Textron Innovations Inc.

Luke Anthony O'Hara

Arthur James Harvey

John Ledden

Norman R Padgett

Russell William King

A charge control system includes a lithium battery configured to provide lithium battery power to a set of electrical loads, a user signaling device, and control circuitry coupled with the lithium battery and the user signaling device. The control circuitry is operative to: (A) detect availability of charge from an external charger, (B) in response to detection of the availability of charge from the external charger and prior to controlling the external charger to adjust the amount of charge stored by the lithium battery, perform a set of pre-charging assessment operations, and (C) based on the set of pre-charging assessment operations, provide a user notification via the user signaling device, the user notification indicating whether the lithium battery is properly setup for charge adjustment. When the user signaling device generates the user notification, the user is informed that the utility vehicle is properly connected to the external charger.

Methods and systems for charge control

A control system for handling a fault condition on a utility vehicle includes a lithium battery, a contactor configured to control electrical access to the lithium battery, and control circuitry coupled with the lithium battery and the contactor. The control circuitry is configured to detect, while the contactor is closed to provide a set of loads of the utility vehicle with electrical access to the lithium battery, onset of a fault condition. The control circuitry is further configured to perform, in response to detection of the onset of the fault condition, a set of remedial operations to address the fault condition. The control circuitry is further configured to perform, after a predefined amount of time has elapsed since the onset of the fault condition, a subsequent operation which opens the contactor if the fault condition remains and maintains closure of the contactor if the fault condition does not remain.

Handling a fault condition on a lithium-battery-powered utility vehicle

A technique controls charge on a lithium battery of a utility vehicle. The technique involves operating electronic circuitry of the utility vehicle in a normal operating mode in which the electronic circuitry charges the lithium battery to a normal charge level. The technique further involves, after operating the electronic circuity in the normal operating mode, transitioning the electronic circuitry from the normal operating mode to a storage mode in which the electronic circuitry is configured to set an amount of charge on the lithium battery to within a predefined storage range (or level) which is lower than the normal charge level. The technique further involves, in response to transitioning the electronic circuitry, adjusting the amount of charge on the lithium battery from an initial charge level which is outside the predefined storage range to an adjusted charge level which is within the predefined storage range.

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Augusta, GA, United States of America

Luke Anthony O'Hara