Battery charger for charging both a frequently and infrequently used battery
AssigneeAsahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorKouhei Iketani
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Abstract
A battery charger used to charge a battery has a voltage detector for detecting a voltage across a battery, a memory for storing detected voltage values, and a comparator for comparing a presently detected voltage with a previously stored voltage. If the detected voltage decreases below a certain value before a predetermined period of time elapses, it is determined that a battery that has been in storage for a long period of time is connected to the battery charger. The battery charger will then apply a constant current to the battery until a second predetermined period of time has elapsed.
Claims11
A battery charger for charging a battery, comprising:
- means for detecting a voltage across said battery;
- means for determining whether said battery is a frequently used battery or a long storage battery, based upon a variation in said voltage detected by said detector means during a first predetermined time period after said battery starts charging;
- and
- means for charging said battery with a first predetermined charging routine if said battery is determined to be a frequently used battery by said determining means, and for charging said battery with a second predetermined charging routine if said battery is determined to be a long storage battery by said determining means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.