Battery charging apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A battery charging apparatus for charging a chargeable battery, comprising:
- a dc power source for generating a charging current;
current control means connected between said dc power source and a chargeable battery to be charged;
charging controller means connected to said current control means for controlling a flow of said charging current from said dc power source to said chargeable battery, and for supplying a pulse train of control pulses to said current control means for supplying said charging current to said chargeable battery corresponding to a change in self-discharge after a completion of charging of said battery; and
charging condition detecting means for detecting when said chargeable battery is fully charged and when said chargeable battery starts discharging at a self-discharge rate;
wherein said charging controller means supplies said control pulse train to said current control means and the pulse width and the interval between the control pluses of said pulse train are selected by said charging controller means based at least upon the rate of self-discharge of said chargeable battery such that said chargeable battery receives pulses of said charging current corresponding to said control pulse train which are sufficient to affect said self-discharging.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A battery charging apparatus for charging a chargeable battery is disclosed. The apparatus comprises: a dc power source for generating a charging current; current control means connected between the dc power source and a chargeable battery to be charged; charging controller means connected to the current control means for controlling a flow of the charging current from the dc power source to the chargeable battery; and charging condition detecting means for detecting charging condition of the chargeable battery during charging operation. The charging controller means supplies control pulse to the current control means.
-
Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A battery charging apparatus for charging a chargeable battery, comprising:
-
a dc power source for generating a charging current; current control means connected between said dc power source and a chargeable battery to be charged; charging controller means connected to said current control means for controlling a flow of said charging current from said dc power source to said chargeable battery, and for supplying a pulse train of control pulses to said current control means for supplying said charging current to said chargeable battery corresponding to a change in self-discharge after a completion of charging of said battery; and charging condition detecting means for detecting when said chargeable battery is fully charged and when said chargeable battery starts discharging at a self-discharge rate; wherein said charging controller means supplies said control pulse train to said current control means and the pulse width and the interval between the control pluses of said pulse train are selected by said charging controller means based at least upon the rate of self-discharge of said chargeable battery such that said chargeable battery receives pulses of said charging current corresponding to said control pulse train which are sufficient to affect said self-discharging. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A battery charging apparatus for charging a chargeable battery, comprising:
-
means for charging a chargeable battery in at least one of a plurality of charging modes, including a normal charging mode, a quick charging mode, and a discharging responsive mode, said charging means including a dc power source for generating a charging current; charging condition detecting means for detecting whether said chargeable battery is fully charged and whether said chargeable battery has begun to self-discharge; charging controller means connected to said charging means and responsive to said charging condition detecting means for supplying a pulse to said charging means having a predetermined pulse width and interval according to at least one of said modes of charging, said pulse width and interval being related to a rate of discharge characteristic of said chargeable battery when said charging means is operating in said discharging responsive mode. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A battery charging apparatus for charging a chargeable battery, comprising:
-
means for charging a chargeable battery in at least one of a plurality of charging modes, including a normal charging mode, a quick charging mode, and a discharging responsive mode, said charging means including a dc power source for generating s charging current; charging condition detecting means for detecting whether said chargeable battery is fully charged and whether said chargeable battery has begun to self-discharge; charging controller means connected to said charging means and responsive to said charging condition detecting means for supplying a pulse to said charging means having a predetermined pulse width and interval according to at least one of said modes of charging, said pulse width and interval being related to a rate of discharge characteristic of said chargeable battery when said charging means is operating in said discharging responsive mode; wherein said charging condition detecting means include passive elements for determining when said chargeable battery has begun to discharge by detecting a change of a charging voltage between a time at which the battery is fully charged and a time at which discharge starts; wherein said pulse width is calculated based on characteristic data of said chargeable battery stored in said charging controller means.
-
Specification