Battery Cell Charging with Pre-emptive Bypass Circuits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery charging methods continue to supply power to cells that have already reached their maximum charge level, leading to degradation and accelerated aging, as they charge in different manners and with significant current during initialization steps.
Innovation Solution
A method where each cell is connected to a bypass circuit for a pre-emptive bypass time calculated based on previous charging cycles, allowing disconnection once it reaches a set voltage, and reconnecting to maintain voltage during a charge maintaining phase, ensuring all cells reach the set voltage simultaneously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cells are charged using a single power source until all cells reach maximum charge level, then complete battery charging is achieved, but cells that have already reached maximum charge level continue to be charged leading to degradation and accelerated aging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the battery charging process into individual cell-level control segments. Each cell is monitored independently for its charge level, and bypass circuits are selectively applied to individual cells that have reached their maximum charge level. This segmentation allows the charging system to treat each cell according to its specific state rather than applying a uniform charging approach to all cells, thereby preventing overcharging of fully charged cells while completing the charging of remaining cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces bypass circuits as intermediary components between the power source and individual cells. These bypass circuits act as mediators that can divert charging current away from cells that have reached maximum charge level. The bypass circuit includes a switching element that, when activated, creates an alternative current path around the fully charged cell, preventing further charging current from reaching that cell while allowing the charging process to continue for other cells.
2Stability of the object's composition
If initialization step with bypassing is performed to equalize cell charging, then cell synchronization is improved, but significant current is passed during initialization and non-negligible energy is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies bypass circuits to cells in advance, before the initialization charging step begins. By pre-identifying cells that have reached maximum charge level and applying bypass circuits to them beforehand, the system avoids the need to pass significant current through these cells during the initialization phase. This preliminary action prevents the energy-wasting situation where current would otherwise be forced through already-charged cells to achieve synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous monitoring of individual cell charge levels with feedback control. The control system regularly checks the voltage or charge state of each cell and uses this feedback information to determine when to apply or remove bypass circuits. This feedback mechanism allows the system to respond dynamically to actual cell states, applying bypass circuits only when necessary and removing them when cells are ready for charging, thereby minimizing unnecessary energy consumption during the initialization process.
3Manufacturing precision
If initialization voltage of 2.2V is reached before normal charging begins, then cell initialization is completed, but charging time is extended and productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the initialization action preliminarily by applying bypass circuits to cells before the main charging process begins. This preliminary application of bypass circuits ensures that when charging starts, cells are already in the correct initial state without requiring a separate, time-consuming initialization phase where current is passed to reach 2.2V. The bypass circuit application itself is a quick action that prepares cells for synchronized charging without extending the overall charging time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the charging system by introducing bypass circuits that can independently control current flow to each cell. This parameter change allows the system to skip the traditional initialization voltage phase and transition directly into balanced charging mode. By changing from a uniform charging parameter approach to a cell-specific bypass control approach, the system achieves both precise voltage initialization and maintained charging speed.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for charging a battery comprising rechargeable cells. According to the invention, to perform the ith charge of the battery, where i≧2, connection of the charging terminals to the charger is detected triggering connection of the cells to their bypass circuit during a pre-emptive bypass time (TPji). Next, for each cell, during a second phase (Cji), the bypass circuit is disconnected from the cell until the voltage of the cell reaches a preset voltage, the pre-emptive bypass time (TPji) for the ith charge having been calculated as a function of the total connection time, during at least one preceding charge, of the bypass circuit associated with this cell, until all the cells have reached the preset voltage. At least one length of time allowing the first time (TPji) for the ith charge and/or said total connection time to be determined was memorized in a memory of the battery during this at least one preceding charge.