BATTERY CELL FUEL GAUGE FOR PACKAGED BATTERIES AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS
First Claim
1. A battery pack comprising:
- a casing;
at least one battery cell disposed within the casing;
a universal serial bus (USB) receptacle accessible from an exterior surface of the casing and providing an electrical coupling to an interior portion within the casing; and
a battery cell fuel gauge disposed within the casing and coupled to the USB receptacle and the battery cell, the fuel gauge including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to;
detect at least one battery cell parameter associated with the operation of the battery cell;
generate at least one data file based on the detected battery cell parameters; and
provide the data file to a host device coupled to the USB receptacle, wherein the battery package is configured to operate as a mass storage class (MSC) device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed generally to battery cell fuel gauges for packaged batteries and associated systems and methods. A method in accordance with one embodiment includes detecting one or more parameters corresponding to one or more battery cells that are disposed within a casing of a battery packet with a fuel gauge that is also disposed within the casing and that is electrically coupled to a data connector that is accessible from outside the casing. The method can further include formatting the detected one or more parameters into a data file that is readable with non-proprietary hardware and/or software, e.g., via a USB cable. The data file is stored at the fuel gauge. The method can still further include providing a host device with access to the data file via the data connector.
10 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A battery pack comprising:
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a casing; at least one battery cell disposed within the casing; a universal serial bus (USB) receptacle accessible from an exterior surface of the casing and providing an electrical coupling to an interior portion within the casing; and a battery cell fuel gauge disposed within the casing and coupled to the USB receptacle and the battery cell, the fuel gauge including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to; detect at least one battery cell parameter associated with the operation of the battery cell; generate at least one data file based on the detected battery cell parameters; and provide the data file to a host device coupled to the USB receptacle, wherein the battery package is configured to operate as a mass storage class (MSC) device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for operating a battery cell fuel gauge, the method comprising:
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detecting one or more parameters corresponding to one or more battery cells that are disposed within a casing of a battery package with a fuel gauge that is also disposed within the casing and that is electrically coupled to a data connector that is accessible from outside the casing; formatting the detected one or more parameters into a data file that is readable with non-proprietary hardware and/or software; storing the data file at the fuel gauge; and providing a host device with access to the data file via the data connector. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one battery cell; a casing housing the at least one battery cell and including an exterior surface having electrical contacts that are coupled through the casing to the at least one battery cell; a serial bus receptacle at least partially disposed within the casing and accessible from outside the casing; a sensing component located within the casing and configured to detect at a first time a first value of a parameter associated with the at least one battery cell, and to detect at a second time a second value of the parameter, wherein the second time occurs a specified time interval after the first time; and a data component disposed within the casing and configured to store the first value and the second value in a data file, the data file being readable with non-proprietary hardware and/or software, and to provide the data file to a host device connected to the serial bus receptacle. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for operating a battery cell fuel gauge, the apparatus comprising:
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one or more battery cells; carrying means for carrying the one or more battery cells; detecting means for detecting at least one parameter corresponding to the one or more battery cells; formatting means for formatting the detected parameters into a data file; storing means for storing the data file at the fuel gauge, the data file being readable with non-proprietary software and/or hardware; and access means for providing a host device with access to the data file. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification