Battery control circuit and electronic device

• US 20050046392A1
• Filed: 10/29/2003
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Susumu, Yatsu, Tsunehiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,196,496 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/149
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/386 using test-loads
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4207 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery control circuit having a battery voltage detecting section for detecting the voltage of a battery includes a resistor and a switching element which are connected in series and which are connected to the battery in parallel, and a battery controlling section for acquiring information relating to a change in the voltage of the battery, which is detected by the battery voltage detecting section, by turning on the switching element to allow a current of the battery to flow through the resistor. The battery controlling section determines the residual capacity of the battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of the battery.

Claims

1. A battery control circuit having a battery voltage detecting section for detecting a voltage of a battery comprising:

a resistor and a switching element connected in series being connected to said battery in parallel; and

a battery controlling section for acquiring information relating to a change in the voltage of said battery by turning on said switching element to allow a current of said battery to flow through said resistor, the voltage being detected by said battery voltage detecting section,

wherein said battery controlling section determines a residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

2. The battery control circuit according to claim 1,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section comprises first and second voltage-dividing resistors connected in series, and

said first and second voltage-dividing resistors are connected to said battery in parallel, and a voltage at a connection point between said first and said second voltage-dividing resistors is detected as the voltage of said battery.

3. The battery control circuit according to claim 1,

wherein the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery is a change amount of the voltage of said battery, the change amount being detected by said battery voltage detecting section when said switching element is turned on.

4. The battery control circuit according to claim 1, further comprising:

a voltage recovery time measurement section for measuring a time period from a time when said switching element is turned off to a time when the voltage of the battery, which is detected by said battery control circuit in a state where said switching element is ON, recovers to a predetermined voltage value,

wherein the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery is said time period measured by said voltage recovery time measurement section.

5. The battery control circuit according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storing section for storing characteristics information relating to said residual capacity of said battery,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section refers to said characteristic information in said storing section to determine the residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

6. The battery control circuit according to claim 2,

wherein the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery is a change amount of the voltage of said battery, the change amount being detected by said battery voltage detecting section when said switching element is turned on.

7. The battery control circuit according to claim 2, further comprising:

a voltage recovery time measurement section for measuring a time period from a time when said switching element is turned off to a time when the voltage of the battery, which is detected by said battery control circuit in a state where said switching element is ON, recovers to a predetermined voltage value,

wherein the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery is said time period measured by said voltage recovery time measurement section.

8. The battery control circuit according to claim 2, further comprising:

a storing section for storing characteristic information relating to said residual capacity of said battery,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section refers to said characteristic information in said storing section to determine the residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

9. The battery control circuit according to claim 3, further comprising:

a voltage recovery time measurement section for measuring a time period from time when said switching element is turned off to time when the voltage of the battery, which is detected by said battery control circuit in a state where said switching element is ON, recovers to a predetermined voltage value,

wherein the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery is said time period measured by said voltage recovery time measurement section.

10. The battery control circuit according to claim 3, further comprising:

a storing section for storing characteristic information relating to said residual capacity of said battery,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section refers to said characteristic information in said storing section to determine the residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

11. The battery control circuit according to claim 4, further comprising:

a storing section for storing characteristic information relating to said residual capacity of said battery,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section refers to said characteristic information in said storing section to determine the residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

12. The battery control circuit according to claim 6, further comprising:

a voltage recovery time measurement section for measuring a time period from time when said switching element is turned off to time when the voltage of the battery, which is detected by said battery control circuit in a state where said switching element is ON, recovers to a predetermined voltage value,

wherein the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery is said time period measured by said voltage recovery time measurement section.

13. The battery control circuit according to claim 6, further comprising:

a storing section for storing characteristic information relating to said residual capacity of said battery,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section refers to said characteristic information in said storing section to determine the residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

14. The battery control circuit according to claim 12, further comprising:

a storing section for storing characteristic information relating to said residual capacity of said battery,

wherein said battery voltage detecting section refers to said characteristic information in said storing section to determine the residual capacity of said battery based on the information relating to the change in the voltage of said battery.

15. An electronic device comprising:

the battery control circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 14,

wherein operating power is supplied from said battery.

16. The electronic device according to claim 15,

wherein a component consuming power based on said operating power is said resistor.