Battery charger and battery charging method
First Claim
1. A battery charger having current regulating means and voltage regulating means connected in series for supplying a secondary battery with a charging current at or below a predetermined current value with said current regulating means and for supplying said secondary battery with a charging voltage at or below a predetermined voltage value with said voltage regulating means in order to charge said secondary battery, said battery charger comprising:
- pulse width modulating means for generating a pulse signal having a predetermined pulse width if a loss of at least one of said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means exceeds a predetermined loss, andcontrol means for intermittently operating said at least one of said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means, when the loss exceeds said predetermined loss, based on said pulse signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a battery charger, current regulating means and voltage regulating means can be prevented from damages. In the case where a loss of current regulating means (11) or voltage regulating means (12) exceeds an allowable loss, pulse width modulating means (15, 16) for generating a pulse signal having a desired pulse width and control means (18, 19) for intermittently operating the current regulating means or the voltage regulating means, having the loss exceeding the allowable loss, based on the pulse signal are provided to suppress the loss of the current regulating means or the voltage regulating means and suppress heat generated thereby, thus the current regulating means and the voltage regulating means can be protected from damages.
39 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A battery charger having current regulating means and voltage regulating means connected in series for supplying a secondary battery with a charging current at or below a predetermined current value with said current regulating means and for supplying said secondary battery with a charging voltage at or below a predetermined voltage value with said voltage regulating means in order to charge said secondary battery, said battery charger comprising:
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pulse width modulating means for generating a pulse signal having a predetermined pulse width if a loss of at least one of said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means exceeds a predetermined loss, and control means for intermittently operating said at least one of said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means, when the loss exceeds said predetermined loss, based on said pulse signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A battery charger having current regulating means and voltage regulating means connected in series, and using an input voltage and an input current supplied thereto from a power source, for supplying a secondary battery with a charging current at or below a predetermined current value with said current regulating means and for supplying said secondary battery with a charging voltage at or below a predetermined voltage value with said voltage regulating means in order to charge said secondary battery, said battery charger comprising:
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first pulse width modulating means for generating a first pulse signal having a first desired pulse width if a loss of said current regulating means exceeds an allowable loss; second pulse width modulating means for generating a second pulse signal having a second desired pulse width if a loss of said voltage regulating means exceeds an allowable loss; priority pulse generating means for selecting a pulse signal having a narrower pulse width out of said first and second pulse signals and outputting the selected pulse signal as a priority pulse signal; and control means for intermittently operating said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means based on said priority pulse signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A battery charging method of a battery charger having current regulating means and voltage regulating means connected in series, and using an input voltage and an input current supplied thereto from a power source, for supplying a secondary battery with a charging current at or below a predetermined current value with said current regulating means and for supplying said secondary battery with a charging voltage at or below a predetermining voltage value with said voltage regulating means in order to charge said secondary battery, comprising the step of,
if a loss of at least one of said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means exceeds predetermined loss, intermittently operating said at least one of said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means, having said loss exceeding the predetermined loss, based on a pulse signal having a predetermined pulse width.
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19. A battery charging method of a battery charger having current regulating means and voltage regulating means connected in series, and using an input voltage and an input current supplied thereto from a power source, for supplying a secondary battery with a charging current at or below a predetermined current value with said current regulating means for supplying said secondary battery with a charging voltage at or below a predetermined voltage value with said voltage regulating means for supplying said secondary battery, said battery charging method comprising the steps of:
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generating a first pulse signal having a first desired pulse width if a loss of said current regulating means exceeds a first loss; generating a second pulse signal having a second desired pulse width if a loss of said voltage regulating means exceeds a second loss; selecting a pulse signal having a narrower pulse width out of said first and second pulse signals and outputting the selected pulse signal as a priority pulse signal; and intermittently operating said current regulating means and said voltage regulating means based on said priority pulse signal.
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Specification