Multiple battery management system

• US 20020076071A1
• Filed: 09/25/2001
• Published: 06/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Original Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Inventors: Single, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 6,922,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/31 Aspects of the use of accumulators in hearing aids, e.g. rechargeable batteries or fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/606 acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window

Abstract

A power management system for a power supply (43) providing power to electrical equipment, such as a totally implantable cochlear implant (40). The power supply (43) can comprise a first rechargeable battery and at least one further rechargeable battery that each independently provide power to the implant (40) through a switching means. The management system comprises a management means for controlling the operation of the switching means to place the system in a first state where the implant (40) can draw power from only the first battery or at least in a further state where the implant (40) can draw power from only said at least one further battery.

Claims

1. A power management system for a power supply providing power to electrical equipment, the power supply comprising a first rechargeable battery and at least one further rechargeable battery, with each battery independently providing power to the electrical equipment through a switching means, wherein the management system comprises a management means for controlling the operation of the switching means to place the system in a first state where the electrical equipment draws power from only the first battery or at least in a further state where the electrical equipment draws power from only said at least one further battery.

2. A power management system of claim 1 wherein the switching means is operable by the management means to place the system in another state where the electrical equipment does not draw power from said first or said at least one further battery of the power supply.

3. A power management system of claim 2 wherein the switching means is operable by the management means to place the system in said another state when a different power source to said power supply is providing power for the electrical equipment.

4. A power management system of claim 1 wherein the management means only allows power to be drawn from one of said first and said at least one further batteries after said one battery has been fully charged or has a pre-determined maximum level of charge.

5. A power management system of claim 1 wherein the management means only allows one of said first and said at least one further batteries to be charged after that battery has reached a predetermined minimum level of charge.

6. A power management system of claim 5 wherein said one battery is only charged after that battery has been fully discharged.

7. A power management system of claim 1 wherein when the system is in said first state, said at least one further battery is rechargeable.

8. A power management system of claim 1 wherein when the system is in said at least one further state, said first battery is rechargeable.

9. A power management system of claim 1 wherein the system has a first rechargeable battery and one of said at least one further rechargeable batteries.

10. A power management system of claim 1 wherein said electrical equipment is a tissue-stimulating prosthesis adapted for implant in an implantee'"'"'s body.

11. A power management system of claim 10 wherein said tissue-stimulating prosthesis is a cochlear implant.

15. A power management system of claim 14 wherein the management means only allows one of said first battery and said at least one further battery to be charged after that battery has reached a predetermined minimum level of charge.

17. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 16 wherein the prosthesis is a cochlear implant.

18. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 17 wherein the cochlear implant is totally implantable and comprises a microphone that detects external sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of detected sounds, a processor means that receives the acoustic signals and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds and an electrode array suitable for insertion in the cochlea of an implantee that receives the stimulation signals and transmits electrical stimulations to the implantee'"'"'s auditory nerves.

19. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 18 wherein the power supply comprises said first battery and one said at least one further battery.

20. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 19 wherein the management means further comprises a charge monitoring means that monitors the charge in the first battery and said at least one further battery.

21. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 20 wherein when the charge of the first battery is monitored by the monitoring means to have reached predetermined minimum level, or is fully discharged, the monitoring means outputs a signal indicative that the charge has reached this minimum level.

22. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 21 wherein the output signal is provided to the management means which operates the switching means to switch the power supply for the implant from the first battery to said at least one further battery.

23. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 22 wherein at the same time that the monitoring means is monitoring the first battery, it can also monitor the charge in said at least one further battery.

24. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 23 wherein when the monitoring means detects that the charge in the first battery has reached a predetermined minimum level or is approaching full discharge, and there is no charge in said at least one further battery, the monitoring means outputs a signal to the management means which in turn generates a warning indication to the implantee that the power supply of the implant needs recharging.

25. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 24 wherein the warning system is a unique stimulus signal that the implantee is trained to recognise as indicative that the power supply needs recharging.

26. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 24 wherein the management system further comprises an interrogation means that allows the implantee to determine the measured charge levels noted by the monitoring means.

27. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 19 wherein the first battery and said at least one further battery comprise Lithium-Ion cells.

28. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 19 wherein the cochlear implant further comprises a wire antenna coil that is implantable within the implantee.

29. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 28 wherein a battery charging means is mountable external to the body of the implantee and adapted to recharge the first battery and said at least one further battery of the power supply.

30. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 29 wherein the battery charging means is useable in conjunction with an external device comprising at least an external speech processor.

31. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 17 wherein the implant is useable in concert with a device externally mountable to the implantee.

32. An implantable tissue-stimulant prosthesis of claim 31 wherein the externally mountable device comprises a speech processor and/or an external power supply.

33. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 32 wherein the management means further comprises a sensing means that senses when the externally mounted device, incorporating an external power supply, is brought into use.

34. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 33 wherein an sensing of the availability of the external power supply by the sensing means, the cochlear implant draws all of its electrical power requirement from the external supply.

35. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis of claim 33 wherein the sensing means can detect removal of the external power supply and provide a suitable output to the cochlear implant that instructs it to draw power from the internal implanted power supply, if power is available.

12. A power management system for a power supply providing power to a cochlear implant, the power supply comprising a first rechargeable battery and at least one further rechargeable battery, with each battery independently providing power to the cochlear implant through a switching means, wherein the management system comprises a management means for controlling the operation of the switching means to place the system in a first state where the cochlear implant draws power front only the first battery or at least in a further state where the cochlear implant draws power from only said at least one further battery.

13. A power management system for a power supply providing power to electrical equipment, the power supply comprising a first rechargeable battery and at least one further rechargeable battery, with each battery independently providing power to the electrical equipment through a switching means, the management system comprising a management means for controlling the operation of the switching means to place the system in a first state where the electrical equipment draws power from only the first battery or at least in a further state where the electrical equipment draws power from only said at least one further battery, and wherein when the system is in said first state, said at least one further battery is rechargeable, and when the system is in said at least one further state, said first battery is rechargeable.

14. A power management system for a power supply providing power to electrical equipment, the power supply comprising a first rechargeable battery and at least one further rechargeable battery, with each battery independently providing power to the electrical equipment through a switching means, the management system comprising a management means for controlling the operation of the switching means to place the system in a first state where the electrical equipment draws power from only the first battery or at least in a further state where the electrical equipment draws power from only said at least one further battery, and wherein the management means only allows power to be drawn from one of said first battery and said at least one further battery after said one battery has been fully charged or has a pre-determined maximum level of charge.

16. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis that draws electrical power from a power supply that is implantable with or in the prosthesis, the power supply including a first rechargeable battery and at least one further rechargeable battery, with each battery independently providing power to the prosthesis through a switching means, the prosthesis having a power management system for the power supply, wherein the management system comprises a management means for controlling the operation of the switching means to place the system in a first state where prosthesis draws power from only the first battery or at least in a further state where the prosthesis draws power from only said at least one further battery.