Tag: bikes

ABLIC launches the S-19193 Series of automotive battery monitoring protection ICs

ABLIC (President: Seiji Tanaka, Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter “ABLIC”), a group company of MinebeaMitsumi Inc., today launched the S-19193 Series of automotive 3 to 6-cell battery monitoring protection ICs.

BMS (Battery Management Systems) for EVs and e-Bikes, etc. require functional safety (*1) compliant with ISO26262 (*2), which is a standard for functional safety in road vehicles.

The acceptance criteria for functional safety are (1) fail-safe (the ability to return to a safe state in the event of a failure or malfunction), (2) fail-operational (the ability to continue operation even in the event of a failure or malfunction), and (3) fail-degraded (the ability to continue operation with decreased functionality). In the past, the conventional method of achieving (1) fail-safe functional safety was to use a microcontroller (MCU) together with a high performance IC called an “analog front-end” (AFE) to monitor automotive battery overcharge and over discharge conditions.

Under the conventional (1) fail-safe methodology, the safety of a driver is ensured by “returning to a safe state”, i.e. stopping the vehicle in the event of an actual failure or malfunction, and there was no requirement for continued monitoring of batteries after the vehicle had safely stopped.

However, with the evolution of automated driving technologies, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of cases where the system, rather than the driver, handles any problems that occur, so the (2) fail-operational and (3) fail-degraded methodologies, which allow for continued operation even in the event of a failure or malfunction, are becoming increasingly important.

The S-19193 Series automotive 3 to 6 cell battery monitoring protection ICs launched today are products developed in ISO26262 compliant processes and are equipped with functions for monitoring automotive battery overcharge and overdischarge.

Utilizing the S-19193 Series makes it possible to continue battery monitoring as a secondary system even in the event the conventional monitoring system (primary) fails, and to achieve a safer BMS that is both (2) fail-operational and (3) fail-degraded compliant.

There are also examples with AFE and MCU internal monitoring functions configured as primary and secondary, but these are mainly for failure and fault detection through mutual monitoring and are insufficient for backup of functionality. In addition, internal redundancy also poses a risk of “joint failure”, where loss of functionality occurs simultaneous to the occurrence of a failure, however with the S-19193 Series, the secondary monitoring can be made completely independent from the primary monitoring to also mitigate the risk of joint failures occurring.

The S-19193 Series also makes it possible to configure a stand-alone operation secondary monitoring circuit which does not require MCU control, which can also contribute to a reduction in the number of design processes.

A Safety Manual is also available for download to support BMS functional safety design using the S-19193 Series. The product is also compliant with the PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) established by the U.S. Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), and is also planned to be made compliant with AEC(*)-Q100 Grade1 (*Automotive Electronics Council) quality standards for automotive IC.

Going forward, ABLIC will continue to strive to contribute to our customers’ success with high-quality products developed with the utmost consideration for safety and based on our many years of technological capability and knowhow.

(*1) Functional safety: The incorporation of functional innovations to maintain an acceptable level of safety
(Reference: https://www.ablic.com/en/semicon/products/automotive/asil/)

(*2) ISO26262:
An international standard for functional safety of automotive electronic control systems which was officially established in November 2011. It standardizes development processes aimed at achieving “functional safety” by calculating the risk of failure in automotive electronic control systems and devising measures to lower those risks and integrate those risk reduction measures into systems as functionality in advance. The standard covers the entire vehicle development life cycle from initial vehicle conceptualization to development, production, maintenance, and disposal of systems, ECU, embedded software, and devices.
ABLIC has received “ISO 26262” development process certification from a third-party certification organization in Germany.
(Reference: https://www.ablic.com/en/semicon/news/2024/01/10/iso26262/)

 

Major Features

1.Continued automotive battery monitoring functionality in the event of a failure when used as a secondary monitoring IC
The S-19193 Series is capable of maintaining continuous monitoring of battery overcharge and overdischarge through stand-alone operation which does not require microcontroller control. This makes it possible for battery monitoring to be maintained even in the event of a failure of the main monitoring system (primary), to achieve a fail-operational BMS.
In addition, the S-19193 Series is functional safety standard product developed in ISO26262 compliant processes which achieves ASIL-B(D) classification under expected use cases. This product enables to the achievement of safer BMS by configuring this IC as a secondary monitoring circuit while continuing to use existing circuits at the primary monitoring circuit.

2.Enable stand-alone monitoring and failure detection through self-testing with a simple structure
The product is equipped with a self-test function which makes it possible to detect internal IC failures by simply inputting an external start signal. This makes it possible to use the self-test function to allow the system to detect monitoring function failures even in the event monitoring functionality is lost due to overcharge or over discharge resulting from the random failures that can occur when ICs are used over long periods.

3.Cascade function makes it possible to configure simply monitoring circuits with a small number of components
The S-19193 Series is equipped with a cascade function. In addition to direction connection, the S-19193 Series also supports connection with adjacent S-19193 Series products through a photocoupler, making it possible to construct safe monitoring circuits even in high-voltage BMS with a large number of serially-connected batteries.

Major Specifications
•Overcharge detection voltage: 2.50V to 4.50V ±20mV
•Overdischarge detection voltage: 1.00V to 3.00V ±80mV
•Current consumption during operation: 20μ max.
•Max. rating: 28V
•Operating temperature: -40℃ to +125℃
•Package: HTSSOP-16
•Functional safety compliant (*3)
•AEC-Q100 compliant
•PPAP support available
(*3) Functional safety compliant： https://www.ablic.com/en/semicon/products/automotive/asil/fusa-compliance/?rf=asil

Application Examples
• Automotive devices
• Battery monitoring in EVs, HEVs, PHEVs, e-Bikes, etc.
• Industrial equipment
• Battery monitoring in capacitors, electric forklifts, etc.

Payzone to sponsor Bleeper bikes across Dublin

Payzone, Ireland’s largest consumer payments network, has today announced a new sponsorship agreement with Bleeper, Ireland’s first dockless bike-sharing service. The agreement will see Payzone sponsor 800 of Bleeper’s public bikes operated in Dublin City, Fingal, and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils.

Today’s announcement comes ahead of further moves planned by Payzone to expand its current range of services within its popular Parking application. Payzone has brought various innovations to motorists over the years and the application is ideally placed to implement a broad range of future value-added features. This will include a range of services which will make it easier for the travelling public to go about their daily lives, using one single application, regardless of how they commute, whether by Car, Bus, Rail, Taxi, Bike, Scooter or on Foot. This will also become instrumental in promoting sustainability.

Bleeper provides smart solutions for everyday transport offering a sustainable alternative to individuals commuting around the capital. Bleeper is on a mission to fight climate change, one journey at a time. In 2022 Bleeper users avoided emitting approximately 59,199kg of CO2 by choosing to cycle for their everyday trips.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Jim Deignan, CEO, Payzone Ireland said, “Bike sharing has grown in popularity across Europe in recent years and Bleeper is a very successful cycle hire scheme operating here in Dublin. We have plans to expand the Payzone parking application to offer our customers a range of additional mobility-related services, with sustainable transport being at the forefront of these plans.

“We’re delighted to partner with Bleeper to promote alternative modes of transport. We feel the partnership aligns with our future vision for Payzone and demonstrates our commitment to sustainable transport and supports the Government’s stated ambition of active travel.”

Bleeper offers a range of sustainable travel solutions from its shared public bikes and shared private bikes to its newly launched LeaseBike subscription service. The Payzone brand will be displayed on both sides of the middle ad board of the Bleeper public bike for the duration of the 12-month sponsorship.

Hugh Cooney, founder of Bleeper said, “Making it easier to access bike sharing schemes like Bleeper can only help with growing the number of people cycling. We are excited to be partnering with Payzone and to be the first mobility service available in the Payzone app. Dublin is an ideal city to get around by bike and this partnership is another step towards making it a little easier to do that.”

In addition to the sponsorship, Bleeper bikes will be discoverable on the Payzone App from the beginning of July, making it easier for individuals to find a Bleeper bike near them.

Payzone and Bleeper are actively involved with Mobility Partnership Ireland, a private sector coalition with the vision for Ireland to develop as a European and global leader in sustainable mobility. Representing car sharing, bus travel, ride-hailing, e-cargo and bike-sharing modes of transport, their shared aim is to place the needs of transport users at the heart of transport policy, enable innovation, promote public health and support climate action.