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:
Dec. 26, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 17, 2000
Mark J Mercer, Tucson, AZ (US);
Stuart B Shacter, Tucson, AZ (US);
National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A control circuit is provided to minimize the charging cycle time of a battery charging system by maximizing the length of time that high constant charging current is applied to a discharged battery. The control circuit includes a constant current (CC) error amplifier, a constant voltage (CV) error amplifier, an output amplifier, and two pole-splitting compensation networks. The control circuit works in conjunction with a power source to charge a secondary battery. The pole-splitting compensation networks allow the CC, CV, and output amplifiers to be configured for high gain, without sacrificing output stability. The control circuit provides a sharp transition between the CC mode and CV mode of operation. In the CC mode, fast bulk battery charging is provided. In the CV mode, the control circuit initially provides a 'top-off' charge to the battery and subsequently safely maintains the battery at its fully charged state. By using bi-directional transconductance error amplifiers as the CC and CV error amplifiers, the control circuit can be optimized for pole-splitting compensation. The control circuit can be operated with a constant internal reference voltage or a variable internal reference voltage. When a variable internal reference voltage is applied, the charging cycle time of the control circuit is further minimized through a charge current compensation technique.