Battery charger apparatus
First Claim
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1. A battery recharging and maintenance system comprising:
- (a) a battery connected for (i) supplying energy to electrical load apparatus, and (ii) receiving recharging energy from an alternator;
(b) an alternator connected to drive means for producing electrical energy and connected to supply electrical energy to said electrical load apparatus and to said battery;
(c) voltage regulator means connected to said alternator and adapted to control said alternator so as to vary the magnitude of the voltage output of said alternator as a function of a control signal applied to said voltage regulator means;
(d) voltage regulator control means adapted to produce a control signal and being connected to control said voltage regulator means to thereby vary said voltage output of said alternator and thus vary the charging current of said battery, said voltage regulator control means comprising means monitoring battery voltage including means for monitoring said battery'"'"'s open circuit voltage (OCV) following an extended period of inactivity of said drive means, said OCV being applied to processing means to provide an estimate of state of charge (SOC) of said battery before each resumption of activity of said drive means.
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Abstract
A system for actively controlling the charging profile of a battery uses a software-based alternator control unit to control the charging voltage. The system optimizes battery and alternator life. The system, on a dynamic basis, uses battery open-circuit voltage (OCV) to estimate battery state-of-charge (SOC). Also, the charging current of the battery is periodically estimated; this, after processing, provides an estimated SOC of the battery.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A battery recharging and maintenance system comprising:
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(a) a battery connected for (i) supplying energy to electrical load apparatus, and (ii) receiving recharging energy from an alternator;
(b) an alternator connected to drive means for producing electrical energy and connected to supply electrical energy to said electrical load apparatus and to said battery;
(c) voltage regulator means connected to said alternator and adapted to control said alternator so as to vary the magnitude of the voltage output of said alternator as a function of a control signal applied to said voltage regulator means;
(d) voltage regulator control means adapted to produce a control signal and being connected to control said voltage regulator means to thereby vary said voltage output of said alternator and thus vary the charging current of said battery, said voltage regulator control means comprising means monitoring battery voltage including means for monitoring said battery'"'"'s open circuit voltage (OCV) following an extended period of inactivity of said drive means, said OCV being applied to processing means to provide an estimate of state of charge (SOC) of said battery before each resumption of activity of said drive means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A battery recharging and maintenance system comprising:
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(a) a battery connected for (i) supplying energy to electrical load apparatus, and (ii) receiving recharging energy from an alternator;
(b) an alternator connected to drive means for producing electrical energy and connected to supply electrical energy to said electrical load apparatus and to said battery;
(c) voltage regulator means connected to said alternator and adapted to control said alternator so as to vary the magnitude of the voltage output of said alternator as a function of a control signal applied to said voltage regulator means;
(d) voltage regulator control means adapted to produce a control signal and being connected to control said voltage regulator means to thereby vary said voltage output of said alternator and thus vary the charging current of said battery, said alternator comprising (i) field coil means for receiving control current from said voltage regulator means, and (ii) rotor means connected to and adapted to be rotated by said drive means, said voltage regulator control means comprising means for monitoring said control current in said field coil means and for monitoring the angular velocity of said rotor means. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification