Power management for a portable electronic device

• US 20040021446A1
• Filed: 07/31/2003
• Published: 02/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Bang, William R., La Rosa, Dean
• Granted Patent: US 7,649,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/166
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3883 Arrangements for mounting batteries or battery chargers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2215/063 by smoothing the transmission power envelope

Abstract

A system for a supplemental power source for a hand held portable electronic device is provided. A super capacitor is connected in parallel to a main battery of the portable electronic device. When the main battery becomes disconnected, the super capacitor is used to power the portable electronic device. The super capacitor is also used to provide compensation for the internal impedance of the main battery and the path impedance between the main battery and the load.

Claims

1. A system that provides impedance compensation for a battery, comprising:

a battery connected to provide power to a load; and

a super capacitor that provides internal impedance compensation to the battery.

2. The system of claim 1, the super capacitor is connected electrically in parallel with the battery.

3. The system of claim 1, the super capacitor is employed to prevent a voltage dropout in the system.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising an inrush current limiter to prevent a current surge in the system.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising an inrush current limiter electrically in series with the super capacitor.

6. The system of claim 1, the battery is rechargeable.

7. The system of claim 6, the battery comprises a technology that is one of lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, alkaline, and nickel-metal-hydride.

8. The system of claim 1, the super capacitor is further employed to provide power to the load when the battery is disconnected therefrom.

9. The system of claim 1, the super capacitor further provides compensation for path impedance between the battery and the load.

10. The system of claim 1 provides impedance compensation for the battery in a portable electronic device.

11. The system of claim 1, the super capacitor compensates for at least one of a change in charge of the battery and a change in battery temperature.

12. The system of claim 1, the super capacitor provides the compensation to prevent premature dropout of a regulator.

13. A system that provides impedance compensation for a battery in a portable electronic device, comprising:

a battery that provides power to the portable electronic device through battery contacts; and

a super capacitor that provides internal impedance compensation to the battery.

14. The system of claim 13, the super capacitor is connected at least one of in series with an inrush current limiter to prevent a current surge and in parallel with the battery to provide a supplemental power source.

15. The system of claim 13, the super capacitor has a low internal impedance that compensates for a high internal impedance of the battery.

16. A system that provides impedance compensation for a battery in a portable electronic device, comprising:

a battery that provides power to the portable electronic device through battery contacts;

a super capacitor that provides internal impedance compensation to the battery; and

a current limiter to limit the current output of the super capacitor.

17. The system of claim 16, the super capacitor is connected at least one of in series with an inrush current limiter to prevent a current surge and in parallel with the battery to provide a supplemental power source.

18. A power management system that provides impedance compensation to an energy source, comprising:

a long-term energy storage component that provides power to a load; and

a short-term energy storage component that provides internal impedance compensation in accordance with a change in the long-term energy storage component.

19. The system of claim 18, the long-term energy storage component is a battery and the short-term energy storage component is a capacitor.

20. The system of claim 19, the capacitor is a super capacitor.

21. The system of claim 18, the short-term energy storage component provides compensation to internal impedance changes of the long-term energy storage component.

22. The system of claim 18 provides the impedance compensation in a hand-held portable terminal.

23. A method of managing impedance changes of a power source in a portable terminal, comprising:

providing a long-term energy storage component to power a load; and

compensating for change in an internal impedance of the long-term energy storage component by employing a short-term energy storage component.

24. The method of claim 23, the long-term energy storage component is a battery and the short-term energy storage component is a super capacitor.

25. The method of claim 23, the short-term storage component compensates for a change in charge and a change in temperature of the long-term storage component.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising limiting the current to the short-term storage component.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising regulating voltage to the load from the short-term storage component and the long-term storage component.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising providing unregulated power to the load from the short-term storage component and the long-term storage component.