BATTERY CELL MONITORING AND BALANCING CIRCUIT
First Claim
1. A monitoring circuit for accurately monitoring a voltage level from each of a plurality of battery cells of a battery pack, said monitoring circuit comprising:
- an analog to digital converter (ADC) configured to accept an analog voltage signal from each of said plurality of battery cells and convert each said analog voltage signal to a digital signal representative of a voltage level of each said battery cell; and
a processor configured to receive each said digital signal and to provide a safety alert signal based on at least one of said digital signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A monitoring circuit for accurately monitoring a voltage level from each of a plurality of battery cells of a battery pack includes an analog to digital converter (ADC) and a processor. The ADC is configured to accept an analog voltage signal from each of the plurality of battery cells and convert each analog voltage signal to a digital signal representative of an accurate voltage level of each battery cell. The processor receives such signals and provides a safety alert signal based on at least one of the signals. The ADC resolution may be adjustable. A balancing circuit provides a balancing signal if at least two of the digital signals indicate a voltage difference between two cells is greater than a battery cell balance threshold. An electronic device including such monitoring and balancing circuits is also provided. Various methods are also provided.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A monitoring circuit for accurately monitoring a voltage level from each of a plurality of battery cells of a battery pack, said monitoring circuit comprising:
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an analog to digital converter (ADC) configured to accept an analog voltage signal from each of said plurality of battery cells and convert each said analog voltage signal to a digital signal representative of a voltage level of each said battery cell; and
a processor configured to receive each said digital signal and to provide a safety alert signal based on at least one of said digital signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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11. The monitoring circuit of claim 11, wherein said averaging type ADC samples a voltage level for each battery cell a plurality of times over a sampling period before converting said analog voltage signal to an associated digital signal.
Specification