Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080224657 | Rechargeable battery - The invention relates to a rechargeable battery with a battery housing having a rear wall with a recess which extends as far as an end wall of the battery housing and has a base side and narrow sides facing each other, the base side continuing via a step into the outer side of the rear wall, and a contact assembly which is covered by a cover extending from the step being positioned at the step. In order to further develop the battery so that when the battery is connected to an electrical appliance the contact assembly is protected against splash water, it is proposed, in accordance with the invention, that the cover form a contact housing which completely surrounds the contact assembly in circumferential direction and has on its side facing away from the step an insertion opening surrounded by a circumferential rim of the contact housing, which forms a sealing surface. | 09-18-2008 |
20080252255 | CHARGER WITH INPUT AND OUTPUT VOLTAGES ADJUSTABLE BY MEANS OF SINGLE CIRCUIT MATED PLUG-IN CARD TYPE SWITCH - The present invention provides a charger whose input and output voltages are adjusted by means of a single circuit mated plug-in card type switches, in particular relates to a charger that is suited for various input voltages adjusted by various plug-in cards to achieve charging, which has a function of adjusting output voltages by means of plug-in card-type switches to securely and properly charge various electronic terminals having various rated voltages, and whose voltages are universally used for charging electronic terminals. The charger is characterized by comprising a charger body, a DC input and output jack and a slot on one side of the charger body; a circuit main board, N battery packs and a display circuit built in the charger body; a plurality of plug-in cards and a plurality of DC input converters, or a plurality of plug-in cards and a plurality of DC output converters, mated with the DC input and output jack and the slot, and plug type DC jacks arranged at one end of the plurality of DC input converters and the plurality of DC output converters respectively; and a external power source and output wires connected to the plug type DC jacks respectively. The external power source is input into the built in electronic circuit through the plurality of input converters and the plurality of input plug-in cards, so that the input charging current can be adjust to charge the battery packs, and there also are electronic circuit arranged in the plurality of output plug-in cards, so that output voltage can be adjusted by changing values of electronic parts to satisfy the charging requirement of electronic terminals. | 10-16-2008 |
20080258683 | Rechargeable battery assembly and power system using same - A rechargeable battery, battery set or battery pack having a circuit or a plurality of circuits for providing self-discharging thereof electrically connected in parallel are used to form rechargeable battery assemblies and electric power supply systems for use in electric and hybrid vehicles and the like. | 10-23-2008 |
20080265837 | CONNECTOR DEVICE, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND BATTERY PACK USING THE SAME - A connector device includes a circuit board and a connector body, and the connector body includes a housing and a connection terminal provided inside the housing. A silicon resin is applied to fill a gap between the connector body and the circuit board. The application of the silicon resin can prevent a mold resin used to seal the connector device and a battery pack body from entering from the gap into the housing. Thereby, a connector device reliably establishing conduction and a battery pack applying such a connector device can be obtained. | 10-30-2008 |
20080284372 | Submersible/sterilizable battery - A battery pack for a sterilizable instrument, such as a medical endoscope. The battery pack includes batteries removably positioned within an enclosure which mounts a first grouping of electrical contacts engaged with the battery contacts. The enclosure includes an outer end wall which sealingly encloses the first grouping of contacts. The outer end wall mounts a second grouping of electrical contacts which are normally resiliently maintained in a first position spaced from the contacts of the first grouping. The contacts of the second grouping sealingly penetrate through the outer end wall. When the battery pack is engaged on the instrument, the contacts of the second grouping engage third contacts on the instrument, causing the contacts of the second grouping to move into a second position where they directly engage contacts of the first grouping to provide electrical power to the instrument. When the battery pack is removed from the instrument, the contacts of the second grouping are resiliently returned to the first position, whereupon the batteries can be sterilized. | 11-20-2008 |
20080284373 | CORDLESS POWER TOOL SYSTEM HAVING SLIDABLY-ENGAGING POWER SOURCE CONNECTION - A system of cordless power tools includes a cordless power tool adapted to removably receive a rechargeable battery pack. The battery pack and the power tool can have complementary grooves and rails or L-shaped surfaces that aid in aligning the positive and negative blade terminals of the battery pack to the positive and negative tool terminals, respectively, of the power tool. | 11-20-2008 |
20080290835 | BATTERY PACK, CHARGING DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A charging device capable of appropriately grasping the charged state of a battery pack using data stored in a memory of the battery pack even when the battery pack becomes commercial as a new product. A charging device determines charged state data indicative of a charged state of a battery pack mounted thereon based on a charging current supplied and/or a charging voltage applied to the battery pack. A charge control microcomputer reads charging characteristics data from a memory of the battery pack, and generates a data table associating at least one of the charging current supplied and the charging voltage applied to the battery pack and the charged state data with each other, based on the charging characteristics data read out. The microcomputer determines charged state data indicative of a charged state of the battery pack, based on the generated data table. | 11-27-2008 |
20080315833 | BATTERY PULSE CHARGING METHOD AND APPARATUS - Disclosed herein are some embodiments for safely charging a mobile system battery pack, even when the power source (e.g., adapter) voltage is at a relatively high level that would otherwise result in excessive charge current. | 12-25-2008 |
20090001933 | Electric device system with integrated recharge source and exterior energy source - A system containing an electric device such as a cellular phone, equipped with an integrated source of rechargeable electrical energy, an exterior energy source device and a connecting cable from the source device to the device. The exterior source device contains a module with several batteries likely to be connected t the device and constitute a source of electrical energy making it possible to completely charge the internal battery pack of the device. | 01-01-2009 |
20090027005 | CHARGING DEVICE - The invention relates to a loading device ( | 01-29-2009 |
20090072785 | BATTERY PACK - A battery pack includes at least one battery cell and a base and a cover, together adapted to house the at least one battery cell. A plurality of linking holes are located on at least one first side surface of one of the base or the cover, each linking hole defined by a periphery, wherein at least a portion of the periphery includes a reinforcement that is thicker than the thickness of the first side surface. A plurality of linking protrusions are located on at least one second side surface of the other of the base or the cover, each of the plurality of linking protrusions adapted to mate with a corresponding linking hole, thereby holding the base and cover in engagement with one another. | 03-19-2009 |
20090108806 | ADAPTOR, ASSEMBLY OF BATTERY PACK AND ADAPTOR, AND ELECTRIC TOOL WITH THE SAME - When a battery pack having an output voltage of 14.4 V that is connectable to an electric tool in a sliding manner is used as a power supply source for the electric tool that is connectable to a battery pack in an insertion manner and has a rated voltage of 12 V, the electric tool and the battery pack are connected to each other with an adaptor interposed therebetween. The adaptor has an FET that is switched at a predetermined duty of a predetermined frequency. The battery pack and the electric tool are connected or disconnected to or from each other by the switching operation, thereby dropping the output voltage of the battery pack. The voltage from the battery pack is detected. When the detected voltage is out of a predetermined value range, it is judged that the overcurrent or overdischarge has occurred. Then, the FET is turned off to stop the electric tool. | 04-30-2009 |
20090243542 | INTEGRATED POWER ADAPTER FOR A LAPTOP - A power pack arrangement for a laptop computer, wherein an AC/DC adapter is integrated with a battery pack to form one cohesive unit freely insertable into and removable from a laptop computer housing. | 10-01-2009 |
20090284222 | Docking Device - A docking device for receiving a portable computer is disclosed. The docking device includes a device housing and a charging connector that is provided on a side surface of the device housing and is connected to a battery connector of a battery pack in order to charge the battery pack. The charging connector is connectable to the battery connector in a state where the battery pack and the device housing are disposed on the same plane. When the charging connector and the battery connector are in a connected state and the device housing is being moved to a position within a predetermined height from the plane, the connection state between the charging connector and the battery connector is maintained. When the device housing is being moved to a position that exceeds the predetermined height from the plane, the battery connector will be separated from the charging connector due to the weight of the battery pack. | 11-19-2009 |
20100085008 | Monitoring system for electric power tool, battery pack for electric power tool, and battery charger for electric power tool - A battery monitoring system for electric power tool includes a battery pack for electric power tool and an auxiliary power source. The battery pack has a battery and a monitoring circuit. The battery is provided with at least one battery cell. The monitoring circuit is operated by electric power supplied from the battery, and monitors a status of the battery. The auxiliary power source outputs electric power allowing the monitoring circuit to operate. The monitoring circuit is configured such that, when the monitoring circuit is unoperational with the electric power of the battery due to a decrease in a voltage of the battery, the monitoring circuit becomes operational by the electric power supplied from the auxiliary power source. | 04-08-2010 |
20100231165 | Multiple Interface Device Charger with Removable Battery Pack - A charging accessory for a portable electronic device having a device input connector includes a main charger body portion having a power supply connection to an AC wall outlet that receives an AC power supply voltage. Power conversion circuitry converts the AC power supply voltage to a DC power supply voltage. A device connector is electrically coupled to the DC power supply voltage and configured to couple the DC power supply voltage to the device input connector of the portable electronic device. The main body also has a battery pack connector that is electrically coupled to the DC power supply voltage. The battery pack connector couples to a battery pack through a charging body connector that electrically connects to the battery pack connector and receives the DC power supply voltage when the battery pack is mounted on the main charger body portion. A rechargeable battery in the battery receives the DC power supply voltage to recharge the rechargeable battery. A device connector allows the battery pack to be directly coupled to the device input connector on the portable electronic device to provide an addition portable power supply for the device. | 09-16-2010 |
20100320967 | Rechargeable Battery Pack with Connecting Ports for Internal and External Charging/Output Operations - The embodiments relate to a rechargeable battery pack capable of both internal and external charging/output operation. The rechargeable battery pack has an internal connecting port, which is configured to directly connect to an internal electrical contact in an electronic device during an internal charging/output operation when such battery pack is installed inside an electronic device. The rechargeable battery pack also has at least one external connecting port, which is operable during at least one of external charging and output operations of the rechargeable battery pack when the battery pack is removed from the electronic device. The external connecting port allows the rechargeable battery pack to be externally connected to an external charging connecter during an external charging operation or to a second electronic device or second rechargeable battery pack during an external output operation. | 12-23-2010 |
20110043166 | Charging Circuit - A charging circuit includes a battery pack provided with one or more secondary batteries and a battery charger for charging the secondary batteries, the battery pack being detachably attachable to the battery charger. The charging circuit further includes a control unit for performing a charging control, a monitoring unit for detecting charged voltage of the secondary batteries to determine completion of charging, a storage unit storing charging data for use in the charging control of the control unit and determination of the charging completion of the monitoring unit and a changing unit for changing the charging data. The monitoring unit and the storage unit are arranged in the battery pack, and the changing unit and the control unit are arranged in the battery charger. | 02-24-2011 |
20110057615 | UNIVERSAL POWER INTERFACE BUS - A circuit and communication method for charging and/or discharging electrical energy storage devices (e.g., one or more cells of ultracapacitors, one or more cells of batteries, one or more cells of ultracapacitors and batteries). | 03-10-2011 |
20110074353 | Battery charger - A battery charger for charging a detachably attached battery pack by supplying an electric power from an external power source, the battery charger includes a notification unit for notifying a user of a charging operation by turning on or flickering a light-emitting member. The notification unit notifies the user of a power connection state of the battery charger by turning on or flickering the light-emitting member immediately after the battery charger is electrically connected to the external power source without attaching the battery pack thereto, and the notification unit turns off the light-emitting member after a predetermined period of time lapses and keeps the light-emitting member in an off-state until the battery pack is attached to the battery charger. | 03-31-2011 |
20110156647 | Apparatus and method for charging a battery pack - A battery pack charger and a method of charging a battery pack may properly charge a battery pack regardless of the number of cells in the battery pack. The battery pack charger includes a voltage sensing unit configured to sense an output voltage of the battery pack being charged with a predetermined voltage for a predetermined period, a controller configured to determine a number of cells in the battery pack in accordance with the output voltage, and a power source charge and discharge unit configured to supply a charge voltage to the battery pack, the charge voltage being determined in accordance with the number of cells in the battery pack. | 06-30-2011 |
20110175571 | CHARGER AND METHOD FOR CHARGING FOR SILVER ZINC BATTERIES - A zinc alkaline rechargeable battery pack is disclosed. The zinc alkaline rechargeable battery pack includes a casing including a plurality of electrochemical cells and recharging management circuitry. Each cell of the plurality of electrochemical cells includes an alkaline electrolyte, an anode and a cathode. The anode comprises zinc. The cathode comprises silver, an oxide of silver, silver metal, or a combination of the silver, the oxide of silver and the silver metal. The alkaline electrolyte includes an aqueous hydroxide of an alkali metal. The recharging management circuitry is connected to the plurality of electrochemical cells. The recharging management circuitry includes a processor, a first voltage detector/controller connected to the processor, a second voltage detector/controller connected to the processor, and a current sensor connected to the processor. The first voltage detector/controller, the second voltage detector/controller and current sensor are connected to the plurality of electrochemical cells. A system for charging a zinc alkaline rechargeable battery pack is also disclosed. A method for charging the rechargeable battery pack is also disclosed. | 07-21-2011 |
20110181243 | BATTERY CHARGER FOR A BATTERY PACK HOUSING RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES - The battery charger charges a battery pack housing rechargeable batteries by attaching the battery pack | 07-28-2011 |
20110227536 | BATTERY WITH UNIVERSAL CHARGING INPUT - A battery includes a battery housing containing a rechargeable cell for providing an output voltage and a charging circuit. The charging circuit is coupled to the rechargeable cell and includes a voltage converter to convert an input voltage to the charging circuit to a charging voltage to charge the rechargeable cell. | 09-22-2011 |
20110241620 | CHARGING APPARATUS FOR LAPTOP COMPUTER WITH MULTI-BATTERIES AND METHOD FOR THE SAME - A charging apparatus for laptop computer with multiple-batteries is used in a first battery unit and a second battery unit. The charging apparatus comprises a micro controller unit; a first charging switch unit electrically connected to the micro controller unit; a second charging switch unit electrically connected to the micro controller unit; and a charging unit electrically connected to the first charging switch unit and the second charging switch unit. The micro controller unit controls the charging unit charging the first battery unit and the second battery unit via controlling the first charging switch unit and the second charging switch unit. The charging apparatus charges multi-batteries simultaneously. | 10-06-2011 |
20110291617 | ELECTRICAL COMPONENT INCLUDING A BATTERY CHARGER ASSEMBLY - An electrical assembly selectively receives power from an external power supply. The electrical assembly includes a base that at least partially defines a tool port and a battery port and an electrical tool selectively coupled to the tool port. A rechargeable battery pack is selectively coupled to the battery port and a circuit is supported by the base and is operable to direct power to the tool port and the battery port such that the external power provides power to the electrical tool to operate the electrical tool and to recharge the rechargeable battery pack. | 12-01-2011 |
20120007556 | BATTERY DIAGNOSIS DEVICE AND METHOD - An apparatus is disclosed that includes a resistance measuring unit operable to determine a solution resistance Rsol and a charge transfer resistance Rct of a battery; and at least one computer-readable non-transitory storage medium comprising code, that, when executed by at least one processor, is operable to provide an estimate of the present value of the battery by: comparing Rsol and Rct to historical deterioration transition information; estimating the number of remaining charge cycles before a discharge capacity lower limit is reached by the battery using the comparison; and estimating the number of remaining charge cycles before a discharge time lower limit is reached by the battery using the comparison. The estimate of the present value of the battery includes the smaller of the number of remaining charge cycles before a discharge capacity lower limit is reached or the number of remaining charge cycles before a discharge time lower limit is reached. | 01-12-2012 |
20120032638 | BATTERY PACK AND ACTIVE CELL BALANCING BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SAME - The present invention discloses a battery pack which can be used for an electric vehicle, an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), and a power supply for a smart grid and which can be easily manufactured and repaired and which is capable of improving productivity, the span of life, and performance, and a battery management system including the battery pack.
| 02-09-2012 |
20120032639 | BATTERY PACK, CHARGER, AND CHARGING SYSTEM - A battery pack, a charger, and a charging system. The battery pack includes a rechargeable battery, and a protection circuit to control charging and discharging of the battery, wherein the protection circuit includes a micom to output an operating state signal representing an operating state of the micom and a malfunction transferring unit to transfer information on whether the battery is malfunctioning based on the operating state signal. Accordingly, when an error is detected by the protection circuit of the battery pack, charging is stopped, and thus the battery pack may be stably charged. | 02-09-2012 |
20120038320 | Battery Charger and Battery Charging Method - Charging is started with charge voltage set to a first voltage value (lower than a normal charge voltage) by a charge voltage change means, the first voltage value being predetermined to ensure that secondary batteries constituting a parallel-arrangement battery pack are charged up to and maintained at a predetermined SOC lower than full charge (between 80 and 90% of full charge). When a charge current detection means detects that charge current has decreased to a predetermined value A | 02-16-2012 |
20120074904 | System and Method for Controlling Output of a Battery Pack - Systems and methods for controlling the output of a battery pack are disclosed. In one example, a battery pack contactor is opened in response to battery pack current. The system and method may reduce battery pack degradation and increase system flexibility. | 03-29-2012 |
20120081074 | STATE OF CHARGE INDICATOR FOR A BATTERY CHARGER - A method is provided for indicating state of charge of a battery being charged by a charger. The method includes: supplying a charging current from a battery charger to a battery pack; determining voltage of battery cells residing in the battery pack; and illuminating a visual indicator on the battery charger to indicate state of charge of the battery pack, where brightness of the visual indicator correlates to the voltage of the battery cells in the battery pack. | 04-05-2012 |
20120091962 | BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UTILIZING STACKABLE BATTERIES - An energy storage system includes a battery management system that has a plurality of loads connected in electrical series with one another, and a controller operatively connected to the plurality of loads. A first battery pack has battery cells connected in electrical series with respect to one another to establish a system voltage. The first battery pack is connected in electrical parallel to the plurality of loads. The controller is operable to balance charges of the battery cells by activating selected ones of the loads. The battery management system and the first battery pack are configured such that an additional battery pack with additional battery cells connected in electrical series with respect to one another or an additional load pack with additional loads connected in electrical series with respect to one another is connectable to the battery management system. A method of managing battery capacity is also provided. | 04-19-2012 |
20120098494 | BATTERY CHARGER - Female guide portions for slidingly attaching a battery pack are formed by integral molding of a case main body. Exposed step portions are formed on the female guide portions, which includes protruding portions as thin-walled portions by application from the outer side (the upper side) of a mold so as to reduce the thickness of a thick-walled resin portion. An opening communicating with the inner and outer side of the case is not provided, while the protruding portions are formed as thin-walled portions. Bottom surfaces of the exposed step portions are formed so as to be sloped with respect to the horizontal direction when the battery charger is placed on a horizontal base, and water dropped on the bottom surfaces can flow outside of the case due to the slope without remaining thereon. | 04-26-2012 |
20120112699 | METHOD AND CHARGING DEVICE FOR CHARGING AT LEAST TWO BATTERIES - A method for charging at least two batteries each having at least one cell is disclosed. During a first charging phase, batteries are charged sequentially to a first charge status and afterwards batteries are charged during a second charging phase sequentially to a second, higher charge status. The first charging phase is begun with the battery having the lowest charge status. In addition, a charging device for carrying out the method according to the invention and a mobile electric appliance including such a charging device are disclosed. | 05-10-2012 |
20120119703 | PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND CAPACITIVE CHARGER PROVIDING DATA TRANSFER AND ASSOCIATED METHODS - The electronic apparatus includes a portable electronic device and a charger for capacitively charging the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is temporarily placed adjacent the charger. The portable electronic device includes a device data communication unit and an associated battery, and a pair of device capacitive electrodes, defining a device conductive footprint, to receive a charging signal to charge the battery. The charger includes a base having an area larger than the device conductive footprint and able to receive the portable electronic device thereon in a plurality of different positions, and an array of charger capacitive electrodes carried by the base. A charger controller selectively drives only the charger capacitive electrodes within the device conductive footprint with a charging signal to capacitively charge the battery. | 05-17-2012 |
20120126749 | BATTERY PACK AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - A battery pack and a method of controlling the same are disclosed. According to some aspects, the battery pack includes at least one chargeable battery cell, and a charge control circuit that receives a control signal from an external source. The charge control circuit is configured to control charging of the battery cell according to the control signal. As a result, a charging operation may be stably performed. | 05-24-2012 |
20120169284 | Battery Charging Method and Battery Pack Using the Same - A battery charging method, and a battery pack using the same. In the battery charging method, constant-current charging is performed in a plurality of phases, and a magnitude of charge current with which a battery is charged is determined according to a charge amount of the battery. The charge amount may be determined by measuring the voltage of the battery or by integrating the charging current over time. When the battery charging method is used, a battery charging time is reduced and the battery is less apt to be overcharged. | 07-05-2012 |
20120169285 | CHARGING DEVICE HAVING A POWER ELEMENT - In a charging device having a power element for producing a charge voltage for charging a battery pack from an input voltage provided by an input voltage source, the power element and the input voltage source being capable of being connected to one another in electrically conductive fashion via a separator that can be controlled by a control unit, and the separator being fashioned for the purpose of producing, in an allocated switching mode, an electrically conductive connection between the power element and the input voltage source and, in an allocated separating mode, separating this electrically conductive connection, the control unit is connected, at least for standby power supply, to an allocated energy storage device, and is fashioned for the purpose of controlling the separator during the transition from a charge operating mode to a standby operating mode of the charging device, in order to change the separator over from switching mode to separating mode. | 07-05-2012 |
20120194130 | POWER PACK PARTIAL FAILURE DETECTION AND REMEDIAL CHARGING CONTROL - Systems and methods to detect a failure of a subset of component power packs within a multiple component rechargeable power pack. At least one parameter of a charging current that is provided for a time duration to a rechargeable power pack is determined. A measured capacity change quantity for the rechargeable power pack during the time duration is estimated. The measured capacity change quantity is compared, after the time duration, to an expected capacity change quantity that is based upon the at least one parameter. A determination is made that at least one component power pack within the rechargeable power pack has failed based on a difference between the measured capacity change quantity and the expected capacity change quantity. A charging current parameter is modified in response to the determining that the at least one component power pack has failed. | 08-02-2012 |
20120194131 | CHARGING DEVICE FOR CHARGING A BATTERY PACK - A charging device for charging a battery pack, having a control circuit for a switched-mode power supply transformer assigned to the charging device, the transformer having at least one primary winding switchable using a power switch and at least one first secondary winding for generating an electrical output voltage for charging the battery pack, the output voltage having a first amplitude which is predefinable by a control unit and adjustable using a first voltage limiting control loop. The transformer has at least one second secondary winding for generating at least one electrical auxiliary voltage having a second amplitude which is predefinable by the control unit and adjustable using a second voltage limiting control loop in order to at least reduce an energy feed assigned to an operation of the control circuit from the primary winding to the secondary windings in a standby mode of the control circuit. | 08-02-2012 |
20120206101 | BATTERY PACK - An apparatus may comprise a battery system. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 08-16-2012 |
20120206102 | BATTERY, BATTERY PACK, BATTERY CHARGER, AND BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM - Disclosed herein is a battery. The battery includes a contactless communication control block configured to execute contactless communication as a transponder and a reader/writer which are based on electromagnetic induction. The battery further includes an antenna configured to execute the contactless communication as the transponder; and an antenna configured to execute the contactless communication as the reader/writer. The battery further includes a battery control block configured to control a charge operation of a cell block. The contactless communication control block communicates, in a contactless manner, a charge state of the cell block supplied from the battery control block. | 08-16-2012 |
20120229091 | VOLTAGE MONITOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, BATTERY PACK, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE EMPLOYING BATTERY PACK - A voltage monitor semiconductor device to monitor voltages of multiple rechargeable devices to output a detection result signal to indicate overcharge, over-discharge, or excess-current, the voltage monitor semiconductor device including multiple voltage input terminals, corresponding to the multiple rechargeable devices, to monitor the voltages of the corresponding rechargeable devices as monitor voltages; and a test signal generation circuit to generate a first test signal that inverts when at least one of the monitor voltages falls below a predetermined first threshold voltage that is not used normally as an abnormal state. | 09-13-2012 |
20120235642 | ENERGY SOURCE SYSTEMS HAVING DEVICES WITH DIFFERENTIAL STATES OF CHARGE - A system includes housing having a positive terminal and a negative terminal and one or more energy storage devices disposed therein. One system includes a first energy storage device that operates at a first state of charge level and a second energy storage device that operates at a second state of charge level. The second state of charge level is greater than the first state of charge level. | 09-20-2012 |
20120256590 | BATTERY PACK, ELECTRIC TOOL AND BATTERY CHARGER - A battery pack includes a casing having an opening, an engaging member having a stopper, and a regulating member configured to regulate a movement of the engaging member. The engaging member is supported in a slidable and rotatable manner relative to the casing, and is applied with a biasing force such that the stopper projects from the opening. The regulating member includes a contact portion configured to block a rotation of the engaging member and an operating portion configured to displace the contact portion to release a blocking of the rotation of the engaging member. When the operating portion is a non-operated state, the engaging member is slidable against the biasing force to retract the stopper. When the operating portion is in an operated state, the engaging member is rotatable against the biasing force to retract the stopper. | 10-11-2012 |
20120262118 | DUAL-CHARGEABLE BATTERY PACK IN A POWER SUPPLY - A dual-chargeable battery pack in a power supply is disclosed. The dual-chargeable battery pack comprises a main body provided with an electrical energy storage device, a first connecting device and a second connecting device. The first connecting device comprises a first charging terminal set and a first power output terminal set, wherein the first charging terminal set is configured to receive an input of a first power for outputting to the electrical energy storage device. The second connecting device comprises a second charging terminal set which is configured to receive an input of a second power for outputting to the electrical energy storage device. The electrical energy storage device is configured to output the electrical energy accumulated therein as a third power through the first power output terminal set. The second power is different than the first power. | 10-18-2012 |
20120274279 | BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR CONTROL OF LITHIUM POWER CELLS - An intelligent rechargeable battery pack having a battery management system for monitoring and controlling the charging and discharging of the battery pack is described. The battery management system includes primary and secondary protection circuits for monitoring the charging and discharging of the battery. Individual battery cells forming the battery pack are connected by a main bus to a connector for connection to a battery charger or a device to be powered, and the main bus may be interrupted by a switch controlled by the battery management system to prevent damage to the battery during charging or discharging of the battery. | 11-01-2012 |
20120274280 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING AND ARCHIVING BATTERY PERFORMANCE DATA - An intelligent rechargeable battery pack having a battery management system for monitoring and controlling the charging and discharging of the battery pack is described. The battery management system includes a memory for storing data related to the operation of the battery, and the battery management system is also configured to communicate the data related to the operation of the battery to other processors for analysis. | 11-01-2012 |
20120274281 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING BATTERY PACK BY REFLECTING DEGRADATION DEGREE OF SECONDARY CELLS AND BATTERY PACK HAVING THE SAME - The present invention discloses an apparatus for managing a battery pack by reflecting a degradation degree of secondary cells, selecting the secondary cell having a maximum disparate voltage value among calculated disparate voltage values as a degraded cell in the current charging cycle, and updating the information on the degraded cell. | 11-01-2012 |
20120286732 | SHARED CONTROL OF THERMISTOR AND DUAL PURPOSE THERMISTOR LINE - A battery pack can include a temperature sensor that can provide an output that is indicative of a temperature associated with the battery pack. A battery management unit can directly measure the temperature sensor when the battery pack is by itself or engaged with a tool. A charger can directly read the temperature sensor when the battery pack is engaged with the charger. Thus, the temperature sensor can be shared by the battery pack and the charger. The battery pack can utilize a same terminal that provides access to the temperature sensor to indicate a stop-charge signal. The charger can read the stop-charge signal on the same terminal used to directly access the temperature sensor. | 11-15-2012 |
20120293124 | BATTERY CHARGING CONTROL SYSTEM - An object of the invention is to make the charging power as high as possible in a battery charging control system for selectively charging a plurality of batteries having different voltages with energy generated by an alternator. To achieve the object, the battery charging control system according to the invention includes an alternator having a variable generation voltage and a plurality of batteries having different charging voltages, wherein maximum generation power defined as the highest power that the alternator can generate and maximum charging power defined as the highest power that each battery can accept are obtained, and a battery for which the charging power is highest is selected to be charged based on a comparison of the maximum generation power and the maximum charging power. | 11-22-2012 |
20120299545 | RECHARGEABLE BATTERY POWER SUPPLY STARTER AND CELL BALANCING APPARATUS - When a voltage applied to a first capacitor connected to an output of a power generator in parallel is equal to or larger than a threshold, a starter signal output from a monitoring circuit to a control circuit is set from a low level to a high level. The control circuit self-starts, and a first switch arranged between the power generator and a cell balancing circuit is turned ON. Electric power for equalizing an output voltage of each of a plurality of rechargeable batteries of a battery pack is supplied from the power generator to the battery pack via the cell balancing circuit. | 11-29-2012 |
20120313582 | HAND TOOL HAVING AT LEAST ONE INTEGRATED BATTERY CELL - In a hand tool having at least one integrated battery cell, a pen-shaped tool housing is provided, and the battery cell is connectable to a charger for charging, which is designed to charge removable battery packs. | 12-13-2012 |
20130002199 | Charging of Li-ion Batteries - Techniques for charging a rechargeable battery having at least one rechargeable cell are described. A battery charger applies a constant current to charge the rechargeable cell and periodically measures a value of voltage of the rechargeable cell. The value of voltage is tracked over a time period required to charge the rechargeable cell to have the measured value of voltage be substantially equal to a crossover value of voltage for the rechargeable cell. A constant voltage is applied substantially equal to the crossover voltage for a second period of time, with the second period of time selected based on the tracked time period. The charging is terminated after the second period of charging time has elapsed. | 01-03-2013 |
20130002200 | RECHARGEABLE BATTERY CHARGING METHOD, CHARGING CONTROL APPARATUS, AND BATTERY PACK - When maximum cell voltage remains at or below a maximum current control voltage (4200 mV), which is below the start-full-charge detection voltage (4210 mV), three consecutive times with 250 ms periodicity, set current is increased one level (128 mA). When maximum cell voltage is higher than the start-full-charge detection voltage three consecutive times with 250 ms periodicity, set current is reduced. When maximum cell voltage is higher than the start-full-charge detection voltage and charging current remains below 384 mA two consecutive times with 250 ms periodicity, the rechargeable battery is determined to be fully-charged. | 01-03-2013 |
20130043839 | Battery Power Delivery Module - A system and method for digital management and control of power conversion from battery cells. The system utilizes a power management and conversion module that uses a CPU to maintain a high power conversion efficiency over a wide range of loads and to manage charge and discharge operation of the battery cells. The power management and conversion module includes the CPU, a current sense unit, a charge/discharge unit, a DC-to-DC conversion unit, a battery protection unit, a fuel gauge and an internal DC regulation unit. Through intelligent power conversion and charge/discharge operations, a given battery type is given the ability to emulate other battery types by conversion of the output voltage of the battery and adaptation of the charging scheme to suit the battery. | 02-21-2013 |
20130069594 | BATTERY PACK AND METHOD FOR CHARGING BATTERY PACK - Disclosed is a battery pack including: a plurality of cell modules including a plurality of battery cells; and a battery management system for transmitting a control signal on charging to at least one of the plurality of cell modules based on state information of a battery cell transmitted by the cell modules, and controlling a current supplied to the cell modules by an external charger based on the state information, wherein the cell modules are charged to a predetermined capacity of the battery cell in connection with the external charger, and are charged to full capacity of the battery cell individually according to the control signal so the battery pack is fully charged very quickly without a cell balancing process. | 03-21-2013 |
20130082656 | PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE CHARGEABLE VIA AT LEAST ONE SPEAKER PORT - A portable electronic device chargeable via at least one speaker port is provided. The portable electronic device comprises a housing containing: a processing unit, a least one speaker for playing audio signals; a power pack for powering the portable electronic device, including the processing unit; and a charging circuit electrically connected to the power pack for charging the power pack from an external power source. The portable electronic device further comprises at least one speaker port for enabling sound from the at least one speaker to exit the housing, the at least one speaker port enabled to convey power from the external power source to the charging circuit such that the power pack is chargeable via the at least one speaker port. | 04-04-2013 |
20130113427 | BATTERY PACK - A battery pack according to the present invention includes a battery, a control unit, a power supply circuit, and a supply source selection unit. The power supply circuit is configured to receive electric power selectively from one of the battery and a charger, and generate a voltage for driving the control unit. The supply source selection unit is configured to select the charger as a power supply source to the power supply circuit when the battery is in a state of being able to supply electric power to the power supply circuit, the battery pack is attached to the charger and it is possible to supply electric power to the power supply circuit also from the charger. | 05-09-2013 |
20130119934 | SECONDARY BATTERY PACK CONNECTION CONTROL METHOD, POWER STORAGE SYSTEM, AND SECONDARY BATTERY PACK - A power storage system has a plurality of secondary battery packs and a host device. The secondary battery packs each have: secondary batteries; a charge switch means that turns a charging path to the secondary batteries ON and OFF; a discharge switch means that turns a discharging path from the secondary battery ON and OFF; and a current-limiting means that causes the secondary battery to discharge while limiting the current to, or below, a fixed value. When switching from the secondary battery pack connected to the input/output terminals of the system to a first secondary battery pack in which voltage is higher than in the second secondary battery pack, the host device causes the charge switch means of the second secondary battery pack to turn OFF the charging path while in a state in which the current limiting means of the first secondary battery pack will cause a discharge operation to begin while limiting the flow of current. | 05-16-2013 |
20130147433 | METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE POWER STATUS OF A BATTERY PACK AND RELATED SMART BATTERY DEVICE - In a smart battery device, a battery pack having a plurality of battery cells is provided. During charging, if the voltage of each battery cell does not exceed the maximum operational voltage associated with individual battery cell, the battery pack is charged by a first voltage. If the voltage of any battery cell is not smaller than the maximum operational voltage associated with individual battery cell, the battery pack is charged by a second voltage smaller than the first voltage. | 06-13-2013 |
20130154563 | RECHARGEABLE BATTERY PACK - The invention relates to a rechargeable battery pack. Particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a rechargeable battery pack for a battery powered appliance such as a hand held vacuum cleaner. The rechargeable battery pack includes at least one power interface for transferring power from the battery pack to an appliance during use and a single charger input terminal to which an output terminal of a battery charger is connectable during use for charging the battery pack, wherein the single charger input terminal is connectable to the output terminal of a battery charger when the battery pack is connected to an appliance and when the battery pack is not connected to an appliance. | 06-20-2013 |
