Control circuit operable to charge a battery at multiple charge rates

A control circuit operable to charge a battery at multiple charge rates, comprising:

• a power source having a power source voltage;
• a voltage regulator producing a charging voltage in response to the power source voltage exceeding a voltage threshold;
• a digital potentiometer providing a feedback voltage to the voltage regulator such that the digital potentiometer is operable to dynamically adjust the charging voltage and a corresponding charging rate of the charging voltage;
• a charge enable circuit operable to enable or disable a charging current of the charging voltage from charging a battery;
• a microcontroller operable to control the charge enable circuit and the digital potentiometer, wherein the microcontroller determines a type of power source, determines the charging voltage and corresponding charging rate in response to the type of power source and a voltage of the battery, and commands the digital potentiometer to adjust the charging voltage such that a difference between the charging voltage and a voltage of the battery may be varied to alter a charging rate of the battery.

A method of charging a battery at multiple charge rates, comprising:

• determining a difference between a desired charging voltage from a power source and a voltage of a battery to be charged;
• and
• selectively adjusting the desired charging voltage to vary the difference and alter a charging rate of the battery, such that the difference is increased to increase the charging rate or is decreased to decrease the charging rate;
• and
• verifying that the charging rate does not cause the power source to exceed its maximum power output.