# US 11,444,337 B2 · Solid state switch driver circuit for a battery system

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- Number: US 11,444,337 B2
- Document ID: US11444337B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/815,752
- Filed: 2020-03-11
- Published: 2020-09-17
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2019-03-12
- Assignees: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Peter Kurcik; Maximilian Hofer
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11444337B2

## CPC

- H01M 10/4257: {Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries}
- H03K 17/063: {in field-effect transistor switches}
- B60L 3/04: Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions (protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H)
- H03K 17/08142: {in field-effect transistor switches}
- H01M 2010/4271: {Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing}
- H03K 2017/066: {Maximizing the OFF-resistance instead of minimizing the ON-resistance}
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES

## Abstract

In a solid state switch (SSS) driver circuit for controlling a solid state switch operated as high side switch between a battery cell stack and a load, the SSS driver circuit includes: a voltage generation circuit; a switch off circuit; and a switch controller connected to a first output node and to a second output node, wherein the switch controller is configured to: receive a ground voltage via a third ground node, and a fourth control signal; and connect the first output node and a gate node of the solid state switch according to the fourth control signal.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A solid state switch (SSS) driver circuit for controlling a solid state switch operated as high side switch between a battery cell stack and a load, the SSS driver circuit comprising:
a voltage generation circuit configured to receive:
a supply voltage via a first input node;
an output voltage of the battery cell stack via a second input node;
a ground voltage via a first ground node; and
a first control signal, wherein the voltage generation circuit is configured to:
generate a drive voltage higher than the supply voltage and the output voltage of the battery cell stack according to the first control signal; and
output the drive voltage to a first output node;
a switch off circuit configured to receive:
the output voltage of the battery cell stack via a third input node;
a ground voltage via a second ground node;
a second control signal; and
a third control signal, wherein the switch off circuit is further configured to output the output voltage of the battery cell stack to a second output node according to the second and third control signals; and
a switch controller connected to the first output node and to the second output node, wherein the switch controller is configured to:
receive a ground voltage via a third ground node, and a fourth control signal; and
connect the first output node and a gate node of the solid state switch according to the fourth control signal.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the voltage generation circuit comprises a first capacitor with a first capacitor node connected to the first input node via a first diode and with a second capacitor node connected to either the first ground node or to the second input node according to the first control signal.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 2, wherein the voltage generation circuit comprises a first switch configured to connect the second capacitor node to the first ground node in response to the first control signal having a first value and a second switch configured to connect the second capacitor node to the second input node in response to the first control signal having a second value.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 2, wherein the voltage generation circuit comprises a Zener diode interconnected between a first output node and a second input node and/or comprises a second capacitor interconnected between the first output node and the second input node.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the switch controller comprises a third switch configured to connect the first output node to the gate node in response to the fourth control signal having a first value, and to disconnect the first output node from the gate node in response to the fourth control signal having a second value, wherein the second output node is directly connected to the gate node.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 5, wherein the third switch is a third MOSFET with a source node connected to the first output node and a drain node connected to the second output node and wherein the switch controller further comprises a fourth switch that is configured to connect a gate node of the third MOSFET to the third ground node in response to the fourth control signal having a first value and to disconnect the gate node of the third MOSFET from the third ground node in response to the fourth control signal having a second value.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the switch off circuit comprises a fifth switch configured to:
connect the third input node to the second output node in response to the second control signal having a first value; and
disconnect the third input node from the second output node in response to the second control signal having a second value, and wherein the switch off circuit comprises a seventh switch configured to:
connect the third input node to the second output node in response to the third control signal having a first value; and
disconnect the third input node from the second output node in response to the third control signal having a second value.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 7, wherein the fifth switch is a fifth MOSFET with a source node connected to the second output node and a drain node connected to the third input node and wherein the switch off circuit further comprises a sixth switch configured to:
connect a gate node of the fifth MOSFET to the second ground node in response to the second control signal having a first value; and
disconnect the gate node of the fifth MOSFET from the second ground node in response to the second control signal having a second value.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 7, wherein the seventh switch is a seventh MOSFET with a source node connected to the second output node and a drain node connected to the third input node and wherein the switch off circuit further comprises an eighth switch configured to:
connect a gate node of the seventh MOSFET to the second ground node in response to the third control signal having a first value; and
disconnect the gate node of the seventh MOSFET from the second ground node in response to the third control signal having a second value.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 1, further comprising a first diagnostic circuit configured to:
output a first diagnostic signal indicating a potential at the second input node; and
output a second diagnostic signal indicating a potential at the first output node.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The SSS driver circuit of claim 1, further comprising a second diagnostic circuit configured to output a third diagnostic signal indicating a potential at the second output node.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

A battery system, comprising
a battery cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells, wherein the battery cell stack is configured to supply an output voltage to a stack node;
a solid state switch interconnected between the stack node and a supply node, the solid state switch comprising at least one set of anti-serially interconnected FETs, each set comprising at least one first FET and at least one second FET, wherein gate contacts of the at least one first FET and the at least one second FET are electrically interconnected, and source contacts of the at least one first FET and the at least one second FET are electrically interconnected, at least one first drain contact of the at least one first FET is electrically connected to the stack node, and at least one second drain contact of the at least one second FET is electrically connected to the supply node; and
the SSS driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein interconnected gate contacts of the at least one first FET and the at least one second FET are connected to the gate node.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The battery system of claim 12, wherein the supply voltage is supplied by the battery cell stack by a system basis chip of the battery system that is power supplied by the battery cell stack.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The battery system of claim 12, further comprising a microcontroller configured to receive at least one signal indicative of an operation state of the battery system and further configured to output the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal according to the operation state of the battery system.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The battery system of claim 14, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to receive a first diagnostic signal, a second diagnostic signal, and a third diagnostic signal.