20130154564 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FOR PROTECTING SECONDARY BATTERY, BATTERY PACK, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING SAME - A battery pack includes a secondary battery, a discharge-control transistor, a charge-control transistor connected in series with the discharge-control transistor between a negative power source terminal of the secondary battery and a terminal of a load or a negative power source terminal of a charger, and a battery protection semiconductor device including a detection circuit that detects at least one of excessively charged, excessive discharging, overcurrent, short-circuit, and overheating states of the secondary battery, a control circuit that turns on and off the discharge-control transistor and the charge-control transistor, and a charge prevention circuit that prevents the secondary battery from being charged by turning off the charge-control transistor when a voltage of the secondary battery is not greater than a predetermined low-voltage criterial voltage variable by trimming a portion of the charge prevention circuit. The charge prevention circuit includes first and second inverter circuits. | 06-20-2013 |
20130162209 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CHARGING A BATTERY PACK - According to certain embodiments, an apparatus and method for charging a battery pack for an electronic apparatus includes an earphone connection unit, a charge determining switching unit, a charge circuit, and a control unit. The earphone connection unit is configured to be connected to the electronic apparatus to selectively receive one of an earphone unit for an earphone mode and the spare battery pack for a charge mode. The charge determining switching unit is configured to switch to one of the earphone mode and the charge mode according to the unit connected electrically to the earphone connection unit. The charge circuit is configured to open a charge path for charging the spare battery pack with an external voltage applied to the electronic apparatus, according to the switching of the charge determining switching unit. The control unit is configured to measure a resistance value of the spare battery pack applied to the charge determining switching unit, switches the mode, and opens the charge circuit. | 06-27-2013 |
20130162210 | POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM AND RECHARGEABLE BATTERY USED IN THE SYSTEM - A rechargeable battery includes a plug, a first socket, a capacity storage module and a power measurement module. The plug is configured for being plugged in either a first socket of a second similar rechargeable battery to constitute a battery pack or a second socket of a charge apparatus. In addition, the first socket either is configured for either receiving a plug of a third similar rechargeable battery to constitute the battery pack or being electrically coupled to a power input port of an electronic device. The power measurement module is electrically connected to the capacity storage module, and is configured to measure a residual capacity value of the capacity storage module, and feedback the measured residual capacity value to the charge apparatus. A related power supply system is also provided. | 06-27-2013 |
20130169229 | CHARGER DEVICE FOR A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A charger unit includes: a housing, prongs for engaging an electrical outlet, the prongs being coupled to one another by a cross-member and being movable relative to the housing between a retracted position in which the prongs are received in the housing and an extended position in which the prongs protrude from the housing, the prongs being biased toward the extended position, a locking arm comprising a first end, a cut out for receiving the cross-member when the prongs are in the retracted position and a second end for abutting the cross-member when the prongs are in the extended position, the first end of the locking arm being coupled to a carriage and the cutout being provided between the first end and the second end, the locking arm being movable by the carriage into and out of engagement with the cross-member and the locking arm being biased toward the passage. | 07-04-2013 |
20130187603 | Battery Charger Network - A battery charger network that includes at least one battery charger, at least one power source and at least one battery pack. The charger network is able to charge the battery pack using the at least one battery charger where the battery charger is capable of communicating to an additional battery charger via a battery charger network. | 07-25-2013 |
20130187604 | Method of establishing a Battery Charging Network - A data management system that is enabled such that the user can select a data source node, a repository and a data path, choose policies for each and distribute the policies to be managed by the management system. | 07-25-2013 |
20130187605 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ACTIVE BALANCING OF SERIES CELLS AND SERIES PACKS IN A BATTERY SYSTEM - An active balancing and battery charging system for a battery including a plurality of packs made up of cells. An H-bridge circuit having a nominal system voltage as an input generates a square wave output to a plurality of step-down transformers each associated with a pack, where the plurality of step-down transformers provide an active balancing voltage of about the nominal pack voltage. Each pack may include a balancing transformer including a common primary coil receiving the active balancing voltage from the associated step-down transformer or the pack itself. The balancing transformer also includes a plurality of secondary coils each associated with the respective plurality of cells of the pack. A voltage induced in the secondary coils causes a discrete charge current to flow to any cells in the pack that are undercharged relative to other cells. | 07-25-2013 |
20130193924 | CHARGE CONTROLLER WITH PROTECTION FUNCTION AND BATTERY PACK - A charge controller includes a charge control circuit which controls a charging transistor; and a protection circuit that, when the secondary battery is over-discharged, turns off the first control switch element to block discharge current and when the secondary battery is overcharged, turns off the second control switch element to prevent the charge current from flowing. The charge control circuit includes a function of control for applying constant charge current through the charging transistor until the voltage of the secondary battery reaches a predetermined value and switching to control for applying charge current at a constant voltage after the voltage of the secondary battery reaches the predetermined value, and a terminal voltage on the positive electrode side and a terminal voltage on the negative electrode side of the secondary battery are supplied as monitoring voltage to the charge control circuit. | 08-01-2013 |
20130200847 | CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE INCLUDING PROTECTIVE FUNCTION AND CELL PACK - A charge controller includes a charge control circuit that, when detecting that a charging power supply is connected, controls the charging transistor to apply the charge current; a first and second control switch element connected in series between one terminal of a secondary battery and an external terminal; and a protection circuit that, when the secondary battery is over-discharged, turns off the first control switch element to stop discharge current and when deeply discharged, turns off the second control switch element. The protection circuit sends a charge inhibit signal to the charge control circuit when the secondary battery is deeply discharged, and while receiving the charge inhibit signal, the charge control circuit keeps the charging transistor off to prevent the charge current from flowing even if detecting that the charging power supply is connected. | 08-08-2013 |
20130200848 | BATTERY PACK, METHOD FOR CHARGING/DISCHARGING SAME, AND POWER CONSUMPTION DEVICE - Provided is a method for charging/discharging a battery pack having an auxiliary charging/discharging device and a battery assembly in which a plurality of secondary battery cell parallel modules, each of which includes a plurality of fasecondary battery cells connected in parallel, are connected in series, the method including, when there is no abnormality in the secondary battery cells during charging/discharging, connecting the auxiliary charging/discharging device in parallel to any of the secondary battery cell parallel modules, and when there is an abnormality in any of the secondary battery cells during charging/discharging, releasing connection to the secondary battery cell at which the abnormality has arisen in the secondary battery cell parallel module including the secondary battery cell at which the abnormality has arisen, and connecting the auxiliary charging/discharging device in parallel to the secondary battery cell parallel module including the secondary battery cell at which the abnormality has arisen. | 08-08-2013 |
20130221923 | UNIVERSAL CHARGING SYSTEM AND BATTERY PACK FOR VIDEO GAME CONTROLLERS - An interchangeable battery pack system for video game controllers is disclosed. The battery pack configured and arranged for insertion into a battery compartment of a video game controller. The battery pack has a bottom surface with a recess formed therein. The battery pack has a first set of battery electrical contacts for engagement with the electrical contacts of the video game controller and a second set of battery electrical contacts for charging the battery pack. A battery pack adapter cover is also included and is configured and arranged to releasably attach to the battery pack. The battery pack adapter cover has an aperture therethrough exposing the bottom surface of the battery pack when attached thereto. The battery pack adapter cover has mating formation thereon configured and arranged to releasably attach to a battery compartment of a video game controller for a video game system. | 08-29-2013 |
20130221924 | BATTERY PACK AND POWER GENERATION CIRCUIT IN BATTERY PACK - A battery pack and a power generation circuit in the battery pack are disclosed. The battery pack includes a battery cell unit including battery cells connected in series, a charge/discharge switch connected between the battery cell unit and charge/discharge terminals, a charge/discharge controller controlling the charge/discharge switch to charge or discharge the battery cell unit, and a voltage converter electrically connected in parallel to the charge/discharge switch and dropping a voltage of the battery cell unit, and outputting the dropped voltage as power of the charge/discharge controller. | 08-29-2013 |
20130229150 | POS TERMINAL AND METHOD USED FOR A POS TERMINAL - A POS terminal, includes a battery box having a box-side commercial power source circuit to supply power from a commercial power source; a battery charge circuit to charge batteries by power supplied from the box-side commercial power source circuit; a battery discharge circuit to discharge the batteries to a POS terminal main body side; and a charge and discharge changeover switch which connects a battery discharge circuit to the batteries to cause the batteries to be discharged when the battery box is attached to a POS terminal main body, and connects a battery charge circuit to the batteries to cause the batteries to be charged when the battery box is detached from the POS terminal main body. | 09-05-2013 |
20130229151 | BATTERY PACK - The battery pack includes: a charging terminal receiving power from a charger while connected to the charger; a battery connected to the charging terminal and recharged by power from the charger via the charging terminal; a protective circuit performing a protective operation of detecting an overcharge of the battery by using power from the battery while receiving a driving signal, and terminating the protective operation when receiving no driving signal; an activation terminal receiving an activation signal from the charger while connected to the charger; an activation circuit connected to the activation terminal and configured to output the driving signal to the protective circuit while receiving the activation signal from the charger via the activation terminal; and an auxiliary activation circuit connected to the charging terminal and configured to provide the driving signal to the protective circuit while the battery receives power from the charger via the charging terminal. | 09-05-2013 |
20130241490 | BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF THEREOF - A battery charging system includes a battery pack having a plurality of battery cells and a pack terminal, a passage that accommodates a circulation therethrough of a temperature conditioning fluid for the battery pack, the passage includes an inflow part through which the temperature conditioning fluid is introduced and an outflow part through which the temperature conditioning fluid is discharged, an inner control unit that measures a state of the battery pack to supply an inner fluid to the passage, and an outer charging unit that charges the battery pack and that supplies an outer fluid to the passage. | 09-19-2013 |
20130249488 | BATTERY PACK CHARGING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - A battery pack and a method of charging the battery pack are disclosed. The method for charging includes monitoring a state of charge of a battery pack, determining a need for charging the battery pack based on the monitored state of charge of the batter and triggering charging of the battery pack by sending a signal indicative of the need for charging the battery pack based on the determined need for charging the battery pack. | 09-26-2013 |
20130278216 | POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS AND CONTROLLING METHOD OF THE SAME - A power supply including: a power supply circuit for receiving an external power and a battery power, and for outputting a power including at least one of the external power or the battery power to a load; and a battery pack coupled to the power supply circuit, the battery pack including a plurality of batteries, which are arranged into a plurality of battery groups including a first battery group and a second battery group, and configured to provide the battery power. Where, the battery pack is configured to selectively supply a power of the first battery group or a power of the second battery group as the battery power to the power supply circuit according to at least one of a status of the external power, a status of the load, a status of the first battery group, or a status of the second battery group. | 10-24-2013 |
20130307478 | SECONDARY SERVICE PORT FOR HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY PACKS - A system and method for providing energy management and maintenance of a high energy battery pack that does not require installation of the battery pack into an operational EV. A secondary service port is provided to enable certain maintenance operations while by-passing battery pack interlocks and protection mechanisms used when the battery pack is installed into an operating environment. | 11-21-2013 |
20130307479 | ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - An energy storage device and methods for controlling the same are disclosed. The energy storage device can include a connector to or from which at least one battery pack is attached or detached, a power converter that converts external input power into DC power in a charge mode, and a switching unit that performs a switching operation such that the DC power converted by the power converter is charged in a first battery pack attached to the connector in the charge mode. Energy storage device can also include a controller that controls the switching unit to turn off electrical connections between the energy storage device and the first battery pack and a second battery pack for a predetermined off period when the first and second battery packs are attached to the connector. Accordingly, when a battery pack is attached or detached, a surge of inrush current may be reduced. | 11-21-2013 |
