Power consumption reporting by an accessory of an electronic device

• US 6,433,512 B1
• Filed: 12/20/1999
• Issued: 08/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktienbolaget L M Ericsson
• Inventors: Svensson, Magnus Patrik, Ahlgren, Kristina, Birkler, Jörgen, Wendelrup, Heino Jean, Heyl, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): TOATLEY, GREGORY J
• Application Number:
  US09/466,654
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 320/132, 320/134, 320/136, 320/149, 324/427
• US Class Current: 320/132
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/392 Determining battery ageing or deterioration, e.g. state of health
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/42 Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells H01M10/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus enables an electronic device in communication with an accessory to accurately report a remaining battery life when the accessory provides information relating to a power usage to the electronic device. In one embodiment, the accessory draws power from a battery of the electronic device, and the electronic device is able to more accurately estimate a remaining battery life by considering the power usage information provided from the accessory. The electronic device may thereafter indicate to a user the remaining battery life. In one alternative of this embodiment, the information relating to the power usage is in the form of a current consumption of the accessory. In another embodiment, the electronic device indicates a remaining battery life of a battery of an accessory.

Claims

1. A method for determining remaining battery life of a battery used in a system and for reporting an indication relating to remaining battery life to a user, said system including an electronic device, an accessory for said electronic device and operatively connected to said electronic device, and said battery, said method comprising:

said accessory determining information relating to power consumption of said battery by said accessory;

said accessory transmitting said information to said electronic device; and

said electronic device reporting said indication relating to remaining battery life of said battery to said user, said indication based, at least in part, on said transmitted information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said battery is included in said electronic device, and wherein said method further includes the step of said electronic device calculating remaining battery life based, at least in part, on said transmitted information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of calculating remaining battery life further comprises the step of calculating said remaining battery life based, at least in part, on power consumption of said electronic device.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of transmitting information relating to power consumption of said battery comprises the step of transmitting a current consumption.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of transmitting information relating to power consumption of said battery comprises the step of transmitting said information using a predetermined command format.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said predetermined command format comprises an AT command format.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of transmitting information relating to power consumption of said battery is performed when at least one of an accessory connection to said electronic device and an accessory power consumption change occur.

8. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring, by said accessory, at least one operational parameter of said accessory;

detecting that said at least one operational parameter is in an active state; and

determining said information relating to power consumption based, at least in part, on said at least one operational parameter.

9. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring, by said accessory, at least one operational parameter of said accessory;

detecting that said at least one operational parameter is in an inactive state; and

determining said information relating to power consumption considering said at least one operational parameter.

10. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring, by said electronic device, at least one operational parameter of said electronic device;

detecting that said at least one operational parameter is in an active state;

determining a power consumption of said battery based, at least in part, on said at least one operational parameter; and

wherein said step of calculating remaining battery life further comprises the step of calculating remaining battery life based, at least in part, on said power consumption of said battery.

11. The method according to claim 2, wherein said step of transmitting information relating to power consumption of said battery comprises the step of transmitting a mean current consumption at regular intervals.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said reporting step comprises the step of reporting said indication relating to remaining battery life via an output of a man-machine interface (MMI) of said electronic device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said MMI of said electronic device comprises at least one of (i) a display and (ii) a recorded or a synthetic voice.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said electronic device comprises a mobile terminal.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein said accessory comprises at least one of an infrared adapter unit, a portable handsfree unit, a vibrating notification unit, a radio frequency transceiver, and a Bluetooth adapter.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein said battery is included in said accessory.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said transmitted information comprises a duration of remaining life of said battery.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein said transmitted information comprises at least one of a current consumption of said accessory and a total charge of said battery, and said reporting step comprises the step of reporting a derivation of power consumption to said user.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein said step of reporting said indication relating to remaining battery life comprises the step of displaying at least one of power consumption and a derivation of power consumption on a display of said electronic device.

20. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring by said accessory, at least one operational parameter of said accessory;

detecting that said at least one operational parameter is in an active state;

measuring a remaining charge of said battery; and

determining said information relating to power consumption based, at least in part, on said at least one operational parameter and said remaining charge of said battery.

21. A system for determining remaining battery life of a battery and for reporting an indication relating to remaining battery life to a user, said system including:

an electronic device;

at least one accessory for said electronic device, said at least one accessory operatively connected to said electronic device;

a battery for powering at least said at least one accessory;

said at least one accessory including a determiner which determines information relating to power consumption of said battery by said at least one accessory;

a communication link between said electronic device and said at least one accessory, said at least one accessory transmitting said information relating to power consumption to said electronic device via said communication link; and

said electronic device reporting an indication relating to remaining battery life of said battery to said user based, at least in part, on said transmitted information.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein said battery is included in said electronic device, and wherein said electronic device includes at least one logic module for computing remaining battery life, and wherein said at least one logic module computes said remaining battery life based, at least in part, on said transmitted information.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein said at least one logic module computes said remaining battery life based, at least in part, on a current consumption of said at least one accessory and an internal current consumption of said electronic device.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein said internal current consumption of said electronic device is determined by considering at least one internal operation parameter, said at least one internal operation parameter comprising at least one of transceiving power, display status, and keypad lighting status.

25. The system according to claim 22, wherein said electronic device further includes at least one memory element, said at least one memory element having at least one entry that links at least one operational parameter to a corresponding current consumption.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein said at least one operational parameter corresponds to an operational parameter of said at least one accessory.

27. The system according to claim 25, wherein said at least one operational parameter corresponds to an operational parameter of said electronic device.

28. The system according to claim 22, wherein said at least one accessory includes at least one memory element, said at least one memory element having at least one entry that links at least one operational parameter to a corresponding current consumption.

29. The system according to claim 21, wherein said electronic device comprises a mobile terminal.

30. The system according to claim 21, wherein said battery is included in said at least one accessory.

31. The system according to claim 30, wherein said information relating to power consumption transmitted to said electronic device comprises information related to remaining battery life of said battery.

32. The system according to claim 30, wherein said information relating to power consumption transmitted to said electronic device comprises a current consumption and a total remaining charge of said battery, said electronic device determining said remaining battery life of said battery therefrom.

33. The system according to claim 30, wherein said determiner measures current consumption by said at least one accessory.

34. The system according to claim 30, wherein said current consumption is determined from monitoring at least one operational parameter of said at least one accessory, said at least one operational parameter known to correspond to a predetermined current consumption.

35. An accessory for an electronic device, comprising:

at least one power drain;

a monitoring unit which monitors an operational parameter associated with said at least one power drain and determines when said at least one power drain is draining power;

at least one memory element, said at least one memory element including at least one entry linking said operational parameter with a corresponding current consumption; and

a communication unit for transmitting said corresponding current consumption to said electronic device.

36. The accessory according to claim 35, further comprising:

a battery; and

a calculation unit for determining a remaining battery life of said battery based, at least in part, on said corresponding current consumption; and

wherein

said communication unit transmits said remaining battery life of said battery to said electronic device.