Patent Description:
Recently, as the number of people who enjoy camping increases, the demand for a power bank is increasing to use an electronic device in outdoor environments where an electric outlet is not available. In addition, an auxiliary battery is widely used to charge and use various electronic devices including a mobile phone and a notebook computer.

In order to prevent a sudden unusable situation from occurring due to battery exhaustion of the electronic device in outdoor environments, it is important to predict and use how much the power bank or auxiliary battery can charge the electronic device that a charging counterpart.

However, in the case of most current power banks and auxiliary batteries, only the remaining capacity information of the power bank or auxiliary battery is provided through an external LED, and information on how far the charging target (electronic device) can be charged with the current power of the power bank or auxiliary battery is not provided. Accordingly, the user is using the power bank and the auxiliary battery depending on empirical rough information (LED) without knowing exact information about chargeable capacity of the charging counterpart and accordingly, a problem accompanied by inconvenience and anxiety occurs in the process of using it.

As such prior art, there is a following patent document.

Patent literature <NUM>: <CIT>. <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> each relate to the charging of a device using an external battery pack.

The present invention is intended to solve the problems described above, and is to provide information on how far the charging counterpart can be charged through an external display of the power bank (auxiliary battery) based on the remaining capacity of the power bank (auxiliary battery) and the current capacity of the charging counterpart after checking the capacity information through communication between the power bank (auxiliary battery) and the charging counterpart.

The present invention provides a power bank according to claim <NUM>.

In addition, the present invention provides a method according to claim <NUM>.

In this case, the chargeable range determination step may be configured to include a capacity comparison step of comparing the sum capacity of the remaining capacity of the power bank calculated in the remaining capacity information calculation step and the measured capacity of the battery pack received in the measured capacity information receiving step with the buffer capacity of the battery pack, and a chargeable capacity derivation step of deriving the chargeable capacity of the battery pack according to the comparison result in the capacity comparison step.

In this case, in the chargeable capacity derivation step, when the sum capacity of the remaining capacity of the power bank and the measured capacity of the battery pack is equal to or greater than the buffer capacity of the battery pack as the result of the comparison in the capacity comparison step, the chargeable capacity of the battery pack is derived as <NUM>%, and when the sum capacity of the remaining capacity of the power bank and the measured capacity of the battery pack is less than the buffer capacity of the battery pack as the result of the comparison of the capacity comparison step, an SOC value corresponding to the sum capacity is extracted from the capacity and SOC table, in which a capacity for each OCV and an SOC (%) are recorded, obtained from the battery pack and the extracted SOC value (%) is derived as the chargeable capacity of the battery pack.

The present invention can improve user convenience by providing information on the chargeable capacity of the charging target (battery pack) to the external display of the power bank (auxiliary battery) based on the remaining capacity of the power bank after checking the capacity information through communication between the power bank and the charging target.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily carry out the present invention. In order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and similar reference numerals are assigned to similar parts throughout the specification.

<FIG> is a diagram schematically illustrating a power bank having a chargeable capacity providing function according to the present invention and a battery pack charging system including the same.

Referring to <FIG>, the battery pack charging system of the present invention is configured to include a power bank <NUM> and a battery pack <NUM> charged by receiving charging power from the power bank <NUM>.

The battery pack <NUM> is a configuration that is charged by receiving charging power from the power bank <NUM> through a charging terminal (not illustrated and functions as a power driving source for an electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone, a laptop, etc.) in which the battery pack <NUM> is mounted.

The battery pack <NUM> of the present invention may be configured to include the following detailed configurations.

The first communication unit <NUM> is a configuration for mutual data communication with the power bank (<NUM>). More specifically, it is communicatively connected to a second communication unit <NUM> of the power bank <NUM> to be described later. The data communication connection may be made in a wired or wireless connection method.

The capacity information calculation unit <NUM> measures an open circuit voltage (OCV, open circuit voltage) value of the battery pack <NUM>, and calculates a measured capacity by using the measured OCV value.

A known technique is used in calculating the measured capacity according to the OCV measured value.

The information transmitting unit <NUM> is a configuration that transmits the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> calculated by the capacity information calculating unit <NUM>, a capacity, and an SOC table stored in a storage unit <NUM> to be described later to the power bank <NUM> through the first communication unit <NUM>.

The storage unit <NUM> is a configuration that stores a capacity and SOC table in which a capacity for each open circuit voltage (OCV) and a state of charge (SOC, %) corresponding thereto is recorded, prepared in advance through an experiment.

The capacity and SOC table may be, for example, in the form of the table shown in <FIG>.

The power bank or auxiliary battery <NUM> is a device for charging a connected electronic device (e.g., the mobile phone, laptop, etc.) (not illustrated) by applying power stored in a battery provided therein to the battery pack <NUM> built in the connected electronic device.

The power bank <NUM> of the present invention is configured to receive capacity information of the battery pack <NUM> through a communication connection with the battery pack <NUM>, and provide information on a chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM> based on the received capacity information of the battery pack <NUM> and a remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM>.

Such a power bank <NUM> includes a power bank battery, and may be configured to further include the following detailed configuration.

The second communication unit <NUM> is a configuration for mutual data communication with the charging target battery pack <NUM> to be charged. More specifically, it is communicatively connected to the first communication unit <NUM> of the battery pack <NUM> described above. The data communication connection may be made in a wired or wireless connection method.

The remaining capacity calculation unit <NUM> is a configuration that calculates a remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM>, specifically, the remaining capacity of a power bank battery (not illustrated) built in the power bank <NUM>.

A known technique is used in calculating the remaining capacity.

The information receiving unit <NUM> is a configuration that receives the measured capacity information of the battery pack <NUM> and the capacity SOC table from the battery pack <NUM> through the second communication unit <NUM>.

The chargeable range determination unit is a configuration that compares a sum capacity of the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> received by the information receiving unit <NUM> and the remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM> calculated by the remaining capacity calculation unit <NUM> with a buffer capacity of the battery pack <NUM> to determine a chargeable range of the battery pack <NUM> with the power of the power bank <NUM> according to the comparison result.

The chargeable range determination unit <NUM> may be configured to include the following detailed configuration.

The capacity comparison unit <NUM> is a configuration that compares the sum capacity of the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> received by the information receiving unit <NUM> and the remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM> calculated by the remaining capacity calculation unit <NUM> with the buffer capacity of the battery pack <NUM>.

The chargeable capacity derivation unit <NUM> is a configuration that derives the chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM> with the power of the power bank <NUM> according to the comparison result of the capacity comparison unit <NUM>.

Specifically, as a result of the comparison, when the sum capacity is equal to or greater than the buffer capacity of the battery pack <NUM>, the chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM> may be derived as <NUM>%.

On the other hand, as a result of the comparison, when the sum capacity is less than the buffer capacity of the battery pack <NUM>, an SOC value corresponding to the sum capacity may be extracted from the capacity and SOC table in which the capacity for each OCV from the battery pack <NUM> and the SOC (%) is recorded from the battery pack <NUM>, and the extracted SOC value (%) may be derived as the chargeable capacity of the battery pack.

For example, when described with reference to the table of <FIG>, if the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> is <NUM> Ah and that of the power bank <NUM> is <NUM> Ah, the sum capacity of the capacity of the battery pack and the capacity of the power bank is <NUM> Ah. In this case, since the sum capacity is less than the buffer capacity <NUM> Ah of the battery pack, <NUM>%, which is an SOC value corresponding to <NUM> Ah, is derived from the capacity and SOC table as shown in the table of <FIG>, and this is derived as the chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM>.

The display unit <NUM> is a configuration that displays the chargeable range of the battery pack <NUM> determined by the chargeable range determination unit <NUM> so that the user can check the chargeable range.

More specifically, when the chargeable capacity derived from the chargeable capacity derivation unit <NUM> of the chargeable range determination unit <NUM> is <NUM>%, the display unit displays it externally. The display unit of the present invention may include a first display unit displaying the remaining capacity of the power bank and a second display unit that numerically displays how much the battery pack <NUM>, that is, a counterpart to be charged, can be charged.

Such configurations of the power bank <NUM> may be implemented in a battery management system (BMS) of the power bank <NUM>.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a method of charging the battery pack with the power bank having the function of providing a chargeable range of the battery pack according to the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the method of the present invention may be configured to include the following steps.

The communication connection step S100 is a step of connecting data communication between the power bank or the auxiliary battery <NUM> and the battery pack <NUM> charged by receiving charging power from the power bank <NUM>.

The data communication connection may be made in a wired or wireless connection method.

The capacity and SOC table obtaining step S200 is a step of obtaining, by the power bank <NUM>, a capacity and SOC table in which a capacity for each open circuit voltage (OCV) and SOC (%) are recorded from the battery pack <NUM> which is communicatively connected in the communication connection step S100.

Here, the capacity and SOC table may be, for example, in the form of a table as shown in <FIG>.

The measured capacity information receiving step S300 is a step of receiving, by the power bank <NUM>, a measured capacity according to an OCV measurement value of the battery pack <NUM> from the battery pack which is communicatively connected.

Here, in calculating the measured capacity by the battery pack <NUM>, the open circuit voltage (OCV) value of the battery pack <NUM> is measured and the measured capacity is calculated using the measured OCV value.

The remaining capacity information calculation step S400 is a step of measuring/calculating the remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM>. More specifically, the remaining capacity of the battery (not illustrated) built in the power bank <NUM> is calculated.

The chargeable range determination step S500 is a step of comparing, by the power bank <NUM>, a sum capacity of the calculated remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM> and the measured capacity received from the battery pack <NUM> with a buffer capacity of the battery pack <NUM> to determine a chargeable range of the battery pack with the power of the power bank <NUM> according to the comparison result.

This chargeable range determination step (S500) may be configured to include the following detailed steps.

The capacity comparison step S510 is a step of comparing the sum of the remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM> calculated in the remaining capacity information calculation step S400 and the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> received in the measured capacity information receiving step S300 with the buffer capacity of the battery pack <NUM>.

In the chargeable capacity derivation step S520, the chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM> is derived with the power of the power bank <NUM> according to the comparison result of the capacity comparison step S510.

Specifically, when the sum of the remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM> and the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> is equal to or greater than the buffer capacity of the battery pack as the result of the comparison in the capacity comparison step S510, the chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM> may be derived as <NUM>%.

On the other hand, when the sum capacity of the remaining capacity of the power bank <NUM> and the measured capacity of the battery pack <NUM> is less than the buffer capacity of the battery pack as the result of the comparison of the capacity comparison step S510, an SOC value corresponding to the sum capacity may be extracted from the capacity and SOC table, in which the capacity for each OCV and the SOC (%) are recorded, obtained from the battery pack <NUM>, and the extracted SOC value (%) may be derived as the chargeable capacity of the battery pack <NUM>.

The information display step S600 is a step of displaying the chargeable capacity value (%) derived in the chargeable capacity derivation step S520 of the chargeable range determination step S500 on an external display <NUM> provided in the power bank <NUM>.

In this way, information on how far the battery pack can be charged based the remaining capacity of the power bank and the measured capacity of the battery pack through communication between the power bank (auxiliary battery) and the battery pack built into the charging counterpart (electronic device) is displayed and provided to the user, thereby capable of increasing convenience and satisfaction with use of the user.

Meanwhile, although the technical idea of the present invention has been described in detail according to the above embodiments, it should be noted that the above embodiments are for description and not for limitation. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that various embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention.

Claim 1:
A power bank (<NUM>) comprising:
a power bank battery;
a communication unit (<NUM>) connectable to a charging target battery pack to be charged through wired/wireless communication;
a remaining capacity calculation unit (<NUM>) that is configured to calculate a remaining capacity of the power bank battery;
an information receiving unit (<NUM>) that is configured to receive measured capacity information of the charging target battery pack and a capacity and state of charge, SOC, table from the charging target battery pack through the communication unit (<NUM>);
a chargeable range determination unit (<NUM>) that is configured to compare a sum capacity of the measured capacity of the charging target battery pack received by the information receiving unit (<NUM>) and the remaining capacity of the power bank calculated by the remaining capacity calculation unit (<NUM>) with a buffer capacity of the charging target battery pack to determine a chargeable range of the charging target battery pack according to the comparison result; the buffer capacity of the charging target battery pack being the capacity corresponding to <NUM>% SOC in the capacity and state of charge, SOC, table; and
a display unit (<NUM>) that is configured to externally display the chargeable range of the charging target battery pack determined by the chargeable range determination unit.