METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONTACTLESS BATTERY DISCHARGING

• US 20160087685A1
• Filed: 09/23/2014
• Published: 03/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: GEREN, MICHAEL D., HERRMANN, JOHN E., BRUMLEY, EDWARD W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,985,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/36 Arrangements for transfer of electric power between ac networks via a high-tension dc link
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0069 Charging or discharging for charge maintenance, battery initiation or rejuvenation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/60 Arrangements for transfer of electric power between AC networks or generators via a high voltage DC link [HVCD]

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for contactless battery discharging. One embodiment takes the form of a contactless power-transfer system that includes a wireless-communication interface, a controller connected to the wireless-communication interface, a magnetic-resonance circuit, a power-conditioning circuit connected to the magnetic-resonance circuit, and a load element connected to the power-conditioning circuit. The controller is configured to determine that a smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state and responsively transmit, via the wireless-communication interface, a battery-discharge command instructing the smart-battery system to generate an oscillating magnetic field. The magnetic-resonance circuit is configured to couple with the generated oscillating magnetic field and responsively output a corresponding power signal. The power-conditioning circuit is configured to receive the power signal from the magnetic-resonance circuit, rectify the received power signal, and output the rectified power signal. The load element is configured to receive the rectified power signal from the power-conditioning circuit.

Claims

1. A contactless power-transfer system comprising:

a wireless-communication interface;

a controller connected to the wireless-communication interface and configured to determine that a smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state and responsively transmit, via the wireless-communication interface, a battery-discharge command instructing the smart-battery system to generate an oscillating magnetic field;

a magnetic-resonance circuit configured to couple with the generated oscillating magnetic field and responsively output a corresponding power signal;

a power-conditioning circuit connected to the magnetic-resonance circuit and configured to receive the power signal from the magnetic-resonance circuit, rectify the received power signal, and output the rectified power signal; and

a load element connected to the power-conditioning circuit and configured to receive the rectified power signal from the power-conditioning circuit.

2. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the discharge-needed state comprises a reconditioning-needed state, and the battery-discharge command comprises a reconditioning command.

3. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the discharge-needed state comprises a recalibration-needed state, and the battery-discharge command comprises a recalibration command.

4. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller determines that the smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state based at least in part on detecting the presence of the smart-battery system via the wireless-communication interface.

5. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, further comprising:

a ping circuit connected to the magnetic-resonance circuit and to the controller, the ping circuit being configured to (i) generate pings and transmit the generated pings via the magnetic-resonance circuit and (ii) receive return pings via the magnetic-resonance circuit and output the received return pings to the controller,

wherein the controller determines that the smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state based at least in part on detecting the receipt of return pings from the ping circuit.

6. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

transmit, via the wireless-communication interface, a battery-information request to the smart-battery system; and

receive, via the wireless-communication interface, a battery-information response from the smart-battery system,

wherein the controller determines that the smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state based at least in part on the received battery-information response.

7. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 6, wherein the received battery-information response includes one or more of a battery identifier, a charge level, a voltage level, a maintenance history, a condition status, and a calibration status.

8. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface connected to the controller and configured to receive a battery-discharge user instruction and responsively output a battery-discharge directive to the controller,

wherein the controller determines that the smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state based at least in part on receiving the battery-discharge directive.

9. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the generated magnetic field oscillates at a first frequency, and the magnetic-resonance circuit is resonant at a second frequency that is substantially equal to the first frequency.

10. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further connected to the magnetic-resonance circuit and further configured to tune a resonant frequency of the magnetic-resonance circuit.

11. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to tune the resonant frequency of the magnetic-resonance circuit based at least in part on at least one of a battery-reconditioning protocol and a battery-recalibration protocol.

12. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to tune the resonant frequency of the magnetic-resonance circuit based at least in part on received feedback data.

13. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the load element dissipates at least some of the received rectified power signal.

14. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the load element stores at least some of the received rectified power signal.

15. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the load element recycles at least some of the received rectified power signal.

16. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic-resonance circuit is further connected to a power source and is further configured to generate an oscillating magnetic field.

17. The contactless power-transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further connected to the magnetic-resonance circuit and further configured to determine that the smart-battery system is in a chargeable state and responsively instruct the magnetic-resonance circuit to generate an oscillating magnetic field.

18. A method comprising:

determining that a smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state;

responsive to determining that the smart-battery system is in a discharge-needed state, transmitting, via a wireless-communication interface, a battery-discharge command instructing the smart-battery system to generate an oscillating magnetic field; and

after transmitting the battery-discharge command, receiving a power signal into a power-conditioning circuit from a magnetic-resonance circuit that is configured to couple with the generated oscillating magnetic field, the power-conditioning circuit being configured to rectify the power signal and output the rectified power signal to a load element.

19. A smart-battery system comprising:

a rechargeable battery;

a wireless-communication interface;

a controller connected to the wireless-communication interface and configured to receive, via the wireless-communication interface, a battery-discharge command instructing the rechargeable battery to output a power signal;

an oscillatory amplifier circuit connected to the rechargeable battery and configured to receive the power signal from the rechargeable battery, transform the received power signal into a corresponding oscillatory power signal, and output the oscillatory power signal; and

a magnetic-resonance circuit connected to the oscillatory amplifier circuit and configured to (i) receive the oscillatory power signal from the oscillatory amplifier circuit and (ii) generate an oscillating magnetic field at least in part by driving a coil with the received oscillatory power signal.

20. The smart-battery system of claim 19, configured to function as a power source for a wireless-communication device.