nospam
In article <kuj2t9dm4pg9liu9qc9j2eshn10ap7qofi@4ax.com>, Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com>wrote:

so you agree that it's called a power supply, although it does have other names too.

Eric Stevens
Like 'battery charger'.

nospam
nope.

a battery charger does just that, charge batteries, usually removing the battery from the device and inserting them into the charger.

that's different than a power supply, which powers the device and which may also charge a battery while the battery is still in the device.

Tony Cooper
Wait a minute! You've said in another post that people call them different things, and that's OK. So if that's OK, then calling the power adapter a "battery charger" is perfectly legitimate by your rules. If it's used to charge the battery, calling it a "battery charger" is logical.

nospam
no, because it's not a battery charger. where do you put the batteries into it? you don't.

Tony Cooper
You're struggling.

nospam
not at all. i know more about chargers than you ever will.

i was building battery chargers from parts back in junior high school, as it's a very good way to learn concepts about electronics.

Tony Cooper
Where do you put the batteries into this one?

http://www.elec-intro.com/EX/05-15-02/Battery_Charger.jpg

Is that not absolutely a battery charger and correctly called a battery charger?

nospam
have you never seen a car battery charger?

certainly you don't think you have to remove a car battery from the vehicle every time you want to charge it.

you attach it via the two clips on the end of the cables.

Tony Cooper
You've made a production about the allowability of calling things by various names, but you want to restrict "battery charger" to a device in which batteries must be inserted? Ridiculous.

nospam
nope. a car battery is obviously something you aren't going to remove from a vehicle and insert into a charger.

if you plug <http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/5a84/>into what you're calling a battery charger, where are the batteries that are being charged? hint: there aren't any.

Tony Cooper
Why are you referencing a USB FlexLight? What has that got to do with anything?

nospam
it proves that what you and eric are saying is a 'battery charger' is not a battery charger because it can be used with a device that has no battery.

as i said, it's a power supply which can be used for anything that runs off of 5v, at least for ones with usb.

that can include battery charging if the device that is plugged into it has charging circuitry (e.g., an ipad), but even then, the charging circuitry in the device may not be used, such as if the battery is already fully charged or there is insufficient power sourced to charge the battery, which i've explained several times already.

battery chargers may also be constant current (versus constant voltage in a power supply), depending on the type of battery it's designed to charge and they almost always have end of charge detection, typically ndv or temperature but can be a simple timer in cheaper chargers.

a power supply will not have end of charge detection since it doesn't need it and if you attach a battery to a power supply instead of a charger, you will likely damage the battery.

seriously, you're *way* out of your league here, to the point of being dangerous. improper charging can result in explosions.