Charger for remote battery

• US 7,642,743 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2005
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sure Power Industries, Inc. (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Original Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Nolan, Matthew Thomas, Smith, Carl Ray
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fantu; Yalkew
• Application Number:
  US11/312,944
• Time in Patent Office: 1,478 Days
• Field of Search: 320/107, 320/108, 320/109, 323/222, 363/15
• US Class Current: 320/107
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007188 the charge cycle being controlled or terminated in response to non-electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A remote battery charger, comprising a DC-to-DC converter, able to accept a first DC current with a voltage of less than 13 VDC and able to produce, from said first DC current, a second DC current of at least a 15 amps at a voltage of at least 13.5 VDC, provided an adequate first DC current level. Also, the charger includes a current acceptance reduction input, whereby when said input is activated said DC-to-DC converter reduces its acceptance of said first DC current.

Claims

1. A remote battery charger, comprising:

(a) a DC-to-DC converter, able to accept a first DC current with a voltage of less than 13 VDC and able to produce, from said first DC current, a second DC current of at least 15 amps at a voltage of at least 13.5 VDC, provided an adequate first DC current level; and

(b) a current acceptance reduction signal input, whereby when said input is activated by a signal at said signal input said DC-to-DC converter reduces its acceptance of said first current.

2. The remote battery charger of claim 1, wherein when said DC-to-DC converter reduces its acceptance of said first current, it reduces its acceptance of said first current down to a substantially zero current level.

3. A remote battery charger assembly adapted for use in a truck having ABS braking and a brake light wire and a cargo bay interior lighting assembly powered by a cargo bay lighting wire, comprising:

(a) a DC-to-DC converter, able to accept an input DC current at a first voltage and supply an output DC current at a second voltage, the second voltage being different from and higher than said first voltage; and

(b) an input DC current acceptance reduction assembly, accepting as inputs said brake light wire and said cargo bay interior lighting wire and reducing said current acceptance of said DC-to-DC converter when any criterion of a set of criteria is met for its inputs.

4. The remote battery charger assembly of claim 3, wherein when said DC-to-DC converter reduces its acceptance of said first current, it reduces its acceptance of said first current down to a substantially zero current level.

5. The assembly of claim 3, wherein said set of criteria includes only one member criterion.

6. The assembly of claim 3, wherein said set of criteria is user selectable.

7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein said set of criteria is user selectable by way of a set of two position manually adjustable elements that remain in place between instances of adjustment.

8. The assembly of claim 3, wherein said set of criteria includes the criterion that the cargo bay lighting wire is carrying significant electric current.

9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein said assembly responds to satisfaction of said criterion by reducing current input into said DC-to-DC converter to a level less than some positive DC current level.

10. The assembly of claim 3, wherein said set of criteria includes the criterion that the brake light wire is carrying significant electrical current.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein satisfaction of said criteria results in a reduction to a substantially zero level of said DC-to-DC converter input level.

12. A method for operating a remote battery charger assembly adapted for use in a truck having ABS braking and a brake light wire and a cargo bay interior lighting assembly powered by a cargo bay interior lighting wire, comprising:

(a) providing and permitting to operate a remote power charger assembly, including a DC-to-DC converter, able to accept an input DC current at a first voltage and supply an output DC current at a second voltage, the second voltage being different from and higher than said first voltage; and

(b) monitoring said brake light wire and said cargo bay interior lighting wire and reducing said current acceptance of said DC-to-DC converter when a set of criteria is met for said brake light wire and said cargo bay interior lighting wire.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein when said DC-to-DC converter reduces said acceptance of current, it reduces said acceptance of current down to a substantially zero current level.

14. Means for providing an elevated voltage level for charging a remote battery in a truck having both interior lighting means and ABS means, each of which has an on state and an off state, comprising:

(a) DC-to-DC converter means, able to accept an input DC current at a first voltage and supply an output DC current at a second voltage elevated from said first voltage;

(b) input DC current acceptance reduction means, accepting as inputs said brake light means and said cargo bay lighting means and reducing said current acceptance of said DC-to-DC converter when any criterion of a set of criteria is met for its inputs.

15. The means of claim 14, wherein when said input DC current acceptance reduction means reduces said current acceptance of said DC-to-DC converter, it reduces said current acceptance down to a substantially zero current level.

16. A remote battery charger for a tractor-trailer, comprising:

a DC-to-DC converter, comprising

a current input configured to receive a first DC current from a current source at a first voltage;

an output configured to deliver a second DC current to a first load, wherein the second DC current is converted from the first DC current at the first voltage to a second current at a second voltage, the second voltage being higher than the first voltage; and

a signal input configured to determine the presence of a signal at the signal input, the signal indicating that a load coupled to the first DC current exceeds a threshold,

wherein, in response to determining that a signal is present on the signal input, reducing the first DC current received by the current input.

17. The remote battery charger of claim 16, wherein reducing the first DC current comprises reducing the first DC current to zero.

18. The remote battery charger of claim 16, wherein the signal indicates that one of the cabin lights and the antilock braking system is activated.

19. The remote battery charger of claim 16, wherein the threshold is based on a voltage rating of a fuse coupled to the current source.

20. The remote battery charger of claim 16, wherein the threshold is exceeded when a current draw from the load renders available current from the current source insufficient to power an antilock braking system.

21. The remote battery charger of claim 16, wherein the current source comprises a main battery for the tractor trailer.

22. The remote battery charger of claim 16, wherein the first load comprises at least one of a lift gate and a lift gate battery.

23. The remote battery charger of claim 22, wherein the first load is disposed in a trailer of the tractor-trailer.