Patent ID: 8093859

Claim:
A charging system comprising a battery pack and a charging device, wherein the battery pack comprises: a battery cell; and a plurality of identifiers that identify a configuration of the battery cell, and the charging device comprises: a charging unit that charges the battery pack; a signal transmission unit that transmits a first signal and a second signal to the battery pack separately to read the plurality of identifiers when the battery pack is attached to the charging unit; a reading unit that reads the plurality of identifiers according to the first and second signals to determine the configuration of the battery cell; and a control unit that controls the charging unit according to the configuration of the battery cell; wherein the plurality of identifiers include a first battery identifying resistor and a second battery identifying resistor connected to the first battery identifying resistor in series, the first and second battery identifying resistors having a first resistance and a second resistance, respectively; wherein the battery pack further comprises a switching portion connected to the second battery identifying resistor in parallel to short-circuit the second battery identifying resistor by the signal transmission unit; wherein the switching portion short-circuits the second battery identifying resistor on receiving the first signal, and the reading unit reads only the first resistance to determine a number of battery cell connected in series; and wherein the switching portion operationally connects the second battery identifying resistor to the first battery identifying resistor in series on receiving the second signal, the reading unit reads combined resistances of the first and second battery identifying resistances to determine a connection manner of the battery cells in the battery pack.