System and method for remote monitoring of battery condition

• US 7,768,238 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2009
• Issued: 08/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CPG Beyond, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Data Power Monitoring Corporation
• Inventors: Cotton, Charles B., Jump, Michael, Lim, Ronnie, Sheppard, Douglas, Cotton, Stephen D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIAO, M BAYE
• Application Number:
  US12/540,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20100114512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 320/132, 320/134, 320/136, 320/DIG.21, 702/62, 702/63, 702/119, 702/120, 709/217, 709/219, 324/426, 324/427, 324/428, 324/429, 324/431, 324/432, 324/434, 324/435
• US Class Current: 320/136
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 320/21 State of charge of battery

Abstract

A battery monitoring system may be configured to interface with a first battery monitoring unit and a second battery monitoring unit. The first battery monitoring unit may be configured to output data in a first format. The second battery monitoring unit may be configured to output data in a second format, the second format being different than the first format. The battery monitoring system may include a first polling agent, the first polling agent may be configured to receive data from the first battery monitoring unit and normalize the data into a predetermined data format and store the data in a database. The battery monitoring system may also include a second polling agent. The second polling agent may be configured to receive data from the second battery monitoring unit and normalize the data into the predetermined data format and store the data in a database. Furthermore, the battery monitoring system may be configured to output data associated with the condition of a respective battery unit coupled to at least the first battery monitoring unit and the second battery monitoring unit.

Claims

1. Processor-readable software code stored on a processor-readable medium, the code comprising code to:

receive data in a first format from a first battery monitoring unit;

receive data in a second format from a second battery monitoring unit;

normalize the data in the first format and the second format so that the data received in the first format and the second format are in a predetermined format;

store the normalized data in a database;

selectively output data associated with an operating condition of a first battery unit associated with the first battery monitoring unit and an operating condition of a second battery unit associated with the second battery monitoring unit.

2. The processor read-able software of claim 1, wherein the code to selectively output data associated with the operating condition of the first battery unit and the second battery unit includes code to selectively output the data in an Internet-accessible format.

3. The processor-readable software code of claim 1, further comprising code to:

receive at least one of a username and a password and authenticate the at least one of the username and the password.

4. The processor-readable software code of claim 3, wherein the code to selectively output data associated with the operating condition of the first battery unit and the second battery unit includes code to selectively output the data based on the at least one of the username and password.

5. The processor-readable software code of claim 1, further comprising code to:

generate trend plots associated with a condition of the first battery unit over a period of time.

6. The processor-readable software code of claim 1, further comprising code to:

transmit a message associated with an alarm condition to a predetermined e-mail address associated with the first battery monitoring unit when the battery unit associated with the first battery monitoring unit is in an alarm condition.