Resistance and charging monitor within a standby battery bank
First Claim
1. Apparatus for periodically and momentarily measuring the electrical resistance across each of two or more individual cells connected in series comprising:
- two or more circuits, each circuit connected across an individual cell and having a load and a switch connected in series, each switch being operable between open and closed positions for alternately opening and closing the circuit for connecting the circuit'"'"'s load across the circuit'"'"'s individual cell respectively;
means for momentarily operating each circuit'"'"'s switch between the open and closed positions so that, when the circuit'"'"'s switch is in the closed position, current flows through the circuit'"'"'s load and through the circuit'"'"'s individual cell;
means for measuring the current flowing through each circuit; and
means for measuring the voltage across each individual cell when current is flowing through its respective circuit so that the individual cell'"'"'s electrical resistance is determinable using Ohm'"'"'s law.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and method are provided for measuring the series resistance of each individual cell of a battery bank for establishing the readiness of the batteries. The invention comprises a switch in series with a load, connected across each cell of the battery. An electronic switch momentarily imposes the load on the cell and the value of the current drawn from the battery and the voltage across it is measured with an A/D device. A controller directs a plurality of the switched loads on a plurality of cells. The A/D device and controller on each cell communicates their measurements to a remote host computer, preferably via an RF serial modem. The host computer calculates the internal resistance and provides alarm and other reporting functions. Further, as the measurement imposes a small energy drain on the cell, through independent adjustment of the frequency of measurement for each cell, over-charging of the individually cells can be equalized.
44 Citations
40 Claims
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1. Apparatus for periodically and momentarily measuring the electrical resistance across each of two or more individual cells connected in series comprising:
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two or more circuits, each circuit connected across an individual cell and having a load and a switch connected in series, each switch being operable between open and closed positions for alternately opening and closing the circuit for connecting the circuit'"'"'s load across the circuit'"'"'s individual cell respectively; means for momentarily operating each circuit'"'"'s switch between the open and closed positions so that, when the circuit'"'"'s switch is in the closed position, current flows through the circuit'"'"'s load and through the circuit'"'"'s individual cell; means for measuring the current flowing through each circuit; and means for measuring the voltage across each individual cell when current is flowing through its respective circuit so that the individual cell'"'"'s electrical resistance is determinable using Ohm'"'"'s law. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for determining the individual resistances of each of a plurality of battery cells comprising:
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forming a circuit across each individual cell, each circuit having an electrical load and a switch in series; selecting a circuit; momentarily closing the switch in the selected circuit for passing current from the individual cell and through the load in the selected circuit; measuring the current through the selected circuit; measuring the voltage across the individual cell in the selected circuit so that measures of the resistance of the individual cell in the selected circuit can be established using the measured current and measured voltage; opening the switch in the selected circuit; and repeating the preceding steps for all cells. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. Apparatus for periodically and momentarily measuring the electrical resistance across each of two or more individual cells connected in series comprising:
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two or more circuits, each circuit connected across an individual cell and having a load and a transistor connected in series, each transistor being operable between open and closed positions for alternately opening its circuit and closing its circuit for connecting each load solely across each individual cell respectively; a controller for momentarily operating each circuit'"'"'s transistor between the open and closed positions so that, when the transistor is in the closed position, current flows through the load and through the individual cell; and means for measuring the current flowing solely through each circuit; and means for measuring the voltage solely across each individual cell when current is flowing through its respective circuit so that the cell'"'"'s electrical resistance is determinable using Ohm'"'"'s law. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for determining the individual resistances of each of a plurality of battery cells comprising:
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forming a circuit across each individual cell, each circuit having an electrical load and a switch transistor in series; selecting a circuit using a controller; opening and closing the switch using the controller; momentarily closing the switch in the selected circuit for passing current from the individual cell and through the load in the selected circuit; measuring the current through the selected circuit; measuring the voltage across the individual cell in the selected circuit so that measures of the resistance of the individual cell in the selected circuit can be established using the measured current and measured voltage; opening the switch in the selected circuit; and multiplexing the current and voltage measurements for the plurality cells to an A/D converter. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification