IP Library Granted Patent US 10,921,381
Granted Patent B2
US 10,921,381 · App. 16/046,792 · Granted Feb 16, 2021

Systems and methods for monitoring and presenting battery information

Inventors: Don Karner (Phoenix, AZ); Frank Fleming (Springfield, MO); Ulf Krohn (Stockholm, SE); Christer Lindkvist (Stockholm, SE)
Assignee: NORTHSTAR BATTERY COMPANY, LLC
G01R31/392F02N11/0862G01K3/08G01R31/367G01R31/3647G01R31/3648G01R31/371G01R31/374G01R31/379G01R31/382G01R31/396G01W1/00G06F1/28G06F3/0482G06F3/0484G06Q10/06315G06Q50/06G08B13/1418G08B25/001H01M10/06H01M10/425H01M10/4257H01M10/48H01M10/482H01M10/486H01M10/488H02J7/0047H04W4/021F02N2200/063F02N2200/064G08B13/1454H01M2/341H01M2010/4271H01M2010/4278H02J7/0025H02J7/0063H02J2007/0067H04L67/10H04W4/80
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,921,381
App. No.
16/046,792
Granted
Feb 16, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

The system may be configured to perform operations including receiving battery information, such as voltage data, temperature data, battery-specific data, and/or application-specific data; and displaying at least a portion of such data on a graphical user interface on a display screen. The operations may further include analyzing at least a portion of the battery information to monitor or determine battery health and performance, and displaying the results of such analysis on the display screen.

Claims (75)

1. A system comprising:

a battery;

a monitor circuit embedded in or attached to the battery;

a processor in electronic communication with the monitor circuit; and

a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the processor, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the processor, voltage data of the battery measured by the monitor circuit;

receiving, by the processor, temperature data of the battery measured by the monitor circuit;

storing, by the processor, a battery operating history comprising the voltage data and the temperature data in a battery operating history matrix that characterizes a Connected Operating History of the battery over a time period for which the battery monitor circuit is electrically connected to the battery, wherein the battery operating history matrix comprises:

a plurality of columns, each column representing a voltage range within which the battery operates, such that the plurality of columns covers all possible operating voltages of the battery;

a plurality of rows, each row representing a temperature range within which the battery operates, such that the plurality of rows covers all possible operating temperatures of the battery, wherein a numerical value in a cell of the battery operating history matrix represents a cumulative amount of time that the battery has been in a particular state corresponding to the voltage range and the temperature range for that cell, and wherein each total numerical value in each cell of the battery operating history matrix characterizes an entire time the battery monitor circuit has been connected to the battery; and

transmitting, by the processor, the Connected Operating History of the battery to a remote device for display of the Connected Operating History on a graphical user interface on a display screen.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the display of the Connected Operating History on the display screen comprises the stored battery operating history matrix.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving, by the processor, at least one of a battery-specific data characterizing the battery or application-specific data characterizing an application of the battery; and transmitting, by the processor, at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data for display on the graphical user interface.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the battery-specific data comprises information indicating at least one of: a chemistry of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model number of the battery, installation details of the battery, a purchase date of the battery, a battery in-service date, a vendor of the battery, and warranty requirements.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the application-specific data comprises information indicating at least one of: a type of application, a type of an equipment comprising the application, an age of the equipment, how the application will be used, a number of monoblocs in the application, a configuration of a plurality of monoblocs in the application, and an expected location of the equipment.

6. The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the battery-specific data and the application-specific data is received as a result of a manual input into the graphical user interface by a user.

7. The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the battery-specific data and the application-specific data is received as a result of receiving, by the processor, an identifier associated with the battery-specific data or the application-specific data; and matching, by the processor, the identifier with the associated battery-specific data or the associated application-specific data.

8. The system of claim 3 , wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, by the processor, at least one of a battery-specific data characterizing the battery or an application-specific data characterizing an application of the battery;

transmitting, by the processor, at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data for display on the graphical user interface;

analyzing, by the processor, the Connected Operating History and at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data;

determining, by the processor, at least one of a state of charge of the battery, a state of health of the battery, a crank health of the battery, a reserve time of the battery, a remaining life of the battery, or a discharge health of the battery in response to the analyzing the Connected Operating History and the at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data; and

storing, by the processor, information regarding the at least one of the state of charge of the battery, the state of health of the battery, the crank health of the battery, the reserve time of the battery, the remaining life of the battery, or the discharge health of the battery.

9. The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the battery-specific data and the application-specific data comprises a geographic location, and

wherein the operations further comprise transmitting, by the processor, information regarding the geographic location of the battery for display.

10. The system of claim 3 , wherein the monitor circuit comprises a temperature sensor and a voltage sensor.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

analyzing, by the processor, the Connected Operating History;

determining, by the processor, at least one of a state of charge of the battery, a state of health of the battery, a crank health of the battery, a reserve time of the battery, a remaining life of the battery, or a discharge health of the battery in response to the analyzing the Connected Operating History; and

storing, by the processor, information regarding the at least one of the state of charge of the battery, the state of health of the battery, the crank health of the battery, the reserve time of the battery, the remaining life of the battery, or the discharge health of the battery.

12. A system comprising:

a plurality of batteries in discrete applications;

a monitor circuit coupled to each battery of the plurality of batteries, wherein the monitor circuit is embedded in or attached to each battery of the plurality of batteries;

a processor in electronic communication with the monitor circuit coupled to each battery; and

a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the processor, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the processor, voltage data of each battery of the plurality of batteries-measured by the monitor circuit;

receiving, by the processor, temperature data of each battery of the plurality of batteries measured by the monitor circuit;

receiving, by the processor, a selection of at least one battery of the plurality of batteries; and

storing, by the processor, a battery operating history of the at least one selected battery, the battery operating history comprising the voltage data and the temperature data in a battery operating history matrix that characterizes a Connected Operating History of the battery over a time period for which the battery monitor circuit is electrically connected to the battery, wherein the battery operating history matrix comprises:

a plurality of columns, each column representing a voltage range within which the battery operates, such that the plurality of columns covers all possible operating voltages of the battery;

a plurality of rows, each row representing a temperature range within which the battery operates, such that the plurality of rows covers all possible operating temperatures of the battery, wherein a numerical value in a cell of the battery operating history matrix represents a cumulative amount of time that the battery has been in a particular state corresponding to the voltage range and the temperature range for that cell, and wherein each total numerical value in each cell of the battery operating history matrix characterizes an entire time the battery monitor circuit has been connected to the battery; and

transmitting, by the processor, the Connected Operating History of the at least one selected battery for display on a graphical user interface on a display screen.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the selection of at least one battery occurs by receiving a filter of at least one of:

a Bluetooth range of the processor or the monitor circuit, wherein the at least one selected battery is within the Bluetooth range, which is a geographic location, wherein the at least one selected battery is within the geographic location,

a selection of a characteristic of the at least one selected battery, or

a specific selection of the at least one selected battery.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving, by the processor, at least one of a battery-specific data characterizing the at least one selected battery or application-specific data characterizing an application of the at least one selected battery; and transmitting, by the processor, at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data of the at least one selected battery for display on the graphical user interface.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the battery-specific data and the application-specific data is received as a result of manual input into the graphical user interface by a user.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, by the processor, at least one of a battery-specific data characterizing the battery or application-specific data characterizing an application of the at least one selected battery;

transmitting, by the processor, at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data for display on the graphical user interface;

analyzing, by the processor, the Connected Operating History and at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data;

determining, by the processor, at least one of a state of charge, a state of health, a crank health, a reserve time, a remaining life, or a discharge health of the at least one selected battery in response to the analyzing the Connected Operating History; and

storing, by the processor, information regarding the at least one of the state of charge, the state of health, the crank health, the reserve time, the remaining life, or the discharge health of the at least one selected battery.

17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:

analyzing, by the processor, the Connected Operating History;

determining, by the processor, at least one of a state of charge, a state of health, a crank health, a reserve time, a remaining life, or a discharge health of the at least one selected battery in response to the analyzing the Connected Operating History; and

storing, by the processor, information regarding the at least one of the state of charge, the state of health, the crank health, the reserve time, the remaining life, or the discharge health of the at least one selected battery.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, voltage data of a battery measured by a monitor circuit, wherein the monitor circuit is embedded in or attached to the battery;

receiving, by the processor, temperature data of the battery measured by the monitor circuit;

receiving, by the processor, at least one of battery-specific data characterizing the battery or application-specific data characterizing an application of the battery;

storing, by the processor, a battery operating history comprising the voltage data and the temperature data in a battery operating history matrix that characterizes a Connected Operating History of the battery over a time period for which the battery monitor circuit is electrically connected to the battery, wherein the battery operating history matrix comprises:

a plurality of columns, each column representing a voltage range within which the battery operates, such that the plurality of columns covers all possible operating voltages of the battery;

a plurality of rows, each row representing a temperature range within which the battery operates, such that the plurality of rows covers all possible operating temperatures of the battery, wherein a numerical value in a cell of the battery operating history matrix represents a cumulative amount of time that the battery has been in a particular state corresponding to the voltage range and the temperature range for that cell, and wherein each total numerical value in each cell of the battery operating history matrix characterizes an entire time the battery monitor circuit has been connected to the battery; and

transmitting, by the processor, the Connected Operating History of the battery for display on a graphical user interface on a display screen; and

transmitting, by the processor, the at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data for display on the graphical user interface.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

analyzing, by the processor, the Connected Operating History;

determining, by the processor, at least one of a state of charge of the battery, a state of health of the battery, a crank health of the battery, a reserve time of the battery, a remaining life of the battery, or a discharge health of the battery in response to the analyzing the Connected Operating History; and

storing, by the processor, information regarding the at least one of the state of charge of the battery, the state of health of the battery, the crank health of the battery, the reserve time of the battery, the remaining life of the battery, or the discharge health of the battery.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

analyzing, by the processor, the Connected Operating History and at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data;

determining, by the processor, at least one of a state of charge of the battery, a state of health of the battery, a crank health of the battery, a reserve time of the battery, a remaining life of the battery, or a discharge health of the battery in response to the analyzing the Connected Operating History and the at least one of the battery-specific data or the application-specific data; and

storing, by the processor, information regarding the at least one of the state of charge of the battery, the state of health of the battery, the crank health of the battery, the reserve time of the battery, the remaining life of the battery, or the discharge health of the battery.

Assignments (4)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 3, 2019
From: INTERTRUST (SWEDEN) AB
To: NORTHSTAR BATTERY COMPANY, LLC
Reel/Frame 050613/0900 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 4, 2018
From: KARNER, DONALD B.
To: ELECTRIC APPLICATIONS INC.
Reel/Frame 046777/0745 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 4, 2018
From: ELECTRIC APPLICATIONS INC.
To: NORTHSTAR BATTERY COMPANY, LLC
Reel/Frame 046777/0913 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 4, 2018
From: FLEMING, FRANK; KROHN, ULF; LINDKVIST, CHRISTER
To: NORTHSTAR BATTERY COMPANY, LLC
Reel/Frame 046778/0079 →
Continuity (5)
Provisional Application 62538622 · Jul 28, 2017
Provisional Application 62659929 · Apr 19, 2018
Provisional Application 62660157 · Apr 19, 2018
Provisional Application 62679648 · Jun 1, 2018
Related Publication 20190033395A1 · Jan 31, 2019
Cited By (7)
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