Battery charging with charging parameters sweep

• US 10,840,725 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2018
• Issued: 11/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gbatteries Energy Canada Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gbatteries Energy Canada Inc.
• Inventors: Tkachenko, Oleksandr, Sherstyuk, Mykola
• Primary Examiner(s): Pelton, Nathaniel R
• Application Number:
  US16/190,236
• Publication Number:
  US 20190081486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 320118
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00711 with introduction of pulses during the charging process
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer-readable media may charge a battery. A value of at least one battery parameter is determined, and a range of values to which the value of the at least one battery parameter corresponds to is identified. Based on the identified range of values, a set of values for at least one charging parameter is determined, and a battery is charged while a value of the at least one charging parameter is swept among the set of values.

Claims

1. A method to charge a battery, the method comprising:

determining a value of at least one battery parameter;

identifying a range of values to which the value of the at least one battery parameter corresponds to;

determining, based on the identified range of values, a set of values for at least one charging parameter; and

charging the battery while sweeping a value of the at least one charging parameter among the set of values, wherein the at least one charging parameter includes a frequency of charging pulses, and wherein sweeping the value of the at least one charging parameter among the set of values includes cyclically varying a value of the frequency of charging pulses among a set of values of the frequency of charging pulses using a mathematical function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein sweeping the value of the at least one charging parameter comprises sweeping the value of the at least one charging parameter among the set of values, until a determination is made that the value of the at least one battery parameter has changed and corresponds to a different range of values.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the value of the at least one battery parameter has changed and corresponds to another range of values;

determining, based on the another range of values, another set of values for the at least one charging parameter; and

charging the battery while sweeping the value of the at least one charging parameter among the another set of values.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the set of values for the at least one charging parameter comprises selecting the set of values from a lookup table.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the lookup table is generated during characterization of the battery, and wherein the lookup table includes a plurality of ranges, corresponding to the value of the at least one battery parameter, mapped to a plurality of sets of values for the at least one charging parameter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the value of the at least one battery parameter comprises measuring the value of the at least one battery parameter.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the value of the at least one battery parameter comprises determining at least one of:

an open circuit voltage (OCV), a state of charge (SoC), a battery charge throughput, of the battery.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the set of values for the at least one charging parameter includes determining the set of values for at least one of:

a duty cycle of charging pulses, the frequency of charging pulses, an ON time of charging pulses, an OFF time of charging pulses, and charging current.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein sweeping the value of the at least one charging parameter among the set of values includes:

selecting a first value, of the set of values, as the value of the at least one charging parameter at a first point in time;

charging the battery by step-wise increasing the value of the at least one charging parameter, from the first value to reach a second value, of the set of values, at a second point in time; and

charging the battery by step-wise decreasing the value of the at least one charging parameter, from the second value to reach the first value, of the set of values, at a third point in time.

10. An apparatus to charge a battery, the apparatus comprising:

a controller; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured to store instructions, wherein the instructions, in response to execution, by the controller, cause the controller to perform or control performance of operations that comprise;

determine a value of at least one battery parameter;

identify a range of values to which the value of the at least one battery parameter corresponds to;

determine, based on the identified range of values, a set of values for at least one charging parameter; and

charge the battery while a value of the at least one charging parameter is swept among the set of values, wherein the at least one charging parameter includes a frequency of charging pulses, and wherein the battery is charged while a value of the frequency of charging pulses is cyclically varied among a set of values of the frequency of charging pulses using a mathematical function.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the operation to determine the set of values for the at least one charging parameter includes at least one operation to select the set of values from a lookup table, and wherein the selected set of values is mapped to the identified range of values in the lookup table.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one battery parameter includes one of:

an open circuit voltage (OCV), a state of charge (SoC), a battery charge throughput, of the battery.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one charging parameter further includes one or more of:

a duty cycle of charging pulses, an ON time of charging pulses, an OFF time of charging pulses, and charging current.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the operation to sweep the value of the at least one charging parameter among the set of values includes one or more operations to:

select a first value, of the set of values, as the value of the at least one charging parameter at a first point in time;

charge the battery while the value of the at least one charging parameter is step-wise increased from the first value to reach a second value, of the set of values, at a second point in time; and

charge the battery while the value of the at least one charging parameter is step-wise decreased from the second value to reach the first value, of the set of values, at a third point in time.

15. A system, comprising:

a battery comprising one or more battery cells;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured to at least store a lookup table; and

a controller operatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and to the battery, wherein the controller is configured to;

determine a value of at least one battery parameter;

identify a range of values to which the value of the at least one battery parameter corresponds to;

select, from the lookup table, a set of values for at least one charging parameter, wherein the set of values is mapped to the identified range of values in the lookup table; and

charge the battery while a value of the at least one charging parameter is swept among the set of values, wherein the at least one charging parameter includes a frequency of charging pulses, and wherein the battery is charged while a value of the frequency of charging pulses is cyclically varied among a set of values of the frequency of charging pulses using a mathematical function.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine that the value of the at least one battery parameter has changed and corresponds to another range of values;

select, from the lookup table, another set of values for the at least one charging parameter; and

charge the battery while the value of the at least one charging parameter is swept among the another set of values.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the operation to charge the battery while the value of the at least one charging parameter is swept among the set of values includes at least one operation to charge the battery while the value of the at least one charging parameter is repeatedly transitioned from a first value of the set of values to a second value of the set of values as a function of time.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the lookup table is specific for a type of the battery.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

a battery measurement circuit configured to measure the value of the at least one battery parameter, wherein the controller is configured to obtain the value of the at least one battery parameter from the battery measurement circuit.