Denso Develops Battery Monitoring Unit for Lithium-ion Batteries
Denso Corporation has developed its first battery monitoring unit for lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles. The new unit employs a simplified and lower-cost voltage control method.
DENSO Corporation has developed its first battery monitoring unit designed for lithium-ion batteries in vehicles. This new unit, first implemented in the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid introduced in late 2009, utilizes a newly developed voltage control method.
The battery monitoring unit is crucial for the safe and efficient operation of high-voltage batteries. It measures parameters such as voltage, current, and temperature. While lithium-ion batteries offer higher energy density than nickel batteries, their multi-cell structure requires precise voltage regulation for each cell.
DENSO's new approach simplifies voltage control compared to conventional methods used in devices like laptops. Instead of complex analog-to-digital conversion and arithmetic circuits, the new method uses a simpler logic circuit. It compares the average voltage across all cells and identifies individual cells with higher-than-average voltage, prompting them to discharge to maintain balance.
DENSO has been developing battery monitoring technologies since 1997, coinciding with the launch of the first Prius. The company plans to leverage its accumulated expertise to continue developing products for efficient high-voltage battery utilization.