Battery charge management/protection apparatus
US5631537A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 17, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 20, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 17, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S320/13
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A battery charger/protection device (10) is provided for charging a battery pack (12) comprised of four lithium ion cells. Each of the cells is selectively monitored by examining the voltage thereacross. An overvoltage condition is checked for a cell, an undervoltage condition for a cell is checked and an overcurrent condition for the entire battery pack (12) is checked. This is achieved by comparing the voltage with predetermined threshold voltages during the charging operation. This is a sequential operation wherein each of the batteries is sequentially examined in a continuous manner through the charging operation in accordance with a predetermined scheme. Switches (30) and (28) are provided for terminating a charging operation during charging. During operation, the undervoltage condition can be checked and the charger/protection device (10) placed in a sleep mode. The charger/protection device (10) provides a finite number of terminals for accessing any combination of cells. By connecting the terminals together for an unused cell, information about the cell across those two terminals can be nullified by indicating that no cell is present and that a short has been substituted fo…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.