Requirements for supplying power to a device

• US 7,127,623 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2005
• Issued: 10/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Patrick Henry Potega
• Original Assignee: Patrick Henry Potega
• Inventors: Potega, Patrick Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): DU, THUAN N
• Application Number:
  US11/152,742
• Publication Number:
  US 20060005055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode

Abstract

Hardware assemblies, either embedded (100) or external (400), which use software (101 or 800) for processes (330 to 356) such as acquiring power-related values (342), principally by the use of a connector (132) that accesses a battery (134), in order for a processor (102) to calculate an optimized power signal (338), and then to configure an output (344) of a power supply (122) to deliver the power signal to a powered device (136).

Claims

1. A system for supplying power to a previously unknown battery-powered device based on determining a power requirement thereof, comprising:

interconnecting means for electrical coupling a battery, the battery-powered device, and a configurable power supply into a user-configured circuit for providing the battery independent and simultaneous access to both said device and said power supply, comprising;

identifying means for distinguishing a specific interconnecting circuit element by its predetermined unique resistive value;

acquiring means for detecting resistive values available to a processor for executing program instructions embodied on a computer-readable medium;

means for providing a memorized sequence of anticipated user-manipulations of each circuit element based on its corresponding resistive value in a look-up table;

instructing means for directing the user to manipulate at least one of one or more circuit elements according to the sequence;

analyzing means for the processor first adjusting in a work space the acquired resistive value by an allowable error factor, then for validating that the user manipulation is either valid or invalid by comparing the adjusted resistive value to values in the look-up table;

determining means for assigning resistive values to variables in the look-up table;

prompting means for indicating a valid or invalid manipulation to the user;

said acquiring, analyzing, determining, and prompting means continuing until the manipulation of elements result in the user-configured circuit;

further acquiring means for the processor capturing a battery-output value upon which at least one computation is performed, based on predetermined formulas, resulting in determining the power requirement of the previously unknown device;

configuring means for varying a power-output signal of the configurable power supply, the signal based on the determined power requirement of the now-known device;

the signal will be delivered from the power supply to the device along the user-configured circuit, and

a means for controlling the direction of signal flow in the circuit prevents the signal from flowing to the battery;

whereby power is supplied to said previously unknown battery-powered device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said interconnecting means further includes said power supply being electrically coupled in a closed circuit first to said battery for accessing battery voltage data, while the battery maintains its circuit for accessing said device, as does said power supply also access said device along said circuit which bypasses said battery.

3. The system of claim 1, said instructing means further including a placard with indicia for directing said user to manipulate at least one of one or more said circuit elements according to said sequence.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said indicia further includes visible indicators which are varied to prompt the user to manipulate said circuit elements.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said predetermined unique resistive value of said specific circuit element is established at the time of manufacture.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein an A/D converter accessible by said processor first attempts to acquire a voltage signal from output conductors at said power supply and, if no line voltage is detected, said power supply generates a low-voltage signal along the output conductors which, upon said processor acquiring an impedance value, causes any circuit element attached by said user to be detected by that element'"'"'s unique resistive value.

7. An apparatus for supplying power to a previously unknown battery-powered device based on a power requirement of the device, comprising:

interconnecting means for electrically coupling in a circuit a user-adjustable power supply, a battery, and said previously unknown device powered by the battery, said interconnecting means providing the device with both the power supply and the battery as alternate sources of power so that when the power supply is not active, the battery is automatically available;

processing means for executing program instructions embodied on a computer-readable medium, comprising;

acquiring means for capturing power signals;

analyzing means for determining the power requirement of the device as an optimal output power signal of the manually-adjustable power supply by performing at least one of one or more computations based on a voltage value previously acquired;

indicating means for prompting a user to manipulate a selector which varies the output signal of the power supply;

comparing means in a workspace for the processor determining if an acquired value corresponding to the present position of the user-manipulated selector substantially matches the optimal power signal value now stored in a memory;

the indicating means also being altered for notifying the user of a failed outcome of the most recent selector manipulation, and prompting the user to perform a further selector manipulation;

varying means for further altering the indicating means to notify the user of a successful outcome of the most recent selector manipulation, and

said user manipulation, then said comparing and indicating means repeating, until a user-selected value substantially matches the optimal power signal value;

whereby the user-adjustable power supply is configured by the successful manipulation of the selector, and the power supply delivers power to said device based on its power requirement.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said analyzing means further includes preloading said battery by temporarily electrically attaching at least one of a plurality of substantial resistive elements capable of being combined, the resulting voltage sag providing a minimum-voltage value for computing said optimal output power signal of said power supply.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said comparing means is performed by a voltage comparator circuit.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, further including an intermediate module electrically interposed between said user-adjustable power supply and said battery, so that said comparing, indicating, and varying means based on selector manipulations is performed at the module.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein, based on said user-manipulation of said selector not resulting in a voltage match, an additional predetermined computation is performed for determining a value that represents a voltage difference between a user-selected value and said optimal output power signal value, and whether the user-selected value is above or below the optimized voltage.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the outcome of said additional computation results in varying said indicating means in either:

a first mode for prompting the user to manipulate the selector in one direction, or

a second mode for prompting the user to manipulate the selector in an opposite direction, and

said varying of said indicating means after each user manipulation continuing, based on the outcome of each additional computation, until a final user manipulation substantially matches the selector value to said optimal output power signal value.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, further including a means for configuring the power supply if the user fails to perform any manipulation, wherein said processor accessible to said power supply performs a predetermined computation based on acquired data, resulting in said optimal output power signal value, and a controller configures the output of the power supply to said value.

14. An apparatus for supplying power to a previously unknown battery-powered device based on a power requirement of the device, comprising:

interconnecting means for electrically coupling elements into a system, comprising;

a user-configurable power supply;

a battery, and

said device;

the coupling resulting in the power supply bypassing the battery as a source of power for the device, while the battery remains available to automatically supply backup power to the device;

processing means of at least a first and second element of the system, of which the power supply is the first element, for executing program instructions embodied on a computer-readable medium, comprising;

acquiring means at the first or second of said elements for capturing information about the power output of the battery, including the battery'"'"'s minimum output voltage;

communicating means for transferring the acquired information between said first and second elements;

analyzing means in a workspace for comparing the acquired information with a value acquired from a user-manipulable selector that varies voltage, said user-accessible selector being located at only one of said first or second elements of the system, and the value being thereafter stored in a memory area;

prompting means at only one user-accessible element of the system for directing the user to manipulate the selector, said prompting further including a means of distinguishably indicating when the user has successfully manipulated the selector to a position that, by the processor performing a comparison, represents a substantial match of a selected voltage value to the acquired information, and

controlling means for configuring at least a first output of said power supply according to said substantially matched voltage values;

whereby said user-configurable power supply provides power to said device, based on communicating information about the power requirement of said device between said power supply and another element interconnected thereto.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said first element is electrically attached to said second element by a connector interface as a data I/O port of one of the elements.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein only said first element is processor-enabled, and said second element incorporates a user-manipulable selector, so that a selected power-requirement value transfers to the processor for comparing the selected value to previously acquired information about the power output of a battery.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said communicating means further includes information acquired from a “

smart”

battery.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein a no-load maximum voltage value is acquired as said power output of said battery, and said processing means further includes a computation for determining an optimized voltage value to which the user-selected voltage value is then matched prior to said power supply being configured.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, further including at least one of one or more said first element being embedded into a permanent fixture in an operational environment so as to expose only a connector receptacle as a user-accessible interface, and said second element is one of a multiplicity of mobile user-operated battery-powered devices previously unknown to said first element which, by the second element becoming attached at said interface to the first element, perform said acquiring, communicating, processing, analyzing, and controlling means, whereby said first element supplies power to the now-known device.

19. An apparatus for supplying power to a previously unknown battery-powered device based on a power requirement of the device, comprising:

interconnecting means as an interface at said device for electrically coupling elements thereto in a circuit for attaching both a battery and a configurable power supply, so that either is available for supplying power to the device, and

the power supply as a first element being coupled to a second element, both of which further comprising;

acquiring means for collecting data about said power requirement of the device;

communicating means for transferring the acquired data between the first and second elements;

processing means for executing program instructions embodied on a computer-readable medium;

analyzing means in a work space for determining an optimized voltage value as at least a first output signal of the power supply, and

controlling means for configuring the output signal of the power supply;

whereby the power requirement of the device is based on acquired and communicated data when supplying power to the now-known device.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein more than one of said embedded first elements are connected together in said operational environment to perform functions as an interconnected network.