METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING A CAPACITY OF A BATTERY
First Claim
1. A method for accurately estimating a capacity of a battery, comprising:
- charging the battery from an initial state to a rest point prior to reaching a fully charged state;
interrupting the charging process to allow the battery to relax to a resting voltage;
measuring the resting voltage;
resuming the charging process toward the fully charged state; and
estimating the capacity of the battery based at least on the resting voltage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that accurately and reliably updates a full charge capacity of a battery. During operation, the system charges the battery from an initial state to a rest point prior to reaching a fully charged state. The system then interrupts the charging process to allow the battery to relax to a resting voltage. Next, the system measures the resting voltage. The system then resumes the charging process toward the fully charged state. The system subsequently estimates the capacity of the battery based on the measured resting voltage and one or more other parameters.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for accurately estimating a capacity of a battery, comprising:
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charging the battery from an initial state to a rest point prior to reaching a fully charged state; interrupting the charging process to allow the battery to relax to a resting voltage; measuring the resting voltage; resuming the charging process toward the fully charged state; and estimating the capacity of the battery based at least on the resting voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a controller for a battery cause the controller to perform a method for accurately estimating a capacity of the battery, the method comprising:
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charging the battery from an initial state to a rest point prior to reaching a fully charged state; interrupting the charging process to allow the battery to relax to a resting voltage; measuring the resting voltage; resuming the charging process toward the fully charged state; and estimating the capacity of the battery based at least on the resting voltage. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A battery with a capacity estimation mechanism, comprising:
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a cell; a voltage sensor configured to measure a voltage for the battery; a current sensor configured to measure a current for the battery; and a controller configured to receive inputs from the voltage sensor and the current sensor, and to generate a capacity estimate; wherein the controller is configured to; charge the battery from an initial state to a rest point prior to reaching a fully charged state; interrupt the charging process to allow the battery to relax to a resting voltage; measure the resting voltage; resume the charging process toward the fully charged state; and estimate the capacity of the battery based at least on the resting voltage. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for evaluating a state of charge of a battery during a charging process, the method comprising:
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charging the battery from an initial state to a rest point prior to reaching a fully charged state; interrupting the charging process to allow the battery to relax to a resting voltage; measuring the resting voltage; and determining a state of charge of the battery at the rest point based at least on the resting voltage.
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Specification