Simulator, in particular of thermal batteries

• US 5,428,560 A
• Filed: 03/31/1993
• Issued: 06/27/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle
• Original Assignee: Aerospatiale Societe Nationale Industrielle
• Inventors: Grain, Patrick, Bard, Serge, Leon, Serge
• Primary Examiner(s): Voeltz, Emanuel T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Alan
• Application Number:
  US08/040,932
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: 364/578, 364/801, 364/802, 364/806, 364/492, 364/495, 136/200, 136/224, 136/201
• US Class Current: 703/13
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/36 Arrangements for testing, measuring or monitoring the electrical condition of accumulators or electric batteries, e.g. capacity or state of charge [SoC]

Abstract

A simulator, in particular for simulating thermal batteries, the simulator delivering an output voltage U_bat across output terminals thereof, said output voltage being a function of a current I_out delivered, into a load connected to said terminals, and of an e.m.f. parameter. E_g and of an internal resistance parameter R_g that are determined from simulation profiles that give successive values taken by said parameters under real battery operating conditions during an active life cycle of a given battery. The simulator includes computer equipment delivering the simulation profiles in the form of e.m.f. references C_Eg and internal resistance references C_Rg to a battery simulation card which, in order to generate the output voltage U_bat of the simulator at the output of said voltage programmable power supply feeds said power supply with a battery voltage reference C_Ubat determined on the basis of a measurement of the current delivered by said power supply and on the basis of the e.m.f. reference and the internal resistance reference as received from the computer equipment.

Claims

1. A simulator for simulating voltage delivered to a load by a thermal battery during its active life cycle, comprising:

first means for providing successive samples of an e.m.f. parameter Eg, said successive samples of parameter Eg corresponding to values of Eg occurring during an active life cycle of a thermal battery under real operating conditions;

second means for providing successive samples of an internal resistance parameter Rg, said successive samples of parameter Rg corresponding to values of Rg occurring during an active life cycle of a thermal battery under real operating conditions;

third means for providing a signal corresponding to current flowing through the load;

a multiplier receiving as inputs thereto signals corresponding to outputs of said second means and said third means;

a subtractor receiving as inputs thereto signals corresponding to outputs of said first means and said multiplier;

a controllably variable voltage supply for applying to the load a voltage corresponding to an output of said subtractor; and

means for detecting current flowing through the load in response to voltage applied thereto by said voltage supply, and for providing a signal corresponding thereto to said third means.

2. A simulator for simulating voltage delivered to a load by a thermal battery during its active life cycle, comprising:

first means for providing successive samples of an e.m.f. parameter Eg, said successive samples of parameter Eg corresponding to values of Eg occurring during an active life cycle of a thermal battery under real operating conditions;

second means for providing successive samples of an internal resistance parameter Rg, said successive samples of parameter Rg corresponding to values of Rg occurring during an active life cycle of a thermal battery under real operating conditions;

a current detector sensitive to current flow through the load and providing an output indicative thereof;

a processing circuit for combining outputs of said first means, said second means and said current detector; and

a controllably variable voltage supply for applying to the load a voltage corresponding to an output of said processing circuit.

3. The simulator of claim 2, wherein said processing circuit subtracts from a signal corresponding to parameter Eg a signal corresponding to a voltage drop due to parameter Rg and the load current.