Granted Patent B2

US 12,697,396 · App. 18/219,841 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Inventors: Joern Riemer (Santa Clara, CA); Robert Pavlinsky (Oxford, CT); Jordan Bourilkov (Bethany, CT); Steven J. Specht (Brookfield, CT); George Turco (Wilmington, DE); Sergio Coronado (Bethel, CT)

Assignee: DURACELL U.S. OPERATIONS, INC.

A61K48/00A61K39/0011A61P35/00C12N15/86G01R31/364G01R31/371G01R31/382G01R31/3842G01R31/389G01R31/392H01M6/505H01M10/425H01M10/4285H01M10/48H01M10/488H01R13/639H01R13/6683C12Q1/6886G01K1/024G01N33/575G01R31/36H01M10/4257H01M2010/4278H01M10/482H01M50/103H01M50/107

Abstract

Claims (26)

1 . A battery indicator comprising:

a voltage sensor, the voltage sensor being configured to convert sensed characteristics of a battery to digital information;

a communication circuit, the communication circuit being communicatively connected to the voltage sensor;

an antenna operatively coupled to the communication circuit;

a connection mechanism having a first connector and a second connector that are electrically connected to the voltage sensor, the first connector and the second connector being adapted to be removably connected to a first battery terminal and to a second battery terminal, respectively, thereby providing an electrical connection between the voltage sensor and the first and second battery terminals; and

an electrical key component that is configured to read an electrical lock component comprising a printed electronic component or a printed optical component on a battery label, and the electrical key component is also configured to enable functionality of the communication circuit when in the presence of the electrical lock component;

wherein the electrical key component comprises a split antenna matching network, an optical sensor, a capacitive coupling connection, or a Hall-effect sensor.

2 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , further comprising a voltage booster electrically connected to the voltage sensor.

3 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock component comprises a resistor printed on the battery label.

4 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock component comprises a capacitor printed on the battery label.

5 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock component comprises one of a magnetic strip or a magnet printed on the battery label.

6 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock component comprises an optical pattern printed on the battery label.

7 . The battery indicator of claim 6 , wherein the optical pattern reflects one of UV or IR wavelength light.

8 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock component comprises a conductive strip printed on the battery label.

9 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , further comprising a computing device communicatively connected to the communication circuit.

10 . The battery indicator of claim 9 , wherein the computing device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory comprising processor executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine one of a battery type, a physical location of the battery, or an electrical device that the battery is powering, but communicating with the communications circuit.

11 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the communication circuit comprises at least one of radio-frequency identification circuitry, Bluetooth circuitry, Bluetooth low energy circuitry, Wi-Fi circuitry, Zigbee circuitry, LORA circuitry, and Z-wave circuitry.

12 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the voltage sensor is capable of reading an open circuit voltage of less than 1.8 Volts.

13 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the split matching antenna network includes a wireless module antenna that requires the presence of the printed component to function.

14 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the capacitive coupling connection comprises a foil pad with a deformable conductive polymer.

15 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the first connector includes a central opening sized and shaped to surround a raised central portion of an end cap of a battery terminal.

16 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the voltage sensor and the communication circuit are formed on a PCB.

17 . The battery indicator of claim 1 , wherein the first connector or the second connector comprises a flexible wire.

18 . The battery indicator of claim 17 , wherein the flexible wire comprises a spring wire.

19 . The battery indicator of claim 17 , wherein the spring wire comprises a spring force that biases the flexible wire into an attached position.

20 . The battery indicator of claim 17 , wherein the flexible wire comprises an end loop.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (400)