Systems and methods for monitoring and characterizing information handling system use behavior

• US 10,116,012 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2016
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Chia-Fa, Chung, Hua, Wang, Ligong, Chueh, Yung Fa
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahman, Fahmida
• Application Number:
  US15/049,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20160172719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/30 Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Desktop power use behavior may be detected while a portable information handling system or any other type of battery powered information handling system is operating on external power such as an AC adapter. The desktop power use behavior may be detected by monitoring one or more power usage parameters to detect usage characteristics that indicate a battery powered information handling system is being operated in a manner that is similar to operation of a desktop information handling system. Upon detection of desktop behavior, one or more processing devices of the information handling system may respond by taking one or more desktop use response actions.

Claims

1. An information handling system, comprising:

one or more processing devices;

a battery system including one or more battery cells;

battery charger circuit coupled to receive current from an external source and to provide current for recharging the battery cells of the battery system; and

a system load coupled to selectably receive current from either one of an external power source or the battery system;

where the one or more processing devices are configured to monitor one or more power usage parameters; and

where the one or more processing devices are configured to perform at least one of the following steps only if a given operating condition is determined to exist in which the external current is being continuously provided to the battery charger circuit and a resulting current is being provided by the battery charger circuit to recharge the battery cells of the battery system to cause the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above a battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided;

display an alert to a user of the information handling system to cause the user to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a predefined point, or

automatically discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined point; and

where the alert is so displayed or the battery cells are so automatically discharged so as to avoid causing the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above the battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided.

2. The system of claim 1, where the one or more processing devices are configured to avoid the given operating condition by discharging the battery cells of the battery system to the predefined point only if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition.

3. The system of claim 1, where the one or more processing devices are further configured to avoid the given operating condition by discharging the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined learning point only if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition for a period of time exceeding a threshold amount of time or fraction of cumulative time.

4. The system of claim 1, where the one or more processing devices are further configured to avoid the given operating condition by displaying the alert message to a user of the information handling system to cause the user to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to the predefined point only if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined operating condition.

5. The system of claim 1, where the one or more processing devices comprise a battery management unit (BMU) communicatively coupled in signal communication with an embedded controller (EC);

where the BMU is configured to monitor the one or more power usage parameters of the information handling system to determine that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition; and

where the BMU is configured to respond to the determination that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition by providing a signal to the EC to cause the EC to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to the pre-defined point.

6. The system of claim 1, where the battery system comprises a replaceable battery pack that is operably separable from the system load of the information handling system, the battery system being coupled in operational electrical contact by at least one terminal node to provide current to the system load across the terminal node.

7. An information handling system, comprising:

one or more processing devices;

a battery system including one or more battery cells;

battery charger circuit coupled to receive current from an external source and to provide current for recharging the battery cells of the battery system; and

a system load coupled to selectably receive current from either one of an external power source or the battery system;

where the one or more processing devices are configured to;

monitor one or more power usage parameters, and

at least one of display an alert to a user of the information handling system or discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined point if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under an operating condition in which the external current is being continuously provided to the battery charger circuit and resulting current is being provided for recharging the battery cells of the battery system to cause the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above a battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided; and

where the one or more processing devices are further configured to initiate a battery system learning procedure while at the same time continuously providing power to operate the information handling system to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined learning point and then recharge the battery cells of the battery system to calculate an updated full charge capacity (FCC) of the battery system if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined operating condition for a period of time exceeding a threshold amount of time or fraction of cumulative time.

8. A method for operating an information handling system, comprising:

providing an information handling system including one or more processing devices, a battery system including one or more battery cells, battery charger circuit coupled to receive current from an external source and to provide current for recharging the battery cells of the battery system, and a system load coupled to selectably receive current from either one of an external power source or the battery system;

monitoring one or more power usage parameters; and

performing at least one of the following steps only if a given operating condition is determined to exist in which the external current is being continuously provided to the battery charger circuit and a resulting current is being provided by the battery charger circuit to recharge the battery cells of the battery system to cause the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above a battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided;

displaying an alert to a user of the information handling system to cause the user to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a predefined point, or

automatically discharging the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined point; and

where the method further comprises so displaying the alert to a user or so automatically discharging the battery cells avoid causing the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above the battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising avoiding the given operating condition by discharging the battery cells of the battery system to the predefined point only if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising avoiding the given operating condition by discharging the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined learning point only if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition for a period of time exceeding a threshold amount of time or fraction of cumulative time.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising avoid the given operating condition by displaying the alert message to a user of the information handling system to cause the user to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to the predefined point only if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined operating condition.

12. The method of claim 8, where the one or more processing devices comprise a battery management unit (BMU) communicatively coupled in signal communication with an embedded controller (EC);

and where the method further comprises;

using the BMU to monitor the one or more power usage parameters of the information handling system to determine that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition;

using the BMU to respond to the determination that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition by providing a signal to the EC to cause the EC to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to the pre-defined point.

13. A method for operating an information handling system, comprising:

providing the information handling system including one or more processing devices, a battery system including one or more battery cells, battery charger circuit coupled to receive current from an external source and to provide current for recharging the battery cells of the battery system, and a system load coupled to selectably receive current from either one of an external power source or the battery system;

monitoring one or more power usage parameters;

at least one of displaying an alert to a user of the information handling system or discharging the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined point if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under an operating condition in which the external current is being continuously provided to the battery charger circuit and resulting current is being provided for recharging the battery cells of the battery system to cause the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above the battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided; and

further comprising initiating a battery system learning procedure while at the same time continuously providing power to operate the information handling system to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined learning point and then recharge the battery cells of the battery system to calculate an updated full charge capacity (FCC) of the battery system if it is determined from the monitored power usage parameters that the information handling system is being operated under the determined operating condition for a period of time exceeding a threshold amount of time or fraction of cumulative time.

14. A battery system configured to be coupled in operational electrical contact by at least one terminal node to provide current to a system load of an information handling system that is separate from the battery system, and to be coupled in operational contact by at least one other terminal node to a battery charger circuit of the information handling system that is coupled to receive current from an external source and to provide current for recharging battery cells of the battery system, the battery system comprising:

one or more battery cells; and

a first processing device configured to be communicatively coupled in signal communication by the at least one terminal node with a second processing device of the information handling system that is separate from the battery system;

where the first processing device is configured to monitor one or more power usage parameters of the information handling system while the battery system is coupled in operational electrical contact to the information handling system; and

where the first processing device is configured to perform the following step only if a given operating condition is determined to exist in which the external current is being continuously provided to the battery charger circuit and a resulting current is being provided by the battery charger circuit to recharge the battery cells of the battery system to cause the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above a battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided;

provide a signal to at least one processing device of the coupled information handling system to cause the processing device of the coupled information handling system to take one or more pre-determined actions that avoid causing the battery cells to repeatedly self discharge followed by recharge at a temperature above the battery cell temperature that exists when the recharging current is not provided.

15. The battery system of claim 14, where the battery system is a replaceable smart battery pack;

where the first processing device comprise a battery management unit (BMU); and

where the BMU is configured to monitor the one or more power usage parameters of the information handling system to determine that the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition, and to provide a signal to the second processing device to cause the at least one processing device of the coupled information handling system to discharge the battery cells of the battery system to a pre-defined point only if the information handling system is being operated under the determined given operating condition.