Battery pack with a monitoring circuit for a known system
US5641587A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 15, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 15, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E60/10
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A removable battery pack for powering a pen-based or portable computer system in which the battery pack blocks its terminals when inserted into an unknown system. The known system includes a power supply microcontroller which passes battery charge data back and forth between a memory located in the battery pack and the power supply microcontroller. A battery microcontroller, located in the battery pack, eavesdrops drops on the communication between the power supply microcontroller and the memory, and when it validates a known signature of this communication, the battery microcontroller then enables the terminals of the battery pack. A trickle discharge current flows from the battery pack whenever the battery pack is out of the known system to allow the power supply microcontroller to power up in the case of a dead auxiliary battery.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.