Patent ID: 8564242

Claim:
A battery charger, said battery charger including: a socket for removably receiving a battery, said socket having components through which charging current can be supplied to the battery and through which data from the battery can be read; a current source connected to said socket components for applying a charging current to the battery; test components that are connected to said battery through said socket components to which the battery is selectively connected as part of processes for performing a plurality of different state-of-health evaluations on the battery; and a processor, said processor being: connected to said socket components for reading data from the battery; connected to said current source for regulating the charging of the battery; and being connected to said test components for regulating the state-of-health evaluations performed on the battery wherein, said processor is configured to: read from the battery data indicating if the battery was, prior to attachment to said charger, exposed to a harsh environment; if the battery data indicates the battery was not exposed to a harsh environment, cause said test components to perform a partial state-of-health evaluation on the battery; and if the battery data indicates that the battery was exposed to a harsh environment, cause said test components to perform a full state-of-health evaluation on the battery, the full state-of-health evaluation including the partial state-of-health evaluation and a further state-of-health evaluation.