Computer power supply system
First Claim
1. A smart battery pack for providing a source of portable electrical power, comprising:
- one or more predetermined battery cells;
charging current sensing means for sensing the charging current supplied to said one or more battery cells;
temperature sensing means for sensing the temperature of said one or more battery cells;
voltage sensing means for sensing the voltage of said one or more battery cells; and
means responsive to said charging current sensing means, said temperature sensing means and said voltage sensing means for controlling the charging current applied to said one or more battery cells by generating a charge control signal, said charge control signal being a continuously variable reference signal which varies as a predetermined function of the charging current supplied to said one or more battery cells and the voltage and temperature of said one or more battery cells.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A power supply system, for example, for use with a portable personal computer, includes a smart battery pack and a charging system. The smart battery pack is provided with a dedicated microcontroller for controlling the charging level of the battery charger system. In particular, the status of the battery including the voltage and temperature of the battery is applied to the microcontroller along with a signal representative of the current load demand of the computer system. The micro controller, in turn, provides a control signal in the form of fixed frequency, variable duty cycle pulse width modulated (PWM) signal for controlling the charging level of the battery charger system. The duty cycle of the PWM signal is used to regulate the charging current supplied by the battery charger. In particular, the DC value of the PWM signal is used as a reference to control the charging current of the regulator to provide a variable output charging current with a relatively wide current range. As such, the battery charger is adapted to efficiently utilize the residual capacity of the battery charger system for optimizing charging of the battery packs during all operating conditions of the computer system. Moreover, the use of a PWM signal from the battery pack to control the battery charger enables a single type of battery charger to be utilized for various battery technologies.
-
Citations
12 Claims
-
1. A smart battery pack for providing a source of portable electrical power, comprising:
-
one or more predetermined battery cells; charging current sensing means for sensing the charging current supplied to said one or more battery cells; temperature sensing means for sensing the temperature of said one or more battery cells; voltage sensing means for sensing the voltage of said one or more battery cells; and means responsive to said charging current sensing means, said temperature sensing means and said voltage sensing means for controlling the charging current applied to said one or more battery cells by generating a charge control signal, said charge control signal being a continuously variable reference signal which varies as a predetermined function of the charging current supplied to said one or more battery cells and the voltage and temperature of said one or more battery cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A smart battery pack for providing a source of portable electrical power comprising:
-
one or more predetermined battery cells; load current sensing means for sensing the load current being supplied by said one or more battery cells; temperature sensing means for sensing the temperature of said one or more battery cells; voltage sensing means for sensing the voltages of said one or more battery cells; and means responsive to said load current sensing means, said temperature sensing means and said voltage sensing means for controlling the charging current applied to said one or more battery cells by generating a charge control signal, said charge control signal being a continuously variable reference signal which varies as a predetermined function of the load current being supplied by said one or more battery cells and the voltage and temperature of said one or more battery cells. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
-
Specification