Staggered backup battery charging system
First Claim
1. A backup-battery system, comprising:
- a first battery pack having a first effective energy capacity and a first maximum energy capacity;
a second battery pack having a second effective energy capacity and a second maximum energy capacity;
a charging circuit electrically connected to the first and second battery packs; and
a control device including a power sensor and a lower threshold and an upper threshold;
wherein said power sensor is adapted to detect when the first energy capacity and the second energy capacity fall below the lower threshold and, when the first energy capacity and the second energy capacity fall below the lower threshold, compare the first energy with the second energy capacity, determining which of the first battery pack and the second battery pack has the lower energy capacity, and the control device is adapted to direct the charging circuit to charge the battery pack with the lower energy capacity to its maximum energy capacity.
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Abstract
A battery backup system includes a control device including a power sensing device, a discharge circuit, a charging circuit, and a plurality of battery packs. A lower threshold is established representative of a minimum acceptable effective energy capacity. Each battery pack is recharged if its effective energy capacity falls below the lower threshold. Additionally, an upper threshold is established representative of the minimum acceptable effective energy capacity plus a performance margin. In a two battery-pack system, if both battery packs fall below the upper threshold, the battery with the least effective energy capacity is discharged to the minimum acceptable effective energy capacity and then recharged to the battery pack'"'"'s maximum energy capacity. In this way, both battery packs are prevented from approaching the minimum acceptable effective energy capacity at the same time. This reduces the size or number of battery packs and reduces their associated cost and volume.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A backup-battery system, comprising:
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a first battery pack having a first effective energy capacity and a first maximum energy capacity; a second battery pack having a second effective energy capacity and a second maximum energy capacity; a charging circuit electrically connected to the first and second battery packs; and a control device including a power sensor and a lower threshold and an upper threshold;
wherein said power sensor is adapted to detect when the first energy capacity and the second energy capacity fall below the lower threshold and, when the first energy capacity and the second energy capacity fall below the lower threshold, compare the first energy with the second energy capacity, determining which of the first battery pack and the second battery pack has the lower energy capacity, and the control device is adapted to direct the charging circuit to charge the battery pack with the lower energy capacity to its maximum energy capacity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of charging a backup-battery system, comprising the steps of:
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detecting when a first energy capacity of a first battery pack falls below a lower threshold; comparing the first energy capacity to a second energy capacity of a second battery pack; and
,if the first energy capacity is less than the second energy capacity, directing a charging circuit to charge the first battery pack to a first maximum energy capacity. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification