Battery Pack Environment Temperature Control Circuit

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional battery chargers incorrectly stop charging due to temperature variations between the environment before and during charging, leading to misdetected abnormal battery conditions when the environment temperature changes, affecting charging efficiency and battery life.

Innovation Solution

A battery pack with a control circuit that detects environment temperature using an environment temperature detecting element, allowing it to suspend or restart charging based on temperature variations, preventing misdetected abnormal conditions and ensuring proper charging.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If charging is controlled based on battery temperature detection, then battery protection is improved, but charging efficiency deteriorates due to false abnormal condition detection

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery protectionVSAvoidcharging efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring both battery temperature and environment temperature, and using this combined information to adjust charging control. The control circuit receives feedback from both temperature sources and makes real-time decisions, preventing false abnormal condition detection while maintaining battery protection, thus improving charging efficiency without sacrificing safety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The environment temperature detecting element performs preliminary detection of environmental conditions before charging issues false alarms. By having this preliminary information available, the control circuit can anticipate environment temperature effects and adjust its interpretation of battery temperature readings, preventing false abnormal condition detection and improving charging efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If environment temperature detection is added to the battery pack, then charging control accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetemperature measurement accuracyVSAvoiddetection system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The environment temperature detecting element serves multiple functions: it detects environment temperature for charging control accuracy, helps distinguish between battery and environment temperature effects, and provides data for preventing false abnormal condition detection. By making this detection component multi-functional, the patent improves measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2779357B1Battery pack and battery charger
Publication Date: 2018.10.24 MAKITA CORP
  • EP2779357B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2779357B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2C
  • EP2779357B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A battery pack (10) includes: a connecting portion (14A, 14B, 16A, 16B) connected to a battery charger; a battery (20) chargeable by the battery charger (40) connected to the connecting portion (14A, 14B, 16A, 16B); an environment temperature detecting element (32) detecting an environment temperature around the battery; and a control circuit (34). The control circuit (34) periodically detects the environment temperature via the environment temperature detecting element (32) and controls the battery charger (40) to suspend starting of charging the battery (20) or to temporarily discontinue charging the battery (20) when a variation of the environment temperature detected exceeds a predetermined range, when the battery charger (40) is connected to the connecting portion (14A, 14B, 16A, 16B).