# US 10,871,523 B2 · Battery monitoring apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,871,523 B2 - Document ID: US10871523B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/297,210 - Filed: 2019-03-08 - Published: 2019-09-12 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2018-03-12 - Assignees: Denso Corporation - Applicants: Denso Corporation - Inventors: Takashi Inamoto - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10871523B2 ## CPC - G01R 31/396: Acquisition or processing of data for testing or for monitoring individual cells or groups of cells within a battery - G01R 31/364: Battery terminal connectors with integrated measuring arrangements - G01R 31/3828: using current integration - G01R 31/3835: involving only voltage measurements - H02J 7/56: Active balancing, e.g. using capacitor-based, inductor-based or DC-DC converters - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY ## Abstract A battery monitoring apparatus includes a first voltage detector provided to a first short circuit connected to a target cell, a second voltage detector connected to the target cell and provided to a second short circuit, a switch forming a closed circuit connected to an assembled battery and including a resistor, a third voltage detector detecting an inter-terminal voltage between positive and negative electrode terminals of the assembled battery, a switch abnormality determination section determining, in a state where the switch is driven in a closing direction, presence or absence of abnormal opening of the switch based on a difference between detection voltages obtained by the first and second voltage detectors, and a disconnection determination section determining, in the state where the switch is driven in the closing direction, presence or absence of disconnection at the assembled battery based on a detection voltage obtained by the third voltage detector. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A battery monitoring apparatus for monitoring an assembled battery configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series, the apparatus comprising: a first voltage detector provided to a first short circuit connected to positive and negative electrodes of a target cell, the target cell being at least any of a top cell of the plurality of battery cells and being connected to the battery monitoring apparatus and a bottom cell of the plurality of battery cells and being connected to the battery monitoring apparatus; a second voltage detector connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the target cell and provided to a second short circuit differing from the first short circuit in an electric path resistance value due to a resistor provided on an electric path; a switch forming a closed circuit connected to positive and negative electrode terminals of the assembled battery and including the resistor; a third voltage detector configured to detect, in the closed circuit, an inter-terminal voltage between the positive and negative electrode terminals of the assembled battery; a switch abnormality determination section configured to determine, in a state in which the switch is driven in a closing direction, presence or absence of abnormal opening of the switch based on a difference between a detection voltage obtained by the first voltage detector and a detection voltage obtained by the second voltage detector; and a disconnection determination section configured to determine, in the state in which the switch is driven in the closing direction, presence or absence of disconnection at the assembled battery based on a detection voltage obtained by the third voltage detector. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The battery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the disconnection determination section determines the presence or absence of disconnection at the assembled battery on condition that the switch abnormality determination section determines that no abnormal opening of the switch has occurred. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The battery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein balancing circuits configured to balance voltages of the respective battery cells are connected between positive and negative electrodes of the respective battery cells, and the first short circuit is the balancing circuit provided between the positive and negative electrodes of the target cell. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The battery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a leakage current determination section configured to determine whether leakage current is flowing between the positive and negative electrodes of the target cell in the first short circuit or not, wherein the disconnection determination section determines the presence or absence of disconnection at the assembled battery on condition that the leakage current determination section determines that no leakage current is flowing. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The battery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the top cell, which is included in the plurality of battery cells and is connected to the battery monitoring apparatus, is a high-potential cell as the target cell, and the bottom cell, which is included in the plurality of battery cells and is connected to the battery monitoring apparatus, is a low-potential cell as the target cell, and the switch abnormality determination section acquires, as a first voltage difference, a difference between the detection voltage obtained by the first voltage detector and the detection voltage obtained by the second voltage detector at the high-potential cell in the state in which the switch is driven in the closing direction, acquires, as a second voltage difference, a difference between the detection voltage obtained by the first voltage detector and the detection voltage obtained by the second voltage detector at the low-potential cell in the state in which the switch is driven in the closing direction, and determines, based on the first and second voltage differences, whether abnormal opening of the switch has occurred or not.