MXPA00009689A - Battery having a built-in controller to extend battery service run time - Google Patents

Abstract

A rechargeable battery having a built-in controller is disclosed that extends the service run time of the battery. The controller may extend the service run time of a rechargeable battery, for example, by ending the discharge cycle at the optimal discharge depth in order to maximize the number and efficiency of charge cycles. The controller may also control the charge cycle of each electrochemical cell of a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery may be a single-cell battery, a universal single-cell battery, a multiple-cell battery or a multiple-cell hybrid battery. Each individual cell preferably has a built-in controller that controls the discharge and charge cycles of that cell. In addition, the rechargeable battery may also include a remote charging system.

Description

BATTERY THAT HAS AN INTEGRATED CONTROLLER TO EXTEND BATTERY SERVICE TIME FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to batteries and particularly to batteries that have an integrated controller to prolong the service life of the battery.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Consumers use primary and rechargeable (secondary) batteries in portable electronic devices such as radios, CD players, cameras, cell phones, electronic games, toys, paging devices, and computer devices. When the service time of a primary battery ends, the battery is usually discarded. The service time of a typical primary battery generally only allows the use of approximately 40 and 70% of the total storage capacity of the battery. Once that portion of the initial stored energy has been used, the battery usually can not supply enough voltage to power a typical electronic circuit. When the life of these batteries has been expended, consumers usually discard the batteries even though the battery still contains between approximately 30% and 60% of its storage capacity. Therefore, if the service time of a primary battery is extended by allowing a deeper safe discharge, waste will be reduced by allowing electronic devices to use more than the battery's storage capacity before disposing of it. However, the overall life of a rechargeable battery depends mainly on the number and efficiency of the charging cycles. Rechargeable batteries can be charged and reused after each discharge cycle. With respect to a primary battery, after a percentage of the storage capacity of the battery has been used, the battery typically can not supply sufficient voltage to drive an electronic circuit. Therefore, each discharge cycle of a rechargeable battery can be extended if a deeper discharge of the battery is provided. The discharge level of a rechargeable battery, however, has an impact on the number and efficiency of future charges of the rechargeable battery. In general, as the depth of discharge of a rechargeable electrochemical cell increases, the number of charge cycles through which a rechargeable electrochemical cell can pass decreases. The characteristics of optimal discharge of particular types of rechargeable electrochemical cells, however, vary widely. For example, in a Nickel Cadmium ("NiCd") battery a deep discharge is preferred since otherwise the battery could develop a "memory" effect if the battery is charged without being properly depleted resulting in a capacity decreased available for future charges. Deep discharge of a lithium battery, however, can damage the electrochemical cells. The service life of a rechargeable electrochemical cell can generally be prolonged better by efficiently controlling the charge and discharge cycles of the particular cell so that the total number of charge cycles can be maximized and the amount of energy recovered from each discharge cycle of the electrochemical cell is also optimized. In addition, consumers constantly demand smaller and lighter portable electronic devices. One of the main obstacles to making these devices smaller and lighter is the size and weight of the batteries required to power the devices. In fact, as electronic circuits become faster and more complex, they typically require more current than before, and, therefore, the battery demands are even greater. However, consumers will not accept more powerful and miniaturized devices if the increased functionality and speed require replacing or recharging batteries much more frequently. Therefore, in order to build faster and more complex electronic devices without reducing their useful life, electronic devices need to use the batteries more efficiently and / or the batteries themselves need to provide greater use of the stored energy.

Some more expensive electronic devices include a voltage regulator circuit such as a switching converter (e.g., a CD / CD converter) in the devices for converting and / or stabilizing the battery output voltage. In these devices, multiple single-cell batteries are generally connected in series, and the total voltage of these batteries is converted into a voltage required by the charging circuit through a converter. A converter can extend the battery service time by decreasing the battery output voltage in the initial portion of the battery discharge where the battery would supply more voltage, and therefore more power, than the circuit requires. charging, and / or increasing the output voltage of the battery in the last portion of the battery discharge where the battery would be depleted because the output voltage is less than that required by the charging circuit. However, the approach of having the converter in the electronic device has several disadvantages. First, converters are relatively expensive to place in electronic devices because each device manufacturer has specific circuit designs that are manufactured in a relatively limited amount, and therefore, have a higher individual cost. Second, battery suppliers have no control over the type of converter that will be used with a particular battery. Therefore, the converters are not optimized for the specific electrochemical properties of each type of electrochemical cell. Third, different types of electrochemical cells such as alkaline and lithium cells have different electrochemical properties and nominal voltages and, therefore, can not be easily interchanged. Additionally, converters occupy significant space in electronic devices. In addition, some electronic devices can use linear regulators instead of more efficient switching converters such as a CD / CD converter. Similarly, electronic devices containing switching converters can create magnetic interference (EMI) which can adversely affect the adjacent circuitry in the electronic device such as a radio frequency (RF) transmitter. If the converter is placed in the battery, however, the EMI source can be placed away from other EMI-sensitive electronics and / or may be lined with a battery conductive container. Another problem with current voltage converters is that they typically need multiple electrochemical cells, especially with respect to alkaline, zinc-carbon, nickel cadmium (NiCd) and silver oxide batteries, in order to provide sufficient voltage to drive the converter. In order to avoid this problem, current converters usually require multiple electrochemical cells connected in series to provide sufficient voltage to drive the converter, which can then decrease the voltage to a level required by the electronic device. In this way, due to the input voltage requirements of the converter, the electronic device must contain several electrochemical cells, although the electronic device itself may require a single cell to operate. This results in wasted space and weight and prevents further miniaturization of electronic devices. Therefore, there is a need to optimally utilize the stored charge of a rechargeable battery and optimize the depth of discharge before charging the battery in order to maximize its service time. By designing batteries to provide greater utilization of their stored energy, electronic devices can also use fewer batteries or smaller batteries to further miniaturize portable electronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a battery that provides a longer service time by optimally utilizing the stored charge of a rechargeable battery before charging. The battery has an integrated controller that includes a converter, which is capable of operating below the voltage threshold of typical electronic devices. The controller more efficiently regulates the voltage of the electrochemical cell and allows a controlled discharge or an optimal discharge depth in order to prolong the service life of the battery. The controller is preferably placed in a mixed-mode silicon integrated circuit that is specially designed to operate with a particular type of electrochemical cell such as an alkaline cell, nickel cadmium ("NiCd"), lithium, lithium ion, lead-acid sealed ("SLA"), silver oxide or hybrid or with a particular electronic device. The controller monitors and controls the power supply to the load to optimally prolong the battery service time 1) turning the CD / CD converter on and off; 2) maintaining a minimum required output voltage when the input voltage is below which typical electronic devices can operate; 3) decreasing the battery output impedance; 4) determining the optimum depth of discharge; and 5) providing an optimal loading sequence. In a preferred embodiment, an individual controller is mounted within a housing of a primary or rechargeable multi-cell battery (eg, a standard 9-volt battery). This aspect of the present invention provides several different advantages over placing the controller in the electronic device. First, it allows a battery designer to take advantage of particular electrochemical characteristics of a particular type of electrochemical cell. Second, if the device needs a converter only for a battery that contains a particular type of electrochemical cell (for example, lithium) to alter and / or stabilize the battery's output voltage and not for a battery that contains another type of cell electrochemistry (for example, NiCd, SLA), and the converter is integrated with the battery that the converter requires (ie, the lithium battery), the electronic device can be designed without the CD / CD converter. This allows for smaller circuit designs and prevents the losses associated with the converter from affecting the battery that the converter does not need. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the controller is mounted within the container of a single cell battery such as a AAA, AA, C, D or prismatic battery, or within the container of each cell of a multiple cell battery such as a standard 9 volt battery. This aspect of the present invention provides the advantages listed above for placing a single controller in a multi-cell battery and provides even more advantages. First, it allows the controller to adapt to a particular type of electrochemical cell to take advantage of its particular electrochemical reactions. Second, it allows batteries that have different types of electrochemical cells to be used interchangeably by altering or stabilizing the output voltage or internal impedance to meet the requirements of electronic devices designed to operate in a standard battery cell. Both of these advantages, for example, are met in a super-efficient lithium cell that meets the packaging and electrical requirements of a standard 1.5-volt AA battery using an integrated controller to decrease the nominal cell voltage of the scale around 2.8 volts at approximately 4.0 volts at an output voltage of about 1.5 volts. By using the highest cell voltage of a lithium cell, the designer can substantially increase the battery service time. further, if a controller is provided in each cell of the battery, much more effective control is provided over each cell than is currently available. The controller can monitor and control the discharge conditions in each primary electrochemical cell and can ensure that each cell is completely depleted before the electronic device is turned off. The controller can also monitor or control the discharge cycle in each rechargeable electrochemical cell to ensure that the cell is discharged to a level that will provide the longest possible service time of the battery and will improve the safety of the cell to avoid conditions such as memory effects, short circuits or harmful deep discharges. The controller can also directly monitor and control the charge cycle of each rechargeable electrochemical cell that is in a battery to avoid conditions such as overload or short circuit to increase the life cycle and improve the safety of the battery. The controllers also allow universal use of the batteries of the present invention. The batteries of the present invention provide advantages over known batteries regardless of whether they were used with electronic or electrical devices having cut-off voltage such as those listed above or with an electrical device. Controller integrated circuits can also be manufactured much more economically because the high volume of battery sales allows for less expensive production of integrated circuits than the individual converter or regulator designs can be made for each type of electronic device. A preferred embodiment of the CD / CD converter is an almost noninducer, high frequency, high efficiency, ultra low input voltage, and medium power converter that uses a pulse width and phase change modulation control scheme. Other features and advantages of the present invention are described with respect to the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Although the description concludes with claims in particular highlighting and remarkably claiming the matter which is seen as the present invention, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following description, which is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical cylindrical battery structure. Figure 2 is a perspective view of another typical cylindrical battery structure. Figure 3 is a sectional view of another typical cylindrical battery structure.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a battery of the present invention. Figure 4A is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the battery shown in Figure 4; Figure 4B is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of the battery shown in Figure 4; Figure 4C is a block diagram; of another preferred embodiment of the battery shown in Figure 4. Figure 5A is a sectional view, with the parts partially separated from a preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 5B is a sectional view, with the parts partially separated from another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 5C is a sectional view, with the parts partially separated from another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 6 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a preferred embodiment of a multi-cell battery of the present invention. Figure 7 is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 9 is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 9A is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of an aspect of the preferred embodiment of the battery of Figure 9. Figure 9B is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of an aspect of the preferred embodiment of the battery of the Figure 9. Figure 10 is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 11 is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 12 is a block diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 13 is a combination of a block diagram and a schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention. Figure 14 is a graph of characteristic discharge curves for a typical battery and two different preferred embodiments of batteries of the present invention. Figure 15 is a combination of a block diagram and a schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention.

Figure 16 is a block diagram of a mode of a load sub-controller as illustrated in Figure 15. Figure 17 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a load sub-controller as illustrated in Figure 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to single cell and multiple cell batteries. The term "primary" is used in this application and refers to a battery or an electrochemical cell that is designed to be disposed of after its useful electrical storage capacity has been exhausted (i.e., it is not designed to be recharged or otherwise become to use). The terms "rechargeable" and "secondary" are used interchangeably in this application and refer to a battery or an electrochemical cell that is designed to be recharged at least once after its useful electrical storage capacity has been exhausted ( that is, it is designed to be used again at least once). The term "consumer" in this application refers to a battery that is designed to be used in an electronic or electrical device purchased or used by a consumer. The term "a single cell" refers to a battery that has a single electrochemically packed cell such as an AA-type battery, AAA, C or D, or a single cell in a multi-cell battery (for example, a standard 9-volt battery or a battery for a cell phone or laptop). The term "battery", as used in this application, refers to a container having terminals and a single electrochemical cell, or a housing having terminals and at least substantially containing two or more electrochemical cells (e.g., a battery) 9-volt standard or a battery for a cell phone or laptop). Electrochemical cells need not be completely enclosed by the housing if each cell has its own individual container. A portable telephone battery, for example, may contain two or more electrochemical cells each having their own individual containers and are packaged together in a shrink-wrapped plastic material that holds the individual containers together but does not completely enclose the individual containers of the cells. As used in this application, the term "hybrid battery" includes a multi-cell battery that contains two or more electrochemical cells of which at least two of those cells have different electrochemical elements such as a different electrode, a different pair of electrodes or a different electrolyte. The term "controller" as used in this application refers to a circuit that accepts at least one input signal and provides at least one output signal that is a function of the input signal. The terms "CD / CD converter" and "converter" are used interchangeably in this application and refer to a type of switching, that is, a CD / CD converter controlled by a pulsating switch that converts a DC voltage of input to a required CD output voltage. CD / CD converters are electronic power circuits that often provide regulated output. The converter can provide an increased voltage level, a decreased voltage level or a regulated voltage of about the same level. Many different types of CD / CD converters are well known in the art. The present invention contemplates the use of known converters or linear regulators as possible, albeit less advantageous, substitutions for the preferred converters described in this application which are capable of operating at voltage levels below which typical electronic devices can operate. The "cut-off voltage" of an electronic device is the voltage below which an electronic or electrical device connected to a battery can not operate. Therefore, the "cut-off voltage" is device-dependent, that is, the level depends on the minimum operating voltage of the device (the functional end point) or the operating frequency (for example, it must be capable of charging the device). capacitor within a certain period of time). Most electronic devices have a cut-off voltage in the range of about 1 volt to about 1.2 volts, with some of the electronic devices having a cut-off voltage as low as about 0.9 volts. Electrical devices that have mechanical moving parts, such as electric clocks, motors and electromechanical relays also have a cutoff voltage that is necessary to provide enough current to create an electromagnetic field strong enough to move the mechanical parts. Other electrical devices, such as a flashlight, generally do not have a device cutoff voltage, but as the voltage of the battery that powers it decreases, the output power (eg, bulb intensity) will also decrease. If a single electrochemical cell is operating a device that has a cutoff voltage, the electrochemical cell is "subject to" the cutoff voltage of the device in which the battery should provide an output voltage that is greater than or equal to the cutoff voltage. of the device or otherwise the device will turn off. Nevertheless, if two or more electrochemical cells arranged in series are driving the device, ie electrically connected between the positive input terminal and the negative input terminal, each electrochemical cell is "subject to" a portion of the cutoff voltage of the device. For example, if two electrochemical cells are connected in series and are driving a device, each cell is "subject to" one half of the cutoff voltage of the device. However, if three electrochemical cells are connected in series and used to drive a device, each electrochemical cell is "subject to" only one third of the cutoff voltage of the device. Therefore, if a number of cells "n" are connected in series and are driving a device, each cell is "subject to" a portion of the cutoff voltage of the device that can be defined as the cutoff voltage divided by n, where n is an integer. If two or more electrochemical cells are connected in parallel to drive the electronic device, however, each cell is still "subject to" the entire cutoff voltage of the device. Additionally, in this application, if two or more electrochemical cells are connected in series, and that series connection is connected in parallel with one or more of the electrochemical cells, each of the cells connected in series is "subject to" the same portion of the cutoff voltage as if the electrochemical cells connected in series were only electrochemical cells operating the device. One aspect of the present invention is to extend the "service time" of a battery. For a primary battery, the "battery service time" and "battery operating time" are interchangeable and are defined as the discharge cycle time until the battery output voltage drops below the battery voltage. minimum operation of the device in which the battery is operating, that is, the cutoff voltage of that device. Although the "operating time of the cell" depends on the electrochemical cell itself, that is, exhausting all the electrochemical energy of the cell, the "operating time of the battery" depends on the device in which it is used. An electronic device that has a cut-off voltage of about 1 volt, for example, will be turned off when the battery's output voltage drops below 1 volt although the electrochemical cell can still have 50% of its remaining energy storage capacity . In this example, the "battery run time" is over because it can no longer provide enough power to operate the electronic device and generally the battery will be discarded. However, the "operating time of the cell" has not ended because the cell still has electrochemical energy. A rechargeable battery, however, has multiple charge / discharge cycles. In a rechargeable battery, the "life cycle" is defined as the number of charge / discharge cycles that can be achieved. The "battery run time" of a rechargeable battery refers to the time of a single discharge cycle until the output voltage of the rechargeable battery falls below the cutoff voltage of the device to which it is driving the battery or discharge it is stopped to provide a longer life cycle of the battery. The "battery service time" of a rechargeable battery, however, refers to the total number of charge / discharge cycles where each discharge cycle has an optimal operating time. The "cell operating time" of a rechargeable electrochemical cell is the time required for the cell to reach the optimum discharge depth under load conditions during a single discharge cycle of that cell. As discussed previously, the "life cycle" of a rechargeable battery is a function of the depth to which the rechargeable cell is subjected. As you increase the depth of discharge, it also increases the operating time of the battery, but the life cycle and the service time of the battery decrease. On the contrary, as the depth of discharge decreases, the operating time of the battery also decreases, but the life cycle and the service time of the battery increase. From the point of view of use of the device, however, the operating time of the shorter battery is inconvenient. Therefore, for each particular electrochemistry and design of a rechargeable battery, a relationship between the depth of discharge and the life cycle can be optimized to allow a longer service life of the battery. One possible way to optimize the service life of a rechargeable battery, for example, is by comparing the accumulated energy delivered, which can be defined as the product of the life cycle (ie, number of cycles) achieved at a particular depth of discharge and the amount of energy recovered in each of those cycles. In this application, the terms "life of the electrochemical cell" or "cell life" are also used regardless of whether the electrochemical cell is a primary or rechargeable cell, and correspond to the operating time of the battery in the cell. that the "life of the cell" is the time until the cell is no longer useful in a particular discharge cycle because the electrochemical cell can no longer provide enough voltage to operate the device it is driving. If the "cell operating time" in a single-cell battery is prolonged or reduced, then the "cell life" and "battery operating time" are also necessarily long or short, respectively. Additionally, the terms "battery run time" of a single-cell battery and "cell life" are interchangeable since if the "battery run time" of a single cell battery or the "useful life of the cell" are prolonged or reduced, then the other will also be prolonged or reduced, respectively. However, in contrast, the term "cell life" of a particular electrochemical cell in a multi-cell battery is not necessarily interchangeable with the term "battery operating time" for that multiple cell battery because the particular electrochemical cell can still have a lifetime even after the battery cell operating time of the multiple cell battery has ended. Likewise, if the "cell operating time" of a particular electrochemical cell in a multi-cell battery is prolonged or reduced, the "battery operating time" is not necessarily prolonged or reduced because the "operating time of the The battery "may depend on the cell voltage of one or more different cells in the battery. The "optimal discharge depth" or "optimum discharge depth" of a rechargeable electrochemical cell as used in this application refers to the cell voltage that maximizes the number of charge / discharge cycles and optimizes the operating time for each cycle of discharge of that cell. The service life of a rechargeable electrochemical cell can be shortened drastically if the cell is discharged below the "optimum discharge depth" for that cell (for example, about 1.6 volts for an SLA cell). A deep discharge from a lithium ion cell, for example, can damage the cell and decrease the number of and efficiency of future load cycles of that cell. However, a nickel cadmium ("NiCd") electrochemical cell is preferably more deeply discharged in order to prevent "memory" effects from shortening the life of the cell by decreasing the operating time of that cell in future discharge cycles. The terms "electrically connected "and" electrical connection "refer to connections that allow continuous current flow The terms" electronically connected "and" electronic connection "refer to connections in which an electronic device such as a transistor or a diode is included in the Current path "Electronic connections" are considered in this application as a subset of "electrical connections" so that while each "electronic connection" is considered an "electrical connection", not every "electrical connection" is considered an "electronic connection". A battery of the present invention includes one or more controllers that prolong the service life of the battery by optimizing the energy recovery in the discharge cycle of a primary or rechargeable battery and, in the case of a rechargeable battery, maximizing the life of the battery. number of download cycles. In one embodiment of the present invention, for example, a controller may perform one or more of the following functions: 1) discharge control, 2) load control, 3) emergency disconnect control. The electrochemical cell (s) can be packaged in single-cell or multi-cell batteries. Multiple cell batteries may include two or more of the same type of electrochemical cell, or include two or more different types of electrochemical cells in a hybrid battery. The multi-cell battery of the present invention may contain electrochemical cells arranged electrically in series and / or in parallel. The controller (s) of a single-cell battery can be electrically connected in series and / or parallel with the electrochemical cell (s) within a cell container, and packaged within a housing that at least partially contains the cell. container of the cell, or attached to the container, housing or a label or any other structure attached to the container or housing. The controller (s) of a multiple cell battery may be packaged together with one or more of the individual cells as described with respect to a single cell battery, and / or may be packaged together with a combination of multiple cells so that the controller is connected in series or in parallel with the combination of electrochemical cells. The controller of a battery of the present invention can perform one or more of the functions listed above, and can also perform other functions in addition to the functions already listed. A controller of a battery of the present invention may comprise a circuit that performs each of the desired functions, or may comprise individual sub-controllers wherein each performs one or more of the desired functions. In addition, sub-controllers can share circuit assemblies such as detector circuits that can provide control signals to individual sub-controllers. Figures 1-3 show typical cylindrical battery structures 10 which are simplified for the purpose of description. Each cylindrical battery structure 10 has the same basic structural elements arranged in different configurations. In each case, the structure includes a container having a liner or side wall 14, an upper lid 16 including a positive terminal 20, and a lower lid 18 that includes a negative terminal 22. The container 12 encloses an individual electrochemical cell 30. Figure 1 shows a configuration that can be used for a cylindrical battery 10 of a single electrochemical zinc-carbon cell 30. In this configuration, the complete top cap 16 is conductive and forms the positive terminal 20 of the battery 10. The insulating washer or seal 24 insulates the conductive top cap 16 of the electrochemical cell 30. The electrode or current collector 26 electrically connects the external positive terminal 20 of the battery 10 and the cathode (positive electrode) 32 of the electrochemical cell 30. The lower cover 18 is also completely conductive and forms the external negative terminal 22 of the battery 10. The lower cover is electrically connected to the anode (electro negative) 34 of the electrochemical cell 30. The separator 28 is placed between the anode and cathode and provides the means for ion conduction through electrolyte. A zinc-carbon battery, for example, is typically packaged in this type of arrangement. Figure 2 shows an alternative battery design in which an insulating washer or seal 24 is shown insulating the lower cover 18 of the electrochemical cell 30. In this case, the complete top cover 16 is conductive and forms the positive terminal 20 of the battery. The upper cover 16 is electrically connected to the cathode 32 of the electrochemical cell 30. The lower cover 18, which is also conductive, forms the negative terminal 22 of the battery. The lower cover 18 is electrically connected to the anode 34 of the battery cell 30 through the current collector 26. The separator 28 is positioned between the anode and cathode and provides the means for ion conduction through the electrolyte. Primary and rechargeable alkaline batteries (manganese dioxide / zinc), for example, are typically packaged in this type of arrangement. Figure 3 shows another alternative battery design in which the electrochemical cell 30 is formed into a "spirally wound gelatin roll" structure. In this design, four layers are arranged adjacent to each other in a "laminar type" structure. This "laminar type" structure can, for example, comprise the following order of layers: a cathode layer 32, a first separator layer 28, an anode layer 34 and a second separator layer 28. Alternatively, the second separator layer 28 that is not placed between the cathode layers 32 and anode 34 can be replaced by an insulating layer. This "laminar type" structure is wound into a gelatinous roll configuration wound in a spiral and cylindrical shape and placed in the container 12 of the battery 10. An insulating washer or seal 24 is shown insulating the top cover 16 of the electrochemical cell 30. In this case, the complete upper cover 16 is conductive and forms the positive terminal 20 of the battery 10. The upper cover 16 is electrically connected to the cathode layer 32 of the electrochemical cell 30 through the current collector 26. The lower cover 18, which is also conductive, forms the negative terminal 22 of the battery. The lower cover 18 is electrically connected to the anode 34 of the battery cell 30 through the lower conductive plate 19. The separator layers 28 are placed between the cathode layer 32 and the anode layer 34 and provide the means for conduction of ions through the electrolyte. The side wall 14 is shown to be connected to both the upper lid 16 and the lower lid 18. In this case, the side wall 14 is preferably formed of a non-conductive material such as a polymer. The side wall, however, can also be made of a conductive material such as a metal if the side wall 14 is insulated from at least the positive terminal 20 and / or the negative terminal 22 so as not to create a short circuit between the two terminals. Primary and rechargeable lithium batteries such as a primary manganese dioxide (MnO2) lithium battery and rechargeable lithium ion and nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries, for example, are often packaged in this type of arrangement.

Each of these cells can include various forms of safe ventilation holes, operating ventilation holes for electrochemical cells that need air exchange for operation, capacity indicators, labels, etc., which are well known in the art. In addition, the cells can be constructed in other structures known in the art such as button cells, coin cells, prismatic cells, flat plate cells or bipolar plate cells, etc. For the purpose of the present invention, the "battery container" 12 houses a single electrochemical cell 30. The container 12 includes all the necessary elements to isolate and protect the two electrodes 32 and 34, the separator and the electrolyte from the electrochemical cell 30 of the environment and any other electrochemical cell in a multi-cell battery and provide electrical energy from the electrochemical cell 30 outside the container. Therefore, the container 12 in Figures 1 and 2 includes a side wall 14, top 16 and bottom 18 covers, and positive 20 and negative 22 terminals that provide electrical connection to the cell 30. In a multi-cell battery, the The container can be an individual structure containing a single electrochemical cell 30, and this container 12 can be one of the multiple individual containers within the multiple cell battery. Alternatively, the container 12 can be formed from a housing portion of a multi-cell battery if the housing completely insulates the electrodes and the electrolyte from an electrochemical cell from the environment and from each cell in the battery. The container 12 can be made from a combination of conductive material, such as metal, and insulating material, such as a plastic or a polymer. The container 12, however, should be distinguished from a multi-cell battery housing containing separate, individually isolated cells containing their own electrodes and electrolytes. For example, a standard 9-volt alkaline battery housing encloses six individual alkaline cells, each having its own container 612, as shown in Figure 6. In some 9-volt lithium batteries, however, the housing of the The battery is formed in such a way that it has individual chambers that isolate the electrodes and the electrolyte from the electrochemical cells, and therefore the housing comprises both the individual containers 12 for each cell and the housing for the entire multi-cell battery. Figures 5A, 5B and 5C show views with the parts partially separated of three embodiments of the present invention for primary single-cell cylindrical batteries. In Figure 5A, the controller 240 is positioned between the top cover 216 and the insulation washer 224 of the battery 210. The positive output 242 of the controller 240 is electrically connected to the positive terminal 220 of the battery 210, which is directly adjacent to the battery 210. controller 240, and negative output 244 of controller 240 is electrically connected to negative terminal 222 of battery 210. In this example, negative output 244 of controller 240 is connected to negative terminal 222 of battery 210 through the conductive side wall 214, which is in electrical contact with the negative terminal 222 of the conductive bottom cover 218 of the battery 210. In this case, the conductive side wall should be electrically isolated from the top cover 216. The positive input 246 of the controller 240 is electrically connected to the cathode 232 of the electrochemical cell 230 through the current collector 226. The negative input 248 of the controller 240 is electrically connects to anode 234 of electrochemical cell 230 via conductive strip 237. Alternatively, controller 240 may be placed between lower cover 218 and insulator 225, or be attached, adhered or spliced to the outside of the container or the Battery label. In figure 5B, the controller 340 is placed between the bottom cover 318 and the isolator 325 of the battery 310. The negative output 344 of the controller 340 is electrically connected to the negative terminal 322 of the battery 310, which is directly adjacent to the controller 340, and the positive output 342 of controller 340 is electrically connected to positive terminal 320 of battery 310. In this example, positive output 342 of controller 340 is connected to positive terminal 320 of battery 310 through conductive side wall 314, which is in electrical contact with the positive terminal 320 of the conductive top cover 316 of the battery 310. The positive input 346 of the controller 340 is electrically connected to the cathode 332 of the electrochemical cell 330 via conductive strip 336. The negative input 348 of the controller 340 is electrically connected to the anode 334 of the electrochemical cell 330 through the current collector 326, which extends from from the bottom plate 319 to the anode 334 of the electrochemical cell 330. In such cases, the current collector 326 and the negative input 348 of the controller 340 should be isolated from the negative terminal 322 of the container 312 and the negative output 344 of the controller 340 if the controller 340 uses a virtual ground connection. Alternatively, the controller 340 may be placed between the top cover 316 and the insulator 324, or be attached, adhered or spliced to the outside of the container 312 or the battery label. In Figure 5C, the controller 440 is formed on a wrapper 441 using thick film printing technology, or flexible printed circuit boards ("PCBs"), and is placed inside the container between the side wall 414 and the cathode 432 of the battery 410. The positive output 442 of the controller 440 is electrically connected to the positive terminal 420 of the battery 410 through the top cover 416 of the battery 410, and the negative output 444 of the controller 440 is electrically connected to the negative terminal 422 of the battery 410 through the lower plate 419 and the lower cover 418. The positive input 446 of the controller 440 is electrically connected to the cathode 432 of the electrochemical cell 430, which in this example is directly adjacent to the envelope 441 containing the controller 440. The negative input 448 of the controller 440 is electrically connected to the anode 434 of the electrochemical cell 430 through the contact plate 431 and the current collector 426, which extends from the contact plate 431 to the anode 434 of the electrochemical cell 430.

