U.S. patent application number 15/785848 was filed with the patent office on 2018-02-08 for apparatus and method for sharing energy in wireless device.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. The applicant listed for this patent is SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. Invention is credited to Sang Joon KIM, Tae Seok KIM, Ui Kun KWON, Tae Rim PARK.
Application Number | 20180041622 15/785848 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46796320 |
Filed Date | 2018-02-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180041622 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PARK; Tae Rim ; et
al. |
February 8, 2018 |
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHARING ENERGY IN WIRELESS DEVICE
Abstract
A method and apparatus to share energy in a wireless device are
provided. A power sharing method between a wireless device and at
least one neighboring wireless device, includes scanning, by the
wireless device, the at least one neighboring wireless device. The
power sharing method further includes determining to share power
with the at least one neighboring wireless device. The power
sharing method further includes sharing power with the at least one
neighboring wireless device.
Inventors: |
PARK; Tae Rim; (Seoul,
KR) ; KIM; Tae Seok; (Hwaseong-si, KR) ; KWON;
Ui Kun; (Hwaseong-si, KR) ; KIM; Sang Joon;
(Seoul, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
46796320 |
Appl. No.: |
15/785848 |
Filed: |
October 17, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13589477 |
Aug 20, 2012 |
|
|
|
15785848 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60L 53/66 20190201;
Y02T 90/128 20130101; Y02T 90/14 20130101; H02J 7/025 20130101;
Y02T 10/70 20130101; H04W 52/0261 20130101; Y02T 90/16 20130101;
H02J 50/40 20160201; Y02T 90/121 20130101; H02J 50/10 20160201;
H02J 7/342 20200101; H04M 1/7253 20130101; H02J 50/12 20160201;
Y02T 90/122 20130101; Y02T 90/163 20130101; Y02T 10/7072 20130101;
Y02T 10/7005 20130101; Y02T 90/12 20130101; H02J 50/80 20160201;
H02J 50/90 20160201; B60L 53/12 20190201 |
International
Class: |
H04M 1/725 20060101
H04M001/725; H02J 7/02 20060101 H02J007/02; B60L 11/18 20060101
B60L011/18; H02J 5/00 20060101 H02J005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 18, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0082374 |
Claims
1. A power sharing method for a wireless device, sharing power
between the wireless device and at least one neighboring wireless
device, the method comprising: scanning, by the wireless device,
the at least one neighboring wireless device; monitoring the at
least one neighboring wireless device to determine whether to share
the power with the at least one neighboring wireless device;
determining roles of the wireless device and the at least one
neighboring wireless device, respectively as either a power
supplier or a power consumer; and determining a power sharing
scheme and selectively sharing power between the wireless device
and the at least one neighboring wireless device based on the
determined roles and the determined power sharing scheme, including
the wireless device receiving power when in the power consumer role
from the at least one neighboring wireless device that is in the
power supplier role, wherein each of the respective descriptors
includes a Received Signal Strength Indication, a battery level, an
amount of time the battery level will power the device, a priority
level, and a current role.
2. The power sharing method of claim 1, further comprising
determining, based on the respective descriptors, whether a preset
condition to interrupt the sharing of the power occurs during the
sharing of the power.
3. A power sharing method for a wireless device, sharing power
between the wireless device and at least one neighboring wireless
device, the method comprising: scanning, by the wireless device,
the at least one neighboring wireless device; determining whether
to share the power with the at least one neighboring wireless
device based on a change in a descriptor of the wireless device;
determining roles of the wireless device and the at least one
neighboring wireless device, respectively as either a power
supplier or a power consumer; determining a power transmission
scheme to share power between the wireless device and the at least
one neighboring wireless device; and selectively sharing power
between the wireless device and the at least one neighboring
wireless device based on the determined roles and the power
transmission scheme, including the wireless device receiving power
when in the power consumer role from the at least one neighboring
wireless device that is in the power supplier role, wherein the
determining of the power transmission scheme comprises: determining
the power transmission scheme so that, when the at least one
neighboring wireless device comprises at least two neighboring
wireless devices, each of the at least two neighboring wireless
devices that are in the power supplier roles utilize respective
power transmission channels and power transmission times, and
alternately transmit power.
4. The power sharing method of claim 3, wherein the determining of
the power transmission scheme further comprises: determining the
power transmission scheme so that each of the at least two
neighboring wireless devices that are in the power supplier roles
utilize respective power transmission channels and power
transmission times, and alternately transmit power, or so that the
at least two neighboring wireless devices cooperate with each other
and simultaneously transmit the power.
5. A power sharing method for a wireless device, sharing power
between the wireless device and at least one neighboring wireless
device, the method comprising: scanning, by the wireless device,
the at least one neighboring wireless device; determining whether
to share the power with the at least one neighboring wireless
device based on a change in a descriptor of the wireless device;
determining roles of the wireless device and the at least one
neighboring wireless device, respectively as either a power
supplier or a power consumer; determining a power transmission
scheme to share power between the wireless device and the at least
one neighboring wireless device; and selectively sharing power
between the wireless device and the at least one neighboring
wireless device based on the determined roles and the power
transmission scheme, including the wireless device receiving power
when in the power consumer role from the at least one neighboring
wireless device that is in the power supplier role, wherein the
determining of the power transmission scheme comprises: determining
whether at least two power consumers exist among the at least one
neighboring wireless device and the wireless device; and
determining the power transmission scheme so that power is
transmitted by assigning different frequencies or different time
slots to each of the at least two power consumers.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 13/589,477 filed on Aug. 20, 2012 which claims the benefit
under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No.
10-2011-0082374, filed on Aug. 18, 2011, in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
[0002] The following description relates to a method and apparatus
to share energy in a wireless device.
2. Description of Related Art
[0003] The use of various types of portable wireless devices, such
as smartphones, tablet personal computers (PCs), netbooks, and the
like, has increased. Additionally, communication standards between
portable wireless devices, such as near field communication (NFC),
wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, and the like, have
been developed. Accordingly, information may be exchanged between
portable wireless devices used by the same user or different users,
and these portable wireless devices may form a single application
and may be operated as a single system.
[0004] When portable wireless devices are operated as a single
system, there may be a limitation on a service time or lifetime of
an application due to a lack of battery power to operate the
portable wireless devices. Furthermore, the lack of battery power
may occur in a wireless device that requires a continuous
operation, for example, in a sensor device for healthcare.
SUMMARY
[0005] In one general aspect, there is provided a power sharing
method between a wireless device and at least one neighboring
wireless device, including scanning, by the wireless device, the at
least one neighboring wireless device. The power sharing method
further includes determining to share power with the at least one
neighboring wireless device. The power sharing method further
includes sharing power with the at least one neighboring wireless
device.
[0006] The power sharing method further includes receiving, from
the at least one neighboring wireless device, a descriptor of the
at least one neighboring wireless device.
[0007] The descriptor of the at least one neighboring wireless
device includes an identification (ID) of the at least one
neighboring wireless device, or information associated with a
battery of the at least one neighboring wireless device, or a
priority level of the at least one neighboring wireless device, or
information regarding whether the at least one neighboring wireless
device is capable of transmitting and/or receiving power, or a role
of the at least one neighboring wireless device, or a
cooperativeness of the at least one neighboring wireless device, or
any combination thereof.
[0008] The power sharing method further includes generating a
neighbor table based on the descriptor of the at least one
neighboring wireless device.
[0009] The generating of the neighbor table includes adding, to the
descriptor of the at least one neighboring wireless device,
information on a strength of a signal received from the at least
one neighboring wireless device, and information on an amount of
time elapsed after the descriptor of the at least one neighboring
wireless device is received.
[0010] The power sharing method further includes determining
whether it is necessary to immediately share power between the
wireless device and the at least one neighboring wireless
device.
[0011] The determining whether it is necessary to immediately share
power includes checking a battery level and a lifetime of each of
the wireless device and the at least one neighboring wireless
device, the battery level and the lifetime of the wireless device
being included in a descriptor of the wireless device, and the
battery level and the lifetime of the at least one neighboring
wireless device being included in the descriptor of the at least
one neighboring wireless device. The determining further includes
computing a difference in the battery level, or a difference in the
lifetime, between the wireless device and the at least one
neighboring wireless device based on a result of the checking. The
determining further includes determining whether it is necessary to
immediately share the power between the wireless device and the at
least one neighboring wireless device based on on whether the
difference in the battery level, or the difference in the lifetime,
corresponds to a predetermined threshold.
[0012] The power sharing method further includes generating a
descriptor of the wireless device. The descriptor of the wireless
device includes an ID of the wireless device, or information
associated with a battery of the wireless device, or a priority
level of the wireless device, or information regarding whether the
wireless device is capable of transmitting and/or receiving power,
or a role of the wireless device, of a cooperativeness of the
wireless device, or any combination thereof.
[0013] The power sharing method further includes determining a role
of the wireless device, as either a power supplier or a power
consumer, based on a designation by a user of the wireless device,
or a descriptor of the wireless device, or a predetermined rule, or
any combination thereof.
[0014] The predetermined rule determines, as the power supplier, a
device with a longest lifetime, and/or a device connected to a
power supply, among the wireless device and the at least one
neighboring wireless device.
[0015] The power sharing method further includes changing the role
of the wireless device.
[0016] The changing includes changing the role of the wireless
device based on the designation by the user of the wireless device,
and/or a descriptor of the at least one neighboring wireless device
that is received from the at least one neighboring wireless
device.
[0017] The power sharing method further includes determining a
power transmission scheme to share power between the wireless
device and the at least one neighboring wireless device. The
sharing of the power is based on the power transmission scheme. The
determining of the power transmission scheme includes determining
whether at least two power suppliers exist among the at least one
neighboring wireless device. The determining further includes
determining the power transmission scheme so that each of the at
least two power suppliers changes an power transmission channel and
an power transmission time, and independently transmits power, or
so that the at least two power suppliers cooperate with each other
and simultaneously transmit the power, when it is determined that
the at least two power suppliers exist.
[0018] The power sharing method further includes determining a
power transmission scheme to share power between the wireless
device and the at least one neighboring wireless device. The
sharing of the power is based on the power transmission scheme. The
determining of the power transmission scheme includes determining
whether at least two power consumers exist among the at least one
neighboring wireless device. The determining further includes
determining the power transmission scheme so that power is
transmitted by assigning different frequencies or different time
slots to each of the at least two power consumers, when it is
determined that the at least two power consumers exist.
[0019] The sharing of the power includes adjusting a strength of a
signal transmitted by the wireless device, or a time required to
transmit the signal, or a value used to perform impedance matching
between the wireless device and the at least one neighboring
wireless device, or any combination thereof.
[0020] The power sharing method further includes determining
whether a preset condition to interrupt the sharing of the power
occurs while the power is shared with the at least one neighboring
wireless device.
[0021] The preset condition occurs when a difference in a battery
level, or a difference in a lifetime, between the wireless device
and the at least one neighboring wireless device is less than a
predetermined threshold.
[0022] The power sharing method further includes determining
whether a number of the at least one neighboring wireless device is
changed.
[0023] The determining to share the power includes determining
whether to share the power with the at least one neighboring
wireless device based on a designation by a user of the wireless
device, and/or an alarm based on a change in a descriptor of the
wireless device.
[0024] A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium stores a
program including instructions to cause a computer to implement the
power sharing method.
[0025] In another general aspect, there is provided a power sharing
apparatus of a wireless device, including a scanning unit
configured to scan at least one neighboring wireless device. The
power sharing apparatus further includes a determining unit
configured to determine to share power with the at least one
neighboring wireless device. The power sharing apparatus further
includes a sharing unit configured to share power with the at least
one neighboring wireless device.
[0026] The power sharing apparatus further includes a transmission
scheme determining unit configured to determine an power
transmission scheme to share power between the wireless device and
the at least one neighboring wireless device. The sharing unit is
further configured to share the power with the at least one
neighboring wireless device based on the power transmission
scheme.
[0027] The power sharing apparatus further includes a transceiving
unit configured to transmit, to the at least one neighboring
wireless device, data and/or the power. The transceiving unit is
further configured to receive, from the at least one neighboring
wireless device, the data and/or the power.
[0028] In still another general aspect, there is provided a power
sharing apparatus of an electric vehicle, including a processor
configured to scan at least one neighboring electric vehicle. The
processor is further configured to determine to share power with
the at least one neighboring electric vehicle. The processor is
further configured to share power with the at least one neighboring
electric vehicle.
[0029] The processor is further configured to determine a role of
the electric vehicle, as either a power supplier or a power
consumer, based on a designation by a user of the electric vehicle,
or a descriptor of the electric vehicle, or a predetermined rule,
or any combination thereof. The processor is further configured to
share power with the at least one neighboring electric vehicle
based on the role of the electric vehicle.
[0030] Other features and aspects may be apparent from the
following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of sharing
energy between wireless devices.
[0032] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an energy
sharing method of a wireless device.
[0033] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another example of an
energy sharing method of a wireless device.
[0034] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a module
configured to transmit or receive energy using a resonance coupling
scheme in a wireless device.
[0035] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a module
configured to transmit or receive energy using a resonator
isolation scheme in a wireless device.
[0036] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an
energy sharing apparatus of a wireless device.
[0037] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a
wireless device including an energy sharing apparatus.
[0038] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example in which a
wireless module configured to transmit and receive data used to
determine whether to transmit and receive power, is added to a
wireless device including an energy sharing apparatus.
[0039] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example in which
an energy harvester is added to a power source unit in a wireless
device including an energy sharing apparatus.
[0040] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electric
vehicle charging system.
[0041] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless
power transmission method of an electric vehicle.
[0042] Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless
otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be
understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures.
The relative size and depiction of these elements may be
exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0043] The following detailed description is provided to assist the
reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods,
apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. Accordingly, various
changes, modifications, and equivalents of the systems,
apparatuses, and/or methods described herein will be suggested to
those of ordinary skill in the art. The progression of processing
steps and/or operations described is an example; however, the
sequence of steps and/or operations is not limited to that set
forth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, with the
exception of steps and/or operations necessarily occurring in a
certain order. Also, description of well-known functions and
constructions may be omitted for increased clarity and
conciseness.
[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of sharing energy between
wireless devices. Wireless devices or neighboring devices may share
energy, and may include, for example, tablet personal computers
(PCs), smartphones, sensor devices, digital cameras, netbooks,
and/or the like. The wireless devices or the neighboring devices
may receive power from a power supply, such as, for example, a
battery, a power source cable, and/or a power source generator,
during execution of an application. Additionally, the neighboring
devices may wirelessly share data or energy with each other and/or
other wireless devices, within a wireless transmission range of the
neighboring devices. Hereinafter, the term "device" may be used to
refer to both a wireless device and a neighboring device.
[0045] For example, in an environment including a tablet PC 110 and
a first smartphone 130, a second smartphone 150 is newly-added. The
tablet PC 110, the first smartphone 130, and the second smartphone
150 simultaneously transmit data and energy with each other.
Additionally, the tablet PC 110 has an identification (ID) of
`0x0001`, the first smartphone 130 has an ID of `0x0003`, and the
second smartphone 150 has an ID of `0x0007`.
[0046] In this example, the second smartphone 150 receives, from
the tablet PC 110 and the first smartphone 130, a descriptor of the
tablet PC 110 and a descriptor of the first smartphone 130,
respectively, using a passive scanning scheme of turning on a
circuit or a module that is used to transmit power. A descriptor
describes information used to share energy between devices. The
descriptor may include, for example, an ID of a device, information
associated with a battery of the device, a priority level of the
device, information regarding whether the device is capable of
transmitting and/or receiving energy, a role of the device, and/or
a cooperativeness of the device. For example, the role of the
device may refer to a current role of the device, e.g., as a
server, an energy transmitter, an energy receiver, and/or the
like.
[0047] Devices may exchange descriptors of the devices, and may
analyze information used to share energy between the devices. The
information used to share energy may include, for example,
information on how much battery power of a corresponding device
remains, information on whether the corresponding device is capable
of receiving and/or transmitting energy, and/or the like. Each
device may generate a neighbor table based on descriptors of
neighboring devices that are received from the neighboring
devices.
[0048] Additionally, a user of the second smartphone 150 executes
an application program, and applies for participation in an
application program that is being used by the tablet PC 110 and the
first smartphone 130. When existing users, namely, a user of the
tablet PC 110 and a user of the first smartphone 130, allow
participation of the user of the second smartphone 150, the second
smartphone 150 executes a configuration program. The second
smartphone 150 also requests the user of the second smartphone 150
to agree on whether to share energy with the tablet PC 110 and the
first smartphone 130. When the user of the second smartphone 150
agrees to share energy, the second smartphone 150 changes a state
of the second smartphone 150, e.g., changes a value of
cooperativeness included in a descriptor of the second smartphone
150 to `True`, and shares energy with the tablet PC 110 and the
first smartphone 130 to maximize a service time of the application
program.
[0049] One of devices (e.g., the second smartphone 150) may perform
an energy sharing method to determine a role of each device based
on a command received directly from a user, and to immediately
share energy between the devices. In this example, the devices are
sufficiently close to each other in proximity, and the user has
advance information associated with a necessity for his or her
device to share energy and with an effect of sharing the energy.
When energy sharing starts, when charging of a battery of an energy
consumer is completed, and/or when a battery level exceeds a
predetermined threshold, the energy consumer may terminate
receiving of power, or may transmit, to an energy supplier, a
message to request interruption of energy supply.
[0050] Additionally, the energy supplier may check a battery
capacity of the energy consumer by periodically or aperiodically
receiving a message regarding a state of the energy consumer, and
may interrupt energy supply without a request from the energy
consumer. The energy consumer may refer to a device configured to
receive energy, for example, power, and the energy supplier may
refer to a device configured to supply energy.
[0051] Devices participating in energy sharing may periodically
share information on a lifetime of a battery of each of the
devices. For example, when a lifetime of a device among the devices
drops below a predetermined threshold, or when a difference in
lifetime between devices exceeds a predetermined threshold, a
device expected to have a longest lifetime may be set as an energy
supplier, and a device expected to have a shortest lifetime may be
set as an energy consumer, so that energy may be shared
appropriately.
[0052] For example, a battery of the second smartphone 150 has a
current lifetime of 1 hour, and requires a minimum lifetime of 2
hours to smoothly operate the second smartphone 150. In this
example, when a battery of the tablet PC 110 has a current lifetime
of 9 hours, the tablet PC 110 functions as an energy supplier that
transmits power to the second smartphone 150, which functions as as
an energy consumer. Subsequently, when a difference in lifetime
between the tablet PC 110 and the second smartphone 150 drops below
a predetermined threshold, for example, 2 hours, the tablet PC 110
interrupts power transmission. The lifetime values described above
are merely examples, and other lifetime values may be used
depending on the situation.
[0053] Each of the devices participating in energy sharing may
adjust a strength of a signal (or a pulse amplitude) during
transmission and/or reception of power, a time required to transmit
the signal (or a pulse position), and/or a value used to perform
impedance matching between the devices. These values may be
adjusted using a circuit or a module that is used to transmit
power. Further, each of the devices participating in energy sharing
may exchange data via a separate communication module and/or the
like that is included in each of the devices.
[0054] An energy sharing environment in which energy is shared
between devices may include at least one energy supplier configured
to transmit power, and at least one energy consumer configured to
receive power, as shown in FIG. 1. In an example in which a device
is capable of either transmitting or receiving power, a role of the
device may be fixed as either an energy supplier or an energy
consumer. In another example in which a device is capable of both
transmitting and receiving power, a role of the device may be
changed automatically, rather than being fixed, based on a change
in user settings, and/or a change in condition, such as, for
example, a battery level, a lifetime, and/or the like.
[0055] Power may be wirelessly transmitted to a device that
requires energy, among devices operated by at least one battery, so
that energy may be shared. Thus, a service time of an application
program executed between the devices, or a lifetime of a
predetermined device, may be maximized.
[0056] Device may perform other energy sharing methods to search
for neighboring devices through scanning, and to share energy
between the devices based on a user command and/or a predetermined
rule. Examples of a method of sharing energy through scanning will
be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
[0057] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an energy sharing method of
a wireless device. At step 210, the wireless device scans at least
one neighboring device. The wireless device may use Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, a circuit or a module that is configured to wirelessly
transmit power, and/or the like. The neighboring device is
configured to wirelessly share data and/or energy with the wireless
device. The wireless device and the neighboring device may each
include a circuit or a module that is configured to wirelessly
transmit and/or receiver power, using various schemes, for example,
an inductive coupling scheme, a resonance coupling scheme, a
resonator isolation scheme, and/or the like.
[0058] At step 220, the wireless device determines whether to share
energy with the neighboring device. For example, the wireless
device may determine whether to share energy with the neighboring
device based on a designation by a user of the wireless device,
and/or an alarm based on a change in a descriptor of the wireless
device. The change in the descriptor of the wireless device
indicates a change in information associated with a battery of the
wireless device, for example, a power source, a battery level, a
lifetime, and/or the like. In this example, when the battery level
of the wireless device approaches a predetermined level, e.g., a
minimum capacity of the battery that is required for a normal
operation of the wireless device, an alarm may ring. When the alarm
rings, the wireless device, or the user of the wireless device, may
set the wireless device to share energy with the neighboring
device.
[0059] At step 230, the wireless device determines whether it is
necessary to immediately share energy between the wireless device
and the neighboring device. For example, the wireless device checks
a battery level and a lifetime that are included in each of the
descriptor of the wireless device and a descriptor of the
neighboring device. Based on a result of the checking, the wireless
device computes a difference in the battery level, or a difference
in the lifetime, between the wireless device and the neighboring
device. The wireless device determines whether it is necessary to
immediately share energy, depending on whether the difference in
the battery level, or the difference in the lifetime, corresponds
to (e.g., is greater than or equal to) a predetermined threshold.
When it is necessary to immediately share energy, the method
continues to step 240. Otherwise, the method repeats step 230.
[0060] At step 240, the wireless device determines a role of the
wireless device, between the wireless device and the neighboring
device. The role of the wireless device is determined to be either
an energy supplier or an energy consumer, and a role of the
neighboring device may also be determined together with the role of
the wireless device. However, the role of the neighboring device
may not necessarily be opposed to the role of the wireless device.
In an example in which the wireless device functions as an energy
supplier, the neighboring device may function as an energy consumer
or an energy supplier. In another example in which a plurality of
neighboring devices exist, a neighboring device among the
neighboring devices may function as an energy supplier, and another
neighboring device among the neighboring devices may function as an
energy consumer.
[0061] In more detail, the wireless device determines the role of
the wireless device, based on the designation by the user of the
wireless device, the descriptor of the wireless device, and/or a
predetermined rule. For example, a priority level or a power source
in the descriptor of the wireless device may be used to determine
the role of the wireless device. When the wireless device is of a
high priority level, the wireless device may determine itself to be
an energy consumer, and when the wireless device is of a low
priority level, the wireless device may determine itself to be an
energy supplier. Additionally, when the wireless device includes a
power supply as a power source, the wireless device may determine
itself to be an energy supplier, and when the wireless device
includes a battery as a power source, the wireless device may
determine itself to be an energy consumer. Furthermore, other
elements in the descriptor of the wireless device may also be used
to determine the role of the wireless device. The predetermined
rule may be set to determine, as an energy supplier, a device with
a longest lifetime, or a device connected to a power supply, among
the wireless device and the neighboring device.
[0062] The wireless device may change the determined role of the
wireless device. For example, each of roles of devices used to
share energy may not necessarily be fixed to a single role, and may
be changed adaptively based on a change in surroundings or
environment, a change in time, and/or the like. In an example in
which a new neighboring device enters an environment including the
wireless device and two neighboring devices, even when the wireless
device has functioned as an energy supplier, the new neighboring
device may function as the energy supplier, and the wireless device
may function as an energy consumer.
[0063] Additionally, the wireless device may change the determined
role of the wireless device based on the designation by the user of
the wireless device and/or based on the descriptor of the
neighboring device. The descriptor of the neighboring device may be
received from the neighboring device.
[0064] At step 250, the wireless device determines an energy
transmission scheme to share energy between an energy supplier and
an energy consumer. The wireless device may transmit energy using
various energy transmission schemes based on a number of energy
suppliers or a number of energy consumers, which will be further
described with reference to FIG. 3.
[0065] At step 260, the wireless device shares energy with the
neighboring device based on the energy transmission scheme. To
share the energy with the neighboring device, the wireless device
may transmit and receive power to and from the neighboring device,
using various schemes, for example, the inductive coupling scheme,
the resonance coupling scheme, the resonator isolation scheme,
and/or the like. Additionally, to share the energy with the
neighboring device, the wireless device may adjust a strength of a
signal transmitted by the wireless device, a time required to
transmit the signal, and/or a value used to perform impedance
matching between the wireless device and the neighboring device,
based on the energy transmission scheme.
[0066] At step 270, the wireless device determines whether a preset
condition to interrupt the energy sharing occurs while the energy
is being shared with the neighboring device. The preset condition
may occur when the difference in the battery level or the
difference in the lifetime between the wireless device and the
neighboring device is less than the predetermined threshold. When
the preset condition occurs, the wireless device performs step 230
again. When the preset condition does not occur, the wireless
device performs step 280.
[0067] At step 280, the wireless device determines whether a number
of the at least one neighboring device is changed. For example,
when a new neighboring device is added to an energy sharing
environment, or when one of the at least one neighboring device
moves further than a predetermined distance from the wireless
device, e.g., out of the energy sharing environment, the wireless
device determines that the number of the at least one neighboring
device is changed. When the number of the at least one neighboring
device is changed, the wireless device performs step 230 again.
When there is no change in the number of the at least one
neighboring device, the wireless device continues to share the
energy with the neighboring device in step 260.
[0068] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of an energy sharing
method of a wireless device. At step 305, the wireless device
generates a descriptor of the wireless device.
[0069] At step 310, the wireless device scans at least one
neighboring device. The neighboring device is configured to
wirelessly share data and/or energy with the wireless device. The
wireless device may scan the neighboring device using an active
scanning scheme and/or a passive scanning scheme.
[0070] In the active scanning scheme, the wireless device actively
requests a response from the neighboring device, and scans the
neighboring device. In the passive scanning scheme, the wireless
device periodically receives a message from the neighboring device
for a predetermined period of time, and scans the neighboring
device.
[0071] At step 315, the wireless device receives, from the
neighboring device, a descriptor of the neighboring device. Devices
generate descriptors of the devices based on information regarding
the devices, prior to the scanning, and exchange the generated
descriptors with each other, on-demand or periodically. The
generated descriptors may be exchanged along with the messages of
the active scanning scheme and/or the passive scanning scheme.
[0072] Each of the descriptors may include, for example, an ID of a
corresponding device, information associated with a battery of the
device, a priority level of the device, a capability indicating
whether the device is capable of transmitting and/or receiving
energy, a current role of the device, a cooperativeness of the
device, and/or the like. The information associated with the
battery may include, for example, a power source, a battery level,
and/or an expected lifetime.
[0073] Additionally, the wireless device or the neighboring device
may process the exchanged descriptors, and may generate a neighbor
table. For example, when the descriptor of the at neighboring
device is received, the wireless device may add, to the descriptor
of the neighboring device, information on a strength of a signal
received from the neighboring device, and information on an amount
of time elapsed after the descriptor of the neighboring device is
received. The wireless device may generate the neighbor table to
include the descriptor of the neighboring device with this
additional information.
[0074] The information on the strength of the received signal may
include, for example, a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).
Additionally, the information on the amount of the time elapsed may
be represented by, for example, a freshness based on an information
reception time.
[0075] Table 1 illustrates an example of a neighbor table. Values
described below are merely examples, and other values may be used
depending on the situation.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Battery Life- Power level time Priority
Capa- Current Cooper- Fresh- ID RSSI source (%) (hours) level
bility role ativeness ness 0x0001 20 Battery 50 9 2 TRX Supplier
True 3 0x0003 30 Battery 70 7 2 TRX Consumer True 10
[0076] In Table 1, the ID indicates information used to identify
devices, and may include, for example, a value of 16 bits assigned
in advance, or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) address of 6 bytes assigned in advance. A local address may
be assigned in a similar manner as an assignment of an Internet
Protocol (IP) address by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP), and may also be used as the ID.
[0077] The RSSI indicates a signal strength in dBm of a device that
is received by another device, and may be a value obtained by
adding a predetermined value as an offset to the strength of the
received signal. The power source in the information associated
with the battery indicates whether a device is currently operated
depending on a battery, or receives power supplied from a power
supply. For example, when a device among the wireless device and
the neighboring device is being operated by a power supply, the
device may function as an energy supplier preferentially.
[0078] The battery level indicates a value that represents a
currently available battery capacity by `%` with respect to a fully
charged battery capacity. Additionally, the lifetime indicates an
operation time expected based on a remaining battery capacity, a
currently-used battery capacity, and/or the like.
[0079] The priority level indicates a preference selected by a
user, and may be assigned based on a characteristic of a device.
When there is no separate user input designating an energy sharing
of a device, the priority level may be used to determine a priority
for energy supply, namely, power transmission. For example, a
Personal Multimedia Player (PMP) and a smartphone may be wireless
devices that desire to share energy. In this example, a high
priority level may be assigned to the smartphone to mainly use the
smartphone as an energy consumer. When a battery level of the
smartphone falls below a predetermined level, the smartphone may
generate an alarm or transmit a message to a user via a User
Interface (UI) and/or the like, based on the high priority level.
Additionally, the PMP may automatically transmit power of the PMP
to the smartphone, so that the power may be supplied to the battery
of the smartphone based on the high priority level.
[0080] The capability indicates whether a wireless device is
capable of transmitting and/or receiving energy, for example,
power. The current role indicates whether a device currently
functions as an energy supplier or as an energy consumer, or
indicates a state in which no role is assigned.
[0081] The cooperativeness indicates whether a device participates
in sharing of energy, namely, energy supply, through power
transmission, or participates in receiving of energy. In an
example, when a device participates in only sharing of energy, the
cooperativeness may be set to `True`. In another example, when a
device participates in only receiving of energy, the
cooperativeness may be set to `False`. Since the cooperativeness of
each device in Table 1 is set to `True`, both of the devices
function as energy suppliers to share energy.
[0082] The freshness indicates how much time has elapsed after a
descriptor of a corresponding device is received. Each device may
increase a count value, for example, every time a predetermined
period of time elapses after a descriptor of the corresponding
device is received. For example, when a new descriptor is received,
the freshness may indicate an amount of time elapsed after the new
descriptor is received, by resetting the count value.
[0083] For example, when a user requests to share energy between
the wireless device and a neighboring device scanned by the
wireless device, the wireless device determines whether it is
necessary to immediately share energy between the wireless device
and the neighboring device. In this example, the user may instruct,
via a UI, the wireless device to simultaneously perform sharing of
energy and scanning of a neighboring device.
[0084] To determine whether it is necessary to immediately share
the energy, the wireless device checks a battery level and a
lifetime of the wireless device and the neighboring device. At step
320, the wireless device computes a difference in the battery level
or a difference in the lifetime between the wireless device and the
neighboring device. The battery level and the lifetime may be
included in each of the descriptor of the wireless device and the
descriptor of the neighboring device.
[0085] At step 325, the wireless device determines whether the
difference in the battery level or the difference in the lifetime
corresponds to (e.g., is greater than or equal to) a predetermined
threshold. When the difference in the battery level or the
difference in the lifetime corresponds to the predetermined
threshold, the wireless device performs the step 330. Otherwise,
the wireless device performs the step 305 again.
[0086] In more detail, when the difference in the battery level or
the difference in the lifetime is less than the predetermined
threshold, the wireless device examines a new result of the
determining in step 325 based on a change in the descriptor of the
wireless device. That is, the wireless device postpones power
transmission until the difference in the battery level or the
difference in the lifetime reaches the predetermined threshold.
[0087] At step 330, the wireless device determines that it is
necessary to immediately share the energy between the wireless
device and the neighboring device. At step 335, when the difference
in the battery level or the difference in the lifetime is equal to
or greater than the predetermined threshold, or when charging of
one of the devices is started by a power supply, the wireless
device determines a role of each of the devices as an energy
supplier or an energy consumer. In other words, the wireless device
determines the role of the wireless device, and a role of the
neighboring device.
[0088] A role as an energy supplier or an energy consumer may be
determined based on a designation of a user of the wireless device,
the descriptor of the wireless device, and/or a predetermined rule.
For example, the predetermined rule may indicate that a device
connected to a power supply is to be determined as an energy
supplier. In another example, the predetermined rule may indicate
that when devices are operated on batteries, a device with a
longest expected lifetime among the devices is to be determined as
an energy supplier.
[0089] When a role of each device is determined, the wireless
device determines an energy transmission scheme to share energy
between an energy supplier and an energy consumer. At step 340, the
wireless device determines whether at least two energy consumers
exist among the at least one neighboring device. When at least two
energy consumers exist, the wireless device performs step 345.
Otherwise, the wireless device performs step 350.
[0090] At step 345 the wireless device determines the energy
transmission scheme by assigning different frequencies or different
time slots to the energy consumers. respectively. For example, the
assigning may be performed by dividing a time for the energy
consumers when sharing the same frequency. To assign resources such
as time, frequencies, and/or the like, a round-robin based fair
assignment scheme, an asymmetric assignment scheme based on a
request of each wireless device, and/or the like may be used. The
wireless device transmits the energy to the energy consumers based
on the assigned frequencies or time slots.
[0091] At step 350, the wireless device determines whether at least
two energy suppliers exist among the at least one neighboring
device. When at least two energy suppliers exist, the wireless
device performs step 355. Otherwise, the wireless device performs
step 360.
[0092] The wireless device may independently transmit energy to
each of the energy consumers by changing an energy transmission
channel and energy transmission time, or may simultaneously
transmit energy to the energy consumers using a cooperative scheme.
Thus, it may be possible to improve a transmission efficiency.
Accordingly, at step 355, the wireless device determines the energy
transmission scheme so that the energy suppliers transmit energy
independent or cooperatively. That is, the energy suppliers may
change an energy transmission channel and energy transmission time,
and may independently transmit the energy to each of the consumers.
Alternatively, the energy suppliers may cooperate with each other,
and may simultaneously transmit the energy to each of the
consumers.
[0093] At step 360, the wireless device shares energy with the at
least one neighboring device based on the energy transmission
scheme. When energy sharing is started between the wireless device
and the at least one neighboring device, and a preset condition is
satisfied, energy transmission may be interrupted, and the wireless
device may wait until a new condition to restart the energy sharing
is satisfied. In an example, when the difference in the battery
level or the different in the lifetime drops below the
predetermined threshold, the wireless device may wait until the new
condition to restart the energy sharing is satisfied, by repeatedly
performing steps 305 through 325, or steps 310 through 325, until
the difference in the battery level or the different in the
lifetime corresponds to the predetermined threshold.
[0094] In another example, when a new neighboring device is added
in the energy sharing environment, when a neighboring device moves
further than a predetermined distance from the wireless device
(e.g., out of the energy sharing environment), or when a power
source is changed, the wireless device may wait until the new
condition to restart energy sharing is satisfied, by repeatedly
performing steps 305 through 325, or steps 310 through 325. In
still another example, when a neighboring device with a new power
supply enters the energy sharing environment due to movement of a
user and/or the like, while the wireless device with an active
power supply supplies power as an energy supplier, the wireless
device may detect the new neighboring device. The new neighboring
device may be detected using a predetermined method, for example, a
change in a resonance, messages exchanged using a separate circuit,
and/or the like. In this example, a role of each of the devices may
be maintained as an energy supplier or an energy consumer, or may
be changed, by changing a used channel or a transmission time.
[0095] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a module configured to
transmit or receive energy using a resonance coupling scheme in a
wireless device. The wireless device includes the module configured
to wirelessly transmit power using the resonance coupling scheme.
The wireless device transmits or receives energy, depending on
which circuit is connected to a switch 410 in the module. In an
example in which the switch 410 is connected to a circuit 420, the
wireless device transmits power to at least one neighboring device,
so that energy is supplied. In other words, the wireless device
functions as an energy supplier.
[0096] In another example in which the switch 410 is connected to a
circuit 430, the wireless device receives power from the
neighboring device. In other words, the wireless device functions
as an energy consumer. The wireless device uses the resonance
coupling scheme to separately configure (e.g., perform impedance
matching for) a transmitter and a receiver.
[0097] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a module configured to
transmit or receive energy using a resonator isolation scheme in a
wireless device. The wireless device includes the module configured
to wirelessly transmit power using the resonator isolation scheme.
The wireless device transmits or receives energy, depending on
which circuit is connected to a switch 510 in the module. In an
example in which the switch 510 is connected to a circuit 520, the
wireless device transmits power to at least one neighboring device,
so that energy may be supplied. In other words, the wireless device
functions as an energy supplier.
[0098] In another example in which the switch 510 is connected to a
circuit 530, the wireless device receives power from the
neighboring device. In other words, the wireless device functions
as an energy consumer. The wireless device uses the resonator
isolation scheme to separately configure a transmitter and a
receiver.
[0099] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an energy sharing apparatus
600 of a wireless device. The energy sharing apparatus 600 includes
a scanning unit 610, a role determining unit 620, a transmission
scheme determining unit 630, a sharing unit 640, and a transceiving
unit 650.
[0100] The scanning unit 610 scans at least one neighboring device.
The neighboring device is configured to wirelessly share data or
energy with the wireless device, as described above.
[0101] The role determining unit 620 determines a role of the
wireless device, as either an energy supplier or an energy
consumer, between the wireless device and the neighboring device.
The transmission scheme determining unit 630 determines an energy
transmission scheme to share energy between the energy supplier and
the energy consumer.
[0102] The transceiving unit 650 transmits and/or receives data
and/or energy to and/or from the neighboring device. The sharing
unit 640 shares energy with the neighboring device based on the
energy transmission scheme. The examples described herein with
reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 may be applied to the example
illustrated in FIG. 6.
[0103] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a wireless device 700
including an energy sharing apparatus. The wireless device 700
includes a power source detector and manager (power source
detector/manager) 710, a controller 720, a wireless power
transceiver 730, a data storage 740, and a power source unit
750.
[0104] The power source detector/manager 710 selects a power source
for the wireless device 700, and/or monitors a level of a battery
755 in the power source unit 750. The controller 720 determines
whether to transmit and/or receive power to and/or from at least
one neighboring device, and controls an operation of transmitting
and/or receiving of power. For example, the controller 720 predicts
power consumption of the wireless device 700, manages the
neighboring device, and determines whether to transmit and/or
receive power between the wireless device 700 and the neighboring
device, if necessary. Additionally, the controller 720 analyzes a
state of a peripheral device through scanning, predicts a lifetime
of the peripheral device, and transmits information regarding a
lifetime of the wireless device 700, and/or information used to
determine roles of devices. Subsequently, the controller 720
determines a role of the wireless device 700 and a role of the
peripheral device, and performs a control operation to actually
transmit and/or receive power between the wireless device 700 and
the peripheral device.
[0105] The wireless power transceiver 730 wirelessly transmits
and/or receives power, so that energy is shared between the
wireless device 700 and the neighboring device or the peripheral
device. Additionally, the wireless power transceiver 730 transmits
and/or receives data that is used to control and manage the
wireless device 700.
[0106] The above-described elements of the energy sharing apparatus
600 of FIG. 6 may be appropriately included in the power source
detector/manager 710, the controller 720, and/or the like, and may
perform their corresponding functions. Additionally, the
transceiving unit 650 of FIG. 6 may function as the wireless power
transceiving unit 730.
[0107] The data storage 740 records data, and/or stores
information, such as, for example, performance of a battery. The
data is collected to determine whether to transmit and/or receive
power in a device, e.g., the wireless device 700.
[0108] The power source unit 750 functions to supply a power source
to a device, e.g., the wireless device 700. The power source unit
750 includes a power supply 751 and the battery 755. The power
supply 751 supplies power stably via a plug and/or the like.
[0109] FIG. 8 illustrates an example in which a separate wireless
module configured to transmit and receive data used to determine
whether to transmit and receive power, is added to a wireless
device 800 including an energy sharing apparatus. In more detail,
the wireless device 800 is configured by dividing the wireless
power transceiver 730 of FIG. 7 into a wireless data transceiver
830 and a wireless power transceiver 840. The wireless data
transceiver 830 transmits and/or receives, to and/or from other
wireless devices, data used to determine whether to transmit and/or
receive power, namely, energy, between the wireless device 800 and
the other wireless devices.
[0110] A power source detector/manager 810, a controller 820, a
data storage 850, a power source unit 860, a power supply 861, and
a battery 865 of FIG. 8 may perform the same operations as those of
the power source detector/manager 710, the controller 720, the data
storage 740, the power source unit 750, the power supply 751, and
the battery 755 of FIG. 7, respectively. Accordingly, the example
described herein with reference to FIG. 7 may be applied to the
example illustrated in FIG. 8.
[0111] FIG. 9 illustrates an example in which an energy harvester
963 is added to a power source unit 960 in a wireless device 900
including an energy sharing apparatus. The energy harvester 963
harvests energy, using, for example, a solar heat, a vibration, a
temperature difference, and/or the like, and generates energy,
namely, power. The generated energy, namely, power is supplied to
the wireless device 900 or at least one neighboring device.
[0112] A power source detector/manager 910, a controller 920, a
wireless data transceiver 930, a wireless power transceiver 940, a
data storage 950, a power supply 961, and a battery 965 of FIG. 9
may perform the same operations as those of the power source
detector/manager 710, the controller 720, the wireless data
transceiver 830, the wireless power transceiver 730, the data
storage 740, the power supply 751, and the battery 755 of FIGS. 7
and 8, respectively. Accordingly the example described herein with
reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 may be applied to the example
illustrated in FIG. 9.
[0113] FIG. 10 illustrates an electric vehicle charging system.
Referring to FIG. 10, an electric vehicle charging system 1800
includes a source system 1810, a source resonator 1820, a target
resonator 1830, a target system 1840, and an electric vehicle
battery 1850.
[0114] The source system 1810 and the source resonator 1820 in the
electric vehicle charging system 1800 may function as a source.
Additionally, the target resonator 1830 and the target system 1840
in the electric vehicle charging system 1800 may function as a
target.
[0115] The source system 1810 may include an alternating
current-to-direct current (AC/DC) converter, a power detector, a
power converter, and a control/communication unit. The target
system 1840 may include a rectification unit, a DC-to-DC (DC/DC)
converter, a switch unit, a charging unit, and a
control/communication unit. The electric vehicle battery 1850 may
be charged by the target system 1840. The electric vehicle charging
system 1800 may use a resonant frequency in a band of a few
kilohertz (KHz) to tens of MHz.
[0116] The source system 1810 may generate power, based on a type
of charging vehicle, a capacity of a battery, and a charging state
of a battery, and may supply the generated power to the target
system 1840. The source system 1810 may control the source
resonator 1820 and the target resonator 1830 to be aligned. For
example, when the source resonator 1820 and the target resonator
1830 are not aligned, the controller of the source system 1810 may
transmit a message to the target system 1840, and may control
alignment between the source resonator 1820 and the target
resonator 1830.
[0117] For example, when the target resonator 1830 is not located
in a position enabling maximum magnetic resonance, the source
resonator 1820 and the target resonator 1830 may not be aligned.
When a vehicle does not stop accurately, the source system 1810 may
induce a position of the vehicle to be adjusted, and may control
the source resonator 1820 and the target resonator 1830 to be
aligned. The source system 1810 and the target system 1840 may
transmit or receive an ID of a vehicle, or may exchange various
messages, through communication.
[0118] The descriptions of FIGS. 2 through 9 may be applied to the
electric vehicle charging system 1800. However, the electric
vehicle charging system 1800 may use a resonant frequency in a band
of a few KHz to tens of MHz, and may transmit power that is equal
to or higher than tens of watts to charge the electric vehicle
battery 1850.
[0119] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a wireless power
transmission method of an electric vehicle. In FIG. 11, wireless
power transmission may be performed between electric vehicles.
[0120] A first electric vehicle 1910 may be operated in a power
transmission mode, and a second electric vehicle 1920 may be
operated in a power reception mode. The first electric vehicle 1910
may further include a source resonator 1930 operated in the power
transmission mode, and the second electric vehicle 1920 may further
include a target resonator 1940 operated in the power reception
mode.
[0121] Additionally, the wireless power transmission between the
first electric vehicle 1910 and the second electric vehicle 1920
may be performed via repeaters 1950 and 1960. The first electric
vehicle 1910 may perform the wireless power transmission using an
external power source, or using power used to charge a battery.
[0122] According to the teachings above, there is provided a method
and apparatus in which energy may be shared, and thus, it may be
possible to maximize a service time of an application, and/or a
lifetime of a wireless device operated using at least one battery.
Additionally, energy may be shared between different wireless
devices that enable energy sharing, and thus, it may be possible to
maximize an execution time of a predetermined application of a
predetermined device.
[0123] Furthermore, since energy may be shared between different
wireless devices that enable energy sharing, it may be possible to
support a service of a predetermined wireless device by
transmitting a minimum amount of energy, despite a lack of power of
the predetermined wireless device. Moreover, it may be possible to
define a unit of an energy transmission amount to transmit and/or
receive energy between different wireless devices that enable
energy sharing, and it may be possible to support a service of
renting, selling and buying energy between devices possessed by
different users.
[0124] The units described herein may be implemented using hardware
components and software components. For example, the hardware
components may include microphones, amplifiers, band-pass filters,
audio to digital convertors, and processing devices. A processing
device may be implemented using one or more general-purpose or
special purpose computers, such as, for example, a processor, a
controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signal
processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable array, a
programmable logic unit, a microprocessor or any other device
capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined
manner The processing device may run an operating system (OS) and
one or more software applications that run on the OS. The
processing device also may access, store, manipulate, process, and
create data in response to execution of the software. For purpose
of simplicity, the description of a processing device is used as
singular; however, one skilled in the art will appreciated that a
processing device may include multiple processing elements and
multiple types of processing elements. For example, a processing
device may include multiple processors or a processor and a
controller. In addition, different processing configurations are
possible, such a parallel processors.
[0125] The software may include a computer program, a piece of
code, an instruction, or some combination thereof, for
independently or collectively instructing or configuring the
processing device to operate as desired. Software and data may be
embodied permanently or temporarily in any type of machine,
component, physical or virtual equipment, computer storage medium
or device, or in a propagated signal wave capable of providing
instructions or data to or being interpreted by the processing
device. The software also may be distributed over network coupled
computer systems so that the software is stored and executed in a
distributed fashion. In particular, the software and data may be
stored by one or more computer readable recording mediums The
computer readable recording medium may include any data storage
device that can store data which can be thereafter read by a
computer system or processing device. Examples of the
non-transitory computer readable recording medium include read-only
memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes,
floppy disks, optical data storage devices. Also, functional
programs, codes, and code segments for accomplishing the example
embodiments disclosed herein can be easily construed by programmers
skilled in the art to which the embodiments pertain based on and
using the flow diagrams and block diagrams of the figures and their
corresponding descriptions as provided herein.
[0126] As a non-exhaustive illustration only, a device described
herein may refer to mobile devices such as a cellular phone, a
personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a portable game
console, and an MP3 player, a portable/personal multimedia player
(PMP), a handheld e-book, a portable laptop PC, a global
positioning system (GPS) navigation, a tablet, a sensor, and
devices such as a desktop PC, a high definition television (HDTV),
an optical disc player, a setup box, a home appliance, and the like
that are capable of wireless communication or network communication
consistent with that which is disclosed herein.
[0127] A computing system or a computer may include a
microprocessor that is electrically connected with a bus, a user
interface, and a memory controller. It may further include a flash
memory device. The flash memory device may store N-bit data via the
memory controller. The N-bit data is processed or will be processed
by the microprocessor and N may be 1 or an integer greater than 1.
Where the computing system or computer is a mobile apparatus, a
battery may be additionally provided to supply operation voltage of
the computing system or computer. It will be apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art that the computing system or computer may
further include an application chipset, a camera image processor
(CIS), a mobile Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and the like.
The memory controller and the flash memory device may constitute a
solid state drive/disk (SSD) that uses a non-volatile memory to
store data.
[0128] A number of examples have been described above.
Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may
be made. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the
described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if
components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit
are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented
by other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other
implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *