Recharging apparatus capable of selectively enabling or interrupting recharging procedure for rechargeable battery in portable electronic device and recharging method thereof

A recharging apparatus applied to a portable electronic device. The recharging apparatus is capable of selectively enabling or interrupting the recharging procedure for a rechargeable battery in the portable electronic device. The recharging apparatus includes an input unit, a recharging circuit, and a control unit. The input unit is applied to generate a switching control signal; the recharging circuit is applied to receive an enable signal and then output recharging power used for recharging the rechargeable battery; and the control unit, electrically connected to the input unit and the rechargeable battery, is applied to determine whether to output the enable signal to the recharging circuit or not in accordance with the switching control signal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recharging apparatus and a recharging method thereof, and more specifically, to a recharging apparatus that enables or interrupts recharging procedures for a rechargeable battery in a portable electronic device and a recharging method thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The tide of electronic devices turning towards smaller and lighter devices has resulted in portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), appearing more and more frequently in daily life. In practical terms of using portable electronic devices, a main point of evaluating convenience of said portable electronic devices is power management. In general, portable electronic devices are equipped with rechargeable batteries: when a portable electronic device does not employ an external power source, such as power supplied by a power plant, the rechargeable battery is responsible for supporting all consumed power of the portable electronic device. When the portable electronic device connects to an external power source, an internal power control circuit of the portable electronic device switches the power source from the rechargeable battery to the external power source. At such a time, the external power source not only supplies sufficient power to the portable electronic device for normal operation, but also enables recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery to replenish consumed energy of the rechargeable battery until the portable electronic device disconnects from the external power source.

As mentioned above, current portable electronic devices always enable recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery inside the device when the portable electronic device is connected to an external power source, no matter whether the rechargeable battery is filled up or not. Unfortunately, the number of times the battery can be recharged is limited, regardless of whether the battery is a Li-ion battery or a Ni—Mh battery. If the number of recharging times is over the limit (for example, a Li-ion battery is usually designed to support 800 or 1000 recharges), the efficiency of the rechargeable battery is greatly decreased. That is, the rechargeable battery is only allowed to be recharged a fixed number of times, and if the number of recharging times is over the limit, the rechargeable battery cannot be recharged anymore. Because the battery has no ability to continue supplying power required by the portable electronic device, a new battery is required. It is well known that a traditional recharging apparatus and control method thereof reduce rechargeable battery life due to bad recharging mechanisms, and unnecessary costs are introduced as a result of more frequent replacement for rechargeable batteries inside a portable electronic device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one of the objectives of the claimed invention to provide a recharging apparatus and a recharging method capable of selectively enabling or interrupting recharging procedures for a rechargeable battery in the portable electronic device. The present invention considers utilizing circumstance and remaining energy of the battery to determine whether to recharge the rechargeable battery, to solve the above-mentioned problems.

According to the claimed invention, a recharging apparatus applied to a portable electronic device is disclosed. The recharging apparatus is capable of selectively enabling or interrupting the recharging procedure for a rechargeable battery in the portable electronic device. The recharging apparatus includes an input unit, a recharging circuit, and a control unit. The input unit generates a switching control signal; the recharging circuit receives an enable signal and then outputs a recharging power used for recharging the rechargeable battery; where the control unit is electrically connected to the input unit and the recharging circuit, for determining whether to output the enable signal to the recharging circuit in accordance with the switching control signal.

According to the claimed invention, a recharging method applied to a portable electronic device is further disclosed. The recharging method is capable of selectively enabling or interrupting the recharging procedure for a rechargeable battery in the portable electronic device. The recharging method includes generating a switching control signal; determining whether to output an enable signal to a recharging circuit in accordance with the switching control signal; and receiving the enable signal then outputting a recharging power used for recharging the rechargeable battery.

The present invention, the recharging apparatus and the recharging method permit users to decide whether to enable recharging procedures for a rechargeable battery. In the claimed invention, this is achieved by generating a switching control signal through an input unit (such as a hardware switch) to control an internal recharging circuit of the portable electronic device. On the other hand, when the remaining energy of the rechargeable battery is sufficient so no recharging procedures are required, the recharging apparatus and the recharging method automatically interrupt recharging procedures. Consequently, unnecessary recharges for the rechargeable battery are decreased: that is, life of the rechargeable battery is greatly increased by applying the recharging apparatus and the recharging method disclosed in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention, the recharging apparatus, is mainly applied to a portable electronic device. Taking a mobile phone for example, please refer toFIG. 1.FIG. 1is a diagram of a recharging apparatus80applied to a mobile phone10according to an embodiment of the present invention. For clarity and briefness of discussion, only elements related to the invention are shown inFIG. 1. The following discussion describes elements related to the invention. The mobile phone10shown inFIG. 1includes a recharging apparatus80, electrically connected to a monitor40, for transferring power management data to the monitor40, such as status of the rechargeable battery (for example, remaining energy) and a power source of the mobile phone10(for example, an external or an internal power source). Therefore, users realize current power status of the mobile phone10through information shown on the screen40. Additionally, the recharging apparatus80includes a button20, a microprocessor30, a recharging circuit50, a rechargeable battery60, a battery energy measuring circuit70and an external power measuring circuit90. The button20is utilized as an input unit, for generating a switch control signal SC. The microprocessor30is utilized as a control unit, electrically connected to the button20and the recharging circuit50, for determining whether to output an enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50according to the switch control signal SC. The recharging circuit50is utilized to supply recharging power P, where after receiving the enable signal SE, the recharging circuit50outputs the recharging power P to recharge the rechargeable battery60. The rechargeable battery is utilized to supply required power for normal operation of the mobile phone10. The battery energy measuring circuit70, electrically connected to the microprocessor30and the rechargeable battery60, is utilized for measuring remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60and outputting a measure value D to the microprocessor30, enabling the microprocessor30to determine whether to output the enable signal SEaccording to the measure value D. The external power measuring circuit90, electrically connected to the microprocessor30, is utilized to detect whether the mobile phone10connects to an external power source. In this embodiment, the recharging apparatus80is capable of selectively enabling or interrupting recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60in the mobile phone10. The operation principle is described as follows.

Considering that the mobile phone10disconnects from an external power source, operation power is supplied by the rechargeable battery60. As time goes on, energy of the rechargeable battery60is decreased. The battery energy measuring circuit70monitors remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60and outputs a measure value D to the microprocessor30corresponding to the remaining energy of the battery. Next, the microprocessor30displays the information on the monitor40. When the mobile phone10connects to an external power source, the external power measuring circuit90generates a signal to notify the microprocessor30, and then the power source of the mobile phone10is switched to the external power source, so the rechargeable battery60stops to consume remaining energy stored inside the rechargeable battery60. Furthermore, the button20is able to generate the switch control signal SCto inform the recharging apparatus80to enable or interrupt recharging procedures for the recharging apparatus80. If the rechargeable battery60requires recharging, the switch control signal SCis generated through the button20to inform the microprocessor30to output the enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50. After receiving the enable signal SE, the recharging circuit50transforms the external power into recharging power P and enables recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60. On the other hand, if the rechargeable battery60does not require recharging, the switch control signal SCis similarly generated through the button20to inform the microprocessor30, but in this case the microprocessor30does not output the enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50, therefore, the recharging circuit50interrupts recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60. More clearly, input of the button20determines the switch control signal SCand whether or not the microprocessor30outputs the enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50. If the microprocessor30outputs the enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50, the recharging apparatus80enables recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60. If the microprocessor30does not output the enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50, the recharging apparatus80does not enable recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60.

As mentioned above, the recharging apparatus80of the embodiment decides whether to recharge the rechargeable battery60inside the mobile phone10through the button20. In an actual circumstance, however, when remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60is low and the button20is still set in status of interrupting recharging procedures, although the mobile phone10connects to an external power source, the recharging apparatus80will not recharge the rechargeable battery60. Because the external power source interrupts the supply of power to the mobile phone10, the mobile phone10has to continually use energy stored in the rechargeable battery60to maintain operation. This will probably cause the mobile phone10to exhaust all remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60, resulting in undesired shut down, so life of the rechargeable battery60is reduced. To avoid this, when remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60is low, the recharging apparatus80must ignore a current setting of the button20and force enabling recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60. Please refer toFIG. 1. The battery energy measuring circuit70periodically detects remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60and outputs a measure value D to the microprocessor30corresponding to the remaining energy. The microprocessor30compares the measure value D and a predetermined threshold value. If the measure value D is smaller than the threshold value, the microprocessor30ignores the switch control signal SCand forces outputting of the control signal SEto the recharging circuit50. Therefore, when the recharging apparatus80connects to the external power source, although the button20is set to interrupt charging procedures, the recharging apparatus80will still continuously recharge the rechargeable battery60, therefore avoiding exhausting remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60.

Please note that although the embodiment takes the mobile phone10as an example, the recharging apparatus80is capable of being applied to other well-known portable electronic devices, such as notebook PCs. In other words, the claimed invention recharging apparatus can be applied to any electronic device that uses rechargeable batteries. The mobile phone10in the embodiment utilizes an existing microprocessor30as the control unit for processing control procedures related to power management. Furthermore, it is acceptable to replace the microprocessor30with an independent control chip or an additional circuit set. Moreover, the embodiment utilizes the button20as the input unit, but it is also acceptable to replace the button20with other switch devices (such as a knob or a push rod), even when utilizing software (human machine interface) installed in the mobile phone10to replace the hardware switch. In this situation, users set the switch control signal SCthrough software to control the recharging apparatus80to enable or interrupt recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60in the mobile phone10. For example, users set software to force the recharging apparatus80to recharge the rechargeable battery60if the remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60is less than ten percent.

Additionally, in the mobile phone10of the embodiment, the major function of the button20is for generating the switch control signal SC, but in fact, the button20is not necessary, and can be replaced by the battery energy measuring circuit70. The battery energy measuring circuit70detects remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60and then generates the switch control signal SCaccording to the amount of remaining energy. A threshold value is set in advance, and if remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60is larger than the threshold value, the battery energy measuring circuit70does not generate the switch control signal SC; similarly if remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60is less than the threshold value, the battery energy measuring circuit70generates the switch control signal SC.

Please refer toFIG. 2.FIG. 2is a flowchart of the recharging method that enables recharging procedures for the rechargeable battery60according to the present invention. The recharging method selectively enables or interrupts recharging procedures for a rechargeable battery in a portable electronic device. The flow includes the following steps:Step110: start;Step120: generate a switch control signal SCthrough the button20;Step130: the microprocessor determines whether to output an enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50according to the switch control signal SC; if YES, go to step140; if NO, go to step180;Step140: enable recharging procedures; the recharging circuit50outputs recharging power P to refill the recharging battery60; go to step190;Step150: the battery energy measuring circuit70detects remaining energy of the rechargeable battery60and outputs a measure value D corresponding to the remaining energy;Step160: the microprocessor30determines whether the measure value is less than a preset threshold value; if YES, go to step170; if NO, jump to step130;Step170: the microprocessor30outputs the enable signal SEto the recharging circuit50; go to step140;Step180: interrupt recharging procedures, so the recharging circuit50stops outputting recharging power P;Step190: end.

As mentioned above, in the present invention, a recharging apparatus and control method generate a switch control signal through an input unit (such as a hardware switch or software), to control the recharging circuit inside a portable electronic device outputting recharging power to recharge rechargeable batteries. Therefore, when the rechargeable battery still contains sufficient energy so no recharge is required, the recharge function of the portable electronic device can be interrupted, therefore reducing unnecessary recharging times. Moreover, when the remaining energy of the rechargeable battery is low, the recharging apparatus and method claimed in the present invention detect said remaining energy and then compare the remaining energy with a predetermined threshold value. If the remaining energy is less than the threshold value, the recharging apparatus forces the recharging circuit to output recharging power for recharging the battery, thereby avoiding auto shutdown of the portable electronic device due to low energy. In short, utilizing the recharging apparatus and control method claimed in the present invention effectively reduces unnecessary recharging times and increases rechargeable battery life. Furthermore, convenience of the portable electronic device is maintained.