Battery charger

• US 5,274,321 A
• Filed: 01/13/1992
• Issued: 12/28/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsuda, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hickey, R. J.
• Application Number:
  US07/819,978
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 320/31, 320/37, 320/38, 320/48
• US Class Current: 320/157
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 320/19 Charger status, e.g. voltmeter

Abstract

A battery charger is disclosed comprising a pair of charging terminals to which a secondary battery may be connected, a power source for supplying the charging terminals with a charging voltage, a recharging detector for detecting the degree of recharging on the secondary battery on the strength of the voltage between the charging terminals, and a timer operative to measure a predetermined time beginning when the recharging detector detects that the degree of recharging on the second battery has reached a predetermined degree set within a range from seventy percent to ninety percent of full recharging. The invention further includes a first recharging indicator, for example an LED, which indicates that the secondary battery is being charged up until the timing operation commences. Once the timing operation begins, a second recharging indicator, for example a differently colored LED, indicates that the secondary battery has been charged to the predetermined degree and is receiving a final charge during the timing operation.

Claims

1. A battery charger comprising:

a pair of charging terminals to which both end terminals of a secondary battery are connected, respectively,

power source means for supplying the secondary battery connected to said charging terminals with a substantially constant charging current in a first time period and for supplying a substantially constant charging voltage to the secondary battery in a second time period,

recharging detecting means for detecting the degree of recharging on the secondary battery to which the charging current is supplied from said power source means on the strength of a voltage between said charging terminals,

timer means for measuring a predetermined time commencing when said recharging detecting means detects that the degree of recharging on the secondary battery supplied with the charging current from said power source means has reached a predetermined degree, said predetermined degree being within a range from seventy percent to ninety percent of full recharging,

first recharging indicator means for indicating when said constant charging current is being supplied to the secondary battery connected to said charging terminals during said first time period, and

second recharging indicator means different in appearance from said first indicator means for indicating when said timer means measures said predetermined time,

whereby said first recharging indicator means and said second recharging indicator means indicate when the degree of recharging on the secondary battery has reached said predetermined degree.

2. A battery charger according to claim 1, wherein said power source means comprises a rectifier for rectifying an alternating current voltage to produce a direct current voltage and a voltage stabilizing circuit for stabilizing the direct current voltage produced by said rectifier to produce a stabilized power source voltage and applying the stabilized power source voltage between said charging terminals to produce the charging current supplied to the secondary battery.

3. A battery charger according to claim 2, wherein said voltage stabilizing circuit comprises a transistor to which said direct current voltage produced by said rectifier is supplied and a control voltage producing circuit portion for generating a control voltage for controlling impedance of said transistor to obtain the stabilized power source voltage from said transistor.

4. A battery charger according to claim 3, wherein said power source means further comprises a constant voltage generator for generating, based on the direct current voltage produced by said rectifier, a constant power source voltage wherein said control voltage producing circuit portion is supplied with both the stabilized power source voltage obtained from said transistor and the constant power source voltage generated by said constant voltage generator.

5. A battery charger according to claim 1, wherein said recharging detecting means comprises a voltage detector for detecting a level of the voltage between said charging terminals and a level comparator for comparing the level detected by said voltage detector with a predetermined reference level.

6. A battery charger according to claim 5, wherein said power source means comprises a rectifier for rectifying an alternating current voltage to produce a direct current voltage, a voltage stabilizing circuit for stabilizing the direct current voltage produced by said rectifier to produce a stabilized power source voltage and applying the stabilized power source voltage between said charging terminals to produce the charging current supplied to the secondary battery, and a constant voltage generator for generating based on the direct current voltage produced by said rectifier a constant power source voltage, and said recharging detecting means further comprises an additional voltage detector for detecting a level of the constant power source voltage generated by said constant voltage generator to produce the predetermined reference level.

7. A battery charger according to claim 6, wherein said voltage detector comprises a first voltage divider for dividing the stabilized power source voltage to produce a first voltage, wherein said additional voltage detector comprises a second voltage divider for dividing the constant power source voltage to produce a second voltage, and whereby said level comparator compares the first voltage with the second voltage and produces a comparison output.

8. A battery charger according to claim 1, wherein each of said first and second recharging indicator means comprises a light emitting diode, a switching device connected with the light emitting diode, and a control circuit for controlling said switching device to be selectively put in an ON state and an OFF state.

9. A battery charger according to claim 8, wherein said first and second recharging indicator means comprise first and second light emitting diodes of different colors.

10. A battery charger according to claim 1, wherein a resistor is further connected in series with the secondary battery between said recharging terminals and said voltage stabilizing circuit is supplied with a voltage obtained across said resistor, said voltage stabilizing circuit controlling the charging current supplied to the secondary battery so that the voltage obtained across the resistor is kept substantially constant.