Method and apparatus for predicting end of battery life
First Claim
1. A powering subassembly for a portable electronic device, comprising:
- a main battery to provide a main voltage to the portable electronic device;
a backup battery to provide a backup voltage to the portable electronic device;
a capacitor coupled to and charged by the backup battery to receive the backup voltage and to transfer the received voltage;
a converter to receive the voltage transferred from the capacitor and to generate at least one operating voltage; and
a controller to receive the at least one operating voltage from the converter, to monitor the main voltage of the main battery, to compare the monitored level of the main battery to a main battery low voltage threshold, and if the monitored level of the main battery is less than or equal to the main battery low voltage threshold, to transmit a disconnect signal to disconnect the main battery and transmit a connect signal to couple the backup voltage from the backup battery to the capacitor,wherein said voltage transferred from the capacitor to the converter is sufficient to handle peak loads that cannot be handled directly by the backup battery.
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Abstract
A powering subassembly for a portable electronic device includes a main battery, a converter, a backup battery, and a controller. The main battery provides a main voltage and the backup battery can provide a backup voltage. The converter receives the main voltage and increases the main voltage to at least one operating voltage. The controller receives the operating voltage from the converter, monitors the voltage of the main battery, and compares the monitored main battery voltage to a main battery low voltage threshold. The controller transmits a disconnect signal to decouple the main battery from the converter if the monitored voltage from the main battery is less than the main battery low voltage threshold. The controller transmits a connection signal to couple the backup battery to the converter if the monitored voltage is less than the main battery low voltage threshold. The backup battery provides the power for a predetermined minimum amount of time.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. A powering subassembly for a portable electronic device, comprising:
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a main battery to provide a main voltage to the portable electronic device; a backup battery to provide a backup voltage to the portable electronic device; a capacitor coupled to and charged by the backup battery to receive the backup voltage and to transfer the received voltage; a converter to receive the voltage transferred from the capacitor and to generate at least one operating voltage; and a controller to receive the at least one operating voltage from the converter, to monitor the main voltage of the main battery, to compare the monitored level of the main battery to a main battery low voltage threshold, and if the monitored level of the main battery is less than or equal to the main battery low voltage threshold, to transmit a disconnect signal to disconnect the main battery and transmit a connect signal to couple the backup voltage from the backup battery to the capacitor, wherein said voltage transferred from the capacitor to the converter is sufficient to handle peak loads that cannot be handled directly by the backup battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A portable electronic device, comprising:
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a display to provide messages to a user; and a powering subassembly, the powering subassembly including; a main battery to provide a main voltage to the portable electronic device; a backup battery to provide a backup voltage to the portable electronic device; a capacitor coupled to and charged by the backup battery to receive the backup voltage and to transfer the received voltage; a converter to receive the voltage transferred from the capacitor and to generate at least one operating voltage; and a controller to receive the at least one operating voltage from the converter, to monitor the main voltage of the main battery, to compare the monitored level of the main battery to a main battery low voltage threshold, and if the monitored level of the main battery is less than or equal to the main battery low voltage threshold, to transmit a disconnect signal to disconnect the main battery and transmit a connect signal to couple the backup voltage from the backup battery to the capacitor, wherein said voltage transferred from the capacitor to the converter is sufficient to handle peak loads that cannot be handled directly by the backup battery. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of providing backup power to a portable electronic device having a main battery and a backup battery coupled to a capacitor, the method comprising:
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monitoring a battery level of the main battery of the portable electronic device; generating a first signal to cause the main battery to be disconnected if the battery level of the main battery is less than a low battery threshold voltage; and generating a second signal to cause the backup battery of the portable electronic device to charge the capacitor, said capacitor providing sufficient power for handling peak loads that cannot be handled directly by the backup battery and for operating the portable electronic device with full feature functionality for a predetermined amount of time. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A program code storage device, comprising:
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program code storage media; and machine-readable program, stored on the program code storage media, the machine-readable program code having instructions, which when executed, cause a controller for a portable electronic device having a main battery and a backup battery coupled to a capacitor to; receive a battery detection signal from the main battery of the portable electronic device; receive a main battery voltage reading; compare the main battery voltage reading against a main battery low voltage threshold; and if the main battery voltage reading is less than or equal to the main battery low voltage threshold, transmit a first signal to a switching device to disconnect the main battery from providing power to the controller, and transmit a second signal to cause the backup battery of the portable electronic device to charge the capacitor, said capacitor providing sufficient power for handling peak loads that cannot be handled directly by the backup battery and for operating the portable electronic device with full feature functionality for a predetermined amount of time. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification