Battery module, computer system having the same, and control method of the computer system

• US 8,433,938 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2008
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cha, Jae-deok, Chun, Jong-tae
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Application Number:
  US12/177,200
• Publication Number:
  US 20090037754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,743 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/320, 713/322, 713/340, 320/127, 320/134, 320/135, 320/136, 320/128, 320/137, 320/148, 320/149, 320/150, 320/152, 320/153, 320/157, 320/159, 320/162, 320/163, 320/164, 702/57, 702/63, 702/64
• US Class Current: 713/322
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency

Abstract

A computer system includes a device which operates depending on a clock frequency; a battery unit which comprises a plurality of battery cells and supplies power to the device; a temperature sensor which senses temperature of the battery cells; and a controller which decreases the clock frequency if the sensed temperature is beyond a first preset critical point.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a device which operates according to a clock frequency;

a battery unit, which comprises a plurality of battery cells, to supply power to the device;

a temperature sensor to sense a temperature of the battery cells;

a controller to control the clock frequency of the device according to at least the sensed temperature; and

a current sensor to sense current output from the battery unit,

wherein the controller decreases the clock frequency if the sensed temperature is beyond a first preset critical point,

wherein the controller decreases the clock frequency if the sensed current is beyond a second preset critical point, and

wherein the controller comprises;

a first comparator to compare a voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature with a voltage level corresponding to the first preset critical point;

a second comparator to compare a voltage level corresponding to the sensed current with a voltage level corresponding to the second preset critical point; and

a logical sum operator which comprises a first input terminal connected to an output terminal of the first comparator and a second input terminal connected to an output terminal of the second comparator, and outputs a clock control signal to the device.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a same reference voltage level is input to the first comparator and the second comparator.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the controller further comprises a scaling factor unit that scales at least one of the voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature and the voltage level corresponding to the sensed current as a dimension of the reference voltage level.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a thermal throttling circuit to control the clock frequency according to temperature, and the thermal throttling circuit is controlled according to a clock control signal applied to the thermal throttling circuit by the controller.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the thermal throttling circuit comprises a divider to divide the clock frequency.

6. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the thermal throttling circuit comprises;

a throttling enabler to enable a throttling function; and

a thermal control circuit to output an enable signal to the throttling enabler according to the clock control signal from the controller.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the logical sum operator outputs the clock control signal to the device according to at least one of a first comparison signal from the first comparator and a second comparison signal from the second comparator.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the first comparator outputs the first comparison signal if the voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature is greater than or equal to the voltage level corresponding to the first critical point, and the second comparator outputs the second comparison signal if the voltage level corresponding to the sensed current is greater than or equal to the voltage level corresponding to the second critical point.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the first preset critical point corresponds to a critical temperature at which a consumable power output from the battery unit is not higher than a maximum consumable power of the battery unit.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the second preset critical point corresponds to a critical current at which a consumable power output from the battery unit is not higher than a maximum consumable power of the battery unit.

11. A computer system, comprising:

a device which operates according to a clock frequency;

a battery unit to supply power to the device; and

a controller to control the clock frequency,

wherein the controller scales a voltage level corresponding to the temperature of the battery unit as a dimension of a reference voltage level,

wherein the controller comprises;

a first comparator to compare a voltage level corresponding to a temperature of the battery unit with a voltage level corresponding to a first preset critical point;

a second comparator to compare a voltage level corresponding to a current output with a voltage level corresponding to a second preset critical point; and

a logical sum operator which comprises a first input terminal connected to an output terminal of the first comparator and a second input terminal connected to an output terminal of the second comparator, and outputs a clock control signal to the device.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the device comprises a thermal throttling circuit to adjust the clock frequency according to the temperature, and the controller enables the thermal throttling circuit.

13. A battery module used in a computer system having a system part that operates according to a clock frequency, the battery module comprising:

a battery unit, which comprises a plurality of battery cells, to supply power to the system part;

a temperature sensor to sense a temperature of the battery cells;

a current sensor to sense current output from the battery unit;

a scaling factor unit which scales at least one of a voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature and a voltage level corresponding to the sensed current as a dimension of a reference voltage level;

a first comparator to compare a first voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature with the reference voltage level;

a second comparator to compare a second voltage level corresponding to the sensed current with the reference voltage level; and

a logical sum operator to compare a first input terminal connected to an output terminal of the first comparator and a second input terminal connected to an output terminal of the second comparator, and to output a clock control signal to the system part.

14. A power control method of a computer system that comprises a battery unit and a device operating according to a clock frequency, the power control method comprising:

simultaneously sensing temperature of the battery unit and a current output from the battery;

scaling a voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature as a dimension of a reference voltage level;

comparing the voltage level corresponding to the sensed temperature of the battery unit with a voltage level corresponding to a first preset critical point to yield a first result;

comparing a voltage level corresponding to the current output with a voltage level corresponding to a second preset critical point to yield a second result;

summing, by a logical summing operator, the first result and the second result, and

outputting a clock control signal by the logical summing operator to the device in response to the summing.

15. The power control method of claim 14, wherein the device comprises a thermal throttling circuit to control the clock frequency according to temperature, and the decreasing the clock frequency comprises:

enabling the thermal throttling circuit, and dividing the clock frequency.

16. The power control method of claim 14, wherein the clock frequency is decreased if the scaled voltage level is greater than the reference voltage level.

17. The power control method of claim 14, further comprising:

scaling a voltage level corresponding to the sensed current as a dimension of a reference voltage level.

18. The power control method of claim 17, wherein the clock frequency is decreased if the scaled voltage level is greater than the reference voltage level.