Battery with remaining electrical power display function and method of the same

• US 7,420,374 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2004
• Issued: 09/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BenQ Corporation (Qisda Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BenQ Corporation (Qisda Corporation), Qisda Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Wei-jou
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Matthew V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang; Jue
• Application Number:
  US11/009,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20050174093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 320/132, 324425-433
• US Class Current: 324/427
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]

Abstract

This invention provides an electronic device that has a battery with a power storage unit and a display module, a power detector and a display control module. The power storage unit is for storing electrical power and the display module is placed on the surface of the battery. The power detector is selectively coupled to the battery, and generates a remaining power signal after detecting the remaining power in the battery. The remaining power signal is used to control the display control module. When the power detector is selectively coupled to the battery, the display module shows the current remaining power in response to the action of the display control module. When the power detector is separated from the battery, the display module is essentially capable of maintaining the showing of remaining power.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a battery comprising a power storage unit for storing electrical power, and a display module placed on the surface of the battery, the display module being a magnetic powder plate comprising a plurality of magnetic display units;

a power detector selectively coupled to the battery, and generating a remaining power signal to indicate the electrical power stored in the battery when the power detector is coupled to the battery; and

a display control module receiving the remaining power signal to control the display module;

wherein when the battery is coupled to the power detector, the display control module controls the display module to show a remaining power display corresponding to the remaining power signal; and

when the battery is separated from the power detector, the display module is out of the control of the display control module but substantially keeps showing the remaining power display.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the display control module comprises a plurality of displaying electro-magnets, and each of the displaying electro-magnet is placed on the top of the corresponding magnetic display units.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the remaining power signal comprises a plurality of sub remaining power signals, and each sub remaining power signal is responsible for magnetizing a corresponding displaying electro-magnet for controlling a corresponding magnetic display unit to display a magnetization status, so as to enable the correct display of the remaining power of the battery by the magnetic display units in totality.

4. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the plurality of the displaying electro-magnets are usually non-electrified, and when the displaying electro-magnet is required to change the displaying state, at least one of the plurality of the displaying electro-magnets is electrified.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the display control module comprises a plurality of erasing electro-magnets, and each erasing electro-magnet is placed under a corresponding magnetic display unit.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the remaining power signal comprises a plurality of sub remaining power signals, and each sub remaining power signal is responsible for magnetizing a corresponding erasing electro-magnet for controlling a corresponding magnetic display unit to erase a magnetization status, so as to enable the correct display of the remaining power of the battery by the magnetic display units in totality.

7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of the erasing electro-magnets are usually non-electrified, and when the displaying electro-magnet is required to change the displaying state, at least one of the plurality of the displaying erasing-magnets are electrified.

8. A combination of an electronic device and a battery, comprising:

a battery comprising a power storage unit for storing electrical power, and a display module placed on the surface of the battery, the display module being a magnetic powder plate;

a power detector selectively coupled to the battery, and generating a remaining power signal to indicate the electrical power stored in the battery when the power detector is coupled to the battery; and

a display control module, placed on the electronic device and electrically coupling to the power detector, for controlling, based on the remaining power signal, the display module positioned within an exerting range to switch between a first displaying state and a second displaying state;

wherein, when the battery is coupled to the power detector and the power detector detects that the power of the battery is higher than a predetermined value, the power detector outputs a first signal to control the display control module, so as to make the display module show the first displaying state;

wherein, when the battery is coupled to the power detector and the power detector detects that the power of the battery is lower than the predetermined value, the power detector outputs a second signal to control the display control module, so as to make the display module show the second displaying state; and

wherein, after the battery is separated from the electronic device, the display module is out of the exerting range of the display control module, but the display module substantially keeps showing one of the first displaying state and the second displaying state.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein the display control module is usually non-electrified, and when the display module is switched between the first displaying state and the second displaying state, the display control module is electrified.

10. The combination of claim 8, wherein the electronic device further comprises a plurality of display control modules, the battery further comprises a plurality of display modules, and during the power decreasing process in the battery, the power detector gradually outputs each of the second signals to the display control module, so that each of the plurality of display modules gradually changes from the first displaying state into the second displaying state.

11. The combination of claim 10, wherein the electronic device comprises four display control modules, and the battery comprises four display modules, and wherein when the battery is in a full power capacity, the power detector outputs the first signal to the display control modules so as to keep the four display modules to all remain in the first displaying state;

and when the power of the battery decreases to three-fourth, the power detector outputs the second signal to one of the four display control modules so that one of the four display modules changes from the first displaying state to the second state.

12. The combination of claim 10, wherein the plural display control modules comprise a plurality of displaying electro-magnets and erasing electro-magnets placed, respectively, on the top and the bottom of each of the display modules.

13. The combination of claim 12, wherein the first signal is for magnetizing the plurality of displaying electro-magnets to enable the first displaying state of the corresponding magnetic powder plate, and the second signal is for magnetizing the plurality of erasing electro-magnet to enable the second displaying state of the corresponding magnetic powder plate.

14. A method of power displaying in an electronic device, the method comprising:

detecting remaining power of a battery to generate a remaining power signal; and

controlling a display module to show a remaining power display according to the remaining power signal;

wherein the display module is a magnetic powder plate comprising a plurality of magnetic display units, the display module is controlled by a display control module when the display module is positioned within an exerting range of the display control module, and the display module is substantially showing the remaining power display when the display module is placed out of the exerting range of the display control module.

15. The method of power displaying of claim 14, wherein the display control module comprises a combination of plural displaying electro-magnets and plural erasing electro-magnets.

16. A method of status display in an electronic device, the electronic device being detachably connected to an external unit and comprising a display module placed on a surface of the electronic device to indicate a current status of the electronic device, the display module being controlled by a display control module, the display module being a magnetic powder plate comprising a plurality of magnetic display units, the method comprising:

detecting a current status of the electronic device by connecting the electronic device with the external unit to generate a status signal;

the display control module controlling the display module to show the current status of the electronic device according to the status signal; and

separating the external unit from the electronic device wherein when the display module is beyond the control of the display control module, the display module still substantially shows the current status of the electronic device;

wherein the external unit is a detector to detect remaining power of a battery of the electronic device and the status signal is a remaining power signal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the display control module comprises a combination of plural displaying electro-magnets and plural erasing electro-magnets.