Smart charging system
First Claim
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1. A system for charging a plurality of batteries, comprising:
- a display;
a charging current source;
a controller;
at least one temperature sensor for each respective one of said batteries for detecting a temperature of the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting temperature data to the controller;
at least one voltage sensor for each respective one of said batteries for monitoring a voltage of the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting voltage data to the controller; and
at least one current sensor for each respective one of said batteries for monitoring a charge current being provided to the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting charge current data to the controller, wherein, for each one of said batteries;
said controller executes a program for controlling the charge current provided to the one of said batteries for charging the one of said batteries based on a state of charge determined by the controller using the temperature data, the battery voltage data, and the current data of the one of the batteries, such that the charging of the one of the batteries is independently controlled based on the determined current state-of-charge of the one of the batteries, and whereina charge status of each one of the batteries is displayed on the display.
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Abstract
A smart battery charger having a plurality of charging stations for simultaneously charging a plurality of batteries, such as vehicle batteries, in an efficient manner without overcharging by compensating for the current state of charge and temperature of each one of the batteries while indicating a status of the batteries to an operator.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for charging a plurality of batteries, comprising:
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a display; a charging current source; a controller; at least one temperature sensor for each respective one of said batteries for detecting a temperature of the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting temperature data to the controller; at least one voltage sensor for each respective one of said batteries for monitoring a voltage of the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting voltage data to the controller; and at least one current sensor for each respective one of said batteries for monitoring a charge current being provided to the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting charge current data to the controller, wherein, for each one of said batteries; said controller executes a program for controlling the charge current provided to the one of said batteries for charging the one of said batteries based on a state of charge determined by the controller using the temperature data, the battery voltage data, and the current data of the one of the batteries, such that the charging of the one of the batteries is independently controlled based on the determined current state-of-charge of the one of the batteries, and wherein a charge status of each one of the batteries is displayed on the display. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for charging a plurality of lead acid batteries, comprising:
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a display; a charging current source; a controller; a plurality of battery charging stations; at least one station detector for each respective one of the battery charging stations for detecting the presence of a respective one of the batteries installed in the respective station; at least one switch connected to said controller for each respective one of said batteries for disconnecting the respective one of said batteries from the charge current source when the controller determines that charging is complete or the battery is defective for the respective one of said batteries at least one temperature sensor for each respective one of said batteries for detecting a temperature of the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting temperature data to the controller; at least one voltage sensor for each respective one of said batteries for monitoring a voltage of the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting voltage data to the controller; and at least one current sensor for each respective one of said batteries for monitoring a charge current being provided to the respective one of said batteries and for providing resulting charge current data to the controller, wherein, for each one of said batteries; said controller executes a program for controlling the charge current provided to the one of said batteries for charging the one of said batteries based on whether a battery is installed in that station, and also based on a state of charge determined by the controller using the temperature data, the battery voltage data, and the current data of the one of the batteries, such that the charging of the one of the batteries is independently controlled based on the determined current state-of-charge of the one of the batteries, and wherein said controller is adapted to detect whether any of said batteries is defective based on the determined state of charge, and wherein a charge status of each one of the battery charging stations is displayed on the display, said charge status indicating whether any given charge station has no battery installed and if a battery is installed, indicating whether the battery is being charged, has been charged, is defective, or is too cold to charge. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of charging a plurality of batteries, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of battery charging stations; for each one of said battery charging stations, detecting whether a battery is present in the battery charging station; connecting each one of said batteries to a battery charging source for charging said batteries; detecting a current being provided to each one of the batteries by the battery charging source; detecting a current voltage of each one of the batteries; detecting a current temperature of each one of the batteries; for each one of the batteries, determining a state of charge of the battery based on the detected current, the detected current voltage, and the detected current temperature; charging the batteries based on the determined state of charge of each battery, such that any defective batteries are disconnected from charging and any batteries that are too cold are disconnected from charging, while any batteries that are not fully charged continue to be charged until they are fully charged; and displaying to an operator a charging status of each one of the batteries. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification