The invention relates to a battery module, and more particularly, to a battery module capable of effectively utilizing two batteries with different charging/discharging abilities simultaneously to enhance the overall capacity.
Light, slim and compactable mobile devices have gradually been favoured by consumers, along with the advancement of science and technology. To be used conveniently, a mobile device is usually equipped with a battery module, in order for the user to operate the mobile device through supplying power from the battery module under the condition that no external power supply is available.
Nowadays, for mainstream battery applications, most mobile devices such as a mobile phone, a tablet PC or a notebook computer are used lithium batteries as the power sources. Although the lithium battery has a high energy density, the lithium battery still occupies the largest portion within the mobile device, as compared with other components of the mobile device.
Thus, in consideration of product dimension, the capacity of the battery module for the lithium-based battery will be limited due to dimension, so that the mobile device can not be used over a long period of time. If the consideration is based on the usage time of the mobile device and the larger lithium battery is thus applied, the dimension of the mobile device will be difficult to reduce and such device fails to meet the consumer needs.
Among the new generation of batteries, a paper battery is capable of compensating the drawback that the volume of the mobile device is largely occupied by the lithium battery. More specifically, the paper battery is flexible, bendable and puncturable, so that the disposition thereof can be more flexible and further altered within the mobile device, thereby reducing the overall dimension of the mobile device.
However, the energy density of the paper battery is still lower than that of the mainstream lithium battery, and the paper battery can not merely be used as the primary power source of the mobile device. Additionally, there is a significant difference between the charging/discharging abilities of the paper battery and the lithium battery. If the conventional mean (i.e., connecting in parallel) is applied to connect the lithium battery and the paper battery to enhance the overall capacity of the battery module, the paper battery will be damaged, and the damages can even be caused on the mobile device.
Accordingly, the invention is directed to a battery module that may effectively utilize a lithium battery and a paper battery simultaneously to be the power sources of a mobile device, so as to extend the usage time of the mobile device without increasing the volume of the mobile device.
The invention provides a battery module including a connection terminal, a first battery, a second battery and a current limiting circuit. The connection terminal serves as a power input terminal of the battery module during charging of the battery module, and serves as a power output terminal of the battery module during discharging of the battery module. The first battery is coupled to the connection terminal, and serves as a primary power source of a mobile device. The second battery serves as an auxiliary power source of the mobile device. The current limiting circuit is coupled between the second battery and the connection terminal, and restricts the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery according to a charging current threshold and a discharging current threshold.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the current limiting circuit includes a first current limiting unit. The first current limiting unit is coupled between the second battery and the connection terminal, and restricts the magnitude of the current flowing into the second battery not to exceed the charging current threshold during charging of the battery module.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the current limiting circuit includes a second current limiting unit. The second current limiting unit is coupled between the second battery and the connection terminal, and restricts the magnitude of the current flowing out of the second battery not to exceed the discharging current threshold during discharging of the battery module.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the first battery and the second battery are connected in parallel with each other.
According to an embodiment of the invention, an energy density of the first battery is greater than an energy density of the second battery.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the second battery is a paper battery.
The invention provides a battery module including a connection terminal, a first battery, a second battery, a current limiting circuit and a current limiting controller. The connection terminal serves as a power input terminal of the battery module during charging of the battery module, and serves as a power output terminal of the battery module during discharging of the battery module. The first battery is coupled to the connection terminal, and serves as a primary power source of a mobile device. The second battery serves as an auxiliary power source of the mobile device. The current limiting circuit is coupled between the second battery and the connection terminal, and restricts the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery according to a charging current threshold and a discharging current threshold. The current limiting controller is coupled to the first battery, the second battery and the current limiting circuit. The current limiting controller controls whether the current limiting circuit restricts the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery according to a voltage of the first battery, a voltage of the second battery, a maximum charging current that the second battery is capable of receiving and a maximum discharging current that the second battery is capable of providing.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the second battery includes a battery controller. The battery controller reports the magnitudes of the maximum charging current and the maximum discharging current of the second battery to the current limiting controller.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the current limiting circuit includes a first current limiting unit. The first current limiting unit is coupled between the second battery and the connection terminal, and restricts the magnitude of the current flowing into the second battery not to exceed the charging current threshold during charging of the battery module.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the current limiting controller detects the voltages of the first battery and the second battery, and when the current limiting controller determines the maximum charging current of the second battery is greater than or equal to a rated charging current of the mobile device and the voltage of the second battery is equal to the voltage of the first battery, the current limiting controller bypasses the first current limiting unit in order not to restrict the magnitude of the current flowing into the second battery.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the current limiting circuit includes a second current limiting unit. The second current limiting unit is coupled between the second battery and the connection terminal, and restricts the magnitude of the current flowing out of the second battery not to exceed the discharging current threshold during discharging of the battery module.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the current limiting controller detects the voltages of the first battery and the second battery, and when the current limiting controller determines the maximum discharging current of the second battery is greater than or equal to a maximum input current of the mobile device and the voltage of the second battery is equal to the voltage of the first battery, the current limiting controller bypasses the second current limiting unit in order not to restrict the magnitude of the current flowing out of the second battery.
Based on the above, the battery module is provided in the embodiments of the invention. In the battery module, the second battery for being the auxiliary power source of the mobile device and the first battery for being the primary power source of the mobile device are connected in parallel with each other via the current limiting circuit, and the magnitudes of the currents flowing into or out of the second battery is restricted by the current limiting circuit. Therefore, the battery module is capable of charging/discharging by simultaneously utilizing the first battery and the second battery under the premise that the second battery is not damaged, thereby extending the usage time of the mobile device.
In order to make the aforementioned features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanying figures are described in detail below.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide further understanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A battery module is provided in the embodiments of the invention. In the battery module, the current magnitude of the second battery for being the auxiliary power source of the mobile device is restricted by the current limiting circuit, so that the battery module is capable of charging/discharging by simultaneously utilizing the first battery being the primary power and the second battery being the auxiliary power under the premise that the second battery is not damaged, thereby extending the usage time of the mobile device. Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
The first battery 110 is coupled to the connection terminal NC, and serves as a primary power source of the mobile device 10, wherein the first battery 110 can be a secondary battery having large capacity and high energy density, such as a lithium battery, a nickel cadmium battery or a nickel hydride battery, in order for the mobile device 10 to be used over a long period of time and recharged repeatedly. Herein, the capacity is generally expressed in milliamp-hours (mAh) or amp-hour (Ah), and the energy density can be a weight energy density that is generally expressed in watt-hours/kilogram (W-Hr/kg), or a volumetric energy density that is generally expressed in watt-hours/litre (W-Hr/l). In addition, the mobile device 10 can be a portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet PC or a notebook computer.
The second battery 120 serves as an auxiliary power source of the mobile device 10, wherein the second battery 120 can be a secondary battery having small volume and flexibility, such as a paper battery. As compared with the first battery 110 being the primary power, despite the capacity and energy density of the second battery 120 are lower than that of the first battery 110, the second battery 120 can be disposed in a stray or discrete space within the mobile device 10 due to its low-volume and flexibility so as to serve as the auxiliary power, thereby extending the usage time of the mobile device 10 without adding additional volume to the mobile device 10. In addition, the second battery 120 in
The current limiting circuit 130 is coupled between the second battery 120 and the connection terminal NC. The current limiting circuit 130 restricts the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery 120 according to a charging current threshold and a discharging current threshold, in order to ensure the second battery 120 not to receive or provide an unbearable amount of current that may cause damages during the charging/discharging of the battery module 100. In more details, based on the format of the second battery 120, the charging current threshold and the discharging current threshold can be determined by the designer. In other words, the charging current threshold and the discharging current threshold are not limited to specific numerical values. They can be varied according to the format of the second battery 120.
More specifically, in order to enhance the overall equivalent capacity of the battery module 100, the first battery 110 and the second battery 120 are connected in parallel so as to be coupled to each other. However, since there is a certain degree of difference between the charging/discharging abilities of the first battery 110 and the second battery 120, the second battery 120 with the weaker charging/discharging ability may be damaged resulting from that the battery module 100 receives or provides an excessively large current during charging/discharging.
Therefore, in the embodiment, the second battery 120 and the first battery 110 are connected in parallel with each other via the current limiting circuit 130, wherein the current limiting circuit 130 can respectively restrict the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery 120 not to exceed the charging current threshold and the discharging current threshold during the charging and the discharging of the battery module 100, in order for the second battery 120 to be charged/discharged steadily without receiving or providing an unbearable amount of current. The current limiting circuit 130 can be the related circuit design for restricting current magnitudes, such as a shunt circuit, but the invention is not limited thereto.
It is noted that, the first battery 110 and the second battery 120 in the battery module 100 can be an integrated design in terms of structure, so that the entire battery module 100 can be disposed in a battery accommodating space of the mobile device 10. Moreover, the first battery 110 and the second battery 120 can also be separate designs, so that the first battery 110 is disposed in the battery accommodating space of the mobile device 10 while the second battery 120 is disposed in a discrete space or a stray space of the mobile device 10 (such as inside the housing of the mobile device), but the invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the first battery 110 and the second battery 120 can be built in the mobile device 10, or can be a detachable design for the users to assemble the two batteries to the mobile device 10 by themselves, but the invention is not limited thereto.
In order to further illustrate the embodiments of the invention, the schematic diagrams for charging and discharging the battery module 100 are respectively shown in
Firstly, referring to
On the other hand, referring to
The first battery 410 is coupled to the connection terminal NC, and serves as a primary power source of the mobile device 10. The second battery 420 serves as an auxiliary power source of the mobile device 10. The current limiting circuit 430 is coupled between the second battery 420 and the connection terminal NC, wherein the current limiting circuit 430 restricts the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery 420 according to a charging current threshold and a discharging current threshold, in order to ensure the second battery 120 not to receive or provide an unbearable amount of current that may cause damages during charging/discharging.
The current limiting controller 410 is coupled to the first battery 410, the second battery 420 and the current limiting circuit 430. The current limiting controller 440 controls whether the current limiting circuit 430 restricts the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery 420 according to a voltage of the first battery 410, a voltage of the second battery 420, a maximum charging current that the second battery 420 is capable of receiving and a maximum discharging current that the second battery 420 is capable of providing.
In the embodiment, the first battery 410, the second battery 420 and the current limiting circuit 430 of the battery module 400 are substantially the same as the first battery 110, the second battery 120 and the current limiting circuit 130 of the battery module 100 in the embodiment depicted in
In order to further illustrate the embodiments of the invention, the schematic diagrams for charging and discharging the battery module 400 are respectively shown in
More specifically, in terms of the operation for charging the battery module 400, only under the circumstance that the voltages of the second battery 420 and the first battery 410 are the same and the maximum charging current that the second battery 420 is capable of receiving is greater than or equal to a rated charging current of the mobile device 10, are satisfied concurrently, the current limiting controller 440 will then control the current limiting circuit 430 not to restrict the magnitude of the current flowing into the second battery 420. The requirement for the voltages of the two batteries being the same is because if the first battery 410 and the second battery 420 with different voltages are directly connected in parallel, a large current will be generated due to the voltage difference between the two batteries such that the battery module 400 is damaged. If one of the conditions is not satisfied, the current limiting circuit 430 of the battery module 400 still restricts the magnitude of the current flowing into the second battery 420 not to exceed the charging current threshold, so that the operation for charging the battery module 400 at this moment is similar to the embodiment described in
On the other hand, referring to
Similarly, in terms of the operation for discharging the battery module 400, only under the circumstance that the voltages of the second battery 420 and the first battery 410 are the same and the maximum discharging current that the second battery 420 is capable of providing is greater than or equal to a maximum input current of the mobile device 10, are satisfied concurrently, the current limiting controller 440 will then control the current limiting circuit 430 not to restrict the magnitude of the current flowing out of the second battery 420. If one of the conditions is not satisfied, the current limiting circuit 430 of the battery module 400 still restricts the magnitude of the current flowing out of the second battery 420 not to exceed the discharging current threshold, so that the operation for discharging the battery module 400 at this moment is similar to the embodiment described in
On the other hand, referring to
It is noted that, since the magnitudes of the maximum charging current and the maximum discharging current that the second battery 420 are respectively capable of receiving and providing can be the same or different from each other, the current limiting controller 440 of the embodiment is not limited to the configuration for controlling the current limiting circuit 430 simultaneously during charging and discharging. The current limiting controller 440 can include various configurations for controlling the current limiting circuit 430 according to the corresponding charging/discharging conditions, for example, can include four corresponding configurations such as without bypassing the first current limiting unit 432 and the second current limiting unit 434, bypassing one of the first current limiting unit 432 and the second current limiting unit 434, or simultaneously bypassing the first current limiting unit 432 and the second current limiting unit 434.
In summary, the battery module is provided in the embodiments of the invention. In the battery module, the second battery for being the auxiliary power source of the mobile device and the first battery for being the primary power source of the mobile device are connected in parallel with each other via the current limiting circuit, in order for the magnitudes of the currents flowing into or out of the second battery to be restricted by the current limiting circuit. Therefore, the battery module is capable of charging/discharging by simultaneously utilizing the first battery and the second battery under the premise that the second battery is not damaged, thereby extending the usage time of the mobile device. In addition, the battery module including the current limiting controller is further provided in the embodiments of the invention, which can determine whether to restrict the magnitudes of the currents flowing into and out of the second battery.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.