Patent · US Expired

Apparatus to prevent complete battery discharge

US5343137A · kind A · utility

44Cited by
9References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 27, 1993
Grant dateAug 30, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 27, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH02H5/041
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

To prevent the complete discharge of a battery connected to a load, a battery voltage of the battery is compared with a reference voltage, and a switch is activated to open an electrical connection between the battery and the load when the detected battery voltage falls below the reference voltage. To compensate for dynamic characteristics of the battery and the load, a battery current flowing through the battery is detected and a value of the reference voltage is continuously set according to the detected battery current. Similarly, a battery temperature of the battery also controls the reference voltage. Also, a timer may be provided to cause the switch to open the connection between the battery and the load only when the detected battery voltage remains below the reference voltage for a predetermined period of time.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.