Patent Publication Number: US-2015065201-A1

Title: Wireless communication terminal and method for supplying power thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0102177, filed on Aug. 28, 2013, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and entitled: “Wireless Communication Terminal and Method For Supplying Power Thereof,” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Embodiments relate to a wireless communication terminal and a method for supplying power thereof, and more particularly, to a wireless communication terminal with a built-in auxiliary battery and a method for supplying power thereof. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A wireless communication terminal is operated under power of a charged battery. When the power of the battery is consumed, a user charges the battery through a charger, etc., or separates the battery from the wireless communication terminal and then mounts a separate charged battery in the wireless communication terminal. 
     As specifications of a wireless communication terminal increase, various additional functions including data communication, etc., as well as voice communication, which users desire, have recently been added to the wireless communication terminal. The wireless communication terminal refers to a terminal with which voice communication is possible while being carried by a person, such as a mobile communication terminal, a personal communication service (PCS), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a next-generation mobile communication terminal, or a wireless LAN terminal. 
     As various additional functions described above are added to the wireless communication terminal, users frequently use the wireless communication terminal for types of communication, e.g., data communication, other than voice communication. However, such usage results in accelerated discharge of a battery built in the wireless communication terminal. 
     Accordingly, there frequently occurs a problem in that when a user performs an important voice communication, the voice communication is cut off due to the discharged battery. In this case, the user cannot continue the voice communication without replacing the discharged battery with a new battery charged or charging the battery, using a charger or the like. 
     SUMMARY 
     One or more embodiments is directed to providing a wireless communication terminal, including: a main battery attachably/detachably coupled to the terminal to supply power to the terminal; an auxiliary battery built in the terminal; and a controller configured to supply power to the terminal, using the auxiliary battery, when the main battery is separated from the terminal or when the main battery is discharged, wherein the main battery is a high-power and high-capacity battery, and the auxiliary battery is a low-power and low-capacity battery. 
     When the main battery is discharged or when the main battery is separated from the terminal, the controller may convert the output voltage of the terminal into a low-power mode. 
     When the voltage of the main battery is dropped to a predetermined voltage or less while voice communication is being performed through the terminal, the controller may convert the output voltage of the terminal into the low-power mode. 
     When the output voltage of the terminal is converted into the low-power mode, the controller may perform at least one of the blocking of a data communication function of the terminal and the conversion of a display device built in the terminal into the low-power mode. 
     The controller may control the terminal to perform only a predetermined limiting function. 
     The predetermined limiting function may be a voice communication mode or character transmission/reception mode. 
     When the main battery is not replaced with another main battery charged within a predetermined time or when the voice communication is not performed through the terminal, after the power is supplied to the terminal, using the auxiliary battery, the controller may turn off the terminal by cutting off the power supplied through the auxiliary battery. 
     When the main battery is separated from the terminal or when the main battery is discharged, in a state in which the voice communication is performed through the terminal, the controller may supply the power to the terminal, using the auxiliary battery. 
     The controller may transmit an automatic character message to a companion for the voice communication just before the auxiliary battery is discharged. 
     The automatic character message may include at least one of a message of informing that the voice communication is terminated by the discharging of the battery and position information of the terminal. 
     The main battery may be a prismatic battery, and the auxiliary battery may be a pouch-type battery. 
     The controller may control the auxiliary battery to be charged using the power of the main battery. 
     One or more embodiments is directed to providing a method for supplying power of a wireless communication terminal, the method including: sensing whether a main battery is separated from the terminal or whether the main battery is discharged; and supplying power to the terminal, using an auxiliary battery built in the terminal, when the main battery is separated from the terminal or when the main battery is discharged, wherein the main battery is a high-power and high-capacity battery, and the auxiliary battery is a low-power and low-capacity battery. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic block configuration diagram of a wireless communication terminal provided with an auxiliary battery according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a flowchart of a method for supplying power of the wireless communication terminal according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart of a method for supplying power of the wireless communication terminal according to another embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart of a method for supplying power of the wireless communication terminal according to still another embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings; however, they may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey exemplary implementations to those skilled in the art. Further, some of the elements that are not essential to the complete understanding of the invention are omitted for clarity. Also, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic block configuration diagram of a wireless communication terminal provided with an auxiliary battery according to an embodiment. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the wireless communication terminal  100  may include a controller  110 , a main battery  120 , an auxiliary battery  130 , a sensing unit  140 , a switching unit  150  and a communication unit  160 . 
