Rechargeable battery maintenance and testing system
First Claim
1. A method for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the method comprising:
- (a) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery by detecting the presence of at least one communication signal and at least one temperature dependent signal from the rechargeable battery; and
(b) performing at least one battery maintenance and testing routine on the rechargeable battery based upon whether the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A battery maintenance and testing system (22) that includes a battery support system (2) that tests, conditions, and charges rechargeable battery packs. The battery support system (22) accommodates a dumb battery (32) that do not have any internal logic by running a default maintenance routine, as well as a smart battery (24, 24'"'"') that has internal logic that monitors its condition, keeps track of the time and number of charge discharge cycles the battery has experienced since it was last conditioned, logs any errors that would necessitate the battery being discarded, and stores information relevant to its maintenance and testing. The battery maintenance and testing system (22) is able to communicate with a smart battery (24, 24'"'"') to automatically to retrieve this information and use it to condition, test, and charge the battery to optimal condition or to indicate to the user that the battery is defective and needs to be discarded. A user display and interface (43) is also provided on the battery support system that allows the user to manually charge, condition, or test a rechargeable battery pack.
56 Citations
81 Claims
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1. A method for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the method comprising:
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(a) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery by detecting the presence of at least one communication signal and at least one temperature dependent signal from the rechargeable battery; and (b) performing at least one battery maintenance and testing routine on the rechargeable battery based upon whether the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the method comprising:
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(a) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery; and (b) performing at least one battery maintenance and testing routine on the rechargeable battery based upon whether the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery, wherein the at least one battery maintenance and testing routine comprises conditioning the rechargeable battery by; (i) charging the rechargeable battery; (ii) performing a pulse discharge test on the rechargeable battery to determine if the rechargeable battery is capable of delivering a sufficient high current pulse; and (iii) if the rechargeable battery is capable of delivering a sufficient high current pulse, discharging the rechargeable battery and recharging the rechargeable battery. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the method comprising:
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(a) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery; (b) performing at least one battery maintenance and testing routine on the rechargeable battery based upon whether the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery, wherein the at least one battery maintenance and testing routine determines if the rechargeable battery is excessively self-discharging by; (i) discharging the rechargeable battery; (ii) during discharge of the rechargeable battery, measuring an actual delivered charge capacity of the rechargeable battery; and (iii) determining if the actual delivered charge capacity is less than a minimum target capacity. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) at least one battery well for receiving a rechargeable battery for maintenance and testing; (b) a charging and discharging unit for discharging and charging the rechargeable battery received by the at least one battery well; (c) a first non-volatile memory for storing program instructions for maintaining and testing the rechargeable battery; and (d) a processing unit coupled to the at least one battery well via a communication bus, the charging and discharging unit, and the first non-volatile memory, wherein the processing unit executes the program instructions which maintain and test the rechargeable battery by; (i) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery; and (ii) implementing at least one of a plurality of maintenance and testing modes which cause the charging and discharging unit to charge and recharge the rechargeable battery in a manner so as to maintain and test the condition of the rechargeable battery while in the at least one battery well, wherein the maintenance and testing modes are implemented based upon whether the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An apparatus for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) at least one battery well for receiving a rechargeable battery for maintenance and testing; (b) a charging and discharging unit for discharging and charging the rechargeable battery received by the at least one battery well; (c) a first non-volatile memory for storing program instructions for maintaining and testing the rechargeable battery; and (d) a processing unit coupled via a communication bus to the at least one battery well, the charging and discharging unit, and the first non-volatile memory, wherein the processing unit executes the program instructions which maintain and test the rechargeable battery by; (i) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery; and (ii) implementing at least one of a plurality of maintenance and testing modes which cause the charging and discharging unit to charge and recharge the rechargeable battery in a manner so as to maintain and test the condition of the rechargeable battery while in the at least one battery well, wherein the at least one maintenance and testing mode is a conditioning mode which conditions the rechargeable battery by; (A) causing the charging and discharging unit to charge the rechargeable battery; (B) performing a pulse discharge test on the rechargeable battery to determine if the rechargeable battery is capable of delivering a sufficient high current pulse; and (C) if the rechargeable battery is capable of delivering a sufficient high current pulse, causing the charging and discharging unit to discharge the rechargeable battery and recharge the rechargeable battery. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An apparatus for maintaining and testing a rechargeable battery, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) at least one battery well for receiving a rechargeable battery for maintenance and testing; (b) a charging and discharging unit for discharging and charging the rechargeable battery received by the at least one battery well; (c) a first non-volatile memory for storing program instructions for maintaining and testing the rechargeable battery; and (d) a processing unit coupled via a communication bus to the at least one battery well, the charging and discharging unit, and the first non-volatile memory, wherein the processing unit executes the program instructions which maintain and test the rechargeable battery by; (i) determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery; and (ii) implementing at least one of a plurality of maintenance and testing modes which cause the charging and discharging unit to charge and recharge the rechargeable battery in a manner so as to maintain and test the condition of the rechargeable battery while in the at least one battery well, wherein the at least one maintenance and testing mode is a conditioning mode which conditions the rechargeable battery by; if the rechargeable battery is a dumb battery, (A) causing the charging and discharging unit to discharge the rechargeable battery; (B) during discharge of the rechargeable battery, measuring an actual delivered charge capacity of the rechargeable battery; and (C) determining if the actual delivered charge capacity is less than a minimum target capacity. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A rechargeable battery maintenance and testing system for conditioning, testing and charging a rechargeable battery, the system comprising:
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(a) a stand-by mode for determining if the rechargeable battery is a smart battery or a dumb battery; (b) a conditioning mode for conditioning the rechargeable battery; (c) a charging mode which charges the rechargeable battery; and (d) a shelf-life mode which determines if the rechargeable battery is excessively self-discharging, wherein implementation of the conditioning mode, the charging mode and the shelf-life mode depends upon whether the rechargeable battery is a dumb battery or a smart battery. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A method of conditioning a rechargeable battery comprising:
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(a) charging the rechargeable battery; (b) performing a pulse discharge test on the rechargeable battery to determine if the rechargeable battery is capable of delivering a sufficient high current pulse; and (c) if the rechargeable battery is capable of delivering a sufficient high current pulse, discharging the rechargeable battery and recharging the rechargeable battery. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
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Specification