Apparatus and method for monitoring charging/discharging capacity of battery packs as a function of time and temperature
First Claim
1. A battery pack monitoring apparatus comprising:
- a bare cell adapted to be charged or discharged with a bare cell voltage;
sensors for sensing bare cell charging/discharging voltages, bare cell charging/discharging currents, and bare cell temperature, and converting sensed bare cell charging/discharging voltages, bare cell charging/discharging currents, and bare cell temperature into electrical signals;
a first storage unit for storing bare cell discharging capacity versus time data and bare cell charging capacity versus time data as a function of the bare cell temperature to obtain tabulated data; and
a monitoring control unit for converting the electrical signals into digital signals, for receiving the tabulated data from the first storage unit, and for processing the digital signals and the tabulated data in accordance with control commands to obtain a present value of the charging/discharging capacity of the battery pack as a function of time and temperature and to obtain processed bare cell charging/discharging voltages, processed bare cell charging/discharging currents, and processed bare cell temperature.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and a method are provided for monitoring a battery pack for accurately calculating an actual discharging or charging capacity of a secondary battery, which depends on temperature. The battery pack monitoring apparatus includes a bare cell adapted to be charged/discharged with a predetermined voltage. Sensors sense the bare cell charging/discharging voltages, charging/discharging currents, and temperature and convert them into predetermined electrical signals. A monitoring control unit converts the electrical signals from the sensors into digital signals and processes them in accordance with predetermined control commands. A storage unit stores tabulated discharging capacity-time data and charging capacity-time data as a function of the bare cell temperature, and outputs this data to the monitoring control unit. The processed data indicating a current charge/discharge capacity of the battery pack is provided to a charger or to another external system.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A battery pack monitoring apparatus comprising:
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a bare cell adapted to be charged or discharged with a bare cell voltage; sensors for sensing bare cell charging/discharging voltages, bare cell charging/discharging currents, and bare cell temperature, and converting sensed bare cell charging/discharging voltages, bare cell charging/discharging currents, and bare cell temperature into electrical signals; a first storage unit for storing bare cell discharging capacity versus time data and bare cell charging capacity versus time data as a function of the bare cell temperature to obtain tabulated data; and a monitoring control unit for converting the electrical signals into digital signals, for receiving the tabulated data from the first storage unit, and for processing the digital signals and the tabulated data in accordance with control commands to obtain a present value of the charging/discharging capacity of the battery pack as a function of time and temperature and to obtain processed bare cell charging/discharging voltages, processed bare cell charging/discharging currents, and processed bare cell temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A battery pack monitoring apparatus for monitoring charging/discharging capacity of a chargeable/dischargeable bare cell included in the battery pack, the apparatus comprising:
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a monitoring control unit for receiving and processing a sensed bare cell voltage, a sensed bare cell current, and a sensed bare cell temperature from the chargeable/dischargeable bare cell; and a storage unit coupled to the monitoring control unit for storing tabulated bare cell discharging capacity-time data and bare cell charging capacity-time data as a function of bare cell temperature to obtain stored tabulated data and for outputting the stored tabulated data to the monitoring control unit, wherein the monitoring control unit calculates a present charging/discharging capacity of the chargeable/dischargeable bare cell as a function of time and temperature using the stored tabulated data and the sensed bare cell voltage, the sensed bare cell current, and the sensed bare cell temperature.
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15. A battery pack monitoring method for monitoring discharging capacity of a chargeable/dischargeable bare cell included in the battery pack, the method comprising:
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storing bare cell discharging capacity-time data tabulated as a function of bare cell temperature in a storage unit to obtain stored tabulated date; sensing a bare cell temperature to obtain a sensed bare cell temperature; calculating a discharging capacity using the sensed bare cell temperature and the stored tabulated data to obtain a calculated bare cell discharging capacity as a function of time and temperature; providing the calculated bare cell discharging capacity to an external system; re-sensing the bare cell temperature to obtain a re-sensed bare cell temperature; determining whether there is a difference between the re-sensed bare cell temperature and the sensed bare cell temperature; re-calculating a bare cell discharging capacity using the re-sensed bare cell temperature and the stored tabulated data corresponding to the re-sensed bare cell temperature when a difference is determined and to obtain a re-calculated bare cell discharging capacity; and providing the re-calculated bare cell discharging capacity to the external system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A battery pack monitoring method for monitoring charging capacity of a chargeable/dischargeable bare cell included in the battery pack, the method comprising:
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storing bare cell charging capacity-time data tabulated as a function of bare cell temperature in a storage unit to obtain stored tabulated date; sensing a bare cell temperature to obtain a sensed bare cell temperature; calculating a charging capacity using the sensed bare cell temperature and the stored tabulated data to obtain a calculated bare cell charging capacity as a function of time and temperature; providing the calculated bare cell charging capacity to an external system; re-sensing the bare cell temperature to obtain a re-sensed bare cell temperature; determining whether there is a difference between the re-sensed bare cell temperature and the sensed bare cell temperature; re-calculating a bare cell charging capacity using the re-sensed bare cell temperature and the stored tabulated data corresponding to the re-sensed bare cell temperature when a difference is determined and to obtain a re-calculated bare cell charging capacity; and providing the recalculated bare cell charging capacity to the external system. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification