Charging a battery using constant voltage and pulse

• US 6,788,028 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Issued: 09/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pantech Corporation (Ideahub, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SK Teletech Company Limited
• Inventors: Lee, Seung-Won
• Primary Examiner(s): TIBBITS, PIA FLORENCE
• Application Number:
  US10/324,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20030111980A1
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 320/141, 320/127, 320/128, 320/129, 320/130, 320/139, 320/145, 320/137, 320/146
• US Class Current: 320/141
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/22 The load being a portable electronic device
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery charger of mobile phone capable of charging a battery rapidly and fully, by charging the battery rapidly with pulse up to a predetermined level of the charging capacity of the battery, and then by charging with constant voltage until the battery is fully charged, and a charging method for the same; the battery charger comprising: a main control means, which controls pulse voltage charging and constant voltage charging based on the charging state of the battery; a constant voltage charging control means, which controls charging of the battery with constant voltage under control of the above main control means; a pulse charging control means, which detects charging voltage of the battery and controls charging of the battery with pulse voltage based on the detected charging voltage under control of the above main control means; and a charging means, which charges the battery by outputting pulse voltage or constant voltage after DC power has been applied under control of the above pulse charging control means or the above constant voltage charging control means.

Claims

1. A battery charger comprising:

a main control means, which controls pulse voltage charging and constant voltage charging of a battery based on the charging state of said battery;

a constant voltage charging control means, which controls charging of said battery with constant voltage under control of said main control means;

a pulse charging control means, which detects voltage of said battery and controls charging of said battery with pulse voltage based on said detected voltage under control of said main control means; and

a charging means, which charges said battery by outputting pulse voltage or constant voltage after DC power has been applied under control of said pulse charging control means or said constant voltage charging control means,

wherein said main control means controls the charging means to charge said battery with pulse voltage if pulse width of the charging pulse voltage outputted from said charging means is larger than a reference pulse width, while it controls the charging means to charge said battery with constant voltage if width of the charging pulse voltage is smaller than said reference pulse width,

wherein said main control means controls the charging means to cease charging said battery with the constant voltage when said constant voltage of the battery becomes smaller than a reference constant voltage.

2. A method for charging a battery comprising:

a first step of charging said battery with pulse voltage;

a second step, wherein said battery is charged with constant voltage after charging with pulse voltage has been stopped, when pulse width of said pulse voltage becomes smaller than a reference pulse width; and

a third step, wherein charging of said battery ceases, when said constant voltage of the battery becomes smaller than a reference constant voltage.

3. The method for charging a battery as set forth in claim 2, wherein said second step comprises:

step 2-1, wherein a battery charger determines whether pulse width of said pulse voltage is smaller than said prior set reference pulse width while said battery is being charged with pulse voltage;

step 2-2, wherein said battery charger stops charging said battery with pulse voltage if it is determined at said step 2-1 that width of said pulse voltage is smaller than said prior set reference pulse width, and charges said battery with constant voltage; and

step 2-3, wherein said battery charger continues charging said battery with pulse voltage if it is determined at said step 2-1 that width of said pulse voltage is larger than said prior set reference pulse width.

4. The method for charging a battery as set forth in any one of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said third step comprises:

step 3-1, wherein said battery charger determines whether said constant voltage is smaller than a prior set reference constant voltage while said battery is being charged with constant voltage;

step 3-2, wherein said battery charger stops charging said battery if it is determined at said step 3-1 that said constant voltage is smaller than said prior set reference constant voltage; and

step 3-3, wherein said battery charger continue to charge said battery with constant voltage if it is determined at said step 3-1 that said constant voltage is larger than said prior set reference constant voltage.