# US 11,999,264 B2 · Contactor management method and battery system providing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,999,264 B2 - Document ID: US11999264B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/768,889 - Filed: 2021-07-30 - Published: 2024-01-25 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-20 - Assignees: LG Energy Solution, Ltd. - Applicants: LG Energy Solution, Ltd. - Inventors: Sookwon Kim - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11999264B2 ## CPC - B60L 3/0023: {Detecting, eliminating, remedying or compensating for drive train abnormalities, e.g. failures within the drive train} - B60L 58/20: having different nominal voltages - B60L 3/04: Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions (protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H) - B60L 53/14: Conductive energy transfer - H02H 11/006: {in case of too high or too low voltage} - H02J 7/62: against overcurrent - H02J 7/667: {disconnection of loads if battery is not under charge, e.g. in vehicle if engine is not running} - B60L 2240/12: Speed - B60L 2240/48: related to transmissions - B60L 2270/20: Inrush current reduction, i.e. avoiding high currents when connecting the battery - H01H 47/325: {by switching regulator} - H01H 50/546: {for contactors having bridging contacts} - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - 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 - H02H: EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS (indicating or signalling undesired working conditions G01R, e.g. G01R31/00, G08B; locating faults along lines G01R31/08; emergency protective devices H01H) - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - H01H: ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES (contact cables H01B7/10; electrolytic self-interrupters H01G9/18; emergency protective circuit arrangements H02H; switching by electronic means without contact-making H03K17/00) - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract Disclosed is a contactor management method and a battery system providing the same, and the battery system includes: a main contactor connected between a battery pack and an external device; a pre-charge contactor connected to the main contactor; a voltage measurer measuring an operation voltage supplied to the main contactor; and a controller determining an open event of the main contactor based on a change of the operation voltage measured by the voltage measurer, wherein the controller, when the open event occurs, determines the level of the driving signal that controls the operation voltage to be applied to the main contactor in the driving mode in which the vehicle is running, and when the level of the driving signal is an enable level, closes the main contactor after closing the pre-charge contactor and opens the pre-charge contactor after a predetermined time is elapsed in the state that the main contactor is closed. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A battery system, comprising: a main contactor connected between a battery pack and an external device; a pre-charge contactor connected to the main contactor; a voltage measurer measuring an operation voltage supplied to the main contactor; and a controller determining an open event of the main contactor based on a change of the operation voltage measured by the voltage measurer, wherein the controller, in response to the open event occurring, determines a level of a driving signal that controls the operation voltage to be applied to the main contactor in driving mode in which a vehicle is running, and in response to the level of the driving signal being an enable level, closes the main contactor after closing the pre-charge contactor and opens the pre-charge contactor after a predetermined time is elapsed in a state that the main contactor is closed. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The battery system of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the main contactor to maintain an open state in response to the level of the driving signal being a disable level as a determined result. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The battery system of claim 1, wherein the controller determines that the open event has occurred if the operation voltage supplied to the main contactor is not supplied. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The battery system of claim 1, wherein the controller determines that the vehicle is in the driving mode if a speed of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined reference speed, or if a gear shift of the vehicle is a reverse gear, a neutral gear, or a drive gear. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The battery system of claim 1, further comprising a driver receiving the driving signal from the controller and supplying the operation voltage to the main contactor according to the driving signal. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The battery system of claim 5, wherein the controller is a battery management system (BMS) controlling opening or closing of the main contactor by transmitting the driving signal to the driver. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The battery system of claim 1, wherein the voltage measurer is an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) converting the operation voltage into a digital signal to be transmitted to the controller. ### Claim 8 A contactor management method for managing a main contactor by controlling the main contactor connected between a battery pack and an external device and a pre-charge contactor connected to the main contactor through a controller, comprising: generating an open event in which the main contactor is opened; determining whether a vehicle is in a driving mode in which the vehicle is running if the open event occurs; determining a level of a driving signal controlling an operation voltage to be applied to the main contactor in the case of the driving mode; and closing the main contactor after closing the pre-charge contactor and opening the pre-charge contactor after a predetermined time has elapsed in a state that the main contactor is closed if the level of the driving signal is an enable level as the determining result. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The contactor management method of claim 8, wherein in the determining of whether the vehicle is in the driving mode in which the vehicle is running, if a speed of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined reference speed, or if a shift gear of the vehicle is a reverse gear, a neutral gear, or a drive gear, the driving mode is determined. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The contactor management method of claim 8, wherein: in the generating of the open event in which the main contactor is opened, the generating of the open event is determined based on a change of the operation voltage measured in a voltage measurer for measuring the operation voltage supplied to the main contactor. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The contactor management method of claim 8, further comprising controlling the main contactor to maintain an open state if the level of the driving signal is a disable level as the determination result.