Power state coordination for portable test tools

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9563219-B2
Application number	US-201414472259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 28, 2014
Priority date	Jul 17, 2009
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A system and method of coordinating power states between two detachable units is disclosed. Only the primary unit has a user-controllable power control. The secondary unit is not directly user controllable. The power states of the two units are coordinated using an actuator mechanism when the units are attached. When the two units are detached, the state of the secondary unit is dependent upon the state of the primary unit and any subsequent commands transmitted by the primary unit to the secondary unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of coordinating power states between two detachable units of an apparatus, the two detachable units including a primary unit and a secondary unit, the method comprising:
when the two detachable units have an attached state, coordinating the power states of the primary unit and the secondary unit between a standby mode and an on mode by moving a first movable element on the primary unit between first and second positions, wherein the first movable element is coupled to a second movable element on the secondary unit such that movement of the first movable element causes the second movable element on the secondary unit to move between corresponding first and second positions, wherein the second movable element is moved between the corresponding first and second positions without the secondary unit receiving digital or analog signals from the primary unit to cause the movement of the second movable element; and
when the two detachable units have a detached state, activating a transceiver of the secondary unit and coordinating the power states of the primary unit and the secondary unit between the standby mode and the on mode using a first communication link that includes the activated transceiver.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein coordinating the power states of the primary unit and the secondary unit between the standby mode and the on mode using the first communication link comprises, in response to the primary unit changing from the standby mode to the on mode, transmitting a first command from the primary unit to the secondary unit in a first spectrum.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising when the two detachable units have the attached state, communicating data between the primary unit and the secondary unit using a second communication link that is different from the first communication link.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the two detachable units have the detached state or the attached state.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first communication link includes a radio frequency (RF) spectrum and the second communication link includes an infrared (IR) spectrum.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein coordinating the power states of the primary unit and the secondary unit between the standby mode and the on mode using the first communication link includes:
sending a first command from the primary unit to the secondary unit indicative of the primary unit switching from the standby mode to the on mode; and
in response to receiving the first command, completing a circuit between main electronics of the secondary unit and a first power supply of the secondary unit.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the transceiver of the secondary unit is powered by a second power supply of the secondary unit.

8. A system for coordinating power states between two detachable units, comprising:
means for determining whether the two detachable units have a detached state or an attached state;
means for turning on a transceiver of a primary unit upon determining the two detachable units have the detached state;
means for turning on a transceiver of a secondary unit upon determining the two detachable units have the detached state;
means for, when the two detachable units have a detached state, transmitting a first command from the primary unit to the secondary unit via a first communication link that includes the transceiver of the primary unit and the transceiver of the secondary unit to set the power state of the secondary unit to an on mode in response to a first change in power state of the primary unit from a standby mode to an on mode; and
means for, when the two detachable units have an attached state, setting the power state of the secondary unit to the standby mode by moving a first movable element of the primary unit in response to a second change in power state of the primary unit from the on mode to the standby mode, wherein movement of the first movable element of the primary unit causes a second movable element of the secondary unit to move, wherein the second movable element is moved without the secondary unit receiving digital or analog signals from the primary unit to cause the movement of the second movable element.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the means for transmitting the first command from the primary unit comprises means for transmitting a first wireless signal within a first spectrum.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the means for determining whether the two detachable units have the detached state or the attached state comprises means for determining whether the two detachable units are outside of a signal range of one another for a signal in a second spectrum that is different from the first spectrum.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second spectrum comprises an infrared (IR) spectrum.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the first spectrum comprises a radio frequency (RF) spectrum.

13. The system of claim 8 , further comprising means for setting the power state of the secondary unit to the on mode after receiving the first command from the primary unit by completing a circuit between main electronics of the secondary unit and a power supply of the secondary unit.

14. The method of claim 4 , further comprising deactivating the transceiver of the secondary unit upon determining that the two detachable units have an attached state.

15. The system of claim 8 , further comprising means for deactivating the transceiver of the secondary unit upon determining that the two detachable units have an attached state.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein when the two detachable units have an attached state, coordinating the power state of the primary unit and the secondary unit between the standby mode and the on mode comprises moving the second movable element to interrupt a power supply on the secondary unit to place the secondary unit in standby mode in response to the primary unit being placed in the standby mode and moving the second movable element to couple the power supply on the secondary unit to place the secondary unit in the on mode in response to the primary unit being placed in the on mode.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first communication link includes sending radio frequency signals between the primary unit and the secondary unit.

18. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining whether the two detachable units have the detached state or the attached state includes determining that the two detachable units have the detached state when the primary unit and the secondary unit are outside of an infrared signal range of each other.

19. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining whether the two detachable units have the detached state or the attached state includes sending a first signal from the primary unit to the secondary unit, wherein the two detachable units are determined to be in the attached state when, in response to sending the first signal, a second signal is received by the primary unit from the secondary unit, wherein the detachable units are determined to be in the detached state when, in response to sending the first signal, the second signal is not received by the primary unit from the secondary unit after a threshold amount of time.

20. An apparatus comprising:
a primary unit including a first magnet; and
a secondary unit including a transceiver and a second magnet, wherein the secondary unit is configured to be attached to or detached from the primary unit, wherein:
in response to the secondary

Assignees

• Fluke Corp

Inventors

• Heydron Paul H
• Rayburn Christoper
• Hudson Jeffrey C

Classifications

• H04Q2209/883

  where the sensing device enters an active or inactive mode · CPC title

• G01R15/12

  Circuits for multi-testers {, i.e. multimeters}, e.g. for measuring voltage, current, or impedance at will · CPC title

• H04Q2209/40

  using a wireless architecture · CPC title

• G08C23/04

  using light waves, e.g. infrared · CPC title

• G05B15/02

  electric · CPC title