Combined off-board device and starter/charging/battery system tester
First Claim
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1. A handheld portable testing device for interfacing with a vehicle diagnostic system and performing diagnostic tests on a vehicle starter/charging system comprising:
- housing configured to at least partially retain a processor in circuit communication with test circuitry configured to selectively communicate with the starter/charging system to test at least one of a starter, a charger and a battery via a test cable, vehicle interface circuitry configured to selectively communicate with the vehicle diagnostic system via a diagnostic cable to retrieve diagnostic data, and a output device for displaying the results of the test for at least one of the starter, the charger and the battery and for displaying the vehicle diagnostic data.
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Abstract
The present invention is directed toward a hand-held “off-board” device, such as a scan tool or code reader, having a test circuit in the same housing that tests the condition of a starter charging system. Such a tester of the present invention allows a user to purchase and maintain a single device that can perform the desired diagnostic tests that are currently being performed by the separate devices.
248 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A handheld portable testing device for interfacing with a vehicle diagnostic system and performing diagnostic tests on a vehicle starter/charging system comprising:
housing configured to at least partially retain a processor in circuit communication with test circuitry configured to selectively communicate with the starter/charging system to test at least one of a starter, a charger and a battery via a test cable, vehicle interface circuitry configured to selectively communicate with the vehicle diagnostic system via a diagnostic cable to retrieve diagnostic data, and a output device for displaying the results of the test for at least one of the starter, the charger and the battery and for displaying the vehicle diagnostic data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of testing a starter/charger system and retrieving vehicle diagnostic information with a handheld portable tester comprising:
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placing the handheld portable tester in circuit communication with the starter/charger system via a test cable, obtaining information indicative of the condition of at least one of a battery, a charger, and a starter, displaying information indicative of the condition of the at least one of the battery, the charger, and the starter, removing the handheld portable tester from circuit communications with the starter/charger system, placing the handheld portable tester in circuit communication with the vehicle diagnostic system via a diagnostic cable, retrieving data from the vehicle diagnostic system indicative of at least one parameter of the vehicle, displaying the data from the vehicle diagnostic system indicative of the at least one parameter of the vehicle, and removing the portable handheld tester from circuit communication with the vehicle diagnostic system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A handheld diagnostic device for obtaining information indicative of the condition of a vehicle starter/charging system and obtaining information from a vehicle diagnostic system comprising:
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an enclosure, means for testing at least one of a battery, a starter motor, and an alternator, means for retrieving data from a vehicle diagnostic system, a display configured to provide an output for the results of the test of the at least one of the battery, the starter motor and the alternator, and to provide an output for the data retrieved from the vehicle diagnostic system, and an input device. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification