Battery determination system for battery-powered devices

• US 20050099156A1
• Filed: 10/07/2004
• Published: 05/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AKG Acoustics GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: AKG Acoustics GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Brenner, Erich
• Granted Patent: US 7,439,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/116
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0029 with safety or protection devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0036 using connection detecting circuits H02J7/0034 takes precedence

Abstract

This system provides a method for determining whether ordinary battery cells, a battery pack, and/or a charger unit are attached to a portable electronic device. The system provides a center contact in a battery shaft that contacts a battery pack or a point on an individual battery and allows the device regulation unit to measure the voltage at that point. If the voltage is below a particular threshold, then the system determines that a battery pack may be inserted in the battery shaft and the portable electronic unit enters a battery pack mode. If the voltage is above the threshold voltage, then the portable electronic device enters the battery operation mode. If a voltage transition is sensed on the DEVICE START line, the portable electronic device determines that the charger is installed and the portable electronic device enters the appropriate mode.

Claims

1. A system for providing power to a battery-powered device comprising:

a device regulation unit to determine a state of a charge in a battery unit;

a center contact operatively connected to the device regulation unit to detect a voltage from the battery unit;

a switch operatively connected between the device regulation unit and the center contact to isolate the center contact from the device regulation unit; and

a charger unit having a charger regulation unit the charger unit operatively connecting to the battery-powered device.

2. The system of claim 1, where the battery unit is a battery, a battery cell, a plurality of batteries, a plurality of battery cells, or a battery pack.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a battery shaft that provides the center contact.

4. The system of claim 3, where the battery shaft is attached to either the charger unit or the battery-powered device.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a battery shaft that provides the center contact for each pairing of inserted batteries or battery cells.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display operatively connected to the device regulation unit for displaying the state of the charge of the battery unit.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a regulation electronic unit associated with the battery unit.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least two battery cells in the battery unit and a fuse electrically connected between the two battery cells.

9. The system of claim 2, further comprising a second switch that connects a data line to a pull-up resistor and disconnects the data line from a filter capacitor connected to ground when a battery pack is operatively connected to the battery-powered device.

10. The system of claim 1, where the center contact is in communication with a terminal common to a pair of batteries or battery cells in the battery unit to measure voltage.

11. The system of claim 1, where the center contact is in communication with a contact on the battery unit for data transfer.

12. The system of claim 1, where the switch interrupts the connection between the device regulation unit and the center contact when the charger is connected to the battery-powered device.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a command connection between a charger regulation unit and the device regulation unit.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a power unit operatively connected to the command connection.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising an ON/OFF circuit connected to the command connection.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second switch that connects a data line to a pull-up resistor and disconnects the data line from a filter capacitor connected to ground when the battery-powered device is operatively connected to the charger unit.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising a battery slot where the battery slot is configured for insertion of two batteries or battery cells.

18. A portable electronic device comprising:

means for storing electrical energy connected to the portable electronic device;

means for measuring a voltage that determines the means for storing electrical energy connected to the portable electronic device;

regulating means for determining the state of a charge in the means for storing electrical energy;

means for isolating the device regulation electronic unit from a center contact; and

means for charging the means for storing electrical energy connected to the portable electronic device.

19. The device of claim 18, further comprising a regulation electronic circuit associated with the means for storing energy.

20. The device of claim 18, further comprising a regulating means associated with the means for charging the means for storing electrical energy.

21. The device of claim 18, further comprising a command connection between a regulating means associated with the means for charging and the regulating means.

22. The device of claim 21, further comprising a power unit operatively connected to the command connection.

23. The device of claim 18, further comprising a second switch that connects a data line from the means for storing electrical energy to a pull-up resistor when the portable electronic device is connected to the means for charging and disconnects a filter capacitor connected to ground.

24. A method for monitoring a configuration of a battery-powered device comprising:

determining the status of a start signal;

connecting a center contact in a battery shaft to a regulation electronic unit to sense a voltage on the center contact;

measuring the voltage present at the center contact;

when the start signal is in an off-state, setting the status of the battery-powered device to a battery pack mode if the voltage is below a first predetermined threshold or to a battery operational mode if the voltage is above the first pre-determined threshold; and

when the start signal is in an on-state, setting the status of the battery-powered device to the battery pack mode if the voltage is above a second predetermined threshold or to the battery operational mode if the voltage is below the second predetermined value.

25. The method of claim 24, where the battery-powered device enters the charging mode when the start signal is in the on-state.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising the start signal transitioning from the off-state to the on-state.

27. The method of claim 26, where the battery-powered device enters the charging mode.

28. The method of claim 24, where the threshold voltages are determined by the resistor size.

29. The method of claim 28, where the pull-up resistors have values less than 100 kΩ

and the pull-down resistors have values greater than 100 kΩ

.

30. The method of claim 24, further comprising isolating the center contact from a device regulation unit when the start signal is in the on-state and the battery operational mode is selected.