Portable information apparatus for sensing battery voltage drop

• US 5,187,441 A
• Filed: 12/11/1990
• Issued: 02/16/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seiko Instruments Incorporated (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Instruments Incorporated (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hiroyuki, Shibata, Koichi, Miyahara, Shinichiro, Imagawa, Osamu, Fukushima, Toshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey, Jack B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Regan, Maura K.
• Application Number:
  US07/625,861
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 324/426, 324/436, 320/48, 340/636, 364/550
• US Class Current: 324/426
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm

Abstract

The portable information apparatus has a battery, a boosting circuit for boosting a voltage of the battery, a battery voltage detector for detecting a voltage level of the battery, an oscillating circuit for generating CPU clock and a counting circuit for counting the interval from the start of the oscillation of the CPU clock to the time when it becomes stable. The apparatus negates the output of the battery voltage detector during the interval counted by the counting circuit so that it can prevent the monitoring of the battery voltage lowering in the time of usual performance from influencing of the battery potential drop due to the transient current at the start of the performance of the boosting circuit and the oscillating circuit.

Claims

1. A portable apparatus which generates a CPU clock signal only at the time of operation of a CPU and utilizes a boosted battery voltage as a driving voltage of the apparatus, said apparatus comprising:

a battery for outputting a voltage;

boosting means for boosting the voltage of said battery;

voltage detecting means for detecting a voltage level of said battery and outputting a signal to indicate whether said voltage level is lower than a threshold voltage

clock generating means including oscillating means for generating a CPU clock signal and counting means for counting an interval from the start of the oscillation of said oscillating means to the time when said oscillation becomes stable;

a back-up control circuit connected between said boosting means and said CPU and responsive to said output signal of said voltage detecting means for applying back-up power to said CPU; and

negating means for negating said output signal of said voltage detecting means during said interval counted by said counting means, said negating means comprising means for inhibiting application of said output signal of said voltage detecting means to said CPU during said interval counted by said counting means.

2. An apparatus powered during use by a battery which outputs a variable voltage, comprising:

a central processing unit powered by the output voltage of the battery;

oscillating means powered by the battery output voltage for generating a clock signal and applying same to the central processing unit, the clock signal having an unstable oscillating state at the start of oscillation followed by a stable oscillating state;

voltage detecting means for detecting the level of the battery output voltage and producing a detection signal indicative of the voltage level;

control means responsive to the detection signal for controlling the level of voltage applied to the central processing unit; and

circuit means for inhibiting the application of the detection signal to the control means at the start of oscillation of the oscillating means when the clock signal has an unstable oscillating state.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2;

including a memory connected to the central processing unit and powered by the battery output voltage.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2;

wherein the control means includes a back-up battery for applying a back-up voltage to the central processing unit.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2;

wherein the circuit means comprises counting means driven by the clock signal for counting an interval from the start of oscillation of the oscillating means to a time when the clock signal has a stable oscillating state and producing an output signal having one logic state during the interval and another logic state at the end of the interval, and means responsive to the output signal of the counting means for inhibiting the application of the detection signal when the output signal has said one logic state and for applying the detection signal to the control means when the output signal has said another logic state.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5;

including boosting means connected between the battery and central processing unit for boosting the battery output voltage.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6;

wherein the boosting means is connected between the battery and control means.

8. An apparatus according to claim 5;

including a memory connected to the central processing unit and powered by the battery output voltage.

9. An apparatus according to claim 5;

wherein the control means includes a back-up battery for applying a back-up voltage to the central processing unit.