The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 09, 1998
Filed:
Apr. 10, 1996
George Bowman, Vernon Hills, IL (US);
Grace Esche, Algonquin, IL (US);
Baxter International Inc., Deerfield, IL (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides an estimate of the amount of time left on the battery by monitoring not only the voltage available from the battery, but also the amount of current flowing from the battery. It has been found that periodic sampling of the battery voltage and current drain enables accurate battery monitoring. The sampling technique alternates between sampling battery voltage and sampling current drain. An electric circuit is provided which enables the cost-effective sampling to occur. A method is then applied to the sampling signals by a microprocessor which determines the amount of time left under battery power. In a preferred embodiment, a graphic representation is provided of the amount of battery time left.