Here is a simple battery charger for the Nickel Metal Hydride battery that requires current regulated charging. The charger provides 140 mA current for quick charging of the battery.Power supply section consists of a 0-18 volt AC 1 Ampere step-down transformer, a full wave bridge rectifier comprising D1 through D4 and the smoothing capacitor C1. Current regulation is achieved by the action of R1,R2 and the Epitaxial Darlington PNP transistor TIP 127. Resistor R1 keeps the charging current to 140 milli amperes. LED and resistor R2 plays an important role to control the base current of T1 and thus its output.
Around 2.6 volts drop develops across the LED which appears at the base of T1. Emitter – base junction of T1 drops around 1.2 volts. So 2.6 – 1.2 volts gives 1.40 volts. So the current passing through R1 will be 1.40 V / 10 = 0.14 Amps or 140 Milli Amps. The LED act as the charging status indicator. LED lights only if the battery is connected to the output of circuit and the input voltage is normal.
Read more: http://electroschematics.com/6073/nimh-battery-charger/#ixzz1HL7dzmz5