BATTERY SAFETY DEVICE FOR ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH FUNCTIONAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a battery having one or more battery cells. The apparatus also includes a battery safety device coupled to the battery, where the battery safety device is configured to receive one or more analog signals indicating a measured value of an operational characteristic of a battery cell, and change a state of a control signal in response to detecting that the measured value of the operational characteristic is outside of a safe operating area that is defined for the battery. The apparatus also includes a contactor configured to disconnect the battery from a load based on the control signal. The operational characteristic can include voltage, temperature, and/or current in the battery. The battery safety device is remote from the BMS.