The insulating grommet 427 isolates the contact plate 431 from the cathode 432. As shown in FIG. 5C, the insulating grommet can also extend between the anode 434 and the contact plate 431 because the current collector 426 provides the connection from the anode 434 to the contact plate 431. If the controller 440 uses a virtual ground connection, the contact plate 431 should also be insulated from the bottom plate 419 and the negative terminal 422 such as by the insulating grommet 425. Alternatively , the wrapper 441 can also be placed on the outside of the container 412, wrapped around the outside of the side wall 414. In such embodiments, the tag may cover the wrapper, or the tag may be printed on the same wrapper as the wrapper. own driver. Figure 6 shows a perspective view, partially in section, of a 9 volt multi-cell battery 610 of the present invention wherein each electrochemical cell 630 has a controller 640 within the individual container of cell 612. In this embodiment, the battery 610 contains six individual 630 electrochemical cells, each having a nominal voltage of approximately 1.5 volts. The battery 610, for example, may comprise three lithium cells, each having a nominal voltage of approximately 3 volts. Other multi-cell battery structures are known in the art and can be used to host a controller of the present invention. For example, multi-cell batteries include prismatic batteries, batteries having individual containers that are at least substantially wrapped together by shrinkage, plastic housings comprising multiple single-cell containers such as batteries for cell phones and video cameras. Figures 4, 4A and 4B show block diagrams of different embodiments of the battery 110 of the present invention. Figure 4 shows a block diagram of a mode of a battery of the present invention using an embedded embedded controller circuit 140. This mode preferably uses a mixed-mode integrated circuit having both digital and analog components. The controller circuit may alternatively be manufactured using a specific integrated circuit for application ("ASIC"), a hybrid integrated circuit design, a PC board or any other form of circuit manufacturing technology known in the art. The controller circuit 140 may be placed within the battery container 112 between the positive 132 and negative electrodes 134 of the electrochemical cell 130 and the positive 120 and negative terminals 122 of the battery. Therefore, the controller 140 can connect the electrochemical cell 130 or disconnect the electrochemical cell 130 from the terminals 120 and 122 of the container 112, alter or stabilize the output voltage or the output impedance of the cell 130 that is applied to the cell 130. terminals 120 and 122 of the battery. Figure 4A shows a preferred embodiment of the battery 110 of the present invention shown in Figure 4. In Figure 4A, the controller 140 is connected between the positive electrode (cathode) 132 of the electrochemical cell 130 and the positive terminal 120 of the battery container 112. The negative electrode (anode) 134 of the electrochemical cell 130 and the negative terminal 122 of the battery container 112 share a common ground connection with the controller 140. Figure 4B, however, shows an alternative preferred embodiment of the battery 110 of the present invention wherein the controller 140 operates on a virtual ground connection and isolates the negative electrode 134 from the electrochemical cell 130 from the negative terminal 122 of the container 112 in addition to isolating the positive electrode 132 from the electrochemical cell 130 of the positive terminal 120 of the container 112. Each of the embodiments shown in Figures 4A and 4B has its own advantages and disadvantages. The configuration of figure 4A, for example, allows a simpler circuit design having a common ground connection for the electrochemical cell 130, the controller 140 and the negative terminal 122 of the battery case 112. The configuration of Fig. 4A, however, has the disadvantage that requires a converter to work under true electrochemical cell voltage levels and may require the use of a discrete inductor element. In the configuration of Figure 4B, the virtual ground connection applied to the negative terminal 122 of the battery container 112 isolates the negative electrode 134 from the electrochemical cell 130 of the load and allows the use of a CD / CD converter almost without induction. This configuration, however, has the disadvantage that it requires the increased circuit complexity of a virtual ground connection in order to allow a voltage converter of the controller 140 to continue to operate more efficiently when the cell voltage is below the voltage level. nominal of the electrochemical cell. Figure 4C shows another embodiment of a battery 110 of the present invention having an integrated controller circuit 140 wherein the controller circuit 140 includes four main components: a discharge sub-controller circuit 102, a load sub-controller circuit 104, a sub-controller emergency disconnect 106, and a detector circuit 105 that provides voltage control signals to the discharge sub-controller circuit 102 and / or to the load sub-controller circuit 104 based on parameters of continuous or intermittently detected operation and / or physical conditions. The detector circuit 105 may measure operating parameters of the electrochemical cell 130 as the cell voltage, the current drawn from the cell, phase shift between the cell voltage and current, etc. Additionally, the detector circuit 105 can measure the operating parameters of the integrated controller circuit 140 such as the output voltage and current levels, the charging voltage and the current levels, etc. In addition, the detector circuit can also measure the physical conditions of the electrochemical cell such as temperature, pressure, concentration of hydrogen and / or oxygen, etc. The detector circuit 105 can measure any combination of these sufficient to effectively monitor the electrochemical cell during a charge or discharge cycle as is known in the art or described below. The integrated controller circuit 140 of a battery 110 of the present invention, however, does not need to perform each of the functions listed above. The controller circuit 140, for example, may have only two or three of the components listed above such as a discharge sub-controller circuit 102 and a detector circuit 105, a load sub-controller circuit 104 and a detector circuit 105, a disconnecting sub-controller circuit. of emergency 106 and a detector circuit 105, or any combination thereof. Alternatively, the controller circuit 140 may not have a detector circuit 105 if the discharge sub-controller circuit 102, the load sub-controller circuit 104, and / or the emergency disconnect sub-controller circuit 106 are included in a specific circuit mode. controller 140 contains its own set of internal detector circuits necessary to carry out their respective functions. In addition, the discharge sub-controller circuit 102, the load sub-controller circuit 104, or both may also perform the function of the emergency disconnect sub-controller 106. The controller circuit 140 may have one or more of the sub-controller or detector circuit previously listed. together with other sub-controllers that perform additional functions to the functions listed above.

The discharge sub-controller circuit 102 controls the discharge of the electrochemical cell (s) 130 from the battery 110 in order to provide a longer battery service time by providing a safe deep discharge to utilize more of the energy stored from a primary battery or using optimally the stored energy of a rechargeable battery before recharging. The load sub-controller circuit 104 safely and efficiently controls the load of the electrochemical cell (s) 130 of the battery 110 where the controller circuit 140 is integrated. The emergency disconnect sub-controller 106 disconnects the electrochemical cell (s) from the battery terminals when the detector circuit 105 detects an unsafe condition such as a short circuit, an inverse polarity, an overload condition, or an over discharge condition . In a preferred embodiment of a primary battery of the present invention, however, the controller 140 preferably includes the discharge sub-controller circuit 102, the emergency disconnect sub-controller 106 and the detector circuit 105. The detector circuit 105 preferably monitors continuously the operating parameters and physical conditions of the electrochemical cell 130. The discharge sub-controller circuit 102 preferably provides a safer, deeper discharge of the primary electrochemical cell 130 of the battery 110 to provide a longer service time before discarding the battery. The emergency disconnecting sub-controller circuit 106 preferably disconnects the electrochemical cell (s) from the battery terminals when the detecting circuit detects an unsafe condition. In a preferred embodiment of a rechargeable battery of the present invention, the controller circuit 140 may additionally include a charge sub-controller circuit 104. The charge sub-controller circuit 104 safely and efficiently controls the charge of the electrochemical cell 130 of the battery 110. wherein the controller circuit 140 is integrated. The detector circuit 105 preferably monitors in a continuous and direct way the operating parameters of the controller circuit 140 and the physical conditions in the electrochemical cell (s) 130. For example, the detector circuit 105 can monitor the voltage of the detector circuit 105. the cell, the charging current, the internal impedance of the electrochemical cell (s), the concentration of hydrogen or oxygen, temperature, pressure, or any other operating parameter or physical condition known in the art. In a particularly preferred embodiment, each electrochemical cell has its own integrated controller circuit 140 which monitors the conditions in that particular cell. By directly monitoring the conditions of each particular cell, the charge sub-controller 105 can provide more safety and efficiency than a known charge controller that monitors a battery having multiple electrochemical cells. The load sub-controller 105 minimizes the losses by using the instantaneous load value of the cell (s) and the maximum capacity of the cell to continuously optimize the load conditions.

Each controller may include one or more of the following sub-controllers: (1) a discharge sub-controller, (2) a load sub-controller and / or (3) an emergency disconnect sub-controller. To facilitate the discussion, the controller functions are described in terms of sub-controllers. The actual manufacture of the controller of the present invention, however, does not require independent circuit implementations for each function because the multiple functions that are performed by the controller can be, and preferably are, combined in a single circuit. For example, each sub-controller may have its own internal detector circuits for measuring one or more of the operating parameters of the controller and / or physical conditions of the electrochemical cell (s), or an independent detector circuit may measure the parameters and / or conditions and provide them and / or control signals related to the parameters and / or conditions with one or more of the sub-controllers. In addition, a controller may have additional or alternative sub-controllers performing other functions in addition to one or more of the functions listed herein.