20130335026 | BATTERY PARALLEL BALANCING CIRCUIT - A method and device for regulating charging and discharging current through a battery pack. Two or more battery packs are connected in parallel to an inverter, such that the inverter can use grid power to charge the battery packs or the battery packs can provide AC power through the inverter. A current balancing circuit device is placed in series with each battery pack and is used to regulate the current through the battery pack so that none of the battery packs is excessively charged or discharged. The current balancing circuit includes two field effect transistors (FETs) arranged in series and in opposite directions, where one FET controls charging current and the other controls discharging current. The balancing circuit also includes a current sensor, and uses proportional-integral control to provide a signal to the FETs such that the actual current flowing through the circuit is regulated to a target current value. | 12-19-2013 |
20140055092 | TRACTION BATTERY DISCHARGE CONTROL - A vehicle includes a traction battery to propel the vehicle. The traction battery includes a plurality of cells that are each selectively connected to a resistor. A controller or controllers are provided that are configured to control the charging and discharging of the cells. The controller or controllers command the battery or a selected group of cells of the battery to discharge in response to a fault or triggering condition. The discharge enables the battery or the group of cells to achieve a state of charge of approximately zero or less. | 02-27-2014 |
20140055093 | CHARGER - A charger of the present invention may include a plurality of battery connection parts to which battery packs can be connected to charge, with each battery connection part having an indicator. The indicators may be configured such that when charging is expected to be completed more quickly in a first battery connection part compared to a second battery connection part, the indicator of the first battery connection part is displayed differently from the indicator of the second battery connection part. | 02-27-2014 |
20140103876 | BATTERY PACK AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME - A battery pack and a method of controlling the same. The battery pack includes: a first battery module that includes at least one battery cell; a second battery module that includes at least one battery cell electrically connected to the first battery module; a charge/discharge control unit that breaks or connects a charge/discharge path of each of the first battery module and the second battery module; a first battery management unit that controls the first battery module; and a second battery management unit that generates a signal for controlling switches included in the charge/discharge control unit by referring to a state of the second battery module, wherein the first battery management unit and the second battery management unit are connected in parallel to the charge/discharge control unit. | 04-17-2014 |
20140159662 | PORTABLE BATTERY PACK CHARGING SYSTEM, METHOD FOR RECHARGING A BATTERY PACK, AND ADAPTER THEREFOR - A method for recharging a battery pack includes attaching a portable charger to a user, which portable charger includes or is attached to a self-contained power supply and wherein a first charging port of the portable charger is disposed, e.g., on a belt worn by the user, hanging the battery pack on the belt while the battery pack is physically engaged and in electrical communication with a power tool, and initiating a transfer of power from the charger to the battery pack when the first charging port is at least proximal to a second charging port that is in electrical communication with at least one battery cell of the battery pack. A portable charging system capable of performing this method, as well as an adapter for use in performing this method, are also disclosed. | 06-12-2014 |
20140197794 | BATTERY PACK INCLUDING DIFFERENT KINDS OF CELLS AND POWER DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME - There is provided a battery pack including a mixed cell and a power device including the same. The mixed cell may include a first cell and a second cell having different electrical characteristics. The electrical characteristics may include at least one of an open circuit voltage characteristic corresponding to a state of charge, an internal resistance, an operation voltage, or a capacity. | 07-17-2014 |
20140203780 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACTIVE CHARGE AND DISCHARGE CURRENT BALANCING IN MULTIPLE PARALLEL-CONNECTED BATTERY PACKS - Methods and systems are presented for charging and/or discharging multiple parallel-connected battery packs in portable electronic devices, in which a charging or discharging current of a second battery pack is regulated based at least in part on a charging or discharging current of a first battery pack. | 07-24-2014 |
20140203781 | BATTERY PACK AND CHARGING METHOD THEREOF - A charging method of a battery and a battery pack thereof are described. A fully charged amount of the battery cell is changed upon comparing the charge amount of the battery to a reference capacity. If the battery cell is fully charged, charging of the battery cell may be interrupted and a counter incremented. The charged amount of the battery cell is compared to a reference capacity, and if the charged amount of the battery cell is equal to the first reference capacity, the fully charged amount of the battery cell may be set to another reference capacity, and the battery discharged the battery cell down to the new reference capacity. | 07-24-2014 |
20140239895 | EXTERNAL ADAPTER FOR BATTERY PACK USED TO POWER A PORTABLE DEVICE - Embodiments include a rechargeable battery pack, system, and power adapter that allow the rechargeable battery pack to both power a host device though a set of host contacts and provide power, through the power adapter, via a set of charging contacts that interface with the power adapter. The power adapter contains a voltage source which activates a control circuit to disable a discharge protection circuit in the battery pack to allow current to discharge through the charging contacts. | 08-28-2014 |
20140247011 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR A MULTIPLEXED CONTACT BETWEEN ELECTRICAL DEVICES - A method and apparatus for multiplexing an electrical contact interface between two electrical devices uses a time differentiated enablement of two or more different circuit elements in a first electrical device that are accessed via the multiplexed contact by a second electrical device. A timing control circuit in the first electrical device enables and disables circuit elements in the first electrical device coupled to a shared information contact over time. The second electrical device interacts with a first circuit element during an initial period upon connection to the first electrical device, and then interacts with a second circuit element after the initial period. | 09-04-2014 |
20140253039 | BATTERY CHARGER - A battery charger can include a charger controller configured to determine a total charge time that characterizes a time needed to charge a battery, the total charge time being based on a received state of charge (SOC) of the battery that characterizes a present SOC of the battery. The charger controller can also be configured to determine a charging start time for the battery based on a predetermined full charge time and the total charge time. | 09-11-2014 |
20140266048 | Dual Port Charger - A battery charger for charging a first battery pack and a second battery pack is disclosed. The charger includes a housing, a first and second charging circuit positioned within the housing, a first and second charging port coupled to the housing and electrically coupled the first and second charging circuits, respectively. The first charging port is configured to support the first battery pack and defines a first connection axis along which the first battery pack is movable to connect with the first charging circuit. The second charging port is configured to support the second battery pack and defines a second connection axis along which the second battery pack is movable to connect with the second charging circuit. The second charging port is configured to support the second battery pack while the first charging port supports the first battery pack. | 09-18-2014 |
20140266049 | DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF SHORT FORMATION IN BATTERY CELLS - Failure mechanisms of a battery cell may be detected and prevented by monitoring a voltage of the battery cell, and detecting when the cell voltage falls below a voltage threshold. The length of time that the voltage remains below the voltage threshold may be monitored to detect when the length of time exceeds a time threshold. When the length of time has exceeded the time threshold, the battery pack may be disabled from further charging. | 09-18-2014 |
20140292278 | Charging Circuit for Electronic Device and Related Charging Method - A charging circuit for an electronic device includes a battery pack for providing a battery voltage; an adaptor coupled to an external voltage source, for providing an input voltage; and a charging module coupled to the adaptor, for charging the battery pack. The charging module includes a buck charging unit for performing buck charging on the battery pack according to a comparison result; and a boost charging unit for performing boost charging on the battery pack according to the comparison result. | 10-02-2014 |
20140312843 | BATTERY PACK COOLING AND CHARGING DEVICE AND METHOD - A battery pack cooling and charging device includes a charging module for a battery pack, a cooling fan, a power source module and a cooling fan control module. The cooling fan control module is capable of controlling the cooling fan for cooling and is connected with the cooling fan. During the charging operation, a rotational speed of the cooling fan for cooling the battery pack and a charging module is changed by detecting parameters such as fan operation time, a battery pack internal resistance, a charging module temperature, and a battery pack voltage. The rotational speed of the cooling fan is reasonably adjusted, thus noise of the cooling fan is reduced and energy consumption is reduced according to different phases of the charging process by regarding one parameter or combinations of parameters as conditions for changing the rotational speed of the fan. | 10-23-2014 |
20140320085 | CHARGING DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - The present invention discloses a charging device electrically connected to an external power supply and a rechargeable battery pack, so as to perform a charging procedure of the rechargeable battery pack. The charging device includes a detecting module, a processing module and a charging module, wherein the processing module is electrically connected to the detecting module and the charging module. The detecting module is used for detecting both the state of charge of the rechargeable battery pack during the charging procedure and a polarization voltage corresponding to the internal resistance of the rechargeable battery pack at different states of charge. The processing module generates a current adjusting parameter according to the polarization voltage and the state of charge. The charging module receives the external power supply and adjusts the charging current outputted to the rechargeable battery pack according to the state of charge and the current adjusting parameter. | 10-30-2014 |
20140375269 | CHARGER - An insulation rib is provided above a charging circuit and a plurality of heat radiation ribs are provided on the left side of the charging circuit. A space part is formed by the insulation rib. Little of the heat generated by the charging circuit is transferred to an upper sidewall portion of a case main body portion due to a heat insulation effect of the space part. Further, heat generated by the charging circuit is likely to be transferred to a left sidewall portion of the case main body portion due to a high heat dissipation effect of the heat radiation ribs. In this way, the generation of locally heated areas in the case main body portion can be reduced through balancing of the flow of heat generated by the charging circuit. | 12-25-2014 |
20140375270 | BATTERY POWER TRANSFER SYSTEM - A battery power transfer system includes control circuitry coupled to a charge/discharge module. The charge/discharge module is configured to apply an electrical stimulus to a battery and to determine, based at least in part on a measured response of the battery to the applied electrical stimulus, a target power transfer frequency of the battery. The power is transferred to or from the battery with a power transfer profile comprising current pulses having a frequency component selected based on the determined target power transfer frequency. | 12-25-2014 |
20150035487 | EQUALIZATION DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLED BATTERY - An equalization device for equalizing voltages of battery cells connected in series includes equalization switches, resistors, and a control circuit. Each equalization switch has energization terminals interposed between terminals of a corresponding battery cell. A current path between the energization terminals conducts when a control voltage not less than a threshold voltage is applied between control terminals of the equalization switch. Each resistor is connected between the control terminals of the corresponding equalization switch. The control circuit switches an equalization execution state and an equalization stop state in accordance with an equalization signal provided for each battery cell. In the execution state, the control circuit passes an electric current through the corresponding resistor to generate the control voltage not less than the threshold voltage. In the stop state, the control circuit causes the corresponding resistor to generate the control voltage less than the threshold voltage. | 02-05-2015 |
20150035488 | CHARGING SYSTEM - A charging control device includes a control unit and a monitoring unit. The control unit performs at least one of controlling charging to a rechargeable battery and monitoring a state of a rechargeable battery, while outputting a state signal which indicates an operation state of the control unit. The monitoring unit determines whether or not the operation state of the control unit is a predesignated specified operation state based on the state signal outputted from the control unit. | 02-05-2015 |
20150042279 | HYBRID COUPLING FOR A SMART BATTERY SYSTEM - A hybrid coupling for a smart battery system having two internal batteries. The hybrid power coupling includes a power coupling for connecting to the batteries and a data coupling for connecting with two bus devices that are also within the battery housing. The contacts of the digital data coupling are disposed in a circular configuration within the mating jack of the hybrid coupling. The data contacts are concentric with the D.C. battery contacts. The data contacts are retractable to automatically and selectively connect to a variety of battery-mounted jacks. | 02-12-2015 |
20150054463 | BATTERY PACK AND CAP LAMP SYSTEM - A cap lamp system includes a battery pack featuring a housing with a battery cell and a protection circuit positioned within the battery pack housing. A pair of terminals are attached to the battery cell and are adapted to provide power to a cap lamp and/or other device(s). Circuitry is electrically attached to the battery cell and the cap lamp for controlling discharging of the battery cell when powering the cap lamp and/or other device(s) and charging of the battery cell when the battery pack is connected to a charger. | 02-26-2015 |
20150054464 | ELECTRIC POWER TOOL SYSTEM - An electric power tool system comprises a tool main body, a battery pack detachably attached to the tool main body and a first charger that charges the battery pack. The first charger is detachably attached to the tool main body and/or the battery pack. The first charger is capable of charging the battery pack while the battery pack is attached to the tool main body. The first charger is preferably cordless and contains at least rechargeable battery for storing energy to charge the battery pack. | 02-26-2015 |
20150061595 | BATTERY PROTECTION SYSTEM AND BATTERY PROTECTION METHOD USING THE SAME - A battery protection system includes a first battery, a first line coupled to a first electrode of the first battery, and a second line coupled to a second electrode of the first battery, the first and second electrodes being of opposite polarity, a measurement unit measuring a voltage at first and second measurement terminals, the first measurement terminal being connected to the first electrode by the first line, the second measurement terminal being connected to the second electrode by the second line, and a protection unit controlling a voltage of the first battery according to a generated voltage, the generated voltage being determined by adjusting the measured voltage according to a first voltage drop across the first line, a second voltage drop across the second line, or both the first voltage drop and the second voltage drop. | 03-05-2015 |
20150077058 | CHARGING METHOD OF BATTERY AND BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM - A method of charging a battery and a battery charging system, which has a relatively high charging speed while having a relatively low level of battery deterioration. The charging method includes charging a battery cell with a first current in a first constant current mode; charging the battery cell with a first voltage in a first constant voltage mode; idling the charging of the battery cell for a first idle period (t); charging the battery cell with a second current different from the first current in a second constant current mode; and charging the battery cell with a second voltage different from the first voltage in a second constant voltage mode. | 03-19-2015 |
20150084591 | BATTERY CHARGER CAPABLE OF EFFICIENTLY COOLING SECONDARY BATTERY IN BATTERY PACK AND CHARGING CIRCUIT UNIT IN BATTERY CHARGER - A battery charger that is configured to charge a battery pack including a secondary battery includes: a housing; and a charging circuit unit disposed in the housing. The housing defines a first air passage in which air flows to cool the secondary battery and a second air passage in which air flows to cool the charging circuit unit. The second air passage is independent from the first air passage. | 03-26-2015 |
20150084592 | BATTERY PACK-TO-UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS POWER DEVICES - A device includes a battery pack receptacle that removably connects to a battery pack used for a cordless device. A universal serial bus (USB) port is connected to the battery pack receptacle. The battery pack is used as a power source for the USB port. An attachment device is connected to the battery pack receptacle. that attaches the battery pack receptacle to a utility bag. The attachment device is configured for attaching the battery pack receptacle to a platform. | 03-26-2015 |
20150091527 | CHARGING SYSTEM, CHARGING CONTROL DEVICE AND CHARGING METHOD - The present disclosure provides a charging system, charging method, and charging control device. The charging system comprises a charger configured to be coupled to an external power source with its one end; a plurality of secondary batteries configured to be coupled to the charger, respectively; and a control device configured to be coupled to the charger and the plurality of secondary batteries, to control the charger to perform a charging operation on the plurality of secondary battery. According to the present disclosure, the secondary batteries having harmonics with identical frequencies and opposite phases are connected in parallel for charging, to reduce or eliminate the harmonic distortion generated by high order harmonics, and effectively reduce the value of THD. | 04-02-2015 |
20150123615 | LITHIUM BATTERY PACK AND SYSTEM FOR CHARGING THE SAME - A lithium battery pack according to the present invention has inherent information stored therein, which may include a nominal voltage, maximal voltage of the cells, range of temperature etc. A charging control signal is determined by a charging controller based on an identified state of the cells and the inherent information, and is transmitted to an electrical charging device. A controlled module in the charging device receives the charging control signal through and adjusts an output current to an accurate charging voltage for the current state of the battery pack. | 05-07-2015 |
20150130417 | METHOD OF CHARGING BATTERY AND BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM - A method of charging batteries and a battery charging system are disclosed. One inventive aspect includes a battery pack and a charging unit. The battery pack further comprises a battery cell, a voltage sensor and a current sensor. The charging unit is configured to charge the battery cell with a constant current or a constant voltage at least partially based on the voltage of the battery cell sensed by the voltage sensor. | 05-14-2015 |
20150130418 | BATTERY CHARGING APPARATUS AND CHARGING METHOD THEREOF - A battery charging apparatus and charging method thereof are disclosed. In one aspect, the apparatus includes a battery including a battery pack including at least one battery cell, a battery management system (BMS) configured to control the generation of a terminal voltage based on a type of the battery pack, and a terminal unit including electrodes configured to receive the terminal voltage. The apparatus further includes a charger including a controller configured to determine the type of the battery pack based on the terminal voltage and control the generation of a charging voltage corresponding to the type of the battery pack. | 05-14-2015 |
20150130419 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF ADAPTIVE BATTERY CHARGING - Systems and methods of charging battery power that can be selectively controlled by the overall voltage of a battery pack and specified voltages of battery cells within the battery pack, and that can selectively perform current-controlled and voltage-controlled battery charging (referred to herein as “adaptive battery cell charging”). The systems and methods employ a digital core for managing the charging of battery power provided by the battery pack. By using the overall voltage of the battery pack and specified voltages of battery cells to selectively control the charging of battery power, battery charging times can be reduced. By employing current/voltage sense amplifiers to monitor the battery pack voltage, the battery cell voltage(s), and a battery charging current, the effect of cable resistance to/from the battery pack can be reduced. By performing adaptive battery cell charging, battery charging times and battery stress can be reduced, while increasing battery charge/discharge life cycles. | 05-14-2015 |
20150137758 | CHARGER - A pair of right and left fixing holes and a pair of strap attachment holes are provided on a rear surface of a main body housing at a position which does not protrude from a side area S in a planar view. A bottom edge portion of an upper recessed portion is provided above the fixing hole to cover each of the right and left fixing holes, the strap attachment holes are provided to be coaxial with the bottom edge portion, and it is ensured that durability and compactness of the charger are obtained. | 05-21-2015 |
20150137759 | Automated Mobile Device Battery Charging Kiosks - The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for charging mobile devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a charging station where individuals, who are in need of charging their mobile devices but do not have access to a personal charger, can charge their devices for a small fee without requiring them to be tethered to an unprotected charging cord or electrical outlet. | 05-21-2015 |
20150145480 | HIGH CAPACITY BATTERIES WITH ON-DEMAND FAST CHARGE CAPABILITY - An embodiment provides an apparatus, including: apparatus components; a battery pack comprising a high charge rate cell component, the battery pack supplying power to one or more of the apparatus components; a processor; and a memory device accessible to the processor and storing code executable by the processor to: apply a normal rate of charge to a cell component of the battery pack; accept user input to switch the normal rate of charge to a second rate of charge which is higher than the normal rate of charge; and apply the second rate of charge to the high charge rate cell component based on the user input. Other aspects are described and claimed. | 05-28-2015 |
20150303722 | MOBILE POWER DEVICE - A mobile power device includes a primary rechargeable battery; a primary case covering the primary rechargeable battery; a charging electrical port, exposed to the exterior of the primary case and coupled to the primary rechargeable battery, serving to connect to an external power source for charging the primary rechargeable battery; a first discharging electrical port, exposed to the exterior of the primary case and coupled to the primary rechargeable battery, serving to connect to a load to be powered via the first discharging electrical port; a plurality of first primary electrical contacts, exposed to the exterior of the primary case and coupled to the primary rechargeable battery; and a primary magnetic member, integrally formed with the primary case, being made of ferromagnetic material or ferrimagnetic material. | 10-22-2015 |
20150318587 | HEAT SINK WITH TWO OR MORE SEPARATED CHANNELS - The present disclosure discloses a heat sink with two or more separated channels. The heat sink according to the present disclosure includes a cooling channel through which a refrigerant passes to cool a secondary battery by an indirect cooling method, the secondary battery including a cell assembly in which at least two unit cells are stacked, each unit cell including a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate, and a plurality of positive and negative electrode tabs protruding from the positive and negative electrode plates of each unit cell is electrically connected to positive and negative leads, respectively, wherein the cooling channel has two or more separated channels. According to the present disclosure, provision of a cooling fin having a uniform cooling effect is enabled. | 11-05-2015 |
20150333541 | Battery Management System and Battery System - A rechargeable battery includes a plurality of interconnected battery cells which are connected to at least one pole connection of the battery by at least one circuit element such that the plurality of interconnected battery cells can be electrically decoupled from the at least one pole connection. A control circuit for monitoring and controlling the battery comprises at least one first cell monitoring device and at least one second cell monitoring device which are configured to detect operational parameters of at least one battery cell of the plurality of interconnected battery cells and to guide the operational parameters to a control device. The at least one first cell monitoring device is connected to a first control device by a first interface, and the at least one second cell monitoring device is connected to a second control device by a second interface. | 11-19-2015 |
20150333544 | ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION DEVICE, AND CONTROLLING METHOD FOR BATTERY PACK - An electricity distribution device is connected to a system power supply and a battery pack, and includes: a primary power converter circuit converting DC electric power discharged from the battery pack into electric power supplied to the load; a first switch switching conducting and non-conducting states between the primary power converter circuit and the load; and a control circuitry controlling the first switch to switch the conducting and non-conducting states between the primary power converter circuit and the load. The primary power convertor circuit consumes DC electric power discharged from the battery pack, in a state where the first switch switches the non-conducting state between the primary power convertor circuit and the load, and a current value is acquired when discharging from the fully-charged state to an empty state. The fully-charged capacity of the battery pack is measured using the acquired current value. | 11-19-2015 |
20150335772 | PROCESS OF COOLING SURGICAL DEVICE BATTERY BEFORE OR DURING HIGH TEMPERATURE STERILIZATION - A dual-mode autoclave for sterilizing a battery is disclosed including a controller and an environmental system in operative communication with the controller and configured sterilize a battery contained within the dual-mode autoclave in response to a command from the controller. The environmental system configured to reduce a temperature of the battery to a first, pre-cooled temperature during a first operational phase and configured to increase the temperature of the battery to a second, autoclaving temperature during a second operational phase. | 11-26-2015 |
20150340887 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CHARGING MULTI-CELL LITHIUM-BASED BATTERY PACKS - A method and system for charging multi-cell lithium-based batteries. In some aspects, a battery charger includes a housing, at least one terminal to electrically connect to a battery pack supported by the housing, and a controller operable to provide a charging current to the battery pack through the at least one terminal. The battery pack includes a plurality of lithium-based battery cells, with each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells having an individual state of charge. The controller is operable to control the charging current being supplied to the battery pack at least in part based on the individual state of charge of at least one battery cell. | 11-26-2015 |
20150349551 | Bottom Based Balancing in Lithium Ion System - A method comprises discharging each of a plurality of cells of a battery pack, stopping the discharging of a selected cell of the plurality of cells when the selected cell reaches a predetermined capacity, and charging the plurality of cells after the discharging has stopped for all of the plurality of cells. | 12-03-2015 |
20150357684 | Battery Pack Interface System - A battery charging system may include one or more battery packs each of which includes control circuitry and a switching assembly, and a charger including a power section and a charge controller. The charge controller and/or the control circuitry may be configured to direct operation of the switching assembly to control charging of the one or more battery packs. | 12-10-2015 |
20150357847 | Belt Battery Charger - A belt battery charger includes a belt ( | 12-10-2015 |
