Cards with power management
AssigneeDynamics Inc.
InventorBruce S. Cloutier
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A card with power management circuitry is provided. A card may have circuitry contained therein (e.g., a processor) that may have a maximum operating voltage. The card may include a power source (e.g., a battery) that provides power ranging in voltage from a maximum power source voltage to a minimum power source voltage. The maximum power source voltage is greater than the maximum operating voltage. Power management circuitry is provided to manage the power received from the power source such that the voltage provided to the circuitry (e.g., processor) does not exceed the maximum operating voltage.
Claims26
A card comprising:
- a power source operative to provide power via a power source voltage, a voltage range of the power source voltage including a maximum power source voltage and a minimum power source voltage;
- power management circuitry electrically coupled to the power source;
- and
- power consuming circuitry electrically coupled to the power management circuitry, the power consuming circuitry including a first circuitry with a maximum operating voltage that is less than the maximum power source voltage,
- wherein the power management circuitry is operative to provide power to the power consuming circuitry at a voltage less than the maximum operating voltage.
A card comprising:
- a battery operative to supply power via a battery voltage, a voltage range of the battery including a maximum battery voltage and a minimum battery voltage;
- and
- power management circuitry coupled to receive power from the battery and provide managed power via an output node, the power management circuitry operative to selectively provide a power management voltage to the output node through a voltage protection path or a directly coupled path,
- wherein the voltage protection path reduces a magnitude of the battery voltage by an amount, and
- the directly coupled path effectively directly couples the battery voltage to the output node.
A card comprising:
- a lithium polymer battery;
- power management circuitry coupled to the battery and operative to provide managed power;
- and
- processor circuitry coupled to receive managed power from the power management circuitry,
- wherein the power management circuitry is operative to manage power according to either a voltage protection mode or a direct voltage mode.
A method for managing supply of power in a card, the card comprising at least first circuitry having a maximum operating voltage, the method comprising:
- receiving power from a power source, the received power associated with a power source voltage, a voltage range of the power source voltage including a maximum power source voltage and a minimum power source voltage;
- and
- selectively routing the power source voltage through one of at least two paths such that a maximum possible managed power voltage is provided to at least the first circuitry, without the maximum possible managed power voltage exceeding the maximum operating voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.