U.S. patent application number 15/459668 was filed with the patent office on 2017-06-29 for fast battery charging through digital feedback.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Linda Stacey IRISH, William Henry VON NOVAK, III.
Application Number | 20170187216 15/459668 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54011085 |
Filed Date | 2017-06-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170187216 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VON NOVAK, III; William Henry ;
et al. |
June 29, 2017 |
FAST BATTERY CHARGING THROUGH DIGITAL FEEDBACK
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for charging a battery of a portable
device are disclosed, including receiving, by a charging component,
an amount of voltage on a power bus connectable to an external
device, wherein the charging component charges the battery with the
amount of voltage received. The methods and apparatus include
authenticating, by an authentication component, the portable device
with the external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein
the authentication component is configured to transmit one or more
authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal
lines. The methods and apparatus include transmitting, by a
configuration component, a modified voltage signal and a modified
current signal to the external device via the plurality of signal
lines, wherein the modified voltage signal and the modified current
signal are operable to cause the external device to modify the
amount of voltage transmitted to the power bus.
Inventors: |
VON NOVAK, III; William Henry;
(San Diego, CA) ; IRISH; Linda Stacey; (San Diego,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
54011085 |
Appl. No.: |
15/459668 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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14463909 |
Aug 20, 2014 |
9634502 |
|
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15459668 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02J 7/0044 20130101;
H02J 7/00045 20200101; H02J 7/00034 20200101; H02J 7/00036
20200101; H02J 7/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H02J 7/00 20060101
H02J007/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for charging a battery, comprising: a charging
component configured to receive an amount of voltage on a power bus
connectable to an external device, wherein the charging component
charges the battery with the amount of voltage received; an
authentication component configured to authenticate the apparatus
with the external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein
the authentication component is configured to transmit one or more
authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal
lines; and a configuration component configured to transmit a
modified voltage signal and a modified current signal to the
external device via the plurality of signal lines, wherein the
modified voltage signal and the modified current signal are
operable to cause the external device to modify the amount of
voltage transmitted to the power bus.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the charging component is
directly connected to the power bus.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the charging component is
further configured to include a halver directly connected to the
power bus, wherein the halver is configured to divide the amount of
voltage in half.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the modified voltage signal
corresponds to an amount of voltage the apparatus requests, and
wherein the modified current signal corresponds to a threshold
amount of current that the external device is limited to
transmitting to the apparatus.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a detection
component configured to determine the amount of voltage received
from the external device.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: a control
component configured to modify the modified voltage signal and the
modified current signal transmitted by the configuration component
based at least in part on the amount of voltage received and
whether the apparatus is authenticated; wherein the control
component is configured to be prevented from operating when the
apparatus fails to authenticate; and wherein the power bus receives
a default amount of voltage transmitted by the external device when
the authentication component fails to authenticate the apparatus
with the external device.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the detection component
determines, either continuously or periodically, the amount of
voltage received by the charging component.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus operates in
conformance to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification,
wherein the power bus comprises a voltage bus (VBUS) and the
plurality of signal lines comprise a D- signal line and a D+ signal
line.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus further operates
in a USB On-The-Go (OTG) configuration, and wherein the apparatus
simultaneously receives an amount of voltage on the power bus and
transmits one or more signals on the plurality of signal lines.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the external device is a High
Voltage Dedicated Charging Port (HVDCP) device, wherein the power
bus comprises a voltage bus (VBUS) and the plurality of signal
lines comprise a D- signal line and a D+ signal line.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the charging component
determines whether the external device is an HVDCP device based on
the amount of voltage received by charging component on the
VBUS.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the battery is configured as
at least one or both of a single cell battery or a multiple cell
battery.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the authentication component
is configured to authenticate the apparatus with the external
device either initially upon connecting with the external device or
periodically.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional
application Ser. No. 14/463,909, entitled "FAST BATTERY CHARGING
THROUGH DIGITAL FEEDBACK" and filed Aug. 20, 2014, which is
expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD
[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to power
management of portable devices, and more particularly, to an
apparatus and method for charging a battery through digital
feedback, thereby providing enhanced charging capabilities in a
battery charging system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Power requirements for modern portable electronics are
increasing very rapidly; e.g., devices having larger displays, Long
Term Evolution (LTE) communication devices (radios, modems, etc.),
multi-core processors, and so on. To maintain acceptable operating
durations, such devices increasingly utilize batteries with higher
capacity. In such systems, battery charging times tend to be very
long when conventional power sources are used. The reasons include:
(1) limited power capability (e.g., for a universal serial bus
(USB), a 5V/1.8 A maximum); and (2) voltage headroom issues between
input power source and battery. Furthermore, many readily available
power sources (e.g., monitors, notebooks, etc.) cannot be utilized
because of their high-voltage operation versus what the portable
device can tolerate. Also, implementing a solution that requires
the use of a secondary portable device connector (e.g., proprietary
connector, wall adapter, etc.) significantly increases solution and
consumer cost.
