The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 28, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 17, 1998
Sony Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Sony Electronics Inc., Park Ridge, NJ (US);
Abstract
A battery charging system with redundant overcharge protection. The voltage across a plurality of series connected battery cells as well as the voltage across each individual cell is monitored both at a battery module and a host charging system. In the event an overcharging situation is detected, by the battery module, a first switch is open-circuited to prevent overcharging. In the event an overcharging situation is detected in the host system via a communication channel with the battery module or damage to the first switch is detected, a second switch is open-circuited in the host system to prevent overcharging, thus providing a redundant level of security against overcharging the battery cells.