Sensor-Guided Power Allocation for Battery Charging Under Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices often face issues with battery charging, such as incomplete charging, interference with device operations, and prolonged charging times due to inadequate power management.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of control circuitry in electronic devices that adjusts power consumption by deactivating or activating processor cores, adjusting hardware settings, and selectively starting or stopping software activities to prioritize battery charging based on sensor information, usage patterns, and environmental data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If power is allocated to battery charging, then charging speed is improved, but device operation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The power management system dynamically adjusts power allocation between battery charging and device operations based on real-time conditions. The control circuitry monitors sensor information, usage patterns, and environmental data to continuously optimize the split of available power, ensuring charging speed is maximized when possible while maintaining acceptable device performance levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters of the device by selectively throttling power consumption of various components. The control circuitry adjusts hardware settings and software activity levels to modify power demand, thereby freeing up more power for battery charging without completely halting device operations.
2Power
If processor cores are deactivated to reduce power consumption, then power available for charging is improved, but device functionality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by selectively managing power to specific processor cores and components rather than uniformly reducing power across the entire device. The control circuitry identifies which cores can be deactivated based on current task requirements, ensuring that essential functions remain operational while non-critical functions are throttled to free up power for charging.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial action by deactivating only the necessary portion of processor cores required to free up sufficient power for charging, rather than shutting down all processing activities. This allows the device to maintain minimal functionality while prioritizing battery charging.
3Productivity
If background software activities are stopped to prioritize charging, then charging efficiency is improved, but user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The power management system incorporates feedback mechanisms by monitoring sensor information, usage patterns, and environmental conditions to make intelligent decisions about which background activities to throttle. This feedback loop allows the system to prioritize charging during periods when user interaction is minimal while maintaining user experience during active usage periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively managing power allocation before critical charging deadlines arise. By analyzing usage patterns and predicting future power needs, the control circuitry preemptively adjusts background activities to ensure charging occurs efficiently without significantly impacting user experience when the user actually needs the device.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may have a power system. The power system may receive power such as wireless power or wired power and may use a portion of the received power to charge a battery. Power consumption by control circuitry in the device can be adjusted by deactivating or activating processor cores in the control circuitry and by selectively starting or stopping software activities. By selectively reducing power consumption by circuitry in the electronic device other than battery charging circuitry in the power system that is charging the battery, additional power may be made available to charge the battery and/or battery capacity can be extended. The electronic device may reduce non-battery-charging activities in the device in response to information gathered with sensors such as motion and temperature information, information from the power system, information on device location, information on software settings, and other information.