Battery monitor
First Claim
1. A battery monitor for monitoring the condition of a battery utilized within a system as the primary or auxiliary power source of said system, said battery monitor comprising:
- voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said battery; and
processor means coupled to said voltage measuring means for utilizing the voltage measurement of said voltage measuring means, said processor means being arranged to test said battery by determining responsive to said voltage measuring means, the presence or absence of said battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than a nominal voltage level, and the discharge rate of said battery, said processor means being adapted to compare said battery voltage to a first predetermined voltage level to determine the presence or absence of said battery, said processor means further being adapted to compare said battery voltage to a second predetermined voltage level to determine whether said battery voltage is equal to or greater than said nominal voltage.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed a battery monitor for monitoring a plurality of conditions of a battery utilized within a system as the primary or auxiliary power source of the system. The battery monitor includes a voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of the battery and a processor coupled to the voltage measuring means. The processor utilizes the voltage measurement of the voltage measuring means to determine the presence or the absence of the battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than a nominal voltage level, and whether the discharge rate of the battery is greater than a selected discharge rate.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A battery monitor for monitoring the condition of a battery utilized within a system as the primary or auxiliary power source of said system, said battery monitor comprising:
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voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said battery; and processor means coupled to said voltage measuring means for utilizing the voltage measurement of said voltage measuring means, said processor means being arranged to test said battery by determining responsive to said voltage measuring means, the presence or absence of said battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than a nominal voltage level, and the discharge rate of said battery, said processor means being adapted to compare said battery voltage to a first predetermined voltage level to determine the presence or absence of said battery, said processor means further being adapted to compare said battery voltage to a second predetermined voltage level to determine whether said battery voltage is equal to or greater than said nominal voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A battery monitor for monitoring the condition of a battery utilized within a system as the primary or auxiliary power source of said system, said battery monitor comprising:
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voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said battery; and processor means coupled to said voltage measuring means for utilizing the voltage measurement of said voltage measuring means, said processor means being arranged to test said battery by determining responsive to said voltage measuring means, the presence or absence of said battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than a nominal voltage level, and the discharge rate of said battery said processor means being arranged to determine said battery discharge rate only after determining that said battery is present.
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8. A battery monitor for monitoring the condition of a battery utilized within a system as the primary or auxiliary power source of said system, said battery monitor comprising:
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voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said battery; and processor means coupled to said voltage measuring means for utilizing the voltage measurement of said voltage measuring means, said processor means being arranged to test said battery by determining responsive to said voltage measuring means the presence or absence of said battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than an nominal voltage level, and the discharge rate of said battery, said processor means including a memory for storing a test time interval, wherein said processor means further includes means for determining the change in battery voltage during said test time interval, and wherein said processor means further includes means for calculating the rate of change of said battery voltage during said test time interval to determine the discharge rate of said battery. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A battery monitor for monitoring the condition of a battery utilized within a system as the primary or auxiliary power source of said system, said battery monitor comprising:
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voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said battery; processor means coupled to said voltage measuring means for utilizing the voltage measurement of said voltage measuring means, said processor means being arranged to test said battery by determining responsive to said voltage measuring means, the presence or absence of said battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than a nominal voltage level, and the discharge rate of said battery; a first load; a second load; and control means responsive to said processor means for selectively applying said loads to said battery. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A battery monitor for monitoring the condition of a battery utilized within a system, said system including a power supply for providing said system with a primary source of power and for maintaining a charge on said battery, said battery monitor comprising:
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voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said battery; processor means coupled to said voltage measuring means for utilizing the voltage measurement of said voltage measuring means, said processor means being arranged to test said battery by determining responsive to said voltage measuring means, the presence or absence of said battery, whether the battery voltage is equal to or greater than a nominal voltage level, and the discharge rate of said battery; and means for disconnecting said battery from said power supply prior to said processor means testing said battery. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A battery monitor for use in a system of the type including a battery as an auxiliary power source and a power supply for providing the primary source of power for the system and wherein said power supply is connected to said battery, for maintaining a charge on said battery, said battery monitor being arranged to test a plurality of battery conditions and comprising:
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voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of said power supply and said battery; means responsive to said voltage measuring means for determining whether said power supply is supplying power to said system; means for disconnecting said battery from said power supply responsive to a determination that said power supply is supplying power to said system; first means responsive to said voltage measuring means for determining whether said battery is present, said first means including means for comparing said battery voltage to a first predetermined voltage level; second means responsive to said first means determining the presence of said battery and also responsive to said voltage measuring means for providing a low battery voltage indication when said battery voltage is less than a second predeterminied voltage level which is greater than said first predetermined voltage level; and
,third means for determining whether the discharge rate of said battery is greater than a selected discharge rate.
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Specification