CA2127769C

CA2127769C - Speedy - super fast battery charger

Info

Publication number: CA2127769C
Application number: CA002127769A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Qing Sheng Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-07-11
Filing date: 1994-07-11
Publication date: 1997-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 2014-07-11
Also published as: CA2127769A1

Abstract

This invention applies a varying voltage current methodology which restores the battery's voltage exponetially and produces fascinating results. It does not only outperform the conventional chargers in terms of charging speed (under most conditions charging time is from a few minutes to within half an hour) but is also safely applicable to various type of batteries including Nickel Cadmium, Alkaline, Zinc Carbon and Lithium, thus capable to extend an otherwise non rechargeable battery's life from a few times to over ten times.

This super charger package is composed of an insulated plastic exterior box, a power transformer and a printed circuit board with the following major components:
- Relay - A Current Limiting Capacitor Design Charging Circuitry - An Electronic Control Circuitry - LED Indicators Due to the fact that there are no heat dissipating components involved in the charging circuitry, the design has the ability to achieve high power efficiency.

Description

SPECIFICATION: 2 1 2 7 7 6 9 Objective of the Invention:

To provide a really quick battery charging technology which is applicable not only to Nickel Cadmium type but also Alkaline and a few others.
Background Art:
Regular battery chargers requires 5 to 10 long hours to charge a fairly consumed Nickel Cadmium or in some rare cases, Alkaline battery by using a controlled constant voltage, constant current methodology. None of those ever claimed to be able to charge any other types of batteries.
Circuit Description:
T1 Power Transformer Cl(Cl',Cl'',C1''') Voltage Doubler, Current Limiting Capacitor(s) Dl... D6 Diodes Q1 Transistor LED1, 2 Red and Yellow Light Indicators C2... C4 Filtering Capacitors Rl... R9 Resistors S1 Toggle Switch S2, S3 Multi-way Switches K1 (Rl',R1'') Break and Make Relay IC1 IC Switch E0 Recharging Battery Circuit Operation:
Once power is connected the red led will light up indicating input connection is good, circuit is in a standby mode. When S1 is toggled, power is coupled to secondary winding of T1. At the very first positive cycle IC1 is triggered to power up K1, changing the states of K1' and K1'', yellow led will light up, red led off indicating circuit is in operating mode. Since K1'' is made, power is continuously supplied to the circuit.
During the negative cycles, D3 turns on, charging up C1 such that voltage is doubling up at the next positive cycles. This voltage is then filtered by D4, C3 before reaching E0. The resulting current is limited by a~raci'or C1 and also behaves as an exponential function of the internal resistance of E0. Referring to Fig. 2, E0 will reach 80-90% of its rated voKage instantaneously due to the high initial current. ( The battery will not heat up during the whole process. ) Another notable feature of the design is that the applying voltage increases as E0 rises and it constantly exceeds the battery under charge by 0.6-0.7 VoK until it is 16-20% hight than the rated battery voKage. When the said value is achieved, Q1 turns on, signaling IC1 to cut off power from K1. thus K1' and K1" change states again to complete the operating cycle. After operation completed the existence af D5 can also prevent the battery from discharging through the circuit.

S2 and S3 are selection switches whereas S2 selects for a predetermined current limiting capacitor value ( C1', C1", C1"' etc. ) to fuHill current requirements for charging different battery sizes ' M ', ' MA ', ' C ', and ' D ' etc. S3 selects for a predetermined cut off point for charging different battery types e.g. Alkaline or Nickel Cadmium.

Claims

I Claim

1. A super fast battery charger comprising a power supply transformer having a primary and a secondary winding, a switching circuit having controllable switch means connected to said primary winding to control an AC supply to said primary winding, a switch to momentarily connect said AC supply to said primary winding, actuation circuit means to cause actuation of said switching circuit and place said charger circuit in an operating mode with said AC supply continuously connected to said primary winding through said switch means, battery charging terminals to connect a battery to be charged thereto and across said secondary winding through a charging capacitor, a positive one of said capacitor through a clamping diode said charging capacitor developing a charging current during negative cycles of voltage across said secondary winding and during a next positive cycle a charging voltage builds up at the capacitor and increases towards a doubling value of said voltage across said secondary winding to reach an actual voltage of a battery to be charged and connected across said charging terminals, said charging voltage when reaching a value equal to said actual battery voltage causing said charging current to discharge in said battery though said clamping diode until said charging voltage reaches said doubling value said capacitor having a value selected in accordance with the type and voltage rating of a battery to be connected across said terminals to supply high initial current pulses adequate to cause said battery to reach about 80% to 90% of its rated voltage in less than a few minutes, and charge cut-off circuit means to disable said actuation means and said switching circuit to place said charging circuit in a stand-by mode when said charging voltage reaches a predetermined value, and circuit means to prevent said battery having being recharged or overcharged from discharging through said charging circuit.

Claim 2 2. A battery charger as claimed in claim 1 wherein said charging capacitor is a current limiting capacitor connected in a capacitive network comprised of two or more current limiting capacitors having known capacitive values, a selection switch for connecting said positive terminal to selected one of said capacitors through said clamping diode, and a clamping diode, and a coupling diode connected between said selection switch and a negative side of said secondary winding to supply said charging voltage and the build-up of said charging current.

3. A charger circuit as claimed in claim 2 wherein the charging voltage is variable, rising with the potential of the battery under charge, always exceed the battery by a fixed constant and will signal for termination when it is within 16-20% of the battery's rated voltage.

4. A charger circuit as claimed in claim 2 wherein the control circuitry being powered by auxiliary power circuit (D2, C2, R9), using the battery's changing potential as a determination factor to control the on and off state of a transistor which in turn signals an IC switch to control the state of the main relay, thus the state of circuit operation.

5. A charger circuit as claimed in claim 2 wherein featuring a multiple number of current limiting capacitors to exist in the circuit (C1', C1'', C1''' etc.) to serve the different charging power requirements for different sizes and types of batteries.