Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for determining a charge of a battery

US5596260A · kind A · utility

378Cited by
6References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 13, 1994
Grant dateJan 21, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 13, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S320/21
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

In an electronic device powered by a battery, a method of determining a charge of the battery. Initially, a discharge curve specifying the battery's voltage as a function of time is determined. This discharge curve is calibrated according to actual measurements. Next, a battery state model is established. The battery state model is comprised of a number of discrete charge states. The probability of the actual battery's charge for a particular charge state is specified by the battery state model for each of the charge states. The battery's voltage is periodically measured. Based on the measured voltage and the discharge curve, a voltage probability distribution is computed. The battery discharge model is updated by applying Bayes theorem to the old discharge model and the voltage probability distribution. The charge of the battery based on a mean value of the battery discharge model is then displayed.

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