponds to the initial value, but additionally makes the resistance size smaller as the rate of change increases, thereby more preemptively responding to potential deterioration of communication quality. In this case, the light intensity transmitted to the light-receiving element (210) may temporarily become larger than the initial value.

[0058] As described above, the controller (120) can control at least some of the switches (132-1 to 132-N) to increase the light emission amount of the light emitting element (110) through the control of the resistance circuit (130). Such control can be performed whenever a decrease in the light intensity is detected, and if a decrease in the light intensity is continuously detected, a large number of the switches (132-1 to 132-N) may be closed. At this time, if a threshold ratio or more of the switches (132-1 to 132-N) are closed, the controller (120) can provide a warning notification related to the light intensity to the user terminal through the communication unit (140). If the battery management system (100) and the battery pack operating in conjunction therewith are installed in a vehicle, the warning notification can be provided to the user terminal or the control unit of the vehicle.

[0059] In one embodiment, the alert notification may essentially include information indicating that a decrease in light intensity may cause communication problems. Refer to FIGS. 4A to 4C for an example of such an alert notification.

[0060] Figures 4a to 4c are examples of caution notifications delivered to a user terminal according to one embodiment.

[0061] First, referring to FIG. 4a, as a basic embodiment, it can be seen that the warning includes information that a diode inspection of the battery management system (BMS) is required.

[0062] Next, referring to FIG. 4b, as an additional embodiment, it can be confirmed that the warning notification includes power information, i.e., the phrase "#Wh additional power consumption." That is, the controller (120) can provide the warning notification including power information consumed by the resistor circuit (130) with the switch closed above a threshold ratio to the control unit of the user terminal or the vehicle. That is, as the resistors are sequentially connected in parallel to allow more current to flow into the light-emitting element (110), the resistor circuit consumes increasingly more power, which can cause the battery capacity to be depleted too quickly. To solve this problem, the cause that prevented light from being properly transmitted to the light-receiving element must be resolved so that light can be properly transmitted to the light-receiving element without an additional current flow, and then the switch of the parallel-connected resistor must be opened again to disconnect it. To induce a quick resolution of this cause, the controller (120) can transmit the warning notification to the user terminal by including power information together with the warning notification, as shown in FIG. 4b.

[0063] Also, referring to FIG. 4c, as an additional embodiment, it can be confirmed that the warning notification includes cause information. The cause information may include information on the cause of the decrease in the intensity of light transmitted to the light-receiving element (210). Examples of cause information include aging of the light-emitting element (diode), as shown in FIG. 4c, as well as condensation or dust. According to one embodiment, the controller (120) may determine that aging of the light-emitting element is the cause if it is determined that there is no problem such as condensation or dust. The process of confirming such cause information will be described below.

[0064] First, according to one embodiment, the controller (120) can identify the cause of the decrease in light intensity based on at least a portion of the turbidity information and condensation information within the battery pack, which are acquired based on one or more sensors included in the battery pack that operate in conjunction with the battery management system (100). If the turbidity or condensation amount is above a threshold, the controller (120) can identify the corresponding information as cause information.

[0065] Alternatively, according to one embodiment, the controller (120) may determine information on the cause of the decrease in light intensity based on at least some of (i) information on the decrease in the amount of current generated by receiving light from the light-emitting element (110) detected by at least some of the plurality of light-receiving elements included in the plurality of slave boards, (ii) information on the position of the particular light-receiving element, and (iii) information on the ratio of the number of the particular light-receiving elements to the number of light-receiving elements. Refer to FIG. 5 for a description of such an embodiment.

[0066] FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram showing a case where light from a light-emitting element is not transmitted due to an interference factor only to some slave boards in some directions according to one embodiment.

[0067] If the cause of the decrease in light intensity is the aging of the light-emitting element (110), the light intensity of the entire light-receiving element will be detected as having decreased. However, if the light intensity is decreased due to other environmental factors such as condensation or dust, as shown in FIG. 5, it can be expected that only the light-receiving elements (510 and 520) in a specific direction, that is, the direction in which the condensation or dust (500) is located, will be detected as having decreased light intensity, or in particular, the light intensity will be detected as having decreased to a greater extent. Therefore, based on at least some of the aforementioned decrease information, position information, and ratio information, it can be determined whether the decrease in light intensity occurred in the entire light-receiving element or only in the light-receiving element in a specific direction, and in the former case, the aging of the light-emitting element can be identified as the cause information, and in the latter case, an internal environmental problem can be identified.

[0068] Here, if the aging of the light-emitting element is the problem, the cause can be solved only by replacing the light-emitting element, but if the problem is an internal environmental factor such as condensation or dust, the problem may be solved by the operation of the battery management system (100). That is, if condensation was the problem, the problem may be solved by increasing the temperature, and if dust was the problem, the problem may be solved by ventilation. If the problem is solved by itself in this way, the controller (120) can determine whether the cause corresponding to the cause information has been solved based on at least a portion of the turbidity information and condensation information inside the battery pack acquired through the aforementioned sensor. That is, the value acquired through the sensor may be changed by the aforementioned autonomous operation and restored to a normal range, and in response, the controller (120) may control at least a portion of the switches (132-1 to 132-N) so as to release the connection of at least a portion of the plurality of resistors (131-1 to 131-N) connected in parallel. Through this, it will be possible to prevent unnecessary power consumption while maintaining a good communication connection.

