Inductively charged battery pack
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsJohn Charles Calhoon, Leroy B. Keely, William Mitchell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inductive charging systems transfers energy by inductively coupling a source coil on a charging source to a receiver coil on a charging portion of a battery pack. The source current is received in the battery pack and converted to direct current for storage in the battery pack cells. Communication between a charging source and the charging portion is provided. A wireless communication arrangement provides for authentication of devices that are allowed by a source to be charged.
Claims19
A battery pack configured for receiving inductive energy for charging a battery, comprising:
- a processor unit for processing computer readable data relevant to receiving the inductive energy and for processing data communications with a computer system, wherein the processor unit is programmed to operate in a polling listening mode;
- a pickup coil controlled by the processor unit to receive an inductive data communication by listening for an inductive source to alternate between an energized state and a de-energized stage at regular intervals while in the polling listening mode and configured for receiving the inductive energy;
- a charger operatively coupled to the processor unit and the pick-up coil, the charger configured to output a direct current powered by the inductive energy and relevant to the inductive data communication;
- and
- a battery configured for receiving the direct current.
A computer implemented method of charging a battery with a battery pack having a processor unit for processing computer readable data, comprising the steps of:
- using the processor unit to control a pickup coil in the battery pack to receive an inductive polling message while operating in a polling listening mode by listening for an inductive charging source to alternate between an energized and a de-energized state at a regular intervals
- transmitting from the battery pack a request for power to the charging source responsive to the polling message;
- receiving at the battery pack inductive power from the charging source responsive to the transmitted request;
- displaying an object on a graphical user interface, in response to the step of receiving, in order to visually indicate that external power is being received, wherein the displayed object visually differentiates between the battery pack receiving external inductive power and external utility power;
- generating a direct current in the battery pack responsive to the received inductive power;
- and
- using the direct current to charge the battery.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.