Wireless charging for input devices

Abstract

A method includes: determining whether an external wireless power (EWP) source is coupled to an interface, the interface being configured to transfer power from the EWP source to a power management (PM) system; when the EWP source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface, selecting the EWP to power a computer mouse; determining whether a fixed internal power source (PS) is coupled to the PM system; when the fixed internal PS is coupled to the PM system and the EWP source is coupled to the interface but does not provide sufficient power to the interface, selecting the fixed internal PS to power the computer mouse; determining whether a removable internal PS is electrically coupled to the PM system in the computer mouse; and when the removable internal PS is electrically coupled to the PM system and the EPS is not coupled to the interface, selecting the removable internal PS to power the computer mouse.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] The following conventional U.S. patent applications (including the present application) are filed concurrently, and the entire disclosures of the other applications are incorporated by reference into the present application for all purposes:

[0003] Application No. _____, entitled “WIRELESS CHARGING FOR ANINPUT DEVICE,” filed on September 30, 2022 (Attorney Docket No. 086947-1315607-151800US); and

[0004] Application No. _____, entitled “WIRELESS CHARGING FOR ANINPUT DEVICE,” filed on September 30, 2022 (attorney docket no.

[0005] 086947-1316298-151810US). Background Art

[0006] Wireless peripherals (e.g., computer mice, keyboards, speakers, earbuds, smart wearable devices, etc.) are widely used and can provide portability and convenience, but may suffer from poor battery life. Despite continued improvements in battery technology, most contemporary peripherals require a charging cable to periodically recharge an internal rechargeable battery, which can be cumbersome, limited, and may require the use of a hardwired cable for use with wireless technology, which can often defeat the purpose of wireless technology. In addition, rechargeable batteries (e.g., lithium-ion batteries) and related charging infrastructure (e.g., input / output ports) can add considerable manufacturing cost and weight to the device, which is generally not preferred in high-end gaming peripherals. We need a better solution. Summary of the invention

[0007] In some embodiments, a computer mouse includes: a housing configured to house a removable first charge storage device; an interface configured to wirelessly receive power from an external power source; a second charge storage device; and a multiplexer (MUX) including: an output coupled to one or more processors; and a set of inputs coupled to the first charge storage device, the interface, and the second charge storage device. The MUX can be configured to electrically couple the interface to the one or more processors based on a determination that an external power source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface; the MUX can be configured to electrically couple the second charge storage device to the one or more processors based on a determination that an external power source is electrically coupled to the interface but is not currently providing power to the interface; and the MUX can be configured to electrically couple the first charge storage device to the one or more processors based on a determination that the first charge storage device is electrically coupled to the MUX and the external power source is not coupled to the interface or is not providing power to the interface. In some aspects, the removable first charge storage device can be a removable battery, and the first charge storage device can be determined to be electrically coupled to the MUX when the first charge storage device has a voltage supply level above a threshold (or when detected as simply coupled thereto). The interface can be configured to receive a removable modular insert that enables the computer mouse to wirelessly receive power from an external power source when the removable modular insert is inserted into the interface. The external power source can be a charging mouse pad that is configured to wirelessly provide power to the interface via electromagnetic induction when the computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad. The second charge storage device (e.g., a supercapacitor) can be configured to be charged by the external power source via a charging circuit. In some embodiments, the charging circuit includes a current limiter, the current limiter including: a first low dropout voltage (LDO) regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration; a second LDO regulator circuit configured to regulate the output voltage of the second LDO regulator circuit to a level within a normal operating range of a second charge storage device, wherein the first LDO regulates its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current, the constant current passing through the second LDO and charging the second charge storage device until the second LDO reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first LDO to stop regulating until the output of the second LDO drops below the predetermined voltage. In certain embodiments, the total allowed current supplied by the external power source is between 40mA and 60mA, wherein the external power source is configured to simultaneously provide power to one or more processors and charge the second charge storage device without exceeding the total allowed current.

[0008] In some embodiments, a method of operating a computer mouse includes: determining whether an external wireless power source is coupled to an interface configured to transfer power from the external wireless power source to a power management system; selecting the external wireless power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface; determining whether a fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system; selecting the fixed internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is coupled to the interface but does not provide sufficient power to the interface; determining whether a removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system in the computer mouse; and selecting the removable internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system and the external power source is not coupled to the interface. In some aspects, the removable internal power source is a removable charge storage device, and wherein the removable internal power source is determined to be electrically coupled to the power management system when the removable internal power source has a voltage supply level above a threshold. In some embodiments, the external power source is a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the power management system via electromagnetic induction when a computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad. The fixed internal power source is a charge storage device (e.g., a supercapacitor) configured to be charged by the external power source via a charging circuit. In some embodiments, the charging circuit includes a current limiter, which includes: a first low dropout voltage (LDO) regulator circuit that is biased in a floating output configuration; a second LDO regulator circuit that is configured to regulate the output voltage of the second LDO regulator circuit to a level within a normal operating range of the fixed internal power source, wherein the first LDO regulates its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current that passes through the second LDO and charges the second internal power source until the second LDO reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first LDO to stop regulating until the output of the second LDO drops below the predetermined voltage. In some aspects, a total allowed current supplied by the external power source is between 40 mA and 60 mA, wherein the external power source is configured to simultaneously provide power to the power management system and charge the stationary internal power source without exceeding the total allowed current.

[0009] In another embodiment, a system includes: one or more processors; one or more machine-readable, non-transitory storage media, which include instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations including: determining whether an external wireless power source is coupled to an interface, the interface being configured to transfer power from the external wireless power source to a power management system; selecting the external wireless power source to power a computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface; determining whether a fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system; selecting the fixed internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is coupled to the interface but does not provide sufficient power to the interface; determining whether a removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system in the computer mouse; and selecting the removable internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system and the external power source is not coupled to the interface. The removable internal power source may be a removable charge storage device, and when the removable internal power source has a voltage supply level above a threshold, the removable internal power source may be determined to be electrically coupled to the power management system. In some implementations, the external power source is a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the power management system via electromagnetic induction when a computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad. In some aspects, the fixed internal power source is a supercapacitor configured to be charged by the external power source via a charging circuit. In certain embodiments, the charging circuit includes a current limiter comprising: a first low dropout voltage (LDO) regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration; a second LDO regulator circuit configured to regulate an output voltage of the second LDO regulator circuit to a level within a normal operating range of a fixed internal power source, wherein the first LDO regulates its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current that passes through the second LDO and charges the second internal power source until the second LDO reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first LDO to stop regulating until the output of the second LDO drops below the predetermined voltage.

[0010] In some embodiments, an input device (e.g., a computer mouse) may include one or more processors; a power interface circuit electrically and communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the power interface circuit operable to electrically couple to and receive power from a plurality of different types of external power sources, the plurality of different types of external power sources including at least: a first type of external wireless power source operable to wirelessly provide power to the computer mouse at a certain voltage and a first current; and a second type of external wireless power source operable to wirelessly provide power to the computer mouse at the voltage and a second current, the second current being at least twice the magnitude of the first current. The power interface circuit may be operable to generate type data and send the type data to the one or more processors to indicate whether the first type of external power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some aspects, the one or more processors configure the computer mouse to change power consumption characteristics based on whether the first type of external wireless power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. The computer mouse may also include a housing configured in the computer mouse, the housing electrically and communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The power interface circuit includes a removable modular insert configured to be physically and electrically coupled to a housing of a computer mouse in a complementary mating relationship. The removable modular insert is configured to be non-destructively coupled to and removed from the housing and is operable to generate type data and send the type data to one or more processors. The removable modular insert may include one or more magnets operable to mechanically assist in coupling and aligning the removable modular insert with the housing and a second type of external power source.

[0011] The power interface circuit may be operable to receive power from an external wireless power source of a first type when the computer mouse is moving along an underlying surface, the underlying surface being at least a portion of the external power source of the first type and the power interface circuit being configured such that the power interface circuit only receives power from an external wireless power source of a second type when the computer mouse is substantially stationary. The type data from the power interface circuit may be a binary sequence (e.g., a digital or analog sequence) corresponding to the type of the external power source. In some embodiments, the type data from the power interface circuit is a 5V binary sequence operating between 2kHz and 10kHz.

[0012] In certain embodiments, the power interface circuit includes a load switch operable to convert a received voltage (e.g., DC, rectified DC, AC, etc.) into a binary sequence that operates as type data indicating whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly coupled and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some aspects, the load switch includes one or more field effect transistors (FETs) configured to operate as a switch that receives a 5V input voltage from an external power source and cycles the output of the load switch in a series of on / off states forming a binary sequence that operates as type data and typically operates between 2kHz and 10kHz, but other binary sequence frequencies are possible.

[0013] In certain embodiments, the power interface circuit is further operable to mechanically and electrically couple to and receive power from one or more wired power sources, the one or more wired power sources comprising at least a third type of external power source operable to provide a voltage and a third current to the computer mouse, the third current being at least twice the magnitude of the first current. In some cases, the first type of external wireless power source is a wireless charging pad, the second type of external wireless power source is a wireless charging base or stand, or the third type of external power source is a wired universal serial bus protocol. In some implementations, the first type of external wireless power source provides 5VDC at a maximum of 40mA to 60mA and / or the second type of external wireless power source provides 5VDC at a maximum of 100mA to 500mA. One or more processors can control charging characteristics based on whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit, the charging characteristics including a charging rate, wherein the computer mouse is operable to: charge one or more internal power storage devices at a first charging rate when the first type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit; and charge one or more internal power storage devices at a second charging rate when the second type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, the second charging rate being at least twice the first charging rate.

[0014] In some embodiments, a computer mouse may include one or more visual output elements, wherein the one or more processors are configured to operate the one or more visual output elements in a first operational output configuration when a first type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, and the one or more processors are configured to operate the one or more visual output elements in a second operational output configuration when a second type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, the first operational output configuration and the second operational output configuration being different from each other. In some cases, a computer mouse may include an optical sensor controlled by the one or more processors, the optical sensor being configured to detect movement of the computer mouse relative to an underlying surface and generate corresponding movement data. The computer mouse is operable to be communicatively coupled to a host computing device and periodically generate and send an operation report to the host computing device. The operation report may include movement data. In some aspects, when the second type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, the one or more processors are configured to prevent the movement data from being included in the operation report.

[0015] In certain embodiments, a method of operating a computer mouse may include: establishing, by one or more processors, an electrical and communicative coupling with a power interface circuit, the power interface circuit being operable to wirelessly and electrically couple to and receive power from a plurality of different types of external power sources, and providing the received power to the computer mouse; receiving, by the one or more processors, type data from the power interface circuit, the type data indicating whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit; determining, by the one or more processors, the type of external wireless power source coupled to the power interface circuit based on the type data; and configuring the computer mouse to change power consumption characteristics based on whether the first type of external wireless power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. The computer mouse may include a housing configured in the computer mouse, the housing electrically and communicatively coupled to one or more processors, wherein the power interface circuit includes: a removable modular insert configured to be physically and electrically coupled to the housing of the computer mouse in a complementary mating relationship, wherein the removable modular insert is configured to be non-destructively coupled to and removed from the housing, and wherein the removable modular insert is configured to send type data to the one or more processors. Configuring the computer mouse to change power consumption characteristics based on whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit may also include: charging one or more internal power storage devices at a first charging rate when the first type of external wireless power source is determined to be coupled to the power interface circuit; and charging one or more internal power storage devices at a second charging rate when the second type of external wireless power source is determined to be coupled to the power interface circuit, the second charging rate being at least twice the first charging rate. In some embodiments, the first type of external power source is a wireless charging pad and / or the second type of external power source is a wireless charging base or stand.

[0016] In another embodiment, a method of operating a modular insert for a computer mouse includes: receiving power from an external power source through the modular insert, wherein the modular insert is a power interface circuit configured to be physically and electrically coupled to a housing of the computer mouse, wherein the modular insert is configured to be non-destructively coupled to and removed from the housing; operating a load switch on the modular insert to convert a voltage of the received power into a binary sequence, the binary sequence characterizing a type of external wireless power source, including: a first type of external wireless power source; and a second type of external wireless power source; and sending the binary sequence to the computer mouse, the binary sequence being configured to cause the computer mouse to change power consumption characteristics based on the binary sequence indicating whether the first type of external wireless power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some aspects, the load switch includes one or more field effect transistors (FETs) configured to operate as a switch, wherein operating the load switch also includes cycling an output of the load switch that generates a series of on / off states forming the binary sequence. The binary sequence may operate between 2 kHz and 10 kHz, but other binary sequence frequencies are possible.

[0017] This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of the disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim.

[0018] The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail in the specification, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The features of the above-mentioned various embodiments of the present invention and other features and advantages of certain embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] Figure 1 An example of a computer system that may include any of a variety of host computing devices and computer peripheral devices according to certain embodiments is shown;

[0021] Figure 2 A system for operating a computer peripheral device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0022] Figure 3 is a simplified block diagram of a computing device according to certain embodiments;

[0023] Figure 4shows a simplified block diagram of a power management system for an input device having multiple power sources according to certain embodiments;

[0024] Figure 5 shows a circuit block diagram of a power management system according to certain embodiments;

[0025] Fig. 6A is a simplified flow chart illustrating aspects of a method for operating a power management system according to certain embodiments;

[0026] Figure 6B is a simplified flow chart illustrating aspects of another method for operating a power management system according to certain embodiments;

[0027] Figure 7 shows a simplified diagram of a computer mouse having various systems operable to perform aspects of certain embodiments described herein;

[0028] Figure 8 A computer mouse having a housing configured to receive a removable modular insert is shown according to certain embodiments;

[0029] Fig. 9 is a simplified diagram illustrating a plurality of external power sources that may be configured to be electrically coupled to a removable modular insert according to certain embodiments;

[0030] Fig.10 is a simplified circuit diagram illustrating a system configured to control a charging rate of a computer mouse based on a type of external power source coupled to a removable modular insert, according to certain embodiments;

[0031] Fig.11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling a charging rate of a computer mouse according to certain embodiments; and

[0032] Fig.12 is a flow chart illustrating a method of operating a modular insert for a computer mouse according to certain embodiments.

[0033] Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are generally used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] According to certain implementations, aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to computer peripherals and, more particularly, to a power management system for a computer mouse.

[0035] In the following description, various examples of power management systems for managing multiple power sources for computer input devices are described. For illustrative purposes, specific configurations and details are set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments may be practiced or implemented without disclosing every detail. In addition, well-known features may be omitted or simplified to prevent any confusion with the novel features described herein.

[0036] The following high-level summary is intended to provide a basic understanding of some of the novel innovations depicted in the accompanying drawings and presented in the corresponding description provided below. Various aspects of the present invention relate to managing multiple power sources for input devices. More specifically, a new computer mouse (or other suitable computer peripheral device) can be configured to be powered by a removable battery (e.g., (one or more) AA battery cells) or a wireless inductive power source (e.g., a powered charging mouse pad). When a charging mouse pad is not available, a user can use a computer mouse with a removable battery as a power source, and when operating the computer mouse on the charging mouse pad, the removable battery can be removed. Typically, fixed rechargeable batteries commonly found in wireless computer mice are bulky, expensive, non-removable, and sometimes require a large amount of infrastructure (e.g., I / O ports and corresponding cable harnesses, PCBs, etc.) to support their use, which may increase the cost, internal substrate area, and considerable weight of the computer mouse, which may be a problem for competitive e-sports game players. Therefore, when an alternative power source is available, giving the user the option to remove the battery can give the user a competitive weight advantage and provide the user with an option in the event that the user does not want to carry a charging plate for all of its mobile use. In some cases, multiple power sources may be configured on or coupled to a modular insert that can be electrically and mechanically coupled to and decoupled from a computer mouse. In some aspects, the modular insert may be received into a housing of a computer mouse in a complementary mating relationship that holds the modular insert in place, establishes electrical and mechanical coupling with the modular insert, and communicates with the computer mouse (e.g., processor(s) 210 as described below). The modular insert may add functionality to the mouse, such as wireless inductive charging capability, or an additional charge storage device (e.g., a supercapacitor) for providing power during periods of power loss to the inductive charging system (e.g., dead spot on a powered mouse pad, periodic lifting of the mouse to reposition it (e.g., "slipping"), tilting of the computer mouse, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the charge storage device (e.g., a supercapacitor) may be configured in the computer mouse rather than in the modular insert. In some aspects, the modular insert may include a charging circuit that may be operable to keep a supercapacitor ("supercap") satisfactorily charged while receiving and managing a limited source of wireless power to ensure that the computer mouse circuitry is adequately powered for normal operation.

[0037] A multiplexer ("MUX") can be used to switch between available power sources (e.g., batteries, external inductive charging sources, supercapacitors, etc.) to ensure that power flows uninterruptedly to the computer mouse to keep the computer mouse operating with sufficient power. The MUX can have any suitable hierarchy of power selection. In some embodiments, when (one or more) batteries are available, the MUX can select (one or more) removable batteries by default over wireless power sources. In some embodiments, when the removable battery voltage drops below a threshold (or is removed), the MUX can select power received wirelessly. In some embodiments, regardless of whether a removable battery is detected in the system, the wireless power source is prioritized and utilized, which can extend the charge life of the removable battery in the presence of the removable battery. In some implementations, the MUX can be "self-powered" so that it can draw power from any of the selected power sources (e.g., wired or wireless power sources) and does not require a separate or dedicated power supply to operate. Any configuration of the MUX selection hierarchy is possible, as will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. Some embodiments of a system for managing multiple power sources for a computer input device may be configured with Figure 4 A similar architecture as shown in Figure 6, as further described, for example, in subsequent paragraphs of this specification.

[0038] As an example, certain devices, systems, and methods may be configured to perform operations including: determining whether a first internal power source (e.g., a removable charge storage device) is electrically coupled to a power management system in a computer mouse; selecting the first internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the first internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system (e.g., a voltage supply is at or above a threshold); determining whether an external wireless power source (e.g., a charging mouse pad that provides wireless power via electromagnetic induction when the mouse is on or near a charging mouse pad) is coupled to the power management system; selecting the external wireless power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to the power management system and the first internal power source is not coupled to the power management system; determining whether a second internal power source (e.g., a charge storage device such as a supercapacitor that is charged via a charging circuit) is coupled to the power management system; and selecting the second internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the first internal power source and the external wireless power source are not coupled to the power management system. Some implementations use a charging circuit consisting of a low dropout regulator (LDO) configured with a novel circuit design to include current limiting of the received wireless power, thereby ensuring that the supercapacitor is charged and the internal electronics of the computer mouse are continuously and adequately powered. In some implementations, the system can rely on the priority of each power source to make the selection, and other input states such as voltage thresholds can be used to determine whether any input provides a valid voltage, and if a valid voltage is provided, the system selects the power source even if the power source has a lower priority. Examples of charging circuits can be found in Figures 6 and Figure 7 as further described, for example, in subsequent paragraphs of this specification.

[0039] Other aspects of the embodiments described below relate to systems and methods for obtaining power from multiple types of power sources, including external power sources (e.g., power received wirelessly) and internal power sources (e.g., internal batteries). In some conventional designs, access to wireless power is possible, but typically there is only one protocol. For example, some designs have an interface that allows a user to hang their input device from a charging cradle or place their input device on a charging pad or platform to enable wireless charging of the input device while the input device is stationary on the charging device. Other designs have an interface that allows the user to charge the input device while moving along a powered surface such as a wireless charging pad. Various aspects of the present invention allow any type of wireless power source (a wireless charging pad (e.g., operating at 6.78 MHz), a charging cradle, a charging pad, etc.) to be connected to a power interface circuit that allows power to be obtained from any suitable type of wireless power transfer protocol (see, for example, Figures 7 and 8) to charge the same input device so that the flexible input device is configured to be powered by a variety of different types of wireless power sources and wired power sources. Heretofore, this has not been possible because many of the technologies employed have dedicated technologies configured for a single wireless charging protocol.

[0040] In some embodiments, the power interface circuit may be operable to couple power or control the coupling of power from an external power source (e.g., a power source using inductive power coupling) to an input device (e.g., a computer mouse). In some embodiments, the power interface circuit may be a non-destructive removable modular insert (e.g., it may be repeatedly installed and removed in a modular manner) that may be configured to operate with one or more different wireless power transfer protocols. For example, some embodiments may be configured to operate with several different wireless charging protocols, including: wireless charging protocols that charge at a relatively low charging rate (e.g., 50 mA) at a receiving input device when the input device is in motion (e.g., a charging mouse pad), or those wireless charging protocols that charge at a generally higher charging rate (e.g., <500 mA) only when the input device is stationary on a charging implementation (e.g., a cradle, a pad). Some modular inserts may be configured to accommodate multiple wireless charging protocols. In some embodiments, multiple different modular inserts may be used, each of which is configured to operate according to a different wireless charging protocol. For example, a first modular insert can be inserted into an input device to operate according to a first wireless charging protocol that allows charging while the input device is in use (e.g., moving along a powered mouse pad), and a second modular insert can be inserted into the input device to operate according to a second wireless charging protocol that allows charging when the input device is not in use (e.g., the input device is stationary). Thus, a user can interchangeably swap out different modular inserts to accommodate different wireless charging protocols. The removable modular inserts can be configured to physically and electrically couple to a housing of an input device in a complementary mating relationship, such as Figure 8As shown, the removable modular insert serves as an interface for receiving power from an external wireless power source (e.g., inductive power received by a receiving coil on the modular insert) and delivering the received power to an input device. The modular insert can be communicatively coupled to an external wireless power source and / or an input device (e.g., aspects of the system 200). The removable modular insert can be coin-shaped, as shown in the various figures shown herein, or any suitable shape including circular, polygonal, planar, non-planar, or other suitable shapes with any suitable coverage area. The power interface circuit (e.g., modular insert) can be controlled by various aspects of the system 200 (e.g., processor 210), by various aspects of the host computing device (e.g., (one or more) processors 302), and / or can have on-board processing for controlling power reception and power transfer characteristics, as described herein. The various embodiments described herein, both explicitly and implicitly, show how a coin-type implementation of a power interface circuit configured as a modular insert can implement wireless charging of an input device through different wireless charging protocols. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of the present disclosure. It should be noted that a removable modular insert is one type of power interface circuit and implementations other than removable modular inserts may be used such as fixed power interface circuits or other implementations that would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0041] Figure 1 An example of a computer system 100 is shown, which may include any of a variety of host computing devices and computer peripherals, including computer peripherals (e.g., computer mice, etc.) that may be configured to perform aspects of the various inventive concepts described herein. The computer system 100 includes a host computing device 110 (shown as a desktop computer) and a plurality of computer peripherals communicatively coupled to the host computing device, including a display device 120, a computer mouse 130, a powered / charged mouse pad 140, a keyboard 150, speakers 160, and may include any other suitable peripherals (e.g., printers, headphones, Wi-Fi hubs, etc.), as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0042] Host computing device 110 is shown as a desktop computer, but other types of host computing devices may be used, including laptop computers, gaming systems, set-top boxes, entertainment systems, tablet or "tablet phone" computers, standalone head mounted displays ("HMDs"), or any other suitable host computing devices (e.g., smart phones, smart wearable devices, etc.). In some cases, multiple host computing devices may be used, and one or more of the computer peripheral devices may be communicatively coupled to one, some, or all of the host computing devices (e.g., a computer mouse may be coupled to multiple host computing devices and may be used from multiple host computing devices). Flow TM The host computing device may also be referred to herein as a "host computer," "host device," "computing device," "computer," etc., and may include a machine-readable medium (not shown) configured to store computer code, such as driver software, firmware, etc., which may be executed by one or more processors in the host computing device(s) to control various aspects of the host computing device and / or computer peripherals (e.g., controlling video on display device 120, controlling various aspects of the operation of computer mouse 130, keyboard 150, etc.).

[0043] Typical computer peripherals may include any suitable input devices, output devices, or input / output devices, including devices shown (e.g., a computer mouse) and devices not shown (e.g., a remote control, a wearable device (e.g., a glove, a watch, a head-mounted display), an AR / VR controller, a CAD controller, a joystick, an analog shifter, a stylus device, or other suitable devices that can, for example, be used to convert analog input into a digital signal for computer processing). As an example, a keyboard can be configured to provide control signals including button click events (e.g., corresponding to the pressing of one or more keys on the keyboard), audio signals (e.g., audio prompts, integrated speakers), visual output signals (e.g., controlling one or more LEDs on the keyboard 150 - controlled by the keyboard, a host computing device coupled to the keyboard, or a combination thereof), etc. In another example, a computer peripheral (e.g., computer mouse 130) can be configured to provide control signals for movement tracking (e.g., xy movement on a planar surface, three-dimensional "in-air" movement, etc.), touch and / or gesture detection, lift detection, orientation detection (e.g., in a 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) system, a 6DOF system, etc.), power management capabilities, input detection (e.g., buttons, scroll wheels, etc.), output functionality (e.g., LED control, tactile feedback, etc.), or any of a myriad of other features that a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand may be provided by a computer peripheral.

[0044] Computer mouse 130 may include the novel charging implementation described herein, including at least Figures 4 to 12 For example, the computer mouse 130 may include the components of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 in a fixed (e.g., hardwired to the computer mouse) or removable frame arrangement (e.g., a removable modular insert). Figure 7 A charging circuit or components thereof, as for example further described in subsequent paragraphs of this specification.

[0045] The input device may be a computer peripheral device, and may also be referred to herein as a "peripheral input device," "peripheral device," etc. In some cases, the input device may be referred to as a human interface device (HID), and their corresponding control signals may be referred to as HID commands. As described above, most of the embodiments described herein generally relate to a computer mouse 130; however, it should be understood that a computer peripheral device may be any suitable input / output (I / O) device (e.g., a user interface device, a control device, an input unit, etc.) that may be suitable for utilizing the new embodiments described and contemplated herein.

[0046] Typical system implementation for operating an input device

[0047] Figure 2 A system 200 for operating a computer peripheral device (e.g., a computer mouse 130, a keyboard 150, etc.) according to certain embodiments is shown. The system 200 can be configured to operate any of the computer peripheral devices specifically shown or not shown herein but within the broad range of applicable input devices of the present disclosure. The system 200 may include (one or more) processors 210, a memory block 220, a power management block 230, a communication block 240, an input detection block 250, and an output control block 260. Each of the system blocks 220 to 260 may be in electrical communication with (one or more) processors 210 (e.g., via a bus system). The system 200 may include additional functional blocks, which are not shown or discussed to prevent confusion of new features described herein. The system blocks 220 to 260 (also referred to as "modules", "systems", or "subsystems") may be implemented as separate blocks, or alternatively, multiple system blocks may be implemented in a single block. In the context described herein, the system 200 may be incorporated into any input device described or mentioned herein, and may also be used as described below (e.g., Figures 4 to 12 ) as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0048] In certain embodiments, the processor(s) 210 may include one or more microprocessors and may be configured to control the operation of the system 200. Alternatively or additionally, the processor(s) 210 may include one or more microcontrollers (MCUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., with supporting hardware and / or firmware (e.g., memory, programmable I / O, etc.) and / or software, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The processor(s) 210 may control some or all aspects of the operation of the computer peripherals 140 (e.g., system blocks 220 to 260). Alternatively or additionally, some of the system blocks 220 to 260 may include additional specialized processors that may work in conjunction with the processor(s) 210. For example, MCUs, μCs, DSPs, etc. may be configured in other system blocks of the system 200. The communication block 240 may include a local processor, for example, to control various aspects of communication with the host computer 110 (e.g., via Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, RF, IR, hardwire, ZigBee, Z-Wave, Logitech Unifying, or other communication protocols). The processor(s) 210 may be local to the peripheral device (e.g., housed therein), external to the peripheral device (e.g., off-board processing by, for example, a corresponding host computing device), or a combination thereof. The processor(s) 210 may be combined with any other system blocks in the system 200 to perform any of the various functions and methods described and / or encompassed by the present disclosure. In some implementations, Figure 3 The processor 302 can work in conjunction with the processor 210 to perform some or all of the various methods described throughout the present disclosure. In some embodiments, multiple processors can improve performance characteristics (e.g., speed and bandwidth) in the system 200; however, multiple processors are not required, nor are multiple processors necessarily closely related to the innovativeness of the embodiments described herein. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the many variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments that are possible.

[0049] The memory block ("memory") 220 may store one or more software programs to be executed by the processor (e.g., in the (one or more) processors 210). It should be understood that "software" may refer to a sequence of instructions that, when executed by the (one or more) processing units (e.g., processors, processing devices, etc.), causes the system 200 to perform certain operations of the software program. The instructions may be stored as firmware residing in a read-only memory (ROM) and / or an application stored in a media storage device, which may be read into the memory for execution by the processing device (e.g., (one or more) processors 210). The software may be implemented as a single program or a collection of separate programs, and may be stored in a non-volatile storage device and copied in whole or in part to a volatile working memory during program execution. In some embodiments, the memory 220 may store data corresponding to inputs on a peripheral device, such as movement of a peripheral device detected by a sensor (e.g., an optical sensor, an accelerometer, etc.), activation of one or more input elements (e.g., buttons, sliders, touch-sensitive areas, etc.), etc. The stored data may be aggregated and sent to a host computing device via reports (eg, HID data).

[0050] In certain embodiments, the memory 220 may store various data described throughout the present disclosure. For example, the memory 220 may store and / or include instructions configured to control and manage multiple power sources for a computer input device, as described herein at least with reference to Figures 4 to 12 As described. Memory 220 may be referred to as a storage system or storage subsystem, and may store one or more software programs to be executed by a processor (e.g., in (one or more) processors 210). It should be understood that "software" may refer to a sequence of instructions that, when executed by (one or more) processing units (e.g., processors, processing devices, etc.), causes system 200 to perform certain operations of a software program. The instructions may be stored as firmware residing in a read-only memory (ROM) and / or an application stored in a media storage device, which may be read into the memory for processing by the processing device. The software may be implemented as a single program or a collection of separate programs, and may be stored in a non-volatile storage device and copied in whole or in part to a volatile working memory during program execution. The processing device may retrieve program instructions to be executed from the storage subsystem to perform various operations (e.g., LED lighting features, functions, etc.) as described herein.

[0051] The power management block 230 can be configured to manage power distribution, recharging, power efficiency, and more closely related to the novel concepts presented throughout this specification, managing multiple power sources for computer input devices. In some embodiments, the functionality provided by the power management block 230 can be incorporated into the (one or more) processors 210. Some embodiments may not include a dedicated power management block. Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments may incorporate aspects of the power management infrastructure on a removable modular insert, as further described below. In some embodiments, functional aspects of the power management block 230 may be included by another block (e.g., (one or more) processors 210), or combined therewith. In some implementations, the power management block 230 may include the following reference Figures 4 to 12 Aspects of the power management system are further described.

[0052] According to some embodiments, the communication block 240 may be configured to implement wireless communication with a corresponding host computing device (e.g., 110) or other devices and / or peripheral devices. The communication block 240 may be configured to provide radio frequency (RF), Logitech proprietary communication protocols (e.g., Unifying, GamingLightspeed, or others), infrared (IR), Z-Wave or other suitable communication technology for communicating with other computing devices and / or peripheral devices. System 200 may optionally include a hardwired connection to a corresponding host computing device. For example, input device 130 may be configured to receive USB, Or other general types of cables to achieve two-way electronic communication with the corresponding host computing device or other external devices. Some embodiments may utilize different types of cables or connection protocol standards to establish hard-wired communication with other entities. In some cases, communication ports (e.g., USB), power ports, etc. may be considered as part of other blocks (e.g., input detection module 250, output control module 260, etc.) described herein. In some aspects, the communication system 240 may send reports (e.g., HID data, streams or aggregated data, etc.) generated by (one or more) processors 210 to the host computing device. In some embodiments, the report may be generated only by (one or more) processors, generated in conjunction with (one or more) processors, or generated by other entities in the system 200. The communication block 240 may include one or more antennas, oscillators, etc., and may operate at any suitable frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz), etc. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand its many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments through the benefit of the present disclosure.

[0053] The input detection module 250 can control the detection of user interactions with input elements (also referred to as "elements") on the input device. For example, the input detection module 250 can detect user input from the following: motion sensors, keys or buttons (e.g., depressible elements), roller wheels, scroll wheels, trackballs, touch pads (e.g., one-dimensional and / or two-dimensional touch-sensitive touch pads), click wheels, dials, keyboards, microphones, GUIs, touch-sensitive GUIs, proximity sensors (e.g., IR, thermal, Hall effect, inductive sensing, etc.), image sensor-based detection such as gesture detection (e.g., via a webcam), audio-based detection such as voice input (e.g., via a microphone), etc., as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. Alternatively, the functionality of the input detection module 250 can be included by the processor 210, or combined therewith.

[0054] In some embodiments, the input detection module 250 can detect touches or touch gestures on one or more touch-sensitive surfaces on the input device 130. The input detection module 250 may include one or more touch-sensitive surfaces or touch sensors. A touch sensor typically includes a sensing element suitable for detecting signals such as direct contact, an electromagnetic field or an electrostatic field, or an electromagnetic radiation beam. A touch sensor can typically detect a change in a received signal, the presence of a signal, or the absence of a signal. The touch sensor may include a source for transmitting the detected signal, or the signal may be generated by an auxiliary source. The touch sensor may be configured to detect the presence of an object at a distance (e.g., <5 mm) from a reference area or point, in contact with a reference area or point, or a combination thereof. Certain embodiments of the computer peripheral device 140 may or may not utilize touch detection or touch sensing capabilities.

[0055] The input detection module 250 may include touch and / or proximity sensing capabilities. Some examples of types of touch / proximity sensors may include, but are not limited to, resistive sensors (e.g., based on standard air gap 4-wire, based on carbon-supported plastics with different electrical properties depending on pressure (FSR), interpolated FSR, strain gauges, etc.), capacitive sensors (e.g., surface capacitance, self-capacitance, mutual capacitance, etc.), optical sensors (e.g., grating type (open or closed by default), infrared grating matrix, laser-based diodes coupled to photodetectors that can measure the time of flight of the light path, etc.), acoustic sensors (e.g., piezoelectric buzzers coupled to microphones to detect modifications of wave propagation modes associated with touch points, etc.), inductive sensors, magnetic sensors (e.g., Hall effect, etc.), etc.

[0056] The input detection module 250 may include a motion tracking sub-block that may be configured to detect relative displacement of the computer peripheral 150 (motion tracking). For example, the (one or more) optical sensors of the input detection module 250, such as IR LEDs and photodiode imaging arrays, may be used to detect movement of the computer peripheral 150 relative to the underlying surface. The computer peripheral 130 may optionally include motion tracking hardware that utilizes coherent (laser) light. Motion tracking may provide position data (e.g., ΔX and ΔY data from the last sampling) or lift detection data. For example, the optical sensor may detect when the user lifts the computer peripheral 130 off the underlying surface (also referred to as the "work surface") and may send the data to the processor 210 for further processing. In some embodiments, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure, the processor 210, the motion tracking block (which may include an additional dedicated processor), or a combination thereof may perform the motion tracking functionality.

[0057] In some embodiments, an accelerometer can be used for movement detection. An accelerometer can be an electromechanical device (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device) configured to measure acceleration forces (e.g., static forces and dynamic forces). One or more accelerometers can be used to detect three-dimensional (3D) positioning. For example, 3D tracking can utilize a three-axis accelerometer or two two-axis accelerometers (e.g., in a "3D air mouse", HMD, or other device). The accelerometer can also determine whether the input device 150 has been lifted off the underlying surface, and can provide movement data that may include the speed, physical orientation, and acceleration of the computer peripheral device 130. In some embodiments, (one or more) gyroscopes can be used instead of (one or more) accelerometers or in combination with (one or more) accelerometers to determine movement or input device orientation.

[0058] In some embodiments, the output control module 260 can control various outputs of the corresponding computer peripheral devices. For example, the output control module 260 can control multiple visual output elements (e.g., LEDs, LCD screens), displays, audio outputs (e.g., speakers), tactile output systems, etc. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0059] Although some systems may not be explicitly discussed, they should be considered as part of system 200, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, system 200 may include a bus system to transfer power and / or data to and from different systems in system 200. It should be understood that system 200 is illustrative, and variations and modifications are possible. System 200 may have other capabilities not specifically described herein. In addition, although system 200 is described with reference to specific blocks, it should be understood that these blocks are defined for ease of description and are not meant to imply a specific physical arrangement of component parts. In addition, these blocks do not need to correspond to physically different components. Blocks may be configured to perform various operations, for example, by programming a processor or providing appropriate control circuit systems, and various blocks may or may not be reconfigurable depending on how the initial configuration is obtained.

[0060] Embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in various devices including electronic devices (e.g., computer peripherals) implemented using any combination of circuit systems and software. In addition, various aspects and / or parts of system 200 can be combined with other subsystems or operated by other subsystems according to the requirements of the design. For example, input detection module 250 and / or memory 220 can operate within (one or more) processors 210, rather than being used as separate entities. In addition, the inventive concepts described herein can also be applied to any electronic device. In addition, system 200 can be applied to any of the computer peripherals described in the embodiments herein, whether explicitly, by reference or by default described peripherals (e.g., those of ordinary skill in the art are known to be applicable to specific computer peripherals). The foregoing embodiments are not intended to be limiting, and those of ordinary skill in the art will understand countless applications and possibilities through the benefits of the present disclosure.

[0061] System for operating a host computing device

[0062] Figure 3is a simplified block diagram of a computing device 300 according to certain embodiments. The computing device 300 may implement some or all of the above functions, behaviors, and / or capabilities that will use electronic storage or processing, as well as other functions, behaviors, or capabilities that are not explicitly described. The computing device 300 includes: a processing subsystem ((one or more) processors) 302; a storage subsystem 306; user interfaces 314, 316; and a communication interface 312. The computing device 300 may also include other components (not explicitly shown) that can operate to provide various enhanced capabilities, such as batteries, power controllers, and other components. In various embodiments, the computing device 300 may be implemented in a host computing device, such as a desktop computer 110 or a laptop computer, a mobile device (e.g., a tablet computer, a smart phone, a mobile phone), a wearable device, a media device, etc., and in some implementations in a peripheral device (e.g., a keyboard, etc.). Throughout this disclosure, the computing device 300 may also be referred to as a "computing system 300" or "system 300".

[0063] The processor(s) 302 may include(s) an MCU, a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a digital signal processing device (DSPD), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor or an electronic unit designed to perform a combination of functions or methods, functions, etc. described throughout the present disclosure.

[0064] The storage subsystem 306 may be implemented using local storage and / or removable storage media, for example, using a disk, flash memory (e.g., a secure digital card, a universal serial bus flash drive), or any other non-transitory storage medium or combination of media, and may include volatile and / or non-volatile storage media. The local storage may include a memory subsystem 308 including a random access memory (RAM) 318 or a read-only memory (ROM) 320 such as a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a synchronous dynamic RAM (e.g., DDR), or a battery-backed RAM, or the local storage may include a file storage subsystem 310, which may include one or more code modules. In some embodiments, the storage subsystem 306 may store one or more applications and / or operating system programs to be executed by the processing subsystem 302, including programs to be executed using a computer for implementing some or all of the operations described above. For example, the storage subsystem 306 may store one or more code modules for implementing one or more method steps described herein.

[0065] Firmware and / or software implementations can be implemented using modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.). Machine-readable media that tangibly implement instructions can be used in implementing the methods described herein. Code modules (e.g., instructions stored in memory) can be implemented within a processor or external to a processor. As used herein, the term "memory" refers to long-term, short-term, volatile, non-volatile, or other types of storage media, and is not limited to any particular type of memory, or any number of memories or any particular type of medium that stores memory.

[0066] The term "storage medium" or "storage device" may refer to one or more memories for storing data, including read-only memory (ROM), RAM, magnetic RAM, magnetic core memory, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels, and / or various other storage media capable of storing (one or more) instructions and / or data.

[0067] In addition, implementation methods can be implemented by hardware, software, scripting language, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language and / or any combination thereof. When implemented with software, firmware, middleware, scripting language and / or microcode, the program code or code segment for performing tasks can be stored in a machine-readable medium such as a storage medium. Code segments (e.g., code modules) or machine-executable instructions can represent a combination of processes, functions, subroutines, programs, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, scripts, classes or instructions, data structures and / or program statements. Code segments can be coupled to another code segment or hardware circuit by transmitting and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters and / or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. can be transmitted, forwarded or sent by appropriate means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc. These descriptions of software, firmware, storage media, etc. are applicable to any other implementations in the wide range of systems 200 and 300 and the present disclosure. In some embodiments, aspects of the invention (e.g., surface classification) may be performed by software stored in the storage subsystem 306, in the memory 220 of the input device 140, or in both. Numerous modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0068] The implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps, and means described throughout this disclosure may be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, the techniques, blocks, steps, and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For hardware implementations, a processing unit may be implemented in one or more ASICs, DSPs, DSPDs, PLDs, FPGAs, processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the above functions, and / or combinations thereof.

[0069] Each code module may include an instruction (code) set implemented on a computer-readable medium that directs the processor of the computing device 110 to perform a corresponding action. The instructions may be configured to run in a sequential order, in parallel (e.g., under different processing threads), or in a combination thereof. After the code module is loaded onto a general-purpose computer system, the general-purpose computer is converted into a special-purpose computer system.

[0070] Computer programs incorporating the various features described herein (e.g., in one or more code modules) may be encoded and stored on various computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media encoded with program code may be packaged with a compatible electronic device, or program code may be provided separately from the electronic device (e.g., downloaded via the Internet or as a separately packaged computer-readable storage medium). Storage subsystem 306 may also store information useful for establishing a network connection using communication interface 312.

[0071] The computer system 300 may include user interface input device 314 elements (e.g., touch pad, touch screen, scroll wheel, click wheel, dial, button, switch, keyboard, microphone, etc.), and user interface output device 316 (e.g., video screen, indicator lights, speakers, headphone jack, virtual or augmented reality display, etc.), and supporting electronic devices (e.g., digital-to-analog or analog-to-digital converters, signal processors, etc.). A user may operate the user interface input device 314 to invoke functions of the computing device 300, and may view and / or hear output from the computing device 300 via the user interface output device 316.

[0072] The processing subsystem 302 may be implemented as one or more processors (e.g., an integrated circuit, one or more single-core or multi-core microprocessors, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, etc.). In operation, the processing subsystem 302 may control the operation of the computer device 300. In some embodiments, the processing subsystem 302 may execute various programs in response to program code, and may maintain multiple programs or processes that are executed simultaneously. At a given time, some or all of the program code to be executed may reside in the processing subsystem 302 and / or a storage medium such as the storage subsystem 304. Through programming, the processing subsystem 302 may provide various functions for the computing device 300. The processing subsystem 302 may also execute other programs for controlling other functions of the computing device 300, including programs that may be stored in the storage subsystem 304.

[0073] The communication interface (also referred to as a network interface) 312 can provide voice and / or data communication capabilities for the computing device 300. In some embodiments, the communication interface 312 may include a radio frequency (RF) transceiver component for accessing a wireless data network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network; 3G, 4G / LTE, etc.), a mobile communication technology, a component for short-range wireless communication (e.g., using the Bluetooth communication standard, NFC, etc.), other components, or a combination of technologies. In some embodiments, in addition to or in place of a wireless interface, the communication interface 312 may also provide a wired connection (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter, etc.). The communication interface 312 may be implemented using a combination of hardware (e.g., driver circuits, antennas, modulators / demodulators, encoders / decoders, and other analog and / or digital signal processing circuits) and software components. In some embodiments, the communication interface 312 may support multiple communication channels simultaneously.

[0074] The user interface input devices 314 may include any suitable computer peripheral device (e.g., a computer mouse 130, a keyboard, a game controller, a remote control, a stylus device, etc.), as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. The user interface output devices 316 may include a display device (e.g., a monitor, a television, a projection device, etc.), an audio device (e.g., a speaker, a microphone), a tactile device, etc. Note that the user interface input devices and output devices are shown as part of the computing device 300 as an integrated system. In some cases, such as in a laptop computer, this may be the case where the keyboard and input elements and the display and output elements are integrated on the same host computing device. In some cases, the input devices and output devices may be separate from the computing device 300, such as in a laptop computer. Figure 1 Numerous modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0075] It will be understood that computer device 300 is illustrative, and changes and modifications are possible. The host computer device may have various functions (e.g., voice communication via a cellular telephone network) that are not specifically described, and may include components suitable for such functions. Although computer device 300 is described with reference to a specific block, it should be understood that these blocks are defined for ease of description and are not intended to imply a specific physical arrangement of component parts. For example, processing subsystem 302, storage subsystem 306, user interface 314, user interface 316, and communication interface 312 may be in one device or distributed among multiple devices. In addition, these blocks do not need to correspond to physically different components. Blocks may be configured to perform various operations, for example, by programming a processor or providing appropriate control circuitry, and various blocks may be reconfigurable or may not be reconfigurable, depending on how the initial configuration is obtained. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various devices, including electronic devices implemented using a combination of circuitry and software. System 300 may be used to implement the host computing device or even peripheral devices described herein.

[0076] Power management system for managing multiple power sources

[0077] In some embodiments, a computer peripheral device such as a computer mouse can be configured to be powered by a plurality of different power sources. For example, a plurality of power sources can include a removable battery (e.g., (one or more) AA battery cells) or a wireless inductive power source (e.g., a powered charging mouse pad). As a non-limiting example, when a charging mouse pad is not available, a user can use a computer mouse with a removable battery as a power source, and when operating the computer mouse on the charging mouse pad, the removable battery can be removed. Typically, fixed rechargeable batteries generally found in wireless computer mice can be expensive, non-removable, and sometimes require a large amount of infrastructure (e.g., I / O ports and corresponding cable harnesses, PCBs, etc.) to support their use, which can increase the cost, internal substrate area, and considerable weight of the computer mouse, which can be a problem for competitive e-sports game players. Therefore, when an alternative power source is available, giving the user the option to remove the battery can give the user a competitive weight advantage, and if the user does not want to carry a charging plate for all of its mobile use, the user is provided with an option.

[0078] In some cases, multiple power sources can be configured on or coupled to a modular insert that can be electrically and mechanically coupled to and decoupled from a computer mouse. In some aspects, the modular insert can be received into a housing of a computer mouse in a complementary mating relationship that holds the modular insert in place, establishes electrical and mechanical coupling with the modular insert, and communicates with the computer mouse (e.g., processor(s) 210 as described below). The modular insert can add functionality to the mouse, such as wireless inductive charging capability, or an additional charge storage device (e.g., a supercapacitor) for providing power during periods when the inductive charging system is powered off (e.g., dead spot on a powered mouse pad, periodic lifting of the mouse to reposition it (e.g., "slipping"), tilting of the computer mouse, etc.). Examples of modular inserts can be found in U.S. Patent #10,622,824, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Although the embodiments described herein differ from the embodiments described in U.S. Patent #10,622,824, it should be understood that the embodiments (e.g., see, Figures 4 to 12 ) can be configured on a similar modular insert or variant thereof and mechanically / electrically coupled to a corresponding input device as described therein. Other examples of removable modular inserts and embodiments thereof that can work in conjunction with an input device and an external power source include at least Figures 7 to 12 implementation method.

[0079] The modular insert (also referred to as a "coin") may include a charging circuit that may be operable to keep a charge storage element (also referred to as an "energy buffer") such as a supercapacitor ("supercap") satisfactorily charged while receiving and managing a limited wireless power source, thereby ensuring that the computer mouse circuit system is adequately powered for normal operation. The charge storage element may be configured in the computer mouse, or in some cases may be on the modular insert. In some implementations, the modular insert may interface with a wireless power source and deliver wireless power (e.g., 5V, 50mA) to the computer mouse when installed, and the current control charging circuit and charge storage element (e.g., supercapacitor) may be in the computer mouse instead of on the modular insert. These devices may be configured on the modular insert, the computer mouse, or a combination thereof. A multiplexer ("MUX") may be used to switch between available power sources (e.g., a battery, an external inductive charging source, a supercapacitor, etc.), thereby ensuring that power flows uninterruptedly to the computer mouse (e.g., supporting circuit system) to keep the computer mouse operating with sufficient power. The MUX may have any suitable level of power selection. In some embodiments, the MUX may select (one or more) wireless power sources over removable batteries by default. In some aspects, when (one or more) batteries are available, the MUX may select (one or more) removable batteries over wireless power sources by default. In some embodiments, when the removable battery voltage drops below a threshold (or is removed), the MUX may select power received wirelessly. In some aspects, the MUX may be configured to prioritize bypass (further described below), then consider power from a charge storage element (e.g., a supercapacitor) for a wireless power source, and then consider a wired power source (e.g., a removable battery). Any configuration of the MUX selection hierarchy is possible, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. Some embodiments of a system for managing multiple power sources for a computer input device may be configured to have a configuration such as Figure 4 A similar architecture as shown in Figure 6, as further described, for example, in subsequent paragraphs of this specification.

[0080] Thus, certain preferred embodiments include an input device (e.g., a computer mouse) that can operate with and without a removable battery (e.g., alkaline type); the support electronics can be powered (e.g., when switching between power supplies) within a sufficiently fast time frame (e.g., <100 μs or faster to avoid any MCU reset) - typically using a bypass architecture as described below; the support electronics can be configured to not exceed 50 mA (e.g., the total current draw on the bypass branch and the supercapacitor branch), and the support electronics can consume >30 mA (e.g., the total current draw on the bypass branch and the supercapacitor branch) when charging the supercapacitor, and when below 30 mA (or other suitable threshold) the system can switch to an end-of-charge (EoC) mode in which the supercapacitor 444 is charged to a threshold (e.g., 90% to 100% or other value / range).

[0081] Figure 4 A simplified block diagram of a power management system 400 for an input device with multiple power sources according to certain embodiments is shown. The power management system ("PM system") 400 may include a multiplexer (MUX) 410 and three branches electrically coupled to its input, the branches including a battery branch 420, a bypass branch 430, and a supercapacitor branch 440. MUX 410 may switch between each branch to electrically couple the selected branch to a support electronics 450 for the input device. Support electronics 450 may include system 200 or a portion thereof, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. MUX 410 may include fewer or more inputs. In some aspects, additional branches may be coupled to MUX 410. Some or all of system 400 may be included by system 200. For example, system 400 may be part of power management block 230.

[0082] According to certain embodiments, the battery branch 420 may include a battery 422 and a voltage boost circuit 424. The battery 422 may include one or more alkaline cells, although other battery / cell types may also be used (e.g., Li-FeS2, Li-ion, NiCd, etc.). The form factor for the battery 422 is typically a AA or AAA cell type, but other form factors are possible. One useful aspect of the present invention is that it can operate without a dedicated rechargeable battery, which requires additional support circuitry (e.g., a charging port, an additional charging bus, etc.), which adds considerable weight and utilizes more space inside the computer mouse. Replaceable battery cells are typically lighter, have a smaller form factor, and in the context of the present invention, can be removed from the input device while the input device is still able to operate due to the power provided by the other branches 430, 440, which can provide a competitive advantage in a gaming scenario. The voltage boost circuit ("voltage boost") 424 is typically coupled in series downstream of the battery 422 and upstream of the MUX 410 (e.g., Figure 4 410 ), although the voltage boost circuit 424 can be configured before or after the MUX 410. In some aspects, the voltage boost 424 can be a DC to DC voltage boost device that can increase the output voltage of the battery 422. In some embodiments, one or more battery cells of the battery 422 are typically in the range of 0.9V to 1.65V. The voltage boost 424 can be configured to increase the voltage of the battery 422 to 2V, although other voltage settings can be used, as one of ordinary skill in the art will understand with the benefit of this disclosure. In certain embodiments, the battery branch can be disconnected (deselected) by the MUX using a single PMOS transistor. This can impose some restrictions on the operating voltage of each branch, for example, the voltage from the battery branch is typically the lowest voltage to prevent a single PMOS from turning on due to residual voltage drop. Some implementations may utilize a dual PMOS topology to avoid this situation, as one of ordinary skill in the art will understand with the benefit of this disclosure. Back Figure 4 , when the battery 422 is removed, the voltage on the battery branch 420 may drop to 0V, which may be detected by the system 400 to prompt the MUX 410 to switch to another power source. The battery may be referred to herein as a "removable" or "first" internal power source.

