Logical battery partitions configured by user interface

• US 7,873,852 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2007
• Issued: 01/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Zetta Research, LLC
• Inventors: Bell, Jory
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, ALBERT C
• Application Number:
  US11/702,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20080186086A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/100, 713/340, 455/572, 715/965
• US Class Current: 713/340
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5094 where the allocation takes into account power or heat criteria power management in computers in general G06F1/3203; thermal management in computers in general G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/965 for process control and configuration

Abstract

A logical battery partitioning approach is disclosed. In one embodiment, a power management system in a portable computing device having a plurality of subsystems can include: (i) a battery coupled to a plurality of subsystems; (ii) a first battery variable provided to a first subsystem to indicate a characteristic of a first logical battery partition; and (iii) a second battery variable provided to a second subsystem to indicate a characteristic of a second logical battery partition. A battery variable can include an accessibility control, or a percent of battery power available, for example.

Claims

1. A power management system in a portable computing device, comprising:

the portable computing device including a plurality of subsystems including hardware resources;

a battery having a plurality of logical partitions coupled to the plurality of subsystems;

a user interface;

the logical battery partitions each having power supply availability information indicating whether power is available to corresponding ones of the plurality of subsystems in accordance with a priority of use of the subsystems set by the user interface; and

the plurality of subsystems being mapped to the logical battery partitions such that power is supplied to the plurality of subsystems through the logical partitions in accordance with the charged state of the battery and the predetermined priority of use information.

2. The portable computing device of claim 1, wherein the battery includes a capacitor.

3. A user interface for logical battery partition control in a portable computing device, the user interface comprising:

a first portion for configuring a number of logical battery partitions;

a second portion for mapping between an application and at least one of the logical battery partitions; and

a third portion for indicating a function for each of the logical battery partitions.

4. The user interface of claim 3, wherein the function comprises controlling a battery variable accessed by the application.

5. The user interface of claim 4, wherein the battery variable comprises a percent of remaining battery power.

6. The user interface of claim 4, wherein the battery variable comprises an accessibility control.

7. The user interface of claim 3, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third portions is configured to be displayed on a display screen of the portable computing device.

8. The user interface of claim 3, wherein the application comprises a process.

9. The user interface of claim 3, wherein the application comprises a shared hardware resource.