Digital Feedback Battery Charging Voltage Negotiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional battery charging methods for portable devices are inefficient due to limited power capability and voltage headroom issues, leading to long charging times and potential battery degradation, especially with the increasing capacity of batteries and demand for higher voltages.
Innovation Solution
A battery charging system that utilizes digital feedback to modify the voltage and current supplied to the battery, allowing for higher voltage operation without exceeding safe limits, thereby increasing the charge rate while maintaining compatibility with existing devices and reducing heat generation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional 5V charging is used, then compatibility with existing devices is maintained, but charging time becomes excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic voltage negotiation between the portable device and external device. The portable device detects the external device's voltage capability and responds with a desired voltage level, allowing the system to dynamically adjust from conventional 5V to higher voltages (e.g., 12V, 20V) based on battery charging needs, thereby reducing charging time while maintaining compatibility with existing 5V chargers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the voltage parameter from fixed 5V to variable voltage levels. By implementing a voltage negotiation protocol where the portable device can request and the external device can provide higher voltages (12V, 20V, or higher), the system achieves faster charging rates while maintaining backward compatibility with standard 5V USB chargers
2Productivity
If higher voltage is used to increase charge rate, then charging speed improves, but voltage headroom issues and safety concerns arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the portable device continuously monitors the external device's voltage output capability and adjusts its charging requests accordingly. The external device responds to the portable device's desired voltage level, creating a closed-loop control system that ensures safe voltage levels are maintained while maximizing charging rate
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary voltage capability detection and negotiation before actual charging begins. The portable device detects the external device's voltage capability in advance and establishes an agreement on the operating voltage level, ensuring safety constraints are met before high-voltage charging starts
3Productivity
If a secondary portable device connector is implemented, then higher voltage charging capability is achieved, but solution cost and consumer cost significantly increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing USB connector universal by implementing a negotiation protocol that allows it to handle both conventional 5V charging and higher voltage charging. The same physical connector and signal lines are used for both power delivery and voltage negotiation, eliminating the need for separate high-voltage connectors and reducing manufacturing and consumer costs
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and apparatus for charging a battery of a portable device are disclosed, including receiving, by a charging component, an amount of voltage on a power bus connectable to an external device, wherein the charging component charges the battery with the amount of voltage received. The methods and apparatus include authenticating, by an authentication component, the portable device with the external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein the authentication component is configured to transmit one or more authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal lines. The methods and apparatus include transmitting, by a configuration component, a modified voltage signal and a modified current signal to the external device via the plurality of signal lines, wherein the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal are operable to cause the external device to modify the amount of voltage transmitted to the power bus.