Charging method and power supply system

Abstract

The invention discloses a charging method and a power supply system. The power supply system comprises a plurality of batteries, a plurality of charging integrated circuits and a processor, the charging integrated circuits are respectively coupled with the batteries, and the charging method is executed by the processor and comprises the following steps: acquiring a plurality of residual capacities of the batteries respectively; selecting the battery with the lowest residual capacity as a target battery, and taking a charging integrated circuit coupled with the target battery as a target charging integrated circuit; the target charging integrated circuit is configured to charge the target battery according to the first total power, and each charging integrated circuit except the target charging integrated circuit is configured to charge the coupled battery according to second total power smaller than the first total power, so that the phenomenon of unbalanced charging current is improved; and the charging time of the whole battery is effectively shortened.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging method and a power supply system, and particularly to a charging method and a power supply system that can use multiple charging integrated circuits (ICs) to charge multiple batteries simultaneously. Background Art

[0002] Existing power supply systems include multiple rechargeable batteries, and existing charging methods and power supply systems usually use a sequential round-robin method to charge these batteries. However, in order to meet the technical requirement of charging multiple batteries simultaneously, existing charging methods and power supply systems urgently need a new alternative solution. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a charging method and a power supply system that can use multiple charging integrated circuits to charge multiple batteries simultaneously in view of the deficiencies of the prior art.

[0004] To solve the above technical problem, one of the technical solutions adopted by the present invention is to provide a charging method. The charging method is applicable to a power supply system including multiple batteries, multiple charging integrated circuits, and a processor. The charging integrated circuits are respectively coupled to the batteries, and the charging method is executed by the processor and includes the following steps: obtaining multiple remaining capacities respectively possessed by the multiple batteries; selecting the battery with the lowest remaining capacity as the target battery, and using the charging integrated circuit coupled to the target battery as the target charging integrated circuit; and configuring the target charging integrated circuit to charge the target battery according to a first total power, and configuring each charging integrated circuit other than the target charging integrated circuit to charge the coupled battery according to a second total power less than the first total power.

[0005] Preferably, the first total power is calculated by the following mathematical formula:

[0006] P1 = (Battery_Vol * Charger_I) + Sys_P;

[0007] P1 is the first total power, Battery_Vol is the battery voltage of the target battery, Charger_I is the charging current, and Sys_P is the system load power.

[0008] Preferably, the second total power is the first total power minus a preset power.

[0009] Preferably, the charging method further includes: in response to determining that the duration of charging the target battery meets a specified time, executing the step of obtaining multiple remaining capacities again.

[0010] Preferably, the charging method further includes: in response to determining that the increased capacity of the target battery during charging meets the specified capacity, performing the step of obtaining multiple remaining capacities again.

[0011] To solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a power supply system. The power supply system includes a plurality of batteries, a plurality of charging integrated circuits, and a processor. The charging integrated circuits are respectively coupled to the batteries. The processor is coupled to the charging integrated circuits and is configured to perform the following steps: obtaining a plurality of remaining capacities respectively possessed by the plurality of batteries; selecting the battery with the lowest remaining capacity as the target battery, and using the charging integrated circuit coupled to the target battery as the target charging integrated circuit; and configuring the target charging integrated circuit to charge the target battery according to a first total power, and configuring each charging integrated circuit other than the target charging integrated circuit to charge the coupled battery according to a second total power less than the first total power.

[0012] Preferably, the first total power is calculated by the following mathematical formula:

[0013] P1 = (Battery_Vol * Charger_I) + Sys_P;

[0014] P1 is the first total power, Battery_Vol is the battery voltage of the target battery, Charger_I is the charging current, and Sys_P is the system load power.

[0015] Preferably, the second total power is the first total power minus a preset power.

[0016] Preferably, the processor is further configured to perform the following steps: in response to determining that the duration of charging the target battery meets the specified time, performing the step of obtaining multiple remaining capacities again.

[0017] Preferably, the processor is further configured to perform the following steps: in response to determining that the increased capacity of the target battery during charging meets the specified capacity, performing the step of obtaining multiple remaining capacities again.

[0018] To enable a further understanding of the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the provided drawings are only for reference and illustration and are not used to limit the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of the power supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 is a step flowchart of the charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The following is a description of the embodiments of the present invention regarding the "charging method and power supply system" through specific examples. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. Additionally, the drawings of the present invention are only for simple schematic illustration and are not drawn according to actual dimensions, hereby stated in advance. The following embodiments will further elaborate on the relevant technical content of the present invention, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Additionally, the term "or" used herein should, depending on the actual situation, possibly include any one or a combination of more of the associated listed items.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 . As Figure 1 shown, the power supply system 1 of this embodiment includes a plurality of batteries 11_1 to 11_n, a plurality of charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n, and a processor 15, that is, n is an integer greater than 1. The batteries 11_1 to 11_n are all rechargeable batteries, and each battery may include at least one battery cell. However, the present invention does not limit the specific implementation manner of each battery. The charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n are respectively coupled to the batteries 11_1 to 11_n. Each charging integrated circuit may include an AC-DC power converter and has functions such as buck-boost and voltage regulation. Similarly, the present invention does not limit the specific implementation manner of each charging integrated circuit.

[0023] In this embodiment, the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n may also be coupled to a power supply device (for example, an AC power adapter, etc., but Figure 1 not shown), and are configured to charge the batteries 11_1 to 11_n. Additionally, the processor 15 may be implemented by hardware (for example, a central processing unit and memory) in combination with software and / or firmware. However, the present invention does not limit the specific implementation manner of the processor 15. The processor 15 is coupled to the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n and is configured to execute the charging method of this embodiment. As Figure 2 shown, the charging method of this embodiment includes the following steps.

[0024] Step S110: Obtain the remaining capacities respectively possessed by a plurality of batteries.

[0025] Specifically, the remaining capacity of each battery can be represented as the state of charge (SOC) in percentage. Additionally, the processor 15 can read the gauge data of the batteries 11_1 to 11_n through the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n, and the gauge data of each battery includes the state of charge of that battery.

[0026] Step S120: Select the battery with the lowest remaining capacity as the target battery, and use the charging integrated circuit coupled to the target battery as the target charging integrated circuit.

[0027] Step S130: Configure the target charging integrated circuit to charge the target battery according to the first total power, and configure each charging integrated circuit other than the target charging integrated circuit to charge the coupled battery according to a second total power less than the first total power.

[0028] For example, in response to the battery 11_1 having the lowest remaining capacity at this time, the processor 15 can select the battery 11_1 as the target battery, and use the charging integrated circuit 13_1 coupled to the battery 11_1 as the target charging integrated circuit. Then, the processor 15 can configure the charging integrated circuit 13_1 to charge the battery 11_1 according to the first total power ( Figure 1 not shown), and configure each charging integrated circuit other than the charging integrated circuit 13_1 to charge the coupled battery according to a second total power less than the first total power ( Figure 1 also not shown).

[0029] Specifically, each charging integrated circuit can have a total power and provide a charging current ( Figure 1 also not shown) according to this total power to charge the coupled battery. Additionally, the processor 15 can be, for example, an embedded controller (EC), but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, in step S130, the processor 15 can set the total power of the target charging integrated circuit as the first total power, and set the total power of each charging integrated circuit other than the target charging integrated circuit as the second total power less than the first total power.

[0030] It can be seen that, compared with other charging integrated circuits, the target charging integrated circuit can be configured to provide the maximum charging current to charge the target battery, enabling the target battery to significantly increase its remaining capacity compared with other batteries. Additionally, other charging integrated circuits can be configured to provide a smaller charging current to charge the coupled batteries to meet the technical requirements for charging multiple batteries simultaneously.

[0031] Further, the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n can also be coupled to a system load ( Figure 1 not shown either), and the aforementioned power supply device can supply power to the system load through the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n. In this case, the first total power can be calculated by the processor 15 using the following mathematical formula:

[0032] P1 = (Battery_Vol * Charger_I) + Sys_P.

[0033] P1 is the first total power, Battery_Vol is the battery voltage of the target battery, Charger_I is the charging current provided by the target charging integrated circuit to the target battery, and Sys_P is the system load power for the system load. Additionally, it should be understood that (Battery_Vol * Charger_I) is the charging power for the target battery.

[0034] In this embodiment, the processor 15 can also obtain the charging current and the battery voltage of the target battery by reading the measurement data of the target battery, and obtain the system load power for the system load through the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n. Additionally, the second total power can be the first total power minus a preset power.

[0035] For example, the preset power can be 5 watts. Therefore, taking the above content as an example, the processor 15 can set the total power of the target charging integrated circuit to P1 in step S130, and set the total power of each charging integrated circuit other than the target charging integrated circuit to (P1 - 5), but the present invention is not limited thereto. However, when using multiple charging integrated circuits to charge multiple batteries simultaneously, a phenomenon of unbalanced charging current will occur.

[0036] Specifically, the charging current will vary with the system load. Additionally, if one of the charging integrated circuits always maintains providing the maximum charging current to charge the coupled battery as quickly as possible, the charging time of the other batteries will be prolonged due to the variation of the charging current with the system load. Therefore, in order to improve the phenomenon of unbalanced charging current and effectively shorten the overall charging time of the batteries, the charging method and the power supply system 1 of this embodiment can also alternately select the batteries 11_1 to 11_n and the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n as the target battery and the target charging integrated circuit. As Figure 2 shown, the charging method of this embodiment may further include the following steps.

[0037] Step S140: Obtain the charging parameters of the target battery.

[0038] Step S150: Determine whether the charging parameters of the target battery meet the predetermined parameters. If so, that is, in response to determining that the charging parameters of the target battery meet the predetermined parameters, the charging method returns to step S110; if not, the charging method returns to step S140.

[0039] In one embodiment, the charging parameter of the target battery may be the duration for which the target charging integrated circuit charges the target battery, and the predetermined parameter may be a specified time. Therefore, in response to determining that the duration for charging the target battery meets the specified time, the processor 15 may execute step S110 of obtaining the remaining capacity again.

[0040] For example, the specified time may be 10 minutes, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, the processor 15 may obtain the remaining capacity of each of the batteries 11_1 to 11_n again at regular intervals. Since the subsequent details are the same as the foregoing content, they will not be elaborated here. Also, therefore, the processor 15 may alternately select the batteries 11_1 to 11_n and the charging integrated circuits 13_1 to 13_n as the target battery and the target charging integrated circuit to improve the phenomenon of unbalanced charging current and effectively shorten the overall charging time of the batteries.

[0041] In another embodiment, the charging parameter of the target battery may be the increased capacity of the target battery during charging, and the predetermined parameter may be a specified capacity. Therefore, in response to determining that the increased capacity of the target battery during charging meets the specified capacity, the processor 15 may execute step S110 of obtaining the remaining capacity again.

[0042] Further, both the increased capacity and the specified capacity can be expressed in percentage form. For example, the specified capacity may be 10%. Therefore, the processor 15 may obtain the remaining capacity of each of the batteries 11_1 to 11_n again each time the remaining capacity of the target battery increases by 10%. However, the present invention is not limited to the above example. Since the subsequent details are also the same as the foregoing content, they will not be elaborated here.

[0043] In summary, one beneficial effect of the present invention is that the charging method and the power supply system provided by the present invention can meet the technical requirements of charging multiple batteries simultaneously through the technical means of "configuring the target charging integrated circuit to charge the target battery according to the first total power, and configuring each charging integrated circuit other than the target charging integrated circuit to charge the coupled battery according to the second total power less than the first total power".

[0044] Further, the charging method and the power supply system provided by the present invention can also alternately select the battery and the charging integrated circuit as the target battery and the target charging integrated circuit to improve the phenomenon of unbalanced charging current and effectively shorten the overall charging time of the batteries.

[0045] The content disclosed above is only a preferred and feasible embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the protection scope of the claims of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made by using the content of the specification and drawings of the present invention are included in the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A charging method, characterized in that: The charging method is applicable to a power system, the power system comprising a plurality of batteries, a plurality of charging integrated circuits and a processor, the plurality of charging integrated circuits being respectively coupled to the plurality of batteries, the charging method being executed by the processor and comprising the following steps: Obtaining a plurality of remaining capacities respectively possessed by a plurality of the batteries; selecting the battery having the lowest remaining capacity as a target battery, and using the charging integrated circuit coupled to the target battery as a target charging integrated circuit; and The target charging integrated circuit is configured to charge the target battery according to a first total power, and each of the charging integrated circuits other than the target charging integrated circuit is configured to charge the coupled battery according to a second total power less than the first total power.

2. The charging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first total power is calculated by the following mathematical formula: P1=(Battery_Vol*Charger_I)+Sys_P; Wherein, P1 is the first total power, Battery_Vol is a battery voltage of the target battery, Charger_I is a charging current, and Sys_P is a system load power.

3. The charging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second total power is the first total power minus a preset power.

4. The charging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The charging method further comprises: In response to determining that a duration of charging the target battery meets a specified time, the step of obtaining the plurality of remaining capacities is performed again.

5. The charging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The charging method further comprises: In response to determining that an increased capacity of the target battery during charging meets a specified capacity, the step of obtaining the plurality of remaining capacities is performed again.

6. A power supply system, characterized in that: The power supply system comprises: Multiple batteries; a plurality of charging integrated circuits, respectively coupled to the plurality of batteries; and A processor is coupled to the plurality of charging integrated circuits and is configured to perform the following steps: Obtaining a plurality of remaining capacities respectively possessed by a plurality of the batteries; selecting the battery having the lowest remaining capacity as a target battery, and using the charging integrated circuit coupled to the target battery as a target charging integrated circuit; and The target charging integrated circuit is configured to charge the target battery according to a first total power, and each of the charging integrated circuits other than the target charging integrated circuit is configured to charge the coupled battery according to a second total power less than the first total power.

7. The power supply system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first total power is calculated by the following mathematical formula: P1=(Battery_Vol*Charger_I)+Sys_P; Wherein, P1 is the first total power, Battery_Vol is a battery voltage of the target battery, Charger_I is a charging current, and Sys_P is a system load power.

8. The power supply system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The second total power is the first total power minus a preset power.

9. The power supply system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The processor is also configured to perform the following steps: In response to determining that a duration of charging the target battery meets a specified time, the step of obtaining the plurality of remaining capacities is performed again.

10. The power supply system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The processor is also configured to perform the following steps: In response to determining that an increased capacity of the target battery during charging meets a specified capacity, the step of obtaining the plurality of remaining capacities is performed again.

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