Conditioning and charging circuit for nickel-cadmium batteries
First Claim
1. A system for conditioning and charging a battery, comprising:
- a load resistor;
a charging circuit providing a DC current;
sensor means operatively connected to said battery for sensing the discharge state of said battery, said sensor generating an initiate signal when the rate at which the voltage of said battery decreases during discharge exceeds a predetermined value; and
a control switch operatively connected to said battery, said charging circuit, said load resistor, and said sensor means, said control switch connecting said load resistor to said battery until said sensor means generates said initiate signal thereby discharging said battery, said control switch thereafter connecting said battery to said charge circuit in response to said initiate signal whereby said conditioning and charging system discharges said battery to a predetermined discharge state and then charges said battery.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A conditioning and charging circuit for NiCd battries includes a switch for initially connecting the battery to a discharge resistor to discharge the battery. The battery voltage is monitored during the discharge. When the battery voltage falls to predetermined value, a timer is triggered and the switch is actuated to connect the battery to a charger. The charger charges the battery until the timer times out after a predetermined period, at which point charging is terminated. The predetermined period may be fixed, or it may be a function of ambient temperature. Thus, the battery is first discharged to a predetermined voltage and then charged for a predetermined period of time.
27 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system for conditioning and charging a battery, comprising:
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a load resistor; a charging circuit providing a DC current; sensor means operatively connected to said battery for sensing the discharge state of said battery, said sensor generating an initiate signal when the rate at which the voltage of said battery decreases during discharge exceeds a predetermined value; and a control switch operatively connected to said battery, said charging circuit, said load resistor, and said sensor means, said control switch connecting said load resistor to said battery until said sensor means generates said initiate signal thereby discharging said battery, said control switch thereafter connecting said battery to said charge circuit in response to said initiate signal whereby said conditioning and charging system discharges said battery to a predetermined discharge state and then charges said battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of charging a NiCd battery to minimize the detrimental effects of overcharging and memory, said method comprising:
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monitoring the voltage from said battery; discharging said battery until the rate at which the voltage from said battery decreases exceeds a predetermined value; and charging said battery. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification