System and method for reliable information handling system and battery communication

• US 7,675,270 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2008
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Tsai, Fu Sheng, Witte, Kendall C., Wang, Ligong
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMADAN, RAMY O
• Application Number:
  US12/112,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20090273312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106, 320/107, 320/128, 320/134, 320/162, 320/164
• US Class Current: 320/162
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00047 with provisions for charging different types of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Communication between an information handling system and battery has improved reliability by repeated communications of information from the battery using different commands from the information handling system. A battery management unit responds to a first command from an information handling system by sending information stored at a first address associated with the command and then saving the first address at second address. A power manager of the information handling system sends a second command having the second address to the battery management unit. The battery management unit responds to the second command by retrieving the first address stored at the second address, retrieving information stored at the first address and sending the information to the power manager. The power manager restricts operations of the battery, such as charges or discharges, unless the information received in response to the first and second commands matches.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

a housing;

plural processing components disposed in the housing and operable to process information;

a battery disposed in the housing and operable to power the processing components;

a battery management unit disposed in the battery an operable to manage battery operations, the battery management unit having memory with plural addresses, each address storing a battery parameter;

a management bus interfacing the battery management unit with the processing components; and

a power manager running on a processing component, the power manager operable to retrieve predetermined information from the battery management unit with a first command, to retrieve the predetermined information from the battery management unit with a second command and to restrict an operation of the battery unless the predetermined information from the first command matches the predetermined information from the second command;

wherein the first command comprises a first address, the battery management unit further operable to reply to the first command with a value stored in the first address and by storing the first address at a second address.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the operation restricted by the power manager comprises a charge of the battery.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the operation restricted by the power manager comprises a discharge of the battery.

4. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the predetermined information comprises voltage associated with the battery.

5. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the predetermined information comprises current associated with battery.

6. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the management bus comprises an SMBus.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the second command comprises the second address, the battery management unit further operable to reply to the second command by retrieving address information stored at the second address, retrieving information stored at an address indicated by the address information and sending the information retrieved from the address indicated by the address information to the power manager.

8. The information handling system of claim 7 wherein the second address comprises 2eh.

9. A method for communicating between a battery and an information handling system, the method comprising:

sending a first command from the information handling system to the battery, the first command comprising a first address;

looking up information at the battery stored at the first address;

writing the first address at a second address;

sending the information stored at the first address to the information handling system in response to the first command;

sending a second command from the information handling system to the battery, the second command comprising the second address;

looking up information at the battery stored at the second address;

applying at the battery the information stored at the second address to lookup information stored at the first address;

sending the information stored at the first address to the information handling system in response to the second command;

comparing at the information handling system the responses to the first and second commands; and

restricting an operation at the battery unless the responses to the first and second commands have a predetermined relationship.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein writing the first address to a second address further comprises sending a command from the information handling system to the battery to write the first address to the second address.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the operation comprises charging the battery.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the operation comprises discharging the battery.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the information stored at the first address comprises a voltage value associated with the battery.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the information stored at the first address comprises a current value associated with the battery.

15. A system for communicating between a battery and an information handling system, the system comprising:

memory having plural addresses, each address associated with predetermined information; and

a battery management unit interfaced with the memory and operable to communicate with an information handling system bus, the battery management unit further operable to receive a first command from the information handling system, the command having a first address, to retrieve information stored at the first address, to send the information to the information handling system and to store first address information at a second address;

wherein the battery management unit is further operable to receive a second command from the information handling system, the second command having the second address, to retrieve the first address information, to apply the first address information to retrieve information stored at the first address and to send the information stored at the first address to the information handling system in response to the second command.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a power manager associated with the information handling system, the power manager operable to compare the information received in response to the first and second commands to allow or disallow an operation associated with the battery.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the information stored at the first address comprises a voltage associated with the battery.