Patent · US Expired

Process for monitoring the charge level of a battery, and for informing the user of the battery when the monitored charge level is no longer reliable

US5596262A · kind A · utility

35Cited by
0References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateOct 31, 1994
Grant dateJan 21, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 31, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S320/21
  • WIPO fieldTransport
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of monitoring the state of charge of the battery of a hybrid vehicle, in which the charge level of the battery is determined by balancing the charge quantities extracted and supplied, and is indicated to the driver. Because of the inaccuracy of the charge balancing, resetting of the balancing from a reliable limit value must be carried out from time to time. In order to assist the operator of the hybrid vehicle in monitoring the battery charge level, according to the invention an error variable is calculated which indicates a discrepancy between the indicated charge level and the actual charge level, and the vehicle operator is provided with an indication if this variable exceeds a maximum value. In a representative embodiment, the error variable is set to be proportional to the current through the battery.

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