Finger wear detection for production line battery tester

• US 5,689,429 A
• Filed: 05/24/1996
• Issued: 11/18/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Energizer Brands, LLC (Energizer Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Eveready Battery Company Incorporated (Energizer Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Depiante, Eduardo V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH-STEWART, DEMETRA R
• Application Number:
  US08/653,383
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 364/481, 364/565, 364/571.03, 364/474.17, 324/423-427, 324/430, 324/433, 324/435, 324/345, 340/455, 340/679, 340/680
• US Class Current: 702/63
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 3/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture or maintenance of measuring instruments , e.g. of probe tips
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2846 using hard- or software simulation or using knowledge-based systems, e.g. expert systems, artificial intelligence or interactive algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 35/02 of auxiliary devices, e.g. of instrument transformers according to prescribed transformation ratio, phase angle, or wattage rating
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4285 Testing apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A method for detecting wear in a battery tester probe. The method includes providing a battery tester unit having at least one tester finger, generating a tester signal using the tester fingers and battery tester unit with the signal characteristic of the electrochemical condition of the battery and the tester finger, applying wavelet transformation to the tester signal including computing a mother wavelet to produce finger wear indicator signals, analyzing the signals to create a finger wear index, comparing the wear index for the tester finger with the index for a new tester finger and generating a tester finger signal change signal to indicate achieving a threshold wear change.

Claims

1. A method of detecting wear in a battery tester probe, comprising the steps of:

providing a battery tester unit having at least one tester finger for coupling to a battery to be tested;

generating a tester signal using said tester fingers and said battery tester unit, the tester signal characteristic of at least one of the electrochemical condition of the battery and said tester finger;

applying wavelet transformation, including computing a mother wavelet, to the tester signal to produce finger wear indicator signals;

analyzing the finger wear indicator signals to compute a finger wear index;

comparing the finger wear index for the tester finger with the index for a new tester finger; and

generating a tester finger change signal to indicate a threshold wear

change of the tester finger upon exceeding a preset finger wear index.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of separating from the tester signal information associated with the electrochemical state of the battery.

3. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein information characteristic of the mother wavelet for a new tester is stored in a RAM.

4. The method as defined in claim 1 further including the step of adjusting the preset finger wear index.

5. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the tester signal is manipulated to calculate an average test signature.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the step of applying wavelet transformation comprises periodically performing the calculation to ascertain the changing condition of the tester finger.

7. A method of detecting wear in a battery tester probe, comprising the steps of:

providing a battery tester unit having at least one tester finger for coupling to a battery to be tested;

actuating a test of a new tester finger;

loading into a computer current finger wear signature data;

computing a finger wear index by computing a mother wavelet for the current tester finger, the step of computing a mother wavelet including computing an average finger wear signature and converting the average signature into wavelet form; and

generating a tester finger status signal characteristic of the degree of wear for said tester finger.