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:
Nov. 25, 1997
Filed:
Dec. 10, 1996
Tamiji Nagai, Kanagawa, JP;
Hitoshi Akiho, Kanagawa, JP;
Sony Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A voltage at the time of full charging of a battery being charged is set to be larger for a lithium ion battery than for a nickel cadmium battery. Charging of the battery is then carried out using a constant current circuit and a fixed voltage circuit. If the item being charged is a lithium ion battery, a current detection circuit detects when the charging current is less than a prescribed value, a control circuit switches off a switch and the charging is halted. If the item being charged is a nickel cadmium battery, a -.DELTA.V detection circuit detects when the terminal voltage for the battery becomes low (-.DELTA.V) and the charging is halted. Different types of batteries of the same shape can therefore be charged in the same charging equipment while damage to the batteries during the charging operation is prevented.