Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Battery or cell discharging – With charging
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-20
2001-04-17
Wong, Peter S. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Battery or cell discharging
With charging
C320SDIG011
Reexamination Certificate
active
06218809
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to rechargeable batteries, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to method for monitoring various operating parameters of a battery cell within a rechargeable battery pack, and using these parameters to accurately determine the remaining operating life of the rechargeable battery pack.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many portable electronic systems, such as laptop computers and cellular phones, utilize rechargeable battery packs to receive their power. Such battery packs have the advantage that they are portable, relatively weight efficient, and can be charged and discharged many times. However, due to certain characteristics of existing rechargeable battery packs, an accurate indication of the remaining charge is very difficult to determine.
As can be appreciated, it is very desirable to be able to accurately determine the remaining operating life of a rechargeable battery pack used in a system such as a laptop computer. This enables a user to get maximum use out of the rechargeable battery pack. This is especially critical when the remaining energy of the rechargeable battery pack falls below the operating threshold of the computer. A user would ideally want to be able to safely shut down the computer prior thereto, thereby preventing any potential loss of information.
The amount of the charge flowing into and out of the rechargeable battery pack during charging and discharging are parameters that can be monitored and used to calculate the remaining charge of a rechargeable battery. As can be further appreciated, the more accurately and reliably this information is measured and accumulated, the more accurate the calculation of the remaining charge of the rechargeable battery.
In addition to the discharge that occurs during regular use of a rechargeable battery pack, a rechargeable battery pack will also have a certain amount of self-discharge when not in use. This self-discharge is very difficult to account for when calculating the remaining charge of the rechargeable battery. In existing rechargeable battery packs, the amount of time the rechargeable battery pack is not being used is very difficult to determine. Additionally, the amount of self-discharge of a rechargeable battery will fluctuate with varying temperatures. As can be appreciated, a problem with existing rechargeable battery packs is that they do not take into account the self-discharge of the battery, nor do they take into account the varying temperatures when calculating the remaining charge of the rechargeable battery.
Therefore, there is a need for a method to accurately and reliably determine the remaining operating life of a rechargeable battery.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above identified problems as well as other shortcomings and deficiencies of existing technologies by providing a method for monitoring the temperature of the rechargeable battery, measuring the current flow into and out of the rechargeable battery, accumulating the net total of current flow into and out of the rechargeable battery, and generating timestamps from a highly accurate timekeeper that can be used to indicate the time of the end of the charging for the rechargeable battery, and used to indicate the time of the disconnect of the rechargeable battery from a system.
The present invention further provides a method, using a low powered electronic device, for monitoring the operating conditions of a rechargeable battery. A temperature sensor is used for monitoring the temperature of the rechargeable battery. A voltage meter is coupled to the rechargeable battery and is used for measuring the potential level of the rechargeable battery. A one wire interface is used for communicating information corresponding to the monitored parameters of the rechargeable battery. A current meter which is coupled to the rechargeable battery is used for measuring the flow of current into and out of the rechargeable battery. A current accumulator also known as an integrator which is coupled to the current meter, is used for accumulating the net total of current flow, and a highly accurate timekeeper is used for generating a timing signal to time selected functions.
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Douglass James M.
Downs Richard E.
Ezell Richard William
Dallas Semiconductor Corporation
Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C.
Tibbits Pia
Wong Peter S.
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