Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
103 words
A battery state of charge evaluator comprising: means responsive to battery voltage for producing a voltage value, means responsive to battery current for producing a current value, means for computing the polarization voltage as a complex function of time and of the current value, the complex function being determined in accordance with characteristics of the battery being evaluated, means for correcting the voltage value to compensate for the polarization voltage, and means for computing the state of charge of the battery as a function of the corrected voltage value, said function being determined in accordance with the characteristics of the battery being evaluated.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
103 words
A battery state of charge evaluator comprising: means responsive to battery voltage for producing a voltage value, means responsive to battery current for producing a current value, means for computing the polarization voltage as a complex function of time and of the current value, the complex function being determined in accordance with characteristics of the battery being evaluated, means for correcting the voltage value to compensate for the polarization voltage, and means for computing the state of charge of the battery as a function of the corrected voltage value, said function being determined in accordance with the characteristics of the battery being evaluated.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
A battery state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 1 which further includes a clock and in which the computing means is responsive to the clock and the polarisation voltage is computed as a function of current variation with time during a previous predetermined period.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the determining means determines the state of charge from the corrected voltage value only when the current value lies within a predetermined range.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 1 which comprises a computer permanently programmed to evaluate the state of charge.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 4 in which the computer comprises a microprocessor unit and an associated random-access-memory and read-only-memory, the read-only-memory containing a programme for evaluating the state of charge.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 1, in which the evaluator further comprises means responsive to the temperature of the electrolyte of the battery, the voltage value being compensated in accordance with this temperature.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 1, in which the battery is divided into a plurality of sub-packs, said computing means determining the state of charge from the voltage of the sub-pack having the lowest voltage.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 7, in which each sub-pack comprises a plurality of cells connected in series.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
56 words
A state of charge evaluator as claimed in claim 1 in which the computing means computes the polarization voltage in accordance with the following equations: VP=A·(I).sup.B and T=C-D·1n(I) where VP is the polarization voltage as time tends to infinity, I is peak current, T is a time constant, and A, B, C and D are constants.