Battery discriminating system for charging a battery of a mobile terminal

A docking cradle for a mobile terminal, comprising:

• a housing, the housing being adapted to receive and store the mobile terminal;
• a battery charger for charging at least one battery of the mobile terminal;
• and
• a battery discriminator for discriminating whether the at least one battery is of a first battery type or of a second battery type, the first battery type having charge characteristics different from the second battery type;
• wherein the battery charger charges the at least one battery in accordance with the battery type of the at least one battery determined by the battery discriminator, wherein the battery type discrimination is a function of a mechanical feature of the mobile terminal.

A method for charging a mobile terminal, comprising the steps of:

• coupling the mobile terminal to a battery charger, the battery charger being adapted to charge at least one battery of the mobile terminal, the at least one battery being any one of a plurality of battery types having different charge characteristics, the at least one battery being housed in a battery pack, the battery pack being any one of a plurality of types of battery packs corresponding to the plurality of battery types;
• using the battery charger to discriminate the type of the at least one battery from the plurality of battery types based on the type of battery pack, wherein the battery charger discriminates the type of the at least one battery based on a signal received from the mobile terminal corresponding to a mechanical feature of the battery pack, the signal being representative of the type of the at least one battery;
• and
• charging the at least one battery according to the thus determined type of the at least one battery.

A method of determining a charge current to supply a mobile terminal, comprising the steps of:

• receiving the mobile terminal by a cradle, the mobile terminal including a rechargeable battery housed in a battery pack, the battery pack being one of at least two types;
• providing a signal on a status contact associated with the mobile terminal indicative of a type of rechargeable battery included in the mobile terminal, the signal corresponding to a mechanical feature representative of the battery pack type;
• sensing the signal on the status contact of the mobile terminal with a battery discriminator of the cradle;
• and
• providing from the cradle an appropriate charge current to the rechargeable battery based on the signal sensed on the status contact.

A mobile terminal, comprising:

• a housing shaped to be received by a cradle;
• a rechargeable battery;
• and
• battery charging status circuitry disposed in the housing and interfacing with the rechargeable battery;
• the status circuitry providing an output signal to be sensed by circuitry associated with the docking cradle when the mobile terminal is received in the docking cradle, the output signal being of a first signal level if the rechargeable battery is of a first battery type and a second signal level if the rechargeable battery is of a second battery type, wherein the output signal is a function of a mechanical feature of a type of battery pack housing the rechargeable battery, the battery pack being of a first type for the first battery type and being of a second type for the second battery type.