Battery Isolator Unit
First Claim
1. A battery isolator unit for controlling a switching means having a first contact for electrical connection to a terminal of a first battery, a second contact for electrical connection to a corresponding terminal of a second battery, and an actuating input for biasing a switch element of the switching means to a closed position to connect the first contact to the second contact, the battery isolator unit including:
- a sensing circuit for periodically determining a first and second value attributable to terminal voltage values of the first battery and the second battery respectively; and
a switch controller responsive to detecting a predetermined condition of the first battery and/or the second battery to provide to the actuating input a control signal having a characteristic for biasing the switch element to the closed position;
wherein the switch controller periodically determines a difference between the first and second values when the switch element is in the closed position to obtain a sequence of difference values, and controls the characteristic of the control signal according to a comparison of a present difference value with a previous difference value to modify the bias of the switch element.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A battery isolator unit is disclosed for controlling a switching means having a first contact for connection to a terminal of a first battery, a second contact for connection to a corresponding terminal of a second battery, and an actuating input for biasing a switch element of the switching means switch in a closed position. The battery isolator unit includes a sensing circuit and a switch controller. The sensing circuit periodically determines a first and second value attributable to terminal voltage values of the first battery and the second battery respectively. The switch controller is responsive to detecting a predetermined condition of the first battery and/or the second battery to provide to the actuating input a control signal having a characteristic for biasing the switch element to the closed position. The switch controller periodically determines a difference between the first and second values when the switch element is in the closed position to obtain a obtain a sequence of difference values, and controls the characteristic of the control signal according to a comparison of a present difference value with a previous difference value to modify the bias of the switch element.
39 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A battery isolator unit for controlling a switching means having a first contact for electrical connection to a terminal of a first battery, a second contact for electrical connection to a corresponding terminal of a second battery, and an actuating input for biasing a switch element of the switching means to a closed position to connect the first contact to the second contact, the battery isolator unit including:
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a sensing circuit for periodically determining a first and second value attributable to terminal voltage values of the first battery and the second battery respectively; and a switch controller responsive to detecting a predetermined condition of the first battery and/or the second battery to provide to the actuating input a control signal having a characteristic for biasing the switch element to the closed position; wherein the switch controller periodically determines a difference between the first and second values when the switch element is in the closed position to obtain a sequence of difference values, and controls the characteristic of the control signal according to a comparison of a present difference value with a previous difference value to modify the bias of the switch element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of controlling a switching means having a first contact for connection to a terminal of a first battery, a second contact for connection to a corresponding terminal of a second battery, and an actuating input for biasing a switch element of the switching means in a closed position, the method including:
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periodically determining a first and second value attributable to terminal voltage values of the first battery and the second battery respectively; responsive to detecting a predetermined condition of the first battery and/or the second battery, providing to the actuating input a control signal having a characteristic for biasing the switch element to the closed position; periodically determining a difference between the first and second values when the switch element is in the closed position to obtain a sequence of difference values; and controlling the characteristic of the control signal according to a comparison of a present difference value with a previous difference value to modify the bias of the switch element.
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32. A battery isolator unit including:
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first and second input terminals, each input terminal for electrical connection to a respective positive terminal of a first and second battery; an output for providing a control signal for biasing a switch element of a switching means having first and second contacts for respective electrical connection to corresponding terminals of the first and second batteries, the corresponding terminals including the positive terminals or negative terminals of the first and second batteries, the switch element connecting the first contact to the second contact when biased by the control signal; and means for obtaining a time-ordered sequence of voltage difference values comprising voltage difference values derived from first and second voltage values sensed at the first input terminal and the second input terminal respectively; means for controlling the output signal to vary the biasing of the switch element according to a voltage difference value between a present voltage difference value and a previous voltage difference value from the sequence of voltage difference values. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification