Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Toshitake Kurihara

Katsuhiro Suzuki

Tetsuya Okada

Tatsuo Mori

The battery pack charging method charges a battery pack, which is a plurality of lithium ion rechargeable batteries connected in series, to full charge by constant current and constant voltage charging. Constant current charging is performed until total voltage reaches a prescribed total voltage. Subsequently, constant current charging is switched to constant voltage charging until full charge is reached. In addition, the voltage of each battery being charged is detected. When the voltage of any battery exceeds a first specified voltage, charging is switched to pulse charging.

Battery pack charging method

This method to determine capacity of a battery computes capacity in current value and then converts it into capacity in power value, or computes capacity in power value and then converts it into current value. This method to determine capacity of a battery detects either discharge current or charge current or both, and computes capacity of battery in current value, which is then converted into capacity in power value by way of multiplication by the correcting constant which varies in accordance with capacity in current value. This method to determine capacity of a battery detects battery voltage or detects either discharge current or charge current or both of the battery, then computes battery capacity in power value, and converts capacity in power value so computed into capacity in current value by way of multiplication by the correcting constant which varies in accordance with capacity in power value.

Method to determine capacity of a battery

A remaining capacity of a battery correcting method outputs the remaining capacity with calculating to an electronic device which change into hibernation when the remaining capacity becomes lower than a hibernation changeover capacity. The method of correcting battery remaining capacity decreases the remaining capacity with a first gradient after corrected to the hibernation changeover capacity, when the remaining capacity at decreasing to 0% detecting voltage is higher than the hibernation changeover capacity. In addition, when the remaining capacity at decreasing to 0% detecting voltage is lower than the hibernation changeover capacity, the remaining capacity is decreased with a second gradient.

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Toshitake Kurihara