Patent ID: 8860372

Claim:
A multiple cell battery charger comprising: a regulator for receiving a predetermined input voltage and supplying a regulated supply of DC voltage; a plurality of charging circuits, each charging circuit formed to charge at least one battery cell, said plurality of charging circuits electrically coupled to each other in a parallel relationship forming a parallel circuit, said parallel circuit being electrically coupled to said regulator and connected in parallel with each other, each charging circuit comprising; a pair of terminals for coupling to said at least one battery cell; a switching device serially coupled to said pair of battery terminals for selectively connecting and disconnecting said pair of terminals from said regulator; and a current sensing device for sensing the charging current applied to said at least one battery cell, wherein said current sensing device, said switching device and said pair of terminals are all connected in series forming said charging circuit; a microprocessor operatively coupled to said charging circuits for selectively monitoring the voltage across the pair of terminals in each charging circuit independently and selectively controlling the switching device so as to disconnect said pair of terminals in an individual charging circuit when said at least one battery cell in that individual charging circuit reaches a predetermined voltage.