The present invention relates to a battery charger for charging rechargeable batteries .

Rechargeable batteries are understood to mean batteries , accumulators or cells that can be charged .

In particular, the invention is intended for recharging 6V block batteries with spring contacts , type 4R25 , although the invention is not restricted to this .

The invention can be applied to any type of rechargeable battery .

Traditionally, block batteries with spring contacts are used as energy source for road signage , among others in so- called barricade warning lights or flashing lights . Said batteries may or may not be rechargeable .

The rechargeable block batteries with spring contacts , hereinafter referred to as rechargeable batteries in short , are recharged after use by a battery charger .

Traditionally, every rechargeable battery is connected to a separate battery charger .

The disadvantage is that a great number of battery chargers need to be purchased and commissioned for recharging several batteries simultaneously . A communal battery charger for several rechargeable batteries is also already known .

A disadvantage is that said communal charger is always connected to a fixed number of rechargeable batteries , for example four, six, eight , twelve , etc .

Furthermore , the communal charger must also have a big capacity to restrict the charging time of the rechargeable batteries .

I f the rechargeable batteries have di f ferent capacities the charging process will be di f ferent for each rechargeable battery . Logically, the charging time of the rechargeable battery ( ies ) with the highest capacity will be longer .

Consequently, there is chance that the high charging capacity of the communal charger is only used on a number of rechargeable batteries .

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to the aforementioned and other disadvantages .

To this end, the invention relates to a battery charger for charging a rechargeable battery, comprising a base for installation of the rechargeable battery and a lid, whereby the bases and the lids are provided with means for coupling one or more bases mutually and one or more lids mutually to each other, to form a modular charging station for rechargeable batteries , whereby after mutually coupling the bases and after mutually coupling the lids , the bases are mutually locked relative to each other and the lids are mutually locked relative to each other whereby the lids are provided along at least two sides with one or more cams and one or more cut-aways , whereby the one or more cams of the one lid fit in the one or more corresponding cut-aways of the other lid .

This has the advantage that a user can form a modular charging station with a desired number of battery chargers . The user is thus not bound to a fixed number of battery chargers .

This makes the invention interesting for a very large target audience .

Another advantage is that after mutually coupling the bases and mutually coupling the lids , the bases are mutually locked and the l ids are mutually locked relative to each other and they will thus not fall apart or come loose upon picking up or moving the charging station .

Yet another advantage is that the invention makes it particularly interesting for maj or purchasers of such batteries to choose rechargeable batteries . Generally, not only does this have an economic advantage for the user but also an ecological advantage .

Furthermore , such charging station is particularly handy in use . Another advantage of such embodiment of battery chargers is that the rechargeable batteries are physically separated from each other . This prevents heating during the charging process .

In a preferred embodiment the bases are coupled mutually and the lids are coupled mutually to each other by means of a snap or sliding connection .

This allows the user to realise a connection between the bases mutually and between the lids mutually extremely quickly and simply .

Preferably, the bases and lids can be coupled to each other in all directions , both next to each other, and under and above each other .

This has the advantage that the user can assemble the charging station according to a desired form or pattern .

Think, for example , of one long row of battery chargers coupled to each other or a rectangle or square with several rows , a stacked tower, etc .

In a preferred embodiment the base comprises three parts , namely a base plate , a casing and a frame , which are connected to each other by means of a screw connection and the lid comprises two parts , namely a contact plate and a cover, which are also connected to each other by means of a screw connection . For a person skilled in the art it is clear that alternatives are possible for the aforementioned screw connection . Such alternatives are further described in this document for connecting the bases and lids and it is understood that these alternatives can also be used here , for example connections with Velcro , glue connections and the like .

This has the advantage that every battery charger can be assembled from only five main components , which furthermore can be produced with only four di f ferent moulds .

Preferably, the bases and the lids are provided along at least two sides with one or more tongues and one or more corresponding grooves , to form tongue and groove connections , with which the bases can be mutually coupled and the lids can be mutually coupled to each other .

This has the advantage that the bases can be mutually connected and the lids can be mutually connected to each other in a very simple manner .

In a preferred embodiment the base plate at the bottom, being the side facing away from the rechargeable battery, is provided with a cavity in which the cover of another battery charger can be fittingly mounted .

This allows the battery chargers to be stacked in a simple manner without falling over . Preferably, the covers are provided along at least two sides with one or more cams and one or more corresponding cut-aways , whereby the one or more cams of the one cover fit in the one or more corresponding cut-aways of the other cover .

In this way the covers and consequently also the lids of the battery chargers are locked to each other after assembling the covers and the contact plates .

Alternatively the cams and cut-aways can also be provided on the contact plates .

In a preferred embodiment the contact plate of the lid is provided with charging electronics for recharging the battery .

This allows a very compact battery charger to be produced, whereby the charging electronics are also integrated in the lid of the battery charger .

Preferably, every battery charger of the charging station is provided with its own charging electronics .

This has the advantage that every battery has some dedicated electronics that can optimally recharge the battery .

Preferably, the charging electronics also comprise the necessary overload and/or short circuit protection . In a preferred embodiment , every battery charger, the charging station or every battery itsel f is provided with a charge indicator or display .

This has the advantage that the charging process of every rechargeable battery can be separately monitored and that the condition of the battery is visible at a glance to the user .

Preferably, every battery is provided with a resettable fuse , a sel f-repairing fuse or an electronic overload and/or short circuit protection .

This protects the batteries against all kinds of faults , for example short circuited batteries , faulty use , overloading, etc .

Despite the good physical separation between the batteries mutually, in a preferred embodiment every battery charger or the charging station is provided with a temperature monitor .

This allows the temperature of the battery charger, the batteries or the charging station to be continuously monitored and i f relevant to be anticipated on, for example by lowering the charging capacity, using extra cooling, warning the user or the like , etc .

Preferably, the wiring of the one battery charger to the other battery charger can be passed through the cams and the cut-aways . This has the advantage that the wiring can pass from one lid to the other in a very orderly way and in this way is furthermore shielded by the covers , which prevents damage and wear and tear of the wiring .

In a preferred embodiment , the lids and the bases are provided with one or more detachable closing mechanisms with which the lids can be secured on the bases .

This has the advantage that the charging station, in closed condition, i . e . when the lids are put on the bases , form one closeable assembly .

Furthermore , this has the advantage that the contact plates are pressed suf ficiently on the spring contacts of the rechargeable batteries , such that a good electric connection is established between contacts of the contact plates and the spring contacts of the rechargeable batteries .

The invention further also relates to a method for assembling a charging station, using at least two battery chargers , whereby the method comprises the following steps :

- providing the desired number of bases (base plates , casings and frames ) and the des ired number of lids ( contact plates and covers ) ; assembling the base plates and connecting said plates to each other in the desired direction or form by means of the corresponding tongue and groove connections ; - assembling the frames and connecting said frames to each other in the same direction or form as the base plates by means of the corresponding tongue and groove connections ;

- bringing together the assembly of base plates and assembly of frames , with the right number of cas ings in between;

- screwing the base plates to the casings and screwing the frames to the casings to form the base ;

- assembling the covers and connecting said covers to each other in the same direction or form as when assembling the bases , and this by means of connecting the corresponding cams and cut-aways to each other ;

- assembling the contact plates and connecting said plates to each other in the same direction or form as the covers by means of the corresponding tongue and groove connections ; providing charging electronics on the contact plates ;

- connecting the wiring for the charging electronics from one contact plate to the other ;

- screwing the contact plates to the covers .

With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a battery charger according to the invention is described hereinafter, by way of an example without any limiting nature , with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein : figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a battery charger according to the invention in disassembled condition; figure 2 shows a base of the battery charger ; figure 3 shows a cross-section according to the line I I I- I I I of figure 2 ; figure 4 shows an assembled battery charger ; figure 5 schematically shows a perspective view of a disassembled charging station whereby four battery chargers are coupled to each other ; figure 6 shows the same charging station as figure 5 but from a di f ferent perspective ; figure 7 shows the same charging station as in figures 5 and 6 , but now in assembled condition .

Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of an exploded drawing of a possible embodiment of a battery charger 1 for charging a rechargeable battery 2 according to the invention .

