Electronic battery tester with automotive scan tool communication

[0001] The present application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/280,186, filed Oct. 25, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,849.

[0002] The present application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/816,768 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,586,941, filed Mar. 23, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/192,222, filed Mar. 27, 2000, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0003] The present invention relates to battery testers of the type used to test storage batteries. More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular battery tester capable of interfacing with other types of test equipment.

[0004] Various types of battery testers are known in the art. One type of battery tester is based upon the measurement of a dynamic parameter, such as dynamic conductance. Examples of various battery testers and monitors are forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911, issued Mar. 25, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708, issued Sep. 30, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768, issued Mar. 28, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170, issued Apr. 25, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038, issued Nov. 14, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING TO DETERMINE DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416, issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH STATE-OF-CHARGE COMPENSATION; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269, issued Aug. 18, 1992, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC TESTER FOR ASSESSING BATTERY/CELL CAPACITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380, issued Aug. 30, 1994, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING TIME VARYING SIGNALS IN BATTERIES UNDERGOING CHARGING OR DISCHARGING; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,136, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355, issued Nov. 12, 1996, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THERMAL RUNAWAY IN A BATTERY UNDER CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,416, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,728, issued Dec. 17, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,757, issued Dec. 31, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,093, issued Jan. 7, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE LOOSE TERMINAL CONNECTION DETECTION VIA A COMPARISON CIRCUIT; U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,098, issued Jan. 28, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH VERY HIGH NOISE IMMUNITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,920, issued Aug. 12, 1997, entitled METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING THE CHARGING LEAD-ACID BATTERIES AND AN INTERACTIVE CHARGER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,192, issued May 26, 1998, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING A BAD CELL IN A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,756, issued Oct. 13, 1998, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH TAILORED COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,435, issued Nov. 3, 1998, entitled BATTERY TESTER FOR JIS STANDARD; U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,605, issued Jun. 22, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,829, issued Aug. 31, 1999, entitled MIDPOINT BATTERY MONITORING; U.S. Pat. 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No. 6,163,156, issued Dec. 19, 2000, entitled ELECTRICAL CONNECTION FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,483, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX IMPEDANCE OF CELL AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,505, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,369, issued Apr. 24, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,808, issued May 1, 2001, entitled TEST COUNTER FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,124, issued Jun. 19, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH INTERNAL BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,254, issued Jul. 10, 2001, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,563, issued Jul. 17, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX ADMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,896, issued Sep. 25, 2001; entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX SELF-IMMITANCE OF A GENERAL ELECTRICAL ELEMENT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,897, issued Sep. 25, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY EVALUATING THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,087, issued Oct. 16, 2001, entitled APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,481, issued Oct. 30, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,607, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,608, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,914, issued Nov. 13, 2001, entitled TESTING PARALLEL STRINGS OF STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,650, issued Nov. 27, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,793, issued Dec. 11, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,762, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,113, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,102, issued Feb. 26, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,441, issued Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,303, issued Mar. 26, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,414, issued May 21, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,669, issued Jul. 9, 2002, entitled SUPPRESSING INTERFERENCE IN AC MEASUREMENTS OF CELLS, BATTERIES AND OTHER ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,158, issued Jul. 23, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,585, issued Aug. 17, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TESTING RECHARGEABLE ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,158, issued Sep. 3, 2002, entitled VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TESTER WITH ENCODED OUTPUT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,045, issued Sep. 24, 2002, entitled INTEGRATED CONDUCTANCE AND LOAD TEST BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,025, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,026, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 09/703,270, filed Oct. 31, 2000, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/780,146, filed Feb. 9, 2001, entitled STORAGE BATTERY WITH INTEGRAL BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/816,768, filed Mar. 23, 2001, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/756,638, filed Jan. 8, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/862,783, filed May 21, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 09/960,117, filed Sep. 20, 2001, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,389, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,278, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH EMBEDDED ENVIRONMENT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/880,473, filed Jun. 13, 2001; entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/940,684, filed Aug. 27, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/330,441, filed Oct. 17, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/348,479, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled CONCEPT FOR TESTING HIGH POWER VRLA BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/993,468, filed Nov. 14, 2001, entitled KELVIN CONNECTOR FOR A BATTERY POST; U.S. Ser. No. 09/992,350, filed Nov. 26, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/341,902, filed Dec. 19, 2001, entitled BATTERY TESTER MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/042,451, filed Jan. 8, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/073,378, filed Feb. 8, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS USING A CIRCUIT MODEL TO EVALUATE CELL/BATTERY PARAMETERS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH NETWORK COMMUNICATION; U.S. Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH LOW TEMPERATURE RATING DETERMINATION; U.S. Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Ser. No. 10/101,543, filed Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,114, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/109,734, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,105, filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled CHARGE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,998, filed Mar. 29, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY REPLACEMENT OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,297, filed Apr. 9, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/128,790, filed Apr. 22, 2002, entitled METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING JUMP-START BOOSTER PACKS; U.S. Ser. No. 60/379,281, filed May 8, 2002, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/143,307, filed May 10, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 60/387,046, filed Jun. 7, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THE LIFE OF A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/177,635, filed Jun. 21, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGER WITH BOOSTER PACK; U.S. Ser. No. 10/207,495, filed Jul. 29, 2002, entitled KELVIN CLAMP FOR ELECTRICALLY COUPLING TO A BATTERY CONTACT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/217,913, filed Aug. 13, 2002, entitled, BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 60/408,542, filed Sep. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPON TEMPERATURE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/246,439, filed Sep. 18, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER UPGRADE USING SOFTWARE KEY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; and U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/271,342, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 10/270,777, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,515, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,490, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,385, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,255, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,224, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled DISCHARGE VOLTAGE PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 10/349,053, filed Jan. 22, 2003, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A BATTERY FROM OVERDISCHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/388,855, filed Mar. 14, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY FAILURE TEMPERATURE DETERMINATION, U.S. Ser. No. 10/396,550, filed Mar. 25, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/467,872, filed May 5, 2003, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

[0005] In general, battery testing techniques have used a single, integrated stand-alone unit.

[0006] An electronic battery tester includes battery test circuitry configured to couple to a battery, and a databus configured to exchange data with external circuitry. In various embodiments, the battery test circuitry includes memory for storing raw data. The databus is capable of coupling to an external device such as a hand-held device.

[0007] In one aspect, an external microprocessor based system is provided to couple to a databus and receive data from battery test circuitry.

[0012] 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.

[0013] 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.

[0014] 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 integral component of a scan tool 20. FIG. 2 also illustrates a second databus 22 which is used to couple to an on-board computer of a vehicle.

[0015] In embodiments which utilize a scan tool, an operator is able to perform a battery test using the same scan tool used for diagnosing other conditions of the vehicle. Further, the scan tool can selectively instruct an operator to perform a battery test or control operation of the battery test based upon data retrieved from the on-board vehicle computer system through bus 22. This can be part of an overall diagnostic system used to provide more accurate diagnostics of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the battery test circuitry requires information through bus 22 or monitors the flow of information on a databus of the vehicle. The test circuit can obtain information about battery type, battery rating, and charge history. Additionally, if the vehicle contains an internal battery tester, information regarding battery tests or battery measurements can be obtained or monitored through bus 22. In such an embodiment, test circuit 10 does not need to perform a battery test itself, or couple to the battery.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of battery test circuitry 10 which includes a forcing function 40 and an amplifier 42 coupled to connectors 18. In the illustration of FIG. 3, connectors 18 are shown as Kelvin connections. The forcing function 40 can be any type of signal which has a time varying component including a transient signal. The forcing function can be through application of a load or by applying an active signal to battery 16. A response signal is sensed by amplifier 42 and provided to 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.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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.

[0019] In one embodiment, I/O 50 comprises an interface to a removable digital storage medium, for example a Secure Digital (SD) card. Similarly, the I/O 50 can be configured to provide a multimedia interface to an MMC card. The databus 12 can be in accordance with any particular standard or otherwise for use in communicating with a scan tool. Additional examples includes RS-485, current loops, J1939, J1850 or a CAN bus.

[0020] 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 non-physical 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.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] As discussed above, the battery tester circuitry 10 can be a modular component of a scan tool. For example, that scan tool can comprise external circuitry 14 shown in FIG. 1 and the databus 12 can be part of a cabling connection between the battery test circuitry 10 and the scan tool 14. In such an embodiment, there are a number of implementations of the present invention. In one aspect, all of the test circuitry necessary for performing a battery test if contained in the battery test circuitry 10. The final result of the battery test is provided to the scan tool 14 over the databus. Further, operator instructions or display data can be provided to the scan tool 14 and the battery test circuitry 10 can utilize a display 158, I/O 162, input 160 or other circuitry available in the scan tool 14. In another example, the microprocessor 152 of the scan tool 14 performs any calculations used in a battery test, and the battery test circuitry 10 includes less complex components such as the analog components required for performing a battery test. For example, the test circuitry 10 can contain the forcing function 40 and sensor 42. Analog values can be provided to the scan tool 14 and then digitize the received analog values. In another example, the analog values are digitized within the battery test circuitry 10 and provides it in a digital format to the scan tool 14. In another example embodiment, microprocessor 46 of the battery test circuitry 10 and microprocessor 152 of scan tool 14 are both utilized in a battery test. For example, the microprocessor 152 of the scan tool 14 can compute conversions between various rating systems, particular test requirements for certain types of vehicles or batteries or other higher level functions. The microprocessor 46 of the battery test circuitry 10 determines the initial battery test results.

[0024] In other example embodiments, the battery test circuitry 10 continually broadcasts voltage and/or conductance, current and/or conductance measurements of the databus 12. The battery test circuitry 10 can have an internal power source, be powered from the battery under test 16, or receive power from the scan tool 14. The databus 12 can be used to carry text messages to scan tool 14 for display on display 158 or in another manner. In another example, the memory 154 of the scan tool 14 contains a set of messages. A token or other short hand representation of a text message is transmitted from the battery test circuitry to the scan tool 14 on databus 12. This causes the microprocessor 152 to retrieve a selected message from the memory 154 which can then be displayed on display 158 or otherwise provided as an output. In one embodiment, the battery test circuitry provides an indication of the relative condition of the battery, for example, “good”, “good/recharge”, “charge and retest”, or “replace battery”. Another example condition is “bad cellreplace”. If text messages are contained in a memory of the battery tester 10, the text can be in an appropriate language for the consumer.

[0025] In various aspects, the battery test circuitry 10 does not use Kelvin connections. In another example embodiment, a small or large load is included in the battery test circuitry 10. The load is used to apply a load test to the battery. In such an embodiment, the battery test circuitry may operate exclusively based upon such a load test and does not include circuitry to measure a dynamic parameter of the battery 12. In another example, the battery test is based upon a load test as well as a dynamic parameter based test. In another example, the battery test circuitry 10 includes a display for locally displaying information. One type of display includes a simple optical output such as that provided by one or more LEDs. The color or number of LEDs can indicate the result of a battery test. In some embodiments information beyond a battery test can be displayed by the scan tool 14. For example, the scan tool can display voltage, conductance, battery condition, battery cold cranking amps (CCA), a minimum or a maximum sensed voltage, or other measurements. The battery test circuitry 10 can be integrated with a cable that plugs into the scan tool 14. For example, the battery test circuitry 10 can be included in a small housing having one cable for connection to the scan tool 14 and another cable or cables for connections to the battery 12.

[0026] 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.

[0027] 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.