Patent · US Expired

Battery protector

US6433514B1 · kind B1 · utility

12Cited by
3References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 4, 2000
Grant dateAug 13, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 4, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02E60/10
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A battery protection circuit includes a moisture detection circuit, a temperature sensing circuit, and a high-temperature battery discharge circuit. The moisture detection circuit includes a pair of conductive traces closely spaced on a substrate such that a resistive path is formed between the traces when moisture forms on the substrate. The traces are connected between the positive battery terminal and a pull-down current source. When moisture forms on the substrate, pull-up current flows between the traces, and a resulting voltage change on one of the traces is detected by circuit element such as a logic inverter. The temperature sensing circuit includes a voltage reference circuit that generates a proportional-to-temperature voltage and temperature-independent voltage reference signals corresponding to various predetermined temperatures. A measuring circuit operates during a sampling interval to compare each temperature-dependent voltage to the proportional-to-temperature voltage and to store the result of each comparison until a subsequent temperature sampling interval. The measuring circuit includes multiplexing circuitry used to sequentially select each temperature-dependent…

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