Electrical protection circuitry for a docking station base of a hand held meter and method thereof
First Claim
1. A docking station which provides electrical protection between a rechargeable battery provided in a handheld meter and an external power supply which charges the rechargeable battery via the docking station, and which mitigates the risk of damage to the handheld meter and a base due to dendrite formation from non-recommended cleaning practices, the docking station being removably connectable to the power supply and comprising:
- the base which removably accommodates the handheld meter;
an electrical system which comprises;
a meter interface connector having an output terminal provided in the base which supplies power from thepower supply to the rechargeable battery upon both the docking station being connected to the power supply and the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the output terminal,a ground terminal provided in the base which grounds the rechargeable battery upon the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the ground terminal,protection circuitry which comprises;
a current monitoring circuit which is directly connected to the ground terminal which detects an over-current condition of the electrical system upon both the rechargeable battery being coupled to the output and ground terminals and the docking station being coupled to the power supply, and which outputs an over-current fault detection signal responsive to the over-current condition, anda voltage supervisor circuit which monitors for an out-of-range voltage condition of the power supply when connected to the docking station and at least during and after the rechargeable battery is coupled to both the output and ground terminals, and which outputs a voltage fault detection signal responsive to detection of the out-of-range voltage condition both with and without the rechargeable battery being coupled to both the output and ground terminals,a switch responsive to the fault detection signals which inhibits the supply of power from the power supply to the output terminal upon detection of either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition anda visual indicator responsive to the fault detection signals which provides a visual indication upon detection of either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition;
wherein the protection circuitry provides protection against dendrite formation on the meter interface connector by being configured to automatically disconnect power from the meter interface connector when the meter and/or the base are oversaturated with a cleaning practice solution.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical protection circuitry for a docking station base of a hand held meter and method thereof are disclosed. In the event of a short circuit at a meter interface connector, the protection circuitry removes power at the meter interface connector. Similarly, in the event of an applied voltage outside a specified operating range of the base, the protection circuitry removes power to the meter interface connector. These conditions of the electrical system of the base are monitored regardless whether the meter or the meter'"'"'s battery is electrically connected to the base. The protection circuitry also provides a visual indication in the event of either the over current and under/over voltage conditions. Additionally, the base is designed to prevent liquid from pooling inside a pocket used to cradle and hold the meter in the base through the use of a drain located at the lowest point in the pocket.
30 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A docking station which provides electrical protection between a rechargeable battery provided in a handheld meter and an external power supply which charges the rechargeable battery via the docking station, and which mitigates the risk of damage to the handheld meter and a base due to dendrite formation from non-recommended cleaning practices, the docking station being removably connectable to the power supply and comprising:
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the base which removably accommodates the handheld meter; an electrical system which comprises; a meter interface connector having an output terminal provided in the base which supplies power from the power supply to the rechargeable battery upon both the docking station being connected to the power supply and the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the output terminal, a ground terminal provided in the base which grounds the rechargeable battery upon the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the ground terminal, protection circuitry which comprises; a current monitoring circuit which is directly connected to the ground terminal which detects an over-current condition of the electrical system upon both the rechargeable battery being coupled to the output and ground terminals and the docking station being coupled to the power supply, and which outputs an over-current fault detection signal responsive to the over-current condition, and a voltage supervisor circuit which monitors for an out-of-range voltage condition of the power supply when connected to the docking station and at least during and after the rechargeable battery is coupled to both the output and ground terminals, and which outputs a voltage fault detection signal responsive to detection of the out-of-range voltage condition both with and without the rechargeable battery being coupled to both the output and ground terminals, a switch responsive to the fault detection signals which inhibits the supply of power from the power supply to the output terminal upon detection of either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition and a visual indicator responsive to the fault detection signals which provides a visual indication upon detection of either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition; wherein the protection circuitry provides protection against dendrite formation on the meter interface connector by being configured to automatically disconnect power from the meter interface connector when the meter and/or the base are oversaturated with a cleaning practice solution. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A docking station which provides electrical protection between a rechargeable battery provided in a handheld meter and an external power supply which charges the rechargeable battery via the docking station, and which mitigates the risk of damage to the handheld meter and a base due to dendrite formation from non-recommended cleaning practices, the docking station being removably connectable to the power supply and comprising:
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the base which removably accommodates the handheld meter; a meter interface connector having an output terminal provided in the base which supplies power from the power supply to the rechargeable battery upon both the docking station being connected to the power supply and the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the output terminal; a ground terminal provided in the base which grounds the rechargeable battery upon the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the ground terminal; protection circuitry which comprises; a current monitoring circuit which detects an over-current condition of the rechargeable battery upon both the rechargeable battery being coupled to the output and ground terminals and the docking station being coupled to the power supply, and which outputs an over-current fault detection signal responsive to the over-current condition; a voltage supervisor circuit which before, during, and after coupling the rechargeable battery to both the output and ground terminals continuously monitors for an out-of-range voltage condition of the power supply when the power supply is connected to the docking station, and which outputs a voltage fault detection signal responsive to detection of the out-of range voltage condition both with and without the rechargeable battery being coupled to both the output and ground terminals; a switch responsive to the fault detection signals which inhibits the supply of power from the power supply to the output terminal upon detection of either the over-current condition or out of-range voltage condition, wherein when the over-current condition is detected by the current monitoring circuit, the docking station is configured to latch the switch in a current shutoff mode which cuts power to the output terminal, wherein the docking station is configured to unlatch the switch if power from the power supply is cycled and the over-current condition is not detected, and wherein the docking station is configured to switch the switch such that power is provided to the output terminal when voltage of the power supply returns to a predetermined range after an out-of-range voltage condition with no over-current condition being detected by the current monitoring circuit; and a visual indicator responsive to the fault detection signals which provides a visual indication upon detection of either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition; wherein the protection circuitry provides protection against dendrite formation on the meter interface connector by being configured to automatically disconnect power from the meter interface connector when the meter and/or base are over-saturated with a cleaning practice solution.
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23. A method of providing electrical protection in a docking station which removably accommodates a handheld meter providing a rechargeable battery and which is removably connectable to an external power supply, and mitigating the risk of damage to the handheld meter and a base due to dendrite formation from non-recommended cleaning practices the method comprising:
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providing an output terminal of the docking station which supplies power from the power supply to the rechargeable battery upon both the docking station being connected to the power supply and the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the output terminal; providing a ground terminal of the docking station which grounds the rechargeable battery upon the handheld meter being accommodated in the base which removably couples the rechargeable battery to the ground terminal; monitoring continuously voltage of the power supply when connected to the docking station and at least during and after the rechargeable battery is coupled to both the output and ground terminals via a voltage supervisor circuit of the docking station, wherein the voltage supervisor circuit outputs a voltage fault detection signal responsive to detection of an out-of-range voltage condition both with and without the rechargeable battery being coupled to both the output and ground terminals; monitoring current of the power supply when the rechargeable battery is coupled to the output and ground terminals via a current monitoring circuit of the docking station, wherein the current monitoring circuit outputs an over-current fault detection signal responsive to detection of an over-current condition; providing a voltage fault detection signal responsive to the out-of-range voltage condition being detected by the voltage supervisor circuit of the docking station; inhibiting power from the power supply to the output terminal when either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition is detected via a switch of the docking station that is responsive to the fault detection signals; and providing a visual indication upon detection of either the over-current condition or out-of-range voltage condition via a visual indicator responsive to the fault detection signals; wherein the protection circuitry provides protection against dendrite growth on a meter interface connector by being configured to automatically disconnect power from the meter interface connector when the meter and/or the base are over-saturated with a cleaning practice solution.
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Specification