Patent ID: 9705359
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: H01M,H02J,Y02E

Claim:
1. A power system for a mobile cart, comprising: a battery assembly comprising one or more rechargeable batteries, a battery support for supporting each respective one of said batteries wherein said battery support is mountable on a mobile cart and said respective battery is removeably engageable with and disengagable from said battery support from an exterior of said mobile cart, said battery assembly including a battery connector for each said battery which is engageable with said battery when said battery is installed on said respective battery support, each said battery being individually removable from said battery support independently of any other said battery supported by said battery support; a battery control system for recharging said batteries, which has a control unit comprising a power supply removeably connectable to external power, a charge controller receiving power from said power supply when connected to external power and controlling battery charging and discharge, a first power outlet receiving power under the control of said charge controller to provide power to electrical equipment on a mobile cart, a power port for each said battery support, which is selectively connectable to said battery through said battery connector, power flow through each said power port being controlled by said charge controller to control charging of each said battery by external power and discharging of each said battery, wherein discharging of said battery supplies battery power to said first power outlet for use by cart equipment, said control unit permitting removal of any said battery during charging of any said battery on said battery support; and said charge controller charging a respective said battery to an upper charging threshold, wherein said upper charging threshold reflects a battery charge below which said battery is chargeable at a first charging rate and above which said battery charges at a slower second charging rate, each said battery being charged to said upper charging threshold before said charge controller begins to charge each said battery above said upper charging threshold to a full charge using said second charging rate, said charge controller permitting charging of one said battery during removal of any other said battery from said battery support.