Battery charger capable of evaluating battery charge state based on the charging history of the battery

摘要

A battery charger (20) for charging batteries that evaluates the post-charge state of the batteries. A load resistor (70) is associated with each battery. After the charging of the battery, a processor (124) receives signals indicating the voltage-at-load of the battery when it is connected to the load resistor. A memory (282) internal to the battery stores data indicating the number of times the battery has been charged. The processor, based on the data retrieved from the battery memory determines a minimum charge level for the battery based on the number of times the battery has been charged. Based on the voltage-at-load, the processor determines the charge in the battery and compares this charge to the minimum level. The processor then actuates a display (34) on the charger to indicate the results of this comparison. The processor also actuates a display component (32) to cause the charger to indicate the charge state of the battery relative to the amount of charge a new, fully charged battery can store.