Apparatus and method for determining the capacity of a nickel-cadmium battery
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for determining the capacity of a nickel cadmium battery comprising:
- a) measuring the ambient temperature of the battery;
b) charging said battery with a current charge;
c) determining the current charge value Igas when said battery begins to evolve gas; and
d) comparing said Igas value of c) against a known battery capacity vs. Igas relationship at said measured temperature.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides for a timesaving method of determining the capacity of a nickel cadmium (NiCd). A fully charged NiCd battery under is subjected to a positive sloped current charge ramp and then a negative sloped current charge ramp while continuously monitoring the battery terminal voltage. The voltage is plotted and the maximum slope of the measured terminal voltage determines lgas. The value of Igas is compared to a temperature calibration curve to determine the capacity of the battery under test.
-
Citations
7 Claims
-
1. A method for determining the capacity of a nickel cadmium battery comprising:
-
a) measuring the ambient temperature of the battery; b) charging said battery with a current charge; c) determining the current charge value Igas when said battery begins to evolve gas; and d) comparing said Igas value of c) against a known battery capacity vs. Igas relationship at said measured temperature.
-
-
2. A method for determining the capacity of a nickel cadmium battery comprising:
-
a) measuring the temperature of said battery; b) subjecting said battery to an increasing current charge and then a decreasing current charge; c) measuring the battery terminal voltage during step (a); d) determining the maximum slope of the measured battery terminal voltage; e) calculating the current charge value Igas associated with said maximum slope; f) comparing said Igas value of e) against a known battery capacity vs. Igas relationship at said measured temperature. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. Apparatus for detecting the capacity of a nickel cadmium battery comprising:
-
a) measurement means for measuring the battery temperature; b) current means for generating an increasing current charge applied to the battery; c) current means for generating a decreasing current charge applied to the battery subsequent to the increasing current charge; d) voltage sensing means for sensing the battery terminal voltage during application of the current charge; and e) calculating means for determining the maximum slope of said battery voltage; f) first comparing means for determining the current charge value Igas associated with the calculated maximum voltage slope; and g) second comparing means for comparing said Igas value of f) against a known battery capacity vs. Igas relationship at said measured temperature.
-
Specification