SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SELF-CONTAINED AUTOMATIC BATTERY CHARGING AND BATTERY-LIFE-EXTENSION CHARGING
First Claim
1. A battery-life-extension charging system, comprising:
- a monitoring component configured to measure a direct current (DC) output current delivered by the charging system to a battery, wherein the DC output current is a function of an existing charge status of the battery;
a timing component; and
a charge control system in communication with the monitoring component and the timing component, the charge control system configured for;
obtaining at least one of a time measurement from the timing component and a charge measurement from the monitoring component;
based on the at least one of the time measurement and the charge measurement, determining at least one of a time to complete a charge mode cycle and a charge to complete a charge mode cycle, each tailored achieve a desired charge status of the battery; and
based on the at least one of the time and the charge to complete the charge mode cycle, transitioning to a select one of a number of DC output voltage settings until the time to complete the charge mode cycle has passed or the charge to complete the charge mode cycle has been provided, wherein the DC output voltage settings include at least an eco-float output voltage setting, a refresh output voltage setting, and a boost output voltage setting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The disclosure provides embodiments of a self-contained automatic battery charging system having a printed circuit board (PCB) that enables inputting an alternating current (AC) power flow to the system. A first switchmode converter converts an AC input power to a direct current (DC) power, providing an active power factor correction. The first switchmode converter comprises an isolation transformer, which provides an electrical isolation between a primary circuitry and a secondary circuitry of the system. A second switchmode converter regulates system output voltage and limits system output current to an electrical load. The DC output is connected to a battery, another electrical storage device, and/or a parallel-connected DC load to be powered. An optional accessory PCB electrically connects to the power PCB and provides features including an LCD, alarm output relay(s), and/or a controller area network bus (CANbus) interface. The system may implement a battery-life-extension charging regime. Other embodiments are disclosed.
24 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A battery-life-extension charging system, comprising:
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a monitoring component configured to measure a direct current (DC) output current delivered by the charging system to a battery, wherein the DC output current is a function of an existing charge status of the battery; a timing component; and a charge control system in communication with the monitoring component and the timing component, the charge control system configured for; obtaining at least one of a time measurement from the timing component and a charge measurement from the monitoring component; based on the at least one of the time measurement and the charge measurement, determining at least one of a time to complete a charge mode cycle and a charge to complete a charge mode cycle, each tailored achieve a desired charge status of the battery; and based on the at least one of the time and the charge to complete the charge mode cycle, transitioning to a select one of a number of DC output voltage settings until the time to complete the charge mode cycle has passed or the charge to complete the charge mode cycle has been provided, wherein the DC output voltage settings include at least an eco-float output voltage setting, a refresh output voltage setting, and a boost output voltage setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A battery-life-extension charging method, comprising:
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obtaining a charge measurement associated with a battery via a monitoring component of a battery charger, the charge measurement reflecting a direct current (DC) output current delivered by the battery charger to the battery; obtaining a time measurement associated with the battery via a timing component of the battery charger; transmitting at least one of the charge measurement and the time measurement to a battery charge control system of the battery charger; determining, by the battery charge control system and based on the at least one of the charge measurement and the time measurement, at least one of a charge to complete a charge mode cycle and a time to complete the charge mode cycle, the charge mode cycle tailored to achieve a desired charge status of the battery; and selectively regulating, by a voltage regulator in communication with the battery charge control system, a DC output voltage of the battery charger to one of a number of pre-set DC output voltages until the time to complete the charge mode cycle has passed or the charge to complete the charge mode cycle has been provided, the pre-set DC output voltages comprising an eco-float output voltage, a refresh output voltage, and a boost output voltage. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An automatic, self-contained, battery-life-extension charging system, comprising:
a power printed circuit board (PCB) comprising; input connections to allow an input alternating current (AC) to flow into the charging system; two series-connected switchmode converters that together are configured to convert the input AC into an output direct current (DC) for delivery to a DC load, to limit the output DC to the DC load, and to regulate a DC output voltage; and monitoring and control circuitry in communication with the two series-connected switchmode converters, comprising; a monitoring component configured to measure a charge measurement associated with the DC load; a timing component configured to measure a time measurement associated with a charge mode cycle of the DC load; and a charge control system in communication with the monitoring component and the timing component, the charge control system configured to transition the two series-connected switchmode converters between a number of DC output voltage charge modes based upon at least one of the charge measurement and the time measurement. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21-42. -42. (canceled)
Specification