Systems and methods for determning crank health of a battery

• US 10,830,826 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2018
• Issued: 11/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Northstar Battery Company, LLC
• Original Assignee: Northstar Battery Company, LLC
• Inventors: Karner, Don, Fleming, Frank, Krohn, Ulf, Lindkvist, Christer
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Vincent Q
• Application Number:
  US16/046,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20190033396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 324426-430
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0862 characterised by the electrical power supply means, e.g. battery
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/063 Battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/064 Battery temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 3/08 giving differences of values using thermoelectric elements G01K7/02; giving differentiated values
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3647 for determining the ability of a battery to perform a critical function, e.g. cranking
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/367 Software therefor, e.g. for battery testing using modelling or look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/371 with remote indication, e.g. on external chargers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/374 with means for correcting the measurement for temperature or ageing
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/379 for lead-acid batteries
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3835 involving only voltage measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/388 involving voltage measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/392 Determining battery ageing or deterioration, e.g. state of health
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/396 Acquisition or processing of data for testing or for monitoring individual cells or groups of cells within a battery
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/00 Meteorology
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 : Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1418 : Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1454 : Circuit arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 : Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/06 : Lead-acid accumulators semi-lead accumulators H01M10/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 : Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 : Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 : Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 : for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 : for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/488 : Cells or batteries combined with indicating means for external visualization of the condition, e.g. by change of colour or of light density
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 : Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 : Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/209 : adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells H01M50/216 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/284 : with incorporated circuit boards, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB]
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/576 : in response to theft
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 : characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00022 : using wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00032 : characterised by data exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 : Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00309 : Overheat or overtemperature protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 : with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 : Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 : Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/30 : State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 : Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

Described herein are methods for determining, based on actual crank conditions, an ability of a battery connected to an electric starter motor, to start an internal combustion engine, wherein the battery is a single monobloc or a plurality of monoblocs that are electrically connected in series or parallel. The method may include: receiving battery temperature data, representing a temperature of the battery at a time of cranking the internal combustion engine; receiving voltage data monitored from the battery, determining an instantaneous minimum voltage of the battery during the time of cranking the internal combustion engine; and determining a capability of the battery to crank the internal combustion engine based on the battery temperature data and the instantaneous minimum voltage of the battery.

Claims

1. A method of determining, based on a history of actual crank conditions, a crank health of a battery, wherein the crank health of the battery is defined as a remaining life of the battery connected to an electric starter motor for an internal combustion engine, wherein the battery is a single monobloc or a plurality of monoblocs that are electrically connected in series or parallel, the method comprising:

receiving battery temperature data, representing a temperature of the battery at a time of cranking the internal combustion engine;

receiving voltage data monitored from the battery;

determining an instantaneous minimum voltage of the battery during the time of cranking the internal combustion engine; and

determining the crank health of the battery based on a history of the battery temperature data and the instantaneous minimum voltage of the battery and not based on data derived from monitoring charge or discharge currents associated with the battery.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time of cranking is a threshold time of less than 100 ms.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the instantaneous minimum voltage is less than 8V.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the remaining life is further defined as a prediction of the time remaining until the battery is not capable of starting the internal combustion engine.

5. A method of determining a crank health of a battery based on a history of actual crank conditions, wherein the crank health is defined as a remaining life of the battery connected to an electric starter motor for an internal combustion engine, wherein the battery is a single monobloc or a plurality of monoblocs that are electrically connected in series or parallel, the method comprising:

detecting a crank event based on monitoring battery voltage;

sensing a battery temperature (a Crank Temperature) and the battery voltage (a Crank Voltage) during the crank event;

storing the Crank Temperature and the Crank Voltage associated with the crank event; and

determining the crank health of the battery based on analysis of changes in the Crank Temperature and the Crank Voltage;

wherein determining the crank health of the battery further comprises predicting a number of cranks remaining of the internal combustion engine for the battery based on analysis of trends in the Crank Temperature and the Crank Voltage over a plurality of crank events over time; and

wherein predicting Remaining life further comprises one or more of;

counting a number of crank events recorded in a single cell or a plurality of cells of a crank matrix;

weighting the number of crank events recorded in the single cell or the plurality of cells of the crank matrix; and

analyzing a history of the crank matrix and the changes in crank events in specific voltage and temperature ranges over time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the Crank Voltage is continuously monitored at a frequency high enough to detect an initial short circuit condition at the initiation of an engine crank.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the Crank Voltage is the near instantaneous minimum voltage of the battery during a cranking event representing an internal resistance of the battery.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein detecting the crank event further comprises:

detecting a decrease in voltage greater than a threshold voltage occurring over a predetermined period of time; and

wherein sensing the crank voltage during the crank event comprises sensing a minimum of the crank voltage across battery terminals of the battery during the crank event.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising validating a battery warranty claim by evaluating the crank matrix to determine conditions of abuse of the battery and/or operation of the battery outside established warranty conditions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the crank health of the battery further comprises assessing crank health based on trends in at least one of the crank event, the Crank Voltage, and the Crank Temperature.

11. A method for assessing, based on a history of actual crank conditions, a crank health of a battery connected to an electric starter motor for an internal combustion engine, wherein the crank health of the battery is defined as a remaining life of the battery, wherein the battery is a single monobloc or a plurality of monoblocs that are electrically connected in series or parallel, the method comprising:

detecting a crank event based on monitoring battery voltage;

sensing a battery temperature (a Crank Temperature) and the battery voltage (a Crank Voltage) during the crank event;

incrementing a counter in a cell, of M×

N cells of a crank matrix, that corresponds to the Crank Temperature and the Crank Voltage associated with the crank event to create a history of crank temperatures and voltages, wherein each cell corresponds to a designated crank temperature range and a designated crank voltage range;

determining the crank health of the battery based on the history of crank temperatures and voltages; and

generating a notification of the crank health of the battery.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting the crank event is based on monitoring a voltage across terminals of the battery.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein crank voltage data represents the crank voltage and crank temperature data represents the crank temperature, and wherein the crank voltage data, the crank temperature data, battery-specific data, and application-specific data are programmed into a battery monitoring circuit or a remote device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the crank voltage and the crank temperature counts are compared to empirical information about a specific engine type.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a visual indication of matrix cells that are acceptable or unacceptable may be adjusted based on the empirical information.

16. The method of claim 13, determining whether a battery warranty is still valid based off of the crank voltage data, the crank temperature data, the battery-specific and the application-specific data.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing the notification, based on a crank matrix, of the crank health of the battery.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying a visual indication of whether the battery has been abused or operated outside established conditions by measuring temperatures and voltages at which cranking operations have been performed, and illustrating, in a crank matrix, the cumulative instances of said temperatures and voltages at which cranking operations have been performed.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the remaining life is further defined as a prediction of the time remaining until the battery is not capable of starting the internal combustion engine.