EP0498679A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Battery charging apparatus
Assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1992-02-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-02-10
Abstract
Abstract The terminal voltages of battery cells 10-1 to 10-n constituting a set battery 10 are individually monitored by cell-voltage detecting circuits 11-1 to 11-n and input to a current control circuit 12. The current control circuit 12 detects any of the monitored terminal voltages that attains a level indicating a fully charged state. A variable constant-current control circuit 13 supplies a charging current ICH by regulating power output by a main power supply 14. As the current control circuit 12 detects a state in which one of the battery cells 10-1 to 10-n gets fully charged, the variable constant-current control circuit 13 stops charging current into the set battery 10.
Inventors
- 👤 Satoshi c/o Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Honda
- 👤 Masayuki c/o Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Toriyama
- 👤 Hiroyuki c/o Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Suzuki
- 👤 Yoshihiro c/o Kabushiki Kaisha Honda Nakazawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 09:33
CPC Classifications
H; H02; H02J; H02J7/00; H02J7/50; H02J7/52; H02J7/54
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
59 words
A set-battery charging apparatus for charging a set battery (10) comprising a plurality of battery-cell groups connected to each other in series, said set-battery charging apparatus characterized in that each of said battery-cell groups comprises at least one battery cell (10-1) and electric charge supplied to each of said battery-cell groups is controlled by monitoring the terminal voltage thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
71 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 1 characterized by comprising: a cell-voltage detecting means (11-1) for detecting the terminal voltage of each of said battery-cell groups (10-1), a current controlling means (12) for controlling current charged into said set-battery (10) based on terminal voltages detected by said cell-voltage detecting means (11-1), and a current supplying means (13) for supplying charging current controlled by said current controlling means to said set-battery.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
75 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 1 characterized by comprising: a cell-voltage detecting means (11-1) for detecting the terminal voltage of each of said battery-cell groups (10-1), a current controlling means (12) for controlling current charged into each of said battery-cell groups based on terminal voltages detected by said cell-voltage detecting means, and a current supplying means (13) for supplying charging current controlled by said current controlling means to each of said battery-cell groups.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3 characterized in that bypass means (15-1) are connected in parallel to said battery-cell groups (10-1) and said bypass means bypass current that would otherwise be charged into said battery-cell groups which are already in a fully charged state.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
A set battery charging apparatus according to claim 4 characterized in that said bypass means each comprise a transistor (TR1) that conducts when the terminal voltage of the battery cell (10-1) connected thereto attains a full charge voltage.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 4 characterized in that said bypass means each comprise diodes (D) connected in series.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 6 characterized in that said bypass means each incorporates a resistor (R1) connected in series to said diodes (D) for limiting current.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
91 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 4, 5, 6 or 7 characterized in that said set-battery charging apparatus is further equipped with a switching means (Yo) connected in series to each of said bypass means (15), a cell-voltage detecting means (40-1) for detecting the terminal voltage of each of said battery-cell groups and a switch actuating means (Y) for actuating said switching means based on detection results output by said cell-voltage detecting means, wherein said switch actuating means close said switching meanswhenever said battery-cell groups enter a fully charged state.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
62 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 8 characterized in that said battery charging apparatus is further equipped with a time measuring means (32) for measuring a time that has lapsed since one of said battery cells entered a fully charged state and current charged into all of said battery cells is cut off as the measured time attains a predetermined value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
43 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 characterized in that charging current to be supplied to each of said battery-cell groups is determined as a function of the terminal voltage and temperature of said battery cell group.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
75 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 characterized in that upper limits of a largest temperature of said battery groups used for determining the start timing of current charging are determined in advance as a function of time lapse since turning-on of an AC power supply for electric charging and current charging is not started till the largest temperature of said battery-cell groups becomes lower than said upper limit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
38 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 11 characterized in that the longer the time lapse since the turning-on of said AC power supply for electric charging, the higher the values at which said upper limits are set.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
173 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 characterized in that electric charging into each of said battery-cell groups is accomplished as a combination of: a first-stage electric charging wherein a relatively large current is supplied in a constant-current mode till the terminal voltage of any one of said battery-cell groups increases t a first predetermined voltage level set in advance as a function of temperature, a second-stage electric charging following completion of said first-stage electric charging wherein a charging current is supplied in a constant-voltage mode in order to sustain the terminal voltage of one of said battery-cell groups having a largest temperature at said first predetermined voltage level till said charging current decreases to a predetermined value, and a third-stage electric charging following completion of said second-stage electric charging wherein a relatively small current is supplied in a constant-current mode till the terminal voltage of any one of said battery-cell groups increases to a second predetermined voltage level set in advance as a function of temperature.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claim 13 characterized in that the magnitudes of said currents supplied in said constant-current modes are set so that the amount of oxygen generated in each battery cell included in said battery-cell groups is kept below a predetermined value.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
73 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to either one of claims 13 or 14 characterized by further comprising a means for cutting off charging current at the completion of said third-stage electric charging if it has been detected during a predetermined time lapse since the start of said first-stage or third-stage electric charging that the terminal voltage of at least one of said battery-cell groups decreased by a voltage drop exceeding a predetermined value.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
65 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15 characterized by further comprising: a regenerative charging means for accomplishing regenerative charging into said set battery using a motor (24) installed as a load of said set battery (10) and a means for inhibiting said regenerative charging when the largest terminal voltage of one of said battery-cell groups exceeds a predetermined value.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
101 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16 characterized by further comprising: a current sensor (42) for monitoring discharging current flowing out off said set battery, a residual-charge computing circuit (43) for computing the amount of residual charge in said set battery by integrating a signal output by said current sensor, a residual-charge meter (44) for receiving and displaying a residual-charge signal output by said residual-charge computing circuit and a current-control/electric-charging judgement circuit (12A), wherein the display of said residual-charge meter is calibrated in response to a full-charge judging signal output by said current-control/electric-charging judgement circuit.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
87 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17 characterized in that a cell-voltage detecting means computes differences between the terminal voltages of said battery-cell groups measured immediately before the start of electric charging and the terminal voltages of said battery-cell groups measured immediately after the start of the electric charging by supplying current having a known magnitude and the computed differences in terminal voltage are used for correcting measured values of the terminal voltages output later by said battery-cell-group-voltage detecting means (11-1).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
112 words
A set-battery charging apparatus according to claims 1 to 18 characterized in that a cell-voltage detecting means (11-1) computes differences between the terminal voltages of said battery-cell groups measured immediately before the start of electric charging and the terminal voltages of said battery-cell groups measured immediately after the start of the electric charging by supplying a constant current having a known magnitude, and computes the resistances of charging-wire resistors (R11) by dividing said computed differences by the known magnitude of said constant current and corrects measured values of the terminal voltages output later by said cell-voltage detecting means using the computed resistances of said charging-wire resistors and the value of charging current.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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