DUAL MOUNT CHARGER WITH INVERTING DISPLAY
First Claim
1. A battery charger, comprising:
- a. a base member;
b. an inclined plane coupled to the base member at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the base member;
c. at least one pocket for receiving a rechargeable battery, the at least one pocket having electrical contacts disposed within the inclined plane;
d. a microprocessor coupled to the electrical contacts;
e. at least one display electrically coupled to the microprocessor; and
f. a switch electrically coupled to the microprocessor;
wherein when the switch is actuated, the microprocessor causes data on the display to change from a first orientation to a second orientation.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
This invention includes a charger that may be mounted either in a horizontal configuration, e.g. on a desktop, or in a vertical configuration, e.g. on a wall. The charger has pockets geometrically oriented so as to support batteries in either configuration. Each pocket includes a corresponding display. As changing from a desktop configuration to a wall mount configuration requires the user to rotate the charger by 180 degrees, a switch is provided to rotate the information shown on the display by 180 degrees. The switch is preferably recessed below the surface of the charger so as to prevent nuisance actuation. The resulting orientation of the display is stored in a non-volatile memory to prevent resets when power is removed. By holding the switch down for a predetermined amount of time, a user can send the display into a test mode so as to run diagnostics and verify proper display operation.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A battery charger, comprising:
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a. a base member;
b. an inclined plane coupled to the base member at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the base member;
c. at least one pocket for receiving a rechargeable battery, the at least one pocket having electrical contacts disposed within the inclined plane;
d. a microprocessor coupled to the electrical contacts;
e. at least one display electrically coupled to the microprocessor; and
f. a switch electrically coupled to the microprocessor;
wherein when the switch is actuated, the microprocessor causes data on the display to change from a first orientation to a second orientation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A charger capable of being mounted in both a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation, comprising:
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a. a plurality of pockets capable of supporting rechargeable batteries either when the charger is in the vertical orientation or the horizontal orientation;
b. a plurality of displays electrically coupled to the plurality of pockets, respectively; and
c. a plurality of switches coupled to the plurality of displays, respectively;
wherein when a user actuates any one of the plurality of switches, information shown on the display rotates 180 degrees. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification