TWI727471B - Battery protection method - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery protection method, adapted to protect a battery that provides power to an electronic device, the method comprises obtaining a temperature of the battery when the battery is receiving a charging electricity and determining the temperature measured belongs to which temperature range, determining whether the battery is continuously receiving the charging electricity for a first period when the temperature falls within the normal temperature range, and activating a normal temperature protection mechanism on the battery to control the battery’s power to remain within a normal temperature power cycle range when determining the battery is continuously receiving the charging power for the first period.

Description

Battery protection method

The present invention relates to a battery protection method, in particular to a battery protection method for controlling battery power.

Currently commercially available Lithium Polymer Battery is less resistant to charging in high or low temperature environments, nor is it resistant to long-term storage with high capacity. However, these are more difficult in harsher operating environments such as industrial computers. Avoided external forces may cause the battery to swell or accelerate the aging of the battery.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems, in current electronic products equipped with batteries, there are often charging protection mechanisms designed to protect the battery from temperature changes. Nevertheless, most of these protection mechanisms only interrupt the charging of the battery when the ambient temperature is high or low, and ignore that the long-term high-capacity state of the battery is also one of the important factors that cause the battery to age or swell.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a battery protection method that meets the above requirements.

A battery protection method according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for providing power to a battery of an electronic device, and the method includes: obtaining a temperature of the battery when the battery receives a charging power, and determining the temperature range to which the temperature belongs When it is determined that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is a normal temperature range, it is determined whether the battery continues to receive the charging power for a first period of time; and when it is determined that the battery continues to receive the charging power for the first period of time, the battery A normal temperature protection mechanism is activated to control a power of the battery to be maintained within a normal temperature power cycle range.

The above description of the disclosure and the following description of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the spirit and principle of the present invention, and to provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following embodiments. The content is sufficient to enable anyone familiar with the relevant art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and according to the content disclosed in this specification, the scope of patent application and the drawings. Anyone who is familiar with relevant skills can easily understand the purpose and advantages of the present invention. The following examples further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention in detail, but do not limit the scope of the present invention by any viewpoint.

Please refer to FIG. 1A, which is a flowchart of a battery protection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The battery protection method disclosed in this embodiment is suitable for batteries that provide power to electronic devices, where the electronic devices are, for example, portable electronic devices such as industrial tablets, industrial computers, mobile phones, or notebook computers, etc. The present invention is not limited to this. In the following description, the temperature of the battery disclosed in one or more embodiments of the present invention can be obtained by a thermal sensor of the battery, and the temperature is affected by the operating temperature of the battery and the environment. Temperature influence. The temperature ranges disclosed in one or more embodiments of the present invention may be different and non-overlapping normal temperature ranges (preferably 1°C to 39°C), and primary high temperature ranges (preferably 39°C to 39°C). 45°C) and one of the advanced high temperature range (preferably 45°C to 46°C). However, the number of types of temperature ranges and the corresponding temperature values mentioned above are not intended to limit the present invention. They can also include a low temperature range below the normal temperature range (for example, a temperature range lower than -18°C), and in advanced The high temperature range also includes the ultra-high temperature range (for example, the temperature range higher than 58°C). In the above-mentioned low temperature range and ultra-high temperature range, it is also possible to stop all charging or discharging operations of the battery of the electronic device according to the general battery operation control method, and even force the electronic device to be shut down. The present invention does not cover this part. limit.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 1A, when the battery is receiving charging power, in step S101, obtain the battery temperature when the battery is receiving the charging power, and continue to step S103 to determine the temperature range to which the temperature belongs, when it is determined that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is the normal temperature range At this time, the controller reads the gas gauge (Gas Gauge) installed in the battery to determine in step S105 whether the battery continues to receive charging power for a first period of time, where the first period is preferably 48 hours, but the present invention does not Limited by this. When it is determined in step S105 that the battery continues to receive charging power for the first period of time, the normal temperature protection mechanism is activated for the battery in step S107. Among them, the controller is preferably an Embedded Controller, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Please refer to FIG. 1B. FIG. 1B is a flowchart of the room temperature protection mechanism according to the embodiment of FIG. 1A. The normal temperature protection mechanism is used to control the battery power to maintain the normal temperature power cycle range, wherein the normal temperature power cycle range is preferably between 20% to 50% of the maximum battery capacity (Battery Full Capacity), but the present invention does not This is limited. In detail, the room temperature protection mechanism includes obtaining the battery power in step S1071, and determining whether the power is below the lower limit of the normal temperature power cycle range (for example, 20% of the maximum battery capacity) in step S1072. When it is determined that the power is lower than the normal temperature At the lower limit of the power cycle range, step S1073 is performed to charge the battery until the power reaches the upper limit of the normal temperature power cycle range (for example, 50% of the maximum battery capacity), and when the battery power reaches the upper limit of the normal temperature power cycle range When the limit is set, the charging of the battery is interrupted, so that the battery power is maintained within the range of the normal temperature power cycle. Wherein, when the battery is charged in step S1073, it is preferable to perform it with the lowest charging current (for example, 400 mA).

Please continue to refer to FIG. 1A. In this embodiment, after step S103 determines that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is the normal temperature range, only step S105 is performed to determine whether the battery continues to receive charging power for a first period of time, and the determination result of step S105 is optionally selected. The room temperature protection mechanism is activated on the battery without performing other judgment mechanisms (that is, the embodiment of FIG. 1A may only perform step S101 to step S107).

Please continue with the above. In terms of practical experience, when the battery has been charged to the maximum battery capacity, the user usually continues to connect the electronic device to the charging power source for convenience, resulting in a long battery time (for example, the above can be 48 hours) The battery protection method disclosed in step S101 to step S107 of FIG. 1A can provide the most effective protection for the battery of the electronic device according to the most frequently occurring usage scenarios only by performing the battery protection method disclosed in step S101 to step S107 of FIG. 1A.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 1A. In another embodiment of the present case, when it is determined in step S103 that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is the normal temperature range, it can be determined in step S205 whether the battery continues to receive charging power for a second period of time, where the second The time period is different from the first time period disclosed above and is preferably shorter than the first time period. The second time period can be 8 hours, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

When it is determined in step S205 that the battery continues to be charged for the second period of time, it is further continued in step S207 to determine whether the electronic device enters the second operating state from the first operating state, wherein the required power of the electronic device in the first operating state is different from that of the electronic device The power demand in the second operating state, for example, the first operating state is the on state, and the second operating state is the off state.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 1A. When it is determined in step S207 that the electronic device enters the second operating state from the first operating state, the number of operating state transitions is incremented by one in step S209 to update the operating state transition number. However, as described in this embodiment The cumulative calculation method of the number of operating state transitions is not limited to this. In other words, the implementation of this embodiment can also be to add one to the number of operating state transitions when judging that the electronic device enters the first operating state from the second operating state, and it is better to add one to the number of operating state transitions. It is realized by a counter, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 1A. After the number of operating state transitions is increased by one in step S209, it is determined in step S211 whether the number of operating state transitions reaches the preset number. The preset number is preferably three, but the present invention is not limited to this. . When it is determined in step S211 that the number of state transitions reaches the preset number of times, 107 is executed to activate the normal temperature protection mechanism for the battery. In addition, this embodiment may further include that when the connection between the battery and the charging power source for charging it is disconnected, the cumulative number of operating state transitions will be reset to its initial number (preferably 0).

From the above, in terms of practical experience, users usually use electronic devices (such as industrial computers) during working hours (for example, the above-mentioned second period of 8 hours), and use electronic devices during working hours Continuously connecting the electronic device to the charging power source causes the battery to continue to be in a high-capacity state during the working period. Although the user may turn off/on/restart the electronic device between two working hours (for example, during break time or shift time), after entering the second working period, the battery will once again be in a long period of time. High capacity state. Therefore, the judgment basis for starting the room temperature protection mechanism in this embodiment includes not only the second time period, but also the number of operating state transitions, so that although the battery will not be continuously charged for the first time period when the battery is used, it is in the adjacent It will be in a high-capacity state for a long time between two shutdowns or time points of shutdown, and the aforementioned room temperature protection mechanism will be introduced in time.

Please refer to FIG. 2A, which is a flowchart of the battery protection method depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 1A according to the present invention. The step S103 disclosed in FIG. 2A determines that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs, in addition to the normal temperature range, also includes the primary high temperature range and the advanced high temperature range different from the normal temperature range, wherein the lower limit of the primary high temperature range continues but does not overlap with The upper limit of the normal temperature range, and the lower limit of the advanced high temperature range continues but does not overlap the upper limit of the initial high temperature range. When it is judged that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is the initial high temperature range, continue to step S305 to activate the initial high temperature protection mechanism for the battery; when it is judged that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is an advanced high temperature range, continue to step S405 to activate the advanced high temperature protection mechanism for the battery High temperature protection mechanism.

Please refer to FIG. 2B. FIG. 2B is a flowchart of the initial high-temperature protection mechanism depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 2A. The initial high-temperature protection mechanism is used to control the battery power to maintain the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range. The high-temperature power cycle range is preferably between 40% and 70% of the maximum battery capacity. The upper limit of the high temperature power cycle range can be 70% of the maximum battery capacity, but the present invention is not limited to this. In detail, the primary high-temperature protection mechanism includes obtaining battery power in step S3051, and determining whether the power is lower than the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range (for example, 70% of the maximum battery capacity) in step S3052. When it is determined that the power is low At the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range, step S3053 is performed to charge the battery to control the battery power to return to the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range, and when the power reaches the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range, interrupt Charge the battery. In addition, the initial high-temperature protection mechanism further includes step S3054 displaying a notification to activate the initial high-temperature protection mechanism on the display to remind the user that the charging behavior of the battery has changed. Step S3054 can be performed simultaneously with step S3053 (as shown in FIG. 2B). Or when it is determined in step S3052 that the electric quantity is lower than the upper limit of the high-temperature electric quantity cycle range, step S3054 is executed first, and then step S3053 is executed. The display may be, for example, the display of the electronic device of this embodiment, or the display of the electronic device communicatively connected to the electricity meter, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Please refer to Figure 2C. FIG. 2C is a flowchart of the advanced high temperature protection mechanism depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 2A. The advanced high temperature protection mechanism is used to control the battery power to maintain within the high temperature power cycle range. In detail, the advanced high temperature protection mechanism includes obtaining battery power in step S4051, and determining whether the power is below the lower limit of the high temperature power cycle range (for example, 40% of the maximum battery capacity) in step S4052. When it is determined that the power is low At the lower limit of the high-temperature power cycle range, step S4053 is performed to charge the battery until the power reaches the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range (for example, 70% of the maximum battery capacity), and when the battery power reaches the high-temperature power cycle range When the upper limit of, the battery charging is interrupted, so that the battery power is maintained within the high temperature power cycle range. In addition, the advanced high temperature protection mechanism further includes step S4054 displaying on the display a notification to activate the advanced high temperature protection mechanism to remind the user that the charging behavior of the battery has changed. Step S4053 can be performed simultaneously with step S4054 (as shown in FIG. 2C). However, after it is determined in step S4052 that the electric quantity is lower than the lower limit of the high-temperature electric quantity cycle range, step S4054 is executed first, and then step S4053 is executed. When step S4053 is charging the battery, it is better to perform it with the lowest charging current (for example, 400 mA).

In addition, one or more embodiments of the present invention may further include that when the temperature of the battery is higher than the upper limit of the advanced high temperature range (for example, 46°C), and the power of the battery is higher than the upper limit of the high temperature power cycle range Value (for example, 70% of the maximum battery capacity), the battery is controlled to discharge so that the battery power does not exceed the upper limit of the high temperature power cycle range.

Based on the above content, the battery protection method proposed by one or more embodiments of the present invention can activate the protection mechanism for the battery when the battery is in a high temperature or high capacity state for a long time, so that the battery can be charged differently at different temperatures. /Discharge mechanism to slow down battery swelling or accelerate battery aging problems. In addition, according to the battery protection method proposed in one or more embodiments of the present invention, when the battery protection mechanism is activated, a notification to activate the protection mechanism may be displayed on the display to remind the user that the charging behavior of the battery has been changed.

Although the present invention is disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. All changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention fall within the scope of the patent protection of the present invention. For the scope of protection defined by the present invention, please refer to the attached scope of patent application.

no

FIG. 1A is a flowchart of a battery protection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a flowchart of the room temperature protection mechanism according to the embodiment of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2A is a flowchart of the battery protection method depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2B is a flowchart of the initial high-temperature protection mechanism depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a flowchart of the advanced high temperature protection mechanism depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 2A.

Claims (9)

A battery protection method is suitable for providing power to a battery of an electronic device. The method includes: obtaining a temperature of the battery when the battery receives a charging power, and judging the temperature range to which the temperature belongs; when judging that the temperature belongs When the temperature range of is a normal temperature range, it is determined whether the battery continues to receive the charging power for a first period of time; and when it is determined that the battery continues to receive the charging power for the first period of time, a normal temperature protection mechanism is activated for the battery, To control a power of the battery to be maintained within a normal temperature power cycle range, wherein the normal temperature protection mechanism includes: obtaining the power of the battery; judging whether the power is lower than the lower limit of the normal temperature power cycle range; and when judging the power When the power is lower than the lower limit of the normal temperature power cycle range, the battery is charged, and when the power reaches the upper limit of the normal temperature power cycle range, the battery is interrupted. The battery protection method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is the normal temperature range, the method further includes: Determine whether the battery continues to receive the charging power for a second period of time; when it is determined that the battery continues to receive the charging power for the second period of time, determine whether the electronic device enters a second operating state from a first operating state, wherein The power demand of the electronic device in the first operating state is different from the power demand of the electronic device in the second operating state; when it is determined that the electronic device enters the second operating state from the first operating state, a Increase the number of operating state transitions by one to update the operating state transition number; determine whether the operating state transition number reaches a preset number of times; and when it is determined that the operating state transition number reaches the preset number of times, activate the normal temperature protection mechanism for the battery . The battery protection method according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is an initial high temperature range, the method further includes: activating an initial high temperature protection mechanism for the battery to control the power to be maintained at The upper limit of the cycle range of the high-temperature electricity. The battery protection method according to claim 3, wherein when it is determined that the temperature range to which the temperature belongs is an advanced high temperature range, the method further includes: activating an advanced high temperature protection mechanism for the battery to control the power to be maintained at Within the high temperature power cycle range. The battery protection method of claim 3, wherein the primary high-temperature protection mechanism includes: obtaining the power of the battery; determining whether the power is lower than the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range; and when it is determined that the power is lower than the upper limit of the cycle range of the high-temperature power When the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range is reached, the battery is controlled to receive the charging power, and when the power reaches the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range, the battery is controlled to stop receiving the charging power. The battery protection method according to claim 4, wherein the advanced high-temperature protection mechanism includes: obtaining the power of the battery; determining whether the power is lower than the lower limit of the high-temperature power cycle range; and when the power is lower than the power When the lower limit value of the high-temperature power cycle range, the battery is controlled to receive the charging power, and when the power reaches the upper limit of the high-temperature power cycle range, the battery is controlled to stop receiving the charging power. The battery protection method according to claim 4, wherein the normal temperature protection mechanism or the advanced high temperature protection mechanism comprises: controlling the power to be maintained within the normal temperature power cycle range or the high temperature power cycle range with a minimum charging current. The battery protection method according to claim 2, wherein the first operating state is a power-on state, and the second operating state is a power-off state. The battery protection method according to claim 4, wherein the preliminary high temperature protection mechanism or the advanced high temperature protection mechanism includes: displaying a notification of starting the preliminary high temperature protection mechanism or the notification of starting the advanced high temperature protection mechanism on a display.

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