Patent ID: 7557538

Claim:
Control means for a serial battery charger, said serial battery charger comprising: a charging current source and a plurality of battery charging sections connected in series, each said battery charging section comprising first and second parallel branches, said first parallel branch comprising: a bypassing switch which forms a low impedance bypassing shunt across said second parallel branch when actuated, said second parallel branch comprising: an electronic isolation means connected in series with a pair of battery contact terminals for connecting a battery to said battery charging section for battery charging, said electronics isolation means when actuated substantially isolating said battery from said battery charging section, said electronic isolation means providing a low-impedance connection to said battery when de-actuated and a high-impedance connection to said battery when actuated, wherein said control means repetitively actuates the bypassing switches of said plurality of battery charging sections for battery voltage measurements when batteries connected to said battery charging sections are still under battery charging conditions.