IP Library Granted Patent US 12689367
Granted Patent B2
US 12689367 · App. 18/011,301 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Relay driving circuit and battery system having the same

Inventors: Gyuyeol Lee (Daejeon, KR); Hyun Han (Daejeon, KR)
Assignee: LG ENERGY SOLUTION, LTD.
H03K17/687H02J7/855H02J7/90
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12689367
App. No.
18/011,301
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention relates to a relay driving circuit and a battery system for generating a gate voltage for controlling ON/OFF of a pre-charge relay, and provides a relay driving circuit that controls electrical connection between an external device and a battery pack, including: a transistor that receives a control signal of an enable level to perform an ON operation; a first resistor having a first end connected to a positive electrode of the battery pack and a second end connected to the relay, by the ON operation of the transistor; and a second resistor connected between the second end of the first resistor and the external device, the relay receives power supplied from the battery pack in a ratio of a resistance value of the second resistor to a sum resistance value of the first resistor and the second resistor to perform an ON operation.

Claims (33)

1 . A relay driving circuit that controls a relay to control an electrical connection between an external device and a battery pack, comprising:

at least one transistor configured to receive a control signal of an enable level to perform an ON operation;

a first resistor having a first end connected to a positive electrode of the battery pack and a second end connected to the relay, by the ON operation of the at least one transistor; and

a second resistor connected between the second end of the first resistor and the external device,

wherein the relay receives a gate voltage supplied from the battery pack by multiplying a voltage corresponding to power supplied from the battery pack and a ratio of a resistance value of the second resistor to a sum of resistance values of the first resistor and the second resistor to perform the ON operation, and

wherein the at least one transistor includes:

a first transistor including a base configured to receive the control signal from a battery management system (BMS) and an emitter terminal connected to ground; and

a second transistor including a base connected to the first transistor, an emitter terminal connected to the first resistor and a collector terminal connected to the battery pack.

2 . The relay driving circuit of claim 1 , further comprising

a Zener diode connected in parallel to the second resistor to maintain a level of a voltage between first and second ends of the second resistor.

3 . The relay driving circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first transistor is configured to receive the control signal of the enable level to perform on the ON operation, and

wherein the second transistor is configured to receive a voltage of a ground level when the first transistor is turned on to perform on the ON operation to electrically connect the positive electrode of the battery pack and the first resistor.

4 . A battery system, comprising:

a main relay configured to control an electrical connection between an external device and a battery pack;

a pre-charge relay connected in parallel to the main relay and configured to be turned on before the main relay is turned on, and turned off after a predetermined time elapses after the main relay is turned on;

a battery management system (BMS) that generates a control signal to control switching of the main relay and switching of the pre-charge relay; and

a relay driving circuit including a first relay driving circuit controlling ON/OFF of the pre-charge relay, by including at least one transistor that receives a first control signal of an enable level from the BMS to perform an ON operation, a first resistor having a first end connected to a positive electrode of the battery pack and a second end connected to the pre-charge relay by the ON operation of the at least one transistor, and a second resistor connected between the second end of the first resistor and the external device,

wherein the pre-charge relay receives a gate voltage supplied from the battery pack by multiplying a voltage corresponding to power supplied from the battery pack to a ratio of a resistance value of the second resistor to a sum of resistance values of the first resistor and the second resistor to perform the ON operation, and

wherein the at least one transistor includes:

a first transistor including a base configured to receive the control signal from the BMS and an emitter terminal connected to ground; and

a second transistor including a base connected to the first transistor, an emitter terminal connected to the first resistor and a collector terminal connected to the battery pack.

5 . The battery system of claim 4 , wherein the first relay driving circuit further includes a Zener diode connected to the second resistor in parallel to maintain a level of a voltage between respective ends of the second resistor.

6 . The battery system of claim 4 , wherein the first transistor is configured to receive the first control signal of the enable level to perform the ON operation, and

wherein the second transistor is configured to receive a voltage of a ground level when the first transistor is turned on to perform the ON operation to electrically connect the positive electrode of the battery pack and the first resistor.

7 . The battery system of claim 4 , wherein the pre-charge relay includes a MOSFET that receives power supplied from the battery pack through a gate terminal thereof to perform the ON operation.

8 . The battery system of claim 4 , further comprising a second relay driving circuit,

wherein the first relay driving circuit and the second relay driving circuit each receive a control signal from the BMS.

9 . The battery system of claim 8 , wherein the second relay driving circuit includes fewer transistors than the first relay driving circuit.

10 . The battery system of claim 4 , further comprising:

a first protection block located between the battery pack and the pre-charge relay; and

a second protection block located between the battery pack and the main relay.

11 . The battery system of claim 10 , wherein the pre-charge relay is connected in series to a third resistor, and

wherein the third resistor is located between the first protection block and the pre-charge relay.