A METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A VEHICLE BATTERY

摘要

A method of and apparatus for charging a vehicle battery (2) in which the actual charging voltage produced by a generator (1) connected for charging the battery (2) is detected along with the battery temperature, a parameter representative of the charging condition of the battery (2) (usually the specific gravity of the electrolyte) and the electrical load on the battery (2). By means of a computer (20) a reference voltage value is then derived as a predetermined function of the said detected temperature, charging condition and load, and the operation of a generator (1) is controlled to adjust the battery charging voltage to the reference voltage value. The computer (20) may be programmed to calculate this reference value directly or it may be derived by the computer (20) from a basic value selected from a range of values stored within the computer (20), in response to the detected temperature, charging condition and load. An alarm (10) may be actuated when the generator (1) is not operating.