Duracell is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance alkaline batteries. The Duracell Bunny has become iconic over the years with many identifying with its pitch for durability and strength.

However, the story of Duracell began almost 80 years ago when Samuel Ruben, one of the premier inventive scientists of his generation, joined forces with Philip Rogers Mallory, an eager manufacturer of tungsten filament wire. Uniting Ruben’s inventive genius with the company’s manufacturing muscle, their partnership, was the bedrock of Duracell International.

Samuel Ruben’s inventions revolutionized battery technology. Amidst World War II, P.R. Mallory manufactured millions of mercury cells for the war effort. Ruben devised the mercury cell, which packed more capacity in less space and was durable enough for the harsh climates of wartime theatres like North Africa and the South Pacific .The Mallory Battery Company was formed soon after.

In the 1950′s, Samuel Ruben went on to improve the alkaline manganese battery, making
it more compact, durable, and longer lasting than anything before it. This was licensed in large numbers by Eastman Kodak, which had recently introduced cameras with a built-in flash unit that required more power than contemporary zinc-carbon cells and needed them in a new size. Ruben created the AAA, which were made by Mallory and licensed to others.

The photographic demand for power put alkaline cells on the map — and the DURACELL
brand was introduced in 1964. Soon, the consumer market for DURACELL batteries
rocketed and supplies had to be rationed in the 1970′s as manufacturing capacity caught
up.

Today, as part of The Procter & Gamble, the company, headquartered in Bethel, Connecticut, USA, operates 6 battery-manufacturing facilities worldwide and sells its batteries primarily under the DURACELL® trademark. Duracell also markets primary lithium, silver oxide and zinc air
batteries. The tradition of innovation started by Ruben and Mallory is still alive and kicking in new DURACELL batteries such as DURACELL ULTRA with M3 Technology® and others..

]]> http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/duracell/feed/ 0 bobsmi Duracell http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/popular-types-of-battery-chargers/ http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/popular-types-of-battery-chargers/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:27:28 +0000 bobsmi http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/?p=10 ]]>

There are various forms of battery chargers currently in the market. Two of the most popular types are explained below.

pulse

Some chargers use pulse technology in which a pulse is fed to the battery. This DC pulse has a strictly controlled rise time, pulse width, pulse repetition rate (frequency) and amplitude. This technology is said to work with any size, voltage, capacity or chemistry of batteries, including automotive and valve-regulated batteries. With pulse charging, high instantaneous voltages can be applied without overheating the battery. In a Lead-acid battery, this breaks down stubborn lead-sulfate crystals, thus greatly extending the battery service life.

Several kinds of pulse charging are patented. Others are open source hardware.

Some chargers use pulses to check the current battery state when the charger is first connected, then use constant current charging during fast charging, then use pulse charging as a kind of trickle charging to maintain the charge.

Some chargers use “negative pulse charging”, also called “reflex charging” or “burp charging”.[10] Such chargers use both positive and brief negative current pulses. Such chargers don’t work any better than pulse chargers that only use positive pulses.[11][12]

Inductive

Inductive battery chargers use electromagnetic induction to charge batteries. A charging station sends electromagnetic energy through inductive coupling to an electrical device, which stores the energy in the batteries. This is achieved without the need for metal contacts between the charger and the battery. It is commonly used in electric toothbrushes and other devices used in bathrooms. Because there are no open electrical contacts, there is no risk of electrocution.

USB-based

Since the Universal Serial Bus specification provides for a five-volt power supply, it’s possible to use a USB cable as a power source for recharging batteries. Products based on this approach include chargers for cellular phones and portable digital audio players.

Solar chargers

Solar chargers employ solar energy. They are generally portable.

Most portable chargers can obtain energy from the sun only; portable wind turbines are also sold. Some battery chargers including the Kinesis K3, can work either way.

]]> http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/popular-types-of-battery-chargers/feed/ 0 bobsmi Battery Chargers http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/a-brief-on-the-9v-battery/ http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/a-brief-on-the-9v-battery/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:01:04 +0000 bobsmi http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/?p=3 ]]>

The 9v battery, sometimes referred to as a PP3 battery, appeared when portable transistorized radio receivers became common, and is still called a “transistor” battery by some manufacturers.

It’s shaped as a rounded rectangular prism and has a nominal output of nine volts with dimensions of 48 mm × 25 mm × 15 mm.

PP3 actually refers to the type of connection or snap that is on top of the battery. It consists of two connectors: one smaller circular (male) and one larger, typically either hexagonal or octagonal (female). The connectors on the battery are the same as on the connector itself — the smaller one connects to the larger one and vice versa.

Inside a PP3 there are ordinarily six alkaline or carbon-zinc 1.5 volt (nominal) cells arranged in series. These are either AAAA cells, or special flat, rectangular cells. The exact size of the constituent cells varies from brand to brand, as does the manner in which they are joined together, ranging from soldered tabs on the battery, to press foil strips against the ends of the cells.

There are other nine volt batteries, such as PP7 and PP9 which date from the days of early transistor radios and are now less common. In the days of valve radios, there was a nine volt grid bias battery which had tappings for various voltages between 1.5 and 9.

The Lithium PP3 (U9VL-J, U9VL-X, U9VL-FP, U9VL-FP, Li9V & ER9V), is a consumer-replaceable, high energy density battery that can last up to 5 times longer than ordinary alkaline 9-volt batteries and up to 10 times longer than carbon-zinc batteries in many applications.

These batteries are commonly used in smoke detectors, guitar effect units, pocket radios, and radio-controlled vehicle controllers. 9v batteries are also utilized as backup power to keep the time in digital clocks and alarm clocks.

]]> http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/a-brief-on-the-9v-battery/feed/ 0 bobsmi 9v battery http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/hello-world/ http://bobsmi.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/hello-world/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:58:59 +0000 bobsmi ]]> Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!