System to charge cells assembled into a battery

1 . A charger for a plurality of cells, the charger comprising:

the plurality of cells;

a plurality of DC power sources, wherein each DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources is selectively connectable to a corresponding cell of the plurality of cells;

a common DC source in electrical communication with each of the plurality of DC power sources;

voltage and current sensors; and

a CPU configured to selectively control a connection between each DC power source and the corresponding cell and configured to selectively provide a plurality of charging protocols comprising charging a first cell of the plurality of cells with a first charging protocol comprising a constant current to a certain voltage level, a second cell of the plurality of cells with a second charging protocol comprising a constant current followed by a constant voltage to one of a certain minimum current value, a certain maximum duration, or a certain minimum duration, and a third cell of the plurality of cells with a third charging protocol comprising a final constant voltage at a higher or a lower voltage than the constant voltage of the second charging protocol, wherein the first charging protocol, the second charging protocol, and the third charging protocol are different, and wherein each of the first charging protocol, the second charging protocol, and the third charging protocol apply between a time the DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources is connected to the corresponding cell until the DC power source is disconnected from the corresponding cell.

2 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein a charge protocol is different for each cell.

3 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein a charge protocol is remotely controlled for each cell.

4 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein the cells are discharged in series.

5 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein charge cells when a grid power or a power from other generation sources is present and discharge cells when the grid power or the power from other generation sources is not present.

6 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein a grid tied so cells are charged from the grid or from other generation sources or discharge to the grid as desired to control power served by the grid or by other generation source.

7 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein the CPU contains instructions stored in a memory that, when executed on the CPU, configure the CPU to:

charge each cell of the plurality of cells individually.

8 . The charger of claim 1 , further comprising a network interface in signal communication with the CPU, wherein the network interface is configured to provide updated cycling protocol information to the CPU.

9 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein the CPU contains instructions stored in a memory that, when executed on the CPU, configure the CPU to:

connect the plurality of cells in series in a discharge mode of the plurality of cells.

10 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein the CPU contains instructions stored in a memory that, when executed on the CPU, configure the CPU to:

detect a supply voltage for the common DC source;

charge the plurality of cells using the plurality of DC power sources when a supply voltage from the common DC source is greater than zero; and

connect and discharge the plurality of cells in series when the supply voltage from the common DC source is zero.

11 . The charger of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cells comprises alkaline cells.

12 . The charger of claim 11 , wherein the first, second, and third charge protocols are optimized for the alkaline cells.

13 . A method of charging a plurality of cells assembled into a battery, the method comprising:

selectively connecting each DC power source of a plurality of DC power sources to a corresponding cell of the plurality of cells;

monitoring a current and voltage supplied to each corresponding cell from each DC power source;

detecting voltage with voltage sensors and current with current sensors;

comparing, by a CPU, the current and voltage suppled to each corresponding cell to a charging protocol for each corresponding cell, wherein each cell of the plurality of cells has an individual charging protocol selected from a plurality of charging protocols, wherein the plurality of charging protocols comprise charging a first cell with a first charging protocol comprising a constant current to a certain voltage level, a second cell with a second charging protocol comprising a constant current followed by a constant voltage to one of a certain minimum current value, a certain maximum duration, or a certain minimum duration, and a third cell with a third charging protocol comprising a final constant voltage at a higher or a lower voltage than the constant voltage of the second charging protocol;

selectively disconnecting each DC power source based on completing the charging protocol for each cell, wherein the first charging protocol applies between a time the first cell is selectively connected to a first DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources and a time the first cell is selectively disconnected from the first DC power source, and wherein the second charging protocol applies between a time the second cell is selectively connected to a second DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources and a time the second cell is selectively disconnected from the second DC power source, and wherein the third charging protocol applies between a time the third cell is selectively connected to a third DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources and a time the third cell is selectively disconnected from the third DC power source;

disconnecting, by the CPU, the plurality of DC power sources from the plurality of cells;

connecting the plurality of cells together to form the battery; and

supplying a load using the battery.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

supplying the plurality of DC power sources from a single common DC source.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of cells comprises alkaline cells.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

storing the plurality of charging protocols in a memory; and

updating the plurality of charging protocols in the memory; and

using a different charging protocol of the plurality of charging protocols for the first cell of the plurality of cells after updating the plurality of charging protocols in the memory.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein updating the plurality of charging protocols comprises obtaining the plurality of charging protocols over a network connection.

18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

charging the first cell using the first DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources using the constant current;

comparing a charging voltage of the first cell to a threshold charging voltage;

determining that the charging voltage exceeds the threshold charging voltage; and

disconnecting the first cell from the first DC power source.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein a second cycling protocol for a second cell of the plurality of cells uses the constant current charging step, and wherein the method further comprises:

charging the second cell using the second DC power source of the plurality of DC power sources using the constant current;

comparing the charging voltage of the second cell to the threshold charging voltage;

determining that the charging voltage exceeds the threshold charging voltage; and

disconnecting the second cell from the second DC power source, wherein the first cell and the second cell are disconnected at different times.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the constant current is a current between about 4 Amps and about 8 Amps, and wherein the threshold charging voltage is about 2 V.