Battery Charger Status Control System and Method

• US 20170066342A1
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Published: 03/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schumacher Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Schumacher Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Butler, Brian F., Nguyen, Linh, Clarke, Patrick, Whiting, John
• Granted Patent: US 11,072,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/22 Constructional details or arrangements of charging converters specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/12 Starting of engines by means of mobile, e.g. portable, starting sets
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/14 Starting of engines by means of electric starters with external current supply F02N11/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2300/306 with external senders or receivers, e.g. receiving signals from traffic lights, other vehicles or base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/00 Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism healthcare informatics G16H
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/122 Provisions for temporary connection of DC sources of essentially the same voltage, e.g. jumpstart cables
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0071 with a programmable schedule
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A battery charging system comprising a battery charger configured to deliver power to a rechargeable battery, wherein the battery charger comprises a wireless data transceiver; and a remote server communicatively coupled to the battery charger through a network via said wireless data transceiver and configured to communicate one or more battery charge parameters or battery charger control commands between the battery charger and a remotely situated portable user device.

Claims

1. A battery charger for supplying current to a vehicle battery, the battery charger comprising:

a processor;

a pair of battery cables, each of said battery cables having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein said distal end is configured to detachably connect with the vehicle battery;

a charger circuit to receive an input current from a power supply and to output a battery boosting current, wherein the charger circuit is operatively coupled with said processor and is configured to selectively supply the battery boosting current to the vehicle battery via the pair of battery cables;

a sensor operatively coupled with said processor to monitor a parameter of the vehicle battery to yield a monitored battery parameter; and

a wireless data transceiver operatively coupled with said processor to communicatively couple the battery charger with a portable user device over a communication network,

wherein the processor is configured to transmit, via the wireless data transceiver, said monitored battery parameter to the portable user device, and

wherein the processor is configured to receive, via the wireless data transceiver, a control command from said portable user device, the control command instructing the battery charger to output the battery boosting current to the vehicle battery via the charger circuit upon receipt of the control command.

2. The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the power supply is an AC power source and said charger circuit includes a linear battery charging circuit.

3. The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the power supply is an AC power source and said charger circuit includes a high frequency charging circuit.

4. The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the power supply is an AC power source and said charger circuit includes both a high frequency charging circuit and a linear battery charging circuit.

5. The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the power supply comprises an auxiliary battery.

6. The battery charger of claim 5, wherein the auxiliary battery is a lithium ion battery.

7. The battery charger of claim 5, wherein the auxiliary battery is a lead acid battery.

8. The battery charger of claim 1, wherein the power supply comprises a supercapacitor.

9. A battery charger for supplying current to a vehicle battery, the battery charger comprising:

a processor;

a pair of battery cables, each of said battery cables having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein said distal end is configured to detachably connect with the vehicle battery;

a charger circuit to receive an input current from a power supply and to output a predetermined output current to the vehicle battery via the pair of battery cables,

wherein the charger circuit is operatively coupled with said processor and configured to supply the predetermined output current to the vehicle battery via the pair of battery cables in accordance with one of a plurality of selectable charging modes,

wherein said plurality of selectable charging modes includes a first charging mode to provide a battery charging current and a second charging mode to provide a battery boosting current;

a sensor operatively coupled with said processor to monitor a parameter of the vehicle battery to yield a monitored battery parameter; and

a wireless data transceiver operatively coupled with said processor to communicatively couple the battery charger with a portable user device over a communication network,

wherein the processor is configured to transmit, via the wireless data transceiver, said monitored battery parameter to the portable user device,

wherein the processor is configured to receive, via the wireless data transceiver, a control command from said portable user device, the control command instructing the battery charger to;

(1) supply the predetermined output current to the vehicle battery via the charger circuit;

or (2) discontinue supply of the predetermined output current to the vehicle battery via the charger circuit.

10. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the communication network comprises a remote server accessible to the battery charger and the portable user device via the Internet.

11. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the power supply is an AC power source and said charger circuit includes a high frequency charging circuit.

12. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the power supply is an AC power source and said charger circuit includes both a high frequency charging circuit and a linear battery charging circuit.

13. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the battery boosting current is at least 200 amperes.

14. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the power supply comprises an auxiliary battery.

15. The battery charger of claim 14, wherein the auxiliary battery is a lithium ion battery.

16. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the power supply comprises a supercapacitor.

17. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the battery charger further comprises a user interface and a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen to display status information.

18. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the battery charger further comprises a display device to display whether the battery charger is connected to the portable user device over the communication network.

19. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to use said monitored battery parameter to identify a battery current draw on the vehicle battery by a vehicle and correlate the battery current draw with a condition of the vehicle via a data look up table.

20. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to use said monitored battery parameter to identify a low battery voltage condition when a voltage of the vehicle battery has dropped below a predetermined voltage.

21. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein the battery charger draws an operating current from the vehicle battery if the input current from the power supply is unavailable or depleted.

22. The battery charger of claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to transmit, via the wireless data transceiver, an alert to the portable user device indicating that the input current from the power supply is unavailable or depleted.

23. The battery charger of claim 9, wherein said user input indicates a battery type for the vehicle battery or a nominal voltage of the vehicle battery.

24. A battery charger for supplying current to a vehicle battery, the battery charger comprising:

a processor;

a pair of battery cables, each of said battery cables having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein said distal end is configured to detachably connect with the vehicle battery;

a charger circuit to receive an input current from a power supply and to output a battery boosting current, wherein the charger circuit is operatively coupled with said processor and is configured to selectively supply the battery boosting current to the vehicle battery via the pair of battery cables;

a sensor operatively coupled with said processor to monitor a parameter of the vehicle battery to yield a monitored battery parameter; and

a wireless data transceiver operatively coupled with said processor to communicatively couple the battery charger with a portable user device over a communication network,

wherein the processor is configured to transmit, via the wireless data transceiver, said monitored battery parameter to the portable user device,

wherein the processor is configured to receive, via the wireless data transceiver, a control command from said portable user device, the control command instructing the battery charger to;

(1) supply the battery boosting current to the vehicle battery via the charger circuit;

or

(2) discontinue supply of the battery boosting current to the vehicle battery via the charger circuit.

25. The battery charger of claim 24, wherein the charger circuit comprises a high frequency charging circuit.

26. The battery charger of claim 25, wherein the charger circuit further comprises a linear battery charging circuit.

27. The battery charger of claim 24, wherein the wireless data transceiver operates in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standards.

28. The battery charger of claim 27, wherein the wireless data transceiver is operable to communicate with the portable user device over a local network.

29. The battery charger of claim 27, wherein the wireless data transceiver is operable to communicate with the portable user device and a remote server over the Internet.

30. The battery charger of claim 24, wherein the battery charger further comprises a user interface and a display device, wherein the display device is configured to display whether the battery charger is connected to the portable user device over the communication network.