US 9,853,477 B2 · Systems and methods of adaptive battery charging

Abstract

Systems and methods of charging battery power that can be selectively controlled by the overall voltage of a battery pack and specified voltages of battery cells within the battery pack, and that can selectively perform current-controlled and voltage-controlled battery charging (referred to herein as “adaptive battery cell charging”). The systems and methods employ a digital core for managing the charging of battery power provided by the battery pack. By using the overall voltage of the battery pack and specified voltages of battery cells to selectively control the charging of battery power, battery charging times can be reduced. By employing current/voltage sense amplifiers to monitor the battery pack voltage, the battery cell voltage(s), and a battery charging current, the effect of cable resistance to/from the battery pack can be reduced. By performing adaptive battery cell charging, battery charging times and battery stress can be reduced, while increasing battery charge/discharge life cycles.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A system for charging battery power in a battery pack, the battery pack including one or more battery cells, the system comprising:

a first voltage sense amplifier operative to sense a level of a battery pack voltage;
at least one second voltage sense amplifier operative to sense at least one level of at least one battery cell voltage;
a battery charging manager operative:
to set a predetermined target voltage level for each of the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage;
and
to select a battery voltage from among the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage to control the charging of the battery power in the battery pack;
a comparator operative to sense a level of the selected battery voltage, and to compare the level of the selected battery voltage with the predetermined target voltage level for the selected battery voltage, thereby producing a voltage error deviation signal;
and
a charging signal generator operative to monitor, in a feedback loop, the voltage error deviation signal produced by the comparator, to generate a charging signal using the voltage error deviation signal, and to apply the charging signal to the battery pack for minimizing the voltage error deviation signal during the charging of the battery power in the battery pack.

6 more elements

A method of charging battery power in a battery pack that includes one or more battery cells, comprising:

monitoring a level of a battery pack voltage;
monitoring at least one level of at least one battery cell voltage;
setting a predetermined target voltage level for each of the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage;
selecting a battery voltage from among the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage to control the charging of the battery power in the battery pack;
sensing a level of the selected battery voltage;
comparing the level of the selected battery voltage with the predetermined target voltage level for the selected battery voltage, thereby producing a voltage error deviation signal;
monitoring the voltage error deviation signal in a feedback loop;
generating a charging signal for charging the battery power in the battery pack using the voltage error deviation signal;
and
applying the charging signal to the battery pack for minimizing the voltage error deviation signal during the charging of the battery power in the battery pack.

7 more elements

A method of charging battery power in a battery pack that includes one or more battery cells, comprising:

monitoring a level of a battery pack voltage;
monitoring at least one level of at least one battery cell voltage;
setting predetermined target voltage levels for the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage;
selecting at least one of the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage to control the charging of the battery power in the battery pack;
generating a charging signal for minimizing error deviations in the levels of the selected one or more of the battery pack voltage and the at least one battery cell voltage from the respective predetermined target voltage levels;
generating a battery charging current at a corresponding battery charging voltage using the charging signal;
performing current-controlled charging of the battery pack, including:
monitoring a plurality of increasing voltage levels of a battery charging voltage;
and
at each of the plurality of increasing voltage levels of the battery charging voltage, reducing the battery charging current by a predetermined amount until the battery charging voltage reaches a specified voltage saturation level greater than a specified battery float voltage level;
and
performing voltage-controlled charging of the battery pack, including:
monitoring further reduction in the battery charging current to less than a specified current saturation level;
and
while the battery charging current is less than the specified current saturation level but greater than a specified current cutoff level, reducing the battery charging voltage from the specified voltage saturation level to the specified battery float voltage level.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Systems and methods of adaptive battery charging

Life of this patent

Systems and methods of adaptive battery charging

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15