Absopulse Electronics’ BCP 130-PEL heavy-duty switch-mode battery charger was designed for charging an external 100 Ah/12 V (10, cell) Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery in railway and industrial environments. Housed in a splash-proof Pelican top loader case with a sturdy handle, this charger is well suited to applications where ruggedness, easy portability and manual initiation of a charge cycle are key requirements.
The BCP 130-PEL operates from all typical AC voltages worldwide, with a 95-264 VAC universal input range. The input includes a power factor correction stage, delivering a power factor near unity.
Battery voltage and battery temperature, determinants of charge status, are monitored during the charge cycle. The battery temperature is monitored by an external sensor, which is connected to the charger via a 2-pole circular connector. The charging process is terminated when either the battery voltage reaches 13.5 V or the battery temperature exceeds 50°C, at which point the charger disconnects from the battery via the contacts. The charger disconnect is latching type; for safety, the circuit will not re-initiate automatically, even in case of input power re-cycling, it has to be initiated manually by pushbutton. Disconnect values are made application-specific.
A breaker and an internal crowbar diode on the charger output protect against reverse connection of the battery to the charger. Full electronic protection minimizes the possibility of failure due to abnormal operating conditions, including application errors. All printed circuits are conformal coated and heavily ruggedized for immunity to shock, vibration and moisture. The charger is convection cooled and operates over a 0°C to 50°C temperature range without de-rating. Wider temperature ranges are also available.
The BCP 130-PEL complies with EN/UL60950-1 and equivalent industrial safety standards as well as the EN61000-3-2 directive for low input harmonic distortion. The unit is filtered to meet EN55022 Class A EMI standards with wide margins.
