Battery boosting apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method of boosting a vehicle battery to assist in starting a vehicle engine, the method comprising:
- supplying a current to the battery;
detecting an engine crank event; and
upon detecting the engine crank event, dynamically adjusting the current in response to one or more of a measured battery voltage and an input power limitation.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of boosting a vehicle battery includes supplying a current to the battery, detecting an engine crank event, and, upon detecting the engine crank event, dynamically adjusting (i.e., first substantially increasing, and then decreasing) the current in response to battery voltage. The method may also include verifying a crank-ready condition in the battery by comparing one or more of battery voltage, battery current, and battery charge accumulation to respective crank thresholds. In certain embodiments, this verification step occurs only after a minimum charging time has elapsed, and may time out after a maximum charging time. Once the crank ready condition is detected, the operator may be so signaled. At the conclusion of the boost and crank cycle, the current to the battery may be interrupted and the engine status—started or not started—may be detected. The battery may also be monitored for error conditions.
51 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method of boosting a vehicle battery to assist in starting a vehicle engine, the method comprising:
-
supplying a current to the battery; detecting an engine crank event; and upon detecting the engine crank event, dynamically adjusting the current in response to one or more of a measured battery voltage and an input power limitation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A vehicle battery boosting system, comprising:
-
a current source supplying an output current to a battery; and a current source management module, wherein said current source management module dynamically adjusts the output current of the current source during a boost cycle according to a current profile governed by one or more of a battery voltage profile and an input power limitation. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A vehicle battery boosting system, comprising:
-
means for supplying a current to a vehicle battery; means for monitoring a voltage in the battery during a boost cycle; and means for dynamically adjusting the current during the boost cycle, said adjusting means being responsive to one or more of the voltage in the battery and limitations on the current supplying means.
-
Specification