Electricity: measuring and testing – Electrolyte properties – Using a battery testing device
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-05
2001-03-13
Tso, Edward H. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Electrolyte properties
Using a battery testing device
Reexamination Certificate
active
06201397
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for measuring and displaying the operating autonomy of a storage battery.
As is known, cordless portable devices, such as cellular phones, videocameras, power tools and the like, are conventionally power supplied by portable storage batteries.
A problem frequently encountered in the use of the above mentioned devices is that the user must frequently know, within a set tolerance range, the operating autonomy of the device before recharging its storage battery.
A first group of prior devices of the above mentioned type which can provide the above mentioned autonomy information to a user, comprises devices adapted to normally display said information on a displaying scale including a plurality of displaying bars, for example from 3 to 7 bars.
However, in some cases, such a displaying method depends on the skillness of the user, who must associate a time, as measured in hours or minutes, with the displayed bar number.
Depending on the used device, the storage battery autonomy is conventionally determined either by using the battery discharging curve, i.e. by measuring the discharging voltage thereof, or by using counting devices designed for changing their counting rate depending on the electric current circulating therethrough.
In this connection it should be pointed out that, frequently, the adopted displaying scale is of a non-linear type.
Thus a main problem, affecting the mentioned prior art devices, is that prior approaches are sufficiently accurate only in those cases in which the battery supplies a nearly constant current therefore they cannot be used on a cellular phone drawing a quickly changing current.
Further autonomy displaying methods are based on chemical devices, designed for displaying wordings, for example the word “GOOD” at two displaying points on the same device, for example an electric accumulator, the word “GOOD” being displayed as confused letters as the storage accumulator discharges.
A prior display system which has been designed for actually displaying an autonomy time by minutes, has been designed and applied to videocamera Li-ion batteries.
This system, however, has the drawback that the user apparatus must be preset for easily reading this information stored in the battery, and that is the system itself (i.e. the videocamera) which operates to display the remaining or autonomy time in minutes, on a display associated therewith.
Thus the storage battery and device power supplied thereby would constitute an integral article which could not be separated into the two component parts thereof.
Thus, a requirement exists of accurately detecting the autonomy of a storage battery used in a lot of different battery supplied devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the aim of the present invention is to provide a device for measuring and displaying the operating autonomy of a storage battery, which device provides a user with battery autonomy related information in a very accurate and precise manner.
Within the scope of the above mentioned aim, a main object of the present invention is to provide such a device for measuring and displaying the operating autonomy of a storage battery, which can be associated with the battery itself and, accordingly, can be easily separated, from an operating standpoint, from the apparatus power supplied by said battery.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a display device allowing to digitally display the Stand-By time yet available, depending on the operating autonomy of the storage battery.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a display device allowing to digitally display the available talking minutes, as the battery supplied device is a cellular phone.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the above mentioned aim and objects, as well as yet other objects, which will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a device for measuring and displaying an operating autonomy of a storage battery, comprising generating means for generating an electric signal indicative of a power amount drained from said battery, characterized in that said device further comprises an amplifier and an integrator for said electric signal, a converter for performing an analogic/digital conversion of said electric signal to allow to add, in a register, a digital value indicative of the power amount drained from said battery, and a display, coupled to said battery, for displaying said digital value as an indication of the operating autonomy of said storage battery.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inventive device comprises a compensator for compensating the electric signal with respect to the amplifier offset.
Moreover, the mentioned electric signal is measured by evaluating the voltage drop at the ends of a current sensor in a time unit.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device comprises a microprocessor, arranged downstream of the amplifier-integrating assembly, in order to add the digital value indicative of the power amount drained from the battery.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the display is designed for displaying, in a digital manner, the available stand-by time depending on the operating autonomy of the storage battery.
Alternately, the display is adapted for displaying, as available talking minutes, the operating autonomy of the battery, as the battery supplied device is a cellular phone.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5229713 (1993-07-01), Bullock et al.
patent: 5600229 (1997-02-01), Oh
Hedman & Costigan ,P.C.
Tso Edward H.
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