Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Battery or cell charging – With current sensing to detect proper battery connection
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-23
2002-04-16
Toatley, Gregory (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Battery or cell charging
With current sensing to detect proper battery connection
C340S636210, C455S573000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06373229
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related generally to battery charging and, in particular, to the charging of batteries used in portable devices such as cellular telephones.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Advances in integrated circuit and battery technology have enabled the ongoing reduction in the size of many electronic devices, such as cellular telephones. Among the advantages of this size reduction are reduced manufacturing costs, reduced power consumption and enhanced convenience for the user. For example, the original cellular phones were not unlike traditional military CB radios and, as such were large and heavy. By contrast, cellular phones now on the market are so small as to be able to be carried comfortably in one's pocket or purse.
Portable rechargeable electronic devices such as cellular telephones must be connected to a power supply to recharge their batteries. It is possible for these devices to employ some form of warning signal such as a beeping tone, warning light or vibration that indicates when the battery requires re-charging. These systems can be deployed as integral parts of the portable device or as part of the battery pack of the portable device. The aforementioned warning systems are effective, however, only when the warning signal is perceived by the user so that the device can be re-connected to its re-charging supply. Thus when the user is not in close proximity to the device when the warning signal sounds—for example, when the phone is left turned on in a purse or coat pocket that is hung in a closet at the end of a day—the device may discharge its battery completely, thereby leaving it useless when needed.
The disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,011, hereby incorporated by reference, is directed to a battery charging warning system that overcomes this problem. In particular, it was recognized that it is advantageous to provide a warning capability not only at the portable device but also at the battery charging system. In a particular embodiment disclosed in that patent, the battery charger system generates an alarm signal if the battery is not present in the charger at a particular preset time of day, such as the user's accustomed bedtime. The user is thus prompted to retrieve the portable device from her purse, or wherever it is, and to place it in the charger so that it will be fully charged for use the following morning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The embodiments disclosed in the '011 patent involve either a) incorporating all the circuitry needed for implementation of a warning system into the battery charger itself, or b) at a minimum, using a “battery present” indicator lead to connect the battery charger to an alarm clock or the like. A user whose battery charging system does not have the necessary circuitry, or at least the “battery present” indicator lead, would thus have to purchase a new charger base in order to be availed of the described warning functionality. Moreover, the manufacturer(s) of battery chargers compatible with the user's particular portable device and/or battery pack, may have not seen fit to incorporate such circuitry into the charger design.
The present invention is directed to a battery charger warning system that overcomes this problem. In particular, the present invention is directed to a battery charger warning system that provides the same functionality as the embodiments disclosed in the '011 patent, but has the further advantage that it is a stand-alone system to which a standard battery charger of any portable device can be connected. Specifically, the battery charger warning system of the present invention is adapted to be plugged into an electrical outlet and has a receptacle into which the battery charger for a portable device can then be plugged. Once the battery charger for the portable device is connected to the warning system, the system can determine whether or not the battery is presently in the charger. It illustratively does this by detecting electrical current flow to the battery charger, or the lack thereof, that current being battery charging current and/or current being drawn by a battery-present indicator in the charger, such as a light emitting diode (LED) that lights up when the battery is placed in the charger. A warning will be sounded only if the battery is in the charger when the user-established preset time criterion has been met.
If desired, the user can be freed from having to manually set the current time of day in particular embodiments by having the warning system include circuitry that automatically sets and updates the time of day by maintaining wireless synchronization with a radio service such as one of the Coordinated Universal Time clocks, such as the National Atomic Time (NAT) clock located in Boulder, Colo. The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology transmits the time measured by this clock via radio broadcast from Fort Collins, Colo. specifically for synchronization with consumer devices such as the warning system of the present invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5867797 (1999-02-01), Hashimoto
patent: 6014011 (2000-01-01), Defelice et al.
Herring David W.
Lucent Technologies - Inc.
Toatley Gregory
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