The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 03, 1991
Filed:
Nov. 14, 1989
Hobart R Everett, Jr, San Diego, CA (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
The present invention is a battery charging system that provides automatic oltage selection, short circuit protection, and delayed output to prevent arcing or pitting. A second embodiment of the invention provides a homing beacon which transmits a signal so that a battery powered mobile robot may home in on and contact the invention to charge its battery. The invention includes electric terminals isolated from one another. One terminal is grounded and the other has a voltage applied to it through a resistor connected to the output of a DC power supply. A voltage scaler is connected between the resistor and the hot terminal. An On/Off controller and a voltage mode selector sense the voltage provided at the output of the voltage scaler. The On/Off controller provides an output whenever V.sub.a <V.sub.H <V.sub.b, where V.sub.a is a reference voltage, V.sub.H is a voltage across the terminals, and V.sub.b is a reference voltage. The voltage mode selector provides an output whenever voltage V.sub.H is less than reference voltage, V.sub.c. An AC power source provides current to the system power supply and to a charge supply. The system power supply provides power to the On/Off controller and the voltage mode selector. The outputs of the On/Off controller and voltage mode select are connected to separate control inputs of the charge supply.