Gauge effect battery tester

Details Gauge effect battery tester Gauge effect battery tester

1999-04-16

2001-09-25

Brouillette, Gabrielle (Department: 1745)

Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and

With measuring, testing, or indicating means

C429S092000, C429S061000, C429S007000, C320S118000, C324S426000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06294284

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
This invention relates to battery testers that can be incorporated on battery cells.
Known types of battery testers that are placed on batteries are so called “thermochromic” types. In a thermochromic battery tester there can be two electrodes that are connected by a consumer manually depressing a switch. Once the switch is depressed the consumer has connected an anode of the battery to a cathode of the battery cell through the thermochromic tester. The thermochromic tester includes a silver conductor that has a variable width so that the resistance of the conductor also varies along its width. As current travels through the silver conductor, the current generates heat that changes the color of a thermochromic ink display that is over the silver conductor. The thermochromic ink display is arranged as a gauge to indication relative capacity of the battery. The higher the current the more heat is generated and the more the gauge will change to indicate that the battery is good.
Sometimes the switch can be hard for people to depress and it becomes difficult to tell whether the tester worked or not or whether the battery is good or bad. This can be confusing to a consumer. Depressing the switch makes a direct relatively high conductance connection between the anode and cathode of the cell which can draw significant power and reduce battery lifetime.
SUMMARY
According to an aspect of the invention, a battery tester disposed on a battery includes a display that continuously indicates the state of charge of the battery.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a battery tester, includes a first voltage divider and a plurality of parallel battery tester elements. Each element includes a voltage controlled display having a first terminal coupled to the first voltage divider and a second voltage divider coupled in parallel with the first voltage divider and coupled to a second terminal of the voltage controlled display, with the second voltage divider including a non-linear device.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a battery tester includes a first voltage divider including a non-linear device and a plurality of resistance elements. A voltage controlled display having a first terminal is coupled to the first voltage divider and a plurality of second terminals of the display are coupled to the plurality of resistance elements.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a battery tester, includes a voltage controlled display, a first voltage divider having a terminal coupled to a terminal of the voltage controlled display and a second voltage divider having a terminal couple to a second terminal of the voltage controlled display. The second voltage divider includes a switch device coupled to the voltage controller display such that when activated causes current to flow through the second voltage divider to provide a potential difference across the voltage controlled display.
A major advantage of the tester compared to other testers is that a consumer can merely look at the tester on the battery to determine whether the battery is good or not. This tester eliminates the need to hold the battery and depress a switch to engage the battery tester. This tester provides a gauge effect to enable the consumer to judge the relative amount of capacity left in the battery. The tester may be more efficient that prior testers depending on how many times a consumer presses the switch on the prior tester. Over the lifetime of a battery this tester could either use less current or be comparable to prior approaches.


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