20150372512 | CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, BATTERY PACK, AND CHARGER - A charge control device of one example of the present invention comprises a temperature detection unit, a storage unit, and an upper limit setting unit. The storage unit stores a reference current characteristic and at least one of a first current characteristic and a second current characteristic as a charging current characteristic, and stores a reference voltage characteristic and at least one of a first voltage characteristic and a second voltage characteristic as a charging voltage characteristic. The upper limit setting unit selects a characteristic used to set upper limits of a charging current and a charging voltage to the battery from among a plurality of the charging current characteristics and a plurality of the charging voltage characteristics stored in the storage unit. | 12-24-2015 |
20150372515 | MODULAR BATTERY CELL ARCHITECTURE AND CONTROL METHOD - Embodiments of the invention relate to a multi-cell battery, with at least two cells electrically connected in a first parallel arrangement, which is connected in series to a second parallel arrangement of at least two additional cells. Each cell is locally connected to a sensor to sense and control the current of each cell in parallel or parallel-series combination in the multi-cell battery. A control module is in communication with each sensor, and associated instructions electrically remove or disable a cell from the battery determined to be defective based on measurements from the associated sensor. Accordingly, the configuration measures and monitors the state of health of each cell in the battery pack, the measurements including temperature, voltage and current sensing. | 12-24-2015 |
20150372524 | COMMUNICATION TERMINAL FOR CONSTRUCTING DAISY CHAIN COMMUNICATION NETWORK WITHOUT DISTINCTION BETWEEN INPUT CONNECTOR AND OUTPUT CONNECTOR - Disclosed is a communication terminal for constructing a daisy chain communication network without distinction between an input connector and an output connector. | 12-24-2015 |
20150380958 | CORDLESS TOOL SYSTEM - A tool discharges one battery pack and a charger simultaneously charges another battery pack to provide for continuous and circular operation of the tool. Tool system includes a tool and a lithium based battery pack having a nominal voltage of at least 56 volts for supplying power to the tool. A heat absorbing device is associated with the battery pack and includes a phase-change material. | 12-31-2015 |
20160006275 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BATTERY OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE ESTIMATION - A vehicle includes a battery pack and at least one controller. The at least one controller outputs open circuit voltage data for a given state of charge of the battery pack based on model parameters of battery pack positive and negative electrodes represented by normalized Li-ion concentrations at zero and one hundred percent states of charge, and model parameters of at least two open circuit voltages each associated with a different state of charge. | 01-07-2016 |
20160006278 | BATTERY PACK, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - A battery pack in one aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a plurality of battery blocks, a plurality of conduction/interruption units, and a control unit. The control unit selects one battery block to be electrically connected to an external device from among the plurality of battery blocks, on the basis of detection results obtained from a state detection unit, and sets the conduction/interruption unit corresponding to the selected battery block to a conducting state. | 01-07-2016 |
20160006279 | ELECTRIC POWER TOOL - An electric power tool that receives driving power from a rechargeable battery includes loads and a control circuit that controls supply of the driving power from the rechargeable battery to the loads. The control circuit sets and stores for each of the loads a reference voltage value of the rechargeable battery used for stopping or issuing a notification in order to obviate over-discharging of the rechargeable battery. | 01-07-2016 |
20160006283 | PORTABLE CHARGING DEVICE - The present utility model discloses a portable charging device that includes a charging module, a battery protection module, a built-in battery pack with multiple battery cells, a voltage regulating output module, a microcontroller module, and an LCD display. Said charging device powers its externally connected electronic devices and in turn charges the batteries of those devices. Said charging module uses an input interface that matches the output interface of a personal computer's AC/DC power adapter. Said charging module charges said built-in battery pack through said battery protection module. Said built-in battery pack are connected to said voltage regulating output module to power externally connected electronic devices. Said microcontroller module connects to said battery protection module and said voltage regulating output module to control the charging and discharging process of said portable charging device. Said portable charging device provides convenience to its user by reusing the user's existing computer AC/DC power adapter as the energy input. It packs multiple battery cells and connects them electronically in series to maximize the energy intake from the computer AC/DC power adapter, improve charging efficiency, and significantly shorten the charging time of said charging device. | 01-07-2016 |
20160013670 | SECONDARY BATTERY SYSTEM WITH PLURAL BATTERIES AND METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING CHARGE/DISCHARGE POWER, ETC. | 01-14-2016 |
20160028257 | BATTERY SYSTEM - This battery system includes: a plurality of batteries; a first monitoring unit that receives as input the output of the batteries, compares the output with a prescribed threshold value, and supplies a signal indicating the result; and a second monitoring unit that detects the voltage value of the batteries and supplies a signal indicating the detected voltage value. The battery system is provided with: a first operation mode during which the first monitoring unit and the second monitoring unit are halted; a second operation mode during which the first monitoring unit operates and the second monitoring unit is halted; and a third operation mode during which the first monitoring unit and the second monitoring unit operate. | 01-28-2016 |
20160028261 | Rechargeable Battery Pack with USB Power Outlet - The present invention is a universal serial bus (USB) adapter built into an already existing detachable/rechargeable/or non-rechargeable battery pack. The battery pack is the main source of energy to power cordless tools. | 01-28-2016 |
20160036250 | BATTERY PACKS FOR PROVIDING DIFFERENT POWER SOURCES AND METHODS OF CHARGING BATTERY PACKS - A battery pack for providing different power sources may include: a low voltage battery configured to supply a first voltage; a high voltage battery configured to supply a second voltage, the second voltage being higher than the first voltage; a charging circuit configured to charge the low voltage battery using the high voltage battery; and/or a controller configured to control the charging circuit to charge the low voltage battery when a charge state of the low voltage battery is less than a desired charge state. | 02-04-2016 |
20160043447 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SELF-HEATING OF A BATTERY FROM BELOW AN OPERATING TEMPERATURE - A method and apparatus for a self-heating battery pack uses a battery cells of a first battery cell circuit to power a device. However these battery cells become substantially inoperative below a very cold temperature, so a second battery cell circuit, having a second type of battery cells which can operate at the cold temperature, is used to power a heating element to warm up the first battery cells to a temperature at which they can operate. | 02-11-2016 |
20160043583 | BATTERY PACK, MOBILE BODY, AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - Provided is a battery pack capable of solving a problem in which driving becomes unstable. Switches ( | 02-11-2016 |
20160049811 | ACCUMULATOR BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - The invention relates to electrical engineering and can be used in chargers of lithium-ion batteries. The system contains a common control block and control blocks of each of the multitude of battery cells, where each cell of the multitude of cells is controlled by its own control block, which contains a micro-controller that has the capabilities to receive data about the condition of the cell, transfer the received information to the block of common control, and balance voltages of cells by high currents (upon receiving a control command from the common control block), where the balancing mode efficiently operates in any mode of the battery operation (during charging, during discharging, and at rest), where the multitude of cells of the accumulator batter are connected in series by direct current, and in parallel by alternating current through the system of DC/AC converter balancing, where the converters are synchronized by the common control signal from the common control block. The invention reduces the charging time and increases the discharging time of the battery. | 02-18-2016 |
20160049813 | POWER STORAGE DEVICE, POWER STORAGE SYSTEM, AND CONTROL METHOD OF POWER STORAGE DEVICE - There is provided a power storage device including a plurality of modules each including secondary batteries, a charging switch that controls charging to the secondary batteries, a discharging switch that controls discharging of the secondary batteries, and a voltage measuring unit that measures a voltage of the module, and a switch control unit that controls one or both of the charging switch and the discharging switch. The modules are connected in parallel. The switch control unit maintains an on state of the discharging switch for at least one of the modules for a predetermined period, and controls the charging switch of the module in which a maximum module charging current estimated based on the voltage of the module is a predetermined value or less, to be in an on state. | 02-18-2016 |
20160056645 | SIMULTANEOUS CHARGING OF A PLURALITY OF AUTONOMOUS SEISMIC NODES - Systems, methods, and apparatuses related to automatically and simultaneously charging a plurality of autonomous seismic nodes on a marine vessel before and/or after deployment to the seabed are disclosed. In one embodiment, a plurality of autonomous seismic nodes are simultaneously charged in a CSC approved ISO container. Each autonomous seismic node may comprise a plurality of power connectors, a plurality of rechargeable batteries, and a battery management system. Each of the nodes may be configured to couple with a charging system on the marine vessel, which may include a power source, one or more power/charging stations, one or more power connectors, and a network. In one embodiment, a storage rack in a container has a plurality of charging rails that the plurality of nodes can be placed upon for storage and charging. The node may have a plurality of power connectors disposed within a plurality of grooves that are configured to couple with the plurality of charging rails for simultaneous charging. | 02-25-2016 |
20160064967 | BATTERY CHARGING METHOD AND BATTERY PACK USING THE SAME - A method of charging a battery includes performing a first charging operation in a first period, performing a second charging operation in a second period, and performing a third charging operation in a third period. Each of the first, second, and third periods includes a constant current supplying period and a constant voltage supplying period. Different currents are supplied in the constant current supplying periods of at least two of the first, second, and third periods. Different voltages are supplied in the constant voltage supplying periods of at least two of the first, second, and third periods. The second period is between the first and third periods, and the second period is longer than the first and third periods. | 03-03-2016 |
20160072316 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BATTERY PACK MANAGEMENT USING PREDICTIVE BALANCING - Predictive battery pack cell balancing apparatus and methods are presented in which active bypass current switching is controlled according to initial balancing bypass current values to balance the cell depth of discharge (DOD) values by the end of a charging/discharging time period, and according to continuous balancing bypass current values representing an amount of bypass current needed to maintain a present relationship of the cell DOD values. | 03-10-2016 |
20160079778 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING STORED ENERGY - There is provided an apparatus for correcting net energy when providing a load balancing service ( | 03-17-2016 |
20160093921 | CELL VOLTAGE SENSING FOR RECHARGEABLE BATTERY PACKS - A battery system has positive and negative pack terminals, and positive and negative sense terminals. An electrochemical cell assembly has positive and negative cell terminals. An electrically conductive power path has a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive pack terminal, and a negative leg that connects the negative cell terminal to the negative pack terminal. A power switch circuit is connected in the power path. An electrically conductive sense path separate from the power path has a positive leg that connects the positive cell terminal to the positive sense terminal, and a negative leg that connects to the negative sense terminal. A sense switch circuit is connected in the sense path. Other embodiments are also described and claimed. | 03-31-2016 |
20160094058 | EXTERNAL BATTERY APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - An external battery apparatus includes at least one battery cell; a circuit device to increase a voltage of the battery cell to a predetermined voltage level and to output the increased voltage level; a cell voltage measurer configured to measure the voltage of the battery cell; and a controller configured to compare the measured voltage of the battery cell with a predetermined reference value, and to control the circuit device such that a charging current having a different level is output corresponding to a result of the comparison. | 03-31-2016 |
20160094062 | SWITCHED-MODE POWER SUPPLY HAVING AT LEAST ONE POWER CIRCUIT AND AT LEAST ONE AUXILIARY POWER SUPPLY UNIT - A switched-mode power supply is provided which has at least one power circuit for supplying a first electrical consumer, and at least one auxiliary power supply unit for generating a first transformer-coupled output voltage for a switching controller for controlling or regulating the power circuit, and at least one further transformer-coupled output voltage for at least one further electrical consumer in a first operating mode. The first and the at least one further transformer-coupled output voltage of the at least one auxiliary power supply unit are variable in comparison with the first operating mode in a further operating mode of the switched-mode power supply. | 03-31-2016 |
20160094063 | CONTROLLING POLARITY IN AN ACTIVE BALANCING SYSTEM FOR A BATTERY - A device includes a transformer, a controller, and a switch coupled between the transformer and the controller. The transformer has a primary coil and a secondary coil. The controller receives an indication of a metric of a cell of a battery. In response to the indication, the controller outputs a signal to select a polarity of a balancing current for balancing the cell. The switch receives the signal from the controller. In response to the signal, the switch causes the transformer to generate a primary current of a selected polarity through the primary coil. The transformer generates the balancing current through the secondary coil by inductively coupling the primary coil to the secondary coil. The transformer outputs the balancing current having the polarity for balancing the cell. | 03-31-2016 |
