CA1226617A - Dry cell battery re-activator - Google Patents
Dry cell battery re-activatorInfo
- Publication number
- CA1226617A CA1226617A CA000466810A CA466810A CA1226617A CA 1226617 A CA1226617 A CA 1226617A CA 000466810 A CA000466810 A CA 000466810A CA 466810 A CA466810 A CA 466810A CA 1226617 A CA1226617 A CA 1226617A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- battery
- dry cell
- cell battery
- closed circuit
- pulses
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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- Secondary Cells (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A dry cell battery re-activator comprising means for producing uni-directional pulses and inductive coupling means whereby the pulses are applied to a closed circuit comprising an inductive element and a battery to be re-activated. The battery to be re-activated has characteristics similar to a leaky capacitor and therefore it forms with the inductive element a heavily damped resonant circuit. Thus each time a pulse is induced in the inductive element damped oscillations occur in the resonant circuit including the battery.
A dry cell battery re-activator comprising means for producing uni-directional pulses and inductive coupling means whereby the pulses are applied to a closed circuit comprising an inductive element and a battery to be re-activated. The battery to be re-activated has characteristics similar to a leaky capacitor and therefore it forms with the inductive element a heavily damped resonant circuit. Thus each time a pulse is induced in the inductive element damped oscillations occur in the resonant circuit including the battery.
Description
A DRY CELL BATTERY RE-ACTI~ATOR
The prevent invention relates to a dry cell battery re-acti~ator.
Dry cell batteries are a convenient and sate source of electrical energy. However, they are alto expensive it that once discharged they are normally replaced.
It is pueblo to reactivate dry cell batteries by applying a do current to the battery in the reverse direction to the normal discharge direction of the battery. However, great care must be exercised in doing this, because gases are evolved in the battery during reactivation if the battery is rectitude too fast. These gases accumulate within the battery casing and can result on the battery exploding.
European Patent Application No. 0 047 183 discloses a deactivator which relies on the impedance ox the buttery to be reactivated to limit the period for which a cyclically varying do current of 100Hz is applied to the battery.
Thus, as a batter it reactivated prom a discharged stat the period or which current 1B applied to it lncrea~e~ progre3~ively a it approaches a fully charged state. The no-activation ox the battery at a controlled rate to ensures that gases are not evolved in the battery. Ilowever, this method of reactivating a battery is slow, especially where the battery is being no-activated from a fully discharged state.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fast and effective dry cell battery deactivator.
According to the present invention there is provided a dry cell battery deactivator comprising means for producing electrical pulses and inductive coupling means for coupling said pulses to a closed circuit come prosing an inductive element and the battery to be reactivated wherein said pulses are applied at a frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of a tank circuit having values of inductance and capacitance which are equip valet in value to the inductance and capacitance of said closed circuit.
The battery to be reactivated looks like a leaky capacitor and therefore it forms with the inductive element a heavily damped resonant circuit. Thus each time a pulse is induced in the inductive element damped oscillations will occur in the resonant circuit including the battery.
Applicant believes that it is these damped oscillations applied to the battery as a result of each pulse that results in the high efficiency reactivation characteristic of the deactivator according to the present invention.
Preferably the pulses are of high frequency, for example, 100 KHz, and are of relatively short duration.
Preferably the pulses are produced by a blocking Lo 3.
oscillator.
Preferably the inductive coupling means comprises two inductively coupled windings, one ox which is in the output of the means for producing said pulses and the other ox which comprises the inductive element of said closed circuit.
Preferably a blocking diode is provided in the said closed circuit.
Preferably current limiting means are provided in the said closed circuit to limit the current to the battery to be reactivated according to its size.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :
Fig 1 is a current diagram of a battery deactivator according to the present invention;
and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a holder adapted to receive various types of battery to be reactivated.
Referring to Fig. 1 ox the accompanying drawings, the re-a~tivator comprises a blocking oscillator circuit 1, which is powered by a conventional do power supply 2, consisting of a mains transformer 3, a bridge rectifier 4 and a smoothing capacitor 5.
The oscillator 1 comprises an NUN transistor 6, in the base circuit of which are connected, in series, an inductive winding 7 and a capacitor 8. Connected in the collector circuit of the transistor 6 is a second winding 9, which is inductively coupled to the inductive winding 7 in such a way as to introduce a phase shift of exactly zero between the input, i.e., the base circuit, and output, i.e., the collector circuit, of the transistor 6. Finally, a resistor 10 is connected between the base and the collector of the transistor 6, which provides the transistor 6 with bias.
j6~7 In operation the oscillator 1 operates intermit-entry with base bias increasing during oscillation to a point where oscillations stop and then decreasing until oscillation is resumed. Thus, in the output of the oscillator 1, i.e. in the collector circuit of transistor 6, unidirectional pulses are produced, the duration and frequency ox which are determined by the resistor 10, and the inductive winding 7 and capacitor respectively.
The oscillator output, present across winding 9, is inductively coupled to a third winding 11. The winding 11 is of high impedance compared with winding 9 and can have several times the number of turns of winding 9. Thus, it will be appreciated that the amplitude of the pulses induced in the open circuit winding 11 is very high.
A battery to be reactivated (not shown) is connected across the winding 11, via a blocking arrangement consisting of a diode 12, shunted by a high value resistor I and an indicator arrangement consisting ox an LED 14, shunted by a Zoner diode 15.
The battery to be reactivated is connected with its positive terminal towards the cathode of diode 12 and its negative terminal towards the free side of winding 11. Where appropriate current limiting means may alto be connected in err with the battery.
It will be appreciated that the battery to be reactivated appear across the winding 11 as a leaky 26~
capacitor and that accordingly together with the inductive element of the winding 119 a damped resonant circuit is formed. Thus each time a pulse it induced in the winding 11, a high frequency, damped alternating voltage appears across the battery.
Whilst applicant is unclear as to the exact processes which takes place within the battery during the period of each pulse applied thereto, applicant believes that it is the damped oscillations applied to the battery which results in the high efficiency reactivation characteristics ox the deactivator according to the present invention.
It will be appreciates that the mark/space ratio, frequency and amplitude of the unidirectional pulses may be varied to provide optimum performance ox the deactivator for a particular battery. Howe-Yen, the frequency of the pulses is preferably high, for example Canada the pulses are of relatively short duration.
Whilst the re-act~vator has been described in relation to one battery it will be appreciated that it may be used to reactivate a number of batteries connected in series.
I Referring to Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a simple battery holder for use with the deactivator according to the present invention. The holder will accommodate, and provide connection to, one battery having positive and '7 7.
negative terminals at opposite ends with respect to one another or a number of batteries arranged end to end, in series.
The holder comprises two conductive connectors 16 and 17, which are isolated prom each other and provide connections to the positive and negative terminals of a battery or ox a number ox batteries connected in series. In Fig. 2 two batteries 18 are shown, stacked one on top of the other, and connected -in series. Connector 16 is positioned in to base of the holder and connects with one side of the batteries 18 where they are stacked thereon.
Connector 17 comprises a conductive strip which runs the length of the body 19 of the holder and which is exposed to the side of the body 19 in which the batteries 18 are stacked. The connector 17 is connected to the other side of the batteries 18 by means of connecting member 20, having the form of a right angle. As can be seen from Fig. 2, one side of the right angle rests on the other side of the batteries 18 from that resting on the connector 16 and the other side of the right angle rests up anisette the conductive strip worming connector 17. The connectors 16 and 17 are in turn connected to terminals 21 and 22, which facilitate connection of the holder with the deactivator If desired the current limiting means referred to hereinabove may also be mounted on the holder Indeed a number of current limiting means, 8.
each different, may be provided with separate connections to each. The body 19 of the holder comprises two planar elements which are inclined to each other and interconnected to define a corner within which the connector 17 is located.
The body 19 is inclined slightly to the vertical so that the batteries 18 and the connecting member 20 lean into the corner, thereby ensuring that the connecting member 20 makes electrical contact both with the uppermost battery 18 and the connector 17.~
The prevent invention relates to a dry cell battery re-acti~ator.
Dry cell batteries are a convenient and sate source of electrical energy. However, they are alto expensive it that once discharged they are normally replaced.
