Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Serially connected batteries or cells
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-08
2001-03-20
Wong, Peter S. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Serially connected batteries or cells
C320S106000, C320S110000, C320S111000, C320S113000, C439S951000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06204632
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to battery chargers, and more particularly, to battery charging devices for use with batteries and/or battery packs having diverse configuration and charging requirements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many devices on the market today require batteries for their power source. Each of these devices may impose their own requirements on the battery, for instance, the batteries form factor, voltage and charge delivering capability. There are many examples of devices that require non-standard batteries such as cellular phones and notebook computers. Often the battery is externally attached to the device and become part of its ornamental design. Some devices, such as a family of power tools, share a common battery pack with a proprietary form factor. Allowing a device to only accept a battery pack with a non-standard form factor ensures that batteries used in a device will meet the requirements of the device. For these reasons, and many others, the manufactures of devices will often design a battery (or battery pack) in tandem with the device.
For each specially designed battery, however, a corresponding battery charger generally has to be designed that will accept both the form factor of the battery and charge the battery in a manner that it requires. Since many battery chargers step down line voltage to a low voltage that can be used to charge the battery, the use of line voltage imposes a requirement on the manufacturer that the battery charger be certified safe by a certification authority such as Underwriter's Lab (UL). The battery charger is often designed near the end of the development cycle once the design of the battery is known, even though certification requirements for the battery charger may unnecessarily delay the introduction of the device.
The myriad of configurations of battery chargers provided to accommodate the various known battery shapes, sizes, and load capabilities is potentially burdensome for a user of the device. Unfortunately, because there are so many different types of battery chargers, it is not unusual for a person to own multiple battery charging devices—one being required for each unique battery configuration. This is both expensive for the user and inefficient in space and outlet usage. The cost to the manufacturer for complying with the certification requirements for a battery charger is also unnecessarily expensive and time consuming.
Thus, a need exists for a new battery charging system that reduces the need for a user to buy multiple battery charging devices, reduces the space and outlet usage associated with operating the battery charging device, and reduces the manufacturer's cost and lead time in designing and producing and battery charging devices. The present invention is directed to fulfilling these needs and others as described below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a modular battery charging system is provided. The modular battery charging system comprises a power supply module which electrically couples to one or more battery charging modules. Two embodiments for realizing this invention are described herein. In a first embodiment, the modular battery charging system includes a power supply, an elongated track, a power connector for electrically coupling the power supply to the elongated track, and at least one battery charging module. The power supply converts a line voltage from a standard electrical outlet to a stepped-down voltage that may be used to charge batteries directly, or may be further stepped down by the battery charging modules. The stepped down voltage produced by the power supply is at or below the voltage level for which certification is required from a certification authority (approximately 30 volts or less). The elongated track has conductive track strips extending longitudinally along the track. The battery charging module electrically interconnects with the track strips by way of the power connector.
In one arrangement, the battery charging module includes: a housing; a charging unit positioned and supported within the housing; a number of electrical connection components arranged to inter-couple the track strips and the charging unit; and a receiving port configured to receive a battery's form factor and provide the electrical connections necessary for coupling the battery to the charging unit.
A second embodiment is provided having a power supply module and one or more battery charging modules. Each battery charging module includes a housing having an electrical input port and an electrical output port, a charging unit positioned and supported within the housing, and a number of electrical connection components. The electrical components include a first connection extending between the electrical input port and the electrical output port. A second connection extends between the first connection and the charging unit, thereby placing the charging unit in a parallel arrangement with the first connection. During use, the electrical input port of a first battery charging module is connected directly to the power supply output port, and the electrical input port of additional battery charging modules are connected directly to the previous battery charging module electrical output port. In this manner a “train” of battery charging modules is formed, headed by a single power supply module.
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Nierescher David S.
Paratore Robert M.
Van Schalkwijk Walter A.
Davison James L.
Selfcharge
Tibbits Pia
Wong Peter S.
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