An electrical apparatus includes first and second battery interfaces disposed on a housing for electrically and mechanically connecting first and second battery packs in series. A controller is disposed within the housing and includes an apparatus microprocessor that receives first and second communication signals respectively outputted from respective microprocessors of the first and second battery packs. A first signal communication path communicates the first communication signal from the first battery pack microprocessor to the apparatus microprocessor by shifting a first voltage range of the first communication signal to a second voltage range that is suitable for inputting into the apparatus microprocessor. A second signal communication path communicates a third communication signal from the apparatus microprocessor to the first battery pack microprocessor by shifting the second voltage range of the third communication signal to a first voltage range that is suitable for inputting into the first battery pack microprocessor.

A battery pack and charger platform including a voltage coupling circuit comprising an input that receives an input voltage and an output that sends an output voltage, a voltage monitoring circuit having an input coupled to the voltage coupling circuit output and an output, and a power source having an input coupled to the voltage monitoring circuit output, the power source input receives an input voltage representative of a charge instruction.

A controller for a hybrid vehicle performs charging control when a shift range of the hybrid vehicle is a first range, and does not perform the charging control when the shift range of the hybrid vehicle is a second range, the charging control being control of charging a power storage device with electric power generated by a generator driven by an engine. The controller records diagnosis information when an SOC of the power storage device is equal to or lower than a first threshold value and the shift range of the hybrid vehicle is the first range, and does not record the diagnosis information when the SOC of the power storage device is equal to or lower than the first threshold value and the shift range of the hybrid vehicle is the second range.

A power management system is provided to manage internal and external power sources for an embedded electronic device. The power management system includes an internal power source and an external power source. The power management system determines when to power the internal embedded electronic device or devices from either the internal or external power source, when to recharge the internal power source, when to shut down the internal embedded electronic device so as not to over discharge and damage the internal power source when external power is not available.

In a method for operating an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle, including an electric traction drive device for driving vehicle, a control device for controlling the driving, a first energy storage device, for supplying the control device using a first DC voltage, a second energy storage device, for supplying the traction drive device using a second DC voltage, and an energy supply unit for providing an output DC voltage, the first energy storage device is connected to the second energy storage device via a converter device, the first energy storage device is connected to the energy supply unit, the converter device converts the first DC voltage into the second DC voltage, and a power flow from the second energy storage device to the first energy storage device is prevented.

A charge control system includes a lithium battery configured to provide lithium battery power to a set of electrical loads, a user signaling device, and control circuitry coupled with the lithium battery and the user signaling device. The control circuitry is operative to: (A) detect availability of charge from an external charger, (B) in response to detection of the availability of charge from the external charger and prior to controlling the external charger to adjust the amount of charge stored by the lithium battery, perform a set of pre-charging assessment operations, and (C) based on the set of pre-charging assessment operations, provide a user notification via the user signaling device, the user notification indicating whether the lithium battery is properly setup for charge adjustment. When the user signaling device generates the user notification, the user is informed that the utility vehicle is properly connected to the external charger.

A nitride-based bidirectional switching device is provided for working with a battery protection controller having a power input terminal, a discharge over-current protection (DO) terminal, a charge over-current protection (CO) terminal, a voltage monitoring (VM) terminal and a ground terminal. The nitride-based bidirectional switching device comprises a nitride-based bidirectional switching element and an adaption module configured for receiving a DO signal and a CO signal from the battery protection controller and generating a main control signal for controlling the bidirectional switching element. By implementing the adaption circuit, the nitride-based bidirectional switching element can work with conventional battery protection controller for battery charging and discharging management. Therefore, a nitride-based battery management system can be realized with higher operation frequency as well as a more compact size.

The disclosure provides an Internet of things device and a battery power supply circuit thereof. A voltage of a battery is compared with a predetermined over-discharge voltage to generate a comparison signal. A battery protection circuit serves as a power supply path from the battery to a load and determines whether to cut off the power supply path according to the comparison signal. The battery protection circuit cuts off the power supply path when the voltage of the battery decreases from a value greater than the predetermined over-discharge voltage to a value less than the predetermined over-discharge voltage, but does not turn on the power supply path when the voltage of the battery increases from a value less than the predetermined over-discharge voltage to a value greater than the predetermined over-discharge voltage.

Power supply system mounted in electric vehicle includes voltage measurement unit that measures a voltage of each of a plurality of cells to ensure both safety of an electric vehicle and convenience of a user. Current measurement unit therein measures a current flowing through the plurality of cells. Temperature measurement unit therein measures a temperature of the plurality of cells. Controller therein determines a current limit value defining an upper limit of a current for suppressing cell deterioration and ensuring safety based on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of each of the plurality of cells measured by voltage measurement unit, current measurement unit, and temperature measurement unit respectively, and that notifies a higher-level controller in electric vehicle of the determined current limit value.

This document describes techniques and systems that enable battery state estimation. The techniques and systems may be used to determine a shut-down voltage for a battery of an electronic device. Additionally or alternatively, the techniques and systems may be used to determine a state-of-charge of the battery, which may be determined relative to the shut-down voltage. The techniques and systems use current or expected conditions at the battery to estimate the battery state. These techniques can allow the electronic device to dynamically set a shut-down voltage, rather than using a fixed shut-down voltage over the life of the electronic device. The dynamically set shut-down voltage can provide a low margin, and therefore a greater portion of battery capacity, when operating in good conditions and provide a relatively large margin that is sufficient for poor conditions.