Method and Circuitry to Adaptively Charge a Battery/Cell

• US 20140084846A1
• Filed: 09/25/2012
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qnovo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qnovo, Inc.
• Inventors: Berkowitz, Fred, Ghantous, Dania, Maluf, Nadim, Peabody, Christina
• Granted Patent: US 9,142,994 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/107
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0071 with a programmable schedule
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00711 with introduction of pulses during the charging process

Abstract

The present inventions, in one aspect, are directed to techniques and/or circuitry to applying a charge pulse to the terminals of the battery during a charging operation, measure a plurality of voltages of the battery which are in response to the first charge pulse, determine a charge pulse voltage (CPV) of the battery, wherein the charge pulse voltage is a peak voltage which is in response to the first charge pulse, determine whether the CPV of the battery is within a predetermined range or greater than a predetermined upper limit value and adapt one or more characteristics of a charge packet if the CPV is outside the predetermined range or is greater than a predetermined upper limit value.

Claims

1. A method to adaptively charge a battery, wherein the battery includes at least two terminals, the method comprising:

applying a charge signal to the terminals of the battery, wherein the charge signal includes a plurality of charge packets, wherein a first charge packet includes a first charge pulse;

measuring a plurality of terminal voltages which are in response to the first charge pulse, wherein each terminal voltage is a voltage between the terminals of the battery;

determining a charge pulse voltage (CPV) of the battery, wherein the charge pulse voltage is a peak voltage which is in response to the first charge pulse;

determining whether the CPV of the battery is within a predetermined range or greater than a predetermined upper limit value; and

adapting one or more characteristics of a second charge packet of the charge signal which temporally follows the first charge packet if the CPV is outside the predetermined range or is greater than a predetermined upper limit value, wherein the predetermined range and/or the predetermined upper limit value changes during charging of the battery in accordance with changes in a state of charge of the battery.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined range and/or the predetermined upper limit value changes in accordance with changes in a state of health of the battery.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein adapting one or more characteristics of the second charge packet includes changing the amplitude of at least a charge pulse of the second charge packet.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein adapting one or more characteristics of the second charge packet includes changing the amplitude of at least a charge pulse of the second charge packet using data which is representative of the amount of the CPV of the battery.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein adapting one or more characteristics of the second charge packet includes changing the duration of at least a charge pulse of the second charge packet.

6. The method of claim 1 further including:

determining whether the CPV of the battery is less than a predetermined lower limit value; and

adapting one or more characteristics of the second charge packet if the CPV of the battery is less than a predetermined upper limit value.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the second charge packet immediately follows the first charge packet.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein a predetermined range and/or a predetermined upper limit value corresponding to a first state of charge of the battery is greater than a predetermined range and/or a predetermined upper limit value corresponding to a second state of charge of the battery, wherein the first state of charge of the battery is less than the second state of charge of the battery.

9. A method to adaptively charge a battery, wherein the battery includes at least two terminals, the method comprising:

applying a charge signal to the terminals of the battery, wherein the charge signal includes a plurality of charge packets, wherein a first charge packet includes a first charge pulse and a second charge packet includes a second charge pulse;

measuring a plurality of terminal voltages which are in response to the first and second charge pulses, wherein each terminal voltage is a voltage between the terminals of the battery;

determining a first charge pulse voltage (first CPV) of the battery, wherein the first CPV is a peak voltage which is in response to the first charge pulse;

determining a second charge pulse voltage (second CPV) of the battery, wherein the second CPV is a peak voltage which is in response to the second charge pulse;

determining a change between the first CPV and the second CPV; and

adapting one or more characteristics of a third charge packet if the change between the first CPV and the second CPV outside a predetermined range or is greater than a predetermined upper limit value.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the predetermined range and/or the predetermined upper limit value changes during charging of the battery in accordance with changes in a state of charge of the battery or a state of health of the battery.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the third charge packet includes a third charge pulse and wherein adapting one or more characteristics of the third charge packet includes changing the amplitude of the third charge pulse.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the third charge packet includes a third charge pulse and wherein adapting one or more characteristics of the third charge packet includes changing the duration of the third charge pulse.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the first and second charge packets are sequential charge packets of the plurality of charge packets.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the first and second charge packets are non-sequential charge packets of the plurality of charge packets.

15. An apparatus to adaptively charge a battery, wherein the battery includes at least two terminals, the apparatus comprising:

charging circuitry, responsive to control signals, to generate a charge signal which is applied to the terminals of the battery, wherein the charge signal includes a plurality of charge packets, wherein a first charge packet includes a first charge pulse;

measurement circuitry, coupled to the battery, to measure a plurality of voltages which are in response to the first charge pulse at the terminals of the battery; and

control circuitry, coupled to the charging circuitry and the measuring circuitry, the control circuitry is configured to;

determine a first charge pulse voltage (CPV) of the battery, wherein the first charge pulse voltage is a peak voltage which is responsive to the first charge pulse;

determine whether the first CPV of the battery is within a first predetermined range or greater than a first predetermined upper limit value; and

generate the one or more control signals to adapt one or more characteristics of a charge packet if the first CPV is outside the first predetermined range or is greater than the first predetermined upper limit value.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the control circuitry includes peak voltage detector circuitry to determine the first charge pulse voltage (CPV) associated with the first charge pulse.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the first predetermined range and the first predetermined upper limit value change during charging of the battery in accordance with changes in a state of charge of the battery and wherein the first predetermined range and the first predetermined upper limit value correspond to a first SOC of the battery.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein in response to the control signals, the charging circuitry changes the amplitude of at least a second charge pulse of a second charge packet of the plurality of charge packets, wherein the first charge packet temporally precedes the second charge packet.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determines a third charge pulse voltage (third CPV) of the battery, wherein the third CPV is a peak voltage which is in response to a third charge pulse;

determines whether the third CPV of the battery is within a second predetermined range or greater than a second predetermined upper limit value; and

generates one or more additional control signals to further adapt one or more characteristics of a charge packet if the third CPV exceeds the second predetermined range or greater than the second predetermined upper limit value, wherein the second predetermined range and the second predetermined upper limit value correspond to a second SOC of the battery and the second SOC of the battery is greater than the first SOC of the battery.

20. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether the first CPV of the battery is less than a predetermined lower limit value; and

generate the one or more control signals to adapt one or more characteristics of a charge packet if the first CPV is less than a predetermined upper limit value.