The shown battery charger 1 comprises a base 3 and a lid 4 .

In this case every base 3 comprises three components , namely a base plate 5 , a casing 6 and a frame 7 . A battery 2 can be fittingly mounted in the base 3 , after which it is enclosed by the casing 6 and the frame 7 .

In this case the lid 4 is made of two components , namely a contact plate 8 and a cover 9 . In this case the contact plate 8 is provided with charging electronics 10 and the necessary wiring 11 .

Figure 2 shows an assembled base 3 separately, in which a rechargeable battery 2 is mounted . In this case said rechargeable battery 2 is provided with a display 12 on which the remaining charge can be read .

A cross-section o f the assembled base 3 , as shown in figure 3 , clearly shows that in this embodiment the base plate 5 and the frame 7 are attached to the casing 6 by means of screws 13 . Note that the battery 2 is not shown in this cross-section .

The assembled battery charger 1 is shown in figure 4 . Although not visible in this figure, here too , the contact plate 8 and the cover 9 are connected to each other by means of screws 13 .

Figure 5 shows an exploded drawing on which, in this case but not necessarily for the invention, four battery chargers 1 are coupled to each other such that a squareshaped charging station 14 is formed .

However, the battery chargers 1 can be coupled to each other in all possible forms , for example in a long row, in a rectangle , etc .

This figure also shows that the base plates 5 at the bottom, being the sides facing away from the batteries 2 , are provided with cavities 15 . A cover 9 of another battery charger 1 fits in said cavities 15 . Said cavities 15 allow the battery chargers 1 to be stacked without falling over .

As is visible in this figure , in this embodiment the base plates 5 , the frames 7 and the contact plates 8 along the four contour sides are each provided with two tongues 16 or two grooves 17 per contour side .

Using said tongues 16 and corresponding grooves 17 , the base plates 5 can be mutually coupled, the frames 7 can be mutually coupled and the contact plates 8 can be mutually coupled in the desired form or pattern, in this case in a square shape .

The grooves 17 are executed here as double undercut grooves 17 whereas the tongues 16 are provided with two wings 18 such that the tongues 16 have a form complementary to the double undercut grooves 17 such that the tongues 16 can be slid in the grooves 17 .

Furthermore , the grooves 17 are not applied over the full width of the base plates 5 , frames 7 or contact plates 8 but are provided with a stop 19 , such that the tongues 16 can only be slid in one direction into the grooves 17 and such that the tongues 16 cannot be slid too far .

In this embodiment the covers 9 are provided along the four contour sides with two cams 20 or two cut-aways 21 per contour side . It is not excluded that the aforementioned cams 20 and/or cut-aways 21 are provided on the contact plates .

Using said cams 20 and corresponding cut-aways 21 the covers 9 can be mutually coupled in the desired form or pattern, in this case also a square .

Note that said cams 20 and cut-aways 21 are break-away elements in this case .

In figure 6 it is clearly visible that every contact plate 8 is provided with individual charging electronics 10 .

In this case , the wiring 11 is passed from the one battery charger to the other 1 through the break-away cams 20 and cut-aways 21 .

However, it is not necessary for the cams 20 and cut-aways 21 to be break-away elements . It is also possible that the cams 20 and passages 21 are already provided with passages for passing through the wiring 11 .

The same figure also shows openings 22 in the covers 9 and protrusions 23 on the contact plate 8 . Said openings 22 and protrusions 23 may correspond with each other such that the contact plates 8 and covers 9 fit on each other in only one way .

Furthermore , every cover 9 in this example is provided with a hole 24 such that the charging process can be monitored using a charge indicator . In this embodiment the charge indicator is executed as a LED the emitted light of which is visible through the holes 24 . In this case , but not necessarily, a LED is used which can emit green and red light , whereby red in this case means that the charging process is underway and green means the battery is fully charged .

It goes without saying that other colours of LEDs are possible or that the charging process can be shown by a flashing LED, the flash frequency of which changes , or becomes solid when the charging process is terminated .

The openings 22 and protrusions 23 thus ensure that the holes 24 always come to be situated above the LEDs of the charging electronics 10 and that the covers cannot be wrongly mounted such that the charging process could not be monitored .

The casings 6 in this embodiment are also provided with openings 22 whereas the base plates 5 and frames 7 are provided with protrusions 23 , whereby the openings 22 may correspond with the protrusions 23 . Said openings 22 and protrusions 23 also ensure that the casings 6 can only be mounted in one possible way to the base plates 5 and frames 7 .

Consequently, the tongues 16 of the base plates 5 are located on the same side as the tongues 16 of the frames 7 . Likewise the grooves 17 of the base plates 5 will always be located on the same side as the grooves 17 of the frames 7 . In figure 6 clasping means 25 are also provided on the contact plates 8 in this case , between which the wiring 11 can be clasped when it is passed through from one battery charger 1 to the other .

In this case the clasping means 25 are executed as three protrusions 25 which are mounted at a distance from each other, said distance being slightly less than the diameter of the separate wires of the wiring 11 .

In this case two wires can be clasped between said three protrusions 25 .

In the assembly of the charging station 14 , as shown in figure 7 , with in this case , but not necessarily, four battery chargers 1 , closing mechanisms 26 can also be distinguished with which the lids 4 can be attached and locked on the bases 3 .

Said closing mechanisms 26 also ensure suf ficient pressure of the contact plates 8 on the spring contacts of the rechargeable batteries 2 such that a good electric connection is realised .

The operation for assembling a charging station 14 , using at least two battery chargers 1 is very simple and comprises the following steps :

- providing the desired number of bases 3 and lids 4 , in the embodiment of figures 5 to 7 , i . e . four of each; - assembling the base plates 5 and connecting them to each other in the desired direction or form by means of corresponding tongue and groove connections 27 , in this case in the form of a square ;

- assembling the frames 7 and connecting them to each other in the desired direction or form by means of corresponding tongue and groove connections 27 , in this case in the form of a square ;

- bringing together the assembly of base plates 5 and assembly of frames 7 , with the right number of casings 6 in between, in this case four ; screwing the base plates 5 to the casings 6 and screwing the frames 7 to the casings 6 to form the bases 3 ;

- assembling the covers 9 and connecting said covers to each other in the same direction or form as when assembling the bases 3 , and this by means of connecting the corresponding 20 cams and cut-aways 21 to each other ;

- assembling the contact plates 8 and connecting said plates to each other in the same direction or form as the covers 9 and the bases 3 by means of the corresponding tongue and groove connections 27 ;

- providing charging electronics 10 on the contact plates 8 ; connecting the wiring 11 for the charging electronics 10 from one contact plate 8 to the other ;

- screwing the contact plates 8 to the covers 9 .

Note that after screwing the base plates 5 to the casings 6 and screwing the frames 7 to the casings 6 , the tongue and groove connections 27 of the base plates 5 and the frames 7 can no longer be slid apart .

After screwing the base plates 5 to the casings 6 and screwing the frames 7 to the casings 6 , the bases 3 of the battery chargers 1 are consequently locked to each other .

Also note that after screwing the contact plates 8 to the covers 9 , the contact plates 8 and the covers 9 can no longer be slid apart .

This is indeed prevented by the cams 20 and corresponding cut-aways 21 with which the covers 9 are mutually coupled to each other .

The order of assembling the base plates 5 , casings 6 and frames 7 and the order of assembling the covers 9 and contact plates 8 , thus ensures the bases 3 are mutually locked and the lids 4 are mutually locked .

It is understood that said locking can be realised in many di f ferent ways and orders .

Thus , the invention is not limited to the tongue and groove connections 27 and the connections with cams 20 and cutaways 21 .

Other ways of coupling or connecting are not unthinkable , for example magnet connections using magnets that are embedded between the bases 3 mutually and between the lids 4 mutually are a possible embodiment , as well as screw connections , connections with Velcro , glue connections and the like .

The order of assembling can also be realised in di f ferent ways without departing from the scope of the invention .

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the described embodiment for 6 Volt block batteries 2 with spring contacts . The invention can be applied to any type of rechargeable battery or accumulator .

Furthermore , it is clear that the openings 22 and protrusions 23 can be realised in di f ferent ways or locations .

The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the drawings , but a battery charger according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions , without departing from the scope of the invention .