Battery pack safety monitor

Abstract

A battery pack monitor includes a portable housing, a controller within the housing, and a memory communicatively connected to the controller. The battery pack monitor further includes a power source positioned within the housing and operatively connected to the controller. The battery pack monitor includes a battery pack connector comprising a wired battery interface electrically connectable between the controller and a battery pack management system of a high voltage battery pack. The controller includes executable instructions which, when executed, cause the controller to receive, via the wired battery interface, status information from the high voltage battery pack, store the status information in the memory, and based on the status information, generate one or more battery status alerts. In examples, the battery pack monitor includes a wireless interface for communication with a remote system for logging status information, and may have a diagnostics connector to allow connection of additional diagnostic equipment.

1 . A battery pack monitor comprising:
 a portable housing;   a controller within the housing;   a memory communicatively connected to the controller;   a power source positioned within the housing and operatively connected to the controller; and   a battery pack connector comprising a wired battery interface electrically connectable between the controller and a battery pack management system of a high voltage battery pack;   wherein the controller executes instructions to:
 receive, via the wired battery interface, state information from the high voltage battery pack; 
 store the state information in the memory; and 
 based on the state information, generate one or more battery alerts. 
   
     
     
         2 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 1 , wherein the battery pack connector electrically connects the power source to the battery pack management system, the battery pack connector including a plurality of signal lines, the plurality of signal lines including a power signal line and a communication signal line. 
     
     
         3 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 2 , further comprising a diagnostic connector operably connectable to a battery diagnostic tool, the diagnostic connector being connected to the communication signal line of the battery pack connector. 
     
     
         4 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface including a status indicator and one or more programming buttons. 
     
     
         5 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 4 , wherein the status indicator identifies a charging state of the high voltage battery pack to which the battery pack monitor is connected. 
     
     
         6 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 5 , wherein the status indicator further includes an alarm indicator operable in response to the controller generating the one or more battery alerts. 
     
     
         7 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 5 , wherein the status indicator includes an alarm output including at least one of an audible siren or a flashlight, and wherein the alarm output is configured to be activated in response to a predetermined type of alert of the one or more battery alerts. 
     
     
         8 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 1 , wherein the power source comprises a rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         9 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 8 , further comprising a charging input connector electrically connected to the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         10 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 1 , further comprising a wireless communication interface communicatively connected to the controller. 
     
     
         11 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 10 , wherein the wireless communication interface includes a wireless LAN and/or cellular data communication interface. 
     
     
         12 . The battery pack monitor of  claim 11 , wherein the communication interface includes an alarm output, the alarm output configured to communicate an alarm to emergency response personnel, the alarm output being activated in response to a predetermined type of alert of the one or more battery alerts. 
     
     
         13 . A battery pack monitoring system comprising:
 a battery pack dongle configurable for wired connection to a battery management system interface of a high-voltage battery pack, the battery pack dongle comprising:
 a portable housing; 
 a wired battery pack connector; 
 a controller; 
 a memory operatively connected to the controller and storing a high voltage battery pack status log; 
 a rechargeable battery maintained within the housing and electrically connected to the controller, the rechargeable battery being electrically connectable to the battery management system interface via the wired battery pack connector; and 
 a user interface; 
 wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive, via the wired battery interface, state information from the high voltage battery pack; 
 store the state information in the memory; 
 based on the state information, generate one or more battery status alerts at the user interface; and 
 communicate the state information to a remote system. 
 
   
     
     
         14 . The battery pack monitoring system of  claim 13 , wherein the battery pack dongle further comprises a diagnostics connector electrically connectable to a diagnostics tool. 
     
     
         15 . The battery pack monitoring system of  claim 13 , wherein the user interface further includes a status indicator and one or more programming buttons. 
     
     
         16 . The battery pack monitoring system of  claim 13 , further comprising the remote system, wherein the remote system comprises a cloud server communicatively connected to the battery pack dongle and configured to receive the state information from the battery pack dongle, and wherein the cloud server is configured to analyze battery state information received from a plurality of high voltage battery packs via a plurality of battery pack dongles. 
     
     
         17 . The battery pack monitoring system of  claim 13 , wherein the rechargeable battery is configured to be recharged via the wired battery pack connector from a high voltage battery pack connected thereto. 
     
     
         18 . The battery pack monitoring system of  claim 13 , wherein the wired battery pack connector comprises a SAE J1939-compliant connection interface, and wherein the state information includes one or more state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) parameter. 
     
     
         19 . A method of monitoring a battery pack via a dongle, the method comprising:
 receiving battery state information from a battery management system of a high voltage battery pack at a battery pack dongle via a wired battery pack connector;   storing, via a controller, the battery state information in a memory of the battery pack dongle;   based on the battery state information obtained from the battery management system, generating, via the controller, a display indicative of the battery state information at a user interface of the battery pack dongle, the display being indicative of the battery safety alert.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising communicating the battery state information to a cloud server via a wireless communication interface of the battery pack dongle.