Method and Apparatus for Measuring the Voltage and Charge of a Battery

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to a system for reading the voltage and state of charge of a battery. This system can be built into the battery including an LCD display, can be connected to the battery, or connected between a battery and a charging system.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior art systems have read battery voltage, but have not accurately measured current consumed or current added to a battery, and displayed this particular measurement.

Present day secondary batteries, such as Video Tape Recorder (VTR) batteries, need an accurate display of voltage, as well as current consumed, so that a battery is not run down to below recommended voltage or current during a video operation.

There is a need in secondary batteries to have a concise display indicating voltage of the battery, as well as current consumed or current added. There is a further need to indicate when a secondary battery is fully charged, is discharged, is being recharged, or is going through an automatic recharge cycle.

The prior art has been lacking in systems to indicate the state of a battery, and especially any systems which are built into the battery itself.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a system to read the voltage of a battery and the degree of discharge of the battery.

The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a system designed to read the voltage and status of charge of a battery. Voltage and current readings are taken every four (4) seconds when the voltage is read, two (2) seconds elapses, the current is read, two (2) seconds elapses, the voltage is read, and the steps are repeated by way of example and for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as limiting of the present invention. The voltage readings on the display are an average of the last sixteen (16) seconds. This reduces the rounding errors of the readings and increases the apparent resolution. The electronics can read battery voltages from 4.8 volts to 19.9 volts by way of example and for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as limiting. The current readings are integrated for display to show the amount of current consumed from the battery. The maximum reading that can be displayed is 9.999 Amp/hr. At that point, the system in this example rolls over and starts counting from zero again. An LCD shows how much more current is needed to bring the battery up to a full charge. When the battery is fully charged, a short pulse is outputted from the microcomputer to switch the charger into a trickle charge mode to protect against over charging. A self-calibration is performed when the unit is reset and every minute thereafter. This allows the unit to be manufactured without any adjustment pots or selected components which significantly reduces production time and overall cost.

The system has several options which can be enabled. The unit may display only voltage, current or charge status at each sample. These modes also allow the electronics to be easily tested in the manufacturing process.

The system is designed to be a low-cost, accurate measuring device. The absolute accuracy depends on the exact input voltage to each of the dual-sloped converters. The algorithms are executed by a 4-bit processor which performs the measurements at four (4) second intervals for the voltage and current. Therefore, a voltage or current conversion and the calculations associated with the conversions are performed every two (2) seconds. The accuracy integrated over time for current is excellent and the apparent accuracy for voltage is increased by averaging the previous four (4) readings in the software.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for reading the voltage of a battery and the current consumed or added to the battery including a battery, a load across the battery, a voltage conditioner connected to the positive pole of the battery, a current conditioner connected to the negative pole of the battery, a microprocessor connected to the voltage conditioner and the current conditioner, and an LCD display connected to the microprocessor. Voltage and current readings are taken every four (4) seconds by way of example and for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as limiting of the present invention. This information is processed by algorithms in a microprocessor and subsequently displayed on an LCD display. The microprocessor and the display can be incorporated directly within the battery housing, can be mounted on the battery or can be mounted separate from the battery.

Significant aspects and features of the present invention include a system with an LCD display which can be incorporated into a battery housing for indication of the voltage of a battery and the current consumed or added to the battery. This is especially beneficial for larger batteries, such as for video television recorders (VTR) and other batteries which require the additional monitoring hardware.

Another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is incorporating the system and the display into NiCad battery chargers for indicating the voltage of a battery, as well as the charge consumed or added to the battery. The system can also, on sensing a fully charged battery, switch a charger from a charge mode into a trickle charge mode, as a protection feature.

A further significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a display which indicates the condition of the battery, whether the battery is in a discharge mode, a charge mode, a ready mode, an automatic charging cycle mode, or is being recharged. The display visually indicates to a user the condition of the battery in numerics as to the voltage and charge, and also shows the state of the battery.

Having thus described the embodiments of the present invention, it is a principal object hereof to provide a system for reading the voltage and charge status of a battery.

One object of the present invention is a system including a voltage conditioner, a current conditioner, a load microprocessor, and an LCD display which can be incorporated into a battery.

Another object of the present invention is a system which can be utilized with a battery charger, such as for NiCad batteries.

A further object of the present invention is a system which can be used with any type of batteries such as lead-acid cells, gel cells, etc.

