A battery “off line” system designed to monitor, test, charge and float individual cells

The paper describes a constant voltage battery power plant (CVBPP), a telecommunications power system that disconnects standby strings of batteries from the load during normal operation and also removes spare and maintenance rectifiers not needed to serve the load during this time. The paper also describes the “seamless switch” used to remove the batteries and other equipment from the load. A schematic diagram illustrates an equipment arrangement to serve the load best under all conditions, including environmental. The paper shows how automatic testing of individual cells can be accomplished, how this data can determine each cell´s needed float voltage, and how this voltage can be delivered to each cell. The way to supply a constant voltage level to the equipment regardless of its mode of operation (normal, test or emergency) is also shown. Also discussed is the fact that the CVBPP is less costly than present-day power plants, even when more equipment is added to facilitate the automation of testing and monitoring, and to compensate each cell´s float voltage for temperature and/or aging conditions. Finally, the paper alludes to other innovative techniques that now might be used, since the batteries are essentially “off line”