Discharge Subcontroller The discharge subcontroller can extend the service life of a primary or rechargeable battery of the present invention in one of several ways. First, in the case of a multi-cell battery containing at least one primary electrochemical cell, or at least one rechargeable cell that is preferably completely discharged before being charged (eg, a NiCd cell is preferably discharged until 100%, but not more), the sub-controller may allow one or more of the electrochemical cell (s) of the battery to be discharged more deeply by an electronic device than would be possible. For example, the discharge sub-controller may allow a single-cell battery to discharge beyond the point where the cell voltage has fallen below the cut-off voltage of the device. In the case of a primary battery, the service life of the battery can be increased by discharging the electrochemical cell as deep as possible before discarding the battery. However, in a rechargeable battery the service time of the battery is increased by discharging the electrochemical cells to the optimum depth of discharge. Therefore, if the optimum discharge depth of a rechargeable electrochemical cell is below the cut-off voltage of the device in which the rechargeable battery is operated, the service life of the rechargeable battery can be increased if the rechargeable cell is allowed to discharge further. beyond the cut-off voltage of that device. In this application, the term "deep discharge" refers to allowing the electrochemical cell to discharge at least 80% of the estimated capacity of the electrochemical cell (s). In addition, the term "substantial discharge" in this application refers to allowing the electrochemical cell to discharge at least 70% of the estimated capacity of the electrochemical cell (s). "Over-discharge" refers in this application to the discharge of the electrochemical cell beyond 100%, which can lead to a reversal of voltage. These days, a typical alkaline battery on the market, for example, is generally able to supply approximately 40 to 70% of its stored energy capacity before the voltage level of the electrochemical cell drops to a voltage level that is insufficient to operate a certain electronic device. Therefore, a sub-controller of the present invention preferably provides an alkaline cell that is capable of delivering up to 70% discharge before the battery is cut. Most preferably, the sub-controller provides a discharge level of more than about 80%. Still most preferably, the sub-controller provides a discharge level of more than about 90%, with a level of more than about 95% being more preferred. The discharge sub-controller may include a converter that converts the cell voltage to a desired output voltage of a primary or rechargeable battery. In a primary battery, this allows a deeper discharge of the electrochemical cell (s) and in this way prolongs the service time of the battery. In a rechargeable battery, however, the converter allows the controller to discharge the rechargeable battery at the optimum discharge depth independent of the cutoff voltage of a specific device. In one embodiment of the present invention, the sub-controller can continuously convert the cell voltage to a desired output voltage over the service time of the battery. When the cell voltage falls to the level of the cutoff voltage of the device where the battery discharge would normally be cut, the converter raises, or increases, the cell voltage to a level at the battery output that is sufficient to continue operating the device until the voltage level drops below the minimum voltage required to operate the sub-controller or at an optimum discharge depth for a rechargeable electrochemical cell. Thus, a battery having a sub-controller design that is capable of operating at a lower voltage level than the sub-controller of another battery will provide a battery capable of being discharged more deeply independent of the cell voltage level. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the converter operates only when the cell voltage drops at or below a predetermined voltage level. In these modes, the internal losses of the converter are kept to a minimum because the inverter operates only when necessary. The predetermined voltage level is preferably in the scale of the nominal voltage of the electrochemical cell to the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed. Preferably, the predetermined voltage level is slightly higher than the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed. For example, the predetermined voltage level may be on the scale of around the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed at approximately 0.2 volts more than the cut-off voltage, preferably on the scale of around of the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed to approximately 0.15 volts more than the cut-off voltage, most preferably in the scale of about the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed at approximately 0.1 volts more than the cut-off voltage, and still very preferably in the scale around the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed at approximately 0.05 volts more than the voltage of cut. For example, an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts generally has a predetermined voltage in the range of about 0.8 volts and about 1.8 volts. Preferably, the predetermined voltage is in the range between 0.9 volts and approximately 1.6 volts. Most preferably, the predetermined voltage is in the range of about 0.9 volts and about 1.5 volts. Still most preferably, the predetermined voltage is in the range between about 0.9 volts and about 1.2 volts, with the scale being more preferred between about 1.0 volt and about 1.2 volts. The voltage level slightly greater than or equal to the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed is most preferred. A sub-controller designed to operate with an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 3.0 volts, however, can generally have a predetermined voltage level in the range of about 2.0 volts and about 3.4 volts. Preferably, the predetermined voltage is in the range of about 2.2 volts to about 3.2 volts. Most preferably, the predetermined voltage is in the range of about 2.4 volts to about 3.2 volts. Still most preferably, the predetermined voltage is in the range of about 2.6 volts to about 3.2 volts, with the scale from about 2.8 volts to about 3.0 volts being most preferred. The voltage level slightly greater than or equal to the highest cut-off voltage of the class of devices for which the battery is designed is most preferred. When the cell voltage drops to or below the predetermined voltage level, the discharge sub-controller turns on the converter and raises the cell voltage to a desired output voltage sufficient to drive the load. This eliminates converter losses that are not necessary when the cell voltage is high enough to drive the load, but then allows the electrochemical cell to continue to discharge even after the cell voltage drops below the level required to operate the cell. Charge until the cell voltage reaches the minimum operating voltage of the converter in the case of a primary cell or, in the case of a rechargeable cell, until the voltage of the cell reaches the optimum depth of discharge. The sub-controller can use one or more of the control mechanisms from a combination of a simple voltage comparator and an electronic switch that turns on the converter when the cell voltage falls to the predetermined voltage level, to more complex control schemes such as those that are described later. A universal battery of the present invention that is designed for a particular output voltage is preferably capable of prolonging the battery service time when used to drive a device. As used in this application, a "universal" battery is a battery that can provide a uniform output voltage independent of cell electrochemistry. Therefore, the battery of the present invention is preferably designed to extend its service time by keeping the battery output voltage at a level greater than or equal to the cutoff voltage of a given device until the integrated sub-controller is turned off when the Primary electrochemical cell voltage drops to a level below where the sub-controller can no longer operate, or when a rechargeable electrochemical cell drops to its optimum discharge depth. A battery of the present invention that is designed to drive a specific electronic device or a narrow class or electronic devices having similar cut-off voltages can be specifically designed to operate more efficiently by equalizing the predetermined voltage level to the cutoff voltage (s) of those devices more closely. Second, the discharge sub-controller can be used to extend the service life of a rechargeable electrochemical cell by optimally discharging the cell in order to increase the number or efficiency of the charging cycles. In a sealed lead-acid cell, for example, deep discharge can damage the cell and / or reduce the number or efficiency of future recharge cycles. The sub-controller can, for example, control the discharge of a particular type of rechargeable electrochemical cell so that the discharge cycle ends when the cell voltage reaches a predetermined voltage level which is the optimum discharge depth for that type or cell particular electrochemistry. In a rechargeable lead-acid electrochemical cell, for example, the predetermined voltage level is in the range of about 0.7 volts to about 1.6 volts, with about 0.7 volts being more preferred. In a rechargeable lithium-MnO2 electrochemical cell, for example, the predetermined voltage level is in the range of about 2.0 volts to about 3.0 volts, with 2.4 volts being more preferred. Alternatively, the discharge sub-controller may also conclude the discharge cycle when the internal impedance of the rechargeable electrochemical cell reaches a predetermined impedance level which corresponds to the maximum desired discharge level for that particular electrochemical cell or type. Thus, in a battery of the present invention containing at least one rechargeable electrochemical cell that preferably does not discharge deeply beyond an optimum depth of discharge, a discharge sub-controller can be used to extend the battery service time. concluding the discharge cycle when the cell voltage reaches a predetermined voltage level or when the internal impedance of the cell reaches a predetermined internal impedance level. Third, the discharge sub-controller may also decrease the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell (s) having a nominal voltage greater than the desired output voltage and / or alter the output impedance of the cell (s) ( s) electrochemistry of a battery. This not only prolongs the service life of the batteries, but also allows for greater exchange between electrochemical cells that have different nominal voltages than is otherwise possible, allows designers to take advantage of the greater storage potential of electrochemical cells that have a higher nominal voltage, and allows designers altering the output impedance of a specific electrochemical cell in order to equalize the impedance at a desired level to increase the exchange of the electrochemical cell with other types of electrochemical cells, and / or increase the efficiency of the electrochemical cell with a particular type of load . In addition, electrochemical cells that are inefficient, dangerous for the environment, costly, etc. and that are generally used only because a particular nominal voltage is required, such as a cadmium mercury cell, they can be replaced by safer, more efficient or cheaper electrochemical cells that have their nominal voltage high or decreased or their output impedance altered to able to comply with the required nominal voltage or the output impedance required by the application. For example, an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 1.8 volts or more can be packaged with a sub-controller that decreases this higher nominal voltage to a standard nominal level of about 1.5 volts so that the battery can be used interchangeably with a battery that has a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts. In a specific example, a standard lithium cell such as a primary Ionium-MnO2 cell having a nominal voltage of approximately 3.0 volts can be packaged in a battery with a decreasing sub-controller so that the battery has an output voltage of approximately 1.5 volts. This provides a battery that has at least twice as much capacity as a battery that has an electrochemical cell with a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts and the same volume. In addition, it also provides a lithium cell that is truly interchangeable with a standard alkaline battery or a single-cell zinc-carbon battery, without the need to chemically alter the chemistry of the lithium cell, which decreases the storage of chemical energy of the cell. In addition, a rechargeable lithium-ion cell has a nominal voltage of about 4.0 volts. The cell can be packaged in a battery with a decrease controller so that the battery of a single cell has an output voltage of about 1.4 volts. The lithium-ion battery of the present invention can be interchangeable with a standard single-cell rechargeable NiCd battery, but will be capable of providing three times the capacity of a single-cell NiCd battery having the same volume. Additionally, batteries having electrochemical cells such as a lithium ion, magnesium, magnesium air and aluminum air also have nominal voltages of more than 1.8 volts and can be used interchangeably with a standard battery having a nominal voltage of around 1.5 volts. Not only can different types of electrochemical cells be used interchangeably, but different types of electrochemical cells can be packaged together in a hybrid battery. In this way, different types of batteries that have different electrochemical cells with various nominal voltages or internal impedance can be used interchangeably, or hybrid batteries can be manufactured having different types of electrochemical cells. Alternatively, electrochemical cells having nominal voltages below which a typical electronic device would operate can be used with a discharge sub-controller having an integrated boost converter for raising the rated voltage. This allows the battery that has this type of electrochemical cell to be used with a device that requires a higher voltage level than the cell would provide. further, the battery that has this type of cell can also be used interchangeably with a standard alkaline electrochemical cell or a zinc-carbon electrochemical cell. This can provide useful, commercially available batteries that have electrochemical cells that had not been considered for consumer use because their nominal voltages were too low to be practical. Table 1 does not attempt to exclude, but lists the primary, secondary and reserve electrochemical cells that can be used in a battery of the present invention. For example, different types of primary and / or rechargeable electrochemical cells that have different nominal voltages or internal impedance can be used with a converter to create a single-cell universal battery that has the same output voltage as a rechargeable or primary alkaline battery. 1.5 volts standard or a standard 1.4 volt NiCd rechargeable battery. In addition, the primary, secondary and / or reserve cells can be used together in a hybrid multi-cell battery of the present invention. In fact, the present invention allows greater exchange between various types of electrochemical cells, and between electrochemical cells and alternative energy supplies such as fuel cells, capacitors, etc. like never before. If a controller is placed in each electrochemical cell, the electrical characteristics such as the nominal voltage and the output impedance of different types of electrochemical cells can be adjusted to allow the use of a wide variety of cells to make interchangeable batteries. The batteries can be specially designed to take advantage of the particular advantages of an electrochemical cell, at the same time allowing the exchange with batteries containing other types of cells. In addition, the present invention can be used to create new standard voltage levels by converting the nominal voltages of the electrochemical cells to the voltage levels of the standards.

TABLE 1 Types of electrochemical cells and nominal voltages Primary Cells Type of cell Nominal Voltage Type of cell Nominal Voltage Mercad 0.9 Volt Lithium FeS2 1.6 Volt Mercuric oxide 1.35 volts Magnesium- Electrolyte 1.6 volts organic Mercuric oxide with 1.4 volts Magnesium Mn02 2.8 volts Mn02 Zinc-Air 1.4 volts Lithium- Electrolyte 2.8 volts Solid Carbon-Zinc 1.5 volts Lithium Mn02 3.0 volt Zinc-Chloride 1.5 volt Lithium (CF) n 3.0 volt Mn02 alkaline 1.5 volt Lithium S02 3.0 volt Silver-Oxide 1.5 volts Lithium SOCI2 3.6 volts I Secondary Cells Type of cell Voltage Nominal Type of cell Nominal Voltage Silver-Cadmium 1.1 volts Zinc-bromide 1.6 volts Edison 1.2 volts High temperature 1.7 volts (Fe-Ni oxide) Li (AI) -FeS2 Nickel-cadmium 1.2 volts Aluminum-Air 1.9 volts Nickel hydride 1.2 volts Lead acid 2.0 volt metal Nickel hydrogen 1.2 volts High temperature 2.0 volts Na-S Silver-zinc 1.5 volts Lithium-polymer 3.0 volts Li-V6013 Zinc-air 1.5 volts Lithium-ion 4.0 volts C-LixCo02 Nickel -zinc 1.6 volts Reserve cells Cell type Voltage Nominal Type of cell Nominal Voltage Cuprous Chloride 1.3 Volt Li-FeS2 Thermal 2.0 Volt Zinc / silver oxide 1.5 volts In addition, incompatible electrochemical cells can be used together in hybrid batteries specially designed for particular types of applications. For example, a zinc-air electrochemical cell can be used in conjunction with a lithium cell in parallel or in series in a hybrid battery. The zinc-air cell has a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts and a very high energy density, but can only provide stable, low current levels. The lithium cell, however, has a nominal voltage level of about 3.0 volts and can provide small breaks in high current levels. The discharge sub-controllers of each electrochemical cell provide the same nominal output voltage and allow an arrangement in an electrical configuration in parallel or in series. When the cells have a parallel configuration, the sub-controllers also prevent the cells from loading each other. The sub-controller for each cell can be used to connect or disconnect one or both cells as necessary for loading. Therefore, when the load is in a low energy mode, the zinc-air cell can be connected to provide a low, stable current and, when the load is in a high energy mode, the lithium cell or the lithium and zinc-air cells in combination can provide the necessary current to drive the load. Hybrid batteries may also comprise different combinations of electrochemical cells such as primary and secondary cells, primary and reserve cells, secondary and reserve cells, or primary, secondary and reserve cells. In addition, a hybrid battery may comprise a combination of one or more electrochemical cells and one or more alternative power supplies such as a fuel cell, a conventional capacitor or even a supercapacitor. For example, a hybrid battery may comprise combinations such as alkaline and metal-air cells, metal-air cells, metal-air and secondary cells, and metal-air cell and a supercapacitor. In addition, the hybrid batteries may comprise any combination of two or more of the aforementioned cells or power supplies. Likewise, the discharge sub-controller can prolong the service life of a battery by protecting the electrochemical cell from current peaks that can damage the operation of the components of the electrochemical cell and decrease the voltage of the cell. For example, the sub-controller can prevent high-current demands from creating a memory effect in the cell and decreasing the service life of the electrochemical cell. Current peaks are also harmful to electrochemical cells such as alkaline cells, of lithium, NiCd, SLA, metal hydride and zinc-air. The discharge sub-controller can protect the electrochemical cell from current peaks by providing temporary storage of electrical charge at the output of the sub-controller so that temporary storage can be used during the immediate demand. Therefore, a peak current demand can be completely eliminated or significantly reduced before it reaches the electrochemical cell. This allows a battery to provide higher current peaks than the electrochemical cell can directly provide and protect the electrochemical cell from current peaks that can be harmful to cell components. The temporary storage element is preferably a capacitor. This capacitor can be any type of capacitor known in the art such as a conventional capacitor, a capacitor printed on a thick film or even a "supercapacitor". Figure 13, for example, shows the capacitor Cf connected through the output terminals 1320 and 1322 of the container 1312. An individual discharge sub-controller will preferably extend the battery service time by protecting the cell against current peaks and converting the cell voltage to a desired output voltage. For example, a preferred embodiment of the sub-controller can turn on a converter when the cell voltage drops to a predetermined voltage in order to minimize the losses associated with the converter. The same sub-controller can monitor both the cell voltage and the output load current and turn on the converter if the cell voltage reaches the predetermined voltage level or the charging current reaches a predetermined current level. Alternatively, the sub-controller can monitor both the cell voltage and the output load current and determine whether the required load current supply will bring the cell voltage below the cut-off voltage level. In the last example, the sub-controller is running on two combined input signals in an algorithm to determine if the converter should turn on. In the above example, however, the sub-controller turns on the converter if the cell voltage drops to a predetermined voltage level, or the output load current increases to a predetermined current level. These, together with other possible control schemes, are discussed in more detail later. The present invention relates to specialized batteries as well as to standard consumer batteries, such as AAA, AA, C or D cell batteries and 9 volt batteries. The invention contemplates the use of specialized primary batteries, and hybrid batteries that can be used in various applications. It is anticipated that these specialized batteries and hybrid batteries can be used to replace rechargeable batteries for use such as in cell phones, laptops, etc., which are currently limited by the ability of the primary batteries to provide the required current rate during a sufficient period of time. In addition, the individual control of the output voltage and the output impedance of the cells will allow the battery designers to design new types of hybrid batteries that use different types of cells in combination or alternative energy supplies, such as fuel cells, conventional capacitors or even "supercapacitors", in the same hybrid battery.

The increase in interchangeable types of electrochemical cells also allows battery designers to provide standard or rechargeable primary batteries to decrease the reliability of specially designed batteries for particular devices such as cell phones, laptops, video cameras, cameras, etc. A consumer could simply buy standard batteries to operate a cell phone, as he currently does for a flashlight or a tape player, instead of buying a battery specifically manufactured for the electronic device of a particular type, brand and / or model. . In addition, as the number of standard manufactured batteries increases, the cost per unit would decrease rapidly, resulting in cheaper batteries that can eventually replace specially designed rechargeable batteries. In addition, the primary and rechargeable batteries could be used interchangeably with each other. For example, if the rechargeable batteries in a laptop run out, the user could buy primary batteries that would last for a few hours until the user charges the rechargeable batteries. The user could also buy less expensive batteries if it does not need certain high performance levels that could be provided by the device with higher cost batteries. Electronic labeling technology such as that used in photographic films, etc., could be used to design the exact type of cell (s) in the battery, estimated capacity and / or remaining cell (s), supply capacities of optimal and peak current, current load level, internal impedance, etc., so that an "intelligent" device can read the electronic labeling and optimize its consumption to improve the performance of the device, to prolong the service time of the device. battery, etc. A camera, which already uses electronic tagging to determine the speed of the film, for example, can also use electronic tagging technology with its batteries to allow for a slower flash charging time, stop the use of the flash, etc., for to be able to optimize the service time of a particular battery. A laptop can also use electronic tagging technology to determine the most efficient operating parameters for particular batteries, for example, by changing its operating speed in order to better use the remaining charge in the battery for a duration desired by a user, or use On / off technology to conserve battery power. In addition, video cameras, cell phones, etc., could also use electronic labeling to optimize the use of batteries. The present invention also relates to standard consumer batteries such as AAA, AA, C or D cell batteries, and 9 volt batteries. In addition to primary batteries that are interchangeable with different types of primary or even rechargeable batteries, standard primary or rechargeable batteries may be available for applications where only specially designed batteries are available. Depending on their needs, for example, consumers can purchase one or more standard primary or rechargeable batteries that they can place directly on their laptops, video cameras, cell phones and other portable electronic equipment. As mentioned earlier, as the number of standard manufactured batteries increases, the cost per unit will be reduced rapidly, resulting in cheaper batteries that can eventually replace specially designed rechargeable batteries. In order to increase the service life of the primary batteries or rechargeable batteries having a relatively low optimal discharge depth, the discharge sub-controller can be designed to operate at even lower voltages as the circuit manufacturing technology advances. A download sub-controller, for example, can be designed to operate at voltage levels as low as 0.1 volts in a silicon carbide ("SiC") mode, around 0.34 volts in a gallium arsenic mode ("GaAs"), and around 0.54 volts. volts in a conventional silicon-based mode. In addition, as the print size decreases, these minimum operating voltages will also decrease. In silicon, for example, if the printing of circuit to technology of 0.18 microns is decreased, the minimum operating voltage will decrease from around 0.54 to approximately 0.4 volts. As described above, the lower the minimum operating voltage required of the discharge sub-controller, the discharge sub-controller can regulate lower the cell voltage to provide the deepest discharge of a primary electrochemical cell or to optimally discharge an Rechargeable electrochemical cell at a low optimum discharge depth. Therefore, different circuit manufacturing advances are used within the invention to increase the use of batteries to approximately 100% of the stored charge of the electrochemical cell. The silicon-based mode of the present, however, provides up to 95% utilization of the storage potential of the battery, which is relatively high compared to the average use of 40-70% of primary electrochemical cells without a controller. In a preferred silicon-based embodiment, for example, the discharge sub-controller is designed to operate at voltages as low as 1 volt, preferably around 0.85 volts, most preferably around 0.8 volts, still most preferably around 0.75 volts, preferred way around 0.7 volts, most preferably around 0.65 volts, still most preferably around 0.6 volts, and most preferred around 0.54 volts. In a sub-controller designed for an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts, the sub-controller is preferably capable of operating at an input voltage at least as high as 1.6 volts. Preferably, the discharge sub-controller is capable of operating at an input voltage at least as high as about 1.8 volts. Therefore, a preferred sub-controller should be capable of operating on a voltage scale of a minimum of about 0.8 volts to at least 1.6 volts. However, the sub-controller can, and preferably also works outside of that scale. In a preferred embodiment of a discharge sub-controller of the present invention designed to be used with an electrochemical cell such as a primary Mn02-lithium cell having a nominal voltage of about 3.0 volts, however, the sub-controller must be capable of operating at a voltage level higher than that required for a discharge sub-controller used in conjunction with an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts. In the case of an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 3.0 volts, the discharge sub-controller is preferably capable of operating in the range of about 2.4 volts to about 3.2 volts. Most preferably, the sub-controller is capable of operating on a voltage scale from about 0.8 volts to about 3.2 volts. Most preferably, the sub-controller is capable of operating with an input voltage in the range of about 0.6 volts to at least about 3.4 volts. Preferably, the sub-controller is capable of operating with an input voltage in the range of about 0.54 volts to at least about 3.6 volts, with the scale of about 0.45 volts to at least about 3.8 volts being most preferred . However, the sub-controller can also, and preferably works outside of this scale. In a preferred embodiment of a discharge subcontroller of the present invention designed to be used with an electrochemical cell such as a rechargeable lithium ion cell having a nominal voltage of about 4.0 volts, however, the sub-controller should be capable of operating at an even higher voltage level than that required for a discharge sub-controller used in conjunction with an electrochemical cell having a rated voltage of about 3.0 to about 1.5 volts. In the case of an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 4.0 volts, the discharge sub-controller is preferably capable of operating in the range of about 2.0 to about 4.0 volts. The sub-controller is preferably capable of operating on a voltage scale of about 0.8 volts to about 4.0 volts. Most preferably, the sub-controller is capable of operating with an input voltage in the range of about 0.6 volts to at least about 4.0 volts. Even very preferably, the sub-controller is capable of operating with an input voltage in the range of about 0.54 volts to about 4.0 volts, with the scale of about 0.45 volts to at least about 4.0 volts being most preferred. However, the sub-controller can, and preferably also works outside of that scale.

An alternative preferred embodiment is capable of operating with an electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts or about 3.0 volts. In this embodiment the discharge sub-controller is capable of operating with a minimum input voltage of about 0.8 volts, preferably around 0.7 volts, most preferably around 0.6 volts and still most preferably around 0.54 volts, and an input voltage maximum of at least about 3.2 volts, preferably about 3.4 volts, most preferably about 3.6 volts and still most preferably about 3.8 volts. For example, the discharge sub-controller may be capable of operating on the scale of about 0.54 volts to about 3.4 volts, or about 0.54 volts to about 3.8 volts, or about 0.7 volts to about 3.8 volts, etc. The batteries of the present invention also provide distinct advantages over typical batteries when used with electrical devices such as flashlights, etc. that do not have a cutting voltage. With a typical battery, as the battery is discharged, the output voltage of the battery decreases. Because the output power of the electrical device is directly proportional to the voltage supplied by the battery, the output of the electrical device decreases proportionally with the output voltage of the battery. For example, the intensity of a light bulb in a flashlight will continue to dim as the output voltage of the battery decreases until the battery is completely discharged. The battery of the present invention, however, has a discharge sub-controller that regulates the voltage of the cell at a controlled voltage level, relatively constant over the complete discharge cycle of the battery until the cell voltage decreases to a level below which the sub-controller is able to function. At that time, the battery will shut down, and the electrical device will stop working. During the discharge cycle, however, the electrical device will continue to provide a relatively stable output (eg, bulb intensity) until the battery is turned off. A preferred embodiment of a battery of the present invention also includes a low remaining charge warning for the user. The discharge sub-controller, for example, can disconnect and reconnect the electrochemical cell (s) from the battery output terminals intermittently for a short time duration when the voltage of the electrochemical cell reaches a predetermined value. This can provide a visible, audible, or readable indication on the device that the battery is about to shut down. Additionally, the sub-controller can artificially recreate conditions of an accelerated battery discharge condition by decreasing the battery output voltage at the end of battery life. For example, the sub-controller may begin to decrease the output voltage when the storage capacity of the battery is around 5% of its estimated capacity. This may provide an indication to the user such as a decreasing volume in a tape or compact disc player, or provide an indication to the device, which may also warn the user. Figure 7 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention wherein the CD / CD converter 750 of the discharge sub-controller 702 is electrically, or preferably electronically, connected between the positive electrodes 732 and negative 734 of the cell electrochemical 730 and the positive 720 and negative 722 terminals of the container 721. The CD / CD converter 750 converts the cell voltage through the positive electrodes 732 and negative 734 of the electrochemical cell 730 to the output voltage at the positive terminals 720 and negative 722 of the container 712. The CD / CD converter 750 can provide increasing conversion, decrease conversion, increase or decrease conversion, or voltage stabilization at output terminals 720 and 722. In this mode, the CD / CD converter 750 operates in a continuous mode where the output voltage of the Electrochemical cell 730 will be converted into a stable output voltage at terminals 720 and 722 of the container over the service time of the battery. This mode stabilizes the output voltage of the container 712 at the output terminals 720 and 722. By providing a stable output voltage the designers of electronic devices can decrease the complexity of the energy management circuits of the electronic devices, and, correspondingly , decrease the size, weight and cost of the devices.

