Systems and methods for battery charger with internal power source

• US 10,333,323 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2016
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Horizon Hobby, Llc
• Original Assignee: Horizon Hobby, Llc
• Inventors: Arends, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Levin, Naum
• Application Number:
  US15/080,031
• Publication Number:
  US 20160285289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,188 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0068 Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply H02J7/0013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034

Abstract

A battery charger with an internal power storage device may be used to facilitate fast charging of a battery by using a high C-rate. A battery charger with an internal power storage device may include a control circuit that receives operating mode instructions to operate in a base charging mode or a fast charging mode. In the base charging mode, the battery charger may be configured to concurrently charge a battery and an internal power storage device at a base C-rate using current supplied from an external power source. In the fast charging mode, the battery charger may be configured to charge the battery at a high C-rate, which is substantially higher than the base C-rate, by using the internal power storage device. The battery charger may include an optical reader used to identify battery-specific characteristics and enable the fast charging mode.

Claims

1. A battery charger, comprising:

control circuitry configured to electrically connect to (i) a power supply, (ii) an internal power source, and (iii) a battery,

a safety component coupled to the control circuitry and configured to provide battery-specific charging data to the control circuitry;

wherein the control circuitry is configured to operate the battery charger in at least two modes;

(i) a base charging mode and (ii) a fast charging mode;

wherein in the base charging mode, the battery charger is configured to concurrently charge (i) the battery at a base C-rate by using current from the power supply and (ii) the internal power source at the base C-rate by using current from the power supply; and

wherein in the fast charging mode, the battery charger is configured to charge the battery using the internal power source at a high C-rate, and wherein the high C-rate is higher than the base C-rate;

wherein the control circuitry is configured to enable the fast charging mode in response to receiving battery-specific data from the safety component indicating the battery is capable of handling charging at the high C-rate.

2. The battery charger of claim 1, further comprising a battery charging circuit, wherein the battery charging circuit is electrically connected between the control circuitry and the battery;

and wherein the battery charging circuit is configured to limit a battery charging characteristic.

3. The battery charger of claim 2, further comprising an internal power source charging circuit, wherein the internal power source charging circuit is electrically connected between the power supply and the internal power source;

and wherein the internal power source charging circuit is configured to limit an internal power source charging characteristic.

4. The battery charger of claim 3, wherein battery-specific data includes battery characteristics data and the control circuitry is further configured to limit, based at least in part on the battery-specific charging data, a battery charging characteristic.

5. The battery charger of claim 4, wherein the battery characteristics data includes C-rate and at least one of (i) battery capacity, (ii) battery voltage, (iii) temperature, (iv) battery chemistry, and (v) cell configuration.

6. The battery charger of claim 3, wherein the internal power source charging characteristic comprises one or more of (i) over-current, (ii) over-voltage, (iii) under-voltage, (iv), over-temperature, (v) over-pressure, and (vi) ground fault.

7. The battery charger of claim 2, wherein the battery charging characteristic comprises one or more of (i) over-current, (ii) over-voltage, (iii) under-voltage, (iv), over-temperature, (v) over-pressure, and (vi) ground fault.

8. The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the safety component is an optical sensing device;

and wherein the battery charger further comprises image processing circuitry connected to the control circuitry; and

wherein the control circuitry is further configured to;

receive an image from the optical sensing device; and

detect battery-specific data from the image with the image processing circuitry.

9. The battery charger of claim 8, wherein the optical sensing device is (i) a laser scanner, (ii) a CCD array, (iii) a digital camera, (iv) a QR code scanner, or (v) a barcode scanner.

10. The battery charger of claim 8, wherein the battery-specific data is encrypted.

11. A battery charger, comprising:

a power supply connector configured to connect the battery charger to an external power supply;

a connector configured to connect the battery charger to a battery;

an internal power source;

a set of one or more switches configured to switch the battery charger between a plurality of operating modes comprising;

(i) a base C-rate charging mode where the battery charger supplies power, from the external power supply at a base C-rate, to the battery and the internal power source and (ii) a high C-rate charging mode where the battery charger supplies power at a high C-rate from the internal power source to the battery, wherein the high C-rate is higher than the base C-rate; and

control circuitry configured to switch the battery charger to the high C-rate charging mode only after receiving an indication that a battery connected to the connector is capable of receiving power at the high C-rate.

12. The battery charger of claim 11, further comprising image processing circuitry connected to the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive the indication from an image sensed by an optical sensing device; and

detect battery-specific data from the image with the image processing circuitry.

13. The battery charger of claim 12, wherein the optical sensing device is (i) a laser scanner, (ii) a CCD array, (iii) a digital camera, (iv) a QR code scanner, or (v) a barcode scanner.

14. The battery charger of claim 12, wherein the battery-specific data is encrypted.

15. The battery charger of claim 14, wherein the control circuitry is configured to limit a battery charging characteristic and is configured to limit an internal power source charging characteristic.

16. The battery charger of claim 11, wherein the base C-rate is less than or equal to 3 C and the high C-rate is greater than or equal to 5 C.

17. The battery charger of claim 11, wherein the internal power source is a battery, a capacitor, a super-capacitor, or a graphene energy storage device.