1. A system for accurately estimating a run time of a battery utilized by an electronic device, the system comprising:
a voltage capture circuit, said voltage capture circuit configured to measure a voltage of said battery during a sleep mode;
a coulomb counting circuit, said coulomb counting circuit configured to measure a charge of said battery.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said voltage capture circuit is further configured to measure an open-circuit voltage of said battery.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said voltage capture circuit is further configured to store said open-circuit voltage for utilization after said sleep mode.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said voltage capture circuit comprises a sample-and-hold circuit.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said voltage capture circuit comprises an analog-to-digital converter.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said voltage capture circuit is configured to provide a voltage capture circuit output to a microprocessor of said electronic device.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said coulomb counting circuit comprises an analog-to-digital converter.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said analog-to-digital converter comprises a sigma-delta converter.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said coulomb counting circuit comprises a comb filter.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein said coulomb counting circuit comprises a digital accumulator.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein said coulomb counting circuit is configured to provide a coulomb counting circuit output to a microprocessor of said electronic device.
12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a current sensor configured to provide a current signal to said coulomb counting circuit.
13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a low-pass filter configured to filter said current signal.
14. A system for accurately estimating a run time of a battery utilized by an electronic device, the system comprising:
a voltage capture circuit, said voltage capture circuit configured to measure a an open circuit voltage of said battery during a sleep mode;
a coulomb counting circuit, said coulomb counting circuit configured to measure a charge of said battery during said sleep mode.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein said voltage capture circuit is further configured to store said open-circuit voltage for utilization after said sleep mode.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein said voltage capture circuit comprises a sample-and-hold circuit.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein said voltage capture circuit comprises an analog-to-digital converter.
18. The system of claim 14, wherein said coulomb counting circuit comprises a sigma-delta converter.
19. The system of claim 14, wherein said coulomb counting circuit comprises a comb filter.
20. The system of claim 14, wherein said coulomb counting circuit comprises a digital accumulator.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine driven by an on-vehicle engine, comprising:
a first stator rotor pair including a first stator core having slots carrying therein a first stator coil and a first Lundell type rotor core carrying thereon a first field coil;
a second stator rotor pair including a second stator core slots carrying therein a second stator coil and a second Lundell type rotor core carrying thereon a second field coil;
first and second rectifiers operative to rectify output voltages of the stator coils of the first and second stator rotor pairs, respectively; and
a controller providing controlled field currents to the first ad second field coils, respectively;
wherein the first and second Lundell type rotor cores are supported on a common rotary shaft in an axially adjacent relationship for rotating capability within the first and second stator cores, respectively; and
wherein the first and second stator coils comprise segments-sequentially-joined stator coils, respectively, each of which includes segment conductors inserted to the slots of each stator core from one side in an axial direction and having ends that are sequentially connected.
2. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 1, wherein:
the segments-sequentially-joined stator coils of the first and second stator coils are formed in segments-sequentially-joined stator coil structures, respectively, each of which includes only coil portions occupied in radially adjacent first and second conductor receiving positions in each slot.
3. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 1, wherein:
the first stator coil includes coil ends, axially facing the second stator coil and having axially extreme protruding portions, and the second stator coil include coil ends, axially facing the first stator coil and having axially extreme protruding portions, wherein the axially extreme protruding portions of the coil ends of the first and second stator coils are deviated with a given pitch in a circumferential direction.
4. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 1, wherein:
the first field coil has an axial center position deviated from an axial center position of the first stator core to be closer to the second stator rotor pair andor the second field coil has an axial center position deviated from an axial center position of the second stator core to be closer to the first stator rotor pair.
5. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 4, wherein:
the first Lundell type rotor core of the first stator rotor pair includes first and second half cores held in axially abutting engagement with each other and having claw portions with different magnetic polarities; and
the second Lundell type rotor core of the second stator rotor pair includes third and fourth half cores held in axially abutting engagement with each other and having claw portions with different magnetic polarities;
wherein the second and third half cores are axially held in tight contact with each other.
6. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 4, wherein:
the first Lundell type rotor core of the first stator rotor pair includes first and second half cores held in axially abutting engagement with each other and having claw portions with different magnetic polarities; and
the second Lundell type rotor core of the second stator rotor pair includes third and fourth half cores held in axially abutting engagement with each other and having claw portions with different magnetic polarities;
wherein the second and third half cores are integrally formed with each other into a single piece of soft magnetic core member.
7. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 5, wherein:
the second and third half cores have boss portions carried on the common shaft and having first and second claw portions extending radially outward from outer peripheries of the boss portions and then extending in axially opposite direction.
8. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 1, further comprising:
a plurality of axially extending centrifugal cooling fins made of non-magnetic material and disposed in circumferential gaps each between one claw portion pair and another claw portion pair circumferentially spaced from the one claw portion pair with a given pitch for generating centrifugal cooling winds.
9. The vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine according to claim 1, further comprising:
a first cooling fan fixedly secured to an outside end face of the first rotor core to create a cooling wind in a centrifugal direction; and
a second cooling fan fixedly secured to an outside end face of the second rotor core to create a cooling wind in a centrifugal direction;
wherein the first and second cooling fans generate the cooling winds in axially inward directions, respectively.
10. A vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine driven by an on-vehicle engine, comprising:
a first stator rotor pair including a first stator core having slots carrying therein a first stator coil and a first Lundell type rotor core carrying thereon a first field coil and supported on a common rotary shaft to be rotatable within the first stator core;
a second stator rotor pair including a second stator core slots carrying therein a second stator coil and a second Lundell type rotor core carrying thereon a second field coil and supported on the common rotary shaft to be rotatable within the second stator core;
first and second rectifiers operative to rectify output voltages of the stator coils of the first and second stator rotor pairs, respectively;
a controller providing controlled field currents to the first ad second field coils, respectively; and
a plurality of axially extending centrifugal cooling fins made of non-magnetic material and disposed in circumferential gaps each between one claw portion pair and another claw portion pair circumferentially spaced from the one claw portion pair with a given pitch for generating centrifugal cooling winds.
11. A vehicular tandem type rotary electric machine driven by an on-vehicle engine, comprising:
a first stator rotor pair including a first stator core having slots carrying therein a first stator coil and a first Lundell type rotor core carrying thereon a first field coil and supported on a common rotary shaft to be rotatable within the first stator core;
a second stator rotor pair including a second stator core slots carrying therein a second stator coil and a second Lundell type rotor core carrying thereon a second field coil and supported on the common rotary shaft to be rotatable within the second stator core;
first and second rectifiers operative to rectify output voltages of the stator coils of the first and second stator rotor pairs, respectively;
a controller providing controlled field currents to the first ad second field coils, respectively;
a first cooling fan fixedly secured to an outside end face of the first rotor core to create a cooling wind in a centrifugal direction; and
a second cooling fan fixedly secured to an outside end face of the second rotor core to create a cooling wind in a centrifugal direction;
wherein the first and second cooling fans generate the cooling winds in axially inward directions, respectively.