BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VEHICLE PHONE SYSTEMS

• US 20120149323A1
• Filed: 12/10/2010
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Sanders, Todd, SPRINGS, Michael, Yu, Jaeyoung, Pradhan, Prabin, Voogt, Justin G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,812,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/205 Mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/403 Power supply in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A battery backup system for use with vehicle telematics electronics includes a phone module configured for operation by the vehicle telematics electronics. The system further includes a battery module configured to provide power to the phone module and a circuit configured to determine that backup power is needed. The circuit causes the battery module to provide the backup power to the phone module for completing a transmission via the phone module. The battery module can provide the backup power to the phone module without providing operating power to the vehicle telematics electronics.

Claims

1. A battery backup system for use with vehicle telematics electronics, comprising:

a phone module configured for operation by the vehicle telematics electronics;

a battery module configured to provide power to the phone module; and

a circuit configured to determine that backup power is needed and to cause the battery module to provide the backup power to the phone module for completing a transmission via the phone module without providing operating power to the vehicle telematics electronics.

2. The battery backup system of claim 1, wherein the battery module provides a low voltage output such that the phone module can be operated with the battery module but the vehicle telematics system cannot be operated with the battery module.

3. The battery backup system of claim 1, wherein the phone module comprises a processing circuit configured to initiate the transmission and to complete the transmission using the backup power received from the battery module.

4. The battery backup system of claim 3, wherein the phone module is configured to initiate the transmission without user input or user action.

5. The battery backup system of claim 3, wherein the transmission is at least one of:

an emergency call, an emergency text message, an emergency data message, or an emergency e-mail.

6. The battery backup system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to monitor power available on the vehicle'"'"'s primary power system and to determine that backup power is needed in response to a loss of power available on the vehicle'"'"'s primary power system.

7. The battery backup system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to monitor a signal from at least one of the telematics electronics, a vehicle data bus, or an airbag system and to determine that the backup power is needed in response to the received signal.

8. The battery backup system of claim 7, wherein the signal is at least one of a collision detect signal, an airbag deployment signal, or an automatic collision notification signal.

9. The battery backup system of claim 8, wherein monitoring the signal comprises detecting whether the signal is no longer present.

10. The battery backup system of claim 1, wherein the battery module has a terminal voltage of less than half that of a terminal voltage of the vehicle power system.

11. The battery backup system of claim 1, wherein the battery module has a terminal voltage that is lower than that required to power-up and operate the telematics electronics.

12. A method for providing battery backup power to a phone module in a vehicle having telematics electronics that are normally powered by a vehicle power system, comprising:

determining that backup power is needed at a backup circuit; and

using the backup circuit to cause a battery backup module to provide backup power to the phone module for a completing a transmission via the phone module, without providing operating power to the vehicle telematics electronics.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

using a processing circuit of the phone module to initiate the transmission and to complete the transmission using the backup power received from the battery backup module.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the initiation of the transmission occurs without user input or user action.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the transmission is at least one of:

an emergency call, an emergency text message, an emergency data message, or an emergency e-mail.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

monitoring power available on the vehicle power system,

wherein determining that backup power is needed at the backup system occurs in response to a loss of power available on the vehicle power system.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

monitoring a signal from at least one of the telematics electronics, a vehicle data bus, or an airbag system;

wherein determining that backup power is needed occurs in response to the monitored signal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the signal is at least one of a collision detect signal, an airbag deployment signal, or an automatic collision notification signal;

wherein the battery module has a terminal voltage of less than half that of a default terminal voltage of the vehicle power system;

wherein the batter module has a terminal voltage that is lower than that required to power-up and operate the telematics electronics.

19. A battery backup system for use with vehicle telematics electronics, comprising:

a phone module configured for operation by the vehicle telematics electronics;

a battery module configured to provide power to the phone module;

means for determining that backup power is needed; and

means for causing the battery module to provide backup power to the phone module in response to the determination that backup power is needed, the backup power for completing a transmission via the phone module without providing operating power to the vehicle telematics electronics.

20. The battery backup system of claim 19, wherein the battery module provides a low voltage output such that the phone module can be operated with the battery module but the vehicle telematics system cannot be operated with the battery module;

wherein the phone module comprises a processing circuit configured to initiate the transmission and to complete the transmission using the backup power received from the battery module; and

wherein the phone module is configured to initiate the transmission without user input or user action.