SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A STATE OF CHARGE OF A DISCONNECTED BATTERY

1 . A method for determining a state of charge in a disconnected battery, the method comprising:

a. sensing, using a battery monitor circuit, an instantaneous internal temperature (Tx) and a voltage (Vx) of a battery that is one of a plurality of batteries that are stored or in transit, wherein the battery is not electrically connected to a power system, and wherein the battery is not electrically connected to any of the plurality of batteries;

b. determining an average voltage (Vxave) by averaging the voltage (Vx) of the battery for a predetermined period of time (tavg);

c. determining that the battery has been in a rest period, during which the battery is neither charged nor discharged, for a resting predetermined period of time (trest), by confirming that the average voltage (Vxave) has not varied by more than a predetermined voltage amount (dV) for the resting predetermined period of time (trest); and

d. calculating, for the battery that has been in the rest period, a state-of-charge (SOCx) based on an empirical correlation as a function of Vxave for the battery, wherein the state-of-charge represents a percentage that the battery is currently charged between 0% and 100%, inclusive; and

e. wirelessly communicating data between the battery and a remote device for displaying the SOCx on the remote device.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the SOCx of the battery on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the state-of-charge is performed on individual batteries of the plurality of batteries that are in storage or transit without any testing equipment external to the individual batteries.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the state-of-charge is performed on individual batteries of the plurality of batteries that are in storage or transit without unpacking, sorting, or relocating the batteries.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a subset of batteries of the plurality of batteries, wherein each of the subset of batteries share a common manufacture date, and further comprising discriminating an outlier battery within the subset of batteries that is outside of a normal population of the batteries of the subset of batteries, and flagging the outlier battery as a likely defective battery.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining self-discharge parameters, wherein the determining self-discharge parameters comprises determining a predicted amount of time remaining (tREMX) until the battery will self-discharge to a pre-determined minimum state-of-charge (SOCmin) under storage or transit conditions, and wherein the self-discharge parameters are based on the SOCx, the SOCmin, the Tx, a self-discharge rate (SDRx), and a battery capacity (CAPx), and wherein the self-discharge parameters are displayed on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

a. calculating the self-discharge rate (SDRx), wherein the SDRx is a function of a current internal temperature (ciTx) of the battery, and the battery capacity (CAPx);

b. wherein the tREM x is a function of the state-of-charge (SOCx), the SOCmin, and the self-discharge rate (SDRx); and

c. further comprising displaying the tREM x of the battery on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the tREM x =(SOCx−SOCmin)/SDRx.

9 . The method of claim 6 , wherein calculating the tREM x is performed on individual batteries, of the plurality of batteries that are stored or in transit, without physically connecting to any of the plurality of batteries.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating a time to recharge the battery (ReChargeTime) from its current SOC to a desired SOC; wherein the ReChargeTime is a function of the current SOC, the desired SOC, a maximum charge current and a battery capacity (CAPx); and

displaying the ReChargeTime on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.

11 . A battery monitoring system for monitoring disconnected batteries in storage or transit, the battery monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of batteries, wherein each battery of the plurality of batteries:

is in storage or transit;

is not electrically connected to a power system;

is not electrically connected to any of the plurality of batteries; and

comprises a battery monitor circuit embedded into or attached onto the battery and having a transceiver, a temperature sensor for sensing an instantaneous internal temperature (Tx) of the battery, and a voltage sensor for sensing an instantaneous open circuit voltage (Vx) of the battery; and

a remote device;

wherein at least one of the battery monitor circuit and the remote device are further configured, for each battery, to:

a. determine an average voltage (Vxave) by averaging the Vx of the battery for a predetermined period of time (tavg);

b. determine that the battery has been in a rest period, during which the battery is neither charged nor discharged, for a resting predetermined period of time (trest), by confirming that the average voltage (Vxave) has not varied by more than a predetermined voltage amount (dVxave) for the resting predetermined period of time (trest); and

e. calculate, for the battery that has been in the rest period, a state-of-charge (SOCx) based upon an empirical correlation as a function of Vxave for the battery, wherein the state-of-charge represents a percentage that the battery is currently charged between 0% and 100%, inclusive, wherein the state-of-charge is calculated based on an empirical correlation as function of Vxave; and

wherein the remote device is configured to display the SOCx for the battery without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery, and without a physical external connection between the remote device and the battery.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the remote device is further configured to provide a notification that identifies the batteries, of the plurality of batteries, that will reach a minimum state-of-charge within a predetermined period of time.

13 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising a subset of batteries of the plurality of batteries, wherein each of the subset of batteries share a common manufacture date, wherein the remote device is further configured to discriminate an outlier battery, within the subset of batteries, that is outside of a normal population of the batteries of the subset of batteries, and flag the outlier battery as a likely defective battery.

14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the remote device is further configured to predict a length of charging time that will be required to return a battery approaching a predetermined minimum state-of-charge to one or more higher states of charge.

15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the remote device is configured to display at least one of a time to recharge the battery (ReChargeTime), the SOCx, or a predicted amount of time remaining (tREMX) without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery, and without a physical external connection between the remote device and the battery.

16 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising: determining self-discharge parameters, wherein the determining self-discharge parameters comprises determining a predicted amount of time remaining (tREMX) until the battery will self-discharge to a pre-determined minimum state-of-charge (SOCmin) under storage or transit conditions, and wherein the self-discharge parameters are based on the SOCx, the SOCmin, the Tx, a self-discharge rate (SDRx), and a battery capacity (CAPx), wherein the self-discharge parameters are displayed on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.

17 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising:

a. calculating the self-discharge rate (SDRx), wherein the SDRx is a function of a current internal temperature (ciTx) of the battery, and the battery capacity (CAPx);

b. wherein the tREMX is a function of the state-of-charge (SOCx), the SOCmin, and the self-discharge rate (SDRx); and

c. further comprising displaying the tREMX of the battery on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.

18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the tREMX=(SOCx−SOCmin)/SDRx.

19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein calculating the tREMX is performed on individual batteries, of the plurality of batteries that are stored or in transit, without physically connecting to any of the plurality of batteries.

20 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising:

calculating a time to recharge the battery (ReChargeTime) from its current SOC to a desired SOC; wherein the ReChargeTime is a function of the current SOC, the desired SOC, a maximum charge current and a battery capacity (CAPx); and

displaying the ReChargeTime on the remote device without any physical connection between the remote device and the battery.