METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWERING AN APPLIANCE
First Claim
1. An appliance comprising:
- a) an onboard principal power source;
b) at least one supplemental onboard power sources; and
,c) a microcontroller configured to monitor an operating voltage being provided to the appliance, and further configured to provide power from one or more of the supplemental onboard power sources when the operating voltage is determined to be below a predetermined threshold voltage level.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A battery operated vacuum cleaner is provided with one or more principal batteries and one or more supplemental batteries. The batteries and a controller are configured such that as the power provided by the principal batteries drops, one or more of the supplemental batteries is operative connected to provide power to the appliance. A method for providing a substantially constant level of power to an appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner, using a plurality of power sources comprises providing power from a principal power source connected to the appliance; monitoring an operating voltage supplied to the appliance to detect if the operating voltage is below a predetermined threshold voltage level; and upon detecting that the operating voltage is below the predetermined threshold voltage level, providing power from k of n supplemental power sources connected to the appliance, where k and n are positive integers, and k is less than or equal to n. Optionally, upon detecting that the operating voltage is below the predetermined threshold voltage level and where k is equal to n, the principal and supplemental power sources are disengaged from the appliance.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An appliance comprising:
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a) an onboard principal power source; b) at least one supplemental onboard power sources; and
,c) a microcontroller configured to monitor an operating voltage being provided to the appliance, and further configured to provide power from one or more of the supplemental onboard power sources when the operating voltage is determined to be below a predetermined threshold voltage level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for providing a substantially constant level of power to an appliance comprising:
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a) providing power to the appliance from a principal power source connected to the appliance; b) monitoring an operating voltage supplied to the appliance to detect if the operating voltage is below a predetermined threshold voltage level; and c) upon detecting that the operating voltage is below the predetermined threshold voltage level, providing power to the appliance from at least one supplemental power source connected to the appliance. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification