Patent Publication Number: US-2022231520-A1

Title: Storage unit with power monitoring capability

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to a storage unit equipped with power outlets adapted to interpret a status of devices electrically coupled thereto. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Storage units, such as, for example, toolboxes and cabinets, may be provided with power outlets, for example, a power strip, to provide power to a variety of electrical devices, such as, for example, battery chargers. Battery chargers are commonly used in automotive, industrial, and household applications to charge batteries that function as a power source for tools, such as motorized ratchet wrenches, drivers, impact tools, and drills, for example. Battery chargers typically indicate the charge status or state of the battery being charged by using a gauge indicator (e.g. incremental LED lights) on the exterior of the housing to signify the charge state of the battery. However, when connected to a power outlet of a storage unit, the battery charger may be charging a battery some distance away from an operator, or otherwise the charge state is not easily viewable or accessible, such as when the power outlet is disposed in an interior containment space of the storage unit, thus the charge state of the battery is often difficult to ascertain. Additionally, battery chargers are typically connected to electrical circuits that are unable to detect potential problems with the battery and/or battery charger. Thus, damage to the circuit, battery charger, and/or battery can occur. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention relates broadly to a storage unit having one or more power outlets disposed on, for example, a power strip. The storage unit is adapted to determine a status of devices, such as, for example, batteries, electrically connected to the power outlets via a battery charger by measuring power, voltage, and/or current of the electricity supplied to a device via the power outlets. The status of the devices includes one or more of a state of charge of a battery that is connected to a battery charger, the supplied current and/or voltage to the battery, and the number of charge cycles. The determined status can be sent to a remote computing device, such as, for example, a phone, tablet, computer, etc. via wireless communications link. 
     In an embodiment, the present invention broadly comprises a storage unit having containment spaces. The storage unit includes power terminals adapted to operably couple to and provide electricity to a connected device, an interrogation module operably coupled to the power terminals and adapted to interrogate or monitor electric supply information about electricity supplied to the connected devices via the power terminals, a computation module operably coupled to the interrogation module and adapted to receive electric supply data signals from the interrogation module and determine a status of the connected device by comparing the electric supply data signals and usage characteristics of the connected device based on known or preset data, and a communication module operably coupled to the computation module and adapted to receive status data signals from the computation module and communicate the status data signals to a remote computing device. 
     In another embodiment, the present invention broadly comprises a power strip having power terminals adapted to operably couple to and provide electricity to a connected device. The power strip includes an interrogation module operably coupled to the power terminals and adapted to interrogate or monitor electric supply information about electricity supplied to the connected devices via the power terminals, a computation module operably coupled to the interrogation module and adapted to receive electric supply data signals from the interrogation module and determine a status of the connected device by comparing the electric supply data signals and usage characteristics of the connected device based on known or preset data, and a communication module operably coupled to the computation module and adapted to receive status data signals from the computation module and communicate the status data signals to a remote computing device. 
     In another embodiment, the present invention broadly comprises a power strip having power terminals adapted to operably couple to and provide electricity to a connected device. The power strip includes interrogation modules adapted to interrogate or monitor electric supply information about electricity supplied to the connected devices via the power terminals, each of the interrogation modules is operably coupled to one of the power terminals, a computation module operably coupled to the interrogation modules and adapted to receive electric supply data signals from the interrogation modules and determine a status of the connected device by comparing the electric supply data signals and usage characteristics of the connected device based on known or preset data, and a communication module operably coupled to the computation module and adapted to receive status data signals from the computation module and communicate the status data signals to a remote computing device. 
     In another embodiment, the present invention broadly comprises a method performed by a computing device to communicate a status of a connected device operably coupled to and adapted to receive electricity supplied by power terminals disposed in storage unit. The method includes receiving electric supply data signals from an interrogation module containing information about electricity supplied to the connected device, determining a status of the connected device by comparing the information from the electric supply data signals with usage characteristics of the connected device, and communicating, via a communication module, a status data signal indicating the status of the remote computing device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the subject matter sought to be protected, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated. 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective side view of an exemplar storage unit, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is a top view of the storage unit of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating example electronic components of a storage unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating example electronic components of a power strip in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating example electronic components of a power strip in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating a method to communicate a status of a battery being charged in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a chart illustrating an exemplar characteristic profile of electrical consumption of a battery being charged by a battery charger in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example of a system including a battery charger and a remote computing device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to embodiments illustrated. As used herein, the term “present invention” is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention and is instead a term used to discuss exemplary embodiments of the invention for explanatory purposes only. 
     The present invention broadly comprises a storage unit having one or more power outlets disposed on, for example, a power strip. The storage unit is able to output data wirelessly and/or by a wired connection. The data includes information regarding the status of, or other information relating to, a device electrically connected to and receiving power from the power outlet, such as, for example, a battery or batteries that are operably coupled to a battery charger. The data can be communicated to a remote computing device, such as, for example, a remote server and/or a mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone. The communicated data enhances the ability of an operator to monitor the status of the battery being charged by the battery charger, including remote monitoring, compared to current solutions. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , a storage unit  100 , such as, for example, a toolbox or cabinet, includes a number of containment spaces  102 , such as, for example, drawers, a work surface  104 , trim pieces  106 , and/or wheels  108  such that the storage unit  100  is movable to a different location at a worksite. The storage unit  100  may be coupled to an external power source (not shown) via a cord or other type of wired connection. The external power source is adapted to supply power, for example, AC power in a range of approximately 120V to 240V. In another embodiment, electrical power is provided by electric battery(ies), fuel cell(s), solar power, etc. via a power source that is external to the storage unit  100  or housed within the storage unit  100 , such as within the trim piece  106 , the containment space  102 , and/or a special compartment. The electrical power may also be supplied as DC voltage of, for example, approximately between 9V to 60V. 
     The storage unit  100  includes a power strip  110  disposed in the containment space  102 , on the work surface  104 , and/or other suitable surface of the storage unit  100 . The power strip  110  includes one or more power terminals (also referred to as a power outlet)  112  adapted to operably couple to a connected device, such as, for example, a battery charger  114 , rechargeable electric devices  116  with integrated rechargeable battery(ies), such as, for example, battery powered lights, mobile phones, tablets, etc., and/or other electrically powered devices, to provide electricity thereto. The battery charger  114  is adapted to be operably coupled to and charge a battery  118  in a well-known manner. For example, the present invention could work in conjunction with a battery charger adapted to output data wirelessly and/or by a wired connection, such as the battery charger disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/852,144, incorporated herein by reference. The data provided by the battery charger can provide additional information regarding the status of, or other information relating to, the battery or batteries that are operably coupled to the battery charger. 
     The storage unit  100  is adapted to determine a status of the connected device, such as, for example, a battery  118  coupled to the charger  114  and/or the battery(ies) of the rechargeable electric devices  116  and further includes a supply power connection point  120 , an interrogation module  122 , a computation module  124 , and a communication module  126 . The status may include, for example, charge state, charge cycles, and/or battery health. 
     Electricity supplied via the external power source is received at the supply power connection point  120 . The supply power connection point  120  is disposed within or on the storage unit  100  and is adapted to operably couple to the interrogation module  122  and supply electricity to the power terminals  112 . 
     The interrogation module  122  is operably coupled to the power strip  110  and power terminals  112  and adapted to interrogate or monitor electric supply information, such as, for example, power, current, and/or voltage values, of electricity supplied to the connected devices, such as the battery charger  114  and/or rechargeable electric devices  116 , via the power terminals  112 . The interrogation module  122  includes one or more of a voltmeter, an ammeter, and/or a wattmeter. The interrogation module  122  is adapted to operably couple to and send electric supply data signals containing the electric supply information to the computation module  124 . 
     The computation module  124  is a controller/processor that includes a central processing unit (CPU) for processing data and computer-readable instructions using known methods. For example, the computation module  124  retrieves instructions from data storage via a bus, using a memory for runtime temporary storage of instructions and data. The memory may include volatile and/or nonvolatile random access memory (RAM). The components may also be connected to other components in addition to (or instead of) being connected to other components via the bus. The computation module  124  monitors, analyzes, and processes electric supply data signals from the interrogation module  122  to determine electric supply usage characteristics of the connected devices based on known/pre-set data. The usage characteristics are then used to determine the status of the connected devices by comparing received data signals with the usage characteristics. In another embodiment, the usage characteristics may be retrieved from a database and saved in the memory. The method of determining the status of the connected devices is described in more detail below. The computation module  124  is adapted to operably couple to and send status data signals containing the status to the communication module  126 . The status data signals may include interpreted or raw data. 
     The communication module  126  can further format status data signals for communication. The communication module  126  transmits status data signals including the status of the connected devices using a wired connection and/or a wireless transmission  128  to one or more remote computing devices, such as one or more mobile computing devices and/or one or more remote servers. The communication module  126  can include a transmitter, a receiver (also referred to as a transceiver) and associated encoders, modulators, demodulators, and decoders. The communication module  126  manages and establishes communication links  130  with a mobile computing device  132  via one-or-more antennas (not shown), thereby enabling bi-directional communication between the tool storage unit  100  and a software application executed by the mobile computing device  132 . The communication links  130  may be a direct link between the storage unit  100  and the mobile computing device  132  (as illustrated), or may be an indirect link through one-or-more intermediate components, such as via a Wi-Fi router or mesh connection (not illustrated). 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an example of a system including the communication module  126  disposed in a storage unit  100  and a mobile computing device  132 . The communication module  126  communicates with the mobile computing device  132  via a wireless transmission  128  by establishing the communication link  130  using a protocol such as infrared, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart (also known as Bluetooth low energy), Wi-Fi, or any other suitable wireless protocol. In an embodiment, the mobile computing device  132  includes a touch-sensitive display  134  via which an operator interacts with user interfaces provided by a software application on the mobile computing device  132 . Among other things, the software application may be used to display battery status and/or battery information, such as the state of charge the battery  118  that is connected to the charger  114  and/or of the battery(ies) of the rechargeable electric device  116 , the supplied power, current, and/or voltage values to the power terminals  112 , the number of charge cycles, health status about the battery(ies), etc. The software application also provides the technician with real-time feedback and interactive functionality to assist the operator with determining the status of the connected device. 
     In another embodiment, the communication module  126  also communicates the status with one or more remote servers  136  via wireless transmission  128  by establishing the communication link  130  to a data communications network  138 , such as the Internet. The communication link  130  may use, for example, a protocol such as infrared, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart (also known as Bluetooth low energy), Wi-Fi, or any other wireless protocol to link with a local wireless router. In this embodiment, the mobile computing device  132  retrieves or receives data, which may include battery status and/or battery information, via a wireless communications link  140  to the data communications network  138 . The wireless communications link  140  may be, for example, a Wi-Fi link between the mobile computing device  132  and a local wireless router, or a cellular data link between the mobile computing device  132  and a nearby cell tower, using a cellular protocol such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), etc. One-or-more remote servers  136  are connected to the data communications network  138  via communications link(s)  142 . Based on queries received from the software application on the mobile computing device  132 , the remote server  136  transmits data, which may include battery status and/or battery information to the mobile computing device  132  via the data communications network  138 . Among other system arrangements, the remote server(s)  136  may be associated with a software service provider, a manufacturing company, or with a company providing repair services. 
       FIG. 5  is a method performed by a computing device, such as the computation module  126 , to communicate a status of a battery being charged via electricity supplied by power terminals  112 . For example, the computation module  126  receives ( 502 ) electric supply data signals from the interrogation module containing information, such as, for example, power, current, and/or voltage values, of electricity supplied to the connected devices, such as the battery charger  114  and/or rechargeable electric devices  116 , via the power terminals  112 . The computation module  126  determines ( 504 ) usage characteristics of the connected devices by monitoring, analyzing, and processing electric supply data signals from the interrogation module  122  over time. The computation module  126  compares ( 506 ) the information from the electric supply data signals received from the interrogation module  122  with the determined usage characteristics. A status of the battery is determined ( 508 ) based on the comparing step. The computation module  124  communicates status data signals containing the status to the communication module  126 , which communicates ( 510 ) the status data signal including the status using a wireless transmission  128  to a remote computing device, such as one or more mobile computing devices  132  and/or one or more remote servers  136 . The battery status can then be displayed on a display of the one or more mobile computing devices  132  and/or the one or more remote servers  136 . 
     The typical electrical consumption of a charging battery is demonstrated by the electrical consumption profile illustrated in  FIG. 6 . This profile is an interpretation of current supplied by an electrical circuit to a power terminal and where a battery charger is plugged into the power terminal to charge a battery. For example, the upper limit of the drawn voltage is close to the typical base units of common batteries, such as, for example, 9V, 14.4V, 18V, 24V, 64V, etc. By determining the electrical consumption profile of a battery, the computation module  124  can send a signal to a remote computing device via the communication module  126  to indicate a status of the battery, such as, for example, the battery is fully charged, an electrical overload, and/or a parasitic drain. The computation module  126  is adapted to interpret the status of the battery  118  being charged by a battery charger  114  using the electrical consumption profile and the information received from the interrogation module  122 . For example, prior and up to time T 1 , the battery charger  114  places a parasitic load C 1  on the electrical circuit. At time T 1 , the battery  118  is connected to the battery charger  114  to charge, thereby increasing the electrical current to level C 3 . When the battery  118  reaches a certain charge state, such as, for example, 75-80% of full charge, the circuit drops the current draw to level C 2  at time T 2 , where level C 2  is less than level C 3  and greater than level C 1 . When the battery  118  is fully charged, the current draw drops again to approximately level C 1  at time T 3 . 
     The concepts disclosed herein may be applied within several different devices and computer systems. Although the mobile computing device  132  is described as a mobile device, any computer may be used. Likewise, the remote server(s)  136  may be any sort of computer. 
     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a power strip  210  includes power terminals  212 , a supply power connection point  220 , an interrogation module  222 , a computation module  224 , and a communication module  226  (which are substantially similar to the power terminals  112 , supply power connection point  120 , interrogation module  122 , computation module  124 , and communication module  126  described above). The power strip  210  can be disposed in a storage unit, such as, for example, a tool box or cabinet, that is substantially similar to the storage unit  100  described above. For example, the power strip can be disposed in a containment space, such as for example, a drawer, on a work surface, or other suitable surface of the storage unit. 
     Similar to the power terminals  112  described above, the power terminals  212  are adapted to operably couple to a connected device, such as, for example, a battery charger  214 , rechargeable electric devices  216  with integrated rechargeable battery(ies), such as, for example, battery powered lights, mobile phones, tablets, etc., and/or other electrically powered devices, to provide electricity thereto. The battery charger  214  is adapted to be operably coupled to and charge a battery  218  in a well-known manner Similar to the storage unit  100  described above, the power strip  210  is adapted to determine a status of the connected device, such as, for example, a battery  218  coupled to a charger  214  and/or the battery(ies) of the rechargeable electric devices  216  in a similar manner as described above. The status may include, for example, charge state, charge cycles, and/or battery health. The communication module  226  is adapted to then transmit data signals including the status of the connected devices using a wired connection and/or a wireless transmission  228  to one or more computing devices, such as one or more mobile computing devices and/or one or more remote servers. 
     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , a power strip  310  includes power terminals  312 , a supply power connection point  320 , a computation module  324 , and a communication module  326  (which are substantially similar to the power terminals  112 , supply power connection point  120 , computation module  124 , and communication module  126  described above). In this embodiment, the power strip  310  includes a number of interrogation modules  322  that corresponds to the number of power terminals  312 . Each of the interrogation modules are substantially similar to the interrogation module  122  described above and are operably coupled to one of the power terminals  312 . Although three interrogation modules  322  and power terminals  312  are shown, the invention is not limited as such and any suitable number of power terminals  312  and corresponding interrogation modules  322  can be used. The power strip  310  can be disposed in a storage unit, such as, for example, a tool box or cabinet, that is substantially similar to the storage unit  100  described above. For example, the power strip  310  can be disposed in a containment space, such as for example, a drawer, on a work surface, or other suitable surface of the storage unit. 
     Similar to the power terminals  112  described above, the power terminals  312  are adapted to operably couple to a connected device, such as, for example, a battery charger  314 , rechargeable electric devices  316  with integrated rechargeable battery(ies), such as, for example, battery powered lights, mobile phones, tablets, etc., and/or other electrically powered devices, to provide electricity thereto. The battery charger  314  is adapted to be operably coupled to and charge a battery  318  in a well-known manner Similar to the storage unit  100  described above, the power strip  310  is adapted to determine a status of the connected device, such as, for example, a battery  318  coupled to a charger  314  and/or the battery(ies) of the rechargeable electric devices  316  in a similar manner as described above. The status may include, for example, charge state, charge cycles and/or battery health. The communication module  326  is adapted to then transmit data signals including the status of the connected devices using a wired connection and/or a wireless transmission  328  to one or more computing devices, such as one or more mobile computing devices and/or one or more remote servers. 
     The disclosed invention thus provides a power strip and/or a storage unit with the capability to interrogate or monitor the electricity (power, current, and/or voltage) that is supplied to a connected device with the intent to measure usage characteristics of the connected device and communicate this information to another device, network, and/or audio/visual system. The circuitry and placement of the interrogation, computation, and communication modules may vary from the disclosed arrangements to interrogate or monitor the electricity that is supplied to a device that is connected to an electrical power terminal. 
     As used herein, the term “coupled” and its functional equivalents are not intended to necessarily be limited to direct, mechanical coupling of two or more components. Instead, the term “coupled” and its functional equivalents are intended to mean any direct or indirect mechanical, electrical, or chemical connection between two or more objects, features, work pieces, and/or environmental matter. “Coupled” is also intended to mean, in some examples, one object being integral with another object. 
     The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of the inventors&#39; contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.