초록 ▼

A rechargeable electrochemical cell charger is provided for charging electrochemical cells at high current rates. The charger provides a sufficient force between the charge contacts and the cell terminals to remove nonconductive contaminants when the cell is inserted into the charger, thereby increa

A rechargeable electrochemical cell charger is provided for charging electrochemical cells at high current rates. The charger provides a sufficient force between the charge contacts and the cell terminals to remove nonconductive contaminants when the cell is inserted into the charger, thereby increasing the conductivity at the point of contact. The charger can include an air moving system for the dissipation of heat from the electrochemical cell during charging, and a heat sensor to determine the cell temperature during charging.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. An electrochemical cell charger of the type that delivers a charge to an electrochemical cell, the charger comprising: at least one battery compartment adapted to receive an electrochemical cell, the battery compartment including: a positive charge contact having a ridged cell-engaging

We claim: 1. An electrochemical cell charger of the type that delivers a charge to an electrochemical cell, the charger comprising: at least one battery compartment adapted to receive an electrochemical cell, the battery compartment including: a positive charge contact having a ridged cell-engaging surface adapted to wipe a positive terminal of the electrochemical cell to remove oxidation from the positive terminal, the ridged cell engaging surface comprising at least two outwardly extending, spaced apart ridges, the at least two ridges having different lengths, each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; a negative charge contact adapted to wipe a negative terminal of the electrochemical cell to remove oxidation from the negative terminal; and wherein the charger is operable to provide the electrochemical cell an average charge current of at least 4 Amps. 2. The charger as recited in claim 1, further comprising an air moving system that causes ambient air to be delivered to the electrochemical cell. 3. The charger as recited in claim 2, wherein the ambient air has a temperature less than air surrounding the electrochemical cell during charging. 4. The charger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a controller coupled to the positive and negative charge contacts, wherein the controller determines the charge current to be provided to the electrochemical cell. 5. The charger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a thermistor disposed proximal one of the cell terminals, the thermistor in electrical communication with the controller to sense a cell temperature. 6. The charger as recited in claim 5, wherein a maintenance charge is applied to the cell at a level below about 100 mA if the sensed temperature is greater than a predetermined temperature. 7. The charger as recited in claim 6, wherein the maintenance charge is at least about 50 mA. 8. The charger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a sensing contact engaging the negative cell terminal, the sensing contact in electrical communication with the controller to sense an open circuit voltage of the cell during charging. 9. The charger as recited in claim 8, wherein the charge current is delivered if a suitable open circuit voltage is detected by the controller. 10. The charger as recited in claim 9, wherein the charge current is delivered at an applied voltage that is determined by the controller in response to the open circuit voltage detected. 11. The charger as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of negative charge contacts engaging the negative cell terminal, each of the contacts delivering current to the cell. 12. The charger as recited in claim 11, further comprising three negative charge contacts engaging the negative cell terminal, each of the contacts delivering current to the cell. 13. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the ridges extend substantially horizontally along the cell-engaging surface. 14. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the ridges extend substantially vertically along the cell-engaging surface. 15. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the positive charge contact is biased against the positive cell terminal under a force greater than about three pounds. 16. The charger as recited in claim 15, wherein the positive charge contact is biased against the positive cell terminal under a force greater than about four pounds. 17. The charger as recited in claim 15, wherein the force is less than about 10 pounds. 18. The charger as recited in claim 17, wherein the force is less than about 7 pounds. 19. The charger as recited in claim 15, wherein the positive charge contact is carried by a plug and biased against the plug under a spring force. 20. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the charge current is greater than about 4 Amps. 21. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the charge current is greater than about 8 Amps. 22. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the charge current is greater than substantially 10 Amps. 23. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the charge current is less than about 20 Amps. 24. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the charge current is less than about 15 Amps. 25. The charger as recited in claim 1, wherein the charger provides a constant voltage charge greater than about 1.2 Volts across the terminal ends of the electrochemical cell. 26. The charger as recited in claim 25, wherein the constant voltage charge is greater than about 1.5 Volts across the terminal ends. 27. The charger as recited in claim 25, wherein the constant voltage charge is less than about 2 Volts across the terminal ends. 28. The charger as recited in claim 27, wherein the constant voltage charge is less than about 1.7 Volts across the terminal ends. 29. The charger as recited in claim 2, wherein the air moving system comprises a fan that causes ambient air to flow across the electrochemical cell. 30. The charger as recited in claim 29, wherein the air moving system further comprises a vent disposed proximal the electrochemical cell that receives the ambient air. 31. The charger as recited in claim 30, wherein the air mover creates a negative pressure at the vent to draw ambient air around the cell. 32. The charger as recited in claim 1, configured to receive and charge a cylindrical cell. 33. The charger as recited in claim 32, configured to receive and charge both size AA and AAA cells. 34. The charger as recited in claim 33, configured to receive electrochemical cells incorporating a switch that reversibly opens in response to an elevated cell pressure during charging to prevent the cell from receiving the charge current. 35. The charger as recited in claim 1, configured to receive electrochemical cells incorporating a switch that reversibly opens in response to an elevated cell pressure during charging to prevent the cell from receiving the charge current. 36. An electrochemical cell charger of the type that delivers a charge to an electrochemical cell, the charger comprising: at least one battery compartment adapted to receive an electrochemical cell, wherein the battery compartment includes a positive charge contact having a ridged outer surface adapted to wipe a positive terminal of the electrochemical cell to remove oxidation from the positive terminal, the ridged outer surface comprising at least two outwardly extending, spaced apart ridges having different lengths, each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; and a negative charge contact adapted to wipe a negative terminal of the electrochemical cell to remove oxidation from the negative terminal; an air moving system including a vent disposed proximal the battery compartment, and a forced air source that draws ambient air into the vent; and wherein the charger is configured to provide the received electrochemical cell an average charge current of at least 4 Amps. 37. The charger as recited in claim 36, further comprising a controller in electrical communication with positive and negative charge contacts of positive and negative terminal ends, respectively, of the cell, wherein the controller determines the charge current to the electrochemical cell. 38. The charger as recited in claim 37, further comprising a thermistor disposed proximal one of the terminal ends that provides a signal that reflects the measured cell temperature to the controller. 39. The charger as recited in claim 38, wherein the thermistor is connected to a sensing contact that measures an open circuit voltage of the cell and is connected to the controller. 40. The charger as recited in claim 36, further comprising at least one positive and one negative charge contact engaging a positive and a negative terminal end of the cell, respectively. 41. The charger as recited in claim 40, wherein the cell is engaged under a force of at least three pounds. 42. The charger as recited in claim 41, wherein the cell is engaged under a force of at least four pounds. 43. The charger as recited in claim 41, wherein the force is less than about 10 pounds. 44. The charger as recited in claim 41, wherein the force is less than about 7 pounds. 45. The charger as recited in claim 41, further comprising a plug that supports the positive charge contact, wherein the positive charge contact is biased against the plug under a spring force. 46. A method of charging a rechargeable electrochemical cell disposed in a charger, the method comprising: (A) inserting at least one of a size AA and size AAA rechargeable electrochemical cell into a cell charging cradle and engaging and wiping positive and negative cell terminals against a plurality of outwardly extending ridges carried by positive and negative charge contacts, respectively, to remove impediments from the respective positive and negative cell terminals, wherein at least two of the plurality of outwardly extending ridges carried by the positive charge contact have different lengths each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; and (B) providing the at least one of a size AA and size AAA rechargeable electrochemical cell an average charge current of at least 4 Amps. 47. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (B) further comprises providing a steady charge current. 48. The method as recited in claim 47, wherein step (B) further comprises receiving alternating current from an electrical receptacle, rectifying the received current, and providing the rectified current. 49. The method as recited in claim 47, wherein step (B) further comprises receiving current from an electrical receptacle, and providing the received current without further pulsating the received current. 50. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (B) further comprising receiving current from an electrical receptacle, pulsating the received current, and providing the pulsated current. 51. The method as recited in claim 46, further comprising the step of: (C) moving air across at least a portion of the electrochemical cell with an air mover attached to at least a portion of the charger. 52. The method as recited in claim 51, further comprising drawing air across the cell with a fan. 53. The method as recited in claim 52, further comprising drawing air into the charger through a vent disposed proximal the cell. 54. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (A) further comprises biasing at least one of the charge contacts against the cell under a force of at least three pounds. 55. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (A) further comprises biasing at least one of the charge contacts against the cell under a force of at least four pounds. 56. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (A) further comprises biasing at least one of the charge contacts against the cell under a force of less than about 10 pounds. 57. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (A) further comprises biasing at least one of the charge contacts against the cell under a force of less than about 7 pounds. 58. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (A) further comprises removing oxidation from the positive cell terminal. 59. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein step (A) further comprises removing oxidation from the negative cell terminal. 60. The method as recited in claim 51, further comprising sensing a cell temperature during charging. 61. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising applying a maintenance charge less than about 100 mA when the sensed temperature is greater than a predetermined threshold. 62. The method as recited in claim 61, wherein the maintenance charge is greater than about 50 mA. 63. The method as recited in claim 46, further comprising the step of providing a constant voltage charge greater than about 1.2 Volts across the terminal ends of the electrochemical cell. 64. The method as recited in claim 63, wherein the constant voltage charge is less than about 2 Volts across the terminal ends of the electrochemical cell. 65. The method as recited in claim 63, further comprising the step of receiving an electrochemical cell incorporating a reversible switch that opens in response to an elevated internal cell pressure to prevent the cell from receiving the charge current. 66. A method of applying a charge across a positive terminal and a negative terminal of a rechargeable electrochemical cell in a charger, the charger including a positive contact and a negative contact disposed in a charging cavity, each of the positive and negative contacts having a ridged contact surface with a plurality of outwardly extending ridges thereon, at least two of the plurality of outwardly extending ridges of the positive contact have different lengths, each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; the method comprising: (A) inserting an electrochemical cell into the charging cavity at an angle; (B) wiping the cell terminals against the ridges of the ridged contact surface of the corresponding charge contacts to remove oxidation from the cell terminals; and (C) applying a force of at least 3 pounds from one of the charge contacts against the corresponding cell terminal. 67. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein the applied force is at least 4 pounds. 68. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein the applied force is less than about 10 pounds. 69. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein the applied force is less than about 7 pounds. 70. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein one of the contacts comprises a protrusion extending towards the cavity, wherein step (B) further comprises bringing at least one of the terminals against a protrusion. 71. The method as recited in claim 66, further comprising carrying at least one of the charge contacts with a nonconductive plug. 72. The method as recited in claim 71, further comprising biasing the at least one charge contact against a cavity-facing wall of the nonconductive plug. 73. The method as recited in claim 66, further comprising: (D) providing an average charge current to the electrochemical cell at a level of at least about 4 Amps that is received by the cell. 74. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein the charge current is at least about 8 Amps. 75. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein the charge current is at least 10 Amps. 76. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein the charge current is less than 20 Amps. 77. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein the charge current is less than about 15 Amps. 78. An electrochemical cell charger of the type that delivers a charge to an electrochemical cell, the charger comprising: a positive contact, the positive contact having a ridged contact surface adapted to engage and wipe a positive terminal of the cell to remove oxidation from the positive terminal, the ridged contact surface comprising at least two outwardly extending, spaced apart ridges having different lengths each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; and a negative contact, the negative contact having a ridged contact surface adapted to engage and wipe a negative terminal of the cell to remove oxidation from the negative terminal, wherein the charger is operable to provide an engaged cell an average charge current of at least 4 Amps for at least 5 minutes. 79. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 78, wherein the average charge current is less than about 10 Amps. 80. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 79, wherein the average charge current is applied for at least 10 minutes. 81. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 80, wherein the average charge current is applied for at least 15 minutes. 82. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 78, wherein the positive and negative contacts engage the positive and negative terminals, respectively, under at least 3 pounds of pressure. 83. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 78, further comprising an air mover operable to deliver ambient air over the electrochemical cell. 84. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 83, further comprising a vent disposed proximal the electrochemical cell, the vent receiving the ambient air under pressure supplied by the air mover. 85. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 78, further comprising a thermistor coupled to one of the positive and negative contacts for sensing a cell temperature. 86. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 78, configured to receive and deliver the charge to both size AA and AAA electrochemical cells. 87. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 86, configured to receive electrochemical cells incorporating a switch that reversibly opens in response to an elevated cell pressure during charging to prevent the cell from receiving the charge current. 88. The electrochemical cell charger as recited in claim 78, configured to receive electrochemical cells incorporating a switch that reversibly opens in response to an elevated cell pressure during charging to prevent the cell from receiving the charge current. 89. An electrochemical cell charger of the type that delivers a charge to an electrochemical cell, the charger comprising: a positive contact, the positive contact having a ridged contact surface adapted to engage and wipe a positive terminal of the cell, the ridged cell-engaging surface comprising at least two outwardly extending, spaced apart ridges having different lengths each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; and a negative contact, the negative contact having a ridged contact surface adapted to engage and wipe a negative terminal of the cell, wherein the positive and negative contacts are arranged to receive the cell at an angle, and at least one of the contacts is configured to provide a force of at least 3 pounds to the cell terminals. 90. The charger as recited in claim 89, wherein the applied force is at least 4 pounds. 91. The charger as recited in claim 89, wherein the applied force is less than about 10 pounds. 92. The charger as recited in claim 89, wherein the applied force is less than about 7 pounds. 93. The charger as recited in claim 89, wherein at least one of the charge contacts is carried by a nonconductive plug. 94. The charger as recited in claim 93, wherein the at least one charge contact is biased against a cavity-facing wall of the nonconductive plug. 95. The charger as recited in claim 89, wherein an average charge current applied to the electrochemical cell is at a level of at least about 4 Amps. 96. The charger as recited in claim 95, wherein the average charge current is at least about 8 Amps. 97. The charger as recited in claim 95, wherein the average charge current is at least 10 Amps. 98. The charger as recited in claim 95, wherein the average charge current is less than 20 Amps. 99. The charger as recited in claim 95, wherein the average charge current is less than about 15 Amps. 100. An electrochemical cell charger of the type that delivers a charge to an electrochemical cell, the charger comprising: a positive contact, the positive contact being adapted to engage and wipe a positive terminal of the cell, and a negative contact, the negative contact being adapted to engage and wipe a negative terminal of the cell, at least the positive contact having a ridged contact surface comprising at least two outwardly extending, spaced apart ridges having different lengths each of the at least two ridges having longitudinal side edges and transverse ends, each of the transverse ends extending between and connecting the longitudinal side edges, the transverse ends and the longitudinal side edges defining a continuous loop; wherein the positive and negative contacts are arranged to receive the cell at an angle, and at least one of the contacts is configured to provide a force of at least 3 pounds to the cell terminals; an air moving system including a vent disposed proximal the battery compartment, and a forced air source that draws ambient air into the vent; and a thermistor disposed proximal one of the cell terminals operable to measure a cell temperature, wherein the charger is operable to provide an engaged cell an average charge current of at least 4 Amps for at least 5 minutes.