APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CALIBRATING A BATTERY EMULATOR

Abstract

An apparatus or method for calibrating a battery emulator is proposed. The battery emulator emulates a plurality of cells connected in series, wherein each emulated cell has taps over which at least one emulated quantity is tapped, wherein the apparatus comprises a switching apparatus via which a calibration standard is switchably connectable with different taps.

Claims

1. An apparatus for calibrating a battery emulator, which emulates a high-voltage battery with a plurality of cells connected in series, wherein each emulated cell has taps over which at least one emulated quantity is tapped, the apparatus comprising a switching apparatus via which a calibration standard is switchably connectable with different taps.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calibration standard is connectable in each case with the taps of an emulated cell and this connection to other emulated cells is switchable.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching apparatus has switching elements and the connection between the taps of an emulated cell and the calibration standard has one or more pairs of switching elements in series.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the switching elements are formed as electromechanical switching elements.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emulated quantity is a voltage and the calibration standard has a voltage meter which is connected to a pair of high-voltage bus rails of the switching apparatus and is set up to measure a voltage applied between the high-voltage bus rails.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the taps of an emulated cell are connectable via a pair of switching elements or a plurality of pairs of switching elements of the switching apparatus is connected to the high-voltage bus rails.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the switching apparatus comprises a plurality of pairs of low-voltage bus rails, each of which is connectable via a pair of high-voltage switching elements to the high-voltage bus rails.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of emulated cells connected in series is connectable via a pair of low-voltage switching elements to a pair of low-voltage bus rails.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the battery emulator emulates a plurality of cell groups connected in line and/or in series, each of which emulates a plurality of cells connected in series, wherein the emulated cells of an emulated cell group are adapted to be connected to the low-voltage bus rails via a pair of low-voltage switching elements.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a battery emulator and a calibration standard.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the switching apparatus, the battery emulator and the calibration standard are arranged in one housing.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a connection for an ECU, which is designed as a multi-pole plug device and over which at least one emulated quantity is provided.

13. A method for calibrating a battery emulator, the method comprising: emulating, via the battery emulator, a high-voltage battery with a plurality of cells connected in series, wherein each emulated cell has taps, over which at least one emulated quantity is tapped; and successively connecting a calibration standard to different taps via a switching apparatus.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the calibration standard is successively connected via the switching apparatus by switching operations to one of the emulated cells.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein at the taps of the emulated cells a voltage is tapped as an emulated quantity and the calibration comprises a voltage measurement at the taps connected to the calibration standard.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0033] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the apparatus in conjunction with the calibration standard and the ECU, which is tested;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a first example of the switching apparatus between the battery emulator and the calibration standard;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a second example of the switching apparatus between the battery emulator and the calibration standard;

[0036] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of the method for calibrating the battery emulator; and

[0037] FIG. 5 is a connection panel of a battery emulator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In an overview, FIG. 1 shows the battery emulator 12, which is connected via the switching apparatus 10 to the calibration standard 14. Via the switching apparatus 10, the ECU 18 can also be connected as part of a so-called battery management systems BMS, for example, for controlling the battery. It is alternatively possible that the ECU 18 can also be connected directly to the cells or to other connections of the switching apparatus 10.

[0039] The battery emulator 12 provides as emulation various output voltage curves and/or output current curves, which a real battery can output. Thus, the functionality of the ECU 18 is tested and, if necessary, parameters of the software functions executed on it can be set.

[0040] FIG. 2 shows the apparatus according to the application in a first embodiment. In this case, the battery emulator 12 is connected via the switching apparatus 10 to the calibration standard 14. Respective taps 16 of the respective emulated cells V11 . . . Vkn, which are available in pairs for measuring the DC voltage, are connected to respective switching elements or switches, e.g., S11+ and S11−. These switches S11+, S11− to Skn+, Skn− are designed as high-voltage switching elements. In particular, they are also designed as electromechanical switching elements. The connection between the respective taps 16 and the respective switching elements S11+, S11− to Skn+, Skn− can be formed permanently as required, for example by a material-locking connection, or detachably, for example by plugged cables.

[0041] The emulated cells V11-Vkn can be combined into emulated cell groups M1-Mn. Thus, it is possible to emulate such groups M1-Mn separately and to confront the ECU 18 with, for example, different behavior of such groups M1-Mn.

[0042] The switching elements S11-Skn are connected in the switching apparatus 10 to high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH−, wherein attention must be paid to the correct polarity. The voltages at the individual switching elements S11 to Skn add up on the high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH−, so that several hundred volts can then be applied to these high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH−. The high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH− can represent a high-voltage network in an electrically powered vehicle, to which inverters and rectifiers can then be connected for different purposes. However, the ECU 18 is also connected to these high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH− to control the electrical power supply of the connected components.

[0043] The calibration standard 14 is connected to the high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH−, which in the present case has a voltage meter VDC.

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the switching apparatus 10, which is arranged between the battery emulator 12 and the calibration standard 14. Again, switching elements S11-Skn are connected to the respective taps of the cells V11 to Vkn. Now these switches S11-Skn connect each group M1-Mn with a respective pair of low-voltage bus rails RL1-RLn. One rail, for example, RL1+ is provided for the positive potential and the other rail RL1− of the respective pair for the negative potential of the output voltage of the respective cell group M1-Mn. On the other side, a pair of switching elements S1+, S1− to Sn+, Sn− is provided on each of these low-voltage bus rails, which connect the low-voltage bus rails RL1-RLn with the high-voltage bus rails RH+ and RH−. These switching elements S1-Sn can also be designed as electromechanical switches.

[0045] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the method for calibrating a battery emulator according to the application. In this case, in method step 400, the battery emulator 12 is started in order to output output voltages and currents of a real battery according to plan. In method step 401, the battery emulator 12 is connected via the switching apparatus 10 to the calibration standard 14. For this purpose, the switching elements in the switching apparatus 10 are controlled accordingly. With the calibration standard 14, the individual cells with nominal values are then compared by comparison. If necessary, an intervention is carried out to adjust the emulated cells accordingly. These steps are then performed by a computer. In method step 402, the testing of the ECU 18 can then be carried out. This computer may be part of the apparatus 100, for example as an element of the battery emulator 12 or the switching apparatus 10. In particular, the computer may be configured to perform a calibration of the battery emulator 12 automatically, for example, controlled by commands of an algorithm stored on the computer. Typically, it can also be one or, if necessary, several computers communicating with each other in the BMS HIL system, which equally take over the control of the battery emulator 12, the switching apparatus 10 and the calibration standard 14.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a connection panel AF of a battery emulator 12. In this case, two emulated cells may be provided per slide-in 500, to each of which a pair of taps 16 is connected. Via the taps 16, the switching apparatus 10 can be connected, and to the switching apparatus 10 a calibration standard 14. A central connection 503 for the connection of the ECU 18 is also provided. The emulated size of the cells is provided over both the taps 16 as well as the connection 503. In addition to the slide-in 500, identically designed slide-ins usually follow, which also emulate two cells each.

[0047] In a further embodiment, the switching apparatus 10 and the calibration standard 14 are integrated into the housing of the battery emulator 12. This means that the battery emulator 12, the switching apparatus 10 and the calibration standard 14 are arranged in the same housing. The taps 16 are arranged inside the housing and do not have to be additionally routed to the outside for the purpose of calibration. The calibration and adjustment of the battery emulator 12 can then be performed inside the housing without having to connect to the calibration standard 14 outside the housing. In the connection panel AF of FIG. 5, the taps 16 can then be omitted.

[0048] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.