Portable AA battery supply to act as a charger as well?

I have a cheap portable 2 AA battery supply (below picture) that's used to power some devices such as portable phones, electric shavers, etc.

Im just curious... If I use rechargeable batteries in this power supply, I thought it would be very convenient if I had a way charge the batteries without taking them out of the enclosure.

So, ideally, I would first remove the currently plugged in cable in the pictures that's meant for powering devices. Then, I would use AC wall charger that has an 1/8" male minijack plug on the end of it's cable which would plug into the enclosure instead to charge the batteries.

Once I'm done with charging the batteries, I could replace the cable again. Of course, even if this did work, I dont know how I would know when the batteries are charged.

Sorry if this sounds like a very stupid thing to do. I don't know anything about electronics. All I know is it would be really convenient for me.

 

So, does that mean it can be done? I definitely know that it takes 3 or more hours for my rechargeable batteries to charge using my other charger. It just doesn't make any sense to take them out from one enclosure and put them in another and back. Especially if it needs to be done relatively frequently. Just not sure what involved to get the item in the picture to act as a battery charger as well.

Seems like a practical device to have. Maybe there is already a consumer device that does this already? If not, just wanted to know if its possible to do. Maybe not be me, but someone who is an electronics guru. Sorry if this is completely impossible. I just thought it would make sense to be able to do.

 

Yes, definitely. The device, once connected to a mobile phone, started to flash it's leds after 10 second to indicate it's providing power to the device and charging it.

If I connect it to a USB device, after 10 seconds, it starts to power the USB device.

Below, is the best picture I could show of it without trying to disassemble the other end...

 

Steve, thanks so much for taking the time to explain. I think by the way you describe, it sounds like it might be possible with the right person trying it.

Thanks!

 

in theory. If there was some more room to transplant a separate charger's pcb into the enclosure in the pics above (in addition to the existing pcb), would it be possible to share the same jack? I could then have two different cables that could be plugged onto that jack... one meant for providing power and another one with a USB plug on the other end meant to charge the batteries.

This sounds like an extremely convenient two in one device. I was hoping that maybe somthing like this could be made using a different enclosure and spare parts from existing products.

Impossible?

 

Thanks for replying mechtronics, but it doesnt look like you understood what I was trying to say. Or, maybe you did? Even with pictures, sometimes it's hard to explain.

This is what I was proposing in my post before yours (two different cables that can plug into the enclosure's single 1/8" mini jack).

This cable is used to charge the batteries
<--[1/8" male mini plug]--------------------------------------[male USB plug]---->

This cable is used to power my mobile phone or whatever it is
<--[1/8" male mini plug]--------------------------------------[charger plug for power]---->


Depending on the function, the proper cable would plug into the enclosure's single female 1/8" mini jack.

This would consolidate everything into one small compact device with one jack only.

 

I don't know why I didnt think of this before. Isn't there a power consumer product that holds a lot more capacity than the one in this thread? The batteries dont have to come out. They can just be a powerpack that's meant to power similar devices as the one in this thread; with the exception it can last A LOT longer. Basically as long as possible without the battery being bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

I was so focused on having the same plug, I didnt realize that I could just buy something that ultimately does what I need it to do (can charge it's internal battery, can provide long lasting power to a device). In a worst case scenerio, all I would have to do is change the plug on it that's used to power my device; since it is a very specific size.

Thanks for any suggestions. I'm not sure what consumer products to look at since i dont know what type of specs to search for in google for it to show up.

MKANET

 

Wouldn't the below product be compatible with the same type of devices? How much longer would the below last compared to two lithium ion energizer AA batteries roughly? If this works, then my problem is solved.

http://www.buy.com/prod/portable-10...ector-universal-external-power/232032093.html

 

I've seen a lot of similar "power pack" meant for mobile phones. I dont see any settings on them for polarity, voltage, amperage. However, they say they support 1A, 2A devices. Is it a good chance that the below device will work as well? Many people seem to like it:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Trent-Thu...81&sr=8-1&keywords=New+Trent+iCruiser+IMP1000