Product Code Database
A battery charger, recharger, or simply charger, is a device that energy storage in an electric battery by running electric current through it. The charging protocol—how much voltage and current, for how long and what to do when charging is complete—depends on the size and type of the battery being charged. Some battery types have high tolerance for overcharging after the battery has been fully charged and can be recharged by connection to a constant voltage source or a constant current source, depending on battery type.
Simple chargers of this type must be manually disconnected at the end of the charge cycle. Other battery types use a timer to cut off when charging should be complete. Other battery types cannot withstand over-charging, becoming damaged (reduced capacity, reduced lifetime), over heating or even exploding. The charger may have temperature or voltage sensing circuits and a microprocessor controller to safely adjust the charging current and voltage, determine the state of charge, and cut off at the end of charge. Chargers may elevate the output voltage proportionally with current to compensate for impedance in the wires.
A trickle charging provides a relatively small amount of current, only enough to counteract self-discharge of a battery that is idle for a long time. Some battery types cannot tolerate trickle charging; attempts to do so may result in damage. Lithium-ion batteries cannot handle indefinite trickle charging.Phil Weicker, A Systems Approach to Lithium-Ion Battery Management, Artech House, 2013 page 26 Slow battery chargers may take several hours to complete a charge. High-rate chargers may restore most capacity much faster, but high-rate chargers can be more than some battery types can tolerate. Such batteries require active monitoring of the battery to protect it from any abusive use. ideally need high-rate chargers. For public access, installation of such chargers and the distribution support for them is an issue in the proposed adoption of electric cars.
For example, for a battery with a capacity of 500 mAh, a discharge rate of 5000 mA (i.e., 5 A) corresponds to a C-rate of 10C, meaning that such a current can discharge 10 such batteries in one hour. Likewise, for the same battery a charge current of 250 mA corresponds to a C-rate of C/2, meaning that this current will increase the state of charge of this battery by 50% in one hour.
Running current through batteries generates internal heat, roughly proportional to the current involved (a battery's current state of charge, condition / history, etc. are also factors). If the charging process is endothermic (which is the case for Ni–Cd batteries, whereas charging nickel–metal hydride batteries is exothermic) the charging process initially cools the battery, but as it reaches full charge, the cooling effect stops and the cell heats up. Detecting a temperature rise of is one way of determining when to stop charging. Battery cells which have been built to allow higher C-rates than usual must make provision for increased heating.
But high C-ratings are attractive to end users because such batteries can be charged more quickly, and produce higher current output in use. High C-rates typically require the charger to carefully monitor battery parameters such as terminal voltage and temperature to prevent overcharging and so damage to the cells. Such high-charging rates are possible only with some battery types. Others will be damaged or possibly overheat or catch fire. Some batteries may even explode. For example, an automobile SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) lead–acid battery carries several risks of explosion.
Simple AC-powered battery chargers usually have much higher ripple current and ripple voltage than other kinds of battery chargers because they are inexpensively designed and built. Generally, when the ripple current is within a battery's manufacturer recommended level, the ripple voltage will also be well within the recommended level. The maximum ripple current for a typical 12V 100Ah VRLA battery is 5 amperes. As long as the ripple current is not excessive (more than 3 to 4 times the level recommended by the battery manufacturer), the expected life of a ripple-charged VRLA battery will be within 3% of the life of a constant DC-charged battery.
The output current of a smart charger depends upon the battery's state. An intelligent charger may monitor the battery's voltage, temperature or charge time to determine the optimum charge current or terminate charging. For Ni–Cd and Ni–MH batteries, the voltage of the battery increases slowly during the charging process, until the battery is fully charged. After that, the voltage decreases because of increasing temperature, which indicates to an intelligent charger that the battery is fully charged. Such chargers are often labeled as a ΔV, "delta-V", or sometimes "delta peak" charger, indicating that they monitor voltage change.
This can cause even an intelligent charger not to sense that the batteries are already fully charged, and continue charging, the result of which may be overcharging. Many intelligent chargers employ a variety of cut-off systems to prevent overcharging. A typical smart charger fast-charges a battery up to about 85% of its maximum capacity in less than an hour, then switches to trickle charging, which takes several hours to top off the battery to its full capacity.
A pedal-powered charger for mobile phones fitted into desks has been created for installation in public spaces, such as airports, railway stations and universities. They have been installed in a number of countries on several continents.
With pulse charging, high instantaneous voltages are applied without overheating the battery. In a lead–acid battery, this breaks down lead-sulfate crystals, thus greatly extending the battery service life.
