Granted Patent B2

US 8,108,160 · App. 12/238,204 · Granted Jan 31, 2012

Abstract

Claims (44)

1. A method for determining a state of charge of a battery comprising:

calculating a first component of the state of charge based on a first property of the battery via a processor;

calculating a second component of the state of charge based on a second property of the battery via the processor;

weighting the first component of the state of charge based on a rate of change of the first property relative to a change of the state of charge via the processor;

weighting the second component of the state of charge based on a rate of change of the second property relative to a change of the state of charge via the processor; and

determining the state of charge based on the first and second weighted components via the processor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the weighting of the first component increases as the rate of change of the first property increases relative to the change of the state of charge.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the weighting of the second component increases as the rate of change of the second property increases relative to the change of the state of charge.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating a third component of the state of charge based on a third property of the battery; and

weighting the third component of the state of charge based on a rate of change of the third property relative to the change of the state of charge,

wherein the determining the state of charge is further based on the third weighted component.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

measuring a least one characteristic of the battery; and

calculating the first property of the battery based on the at least one measured characteristic.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first property is based on a transient response of the battery.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first property is a location of a system pole of the battery and the weighting of the first component of the state of charge is based on a look up table comprising a plurality of determined locations of the system pole and a plurality of weighting factors, each of the weighting factors being associated with one of the determined locations of the system pole of the battery.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the battery is an automotive battery installed in an automobile and the measuring of the at least one characteristic is performed with a sensor onboard the automobile.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the battery is a nanophosphate lithium ion battery.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one measured characteristic comprises a terminal current of the battery, a terminal voltage of the battery, an operating temperature, and an operating temperature of the battery.

11. A method for determining a state of charge of a battery comprising:

calculating first and second properties of the battery via a processor;

calculating a first component of the state of charge based on the first property of the battery via the processor;

calculating a second component of the state of charge based on the second property of the battery via the processor;

weighting the first component of the state of charge proportionally to a rate of change of the first property relative to a change of the state of charge via the processor;

weighting the second component of the state of charge proportionally to a rate of change of the second property relative to a change of the state of charge via the processor; and

determining the state of charge based on the first and second weighted components via the processor.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the weighting of the first and second components of the state of charge comprise multiplying the first and second components of the state of charge respectively by first and second weighting factors.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first and second weighting factors respectively increase as rates of change of the first and second properties relative to a change in the state of charge of the battery increase.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the battery is an automotive nanophosphate lithium ion battery onboard an automobile.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising measuring at least one of a terminal current, a terminal voltage, and an operating temperature of the battery, and wherein the calculating of the first and second properties of the battery are based on the at least one of a terminal current, a terminal voltage, and an operating temperature of the battery.

16. An automotive drive system comprising:

an electric motor;

a battery coupled to the electric motor;

a sensor assembly coupled to the battery and configured to detect at least one characteristic of the battery and generate signals representative thereof; and

a processor in operable communication with the sensor assembly and configured to:

receive the signals from the sensor assembly;

calculate first and second components of a state of charge of the battery based on the signals;

weigh the first and second components of the state of charge proportionally to respective rates of change of the first and second properties relative to a change in the state of charge of the battery; and

determine the state of charge of the battery based on the first and second weighted components.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the calculating the first and second components of the state of charge comprises calculating first and second properties of the battery respectively based on the at least one characteristic of the battery.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the first property is an open circuit voltage of the battery and the second property is a location of a system pole of the battery.

19. The system of claim 18 , further comprising a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory having first and second look up tables stored thereon, the first look up table comprising a plurality of determined locations of the system pole and associated weighting factors and the second look up table comprising a plurality of open circuit voltages and associated weighting factors.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the battery is a nanophosphate lithium ion battery and the at least one measured property comprises a terminal current, a terminal voltage, and an operating temperature of the battery.

Assignments (12)