Battery charger with Vbe temperature compensation circuit

• US 4,847,547 A
• Filed: 07/21/1988
• Issued: 07/11/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
• Original Assignee: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
• Inventors: Eng, Benjamin Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): HICKEY, ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US07/222,009
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 320/35, 320/36, 323/907, 323/315
• US Class Current: 320/153
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 136/293 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 323/907 Temperature compensation of semiconductor

Abstract

A battery charger supplies to a battery an output voltage having a desired temperature coefficient of voltage. The charger includes an operational amplifier having a summing junction to which a reference current and a feedback signal derived from the amplifier output are supplied. The V_be multiplier circuit includes a bipolar transistor which is biased into its active region so that the charging voltage supplied by the amplifier is temperature corrected in accordance with a negative coefficient of voltage characteristic of the transistor.

Claims

1. A battery charger for supplying to a battery an output voltage having a desired temperature coefficient of voltage, comprising:

an operational amplifier having a summing junction and an output connected to supply a charging potential therefrom to the battery;

means for supplying a reference current to said summing junction; and

V_be multiplier means connected between the output and the summing junction of said operational amplifier, said V_be multiplier means including a bipolar transistor and means for biasing said bipolar transistor into an active region thereof whereby the charging voltage supplied by said amplifier is temperature compensated in accordance with a negative temperature coefficient of voltage operating characteristic of said bipolar transistor.

2. A battery charger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a feedback resistor (R_F) in series with said V_be multiplier circuit and wherein said means for supplying a reference current comprises a voltage source in series with a resistor.

3. A battery charger as recited in claim 2, wherein said biasing means includes a base-to-collector resistor (R_c) connected between a base and a collector terminal of said bipolar transistor and a base-to-emitter resistor (R_e) connected between said base terminal and an emitter terminal of said bipolar transistor, said base-to-collector resistor having a value of resistance substantially equal to a resistance value of said base-to-emitter resistor (R_e) multiplied by a difference between said desired voltage-temperature coefficient and said transistor voltage-temperature coefficient divided by a voltage-temperature coefficient of said transistor.

4. A charger circuit for supplying to a battery an output voltage having a desired temperature coefficient (TC), comprising:

a voltage regulator having an input terminal and having an output connected to supply a charging voltage to the battery;

a source of reference voltage connected to said voltage regulator input; and

a base-to-emitter voltage (V_be) multiplier circuit connected between said voltage regulator input and the output of said voltage regulator, said V_be multiplier circuit including a bipolar transistor and transistor biasing means in circuit with said transistor for operating said transistor in an active region thereof whereby the charging voltage supplied by said voltage regulator is temperature compensated in accordance with a negative voltage-temperature coefficient operating characteristic of said transistor.

5. A power supply as recited in claim 4, further comprising a feedback resistor (R_F) in series with said V_be multiplier circuit and an input resistor (R_i) connected between said source of reference voltage and said first voltage regulator input.

6. A power supply as recited in claim 5, wherein a resistance value of said base-to-collector resistor (R_c) is substantially equal to a resistance value of said base-to-emitter resistor (R_e) divided by a temperature coefficient of said transistor and multiplied by a difference between said desired temperature coefficient and said transistor temperature coefficient.