Apparatus for controlling excess recharge current applied to a battery
First Claim
1. A charge control circuit for controlling recharge current through a battery comprising:
- a control means responsive to recharge current through said battery; and
a variable shunt load responsive to said control means for conducting excess current away from said battery.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A battery recharge current source 12 provides a recharge current 14 to battery cells 16. Recharge current 14 is in excess of an optimum recharge current level for battery cells 16 and is divided into currents 26 and 28 by variable shunt load 24 as controlled by charge current control circuit 18. Charge current control circuit 18 is comprised of current sense circuit 20 and load control circuit 22. Current sense circuit 20 produces a current sense signal in response to current through battery cells 16. Load control circuit 22 is responsive to the current sense signal and controls variable shunt load 24 as needed to conduct excess current away from the battery cells.
10 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A charge control circuit for controlling recharge current through a battery comprising:
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a control means responsive to recharge current through said battery; and a variable shunt load responsive to said control means for conducting excess current away from said battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A charge control circuit for controlling the recharge current through a battery, comprising:
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a current sense means responsive to said recharge current; a variable shunt load electrically connected to said battery; and a load control means responsive to said current sense means for controlling said variable shunt load to conduct excess recharge current away from said battery. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A battery pack having a charge control circuit for controlling recharge current through said battery pack, comprising:
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at least one battery cell; a current sense means responsive to said recharge current, said current sense means comprising a sense resistor connected in series with said at least one battery cell, thereby producing a voltage signal proportional to current through said at least one battery cell, and means for amplifying said voltage drop by a preselected gain factor; a variable shunt load electrically connected parallel to said at least one battery cell; and a load control means responsive to said current sense means for controlling said variable shunt load to conduct excess recharge current away from said at least one battery cell. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A rechargeable battery pack for use with a charger which provides a charge current level in excess of an optimum recharge current level, said battery pack having positive and negative terminals, said battery pack comprising:
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at least one battery cell; a current sense circuit coupled in series with said at least one battery cell for sensing current through said at least one battery cell and producing a current sense signal; a variable shunt load having a control input, and connected in parallel with said at least one battery cell and said current sense circuit; and a load control circuit coupled between said current sense circuit and said variable shunt load, for producing a load control signal in response to said current sense signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification