Battery chargers, per sé, are a mature technology. The last significant development in the field (1972) was "pulse charging," a technology that enabled rapid charging.
GEM Power's Intelligent Battery Charger was developed for use by the United States Navy to charge jet fighter batteries in 30 minutes or less.
GEM Power's "Intelligent Battery Charger" revolutionizes charger technology by including a software algorithm that puts the battery being charged in control of how it's charged. The software detects the state of the battery's current level of charge, internal chemistry, and condition. It then adjusts the charge rate to optimize the battery's capacity to accept a charge. The device monitors change in the battery at 2-second intervals and adjusts the charger accordingly. This technology allow extremely rapid charges (less than 30 minutes for an F-16 fighter jet battery that's completely run down); it also insures that the battery is never under-charged or overcharged, since it isn't using "look-up tables" with pre-set values like other technologies now considered "state-of-the-art." Moreover, the charging unit can work with any battery chemistry-lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion-it doesn't matter. Using the Intelligent Charger typically adds significantly to a battery's effective life.
This past year CCAT-San Bernardino helped GEM Power develop a successful DC-to-DC prototype developed from its earlier technical application that was put into use by the U.S. Navy in a demonstration project for the Office of Naval Research. On December 2, 2004 GEM Power signed a $1.5 million, 21-month contract with the Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA to add lithium ion battery charging and diagnostic capabilities to intelligent battery charging technology previously developed for the Navy by GEM Power.
For more information, please contact:
Juli Gandasatria, Sr. Technology Program Manager
Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization
E-mail: jgandasa@csusb.edu
Phone: 909-537-7758 / Fax: 909-537-7450