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ELECTRONIC PERSONAL DOSEMETER HANDBOOK
EPD/HB/40521/000
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
ISSUE 5
Thermo
Page
43
is fitted with a LTC battery that has been discharged sufficiently to require the
step-up converter to operate.
Operationally, as the voltage from either battery type falls, a series of preset
voltage thresholds operate as follows:
(i)
The internal step-up converter is switched in to maintain the voltage at the
EPD’s operating level.
(ii)
As the battery voltage under load continues to fall, the low battery alarm
flag is activated to indicate when a minimum of 10 hours battery life is
remaining. Different thresholds are automatically selected for LTC or
alkaline batteries.
(iii)
As the battery voltage under load finally falls below tolerance the EPD
resets (blank display). In some cases the EPD may reset repeatedly,
giving rise to a quiet ticking sound. The EPD battery must be replaced.
EPDs from software version 11 onwards:
These EPDs have the step-up converter permanently activated to maintain the
required circuit operating voltage as either the Lithium or the Alkaline battery
voltage falls. The EPD makes the following information available over the IR
comms link:
•
Type of battery currently fitted: Low volts (Alkaline) or high voltage (Lithium
Thionyl Chloride)
•
The current battery voltage (measured at the last battery load test –
normally every 15 minutes)
•
The current regulated circuit voltage (measured within the last 14 seconds)
•
The battery voltage threshold at which the battery low warning is raised for
low voltage (Alkaline battery)*
•
The battery voltage threshold at which the battery low warning is raised for
high voltage (Lithium battery)*
* These thresholds should not normally require adjustment and any adjustment
considered should first be agreed with Thermo Electron.
The battery low alarm and LCD segment are activated when the battery voltage
falls below the appropriate battery low threshold. The EPD will continue to run
normally thereafter for a period of at least 10 hours, though this may be shortened
by continuous audible alarm output. When the EPD is no longer able to continue
correct processing it enters a hardware reset state in which intermittent audible
alarms are output until such time as the battery nears complete discharge state.
This may continue for several minutes or longer. As the sound is initiated by the
hardware it cannot be muted by pressing the button, but only by removing the
battery.