Patent ID: 6727678
Filing Date: 2004-04-27
Classification: H02J

Abstract:
A rechargeable-battery protection circuit for use with a rechargeable battery unit for protecting the rechargeable battery unit against over voltage/current;the rechargeable-battery protection circuit comprising: (a) an over voltage/current detection circuit coupled to the rechargeable battery unit for detecting whether the rechargeable battery unit is under an over voltage/current condition; if yes, the over voltage/current detection generating an abnormal signal and an alarm-enable signal, and transferring the abnormal signal and the alarm-enable signal, respectively, to a microprocessor and an alarm unit coupled to the over voltage detection circuit; b) the microprocessor being adapted to generate a recharge-disable signal in response to the abnormal signal from the over voltage/current detection circuit; (c) a recharging circuit coupled to the microprocessor and to the rechargeable battery unit, the recharging circuit performing a recharging process on the rechargeable battery unit; the recharging process being capable of being stopped in response to the recharge-disable signal generated by the microprocessor, and the recharging circuit includes DC-to-DC conversion means for converting the over voltage/current magnitude to a lower voltage/current magnitude; and (d) the alarm unit being adapted to generate a human-perceivable alarm in response to the alarm-enable signal generated by the over voltage/current detection circuit.