Systems and methods for battery charger with safety component
A battery charger with an internal power storage device may be used to facilitate fast charging of a battery by using a high C-rate. A battery charger with an internal power storage device may include a control circuit that receives operating mode instructions to operate in a base charging mode or a fast charging mode. In the base charging mode, the battery charger may be configured to concurrently charge a battery and an internal power storage device at a base C-rate using current supplied from an external power source. In the fast charging mode, the battery charger may be configured to charge the battery at a high C-rate, which is substantially higher than the base C-rate, by using the internal power storage device.
1. A battery charger, comprising:
a control circuitry configured to couple to a user interface and further configured to electrically connect to (i) a power supply, (ii) an internal power storage device, and (iii) a battery, wherein the control circuit is configured to:
receive operating mode instructions from the user interface that correspond to a desired operating mode of (i) a base charging mode or (ii) a fast charging mode;
receive battery-specific input from the user interface; and
operate the battery charger in the desired operating mode to charge the battery in the desired operating mode;
wherein, in the base charging mode, the control circuitry is configured to use power from an external power source to concurrently charge (i) the battery at a base C-rate and (ii) the internal power storage device at the base C-rate; and
wherein, in the fast charging mode, the control circuitry is configured to use current from the internal power storage device to charge the battery at a high C-rate, where the high C-rate is higher than the base C-rate.
2. The battery charger of claim 1 , further comprising a battery charging circuit electrically connected to a battery connector, wherein the battery charging circuit is configured to limit a battery charging characteristic.
3. The battery charger of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to limit, based at least in part on the received battery-specific input, the battery charging characteristic.
4. The battery charger of claim 3 , wherein the battery-specific input comprises one or more of (i) battery capacity, (ii) battery voltage, (iii) temperature, (iv) C-rate, (v) battery chemistry, and (vi) cell configuration.
5. The battery charger of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to limit, based at least in part on the received battery-specific input, an internal power storage device charging characteristic.
6. The battery charger of claim 5 , wherein the internal power storage device charging characteristic comprises one or more of (i) over-current, (ii) over-voltage, (iii) under-voltage, (iv), over-temperature, (v) over-pressure, and (vi) ground fault.
7. A method for operating a battery charger, comprising:
receiving operating mode instructions from a user interface, wherein the operating mode instructions correspond to a desired operating mode for charging a battery of (i) a base charging mode or (ii) a fast charging mode; and
configuring the battery charger to operate in the desired operating mode;
wherein the base charging mode comprises configuring the battery charger to use current from an external power source to concurrently charge both (i) an internal power storage device at a base C-rate and (ii) the battery at the base C-rate; and
wherein the fast charging mode comprises configuring the battery charger to use current from the internal power storage device to charge the battery at a high C-rate, and wherein the high C-rate is higher than the base charging rate.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: receiving battery-specific input from the user interface; and limiting, based at least in part on the received battery-specific input, a battery charging characteristic.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: limiting, based at least in part on the received battery-specific input, an internal power storage device charging characteristic.