Patent ID: 8120333

Claim:
A method of charging an electrochemical capacitor, comprising: connecting said electrochemical capacitor to a constant current electrical energy source; charging said electrochemical capacitor with electrical energy from said constant current electrical energy source; measuring the voltage of said electrochemical capacitor; comparing the measured voltage with a predetermined voltage value(s); based on a comparison of measured voltages, either further charging said electrochemical capacitor or terminating said charging process; wherein the passing of specified portions of said charging electrical energy by said electrochemical capacitor during charging is controlled; after a specified portion of charging electrical energy is passed by said electrochemical capacitor, recurrently turning off said constant current electrical energy source so as to produce alternating charging and rest periods, each having some duration; measuring the voltage of said electrochemical capacitor at the end of each rest period; comparing the measured voltage at the end of each rest period with the measured voltage obtained at the preceding rest period; using said comparison of voltage measurements to determine a voltage increment; and terminating said charging process when said voltage increment reaches some predetermined value.