Battery control for safeguarding lower voltage integrated circuits
AssigneeItron Networked Solutions, Inc.
InventorBruce Edwards
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A battery controller buffers a higher voltage provided by a primary cell in order to charge a secondary cell that operates at a lower voltage. The battery controller includes a storage device that is charged by the primary cell. When the voltage of the storage device reaches a threshold, the battery controller conducts the stored charge into the secondary cell while isolating the secondary cell from the primary cell. The secondary cell, when charged, powers a node that operates with a low voltage.
Claims21
A computer-implemented method for powering a battery-powered node residing within a wireless mesh network, the method comprising:
- storing first electrical energy in a storage element, wherein a primary cell transmits the first electrical energy to the storage element at a first voltage level, wherein the primary cell transmits the first electrical energy at a first initial current level;
- determining that a second voltage level associated with the storage element exceeds a third voltage level associated with a secondary cell, wherein the first voltage level at which the primary cell transmits the first electrical energy to the storage element is greater than the third voltage level associated with the secondary cell;
- and
- storing second electrical energy that is derived from the first electrical energy in the secondary cell, wherein the battery-powered node communicates with one or more other nodes residing within the wireless mesh network using at least a portion of the second electrical energy that is transmitted from the secondary cell to power a load, wherein the secondary cell transmits the at least a portion of the second electrical energy at a second initial current level that is greater than the first initial current level.
A system for powering a battery-powered node residing within a wireless mesh network, comprising:
- a storage element that stores first electrical energy;
- a primary cell that transmits the first electrical energy to the storage element at a first voltage level, wherein the primary cell transmits the first electrical energy at a first initial current level;
- a comparator that determines that a second voltage level associated with the storage element exceeds a third voltage level, wherein the first voltage level at which the primary cell transmits the first electrical energy to the storage element is greater than the third voltage level associated with the secondary cell;
- and
- a secondary cell that operates at the third voltage level and stores second electrical energy that is derived from the first electrical energy, wherein the battery-powered node communicates with one or more other nodes residing within the wireless mesh network using at least a portion of the second electrical energy that is transmitted from the secondary cell to power a load, wherein the secondary cell transmits the at least a portion of the second electrical energy at a second initial current level that is greater than the first initial current level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.