Method and circuitry to adaptively charge a battery/cell
First Claim
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1. A method to adaptively charge a battery, wherein the battery includes at least two terminals, the method comprising:
- applying a charge signal to the at least two terminals of the battery, wherein the charge signal includes a plurality of pulses;
measuring a plurality of voltages between the at least two terminals of the battery, wherein measuring the plurality of voltages includes measuring;
a first voltage between the at least two terminals of the battery, which is in response to a first pulse of the charge signal and at a first predetermined time relative to applying the first pulse to the at least two terminals of the battery, anda second voltage between the at least terminals of the battery after applying the first pulse wherein the second voltage is a voltage which correlates to an equilibrium voltage of the battery, wherein equilibrium voltage of the battery corresponds to a voltage between the at least two terminals of the battery which is substantially constant when no charging current is applied to the at least two terminals of the battery;
calculating data which is representative of an overpotential of the battery using the first voltage and the second voltage; and
adapting one or more characteristics of the charge signal based on or using data which is representative of the overpotential of the battery.
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Abstract
The present inventions, in one aspect, are directed to techniques and/or circuitry to adapt the charging of a battery/cell using data which is representative of an overpotential of the battery/cell. In yet another aspect the present inventions are directed to techniques and/or circuitry to calculate data which is representative of an overpotential of the battery/cell.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method to adaptively charge a battery, wherein the battery includes at least two terminals, the method comprising:
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applying a charge signal to the at least two terminals of the battery, wherein the charge signal includes a plurality of pulses; measuring a plurality of voltages between the at least two terminals of the battery, wherein measuring the plurality of voltages includes measuring; a first voltage between the at least two terminals of the battery, which is in response to a first pulse of the charge signal and at a first predetermined time relative to applying the first pulse to the at least two terminals of the battery, and a second voltage between the at least terminals of the battery after applying the first pulse wherein the second voltage is a voltage which correlates to an equilibrium voltage of the battery, wherein equilibrium voltage of the battery corresponds to a voltage between the at least two terminals of the battery which is substantially constant when no charging current is applied to the at least two terminals of the battery; calculating data which is representative of an overpotential of the battery using the first voltage and the second voltage; and adapting one or more characteristics of the charge signal based on or using data which is representative of the overpotential of the battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus to adaptively charge a battery, wherein the battery includes at least two terminals, the apparatus comprising:
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charge circuitry, coupled to the battery, to generate a charge signal and apply the charge signal to the at least two terminals of the battery, wherein the charge signal includes a plurality of pulses; measurement circuitry, coupled to the battery, to measure a plurality of voltages between the at least two terminals of the battery, and wherein the measurement circuitry measures; a first voltage between the at least two terminals of the battery, which is in response to a first pulse of the charge signal and at a first predetermined time relative to applying the first pulse of charge signal to the at least two terminals of the battery, and a second voltage between the at least two terminals of the battery after applying the first pulse wherein the second voltage is a voltage which correlates to an equilibrium voltage of the battery, wherein equilibrium voltage of the battery corresponds to a voltage which is substantially constant when no charging current is applied to the at least two terminals of the battery; and control circuitry which is coupled to the measurement circuitry and charge circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to; calculate data which is representative of an overpotential of the battery using the first and second voltages, and adapt one or more characteristics of the charge signal using the data which is representative of the overpotential of the battery by generating and outputting one or more control signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification