Battery capacity detector

• US 5,610,525 A
• Filed: 01/31/1995
• Issued: 03/11/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kanno, Yukihiro, Yoshida, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Wieder, Kenneth A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, GLENN WARNER
• Application Number:
  US08/381,236
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 324/426, 324/427, 324/429, 324/433, 340/636, 320/48, 455/38.3, 455/343
• US Class Current: 324/433
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/04 Voltage dividers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3646 for indicating electrical conditions or variables, e.g. visual or audible indicators
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm

Abstract

In communication equipment which uses a battery as the power supply, when a controller increases the transmission power at a transmitter corresponding to a drop in the electric field intensity, the controller lowers, accompanying that operation, a reference voltage from a reference voltage source which is used for comparison with the battery voltage for the purpose of detecting a drop in the battery capacity. Therefore, even when the battery voltage is dropped due to an increase in the transmission output, the reference voltage is also lowered correspondingly, so that there will not occur an erroneous detection of drop in the battery capacity due to the drop in the battery voltage.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

power supply means;

detection means for detecting a supply voltage of said power supply means;

comparison means for comparing said supply voltage with a reference value;

varying means for varying said reference value in response to a load on said power supply means;

transmission means for transmitting a reference signal; and

first control means for controlling an output level of said reference signal;

wherein said varying means utilizes the output level of said transmitting signal as said load on said power supply means.

2. The communication device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

reception means for receiving a receiving signals; and

a second control means for controlling a level of said receiving signal and for supplying a control signal to said first control means.

3. The communication device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

informing means; and

driving means for driving said informing means when said power supply voltage is lower than said reference value.

4. The communication device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said second control means comprises an automatic gain controller.

5. A communication device comprising:

power supply means;

detection means for detecting a supply voltage of said power supply means;

comparison means for comparing said supply voltage with a reference value;

varying means for varying said reference value in response to a load on said power supply means;

transmission means for transmitting a reference signal;

first control means for controlling an output level of said reference signal;

reception means for receiving a receiving signal; and

a second control means for controlling a level of said receiving signal and for supplying a control signal to said first control means;

wherein said varying means utilizes said control signal as the load on said power supply.

6. A method for controlling a detection of a remaining capacity of a battery, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a battery voltage of the battery;

varying a reference value in response to a load on said battery;

comparing said battery voltage with said reference value;

transmitting a transmitting signal; and

controlling an output level of the transmitting signal;

wherein, in said step of varying, the output level of the transmitting signal is used as said load on the battery.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, the method further comprising the step of:

informing a user about status when said battery voltage is lower than said selected reference value.

8. A method for controlling a detection of a capacity of a battery, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a battery voltage of said battery;

supplying a plurality of reference values;

selecting one of said plurality of reference values in response to a load on said battery;

supplying a selected reference value;

comparing said battery voltage with said selected reference value;

transmitting a transmitting signal; and

controlling an output level of the transmitting signal;

wherein, in said step of selecting, the output level of the transmitting signal is used as said load on the battery.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said selecting step selects said one of said plurality of reference values based on a load on said battery.