It is pueblo to reactivate dry cell batteries by applying a do current to the battery in the reverse direction to the normal discharge direction of the battery. However, great care must be exercised in doing this, because gases are evolved in the battery during reactivation if the battery is rectitude too fast. These gases accumulate within the battery casing and can result on the battery exploding.
European Patent Application No. 0 047 183 discloses a deactivator which relies on the impedance ox the buttery to be reactivated to limit the period for which a cyclically varying do current of 100Hz is applied to the battery.
Thus, as a batter it reactivated prom a discharged stat the period or which current 1B applied to it lncrea~e~ progre3~ively a it approaches a fully charged state. The no-activation ox the battery at a controlled rate to ensures that gases are not evolved in the battery. Ilowever, this method of reactivating a battery is slow, especially where the battery is being no-activated from a fully discharged state.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fast and effective dry cell battery deactivator.
According to the present invention there is provided a dry cell battery deactivator comprising means for producing electrical pulses and inductive coupling means for coupling said pulses to a closed circuit come prosing an inductive element and the battery to be reactivated wherein said pulses are applied at a frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of a tank circuit having values of inductance and capacitance which are equip valet in value to the inductance and capacitance of said closed circuit.
The battery to be reactivated looks like a leaky capacitor and therefore it forms with the inductive element a heavily damped resonant circuit. Thus each time a pulse is induced in the inductive element damped oscillations will occur in the resonant circuit including the battery.
Applicant believes that it is these damped oscillations applied to the battery as a result of each pulse that results in the high efficiency reactivation characteristic of the deactivator according to the present invention.
Preferably the pulses are of high frequency, for example, 100 KHz, and are of relatively short duration.
Preferably the pulses are produced by a blocking Lo 3.
oscillator.
Preferably the inductive coupling means comprises two inductively coupled windings, one ox which is in the output of the means for producing said pulses and the other ox which comprises the inductive element of said closed circuit.
Preferably a blocking diode is provided in the said closed circuit.
Preferably current limiting means are provided in the said closed circuit to limit the current to the battery to be reactivated according to its size.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :
Fig 1 is a current diagram of a battery deactivator according to the present invention;
and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a holder adapted to receive various types of battery to be reactivated.
Referring to Fig. 1 ox the accompanying drawings, the re-a~tivator comprises a blocking oscillator circuit 1, which is powered by a conventional do power supply 2, consisting of a mains transformer 3, a bridge rectifier 4 and a smoothing capacitor 5.
The oscillator 1 comprises an NUN transistor 6, in the base circuit of which are connected, in series, an inductive winding 7 and a capacitor 8. Connected in the collector circuit of the transistor 6 is a second winding 9, which is inductively coupled to the inductive winding 7 in such a way as to introduce a phase shift of exactly zero between the input, i.e., the base circuit, and output, i.e., the collector circuit, of the transistor 6. Finally, a resistor 10 is connected between the base and the collector of the transistor 6, which provides the transistor 6 with bias.
j6~7 In operation the oscillator 1 operates intermit-entry with base bias increasing during oscillation to a point where oscillations stop and then decreasing until oscillation is resumed. Thus, in the output of the oscillator 1, i.e. in the collector circuit of transistor 6, unidirectional pulses are produced, the duration and frequency ox which are determined by the resistor 10, and the inductive winding 7 and capacitor respectively.
The oscillator output, present across winding 9, is inductively coupled to a third winding 11. The winding 11 is of high impedance compared with winding 9 and can have several times the number of turns of winding 9. Thus, it will be appreciated that the amplitude of the pulses induced in the open circuit winding 11 is very high.
A battery to be reactivated (not shown) is connected across the winding 11, via a blocking arrangement consisting of a diode 12, shunted by a high value resistor I and an indicator arrangement consisting ox an LED 14, shunted by a Zoner diode 15.
The battery to be reactivated is connected with its positive terminal towards the cathode of diode 12 and its negative terminal towards the free side of winding 11. Where appropriate current limiting means may alto be connected in err with the battery.
It will be appreciated that the battery to be reactivated appear across the winding 11 as a leaky 26~
capacitor and that accordingly together with the inductive element of the winding 119 a damped resonant circuit is formed. Thus each time a pulse it induced in the winding 11, a high frequency, damped alternating voltage appears across the battery.
Whilst applicant is unclear as to the exact processes which takes place within the battery during the period of each pulse applied thereto, applicant believes that it is the damped oscillations applied to the battery which results in the high efficiency reactivation characteristics ox the deactivator according to the present invention.
It will be appreciates that the mark/space ratio, frequency and amplitude of the unidirectional pulses may be varied to provide optimum performance ox the deactivator for a particular battery. Howe-Yen, the frequency of the pulses is preferably high, for example Canada the pulses are of relatively short duration.
Whilst the re-act~vator has been described in relation to one battery it will be appreciated that it may be used to reactivate a number of batteries connected in series.
I Referring to Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a simple battery holder for use with the deactivator according to the present invention. The holder will accommodate, and provide connection to, one battery having positive and '7 7.
negative terminals at opposite ends with respect to one another or a number of batteries arranged end to end, in series.
The holder comprises two conductive connectors 16 and 17, which are isolated prom each other and provide connections to the positive and negative terminals of a battery or ox a number ox batteries connected in series. In Fig. 2 two batteries 18 are shown, stacked one on top of the other, and connected -in series. Connector 16 is positioned in to base of the holder and connects with one side of the batteries 18 where they are stacked thereon.
Connector 17 comprises a conductive strip which runs the length of the body 19 of the holder and which is exposed to the side of the body 19 in which the batteries 18 are stacked. The connector 17 is connected to the other side of the batteries 18 by means of connecting member 20, having the form of a right angle. As can be seen from Fig. 2, one side of the right angle rests on the other side of the batteries 18 from that resting on the connector 16 and the other side of the right angle rests up anisette the conductive strip worming connector 17. The connectors 16 and 17 are in turn connected to terminals 21 and 22, which facilitate connection of the holder with the deactivator If desired the current limiting means referred to hereinabove may also be mounted on the holder Indeed a number of current limiting means, 8.
each different, may be provided with separate connections to each. The body 19 of the holder comprises two planar elements which are inclined to each other and interconnected to define a corner within which the connector 17 is located.
The body 19 is inclined slightly to the vertical so that the batteries 18 and the connecting member 20 lean into the corner, thereby ensuring that the connecting member 20 makes electrical contact both with the uppermost battery 18 and the connector 17.~
Claims (9)
1. A dry cell battery reactivator comprising means for producing electrical pulses and inductive coupling means for coupling said pulses to a closed circuit comprising an inductive element and the battery to be reactivated wherein said pulses are applied at a frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of a tank circuit having values of inductance and capacitance which are equivalent in value to the inductance and capacitance of said closed circuit.
2. A dry cell battery reactivator according to Claim 1 wherein the closed circuit includes a blocking diode.
3. A dry cell battery reactivator according to any of Claims 1 or 2 wherein the closed circuit includes current limiting means.
4. A dry cell battery reactivator according to Claim 1 wherein the pulses are of relatively short duration and are produced by a blocking oscillator.
5. A dry cell battery reactivator according to Claim 1 wherein the pulses are produced by a free running oscillator and wherein the means for inductive coupling comprises two inductively coupled windings, one of which is in the frequency determining circuit of the oscillator and the other comprises the inductive element of said closed circuit.
6. A dry cell battery reactivator according to Claim 5 wherein the closed circuit includes a blocking diode.
7. A dry cell battery reactivator according to Claim 5 wherein the closed circuit includes current limiting means.
8. A dry cell battery reactivator according to any of Claims 5 to 7 wherein said free-running oscillator is a blocking oscillator which is connected to a direct current source via a winding which is inductively coupled to said closed circuit.
9. A dry cell battery reactivator according to Claim 6 further comprising a resistive element connected across said blocking diode.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000466810A CA1226617A (en) | 1984-11-01 | 1984-11-01 | Dry cell battery re-activator |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000466810A CA1226617A (en) | 1984-11-01 | 1984-11-01 | Dry cell battery re-activator |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1226617A true CA1226617A (en) | 1987-09-08 |
Family
ID=4129055
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000466810A Expired CA1226617A (en) | 1984-11-01 | 1984-11-01 | Dry cell battery re-activator |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1226617A (en) |
-
1984
- 1984-11-01 CA CA000466810A patent/CA1226617A/en not_active Expired
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |