Reclaiming energy stored in rechargeable batteries for charging other batteries
View Patent ↗One embodiment includes a computer ( 102 ) controlled machine used in battery manufacturing and/or testing which discharges one or more batteries and uses some or all of the energy from said batteries to simultaneously charge one or more other batteries.
1. A machine used for manufacturing and/or testing batteries, comprising:
a. a robot for moving said batteries into and out of said machine,
b. an energy source or multiple energy sources for charging the initially uncharged or discharged battery or batteries, where said energy source or sources includes a charged battery,
c. an energy sink or multiple energy sinks for discharging the initially charged battery or batteries, where said energy sink or sinks includes the initially uncharged or discharged battery,
d. a load for controlling the current flow between said sources and sinks,
e. monitoring terminal voltages of said batteries during said charging and said discharging,
f. a computer for coordinating and controlling said machine and for monitoring and tracking said batteries,
g. a circuit enabling transfer of energy between said discharged or uncharged battery or batteries to said charged battery or batteries such that said discharged battery or batteries gets charged and said initially charged battery or batteries gets discharged,
whereby some or all of said energy stored in one or more of said initially charged batteries is partly or fully moved to one or more of said initially uncharged or discharged batteries and thereby reducing the energy required to charge said initially uncharged or discharged batteries and the energy required to cool said energy sinks if the environment where said energy sinks are located require cooling.