Battery charger
AssigneeMilwaukee Electric Tool Corporation
InventorsMatthew R. Polakowski, Gareth Mueckl, Justin D. Dorman, Patrick S. Lueck, Douglas G. Schwartz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A battery connector, an electrical combination and methods. The electrical combination may include a battery connector including a housing with a support portion for a battery pack, and a circuit supported by the housing, the circuit including a universal serial bus (USB) input terminal connectable to a USB cable for receiving power, a charging terminal connectable to a pack terminal of the battery pack, and a battery charging portion operable to receive power from the USB input terminal and to output a charging current to the charging terminal to charge the battery pack.
Claims20
A battery pack charger comprising:
- a housing including a support portion configured to receive a battery pack;
- a universal serial bus (“USB”) input terminal connectable to a USB cable for receiving power;
- a charging terminal electrically connectable to a terminal of the battery pack;
- a battery charging portion operable to receive power from the USB input terminal and to output a charging current to the charging terminal to charge the battery pack;
- and
- an electronic controller configured to:
- determine a power input received by the USB input terminal,
- control, in response to determining that a first power input is received by the USB input terminal, the battery charging portion to operate at a first charging rate, and
- control, in response to determining that a second power input is received by the USB input terminal, the battery charging portion to operate at a second charging rate, the second charging rate being different than the first charging rate.
A method of charging a battery pack with a battery pack charger, the battery pack charger including a housing, the housing including a support portion configured to receive a battery pack, the method comprising:
- electrically connecting the battery pack to a battery pack charging portion of the battery pack charger;
- receiving, by the battery pack charging portion, a power input from a universal serial bus (“USB”) input terminal;
- determining, with an electronic controller of the battery pack charger, the power input received by the USB input terminal;
- controlling, with the electronic controller and in response to determining that a first power input is received by the USB input terminal, the battery pack charging portion to operate at a first charging rate;
- controlling, with the electronic controller and in response to determining that a second power input is received by the USB input terminal, the battery charging portion to operate at a second charging rate, the second charging rate being different than the first charging rate;
- and
- outputting a charging current from the battery pack charging portion to the battery pack at the first charging rate or the second charging rate to charge the battery pack.
An electrical combination comprising:
- a battery pack;
- and
- a battery pack charger including:
- a housing including a support portion configured to receive the battery pack,
- an input terminal configured to connect to a power source,
- a charging terminal electrically connectable to a terminal of the battery pack,
- a battery charging portion operable to receive power from the input terminal and to output a charging current to the charging terminal to charge the battery pack;
- and
- an electronic controller configured to:
- determine a power input received by the input terminal,
- control, in response to determining that a first power input is received by the input terminal, the battery charging portion to operate at a first charging rate, and
- control, in response to determining that a second power input is received by the USB input terminal, the battery charging portion to operate at a second charging rate, the second charging rate being different than the first charging rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.