A rechargeable battery pack for portable electronic equipment is includes a battery coupled to a charge/discharge circuit and includes a a first substrate for mounting parts positioned on a high-current path and a second substrate for mounting peripheral circuits for controlling a charge/discharge of the battery. Accordingly, heat sensitive parts on low current paths may be thermally isolated from heat generating parts on high current paths.
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10. A charge/discharge circuit for a rechargeable battery, comprising:
a first substrate for mounting parts positioned on a high-current path;
a second substrate for mounting low current flow parts, wherein the second substrate is spaced a distance from the first substrate; and
an interlayer connector between the first substrate and the second substrate for providing electrical signal connection between the parts mounted on the first substrate and the parts mounted on the second substrate so that the parts mounted on the first substrate are controlled by the parts mounted on the second substrate.
6. A battery pack, comprising:
a battery; and
a charge/discharge circuit in electrical communication with the battery, wherein the charge/discharge circuit comprises:
a first substrate for mounting parts positioned on a high-current path;
a second substrate for mounting low current flow parts, wherein the second substrate is spaced a distance from the first substrate; and
an interlayer connector between the first substrate and the second substrate for providing electrical signal communication between the parts mounted on the first substrate and the parts mounted on the second substrate so that the parts mounted on the first substrate are controlled by the parts mounted on the second substrate.
1. A battery pack, comprising:
a battery having a positive (+) battery terminal and a negative (−) battery terminal, wherein the battery is chargeable using an external power source;
a positive (+) battery pack terminal and a negative (−) battery pack terminal for coupling to the external power source, for charging the battery, and for supplying the power of the battery to an external load;
a first substrate for mounting parts positioned on a high-current path between the positive (+) battery terminal and the positive (+) battery pack terminal or between the negative (−) battery terminal and the negative (−) battery pack terminal; and
a second substrate for mounting low current flow peripheral circuits for controlling a charge/discharge of the battery spaced a distance from the first substrate, wherein the parts on the first substrate are controlled by parts on the second substrate.
2. The battery pack of
3. The battery pack of
at least one connector formed between the first and second substrates, for electrical signal connection between the two substrates.
4. The battery pack of
5. The battery pack of
7. The battery pack of
8. The battery pack of
9. The battery pack of
11. The charge/discharge circuit of
12. The charge/discharge circuit of
13. The charge/discharge circuit of
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(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack for a portable electronic equipment. More specifically, the present invention relates to a battery pack that isolates high-current parts and reduces the effect of heat generated from the high-current parts.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Rechargeable secondary batteries have been studied frequently with the development of portable electronic equipment such as cellular phones, notebook computers, camcorders, personal digital assistants (PDA), and the like. The various kinds of secondary batteries that have been developed include Ni—Cd batteries, lead batteries, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, lithium ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, lithium metal batteries, air zinc batteries, etc.
Secondary batteries may be combined with a charger/discharger circuit to form a battery pack. The battery pack uses an external terminal for charge/discharge. Conventional battery packs have parts in the charger/discharger circuit that are located on a high-current path. Parts located on a high-current path emit heat, which has an adverse effect on the peripheral integrated circuit chips of the charger/discharger circuit and may cause a malfunction or deteriorate the stability of the battery pack and reduce the energy efficiency of the battery pack.
The present invention provides a battery pack for portable electronic equipment that isolates parts of the battery pack located on a high-current path from the other parts of the charger/discharger circuit, thereby reducing the effect of the current-induced heat on the other circuit parts.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a battery pack is provided that includes a battery that is chargeable with an external power source. The battery pack may include a positive (+) battery pack terminal and a negative (−) battery pack terminal for coupling to the external power source, for charging the battery, and for supplying the power of the battery to an external load. In accordance with preferred embodiments, the invention includes a first substrate for mounting parts positioned on a high-current path and a second substrate for mounting peripheral circuits for controlling charge/discharge of the battery.
In the battery pack, parts positioned on the high-current path are mounted on the first substrate and peripheral circuits for controlling charge/discharge of the battery are mounted on the second substrate, thereby preventing the effect of heat generated due to the high current on the peripheral circuits embodied with integrated circuits. Accordingly, the present invention eliminates an adverse effect of heat in the controller circuit constituting the battery pack.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serve to illustrate principles of the invention:
In the following detailed description, the invention is shown and described in accordance with certain preferred embodiments illustrating the best mode contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the invention. As will be realized to those skilled in the art, the invention may be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.
With reference to
Parts of the charge/discharge circuit that do not experience high current flows, i.e., low current flow parts, such as integrated circuit chips 6, 7, and 8 are mounted on second substrate 2. By mounting parts that experience high current flows on the first substrate and low current flow parts of the circuit on the second substrate, the high current flow parts are effectively thermally isolated from other parts of the circuit. The first substrate and the second substrate should be spaced a distance apart from one another such that heat generated from the parts on the first substrate does not significantly affect the parts on the second substrate. The exact distance between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 is not critical as long as the distance is sufficient to reduce the effect of heat generated by parts on the first substrate on parts mounted on the second substrate.
The parts on the first substrate 1 and the parts on the second substrate 2 are in electrical signal communication with one another through one or more interlayer connectors. As shown in
With reference now to
As stated above, a high current flows to the parts positioned on a path between the positive (+) terminal of the battery pack and the positive (+) terminal of the battery, and also to the sensor resistor Rs positioned on a path between the negative (−) terminal of the battery pack and the negative (−) terminal of the battery. The parts positioned on these paths are mounted on the first substrate 1 shown in
The charge/discharge control and protection circuit 20 generates signals G1, G2, and G3 for turning on/off the transistors FET1, FET2, and FET3 according to the output of the sensor resistor Rs and the potential of a predefined cell of the battery. The signals G1, G2, and G3 are applied to the gate of the corresponding FETs.
During a charge, both FETs (FET2 and FET3) must be in the “on” state, because the current flows from the positive (+) terminal of the battery pack to the positive (+) terminal of the battery. The current path during a charge starts from the positive (+) terminal of the battery pack and ends at the positive (+) terminal of the battery via the transistor FET2, the coil L, the transistor FET3, and the fuse F.
During a discharge, all three FETs (FET1, FET2, and FET3) must be in the “on” state, because the current flows from the positive (+) terminal of the battery to the positive (+) terminal of the pack. There are two current paths during a discharge. One starts from the positive (+) terminal of the battery and ends at the positive (+) terminal of the battery pack via the fuse F, the transistor FET3, the coil L, and the transistor FET2. The other starts from the positive (+) terminal of the battery and ends at the positive (+) terminal of the battery pack via the fuse F, the transistor FET3, and the transistor FET1.
The overcharge protection circuit 10 detects the potential of a predefined cell of the battery, and when determining from the potential that the battery is overcharged, turns off both terminals of the fuse F. The gauging circuit 30 detects the state of charge of the battery using the outputs of the overcharge protection circuit 10 and the sensor resistor Rs, and sends the detected state of charge to the exterior through the communication line 40. The charge/discharge control and protection circuit 20 generates signals G1, G2, and G3 for controlling the on/off state of the FET elements FET1, FET2, and FET3 using the potential of the predefined cell of the battery and the output of the sensor resistor Rs.
With reference now to
As described above, parts positioned on a high-current path are mounted on the first substrate 1 of the battery pack. Namely, the parts on a path between the positive (+) terminal of the battery pack and the positive (+) terminal of the battery and the parts on a path between the negative (−) terminal of the battery pack and the negative (−) terminal of the battery are mounted on the first substrate of the battery pack.
In
As described above, the present invention isolates the parts of the battery pack positioned on a high-current path from the others by way of double (i.e., first and second) substrates, thereby preventing the effect of heat caused by the high current on the parts, such as damage to the integrated circuits in the battery pack or a deterioration of performance.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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