[0069] The present embodiment may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be implemented by various hardware and / or software configurations that perform specific functions. For example, the embodiment may employ direct circuit configurations such as memory, processing, logic, look-up tables, etc., which may perform various functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the present embodiment may be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, etc., including various algorithms implemented as a combination of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming configurations. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms that execute on one or more processors. Furthermore, the present embodiment may employ conventional techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms such as "mechanism," "element," "means," and "composition" can be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physical structures. These terms can also encompass a series of software routines, such as those associated with a processor.

[0070] The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and other embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. In a battery management system that communicates with multiple slave boards as a master board, A light-emitting element that performs wireless communication with the plurality of slave boards including light-receiving elements; A resistance circuit including a plurality of resistors that are connected in series with the light-emitting element and can be connected in parallel with each other according to the opening and closing of the switch; and Includes a controller, The above controller, A battery management system, wherein, in response to detecting a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from the light-emitting element to at least some of the light-receiving elements, at least some of the switches are controlled so that the resistance size of the resistance circuit is reduced by connecting at least some of the plurality of resistors in parallel.

2. In paragraph 1, A battery management system in which the light-emitting element increases the amount of light emitted as the resistance size of the resistance circuit decreases and the current flowing therein increases.

3. In paragraph 2, A battery management system, wherein the controller controls at least some of the switches so that the current can flow to the light-emitting elements so that the light intensity transmitted to at least some of the light-receiving elements corresponds to an initial value, in response to detecting a decrease in the light intensity.

4. In paragraph 3, A battery management system, wherein the controller controls at least some of the switches so that at least some of the plurality of resistors selected based on the intensity of the light detected to have decreased and the initial value are connected in parallel.

5. In paragraph 4, A battery management system in which the controller calculates a recovery value based on the light intensity and the initial value, and then selects at least some of the plurality of resistors so that the resistance size of the resistor circuit corresponds to the recovery value when connected in parallel.

6. In paragraph 4, A battery management system wherein the controller selects at least some of the plurality of resistors based on a rate of change in the intensity of the light, wherein the controller selects at least some of the plurality of resistors such that the larger the rate of change, the smaller the resistance size.

7. In paragraph 1, A battery management system, wherein the decrease in the intensity of the light is detected by detecting a decrease below a threshold value in the magnitude of the current generated as light from the light-emitting element is transmitted to at least some of the light-receiving elements.

8. In paragraph 7, A battery management system wherein the reduction in the current size is detected by periodically measuring the current size generated by receiving light from the light-emitting element in at least some of the light-receiving elements.

9. In paragraph 1, A battery management system wherein the decrease in the intensity of the light is detected by confirming a disconnection of the communication that was connected as light from the light emitting element was transmitted to at least some of the light receiving elements.

10. In paragraph 1, A battery management system in which the controller determines information on the cause of the decrease in the light intensity based on at least some of (i) information on the decrease in the amount of current size that occurs upon receiving light from the light-emitting element, which is detected by at least some of the light-receiving elements, (ii) information on the position of the specific light-receiving element, and (iii) information on the ratio of the number of the specific light-receiving elements to the number of the light-receiving elements.

11. In paragraph 1, A battery management system, wherein the controller determines the cause information of the decrease in the light intensity based on at least some of the turbidity information and condensation information inside the battery pack, which are obtained based on one or more sensors included in the battery pack that operate in conjunction with the battery management system.

12. In paragraph 11, A battery management system, wherein the controller controls at least some of the switches so that the connection of at least some of the plurality of resistors connected in parallel is released when the cause corresponding to the cause information is confirmed to be resolved based on at least some of the turbidity information and condensation information inside the battery pack.

13. In paragraph 1, Further comprising a communication unit that communicates with the control unit of the user terminal or vehicle, A battery management system in which the controller provides a warning notification related to the intensity of the light to the control unit of the user terminal or the vehicle through the communication unit when a switch of the resistance circuit having a threshold ratio or higher is closed.

14. In paragraph 13, A battery management system in which the controller provides the warning notification including information on the cause of the decrease in the light intensity to the control unit of the user terminal or the vehicle.

15. In paragraph 13, A battery management system in which the controller provides the warning notification including information on power consumed in the resistance circuit when the switch is closed above the threshold ratio to the control unit of the user terminal or the vehicle.

16. In paragraph 1, A battery management system, wherein the controller sequentially controls at least some of the switches so that, whenever a decrease in the light intensity is detected, at least some of the plurality of resistors are sequentially connected in parallel, and thus the resistance size of the resistor circuit is sequentially reduced.

17. In a communication management method of a battery management system, A step of detecting a decrease in the intensity of light transmitted from a light-emitting element to at least some of the light-receiving elements included in a plurality of slave boards; A step of controlling at least some of the switches of the resistance circuit so that at least some of the plurality of resistors included in the resistance circuit connected in series with the light-emitting element are connected in parallel so that the resistance size of the resistance circuit is reduced, thereby controlling the current flowing into the light-emitting element to increase and the light emission amount thereof to increase; and A step of providing a warning notification related to the intensity of the light to the control unit of the user terminal or vehicle when a switch exceeding a critical ratio among the above switches is closed. A method of managing communication, comprising:

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