1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a system for reading the voltage and state of charge of a battery. This system can be built into the battery including an LCD display, can be connected to the battery, or connected between a battery and a charging system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art systems have read battery voltage, but have not accurately measured current consumed or current added to a battery, and displayed this particular measurement.
Present day secondary batteries, such as Video Tape Recorder (VTR) batteries, need an accurate display of voltage, as well as current consumed, so that a battery is not run down to below recommended voltage or current during a video operation.
There is a need in secondary batteries to have a concise display indicating voltage of the battery, as well as current consumed or current added. There is a further need to indicate when a secondary battery is fully charged, is discharged, is being recharged, or is going through an automatic recharge cycle.
The prior art has been lacking in systems to indicate the state of a battery, and especially any systems which are built into the battery itself.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a system to read the voltage of a battery and the degree of discharge of the battery.