Charging of storage batteries
AssigneeVarta Batterie Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsGerhard Schmitt, Gerhard Knierim
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A battery is charged using a heavy charging phase, followed by a pulse charging phase. During the latter, charging continues beyond a predetermined battery voltage, for a predetermined interval. During a measuring portion of the succeeding charging pause, the falling battery rest potential is measured and the pulse charging phase is terminated when the measured rest potential no longer falls below a predetermined level.
Claims7
A method of charging a storage battery, utilizing a heavy charging phase followed by a pulse charging phase, and comprising the steps of:
- charging during said heavy charging phase with constant current until a predetermined battery voltage U1 is reached;
- charging during the subsequent pulse charging phase with constant current pulses which include a charge-continuation interval t1 following the attainment of said battery voltage U1 in response to each said pulse;
- shutting off the charging pulse at the end of each t1 interval for a pause of duration t2;
- measuring the battery rest potential during a measuring interval t3 within said pause and comparing said rest potential with a reference value;
- and
- terminating the pulse charging phase when said rest potential ceases to fall below said reference value during a measuring interval.
A storage battery charging system wherein continuous heavy charging is used to bring the battery voltage up to a predetermined level U1, said system comprising:
- means responsive to the attainment of said voltage U1 to continue charging said battery for a period t1 and discontinuing said charging at the end of said period t1;
- means for sensing the dropping of said battery voltage after said discontinuing to a level U2;
- means responsive to said U2 level sensing to start both a measuring interval of duration t3 and a pause in the charging of duration t2 longer than t3;
- means for comparing said battery voltage with a reference voltage U3 lower than U2 during said measuring interval;
- and
- means for restarting said charging only if said battery voltage falls below said voltage U3 during said measuring interval t3.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.