Selector circuit for power management in multiple battery systems
AssigneeO2Micro International Limited
InventorsVlad Popescu Stanesti, Marian Niculae, Constantin Bucur
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A selector circuit configured to select among a DC power source and a plurality of batteries for an electronic device. The selector circuit is responsive to an output signal from an associated power management unit. The selector circuit is further configured to permit parallel operation of two or more of the batteries. The selector circuit may further act to independently verify power conditions and override instructions from the PMU in certain instances to enhance power supply safety and battery life such as by preventing inter battery current flow from a higher potential battery to a lower potential battery coupled in parallel.
Claims14
A power supply system comprising:
- a first path configured to be coupled to a first battery;
- a second path configured to be coupled to a second battery, said first path and said second path coupled to a common node;
- a first switch and a second switch coupled to said first path and configured to allow selective coupling of said first battery to said common node;
- a third switch and a fourth switch coupled to said second path and configured to allow selective coupling of said second battery to said common node;
- and
- a selector circuit configured to close said first, second, third, and fourth switch to couple said first and second battery in parallel to said common node if a first current level along said first path is greater than a first threshold level and a second current level along said second path is greater than a second threshold level.
A selector circuit comprising:
- a selector output circuit configured to compare a first signal representative of a first current level along a first path with a first threshold level, said first path coupled to a first battery and a common node, a first switch and a second switch coupled to said first path, said selector output circuit configured to close said first and second switch if said first current level is greater than said first threshold level,
- said selector output circuit further configured to compare a second signal representative of a second current level along a second path with a second threshold level, said second path coupled to a second battery and a common node, a third switch and a fourth switch coupled to said second path, said selector output circuit configured to close said third and fourth switch if said second current level is greater than said second threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.