Patent ID: 9350185
Filing Date: 2016-05-24
CPC Classification: H02J

Claim Text:
1. A battery charger for charging at least a first battery having a first battery terminal and a second battery having a second battery terminal, the battery charger comprising: a power supply having a power supply output operative to provide direct current to a load; a distribution module having a distribution module input operatively coupled to the power supply output, a first distribution module output couplable to the first battery terminal to provide direct current to the first battery, a second distribution module output couplable to the second battery terminal to provide direct current to the second battery, a first blocking device coupled between the distribution module input and the first distribution module output, a second blocking device coupled between the distribution module input and the second distribution module output, wherein a voltage drop across the first blocking device and a voltage drop across the second blocking device are selectively controllable by first and second blocking device control signals, respectively; a first current sensor operative to detect a first battery charge current and to provide a first battery charge current-related signal for the first battery coupled to the first distribution module output; a second current sensor operative to detect a second battery charge current and to provide a second battery charge current-related signal for the second battery coupled to the second distribution module output; and a charger control module operatively coupled to the power supply, the first and second current sensors, and the first and second blocking devices, the charger control module configured to receive the first and second battery charge current-related signals from the first and second current sensors, respectively, and to independently provide the first and second blocking device control signals to the first and second blocking devices, respectively, dependent on the received first and second battery charge current-related signals, respectively.