Device, system and method for charging a battery

• US 9,711,983 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2014
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Schwartz, Eric, Winger, Lyall Kenneth, Abdelsamie, Ahmed
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): YEN, PAUL JUEI-FU
• Application Number:
  US14/248,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20150295441A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4081 Live connection to bus, e.g. hot-plugging current or voltage limitation during live insertion H02H9/004
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A device, system and method for charging a battery are provided. The device comprises: a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port; a battery in communication with the USB port; and, circuitry in communication with the USB port and the battery, the circuitry configured to: transmit a power control signal over the USB port, the power control signal comprising data indicative of one or more of a power, a voltage and a current to be received over the USB port to charge the battery; and, responsively receive the power for charging the battery over the USB port.

Claims

1. A device configured for charging by a charger, the charger comprising a controller and a respective regulator configured to convert power from an AC (alternating current) power supply to a DC (direct current) charging power, the charger being separate from the device, the device comprising:

a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port comprising a USB Identification (USBID) connector and a Voltage Bus (VBUS) connector;

a battery; and

,

circuitry comprising;

a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) in-line between the USB port and the battery, the PMIC connected to the VBUS connector and the battery,

a processor in communication with the USBID connector, and

a wired link between the PMIC and the processor, the wired link for conveying existing charging conditions to the processor, the existing charging conditions comprising one or more of a charging current passing through the PMIC to the battery and a voltage drop across the PMIC, the circuitry lacking a regulator between the PMIC and the battery,

the processor configured to;

when the existing charging conditions are different from target charging conditions, transmit a power control signal over the USBID connector to the controller of the charger, the power control signal comprising the target charging conditions for controlling the respective regulator at the charger to output the DC charging power over the VBUS connector to the PMIC, according to the target charging conditions, the target charging conditions indicative of one or more of a target charging voltage and a target charging current to be received over the VBUS connector at the PMIC to charge the battery; and

,

the PMIC configured to responsively receive the DC charging power over the VBUS connector from the charger according to the target charging conditions and convey the DC charging power to the battery for charging the battery,

wherein regulating of the DC charging power occurs only by the regulator of the charger, according to the target charging conditions, and not in the circuitry of the device.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the power control signal further comprises one or more of a PWM signal and a digital signal.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine the target charging current to be received over the VBUS connector for charging the battery; and

adjust the power control signal so that the target current is received at the VBUS connector.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine the target charging voltage to be received over the VBUS connector for charging the battery, and adjust the power control signal so that the target voltage is received at the VBUS connector.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the PMIC is configured to:

determine one or more of a received voltage and a received current from VBUS connector and provide the one or more of the received voltage and the received current to the processor over the wired link; and

the processor further configured to;

adjust the power control signal based on one or more of the received voltage and the received current so that one or more of;

the received current approaches the target charging current; and

the received voltage approaches the target charging voltage.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the power control signal further comprises one or more of a PWM signal and a digital signal.

6. A method for charging a device using a charger, the charger comprising a controller and a respective regulator configured to convert power from an AC (alternating current) power supply to a DC (direct current) charging power, the charger being separate from the device, the method comprising:

at the device comprising;

a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port comprising a USB Identification (USBID) connector and a Voltage Bus (VBUS) connector;

a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) in-line between the USB port and the battery, the PMIC connected to the VBUS connector and the battery, a processor in communication with the USBID connector, and a wired link between the PMIC and the processor, the wired link for conveying existing charging conditions to the processor, the existing charging conditions comprising one or more of a charging current passing through the PMIC to the battery and a voltage drop across the PMIC, the circuitry lacking a regulator between the PMIC and the battery,

when the existing charging conditions are different from target charging conditions, transmitting, using the processor, a power control signal over the USBID connector to the controller of the charger, the power control signal comprising the target charging conditions for controlling the respective regulator at the charger to output the DC charging power over the VBUS connector to the PMIC, according to the target charging conditions, the target charging conditions indicative of one or more of a target charging voltage and a target charging current to be received over the VBUS connector at the PMIC to charge the battery; and

,

responsively receiving, at the PMIC, the DC charging power over the VBUS connector from the charger according to the target charging conditions and convey the DC charging power to the battery for charging the battery,

wherein regulating of the DC charging power occurs only by the regulator of the charger, according to the target charging conditions, and not in the circuitry of the device.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining, at the processor, the target charging current to be received over the VBUS connector for charging the battery; and

adjust the power control signal so that the target current is received at the VBUS connector.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining, at the processor, the target charging voltage to be received over the VBUS connector for charging the battery, and adjust the power control signal so that the target voltage is received at the VBUS connector.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the PMIC is configured to:

determine one or more of a received voltage and a received current from VBUS connector and provide the one or more of the received voltage and the received current to the processor over the wired link; and

the processor further configured to;

adjust the power control signal based on one or more of the received voltage and the received current so that one or more of;

the received current approaches the target charging current; and

the received voltage approaches the target charging voltage.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program for charging a device using a charger, the charger comprising a controller and a respective regulator configured to convert power from an AC (alternating current) power supply to a DC (direct current) charging power, the charger being separate from the device, wherein execution of the computer program is for:

at the device comprising;

a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port comprising a USB Identification (USBID) connector and a Voltage Bus (VBUS) connector;

a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) in-line between the USB port and the battery, the PMIC connected to the VBUS connector and the battery, a processor in communication with the USBID connector, and a wired link between the PMIC and the processor, the wired link for conveying existing charging conditions to the processor, the existing charging conditions comprising one or more of a charging current passing through the PMIC to the battery and a voltage drop across the PMIC, the circuitry lacking a regulator between the PMIC and the battery,

when the existing charging conditions are different from target charging conditions, transmitting, using the processor, a power control signal over the USBID connector to the controller of the charger, the power control signal comprising the target charging conditions for controlling the respective regulator at the charger to output the DC charging power over the VBUS connector to the PMIC, according to the target charging conditions, the target charging conditions indicative of one or more of a target charging voltage and a target charging current to be received over the VBUS connector at the PMIC to charge the battery; and

,

responsively receiving, at the PMIC, the DC charging power over the VBUS connector from the charger according to the target charging conditions and convey the DC charging power to the battery for charging the battery,

wherein regulating of the DC charging power occurs only by the regulator of the charger, according to the target charging conditions, and not in the circuitry of the device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, the method further comprising:

determining, at the processor, the target charging current to be received over the VBUS connector for charging the battery; and

adjust the power control signal so that the target current is received at the VBUS connector.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, the method further comprising:

determining, at the processor, the target charging voltage to be received over the VBUS connector for charging the battery, and adjust the power control signal so that the target voltage is received at the VBUS connector.

14. A system comprising:

a charger comprising;

a respective USB (Universal Serial Bus) port comprising a respective USB Identification (USBID) connector and a respective Voltage Bus (VBUS) connector;

a respective regulator configured to convert power from an AC (alternating current) power supply to a DC (direct current) charging power; and

a controller configured to receive a power control signal over the respective USBID connector; and

, responsively control the regulator to transmit the DC charging power over the respective VBUS connector according to target charging conditions received in the power control signal; and

,

a device comprising;

a USB port configured to communicate with the respective USB port of the charger, the USB port comprising a USBID connector configured to mate with the respective USB connector of the charger and a VBUS connector configured to mate with the respective VBUS connector of the charger, the charger being separate from the device;

a battery; and

, circuitry comprising;

a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) in-line between the USB port and the battery, the PMIC connected to the VBUS connector and the battery, a processor in communication with the USBID connector, and a wired link between the PMIC and the processor, the wired link for conveying existing charging conditions to the processor, the existing charging conditions comprising one or more of a charging current passing through the PMIC to the battery and a voltage drop across the PMIC, the circuitry lacking a regulator between the PMIC and the battery, and the processor configured to;

when the existing charging conditions are different from target charging conditions, transmit the power control signal from the USBID connector to the respective USBID connector of the charger to the controller of the charger, the target charging conditions in the power control signal for controlling the respective regulator at the charger to output DC charging power from the respective VBUS connector of the charger to the VBUS connector according to the target charging conditions, the target charging conditions indicative of one or more of a target charging voltage and a target charging current to be received from the respective VBUS connector of the charger to the VBUS connector charge the battery;

the PMIC configured to responsively receive the DC charging power from the respective VBUS connector of the charger via the VBUS connector and convey the DC charging power to the battery according to the target charging conditions, wherein regulating of the DC charging power occurs only by the regulator of the charger, according to the target charging conditions, and not in the circuitry of the device.