     The wireless communication terminal  100  refers to a terminal with which voice communication is possible while being carried by a person, such as a mobile communication terminal, a personal communication service (PCS), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a next-generation mobile communication terminal, or a wireless LAN terminal. Hereinafter, for convenience of illustration, the wireless communication terminal will be defined as a terminal  100 . 
     The controller  110  performs an operation for voice communication and a power control operation according to this embodiment by controlling a general operation of the terminal  100 . 
     The main battery  120  supplies power to the terminal  100  by being attachably/detachably coupled to the terminal  100 . The main battery  120  may be a high-power and high-capacity battery as a power source which mainly supplies power to the terminal  100 . 
     In order to implement the high-power and high-capacity battery, the main battery  120  may be a prismatic lithium ion battery or prismatic lithium polymer battery. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various types of batteries may exist in order to implement the high-power and high-capacity battery. 
     The auxiliary battery  130  may be built in a main body of the terminal  100 . When the main battery  120  is discharged or is separated from the terminal  100 , the auxiliary battery  130  temporarily supplies power to the terminal  100 . That is, the auxiliary battery  130  continuously supplies power to the terminal  100  even when the power is not supplied to the terminal  100  through the main battery  120  during user&#39;s voice communication, so that the user&#39;s voice communication can be performed without interruption. 
     Since the auxiliary battery  130  is built in the terminal  100  to assist voice communication to be performed without interruption, the auxiliary battery  130  may be implemented as a low-power and low-capacity battery, as compared with the main battery  120 . In this case, the controller  110  converts the output voltage of the terminal  100  into a low-power mode when the power is supplied to the terminal  100  by the auxiliary battery  130  so that the terminal  100  can also be operated using the low-power of the auxiliary battery  130 . This will be described in detail later. 
     In order to implement the low-power and low-capacity battery, the auxiliary battery  130  may be a pouch-type lithium polymer battery or pouch-type lithium polymer battery, but is not limited thereto. 
     According to an embodiment, the controller  110  may control the auxiliary battery  130  to be charged through an external charger coupled to the terminal  100  or to be charged using the power of the main battery  120 , so that the auxiliary battery  130  can always maintain a full-charge stage. 
     The sensing unit  140  is configured to sense when the main battery  120  is discharged or separated from the terminal  100 , and to transmit to the controller  110 , a sensing signal with respect to the sensed result. The sensing unit  140  may detect whether the main battery  120  is discharged by measuring a voltage of the main battery  120 . The sensing unit  140  may detect whether the main battery  120  is separated from the terminal  100 , using a mechanical switch, circuit device, or the like. 
     The switching unit  150  is controlled by the controller  110  and enables power to be supplied to the terminal  100  through the main battery  120  or the auxiliary battery  130 . The switching unit  150  may be implemented in various forms. 
     The communication unit  160  enables voice communication to be performed through wireless communications between a base station and the wireless communication terminal. 
     Hereinafter, the operation of the controller  110  which enables voice communication to be performed without interruption even when the main battery  120  is discharged or separated from the terminal  100  will be described in detail. 
     According to an embodiment, the controller  110  may control the auxiliary battery  130  to supply power to the terminal  100  when the main battery  120  is separated from the terminal  100  or when the main battery  120  is discharged. 
     More specifically, when receiving, from the sensing unit  140 , information that the main battery  120  has been separated from the terminal  100  or has been discharged, the controller  110  controls the switching unit  150  so that the power can be supplied to the terminal  100  from the auxiliary battery  130 . 
     Thus, power is supplied to the terminal  100  even when the main battery  120  is discharged or is separated from the terminal  100  during the user&#39;s voice communication through the terminal  100 , so that the voice communication can be continued without interruption. 
     According to an embodiment, the controller  110  may convert the output voltage of the terminal  100  into a low-power mode when the main battery  120  is separated from the terminal  100  or is discharged, so that the voice communication can be maximally continued using the auxiliary battery  130 . 
     The low-power mode is a mode in which the terminal  100  can be operated with the minimum power. When the output voltage of terminal  100  is converted into the low-power mode, the terminal  100  is controlled to perform only a function related to the voice communication, and other additional functions performed by the terminal  100  are blocked, so that the terminal can also be operated with low power. Thus, the terminal  100  can be operated using the low-power auxiliary battery  130  in the low-power mode of the terminal  100 . 
