A damage predicting device of a power semiconductor switching element includes a resistor connected to a gate of the power semiconductor switching element, and control circuitry. The control circuitry compares a detection voltage matching a voltage generated between two ends of the resistor and a reference voltage, and predicts that predetermined damage has been accumulated in a gate insulating layer in the power semiconductor switching element when the detection voltage exceeds the reference voltage.

What is proposed is a method for accurately determining an electric current (I.sub.in, I.sub.in,0) with reduced technical outlay, comprising: connecting a circuit branch (2, 12) in parallel with an inaccurate but current-loadable shunt resistor (R.sub.sh), wherein a reference resistor (R.sub.ref) that is more accurate in comparison with the shunt resistor (R.sub.sh) but less current-loadable is connected into the circuit branch (2, 12), such that the circuit branch (2, 12) branches off in each case at a node point (K) upstream and downstream of the shunt resistor, generating a temporally changeable reference current (I.sub.ref, I′.sub.ref, I″.sub.ref) through the circuit branch (2, 12), measuring the voltages (V′.sub.sh, V″.sub.sh, V′.sub.ref, V″.sub.ref) across the shunt resistor (R.sub.sh) and across the reference resistor (R.sub.ref), determining the current strength (I.sub.in, I.sub.in,0) upstream and downstream of the node point (K).

The current sensor includes a battery terminal part that has electrical conductivity and is fastened to a battery post constituting a negative electrode of a battery, and a shunt resistor that is conductively connected to the battery terminal part via a joint part, the shunt resistor including a first detection terminal and a second detection terminal for detecting an electric current. The battery terminal part includes a third detection terminal for detecting a voltage of the battery between the joint part and the battery post. As a result, the current sensor can properly detect a voltage of the battery together with an electric current.

A measurement arrangement, including a current line, a first measurement location provided on the current line, a second measurement location provided on the current line, and a coolant, wherein the second measurement location is provided at a distance from the first measurement location in order to make it possible to measure a voltage in a measurement section of the current line arising due to a current flowing through the current line, wherein the measurement section is defined between the first measurement location and the second measurement location, and wherein the coolant is of fluid form and at least in areas is in direct contact with the current line in an area between the first measurement location and the second measurement location.

A battery management system may include: a charge control switch disposed in a high current path between a plurality of pack terminals and a battery module; and a controller configured to detect a cell voltage of each of a plurality of cells included in the battery module and a charging current flowing through a high current path, to determine an overvoltage state of the battery module based on presence or absence of the charging current and the cell voltage of each of the cells, and to turn off the charge control switch when the battery module is determined to be in an overvoltage state.

A short circuit detection circuit includes a current terminal, a sense resistor, an amplifier, and a resistor-capacitor ladder. The sense resistor is coupled to the current terminal, and is configured to develop a sense voltage proportional to a current through the current terminal. The amplifier is coupled to the sense resistor, and is configured to generate a scaled current proportional to the sense voltage. The resistor-capacitor ladder is coupled to the amplifier, and is configured to generate a measurement voltage that represents a surface temperature rise due to the current through the current terminal.

A sensor module includes a first contact, a second contact, and a sensing element made from an iono-conductive material having a conductivity that varies at least in response to variations in an environmental factor. The sensing element is electrically coupled to the first contact and to the second contact, and a first resistance of the sensing element, measured between the first contact and the second contact, varies in response to the variations in the environmental factor.

The present disclosure discloses a current detecting circuit of a power converter, which includes a transformer including: a magnetic core, a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding and the secondary winding being coupled through the magnetic core, and a combination of the primary winding, the secondary winding and the magnetic core being used to transmit a main power of the power converter, the current detecting circuit includes: an auxiliary winding coupled to the secondary winding, the auxiliary winding and the secondary winding having the same number of turns and their dotted terminals being connected; and an impeder, one end thereof being coupled to the auxiliary winding to form a series branch, which is coupled in parallel to the secondary winding, and a terminal voltage of the impeder after being filtered being proportional to a magnitude of an output current of the power converter.

A current sensor includes an element that is in a high-resistance state when an absolute value of a current flowing between a first terminal and a second terminal is within a first range, and changes to a low-resistance state in which a resistance value is lower than that in the high-resistance state when the absolute value of the current exceeds the first range, and a circuit that supplies a current to be measured to the element, and senses a value of the current to be measured based on at least one of voltages of the first terminal and the second terminal.

An apparatus and method for diagnosing whether a charging and discharging switching element provided on a charging and discharging path of a battery pack operates normally. A charging and discharging switching unit having a charging and discharging switch and a fuse is installed on a charging and discharging path between a battery cell and a pack terminal. The apparatus includes a first diagnosing path a second diagnosing path, a third diagnosing path, an integrated diagnosing path having a diagnosis switching unit and a diagnosis resistor, a voltage measuring unit, and a control unit configured to turn on and off the diagnosis switching unit and determine whether the charging and discharging switching unit is operating abnormally based on the diagnosis voltage measured by the voltage measuring unit.