Charging circuit for NICAD battery - has pulsed thyristor switch between storage capacitor and battery to optimise charging

The charging circuit, which is designed for use with a NiCd battery, has a pulse thyristor switch (4) connected between the battery (5) and the rectified supply. The a.c. supply is connected via a transformer to the bridge rectifier and the rectifier output passes over a ballast resistor to the parallel charging capacitor (3). The capacitor is switched through to the battery by the pulsed thyristor switch, and the advantage of the charging circuit lies in its allowing the pulsed operation of the thyristor to be varied to give optimum charging conditions. The thyristor switch may be replaced by a transistor switch.