Apparatus for determining battery pack temperature and identity
First Claim
1. A battery monitoring system for monitoring a battery pack being charged in a charging device, said monitoring system comprising:
- a battery monitoring circuit including a first voltage divider network, said first voltage divider network including a plurality of resistors;
an identification capacitor positioned within the battery pack, said identification capacitor being electrically connected to the first voltage divider network when the battery pack is connected to the battery monitoring circuit;
a first comparison system including a first input and a second input, said first input being connected to an output of the first voltage divider network and said second input being selectively connected to a reference voltage potential; and
a controlling device, said controlling device charging the identification capacitor and discharging the identification capacitor through the first voltage divider network, wherein an output of the first comparison system provides a signal indicative of the value of the identification capacitor when the identification capacitor discharges through the first voltage divider network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A battery monitor system that determines battery pack temperature and battery pack identification. The battery pack includes a battery pack circuit having a thermistor and an AC circuit component. The battery monitoring system determines the battery pack temperature by measuring the resistance of the thermistor when the battery pack circuit is in a steady-state condition, and determines the value of the AC component based on a changing or dynamic electrical condition of the battery pack circuit. In one embodiment, to determine battery pack identification, an identification capacitor is connected in circuit with the thermistor. One terminal of a comparator is switched to a low reference voltage potential once the identification capacitor has been charged, and the output of the comparator gives an indication of the discharge rate of the capacitor, and thus its identification. In an alternate embodiment, the battery monitor circuit determines the identity of the battery pack by determining whether a thermistor does or doesn'"'"'t exist, and if so, whether an identification capacitor does or doesn'"'"'t exist.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A battery monitoring system for monitoring a battery pack being charged in a charging device, said monitoring system comprising:
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a battery monitoring circuit including a first voltage divider network, said first voltage divider network including a plurality of resistors; an identification capacitor positioned within the battery pack, said identification capacitor being electrically connected to the first voltage divider network when the battery pack is connected to the battery monitoring circuit; a first comparison system including a first input and a second input, said first input being connected to an output of the first voltage divider network and said second input being selectively connected to a reference voltage potential; and a controlling device, said controlling device charging the identification capacitor and discharging the identification capacitor through the first voltage divider network, wherein an output of the first comparison system provides a signal indicative of the value of the identification capacitor when the identification capacitor discharges through the first voltage divider network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A battery monitoring system for monitoring a battery pack being charged in a charging device, said monitoring system comprising:
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a battery monitoring circuit including a first voltage divider network and a second voltage divider network, each of the first and second voltage divider networks including a plurality of resistors; an identification capacitor positioned within the battery pack, said identification capacitor being electrically connected to the first voltage divider network when the battery pack is connected to the battery monitoring circuit; a temperature sensitive resistor positioned within the battery pack, said temperature sensitive resistor forming part of the first voltage divider network when the battery pack is connected to the battery monitoring circuit, said temperature sensitive resistor acting in association with the first voltage divider network to provide a signal indicative of a temperature of the battery pack on a same line as the signal providing an indication of the battery pack identity; a first comparison system including a first input and a second input, said first input being connected to an output of the first voltage divider network and said second input being selectively connected to a reference potential and an output of the second voltage divider network; and a controlling device, said controlling device charging the identification capacitor and discharging the identification capacitor through the first voltage divider network, wherein an output of the first comparison system provides a signal indicative of the value of the identification capacitor when the identification capacitor discharges through the voltage divider network, said controlling device further causing the reference capacitor to be discharged through the second voltage divider network, and wherein an output of the first comparison system further provides an indication of the temperature of the battery pack as a result of a comparison between the output voltage of the first voltage divider network and an output voltage of the second voltage divider network. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for determining the identification of a battery pack, said system comprising:
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a battery pack circuit positioned within the battery pack, said battery pack being configured to be inserted into a battery pack charger, said battery pack circuit including an identification capacitor; and a battery pack monitoring circuit positioned within the battery pack charger, said battery pack monitoring circuit including a first voltage divider network that is electrically connected to the identification capacitor when the battery pack is inserted into the battery charger, said first voltage divide network including a plurality of resistors, said battery monitoring circuit providing an indication of the value of the identification capacitor upon discharge of the identification capacitor through the first voltage divider network. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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- 17. A rechargeable battery pack including a plurality of battery cells, said battery pack being configured to be inserted into a battery charger to charge the battery cells, said battery pack further including a unique identification capacitor having a predetermined value, said battery charger being operable to determine the value of the identification capacitor based on a discharge rate of the identification capacitor.
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19. A method of determining the identity of a battery pack, said method comprising the steps of:
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discharging a potential capacitive component of a battery pack circuit of the battery pack; initiating recharging of the potential capacitive component after the capacitive component is substantially discharged; waiting a predetermined period of time after initiating the recharging of the potential capacitive component; and measuring a voltage output of the battery pack circuit after the predetermined period of time to determine whether the voltage output is above or below a predetermined threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of determining the identity of a battery pack, said method comprising the steps of:
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determining whether a battery pack circuit of the battery pack includes a potential temperature dependent resistive element by determining the voltage output of a voltage divider network, where the resistive element is part of the voltage divider network; discharging a potential capacitive component of the battery pack circuit; initiating recharging of the potential capacitive component after the capacitive component is substantially discharged; waiting a predetermined period of time after the step initiating the recharging of the potential capacitive component; and measuring a voltage output of the battery pack circuit to determine whether the voltage output is above a predetermined threshold value, said step of measuring the voltage output includes determining that the battery pack circuit does not include the potential capacitive component if the voltage output is above the threshold value and determining that the battery pack circuit does include the potential capacitive component if the voltage output is below the threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification