Battery conditioning apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery conditioning apparatus for conditioning a battery. The apparatus includes a pulse generator circuit generating pulses applied to the battery. A loading circuit is separately and independently actuated from the pulse generator circuit to load the battery separately and independently whilst the pulses from the pulse generator circuit are applied to the battery for conditioning. Concurrently applying the pulses to and loading the battery results in improved battery conditioning when compared with known conditioning methods.

1 . A battery conditioning apparatus for conditioning a battery, the apparatus including:
 a pulse generator circuit generating pulses applied to the battery; and   a loading circuit separately and independently actuated from the pulse generator circuit to load the battery separately and independently whilst the pulses from the pulse generator circuit are applied to the battery for conditioning.   
     
     
         2 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the separate loading circuit provides a short circuit or virtual short circuit across the battery to facilitate conditioning of the battery. 
     
     
         3 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the loading circuit periodically loads the battery. 
     
     
         4 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the loading circuit loads the battery with a duty cycle of less than 1%. 
     
     
         5 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the loading circuit loads the battery with a duty cycle of less than 0.5%. 
     
     
         6 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pulse generator circuit generating pulses with a duty cycle of about 50%. 
     
     
         7 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pulses have a frequency of greater than 1 kHz applied to the battery. 
     
     
         8 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the pulses have a frequency of less than 10 kHz, and preferably 5 KHz. 
     
     
         9 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pulses are at a fixed frequency. 
     
     
         10 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pulse generator circuit includes a pulsing switch to generate the pulses. 
     
     
         11 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the pulsing switch includes a Field Effect Transistor (FET) switch. 
     
     
         12 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the loading circuit includes a loading switch to load the battery. 
     
     
         13 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the loading switch includes a Field Effect Transistor (FET) switch. 
     
     
         14 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the loading circuit further includes a diode in series with the loading switch. 
     
     
         15 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the loading circuit further includes a serpentine etched board resistance. 
     
     
         16 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pulse generator circuit does not include an inductor, relying instead upon the inductance of the battery. 
     
     
         17 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the concurrently generated pulses sweep between a frequency range. 
     
     
         18 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , further including a power supply circuit configured to receive power from any vehicle battery rated from 6 to 48V which is the battery being conditioned. 
     
     
         19 . The battery conditioning apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , further including a processing controller which controls the respective pulse generator and loading circuits, the controller configured to separately and independently control the pulse generator circuit and loading circuit to concurrently apply the pulses to and load the battery. 
     
     
         20 . A method for conditioning a battery, the method including:
 applying pulses to the battery; and   separately and independently loading the battery whilst applying the pulses to condition the battery.