Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
320160000 | Multi-rate charging (e.g., plural charge rates before a maintenance charge, etc.) | 41 |
20080203974 | SOFT TRANSITION FROM CONSTANT-CURRENT TO A CONSTANT-VOLTAGE MODE IN A BATTERY CHARGER - A system and method for charging a battery. In one embodiment, the system includes a charging circuit that charges the battery with a constant current during a first phase and charges the battery with a constant voltage during a second phase. The system also includes a control circuit for minimizing glitches when the charging transitions from the first phase to the second phase. According to the system and method disclosed herein, a battery may be charges in a controlled and reliable manner. | 08-28-2008 |
20080231237 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING NONAQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY - It is made possible to keep a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery in a charged state for a long period of time and minimize the degradation of the battery. A method for charging a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery including a cathode, an anode, and a nonaqueous electrolyte, includes: a first charging step of charging the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery at a first current value which increases the voltage of the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery; and a second charging step of charging the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery at a second current value which decreases the voltage of the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery. These two charging steps are repeated alternately. | 09-25-2008 |
20080284381 | PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING ELECTRIC GENERATOR - A portable electronic device includes a case; a revolution body rotatable with respect to the case; an electric generator converting rotational kinetic energy of the revolution body into electrical energy; a gear assembly transferring rotational force of the revolution body to the electric generator, and including at least one gear; and a secondary cell storing the electrical energy generated by the electric generator. | 11-20-2008 |
20080309293 | METHOD FOR CHARGING BATTERY MODULE IN MULTIPLE STAGES - A method for charging a battery module including a plurality of parallelly-connected battery cell sets in multiple stages is provided. In the present invention, a constant current charging is applied for charging the battery module in an initial stage of charging through the method of voltage control or current control. Then, the charging current is lowered substantially to reduce the charging speed when the voltage of one of the battery cell sets exceeds a safety value or a total voltage of the battery module itself reaches a rated voltage. Accordingly, a safety problem of the battery can be avoided and battery life can be prolonged. | 12-18-2008 |
20090021222 | CELL CONTROLLER - A cell controller capable of ensuring high safety even when a short occurs among voltage detecting lines without causing increased costs is provided. The cell controller | 01-22-2009 |
20090027013 | Method and Apparatus for Charging Batteries - A battery charging system is disclosed. The battery charging system includes a battery charger, a switching circuit and a control circuit. The battery charger receives electric power from a DC power supply and charges a rechargeable battery based on a setting current. The switching circuit is capable of switching between a first charging mode and a second charging mode. In the first charging mode, the battery charger charges the rechargeable battery while the DC power supply is supplying electric power to the battery charger in a state where the DC power supply is able to supply electric power to a load. In the second charging mode, the DC power supply charges the rechargeable battery in a state where the DC power supply is able to supply electric power to the load. The control circuit controls the switching circuit based on a comparison result of the magnitude of a charging current (or a charging power) in the first charging mode and the magnitude of a charging current (or a charging power) in the second charging mode. | 01-29-2009 |
20090066296 | System and Method for Charging Plural Information Handling System Batteries - Plural batteries installed in an information handling system are simultaneously charged in a constant current mode to a predetermined charge and then in a constant voltage mode to a full charge to provide a reduced charge time and improved battery life. A current regulator integrated in a battery casing monitors current applied at the battery to maintain constant voltage charging. Voltage to ground of the other batteries is monitored to adjust current at those batteries where voltages in all of the battery cells are maintained substantially equal during charging. | 03-12-2009 |
20090085528 | CHARGING CIRCUIT AND ITS CHARGE METHOD - A charging circuit and a charging method by the charging circuit that allow a stable charging operation are provided. The charging method of charging a battery from a charging power supply according to a constant current constant voltage charging system includes the steps of increasing a charging current for each predetermined current level step by step at a time of constant current charging, thereby performing the constant current charging, and stopping the increase of the charging current and continuing the charging maintaining a predetermined minimum chargeable voltage determined by the battery in advance, when it is detected that a supply voltage from the charging power supply has assumed the predetermined minimum chargeable voltage. | 04-02-2009 |
20090174370 | POWER SOURCE SENSING AND BATTERY CHARGING - A battery type detection approach is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of detecting a battery type can include: receiving a signal from a battery module in a portable computing device; determining if the signal is in a first state for at least a first predetermined time before transitioning to a second state; determining if the signal transitions from the second state to the first state after a second predetermined time, and identifying the battery type in response thereto; and asserting an indication of the battery type when a third predetermined time period after the transition from the second state to the first state has occurred. | 07-09-2009 |
20090189569 | CHARGING SYSTEMS AND RELATED METHODS THEREOF - Disclosed is a method for controlling charging current to a battery of a charging system, performed by a control unit of the charging system. The method includes: (a) detecting that a device is coupled to the charging system; (b) adjusting the charging current to a level. The charging current is generated by the coupled device. | 07-30-2009 |
20090243552 | MANAGEMENT OF FAST BATTERY CHARGING IN MOBILE DEVICES - For laptops or other mobile devices, a battery charging arrangement wherein fast-charging and/or slow-charging is governed by something other than a fixed, immovable battery level threshold. Particularly, a variable threshold is broadly contemplated herein which may be governed by any of a very wide variety of conceivable factors, including (but by no means limited to) information relating to a user's schedule or calendar, especially as regards “free” time when a user is not using a computer. Accordingly, if there is a long uninterrupted period of computer “downtime” (i.e., when a user is not using the computer), the battery level threshold below which fast-charging takes place can be lower. By the same token, for short periods of computer downtime, this threshold can be higher. In this manner, fast-charging is reserved only for the most compelling, time-based circumstances. | 10-01-2009 |
20090278506 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC POWER MANAGEMENT OF A MOBILE DEVICE - The present relates to a system and method for dynamic power management of a mobile device. The mobile device has a plurality of loads and a battery charger electrically connected to a voltage rail. The method comprises monitoring the plurality of loads to determine when at least one of the loads will become active or inactive, determining a minimum required output voltage level to be provided by the voltage converter based on active loads and the at least one load that will become active or inactive and device operation; and adjusting an input voltage level via the voltage converter to provide the minimum required output voltage level on the voltage rail in advance of the at least one load becoming active or after the at least one load becomes inactive. The method further monitors the input voltage level, and determines whether the input voltage level is below a first predetermine threshold. When the input voltage level falls below the first threshold, the method reduces the output voltage level provided by the voltage converter thereby reducing a charging rate of the battery charger. | 11-12-2009 |
20100072955 | Method of Estimating Surface Ion Density - The present teachings are directed toward machine implemented method for estimating the ion density of the surface of either positive or negative electrode of a battery. The machine-implemented method includes dividing each electrode into N layers of active electrode material, determining the ion density variable for each one of the N layers of the active electrode, and determining the ion density of the electrode surface. In the presently disclosed method, the ion density variable of each of the N layers of the active electrode changes as a function of the difference between the respective ion density variables of adjacent N layers, and the ion density of the electrode surface changes as a function of the battery current and the difference between the respective ion density variables of adjacent N layers. The present method is particularly applicable to Li-ion batteries. | 03-25-2010 |
20100270981 | POWER SOURCE APPARATUS AND SECONDARY BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL METHOD - According to one embodiment, a power source apparatus includes a secondary battery, an input terminal that inputs charging power for the secondary battery, a voltage measuring module which measures a voltage magnitude of power input from the input terminal, a switch that controls a charging current magnitude of the secondary battery stepwise, and a controller which controls a charging operation of the secondary battery. The controller controls the switch to gradually increase the charging current magnitude of the secondary battery from zero when the controller detects that input of the charging power from the input terminal is started, based on a measurement result of the voltage measuring module, and stops the increase of the charging current magnitude when the voltage magnitude measured by the voltage measuring module becomes a predetermined value lower than the lower limit of a preset range. | 10-28-2010 |
20100277131 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE - According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a power supply circuit configured to supply, to a battery, a first charge current for a quick charge and a second charge current for a normal charge smaller than the first charge current, the first charge current and the second charge current being generated from a power from the external power supply, and a controller configured to supply the first charge current to the battery to perform a quick charge when a difference value between a first voltage value of the external power supply wherein the power supply circuit supplies a third charge current smaller than the second charge current to the battery and a second voltage value of the external power supply wherein the power supply circuit does not supply the charge current to the battery is smaller than a threshold. | 11-04-2010 |
20100295514 | TRAILER TOW METHOD FOR CONTROLLING CHARGING - A method and integrated circuit for preserving a battery's charge and protecting electrical devices is disclosed. A maximum and a minimum battery voltage value at the output port are stored in a memory. A steady state battery voltage at the output port is measured and stored in the memory. A processor compares the measured steady battery voltage value to the maximum and the minimum battery voltage values. If the measured steady state battery voltage value is greater than the maximum battery voltage value, an over voltage state is reported by the processor. If the measured steady state battery voltage value is less than the minimum battery voltage value, a low battery voltage state is reported by the processor. | 11-25-2010 |
20100301811 | BATTERY CHARGING CIRCUIT AND BATTERY CHARGER - A battery charging circuit and a battery charger that stabilizes operation when switching between charging modes. The battery charging circuit includes first and second transistors that form a current mirror circuit with an output transistor. The source terminal of the first transistor is connected to a first resistor, and the source terminal of the second transistor is connected to a second resistor. Each source terminal is connected to a switch circuit, which controls switching between a trickle charge mode and a fast charge mode. The supply of current to the first and second resistors from the discrete transistors reduces the difference in phase lag resulting from the CR time constant and stabilizes operation in the trickle charge and the fast charge modes. | 12-02-2010 |
20100301812 | BATTERY CHARGING CIRCUIT - A battery charging circuit that stabilizes operation when switching between charge modes includes first and second transistors. The first transistor has a source connected to a first switch circuit. The first switch circuit connects the second transistor to either one of first and second external terminals. A mode switch circuit generates a switch signal for switching from a trickle charge mode to a fast charge mode. The mode switching circuit provides the switching signal to a comparison circuit. After a predetermined time elapses, the mode switching circuit provides the switching signal to the switch circuit. The comparison circuit lowers a current restriction reference voltage, which determines a charging current value, and returns the current restriction reference voltage to its original value after switching modes. | 12-02-2010 |
20110121790 | Staggered Multi-Battery Battery Charging - A battery charging method includes generating a plurality of charge profiles, each for a different one of a plurality of batteries, wherein a charge profile indicates a charge current as a function of charge time, and at least two of the charge profiles have a different charge current at a same charge time, and concurrently charging each of the plurality of batteries based on a corresponding charge profile. | 05-26-2011 |
20110156661 | FAST CHARGING WITH NEGATIVE RAMPED CURRENT PROFILE - A battery cell charging system, including a charger and a controller, for rapidly charging a lithium ion battery cell, the battery cell charging system having a circuit for charging the battery cell using an adjustable voltage charging-profile to apply a charging voltage and a charging current to the battery cell wherein the adjustable voltage charging-profile includes: a first charging stage with a constant first stage charging current and an increasing battery cell voltage with the first stage charging current provided until the first stage charging voltage is about equal to a first stage complete voltage less than a maximum battery cell voltage; an intermediate ramped charging stage, the intermediate ramped charging stage including both an increasing ramped voltage and a decreasing ramped iBat current for the battery cell for the voltage charging range of the first stage complete voltage to about the maximum battery cell voltage; and a final charging stage with a constant final stage charging voltage about equal to the maximum battery cell voltage and a decreasing final stage charging current with the final stage charging voltage provided until the final stage charging current reaches a desired charge complete level. | 06-30-2011 |
20110169459 | BATTERY CHARGING METHOD - A battery charging method is provided for extending life of batteries. The method includes providing an appropriate charge-off voltage with respect to variation in both of a remaining capacity and an idle time of the battery. Further, the charge-off voltage may vary according to the remaining capacity and the idle time of the battery, so as to increase charging efficiency of the battery. Additionally, the present invention also provides adjusting a charge-off current to a value according to the variation in an actual capacity of the battery. | 07-14-2011 |
20110215770 | CONTROL CIRCUIT OPERABLE TO CHARGE A BATTERY AT MULTIPLE CHARGE RATES - A method of charging a battery at multiple charges rates includes determining a type of power source connected to a charging circuit and determining a voltage of a battery to be charged by the power source. A desired charging voltage is determined in response to the power source type and the battery voltage. A difference between the desired charging voltage and the battery voltage is determined. A digital potentiometer is selectively commanded to adjust the desired charging voltage to vary the difference and alter a charging rate of the battery, such that the difference is increased to increase the charging rate or is decreased to decrease the charging rate. | 09-08-2011 |
20110316487 | LITHIUM ION SECONDARY BATTERY CHARGING METHOD AND BATTERY PACK - A lithium ion secondary battery which includes: a power generation element including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte; a case accommodating the power generation element and having an opening; and a sealing plate sealing the opening of the case is charged. The sealing plate has an external terminal of the positive or negative electrode, and an internal terminal electrically connected to the positive or negative electrode. The external and internal terminals are connected to each other and have an electrical resistance therebetween of 0.1 to 2 mΩ. Two or more constant-current charging steps in each of which the secondary battery is charged at a constant charge current until a charge voltage reaches an end-of-charge voltage are performed. In the two or more constant-current charging steps, the secondary battery is subjected to constant-current charging at a current Ic( | 12-29-2011 |
20120025786 | BATTERY-CONTROLLED CHARGING OF A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY - Methods and apparatus for recharging a rechargeable battery ( | 02-02-2012 |
20120091970 | CHARGING EQUIPMENT OF VARIABLE FREQUENCY CONTROL FOR POWER FACTOR - Disclosed herein is a charging equipment of variable frequency control for power factor. In addition, the present invention relates to a charging equipment of variable frequency control for power factor including: an AC-DC converter converting AC power into DC power; a DC-DC converter converting DC power output from the power factor calibration circuit into DC power for charging a battery and outputting the converted DC power; and a power factor calibration circuit calibrating power factor by the operation of the switching device and outputting the calibrated power factor; and a power factor calibration circuit controller performing the switching control by varying the frequency of the pulse signal when performing a switching control by modulating a pulse width of a pulse signal on the switching devices of the power factor calibration circuit, thereby making it possible to maintain the power factor even in the light load status. | 04-19-2012 |
20120133338 | METHOD OF CHARGING NON-AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY, AND BATTERY PACK - In the present method, a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery is charged by repeating n+1 times a constant current charge and a subsequent constant voltage charge, where n is an integer of 1 or more. (1) An n | 05-31-2012 |
20120299554 | DEVICE BATTERY MANAGEMENT - Technologies and implementations for device battery management are generally disclosed. | 11-29-2012 |
20130193931 | BATTERY CHARGING TOP-OFF - This disclosure describes techniques for a method of charging a battery. In an example, the method includes charging the battery during a first charging session until a first charging termination parameter value is reached. The method also includes determining, for a second charging session, a second charging termination parameter value based on a duration of the first charging session, wherein the second charging termination parameter value is different than the first charging termination parameter value. The method also includes charging the battery during the second charging session until the second charging termination parameter value is reached. | 08-01-2013 |
20130335034 | CHARGING METHOD FOR NON-AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY, AND BATTERY PACK - Disclosed is a charging method for one or more non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries by n steps of constant-current charging processes, where n is an integer equal to or greater than 2. The n steps include: (1) charging the secondary batteries at a current Ic(k) until a charge voltage per one battery reaches a voltage Ec(k), where k is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or smaller than n−1; and (2) when the charge voltage per one battery reaches the voltage Ec(k), charging the secondary batteries at a current Ic(k+1) smaller than the current Ic(k) until the charge voltage per one battery reaches a voltage Ec(k+1) higher than the voltage Ec(k), in which (3) the currents Ic(k) and Ic(k+1) are set according to frequency of use or number of charge and discharge cycles of the secondary batteries. | 12-19-2013 |
20140015495 | BATTERY PACK, METHOD OF CHARGING THE SAME, AND VEHICLE INCLUDING THE SAME - A battery pack, a method of charging the same, and a vehicle including the same. The battery pack includes: a battery cell for storing electric power; and a Battery Management System (BMS) for controlling charging or discharging the battery cell, wherein, in order to charge the battery cell, the BMS increases a charge current in a first period of time, decreases the charge current in a second period of time, and increases the charge current again in a third period of time. | 01-16-2014 |
20140062419 | CHARGING CONTROL DEVICE AND CHARGING CONTROL SYSTEM - When a communication control unit ( | 03-06-2014 |
20140132225 | System and Method for Charging of a Rechargeable Battery - A method of charging a battery ( | 05-15-2014 |
20140167706 | CHARGING METHOD FOR A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY AND CHARGING ARCHITECTURE THEREWITH - A charging method for a rechargeable battery and a related charging architecture are provided. The provided charging method includes following steps. A characteristic curve of the rechargeable battery related to charge cycle vs. a residual capacity of a non-constant voltage charging stage under a warranty life limitation is provided. An expected residual capacity corresponding to a condition when a terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery reaches a limited charge voltage is found from the characteristic curve related to the charge cycle vs. the residual capacity of the non-constant voltage charging stage by using a current charge cycle count of the rechargeable battery. A real residual capacity corresponding to a condition when the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery reaches the limited charge voltage approaches to the expected residual capacity by adjusting a charging current of the rechargeable battery. | 06-19-2014 |
20140184172 | POWER STORAGE DEVICE AND CHARGING METHOD THEREOF - An object is to inhibit a decrease in the capacity of a power storage device or to compensate the capacity, by adjusting or rectifying an imbalance between a positive electrode and a negative electrode, which is caused by decomposition of an electrolyte solution at the negative electrode. Provided is a charging method of a power storage device including a positive electrode using an active material that exhibits two-phase reaction, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte solution. The method includes the steps of, after constant current charging, performing constant voltage charging with a voltage that does not cause decomposition of the electrolyte solution until a charging current becomes lower than or equal to a lower current value limit; and after the constant voltage charging, performing additional charging with a voltage that causes decomposition of the electrolyte solution until a resistance of the power storage device reaches a predetermined resistance. | 07-03-2014 |
20140217994 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH FAST CHARGING CIRCUIT - An electronic device includes a pre-charging circuit and a battery. The pre-charging circuit is electrically connected to an external power supply and continually charges the battery of the electronic device. The electronic device further includes a fast charging circuit which includes a switch, a comparator and a NOR gate. The switch is electrically connected between the external power supply and the battery and the comparator is electrically connected to the battery. The NOR gate is electrically connected to the pre-charging circuit, the comparator, and the switch, and outputs signals to control the switch according to the comparison against a reference voltage and the signal outputted by the pre-charging circuit. The electronic device uses the pre-charging circuit and the fast charging circuit to quickly charge the battery of the electronic device when the battery is low, which shortens the charging time. | 08-07-2014 |
20140247019 | METHOD AND SYSTEM OF DYNAMICALLY CHARGING ELECTRIC VEHICLE - A method for dynamically charging an electrically powered apparatus includes receiving a selection of a charging mode from a user, such that the selected charging mode is a fast charging mode or a slow charging mode. The method also includes dynamically scheduling a charging mode for charging the apparatus according to the selected charging mode and a status of a fast charging module, and electrically charging the apparatus according to the dynamically scheduled charging mode. | 09-04-2014 |
20140253048 | Method For High-Current Rapid Charging - A high-current rapid charging battery module for an electric vehicle including a case, one or more battery cells inside the case, a ventilation system that draws air upward through holes in the bottom of the case from the exterior of the vehicle, massive copper busbars, each busbar electrically connecting a positive lead on one battery cell to a negative lead on a different battery cell, an air flow cartridge between each pair of adjacent battery cells, and one or more fans arranged on top of one or more cells that blow air drawn upward through the holes in the bottom of the case away from the top of the battery module. | 09-11-2014 |
20140375279 | LITHIUM ION BATTERY CHARGING METHOD AND BATTERY-EQUIPPED DEVICE - In a charging method for a lithium ion battery, constant current charging of the lithium ion battery is performed. The constant current charging includes at least three consecutive charging stages. The at least three consecutive charging stages include consecutive first, second, and third charging stages. The second charging stage has a set current value which is set lower than set current values of the first and third charging stages. | 12-25-2014 |
20150115899 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING CHARGE OF A LOW-VOLTAGE BATTERY - A method and apparatus for controlling charge of a low-voltage battery are provided. The method includes assigning, by a controller, a preset voltage for the low-voltage battery based on an operating mode of a vehicle and a charge state of a high-voltage battery. In addition, the controller compares the preset voltage with a present charge voltage of the low-voltage battery and increases the present charge voltage with a first slope until the present charge voltage becomes equal to the preset voltage when the preset voltage is greater than the present charge voltage. The operating mode comprises drive modes that include a first drive mode and a second drive mode, a fuel cell stop mode, and an emergency mode. The first drive mode is divided into a plurality of stages based on the charge state of the high-voltage battery. | 04-30-2015 |
20160036249 | DIRECT CURRENT POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT - A direct current power supply circuit includes an alternating-current power supply; a rectification circuit for generating a direct-current voltage from an alternating-current voltage; a charging switch having an input terminal connected to the rectification circuit, the charging switch outputting an output voltage according to an input value input to a control terminal; a capacitor and a control circuit, which are connected to an output terminal; and a charging switch control circuit for generating a switch-on signal when the output voltage is equal to or lower than a first reference voltage value, and for generating a switch-off signal when the output voltage is equal to or higher than a second reference voltage value higher than the first reference voltage value, wherein a charging period setting circuit including at least one of the rectification circuit and the charging switch control circuit sets a charging period in which a charging current flows into the capacitor and a non-charging period in which the charging current does not flow, and in a case where the switch-on signal is generated during the charging period, the charging current flows through the charging switch when the direct-current voltage becomes equal to or higher than the output voltage, and in a case where the switch-on signal is generated during the non-charging period, the charging current does not flow through the charging switch even if the direct-current voltage becomes equal to or higher than the output voltage. | 02-04-2016 |
20160134137 | SYSTEM - According to one embodiment, a system includes an electronic device and an extension device to which the electronic device is detachable from and attachable. The electronic device includes a first battery, and a voltage step-down circuit to charge the first battery with first power supplied from the extension device after stepping down or without stepping down voltage of the first power. The extension device includes a second battery, and a voltage step-up circuit to supply the electronic device with second power supplied from the second battery after stepping up or without stepping up voltage of the second power. | 05-12-2016 |