CHARGE PUMP BATTERY CHARGING

• US 20150008867A1
• Filed: 07/03/2013
• Published: 01/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smychkovich, Boris
• Application Number:
  US13/934,711
• Publication Number:
  US 20150008867A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/107
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0071 with a programmable schedule
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Charge pump battery charging is disclosed. Charge pump battery charging can include accumulating charge on a charge storage device. The accumulated charge can be selectively discharged to facilitate recharging a battery. The discharge current can generally be at a higher average current than the charging current. The selective discharge can be based on a determined a discharge time, a determined duty cycle, or monitoring of the accumulated charge on the charge storage device. Control values related to the selective discharge can be updated from remotely located devices. Charge pump battery charging can provide for high current pulsed charging of NiMH battery cells at a low input current.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a charge storage device that accumulates charge from a current below a first current level;

a discharge device that selectively discharges a discharge current from the charge storage device, wherein at least a portion of the discharge current is at a second current level greater than the first current level; and

a battery that receives the discharge current to facilitate recharging the battery.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery is a nickel metal hydride battery.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the charge storage device is a capacitive charge storage device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the discharge device selectively discharges the charge storage device based on temporal control of the discharge device to facilitate conductively coupling the charge storage device to the battery.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the switching device comprises a non-linear electronic device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the non-linear electronic device comprises a transistor.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the non-linear electronic device is comprised in an integrated circuit.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein temporal control comprises a discharge time period that is adaptable.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the discharge device selectively discharges the charge storage device based on the charge accumulated by the charge storage device to facilitate a conductive coupling of the charge storage device to the battery.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the discharge device selectively discharges the charge storage device based on a control value, and the control value is received from a network device of a wireless network remotely located from the discharge device.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively activating the discharge device is based on a determined time.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the determined time is received from a remotely located server device.

11. A method, comprising:

accumulating charge on a charge storage device at a current below a first determined current level; and

selectively activating a discharge device to facilitate conductively coupling the charge storage device to a battery for a discharge period to facilitate recharging the battery, wherein conductively coupling the charge storage device to the battery results in discharging the charge storage device at a current that is greater that the first determined current level for at least a portion of the discharge period.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the charge storage device is a capacitor.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the battery is a nickel metal hydride battery.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the discharge device is included in an integrated circuit.

17. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution, cause a device comprising a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

accumulating charge on a capacitor at an amperage below a first defined amperage current; and

selectively activating a switch to facilitate conductively coupling the capacitor to a battery for a discharge period to facilitate recharging the battery, wherein, in response to the capacitor being conductively coupled to the battery, the capacitor discharges at another amperage that is greater than the first defined amperage for at least a portion of the discharge period.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the selectively activating the switch facilitates the capacitor being conductively coupled to a nickel metal hydride battery.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the switch is a transistor of an integrated circuit.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the selectively activating the switch is based on a condition related to the charge accumulated on the capacitor being determined to be satisfied and a parameter related to the condition being determined to have been received from a remotely located storage device.