{
  "patent_number": "US 10186887",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Batteries Charge Fast in the Cold Without Damage",
  "original_title": "Systems and methods for fast charging batteries at low temperatures",
  "summary": "This patent describes a smart battery system that uses an internal heater to warm itself up for quick, safe charging, even when it's freezing outside.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a system for fast charging batteries, especially in cold environments, without damaging them. It uses a special \"ohmically modulated battery\" (Claim 1) which has an internal heating element, called a \"resistor sheet\" (Claim 1), built right into or between its cells. The system includes a \"temperature sensor\" (Claim 1) that constantly checks the battery's temperature. A \"controller\" (Claim 1) then uses this temperature information to decide whether to charge the battery normally through its \"low-resistance terminal\" or to activate the internal heater by routing current through a \"high-resistance terminal\" (Claim 1). For example, if the temperature sensor detects the battery is too cold, the controller switches to the high-resistance terminal, which warms the battery using the resistor sheet before or during charging, allowing for faster and safer charging.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Charging systems that do not use a battery with a dedicated \"high-resistance terminal\" and an internal \"resistor sheet\" for heating.",
    "Battery heating methods that rely solely on external heaters or ambient temperature control, rather than an internal, switchable resistor.",
    "Charging protocols that do not dynamically switch between a low-resistance path and a high-resistance path based on temperature input.",
    "Batteries without the specific internal resistor sheet configuration, where one tab connects to the high-resistance terminal and the other to a low-resistance terminal (Claim 1).",
    "Systems where the controller does not determine the charging path based on temperature sensor input."
  ],
  "filed": "2015-07-27",
  "granted": "2019-01-22",
  "expires": "2035-07-27",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "EC Power",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/ec-power",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Chao-Yang Wang",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/chao-yang-wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yan Ji",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/yan-ji"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 11,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "automotive",
    "telecommunications",
    "energy",
    "semiconductors",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "Rechargeable batteries, charging methods and systems for fast charging of the battery under all environmental temperatures and without causing battery degradation are disclosed. A charging control system for charging a rechargeable battery can include an ohmically modulated battery, a temperature sensor configured to monitor a temperature of the battery: a switch that can electrically engage the battery to a source of electrical current through either a low-resistance terminal or a high-resistance terminal of the battery: and a controller electrically connected to the temperature sensor and the switch and that can receive input from the temperature sensor and is programmed to determine whether to electrically engage the battery to the source of electrical current through either the low-resistance terminal or the high-resistance terminal through the switch based on input from the temperature sensor.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10186887/systems-and-methods-for-fast-charging-batteries-at-low-temperatures",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10186887/systems-and-methods-for-fast-charging-batteries-at-low-temperatures/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US10186887",
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}