Mechanism to extend the peak power capability of a mobile platform

• US 10,431,976 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Uan-Zo-li, Alexander B., Gorbatov, Eugene, Nge, Chee Lim
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Duc M
• Application Number:
  US15/466,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20180278053A1
• Time in Patent Office: 923 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3835 involving only voltage measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/02 Arrangements for reducing harmonics or ripples
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices

Abstract

A method and apparatus for extending peak power capability of a computing device. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises: voltage monitoring hardware to monitor voltage being supplied by a battery to a system load; and an energy storage coupled to the voltage monitoring hardware and/or charging scheme to supplement supply of power to the system load when the voltage supplied to the system load by the battery, as monitored by the voltage monitoring hardware, drops below a first threshold voltage level, the first threshold voltage level being above a minimum voltage level associated with the computing system.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

voltage monitoring hardware to monitor voltage being supplied by a battery to a system load;

an energy storage coupled to the voltage monitoring hardware to supplement supply of power to the system load when the voltage supplied to the system load by the battery, as monitored by the voltage monitoring hardware, drops below a first threshold voltage level, the first threshold voltage level being above a minimum voltage level associated with the system; and

a battery charger to charge the battery that is to supply power to the system load and to charge the energy storage when the battery is supplying the power to the system load and the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load is above a second threshold voltage level that is higher than the first threshold voltage level and does not charge the energy storage when the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load is below the second threshold voltage level but higher than the first threshold voltage level, the voltage monitoring hardware being operable to monitor the voltage supplied by the battery to the system load after the voltage drops below the second threshold voltage level.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the energy storage comprises one or more capacitors.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the energy storage comprises one or more components for input decoupling of charger circuitry for charging the battery.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the energy storage is operable to supplement power to the system load to maintain the voltage being supplied to the system load above the minimum voltage level.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein the energy storage is operable to supplement the power to the system load after power consumption of the system load rises above the voltage level supportable by the battery.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein the energy storage is charged while in a reduced power consumption state.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 5 wherein the energy storage is charged when the system load consumes less power than a peak power spike.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 1 further comprising:

the battery.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 further comprising:

an input port coupled to the battery charger, and wherein the energy storage is discharged in response to an adaptor or load is connected to the input port.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 wherein the energy storage is discharged in response to the adaptor being connected to the input port but prior to the adaptor providing power to the computing system through the input port.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon one or more instructions, which if performed by a machine causes the machine to perform a method comprising:

monitoring voltage supplied by a battery to a system load; and

supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage separate from the battery when the voltage supplied to the system load by the battery drops below a first threshold voltage level, the first threshold voltage level being above a minimum voltage level associated with system load and

charging the energy storage when the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load is above a second threshold voltage level which is above the first threshold voltage level, and further wherein supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage occurs when the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load is below the second threshold voltage level but higher than the first threshold voltage level.

12. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 11 wherein the energy storage comprises one or more capacitors coupled together.

13. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 11 wherein supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage is performed to maintain the voltage being supplied to the system load above the minimum voltage level.

14. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 11 wherein supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage occurs after the system load rises above the voltage level supportable by the battery.

15. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 14 wherein the method further comprises charging the energy storage while in the reduced power consumption state.

16. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 11 wherein the method further comprises.

17. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 16 wherein the method further comprises monitoring the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load after the voltage drops below the second threshold voltage level.

18. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 17 wherein the method further comprises discharging the energy storage to the battery in response to an adaptor or load being connected to an input port.

19. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 18 wherein discharging the energy storage to the battery occurs prior to the adaptor providing power to the system load through the input port.

20. A method comprising:

monitoring voltage supplied by a battery to a system load; and

supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage separate from the battery when the voltage supplied to the system load by the battery drops below a first threshold voltage level, the first threshold voltage level being above a minimum voltage level associated with system load; and

charging the energy storage when the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load is above a second threshold voltage level which is above the first threshold voltage level, and further wherein supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage occurs when the voltage being supplied by the battery to the system load is below the second threshold voltage level but higher than the first threshold voltage level.

21. The method defined in claim 20 wherein the energy storage comprises one or more capacitors coupled together.

22. The method defined in claim 20 wherein supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage is performed to maintain the voltage being supplied to the system load above the minimum voltage level.

23. The method defined in claim 20 wherein supplementing supply of power to the system load from an energy storage occurs after the system load rises above the voltage level supportable by the battery.