Electric device with intelligent battery system therein

• US 7,211,987 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2002
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masaki, Odaohhara, Shigefumi, Matsumoto, Takeshi, Tadokoro, Mizuho, Aoki, Takaaki, Kumaki, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Easthom; Karl
• Assistant Examiner(s): Muralidar; Richard V.
• Application Number:
  US10/245,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20030057918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,687 Days
• Field of Search: 320/134, 320/132, 320/136, 320/137, 320/149, 320/112, 320/125, 320/127, 320/128, 320/139, 320/4, 320/5, 320/12, 320/13, 320/14, 320/21, 320/30, 320/31, 320/35, 320/43, 320/44, 320/48, 320/104, 324/431, 324/426, 324/427, 324/428, 324/433, 324/425, 324/432
• US Class Current: 320/134
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/374 with means for correcting the measurement for temperature or ageing
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3842 combining voltage and current measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/392 Determining battery ageing or deterioration, e.g. state of health
• 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 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• 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 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/569 Constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals battery terminal connectors with integrated measuring arrangements G01R31/364
• 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: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A computer provided with an intelligent battery 52 for charging/discharging, the intelligent battery 52 supplying power to a main system unit, wherein the intelligent battery 52 includes: a voltage measuring circuit 70 for measuring a battery voltage of the intelligent battery 52; a current measuring circuit 63 for measuring a charging/discharging current of the intelligent battery 52; a temperature measuring circuit 90 for measuring a temperature of the intelligent battery 52; and a CPU 62 for periodically reading the battery voltage measured by the voltage measuring circuit 70, the charging/discharging current measured by the current measuring circuit 63, and the temperature measured by the temperature measuring circuit 90 so as to manage a capacity deterioration of the battery due to a storage deterioration and a cycle deterioration, and wherein the main system unit includes an embedded controller 41 for receiving information about the capacity deterioration from the CPU 62 of the battery.

Claims

1. A total capacity correcting method for correcting a total capacity of a battery for charging/discharging and supplying power to a main unit, comprising the steps of:

integrating a charging amount for said battery;

determining whether the integrated charging amount teaches a total capacity monitored in advance, or not; and

incrementing a cycle count when the integrated charging amount reaches the total capacity, and performing correction for a deterioration value based on cycle deterioration to calculate a modified total capacity, the method rendering the modified total capacity based at least in part on both the correction for the deterioration value based on cycle deterioration, and on a storage deterioration of the battery.

2. A program product comprising:

computer readable media on which a computer program is implemented, said computer program including computer code providing a function to monitor a cycle deterioration that is a capacity deterioration due to charging/discharging of a battery;

computer code providing a function to monitor a storage deterioration that is a capacity deterioration clue to storage of said battery; and

computer cods providing a function recognizing the deterioration value of said battery based on said monitored cycle deterioration and storage deterioration.

3. An electric device, comprising:

a main unit consuming power;

a battery for supplying the power to the main unit, and

means to update a value of total capacity of said battery depending on non-operative state of the battery wherein said non-operative state of the battery includes correction for cycle deterioration, the cycle deterioration being a ratio of the battery when fully charged (“

Full Charge Capacity”

) and an initial fully charged state charge capacity of the battery (“

Design Capacity”

), wherein the Full Charge Capacity in a second charge cycle following a first charge cycle is the Full Charge Capacity of the first charge cycle—

Design Capacity×

0.5/500.