Battery exercising pacer and/or emergency start monitoring system
First Claim
1. A pacer for maintaining and extending the life of a rechargeable battery having a capacity of C cold cranking amperes, comprising:
- a resistance circuit for periodic connection to the battery for partial discharge thereof at a current rate in amperes of at least 0.1 times the capacity C;
first timing means to periodically initiate said partial discharge about one to three times daily; and
second timing means to terminate said partial discharge after a predetermined period between about 10 and 40 seconds.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A battery pacer apparatus and method are configured for extending the life of lead-acid batteries. A high current discharge is applied for a limited time of about 10-40 seconds to remove lead sulphate deposits on the electrodes. Following discharge, the battery is fully recharged. The pacing discharge is initiated at least about once daily by a timing circuit. During the pacing discharge, the battery voltage is measured. A decrease in battery voltage to below a preset non-steady state failure value is indicative of imminent battery failure, setting off an alarm enabling replacement or servicing before the battery fails in service.
27 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A pacer for maintaining and extending the life of a rechargeable battery having a capacity of C cold cranking amperes, comprising:
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a resistance circuit for periodic connection to the battery for partial discharge thereof at a current rate in amperes of at least 0.1 times the capacity C; first timing means to periodically initiate said partial discharge about one to three times daily; and second timing means to terminate said partial discharge after a predetermined period between about 10 and 40 seconds.
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2. A pacer for maintaining and extending the life of a rechargeable battery, comprising:
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a resistance circuit for periodic connection to said battery for partial discharge thereof at a rate approximating the intended maximum instantaneous discharge rate of the battery during use; first timing means to periodically initiate said partial discharge; second timing means to terminate said partial discharge after a predetermined period between about 10 and 40 seconds; and voltage sensing means for sensing said battery voltage during said partial discharge and actuating a signal when said voltage drops below a preset value indicative of a reduced battery capacity. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for pacing a lead-acid battery having a given ampere-hour capacity rating to extend its useful life, comprising:
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(a) determining the instantaneous useful electrical load to be placed on a lead-acid battery; (b) applying an electrical current load approximating said useful electrical load across said battery and discharge said battery for a selected preset time period of about 10 to 40 seconds; (c) disconnecting said applied load from said battery; (d) connecting said battery across a charging circuit and fully charging said battery; and (e) repeating steps (b) through (d) with an average frequency of at least once per day. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A battery pacer, comprising:
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a resistance and first switch for series connection across a battery; a battery charger connected across said battery for charging thereof; a first relay for series connection with a first NC timeclock switch, a first normally closed time delay switch, a line voltage sensing switch, load sensing switch, and a safety relay switch across said battery; a timeclock settable to activate said timeclock switch at desired time intervals; a second time delay switch actuated by said timeclock; a time delay relay controllable by the position of said second time delay switch to actuate said first time delay switch for opening thereof following a time delay comprising a pacing discharge period; a line voltage sensing relay for opening said line voltage sensing switch when line voltage fails; an load sensing relay for opening said load sensing switch when said normal useful load is operating; a safety time delay relay for delaying the closing of said safety relay switch upon closure of said first timeclock switch, first time delay switch and line voltage sensing switch; a disconnecting relay in series with said first timeclock switch, first time delay switch and line voltage sensing switch across said battery, for turning off said battery charger upon closure of said first timeclock switch, first time delay switch and line voltage sensing switch; and an undervoltage sensing circuit and alarm circuit for determining when the battery voltage is lower than a preset voltage value and activating an undervoltage alarm switch. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification