Battery Pack Power Supply Split to Prevent Cell Degradation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery packs experience degradation and increased current consumption due to continuous charging and discharging, even when fully charged, leading to reduced battery life.
Innovation Solution
A battery pack design where a charger directly supplies power to a battery control circuit and an LED display, minimizing current consumption by only powering these components when the battery is coupled to the charger.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the battery control circuit and LED display are continuously powered when the battery is coupled to the charger, then the battery control circuit can monitor charging status and the LED display can show charge level, but the battery cell experiences continuous charging and discharging cycles leading to degradation and increased current consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply path is segmented into two separate circuits: a first power supply circuit that powers the battery control circuit directly from the battery cell, and a second power supply circuit that powers the LED display directly from the charger. This segmentation allows the display to be powered without drawing current from the battery cell during charging, thus preventing unnecessary charge-discharge cycles while maintaining monitoring functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dual power supply architecture where the charger acts as an intermediary power source for the LED display during charging operations. By routing display power through the charger rather than the battery cell, the system eliminates the harmful intermediate step of battery discharge to display information, directly resolving the contradiction between monitoring needs and battery preservation.
2Ease of operation
If the LED display is powered from the battery cell during charging, then the display can show charge information, but unnecessary current is drawn from the battery causing degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The power supply system is divided into separate pathways: the LED display is connected to the charger through a dedicated second power supply circuit, while the battery control circuit remains connected to the battery cell through a first power supply circuit. This segmentation enables the display to function independently during charging without extracting current from the battery cell, thus preserving battery lifespan while maintaining charge status visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The charger is given a dual function: it serves both as the power source for charging the battery cell and as the power source for the LED display during charging operations. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for the battery cell to supply power to the display, thereby preventing degradation while ensuring continuous visibility of charge status.
3Device complexity
If a single power supply circuit is used to power both the battery control circuit and LED display from the battery cell, then the circuit design is simple, but the battery experiences unnecessary current consumption and degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The single power supply circuit is divided into two separate power supply circuits: a first power supply circuit connecting the battery cell to the battery control circuit, and a second power supply circuit connecting the charger to the LED display. Although this increases circuit complexity, it dramatically reduces current consumption by eliminating the pathway through which the battery cell would otherwise supply power to the display during charging.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimensional aspect to the power supply architecture by introducing a dual-power-source configuration. Instead of a single-dimensional power flow from battery to loads, the system now has two-dimensional power pathways: one from battery to control circuit, and another from charger to display. This dimensional change enables independent power sourcing that minimizes energy loss.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively prevents battery degradation and minimizes current consumption, extending the battery's lifespan and reducing unnecessary energy usage.
Implementation Method 1
a voltage maintaining diode of which an anode may be coupled to the charger positive terminal and a cathode may be coupled to the charge switch so that a voltage of the charger is higher than a voltage of the battery cell
Implementation Method 2
a charger-side diode of which an anode may be coupled to the charger positive terminal and a cathode may be coupled to the battery control circuit; and a battery-side diode of which an anode may be coupled to the battery cell positive terminal and a cathode may be coupled to the battery control circuit
Implementation Method 3
an LED display configured to display the amount of charge of the battery cell in response to a control signal of the battery control circuit
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a battery pack (100), and the technical problem to be solved is to provide a battery pack in which a charger can directly supply power to a battery control circuit (140) that controls the charging and discharging of a battery cell and/or an LED display (160) that displays the amount of charge when the battery cell is coupled to the charger, thereby preventing the degradation of the battery cell and minimizing the current consumption of the battery cell. To this end, the present disclosure provides a battery pack (100) which includes: a charge switch (120) coupled between a battery cell positive terminal and a charger positive terminal (113) and between a pack positive terminal (114) and the charger positive terminal (113); a discharge switch (130) coupled between a battery cell negative terminal and a pack negative terminal (116) and between a charger negative terminal (117) and the pack negative terminal (116); a battery control circuit (140) configured to control the charge switch (120) and the discharge switch (130); and a power supply circuit (150) coupled between the charger positive terminal (113) and the battery control circuit (140), wherein the power supply circuit (150) directly supplies power to the battery control circuit (140) when a battery cell is coupled to a charger.