Several kinds of pulse chargers are patented, "Battery charger with current pulse regulation" patented 1981 United States Patent 4355275 "Pulse-charge battery charger" patented 1997 United States Patent 5633574 while others are open source hardware. Some chargers use pulses to check the current battery state when the charger is first connected, then use constant current charging during fast charge, then use pulse mode to trickle charge it. Some chargers use "negative pulse charging", also called "reflex charging" or "burp charging". These chargers use both positive and brief negative current pulses. There is no significant evidence that negative pulse charging is more effective than ordinary pulse charging.
Although portable solar chargers obtain energy only from the sun, they can charge in low light like at sunset. Portable solar chargers are often used for trickle charging, though some can completely recharge batteries.
Chargers for car batteries come in varying ratings. Chargers that are rated up to two amperes may be used to maintain charge on parked vehicle batteries or for small batteries on garden tractors or similar equipment. A motorist may keep a charger rated a few amperes to ten or fifteen amperes for maintenance of automobile batteries or to recharge a vehicle battery that has accidentally discharged. Service stations and commercial garages will have a large charger to fully charge a battery in an hour or two; often these chargers can briefly source the hundreds of amperes required to crank an internal combustion engine starter.
Onboard EV chargers (change AC power to DC power to recharge the EV's pack) can be:
Power-factor correction (PFC) chargers can more closely approach the maximum current the plug can deliver, shortening charging time.
Some higher-end models feature multiple ports are equipped with a display which Ammeter. Some support communication protocols for charging parameters such as Quick Charge or MediaTek Pump Express. Chargers for 12 V automobile auxiliary power outlets may support input voltages of up to 24 or 32 V DC to ensure compatibility, and are sometimes equipped with a display to monitor current or the voltage of the vehicle's electrical system.
Model: YSY-C009
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Input: 12–32 V
Output: 4USB 5 V-7 A ( 35 W Max ) / 1USB 9 V/12 V-1.8 A
China, the European Union, and other countries are making a national standard on mobile phone chargers using the USB standard. In June 2009, 10 of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop specifications for and support a microUSB-equipped common external power supply (EPS) for all data-enabled mobile phones sold in the EU. On October 22, 2009, the International Telecommunication Union announced that microUSB would be the standard for a universal charger for mobile handsets.
Chargers for stationary battery plants may have adequate voltage regulation and filtration and sufficient current capacity to allow the battery to be disconnected for maintenance, while the charger supplies the direct current (DC) system load. The capacity of the charger is specified to maintain the system load and recharge a completely discharged battery within, say, 8 hours or other intervals.
Most modern , laptop and , and most electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries. These batteries last longest if the battery is frequently charged; fully discharging the cells will degrade their capacity relatively quickly, but most such batteries are used in equipment which can sense the approach of full discharge and discontinue equipment use. When stored after charging, lithium battery cells degrade more while fully charged than if they are only 40–50% charged. As with all battery types, degradation also occurs faster at higher temperatures.
Degradation in lithium-ion batteries is caused by an increased internal battery resistance often due to the cell oxidation. This decreases the efficiency of the battery, resulting in less net current available to be drawn from the battery. However, if Li-ion cells are discharged below a certain voltage a chemical reaction occurs that make them dangerous if recharged, which is why many such batteries in consumer goods now have an "electronic fuse" that permanently disables them if the voltage falls below a set level. The electronic fuse circuitry draws a small amount of current from the battery, which means that if a laptop battery is left for a long time without charging it, and with a very low initial state of charge, the battery may be permanently destroyed.
Motor vehicles, such as boats, RVs, ATVs, motorcycles, cars, trucks, etc. have used lead–acid batteries. These batteries employ a sulfuric acid electrolyte and can generally be charged and discharged without exhibiting memory effect, though sulfation (a chemical reaction in the battery which deposits a layer of sulfates on the lead) will occur over time. Typically sulfated batteries are simply replaced with new batteries, and the old ones recycled. Lead–acid batteries will experience substantially longer life when a maintenance charger is used to "float charge" the battery. This prevents the battery from ever being below 100% charge, preventing sulfate from forming. Proper temperature compensated float voltage should be used to achieve the best results.
Advances in semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have improved energy conversion and thermal management in chargers. High-power DC fast chargers, now capable of delivering 350 kW or more, can replenish suitable EV batteries to 80% in less than 30 minutes. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being integrated into battery management systems to optimize charging rates, predict battery health, extend usable life, and maximize energy efficiency.
Wireless charging, particularly via inductive and resonant coupling, has grown in both range and efficiency, enabling convenient cable-free charging for devices and vehicles. Recent breakthroughs, such as the InductEV system for heavy vehicles, have demonstrated commercial viability for high-power wireless charging in public transit and logistics.
Driven by electric mobility and smart device proliferation, the global battery charger market is projected () to see significant growth through 2035. Smart chargers integrating IoT, AI, and adaptive features are expected to outpace traditional models in adoption worldwide.
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