Battery life estimation
First Claim
1. A battery powered apparatus comprising a battery, a memory storing a set of default parameter values appropriate for calculating a total life estimate of a reference battery according to an algorithm and processing means programmed to estimate the extant life of said battery of the apparatus by scaling at least one of said parameter values in dependence on the capacity of said battery of the apparatus and calculating a total life estimate for said battery of the apparatus using the or each scaled parameter value and said algorithm.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Battery life estimation can be performed by using an algorithm and parameter values for the algorithm, scaled according to the type, e.g. capacity and chemistry, of the battery actually being used. The result of the algorithm may be scaled according to the expected current demand of the apparatus being powered by the battery. A parameter of the algorithm may also be varied if it fails to meet a predetermined fitness criterion during discharging of the battery.
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Citations
65 Claims
- 1. A battery powered apparatus comprising a battery, a memory storing a set of default parameter values appropriate for calculating a total life estimate of a reference battery according to an algorithm and processing means programmed to estimate the extant life of said battery of the apparatus by scaling at least one of said parameter values in dependence on the capacity of said battery of the apparatus and calculating a total life estimate for said battery of the apparatus using the or each scaled parameter value and said algorithm.
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6. A method of manufacturing a battery powered apparatus having processing means, the method comprising:
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discharging a battery at a constant current and recording the voltage across the battery as it discharges;
determining default parameter values for a battery discharge model for estimating total battery life from the recorded voltages; and
programming said processing means with a program implementing said model and the values of said parameter values, wherein the programming means is programmed to scale the product of the application of said model in dependence on a current demand value dependant on said apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
where φ
, ζ and
α
constitute parameters for which said default values are stored in the memory and Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery of the apparatus approaching an empty state.
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8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said scaling comprises scaling the default value of the parameter α
- , stored in the memory.
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9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the or each battery is a Li-ion battery and the or each processing means is programmed to scale the default value of α
- according to the formula;
where Iexp is said apparatus dependent current value and Idefault is the respective discharge current for which the parameter values, programmed into the or each apparatus, were determined.
- according to the formula;
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10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the or each battery is a NiMH battery and the or each processing means is programmed to scale the default value of α
- according to the formula;
if the apparatus dependent current is greater than that relating to the programmed parameter value and according to the formula;
if the apparatus dependent current is less than that relating to the programmed parameter value, where Iexp is said apparatus dependent current value and Idefault is the respective discharge current for which the parameter values, programmed into the or each apparatus, were determined.
- according to the formula;
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11. A method according to claim 10, wherein X is about 0.05.
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12. A method according to claim 6, comprising:
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discharging a battery, of the same type, at a further constant current and recording the voltage across the battery as it discharges;
determining further default parameter values for the battery discharge model for estimating total battery life from the recorded voltages for said further constant current discharge, wherein the model parameter values programmed into the processing means are selected from said determined default parameter values in dependence on said apparatus dependent current value.
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13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the parameters are for a model of the form:
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where φ
, ζ and
α
constitute parameters for which said default values are stored in the memory and Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery of the apparatus approaching an empty state.
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14. A method according to claim 13, wherein said scaling comprises scaling the default value of the parameter α
- , stored in the memory.
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15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the or each battery is a Li-ion battery and the or each processing means is programmed to scale the default value of α
- according to the formula;
where Iexp is said apparatus dependent current value and Idefault is the respective discharge current for which the parameter values, programmed into the or each apparatus, were determined.
- according to the formula;
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16. A method according to claim 14, wherein the or each battery is a NiMH battery and the or each processing means is programmed to scale the default value of α
- according to the formula;
if the apparatus dependent current is greater than that relating to the programmed parameter value and according to the formula;
if the apparatus dependent current is less than that relating to the programmed parameter value, where Iexp is said apparatus dependent current value and Idefault is the respective discharge current for which the parameter values, programmed into the or each apparatus, were determined.
- according to the formula;
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17. A method according to claim 16, wherein X is about 0.05.
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18. A method of manufacturing a plurality of different battery powered apparatuses having respective processing means and different current demands, the method comprising:
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discharging a battery or a plurality of batteries of the same type at a plurality of different constant currents and recording the voltage across the or each battery as it discharges;
for each discharge current, determining default parameter values for a battery discharge model for estimating total battery life from the recorded voltages; and
for each apparatus, programming its processing means with a program implementing said model and the default parameter values for the discharge current nearest to a respective apparatus dependent current demand value, wherein each programming means is programmed to scale the product of the application of said model in dependence on the relevant current demand value. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
where φ
, ζ and
α
constitute parameters for which said default values are stored in the memory and Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery of the apparatus approaching an empty state.
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20. A method according to claim 19, wherein said scaling comprises scaling the default value of the parameter α
- , stored in the memory.
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21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the or each battery is a Li-ion battery and the or each processing means is programmed to scale the default value of α
- according to the formula;
where Iexp is said apparatus dependent current value and Idefault is the respective discharge current for which the parameter values, programmed into the or each apparatus, were determined.
- according to the formula;
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22. A method according to claim 20, wherein the or each battery is a NiMH battery and the or each processing means is programmed to scale the default value of α
- according to the formula;
if the apparatus dependent current is greater than that relating to the programmed parameter value and according to the formula;
if the apparatus dependent current is less than that relating to the programmed parameter value, where Iexp is said apparatus dependent current value and Idefault is the respective discharge current for which the parameter values, programmed into the or each apparatus, were determined.
- according to the formula;
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23. A method according to claim 22, wherein X is about 0.05.
- 24. A battery powered apparatus comprising a battery and processing means configured for calculating an extant battery life estimate for the battery using a battery discharge model, wherein the product of the use of said model is scaled by the processing means in dependence on a current demand value for the apparatus.
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31. A battery-powered apparatus including a battery voltage sensor for sensing the voltage of a battery powering the apparatus and processing means, wherein the processing means is configured to estimate the extant life of a battery powering the apparatus by:
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using a battery voltage value, derived from the voltage measured by said sensor, and a battery discharge elapsed time value to determine whether the value of a dominating parameter of a function, derived from a model of a substantial part of the discharging of a battery, meets a fitness criterion; and
if the value of said dominating parameter fails to meet said fitness criterion, modifying said dominating parameter'"'"'s value in a predetermined manner and then calculating an estimate of extant battery life using said function. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
where tr is the extant battery life value, φ
is said dominating parameter, α and
ζ
are further parameters, Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery approaching an empty state, and telap is said elapsed time value, and said model relates battery voltage to discharge time at constant current thus;
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38. An apparatus according to claim 37, wherein said fitness criterion is:
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39. An apparatus according to claim 38, wherein Δ
- φ
acceptable is in the range 0.04V to 0.06V, preferably 0.05V.
- φ
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40. An apparatus according to claim 31, wherein said battery is connected to said apparatus and the battery is a Li-ion or NiMH battery.
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41. A mobile phone including a battery, a voltage sensor for measuring the voltage of the battery and a processor configured to control the mobile phone for operation in a standby mode and in a non-standby mode, the processor being further configured to estimate the extant life of said battery in said standby mode by an extant battery life estimating process comprising:
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using a battery voltage value, derived from the voltage measured by said sensor, and a battery discharge elapsed time value to determine whether the value of a dominating parameter of a function, derived from a model of a substantial part of the discharging of a battery, meets a fitness criterion; and
if the value of said dominating parameter fails to meet said fitness criterion, modifying said dominating parameter'"'"'s value in a predetermined manner and calculating an estimate of extant battery life using said function. - View Dependent Claims (42)
where tr is the extant battery life value, φ
is said dominating parameter, α and
ζ
are further parameters, Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery approaching an empty state, telap is said elapsed time value, and said model relates battery voltage to discharge time at constant current thus;
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- 43. A mobile phone comprising a battery, a memory storing a set of default parameter values appropriate for calculating a total life estimate of a reference battery according to an algorithm and processing means programmed to estimate the extant life of said battery of the apparatus by scaling at least one of said parameter values in dependence on the capacity of said battery of the apparatus and calculating a total life estimate for said battery of the apparatus using the or each scaled parameter value and said algorithm, wherein said process comprises initially determining whether it is being run for a first time since the mobile phone was powered up and, if so, setting the value of at least one of said parameters in dependence on the capacity of the battery.
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51. A mobile phone including a battery, a voltage sensor for measuring the voltage of the battery and a processor configured to control the mobile phone for operation in a standby mode and in a non-standby mode, the processor being further configured to estimate the extant life of said battery in said standby mode by an extant battery life estimating process comprising:
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using a battery voltage value, derived from the voltage measured by said sensor, and a battery discharge elapsed time value to determine whether the value of a dominating parameter of a function, derived from a model of a substantial part of the discharging of a battery, meets a fitness criterion; and
if the value of said dominating parameter fails to meet said fitness criterion, modifying said dominating parameter'"'"'s value in a predetermined manner and calculating an estimate of extant battery life using said function, wherein said function is of the form;
where tr is the extant battery life value, φ
is said dominating parameter, α and
ζ
are further parameters, Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery approaching an empty state, telap is said elapsed time value, and said model relates battery voltage to discharge time at constant current thus;
- View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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- 55. A mobile phone comprising a battery and processing means configured for calculating an extant battery life estimate for the battery using a battery discharge model, wherein the product of the use of said model is scaled by the processing means in dependence on a current demand value for the apparatus, wherein the processor is configured to control the mobile phone to operate according to a plurality of communication protocols and said process comprises initially determining whether it is being run for a first time since the mobile phone was powered up and, if so, setting the value of the parameter by scaling a default value according to the expected standby current demand for the communication protocol currently being used.
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63. A mobile phone including a battery, a voltage sensor for measuring the voltage of the battery and a processor configured to control the mobile phone for operation in a standby mode and in a non-standby mode, the processor being further configured to estimate the extant life of said battery in said standby mode by an extant battery life estimating process comprising:
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using a battery voltage value, derived from the voltage measured by said sensor, and a battery discharge elapsed time value to determine whether the value of a dominating parameter of a function, derived from a model of a substantial part of the discharging of a battery, meets a fitness criterion; and
if the value of said dominating parameter fails to meet said fitness criterion, modifying said dominating parameter'"'"'s value in a predetermined manner and calculating an estimate of extant battery life using said function,wherein said function is of the form;
where tr is the extant battery life value, φ
is said dominating parameter, α and
ζ
are further parameters, Vlow is a battery voltage indicative of the battery approaching an empty state, telap is said elapsed time value, and said model relates battery voltage to discharge time at constant current thus;
- View Dependent Claims (64, 65)
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Specification