Power supply that supplies power to and communicates with an electrical appliance
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A power supply comprising:
- a power converter that receives electrical power from an input power source and supplies electrical power to an electrical appliance;
a communication interface configured for communication with the electrical appliance and a component of the power supply;
the power converter supplies power used to charge a rechargeable power source of the appliance and the power supply includes a power converter disconnect that disconnects at least a portion of the power converter from the input power source as a function of a signal received from the appliance via the communication interface; and
wherein the signal indicates that the rechargeable power source is substantially fully charged and disconnecting the at least a portion of the power converter from the input power source reduces a power dissipated by the power converter during a time in which the rechargeable power source is not being charged.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system includes a power source (102), a power supply (103), and an electrical appliance (106). The power supply (103) uses power from the power source (102) to supply power to the electrical appliance (106). The devices carry out one or more of operations such as power converter disconnect, load shifting, power supply capability determination, and load prioritization operations.
-
Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A power supply comprising:
-
a power converter that receives electrical power from an input power source and supplies electrical power to an electrical appliance; a communication interface configured for communication with the electrical appliance and a component of the power supply; the power converter supplies power used to charge a rechargeable power source of the appliance and the power supply includes a power converter disconnect that disconnects at least a portion of the power converter from the input power source as a function of a signal received from the appliance via the communication interface; and wherein the signal indicates that the rechargeable power source is substantially fully charged and disconnecting the at least a portion of the power converter from the input power source reduces a power dissipated by the power converter during a time in which the rechargeable power source is not being charged. - View Dependent Claims (3)
-
-
2. A power supply comprising:
-
a power converter that receives electrical power from an input power source and supplies electrical power to an electrical appliance; a communication interface configured for communication with the electrical appliance and a component of the power supply; the power converter supplies power used to charge a rechargeable power source of the appliance and the power supply includes a power converter disconnect that disconnects at least a portion of the power converter from the input power source as a function of a signal received from the appliance via the communication interface; and wherein the power converter includes a switched mode power converter including a chopper and the power converter disconnect disables an operation of the chopper in response to the signal.
-
-
4. A power supply comprising:
-
a power converter that receives electrical power from an input power source and supplies electrical power to an electrical appliance; a communication interface configured for communication with the electrical appliance and a component of the power supply; and the input power source is an electrical power system that is subject to a time varying power demand and the power supply includes a load shifter that temporally shifts an electrical load presented by the appliance from a time of relatively higher demand to a time of relatively lower demand. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
-
-
7. A power supply comprising:
-
a power converter that receives electrical power from an input power source and supplies electrical power to an electrical appliance; a communication interface configured for communication with the electrical appliance and a component of the power supply; and the input power source is characterized by a time varying power output capability, the power converter is characterized by a time varying power output capability that varies as a function of the input power source power output capability, the power supply includes a power output capability determiner that generates a time varying output indicative of the power output capability of the power converter, and wherein information indicative of the determined capability is communicated to the appliance from time to time via the communication interface. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
-
-
10. A power supply comprising:
-
a power converter that receives electrical power from an input power source and supplies electrical power to an electrical appliance; a communication interface configured for communication with the electrical appliance and a component of the power supply; and the power supply includes first and second connectors that concurrently connect to corresponding connectors of first and second appliances, the power supply includes a load prioritizer that prioritizes electrical loads presented by the first and second appliances, and information indicative of the priority is provided to the first appliance via the communication interface. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
-
-
13. An apparatus comprising:
-
a power converter that uses electrical power from an AC power line to supply electrical power for charging a secondary battery; a power converter disconnect that disconnects at least a portion of the power converter from the AC power line as a function of the state of charge of the secondary battery so as to reduce a power dissipated by the power converter during a time in which the secondary battery is not being charged. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. An electrical appliance comprising:
-
a charger that uses power from a power supply to charge a rechargeable power source; at least one of a power converter disconnect requester and a temporal load shifter. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. An apparatus comprising:
-
a first apparatus portion comprising; a first housing a power converter housed by the first housing; a first electrical connector; a second, human portable apparatus portion comprising; a second housing; a rechargeable power source receiving region; a charger that uses power from the power converter to charge a rechargeable power source received in the receiving region, wherein the receiving region and the charger are housed by the second housing; a second electrical connector that provides a removable electrical connection with the first electrical connector; at least one of a power converter disconnect that disconnects the power converter from an input power source as a function of the state of charge of the rechargeable power source, a load shifter that temporally shifts an electrical load presented by charger, a power supply capability determiner that determines a power capability of the first appliance portion, and a load prioritizer that prioritizes an electrical load presented by the charger. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A method of using a power supply including a power converter and a communication interface, the method comprising:
-
using the power converter to supply electrical power to a first electrical appliance; receiving a first signal from the first electrical appliance via the communication interface; detecting a disconnection of the electrical appliance from the power supply; and in response to the detected disconnection, and without unplugging the power supply, disconnecting an input of the power converter from the power system.
-
-
34. A method of using a power supply including a power converter and a communication interface, the method comprising:
-
using the power converter to supply electrical power to a first electrical appliance; receiving a first signal from the first electrical appliance via the communication interface, using power from the power converter to charge a rechargeable power source of the appliance so that the rechargeable power source is substantially fully charged; disconnecting at least a portion of the power converter from an input power source; reconnecting the at least a portion of power converter to the power source, using power from the reconnected power converter to charge the rechargeable power source, and disconnecting the at least a portion of the power source from the input power source a plurality of times so as to maintain a state of charge of the rechargeable power source.
-
-
35. A method of using a power supply including a power converter and a communication interface, the method comprising:
-
using the power converter to supply electrical power to a first electrical appliance, wherein the power converter receives power from an electrical power source that is subject to time varying demand; receiving a first signal from the first electrical appliance via the communication interface, determining a desired load shift; communicating information indicative of the desired load shift via the communication interface; and time shifting an electrical load presented by the electrical appliance.
-
-
36. A method of using a power supply including a power converter and a communication interface, the method comprising:
-
using the power converter to supply electrical power to a first electrical appliance; receiving a first signal from the first electrical appliance via the communication interface; wherein the power converter receives power from a solar power source having a time varying power output capability and the power converter output capability varies as a function of the time varying power output capability of the solar power source; communicating information indicative of the power converter output capability via the communication interface; varying, as a function of the communicated information, a rate of charge of a rechargeable power source of the appliance; repeating the steps of varying and communicating; disconnecting the appliance from the power supply; carrying the appliance to a location remote from the power supply; and using power from the rechargeable power source to operate the appliance.
-
-
37. A method of using a power supply including apower converter and a communication interface, wherein the power supply is a wall plug adapter, the method comprising:
-
using the power converter to supply electrical power to a first electrical appliance; receiving a first signal from the first electrical appliance via the communication interface receiving a second signal from a second electrical appliance, wherein the first and second electrical appliances are concurrently electrically connected to the power supply; using the first signal to identify the first appliance; and prioritizing the electrical loads presented by the first and second appliances. - View Dependent Claims (38)
-
Specification