     For example, when the output voltage of the terminal  100  is converted into the low-power mode, the controller  110  may perform at least one of the blocking of a data communication function of the terminal  100  and the conversion of a display device built in the terminal into the low-power mode, thereby minimizing power consumption of the terminal  100 . The terminal  100  continuously consumes the power of the battery by updating information on an application, etc., which is built in the terminal  100 , through data communication, etc., or tracing the position of the terminal  100 . Thus, the controller  110  can block the data communication function so that the power consumed by the data communication is minimized. Further, the brightness of the display device built in the terminal  100  can be maximally lowered by converting the output voltage of the display device into the low-power mode, and the power consumption of the terminal  100 , caused by the display device, can be minimized by changing the color of the display device into a color with low power consumption. 
     Accordingly, the controller  110  converts the output voltage of the terminal  100  into the low-power mode, so that it is possible to maximally secure the time when the voice communication can be performed through the auxiliary battery  130 . 
     Additionally or alternatively, when the sensing unit  140  detects that the voltage of the main battery  120  drops to a predetermined voltage or less when the user performs the voice communication, using the main battery  120 , the controller  110  may convert the output voltage of the terminal  100  into the low-power mode. That is, when the remaining capacity of the main battery  120  has been reduced such that the voltage of the main battery  120  drops to a predetermined voltage or less, the controller  110  previously converts the output voltage of the terminal  100  into the low-power voltage, so as to enable the user to secure a certain time of the voice communication through the main battery  120 . 
     According to an embodiment, when the output voltage of the terminal  100  is converted into the low-power mode, the controller  110  may control the terminal  100  to perform only a predetermined limiting function. The predetermined limiting function may be a voice communication mode or character transmission/reception mode. Thus, when the power is supplied to the terminal  100  through the auxiliary battery  130 , the user can perform voice communication or character transmission through the terminal  100  or replacement of the main battery  120  without turning off the terminal  100 . 
     According to an embodiment, after the power is supplied to the terminal  100 , using the auxiliary battery  130 , the controller  110  may turn off the terminal  100  by cutting off the power supplied through the auxiliary battery  130  when another main battery charged is not replaced within a predetermined time or when the voice communication through the terminal  100  is not performed for a predetermined time or more. 
     The auxiliary battery  130  allows the terminal  100  not to be turned off while the user is replacing the main battery  120 . In addition, when the user performs voice communication, the auxiliary battery  130  allows the voice communication to be performed without interruption. Thus, when the main battery is not replaced within the predetermined time or when the voice communication is not performed for the predetermined time, the controller  110  cuts off the power supplied through the auxiliary battery  130 , to prevent unnecessary power consumption of the auxiliary battery  130 . Thus, when an emergency situation occurs or when an important voice communication is performed even though the main battery  120  is discharged, the controller  110  can again turn on the terminal  100  through the auxiliary battery  130  and perform an operation of voice communication, character message transmission, or the like. 
     According to another embodiment, when the main battery  120  is separated from the terminal  100  or is discharged in a state in which the voice communication is performed through the terminal  100 , the controller  110  may supply power to the terminal  100  using the auxiliary battery  130 . 
     That is, the supply of power to the terminal  100  through the auxiliary battery  130  is limited to a case where the user performs voice communication, so that the controller  110  prevents unnecessary power consumption of the auxiliary battery  130 , and enables the voice communication to be maximally performed without interruption using the auxiliary battery  130 . 
     According to an embodiment, when the voice communication of the terminal  100  is performed using the auxiliary battery  130 , the controller  110  may allow an automatic character message to be transmitted to a companion for the voice communication just before the auxiliary battery  130  is discharged. 
     Here, the automatic character message may include at least one of a message of informing that the voice communication is terminated by the discharging of the battery and position information of the terminal. In addition, the automatic character message may be a message previously set by the user. 
     When voice communication is cut off while the voice communication is being performed using the auxiliary battery  130 , the controller  110  enables the companion to recognize that the voice communication has been terminated by the discharging of the battery. Further, the controller  110  enables the position information of the terminal to be transmitted to the companion, so that the user can inform the companion of the user&#39;s position even when the battery is discharged in an emergency situation or the like. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a flowchart of a method for supplying power of the wireless communication terminal according to an embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , in operation S 200 , the terminal  100  is operated through the main battery  120 . 
