Transmitter having supplemental power source
First Claim
1. A transmitter for use in a vehicle, comprising:
- a battery;
a transmission device powered by the battery, wherein the transmission device has an associated nominal voltage;
an energy storage device that selectively supplies power to the transmission device; and
a processor in communication with the battery, the transmission device, and the energy storage device, wherein the processor causes the battery to charge the energy storage device when the processor predicts that a battery voltage will fall below the nominal voltage required to operate the transmission device such that energy from the battery and the energy storage device are combined to power the transmission device to provide at least the nominal voltage required to operate the transmission device.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A transmitter (100) incorporates an energy storage device (112) to improve operation at low temperature ranges by preventing a battery voltage from dropping below a nominal value of a PLL (104). A processor (106) in the transmitter (100) checks a voltage across the battery (102) during a previous transmission and monitors the temperature from a temperature sensor (110). If the battery voltage and/or the temperature fall below a selected threshold, the energy storage device (112) stores energy that is released when the PLL (104) transmits a signal. By supplementing the energy from the battery (102) with energy from the energy storage device (112), the transmitter (100) keeps the battery voltage from dropping below the nominal value.
14 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A transmitter for use in a vehicle, comprising:
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a battery; a transmission device powered by the battery, wherein the transmission device has an associated nominal voltage; an energy storage device that selectively supplies power to the transmission device; and a processor in communication with the battery, the transmission device, and the energy storage device, wherein the processor causes the battery to charge the energy storage device when the processor predicts that a battery voltage will fall below the nominal voltage required to operate the transmission device such that energy from the battery and the energy storage device are combined to power the transmission device to provide at least the nominal voltage required to operate the transmission device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of transmitting a signal via a transmission device having an associated nominal voltage and being powered at least in part by a battery, comprising:
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predicting if a battery voltage will fall below the nominal voltage during operation of the transmission device; charging an energy storage device with energy from the battery responsive to the predicting step indicating that the battery voltage will fall below the nominal voltage during operation of the transmission device; and supplementing power from the battery with power from the energy storage device during transmission of the signal by the transmission device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification