Battery life indication
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of indicating extant battery life, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) initially determining a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level;
(b) generating a perceivable indication of said first battery life value;
(c) determining a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level; and
(d) generating a perceivable indication of said second battery life value after generating the perceivable indication of said first battery life value, wherein the second confidence level is higher than said first confidence level and said determination of said first extant battery life value is completed before said determination of said second extant battery life value is completed.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Accurate determination of extant battery life in a battery powered apparatus is a relatively slow process resulting in an undesirable delay in producing an indication of extant battery life. In order to solve this problem a quick but relatively inaccurate extant battery life determining technique is used to produce an indication of extant battery life until the more accurate value becomes available and can be used for producing an indication of extant battery life. The style of indication may be different for the two levels of confidence.
-
Citations
48 Claims
-
1. A method of indicating extant battery life, the method comprising the steps of:
-
(a) initially determining a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level;
(b) generating a perceivable indication of said first battery life value;
(c) determining a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level; and
(d) generating a perceivable indication of said second battery life value after generating the perceivable indication of said first battery life value, wherein the second confidence level is higher than said first confidence level and said determination of said first extant battery life value is completed before said determination of said second extant battery life value is completed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method of indicating extant battery life for a battery powered apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:
-
(a) determining a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level during operation of an apparatus in a first mode;
(b) generating a perceivable indication of said first battery life value;
(c) determining a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level during operation of an apparatus in a second mode; and
(d) generating a perceivable indication of said second battery life value after generating the perceivable indication of said first battery life value, wherein the second confidence level is higher than said first confidence level and said first mode places a greater current demand on the battery than the second mode. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A battery-powered apparatus including terminals for connections to a battery, a voltage sensor configured to sense the output voltage of a battery connected to said terminals, an indicator and a processor for controlling the indicator to indicate the extant life of a battery, connected to said terminals, in dependence on the output of the voltage sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
-
(a) initially determine a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level on the basis of the output of the voltage sensor;
(b) control the indicator to indicate said first battery life value;
(c) determine a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level, higher than the first confidence level, on the basis of the output of the sensor; and
(d) control the indicator to indicate said second battery life value after indication of said first battery life value, and said determination of said first extant battery life value is completed before said determination of said second extant battery life value is completed. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. A battery-powered apparatus including terminals for connections to a battery, voltage sensor configured to sense the output voltage of a battery connected to said terminals, an indicator and a processor for controlling the indicator to indicate the extant life of a battery, connected to said terminals, in dependence on the output of the voltage sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
-
(a) determine a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level on the basis of the output of the voltage sensor when the apparatus is operating in a first mode;
(b) control the indicator to indicate said first battery life value;
(c) determine a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level, higher than the first confidence level, on the basis of the output of the sensor when the apparatus is operating in a second mode; and
(d) control the indicator to indicate said second battery life value after indication of said first battery life value, and said second mode is characterised by a higher current demand being placed on the battery powering the apparatus than that placed on the battery by said first mode. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A mobile telephone including terminals for connections to a battery, a voltage sensor configured to sense the output voltage of a battery connected to said terminals, an indicator and a processor for controlling the indicator to indicate the extant life of a battery, connected to said terminals, in dependence on the output of the voltage sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
-
(a) initially determine a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level on the basis of the output of the voltage sensor;
(b) control the indicator to indicate said first battery life value;
(c) determine a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level, higher than the first confidence level, on the basis of the output of the sensor; and
(d) control the indicator to indicate said second battery life value after indication of said first battery life value, and said determination of said first extant battery life value is completed before said determination of said second extant battery life value is completed. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
-
-
41. A mobile telephone including terminals for connections to a battery, voltage sensor configured to sense the output voltage of a battery connected to said terminals, an indicator and a processor for controlling the indicator to indicate the extant life of a battery, connected to said terminals, in dependence on the output of the voltage sensor, wherein the processor is configured to:
-
(a) determine a first extant battery life value having a first confidence level on the basis of the output of the voltage sensor when the apparatus is operating in a first mode;
(b) control the indicator to indicate said first battery life value;
(c) determine a second extant battery life value having a second confidence level, higher than the first confidence level, on the basis of the output of the sensor when the apparatus is operating in a second mode; and
(d) control the indicator to indicate said second battery life value after indication of said first battery life value, and said second mode is characterised by a higher current demand being placed on the battery powering the apparatus than that placed on the battery by said first mode. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
-
Specification