     In operation S 205 , the sensing unit  140  senses whether the main battery  120  is discharged or is separated from the terminal  100 , and transmits sensing information on the sensed result to the controller  110 . When the sensing unit  140  determines the main battery  120  is operable, the flow returns to operation S 200 . When the sensing unit  140  determines the main battery is no longer operable, the flow proceeds to operation S 210 . 
     In operation S 210 , the controller  110  supplies power to the terminal  100 , using the auxiliary battery  130 , so that the terminal  100  can be operated through the auxiliary battery  130 . 
     Subsequently, in operation S 215 , the controller  110  converts the output voltage of the terminal  100  into a low-power mode, and controls the terminal  100  to be also operated through the low-power and low-capacity auxiliary battery  130 . 
     In operation S 220 , the controller  110  controls the terminal  100  to perform only a predetermined function. The predetermined function may be a voice communication mode or character transmission/reception mode in which a user can perform voice communication or character transmission through the terminal or replacement of the main battery  120  without turning off the terminal  100 . 
     In operation S 225 , the controller  110  decides whether the voice communication through the terminal  100  is performed within a predetermined time or whether the main battery  120  is replaced with another main battery. 
     When the voice communication is not performed within the predetermined time or when the main battery  120  is not replaced with another main battery, in operation S 230 , the controller  100  turns off the terminal  100 , to prevent unnecessary power consumption of the auxiliary battery  130 . When the main battery  120  is replaced, the flow returns to operation S 200  to control the terminal  100  to be operated through the main battery  120 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a flowchart of a method for supplying power of the wireless communication terminal according to another embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , in operation S 300 , the terminal  100  is operated through the main battery  120 . 
     In operation S 305 , the sensing unit  140  senses whether the main battery  120  is discharged or separated from the terminal  100 , and transmits sensing information on the sensed result to the controller  110 . When the sensing unit  140  determines the main battery  120  is operable, the flow returns to operation S 300 . When the sensing unit  140  determines the main battery is no longer operable, the flow proceeds to operation S 310   
     In operation S 310 , the controller  110  decides whether voice communication is performed through the terminal  100 . When voice communication is performed through the terminal  100 , in operation S 315 , the controller  110  supplies power to the terminal  100 , using the auxiliary battery  130 , so that the voice communication can be performed without pause. 
     Operation after operation S 315  may be performed identically to operations S 215  to S 230  of  FIG. 2 , and therefore, their detailed descriptions will be omitted. 
     When voice communication is not performed through the terminal  100 , in operation S 320 , the controller  110  turns off the terminal  100 , to prevent unnecessary power consumption of the auxiliary battery  130 . When an emergency situation occurs or when an important voice communication is necessarily performed, a user may again turn on the terminal  100  through the auxiliary battery  130 , and perform an operation of voice communication, character message transmission, etc. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart of a method for supplying power of the wireless communication terminal according to still another embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in operation S 400 , the terminal  100  is operated through the main battery  120 . 
     In operation S 405 , the controller  110  decides whether voice communication is performed through the terminal  100 . 
     When voice communication is performed through the terminal  100 , in operation S 410 , the sensing unit  140  senses whether the voltage of the main battery  120  is a predetermined voltage or less, and transmits sensing information to the controller  110 . 
     When the voltage of the main battery  120  is the predetermined voltage or less, in operation S 415 , the controller  110  converts the output voltage of the terminal  100  into a low-power mode. Otherwise, the flow returns to operation S 400 . 
     That is, when the remaining capacity of the main battery  120  is reduced such that the voltage of the main battery  120  has dropped to a predetermined voltage or less, the controller  110  converts the output voltage of the terminal  100  into the low-power voltage, so as to enable the user to secure a certain time of the voice communication through the main battery  120 . 
     Operations following operation S 415  may be performed identically to operations S 205  to S 230  of  FIG. 2 , and therefore, their detailed descriptions will be omitted. 
     By way of summation and review, the wireless communication terminal and the method for supplying power thereof according to one or more embodiments, the terminal is operated using the low-power and low-capacity auxiliary battery even when the high-power and high-capacity main battery is consumed or removed during voice communication, so that the user can perform the voice communication without pause. Accordingly, voice communication can be maximally performed without interruption even when the main battery of the terminal is discharged or when the main battery of the terminal is separated from the terminal. 
     Example embodiments have been disclosed herein, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation. In some instances, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the filing of the present application, features, characteristics, and/or elements described in connection with a particular embodiment may be used singly or in combination with features, characteristics, and/or elements described in connection with other embodiments unless otherwise specifically indicated. Accordingly, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.