Current Measurement Circuit for Power Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical current measurement circuits in mobile communication devices face challenges in accurately measuring current without causing damage due to large voltage variations, which can impact power consumption and battery life.
Innovation Solution
An electrical current measurement circuit that uses a sense current proportionally related to the current of interest, charging a capacitor to generate a sense voltage, and includes a determination circuit to count occurrences of the sense voltage reaching a predefined threshold, reducing the voltage to prevent damage and quantify the current accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional electrical current measurement circuits are used to measure current in mobile communication devices, then current measurement can be performed, but large voltage variations can occur causing damage to the device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (capacitor and threshold-based detection circuit) between the sense current and the measurement output. The capacitor integrates the sense current over time, and the threshold detection converts continuous voltage variations into discrete countable events, preventing direct transmission of large voltage swings to the measurement system while preserving current measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic threshold-based sampling where the determination circuit counts occurrences when the sense voltage reaches a predefined threshold during clock cycles. This periodic measurement approach converts continuous current measurement into discrete events, preventing damage from continuous large voltage variations while maintaining measurement precision through systematic sampling.
2Measurement precision
If the sense voltage is continuously monitored to accurately measure current, then measurement precision is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the patent uses periodic threshold-based detection synchronized with clock cycles. The determination circuit only activates comparison and counting operations when the sense voltage reaches the threshold, converting continuous power-consuming monitoring into periodic, event-driven measurements that maintain precision while reducing overall power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the critical measurement events (threshold crossings) from the continuous sense voltage signal, ignoring intermediate voltage values. This selective extraction approach allows accurate current measurement based on threshold crossing frequency while avoiding the power consumption associated with processing the entire continuous voltage waveform.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows for accurate monitoring and optimization of power consumption and battery life by measuring electrical current without causing damage to the device, improving practicality, reliability, and durability compared to conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
A capacitor in the electrical current measurement circuit is continuously charged by the sense current to generate a sense voltage
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical current measurement circuit is provided. The electrical current measurement circuit is configured to receive a sense current proportionally related to an electrical current of interest to continuously charge a capacitor to a sense voltage. The electrical current measurement circuit is configured to determine whether the sense voltage reaches a predefined voltage threshold and reduce the sense voltage to below the predefined voltage threshold in response to the sense voltage reaching the predefined voltage threshold. The electrical current measurement circuit counts each occurrence of the sense voltage reaching the predefined voltage threshold and quantifies the electrical current based on a total count of the sense voltage reaching the predefined voltage threshold during the predefined measurement period. By incorporating the electrical current measurement circuit in an electronic device, it may be possible to accurately monitor and thus help to optimize power consumption and battery life of the electronic device.