[0083] Bypass branch 430 can be configured to receive power from external power source 460. For example, bypass branch 430 can receive power from a wireless inductive power coupling device. In some embodiments, the wireless power coupling device can be a charging pad that can be used as both a mouse pad and a wireless power source (e.g., Power In some embodiments, the wireless power source may be a wireless power coupling device, which may inductively couple energy from the mouse pad to a device (e.g., a mouse) on or near the mouse pad, which may then convert the inductively coupled energy into electrical energy to power the input device. When the input device is stationary or moving on or along the surface of the wireless power coupling device, wireless power may be inductively coupled from the wireless power coupling device to the input device. In some cases, wireless power may be coupled to the input device when the input device is at a very short distance from the wireless power coupling device (e.g., a computer mouse is <2 cm from the mouse pad).

[0084] Bypass branch 430 may include a voltage step-down device 432 that may be configured to step down an input voltage from an external power source to 3.3V or other suitable value, which may be provided to support electronics 450 via MUX 410, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. In some aspects, voltage step-down device 432 may be a low dropout regulator ("LDO").

[0085] In certain embodiments, the bypass branch 430 takes precedence over other power sources (e.g., the battery branch 420 and the supercapacitor branch 440) and may be operable to ensure that the support electronics 450 has a reliable source of power for normal operation. In some cases, the bypass branch 430 may provide a higher voltage than the battery branch 420 to ensure normal operation of the MUX 410. In some embodiments, the current flowing through the bypass branch 430 may not be controlled and may be variable when the current is operable to feed current to the support electronics 450 (e.g., an MCU, a sensor, the system 200, or a portion thereof), which may change depending on the current use of the computer mouse (e.g., sleep mode, active mode, etc.). The LDO or buck device 432 may or may not have a clamping feature, and although in Figure 4 , but is not required for the operation of the system 400. In some aspects, the function of the LDO is to reduce the voltage feeding the MUX so that the voltage does not exceed the operating voltage of other electronic devices in the system (200). Therefore, using an LDO or a step-down circuit, the voltage is typically reduced to 3.6V or less. As described above, the supercapacitor can be any suitable energy storage element (energy buffer), which can also include rechargeable batteries, etc. Many modifications, variations and alternative embodiments thereof will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0086] The supercapacitor branch 440 can be coupled to an external power source. In some aspects, the external power source can be the same external power source 460 coupled to the bypass branch 430, such as Figure 4As shown, for example, a wireless inductive power coupling device. Supercapacitor branch 440 may include a current limiter 442 and a charge storage device 444. In the following examples, the charge storage device is described as one or more supercapacitors ("supercapacitors"), although it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other charge storage devices may be used alternatively or additionally. In some aspects, supercapacitor 444 may be 0.2F to 0.4F, which may depend on whether voltage boosting is used. Smaller or larger supercapacitors (e.g., 1F to 2F) or combinations thereof may be used, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure. Supercapacitors are more commonly referred to as "fixed" internal power sources, charge storage devices, and / or energy buffers.

[0087] The current limiter 442 may include multiple stages including a first stage having a floating LDO including a resistive load, a second stage having an LDO operable to protect a charge storage device from an overvoltage condition, and a third stage operable to prevent the charge storage device from leaking into the second stage. In the first stage, the floating LDO with the resistive load may include a low voltage drop (e.g., 1V) to increase the effective input voltage range and surface coverage (e.g., the area of ​​the powered mouse pad with EM emission relative to the total area of ​​the pad). To provide more context, a powered mouse pad may emit an electromagnetic (EM) field on its surface, where power is captured by a receiver (e.g., a modular insert). The EM field is typically not uniform across the mouse pad surface and there are some locations with less available power, and in some cases, the EM field is so low that the receiver cannot operate properly, which may be referred to as a power transfer hole. In some aspects, power transfer holes may be reduced by reducing the operating voltage of the receiver. Therefore, reducing the operating margin for current limiting (e.g., 1V, 0.7V, or other suitable voltage) may be helpful, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. Back to Figure 4 In some implementations, 1V applied to the load resistor can limit the current in the entire supercapacitor branch 440, and is typically highly accurate (e.g., 1% voltage regulation, 1% resistor), which can help the system 400 maintain the 30mA / 50mA specification by reducing the design margin, as further described below. The LDO may have any clamping features or may not have any clamping features.

[0088] The second stage may include an LDO configured to protect the charge storage device 444 from overvoltage conditions. In the second stage, the LDO typically does not have any clamping. In embodiments where the charge storage device 444 is a supercapacitor, a typical LDO operates at 2.7V or 3V, although other voltages are possible, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. Higher voltages can increase the available voltage range of the supercapacitor, which can extend the operating time of the supercapacitor. For example, in some embodiments, in order to provide an effective voltage, the supercapacitor branch should provide at least 2V, so if the supercapacitor technology limits the branch to 2.7V, a range of 2.0V to 2.7V can be used for a specific capacitance for a given operating time (amount of energy). If a 3V supercapacitor is used, the operating range can be increased to 2.0V to 3.0V, so for a given capacitance, the available energy is increased by approximately 40%, resulting in a longer operating time. On the other hand, reducing the supercapacitor capacitance may not have such a long operating time, but the supercapacitor will generally have a smaller footprint, which may be a factor in a compact design. Numerous modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0089] The third stage may be configured to prevent the ultracapacitor 444 from leaking into the second stage, however, some embodiments may operate without the third stage, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0090] In some embodiments, an example of typical operation of the system 400 may include the following conditions: at startup, the supercapacitor voltage is close to 0V; once 5V is received at the input of the supercapacitor stage 440 (e.g., from a wireless inductive voltage source such as a charging mouse pad), the current limiter 442 may be active (e.g., 35mA consumption) and the protection LDO (e.g., the second stage) may generally experience a voltage shortage (the second LDO may not have enough Vin to regulate). At this point, the voltage of the supercapacitor 444 may slowly increase until the protection LDO (e.g., from the second stage) reaches its output voltage (e.g., 2.7V). At this point, the current may then decrease until detected as an EoC condition by the system 400, in which case the current limiter 442 may not regulate.

[0091] Returning to the first level, certain embodiments are configured such that the floating LDO regulates 1V across the output resistor to achieve a known constant current, while the second "protection" LDO protects the supercapacitor by preventing the voltage across the supercapacitor from exceeding 2.7V. Thus, both the floating LDO and the protection LDO operate in a fundamentally different manner than a conventional operating configuration that typically simply caps and regulates the voltage. For example, when the charge on the supercapacitor 444 is low (e.g., <1V), a 5V input with a 1V drop across R2 can cause the protection LDO to operate in an unconventional manner by not regulating the voltage, and allowing current to pass until the supercapacitor 444 reaches a sufficient charge (e.g., 2.7V), where the protection LDO then regulates the voltage on the supercapacitor 444, current stops flowing through the protection LDO, causing the current on R2 to drop and the first LDO no longer regulates. Note that the floating LDO operates unconventionally by operating as a current limiter in a floating configuration, which is an atypical architectural configuration. Also unique is that the protection LDO operates as a current passing device until it begins to regulate the output voltage on the supercapacitor 444 to prevent an overvoltage condition. The combination of the floating LDO and the protection LDO is configured so that when current is not passing, the voltage at resistor R2 increases until equilibrium is reached between the two LDOs, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0092] Figure 5 A circuit block diagram ("system") 500 of a power management system according to certain embodiments is shown. In some implementations, system 500 may be a more detailed circuit diagram level representation of system 400 or a portion thereof. The following operational details are intended to provide insight into the functional operation of system 400 / 500 in certain circumstances, but should not be construed as the only method of operation of system 400 / 500, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0093] In some cases, although not required in all embodiments, the battery branch 420 can provide a minimum voltage, which can help increase battery life, and can operate at about 2V, although other operating voltages can be used. When external power is detected (e.g., wireless power is received by the system 500, such as by a modular insert configured to receive inductive power from a powered mouse pad), the bypass branch 430 is selected by the MUX 410 and provides power to the supporting electronic device 450. In some embodiments, the bypass branch 430 can provide a power source up to 3.6V, although alternative embodiments can have a higher or lower maximum voltage to power the supporting electronic device 450. Higher voltages can operate to reduce current consumption. In some aspects, a 2.5V detector (U6) with a push-pull output can facilitate smoother transitions (e.g., less abrupt) between MUX switching (e.g., MOS thresholds). In some embodiments, higher voltages can help ensure that the PMOS transistor is more reliably controlled. In some aspects, once the voltage from the bypass branch is high enough (eg, 2V plus the diode bias voltage), the bypass can be selected and the supercapacitor can begin charging.

[0094] In certain embodiments, when the bypass branch 430 provides voltage to the support electronics 450 via the MUX 410, the MUX 410 can force (e.g., via the voltage detector U6) Q2 and Q3A to turn off, thereby disabling the battery branch 420 and the supercapacitor branch 440. Given that the bypass branch 430 typically provides a higher voltage than the battery branch 420, there is typically no leakage even when the battery 422 is removed.

[0095] When the system 400 / 500 enters the EoC state where the supercapacitor 444 is fully charged (e.g., 2.7V) and the 2V push-pull voltage represents a logic high (1), the logic high will cause Q3A to turn off, Q2 to turn on, and power will be switched by MUX 410 to be sourced from the supercapacitor 444. When the voltage across the supercapacitor 444 ("Vsupercap") drops below 2V (or other suitable threshold), resistors R11 and R6 can be used to switch power back to the bypass branch 430 (e.g., the power source is switched from the supercapacitor 444 to the external voltage source 460). In the event that the computer mouse is removed from the external power source (e.g., a powered mouse pad), the supporting electronics 450 can continue to be powered by the supercapacitor 444 until Vsupercap drops below its threshold voltage (e.g., 2V). In this case, the voltage detector may clearly determine a logic low (e.g., 0V), Q3 may be turned on so that the battery branch 420 powers the support electronics 450 via the MUX 410, and Q2 may be turned off to prevent the battery from continuing to charge the supercapacitor 444. A voltage boost circuit may be used to increase Vsupercap, however some embodiments of the system 400 / 500 may not use a voltage boost circuit in the supercapacitor branch 440.

[0096] To summarize the various aspects of the supercapacitor branch 440, the current limiter 442 limits the current from the wireless power input (e.g., the powered mouse pad 460) to charge the supercapacitor, and can prevent the supercapacitor from discharging (e.g., reverse current) to the wireless power input (e.g., through the coil in the modular insert). The supercapacitor 444 can be configured to charge from the external power source 460 (powered mouse pad), for example, during the time when the powered mouse pad is turned on after the mouse is placed on the powered mouse pad or when the powered mouse pad is in the end-of-charge mode, and provide power for a limited time when the mouse is lifted from the charged mouse pad. The bypass branch 430 allows power from the external source to bypass the current limiter and the supercapacitor (supercapacitor branch 440), thereby making power immediately available to the support circuit system 450 without having to wait for the supercapacitor 440 to charge, which can ensure correct input device (e.g., computer mouse) operation regardless of the charge state of the supercapacitor 440 or the battery 422. The supercapacitor boost circuit can operate to extend the range of available Vsupercap voltages from 2V to 1V, although it is not required. Thus, a lower capacitance can be selected and the time from reaching the powered mouse pad to supercapacitor operation can be faster. As described above, the system 400 / 500 is configured to operate only with supercapacitors and wireless power without AA battery cells. When the supercapacitor 444 is charged, the powered mouse pad can enter an end-of-charge (EoC) mode. In order to restart power transmission, a current check needs to be run, which can be scheduled at any suitable interval (e.g., every 120s). In any case, the computer mouse should start working quickly (less than a few seconds) when placed on the powered mouse pad so that the user does not have to wait for the supercapacitor to charge, which is achieved by the bypass branch 430.

[0097] In some embodiments, the power sources may be prioritized as (1) bypass branch 430, (2) supercapacitor branch 440, and (3) battery branch 420. Such a priority may allow the use of supercapacitor 444 from about 2.7V to 3V to about 2V (e.g., any suitable voltage range for system electronics, typically 2.0V to 3.6V, although other ranges are possible). To help reduce the size of supercapacitor 444, a 3.3V boost may be used downstream of supercapacitor 444, which may extend the operating range down to 1V, thereby improving operating dynamics. When Vsupercap is sufficiently low (e.g., close to 0V), the output of voltage detector U5 may follow Vsupercap and turn on Q3B, which may result in leakage from battery branch 420 to supercapacitor branch 440, and D3 may ensure that U5 is within its operating voltage range before Q3B may be activated. Typically, to extend the battery life of a removable battery, the voltage may be set relatively low, but sufficient to power system electronics (e.g., system 200). To provide a non-limiting and specific example of operating parameters for a typical system 400 / 500, the boost voltage may be 1.9V + / - 0.1V, the bypass LDO may be operating at 2.82V, and the supercapacitor branch 440 current may be 31.1mA for Vsupercap of 0V to 2.776V, 22.5mA for Vsupercap up to 2.781V, 13mA for Vsupercap up to 2.786V, 6mA for Vsupercap up to 2.792V, and 0.1mA for Vsupercap up to 2.802V. It should be understood that these are measurements for a specific system and that the measurements may vary by 5% to 10% or more, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0098] In some cases, wireless charging via inductive coupling may be relatively inefficient. Typical wireless power transmission of a powered mouse pad or other external wireless power source may be about 500mA, which may be limited by wireless transmission standards. Charge transfer may be 10% to 15% efficient, which may result in a total power transfer of about 50mA. Therefore, in some embodiments, the system 400 / 500 should operate to coordinate the best case power budget: that is, at least 15mA for the bypass branch 430 and 30mA to 35mA for charging the supercapacitor 444 in the supercapacitor branch 440. In some exemplary embodiments, the system 400 / 500 should be configured to always draw at least 30mA, which can be used to notify the external power source that charging is required to enable it to continue to transmit power. As an example, a current draw of 15mA or less generally signals to the external power source that power is not needed; a current draw above 25mA (30mA for greater certainty) indicates that power is needed, and current draws between the two can be interpreted in any way and may result in discontinuous power or a complete shutdown. Thus, a 30mA minimum constant draw (for the combination of the bypass branch and the supercapacitor branch) can ensure that the external power source continuously provides power. In the event that the supercapacitor 440 is not full (e.g., it is charging) and the computer mouse is in motion, 30mA to 40mA can be drawn to charge the supercapacitor 440, and 10mA to 20mA can be allocated to the bypass branch 430 to ensure that the supporting electronics 450 are fully and continuously powered. When the computer mouse is not in motion, 30mA is drawn to charge the supercapacitor 440, which is sufficient to ensure that the external power source continues to continuously provide wireless power. In some embodiments, when the supercapacitor 440 is fully charged (e.g., 90% charged, 100% charged, etc.), the external power source may no longer provide wireless power until the supercapacitor 444 needs to be charged. Alternatively, some embodiments may still request power from the external power source even when the supercapacitor 440 is fully charged.

[0099] Fig. 6A 600 for operating a power management system according to certain embodiments. The method 600 may be performed by processing logic that may include hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software operating on appropriate hardware (e.g., a general purpose computing system or a dedicated machine), firmware (embedded software), or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the method 600 may be performed by aspects of the system 400, the system 500, the system 200 (which may include the system 400 / 500), or a combination thereof.

[0100] At operation 610, according to some embodiments, method 600 may include determining whether a first internal power source is electrically coupled to a power management system in a computer mouse. The first internal power source may be a removable charge storage device (e.g., an alkaline or rechargeable battery cell). In some aspects, when the first internal power source has a voltage supply level above a threshold, it may be determined that the first internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system. For example, system 400 / 500 may interpret a 1.5V battery cell operating at 1V as "not electrically coupled" to MUX 410 to ensure that a depleted battery is not used as a power source to support powering of electronic device 450.

[0101] At operation 620 , according to some implementations, method 600 may include selecting the first internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the first internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system.

[0102] At operation 630 , according to some embodiments, method 600 may include determining whether an external wireless power source is coupled to a power management system.

[0103] At operation 640, according to some embodiments, method 600 may include selecting an external wireless power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to the power management system and the first internal power source is not coupled to the power management system. In some aspects, the external power source may be a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the power management system via electromagnetic induction when the computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad. The coil and supporting electronics for receiving wireless power in the computer mouse may be fixedly integrated in the computer mouse, or may be housed on a modular insert (e.g., a "coin" as described above) that may be mechanically and electrically coupled to and removed from the computer mouse.

[0104] At operation 650 , according to some implementations, method 600 may include determining whether a second internal power source is coupled to the power management system.

[0105] At operation 660, according to certain embodiments, method 600 may include selecting a second internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the first internal power source and the external wireless power source are not coupled to the power management system. In some implementations, the second internal power source is a charge storage device (e.g., (one or more) supercapacitors) that is configured to be charged by the external power source via a charging circuit. The charging circuit may include a current limiter that includes a first low dropout voltage (LDO) regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration and a second LDO regulator circuit configured to regulate its output voltage to a level within a normal operating range of the second internal power source. The first LDO may be operable to regulate its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current that passes through the second LDO and charges the second internal power source until the second LDO reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first LDO to stop regulating until the output of the second LDO drops below the predetermined voltage. In some embodiments, the total allowed current supplied by the external power source is between 40 mA and 60 mA, wherein the external power source is configured to simultaneously provide power to the power management system and charge the second internal power source without exceeding the total allowed current.

[0106] It should be understood that according to certain embodiments, Fig. 6A The specific steps shown in provide a specific method 600 for operating a power management system. Other step sequences may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example, some embodiments described herein default to an internal power source (e.g., a battery) when detected, with an external power source as a secondary alternative. Some embodiments may alternatively give priority to an external power source over an internal power source. For example, a wireless power supply device and a bypass branch may have a first priority, a second internal power supply device (e.g., a supercapacitor) may have a second priority, and a first internal power supply device (e.g., a removable battery) may have a third priority. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of this disclosure. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed according to a specific application. Any combination of changes may be used, and those of ordinary skill in the art will understand many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0107] Figure 6B6 is a simplified flow chart illustrating aspects of a method 670 for operating a power management system according to certain embodiments. The method 670 may be performed by processing logic that may include hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software operating on appropriate hardware (e.g., a general purpose computing system or a dedicated machine), firmware (embedded software), or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the method 670 may be performed by aspects of the system 400, the system 500, the system 200 (which may include the system 400 / 500), or a combination thereof.

[0108] At operation 671 , according to some embodiments, method 670 may include determining whether an external wireless power source is coupled to an interface (eg, a modular insert) configured to transfer power from the external wireless power source to a power management system.

[0109] At operation 672, according to some embodiments, method 600 may include selecting an external wireless power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to and provides power to the power management system. In some aspects, the external power source may be a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the power management system via electromagnetic induction when the computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad. The coil and supporting electronics for receiving wireless power in the computer mouse may be fixedly integrated in the computer mouse, or may be housed on a modular insert (e.g., a "coin" as described above) that may be mechanically and electrically coupled to and removed from the computer mouse.

[0110] At operation 673 , according to certain embodiments, method 670 may include determining whether a stationary internal power source (eg, a supercapacitor) is coupled to the power management system.

[0111] At operation 674, according to some embodiments, method 670 may include selecting a fixed internal power source to power a computer mouse based on a determination that the fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is coupled to an interface but is not providing sufficient power to the interface (e.g., when a user is swiping, or when there is a low power hole or area on a powered mouse pad). In some implementations, the fixed internal power source is a charge storage device (e.g., (one or more) supercapacitors) that is configured to be charged by the external power source via a charging circuit. The charging circuit may include a current limiter that includes a first low dropout voltage (LDO) regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration and a second LDO regulator circuit configured to regulate its output voltage to a level within a normal operating range of the fixed internal power source. The first LDO may be operable to regulate its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current that passes through the second LDO and charges the fixed internal power source until the second LDO reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first LDO to cease regulation until the output of the second LDO drops below the predetermined voltage. In some embodiments, the total allowed current supplied by the external power source is between 40 mA and 60 mA, wherein the external power source is configured to simultaneously provide power to the power management system and charge the fixed internal power source without exceeding the total allowed current.

[0112] At operation 675, according to some embodiments, method 670 may include determining whether a removable internal power source is electrically coupled to a power management system in a computer mouse. The removable internal power source may be a removable charge storage device (e.g., an alkaline or rechargeable battery cell). In some aspects, when the first internal power source has a voltage supply level above a threshold, it may be determined that the removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system. For example, system 400 / 500 may interpret a 1.5V battery cell operating at 1V as "not electrically coupled" to MUX 410 to ensure that a depleted battery is not used as a power source to support powering electronic device 450.

[0113] At operation 676, according to some embodiments, method 670 may include selecting a first internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system, the external wireless power source is not coupled to the power management system, and / or the fixed internal power source is not coupled to the power management system, where no coupling may include no physical coupling or insufficient charge to power the system (200). Thus, the system hierarchy prioritizes external power sources (bypass branches), then fixed internal power sources (e.g., supercapacitors), and finally removable internal power sources (e.g., rechargeable batteries). This prioritization may extend the charge life of the rechargeable batteries. Any suitable hierarchy may be used, and the inputs may be prioritized in any order, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0114] It should be understood that according to certain embodiments, Figure 6B The specific steps shown in provide a specific method 670 for operating a power management system. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example, some embodiments described herein default to an internal power source (e.g., a battery) when detected, with an external power source as a secondary alternative. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments with the benefit of this disclosure. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the specific application. Any combination of changes may be used, and those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0115] Power interface for providing various types of external wireless power to input devices

[0116] Various aspects of the above-described embodiments relate to systems and methods for collecting power from a variety of different types of power sources, including external power sources (e.g., power received wirelessly) and internal power sources (e.g., internal batteries). In some conventional designs, access to wireless power is possible, but there is typically only one protocol. For example, some designs have an interface that allows a user to hang their input device from a charging cradle or place their input device on a charging pad or platform to enable wireless charging of the input device while the input device is stationary on the charging device. Other designs have interfaces that allow a user to charge the input device while moving along a powered surface such as a wireless charging pad. Various aspects of the present invention allow for power to be collected from a variety of different types of power sources, including external power sources (e.g., power received wirelessly) and internal power sources (e.g., internal batteries). In some conventional designs, access to wireless power is possible, but there is typically only one protocol. For example, some designs have an interface that allows a user to hang their input device from a charging cradle or place their input device on a charging pad or platform to enable wireless charging of the input device while the input device is stationary on the charging device. Other designs have an interface that allows a user to charge the input device while moving along a powered surface such as a wireless charging pad. Various aspects of the present invention allow for power to be collected from a variety of different types of wireless power transfer protocols (see, for example, Figures 7 and 8) to charge the same input device from any type of wireless power source (wireless charging pad (e.g., operating at 6.78 MHz), charging cradle, charging plate, etc.) so that the flexible input device is configured to be powered by a variety of different types of wireless power sources and wired power sources. Heretofore, this has not been possible because many of the technologies employed have dedicated technologies configured for a single wireless charging protocol.

[0117] In some embodiments, the power interface circuit may be operable to couple power or control the coupling of power from an external power source (e.g., a power source using inductive power coupling) to an input device (e.g., a computer mouse). In some embodiments, the power interface circuit may be a non-destructive removable modular insert (e.g., it may be repeatedly installed and removed in a modular manner) that may be configured to operate with one or more different wireless power transfer protocols. For example, some embodiments may be configured to operate with several different wireless charging protocols, including: wireless charging protocols that charge at a relatively low charging rate (e.g., ~50mA) at a receiving input device when the input device is in motion (e.g., a charging mouse pad), or those wireless charging protocols that charge at a generally higher charging rate (e.g., ~500mA) only when the input device is stationary on a charging implementation (e.g., a cradle, a pad). Some modular inserts may be configured to accommodate multiple wireless charging protocols. In some embodiments, multiple different modular inserts may be used, each of which is configured to operate according to a different wireless charging protocol. For example, a first modular insert can be inserted into an input device to operate according to a first wireless charging protocol that allows charging while the input device is in use (e.g., moving along a powered mouse pad), and a second modular insert can be inserted into the input device to operate according to a second wireless charging protocol that allows charging when the input device is not in use (e.g., the input device is stationary). Thus, a user can interchangeably swap out different modular inserts to accommodate different wireless charging protocols. The removable modular inserts can be configured to physically and electrically couple to a housing of an input device in a complementary mating relationship, such as Figure 8As shown, the housing serves as an interface for receiving power from an external wireless power source (e.g., inductive power received by a receiving coil on a modular insert) and delivering the received power to an input device. The modular insert may be communicatively coupled to an external wireless power source and / or an input device (e.g., aspects of the system 200). The removable modular insert may be coin-shaped, as shown in the various figures presented herein, or any suitable shape including circular, polygonal, planar, non-planar, or other suitable shapes with any suitable coverage area. The power interface circuit (e.g., modular insert) may be controlled by aspects of the system 200 (e.g., processor 210), by aspects of a host computing device (e.g., (one or more) processors 302), and / or may have on-board processing for controlling power reception and power transfer characteristics, as described herein. The various embodiments described herein, both explicitly and implicitly, show how a coin-type implementation of a power interface circuit configured as a modular insert may enable wireless charging of an input device through different wireless charging protocols. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of the present disclosure. It should be noted that a removable modular insert is a type of power interface circuit and that implementations other than removable modular inserts may be used, such as fixed power interface circuits, or other implementations that would be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0118] Thus, briefly stated, for purposes of non-limiting conceptual illustration, some embodiments may include a computer mouse having a socket (e.g., a slot, a cavity, etc.) configured to accept a power interface circuit implemented on a removable modular insert (e.g., shaped like a coin) that can output a voltage across its terminals (e.g., magnets 822) when wirelessly coupled to an external power source (e.g., a powered mouse pad). In some cases, by default, the computer mouse charging circuitry (see, e.g., Figure 5 ) can limit the current it will accept to 50mA. This will provide a very slow charging rate, sufficient to charge a computer mouse for a longer period of time when the computer mouse is used on a powered mouse pad that continuously powers the computer mouse, but not at the rate of conventional charging solutions (e.g., a stationary charging cradle). When the power interface circuit announces itself by pulsing a specific ID pattern (e.g., type data), the computer mouse can accept a current substantially greater than 50mA (e.g., >250mA), as described below at least with respect to Fig.10As described. Thus, different type data can cause the mouse to charge at different rates based on the type of external power source. Other operating characteristics can be changed based on the type data, including output elements (e.g., LEDs, audio prompts, etc.) to remind the user that the computer mouse is charging and at what rate (e.g., slowly charging when the computer mouse is in use, and quickly charging when the computer mouse is stationary).

[0119] Figure 7 A simplified diagram of a computer mouse 700 having various systems operable to perform various aspects of certain embodiments described herein is shown. The computer mouse 700 may include a system 200 for performing various aspects of external wireless power source interfacing (e.g., power management block 230) described herein, such as interfacing with a dedicated (e.g., fixed) infrastructure. In some aspects, a power interface circuit 710, such as a removable modular insert, may be used to interface with an external wireless power source (see, e.g., Figures 8 to 9 In some aspects, system 200, system 710, and / or system 300 may work in combination to perform various aspects of wireless power transfer described herein (see, e.g., Figure 11 to Figure 12 Many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0120] Figure 8 A computer mouse 800 is shown having a housing 810 configured to house a removable modular insert 820 (e.g., a power interface circuit) according to certain embodiments. The removable modular insert 820 can be non-destructively inserted into and removed from the housing 810 in a complementary mating relationship or in any manner that mechanically and electrically couples the removable modular insert 820 to the computer mouse 800.

[0121] The removable modular insert 820 can be coupled to the housing 810 via a friction fit, hardware (e.g., screws, tabs, clips, etc.), magnet(s), or other methods of physically coupling and securing the removable modular insert 820 to the housing 810 of the computer mouse 800. The housing 810 can be any suitable receptacle configured to couple to and secure the removable modular insert 820. In some embodiments, magnets 822 are configured on the removable modular insert 820 and can be operated to physically secure the removable modular insert 820 to the housing 810. The housing 810 can also include magnet(s) 812 to magnetically couple to magnets 822 on the removable modular insert 820. The magnetic attraction between the two sets of magnets can also be configured to help orient and properly align the removable modular insert 820 with the housing 810. The magnets 812, 822 can be constructed of conductive metals so that the magnets 822 can be operable to conduct electricity. For example, magnet 822 can facilitate the transfer of wireless power received by removable modular insert 820 to computer mouse 800, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. It should be noted that while many different embodiments are described herein, any of the various input devices (computer mice 130, 700, 800, etc.) can be configured to apply any of the new embodiments described herein (see, e.g., Figures 4 to 12 ), as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0122] Fig. 9900 is a simplified diagram showing a plurality of various external power sources that can be configured to be electrically coupled to a removable modular insert 820 according to certain embodiments. Some external wireless power sources can include a powered mouse pad 140, a charging cradle, pad or base 910, and the like. In some embodiments, a hardwired implementation (e.g., USB 920) can be electrically coupled to the removable modular insert 820 or directly electrically coupled to the housing 810 (e.g., via a power or I / O port) to provide power from an external source. When the computer mouse 800 moves along the surface of the powered mouse pad 140, the powered mouse pad 140 can wirelessly couple power to the computer mouse 800 via the removable modular insert 820. When the computer mouse 800 is stationary on the base 910 (e.g., fixed thereto), the base 910 can wirelessly couple power to the computer mouse 800 via the removable modular insert 820 or directly to the housing 810. For example, magnets 822 on the removable modular insert 820 can be mechanically and electrically coupled to magnets 912 on the base 910 to facilitate the transfer of power from the base 910 to the computer mouse 800. Some implementations of the removable modular insert 820 can facilitate the coupling of power from a hardwired external power source (e.g., USB protocol), as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0123] In some embodiments, the removable modular insert 820 may incorporate a load switch or other system that may generate type data corresponding to the type of external wireless power source. The type data may be sent to the computer mouse 800 (e.g., the processor 910) which may cause the computer mouse 800 to change power consumption characteristics and / or change energy buffer charging speeds based on the type of external wireless power source that is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the removable modular insert 820. The type data may be a code that provides information including the amount of power available from the wireless external power source (e.g., 50 mA from the powered mouse pad 140, >500 mA from the base 910, etc.), identification data, power capabilities, etc., as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. Although the external wireless power supply device is generally described as a system for inductive power coupling, some embodiments (e.g., Figures 7 to 10 ) may draw power from any suitable external wireless power source, not limited to inductive transfer power schemes (e.g., ultrasound, light, etc.), as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0124] Fig.101 is a simplified circuit diagram showing a system 1000 configured to control charging characteristics (e.g., charging rate) of a computer mouse based on the type of external power source (e.g., wireless or hardwired) coupled to a power interface circuit (e.g., a removable modular insert) according to certain embodiments. In some aspects, the external power source can include a coil in a modular insert (e.g., a coin), rectification circuitry, and power management electronics, and the external power source can be 5V from a cradle or other device. In some aspects, a temperature control (e.g., an NTC) can be configured as a stationary charger and not necessarily for charging during use on a mouse pad, and thus can be omitted in certain embodiments, as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0125] The system 1000 may include an external power source 1010, such as a powered mouse pad, which may be configured to provide power to a computer mouse (e.g., at the MCU 1040) via a power interface circuit. The sensing block 1020 may be configured to receive coupled wireless power from the external power source and determine the amount of power provided. In some implementations, a comparator circuit measures the voltage across a load resistor to determine its current and the corresponding power available from the external source, which may be transmitted to the MCU 1040 (processor (s) 210) of the computer mouse.

[0126] The provided 5V may pass through a load switch 1030, which may be configured to "chop" the voltage (e.g., 5V) provided by the external power source into a binary coded signal by cycling between 0V and 5V at a certain frequency (e.g., 2kHz to 10kHz or (one or more) other suitable frequencies), which may inform the computer mouse of the identity of the modular insert. The binary coded signal may be synchronous, asynchronous, symmetrical, asymmetrical, etc., and may be encoded in any suitable format, including non-binary codes, as will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. The binary coded signal or "type data" may correspond to the type of external power source that is wirelessly coupled and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. Thus, a powered mouse pad may have a first binary coded signal (first type data), and a charging cradle may have a second binary coded signal (second type data). The type data may be sent to and used by the MCU 1040 to identify the type of external power supply and change its charging characteristics accordingly. For example, as described above, the first type of data may correspond to a powered mouse pad, causing the computer mouse (e.g., system 200, system 500, or a combination thereof) to draw a maximum of 50 mA from an external power source, while the second type of data may correspond to a charging cradle, causing the computer mouse (e.g., system 200, system 500, or a combination thereof) to draw a significantly higher maximum current (e.g., >100 mA, >500 mA, <1 A, or other suitable charging rate). The load switch 1030 may be implemented by any suitable circuit architecture element, including a field effect transistor (FET) as shown, a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), or other suitable network of active and / or passive elements configured to generate the type of data described herein, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0127] Exemplary embodiments of systems using power interface circuits

[0128] In some embodiments, an input device (e.g., a computer mouse) may include one or more processors; a power interface circuit electrically and communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the power interface circuit operable to electrically couple to and receive power from a plurality of different types of external power sources, the plurality of different types of external power sources including at least: a first type of external wireless power source operable to wirelessly provide power to the computer mouse at a certain voltage and a first current; and a second type of external wireless power source operable to wirelessly provide power to the computer mouse at the voltage and a second current, the second current being at least twice the magnitude of the first current. The power interface circuit may be operable to generate type data and send the type data to the one or more processors to indicate whether the first type of external power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some aspects, the one or more processors configure the computer mouse to change power consumption characteristics based on whether the first type of external wireless power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. The computer mouse may also include a housing configured in the computer mouse, the housing electrically and communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The power interface circuit includes a removable modular insert configured to be physically and electrically coupled to a housing of a computer mouse in a complementary mating relationship. The removable modular insert is configured to be non-destructively coupled to and removed from the housing and is operable to generate type data and send the type data to one or more processors. The removable modular insert may include one or more magnets operable to mechanically assist in coupling and aligning the removable modular insert with the housing and a second type of external power source.

[0129] The power interface circuit may be operable to receive power from an external wireless power source of a first type when the computer mouse is moving along an underlying surface, the underlying surface being at least a portion of the external power source of the first type and the power interface circuit being configured such that the power interface circuit only receives power from an external wireless power source of a second type when the computer mouse is substantially stationary. The type data from the power interface circuit may be a binary sequence (e.g., a digital or analog sequence) corresponding to the type of the external power source. In some embodiments, the type data from the power interface circuit is a 5V binary sequence operating between 2kHz and 10kHz.

[0130] In certain embodiments, the power interface circuit includes a load switch operable to convert a received voltage (e.g., DC, rectified DC, AC, etc.) into a binary sequence that operates as type data indicating whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly coupled and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some aspects, the load switch includes one or more field effect transistors (FETs) configured to operate as a switch that receives a 5V input voltage from an external power source and cycles the output of the load switch in a series of on / off states forming a binary sequence that operates as type data and typically operates between 2kHz and 10kHz, but other binary sequence frequencies are possible.

[0131] In certain embodiments, the power interface circuit is further operable to mechanically and electrically couple to and receive power from one or more wired power sources, the one or more wired power sources including at least a third type of external power source operable to provide a voltage and a third current to the computer mouse, the third current being at least twice the magnitude of the first current. In some cases, the first type of external wireless power source is a wireless charging pad, the second type of external wireless power source is a wireless charging base or stand, or the third type of external power source is a wired universal serial bus protocol. In some implementations, the first type of external wireless power source provides 5VDC at a maximum of 40mA to 60mA, and / or the second type of external wireless power source provides 5VDC at a maximum of 100mA to 500mA. One or more processors can control charging characteristics based on whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit, the charging characteristics including a charging rate, wherein the computer mouse is operable to: charge one or more internal power storage devices at a first charging rate when the first type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit; and charge one or more internal power storage devices at a second charging rate when the second type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, the second charging rate being at least twice the first charging rate.

[0132] In some embodiments, a computer mouse may include one or more visual output elements, wherein one or more processors are configured to operate the one or more visual output elements in a first operational output configuration when a first type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, and the one or more processors are configured to operate the one or more visual output elements in a second operational output configuration when a second type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, the first operational output configuration and the second operational output configuration being different from each other. In some cases, a computer mouse may include an optical sensor controlled by one or more processors, the optical sensor being configured to detect movement of the computer mouse relative to an underlying surface and generate corresponding movement data. The computer mouse is operable to be communicatively coupled to a host computing device, and periodically generate and send an operation report to the host computing device. The operation report may include movement data. In some aspects, when a second type of external wireless power source is coupled to the power interface circuit, the one or more processors are configured to prevent movement data from being included in the operation report.

[0133] Fig.11 1 is a simplified flow chart illustrating various aspects of a method 1100 for controlling the charging rate of a computer mouse according to certain embodiments. The method 1100 may be performed by processing logic that may include hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software operating on appropriate hardware (e.g., a general-purpose computing system or a dedicated machine), firmware (embedded software), or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the method 1100 may be performed by various aspects of the system 200, 710, 300, or any combination thereof. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0134] At operation 1110, according to certain embodiments, method 1100 may include establishing, by one or more processors, an electrical and communicative coupling with a power interface circuit that is operable to wirelessly couple and electrically couple to and receive power from multiple different types of external power sources, and provide the received power to a computer mouse.

[0135] At operation 1120, according to some embodiments, method 1100 may include receiving, by one or more processors, type data from the power interface circuit, the type data indicating whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit.

[0136] At operation 1130 , according to some embodiments, method 1100 may include determining, by the one or more processors, a type of external wireless power source coupled to the power interface circuit based on the type data.

[0137] At operation 1140, method 1100 may include configuring the computer mouse to change the power consumption characteristics based on whether the first type of external wireless power source or the second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly coupled and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some aspects, the computer mouse includes a housing configured in the computer mouse, the housing electrically and communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The power interface circuit may also include a removable modular insert (e.g., see Figure 8 ), the removable modular insert is configured to be physically and electrically coupled to a housing of the computer mouse in a complementary mating relationship, and the removable modular insert can be configured to be non-destructively coupled to the housing and removed from the housing. In some cases, the removable modular insert is configured to send type data to one or more processors. Configuring the computer mouse to change power consumption characteristics based on whether a first type of external wireless power source or a second type of external wireless power source is wirelessly and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit may include: when the first type of external wireless power source is determined to be coupled to the power interface circuit, charging one or more internal power storage devices at a first charging rate; and when the second type of external wireless power source is determined to be coupled to the power interface circuit, charging one or more internal power storage devices at a second charging rate, the second charging rate being at least twice the first charging rate. In some implementations, the first type of external power source can be a wireless charging pad, and the second type of external power source can be a wireless charging base or stand, such as Fig. 9 shown.

[0138] It should be understood that according to certain embodiments, Fig.11 The specific steps shown in the embodiment provide a specific method 1100 for controlling the charging rate of a computer mouse. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed according to specific applications. Any combination of changes may be used, and those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0139] Fig.12 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1200 for operating a modular insert for a computer mouse according to certain embodiments. The method 1200 may be performed by processing logic that may include hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software operating on appropriate hardware (e.g., a general purpose computing system or a dedicated machine), firmware (embedded software), or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the method 1100 may be performed by aspects of the system 200, 710, 300, or any combination thereof. Many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments thereof will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0140] At operation 1210, according to certain embodiments, method 1200 may include receiving power from an external power source via a modular insert, wherein the modular insert is a power interface circuit configured to be physically and electrically coupled to a housing of a computer mouse, wherein the modular insert is configured to be non-destructively coupled to and removed from the housing.

[0141] At operation 1220, according to some embodiments, method 1200 may include operating a load switch on the modular insert to convert the voltage of the received power into a binary sequence, the binary sequence characterizing the type of external wireless power source, including: a first type of external wireless power source; and a second type of external wireless power source. In some aspects, the load switch may include: one or more field effect transistors (FETs) configured to operate as a switch, wherein operating the load switch further includes cycling an output of the load switch that generates a series of on / off states forming the binary sequence.

[0142] At operation 1230, according to some embodiments, method 1200 may include sending a binary sequence to the computer mouse, the binary sequence configured to cause the computer mouse to change a power consumption characteristic based on whether the binary sequence indicates a first type or a second type of external wireless power source wirelessly coupled and electrically coupled to the power interface circuit. In some embodiments, the binary sequence operates between 2 kHz and 10 kHz.

[0143] It should be understood that according to certain embodiments, Fig.12 The specific steps shown in the figure provide a specific method 1200 for operating a modular insert for a computer mouse. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed according to specific applications. Any combination of changes may be used, and those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate many variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments thereof with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0144] In some embodiments, thermal protection can be employed. For example, power delivery can be reduced, stopped, or modified in any suitable manner to accommodate thermal considerations of good input device performance characteristics, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure. In some embodiments, each charging implementation (e.g., a 50mA powered mouse pad, a 500mA charging cradle, etc.) can have a different binary mode (type data). In some cases, one of the charging implementations can be a default mode (50mA charging rate), which does not require type data to instantiate a default charging rate, and only changes the charging rate (e.g., power consumption characteristics) when the type data corresponds to an external power source other than the default type. Many modifications, variations, and alternative embodiments will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

[0145] In some implementations, certain computer mouse functions can be changed based on the type of external power source detected. For example, charging schemes that do not allow the computer mouse to move (e.g., charging pads, charging cradles), certain human interface device (HID) reports can be suppressed or canceled (e.g., XY movement data) to help avoid possible harmful signals (e.g., cursor jitter). In some aspects, an LED can be used to provide a visual indication of the type of charging currently being used. For example, a relatively slow charging via a powered mouse pad can cause the LED to operate in a first lighting mode, while a relatively fast charging via a charging cradle can cause the LED to operate in a second lighting mode different from the first lighting mode. In some embodiments, the charging rate can be modified based on the current charge of an internal charge storage device (e.g., a supercapacitor), or in some cases, the external power source can be electrically decoupled when power is no longer needed.

[0146] Most embodiments utilize at least one network familiar to those skilled in the art to support communications using any of a variety of commercially available protocols such as TCP / IP, UDP, OSI, FTP, UPnP, NFS, CIFS, etc. The network can be, for example, a local area network, a wide area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wireless network, and any combination thereof.

[0147] In embodiments utilizing a web server as an operational server or security server, the web server may run any of a variety of server or middle-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers, and business application servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executing programs or scripts in response to requests from user devices, such as by executing one or more applications, which may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language or any scripting language, and combinations thereof, including but not limited to C, C# or C++, scripting languages ​​such as Perl, Python or TCL. The (one or more) servers may also include a database server, including but not limited to and Commercially available database server.

[0148] Such a device may also include a computer-readable storage medium reader, a communication device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, etc.) and a working memory as described above. The computer-readable storage medium reader may be connected to or configured to receive a non-transient computer-readable storage medium representing a remote, local, fixed and / or removable storage device and a storage medium for temporarily and / or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readable information. The system and various devices will generally also include a plurality of software applications, modules, services or other elements located in at least one working memory device, including an operating system and an application program, such as a client application or a browser. It should be understood that alternative embodiments may have many variations different from those described above. For example, custom hardware may also be used and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets) or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0149] Many specific details are set forth herein to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the claimed subject matter can be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, methods, devices, or systems known to those of ordinary skill in the art are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the claimed subject matter. The various embodiments shown and described are provided only as examples to illustrate the various features of the claims. However, the features shown and described with respect to any given embodiment are not necessarily limited to the associated embodiments, and can be used or combined with other embodiments shown and described. In addition, the claims are not intended to be limited to any one example embodiment.

[0150] Although the subject matter has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that those skilled in the art can easily generate changes, modifications and equivalents to such embodiments after obtaining an understanding of the foregoing. Therefore, it should be understood that, as will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the present disclosure is presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation, and does not exclude the inclusion of such modifications, modifications and / or additions to the subject matter. In fact, the methods and systems described herein may be embodied in various other forms; in addition, various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made to the form of the methods and systems described herein without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The attached claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

[0151] The terms and expressions that have been employed are used as terms of description rather than limitation, and it is not intended that the use of such terms and expressions exclude any equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof. However, it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claimed system and method. Therefore, it should be understood that although the present system and method have been specifically disclosed by way of examples and optional features, those skilled in the art should recognize modifications and variations of the concepts disclosed herein, and such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the system and method defined by the appended claims.

[0152] Although the present disclosure provides certain example embodiments and applications, other embodiments obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments that do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to be limited only by reference to the appended claims.

[0153] Unless otherwise expressly noted, it should be understood that throughout the specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," and "identifying" refer to the actions or processes of a computing device, such as one or more computers or similar electronic computing devices, that manipulates or transforms data represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within a memory, register, or other information storage device, transmission device, or display device of a computing platform.

[0154] The one or more systems discussed herein are not limited to any particular hardware architecture or configuration. A computing device may include any suitable arrangement of components that provide a result conditioned on one or more inputs. Suitable computing devices include multi-function microprocessor-based computer systems that access stored software that programs or configures a computing system from a general-purpose computing device to a dedicated computing device that implements one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. Any suitable programming, scripting, or other type of language or combination of languages ​​may be used to implement the teachings contained herein in software for programming or configuring a computing device.

[0155] Embodiments of the methods disclosed herein may be performed in the operation of such a computing device. The order of the blocks presented in the above examples may be changed—for example, the blocks may be reordered, combined, and / or divided into sub-blocks. Certain blocks or processes may be performed in parallel.

[0156] Unless otherwise specifically stated, conditional language used herein, such as, among others, "can," "possibly," "might," "may," "for example," etc., or otherwise understood in context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain examples include certain features, elements, and / or steps while other examples do not. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that one or more examples in any way require features, elements, and / or steps, or that one or more examples must include logic for determining whether such features, elements, and / or steps are included in any particular example or are to be performed in any particular example, with or without author input or prompting.

[0157] The terms "include", "comprise", "have", etc. are synonyms, are used inclusively in an open manner, and do not exclude additional elements, features, actions, operations, etc. In addition, the term "or" is used in its inclusive meaning (rather than exclusive meaning), so that, for example, when used to connect a list of elements, the term "or" means one, some or all elements in the list. The use of "suitable for" or "configured to" herein means open and inclusive language, which does not exclude the device that is suitable for or configured to perform additional tasks or steps. Additionally, the use of "based on" means open and inclusive, because the process, step, calculation or other action of "based on" one or more of the conditions or values ​​may actually be based on additional conditions or values ​​other than those described. Similarly, the use of "based at least in part" means open and inclusive, because the process, step, calculation or other action of "based at least in part" one or more of the conditions or values ​​may actually be based on additional conditions or values ​​other than those described. The titles, lists and numbers included herein are only for ease of explanation and are not meant to be limited.

[0158] The various features and processes described above can be used independently of each other, or can be used in combination in various ways. All possible combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, in some embodiments, certain methods or process blocks can be omitted. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular order, and the blocks or states associated therewith can be performed in other appropriate orders. For example, the blocks or states described can be performed in an order other than the specifically disclosed order, or multiple blocks or states can be combined in a single block or state. Example blocks or states can be performed serially, in parallel, or in some other way. Blocks or states can be added to the disclosed examples or removed from the disclosed examples. Similarly, the example systems and components described herein can be configured differently from those described. For example, compared to the disclosed examples, elements can be added, removed, or rearranged.

Claims

1. A computer mouse, comprising: a housing configured to house a removable first charge storage device; an interface configured to wirelessly receive power from an external power source; a second charge storage device; as well as Multiplexers, including: output coupled to one or more processors; and a set of inputs coupled to the first charge storage device, the interface, and the second charge storage device, wherein the multiplexer is configured to electrically couple the interface to the one or more processors based on a determination that the external power source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface, wherein the multiplexer is configured to electrically couple the second charge storage device to the one or more processors based on a determination that the external power source is electrically coupled to the interface but is not currently providing power to the interface, and wherein the multiplexer is configured to electrically couple the first charge storage device to the one or more processors based on a determination that the first charge storage device is electrically coupled to the multiplexer and the external power source is not coupled to the interface or is not providing power to the interface, Wherein, the second charge storage device is configured to be charged by the external power source via a charging circuit, the charging circuit having a current limiter, the current limiter comprising: a first low dropout voltage regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration; a second low dropout voltage regulator circuit configured to regulate an output voltage of the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit to a level within a normal operating range of the second charge storage device, wherein the first low dropout voltage regulator circuit regulates its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current, which passes through the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit and charges the second charge storage device until the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first low dropout voltage regulator circuit to stop regulating until the output of the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit drops below the predetermined voltage.

2. The computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein: The removable first charge storage device is a removable battery, and wherein the first charge storage device is determined to be electrically coupled to the multiplexer when the first charge storage device has a voltage supply level above a threshold.

3. The computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein: The interface is configured to receive a removable modular insert that enables the computer mouse to wirelessly receive power from the external power source when the removable modular insert is inserted into the interface.

4. The computer mouse according to claim 3, wherein: The external power source is a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the interface via electromagnetic induction when the computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad.

5. The computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein: The second charge storage device is a supercapacitor.

6. The computer mouse according to claim 1, wherein: A total allowed current supplied by the external power source is between 40 mA and 60 mA, wherein the external power source is configured to simultaneously provide power to the one or more processors and charge the second charge storage device without exceeding the total allowed current.

7. A method of operating a computer mouse, comprising: determining whether an external wireless power source is coupled to an interface, the interface being configured to transfer power from the external wireless power source to a power management system; selecting the external wireless power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface; determining whether a stationary internal power source is coupled to the power management system; selecting the fixed internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is coupled to the interface but is not providing sufficient power to the interface; determining whether a removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system in the computer mouse; as well as selecting the removable internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is not coupled to the interface, Wherein, the fixed internal power source is a charge storage device, the charge storage device is configured to be charged by the external wireless power source via a charging circuit, the charging circuit includes a current limiter, and the current limiter includes: a first low dropout voltage regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration; and a second low dropout voltage regulator circuit configured to regulate an output voltage of the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit to a level within a normal operating range of the stationary internal power source, wherein the first low dropout voltage regulator circuit regulates its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current, which passes through the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit and charges the fixed internal power source until the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first low dropout voltage regulator circuit to stop regulating until the output of the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit drops below the predetermined voltage.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The removable internal power source is a removable charge storage device, and wherein the removable internal power source is determined to be electrically coupled to the power management system when the removable internal power source has a voltage supply level above a threshold.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The external wireless power source is a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the power management system via electromagnetic induction when the computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The stationary internal power source is a supercapacitor.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein: A total allowed current supplied by the external wireless power source is between 40 mA and 60 mA, wherein the external wireless power source is configured to simultaneously provide power to the power management system and charge the stationary internal power source without exceeding the total allowed current.

12. A computer system comprising: one or more processors; One or more machine-readable, non-transitory storage media comprising instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining whether an external wireless power source is coupled to an interface configured to transfer power from the external wireless power source to a power management system of a computer mouse; selecting the external wireless power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the external wireless power source is electrically coupled to the interface and provides power to the interface; determining whether a stationary internal power source is coupled to the power management system; selecting the fixed internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the fixed internal power source is coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is coupled to the interface but is not providing sufficient power to the interface; determining whether a removable internal power source is electrically coupled to a power management system in the computer mouse; and selecting the removable internal power source to power the computer mouse based on a determination that the removable internal power source is electrically coupled to the power management system and the external wireless power source is not coupled to the interface, wherein the charging circuit operable to charge the stationary internal power source comprises a current limiter, the current limiter comprising: a first low dropout voltage regulator circuit biased in a floating output configuration; a second low dropout voltage regulator circuit configured to regulate an output voltage of the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit to a level within a normal operating range of the stationary internal power source, wherein the first low dropout voltage regulator circuit regulates its output voltage across an output resistor, thereby generating a constant current, which passes through the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit and charges the fixed internal power source until the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit reaches and regulates to a predetermined voltage, thereby causing the first low dropout voltage regulator circuit to stop regulating until the output of the second low dropout voltage regulator circuit drops below the predetermined voltage.

13. The computer system according to claim 12, wherein: The removable internal power source is a removable charge storage device, and wherein the removable internal power source is determined to be electrically coupled to the power management system when the removable internal power source has a voltage supply level above a threshold.

14. The computer system according to claim 12, wherein: The external wireless power source is a charging mouse pad configured to wirelessly provide power to the power management system via electromagnetic induction when the computer mouse is placed on or near the charging mouse pad.

15. The computer system according to claim 12, wherein: The stationary internal power source is a supercapacitor configured to be charged by the external wireless power source via a charging circuit.

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