METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BATTERY CHARGING

摘要

A combination including a battery pack and a battery charger operable to supply a charging current to the battery pack. The battery pack includes a first battery terminal, a second battery terminal, and a battery cell having a present state of charge. The battery cell is coupled to at least one of the first battery terminal and the second battery terminal. The battery pack also includes a battery microcontroller coupled to at least one of the first battery terminal and the second battery terminal. The microcontroller is operable to measure the present state of charge of the battery cell to produce battery cell present state of charge measurements. The battery charger includes a first charger terminal configured to couple to at least one of the first battery terminal and the second battery terminal and a second charger terminal configured to couple to at least one of the first battery terminal and the second battery terminal. The first charger terminal is configured to supply charging current to the battery pack. The battery charger also includes a charger microcontroller coupled to the second charger terminal and operable to receive the battery cell present state of charge measurements from the battery microcontroller. The charger microcontroller is also operable to supply the charging current to the battery pack in pulses, wherein each pulse includes a first time interval where charging current is being supplied to the battery and a second time interval where charging current is being suspended from the battery. The microcontroller is further operable to modify the first time interval of a pulse based at least in part on the battery cell present state of charge measurements received from the battery microcontroller.