Cards with power management

• US 9,329,619 B1
• Filed: 03/02/2010
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dynamics Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dynamics Inc.
• Inventors: Cloutier, Bruce S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Terrell
• Application Number:
  US12/716,204
• Time in Patent Office: 2,254 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/00 Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00 architectures of general purpose stored program computers G06F15/76
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06206 the magnetic marking being emulated
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07701 the record carrier comprising an interface suitable for human interaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0846 On-card display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0853 On-card keyboard means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A card with power management circuitry is provided. A card may have circuitry contained therein (e.g., a processor) that may have a maximum operating voltage. The card may include a power source (e.g., a battery) that provides power ranging in voltage from a maximum power source voltage to a minimum power source voltage. The maximum power source voltage is greater than the maximum operating voltage. Power management circuitry is provided to manage the power received from the power source such that the voltage provided to the circuitry (e.g., processor) does not exceed the maximum operating voltage.

Claims

1. A card comprising:

a power source operative to provide power via a power source voltage, a voltage range of the power source voltage including a maximum power source voltage and a minimum power source voltage;

power management circuitry electrically coupled to the power source; and

power consuming circuitry electrically coupled to the power management circuitry, the power consuming circuitry including a first circuitry with a maximum operating voltage that is less than the maximum power source voltage,

wherein the power management circuitry is operative to provide power to the power consuming circuitry at a voltage less than the maximum operating voltage,

the power management circuitry includes at least one circuit element selected from the group consisting of a transistor and a diode,

the at least one circuit element is operable to receive an input signal, and the input signal is based on a comparison between a threshold and a monitored signal.

2. The card of claim 1, wherein the power management circuitry is operative to selectively step down the power source voltage by a voltage drop.

3. The card of claim 1, wherein the power management circuitry is operative to selectively directly couple the power source to the power consuming circuitry.

4. The card of claim 1, wherein the first circuitry is a processor.

5. The card of claim 1, wherein the monitored signal is a voltage provided by the power management circuitry.

6. A card comprising:

a battery operative to supply power via a battery voltage, a voltage range of the battery including a maximum battery voltage and a minimum battery voltage; and

power management circuitry coupled to receive power from the battery and provide managed power via an output node, the power management circuitry operative to selectively provide a power management voltage to the output node through a voltage protection path or a directly coupled path,

wherein the voltage protection path reduces a magnitude of the battery voltage an amount,

the directly coupled path effectively directly couples the battery voltage to the output node,

the power management circuitry includes at least one circuit element selected from the group consisting of a transistor and a diode,

the at least one circuit element is operable to receive an input signal, and the input signal is based on a comparison between a threshold and a monitored signal.

7. The card of claim 6, wherein the monitored signal is the power management voltage provided to the output node, and the power management circuitry selectively routes the battery voltage based on the input signal.

8. The card of claim 6, wherein the battery is a lithium polymer battery.

9. The card of claim 6, wherein the battery is a lithium ion battery.

10. The card of claim 6, wherein the battery is a nickel cadmium battery.

11. The card of claim 6, wherein the power management circuitry further comprises a path selection node, and the card further comprises a processor, wherein the processor includes monitoring circuitry and is operative to supply the input signal to the at least one circuit element.

12. The card of claim 6, wherein the voltage protection path comprises a BJT transistor.

13. The card of claim 6, wherein the voltage protection path comprises a diode.

14. The card of claim 6, wherein the directly coupled path comprises a field effect transistor.

15. A card comprising:

a lithium polymer battery;

power management circuitry coupled to the battery and operative to provide managed power; and

processor circuitry coupled to receive the managed power from the power management circuitry,

wherein the power management circuitry is operative to manage power according to either a voltage protection mode or a direct voltage mode,

the power management circuitry includes at least one circuit element selected from the group consisting of a transistor and a diode,

the at least one circuit element is operable to receive an input signal, and the input signal is based on a comparison between a threshold and a monitored signal.

16. The card of claim 15, wherein the battery has a thickness ranging between about 0.38 mm and 0.42 mm.

17. The card of claim 15, wherein the battery has a thickness of about 0.40 mm.

18. The card of claim 15 further comprising:

a dynamic magnetic stripe communications device.

19. The card of claim 15 further comprising:

a display; and

a user interface.

20. The card of claim 15, wherein during the voltage protection mode, a magnitude of a voltage associated with the managed power is a voltage drop less than a voltage magnitude of a battery supply voltage.

21. The card of claim 15, wherein during the direct voltage mode, a magnitude of a voltage associated with the managed power is substantially a same magnitude as a voltage magnitude of a battery supply voltage.

22. A method for managing supply of power in a card, the card comprising at least first circuitry having a maximum operating voltage, the method comprising:

receiving power from a power source, the received power associated with a power source voltage, a voltage range of the power source voltage including a maximum power source voltage and a minimum power source voltage;

monitoring a power signal;

providing an input signal to at least one circuit element based on a comparison between the monitored power signal and a threshold, wherein the at least one circuit element is selected from the group consisting of a transistor and a diode; and

selectively routing the power source voltage through one of at least two paths based on the input signal such that a maximum possible managed power voltage is provided to at least the first circuitry, without the maximum possible managed power voltage exceeding the maximum operating voltage.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the monitored power signal is a managed power voltage,

the selectively routing includes controlling which path the power source voltage is selectively routed through in response to the input signal, and the input signal is a voltage.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the power source voltage degrades from the maximum power source voltage to the minimum power source voltage over time, and wherein the power source voltage is routed through a path that reduces the power source voltage by a target voltage when the power source voltage is greater than the maximum operating voltage.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the power source voltage degrades from the maximum power source voltage to the minimum power source voltage over time, and wherein the power source voltage is routed through a path such that a managed power voltage is substantially same as the power source voltage when the power source voltage is less than the maximum operating voltage.