Systems and methods of programming voltage and current in a battery charger
First Claim
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1. A method of charging a battery comprising:
- storing a plurality of charging parameters in one or more programmable data storage elements;
supplying a constant current to said battery during a first time period, wherein the constant current supplied is set by a first parameter of said stored charging parameters and the first parameter is variable across a range of values to program the constant current across a corresponding range of current values; and
generating a constant voltage to said battery during a second time period following the first time period if a voltage on the battery is above a first threshold, wherein the constant voltage is set by a second parameter of said stored charging parameters and the second parameter is variable across a range of values to program the constant voltage across a corresponding range of voltage values.
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Abstract
In one embodiment the present invention includes a method of charging a battery comprising storing a plurality of charging parameters in one or more programmable data storage elements. The charging parameters may be used to program a variety of battery charging parameters including constant currents, voltages, thresholds, timers, or temperature controls. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a software algorithm that changes the charging parameters to improve battery charging efficiency.
111 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A method of charging a battery comprising:
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storing a plurality of charging parameters in one or more programmable data storage elements; supplying a constant current to said battery during a first time period, wherein the constant current supplied is set by a first parameter of said stored charging parameters and the first parameter is variable across a range of values to program the constant current across a corresponding range of current values; and generating a constant voltage to said battery during a second time period following the first time period if a voltage on the battery is above a first threshold, wherein the constant voltage is set by a second parameter of said stored charging parameters and the second parameter is variable across a range of values to program the constant voltage across a corresponding range of voltage values. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A programmable battery charger comprising:
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a regulator having a first input to receive a first power source, a first output to provide a regulated output to at least one battery, and a control input; a constant current controller having a first input coupled to a first programmable data storage element, a feedback input coupled to at least one current sense input, and an output coupled to the control input of the regulator, wherein the first programmable data storage element configures the constant current controller to supply a first programmed constant current to said battery if a voltage on said battery is below a first threshold; and a constant voltage controller having a first input coupled to a second programmable data storage element, a second input coupled to at least one voltage sense input, and an output coupled to the control input of the regulator, wherein the second programmable data storage element configures the constant voltage controller to generate a first programmed constant voltage to said battery if the voltage on said battery is above the first threshold, wherein the programmed constant voltage is variable across a range of values. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification