Charging method, device and electronic equipment

Abstract

The present application discloses a charging method, device, and electronic device. The method includes: obtaining a cell voltage during a battery charging operation; and adjusting, based at least on the cell voltage, an output voltage of a charger used to charge the battery, so as to maintain the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation. The charging method of the present application can dynamically adjust the output voltage according to the actual state of the battery during the charging operation, thereby ensuring the stability of the cell voltage. This allows the cell to be continuously charged while maintaining battery safety, reducing charging time, improving charging efficiency, and increasing the amount of energy stored in the battery after charging.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of battery charging for electronic devices, and in particular to a charging method, device, and electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Currently, during the charging process of electronic device batteries, the power output of the charger does not change. It typically outputs power based on the charger's charging parameters, which remain constant throughout the charging process. However, due to the influence of charging line impedance and battery impedance, the power reaching the battery cells is often lower than expected. In particular, as battery impedance changes during charging, the voltage drop from the charger output to the cell terminals is significant, slowing the charging process and affecting the battery's charging performance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] An embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, including:

[0004] Obtain the cell voltage during battery charging operation;

[0005] Based at least on the cell voltage, an output voltage of a charger for charging the battery is adjusted to maintain the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation.

[0006] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0007] obtaining a charging current and a battery impedance during the charging operation to determine a compensation voltage;

[0008] Accordingly, adjusting the output voltage of a charger for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage includes:

[0009] The output voltage is adjusted based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage.

[0010] Optionally, obtaining the charging current and battery impedance of the charging operation to determine the compensation voltage includes:

[0011] obtaining the charging current and the battery impedance at preset time intervals;

[0012] In the case where the charging current and the battery impedance change, the compensation voltage is dynamically adjusted based on the current charging current and the battery impedance.

[0013] Optionally, adjusting the output voltage based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage includes:

[0014] In the case where the compensation voltage changes, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted accordingly based on the cell voltage and the changed compensation voltage, so that the output voltage is adaptively adjusted relative to the fluctuation of the compensation voltage.

[0015] Optionally, obtaining the cell voltage during the battery charging operation includes:

[0016] When it is determined that the charger starts the charging procedure, a first instruction is sent to the battery to enable one or more cells of the battery to feed back their own voltage to generate the cell voltage.

[0017] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0018] When the charging current decreases to within the second range, the charging operation is stopped and a prompt message is generated.

[0019] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0020] In a case where the battery is a specific battery, determining a dynamic change trend corresponding to the output voltage based on battery parameters of the battery;

[0021] During the charging operation, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted based on the dynamic change trend.

[0022] The present application also provides a charging device, including:

[0023] A controller is connected to a coulomb meter of the battery, and obtains a cell voltage during a charging operation of the battery through the coulomb meter;

[0024] A charger is connected to the controller and receives the cell voltage sent by the controller; and adjusts the output voltage for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage to keep the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation.

[0025] Optionally, the controller is further configured to: obtain the charging current and battery impedance of the charging operation through the charge coulomb meter to determine the compensation voltage;

[0026] Accordingly, the charger is further configured to adjust the output voltage based on the battery cell voltage and the compensation voltage.

[0027] An embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, comprising a battery and the charging device as described above, wherein the charging device charges the battery.

[0028] The charging method of this embodiment can dynamically adjust the output voltage according to the actual state of the battery during the charging operation, thereby ensuring the stability of the battery cell voltage, and then continuously charging the battery cell while ensuring the safety of the battery, reducing the charging time, improving the charging efficiency, and increasing the storage capacity of the battery after charging. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 This is a flow chart of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of another embodiment of the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structural relationship between the system unit and the battery in an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a specific embodiment of the charging method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 6 This is a structural block diagram of a charging device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Various aspects and features of the present application are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] It should be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the above description should not be considered as limiting, but merely as an example of an embodiment. Other modifications within the scope and spirit of the present application will occur to those skilled in the art.

[0037] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with the general description of the present application given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0038] These and other characteristics of the present application will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form of embodiment given as a non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] It should also be understood that although the present application has been described with reference to certain specific examples, those skilled in the art will readily be able to implement many other equivalent forms of the present application.

[0040] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0041] Specific embodiments of the present application will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings; however, it should be understood that the embodiments described are merely examples of the present application and may be implemented in a variety of ways. Well-known and / or repetitive functions and structures are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present application with unnecessary or redundant detail. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details described herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather to teach those skilled in the art to variously utilize the present application with substantially any suitable detailed structure.

[0042] This specification may use the phrases "in one embodiment," "in another embodiment," "in a further embodiment," or "in other embodiments," which may all refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments according to the present application.

[0043] A charging method according to an embodiment of the present application can be applied to a battery or an electronic device containing a battery. The method can dynamically adjust the charging method based on the actual conditions of various power parameters during the charging process, thereby improving charging efficiency and smoothly filling the battery. The charging method includes obtaining a cell voltage during a charging operation. A battery cell has the function of storing electricity and includes one or more cells. When a cell is being charged, the corresponding cell voltage must remain stable to ensure continuous charging of the cell, reduce charging time, and improve charging efficiency. In this embodiment, the cell voltage can be obtained using a battery-related device, such as a coulomb meter. Based at least on the cell voltage, the output voltage of a charger used to charge the battery is adjusted to maintain the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation. Specifically, the charger output voltage can provide power to the battery, meeting the charging requirements of the cell while also incurring some other power losses. In this embodiment, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted while ensuring the power requirements of the cell, so that the cell voltage during charging can remain within a first range. This first range can be set based on the actual physical and / or chemical parameters of the cell, such as a small range of values or a fixed value. This can improve charging efficiency and fully charge the battery.

[0044] The method will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the charging method according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the charging method includes the following steps:

[0045] S100: Obtaining a cell voltage during a battery charging operation.

[0046] The core device of a battery is a single electrochemical cell containing a positive and negative electrode that can be discharged or charged. A battery consists of one or more cells and other auxiliary devices.

[0047] The voltage applied to the battery cell during the charging operation is the battery cell voltage, and the corresponding battery cell voltage may be different for different battery cells. In this embodiment, the battery cell voltage actually applied to the battery cell during the charging operation can be obtained. The specific acquisition action can be implemented by a detection device associated with the battery cell, such as a gas gauge for detection to obtain the battery cell voltage. Of course, some electronic devices also require other equipment to cooperate, such as a gas gauge that can cooperate with a rectification feedback unit (AFE) to sample through the rectification feedback unit, and the gas gauge obtains the battery cell voltage from the rectification feedback unit.

[0048] S200 , adjusting an output voltage of a charger for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage, so as to maintain the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation.

[0049] The cell voltage needs to be maintained within the first range to ensure that there is enough power to charge the cell. Maintaining a stable cell voltage allows the cell to be continuously charged, reducing charging time and improving charging efficiency.

[0050] The voltage of the charger's output power is the output voltage, which is applied to the entire battery. Since the battery charging operation requires additional voltages in addition to the cell voltage, these other voltages will change dynamically during the entire charging operation. For example, changes in temperature may cause other voltages to change.

[0051] In order to keep the battery cell voltage within the first range, this embodiment can dynamically adjust the output voltage of the charger. The specific adjustment method is related to the current actual state of the battery. For example, the output voltage can be gradually increased to ensure that the battery cell voltage is always within the first range, or the output voltage can be reduced to ensure that the battery cell voltage is always within the first range.

[0052] The above-mentioned first range can be preset, and the specific setting process can be set according to the physical and / or chemical parameters of the battery. Of course, the first range can also be a fixed value, which is not limited here.

[0053] The charging method of this embodiment can dynamically adjust the output voltage according to the actual state of the battery during the charging operation, thereby ensuring the stability of the battery cell voltage, and then continuously charging the battery cell while ensuring the safety of the battery, reducing the charging time, improving the charging efficiency, and increasing the storage capacity of the battery after charging.

[0054] In one embodiment of the present application, the method further comprises the following steps:

[0055] S300, obtaining a charging current and a battery impedance of the charging operation to determine a compensation voltage;

[0056] Accordingly, adjusting the output voltage of a charger for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage includes:

[0057] The output voltage is adjusted based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage.

[0058] Specifically, the charging current is the current flowing in the charging circuit during the battery charging process, while the battery impedance is the battery's electrical impedance. In one embodiment, the battery impedance can be the impedance between the charger's output and the battery cell's input. The charging current and battery impedance change dynamically throughout the charging process. For example, the charging current will gradually decrease as charging time increases, and will drop to zero after charging is complete. Meanwhile, the battery impedance may also gradually increase as charging time increases.

[0059] In the process of obtaining the charging current and battery impedance, combined with Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the electronic device can obtain the charging current and battery impedance via the SMBUS bus through the controller in its system unit, such as the keyboard controller (Host KBC). The compensation voltage Vdrop(I,R) can be calculated based on the charging current and battery impedance. The compensation voltage is used to compensate for the consumption of the entire battery circuit to ensure that the cell voltage is within the first range. It changes dynamically during the charging operation. The output voltage Vcharger is the voltage of the power output by the charger of the system unit. The output voltage Vcharger can be determined based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage. The cell voltage is Vcell (fix set) and the compensation voltage is Vdrop(I,R). The output voltage can be determined by the following formula: Vcharger = Vcell (fix set) + Vdrop(I,R). During the charging operation, when the compensation voltage Vdrop(I,R) changes, the output voltage Vcharger is adjusted accordingly to ensure that the cell voltage Vcell (fix set) is within the first range.

[0060] Combine Figure 5 When the battery is fully charged, the charging current may approach 0, and the compensation voltage Vdrop(I,R) can be seen to approach 0. At this time, Vcharger = Vcell(fix set), the battery is fully charged, and the electronic device can turn off the charging circuit.

[0061] In one embodiment of the present application, Figure 2As shown, obtaining the charging current and battery impedance of the charging operation to determine the compensation voltage includes:

[0062] S310: Obtain the charging current and the battery impedance at preset time intervals.

[0063] During the charging process, the electronic device can collect the charging circuit and battery impedance multiple times to determine the compensation voltage in a timely manner. The specific collection operation can be performed at a preset time interval, so that the charging current and battery impedance can be continuously obtained multiple times.

[0064] The specific value of the preset time interval can be predetermined based on the actual usage scenario, for example, the specific value of the preset time interval can be determined based on information such as various parameters and / or usage of the battery.

[0065] S320 : When the charging current and the battery impedance change, dynamically adjust the compensation voltage based on the current charging current and the battery impedance.

[0066] During the charging process, the charging current and battery impedance will change due to factors such as changes in the charge amount and temperature. For example, the charging current will gradually decrease as the charging time increases, and the charging current will drop to 0 after charging is completed. The battery impedance may also gradually increase as the charging time increases. In this case, the compensation voltage can be dynamically adjusted based on the current charging current and battery impedance. For example, the corresponding compensation voltage can be calculated whenever the charging current and battery impedance are obtained, thereby ensuring the frequency of dynamic adjustment. Of course, the compensation voltage can also be calculated according to a custom interval time to meet the needs of the current usage scenario.

[0067] In one embodiment of the present application, adjusting the output voltage based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage includes:

[0068] In the case where the compensation voltage changes, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted accordingly based on the cell voltage and the changed compensation voltage, so that the output voltage is adaptively adjusted relative to the fluctuation of the compensation voltage.

[0069] As mentioned above, the compensation voltage changes during charging based on changes in the charging current and battery impedance. To maintain cell voltage stability, the output voltage can be dynamically adjusted based on the compensation voltage changes. If the compensation voltage continues to rise during charging, the output voltage will also gradually increase, allowing adjustments to match the compensation voltage.

[0070] In one embodiment of the present application, obtaining the cell voltage during the battery charging operation includes:

[0071] When it is determined that the charger starts the charging procedure, a first instruction is sent to the battery to enable one or more cells of the battery to feed back their own voltage to generate the cell voltage.

[0072] Specifically, a battery includes one or more cells, and the cell voltage is the corresponding charging voltage for all cells, that is, the cell voltage can ensure the charging requirements of all cells. When the electronic device starts the charging process, it can send a first command to the battery. This first command is used to obtain the cell voltage. After receiving the first command, the battery will return its own cell voltage.

[0073] In a specific embodiment, combining Figure 4 The keyboard controller (Host KBC) in the system part of the electronic device can send a first instruction to the gas gauge (Gas Gauge) in the battery through the SMBus bus. The gas gauge drives the rectifier feedback unit (AFE) to sample based on the first instruction, obtains the feedback voltage of all battery cells, and then generates the battery cell voltage.

[0074] In one embodiment of the present application, the method further includes the following steps: when the charging current drops to within a second range, stopping the charging operation and generating a prompt message.

[0075] The charging current changes dynamically during the entire charging process. It can be a gradually decreasing process. In particular, when charging is nearing completion, the charging current will approach 0. In this embodiment, in order to protect the charging safety of the battery, a second range is set. The second range can be a smaller numerical range, such as a numerical range close to 0. When the charging current drops to within the second range, it indicates that the battery is fully charged or nearly fully charged. If the battery continues to be charged, the battery will be damaged. In this embodiment, when it is determined that the charging current has dropped to within the second range, the charging operation is stopped, such as turning off the charging circuit of the electronic device, or turning off the charger, thereby stopping the charging operation and protecting the safety of the battery. At the same time, a prompt message can also be generated to remind the user that the battery is fully charged and can be used.

[0076] In one embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 As shown, the method further includes the following steps:

[0077] S400 , when the battery is a specific battery, determining a dynamic change trend corresponding to the output voltage based on battery parameters of the battery.

[0078] The battery parameters of a specific battery give the specific battery corresponding charging and discharging characteristics. Based on the charging and discharging characteristics of the specific battery, a dynamic change trend corresponding to the output voltage can be predetermined. This process can be based on the aforementioned relevant empirical data to specifically determine the corresponding dynamic change trend. That is, the dynamic change trend determined based on the empirical data can be adapted to the charging and discharging process of the specific battery.

[0079] In addition, in a specific embodiment, a database can be established for a variety of different specific batteries, which contains dynamic change trend information corresponding to each specific battery. After determining the identification of the specific battery, the corresponding dynamic change trend information can be retrieved from the database according to the identification for subsequent use.

[0080] S500 , during the charging operation, dynamically adjusting the output voltage based on the dynamic change trend.

[0081] The dynamic change trend is used to adjust the output voltage of the charger, that is, the output voltage is gradually adjusted according to the obtained dynamic change trend, including dynamic adjustment based on the set time and specific values, thereby ensuring the charging needs of a specific battery, specifically ensuring that the cell voltage of the specific battery is stable within the first range.

[0082] The present application also provides a charging device that can be used in electronic devices. Figure 4 and Figure 6 , the charging device comprises:

[0083] The controller is connected to a coulomb meter of the battery and obtains the cell voltage during the charging operation of the battery through the coulomb meter.

[0084] Specifically, a cell is the core device of a battery. It refers to a single electrochemical cell containing a positive and negative electrode that can be discharged or charged. A battery includes one or more cells and other auxiliary devices.

[0085] The voltage applied to the battery cell during the charging operation is the battery cell voltage, and the corresponding battery cell voltage may be different for different battery cells. In this embodiment, the controller can obtain the battery cell voltage actually applied to the battery cell when the battery is charged. The specific acquisition action controller can be implemented by a detection device associated with the battery cell. For example, the controller can obtain the battery cell voltage through a gas gauge for detection. Of course, for some electronic devices, other devices are also required. For example, the gas gauge can cooperate with the rectifier feedback unit (AFE) to sample through the rectifier feedback unit, and the gas gauge obtains the battery cell voltage from the rectifier feedback unit.

[0086] A charger is connected to the controller and receives the cell voltage sent by the controller; and adjusts the output voltage for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage to keep the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation.

[0087] Specifically, the cell voltage needs to be maintained within the first range to ensure sufficient power to charge the cell. Maintaining a stable cell voltage allows the cell to be continuously charged, thereby reducing charging time and improving charging efficiency.

[0088] The voltage of the charger's output power is the output voltage, which is applied to the entire battery. Since the battery charging operation requires additional voltages in addition to the cell voltage, these other voltages will change dynamically during the entire charging operation. For example, changes in temperature may cause other voltages to change.

[0089] In order to keep the battery cell voltage within the first range, this embodiment can dynamically adjust the output voltage of the charger. The specific adjustment method is related to the current actual state of the battery. For example, the output voltage can be gradually increased to ensure that the battery cell voltage is always within the first range, or the output voltage can be reduced to ensure that the battery cell voltage is always within the first range.

[0090] The above-mentioned first range can be preset, and the specific setting process can be set according to the physical and / or chemical parameters of the battery. Of course, the first range can also be a fixed value, which is not limited here.

[0091] In one embodiment of the present application, the controller is further configured to:

[0092] obtaining a charging current and a battery impedance during the charging operation to determine a compensation voltage;

[0093] Accordingly, the charger is further configured as follows:

[0094] The output voltage is adjusted based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage.

[0095] In one embodiment of the present application, the controller is further configured to:

[0096] obtaining the charging current and the battery impedance at preset time intervals;

[0097] In the case where the charging current and the battery impedance change, the compensation voltage is dynamically adjusted based on the current charging current and the battery impedance.

[0098] In one embodiment of the present application, the charger is further configured as follows:

[0099] In the case where the compensation voltage changes, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted accordingly based on the cell voltage and the changed compensation voltage, so that the output voltage is adaptively adjusted relative to the fluctuation of the compensation voltage.

[0100] In one embodiment of the present application, the controller is further configured to:

[0101] When it is determined that the charger starts the charging procedure, a first instruction is sent to the battery to enable one or more cells of the battery to feed back their own voltage to generate the cell voltage.

[0102] In one embodiment of the present application, the charger is further configured as follows:

[0103] When the charging current decreases to within the second range, the charging operation is stopped and a prompt message is generated.

[0104] In one embodiment of the present application, the controller is further configured to:

[0105] In a case where the battery is a specific battery, determining a dynamic change trend corresponding to the output voltage based on battery parameters of the battery;

[0106] Accordingly, the charger is further configured as follows:

[0107] During the charging operation, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted based on the dynamic change trend.

[0108] The embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, comprising a battery and the charging device as described above, wherein the charging device charges the battery. The electronic device may be a computer or other device.

[0109] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present application within the essence and scope of protection of the present application, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions shall also be deemed to fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A charging method, comprising: Obtain the cell voltage during battery charging operation; obtaining a charging current and a battery impedance during the charging operation to determine a compensation voltage; adjusting an output voltage of a charger for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage, so as to maintain the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation; Wherein, the battery includes one or more battery cells, and the first range is set according to actual physical and / or chemical parameters of the battery cells; Get the cell voltage during battery charging, including: When it is determined that the charger starts the charging program, the controller in the system part of the electronic device sends a first instruction to the energy coulomb meter in the battery. The energy coulomb meter drives the rectifier feedback unit to sample based on the first instruction, so that one or more cells of the battery feed back their own voltage to generate the cell voltage.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the charging current and battery impedance of the charging operation to determine the compensation voltage comprises: obtaining the charging current and the battery impedance at preset time intervals; In the case where the charging current and the battery impedance change, the compensation voltage is dynamically adjusted based on the current charging current and the battery impedance.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein adjusting the output voltage based on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage comprises: In the case where the compensation voltage changes, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted accordingly based on the cell voltage and the changed compensation voltage, so that the output voltage is adaptively adjusted relative to the fluctuation of the compensation voltage.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the cell voltage during the battery charging operation comprises: When it is determined that the charger starts the charging procedure, a first instruction is sent to the battery to enable one or more cells of the battery to feed back their own voltage to generate the cell voltage.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the charging current decreases to within the second range, the charging operation is stopped and a prompt message is generated.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In a case where the battery is a specific battery, determining a dynamic change trend corresponding to the output voltage based on battery parameters of the battery; During the charging operation, the output voltage is dynamically adjusted based on the dynamic change trend.

7. A charging device comprising: a controller connected to a coulomb meter of the battery, and sending a first instruction via the coulomb meter when determining that the charger has started a charging program. The coulomb meter drives a rectifier feedback unit to sample based on the first instruction, so that one or more cells of the battery feed back their own voltage to generate the cell voltage; Obtaining the charging current and battery impedance of the charging operation by the coulomb meter to determine the compensation voltage; a charger, connected to the controller, and receiving the cell voltage sent by the controller; adjusting an output voltage for charging the battery based at least on the cell voltage and the compensation voltage to maintain the cell voltage within a first range during the charging operation; The battery includes one or more battery cells, and the first range is set according to actual physical and / or chemical parameters of the battery cells.

8. An electronic device comprising a battery and the charging device according to claim 7, wherein the charging device charges the battery.

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