Portable computer/radio power management system
First Claim
1. An electrical power management element comprising:
- radio transmitter means for transmitting packets of data;
first power supply means, rechargeable, for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the radio transmitter means;
second power supply means, self-contained, for storing electrical energy and supplying electrical current to recharge the first power supply means;
means for switching electrical current output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means so as to recharge the first power supply means;
means for controlling the recharging of the first power supply means by performing a set of programmed steps comprising;
detecting the transmission of a packet of data by the radio transmitter means; and
activating the switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means to charge the first power supply means by an amount substantially equal to the discharge occurring during the previous transmission of the packet of data, to thereby preserve the energy in the second power supply means by replacing only the energy used by the first power supply means during the previous transmission and not fully recharging the first power supply means after every transmission.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical power management system for supplying power to a computer peripheral having a relatively high intermittent power demand, such as a packet-switched data radio. A first self-contained rechargeable power supply, outputting power appropriate for the electrical appliance, stores electrical energy and supplies power to the appliance. A second self-contained rechargeable power supply stores electrical energy and supplies electrical power to intermittently recharge the first power supply. The first and the second power supplies can be such self-contained units as single or multicell batteries or capacitors. Preferably, the first power supply is a battery or a capacitor and the second power source is an internal power supply of a portable personal computer.
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Citations
65 Claims
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1. An electrical power management element comprising:
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radio transmitter means for transmitting packets of data; first power supply means, rechargeable, for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the radio transmitter means; second power supply means, self-contained, for storing electrical energy and supplying electrical current to recharge the first power supply means; means for switching electrical current output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means so as to recharge the first power supply means; means for controlling the recharging of the first power supply means by performing a set of programmed steps comprising; detecting the transmission of a packet of data by the radio transmitter means; and activating the switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means to charge the first power supply means by an amount substantially equal to the discharge occurring during the previous transmission of the packet of data, to thereby preserve the energy in the second power supply means by replacing only the energy used by the first power supply means during the previous transmission and not fully recharging the first power supply means after every transmission. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An electrical power management system comprising:
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radio transmitter means for transmitting packets of data; first power supply means, rechargeable, for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the radio transmitter means; second power supply means, self-contained, for storing electrical energy and supplying electrical current to recharge the first power supply means; means for switching electrical current output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means so as to recharge the first power supply means; processor means for controlling the recharging of the first power supply means by performing a set of programmed steps comprising; detecting the transmission of a packet of data by the radio transmitter means; deriving the amount of electrical energy consumed by the radio transmitter means during transmission of the packet of data; computing a recharging time and power equal to the time and power required for the second power supply means to recharge the first power supply means so as to restore electrical energy to the first power supply means in an amount substantially equal to the amount of electrical energy consumed by the radio transmitter means during transmission of the packet of data; activating the switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means to restore said electrical energy; and program memory means for storing machine-readable instructions utilized by said processor means to carry out said set of programmed steps. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. An electrical power management system comprising:
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an electrical appliance having a predetermined power demand; first self-contained rechargeable power supply means, having a first power capacity that is equal to or greater than the predetermined power demand, for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the appliance; second self-contained rechargeable power supply means, having a second power capacity that is less than the predetermined power demand for storing electrical energy and supplying electrical current to intermittently recharge the first power supply means; voltage converter switch means for switching electrical current output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means and for converting the voltage output by the second power supply means to the voltage output by the first power supply means so as to recharge the first power supply means; processor means for controlling the recharging of the first power supply means by performing a set of programmed steps comprising; detecting the transmission of a packet of data by radio transmitter means; deriving the amount of electrical energy consumed by the radio transmitter means during transmission of the packet of data; activating the voltage converter switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to restore said electrical energy in an amount substantially equal to the amount of energy used during transmission of the packet of data; and program memory means for storing machine-readable instructions utilized by said processor means to carry out said set of programmed steps. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. An electrical power management system for use with a portable personal computer and a computer peripheral, wherein the portable personal computer has a peripheral port powered by an internal battery powered power supply and wherein the peripheral requires power that exceeds the peak power capacity of the peripheral port supply but the average power requirements of the peripheral are less than the average power capacity of the peripheral power supply, the electrical power management system comprising:
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first power supply means for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the peripheral; means for switching electrical current output from the peripheral port supply of the personal computer to the first power supply means so as to recharge the first power supply means; processor means for controlling the recharging of the first power supply means by performing a set of programmed steps comprising; detecting the transmission of a packet of data by radio transmitter means; deriving the amount of electrical energy consumed by the radio transmitter means during transmission of the packet of data; and activating the switch means to switch power output from the internal power supply of the personal computer to the first power supply means to restore said electrical energy in an amount substantially equal to the derived amount of electrical energy consumed during transmission of the pocket of data; and program memory means for storing machine-readable instructions utilized by said processor means to carry out said set of programmed steps. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. An electrical power management system comprising in combination:
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a packet-switched data radio having a predetermined power demand and incorporating a first rechargeable battery having a power capacity equal to or greater than the predetermined power demand and having a first voltage rating, for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the packet-switched data radio; a portable personal computer incorporating a peripheral port powered by an internal battery powered power supply, said port having a power capacity less than the predetermined power demand and having a second voltage rating for storing electrical energy and supplying electrical current to intermittently recharge the first power supply means; voltage converter switch means, electrically coupled to both the first and second rechargeable batteries, for switching electrical current output from the second rechargeable battery to the first rechargeable battery and for converting the voltage output by the second rechargeable battery to the voltage output by the first rechargeable battery so as to recharge the first rechargeable battery; a programmable microprocessor, receiving power supplied from the second rechargeable battery, for controlling the recharging of the first rechargeable battery by performing a set of programmed steps comprising; initializing the first power supply means each time the radio transmitter means is turned on, the initializing step comprising the steps of; detecting an electrical energy level stored in the first power supply means; activating the voltage converter switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to said first power supply means when the energy level of the first power supply means is less than a first predetermined energy level so as to recharge the first power supply means; and deactivating the voltage converter switch means to stop power output from the first power supply means to the second power supply means so as to stop recharging the first power supply means; replacing the electrical energy consumed by the radio transmitter following each transmission cycle, the replacing step comprising the steps of; detecting the transmission of a packet of data by radio transmitter means; deriving the amount of electrical energy consumer by the radio transmitter means during transmission of the packet of data; and activating the voltage converter switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means to restore said electrical energy; program memory means for storing machine-readable instructions utilized by said processor means to carry out said set of programmed steps. - View Dependent Claims (64)
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65. An electrical power management system comprising:
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radio transmitter means for transmitting packets of data; first power supply means for storing electrical energy and supplying power to the radio transmitter means; second power supply means for storing electrical energy and supplying electrical current to recharge the first power supply means; means for switching electrical current output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means so as to recharge the first power supply means; means for controlling the recharging of the first power supply means by performing a set of programmed steps comprising; detecting the transmission of data by the radio transmitter means; and activating the switch means to switch power output from the second power supply means to the first power supply means to charge the first power supply means by an amount substantially equal to the discharge occurring during transmission of the data packets thereby preserving the energy in the second power supply means by replacing the energy used by the first power supply means during transmission.
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Specification