Battery charger for electric vehicle

摘要

A battery charger 10 for an electric vehicle comprises a charging controller 20 for identifying parameters of a power supply connected to the battery charger 10, and an output power regulator 35 responsive to the charging controller 20 for regulating a charging current to a vehicle battery. The charging controller determines the initial charging current based upon the geographic location of the power supply. The location can be determined using either a global navigation satellite system or by dead reckoning. Charging parameters can be determined by referring to a database of geographic locations of power supplies. The charging controller can determine if the supply is a domestic supply or an electric vehicle charging station and can determine electrical characteristics of the supply, including whether an earth connection is present and the supply circuit resistance. Current drawn on the connected power supply can be increased until a voltage drop is detected and the current draw set as the last current value where no voltage drop was detected.