Smart battery selector offering power conversion internally within a portable device

A battery powered portable device comprising:

• a host computer;
• at least two smart batteries, said smart batteries being capable of providing electrical power for energizing operation of the portable device;
• a bus to which said smart batteries may be coupled and over which said smart batteries may transmit battery-state data to said host computer, the battery-state data provided by said smart batteries including a battery-condition alarm-message which indicates that said smart battery that transmits the battery-condition alarm-message has experienced a pre-specified condition;
• and
• a battery selector that is coupled to said smart batteries, said battery selector including a controller that has:
• smart-battery-selection switch-drivers at least equal in number to the smart batteries included in the portable device, each smart-battery-selection switch-driver being associated with a specific smart battery and providing a battery selection-signal for effecting a selection of the associated smart battery which causes the selected smart battery to energize operation of the portable device;
• an internal-power-converter switch-driver associated with at least one of the smart batteries to select, for supplying electrical power to energize operation of the portable device, an external electrical power-source that is coupled to the portable device by an internal electrical-power converter which physically replaces one of the smart batteries;
• a control electronic-circuit that controls operation of the smart-battery-selection switch-drivers and the internal-power-converter switch-driver for selecting to energize operation of the portable device at any instant either:
• a. said smart battery associated with a particular smart-battery-selection switch-driver;
• or
• b. the external electrical power-source that is coupled to the portable device by the internal electrical-power converter;
• an internal-voltage-conversion sensing-circuit for sensing voltage provided by the external electrical power-source that is coupled to the portable device by the internal electrical-power converter, if the voltage sensed by said internal-voltage-conversion sensing-circuit exceeds a pre-established threshold, the controller transmitting a signal to said control electronic-circuit directing said control electronic-circuit to select the external electrical power-source that is coupled to the portable device by the internal electrical-power converter to energize operation of the portable device;
• and
• a bus-snooper circuit that independently of said host computer monitors said bus for the battery-condition alarm-message from said smart batteries, and that upon detecting the battery-condition alarm-message transmits a signal to said control electronic-circuit.