Medical device battery charge indicator

• US 9,806,544 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2015
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dragerwerk AG & Company KGaA (FPS Vermögensverwaltung GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Draeger Medical Systems Incorporated (FPS Vermögensverwaltung GmbH)
• Inventors: Blyde, Susan M., Morales, Celestino Raul, Xu, Shuyi, Coonahan, Tim, Kokovidis, Georgios
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/933,841
• Publication Number:
  US 20170047748A1
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• Field of Search: 320107, 320114, 320115, 320132, 320149, 320DIG 18, 320DIG 21, 340635, 702 63, 702 64
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/22 The load being a portable electronic device
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition

Abstract

A charging device receives charge data from a device connected to the charging device. The charge data corresponds to an amount of stored energy in a battery connected to the device. A charge level for the device is determined based on the received charge data. An interface forming part of the device displays the determined charge level such that (i) a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and (ii) the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a charging device, charge data from a device operatively connected to the charging device, the charge data corresponding to an amount of stored energy in a battery operatively connected to the device;

determining a charge level for the device, based at least on the received charge data; and

displaying, in an interface forming part of the device, the determined charge level such that a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is a medical device configured to measure a physiological condition of a patient and facilitate a medical treatment for the patient.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a visual appearance of the visual representation in the first orientation differs from a visual appearance of the graphical element in the second orientation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold value is approximately 100% of the maximum stored energy of the battery.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual representation is a line on the interface of the device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the line is horizontal on the interface of the device when the charge level is less than the threshold value and vertical on the interface of the device when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of devices coupled to the charging device, and wherein only the devices that have charge levels that are greater than or equal to the threshold value display the visual representation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of devices coupled to the charging device, and wherein only the device that is most charged displays the visual representation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of devices coupled to the charging device, and wherein, for each of the devices, (i) when the charge level is below a first threshold value, no visual representation is displayed on the interface, (ii) when the charge level is between the first threshold value and a second threshold value, the visual representation includes a line having a first color on the interface, (iii) when the charge level is between the second threshold value and a third threshold value, the visual representation includes the line on the interface having a second color, (iv) when the charge level approximately at or greater than the third threshold value, the visual representation includes the line on the interface having a third color, and (v) when the charge level is greater than the first threshold value, the visual representation includes a numerical indication of the charge level proximate to the visual representation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first color is red, the second color is yellow, and the third color is green.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of devices coupled to the charging device,

wherein the determining further comprises receiving, by each of the devices connected to the charging device, the charge data corresponding to the other devices connected to the charging device, and

wherein the displaying, by each of the devices, is further based upon on the received charge data from the other devices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of devices coupled to the charging device, and at least a portion of the plurality of devices are connected by a network.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of devices coupled to the charging device, and wherein the determining is by the charging device and wherein the displaying is based on at least one command received by the device from the charging device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual representation moves across the interface.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying is further based upon the charge level being approximately at or above at least one of a first threshold value, a second threshold value, and a third threshold value.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first threshold value is approximately 50% of the maximum stored energy of the battery, the second threshold value is approximately 75% of the maximum stored energy of the battery, and the third threshold value is approximately 100% of the maximum stored energy of the battery.

17. A method comprising:

generating, by a medical device, charge data corresponding to an amount of stored energy in a battery operatively connected to the medical device;

determining, by the medical device, a charge level for the medical device, based at least on the charge data; and

displaying, in an interface forming part of the medical device, the determined charge level such that a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

18. The method of claim 17, the visual representation comprising a line with an appearance that changes between the first orientation and the second orientation.

19. A method comprising:

receiving, by a charging device, charge data from a medical device operatively connected to the charging device, the charge data corresponding to an amount of stored energy in a battery operatively connected to the medical device;

determining a charge level for the medical device, based at least on the received charge data; and

displaying, in an interface forming part of the medical device, the determined charge level such that a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

20. The method of claim 19, the visual representation comprising a line with an appearance that changes between the first orientation and the second orientation.

21. A system comprising:

at least one programmable processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by a charging device, charge data from a device operatively connected to the charging device, the charge data corresponding to an amount of stored energy in a battery operatively connected to the device;

determining a charge level for the device, based at least on the received charge data; and

displaying, in an interface forming part of the device, the determined charge level such that a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

22. A system comprising:

at least one programmable processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations comprising;

generating, by a medical device, charge data corresponding to an amount of stored energy in a battery operatively connected to the medical device;

determining, by the medical device, a charge level for the medical device, based at least on the charge data; and

displaying, in an interface forming part of the medical device, the determined charge level such that a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

23. A system comprising:

at least one programmable processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by a charging device, charge data from a medical device operatively connected to the charging device, the charge data corresponding to an amount of stored energy in a battery operatively connected to the medical device;

determining a charge level for the medical device, based at least on the received charge data; and

displaying, in an interface forming part of the medical device, the determined charge level such that a visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a first orientation when the charge level is less than a threshold value and the visual representation of the charge level is displayed in a second orientation when the charge level is greater than or equal to the threshold value.