Patent ID: 6828914
Filing Date: 2004-12-07
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
A method for in-use unambiguously determining the near-end-of-life state of a combustion engine battery, the combustion engine battery providing electrical power for cranking a crankshaft for starting the combustion engine and is automatically recharged by a charging system of the combustion engine following engine starting, the method comprising the steps of:(a) counting a first number of occurrences of low cranking strength exhibited by the battery, for a plurality of engine startings, via operative connection of a first multi-functional module, operating with a first set of low cranking strength criteria, to a logic function linking group, said first set of low cranking strength criteria is based on using value of a first reference voltage; (b) substantially simultaneous to step (a), counting a second number of said occurrences of low cranking strength exhibited by the battery, for same said plurality of engine startings of step (a), via operative connection of a second multi-functional module, operating with a second set of low cranking strength criteria, to said logic function linking group, said second multi-functional module is operatively connected in parallel to said first multi-functional module, said second set of low cranking strength criteria is based on using value of a second reference voltage, whereby said value of said second reference voltage is different from said value of said first reference voltage; (c) monitoring extent to which the battery was recharged, in terms of voltage supplied, by the charging system of the combustion engine during previous operation of the combustion engine, via additional operative parallel connection of a third multi-functional module to said logic function linking group operative with said first and said second multi-functional modules, during each said engine starting; and (d) unambiguously determining a single logically correct specific case, from a plurality of different logically correct specific cases, associated with the combustion engine battery in, or not in, the near-end-of-life state, by said logic function linking group performing logic operations and making decisions using simultaneously received output values of said first, said second, and said third, multi-functional modules, during each said engine starting.