Other objects of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a video television recorder battery incorporating a system for reading the voltage and charge status of the battery;

FIG. 2 illustrates a three-semiconductor system for implementing the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a view of the display for a battery monitor incorporated into the battery;

FIG. 4 illustrates the battery system for reading the voltage and charge status of each battery inserted into a battery charger;

FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged view of the display for a monitor mounted within a battery charger;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the battery system for reading the voltage and charge status of a battery;

FIG. 7 illustrates a circuit diagram for the current conditioner, the voltage conditioner, and associated circuitry;

FIG. 8 illustrates the electrical circuit connections to the microprocessor;

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an alternative embodiment to the circuits of FIGS. 7 and 8; and,

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a flow chart for operation of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a battery system 10 for reading the voltage and charge status of a battery, including an LCD display 12 in a video television recorder (VTR) battery 14. By mounting the monitor directly in the battery 14, it can be used as a manufacturing aid and is always available to show status throughout the battery life. LCD display 12 should be positioned for ease of visual access whenever the battery is coupled to a charger, coupled to the video television recorder in operation, or uncoupled as in transit and storage.

FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view of the system 10, including the LCD display 12 and a circuit board 16 with a microprocessor 18 thereon. A flexible cable 21 connects the LCD display 12 to the circuit board 16. This convenient three substrate system is the preferred mode of the subject invention. It permits great flexibility in placement of the element. As stated above, LCD display 12 should be placed for easy viewing during operation, charging, storage and transit. Circuit board 16, on the other hand may be placed in any available space including being imbedded out of sight of the operator.

FIG. 3 illustrates a plan view of the LCD display 12 for mounting directly on battery 14. Display 12 includes four digits 22a-22d, a floating decimal point 24a-24n, display verbiage for amp hours 26 and display verbiage for volts 28. LCD display 12 is preferably Model DCI 1067. Connector 29 couples directly to flexible cable 21 (see also FIG. 2), whereby the various elements of LCD display 12 are energized.

Connector 29 contains a number of specific conductors. Conductor 27 is the common or ground connection which is coupled to system ground. Conductors 138, 141, 144, and 146-156 are coupled via flexible cable 21 to the corresponding pins of microprocessor 18 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 8.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the battery monitoring system mounted within a battery charger 30. There is a separate monitoring system 20 for each one of the battery charging slots 32a-32c. Each of the three separate monitoring systems 20 has a separate display 34a-34c such that any battery plugged into one of the battery charging slots 32a-32c may be monitored by the corresponding display 34a-34c.

FIG. 5 illustrates a plan view of a display 34 including numbers 36a-36d, decimal points 38a-38c, and display verbiage of amp hours 40, volts 42, charge and discharge 44 in one display word, ready 46, recharge 48, autocycle 50, and only 52. The charge and discharge display verbiage 44 is connected by two illuminating wire circuits 54 and 56 so that there is a need for only one display word in two syllables on the display 34. As with LCD display 12, display 34 has a connector 35 which couples to flexible cable 21 (see also FIG. 2). Ideally, connector 35 is laid out as pin-compatible with connector 27 such that display 34 can be directly cabled via flexible cable 20 to microprocessor 18 instead of LCD display 12. The term condition can be used in lieu of the term autocycle.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram 60 of the battery system 10, including a battery 62, a load 64, a shunt resistor 66, current conditioner 68, a voltage conditioner 70, and microprocessor 18 with a crystal 74 which drives the LCD display 12 (or display 34 in the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6).

In operation, battery 62 supplies power to load 64 as shown. The remaining elements are present to practice the subject invention. These components may be fixedly wired to battery 62 or may be connected via single conductor connectors 75, 77 and 79 as shown.

Insertion of connectors 77 and 75 require that all of the current flow between battery 62 and load 64 flows through shunt resistor 66 or very high impedance current conditioner 68. As is generally known in the art, shunt resistor 66 is of very low resistance, but very high precision such that most of the current flow between load 64 and battery 62 flows through shunt resistor 66. Current conditioner 68 is thus a high impedance, high precision voltage measuring device for measuring the voltage drop across the very small resistance of shunt resistor 66 for essentially all of the current flow between load 64 and battery 62. This voltage measurement is easily converted into current using Ohm's law by using the resistance of shunt resistor 66. Current conditioner 68 is controlled by microprocessor 18 via line 71 and sends voltage measurements to microprocessor 18 via line 73. Current conditioner 68 is discussed in more detail below.

Voltage conditioner 70 is coupled to the positive terminal of battery 62 via connector 79. Voltage conditioner 70 measures and digitizes battery voltage as described in more detail below. Voltage conditioner 70 is controlled by microprocessor 18 via line 69 and transmits digitized voltage measurements to microprocessor 18 via line 67.

Reset 78 is single pole single throw switch which generates an interrupt to microprocessor 18 to reset the current integration process and the voltage measurement averaging as explained in more detail below. Voltage regulator 80 provides a voltage standard for comparison purposes as explained in more detail below.

FIG. 7 illustrates the electrical circuit schematic diagram 100 of current conditioner 68, voltage conditioner 70, and voltage regulator 80.

