Patent ID: 8159178

Claim:
A method of automatically controlling a current or voltage applied to a battery by monitoring a characteristic of an alternating current (AC) line, comprising: determining, in a first module, whether a monitored current or voltage of the battery satisfies a predetermined criterion; responsive to the current or voltage of the battery satisfying the criterion, automatically changing via the first module the characteristic of the AC line using a pattern generator algorithm that produces a modified output that varies the characteristic of the AC line according to a first predetermined pattern that is produced by a first function, wherein the first module includes a first controller programmed with machine-readable instructions for carrying out the generator pattern algorithm and is electrically coupled to the battery and to at least one source of AC energy; and detecting, at a second module remote from the first module via a pattern detection algorithm, the modified output, and, responsive to the detecting, causing the current or voltage applied to the battery for charging the battery to be changed via the first module, wherein the second module includes a second controller programmed with machine-readable instructions for carrying out the pattern detection algorithm and is electrically coupled to the first module.