Patent ID: 9465080
Filing Date: 2016-10-11
CPC Classification: G01R

Claim Text:
1. A method, comprising: measuring a terminal current and a terminal voltage of a group of cells contained in a battery, using a monitoring device; determining an excitation direction of the group of cells based on at least one of the terminal current and the terminal voltage; identifying a first change in the excitation direction of the group of cells; determining a first set of characteristics of the group of cells corresponding to the first change, wherein the first set of characteristics comprises a first voltage and a first current; identifying a second change in the excitation direction of the group of cells, wherein the second change in the excitation direction is opposite to the first change in the excitation direction; determining a second set of characteristics of the group of cells corresponding to the second change, wherein the second set of characteristics comprises a second voltage and a second current; determining a number of functional cells from the group of cells based on the first voltage, the first current, the second voltage and the second current; calculating a number of non-functional cells from the group of cells, based on the determined number of functional cells; and disconnecting the battery from an associated electrical load or from a power source that recharges the battery if the number of non-functional cells is greater than a fault threshold value.