Battery charger with sequential charging

• US 6,617,827 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2001
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Knish, George, Werner, David E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIBBITS, PIA FLORENCE
• Application Number:
  US09/916,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20030020433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 320/121, 320/115, 320/116, 320/125, 320/132, 307/66
• US Class Current: 320/121
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/22 The load being a portable electronic device
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

The battery charging process monitors the battery charging pockets waiting for an indication that a battery or a phone-battery combination has been inserted into their respective pockets. The first battery that is inserted is the high priority battery and is charged first while any subsequent battery inserted into a charging pocket has no power applied until the high priority battery is charged. If the phone enters a call while in the charger, it becomes the high priority battery if it was not already. In this case, power is removed from the individual battery and applied to the phone-battery combination until the call has been completed. At this point, the process returns the high priority status to the battery that had it prior to the call interrupt.

Claims

1. A method for sequential charging a battery and a phone-battery combination in a battery charger comprising a battery charging pocket and a phone charging pocket the method comprising:

initializing the charger by applying power to the phone charging pocket and removing power from the battery charging pocket;

polling the battery charging pocket for an indication of battery presence and polling the phone charging pocket for an indication of phone-battery combination presence;

charging the phone battery combination if the phone-battery combination is present, whether the battery is present or not;

providing an indication if the battery is inserted while the phone-battery combination is charging, to indicate that the battery is installed properly;

polling the phone-battery combination for an indication of completed charging;

removing power from the phone charging pocket in response to the indication of completed charging; and

performing a battery charging process.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring, if the if the phone-battery combination is present and being charged, the phone for an incoming call; and

if an incoming call is detected;

removing power to the battery; and

providing power to the phone battery combination.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising;

continuing to monitor the call after providing power to the phone battery combination;

detecting the end of the call;

removing power from the phone battery combination;

removing power to the battery; and

resuming the battery charging process.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein polling the battery charging pocket for an indication of battery presence comprises reading an resistance across identification contacts.

5. A battery charger that sequentially charges a batter and a phone-battery combination, the battery charger comprising:

means for determining a high priority batter by selecting phone-battery combination as the high priority battery, if the phone battery combination is present; and

by selecting the battery as the high priority battery, if the phone battery combination is not present and the battery is present;

means for determining a subsequent battery in response to which battery of the battery~an4 the, phone-battery combination was detected in the battery charger subsequent to the high priority battery;

means for applying power to the high priority battery while power is removed from the subsequent battery; and

means for removing power from the high priority battery and applying power only to the phone-battery combination when a call is indicated.