Battery management system and method

• US 8,258,754 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2010
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Chen, Joseph C., Malton, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhang, Jue
• Application Number:
  US12/880,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20100332233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106, 320/132, 320/134, 320/136, 455/404.1, 704/272, 340/7.37
• US Class Current: 320/136
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/14 Balancing the load in a network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00712 the cycle being controlled or terminated in response to electric parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/002 in which a reserve is maintained in an energy source by disconnecting non-critical loads, e.g. maintaining a reserve of charge in a vehicle battery for starting an engine

Abstract

A battery-management method is performed by a battery-operated device. The method includes allocating a first portion of a battery capacity to a first function and a second portion of the battery capacity to a second function. The method further includes simultaneously displaying a first indicator relating to the first portion of the battery capacity and a second indicator relating to the second portion of the battery capacity.

Claims

1. A method performed by a battery-operated device, comprising:

allocating a first portion of a battery capacity to a first function;

allocating a second portion of the battery capacity to a second function; and

simultaneously displaying a first indicator relating to the first portion of the battery capacity and a second indicator relating to the second portion of the battery capacity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second indicators respectively indicate amounts remaining of the first and second portions.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second indicators respectively indicate amounts expended of the first and second portions.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying, simultaneously with the first and second indicators, a third indicator relating to total battery capacity.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating first and second sub-portions of the first portion to respective first and second sub-functions of the first function; and

simultaneously displaying first and second subset indicators that respectively relate to the first and second sub-portions of the battery capacity.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the displaying of the first and second subset indicators is performed in response to inputting, through a user interface of the device, a selection of the first indicator.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the first function is a voice function, and the first and second sub-functions respectively relate to analog voice processing and digital voice processing.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the first function is a data function, and the first and second sub-functions respectively relate to email and web browsing.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying is performed when the device is in standby mode and entails displaying the indicators on a display of the device, and the method further comprises:

removing the indicators from the display when the display displays information from applications that are called up through a user interface of the device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the first allocation step, the allocation is based on input through a user interface of the device.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

disabling the first function when the first portion of the battery capacity is depleted.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

disabling functions of the device other than the first function when the first portion of the battery capacity is depleted.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the battery-operated device is a mobile communication device.

14. A battery-operated device comprising:

a battery management module that allocates a first portion of a battery capacity of the device to a first function and a second portion of the battery capacity to a second function; and

a display configured to simultaneously display a first indicator relating to the first portion of the battery capacity and a second indicator relating to the second portion of the battery capacity.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the first and second indicators respectively indicate amounts remaining of the first and second portions.

16. The device of claim 14 further comprising:

means for displaying, simultaneously with the first and second indicators, a third indicator relating to total battery capacity.

17. The device of claim 14 wherein the battery-operated device is a mobile communication device.

18. Machine-readable storage medium or mediums encoded with instructions that cause a battery-operated device to perform a method comprising the steps of:

allocating a first portion of a battery capacity to a first function;

allocating a second portion of the battery capacity to a second function; and

simultaneously displaying a first indicator relating to the first portion of the battery capacity and a second indicator relating to the second portion of the battery capacity.

19. The medium or mediums of claim 18 wherein, in the first allocation step, the allocation is based on input through a user interface of the device.

20. The medium or mediums of claim 18 wherein the device is a mobile communication device.