Energy storage system charger wake-up
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- at least one storage cell;
multiple terminals operable to output energy from the at least one storage cell;
control circuitry to monitor a level of energy stored in the at least one storage cell;
a discharge switch disposed in a circuit path between the at least one storage cell and a first terminal of the multiple terminals, the control circuitry operable to control a state of the discharge switch to an OFF state in response to detecting that the level of energy is below a threshold value, the OFF state of the discharge switch preventing current to flow from the at least one storage cell through the discharge switch to the first terminal;
a bypass circuit to provide a limited current to flow from the at least one storage cell to the first terminal during a condition in which the discharge switch is controlled to the OFF state; and
a charge switch controlled by the control circuitry, the charge switch operable to convey current received at the first terminal to the at least one storage cell;
wherein the bypass circuit is connected to a circuit node coupling the charge switch to the discharge switch; and
wherein the charge switch is disposed in series with the discharge switch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In an embodiment, an energy storage system includes one or more storage cells, charge/discharge circuitry, and charger wakeup circuitry. After the storage cells become depleted below an energy level threshold, the charge/discharge circuitry disconnects the storage cells from a main circuit associated with the storage system. The charger wakeup circuitry allows a limited amount of current to bypass the charge/discharge circuitry in order to present a current-limited voltage from the storage cells at the terminals. The voltage presented at the terminals is pulsed on and off when an external device is connected across the terminals. The voltage presented to the terminals is detected by the external device. After detecting the voltage, the external device performs an operation in response to detecting the condition.
10 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one storage cell; multiple terminals operable to output energy from the at least one storage cell; control circuitry to monitor a level of energy stored in the at least one storage cell; a discharge switch disposed in a circuit path between the at least one storage cell and a first terminal of the multiple terminals, the control circuitry operable to control a state of the discharge switch to an OFF state in response to detecting that the level of energy is below a threshold value, the OFF state of the discharge switch preventing current to flow from the at least one storage cell through the discharge switch to the first terminal; a bypass circuit to provide a limited current to flow from the at least one storage cell to the first terminal during a condition in which the discharge switch is controlled to the OFF state; and a charge switch controlled by the control circuitry, the charge switch operable to convey current received at the first terminal to the at least one storage cell; wherein the bypass circuit is connected to a circuit node coupling the charge switch to the discharge switch; and wherein the charge switch is disposed in series with the discharge switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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monitoring a level of energy stored in at least one storage cell; detecting that the energy stored in the at least one storage cell is below an energy threshold level; controlling a state of a discharge switch to an OFF state in response to detecting that the level of energy is below the energy threshold level, the OFF state of the discharge switch preventing current to flow from the at least one storage cell through the discharge switch to a first output terminal; controlling a bypass circuit to provide a limited current to flow from the at least one storage cell to the first terminal during a condition in which the discharge switch is controlled to the OFF state; temporarily terminating the flow of the limited current; and resuming generation of the limited current through the bypass circuit to the first output terminal after a time delay. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system comprising:
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an energy storage system to store energy; output terminals to convey the energy from the energy storage system as an output voltage to an external device; control circuitry to monitor a level of energy stored in the energy storage system; a discharge switch disposed in a circuit path between the energy storage system and a first terminal of the output terminals, the control circuitry operable to control a state of the discharge switch to an OFF state in response to detecting that the level of energy is below a threshold value, the OFF state of the discharge switch preventing current to flow from the energy storage system through the discharge switch to the first terminal; a bypass circuit to provide a limited current to flow from the energy storage system to the first terminal of the output terminals during a condition in which the level of the energy stored in the energy storage system is below the threshold value, the limited current resulting in presentation of the output voltage at the output terminals; a charge switch controlled by the control circuitry, the charge switch operable to convey current received at the first terminal to the energy storage system; wherein the bypass circuit is connected to a circuit node coupling the charge switch to the discharge switch; and wherein the charge switch is disposed in series with the discharge switch. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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Specification