Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Battery or cell discharging – With charging
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-22
2001-10-16
Wong, Peter S. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Battery or cell discharging
With charging
C340S636210
Reexamination Certificate
active
06304060
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Battery chargers are well known in the art as are numerous methods of indicating the operating status of the battery charger when it is connected to a battery for recharging. Such indicators typically range from a simple lamp or a colored spot associated with an on/off switch to built-in current and volt meters or displays with accompanying warning lamps to indicate fault conditions. Heretofore, simpler kinds of indicators have been limited in function. Similarly, indicating systems capable of providing many kinds of status information are usually prohibitively expensive in a low cost battery charging instrument. Thus the need exists for a readout or indicating system capable of multiple indications from the simplest possible structure in order to minimize costs providing this feature.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention apparatus for indicating multiple operating states of a battery charger providing a charging voltage across a positive output and a negative output is provided. Such apparatus may comprise a first color LED circuit having a first sense terminal and a common terminal; a second color LED circuit having a second sense terminal and a common terminal coupled to the common terminal of said first color LED circuit; a control circuit having a common terminal coupled to the common terminals of the first and second color LED circuits and having first and second charger terminals coupled in series with one of the positive and negative output terminals of the battery charger; wherein the first and second sense terminals of the respective first and second color LED circuits are coupled to the other one of the positive and negative output leads such that the coupling of the first and second LED circuits is operable to apply operating bias to the LED circuits.
In the preferred embodiment the first color LED circuit emits substantially red light upon activation and the second color LED circuit emits substantially green light. The light-emitting elements of the first and second color LED circuits may be disposed to emit light through a common diffusing lens so that simultaneous activation provides an appearance of a third color substantially distinct from the first and second colors. Operating bias may be applied to the first and second color LED circuits separately or in combination, continuously or alternately. Other features and advantages of the invention will become more readily understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the appended claims and attached drawing in which:
REFERENCES:
patent: 3873979 (1975-03-01), Craford
patent: 4389609 (1983-06-01), Kawamura
patent: 5028859 (1991-07-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 2537752 A (1984-06-01), None
patent: 57-167690 A (1982-10-01), None
Toatley , Jr. Gregory J.
Wong Peter S.
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