Systems, methods and devices for adaptable battery charging
First Claim
1. A charging system for charging a battery comprising:
- memory configured to store an open circuit voltage (OCV) of a low-cycle count battery;
a sensor configured to determine an impedance of the battery; and
a controller configured to;
determine a first cutoff voltage threshold of a first constant current operation in a step charging of the battery based at least in part on the determined impedance of the battery and the stored OCV; and
cause a power source to provide a first constant current until the first cutoff voltage threshold is reached.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Because a rechargeable battery has an increased number of uses (e.g., cycles), the battery'"'"'s internal impedance can increase and the efficiency of the battery can become degraded. This internal resistance can cause cutoff voltage thresholds and cutoff current thresholds to prematurely stop a phase of battery charging, as these cutoff values can be based on low-cycle count batteries. New cutoff values can, instead, be based on battery impedance. Use of an adjusted cutoff current threshold during a constant voltage cycle can increase the capacity of high-cycle count batteries. Use of an adjusted cutoff voltage threshold in step charging can increase the charging speed of high-cycle count batteries. These increases in efficiency by using adjusted cutoff values can increase as the battery is further high-cycle count, in comparison with low-cycle count cutoff values used with high-cycle count batteries.
32 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A charging system for charging a battery comprising:
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memory configured to store an open circuit voltage (OCV) of a low-cycle count battery; a sensor configured to determine an impedance of the battery; and a controller configured to; determine a first cutoff voltage threshold of a first constant current operation in a step charging of the battery based at least in part on the determined impedance of the battery and the stored OCV; and cause a power source to provide a first constant current until the first cutoff voltage threshold is reached. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for adaptive charging comprising:
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a controller; a sensor configured to sense a voltage of a rechargeable power source; a bus interface between the controller and a charging system coupled to the rechargeable power source; the controller configured to; receive measurements from the sensor; estimate an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the rechargeable power source based at least in part on measurements from the sensor; revise a current threshold based at least in part on the estimated OCV; and communicate with the charging system over the bus interface to dynamically adjust a constant current of a constant current source and to approximately maintain a current below the current threshold associated with the estimated OCV to the rechargeable power source during a charging of the rechargeable power source. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification