DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Typically, battery testers have been standalone units. The present invention provides a battery tester 10 such as that illustrated in FIG. 1 which includes a databus 12 for coupling to external circuitry 14 . Battery tester 10 is configured to couple to storage battery 16 through electrical connectors 18 to perform a battery test on battery 16 . Connectors 18 can be, for example, Kelvin type connectors. Typically, test circuitry 10 will obtain a dynamic parameter of the battery using an AC forcing function. Examples include dynamic conductance, resistance, admittance, impedance, their combinations, or others. However, any type of battery test can be performed including battery testing which involves application of large loads, or application of large currents or voltages such as through a charger, simple voltage measurements, etc. In one embodiment, the battery tester 10 is permanently mounted in a automotive vehicle such as the type of vehicle that uses a internal combustion engine or an electric engine.

[0012] Databus 12 is used to exchange information with external circuitry 14 . Such information includes, for example, raw data measurements and conclusions of battery tester 10 , and inputs, such as user inputs and other sensor inputs into battery tester 10 . Further, external circuitry 14 can control battery tester 10 through databus 12 and provide information such as a battery rating to battery tester 10 for use in performing a battery test. Databus 12 can be a proprietary databus or can be in accordance with known standards such as RS232, CAN, ISA, PCI, PCMCIA, etc. Battery tester 10 can be configured to communicate with portable devices such as portable notebook computers, PDAs (Personal Data Assistants) such as a Palm Pilot™, etc. The databus 12 can also be configured to interface with other types of equipment which are used in the automotive industry such as “scan” tools which are used to interface with the on-board computer in a vehicle. Such scan tools are known in the art and are used to perform diagnostics and retrieve information from the on-board computer. In such an embodiment, databus 12 can be in accordance with the databus used in OBD (on-board diagnostic) systems.

[0013] The battery tester 10 of FIG. 1 can be a modular component of a scan tool formed by external circuitry 14 . In another aspect of the invention as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the battery tester 10 is an analog to digital converter 44 which couples to microprocessor 46 . Microprocessor 46 operates in accordance with instructions stored in memory 48 . In accordance with the invention, microprocessor 46 can store data into memory 48 .

[0014] Input/output (I/O) is provided for coupling to the databus 12 . I/O 102 can be in accordance with the desired standard or protocol as described above. Data collected by battery test circuitry 10 can be stored in memory 48 and transmitted over bus 12 when pulled by external circuitry 14 . In one embodiment, input/output 52 comprises an RF (Radio Frequency) or IR (Infrared) input/output circuit and bus 12 comprises electromagnetic radiation. The logged data can comprise individual measurement points such as voltage and/or current measurements, either static or dynamic. Additionally, the logged data can comprise time and data information, operating conditions such as temperature, charge, etc. In addition to logging raw data, calculated data such as calculated conductance or battery condition, battery state of health, battery state of charge, etc. can be logged.

[0015] Of course, the illustration of FIG. 3 is simply one simplified embodiment and other embodiments are in accordance with the invention. Databus 12 may be capable of coupling directly to memory 48 for retrieval of stored data. Additionally, in the illustrated embodiment microprocessor 46 is configured to measure a dynamic parameter based upon the forcing function 40 . This dynamic parameter can be correlated with battery condition as set forth in the above-mentioned Champlin and Midtronics, Inc. patents. However, other types of battery tests circuitry can be used in the present invention and certain aspects of the invention should not be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated herein. FIG. 3 also illustrates an optional input/output block 50 which can be any other type of input and/or output coupled to microprocessor 46 . For example, this can be used to couple to external devices or to facilitate user input and/or output. Databus 12 can also be used to provide data or instructions to microprocessor 46 . This can instruct the microprocessor 46 to perform a certain test, transmit specified data, update programming instructions, constant test parameters, etc. stored in memory 48 . Although a microprocessor 46 is shown, other types of computational or other circuitry can be used to collect and place data into memory 48 .

[0016] FIG. 4 is a more detailed block diagram of external circuitry 14 . External circuitry 14 includes input/output (I/O) circuitry 150 for coupling to databus 12 . Again, if databus 12 is through a nonphysical connections such as infrared or radio frequency, I/O circuitry 150 should operate accordingly. A microprocessor 152 couples to memory 154 and operates at a rate determined by a system clock 156 . Microprocessor 152 can provide an output through display 158 and receive input from an operator through input 160 . In operation, circuitry 14 is operably coupled to battery test circuitry through databus 12 and is configured to send and receive information through databus 12 . An operator can instruct microprocessor 152 or microprocessor 152 can operate automatically, to retrieve data from memory 48 in battery test circuitry 10 . The microprocessor 152 can process the data to calculate battery condition and follow trends in the measured values retrieved from memory 48 . This information can be used to diagnose the condition of the battery 16 as well as use a charge and discharge history experienced by battery 16 . Further, the information can be used to validate warranty claims in which a battery is returned to a manufacturer under a claim that it is defective.

[0017] External circuitry 14 can include additional input, output or input/output circuits 162 for communication using other techniques. For example, data can be sent to a printer or other computer system. Any type of data link can be used including modems, Ethernet or networking connections, etc.

[0018] In one embodiment, the external circuitry 14 comprises a personal data assistant (PDA) such as a Palm pilot™. In such an embodiment, I/O 100 in battery test circuitry 10 can comprise a cradle which is adapted to receive the PDA. In such an embodiment, the PDA can simply be “dropped” into the cradle in order to exchange data with test circuitry 10 . Similarly, many PDAs include an infrared or RF link which can be used to exchange data with battery test circuitry 10 .

[0019] In some embodiments, battery test circuitry 10 can include circuitry configured to charge battery 16 . In such embodiments, memory 48 can be used to log information regarding any charge which is applied to battery 16 .

[0020] Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, any type of battery test or battery test circuitry can be used by battery tester 10 . Further, the databus 12 can be in accordance with any databus technique and should not be limited to the examples set forth herein. In various embodiments, battery tester 10 can be powered through power received through battery 16 or can be powered through power received through databus 12 or from a scan tool.