United States Patent and Trademark Office >>
Patent for method and device for fast-charging of rechargeable batteries granted to StoreDot
Lithium-ion batteries currently having the highest energy density of rechargeable batteries available, typically suffer from a low power by virtue of reversible Coulombic reactions occurring at both electrodes, involving charge transfer and ion diffusion in bulk electrode materials.
Since both diffusion and charge transfer are slow processes, power delivery as well as the recharge time of lithium-ion batteries is kinetically limited. As a result, batteries have a low power density, and lose their ability to retain energy throughout their lifetime due to material degradation.
The present invention relates to a method and device for fast-charging of a lithium-ion battery, including: continuously monitoring a state of charge (SOC) of the lithium-ion battery, during a normal mode of operation and upon detecting that the battery is at the predetermined low charge level, discontinuing the discharge.
