KR20030046745A - Method and apparatus for auxiliary charging battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus for auxiliary charging battery are provided to make all batteries maintained at a full charge state by checking charge states of all batteries at a real time, judging auxiliary charged batteries according to each charge state and performing a auxiliary charge operation during a predetermined time. CONSTITUTION: A charge power supply(110) supplies a charge power for charging a battery and an operating voltage needed to operate. A regulator(120) receives the operating power to supply a constant power. A CPU(130) is operated by the operating voltage from the regulator and sends a switch drive signal so as to supply the charge power to a corresponding battery. The CPU monitors a voltage level of all batteries to auxiliary charge a battery which is not charged over a predetermined level. The CPU sends a display control signal so as to recognize charge and auxiliary charge states. A switch part(140) is operated responsive to the switch drive signal and connects a corresponding battery and the charge power supply to supply the charge power to a battery. A signal processing part(160) measures each battery and converts the measured voltage into a treatable voltage. A plurality of A/D converters(170) convert battery voltages converted by the signal processing part to digital signals so as to be treated by the CPU. A display part(180) displays a current state according to the display control signal.

Description

Apparatus and method for recharging batteries {Method and Apparatus for Auxiliary Charging Battery}

The present invention relates to a battery refilling device and method, and more particularly, to a battery refilling device and method for monitoring the state of a connected rechargeable battery in real time to equalize the state of charge of all rechargeable batteries to a full charge state. It is about.

In general, a system requiring a rechargeable battery such as an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) generally uses a voltage higher than that of one rechargeable battery, so the rechargeable battery cannot be connected in series. The conventional charging method for the rechargeable battery connected in series is implemented such that all the rechargeable batteries are simultaneously charged by connecting polarities such as a power supply having a voltage higher than the series voltage of the rechargeable battery.

When charging a rechargeable battery, various techniques have been developed to reduce the performance of the battery or to prevent the battery from being ruptured due to overcharging. The methods for detecting the state of full charge of a rechargeable battery include a method of continuously checking the voltage of the rechargeable battery during charging, and a method of inspecting a full charge by checking a state in which the temperature characteristics of the rechargeable battery rise and fall when the rechargeable battery is fully charged. have. The method of continuously checking the voltage of the rechargeable battery includes a method of inspecting a characteristic in which the voltage decreases at the time of full charge in the charging characteristic curve of the rechargeable battery, and a method of detecting a peak voltage in the state before charging to full charge. There is this. In addition, as a method for preventing overcharging after detecting a full charge state of a rechargeable battery, a method of blocking a charging circuit using a first voltage comparison circuit and an electronic or mechanical switch element, and a second voltage comparison circuit and an electronic or mechanical A method of reducing the charging current temporarily or stepwise using a switch element, a method of sensing the voltage of the rechargeable battery during charging and varying the pulse width of the charging current to reduce the average charging current, and the fourth time using the timer There is a method for controlling.

However, these conventional charge and full charge detection methods cause various problems because the characteristics of the rechargeable battery are not ideally identical. Some of the batteries are overcharged and some remain uncharged because the amount of energy remaining in the rechargeable battery is different and not all of the batteries can reach full charge at the same time. As this condition is repeated, the difference between the characteristics of each rechargeable battery becomes greater, and when the device needs to be operated with the power of the rechargeable battery, the operation time of the device is reduced, and the life of the rechargeable battery is shortened, thereby causing a shortening of the replacement cycle. That is, the state of charge imbalance of the rechargeable battery causes a decrease in the available rechargeable battery energy. For example, when the charge voltage is the same, the high impedance rechargeable battery has a smaller charge current amount (ie, the charge amount) than the low impedance rechargeable battery, thereby reducing the use time of the rechargeable battery energy. In addition, the conventional charging method has a problem in that it is not possible to know the exact time of replacement of the rechargeable battery because it has no choice but to manually determine the replacement time of the rechargeable battery.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object of the present invention is to monitor in real time the state of all the rechargeable battery connected in series to check the state of charge of each rechargeable battery, The present invention provides a battery refilling device and method for determining a rechargeable battery requiring refilling according to a state of a rechargeable battery and performing refilling for a predetermined time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery replenishment charging device and method that can control and monitor the status of each rechargeable battery at a remote location by transmitting information such as voltage and recharge of each rechargeable battery at a remote location using a communication network. There is.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a battery refilling device according to the present invention,

2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation relationship of a battery refilling device according to the present invention.

♣ Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ♣

100: battery refill device 105: key input unit

110: charging power unit 120: regulator

130: CPU140: switch unit

150: battery unit 160: signal processing unit

170: A / D conversion unit 180: display unit

190: communication interface unit

The present invention for achieving the above object is to charge the rechargeable battery in the battery unit through the charging circuit, the battery replenishment device for maintaining the full charge state by measuring the voltage of the rechargeable battery to calculate the shortage, to charge the battery A charging power supply unit for supplying charging power and operation power required for operation; A regulator connected to the charging power supply unit and configured to receive operation power applied from the charging power supply unit and supply a constant power supply Vcc; Connected to the regulator, it is operated by the operating power supplied from the regulator, sends a switch drive signal to control the charging power to be supplied to the corresponding battery, and monitors all the battery voltage levels to charge the battery not charged above a certain level. A CPU for replenishing and transmitting a display control signal for externally recognizing the state of charge and replenishment; A switch unit connected to the charging power unit and the CPU, the switch unit being operated by a switch driving signal applied from the CPU to connect the rechargeable battery and the charging power unit to supply charging power to the rechargeable battery; A signal processing unit connected to each of the rechargeable batteries of the battery unit and measuring a voltage of each rechargeable battery and converting the measured voltage into a processable voltage level; An A / D conversion unit connected to each signal processing unit and converting a voltage for each rechargeable battery converted by the signal processing unit into a digital signal processable by the CPU; And a display unit connected to the CPU and configured to display a current state from the outside according to a display control signal applied from the CPU.

The present invention also provides a battery recharging method for charging a rechargeable battery of a battery unit through a charging circuit, measuring a voltage of the rechargeable battery, calculating a shortage, and maintaining the battery in a fully charged state. Supplying a constant voltage for; (b) sequentially measuring current voltages of all rechargeable batteries; (c) selecting a rechargeable battery requiring refilling according to a criterion for determining that all the rechargeable batteries are not in a fully charged state; And (d) recharging the rechargeable batteries that need replenishment sequentially for a predetermined time, and repeating steps (b) and (c) until all rechargeable batteries are fully charged by inspecting the state of charge of all rechargeable batteries. It is characterized by including.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the battery refilling device and method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a battery refilling device 100 according to the present invention, the battery refilling device 100 is a key input unit 105, the charging power supply unit 110, regulator 120, CPU 130, a switch unit 140, a battery unit 150, a signal processor 160, an A / D converter 170, a display unit 180, and a communication interface unit 190 are configured.

The key input unit 105 generates a key signal for instructing to start the operation of the battery refilling device 100. If the battery refilling device is in an unconditional state when power is applied, the key input unit 105 may be omitted since no power switch or operation start command is required. The charging power supply unit 110 is connected to the key input unit 105, and supplies charging power for charging the battery according to the key signal of the key input unit 105 and operation power required for the operation of the battery replenishment device 100. It plays a role. The charging power supply unit 110 includes an AC / DC converter that converts an applied AC power into DC power. In the structure of charging with one charging power source, since the batteries are connected in series, there is only one combination satisfying the polarity of the charging process at any one time. Therefore, in order to charge several batteries at the same time, independent charging power is required by the number of batteries. At this time, the charging power must be higher than the specified power supply of the battery. The regulator 120 is connected to the charging power supply unit 110, and receives the operation power applied from the charging power supply unit 110 to supply a constant power Vcc.

The CPU 130 is connected to the regulator 120, is operated by the operating power supplied from the regulator 120, controls to supply the charging power to the battery by sending a switch drive signal, the voltage level of all batteries It monitors and replenishes the battery not charged above a certain level, and transmits a display control signal for externally recognizing the state of charge and replenishment. In addition, it receives a request signal from a remote location input through an external communication network, extracts and transmits corresponding data stored in its own memory, and performs overall control of each component to perform an operation according to an authorized request signal. Therefore, the CPU 130 is programmed to apply charging power to the battery according to the time and voltage to be recharged according to the current voltage level of each battery.

The switch unit 140 is connected to the charging power supply unit 110 and the CPU 130, and is operated by a switch driving signal applied from the CPU 130 to connect the corresponding battery and the charging power supply unit 110 to charge the battery. Switch to supply The switch unit 140 is connected to the mounted battery, respectively, and is configured to drive the corresponding switching element by a switch driving signal of the CPU 130. For example, the switch 140 may use not only a relay but also a semiconductor device such as a transistor (TR), a field effect transistor (FET), an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and a rechargeable battery (ie, a rechargeable battery). If there are five, the switching element must also have five pairs (because each has to control '+' and '-' per battery).

The battery unit 150 is connected to the switch unit 140 and the signal processing unit 160 and is composed of a combination of batteries to be charged, and each battery is connected in series.

The signal processor 160 is connected to each rechargeable battery of the battery unit 150 and performs a function of converting a voltage of each rechargeable battery into a voltage level that can be processed by the A / D converter 170. The voltage of a typical rechargeable battery varies depending on the type, but is usually about 1.2 to 3V. However, since each rechargeable battery of the battery unit 150 is connected in series, the series voltage reaches up to several tens of volts. When measuring the series voltage of all rechargeable batteries from the reference point of 0V, the low voltage should be amplified and the high voltage should be reduced at a constant rate. Alternatively, a differential amplifier circuit may be configured to process the voltage of each rechargeable battery. In this way, a signal processed with a predetermined range of voltage must be applied to the A / D converter 170.

The A / D converter 170 is connected to the signal processor 160 and converts the voltage converted by the signal processor 160 into a digital signal that can be processed by the CPU 130. Therefore, the CPU 130 reads the voltage level of each rechargeable battery applied by the A / D conversion unit 170 to drive the rechargeable battery that requires replenishment, and connects the rechargeable battery and the charging power supply 110 to each other for a predetermined time. Control to be charged. During the replenishment process, the charge status of the rechargeable battery during replenishment is monitored in real time to prevent overcharging. In addition, the A / D converter 170 uses an analog multiplexer (MUX) because one A / D converter needs to convert voltages of all the rechargeable batteries into digital signals. That is, voltages of the rechargeable battery received from the signal processor 160 are converted into digital values one by one through the MUX. In addition, it is also possible to convert the voltage applied from each signal processor 160 to the digital signal without MUX using as many A / D converters as the number of rechargeable batteries.

The display unit 180 is connected to the CPU 130, and drives the LCD or the LED according to the display control signal applied from the CPU 130 to display the state of the current battery refilling device (for example, operation start state and replenishment state). , Network connection status, etc.) to be recognized externally. The display unit 180 may use LCD or LED, but it is preferable to implement the LED in consideration of cost. For example, the LED of the display unit 180 includes a power indicator light, a supplementary light indicator, and a network connection indicator light, and when the power supply is applied to the battery supplementary device, the power indicator lights up. When the data request and control signals are applied from the peripheral devices through the communication network, the network connection indicator may be turned on. Therefore, the user may immediately check the current state of the battery refilling device 100 by checking the indicator of the display unit 180. In addition, when the display unit 180 is implemented as an LCD, since the current voltage of each rechargeable battery can be displayed, it is not necessary to provide a separate device (eg, a voltmeter) for measuring the voltage of the rechargeable battery in the field.

The communication interface 190 is interconnected with the CPU 130 and operates between a data input through a communication network (for example, the Internet, a PSTN, etc.) and data transmitted from the CPU 130 to the outside, and a data format (for example, , Protocol), and interface to adjust operation timing. The communication interface 190 may communicate by various communication standards for exchanging data with a peripheral device (eg, a personal computer) at a remote location. For example, the communication interface unit 190 may include an interface unit such as RS232, Ethernet, USB, IEEE 1394, and the like, which are widely used for data exchange through a communication network. Like other interfaces, USB does not require a driver for installation and does not need to be configured by automatically detecting various I / O devices and peripherals. You don't even have to reboot your computer to change the settings of one peripheral, and you can connect or remove peripherals while the system is in use. USB consists of four wires, two of which are used to supply power and the other two are used to transfer data. The current supplied to the USB cable is about 0.5A. Connecting peripherals to USB is a daisy chain method that connects to each other with cables like SCSI. The USB cable from the personal computer's USB port connects to a peripheral device, which in turn is connected to another peripheral device. In this way, up to 127 peripherals can be connected so that all the peripherals can be connected through a single cable.

The IEEE 1394 interface was adopted as an industry standard in 1995 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a communication standard that provides data rates up to 400 Mbps. The biggest advantage of the IEEE 1394 interface is its high transfer rate. Depending on the mode, it can support three speeds: 100Mbps, 200Mbps, and 400Mbps, enabling faster data transfer than USB. In addition, IEEE 1394 offers better two-way communication than USB, supports Plug and Play (PnP), and is hot pluggable. The above-described USB interface unit and IEEE 1394 interface unit for the implementation of the communication interface unit 190 is merely exemplary, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that other communication interfaces may be used.

In addition, the communication method between the peripheral device and the battery replenishment device of the remote place through the communication network can communicate by an interrupt method that performs the corresponding signal when a response signal for data transmission or remote control is received from the peripheral device to the battery replenishment device. Can be implemented.

Hereinafter, the operation relationship of the battery refilling device and method according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation relationship of a battery refilling device according to the present invention, and it is assumed that each rechargeable battery of the battery unit is being charged through a general charging circuit.

First, the user turns on the key input unit of the battery refilling device to supply operating power to the CPU through the charging power supply unit and the regulator (S210). When the key input unit is turned on, the charging power unit converts to DC power using the AC / DC converter included therein and applies it to the regulator, and the regulator converts back to a constant power corresponding to the operating power (Vcc) of the CPU and Start the operation. At this time, the CPU sends a display control signal to the display unit to inform the outside that the operation is starting to indicate that the battery refilling device is operating.

At the same time that the operation is started, the CPU sequentially measures current voltages of all the rechargeable batteries existing in the battery unit (S220). As soon as the operation of the CPU starts, the signal processor connected to each rechargeable battery measures the current voltage of the rechargeable battery and applies it to the A / D converter. Even though the rechargeable battery is fully charged, the characteristics of each rechargeable battery are not the same, and thus, each rechargeable battery is not fully charged. Therefore, in order to select and recharge rechargeable batteries that are not fully charged, the voltage of each rechargeable battery should be measured to grasp the rechargeable battery in which a voltage below a predetermined standard is detected. The voltage of a typical rechargeable battery varies depending on the type, but is usually about 1.2 to 3V. However, since each rechargeable battery of the battery unit 150 is connected in series, the series voltage reaches up to several tens of volts. When measuring the series voltage of all rechargeable batteries from the reference point of 0V, the low voltage should be amplified and the high voltage should be reduced at a constant rate. Alternatively, a differential amplifier circuit may be configured to process the voltage of each rechargeable battery. The signal processed with the voltage in the predetermined range is applied to the A / D converter 170. Next, the A / D converter converts the voltage received from the signal processor into a digital signal and transfers the signal to the CPU.

The CPU reads the transmitted digital signal (that is, the voltage data of the rechargeable battery) to determine whether all the rechargeable batteries are in the fully charged state (S230), and when all the rechargeable batteries are in the fully charged state, the battery does not need to be recharged anymore. Only the state is continuously monitored, and if all the rechargeable batteries are not in the fully charged state, a rechargeable battery requiring refilling is determined (S240). The criterion for recharging rechargeable batteries needs to be determined whether a particular rechargeable battery is less than or equal to a set reference voltage or less than a current average voltage of all rechargeable batteries (for example, 80% of the current average voltage). Determine if the battery needs refilling. Here, the reason for selecting a rechargeable battery that is less than the reference value of the current average voltage of all rechargeable batteries as a refilling object is that when all the rechargeable batteries are less than full, all the rechargeable batteries are at a similar level as a whole rather than fully charging only some specific rechargeable batteries. This is because it is advantageous to the system to maintain the state of charge.

For example, suppose you have a device that uses 10 rechargeable batteries connected in series, assuming 9 are fully charged, 1 is fully discharged, and 10 are only 90% charged. In both cases, the overall charge rate is 90%. In the latter case, the operating time of the equipment in case of power failure is 90% of the time compared to before charging. However, in the former case, the device may not operate due to a fully discharged battery. Rechargeable batteries have a high internal resistance. That is, the overall charging rate is 90%, but the operating time is 0%. Therefore, unless all the rechargeable batteries are fully charged, the more similar the state of charge of each other is advantageous.

When the rechargeable battery that needs to be recharged is determined, the CPU applies a switch driving signal to the switch unit to connect the rechargeable battery to the charging power supply to recharge the battery for a predetermined time, and at the same time, continuously checks the current state of all the rechargeable batteries (S250). By continuously monitoring the state of charge of all rechargeable batteries even when a particular rechargeable battery is being charged, it is possible to charge in proportion to the average voltage of all rechargeable batteries, and always monitor the status of all rechargeable batteries in real time. Here, the pre-fill time is calculated and calculated by the CPU according to the delivered voltage, and the CPU instructs to recharge the corresponding rechargeable battery and starts its own timer to count the time. The CPU determines whether the set time has expired (S260). If the time does not expire, the CPU determines whether the corresponding rechargeable battery is in a fully charged state (S270), and if the rechargeable battery is in the fully charged state, completes the charging operation of the rechargeable battery (S280). ). If the time expires in the step (S260) or the rechargeable battery is not fully charged in the step (S270) or when the charging is completed in the step (S280), the charging operation of the corresponding rechargeable battery is completed, so as to the next rechargeable battery In operation S290, it is determined whether the corresponding rechargeable battery is the last rechargeable battery that requires refilling (S295). As a result of the determination, if it is not the last rechargeable battery, the process proceeds to the step S250 to repeat the subsequent steps, and if the last rechargeable battery, the process proceeds to the step S230 to determine whether all the rechargeable batteries are in a fully charged state and repeatedly performs the corresponding steps. do. Here, it is advantageous for the system to keep the state of charge of all rechargeable batteries constant even if the replenishment time has expired but has not reached the full charge state and then move to the next rechargeable battery.

In addition, all the above-described processes can be performed through a peripheral device at a remote location, and the CPU maintains a running operation while requesting a signal indicating a specific operation from the peripheral device during execution of replenishment, and at the same time, a request authorized from the peripheral device. Perform the operation corresponding to the signal. The operation result of the request signal of the peripheral device is transmitted to the corresponding peripheral device through a communication interface and a communication network. Therefore, in order to instruct and monitor the operation of the battery refilling device, the peripheral device should be implemented to have a driving program for driving the battery refilling device or to transmit a corresponding signal through a communication network. That is, the peripheral device of the remote location may acquire information on the voltage and the supplementary charge of each rechargeable battery delivered through the communication network, and may instruct various commands such as recharging or prohibiting charging of any rechargeable battery.

The above description is only for explaining one embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be variously changed within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the shape and structure of each component specifically shown in the embodiments of the present invention may be modified.

As described above, according to the apparatus and method for recharging a battery according to the present invention, the state of all rechargeable batteries connected in series is monitored in real time to check the state of charge of each rechargeable battery, and refilling is required according to the state of each rechargeable battery. By determining the rechargeable battery and performing supplementary charging for a predetermined time, there is an effect of extending the life of the rechargeable battery and maintaining all the rechargeable batteries in a fully charged state.

In addition, by using a communication network to transmit information such as voltage and replenishment charge of each rechargeable battery from a remote location, there is an effect that can control and monitor the status of each rechargeable battery at a remote location.

Claims (9)

In the battery refilling device for charging the rechargeable battery of the battery unit through a charging circuit, by measuring the voltage of the rechargeable battery to calculate the shortage to maintain a full charge state, A charging power supply unit supplying charging power for charging the battery and operation power required for operation; A regulator connected to the charging power unit and configured to receive operation power applied from the charging power unit and supply a constant power Vcc; It is connected to the regulator and is operated by the operating power supplied from the regulator, and controls to supply the charging power to the corresponding rechargeable battery by sending a switch drive signal, and monitoring all the rechargeable battery voltage levels to not charge above a certain level. A CPU which controls to recharge the rechargeable battery and to send a display control signal for recognizing the state of charge and replenishment externally; A switch unit connected to the charging power unit and the CPU, the switch unit being operated by a switch driving signal applied from the CPU to connect the rechargeable battery and the charging power unit to supply charging power to the rechargeable battery; A signal processor connected to each rechargeable battery of the battery unit and measuring a voltage of each rechargeable battery and converting the measured voltage into a processable voltage level; A plurality of A / D converters respectively connected to the signal processing unit and converting voltages of the respective rechargeable batteries converted by the signal processing unit into digital signals processable by the CPU; And And a display unit connected to the CPU and configured to display a current state externally according to a display control signal applied from the CPU. The method of claim 1, A communication interface unit interconnected with the CPU and interfacing to adjust an operation speed, a data format, and an operation timing between data input through a communication network and data transmitted from the CPU to the outside; The CPU further includes a function of receiving a request signal from a remote place input through the communication network, extracting and transferring corresponding data stored in its own memory, and collectively controlling each component to perform an operation according to an authorized request signal. A battery refilling device, characterized in that. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the A / D converter uses an analog multiplexer (MUX). The method of claim 2, wherein the communication method between the peripheral device and the CPU via the communication network uses an interrupt method. In the battery recharge charging method for charging the rechargeable battery through a charging circuit, by measuring the voltage of the rechargeable battery to calculate the shortage to maintain a full charge state, (a) supplying a constant voltage to initiate operation of the CPU; (b) sequentially measuring current voltages of all rechargeable batteries; (c) selecting a rechargeable battery requiring refilling according to a criterion for determining that all the rechargeable batteries are not in a fully charged state; And (d) recharging the rechargeable batteries required for refilling sequentially for a predetermined time, and repeating steps (b) and (c) until all rechargeable batteries are fully charged by inspecting the state of charge of all rechargeable batteries. Battery refilling method comprising the step of. The method of claim 5, (e) the CPU receiving a request signal from a remote location input through a communication network, transferring information about a voltage and a replenishment charge of each rechargeable battery to the peripheral device, and controlling to perform an operation according to an applied request signal. Battery refilling method further comprising. The method of claim 5, wherein the rechargeable battery that needs to be recharged is determined to be a rechargeable battery that satisfies any one of two conditions by determining whether the rechargeable battery is less than or equal to a set reference voltage or less than a current average voltage of all rechargeable batteries. . The method of claim 5, wherein step (d) (d1) the CPU counting the time using its own timer; (d2) performing a replenishment operation on the remaining rechargeable battery even if the set time has elapsed or the rechargeable battery is not in a fully charged state; (d3) if the set time has not elapsed and the corresponding rechargeable battery is in a fully charged state, completing the charging, and performing a supplementary charging operation for the remaining rechargeable battery. The method of claim 6, wherein the communication method between the peripheral device and the CPU through the communication network uses an interrupt method.