Method and apparatus for determining the state of charge of a battery
First Claim
1. A method of determining the state of charge of a battery which is subjected to repeated cycles of partial charge and discharge including the steps of (1) selecting a quiescent interval during which substantially no charging or discharging current flows through the battery (2) applying for a short period of time, during said quiescent interval, a specific pre-determined load to the battery to produce a desired discharging current flow through the battery to accelerate stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery (3) removing said load to thereby allow stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery to continue for a predetermined time delay of at least two hours and (4) measuring the terminal voltage of the battery after said time delay and evaluating the state of charge of the battery by comparing the measured voltage with known data on the relationship between the terminal voltage and the state of charge of the battery.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of determining the state of charge of a motor vehicle battery 1 in which a stabilization load 2 is applied to the battery 1 after the engine is switched off to accelerate the stabilization of the charge distribution within the battery 1. The stabilization load 2 is applied until the terminal voltage of the battery 1 reaches a level corresponding to a predicted value of the state of charge of the battery 1. After a pre-determined delay of 8 hours or less, the terminal voltage of the battery 1 is measured and the state of charge derived therefrom.
52 Citations
20 Claims
- 1. A method of determining the state of charge of a battery which is subjected to repeated cycles of partial charge and discharge including the steps of (1) selecting a quiescent interval during which substantially no charging or discharging current flows through the battery (2) applying for a short period of time, during said quiescent interval, a specific pre-determined load to the battery to produce a desired discharging current flow through the battery to accelerate stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery (3) removing said load to thereby allow stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery to continue for a predetermined time delay of at least two hours and (4) measuring the terminal voltage of the battery after said time delay and evaluating the state of charge of the battery by comparing the measured voltage with known data on the relationship between the terminal voltage and the state of charge of the battery.
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14. A method of providing a predicted value of the state of charge for a battery while it is being subjected to repeated cycles of partial charge and discharge comprising the steps of:
- (1) determining the state of charge of the battery including the steps of (a) selecting a quiescent interval during which substantially no charging or discharging current flows through the battery (b) applying for a short period of time, during said quiescent interval, a specific pre-determined load to the battery to produce a desired discharging current flow through the battery to accelerate stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery (c) removing said load to thereby allow stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery to continue for a pre-determined time delay of at least two hours and (d) measuring the terminal voltage of the battery after said time delay and evaluating the state of charge of the battery by comparing the measured voltage with known data on the relationship between the terminal voltage and the state of charge of the battery;
(2) measuring the current flow through a resistor arranged in series with the battery during charging or discharging of the battery;
(3) integrating the current flow through the resistor to provide an approximate measurement of amp-hour flow and combining the amp-hour measurement with said previously determined state of charge to provide a predicted value of the state of charge at that point in time. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
- (1) determining the state of charge of the battery including the steps of (a) selecting a quiescent interval during which substantially no charging or discharging current flows through the battery (b) applying for a short period of time, during said quiescent interval, a specific pre-determined load to the battery to produce a desired discharging current flow through the battery to accelerate stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery (c) removing said load to thereby allow stabilization of the charge distribution in the battery to continue for a pre-determined time delay of at least two hours and (d) measuring the terminal voltage of the battery after said time delay and evaluating the state of charge of the battery by comparing the measured voltage with known data on the relationship between the terminal voltage and the state of charge of the battery;
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18. Apparatus for determining the state of charge of a battery which is subjected to repeated cycles of partial charge and discharge during a quiescent interval during which substantially no charging or discharging current flows through the battery including:
- stabilization means for applying for a short period of time a specific pre-determined load to the battery to accelerate stabilization of the charge distribution therein, measuring means for providing a measurement of the terminal voltage of the battery after a pre-determined time delay from when the specific pre-determined load is removed, and evaluating means for comparing the measurement of the terminal voltage of the battery from the measuring means with data stored in a memory device relating the terminal voltage of the battery to the state of charge of the battery.
- View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
Specification