INHIBITING EXCESSIVE BATTERY DISCHARGE USING BATTERY VOLTAGE AND CAPACITY MEASUREMENTS

• US 20160301223A1
• Filed: 04/10/2015
• Published: 10/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Inventors: KONDO, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 10,666,069 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0029 with safety or protection devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00306 Overdischarge protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00714 in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A system for inhibiting the excessive discharge of a battery in an electronic device, in some embodiments, comprises: a battery to supply power to the electronic device; and a fuel gauge coupled to the battery to monitor said power, wherein the fuel gauge enters a standby mode upon determining that a voltage supplied by the battery is at or below a voltage threshold and that a capacity of the battery is at or below a capacity threshold.

Claims

1. A system for inhibiting the excessive discharge of a battery in an electronic device, comprising:

a battery to supply power to the electronic device; and

a fuel gauge coupled to the battery to monitor said power,

wherein the fuel gauge enters a standby mode upon determining that a voltage supplied by the battery is at or below a voltage threshold and that a capacity of the battery is at or below a capacity threshold.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery is a lithium ion battery.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel gauge enters said standby mode if and only if the fuel gauge determines that the voltage supplied by the battery is at or below said voltage threshold and that said capacity of the battery is at or below the capacity threshold.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system determines said capacity of the battery using a Coulomb counting technique.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said standby mode is the lowest power mode available on said fuel gauge.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein, to enter the standby mode, the fuel gauge stops a clock associated with the fuel gauge.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein, to enter the standby mode, the fuel gauge opens a port associated with the fuel gauge.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the voltage and capacity thresholds are programmable.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel gauge autonomously makes said determinations and autonomously enters the standby mode.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein, upon detecting that said voltage has risen above the voltage threshold or that said capacity has risen above the capacity threshold, the fuel gauge exits the standby mode.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein, to exit the standby mode, the fuel gauge enters a power mode higher than the standby mode.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said voltage threshold is in the range of 2.0 Volts to 2.5 Volts, inclusive.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said capacity threshold is in the range of 0% to 5%, inclusive.

14. An electronic device comprising a fuel gauge that enters a standby power mode upon detecting that a voltage supplied by a battery in said electronic device is at or below a voltage threshold and that a capacity of the battery is at or below a capacity threshold.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein said capacity threshold is between 0% and 1%, inclusive.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the electronic device is selected from the group consisting of:

a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop, a video camera and a handheld game console.

17. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein said capacity is determined using a Coulomb counting technique.

18. A method for inhibiting the excessive discharge of a battery in an electronic device, comprising:

determining that a voltage supplied by said battery is at or below a voltage threshold and that a capacity of said battery is at or below a capacity threshold; and

causing a fuel gauge in said electronic device to autonomously enter a standby power mode based on said determination.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said capacity threshold is between 0% and 0.5%, inclusive.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said standby power mode is the lowest power mode available on said fuel gauge.