# US 12,113,377 B2 · Battery charger with automatic battery type identification

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- Number: US 12,113,377 B2
- Document ID: US12113377B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/070,974
- Filed: 2020-10-15
- Published: 2021-12-09
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2020-06-05
- Assignees: Cheng USA, Inc.
- Applicants: Cheng USA Inc.
- Inventors: Michael T. Miles
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12113377B2

## CPC

- H02J 7/40: characterised by the exchange of charge or discharge related data
- H02J 7/445: {in response to measured battery parameters, e.g. voltage, current or temperature profile}
- B60L 53/11: {DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4}
- B60L 53/65: involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
- H01M 10/4221: {with battery type recognition}
- H01M 10/44: Methods for charging or discharging (circuits for charging H02J7/00)
- H02J 7/485: {with provisions for charging different types of batteries}
- H02J 7/80: including monitoring or indicating arrangements
- H02J 7/92: with prioritisation of loads or sources
- H02J 7/933: {the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters}
- B60L 2240/527: Voltage
- B60L 2240/529: Current
- H01M 10/448: {End of discharge regulating measures}
- Y02E 60/10: Energy storage using batteries
- Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
- Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
- Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations
- Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles
- Y02T 90/167: Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
- Y04S 30/14: Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing
- H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS

## Abstract

A battery charger identifies the type of battery that is connected to it in order to provide the optimum voltage-current-time profile that is needed to safely and optimally charge and maintain the battery. In some embodiments, the battery current or voltage is monitored during charging, and as the current or the voltage changes while the charger is powered, the changes are measured and used to determine the type of battery that is connected so that the optimum charge profile can be applied.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A battery charger comprising:
an electrical charging circuit comprising one or more of a controlled voltage source, a controlled current source or a controlled power source configured to apply electrical power to a battery to be charged;
a processor electrically connected to the electrical charging circuit, wherein the processor is configured to control one or more of current or voltage of the electrical charging circuit;
a non-transitory, computer-readable storage media comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, in response to being executed, cause the processor to:
identify the battery to be charged as a first battery type when, after the charge current begins to decrease near charge completion, a rate at which the charge current decreases or a rate at which the charge voltage increases is greater than a threshold value;
identify the battery to be charged as a second battery type when, after the charge current begins to decrease near charge completion, the rate at which the charge current decreases or the rate at which the charge voltage increases is less than a threshold value; and
control one or more of voltage or current of the electrical charging circuit based on identification of the battery type of the battery to be charged as either the first battery type or the second battery type.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The battery charger of claim 1, wherein to identify the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining one or more of a rate at which the charge current changes or a rate at which the charge voltage changes; and (ii) determining the battery type of the battery to be charged based on the rate at which the charge current changes and/or the rate at which the charge voltage changes.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The battery charger of claim 1, wherein to identify the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining one or more of a rate at which the charge current decreases or a rate at which the charge voltage increases; and (ii) determining the battery type of the battery to be charged based on the rate at which the charge current decreases and/or the rate at which the charge voltage increases.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The battery charger of claim 1, wherein to identify the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining one or more of a slope at which the charge current decreases or a slope at which the charge voltage increases; and (ii) determining the battery type of the battery to be charged based on the slope at which the charge current decreases and/or the slope at which the charge voltage increases.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The battery charger of claim 1, further comprising one or more instructions to establish a plurality of charging profiles corresponding with a plurality of battery types, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of charging profiles are associated with a threshold rate at which the charge current decreases and/or a threshold rate at which the charge voltage increases.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The battery charger of claim 5, further comprising one or more instructions to select a charging profile from the plurality of charging profiles based on the rate at which the charge current decreases and/or the rate at which the charge voltage increases exceeding the threshold rate at which the charge current decreases and/or the threshold rate at which the charge voltage increases corresponding to a respective charging profile of the plurality of charging profiles.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The battery charger of claim 6, wherein to select the charging profile from the plurality of charging profiles comprises controlling the electrical charging circuit as a function of one or more parameters of the selected charging profile.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The battery charger of claim 7, wherein the charging profile comprises one or more of a target voltage, a current limit, a time limit, a sequence of target voltages, a sequence of current limits, or a sequence of time limits of the electrical charging circuit.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the first battery type is a lead-acid battery type and the second battery type is a lithium battery type.

### Claim 10

A battery charger comprising:
a controlled voltage source configured to apply electrical power to a battery to be charged;
means for identifying the battery to be charged as a first battery type when, after the charge current begins to decrease near charge completion, a rate at which the charge current decreases or a rate at which the charge voltage increases is greater than a threshold value;
means for identifying the battery to be charged as a second battery type when, after the charge current begins to decrease near charge completion, the rate at which the charge current decreases or the rate at which the charge voltage increases is less than the threshold value; and
means for controlling one or more of voltage or current of the controlled voltage source applied to the battery to be charged based on identification of the battery type of the battery to be charged as either the first battery type or the second battery type.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the means for identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises comparing a rate at which the charge current changes and/or a rate at which the charge voltage changes with previously established data correlating battery type with an approximate change in current and/or voltage.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the means for identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises comparing a rate of charge current decrease and/or charge voltage increase with previously established data correlating battery type with an approximate charge current decrease and/or charge voltage increase.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The battery charger of claim 12, wherein the means for controlling one or more of voltage or current of the controlled voltage source applied to the battery to be charged comprises controlling the controlled voltage source as to one or more of a target voltage, a current limit, a time limit, a sequence of target voltages, a sequence of current limits, or a sequence of time limits based on the identified battery type.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The battery charger of claim 12, wherein the means for identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) monitoring a charge voltage and/or a charge current as the controlled voltage source transfers power to the battery to be charged, (ii) determining a rate at which current decreases and/or voltage increases as the battery charges, and (iii) comparing the determined rate of current decrease and/or voltage increase with a previously established rates of voltage increase and/or current decrease to determine the battery type of the battery to be charged.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the means for identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises comparing current and/or voltage changes with time, during part or all of a charging cycle, to established limits, or profile curves, and using a best fit and/or tolerance fit to establish the battery type and/or an optimum charging profile to use thereafter.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the means for controlling one or more of voltage or current of the controlled voltage source applied to the battery to be charged based on identification of the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) establishing a plurality of charging profiles corresponding to a plurality of battery types, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of charging profiles includes one or more of a target voltage, a target current, or a charging time period; and (ii) selecting a charging profile from the plurality of charging profiles based on identification of battery type.

### Claim 17 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the means for identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) monitoring a charge voltage and/or a charge current as the controlled voltage source transfers power to the battery to be charged; (ii) determining a time at which the charge current has decreased to a first relative level, and/or the charge voltage has increased to a first relative level when the battery to be charged initially approaches being fully charged; (iii) determining a time at which the charge current has decreased to a second relative level, and/or the charge voltage has increased to a second relative level when the battery to be charged further approaches being fully charged, (iv) calculating a period of time passing between the first relative level and the second relative level, and (v) identifying the battery type as a function of the period of time passing between the first relative level and the second relative level.

### Claim 18 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the means for identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) monitoring a charge voltage and/or a charge current as the controlled voltage source transfers power to the battery to be charged; (ii) determining a time at which the charge current has decreased to a first fixed level, and/or the charge voltage has increased to a first fixed level when the battery to be charged initially approaches being fully charged; (iii) determining a time at which the charge current has decreased to a second fixed level, and/or the charge voltage has increased to a second fixed level when the battery to be charged further approaches being fully charged, (iv) calculating a period of time passing between the first fixed level and the second fixed level, and (v) identifying the battery type as a function of the period of time passing between the first fixed level and the second fixed level.

### Claim 19 (depends on 10)

The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the first battery type is a lead-acid battery type and the second battery type is a lithium battery type.

### Claim 20

A method of charging a battery, the method comprising:
monitoring one or more of charging voltage or charging current of a battery to be charged;
identifying the battery to be charged as a first battery type when, after the charge current begins to decrease near charge completion, a rate at which the charge voltage increases is greater than a threshold value;
identifying the battery to be charged as a second battery type when, after the charge current begins to decrease near charge completion, the rate at which the charge voltage increases is less than the threshold value;
setting a charging profile based on the identified battery type of the battery to be charged as either the first battery type or the second battery type; and
charging the battery to be charged as a function of the charging profile.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining one or more of a rate at which the charging current changes or a rate at which the charging voltage changes; and (ii) determining the battery type of the battery to be charged based on the rate at which the charge current changes and/or the rate at which the charge voltage changes.

### Claim 22 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining one or more of a rate at which the charging current decreases or a rate at which the charging voltage increases; and (ii) determining the battery type of the battery to be charged based on the rate at which the charge current decreases and/or the rate at which the charge voltage increases.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, further comprising establishing a plurality of charging profiles corresponding with one or more of charging voltage characteristics or charging current characteristics for a plurality of battery types, wherein setting the charging profile comprises selecting a charging profile from the plurality of charging profiles that most closely matches the charging voltage characteristics and/or charging current characteristics based on the rate at which the charging current decreases and/or the rate at which the charging voltage increases.

### Claim 24 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein the charging profile comprises one or more of a target voltage, a current limit, a time limit, a sequence of target voltages, a sequence of current limits, or a sequence of time limits of the controlled voltage source.

### Claim 25 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining a time at which the charging current has decreased to a first relative level and/or the charge voltage has increased to a first relative level when the battery to be charged initially approaches being fully charged; (ii) determining a time at which the charging current has decreased to a second relative level and/or the charging voltage has increased to a second relative level when the battery to be charge further approaches being fully charged, (iii) calculating a period of time passing between the first relative level and the second relative level, and (v) identifying the battery type as a function of the period of time passing between the first relative level and the second relative level.

### Claim 26 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein identifying the battery type of the battery to be charged comprises (i) determining a time at which the charging current has decreased to a first fixed level and/or the charge voltage has increased to a first fixed level when the battery to be charged initially approaches being fully charged; (ii) determining a time at which the charging current has decreased to a second fixed level and/or the charging voltage has increased to a second fixed level when the battery to be charge further approaches being fully charged, (iii) calculating a period of time passing between the first fixed level and the second fixed level, and (v) identifying the battery type as a function of the period of time passing between the first fixed level and the second fixed level.

### Claim 27 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein the first battery type is a lead-acid battery type and the second battery type is a lithium battery type.