Battery Self-Diagnosis Circuit Using Intermediary Voltage Comparison
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional self-diagnosis technologies for battery systems face challenges in precision due to the need for high-precision reference voltages, which can lead to inadequate self-diagnosis of differential amplifiers and other circuits.
Innovation Solution
An assembled-battery system and semiconductor circuit that includes a selection unit, a measuring unit with a conversion unit, and a reference voltage divider, allowing for self-diagnosis by comparing the differences between reference voltages and their divided values to ensure proper functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If conventional self-diagnosis technology is applied to differential amplifier circuits, then self-diagnosis functionality is added to the system, but the precision of self-diagnosis deteriorates because high-precision reference voltages are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary calculation method that uses multiple reference voltages (first reference voltage Vref1, second reference voltage Vref2, and third reference voltage Vref3) to diagnose the differential amplifier. Instead of directly measuring against a single high-precision reference, the system calculates the differential amplifier's characteristics by comparing intermediate voltage differences, thereby avoiding the need for extremely high-precision single reference voltages while maintaining diagnosis accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the diagnostic approach by using multiple reference voltage parameters (Vref1, Vref2, Vref3) with different precision requirements. The system measures voltage differences in multiple stages and combines these measurements through arithmetic operations to derive the differential amplifier's performance, transforming a single high-precision measurement problem into multiple lower-precision measurements that can be processed together
2Measurement precision
If high-precision reference voltages are used for self-diagnosis, then self-diagnosis precision is improved, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the precision requirements of reference voltage parameters by using multiple reference voltages with different precision levels. The first reference voltage Vref1 can have lower precision than traditionally required, while the second and third reference voltages Vref2 and Vref3 serve as comparison benchmarks. This parameter transformation allows the system to achieve accurate self-diagnosis without requiring all reference voltages to be extremely high-precision, thereby reducing overall system complexity and cost
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate self-diagnosis of the measuring unit, improving the precision of input/output conversion and detecting abnormalities in the system.
Implementation Method 1
a second reference voltage dividing unit that divides the first reference voltage to generate a second reference voltage
Implementation Method 2
a converting unit that converts an analog signal into a digital signal, and that, in cases in which electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines selected by the selection unit have been input, converts the difference between the electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines
Implementation Method 3
converts the difference between the electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines in order to monitor the battery voltages of the plural batteries into a digital signal
Data Source
AI summary
An assembled-battery system, a semiconductor circuit, and a diagnostic method enables appropriate self-diagnosis of a measuring unit. An output value (A-B) output from an analog-to-digital converter through power-supply lines, a cell-selection switch, and a level shifter is summed with an output value (B-VSS) obtained by a directly input reference voltage B being output from the analog-to-digital converter. When the summed value is considered equal the reference voltage A—the voltage VSS, it is diagnosed that an abnormality such as a breakdown has not occurred.