20160094066 | INTELLIGENT COMPOSABLE MULTI-FUNCTION BATTERY PACK - A method of operating a battery pack includes identifying a plurality of batteries in the battery pack, estimating a state of charge of each of the plurality of the batteries, obtaining a plurality of parameters of each of the plurality of the batteries, and determining, selectively, a charge current or a discharge current for each of the plurality of batteries using the state of charge and the plurality of parameters of each of the plurality of the batteries. | 03-31-2016 |
20160105044 | POWER-STORAGE-SYSTEM CONTROL METHOD AND POWER-STORAGE-SYSTEM CONTROL APPARATUS - A power-storage-system control method includes: obtaining pieces of parameter information indicating respective states of assembled batteries; determining respective degradation levels of the assembled batteries by using the obtained pieces of parameter information; grouping the assembled batteries into a plurality of groups, based on the determined degradation levels; and executing at least one of first control and second control. In the first control, group designation is performed in first descending order of priorities defined for the groups and corresponding to the degradation levels, and the assembled batteries belonging to the designated group are charged. In the second control, group designation is performed in second descending order of priorities defined for the groups and corresponding to the degradation levels, and the assembled batteries belonging to the designated group are discharged. | 04-14-2016 |
20160118819 | SECURITY SYSTEM FOR AN ACCUMULATOR BATTERY MODULE AND CORRESPONDING METHOD FOR BALANCING A BATTERY MODULE - A security system for a battery module includes at least one battery module having positive and negative poles and defined by a matrix comprising two or more columns and two or more lines. The matrix is such that each column defines an accumulator branch having m accumulators in series and such that each line of the matrix defines an accumulator stage. At least one charge control device is connected to the poles of the battery module. The battery module includes a plurality of resistors respectively electrically linked to the intermediate point between two accumulators of two adjacent accumulator stages and a third predefined number of connection nodes respectively connected to a set of resistors connected to the intermediate points of the accumulators of the two adjacent accumulator stages. The charge control device is connected to the set of connection nodes. | 04-28-2016 |
20160118833 | Single to Multi Cell Charge Adapter & Method - A charging device comprising a microcontroller, a plurality of solid state relays, associated electronic components, a charging voltage source, and indicating light emitting diodes. A charging device is programmed to charge individual battery cells to completion and proceed sequentially to charge a plurality of battery cells and indicate charge status of each battery cell and indicate charge status of a plurality of battery cells. | 04-28-2016 |
20160126764 | EFFICIENT APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INHIBITING CORROSION WITH DISCHARGE BLOCKING FEATURES IN A BATTERY - A battery pack selectively coupled to a portable electronic device and/or a recharging source, and configured to inhibit corrosion with discharge blocking features, the battery pack includes a positive terminal, a negative terminal, and a data terminal accessible from a housing of the battery pack, wherein each of the positive terminal, the negative terminal, and the data terminal are coupled to a battery in the battery pack; and a discharge blocking circuit configured to allow/block voltage across the positive terminal and the negative terminal based on a presence of a steady state pull up on the data terminal, wherein the steady state pull up is based on the battery pack being coupled to the recharging source, via the positive terminal, the negative terminal, and the data terminal. | 05-05-2016 |
20160141897 | RECHARGEABLE BATTERY CHARGING APPARATUS - A rechargeable battery charging apparatus includes a battery module including a plurality of battery cells, a charging unit configured to charge the battery module using power supplied from the outside, and an overcharge preventing unit configured to deform according to internal pressure of the battery module to electrically couple the battery module and the charging unit, wherein the charging unit is configured to stop the charging of the battery module when the charging unit is electrically coupled to the battery module by the overcharge preventing unit. | 05-19-2016 |
20160149198 | RECHARGEABLE BATTERY PACK - Disclosed herein is a rechargeable battery pack preventing a protection circuit module from being deformed and dented into a battery cell side even in the case in which an impact is delivered to the rechargeable battery pack from the outside. The rechargeable battery pack according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a battery cell that is charged and discharged; a protection circuit module disposed to be spaced apart from a cap plate of the battery cell so as to electrically protect the battery cell and be electrically connected to an electrode terminal and the cap plate of the battery cell; and an interval setting unit provided between the cap plate and the protection circuit module so as to set a safety interval between the electrode terminal and the protection circuit module. | 05-26-2016 |
20160149271 | BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - An isolation apparatus includes isolation circuitry that includes multiple semiconductor switches arranged electrically in parallel to isolate, from an electrical system, a plurality of battery cells of a battery capable of providing high levels of current. The apparatus includes a microcontroller operatively coupled to the isolation circuitry, wherein the battery cells are isolated from the electrical system to which the battery is connected when the microcontroller switches off the multiple semiconductor switches. The apparatus provides cell-balancing, circuit isolation, trace matching, split columns, heat-tied use of materials and slow-speed switching to provide safety through isolation, equalization and stress reduction. | 05-26-2016 |
20160156205 | Battery Overcharge Preventing Device | 06-02-2016 |
20160156206 | BATTERY PACK | 06-02-2016 |
20160156211 | BATTERY CHARGING METHOD AND BATTERY PACK USING THE SAME | 06-02-2016 |
20160158081 | Actuator System - Adjustable article of furniture comprising at least one adjustable element and furnished with an actuator system comprising at least one electrically driven linear actuator with an electrical motor and an electrical controller with an operation device, wherein the system in equipped with a battery pack for operating the system during mobile situations, where a mains supply is not readily available. The battery pack is equipped with a frontend, which allows for the battery pack to be retrofitted on existing actuator systems, without compromising the functionality of the actuator system in connection with charging of the battery. Moreover, the frontend is adapted to facilitate continued viewing of remaining power on the battery pack even though the technology of the battery pack is replaced, e.g. from lead battery to lithium ion battery. | 06-09-2016 |
20160164328 | BATTERY PACK - A battery pack includes a battery, main switch, controller, and driving voltage supply source. The battery has at least one battery cell. The main switch is connected between a first node and a second node, the battery is connected to the first node and an external terminal, and the external terminal connected to the second node. The controller manages the battery and to control the main switch. The driving voltage supply source generates a driving voltage based on a voltage of a third node and to supply the driving voltage to the controller. The third node is diode-connected to the first node and the second node. | 06-09-2016 |
20160172717 | BATTERY ASSEMBLY CONTROLLER | 06-16-2016 |
20160181838 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM | 06-23-2016 |
20160190829 | PASSIVE EQUALIZATION METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY PACK - The invention discloses a passive equalization method for a lithium iron phosphate battery pack, comprising: determining a voltage range in which a State of Charge can be accurately queried for a cell in the battery pack, and determining a corresponding relation between a voltage at which a State of Charge can be accurately queried and the State of Charge; collecting an open circuit voltage of each cell in a quiescent state; judging whether the open circuit voltage is within the voltage range in which a State of Charge can be accurately queried; if the open circuit voltage is within the voltage range in which a State of Charge can be accurately queried, acquiring the State of Charge of the cell corresponding to the open circuit voltage according to the open circuit voltage and the corresponding relation between a voltage at which a State of Charge can be accurately queried and the State of Charge, and determining equalizing capacity of each cell according to the State of Charge of each cell; calculating equalizing discharge current of each cell according to a passive equalization principle, and calculating equalizing discharge time of each cell according to the equalizing capacity and the equalizing discharge current of each cell; and subjecting the battery pack to passive equalization based on the equalizing discharge time of each cell. | 06-30-2016 |
20160193935 | Advances in Electric Car Technology | 07-07-2016 |
20160197497 | SECONDARY BATTERY PACK CONNECTION CONTROL METHOD, POWER STORAGE SYSTEM, AND SECONDARY BATTERY PACK | 07-07-2016 |
20160204630 | APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING BATTERY OVERCHARGE | 07-14-2016 |
20160249910 | SURGICAL CHARGING SYSTEM THAT CHARGES AND/OR CONDITIONS ONE OR MORE BATTERIES | 09-01-2016 |
20160254685 | VOLTAGE DETECTING DEVICE, VOLTAGE DETECTING METHOD, AND BATTERY PACK SYSTEM | 09-01-2016 |
20160254686 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR THE VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED SELF-DEACTIVATION OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS OR BATTERY CELLS | 09-01-2016 |
20160254687 | BATTERY MODULE AND ASSEMBLED BATTERY | 09-01-2016 |
20160254809 | SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP, SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND BATTERY PACK | 09-01-2016 |
20160380442 | BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING SECONDARY PROTECTION SIGNAL AND DIAGNOSIS SIGNAL USING A SMALL NUMBER OF INSULATION ELEMENTS - Disclosed is a battery management system for transmitting a secondary protection signal and a diagnosis signal using a small number of insulation elements. N battery management units included in the battery management system transmit at least two pieces of data via one communication line through time division. N data signals transmitted from the N battery management units are transmitted in a sequential order or are mixed to one signal and transmitted to an external device. | 12-29-2016 |
20160380443 | BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - A battery management system includes a constant voltage DC/DC converter, an integrated circuit, and a regulator. The converter receives a first voltage from a plurality of battery cells and generates a first output voltage at a substantially constant level. The integrated circuit measures voltages of the cells and balances the cells. The regulator converts the first output voltage to a second output voltage. The first output voltage is supplied as a power supply voltage of the integrated circuit. | 12-29-2016 |
20160380447 | Highly Accurate Over Current Fault Protection for Battery Packs - This disclosure relates generally to the field of providing highly accurate over current fault protection in charging systems and, more particularly, to systems in which the charge over current protection (COCP) and discharge over current protection (DOCP) circuitry in electronic devices are particularly resilient to variations in field-effect transistor (FET) resistance with temperature, gate drive, and/or process shift; variations in printed circuit board (PCB) resistance; and variations in integrated circuit (IC) trip voltages. Through the use of novel circuit designs disclosed herein that effectively “bypass” the traditional “power FETs” that control the current flow to the battery pack(s) of the electronic device using a novel “sense FET” concept, the major sources of error in current sensing may be eliminated without compromising any safety features of the electronic device, thus allowing for more accurate over current fault protection systems for battery packs across a wide range of operating conditions and temperatures. | 12-29-2016 |
20160380448 | BATTERY PACK AND CHARGE-CONTROLLING SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE INCLUDING THE SAME - A battery pack and a charge-controlling system of an electric vehicle including the same are provided. The battery pack includes a battery module including at least one rechargeable battery cell, a charge mode determiner configured to analyze characteristics of a charging current to the battery module, and configured to determine whether the battery pack is in a first charge mode or in a second charge mode, and a protector configured to set a protection current level of the battery module corresponding to the first charge mode or corresponding to the second charge mode, and configured to interrupt the charging current when a level of the charging current is higher than or equal to the protection current level corresponding to the respective one of the first charge mode or the second charge mode. | 12-29-2016 |
20180026455 | SIMPLE BATTERY AND CHARGER SYSTEM | 01-25-2018 |
20220140635 | Battery Pack with Temperature Limited Current - A battery pack can include one or more cells. The battery pack can include at least one temperature sensor configured to obtain a temperature measurement indicative of a temperature of at least cell of the one or more cells. The battery pack can include a controller, the controller configured to be placed in signal communication with a battery charger. The controller can be configured to perform operations. The operations can include obtaining the temperature measurement from the at least one temperature sensor. The operations can include determining, based at least in part on the temperature measurement, that the temperature of the at least one cell is between a lower temperature threshold and an upper temperature threshold. The operations can include, in response to determining that the temperature of the at least one cell is between the lower temperature threshold and the upper temperature threshold, reducing a maximum charging current, wherein reducing the maximum charging current comprises reducing the maximum charging current based at least in part on an inverse functional relationship between the temperature measurement and the maximum charging current. The operations can include controlling the battery charger based at least in part on the maximum charging current to charge the one or more cells. | 05-05-2022 |