USB cable and method for charging battery of external apparatus by using USB cable

• US 6,211,649 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2000
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sourcenext Corp.
• Original Assignee: Sourcenext Corp.
• Inventors: Matsuda, Noriyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward H.
• Application Number:
  US09/531,149
• Time in Patent Office: 382 Days
• Field of Search: 320/105, 320/111, 320/112, 320/113, 320/114, 320/115, 320/128, 320/134, 320/161, 320/162, 320/163, 320/164
• US Class Current: 320/115
• 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: H02J 2207/30 Charge provided using DC bus or data bus of a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00304 Overcurrent protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00308 Overvoltage protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00309 Overheat or overtemperature protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007192 in response to temperature

Abstract

A USB cable according to the present invention has a USB connector connected with a USB port of a PC (Personal Computer), a phone connector connected with a connector of an external connector such as a mobile phone, a control unit, which is situated between the USB connector and the phone connector, for charging a battery of the mobile phone by using power supplied from the USB port of the PC and for transmitting and receiving data with the PC and the mobile phone, and a cable for connecting the USB connector and the phone connector with the control unit respectively.

Claims

1. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable for charging a battery of an external apparatus comprising:

a first connector connected with a USB port of a personal computer;

a second connector connected with a connector of the external apparatus;

a cable for connecting the first connector and said second connector; and

charging means, which is situated between said first connector and said second connector, for charging a battery of the external apparatus by using power supplied from the USB port.

2. The USB cable of claim 1, wherein

said charging means comprises:

voltage control means for charging the battery of the external apparatus by using the power supplied from the USB port with a voltage controlled to be a predetermined value;

overvoltage protection means for interrupting the supply of the power to said voltage control means in case where a voltage supplied from said voltage control means exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

temperature protection means for interrupting the supply of the power to said voltage control means in case where a temperature of said voltage control means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

3. The USB cable of claim 2, wherein

said charging means comprises charge control means for detecting a voltage supplied from said voltage control means and a temperature of said voltage control means, for generating and sending a voltage interrupt signal to said overvoltage protection means in case where the voltage exceeds the predetermined threshold, and for generating and sending a temperature interrupt signal to said temperature protection means in case where the temperature exceeds the predetermined threshold;

said overvoltage protection means of said charging means interrupts the supply of the power to said voltage control means upon receiving the voltage interrupt signal; and

said temperature protection means of said charging means interrupts the supply of the power to said voltage control means upon receiving the temperature interrupt signal.

4. The USB cable of claim 3, wherein

said overvoltage protection means and said temperature protection means include intelligent n-channel MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors.

5. The USB cable of claim 1, further comprising,

data transmission means for transmitting data between the personal computer and the external apparatus.

6. The USB cable of claim 5, wherein

said data transmission means includes an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

7. The USB cable of claim 1, wherein

the charging means does not carry out the charging for said battery of the external apparatus in case where a voltage of the battery of the external apparatus is below a predetermined voltage.

8. The USB cable of claim 1, wherein

the external apparatus is a mobile phone.

9. A method for charging a battery of an external apparatus connected with a USB port of a personal computer by using a USB cable, comprising:

(A) regulating a voltage of USB power (a voltage value V₀) supplied from the USB port of the personal computer to be a predetermined voltage (a voltage value V_C);

(B) outputting the regulated voltage (the voltage value V_C) to the external apparatus and charging the battery of the external apparatus with the regulated voltage (the voltage value V_C);

(C) detecting the regulated voltage (the voltage value V_C);

(D) detecting whether the detected voltage value V_C is in the range of a predetermined threshold or not;

(E) generating a voltage interrupt signal in case where the detected voltage value V_C is out of the range of the predetermined threshold; and

(F) interrupting the charging process of said step (B) in accordance with the voltage interrupt signal.

10. The method for charging the battery of the external apparatus by using the USB cable of claim 9, further comprising, before said step (A), the following:

(A0) waiting to start said step (A) after the external apparatus starts and until predetermined time passes.

11. The method for charging the battery of the external apparatus by using the USB cable of claim 10, wherein

said step (A) is the step of regulating a voltage of USB power (a voltage value V₀) supplied from the USB port of the personal computer to be a predetermined voltage (a voltage value V_C), in case where the USB power (the voltage value V₀) supplied from the USB port is stabilized.

12. The method for charging the battery of the external apparatus by using the USB cable of claim 9, further comprising:

(G) detecting a temperature (T) of the USB cable;

(H) detecting whether the temperature (T) detected by said step (G) is in the range of a predetermined threshold or not;

(I) generating a temperature interrupt signal in case where the temperature (T) is out of the range of the predetermined threshold; and

(J) interrupting the charging process of said step (B) in accordance with the temperature interrupt signal.

13. The method for charging the battery of the external apparatus by using the USB cable of claim 9, wherein

said step (B) is the step of outputting the regulated voltage (the voltage value V_C) to the external apparatus and charging the battery of the external apparatus with the regulated voltage (the voltage value V_C), in case where a voltage of the battery of the external apparatus exceeds a predetermined voltage.