Starting motor tester that measures power

• US 20070227237A1
• Filed: 05/16/2006
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
• Inventors: Thibedeau, Dennis, Brott, Alejandro
• Granted Patent: US 7,409,856 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/114.590
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/00 Starting of engines by means of electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/10 Safety devices F02N11/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/34 Testing dynamo-electric machines

Abstract

A starting motor tester that may apply electricity to the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine, measure the power that is consumed by the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by the engine, determine the condition of the starting motor based on the amount of power that is measured, and communicate the determined condition of the starting motor. The determination may also be based on the RPM of the engine.

Claims

1. A process for testing a starting motor comprising:

applying electricity to the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine;

measuring the power that is consumed by the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by the engine;

determining the condition of the starting motor based on the amount of power that is measured; and

communicating the determined condition of the starting motor.

2. The process of claim 1 further comprising:

measuring the current through the starting motor;

measuring the voltage that is applied to the starting motor; and

determining the amount of power that is consumed by the starting motor based on the measured current and voltage.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein:

an apparatus detects the voltage and is connected to a connector on a battery post; and

the amount of voltage that is applied to the starting motor is measured by factoring in the loss of voltage between the battery and the starting motor.

4. The process of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving information indicative of the amount of power that the starting motor should consume;

comparing the received information with the amount of power that is measured; and

determining the condition of the starting motor based on the comparison.

5. The process of claim 4 wherein:

the received information includes the size of the engine; and

the process includes calculating the amount of power that the starting motor should consume based on the size of the engine.

6. The process of claim 4 wherein:

the received information includes an identification of a vehicle in which the starting motor is mounted; and

the process includes looking up the amount of power that the starting motor should consume in a database based on the identification of the vehicle.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the condition is determined based on an average amount of power that is measured.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the power is measured after the electricity has been applied for at least one second.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein:

the rotational speed of the engine while the electricity is applied to the starting motor increases and then levels off; and

the power is measured after the speed of the engine levels off.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the average amount of power is measured after the speed of the engine levels off and wherein the condition of the starting motor is determined based on the average amount of power that is measured.

11. The process of claim 9 wherein the power consumed by the starting motor during at least one revolution of the engine is measured.

12. The process of claim 1 further comprising measuring the rotational speed of the engine while electricity is applied to the starting motor and wherein the condition of the starting motor is determined also based on the measured rotational speed of the engine.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein:

there is a ripple in the electricity that is applied to the starting motor while the electricity is applied to the starting motor;

the process includes measuring the ripple; and

the rotational speed measurement is based on the measured ripple.

14. The process of claim 13 further comprising receiving the number of cylinders in the engine and wherein the rotational speed measurement is also based on the number of cylinders.

15. The process of claim 1 further comprising receiving the temperature of the engine and wherein the condition of the starting motor is determined also based on the measured temperature of the engine.

16. The process of claim 1 wherein:

the engine is connected to an ignition system; and

the process includes disabling the ignition system before determining the condition of the starting motor.

17. A starting motor tester comprising:

current measuring apparatus configured to measure current through the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine;

voltage measuring apparatus configured to measure voltage on the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine; and

a processing system configured to;

receive measurements of current through the starting motor from the current measuring apparatus;

receive measurements of the voltage on the starting motor from the voltage measuring apparatus;

compute the power consumed by the starting motor based on the received measurements of current and voltage;

determine the condition of the starting motor based on the amount of power that is computed; and

communicate the determined condition of the starting motor.

18. The tester of claim 17 wherein:

the voltage measuring apparatus is configured to attach to a connector on a battery post; and

the processing system is configured to factor in the loss of voltage between the battery and the starting motor when computing the power consumed by the starting motor.

19. The tester of claim 17 wherein the processing system is configured to:

receive information indicative of the amount of power that the starting motor should consume;

compare the received information with the amount of power that is computed; and

determine the condition of the starting motor based on the comparison.

20. The tester of claim 19 wherein the processing system is configured to:

receive information that includes the size of the engine; and

calculate the amount of power that the starting motor should consume based on the size of the engine.

21. The tester of claim 19 further comprising a memory configured to store a database and wherein the processing system is configured to:

receive an identification of a vehicle in which the starting motor is mounted; and

look up the amount of power that the starting motor should consume in the database based on the identification of the vehicle.

22. The tester of claim 17 wherein the processing system is configured to determine the condition of the starting motor based on an average amount of power that is consumed by the starting motor.

23. The tester of claim 17 wherein the processing system is configured to determine the condition of the starting motor based on an amount of power that is consumed by the starting motor after electricity has been applied to the starting motor for at least one second.

24. The tester of claim 17 wherein the processing system is configured to determine the condition of the starting motor based on an amount of power that is consumed by the starting motor after electricity has been applied to the starting motor and the rotational speed of the engine levels off.

25. The tester of claim 24 wherein the processing system is configured to determine when changes in the average amount of power consumed by the starting motor substantially cease and to determine the condition of the starting motor based on the amount of power that is consumed by the starting motor after the changes in the average amount of power substantially cease.

26. The tester of claim 17 wherein the processing system is configured to determine the condition of the starting motor based on the average amount of power that is consumed by the starting motor during at least one revolution of the engine.

27. The tester of claim 17 further comprising engine rotational speed measuring apparatus configured to measure the rotational speed of the engine and wherein the processing system is configured to determine the condition of the starting motor also based on the measured rotational speed of the engine.

28. The tester of claim 27 wherein the engine rotational speed apparatus is configured to measure the ripple in electricity that is applied to the starting motor and to compute the rotational speed based on the ripple.

29. The tester of claim 28 wherein the engine rotational speed apparatus is configured to receive the number of cylinders in the engine and to compute the rotational speed also based on the number of cylinders.

30. The tester of claim 17 further comprising engine temperature measuring apparatus configured to measure the temperature of the engine and wherein the processing system is configured to determine the condition of the starting motor also based on the temperature of the engine.

31. The tester of claim 17 wherein the processing system is configured to detect whether the ignition system has been disabled and to communicate that it has not been disabled when it has not.

32. The tester of claim 17 wherein the engine is in a vehicle and the current measuring apparatus, the voltage measuring apparatus and the processing system are mounted within the vehicle.

33. A starting motor tester comprising:

current measuring apparatus configured to measure current through the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine;

voltage measuring apparatus configured to measure voltage on the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine;

a user interface; and

a processing system configured to;

receive measurements of current through the starting motor from the current measuring apparatus;

receive measurements of the voltage on the starting motor from the voltage measuring apparatus;

compute the power consumed by the starting motor based on the received measurements of current and voltage;

communicate information about the power through the user interface.

34. A starting motor tester comprising:

means for measuring current through the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by an engine;

means for measuring voltage on the starting motor while the starting motor is loaded by the engine;

means for computing the power consumed by the starting motor based on the measurements of current and voltage;

means for determining the condition of the starting motor based on the amount of power that is computed; and

means for communicating the determined condition of the starting motor.