Systems and methods for remotely determining a battery characteristic

• US 9,983,312 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2017
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Duracell U.S. Operations, Inc. (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Duracell U.S. Operations, Inc. (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Inventors: Dempsey, Nancy Taylor, McGinnis, Karen Coltharp, Wenzel, Elizabeth Jane, Amann, Mathias, Bourilkov, Jordan Todorov, Coronado Hortal, Sergio, Joyce, Jonathan Livingston, Sherman, Faiz Feisal, Specht, Steven Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Yi, Roy Y
• Application Number:
  US15/660,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20170322311A1
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/371 with remote indication, e.g. on external chargers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4221 with battery type recognition
• 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 10/48 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 10/488 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 2010/4278 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 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane

Abstract

Included are embodiments for remotely determining a battery characteristic. Some embodiments include searching for a first wireless signal that identifies the energy storage device and, in response to receiving the first wireless signal, determining a current charge level of the energy storage device. Some embodiments include receiving a second wireless signal from the energy storage device, determining from the second wireless signal, whether the current charge level of the energy storage device reaches a predetermined threshold, and in response to determining that the current charge level of the energy storage device reaches the predetermined threshold, sending, by the computing device, an alert indicating the current charge level.

Claims

1. A computing device for remotely monitoring online battery activity comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory memory component that stores logic that, when executed by the processor, causes the computing device to perform at least the following;

detect a wireless communication signal from a battery;

determine, from the wireless communication signal, a device powered by the battery;

determine a depletion rate of the battery;

based on the determined depletion rate, determine that the battery is considered depleted;

searching a vicinity of the computing device to detect a plurality of devices powered by batteries;

identifying, from the plurality of devices, a second device associated with a depletion rate less than the determined depletion rate; and

provide, via a software application executing on the computing device, a user interface that presents a recommendation that the battery should be utilized in the identified second device.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the logic further causes the computing device to determine at least one of the following:

a battery type of the battery, a physical location of the battery, and a type of device powered by the battery.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the logic further causes the computing device to determine an external condition that affects the depletion rate of the battery and utilize the external condition to determine the depletion rate of the battery.

4. The computing device of claim 1 wherein to determine the depletion rate of the battery, the logic further causes the computing device to:

detect a wireless communication signal from the battery that indicates the depletion rate of the battery.

5. The computing device of claim 1 wherein to determine the depletion rate of the battery, the logic further causes the computing device to:

detect a wireless communication signal from the battery that indicates a type of device powered by the battery; and

querying, using the indicated type of device, a lookup table to determine the depletion rate of the battery.

6. The computing device of claim 1 wherein to determine the depletion rate of the battery, the logic further causes the computing device to:

detect a wireless communication signal from the battery that indicates a first level of charge at a first time;

detect a wireless communication signal from the battery that indicates a second level of charge at a second time; and

determine, based on the first and second levels of charge and the first and second times, the depletion rate of the battery.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the logic further causes the computing device to provide the user interface such that the user interface presents a physical location of the identified second device.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the logic further causes the computing device to provide the user interface in response to a user requesting, via the software application, a recommendation based on of the battery or the device powered by the battery.

9. A method for remotely monitoring activity of an energy storage device, comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a wireless signal that identifies the energy storage device;

in response to receiving the wireless signal, determining, by the computing device, a device powered by the energy storage device;

determining, by the computing device, a depletion rate of the energy storage device;

based on the determined depletion rate, determining, by the computing device, that the energy storage device is considered depleted;

searching, by the computing device, a vicinity of the computing device to detect a plurality of devices powered by energy storage devices;

identifying, from the plurality of devices, a second device associated with a depletion rate less than the determined depletion rate; and

providing a user interface that presents a recommendation that the energy storage device should be utilized in the identified second device.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining at least one of the following;

a device type of the energy storage device, a physical location of the energy storage device, and a type of device for the device powered by the energy storage device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining an external condition that affects the depletion rate of the energy storage device;

utilizing, by the computing device, the external condition to determine the depletion rate of the energy storage device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the depletion rate of the energy storage device comprises:

receiving, at the computing device, a wireless signal that indicates the depletion rate of the energy storage device.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the depletion rate of the energy storage device comprises:

receiving, at the computing device, a wireless signal that indicates a type of device powered by the energy storage device; and

querying, using the indicated type of device, a lookup table to determine the depletion rate of the battery.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the depletion rate of the energy storage device comprises:

receiving, at the computing device, a wireless signal that indicates a first level of charge of the energy storage device at a first time;

receiving, at the computing device, a wireless signal that indicates a second level of charge of the energy storage device at a second time; and

determine, based on the first and second levels of charge and the first and second times, the depletion rate of the energy storage device.

15. The method claim 9, further comprising:

providing, via the user interface, a physical location of the identified second device.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the computing device provides the user interface in response to a user requesting a recommendation based on of the energy storage device or the device powered by the energy storage device.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for remotely monitoring activity of an energy storage device that stores logic that, when executed by a processor, causes a computing device to perform the following:

receive a wireless signal that identifies the energy storage device;

in response to receiving the wireless signal, determine a device powered by the energy storage device;

determine a depletion rate of the energy storage device;

based on the determined depletion rate, determine that the energy storage device is considered depleted;

search a vicinity of the computing device to detect a plurality of devices powered by energy storage devices;

identify, from the plurality of devices, a second device associated with a depletion rate less than the determined depletion rate; and

provide a user interface that includes a recommendation that the battery should be utilized in the identified second device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the logic further causes the computing device to:

determine an external condition that affects the depletion rate of the energy storage device; and

utilize the external condition to determine the depletion rate of the energy storage device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the logic further causes the computing device to:

provide, via the user interface, a physical location of the identified second device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the computing device provides the user interface in response to a user requesting a recommendation based on of the energy storage device or the device powered by the energy storage device.