CELL VOLTAGE SENSING FOR RECHARGEABLE BATTERY PACKS
First Claim
1. A battery system comprising:
- a positive pack terminal and a negative pack terminal;
a positive sense terminal and a negative sense terminal;
an electrochemical cell assembly having a positive cell terminal and a negative cell terminal;
an electrically conductive power path having a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive pack terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative pack terminal;
a power switch circuit connected in the power path;
an electrically conductive sense path, separate from the power path, having a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive sense terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative sense terminal; and
a sense switch circuit connected in the sense path.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A battery system has positive and negative pack terminals, and positive and negative sense terminals. An electrochemical cell assembly has positive and negative cell terminals. An electrically conductive power path has a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive pack terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative pack terminal. A power switch circuit is connected in the power path. An electrically conductive sense path separate from the power path has a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive sense terminal, and a negative leg that connects to the negative sense terminal. A sense switch circuit is connected in the sense path. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A battery system comprising:
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a positive pack terminal and a negative pack terminal; a positive sense terminal and a negative sense terminal; an electrochemical cell assembly having a positive cell terminal and a negative cell terminal; an electrically conductive power path having a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive pack terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative pack terminal; a power switch circuit connected in the power path; an electrically conductive sense path, separate from the power path, having a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive sense terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative sense terminal; and a sense switch circuit connected in the sense path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A battery system comprising:
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a positive pack terminal and a negative pack terminal; a positive sense terminal and a negative sense terminal; an electrochemical cell assembly having a positive cell terminal and a negative cell terminal; an electrically conductive power path that connects the positive and negative cell terminals to the positive and negative pack terminals, respectively; a switch circuit connected in the power path; and a voltage sensing circuit having first and second input nodes connected to the positive and negative cell terminals, respectively, and first and second output nodes connected to the positive and negative sense terminals, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A battery system comprising:
a single cell battery pack having, a positive pack terminal and a negative pack terminal; a positive sense terminal and a negative sense terminal; an electrochemical cell having a positive cell terminal and a negative cell terminal; an electrically conductive power path having a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive pack terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative pack terminal; and an electrically conductive sense path, separate from the power path, having a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive sense terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative sense terminal. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A method for charging a battery, comprising:
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sensing pack voltage of a battery through a pair of sense terminals, which are separate from a pair of power terminals of the battery; monitoring the sensed pack voltage during battery charging, while a charging current is delivered to the power terminals, by comparing the sensed pack voltage to a predetermined cutoff voltage representing a fully charged state for the battery; and cutting off the charging current in response to the comparison indicating that a fully charged state is reached. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification