State-of-charge indicator
AssigneeLAT Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a MediPak Energy Systems
InventorLaura Thiel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pluggable state-of-charge (SOC) indicator and methods of use are disclosed. The pluggable SOC indicator includes at least one voltage input jack for connecting to a battery, at least one instance of control electronics, and at least one SOC indicator, such as a 5-bar liquid crystal display (LCD). Embodiments of the pluggable SOC indicator include, but are not limited to, a pluggable single-connector SOC indicator, a pluggable dual-connector SOC indicator, a pluggable tri-connector SOC indicator, and a pluggable quad-connector SOC indicator Further, the control electronics are programmable for any input voltage range and/or battery discharge characteristics.
Claims20
An indicator device for monitoring a state of charge of at least one battery or at least one battery pack, comprising:
- control electronics operable to measure a voltage and determine the state of charge of the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- at least one indicator for indicating the state of charge of the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- and
- at least one voltage connector configured to be in communication with the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- and
- wherein the at least one voltage connector includes between one and four voltage connectors, wherein the between one and four voltage connectors are each in electronic communication with between one and four corresponding sets of control electronics and between one and four corresponding indicators for indicating the state of charge.
An indicator device for monitoring a state of charge of at least one battery or at least one battery pack, comprising:
- control electronics operable to measure a voltage and determine the state of charge of the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- at least one voltage connector configured to be in communication with the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- and
- at least one indicator for indicating the state of charge of the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- and
- wherein the at least one voltage connector is in electronic communication with at least one corresponding set of control electronics and at least one corresponding indicator for indicating the state of charge.
An indicator device for monitoring a state of charge of at least one battery or at least one battery pack, comprising:
- control electronics operable to measure a voltage and determine the state of charge of the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- and
- at least one indicator for indicating the state of charge of the at least one battery or the at least one battery pack;
- wherein the at least one indicator is operable to display a visual representation of the state of charge or communicate the state of charge to an electronic device via a communications interface;
- and
- wherein the control electronics and the at least one indicator are in electronic communication.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.