Method for checking power status of batteries

• US 20040164712A1
• Filed: 02/26/2003
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Handsun Electronic Enterprise Co., Ltd., Hsin-An Lin, Kuo-Hsien Tsai
• Original Assignee: Handsun Electronic Enterprise Co., Ltd., Hsin-An Lin, Kuo-Hsien Tsai
• Inventors: Lin, Hsin-An, Tsai, Kuo-Hsien
• Granted Patent: US 6,850,036 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/136
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm

Abstract

A method of checking power status of the batteries is disclosed. New batteries are first prepared for discharge tests with different discharge rates, and the standard discharge data for different types of batteries are recorded in a data base for use in power estimation. Afterwards, the battery set installed in an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system is connected to a monitoring device for continuous monitoring of the test discharge data and discharging time in repeated random discharge tests. The characteristic data including current output, operating temperature, and terminal voltage of the tested battery are then collected and compared with the relevant standard discharge data retrieved from the data base to produce a true estimation of the remaining power of the tested battery.

Claims

1. A method for checking the power status of a battery comprising the steps of:

determining when the battery discharge is started;

collecting the characteristic discharge data and the discharging time of the tested battery;

determining when the battery discharge is terminated;

comparing the collected discharge data with the relevant standard discharge data to calculate the remaining power of the tested battery to be saved in a battery power file;

wherein

the standard discharge data is obtained from the first time discharging of a new battery for different types of batteries and all the standard data is saved in a data base for subsequent comparison with the test data from a tested battery.

2. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the standard discharge data is selected by the test computer for comparison with discharge data from the tested batteries with one-to-several matching, that is to use one set of standard characteristic data to compare with the discharge data of several tested batteries having similar specifications.

3. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the standard discharge data is selected by the test computer for comparison with discharge data from the tested batteries with several-to-several matching, that is to use multiple sets of standard characteristic data to compare with multiple sets of discharging data collected from their respective tested batteries having different specifications.

4. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 2, wherein the maximum number of discharge data to be retrieved in one time for use in characteristic data comparison is equal to the number of battery cells simultaneously being connected.

5. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein after an estimation of the remaining power of a tested battery is produced a subsequent step checks whether the tested battery is below the lower storage capacity limit, and issues a warning message calling for battery check-up if the condition is met.

6. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the estimated remaining power for different types of batteries contained in the battery power file can be used to produce a characteristic curve for the battery capacity and the type of battery used.

7. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power data contained in the battery power file can be used to construct a characteristic curve of the battery capacity distribution for a particular type of battery throughout the service life.

8. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery characteristic data of a tested battery includes the terminal voltage, current output and operating temperature.

9. The method for checking the power status of a battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the discharging time of a tested battery occupies more than 6% of the predetermined testing period.