The voltage regulator 80 includes a reference diode U4, a differential amplifier U2C, an NPN drive transistor Q2, a PNP pass transistor Q1, voltage divider R18, R19, and R20, filter capacitor C5, stabilizing capacitor C6, and biasing resistors R14 and R15.

The purpose of the voltage regulator circuit is to convert the variable battery voltage to a constant 4.5 volt value. This constant regulated voltage supplies power to the entire circuit including the microprocessor 18. It is this constant voltage driving the microprocessor control lines 69 and 73 which permits the automatic calibration of the voltage and current measurement circuitry.

The regulated output voltage is divided by R20 and the series combination of the R18 and R19 and connected to the inverting input of operational amplifier U2C. The positive input of U2C is held at a constant 1.2 volts by the reference diode U4. The difference between the divide output voltage and the reference is amplified by U2C and used to control the drive transistor Q2. Q2 then controls the pass transistor Q1 to force the output to 4.5 volts so that the amplified error voltage is zero. R18 and R19 further divide the output voltage to 0.05 volt level that is used as a trip point for the comparators U3A and U3B. The absolute accuracy of this trip point is not critical to the accuracy of the conversion.

The voltage conditioner 70 includes an operational amplifier U2A, a comparator U3B, a voltage divider R1 and R2, an integrating current set resistor R3, an integrating capacitor C2, and a protection diode D7. Resistor R11 helps the output of amplifier U2A sink more current when it is close to the negative rail.

The battery voltage is divided by resistors R1 and R2 to scale it to an appropriate level for the converter. This voltage becomes a reference to the operational amplifier U2A, and controls the integrating charge and discharge current. The integrating current set resistor R3 and integrating capacitor C2 provide an integrating function as explained below. The protection diode D7 clamps the reverse voltage on the integrating capacitor when the circuit is not in use.

The actual voltage measurement is made by observing the times at which the comparator output changes state. The output of this comparator is supplied to one of the digital inputs of the microprocessor 18 so that these times can be accurately measured. When the conversion starts, the output of the comparator is held low because the control line 69 is high. When the conversion starts, this control line 69 is taken low and the integration capacitor 62 starts charging with the current created by the input reference voltage divided by resistor R3. When the output of the integrator passes the 0.05 volt threshold of the comparator, the comparator output 67 goes high to signal that the conversion has started and the microprocessor 18 should start timing. A fixed amount of time later, the control output 69 goes high which is the same as the 4.5 volt regulator because that is the supply to the microprocessor 18. This causes the integrating capacitor to discharge with a current of 4.5 volt minus the reference divided by resistor R3. When the integrator output passes the 0.05 volt threshold of the comparator, the output of the comparator goes low again signaling to the microprocessor 18 that the conversion is finished. The ratio of the charge time to the discharge time is mathematically representative of the ratio between the 4.5 volt reference supply and the battery voltage. By performing the appropriate mathematics, the battery voltage can be determined from the comparator output timing.

The current conditioner 68 includes shunt resistor 66 which develops voltage being measured and is a dropping resistor for current sensing. The value and precision of this resistor is critical as explained above. Shunt resistor 66 is coupled between the negative terminal of battery 62 and load 64 (see also FIG. 6). U1A and U1B are analog multiplexers. These permit calibration of the current sensor amplifier U3D. R6 sets the gain of amplifier U3D that amplifies the voltage measured across shunt resistor 66 with the negative input pin becoming a summing junction for feedback supplied by feedback resistor R7. U1C and U1D are also analog multiplexers providing switching voltages for control of the offset cycle. The current amplifier switches between offset calibration mode and signal amplification mode many times a second. In calibration mode, switches U1B and U1D are on. This sets the amplifier input to ground and enables the operational amplifier U3C to set the output of amplifier U3D to 1.355 volts. When this cycle is over, C4 holds the last voltage that set these conditions so that during the amplification mode the output of U3D is always referenced to 1.355 volts. During the amplification mode switches U1A and U1C are turned on to allow the amplified current to be sensed. Capacitor C1 stored this output when U1C opens during the calibration mode. R12 ensures that the input impedances to U2B are matched, reducing the input offset current error.

FIG. 8 illustrates the electrical circuit connections to the microprocessor 18 and between the microprocessor and the LCD display. The microprocessor is a Sanyo LC5851H 4-bit microcomputer by way of example and for purposes of illustration only, and not to be construed as limiting of the present invention. Other 4-bit microprocessors can be utilized.

Microprocessor 18 contains the digital inputs for both voltage and current measurements received via lines 67 and 73, respectively. It also contains the digital output control lines 69 and 71 for voltage and current measurement. Control of microprocessor 18 is via the software as described below.

FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the circuits of FIGS. 7 and 8. A careful analysis will show that the circuit is nearly identical with that explained above. One key difference is the use of an automated circuit to reset the system in place of the manual reset by single pole-single throw switch 78. Referring to FIG. 9, this automatic reset circuit includes PNP drive transistor Q3, coupling resistor R22, operational amplifier IC2 and RC network C7/R23. The reset occurs automatically upon insertion of a battery. The remaining changes incorporated into the alternative embodiment are minor circuit details.

The electronics and electric circuit are based on the Sanyo LC5851H 4-bit microcomputer, CMOS analog switches, and two LM324 op-amps. The voltage and current readings are taken from dual-sloped converters and the values determined by software algorithms.

Operation of the voltage dual-sloped converter is with the two LM324 op-amps. The battery voltage is input to pin 3 of U2A through a voltage divider (see FIG. 7). Pin 2 is controlled by the microprocessor to enable and disable the integration function as explained above. The output from U2A is to U3B to be compared to the fixed reference voltage. The diode across the capacitor C3 limits the reverse bias while the circuitry is not in use. The output is sent to a digital input port on the microcomputer.

The dual-sloped converter is implemented by allowing C2 to charge for a fixed period of time after which the discharge rate is determined by the voltage on U3B pin 3. The software algorithm for the voltage is:

where "x" represents the number of counts the microcomputer acquired during the discharge time of the integrator. The charge time is fixed at 196 milliseconds. Each count represents 976 microseconds of discharge time.

The analog multiplexer offsets the ground reference so that positive or negative voltages from the current sense resistor can be used by the integrator. This is accomplished with the analog switches and the op-amps. The ground reference is offset by U3C which has its positive input held at 1.355 volts with a voltage reference and a voltage divider.

When the U1D analog switch is gated ON, the capacitor C4 charges to a voltage that will balance the circuit to zero volts plus the voltage reference offset. When it is gated OFF and the U1C analog switch is ON, then C1 is charged by the differential between pins 12 and 13 of U3D. U3D is a high gain amp with its positive input reference above ground. The voltage at C1 is used by the integrator U2B.

The software algorithm for current is:

where "x" represents the number of counts the microcomputer counted during the discharge time of the integrator. The charge time is fixed at 196 milliseconds. Each count represents 976 microseconds of discharge time.

The transistors Q1 and Q2, and U2C form a voltage regulator. A low voltage drop across Q1 is required to maintain regulation. This voltage regulator can operate from a minimum battery voltage of 4.8 volts while producing a 4.5 volt regulated output. This allows the circuit to operate from a 6.0 volt battery discharged to 80% of its normal output, which is what most manufacturers consider a discharged state.

The software can be divided into four modules: Offset 200, Current 202, Voltage 204, and Display 206.

FIG. 10 illustrates the flow chart of the software.

The Offset module 200 is the first to execute. This module reads the current count for ZERO current or what might be thought of as a calibrate current. This is done so that the microcomputer knows how much to subtract from all current readings for the actual current value.

In this routine the U1A gate is not allowed ON and the U1B gate is always ON. U1C and U1D alternate states. The analog gates are activated in the following sequence: 4, 6, 4, C. This sequence reduces system noise as opposed to simply alternating the control lines, remembering the U1A is OFF and U1B is ON at all times during this routine.

The Offset module is also executed every minute to recalibrate the electronics and to average any errors from noise that may have been introduced into the system.

The Current module 202 is part of three modules which execute at all times after the Offset module. The analog gates are sequenced differently in this portion of the software than in the Offset module. The gates in this module are activated in the following sequence: 4, C, 1, 3.

The current integration is performed first, followed by the current calculation as described earlier. The direction of the current flow is determined by subtracting the value from the offset number.

The absolute value is then added/subtracted from the CONSUMED current and the absolute number is stored in registers so that in a test mode the absolute number can be displayed. If the unit has had current discharged from it when the battery charger is attached, the display will start counting toward 0.000. A short pulse from PORT B0 will be output to indicate that the CONSUMED current has reached 0.000. The charger will switch into a trickle charge mode. The display will stay at 0.000 until current is consumed from the battery.

The Voltage module 204 executes at all times after the Offset module. The voltage integration is performed and the value of the voltage is determined. The decimal number is stored.

The Display module displays the appropriate information on the display and checks for special display modes like VOLTAGE ONLY, CURRENT ONLY and CURRENT TEST. This module also calls the Offset module once every minute to recalibrate the ZERO current number. The special mode can be enabled by applying +4.5 volts on one of the following pins at a time:

S0 PORT 80=.cent. display only voltage

S1 PORT 81=.cent. display only current

S2 PORT 82=.cent. display current for testing

There are other support modules in the software which perform timings, division, multiplication and hex to bcd conversions as illustrated in the flow charts.

The source code and six sheets of flow charts for the software is attached as Appendix 1.

The display code for the LCD is attached as Appendix 2.

Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof. ##SPC1## ##SPC2## ##SPC3## ##SPC4## ##SPC5##