Patent Application
20110063119
The present invention generally relates to battery technology, and more particularly relates to user interfaces for rechargeable batteries used in conjunction with mobile devices in which the device communicates to the user the status of specific battery parameters.
Mobile devices (or “terminals”), such as hand-held computers, RF scanners, and the like, are used in a variety of contexts and may be employed for an extended length of time before their battery cells are recharged. Accordingly, at the start of a work shift, it is common for users of such devices to check a mobile device's battery level to ensure that the battery has enough charge to power the device for the full shift. In this regard, there are three primary aspects important for gaining a complete picture of battery level: (1) charging status; (2) the state of charge; and (3) the health of the battery.
Current methods of accessing these attributes of a battery are unsatisfactory in a number of respects. For example, acquiring the relevant battery information is often costly and time-consuming due to time requirements, misinterpretation, and/or lack of information. Furthermore, additional equipment is often required to access the battery state.
The task of determining a battery's health may be accomplished in a variety of ways. Smart battery ICs used in some battery designs are capable of collecting information regarding its state of charge and state of health; however, this information is typically accessible only through communication with a handheld terminal or a dedicated charger.
Furthermore, indicating the charging status of a battery is typically performed with an LED or series of LEDs on the charger or terminal. Depending on the physical location of the LEDs in relation to battery, the meaning of the observed visual cues may be easily misinterpreted.
One of the most common methods of accessing the state of health involves the use of ad hoc markings, such as an “entered service” date, that is written on the battery to estimate the number of charge cycles. Alternatively, additional equipment such as a terminal, or a system tied into terminals, may gather battery parameter information from the Smart IC.
The ad hoc marking method can be implemented on a deployment-by-deployment or a site-by-site basis, but it ultimately provides no guarantee of accuracy or consistency. The software on the terminal or tie-in to a back-end system is typically not available at the point where an end-user can make use of it. Thus, none of the prior art methods provide users with quick and unambiguous information about the state of a battery at the point when those users need the information to make decisions regarding which batteries to use.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods of presenting to a user the state of health and charge of a battery within a mobile device, and as a stand alone battery. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, A rechargeable battery includes a housing having an external surface; a battery cell within the housing, the battery cell having a state of charge, and a state of health; a processor disposed within the housing, the processor configured to store and display the state of charge and the state of health of the battery cell; and a user interface region provided on the external surface of the housing, the user interface region including a plurality of visual components configured to provide a plurality of visual cues relating to the charging status, the state of charge, and the state of health of the battery cell. In a particular embodiment, the plurality of visual components includes a persistent display, an on-demand display, and an input component. The input component may be used to select the manner in which the visual cues are provided. In various embodiments, a charger, mobile device, or other accessory determines the charging status and communicates this information to the battery for display.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in conjunction with the following figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the figures.
The following discussion generally relates to improved methods and apparatus for a battery user interface (UI) applicable to mobile devices. In that regard, the following detailed description is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. For the purposes of conciseness, conventional techniques and principles related to batteries, common LEDs, LCDs, and other display elements, and the like need not and will not be described herein.
Referring to
More particularly, “charging status” as used herein refers, generally, to whether the battery is fully charged, is in the process of charging, and/or whether a charging error has occurred. The term “state of charge” refers to the ratio of the total charge in the battery to a capacity metric—i.e., either (a) the nominal capacity for which the battery is specified, (b) the minimum capacity for which the battery is specified, or (c) the maximum capacity that the battery could hold if it were fully charged. The term “state of health” refers to either (a) whether the total charge current supplied to the battery over its existence divided by any one of the three state of charge denominators cited above exceeds a given threshold; or (b) whether the tested capacity of the battery divided by any of the three state of charge ratios cited above falls below a predetermined threshold. Under conventional testing conditions, these measurements are performed at 25° C. and at currents equal to the nominal capacity of the battery pack divided by 5.0 hours; however, other testing conditions may be employed.
A user interface region 110 is provided on external surface 104 of housing 102. The user interface region no includes a plurality of components (112, 114, 116, etc.) configured to provide a plurality of visual cues relating to the charging status, the state of charge, and the state of health of the battery cell, and to allow user interaction with the interface.
In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in
Persistent display 114 includes any display element that is refreshed but does not require additional energy to maintain the state of its image. Such a display might include, for example, a digital ink display as is known in the art. In the illustrated embodiment, persistent display 114 includes an element whose length (either continuous length or segmented length) is proportional to some attribute of battery cell 109 (e.g., its state of charge). The present invention comprehends a variety of such shapes and configurations, including circles, rings, polygons, or any other combination of such shapes.
On-demand display 112 includes any display element that is active in that it requires energy to maintain its state, and thus is typically selectively activated. In one embodiment, for example, on-demand display 112 corresponds to a multi-color LED whose color may be used to provide visual cues relating to an attribute of the battery, such as state of health and/or charge status. On-demand display 112 may be activated, in some contexts, via selection of input component 116.
Input component 116 includes any type of switch, button, dial, sensor, or any other device configured to allow input from a user. In one embodiment, input component 116 comprises a momentary-contact button as is known in the art.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the visual cues provided by the user interface no are dependent upon the location of battery 100. That is, under normal conditions, the battery is typically located in one of three locations and has one of three major states—i.e.: inserted within a charger (to facilitate charging when the mobile device is not being operated), inserted within a mobile device (to facilitate charging or supply power for mobile computer operation), or stand-alone (inserted within neither the charger nor the mobile device and is neither charging nor discharging). In this regard, as used herein, the term “charger” refers to any apparatus that actually charges the battery (i.e., includes a charging circuit), rather than simply a device that provides power to a such a charging circuit.
In the illustrated embodiment, when the location corresponds to within a charger, the visual cues of the on-demand active display 112 may be configured such that they correspond to the charge status and the state of health of battery 100 while the battery is in the charger. At the same time, the visual cues of the persistent display 114 correspond to the state of charge and state of health. As the charger can supply power to the battery to power its display, the on-demand display 112 may optionally remain on while the battery is in the charger, regardless of the state of the button.
Such an embodiment is shown in
Also as indicated in
Further in accordance with the illustrated embodiment, when the battery is inserted within a mobile device, the visual cues of the on-demand display 112 may correspond to the charge status and the state of health. Alternatively, the on-demand display 112 may be rendered inactive while the battery is in the mobile device. At the same time, the visual cues of the persistent display 114 correspond to the state of charge and state of health. It is therefore preferred that surface 104 is exposed to the user even when seated within the mobile device.
Referring to
Finally, when the battery 100 is in the stand-alone mode, the visual cues of the on-demand display correspond to the state of health, and the visual cues of the persistent display correspond to the state of charge and state of health. Referring to
Microprocessor 604 and interface 604 together determine and communicate the various types of information described above. In general, the terminal will determine the battery state of health and store it within the battery. This state of health can then be read by a mobile device or by the charging accessory device. When installed in a device, the device and battery work together to establish the battery state of charge, which may then be displayed by the battery. If the battery is not connected to a device, the battery can calculate and display its state of charge by itself.
When the battery is connected to a device, the charger in that device determines charging status (charging, charged, or charging error) and can display that information and communicate it to the battery for display. The mobile computer will generally have all battery data available at its disposal for display to the user and for communication to an enterprise server or the like.
Processor 604 is preferably configured to be programmed and updated via interface 602. In this way, as refined algorithms are developed, fielded batteries can take advantage of these upgrades and settings in a way that is transparent to the user.
It will be appreciated that a user interface as described is advantageous in that the state of the battery is presented wholly by the battery itself, and does not require a user interface on the charging equipment. Furthermore, locating the user interface on the battery prevents any confusion about, for example, which information belongs to which battery. When the battery is inserted within the mobile device, the user interface provides an alternate way of accessing the battery information without using the mobile device, which may or may not have access to the battery state. In this way, the user can quickly and unambiguously determine the charging status, state of charge, and state of health of batteries regardless of whether those batteries are located in chargers, in terminals, or are stand-alone, and without incurring the cost of additional equipment.
Note also that the system described above does not merely report charge cycles, but is preferably configured to determine the “health” of the battery based on a centrally determined threshold and the cycle count of each battery.
While at least one example embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the example embodiment or embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient and edifying road map for implementing the described embodiment or embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention and the legal equivalents thereof.