[0004] With battery capacities increasing, 5V input voltage does
not provide enough voltage headroom to achieve sufficiently high
charge currents due to cable, connector, printed circuit board
(PCB), and charger impedances. Many batteries now have a float
voltage of about 4.35V, which makes this issue worse, especially
since the trend is toward the use of higher voltages. For example,
a 2S (e.g., 2 cell) stack provides about 8.4V or 8.7V, thus
requiring a voltage higher than 5V to charge efficiently.
SUMMARY
[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more
aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects.
This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated
aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical
elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all
aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or
more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed
description that is presented later.
[0006] In accordance with an aspect, a method for charging a
battery of a portable device is disclosed. The method includes
receiving, by a charging component, an amount of voltage on a power
bus connectable to an external device, wherein the charging
component charges the battery with the amount of voltage received.
Further, the method includes authenticating, by an authentication
component, the portable device with the external device via a
plurality of signal lines, wherein the authentication component is
configured to transmit one or more authentication signals on one or
more of the plurality of signal lines. Moreover, the method
includes transmitting, by a configuration component, a modified
voltage signal and a modified current signal to the external device
via the plurality of signal lines, wherein the modified voltage
signal and the modified current signal are operable to cause the
external device to modify the amount of voltage transmitted to the
power bus.
[0007] In another aspect, an apparatus for charging a battery of a
portable device is disclosed. The apparatus includes a means for
receiving an amount of voltage on a power bus connectable to an
external device, wherein the charging component charges the battery
with the amount of voltage received. Further, the apparatus
includes means for authenticating the portable device with the
external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein the
authentication component is configured to transmit one or more
authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal
lines. Moreover, the apparatus includes means for transmitting a
modified voltage signal and a modified current signal to the
external device via the plurality of signal lines, wherein the
modified voltage signal and the modified current signal are
operable to cause the external device to modify the amount of
voltage transmitted to the power bus.
[0008] In another aspect, an apparatus for charging a battery of a
portable device is disclosed. The apparatus includes a charging
component configured to receive an amount of voltage on a power bus
connectable to an external device, wherein the charging component
charges the battery with the amount of voltage received. Further,
the apparatus includes an authentication component configured to
authenticate the apparatus with the external device via a plurality
of signal lines, wherein the authentication component is configured
to transmit one or more authentication signals on one or more of
the plurality of signal lines. Moreover, the apparatus includes a
configuration component configured to transmit a modified voltage
signal and a modified current signal to the external device via the
plurality of signal lines, wherein the modified voltage signal and
the modified current signal are operable to cause the external
device to modify the amount of voltage transmitted to the power
bus.
[0009] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable
media executable by an apparatus for code for charging a battery of
a portable device is disclosed. The computer-readable media
includes receiving, by a charging component, an amount of voltage
on a power bus connectable to an external device, wherein the
charging component charges the battery with the amount of voltage
received. The computer-readable media includes code for
authenticating, by an authentication component, the portable device
with the external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein
the authentication component is configured to transmit one or more
authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal
lines. The computer-readable media includes code for transmitting,
by a configuration component, a modified voltage signal and a
modified current signal to the external device via the plurality of
signal lines, wherein the modified voltage signal and the modified
current signal are operable to cause the external device to modify
the amount of voltage transmitted to the power bus.
[0010] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the
one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully
described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following
description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain
illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features
are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which
the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this
description is intended to include all such aspects and their
equivalents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in
conjunction with the appended drawings, provided to illustrate and
not to limit the disclosed aspects, wherein like designations
denote like elements, wherein dashed lines may indicate optional
components, and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an
aspect of a battery charging system of the present disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an
aspect of the charging component in the battery charging
system.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example
of an aspect of the charging component in the battery charging
system.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an
aspect of a transport option in the battery charging system.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an
aspect of a transport option in the battery charging system.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of an
aspect of a method for providing digital feedback in the battery
charging system.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the
data flow between different modules/means/components in an example
of an apparatus in the battery charging system.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an aspect of
a hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The detailed description set forth below in connection with
the appended drawings is intended as a description of various
configurations and is not intended to represent the only
configurations in which the concepts described herein may be
practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for
the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various
concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art
that these concepts may be practiced without these specific
details. In some instances, well known components are shown in
block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. In an
aspect, the term "component" as used herein may be one of the parts
that make up a system, may be hardware or software, and may be
divided into other components.
[0021] Several aspects of a battery charging system will be
presented with reference to various apparatus, computer-readable
medium, and methods. These apparatus, computer-readable medium, and
methods will be described in the following detailed description and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks,
modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc.
(collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be
implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any
combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as
hardware or software or any combination thereof depends upon the
particular application and design constraints imposed on the
overall system.
[0022] By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element,
or any combination of elements may be implemented with a
"processing system" or "control block" that includes one or more
processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors,
microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices
(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits,
and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various
functionality described throughout this disclosure. One or more
processors in the processing system may execute software. Software
shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets,
code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software
modules, applications, software applications, software packages,
routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution,
procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software,
firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or
otherwise.
[0023] Accordingly, in one or more aspects, the functions described
may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any
combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may
be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a
computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer
storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be
accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such
computer-readable media can comprise registers, a random-access
memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable
programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disk ROM (CD-ROM) or other
optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic
storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or
store desired program code in the form of instructions or data
structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc,
as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital
versatile disc (DVD), and floppy disk where disks usually reproduce
data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with
lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within
the scope of computer-readable media.
[0024] The present aspects generally relate to power management of
portable (e.g., mobile) devices. Specifically, it may be desirable
to charge portable devices quickly, so that the portable device
spends less time plugged into a charger or remaining tethered to a
power source. However, many factors may limit the amount of power
to be delivered to the battery of the portable device including
battery charge acceptance, temperature rise limits, and connector
limitations. In some instances, lithium-ion batteries may accept a
charge rate at a 2C (e.g., battery charger may be specified in
terms of the battery capacity or C rate) rate, and in some cases at
a 3C rate. As a result, in some cases for some portable devices,
the bulk charge time may be around 20-30 minutes. However, when a
lithium-ion battery switches to a constant voltage (e.g.,
finishing) charge state, it may take an additional 20-30 minutes to
get the last 10-30% of the charge into the battery. As such, there
is no alternative in that forcing more charge during the constant
charge state may cause the charger to go over a safe limit (e.g.,
4.2-4.5 volts (V) for a current lithium-ion battery) of voltage for
the battery cells. At most, an extremely accurate voltage may be
maintained during the constant charge state (for example, if a cell
is limited to a maximum voltage of 4.2V+/-0.05V, then a charger may
maintain 4.24V+/-0.01V).
[0025] As such, the main issue with rapidly charging batteries is
temperature rise limits. Since most battery chargers in mobile
devices operate with 5V, a switcher is used to reduce 5V to the
3.6V-4.2V that the battery requires. Due to the switchers requiring
inductors and rapid switching, and also because there is great
pressure to make switcher within battery charging systems s as
small as possible, the switchers are often sources of significant
heat. For example, an 8 Watt charger that is 93% efficient may
dissipate over half a Watt of power. Since most portable devices
may dissipate a Watt without exceeding battery temperature limits,
less than half a Watt of power is left for components of the
portable device, e.g., power amplifier, backlight, audio amplifier,
etc., to dissipate. Also, in some cases, the charger may shutdown
if a user charges while using the portable device. Even more so, a
design that keeps the battery under the shutdown limits may degrade
the battery because high voltages and high rate charging at high
temperatures rapidly degrade lithium-ion batteries. In some
instances, a micro-USB connector may pass about 1.8 amps safely,
which limits power at 5V to about 9 Watts.
[0026] Accordingly, in some aspects, the present methods,
computer-readable media, and apparatuses may provide an efficient
solution, as compared to current solutions, by increasing voltage,
so that current may remain the same while power increases. Thus,
the present apparatus, computer-readable media, and methods may
generally improve flexibility in voltages delivered to the portable
device, which may result in a higher overall rate of charge.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, in an aspect, a battery charging system
100 is configured to facilitate charging a battery of a portable
device through digital feedback. Battery charging system 100
includes at least one portable device 10, such as but not limited
to a mobile communication device such as a smartphone, a digital
camera, a computer tablet, a gaming device, or any other device
that obtains power from a battery and that may be carried by a
user. The portable device 10 may include a battery 12 to power the
portable device. In some aspects, the battery 12 may be a
rechargeable battery that a circuit 11 may charge. The battery 12
may be a single cell configuration, or may be a multi-cell stack
configuration.
[0028] The portable device 10 may be connectable to an external
device 14 that is connectable to or that is a power supply. For
example, in some aspects, the external device 14 may be an
alternating current (AC) adapter such as a wall adapter configured
to be plugged in to an AC supply. In other aspects, for instance,
the external device 14 may be an electronic device that can supply
power to the portable device. For example, in an aspect, the
external device 14 may be laptop computer that supplies power from
its own battery pack or from a connection to an AC supply. Further,
for example, in an aspect, the external device 14 may be a power
supply, a battery charger, or any other device capable of
delivering power for charging battery 12 to portable device 10.
[0029] Optionally, the portable device 10 and external device 14
may have respective connectors 22 and 24 that provide an electrical
interface to the respective device. Further, in an optional aspect,
an electrical link 26, such as but not limited to a wire or cable,
may electrically connect the portable device 10 and the external
device 14, which connection may, in some aspects, be via the
respective connectors 22 and 24. In some aspects, electrical link
26 and/or connectors 22 and 24 may additionally provide a
mechanical connection between portable device 10 and external
device 14.
[0030] In some aspects, the circuit 11 may include a charging
component 102 configured to receive an amount of voltage for
charging battery 12, an authentication component 110 configured to
authenticate the portable device 10 with the external device 14 to
enable charging, and a configuration component 108 configured to
provide digital feedback to modify the amount of voltage
transmitted to the portable device 10 by the external device 14,
which may enable reducing an amount of time that it takes to charge
battery 12 as compared to previously used techniques. The charging
component 102 determines whether the external device 14 is an HVDCP
device based on the amount of voltage received by charging
component 102 on the VBUS.
[0031] For instance, in an optional aspect, charging component 102
may receive the amount of voltage for charging battery 12 from a
power bus 114 that provides an electrical connection to a power bus
128 from the external device 14. In a further optional aspect, the
power bus 128 from the external device 14 may be connected to, or
may be located in, the electrical link 26. In some aspects, the
charging component 102 may be directly connected to the external
device 14, e.g., via power bus 114. As used in this case, the
"directly connected" refers an electrical connection between the
charging component 102 and the external device 14 that does not
include a switcher component being located in between the charging
component 102 and the external device 14.
[0032] Additionally, in an optional aspect, authentication
component 110 and configuration component 108 may respectively
exchange signals with external device 14 via a signal bus 112 that
electrically connects, directly or indirectly, circuit 11 to a
signal bus 126 from external device 14. In an aspect, for example,
signal bus 112 may include a plurality of signal bus lines for
electrical connection to signal lines in signal bus 126 from
external device 14 and/or the electrical link 26. The number of
signal bus lines included in the signal bus 112 may vary from one
aspect to another.
[0033] An example aspect according to principles of the present
disclosure may include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface that
operates according to USB Specification, Revision 2.0. More
particularly, the system depicted in FIG. 1 may include circuit 11
based on the USB Battery Charging Specification, Revision 1.2
(BC1.2). A large majority of portable devices conform to BC1.2, and
so this aspect may have desirable benefits in terms of
manufacturing and installed user base. Accordingly, in some
aspects, circuit 11 may operate in conformance with BC1.2, thus
providing a charging device that is compatible with existing
portable devices and external charging devices, and portable
devices that are easy to manufacture and that offer one or more
benefits of the present disclosure. As such, in some aspects,
portable device 10 may be any electronic device that incorporates a
USB interface. Likewise, the external device 14 may be any
electronic device that incorporates a USB interface and can provide
power to the portable device 10.
[0034] Similarly, in a USB implementation, electrical link 26 may
comprise four wires including a power line called a voltage bus
(VBUS), signal bus lines referred to as D+ and D-, and a ground
line. These four wires may also be found, for example, in standard
USB A and USB B plugs (e.g., connectors 22 and 24). Accordingly,
VBUS constitutes an example of power bus 114 and 128. The D+ and D-
lines may represent an example of signal lines comprising signal
bus 112 and 126.
[0035] In an optional aspect, circuit 11 may additionally include
detection component 104, which may be configured to determine the
amount of voltage received by the charging component 102 from
external device 14. As such, detection component 104 may
communicate with configuration component 108 in order to regulate
the amount of power used to charge battery 12. For example, the
detection component 104 may be connected to the signal bus 112 to
detect various electrical configurations on the signal bus lines
comprising the signal bus 112. For instance, the external device 14
may assert an electrical configuration on the signal lines of the
electrical link 26 that the detection component 104 may detect on
the signal bus 112. In an aspect, detection component 104 may
output a representation of a detected electrical configuration in a
signal 104a for use by other components of circuit 11, as will be
discussed below. In some instances, the detection component 104 may
comprise voltage comparators, current sensors, and the like to
detect an electrical configuration on the signal bus 112. Further,
for example in a USB implementation, detection component 104 may
include a comparator to compare a voltage asserted on VBUS with a
voltage level VOTG_SESSN_VLD. The comparison may be used to
determine that an attachment to external device 14 has been made,
e.g., when the voltage level on VBUS exceeds VOTG_SESSN_VLD.
Additionally, in some aspects, detection component 104 may
determine, either continuously or periodically, the amount of
voltage received.
[0036] As used herein, an electrical configuration asserted on the
signal bus lines of the signal bus 112 may be a voltage level
(e.g., an amount of voltage), including ground potential, asserted
on one or more signal bus lines, or multiple voltage levels
asserted on several signal bus lines. An electrical configuration
may also be one or more currents flowing respectively in one or
more of the signal bus lines. In some instances, an electrical
configuration may be asserted by connecting one or more of the
signal bus lines to a resistor (or other passive device such as a
capacitor or inductor), or connecting together one or more of the
signal bus lines. In some instances, an electrical configuration
may be asserted using a combination of voltage, current flows,
and/or resistor (or other passive device).
[0037] Further, as mentioned above, configuration component 108 may
modify the amount of voltage transmitted to the portable device 10
by the external device 14, such as by transmitting a modified
voltage signal and a modified current signal to the external device
14. For example, as mentioned above, an electrical configuration
may be asserted on the signal bus lines of the signal bus 112 by an
external device 14, e.g., electrically connected to the signal bus
via electrical link 26. Similarly, an electrical configuration
(e.g., modified voltage signal and modified current signal) may be
asserted on the signal bus lines by the configuration component
108. In some instances, the configuration component 108 may include
voltage sources, current sources, switches (e.g., MOS switches),
passive devices (e.g., a resistor), and the like to assert some
combination of voltage levels and/or current levels on one or more
of the signal bus lines that comprise the signal bus 112. In some
aspects, configuration component 108 may generate one or more
electrical configurations as a function of one or more control
signals 106a that may be received from a control component 106, as
is discussed below. In some instances, the modified voltage signal
corresponds to an amount of voltage the portable device 10 requests
that differs from the default amount of voltage (e.g., 5 V) that
external device 14 normally transmits, and the modified current
signal corresponds to a threshold amount of current that the
external device is limited to transmitting to the portable device
10 In some instances, the threshold amount of voltage may be
equivalent to the modified voltage signal corresponding to the
amount of voltage requested by portable device 10. In other
instances, the threshold amount of voltage may be equivalent to the
threshold amount of voltage that portable device 10 is capable of
receiving without malfunctioning.
[0038] Additionally, in another optional aspect, circuit 11 may
include control component 106 configured to control the amount of
voltage received from external device 14 based on whether or not
external device 14 is authenticated, and/or based on the amount of
voltage received. For example, control component 106 may operate in
aspects of circuit 11 that do not include the optional detection
component 104 as well as in aspects of circuit 11 that do include
the optional detection component 104. More specifically, in an
aspect, control component 106 may be configured to modify the
modified voltage signal and the modified current signal transmitted
by the configuration component 108. For example, the control
component 106 may be connected to receive one or more signals 104a
from the detection component 104. The signals 104a may be
indicative of a detected electrical configuration asserted on the
signal bus 112 by the external device 14. The control component 106
may be connected to provide one or more control signals 106a to the
configuration component 108 in order to assert a particular
electrical configuration on the signal bus 112.
[0039] As mentioned above, authentication component 110 may be
configured to authenticate the portable device 10 with the external
device 14. As used herein, the term "to authenticate" or
"authenticating" refers to the portable device 10 proving an
identity to external device 14. As a result of the portable device
10 successfully authenticating, the external device 14 may send a
modified voltage on the electrical link 26. For example,
authentication component 110 may attempt to authenticate the
portable device 10 with the external device 14 via signaling
exchanged over the signal bus 112. Authenticating the portable
device 10 allows external device 14 to provide modifiable amounts
of voltage to portable device 10. In certain instances, a default
amount of voltage (e.g., 5 V) is transmitted to the portable device
10 Further, configuration component 108 may transmit a modified
voltage signal and a modified current signal to the external device
14, which in turn, may transmit a modified amount of voltage (e.g.,
8.4 V). In some instances, control component 106 may modify the
modified voltage signal and the modified current signal transmitted
by configuration component 108 based at least in part on the amount
of voltage received by detection component 104 and whether
authentication component 110 was able to authenticate portable
device 10. In instances where the authentication component 110
fails to authenticate portable device 10, external device 14 may be
configured to transmit a standard amount of voltage, such as 5 V in
a USB implementation. In other instances, the authentication
component 110 may authenticate the portable device 10 with the
external device 14 either initially upon connecting with the
external device 14 or periodically during the connection.
[0040] Moreover, in an optional aspect, the portable device 10 may
include device electronics (load) 101 that may require electrical
power to operate. For example, if the portable device 10 is a
computer tablet, the device electronics 101 may comprise the
components such as a processor, memory, display, etc. The device
electronics 101 may be connected to the power bus 114 via connector
114a to draw power received by the circuit 11, such as from battery
12 or from external device 14.
[0041] In an aspect, the external device 14 may optionally include
a voltage selector 122 and a power component 124, in addition to
other electronic circuitry (not shown), to control and generate the
amount of voltage provided to portable device 10. For example, the
external device 14 may be laptop computer, or a power supply (e.g.,
an AC adapter), etc. The power component 124, which may include but
is not limited to a circuit, may provide a voltage at one of
several selectable voltage levels that can be delivered to the
portable device 10 via electrical link 26. For example, the
external device 14 may include a power bus 128 that is connected to
the power line in the electrical link 26. The voltage selector 122
may selectively control the amount of voltage generated by power
component 124, and connect the voltage produced by the power
component 124 to the power bus 128. In some aspects, the voltage
selector 122 may be connected to a signal bus 126 comprising a
plurality of signal bus lines, which may be electrically connected
to signal bus 112 via electrical link 26. As will be explained in
more detail below, in an aspect, the voltage selector 122 may
detect or sense an electrical configuration on the signal bus 126
and control or otherwise signal the power component 124 to output a
voltage level that corresponds to the detected electrical
configuration. The voltage selector 122 may comprise digital logic,
analog circuitry, or a combination of digital and analog components
to detect or sense the electrical configuration on the signal bus
126.
[0042] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram further illustrating the
functionality and operation of an aspect of the charging component
102 (FIG. 1) of the circuit 11 in conjunction with an external
device 14. In an aspect, charging component 102 may be connected
directly, e.g., without a switcher being in line, with external
device 14 via electrical link 26. The external device 14 may
provide a voltage at one of several selectable voltage levels that
can be delivered to the charging component 102 via electrical link
26. In some instances, for example, external device 14 may provide
3.6-4.2 V to charging component 102. Feedback from a voltage sensor
(e.g., detection component 104 of FIG. 1) may be configured to
prevent the voltage from exceeding a safe charging threshold.
Further, switch 132 may be provided to connect and disconnect
battery 12 to and from external device 14.
[0043] In an aspect, for example, when switch 132 is in the closed
position (e.g., connected), the amount of voltage provided at
battery 12 may be 3.6-4.2 V. In this structure, the temperature
issues caused by a switcher not being in direct connection with the
external device 14 are eliminated. However, the connector current
limit issue still exists and with 3.6-4.2 V being provided, the
maximum charge rate would only be 9 Watts. As such, in an optional
aspect, switcher 130 may be included in charging component 102 in
order to drop the voltage provided on electrical link 26 by
external device 14 to the voltage required by the portable device
10 (e.g., V.sub.PH).
[0044] FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram illustrating the
functionality and operation of an aspect of the charging component
102 (FIG. 1) of the circuit 11 in conjunction with an external
device 14. In an aspect, charging component 102 may be connected
with external device 14 through a halver 30 and via electrical link
26. In an aspect, halver 30 may be a voltage halver configured to
decrease voltage by half so that the external device 14 may
increase the voltage to double the normal amount transmitted to a
connector connected to the halver 30. Increasing the amount of
voltage transmitted to the charging component 102 may cause the
maximum charge rate to increase as well. The external device 14 may
provide a voltage at one of several selectable voltage levels that
can be delivered to the charging component 102 via electrical link
26. Further, switch 132 may be provided to connect and disconnect
battery 12 to and from external device 14.
[0045] In some instances, external device 14 may provide 7.2-8.4 V
to charging component 102. When switch 132 is in the closed
position (e.g., connected), the amount of voltage provided at
battery 12 may be 3.6-4.2 V after the halver 138 halves the 7.2-8.4
V provided by external device 14. Again, the temperature issues
caused by a switcher not being in direct connection with the
external device 14 are eliminated. Furthermore, with 7.2-8.4 V
being provided on electrical link 26, the maximum charge rate may
be 18 Watts. In an optional aspect, switcher 130 may be included in
charging component 102 in order to drop the voltage provided on
electrical link 26 by external device 14 to the voltage required by
the portable device 10 (e.g., V.sub.PH).
[0046] Moreover, in a multiple stack cell configuration (e.g., 2S
cells, where "2S" stands for "two stacked" cells), external device
14 may provide 14.4-16.8 V on electrical link 26 to charging
component 102. As such, halver 138 may receive 14.4-16.8 V from
electrical link 26 and halve the voltage to output 7.2-8.4 V to
battery 12. With 14.4-16.8 V being provided on electrical link 26,
the maximum charge rate may be 30 Watts.
[0047] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an
aspect of a transport option between the charging component 102
(FIG. 1) of the circuit 11 and the external device 14 in the
battery charging system 100. In an aspect, charging component 102
may be connected with an alternating current or direct current
(AC/DC) power supply 150 of external device 14 through a halver 30
and via electrical link 26. Further, charging component 102 may be
connected with USB (On-The-Go) (OTG) 160 of external device 14
through OTG 140 via electrical link 26. Moreover, switch 132 may be
provided to connect and disconnect battery 12 to and from external
device 14. OTG 140 may be connected with battery 12 as well. In an
optional aspect, switcher 130 may be included in charging component
102 in order to drop the voltage provided on electrical link 26 by
external device 14 to the voltage required by the portable device
10 (e.g., V.sub.PH).
[0048] In an aspect, USB OTG 160 and OTG 140 provide for
isochronous transfers, e.g., a transfer that is made within a
specified timeframe, in order for the amount of voltage provided on
electrical link 26 to be sensed. As such, portable device 10 (FIG.
1) may simultaneously receive an amount of voltage on a power bus
114 (via electrical link 26) and transmit one or more signals on
the signal bus 112 (via electrical link 26). In some instances, the
one or more signals may correspond to authentication of the
portable device 10 (FIG. 1), modified voltage signal, and modified
current signal.
[0049] FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram illustrating an example
of an aspect of a transport option between the charging component
102 (FIG. 1) of the circuit 11 and the external device 14 in the
battery charging system 100. In an aspect, charging component 102
may be connected with an AC/DC power supply 150 of external device
14 through a halver 30 and via electrical link 26. Further,
charging component 102 may be connected with a High Voltage
Dedicated Charging Port (HVDCP) 170 of external device 14 through
capacitor 180 in parallel with switch 132 via electrical link 26. A
conventional DCP is typically specified to output 5V. By
comparison, an external device 14 according to the present
disclosure may output any one of several higher voltage levels
(e.g., 9V, 12V, 20V, etc.), in addition to a 5V level. Accordingly,
an external device 14 may be referred to as a high voltage DCP
(HVDCP). In accordance with principles of the present disclosure,
the portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may perform an additional detection
to distinguish between an external device that is a conventional
DCP and an HVDCP.
[0050] Moreover, switch 132 may be provided to connect and
disconnect battery 12 to and from external device 14. Capacitor 180
may be connected with battery 12 as well. Switch 132 may be
provided to connect charging component 102 and capacitor 180 with
Rdm_dwn resistor. In an optional aspect, switcher 130 may be
included in charging component 102 in order to drop the voltage
provided on electrical link 26 by external device 14 to the voltage
required by the portable device 10 (e.g., V.sub.PH).
[0051] In an aspect, HVDCP 170 may use a series of switched
resistors to provide unique voltages via electrical link 26 to
charging component 102, which may enable higher voltage operation.
In some instances, these voltages may be sent as unique voltages on
the D+ and D- data lines. In these instances, portable device 10
(FIG. 1) may control the Rdm_dwn switch to transmit varying amounts
of voltage to the charging component 102. These changes in voltage
may be sensed and a serial protocol may be used to send data back
to external device 14.
[0052] An advantageous aspect of the present disclosure is that
backward compatibility with existing devices is maintained. For
example, a portable device in accordance with the principles of the
present disclosure will recognize and operate with an HVDCP,
according to the processing outlined in FIG. 5 above. Moreover, a
portable device in accordance with the principles of the present
disclosure will recognize and operate with non-HVDCP devices, such
as an SDP, CDP, DCP, and in some aspects, non-BC1.2 ports (e.g.,
APPLE power adapters). From the HVDCP side, an HVDCP will operate
with a portable device of the present disclosure in accordance with
the processing outlined in FIG. 5. Moreover, an HVDCP will operate
with a conventional portable device.
[0053] Referring to FIG. 6, in operation, a portable device such as
portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may perform a method 200 of an aspect
for charging a battery 12 through digital feedback. While, for
purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methods herein are shown
and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and
appreciated that the methods are not limited by the order of acts,
as some acts may, in accordance with one or more aspects, occur in
different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that
shown and described herein. For example, it is to be appreciated
that the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of
interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram.
Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a
method in accordance with one or more features described
herein.
[0054] In an aspect, at block 202, method 200 includes connecting a
portable device to an external device. For example, as described
herein, portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may connect with external
device 14 via connectors 22 and 24 and electrical link 26. In some
instances, external device 14 may be configured to provide power to
portable device 10 to recharge battery 12.
[0055] Further, in an aspect, at block 204, method 200 includes
authenticating the portable device with the external device. For
example, as described herein, portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may
execute authentication component 110 to authenticate the portable
device 10 with the external device 14. In some instances,
authenticating the portable device 10 comprises transmitting
identification information of the portable device 10 to the
external device 14, so that the external device 14 transmits a
modified amount of voltage to the portable device 10.
[0056] In another aspect, at block 206, method 200 includes
determining whether the authentication was successful. For example,
as described herein, portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may execute
authentication component 110 to determine whether the
authentication was successful. In instances where authentication
was not successful, method 200 may proceed to block 208.
[0057] At block 208, method 200 includes receiving a default amount
of voltage from the external device. For example, as described
herein, portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may receive a default amount of
voltage (e.g., 5 V in a USB implementation) from the external
device 14 since authentication was not successful.
[0058] However, if it is determined that authentication was
successful, then method 200 may proceed to block 210. At block 210,
method 200 includes transmitting modified voltage signal and a
modified current signal. For example, as described herein, portable
device 10 (FIG. 1) may execute configuration component 108 to
transmit a modified voltage signal and a modified current signal.
In some instances, the modified voltage signal and the modified
current signal cause external device 14 to modify the amount of
voltage transmitted to portable device 10, e.g., received on the
power bus 114.
[0059] Further, at block 212, method 200 includes monitoring an
amount of voltage received. For example, as described herein,
portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may execute detection component 104 to
monitor an amount of voltage received from external device 14 via
power bus 114. In some instances, detection component 104 may
monitor, either continuously or periodically, the amount of voltage
being received.
[0060] At block 214, method 200 includes determining whether the
amount of voltage received exceeds a threshold amount of voltage.
For example, as described herein, portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may
execute control component 106 to determine whether the amount of
voltage received exceeds a threshold amount of voltage. In some
instances, the threshold amount of voltage may be equivalent to the
modified voltage signal corresponding to the amount of voltage
requested by portable device 10. In other instances, the threshold
amount of voltage may be equivalent to the threshold amount of
voltage that portable device 10 is capable of receiving without
malfunctioning. If it is determined that the amount of voltage
received does not exceed a threshold amount of voltage, then method
200 may return to block 212.
[0061] However, if it is determined that the amount of voltage
received exceeds a threshold amount of voltage, then method 200 may
proceed to 216. At block 216, method 200 includes adjusting the
amount of voltage received. For example, as described herein,
portable device 10 (FIG. 1) may execute control component 106 to
modify the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal
to attempt to adjust the amount of voltage received to be within
the threshold, and signal configuration component 108 to transmit
the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal to
external device 14.
[0062] FIG. 7 is a conceptual data flow diagram 300 illustrating
the data flow between different modules/means/components in an
example of an aspect of an apparatus 302. The apparatus includes a
charging module 304 that receives voltage from an external power
supply and provides voltage to a battery system 350. An optional
detection module 306 may determine the amount of voltage supplied
by external power supply. An optional control module 308 may modify
the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal based
on the amount of voltage detected by detection module 306. Further,
configuration module 310 transmits a voltage signal and a current
signal, which may be the modified voltage signal and the modified
current signal, to the external power supply so that the external
power supply adjusts the amount of voltage it provides. Moreover,
authentication module 312 authenticates apparatus 302 with the
external power supply so that customized voltage may be provided
instead of the default amount of voltage. Examples of the modules
may be found in FIG. 1 and the associated description.
[0063] The apparatus may include additional modules that perform
each of the steps of the algorithm in the aforementioned flow
charts of FIG. 6. As such, each step in the aforementioned flow
charts of FIG. 6 may be performed by a module and the apparatus may
include one or more of those modules. The modules may be one or
more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the
stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured
to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a
computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some
combination thereof.
[0064] FIG. 8 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a
hardware implementation for an apparatus 302' employing a
processing system 414. The processing system 414 may be implemented
with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus 424. The
bus 424 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges
depending on the specific application of the processing system 414
and the overall design constraints. The bus 424 links together
various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware
modules, represented by the processor 404, the modules 440, 442,
446, 448, and 450 and the computer-readable medium/memory 406. The
bus 424 may also link various other circuits such as timing
sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management
circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not
be described any further.
[0065] The processing system 414 includes a processor 404 coupled
to a computer-readable medium/memory 406. The processor 404 is
responsible for general processing, including the execution of
software stored on the computer-readable medium/memory 406. The
software, when executed by the processor 404, causes the processing
system 414 to perform the various functions described supra for any
particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 406 may
also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor
404 when executing software. The processing system further includes
at least one of the modules 440, 442, 446, 448, and 450. The
modules may be software modules running in the processor 904,
resident/stored in the computer readable medium/memory 406, one or
more hardware modules coupled to the processor 404, or some
combination thereof.
[0066] In one configuration, the apparatus 302/302' for a battery
charger system includes a means for providing energy, by a first
charger, to a battery system; a means for providing energy, by a
second charger, to the battery system based on an operation state
of the first charger; and a means for stopping the providing
energy, by the second charger, to the battery system based on an
operation state of the second charger.
[0067] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the
aforementioned modules of the apparatus 302 and/or the processing
system 414 of the apparatus 302' configured to perform the
functions recited by the aforementioned means.
[0068] It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of
steps in the processes disclosed is an illustration of examples of
one or more approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is
understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the
processes may be rearranged. Further, some steps may be combined or
omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the
various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to
the specific order or hierarchy presented.
[0069] The previous description is provided to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described
herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles
defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims
are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is
to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims,
wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to
mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather
"one or more." The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving
as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described
herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as
preferred or advantageous over other aspects". Unless specifically
stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more.
Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of
A, B, and C", and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any
combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A,
multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such
as "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," and
"A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C
only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such
combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or
C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the
various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known
or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are
expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be
encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is
intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such
disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is
to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is
expressly recited using the phrase "means for."
* * * * *