Battery charger and charge control system

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other shortcomings and drawbacks of battery charger and charge control system and methods heretofore known.
While the invention will be described in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments.
On the contrary, the invention includes all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
More particularly, the battery system achieves greater efficiencies and cell protection through the application of switchable transistors and monitoring methods.
Charge control circuitry of the battery system measures voltage across each lithium-ion cell in order to sense a ceiling or basement threshold voltage.
The circuitry may enable or disable one or more switchable transistors in response to detecting such a voltage extreme in a respective cell.
Such action allows voltage to equalize as between the cells prior to resuming charging operations.
Similarly, the circuitry may monitor extreme temperatures proximate the cells and disconnect the cells from the charging circuitry in response to detecting an elevated temperature.
As such, heat will dissipate and lower the temperature proximate the cells to a safe level before charging the lithium-ion cells resumes.
The present invention further accounts for potentially low voltage scenarios in the lithium-ion cells by disconnecting them from a discharge device when a basement voltage extreme is detected.
Such provision allows the charging circuitry time to raise the voltage of a critically low cell to a stable level.
As with the above scenarios, the battery charger and charge control system resumes operations in response to sensing that the critical condition has been alleviated.
The above switching and heat efficiencies associated with the charger and charger control circuitry further allow them to mount within a common battery housing, facilitating more compact and robust implementation