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Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company

Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company

S Zia Rouhani

The present invention relates to state of charge indicators for a battery. One aspect of the present invention utilizes expansion and contraction displacements of an electrode plate of a battery to gauge the state of charge in the battery. One embodiment of a battery of the present invention includes an anodic plate; a cathodic plate; an electrolyte in contact with the anodic and cathodic plates; plural terminals individually coupled with one of the anodic and cathodic plates; a separator intermediate the anodic and cathodic plates; an indicator configured to indicate an energy level of the battery responsive to movement of the separator; and a casing configured to house the anodic and cathodic plates, electrolyte, and separator.

State of charge indicators for a battery

In most electrochemical batteries which generate electricity through the reaction of a battery electrode with an electrolyte solution, the chemical composition, and thus the weight and density, of the electrode changes as the battery discharges. The invention measures a parameter of the battery which changes as the weight of the electrode changes as the battery discharges and relates that parameter to the value of the parameter when the battery is fully charged and when the battery is functionally discharged to determine the state-of-charge of the battery at the time the parameter is measured. In one embodiment, the weight of a battery electrode or electrode unit is measured to determine the state-of-charge. In other embodiments, where a battery electrode is located away from the geometrical center of the battery, the position of the center of gravity of the battery or shift in the position of the center of gravity of the battery is measured (the position of the center of gravity changes with the change in weight of the electrode) and indicates the state-of-charge of the battery.

Method and apparatus for indicating electric charge remaining in

The state of charge of electrochemical batteries of different kinds is determined by measuring the incremental change in the total volume of the reactive masses in the battery. The invention is based on the principle that all electrochemical batteries, either primary or secondary (rechargeable), produce electricity through a chemical reaction with at least one electrode, and the chemical reactions produce certain changes in the composition and density of the electrode. The reactive masses of the electrodes, the electrolyte, and any separator or spacers are usually contained inside a battery casing of a certain volume. As the battery is used, or recharged, the specific volume of at least one of the electrode masses will change and, since the masses of the materials do not change considerably, the total volume occupied by at least one of the electrodes will change. These volume changes may be measured in many different ways and related to the state of charge in the battery. In one embodiment, the volume change can be measured by monitoring the small changes in one of the principal dimensions of the battery casing as it expands or shrinks to accommodate the combined volumes of its components.

Method and apparatus for measuring the state of charge in a battery

A miniaturized single-hand keyboard for computers or electronic word processing systems comprising alphabetical, numerical, and programmable keys. The keyboard is used in conjunction with a keypointer which presses any of the keys on the keyboard. The keypointer has a number of keys such as a shift key, control key and an alternate key, which are activated by pressure of the thumb or the index finger.

Single-hand computer keyboard

A shoe heel and sole structure composed mainly of two substrates or layers. The first substrate or layer is permanently attached to the shoe heel or sole, and the second substrate or layer comprises a wear layer that can be attached firmly to the first layer and removed easily for replacement. The first layer is in turn composed of two sublayers and has a number of small pocket-like cavities with openings for receiving the flat heads of pins or arbitrarily shaped protrusions, which are attached to the wear layer, i.e., the second layer. Furthermore, the first layer has a large central opening for receiving an attachment member of the wear layer. The combination of flat-headed pins and the attachment member of the wear layer are arranged such that they lock the wear layer securely to the first layer. Removal of the wear layer is achieved by folding back the attachment member out of the first layer and sliding the wear layer to disengage the flat-headed pins from the small pockets inside the first layer.

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Idaho Falls, ID, United States of America

S Zia Rouhani