Nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity

• US 20060049798A1
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Published: 03/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fu-I Yang
• Original Assignee: Fu-I Yang
• Inventors: Yang, Fu-I
• Application Number:
  US10/933,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20060049798A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/112
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries

Abstract

A nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity having an instant discharge loop coupled to a charging circuit. A rapid detection of the battery capacity is performed by use of the instant voltage level during discharge. It takes only few seconds to determine if the battery capacity lies within the allowable range. No more charging process is necessary when the batteries reach the preset criterion. To the contrary, a charging process is required when they don'"'"'t reach it. In this way, it is avoidable that the mixed use of parallel/series-connected batteries with different capacities produces reverse flow, thereby resulting in overheating or even exploding risks due to overdischarge of the batteries with larger capacity.

Claims

1. A nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity comprising:

a) a main body having a battery chamber for receiving a plurality of batteries, a charging circuit being disposed within the battery chamber to charge batteries with a charging current, a plurality of charging switches being installed in the charging circuit;

b) means for detecting the battery capacity disposed within the main body, including;

i) an instant discharge loop coupled to the charging circuit for detecting the instant voltage level of each battery within the battery chamber when the charging switches are disconnected in off-state and the instant discharge loop is brought in closed state;

ii) a control integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the charging circuit and the instant discharge loop for a comparison between the instant voltage level of each battery detected by the instant discharge loop and the preset reference voltage;

iii) a discharge control unit extended from the control IC, the discharge control unit having a press button on the surface of the main body, wherein, by pressing down the press button, the control IC sends a command to disconnect the charging switches in off-state while the instant discharge loop is made in on-state and immediately thereafter in off-state; and

iv) a judging and displaying unit extended from the control IC, the judging and displaying unit having at least one displaying element on the surface of the main body, wherein, after the control IC undergoes the comparison between the instant voltage level of each battery and the preset reference voltage, the result is displayed on the displaying element for the operator to determine if the capacity of the batteries is sufficient.

2. The nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity as recited in claim 1 wherein the instant discharge loop includes a plurality of parallel-connected loads, discharge switches, and a series-connected first resistance.

3. The nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity as recited in claim 2 wherein the loads are constructed as resistances while the discharge switches are metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).

4. The nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity as recited in claim 1 wherein a second resistance is interposed between the press button of the charging circuit and the control IC.

5. The nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity as recited in claim 1 wherein the displaying element of the judging and displaying unit is light-emitting diode (LED).

6. The nickel hydrogen battery charger with the function of detection of battery capacity as recited in claim 1 wherein the displaying element of the judging and displaying unit is liquid crystal display (LCD).