System, method and apparatus for controllable power supply

• US 6,885,115 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2002
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mito, Toshitsugu, Hatori, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Deberadinis, Robert L.
• Application Number:
  US10/063,044
• Publication Number:
  US 20020140400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 307/66, 307/80, 700/286, 700/296
• US Class Current: 307/80
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/0075 for providing alternative feeding paths between load and source according to economic or energy efficiency considerations, e.g. economic dispatch
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]

Abstract

A power supply system and a power supply control method capable of having a peak shift function without deteriorating the essential function of an apparatus is provided for such that the present invention provides for the use of the peak shift function without deteriorating the essential function of an electrical apparatus.

Claims

1. A power supply system comprising:

a secondary battery for supplying power to a load circuit,

a power receiving unit for receiving power externally provided to the load circuit;

a switch for selectively supplying the power of the secondary battery or the power externally provided to the load circuit;

a clock and date mechanism providing real time and date information;

a memory storing information relative to a peak shift period for stopping supply of the power externally provided; and

a controller correlating information from the clock and date mechanism and memory to instruct the switch, based upon a result of the correlation, to stop the supply of the power externally provided to the load circuit for a predetermined time interval.

2. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the controller instructs the switch to stop the supply of the power externally provided to the load circuit in the predetermined time interval even when the source of the power externally provided is electrically connected with the power receiving unit.

3. The power supply system according to claim 2, wherein the controller instructs the switch to supply the power of the secondary battery to the load circuit in the predetermined time interval.

4. The power supply system according to claim 3, wherein the controller instructs the switch to supply the power externally provided to the load circuit after the predetermined time interval passes.

5. The power supply system according to claim 4, further comprising a battery charger, wherein the controller instructs the battery charger to charge the secondary battery by using the power eternally provided after the predetermined time interval passes.

6. A power supply method for selectively supplying the power of a commercial power source or a battery to a load circuit, comprising:

providing a clock and date mechanism to generate real time and date information;

storing in a memory information relative to peak shift intervals for stooping supply of power from the commercial power source;

supplying the power of the battery to the load circuit in a predetermined time interval decided in accordance with the power consumption of the commercial power source;

correlating with a controller information from the clock and date mechanism with information from the memory; and

based upon results of the correlation, supplying the power of the commercial power source to the load circuit in a time interval except the predetermined time interval.

7. The power supply method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined time interval is decided in accordance with a time interval in which the power consumption of the commercial power source shows a peak.

8. The power supply method according to claim 7, wherein the time interval in which the power consumption shows the peak lies between 1:

00 and 4;

00 PM.

9. An electrical apparatus comprising:

a device to be operated by power of the battery or commercial power source; and

a control unit including a real-time clock mechanism and peak-shift period and time date base for controlling whether to preferentially supply the power of the battery or the power of the commercial power source to the device in accordance with a temporal factor.

10. The electrical apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a power receiving unit for receiving the power of an external commercial power source for the device, wherein the control unit instructs a time zone for supplying the power of the battery to the device preferentially to the power of the commercial power source when the commercial power source is connected to the power receiving unit.

11. The electrical apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the battery is built in the electrical apparatus.

12. An electrical apparatus comprising:

a device to be operated by receiving power;

a power receiving unit for receiving the power of an external commercial power source for the device;

a first power-supply line for supplying the power of the commercial power source received by the power receiving unit to the device;

a built in battery for supplying power to the device;

a second power-supply line for supplying the power of the built-in battery to the device; and

a switching mechanism for turning off the first power-supply line and turning on the second power-supply line when the commercial power source is connected to the power receiving unit, and a predetermined condition including a match of current time and date with a predefined time and date, is satisfied.

13. The electrical apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined condition is set in accordance with a season and a time.

14. An electrical apparatus provided with a device to be operated by the power of a built-in battery or a commercial power source, comprising:

a switching mechanism for determining whether to supply the power of the built-in battery or the power of the commercial power source to the device; and

a controller for instructing the switching mechanism to supply the power of the built-in battery to the device when the remained capacity of the built-in battery is equal to or more than a predetermined value and supply the power of the commercial power source to the device when the remained capacity of the built-in battery is less than the predetermined value.

15. The electrical apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a battery charger for charging the built-in battery by the power of the commercial power source, wherein

the controller instructs the battery charger to charge the built-in battery in any time interval other than a specified predetermined time interval.

16. The electrical apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the electrical apparatus is a portable computer system.

17. The electrical apparatus of claim 14 wherein the device includes a portable computer system.

18. The electric apparatus of claim 14 wherein the controller includes an embedded micro-controller.

19. A power supply method for an electrical apparatus provided with a device to be operated by the power of a built-in battery or a commercial power source, comprising:

identifying an occurrence of a first time interval by comparing a current time and date with a predefined time and date;

supplying the power of the built-in battery to the device in the first time interval decided in accordance with the power consumption of the commercial power source;

supplying the power of the commercial power source to the device in a second time interval except the first time interval; and

charging the built-in battery by the commercial power source in the second time interval.

20. The power supply method according claim 19, wherein

charging of the built in battery by the commercial power source in the second time interval is performed by using the maximum charging capacity after the first time interval passes.

21. The power supply method according to claim 19, wherein

charging of the built-in battery by the commercial power source in the second time interval is performed by equalized electric energy after the first time interval passes.

22. The power supply method according to claim 19, wherein

charging of the built-in battery by the commercial power source in the second time interval is performed in a time interval in which the power consumption of the commercial power source is small in the second time interval.