IP Library Granted Patent US 10,247,785
Granted Patent B2
US 10,247,785 · App. 14/897,154 · Granted Apr 2, 2019

Assembled-battery system, semiconductor circuit, and diagnostic method

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,247,785
App. No.
14/897,154
Granted
Apr 2, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

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.

Claims (18)

1. An assembled-battery system comprising:

a plurality of batteries connected together in series;

a plurality of power-supply lines respectively connected to the plurality of batteries;

a selection unit that selects two power-supply lines from the plurality of power-supply lines;

a measuring unit comprising a conversion unit that in cases in which electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines selected by the selection unit have been input, provides a difference between the electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines as an analog signal to monitor battery voltages of the plurality of batteries, converts the analog signal into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal;

a control unit that performs predetermined operations on the digital signal output from the measuring unit, and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to a result of the predetermined operations; and

a reference voltage divider that supplies a second reference voltage, obtained by voltage dividing a first reference voltage, to the power-supply lines,

wherein self-diagnosis of the measuring unit is performed based on whether or not a summed value, summed by the control unit, of a difference between the first reference voltage and the second reference voltage output from the measuring unit, and a difference between the second reference voltage and a third reference voltage that is smaller than the second reference voltage, is a value corresponding to the first reference voltage irrespective of the second reference voltage.

2. A semiconductor circuit comprising:

a plurality of power-supply lines respectively connected to a plurality of serially connected batteries;

a selection unit that selects two power-supply lines from the plurality of power-supply lines;

a measuring unit comprising a conversion unit that in cases in which electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines selected by the selection unit have been input, provides a difference between the electrical signals flowing through the two power-supply lines as an analog signal to monitor battery voltages of the plurality of batteries, converts the analog signal into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal; and

a reference voltage divider that supplies a second reference voltage, obtained by voltage dividing a first reference voltage, to the power-supply lines,

wherein self-diagnosis of the measuring unit is performed based on whether or not a summed value of a difference between the first reference voltage and the second reference voltage output from the measuring unit, and a difference between the second reference voltage and a third reference voltage that is smaller than the second reference voltage, is a value corresponding to the first reference voltage irrespective of the second reference voltage.

3. The assembled-battery system of claim 1 , wherein both of the differences are measured based on the first and second reference voltages generated based on an identical reference power source.

4. The assembled-battery system of claim 3 , further comprising the reference power source that generates and supplies the first reference voltage.

5. The semiconductor circuit of claim 2 , wherein both of the differences are measured based on the first and second reference voltages generated based on an identical reference power source.

6. The semiconductor circuit of claim 5 , further comprising the reference power source that generates and supplies the first reference voltage.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Jun 5, 2023
From: YAZAKI CORPORATION
To: YAZAKI CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063845/0802 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 9, 2015
From: SUGIMURA, NAOAKI; IZAWA, TAKAAKI
To: LAPIS SEMICONDUCTOR CO., LTD.; YAZAKI CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 037254/0024 →