Battery Pulse Charging with Dynamic Voltage Cutoff
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery charging methods are inefficient, requiring long charging times and posing safety risks due to the inability to accurately determine when a battery is fully charged, often leading to a trade-off between charging speed and battery life or safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a first phase of constant current charging followed by a second phase of current pulses separated by pauses, where a dynamic reference voltage is generated based on real-time measurements of battery pack and cell voltages to determine when to stop charging, ensuring full charge without exceeding safe voltage limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional constant voltage charging is used, then battery safety is maintained, but charging time becomes excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic pulsed current instead of continuous constant voltage charging. By delivering current in pulses with pause intervals, the system achieves faster charging while allowing the battery to relax between pulses, preventing voltage overshoot and maintaining safety. The pulse width and duty cycle are optimized to balance charging speed with safety constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from static constant voltage charging to dynamic pulsed voltage charging. The charging voltage is dynamically adjusted through pulsed delivery, allowing the system to adapt to the battery's instantaneous state. This dynamic approach enables faster charging by periodically overcoming the battery's internal resistance without permanently exceeding safe voltage levels.
2Productivity
If charging current is increased to accelerate charging, then charging speed improves, but battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic pulsed current with controlled duty cycles to deliver high charging power only during active pulse periods. During pause intervals, the battery experiences reduced stress, allowing thermal and chemical recovery. This periodic high-current delivery achieves fast charging averages without subjecting the battery to continuous high-stress conditions that would degrade its lifespan.
3Device complexity
If a fixed reference voltage is used for charging termination, then system simplicity is maintained, but accurate detection of full charge is compromised due to internal resistance voltage drop
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by measuring the battery voltage during pause intervals when current is zero or minimal. This measurement captures the true battery voltage without the confounding voltage drop from internal resistance. The system uses this feedback information to accurately determine when the battery reaches full charge, then adjusts the reference voltage accordingly for the next charging phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary voltage measurement during pause intervals before applying the next charging pulse. This preliminary action allows the system to assess the battery's actual voltage state without load interference, establish an accurate reference point, and then proceed with the charging pulse. This sequence ensures precise full-charge detection while maintaining simple hardware architecture.
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 approach allows for faster charging while ensuring the battery is fully charged and safe, minimizing the risk of overcharging and extending battery life, while also reducing the size and cost of charging hardware.
Implementation Method 1
lithium-ion batteries (or Li-ion batteries) are becoming increasingly popular for a variety of applications
Implementation Method 2
when current is flowing through a battery, a small voltage drop is caused by the battery internal resistance
Data Source
AI summary
A method of charging a battery having a first voltage and a second voltage. In a first phase, applying a constant current to the battery; in a second phase, applying current pulses to the battery; repeating iteratively sampling the first voltage during a current pulse to obtain a measurement of the first voltage; sampling the first voltage during a current pause to obtain a measurement of the second voltage; generating a dynamic reference voltage based on the fixed reference voltage and on a difference between the measurement of the first voltage and the second voltage. There is a comparing the measurement of the first voltage with the dynamic reference voltage. There is a stopping of the current pulses when the measurement of the first voltage is equal to the dynamic reference voltage and the measurement of the second voltage is equal to the fixed reference voltage.