Patent ID: 6441583
Filing Date: 2002-08-27
Classification: B60L,H02J,Y02T

Abstract:
A method of charging an electrical battery by means of a charger device able to supply at least one appropriate constant regulation voltage to the battery to be charged, regardless of the nature of the rechargeable cells constituting said battery, provided that said battery has a nominal voltage compatible with said regulation voltage or voltages that said charger device supplies, said method including the following steps:continuously measuring the voltage at terminals of each rechargeable cell of said battery; activating an associated individual shunt circuit connected in parallel with each rechargeable cell as soon as the voltage measured at said terminals of said rechargeable cell exceeds a particular regulation minimum threshold value fixed as a function of the nature of said rechargeable cell and for as long as said measured voltage is above said minimum threshold value; supplying an indication as to whether a balancing maximum threshold value fixed as a function of the nature of a rechargeable cell is exceeded or not by said voltage measured at said terminals of said rechargeable cell; translating into the form of a single binary signal respective indications as to whether said maximum threshold is exceeded or not obtained for each of said rechargeable cells at a given time, said single signal being maintained at a first binary value for as long as none of said voltages measured at said terminals of said rechargeable cells of said battery exceeds said maximum threshold value and at a second value otherwise; and translating said single signal obtained from said indications as to whether said maximum threshold is exceeded or not into a signal controlling switching of a battery charging characteristic between two characteristics that can be selected either directly at the charger device or via an auxiliary device associated therewith.