Patent ID: 7471066

Claim:
A battery charging system comprising: at least one battery pack having positive and negative terminals; a bulk battery charger having a pair of DC charging wires to said positive and negative terminals for delivering charging current to said at least one battery pack; an AC or DC power source for said bulk battery charger; a battery management system in said battery pack for controlling said at least one bulk battery charger connected directly to said positive and negative terminals and having means for monitoring relevant state conditions of said battery pack; said at least one battery pack being a plurality of batteries in a battery pack, each said battery having a measurement and equalization node communicating with an equalization power supply providing auxiliary power directly to each said battery node when said battery management system determines said battery pack is deficient in charge and while said bulk battery charger is charging said batteries; and, an equalization power supply controlled by said battery management system for supplying said auxiliary power to each said battery node.