The CD / CD converter 750 will continue to operate until the voltage of the electrochemical cell 730 falls below the optimal discharge depth of the electrochemical cell in the case of a rechargeable electrochemical cell or the minimum direct bias voltage of the electronic components, Vfb, of the 750 converter in the case of a primary electrochemical cell. To the extent that the optimal discharge depth of the electrochemical cell or the minimum change voltage, Vfb of the CD / CD converter 750 is less than the cutoff voltage of the electronic device that the battery 710 is driving, the controller 740 will also prolong the 710 battery service time by discharging battery 710 beyond the cutoff voltage of the electronic device, keeping the output voltage at terminals 720 and 722 of container 712 above the cutoff voltage of the electronic device. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figure 7, the CD / CD converter 750 operating in a continuous mode can be a decrease converter which reduces the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell 730 to a voltage of output of container 712. In a mode of a discharge sub-controller 702 that includes a decay converter, the converter decreases the voltage of a first type of electrochemical cell 730 to an output voltage of container 712 that is approximately the voltage level. Nominal of a second type of electrochemical cell so that the battery containing the first type of electrochemical cell 730 is interchangeable with a battery containing the second type of electrochemical cell. For example, an electrochemical cell having a higher nominal voltage than a standard 1.5-volt cell can be used in combination with a decreasing converter that operates continuously to provide a cell that is interchangeable with the standard cell without the need to chemically alter the cell. electrochemical cell. This modality allows a greater degree of interchange between different types of electrochemical cells than is possible without chemically altering the structure of the electrochemical cell itself and decreasing the chemical energy storage of the cell. A primary or rechargeable lithium cell, for example, can be used in a standard AA battery pack to provide at least twice as much capacity as an alkaline battery of the same volume. A lithium cell such as a primary or rechargeable lithium-MnO2 cell has a nominal voltage of about 3.0 volts and can not normally be used interchangeably with a standard AA alkaline battery having a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts. A lithium-ion cell having a nominal voltage of about 4.0 volts also can not normally be used interchangeably with a standard NiCd battery having a nominal voltage of about 1.4 volts. Battery designers, however, have altered the chemistry of the lithium electrochemical cell to create lithium batteries that have a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts in order to create a lithium battery that can be used interchangeably with a standard AA alkaline battery , for example. Although this 1.5-volt lithium battery has the ability to supply high levels of current to photo-volt charge circuits, the 1.5 volt lithium electrochemical cell does not provide a substantial increase in the storage of total chemical energy over an alkaline cell. same volume. The present invention, however, provides the ability to use a standard primary or rechargeable lithium electrochemical cell having a nominal voltage of about 3.0 or about 4.0 volts and a controller to convert said nominal voltage to approximately 1.5 volts or approximately 1.4 volts. . Therefore, the battery provides almost twice the chemical energy storage of a battery containing the chemically altered 1.5 volt lithium cell., a 1.5-volt alkaline cell, or a 1.4-volt NiCd battery in a battery that is fully interchangeable with any of the 1.5-volt or 1.4-volt batteries. Additionally, the lithium battery of the present invention will provide the same high current levels as a battery containing a chemically altered 1.5 volt lithium cell. Additionally, the discharge sub-controller 702 also optimizes the performance of an electrical device such as a flashlight using 710 battery. Although an electrical device will not be turned off as an electronic device at a minimum operating voltage, the performance of the electrical device, as the intensity of the flashlight bulb will decrease as the input voltage decreases. Therefore, a stable battery output voltage 710 allows the performance of the electrical device to remain constant over the service life of the battery without the performance of the device decreasing as the voltage of the electrochemical cell 730 decreases. The CD / CD converter 750 may use one or more of the many known control schemes such as pulse modulation, which may include pulse width modulation ("PWM"), pulse amplitude modulation ("PAM"), pulse frequency modulation ("PFM") and pulse phase modulation ("P? M"), resonant converters, etc., to control the operating parameters of the converter 750. A preferred embodiment of the converter 750 of the present invention uses pulse width modulation. Even a more preferred embodiment uses a combination of pulse width modulation and pulse phase modulation, which is described in detail below. In a preferred embodiment the CD / CD converter 750 for use in a battery of the present invention, the converter is controlled by a pulse width modulator to drive the CD / CD converter 750. The pulse width modulator generates a fixed frequency control signal where the load cycle is varied. For example, the charge cycle can be zero when the CD / CD converter is turned off, 100% when the converter is running at full capacity, and will vary between zero and 100% depending on load demand and / or capacity remaining of the electrochemical cell 730. The pulse width modulation scheme has at least one input signal that is used to generate the load cycle. In one embodiment, the output voltage at terminals 720 and 722 of container 712 is continuously tested and compared to a reference voltage. The error correction signal is used to alter the load cycle of the CD / CD converter. In this case, the negative feedback loop of the output voltage at terminals 720 and 722 of container 712 allows the CD / CD converter 750 to provide a stabilized output voltage. Alternatively, the CD / CD converter 750 can use multiple input signals such as the cell voltage, i.e., the voltage across the positive electrodes 732 and negative 734 of the electrochemical cell 730, and the output current to generate the load cycle. In this mode, the cell voltage and the output current are monitored, and the CD / CD converter 750 generates a load cycle that is a function of those two parameters. Figures 8-11 show block diagrams of additional embodiments of discharge sub-controller circuits of the present invention. In each of these modes, the sub-controller circuit includes at least two main components: (1) a CD / CD converter; (2) a converter controller that connects and disconnects electrically, or preferably electronically, the CD / CD converter between the electrodes of the electrochemical cell and the output terminals of the container so that the internal losses of the CD / CD converter incur only when the CD / CD converter is needed to convert the cell voltage to a voltage necessary to drive the load. The CD / CD converter, for example, can be turned on only when the cell voltage drops to a predetermined level below which the load can no longer function. Alternatively, if the electronic device requires an input voltage within a specific scale such as ± 10% of the nominal voltage of the battery, for example, the converter controller can "turn on" the CD / CD converter when the voltage of the cell is out of the desired scale, but "turn off" the converter when the cell voltage is within the desired scale. In Figure 8, for example, the CD / CD converter 850 is electrically connected between the positive electrodes 832 and negative 834 of the electrochemical cell 830 and the positive terminals 820 and negative terminals 822 of the container 812. The converter controller 852 is also electrically connects between the positive electrodes 832 and negative 834 of the electrochemical cell 830 and the positive terminals 820 and negative 822 of the container 812. In this example, the converter controller 852 acts as a switch that connects the electrochemical cell 830 directly with the terminals output 820 and 822 of the container 812, or connect the CD / CD converter 850 between the electrochemical cell 830 and the output terminals 820 and 822 of the container 812. The converter controller 852 continuously tests the output voltage and compares it with one or more of the internally generated threshold voltages. If the output voltage of the container 812 drops below the threshold voltage level or is outside the desired range of threshold voltages, for example, the converter controller 852"turns on" the DC / DC converter 850 electrically connecting, or preferably electronically, the CD / CD converter 850 between the electrochemical cell 830 and the output terminals 820 and 822 of the container 812. The threshold voltage is preferably in the scale of around the nominal voltage of the electrochemical cell 830 to approximately the highest cut-off voltage of the class of electronic devices for which the battery is designed. Alternatively, the converter controller 852 can continuously test the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell 830 and compare that voltage with the threshold voltage in order to control the operation of the CD / CD converter 850. In the case of a battery In the case of rechargeable, the converter controller 852 preferably also disconnects the electrochemical cell 830 from the output terminals 820 and 822 of the container 812 when the voltage of the cell reaches the optimum discharge depth of the electrochemical cell 830. This provides a maximum cycle of the battery life where each discharge cycle has an optimized battery service time. Therefore, the service time of the battery can be increased. The discharge sub-controller 902 of Fig. 9 may include the elements of the discharge sub-controller 802 shown in Fig. 8, but also includes a ground-polarized circuit 980 electrically connected between the electrodes 932 and 934 of the electrochemical cell 930, and the converter of CD / CD 950, converter driver 952, and output terminals 920 and 922 of container 912. Ground-biased circuit 980 provides a negatively polarized voltage level, Vnb, to the CD / CD 950 converter and to the terminal negative output 922 of container 912. This increases the voltage applied to the CD / CD 950 converter from the cell voltage to a voltage level of the cell voltage plus the absolute value of the negatively polarized voltage level, Vnb. This allows the 950 converter to operate at an efficient voltage level until the voltage of the current cell drops to a voltage level below the minimum direct bias voltage necessary to drive the polarized circuit to ground 980. Therefore, the converter 950 can more efficiently direct a higher current level from the electrochemical cell 930 than would be possible with only the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell 930 driving the converter 950. In a preferred embodiment of the discharge subcontroller 902 for a battery 910 of the present invention having an electrochemical cell with a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts, the negatively polarized voltage, Vnb, is preferably in the range of about 0 volts and about 1 volt. Most preferably the negatively polarized voltage, Vnb, is around 0.5 volts, with the 0.4 volt scale being more preferred. Therefore, the ground-biased circuit 980 allows the converter to more deeply discharge the electrochemical cell 930 and increase the efficiency of the converter 950 to draw the current from the electrochemical cell 930 when the cell voltage drops below about 1 volt for a Electrochemical cell that has a nominal voltage of about 1.5 volts. An exemplary embodiment of a charge pump 988 that can be used as a ground-biased circuit 980 in a battery 910 of the present invention is shown in Figure 9A. In this embodiment, when the switches S1 and S3 are closed, and the switches S2 and S4 open, the voltage of the cell of the electrochemical cell 930 charges the capacitor Ca. Then, when the switches S1 and S3 are open, and the switches S2 and S4 closed, the load on the capacitor Ca is inverted and transferred to the capacitor Cb, which provides a reverse output voltage from the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell 930. Alternatively, the charge pump 988 shown in FIG. Figure 9A can be replaced by any suitable charge pump circuit known in the art. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ground-polarized circuit 980 includes a charge pump circuit 986. The charge pump circuit 986 is shown in FIG. 9B and includes a synchronization generator 987, and one or more pumps 988. In a preferred embodiment of the load pump circuit 986 shown in Fig. 9B, for example, the load pump includes a two-level configuration that includes four minipumps 989, and a main pump 990. However, any number of minipumps 989. A preferred embodiment of a charge pump circuit 986, for example, includes twelve minipumps 989 and a main pump. The minipumps 989 and the main pump 990 of this mode are driven by four different phase control signals, 991a, 991b, 991c and 991 d, generated by the synchronization generator 987 that each have the same frequency, but which change in phase between them. The control signals 991 a to 991 d, for example, can be changed in phase ninety degrees to each other. In this embodiment, each of the minipumps 989 provides a reverse output voltage of the control signals 991a to 991 d that are generated by the synchronization generator. The main pump 990 adds the outputs of the multiple minipumps 989 and provides an output signal for the load pump circuit 986 which is at the same voltage level as the individual output voltages of the minipumps 989, but which is at a current level higher than the total current provided by all twelve minipumps 989. This output signal provides the virtual ground connection for the CD / DC converter 950 and the negative output terminal 922 of the container 912. In In another aspect of the invention, the charge pump circuit also includes a charge pump controller 992 that only turns on the charge pump circuit 986 when the cell voltage drops to a predetermined voltage level in order to minimize the associated losses with charge pump circuit 986. The default voltage for charge pump controller 992, for example, may be on the scale of around the nominal voltage of the electrochemical cell 930 to approximately the highest cut-off voltage of the group of electronic devices for which the battery 910 is designed. The predetermined voltage is most preferably about 0.1. volts greater than the cutoff voltage of the electronic device, with about 0.05 volts greater than the cutoff voltage being the most preferred scale. Alternatively, the load pump circuit 986 could be controlled by the same control signal that turns on the CD / CD converter 950 so that the load pump circuit 986 operates only when the converter 950 is running. In addition, both the CD / CD converter 950 and the charge pump circuit 986 in a battery having a rechargeable electrochemical cell are preferably turned off when the cell voltage falls approximately at the optimum discharge depth. This allows the rechargeable electrochemical cell to discharge optimally in order to allow a maximum number of and efficiency of charge cycles for that cell. Further, when the ground-biased circuit 980 is turned off, the virtual grounding, which is applied to the negative output terminal 922 of the container 912, preferably collapses to the level of the negative electrode voltage 934 of the electrochemical cell 930. this way, when the ground-polarized circuit 980 is not working, the battery operates in a standard ground configuration provided by the negative electrode 934 of the electrochemical cell 930. 7ß Alternatively, the ground-biased circuit 980 may comprise a second CD / CD converter such as a Buck-Boost converter, a Cuk converter, or a linear regulator. In addition, the CD / DC converter 950 and the ground-biased circuit 980 can be combined and replaced by a simple converter such as a Buck-Boost converter, a push-pull converter, or a return converter that will raise the output voltage positive and will decrease the negative polarized voltage. Figure 10 shows another embodiment of a discharge sub-controller circuit 1002 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the CD / DC converter 1050 is capable of accepting a correction control signal from an external source such as the phase change detector circuit 1062. As described above with reference to FIG. 7, the converter of CD / CD 1050 uses a control scheme such as a pulse width modulator to control the operation parameters of the converter 1050. In this embodiment, the discharge sub-controller circuit 1002 includes the same elements as the discharge sub-controller circuit 902 shown in FIG. 9, but includes a phase change detector circuit 1062 which measures the instantaneous phase change,,, between the AC components of the cell voltage at the electrode 1032 and the withdrawn current of the electrochemical cell 1030 measured throughout of the current detector resistor Rc. The CD / DC 1050 converter uses this signal in combination with other internally or externally generated control signals to generate the load cycle. The discharge sub-controller 1102 of the embodiment shown in Figure 11 may include the same elements as the discharge sub-controller 1002 shown in Figure 10, but also includes an emergency disconnect circuit 1182 electrically connected to the current sensing resistor Rc, and the positive electrodes 1132 and negative 1122 of the electrochemical cell 1130, and further connected to the converter controller 1152. The emergency disconnect circuit 1182 can send signals to the converter controller 1152 of one or more safety-related conditions that require disconnection of the electrochemical cell 1130 from the output terminals 1120 and 1122 of the container 1112 to protect the consumer, an electrical or electronic device, or the electrochemical cell itself. For example, in the case of a short circuit or reverse polarity, the emergency disconnect circuit 1182 requests the converter controller 1150 to disconnect the electrodes 1132 and 1134 from the electrochemical cell 1030 from the terminals 1120 and 1122 of the container 1112. In addition, the emergency disconnect circuit 1182 may also provide an indication of the end of the discharge cycle of the electrochemical cell 1130 to the converter controller 1152 by detecting the voltage and / or the internal impedance of the electrochemical cell 1130. For example, the sub-controller of Discharge 1102 may decrease current when the remaining capacity of the electrochemical cell 1130 drops to a predetermined level, intermittently disconnects and reconnects the electrodes 1132 and 1134 of the electrochemical cell 1130 from the output terminals 1120 and 1122 for a short duration when the capacity remaining of the electrochemical cell 1130 reaches a predetermined value, or e certain visible, audible or readable indication on the machine that the battery is about to shut down. At the end of the discharge cycle, the emergency disconnect circuit can also send a signal to the converter controller 1152 to disconnect electrochemical cell 1130 from terminals 1120 and 1122 of container 1112 and / or to shorten output terminals 1120 and 1122 to prevent the discharged electrochemical cell 1130 from consuming current from other cells connected in series with the discharged electrochemical cell 1130. A sub-controller preferred discharge 1202 shown in FIG. 12 includes a CD / CD converter 1250 having a synchronous rectifier 1274 which can electronically connect and disconnect positive electrode 1232 from positive terminal 1220 of container 1212. The synchronous rectifier switch 1274 eliminates the need for an additional switch such as a converter controller 852 in the direct electrical path between the positive electrodes 1232 or negative 1234 of the electrochemical cell 1230 and the output terminals 1220 and 1222 of the container. Additionally, the synchronous rectifier 1274 increases the efficiency of the CD / CD converter 1250 reducing internal losses. The converter controller 1252 of this embodiment also allows for additional input signals for controlling the converter DC / DC 1250. For example, in the embodiment shown in Figure 12, the converter controller 1252 monitors the internal electrochemical cell environment through sensors such as temperature, pressure and concentration of hydrogen and oxygen in addition to the phase change measurements described above with respect to Figure 10. Figures 7-12 show more complex circuit designs of the present invention. They are given in this order to provide a description of different elements that may be included in a downlink sub-controller circuit in addition to the CD / CD converter which is the central element of the controller of the present invention. The order of the presentation does not imply that the elements introduced later in the circuits that combine different multiple elements must have all the characteristics described with respect to the previous figures in order to be within the scope of the present invention. An emergency disconnect circuit, a charge indicator circuit, a phase detector circuit, and / or a ground-biased circuit, for example, can be used in combination with the circuits of FIGS. 6-11 without the converter controller u other elements shown in the figures that show these elements. A preferred embodiment of the integrated controller circuit 1340 for use in a battery 1310 of the present invention includes the CD / DC converter 1350 and the converter controller 1352 and is shown in Figure 13. The converter 1350 is preferably a medium power converter , almost no induction, high frequency and high efficiency that can operate below the threshold voltage of most electronic devices. The subcontroller discharge 1302 preferably includes a charge pump such as that shown in Figure 9B to supply a connection to a virtual ground that has a potential below the negative electrode 1334 of the electrochemical cell 1330 to the converter DC / DC 1350 and the output terminal 1322 of the container 1312. The virtual ground connection provides an increased voltage differential available to drive the CD / CD 1350 converter and allows the 1350 converter to be more efficient in bringing the higher current level from the Electrochemical cell 1330 than would be possible with only the cell voltage driving the converter. In this embodiment, the converter controller 1352 preferably uses a pulse width and pulse-phase modulation control scheme. The detector circuit phase change 1362 measures the cell voltage and removing current from the electrochemical cell 1330 at the positive electrodes 1332 and negative 1334 of the electrochemical cell 1330 and the instantaneous change of phase and / or continuous between the voltage and the current. This phase shift defines the internal mpedancia of the electrochemical cell 1330, which is a function of load capacity of the electrochemical cell 1330. In an alkaline battery, for example, after about 50% discharge of the electrochemical cell 1330, which is determined by the voltage drop circuit closed cell, the increasing internal mpedancia indicates the remaining capacity of the electrochemical cell 1330. the phase change detector circuit 1362 provides these signals to the phase linear controller 1371. the controller of phase linear 1371 then provides the voltage Vs detected by the phase change detector circuit 1362 and an output voltage control signal V (psi) which is linearly proportional to the phase change of the pulse modulator 1376 which uses a combination of Pulse width modulation and phase-pulse modulation control schemes. The pulse modulator 1376 also receives the voltage drop across the resistor Rs as a voltage control signal. The pulse modulator 1376 uses the voltage control signals in combination with the pulse of the DC / DC converter 1350. When the voltage Vs is above the predetermined threshold voltage level, pulse modulator 1376 maintains the metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor ("MOSFET") M3 in a closed state and the MOSFET M4 in an open state. In this way, the current path from the electrochemical cell 1330 to the load is maintained through MOSFET M3. In addition, the losses associated with the CD / CD converter 1350 and the converter controller 1352 are minimized because the load cycle is effectively maintained at zero percent. In this case, the CD losses of the closed M3 MOSFET and the resistor Rs are extremely low. The resistor Rs, for example, is preferably in the range of about 0.01 to about 0.1 ohms. When the voltage Vs is below a predetermined threshold voltage level, however, pulse modulator 1376 is switched on and modulates the charging cycle of the CD / CD converter 1350 based on the combination of the voltage control signals . The amplitude of Vs operates as a primary control signal that controls the load cycle. The voltage drops through the current sensing resistor Rs, which is a function of the output current, which functions as the second control signal. Finally, the signal V (psi) generated by the linear phase controller 1371, which is linearly proportional to the phase change between the AC components of the cell voltage and the withdrawn current of the electrochemical cell 1330, is the third signal of control. In particular, the signal V (psi) is used to alter the load cycle in response to changes in internal impedance over the battery service time, which affects the efficiency of the converter and the battery operating time. The pulse modulator increases the charging cycle if the continuous and / or instantaneous amplitude of Vs decreases, or if the voltage drops through the resistor increments Rs, and / or the instantaneous and / or continuous amplitude of the control signal V (psi) increases. The contribution of each variable is weighted according to an appropriate control algorithm. When the pulse modulator 1376 is turned on, its oscillator generates trapezoidal or square wave control pulses that preferably have a 50% duty cycle and a frequency on the scale of about 40 KHz to about 1 MHz, most preferably in scale from around 40 KHz to approximately 600KHZ, with around 600 KHz generally being the preferred scale. The pulse modulator alters 1376 alters the load control cycle of the output control signal for the M3 and M4 MOSFETs using an appropriate control algorithm. Generally, the control algorithm operates M3 and M4 with the same load cycle but the opposite phase. The MOSFETs M3 and M4 are preferably complementary high power transistors wherein M3 is preferably an N-channel MOSFET, and M4 is preferably a P-channel MOSFET. In essence, the configuration of the complete CD / CD converter 1350 is a converter. increase CD / CD with a synchronized rectifier in the output. In addition, the 1350 converter minimizes AC and DC losses using M3 MOSFET instead of a non-synchronous Schottky diode. Separate control signals trigger M3 and M4 power MOSFET. If the phase and / or load cycle between the control signals M3 and M4 is altered, the output voltage is altered through terminals 1320 and 1322 of container 1312. Pulse modulator 1376 can control the M3 and M3 MOSFETs. M4 based on one or more voltage control signals such as voltage Vs, voltage dropped through the resistor Rs, or the internal impedance of the electrochemical cell 1330. If the load current consumption is low, for example, pulse modulator 1376 generates a charge cycle of the CD / CD converter 1350 close to zero percent. If the load current consumption is high, however, pulse modulator 1376 generates a charge cycle of the CD / CD converter 1350 close to 100%. As the load current consumption varies between these two end points of the pulse modulator 1376, the charging cycle varies the CD / CD converter to be able to supply the current required by the load. Figure 14 compares discharge curves by way of example for a battery B1 that does not have a controller of the present invention, a battery B2 of the present invention having a discharge sub-controller where the converter operates in a continuous mode, and a battery B3 of the present invention, having a discharge sub-controller wherein the converter is turned on above the cut-off voltage of the battery for a typical electronic device for which that battery is designed. As shown in Figure 14, battery B1 that does not have a controller of the present invention will find in an electronic device having a cutoff voltage Ve in time ti. The battery discharge subcontroller B2, however, continuously increases the output voltage of the battery to a voltage level V2 during the battery service time. When the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell of the battery B2 drops to a voltage level Vd, the minimum operating voltage of the discharge sub-controller, the sub-controller of the battery B2 will turn off and the output voltage of the battery will drop to zero at time t2, ending the effective service time of battery B2. As shown in the graph of Figure 14, the effective time extension of the battery B2 having a sub-controller where the converter operates in a continuous mode is t2-t1. The battery controller B3, however, does not begin to increase the output voltage of the battery until the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell reaches a predetermined voltage level Vp3. The predetermined voltage level Vp3 is preferably in the scale between the nominal voltage level of the electrochemical cell and the highest cut-off voltage of the class of electronic devices for which the battery is designed. Preferably, the predetermined voltage level Vp3 is about 0.2 volts greater than the highest cutoff voltage, Ve, of the class of electronic devices to which the battery will operate. Most preferably, the predetermined voltage level Vp3 is about 0.15 volts more than the highest cutoff voltage, Ve, of the class of electronic devices on which the battery will operate. Still more preferably, the predetermined voltage level Vp3 is about 0.1 volts greater than the highest cut-off voltage, Ve, of the class of electronic devices for which the battery is designed, with approximately 0.05 volts more than Ve being the most preferred scale. When the cell voltage reaches the predetermined voltage level Vp3, the converter of the battery B3 begins to increase or stabilize the output voltage at a level of Vc +? V. The voltage level? V is illustrated in FIG. 14 and represents the voltage difference between the increased output voltage of the battery B3 and the cutoff voltage Ve. The voltage level? V is preferably on the scale of about 0 volts at approximately 0.4 volts, being approximately 0.2 volts more preferred. Battery B3 continues to provide an output until the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell drops to a voltage level Vd, the minimum operating voltage of the converter, the battery controller B3 will turn off. At this time, the battery output voltage drops to zero at time t3, ending the effective time of battery B3. As shown in the graph of Fig. 14, the effective service time extension of the battery B3 on the battery Bi that does not have a converter of the present invention is t3-t1. Figure 14 also shows that battery B3 will last longer than battery B2 when connected to the same electronic device. Because the B2 battery converter operates continuously, the internal losses of the converter consume some of the energy capacity of the electrochemical cell of the B2 battery, and, therefore, the cell voltage of the battery B2 will reach the minimum operating voltage of the converter Vd in a shorter time compared to the battery B3 where the controller is functional only for a portion of the discharge cycle. Therefore, optimizing the selection of the predetermined voltage Vp3 of battery B3 so close to the cutoff voltage of the electronic device being operated will result in more efficient use of the electrochemical cell and will result in a longer battery service time. dragged on. In this way, the predetermined voltage Vp3 of the battery B3 is preferably equal to or slightly greater than the cut-off voltage of the electronic or electrical device for which it is designed. For example, the predetermined voltage Vp3 may preferably be about 0.2 volts greater than the cut-off voltage. Most preferably, the predetermined voltage Vp3 can be about 0.15 volts greater than the cut-off voltage. Still most preferably, the predetermined voltage Vp3 may preferably be about 0.1 volts greater than the cut-off voltage, with about 0.05 volts more than the cut-off voltage being the most preferred scale. If the battery is designed as a universal battery for a variety of electronic devices, however, the predetermined voltage Vp3 is preferably selected to be equal to or slightly greater than the highest cutoff voltage of that group of electronic devices. For example, the predetermined voltage Vp3 will preferably be about 0.2 volts greater than the highest cut-off voltage of that group of electronic devices. Preferably, the predetermined voltage Vp3 will preferably be 0.15 volts greater than the highest cut-off voltage of that group of electronic devices. Still most preferably, the predetermined voltage Vp3 will preferably be about 0.1 volts greater than the highest cut-off voltage of that group of electronic devices, with the 0.05 volt scale being more than the highest cut-off voltage of that group of electronic devices. more preferred.

The graphs of Figure 14 also show that at lower operating voltage of the converter Vd, the longer the service time will be compared to the battery B1 that does not have a controller of the present invention. In addition, the greater the difference between the cutoff voltage of the electronic device Ve, and the minimum operating voltage of the converter, Vd, the controller of the present invention will provide a longer time extension of the battery due to the increase in cell voltage of the cell. the electrochemical cell. In addition, Figure 14 shows that the cutting of the device is no longer the limiting factor of the discharge of a primary or rechargeable electrochemical cell. As long as the controller can maintain the battery's output voltage over the cutoff voltage of the device, the battery's electrochemical cell will continue to discharge. In a primary battery, this allows the cell to discharge as completely as possible depending on the minimum operating voltage of the converter. In a rechargeable battery, however, the present invention allows for an optimal discharge that increases the service life of the rechargeable battery regardless of the cutoff voltage of the device with the condition that the converter is capable of operating at a cell voltage less than or equal to to the optimum discharge depth of the rechargeable electrochemical cell.

TABLE 2 Example of AA alkaline battery discharge with and without power controller (medium resistive load, R = 12 ohms) Table 2 compares the discharge data for an AA alkaline battery of the present invention having an integrated discharge sub-controller where the converter operates in a continuous mode and increases the cell voltage to an output voltage of about 1.6 volts with a typical AA alkaline battery that does not have a controller of the present invention. In this table, the data shows the output voltage, the energy consumed, and the percentage of remaining capacity (total capacity = 2400 mAh) for each hour when the batteries are connected to a medium resistive load of about 12 ohms, which is removed Approximately 125 mA on average, on battery operating time. As the table shows, the output voltage of the battery has a converter that remains constant at 1.6 volts for the battery's operating time, at the same time that the output voltage of the battery that does not have a controller decreases from voltage nominal battery on its operating time. Table 2 also shows that the battery of the present invention having an integrated controller provides two different advantages over the AA battery that does not have a controller. First, for a device that has a cut-off voltage of about 1 volt, the battery that has the integrated discharge sub-controller has an operating time of about 10 hours, while the battery without a controller will stop working on the device after a maximum of 8 hours when the output voltage drops below 1 volt. Therefore, in this example, the discharge sub-controller provides around 25% extension of operating time on the battery that does not have a controller. Second, the energy supplied to the load and the percentage of the estimated capacity of the battery that is used before the device is turned off is greater for the battery of the present invention having an integrated discharge sub-controller. Under constant current drain conditions, the battery without the controller of the present invention will have a shorter duration of time before the electronic device is turned off because as the battery output voltage decreases, the capacity of the cell to Supply current decreases proportionally. This will result in a greater advantage for the battery having the integrated discharge sub-controller. If the device has a cut-off voltage of about 1.1 volts, however, Table 2 shows that the AA battery of the present invention having an integrated discharge sub-controller operates more advantageously on the AA battery that does not have a controller. The battery that has an integrated discharge sub-controller will have an operating time of around 10 hours, while the battery without a controller will stop working on the device after a maximum of 6 hours when the output voltage drops below 1.1. volts. Therefore, in this example, the discharge sub-controller provides around 67% extension of operating time on the battery that does not have a controller. Additionally, the differences in energy supplied to the load and the percentage of the estimated capacity of the battery that is used before the device shuts down is greater than in the previous example. Again, under constant current drain conditions, the battery without the controller of the present invention will have a shorter time duration before the electronic device is turned off because the output voltage of this battery decreases, the capacity of the battery decreases. cell to supply current decreases proportionally. This will result in an even greater advantage for the battery having the integrated discharge sub-controller.

Charge Subcontroller The Charge Subcontroller can also extend the life cycle of a rechargeable battery of the present invention. The sub-controller can extend the life cycle of the battery by individually controlling the charging sequence for each individual electrochemical cell. Therefore, the load sub-controller can optimize the load of each cell based on the current feedback of that particular cell in order to maximize the number and efficiency of each load and unload cycle. The load sub-controller can, for example, control the load of each cell by directly monitoring the cell voltage and / or the internal impedance of each cell. This allows the sub-controller to control the charging cycle of each individual electrochemical cell of multiple batteries of a single cell or of one or more multiple cell batteries. The charge sub-controller can also extend the service life of a rechargeable battery that preferably does not discharge deeply, such as a lead-acid battery, charging the electrochemical cell during the "time out" of the discharge cycle, i.e., when the electrochemical cell is not in unloading mode. For example, the controller may allow the load sub-controller to load one or more of the individual cells during the "time out" of the download for those cells. If the "time out" is long enough with respect to the "time within" discharge, that is, when the particular electrochemical cell is actively discharging, the charge sub-controller will be able to maintain the cell in at least one nearby condition to the total load. If the charging cycle is sufficiently high and the device operates for a duration sufficient for the charge sub-controller to be unable to maintain the charge of the electrochemical cell above a predetermined voltage level or below a particular impedance level corresponding to the maximum cell discharge depth of that type or that particular electrochemical cell, the discharge sub-controller can terminate the cycle of discharge of the battery when the rechargeable electrochemical cell reaches the maximum desired discharge depth. The charge sub-controller can also prevent an overload by only charging the cell when the cell voltage is below a certain predetermined voltage level such as a nominal cell voltage, by another method to determine the end of a load cycle described in this application, or by other means known in the art. Therefore, the controller can optimize the service time of the rechargeable electrochemical cells by not allowing the cell to discharge beyond the optimum discharge depth during the discharge cycle and by optimizing the charging sequence during the charging cycle. Alternate power supplies for the charging cycle may include an external supply such as a power cable of a device or an internal supply such as another electrochemical cell in the device or packaged with the rechargeable electrochemical cell in a hybrid battery. A primary cell, for example, can be packaged in the device or together with a rechargeable electrochemical cell in a hybrid battery. A metal-air cell, such as a zinc-air cell that has a high energy density, but is only capable of providing relatively low current levels, provides a particularly advantageous alternate power supply that can be used to charge a Rechargeable electrochemical cell. Alternatively, an alternate power supply such as a fuel cell can be included in a hybrid battery to provide the charging source for the rechargeable electrochemical cell. In addition, the charge sub-controller also allows the use of a contacted charging system or a non-contact insulated charging system for charging a battery of the present invention. A preferred embodiment of the battery of the present invention may include an indication of total load to the user. The load sub-controller, for example, can provide a visible or audible indication to the user that the battery is fully charged. Alternatively, the sub-controller may provide a charging system or readable indication in the device so that the charging system or the device can also warn the user. Figure 15 shows a block diagram of a battery of the present invention that includes a charge sub-controller circuit 1504. The load sub-controller circuit 1504 is preferably integrated in the battery 1510 and is responsible for safely and efficiently controlling a signal of incoming energy from an external load source or circuit to be able to optimize the charge cycle of the rechargeable electrochemical cell 1530. The charge sub-controller circuit 1504 controls the incoming power signal from the external load source based on the control signals of input voltage received from the detector circuit 105 and / or feedback from its own set of internal detector circuits. For example, the load sub-controller 1504 can use the voltage control signal, V (psi), which defines the internal impedance of the electrochemical cell 1530. This control signal is generated by the linear phase controller 1571 and is described with with respect to Figure 13. Alternatively, the charge sub-controller can control the charge of the electrochemical cell 1530 by the cell voltage or the charging current, or by a combination of two or more of the internal impedance, the cell voltage and charge current. In addition, the physical conditions measured within the container 1512 of the battery 1510 such as hydrogen concentration, oxygen concentration, temperature and / or pressure can be used by the charge sub-controller to optimally charge the electrochemical cell 1530. When the voltage at the terminals 1520 and 1522 is higher than the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell 1530, the pulse modulator 1576 of the discharge sub-controller 1502 closes the M3 M3 channel MOSFET and opens the M4 channel MOSFET. The M3 MOSFET creates a current path from terminals 1520 and 1522 to charge electrochemical cell 1530, and MOSFET M4 prevents a short circuit between terminals 1520 and 1522. Impulse modulator 1576 can also turn off the polarized circuit to ground 1580 by sending a control signal of voltage to the synchronization generator 1587 of the polarized circuit to ground 1580. In the charge pump example of FIG. 9A, for example or, the synchronization generator 987 will open the switches S1 and S2, and close the switches S3 and S4, collapsing the virtual ground connection to the potential of the negative electrode 934 of the electrochemical cell 930. Alternatively, if the circuit is polarized to ground 1580 includes an internal controller such as a charge pump controller 1592 which operates as described with respect to the charge pump controller 992 of FIG. 9B, the internal controller can directly compare the voltage of the terminals 1520 and 1522 with the voltage of cell of the electrochemical cell 1530 and turn off the polarized circuit to ground 1580 if the voltage across the terminals 1520 and 1522 is greater than the cell voltage of the electrochemical cell 1530 directly controlling the synchronous generator 1587. This will collapse the output of virtual ground connection to the negative electrode 1534 potential of the electrochemical cell 1530. In a preferred embodiment of the According to the invention, the charge sub-controller circuit 1504 uses the internal impedance information to determine the most efficient CD signal profile, including amplitude, frequency, increasing and decreasing edges, etc. The sub-controller thus minimizes the static and dynamic load losses of the electrochemical cell and provides the fastest possible charge speed control for the particular electrochemical cell. further, physical condition sensors such as concentration of hydrogen and oxygen, temperature, pressure, etc., can provide the ability to further optimize loading conditions. When the charge sub-controller 1504 determines that the electrochemical cell has been fully charged, the charge sub-controller opens M-channel MOSFET M3. This disconnects electrochemical cell 1530 from terminals 1520 and 1522 of container 1512 and, therefore, of the external load source or circuit. The use of the internal impedance to control the charge of the electrochemical cell 1530 allows charge optimization based on the electroimpedance conditions, and true ionic impedance of the electrochemical cell 1530. Placing a charge sub-controller 1504 in each container 1512 provides greater control of the individual 1530 electrochemical cells of the multiple batteries of a single cell or of a multiple cell battery because the sub-controllers individually control the load of each cell. The cells 1530 can be loaded in a series and / or parallel configuration with other electrochemical cells 1530. If the cells are loaded in series, the load sub-controller 1504 can include a high impedance path between the terminals so that when the electrochemical cell 1530 is fully charged, the sub-controller 1504 can divert the load current to the other cells connected in series with that cell 1530. If the cells are connected in parallel, however, the load sub-controller 1504 can disconnect the electrochemical cell 1504 from the current of cargo. If a controller is placed in each electrochemical cell of a multi-cell battery, each cell is allowed to be charged by the same load current, which is controlled by individual controllers in each cell to optimally charge that cell, regardless of the electrochemistry of that cell. cell. This load sub-controller can also load multiple cells of a hybrid battery even if the cells have different nominal voltages. Figure 16 shows an embodiment of a charge sub-controller circuit 1504 that can be used in a battery of the present invention as shown in Figure 15. In this embodiment, the load sub-controller circuit 1604 includes a universal charging circuit 1677, a circuit breakdown 1678, and a load control state machine 1679. The load control state machine 1679 uses break circuit 1678 to create a test current, Is, and the test voltage, Vs, at electrodes 1532 and 1534 of the electrochemical cell 1530. As described with reference to FIG. 13, the linear phase controller 1571 detects the phase change between the test current, Is, and the test voltage, Vs. The rupture circuit 1678 preferably it includes a burst actuator 1668 and a MOSFET M1 of channel n. The breaker actuator 1668 produces a high frequency control pulse signal, which drives the gate of the MOSFET M1. The test current, Is, flows through the MOSFET M1, and the linear phase controller 1571 detects the phase change angle (?) Between the test current, Is, and the test voltage, Vs. The linear controller of phase 1571 outputs the voltage control signal V (ps), which is linearly proportional to the phase change between the AC components of the cell voltage and the withdrawn current of the electrochemical cell 1530, to the state machine of load control 1679. The 1694 load control state machine uses this control signal from the linear phase controller 1571 to control the AC load signal profile. When the electrochemical cell 1530 is fully charged, the pulse modulator 1576 disconnects the MOSFET M3, which in turn disconnects the electrochemical cell 1530 from the terminals 1520 and 1522 of the container 1512. Figure 17 shows an alternative mode of the charge sub-controller circuit shown in Figure 15 which allows an isolated charge of the electrochemical cell 1530 without any mechanical contact between the external charging circuit and the battery 1510 of the present invention. In this modality, the load sub-controller circuit 1704 includes a coil that acts as the secondary coil of a transformer for charging the electrochemical cell 1530. The external load source includes a primary coil of the transformer that can be coupled in a wireless connection through air to the secondary coil of the charging sub-controller circuit 1704. A battery of the present invention, for example, may comprise a coil of wire printed on the label of the battery 1510 or may be comprised within the container, or the battery to form the secondary coil of the battery. load transformer. The charging circuit of this mode preferably operates at a frequency in the range of about 20 KHz to about 100 KHz, most preferably in the range of about 40 KHz to 60 KHz, with about 50 KHz being the most preferred scale. The signal from the external load source activates the secondary coil 1798 of the charge sub-controller circuit 1704 through the primary coil of the external load source. The 1794 load control state machine controls the universal load circuit 1777 to optimize the charging cycle of the 1530 rechargeable electrochemical cell. If the external load circuit operates at a frequency of around 50 KHz, the transformer will have a scale sufficient to allow charging of an electrochemical cell between about 2.54 to about 7.64 centimeters from the battery of the present invention, and will therefore allow an in-situ charge of the electrochemical cell without removing the battery from the electrical or electronic device. This can provide a different benefit on the batteries that must be removed from a device. A battery in a surgically implanted device such as a pacemaker, for example, can be charged without surgically removing the patient's battery.

Emergency Disconnect Subcontroller The controller can also perform an emergency disconnect function that disconnects the electrochemical cell from the terminals of the battery container in the event that one or more safety related conditions are detected. The controller may include an independent emergency disconnect sub-controller that detects unsafe conditions such as short circuit, reverse polarity, overload, over-discharge, high temperature, pressure or hydrogen concentration, and electronically disconnects the electrochemical cell from the terminals of the battery. Alternatively, the emergency disconnect function can be carried out by the circuit set of the discharge sub-controller and / or the load sub-controller, or the controller can include separate detector circuitry which sends signals to the discharge sub-controller and / or charge sub-controller to disconnect the electrochemical cell from the terminals of the battery.

Claims (10)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A useful rechargeable battery with a device having a cut-off voltage and an external charger that supplies a charging current, the rechargeable battery characterized in that it comprises: a) a container having a positive terminal and a negative terminal; b) a rechargeable electrochemical cell disposed within said container, said cell having a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a cell voltage measured along said positive electrode and said negative electrode of said cell, and a nominal voltage; and characterized by c) an electrically connected controller between said electrodes of said cell and said terminals of said container to create an output voltage measured along said positive terminal and said negative terminal of said container, the controller is adapted to terminate a discharge cycle of said cell by electronically disconnecting said electrodes from said cell from said terminals of said container, preferably disconnecting said electrodes from said terminals when the cell voltage drops to a predetermined voltage level during said discharge cycle, and to control the current charging the external charging circuit to charge said cell during a charging cycle, preferably electronically disconnecting said electrodes from said cell of the charging current of the external charging circuit when said controller determines that said cell is charged at 100% capacity of said cell, said cont preferably includes a converter adapted to convert said cell voltage to said output voltage during a battery discharge cycle and to convert a charging current from an external charger to a cell charging current during a charging cycle, very preferably said controller includes a bidirectional converter, said bidirectional converter is adapted to be controlled by said controller to convert said cell voltage to said output voltage during said discharge cycle and to convert the charging current of the external charger to a charging current of a cell during a loading cycle; wherein the rechargeable battery is selected from a single-cell battery, a single-cell universal battery, a multiple-cell battery and a hybrid multi-cell battery.

2. The rechargeable battery according to claim 1, further characterized in that said rechargeable battery is adapted to connect electrically as one of a whole number of batteries in series with the device, said output voltage is greater than or equal to the cutoff voltage of the device divided by said whole number of batteries, and / or wherein said rechargeable battery is a multiple cell battery, said battery further comprises a positive output terminal and a negative output terminal; said container, said cell and said controller form a first cell unit; said first cell unit being one of a whole number of cell units electrically connected in series between said positive output terminal and said negative output terminal, said output voltage being greater than or equal to the cutoff voltage of the device divided by said number of cell units.

3. The rechargeable battery according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that said cell additionally comprises an internal impedance, said controller being adapted to electronically disconnect said electrodes from said cell from said terminals of said container when said cell is discharged to said cell. a predetermined discharge depth as indicated by said internal impedance during said discharge cycle.

4. The rechargeable battery according to any of claims 1-3, further characterized in that said controller is adapted to receive the charging current of the external charger from said terminals of said container, or wherein said controller includes a coil element that is adapted to electromagnetically couple to the external charger during said charging cycle, said controller is adapted to receive the charging current of the external charger from said coil member.

5. The rechargeable battery according to any of claims 1-4, further characterized in that said controller determines a cell load level using one or more conditions of the selected group of said cell voltage, an internal impedance of said cell, a concentration of hydrogen gas in said cell, a temperature of said cell, and a gas pressure in said cell.

6. A remote battery charging system characterized in that it comprises: a) an external charger that supplies a charging current, said external charger comprises a primary coil; and b) a rechargeable battery comprising: (i) a container having a positive terminal and a negative terminal; (ii) an electrochemical cell disposed within said container, said cell having a positive electrode electrically connected to said positive terminal of said container, a negative electrode electrically connected to said negative terminal of said container, a cell voltage measured throughout said positive electrode and said negative electrode of said cell, and a nominal voltage; and (iii) an electrically connected controller between said positive and negative electrodes of said cell, said controller includes a secondary coil that is adapted to electromagnetically couple with said primary coil of said external charger during a charging cycle, said secondary coil receives said charging current of said external charger, and said controller controls said charging current of said external charger to a cell charging current during said charging cycle.

7. The remote battery charging system according to claim 6, further characterized in that said controller is adapted to be electrically connected between said electrodes of said cell and said terminals of said container to create an output voltage measured as length of said positive terminal and said negative terminal of said container.

8. The remote battery charging system according to claim 6 or 7, further characterized in that said controller is adapted to extend the service time of said battery electronically disconnected said electrodes of said cell from said terminals of said container during a discharge cycle.

9. The remote battery charging system according to any of claims 6-8, further characterized in that said controller comprises a bidirectional converter that converts said charging current from said external charger to a cell charging current during said cycle. of charge, and converts said cell voltage to said output voltage during said discharge cycle.

10. A method for prolonging the service time of a rechargeable battery, said method characterized in that it consists in the steps of: a) providing a rechargeable battery that includes: (i) a container that has a positive terminal and a negative terminal; (ii) a rechargeable electrochemical cell disposed within said container, said cell having a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a cell voltage measured along said positive electrode and said negative electrode of said cell, and a nominal voltage; (iii) an electrically connected controller between said electrodes of said cell and said terminals of said container to create an output voltage measured along said positive terminal and said negative terminal of said container; b) electrically connecting said battery to a device having a cut-off voltage; and c) terminating a discharge cycle of said battery by electronically disconnecting said electrodes from said cell from said terminals of said container when a depth of discharge of said battery reaches a predetermined discharge level, preferably said predetermined discharge level is an optimum discharge depth. , very preferably said optimum discharge level is less than said cutoff voltage of said device; wherein preferably the method also includes the steps of: d) receiving a charge current; e) controlling said load current to charge said cell.