Battery health monitor
First Claim
1. A battery health monitor for monitoring one or more electrical parameters of a battery, the battery including first and second terminals of opposite polarity and configured to produce a direct current (dc) operating voltage at the first terminal, comprising:
- control circuitry includinga memory for storing a digitized sinusoidal waveform,a controller for accessing the waveform, anda digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for converting the accessed waveform into a sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal;
a current sink coupled to the first terminal and configured to sink therefrom a sinusoidal oscillatory current responsive to the sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal so as to cause the battery to produce at the first terminal a sinusoidal oscillatory voltage equal to or less than the dc operating voltage that would be present at the first terminal in the absence of the sinusoidal oscillatory current, wherein the current sink comprisesa transistor including a control terminal having applied thereto a control terminal voltage that varies responsive to the sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal, and a current path coupled between the first and second terminals and configured to sink the sinusoidal oscillatory current from the first terminal responsive to the control terminal voltage.a resistor connected in series with the transistor current path, the resistor and the transistor current path being connected between the first and second terminals wherein the sinking current produces across the series resistor a sense voltage proportional to a product of a magnitude of the sinusoidal sinking current and a resistance of the series resistor, andan amplifier circuit configured to convert the current control signal to the control terminal voltage in response to the sense voltage; and
a voltage sensor configured to sense the oscillatory voltage at the first terminal.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A battery health monitor (BHM) that operates as a battery-mountable full-spectrum alternating current (ac) impedance meter that facilitates monitoring a state-of-charge and a state-of-health of a battery. The BHM is used for monitoring one or more electrical parameters, e.g., impedance, of a battery. The BHM includes: a current sink coupled to the first terminal and configured to sink therefrom an oscillatory current so as to cause the battery to produce at a first terminal thereof an oscillatory voltage equal to or less than a dc operating voltage of the battery that would be present at the first terminal in the absence of the oscillatory current; and a voltage sensor configured to sense the oscillatory voltage at the first terminal.
74 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A battery health monitor for monitoring one or more electrical parameters of a battery, the battery including first and second terminals of opposite polarity and configured to produce a direct current (dc) operating voltage at the first terminal, comprising:
-
control circuitry including a memory for storing a digitized sinusoidal waveform, a controller for accessing the waveform, and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for converting the accessed waveform into a sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal; a current sink coupled to the first terminal and configured to sink therefrom a sinusoidal oscillatory current responsive to the sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal so as to cause the battery to produce at the first terminal a sinusoidal oscillatory voltage equal to or less than the dc operating voltage that would be present at the first terminal in the absence of the sinusoidal oscillatory current, wherein the current sink comprises a transistor including a control terminal having applied thereto a control terminal voltage that varies responsive to the sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal, and a current path coupled between the first and second terminals and configured to sink the sinusoidal oscillatory current from the first terminal responsive to the control terminal voltage. a resistor connected in series with the transistor current path, the resistor and the transistor current path being connected between the first and second terminals wherein the sinking current produces across the series resistor a sense voltage proportional to a product of a magnitude of the sinusoidal sinking current and a resistance of the series resistor, and an amplifier circuit configured to convert the current control signal to the control terminal voltage in response to the sense voltage; and a voltage sensor configured to sense the oscillatory voltage at the first terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A battery health monitor for monitoring one or more electrical parameters of a battery, the battery including first and second terminals of opposite polarity and configured to produce a direct current (dc) operating voltage at the first terminal, comprising:
-
control circuitry including a memory for storing a digitized sinusoidal waveform, a controller for accessing the waveform, and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for converting the accessed waveform into a sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal; a current sink coupled to the first terminal and configured to sink therefrom a sinusoidal oscillatory current responsive to the sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal so as to cause the battery to produce at the first terminal a sinusoidal oscillatory voltage equal to or less than the dc operating voltage that would be present at the first terminal in the absence of the sinusoidal oscillatory current; and a voltage sensor configured to sense the oscillatory voltage at the first terminal, wherein the sinusoidal oscillatory current includes at least three concurrent sinusoidal frequencies in each of at least three frequency decades, and wherein all of the frequencies have substantially equal amplitudes.
-
-
15. A method of monitoring one or more electrical parameters of a battery having first and second terminals of opposite polarity and configured to produce a direct current (dc) operating voltage at the first terminal, comprising:
-
accessing a storied digitized sinusoidal waveform; converting the accessed digitized sinusoidal waveform into a sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal; sinking, from the first terminal a sinusoidal oscillatory current responsive to the sinusoidal oscillatory current control signal so as to cause the battery produce at the first terminal a oscillatory voltage equal to or less than the dc operating voltage that would be present at the first terminal in the absence of the oscillatory current; and sensing the oscillatory voltage at the first terminal, wherein said sinusoidal oscillatory sinking current includes sinking at least three concurrent sinusoidal frequencies in each of at least three decades of frequencies,and wherein all of the frequencies have substantially equal amplitudes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification