Electronic device and battery protection method

Abstract

An electronic device and a battery protection method, the electronic device comprises a charging and discharging circuit, a battery, a system and a processor, wherein the charging and discharging circuit selectively operates in a power mode or a battery mode, the battery is coupled to the charging and discharging circuit and has an overheat protection condition, the system is coupled to the charging and discharging circuit, when the charging and discharging circuit operates in an AC mode, the processor detects whether the overheat protection condition is reached, when the detection result reaches the overheat protection condition, the processor estimates whether the battery current of the battery exceeds the battery current protection threshold value according to the system wattage of the system, when the estimated result is that it will exceed the current protection threshold value, the processor reduces the system wattage of the system, and after reducing the system wattage, forces the charging and discharging circuit to switch from the power mode to the battery mode. Using the electronic device and the battery protection method of the present invention, the battery can be prevented from swelling due to high temperature, and the battery can be prevented from shutting down or being damaged due to overcurrent.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to a battery protection technology, and in particular to an electronic device and a battery protection method which can avoid damage to the battery life. [Background technology]

[0002] Batteries can be used to store electrical energy and provide the stored electrical energy to the device they are equipped with. In order to meet the public's demand for the portability of electronic devices, more and more electronic devices are equipped with batteries as their power source. In particular, rechargeable secondary batteries have a wider range of applications.

[0003] Temperature has a profound impact on the safety of battery use. When electronic products are exposed to high temperatures, the battery may expand due to the high temperature, and eventually even explode or burn, causing serious damage. Therefore, traditional electronic devices will directly discharge the battery when exposed to high temperatures to avoid damage caused by battery expansion. [Summary of the invention]

[0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a battery protection method. The battery protection method includes detecting whether the overheat protection condition of the battery is reached when the charging and discharging circuit is in the power mode, estimating whether the battery current of the battery exceeds the current protection threshold of the battery according to the system wattage of the system when the overheat protection condition is reached, reducing the system wattage of the system when the estimated battery current exceeds the current protection threshold, and forcing the charging and discharging circuit to switch from the power mode to the battery mode after reducing the system wattage.

[0005] In one embodiment, the present invention provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a charging and discharging circuit, a battery, a system, and a processor. The charging and discharging circuit selectively operates in a power mode or a battery mode. The battery is coupled to the charging and discharging circuit and has an overheat protection condition. The system is coupled to the charging and discharging circuit. When the charging and discharging circuit operates in the power mode, the processor detects whether the overheat protection condition is reached. When the overheat protection condition is reached, the processor estimates whether the battery current of the battery exceeds the current protection threshold of the battery based on the system wattage of the system. When the current protection threshold is exceeded, the processor reduces the system wattage of the system, and forces the charging and discharging circuit to switch from the power mode to the battery mode after reducing the system wattage.

[0006] In summary, the electronic device and battery protection method of the embodiment of the present invention can predict whether the battery current will exceed the current protection threshold when the battery temperature is detected to reach the overheat protection condition in the power mode, and when the prediction result is that the battery current will exceed the current protection threshold, the system wattage is first reduced and then forced to switch to the battery mode, so as to avoid the battery from swelling due to high temperature and also avoid the battery from shutting down or being damaged due to overcurrent. In addition, it can also ensure that after switching to the battery mode, the system can have enough battery current to maintain its stable operation.

[0007] The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail in the following embodiments, and the contents are sufficient to enable any person skilled in the relevant art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly. Moreover, according to the contents disclosed in this specification, the scope of the patent application and the drawings, any person skilled in the relevant art can easily understand the relevant purposes and advantages of the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a battery protection method.

[0010] Figure 3 for Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of step S20 in FIG. [Specific implementation method]

[0011] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more obvious and understandable, a detailed description is given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an electronic device. Figure 1 The electronic device 100 includes a charging and discharging circuit 110 , a battery 120 , a system 130 , and a processor 140 . The charging and discharging circuit 110 is coupled to the battery 120 , the system 130 , and the processor 140 , and the processor 140 is coupled to the battery 120 .

[0013] The battery 120 can be used to store electrical energy and provide the stored electrical energy to the electronic device 100, and thus can be used as one of the power sources to maintain the operation of the electronic device 100. In one embodiment, the battery 120 can be a single battery cell. In another embodiment, the battery 120 can include a plurality of battery cells, and these battery cells can be connected in series or in parallel according to the power supply specification of the battery 120. In some embodiments, the battery 120 can be implemented using a lithium-ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel-zinc battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, or other suitable types of energy storage elements.

[0014] In addition to the battery 120, the electronic device 100 can also operate with power supplied by another power supply. In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may include a power terminal 150. The power terminal 150 is coupled to the charging and discharging circuit 110, and the power terminal 150 can be used to connect a power input AC. Here, the power input AC is an external power supply, such as AC power. In some embodiments, the power input AC may be alternating current when it enters the power terminal 150 of the electronic device 100. In other embodiments, the power input AC is converted into direct current by an adapter before entering the power terminal 150 of the electronic device 100. In other words, the power input AC may also be direct current when it enters the power terminal 150 of the electronic device 100.

[0015] The charge-discharge circuit 110 can selectively operate in one of two operation modes, which are a power mode and a battery mode. In the power mode, the charge-discharge circuit 110 can establish a discharge path between the power terminal 150 and the system 130, so that the power input AC can supply power to the system 130 through this discharge path for operation. In addition, the charge-discharge circuit 110 can also establish a charging path between the power terminal 150 and the battery 120, so that the power input AC can charge the battery 120 through this charging path. In the battery mode, the charge-discharge circuit 110 establishes a discharge path between the battery 120 and the system 130, so that the battery 120 can supply power to the system 130 through this discharge path for operation. In some embodiments, the charge-discharge circuit 110 can be implemented by multiple switching elements, such as but not limited to transistors.

[0016] The processor 140 may be used to control the charge and discharge circuit 110. In some embodiments, the processor 140 may be implemented using a system on a chip (SoC), a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller (MCU), an embedded controller (EC), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application processor (AP), or any other electronic component with a computing and processing function.

[0017] In general, the processor 140 may cause the charge-discharge circuit 110 to operate in the power mode when the power terminal 150 is detected to be connected to the power input AC, and cause the charge-discharge circuit 110 to operate in the battery mode when the power terminal 150 is detected to be not connected to the power input AC. For example, assuming that the charge-discharge circuit 110 originally operates in the battery mode, the processor 140 may cause the charge-discharge circuit 110 to switch from the battery mode to the power mode when the power terminal 150 is detected to be connected to the power input AC. At this time, the charge-discharge circuit 110 will establish a discharge path between the power terminal 150 and the system 130, and disconnect the discharge path between the battery 120 and the system 130.

[0018] Under abnormal circumstances, such as when the electronic device 100 is in a high temperature state, the processor 140 of the electronic device 100 of any embodiment of the present invention can switch the operation mode of the charging and discharging circuit 110 to the battery mode according to the battery protection method of any embodiment of the present invention, so that the battery 120 can be discharged to prevent the battery 120 from being damaged. In addition, the execution of the battery protection method of any embodiment of the present invention can also prevent the system 130 from being instantly shut down due to insufficient current available from the battery 120 when the charging and discharging circuit 110 is switched to the battery mode because the current required current of the system 130 exceeds the current protection threshold of the battery 120, thereby further stabilizing the operation of the system 130.

[0019] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a battery protection method. Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the processor 140 may execute the battery protection method when the charging and discharging circuit 110 operates in the power mode. In one embodiment of the battery protection method, the processor 140 detects the battery temperature of the battery 120 when the charging and discharging circuit 110 is in the power mode to confirm whether the battery temperature reaches the overheat protection condition of the battery 120 (step S10). When the processor 140 determines that the battery temperature of the battery 120 has reached the overheat protection condition, the processor 140 may first obtain the current system wattage of the system 130, and estimate based on the system wattage whether the battery current of the battery 120 will exceed the current protection threshold of the battery 120 after the charging and discharging circuit 110 switches to the battery mode and the battery 120 supplies power to the system 130 (step S20).

[0020] When the processor 140 estimates that the battery current of the battery 120 will exceed the current protection threshold, it means that the current required current of the system 130 exceeds the current protection threshold. Therefore, at this time, the processor 140 can first cause the system 130 to reduce its system wattage (step S30) to reduce the current required current of the system 130. And, after the system wattage is reduced, the processor 140 forces the charging and discharging circuit 110 to switch from the power mode to the battery mode (step S40). Among them, forced switching to the battery mode means that even if the power terminal 150 is connected to the power input AC, the processor 140 will still cause the charging and discharging circuit 110 to switch to the battery mode.

[0021] When the processor 140 estimates that the battery current of the battery 120 will not exceed the current protection threshold, it means that the current required by the system 130 does not exceed the current protection threshold. Therefore, the processor 140 can directly switch the charging and discharging circuit 110 from the power mode to the battery mode.

[0022] In this way, when the battery temperature of the battery 120 is too high, the electronic device 100 can prevent the battery 120 from swelling by forcing the battery 120 to discharge. In addition, since the electronic device 100 ensures that the battery 120 can withstand the current required by the system 130 before forcing the battery 120 to discharge to the system 130, it can also prevent the battery 120 from shutting down or being damaged due to overcurrent, and also ensure that in the battery mode of the charging and discharging circuit 110, the system 130 can have sufficient battery current to maintain its stable operation.

[0023] In one embodiment of step S10, the electronic device 100 may further include a temperature sensing unit 160. The temperature sensing unit 160 is coupled to the battery 120 and the processor 140. The temperature sensing unit 160 may be used to sense the temperature of the battery 120, and the processor 140 may determine whether the overheat protection condition of the battery 120 is reached according to the battery temperature obtained by the temperature sensing unit 160.

[0024] In some embodiments, the temperature sensing unit 160 may be disposed inside the housing of the battery 120 to obtain the battery temperature inside the battery 120. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the temperature sensing unit 160 may also be disposed outside the housing of the battery 120, such as near the battery 120, to obtain the battery temperature of the external environment of the battery 120.

[0025] In some implementations, the temperature sensing unit 160 may be implemented using a thermistor, a temperature sensing chip, or other electronic components suitable for sensing temperature.

[0026] In one embodiment of step S10, the overheat protection condition of the battery 120 may include a temperature threshold. For example, after the processor 140 detects the battery temperature through the temperature sensing unit 160, it may compare the battery temperature with a preset protection temperature value to confirm whether the battery temperature exceeds the temperature threshold, such as 55 degrees (°C), but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the overheat protection condition of the battery 120 may also include a time threshold. For example, the processor 140 may continuously or at fixed intervals detect the battery temperature of the battery 120 through the temperature sensing unit 160 to confirm whether the battery temperature exceeds the temperature threshold and continues to exceed the time threshold, such as exceeding 55 degrees within 4 hours, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0027] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A flow chart of an embodiment of step S20 in FIG. Figures 1 to 3In one embodiment of step S20, the processor 140 may first detect the current system current of the system 130 (i.e., the current required current of the aforementioned system 130) (step S21), and calculate the current system wattage of the system 130 according to the power input voltage of the power input AC and the system current (step S22). Next, the processor 140 estimates the battery current that the battery 120 needs to provide when the power supply is changed to the battery 120 according to the system wattage obtained in step S22 and the battery voltage of the battery 120 (step S23). In some embodiments, the processor 140 may dynamically detect the battery voltage of the battery 120, for example, through a gauge IC, so the battery voltage obtained in step S23 may be the current voltage of the battery 120, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the processor 140 may also directly use the initial voltage of the battery 120 as the battery voltage in step S23. Afterwards, the processor 140 may compare the battery current obtained in step S23 with the current protection threshold (step S24 ) to confirm whether the battery current required to be provided by the battery 120 exceeds the current protection threshold when power is supplied by the battery 120 instead.

[0028] For example, assuming that the system current detected by the processor 140 in step S21 is 3 amperes (A) and the processor 140 knows that the power input voltage of the power input AC is 19 volts (V), the processor 140 can calculate in step S22 that the current system wattage of the system 130 is 57 watts (W). Next, the processor 140 can detect the battery voltage of the battery 120. For example, after detecting that the battery voltage is 13 volts, the processor 140 can estimate in step S23 that the battery current that the battery 120 needs to provide when the battery 120 supplies power is about 4.3 amperes. Assuming that the current protection threshold is 4 amperes, the processor 140 will determine in step S24 that the battery current is greater than the current protection threshold. Since the processor 140 estimates in step S20 that the battery current is greater than the current protection threshold, the processor 140 may first execute step S30, for example, causing the system wattage to drop from 57 watts to 40 watts, and then the processor 140 executes step S40 to ensure that the battery 120 can withstand the current required by the system 130 before forcing the battery 120 to discharge to the system 130.

[0029] In one embodiment of step S30, the processor 140 may reduce the system wattage by causing the electronic components in the system 130 to reduce the current demand. For example, the CPU may be operated at a lower frequency, the screen may be reduced in brightness, or the variable gain amplifier (VGA) may be reduced in wattage, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0030] In summary, the electronic device and battery protection method of the embodiment of the present invention can predict whether the battery current will exceed the current protection threshold when the battery temperature is detected to reach the overheat protection condition in the power mode, and when the prediction result is that the battery current will exceed the current protection threshold, the system wattage is first reduced and then forced to switch to the battery mode, so as to avoid the battery from swelling due to high temperature and also avoid the battery from shutting down or being damaged due to overcurrent. In addition, it can also ensure that after switching to the battery mode, the system can have enough battery current to maintain its stable operation.

[0031] Although the technical contents of the present invention have been disclosed as above in the preferred embodiments, they are not used to limit the present invention. Any slight changes and modifications made by anyone skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

Claims

1. An electronic device, characterized in that: Include: a charging and discharging circuit, selectively operating in a power mode or a battery mode; A battery, coupled to the charging and discharging circuit, having an overheat protection condition; a system coupled to the charging and discharging circuit; and a processor, when the charging and discharging circuit operates in the power mode, the processor detects whether the overheat protection condition is reached, when the overheat protection condition is reached, the processor estimates whether a battery current of the battery exceeds a current protection threshold of the battery according to a system wattage of the system, when the current protection threshold is exceeded, the processor reduces the system wattage of the system, and forces the charging and discharging circuit to switch from the power mode to the battery mode after reducing the system wattage; In which, in the power mode, the charge-discharge circuit establishes a discharge path between a power end and the system, so that the power end supplies power to the system through the discharge path; in the battery mode, the charge-discharge circuit establishes another discharge path between the battery and the system, so that the battery supplies power to the system through the another discharge path.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: When the processor estimates that the battery current does not exceed the current protection threshold, the processor causes the charge and discharge circuit to switch from the power mode to the battery mode.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor detects whether the overheat protection condition is reached according to whether the battery temperature of the battery exceeds a temperature threshold or whether the battery temperature exceeds the temperature threshold for a period of time exceeding a threshold.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor also detects a system current of the system to calculate the system wattage based on a power input voltage and the system current. The processor also estimates the battery current based on the system wattage and the battery voltage of the battery. The processor also compares the battery current with the current protection threshold to predict whether the battery current exceeds the current protection threshold.

5. A battery protection method, applied to the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Include: When a charging and discharging circuit is in a power mode, detecting whether an overheat protection condition of a battery is reached; When the overheat protection condition is reached, estimating whether a battery current of the battery exceeds a current protection threshold of the battery according to a system wattage of a system; When the battery current is estimated to exceed the current protection threshold, reducing the wattage of the system; and After reducing the system wattage, the charging and discharging circuit is forced to switch from the power mode to a battery mode; In which, in the power mode, the charge-discharge circuit establishes a discharge path between a power end and the system, so that the power end supplies power to the system through the discharge path; in the battery mode, the charge-discharge circuit establishes another discharge path between the battery and the system, so that the battery supplies power to the system through the another discharge path.

6. The battery protection method according to claim 5, characterized in that: When it is estimated that the battery current does not exceed the current protection threshold, the charging and discharging circuit is switched from the power mode to the battery mode.

7. The battery protection method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The step of detecting whether the overheat protection condition of the battery is reached is detecting whether the battery temperature of the battery exceeds a temperature threshold or detecting whether the battery temperature exceeds the temperature threshold for a period of time exceeding a threshold.

8. The battery protection method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The step of estimating whether the battery current of the battery exceeds the current protection threshold according to the system wattage of the system comprises: detecting a system current of the system; Calculating the system wattage according to a power supply input voltage and the system current; estimating the battery current according to the system wattage and a battery voltage of the battery; and The battery current is compared with the current protection threshold.

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