KR20080079144A - Method and apparatus for displaying volume of remaining battery in a mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for displaying a remaining battery capacity in a mobile terminal are provided to enable a user to estimate a remaining lifetime of a rechargeable battery by using the displayed remaining battery capacity. An apparatus for displaying a remaining battery capacity in a mobile terminal includes sub processors(410,420,430), a main processor(440), and a display unit(460). The sub processor generates a current consumption information message including a current consumption amount of a driving circuit and outputs the current consumption information message. The main processor receives the current consumption information messages from the sub processors, calculates an overall current consumption amount, and calculates a remaining lifetime of a battery by using the overall current consumption amount. The display unit displays the remaining lifetime of the battery.

Description

Method and apparatus for displaying remaining battery level in a portable device {Method and apparatus for displaying volume of remaining battery in a mobile terminal}

1 is a format of a current consumption information message according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flow diagram of a main processor in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flow diagram of a subprocessor in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a structural diagram of a portable device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a table of current consumption of each subprocessor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a battery characteristic curve graph according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable device, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for displaying a battery level by calculating a current consumed by a portable device.

A processor is built in a battery used in a portable device such as a notebook computer, and the battery life is transmitted to the portable device according to a surrounding environment and a running program. For example, a specification for the intelligentization of a battery for a notebook computer called Smart Battery, manufactured by Intel Inc. and Duracell, a battery manufacturer, includes a read memory device (ROM) in a battery. Information such as temperature, voltage, current, and discharge characteristics are transmitted to the notebook computer. The information allows the notebook computer to know more accurately how much electricity is left in the battery, that is, how much battery power remains. However, smart batteries are no longer the industry standard because other manufacturers have their own standards for intelligentization.

The portable device calculates the capacity of the battery using the characteristic curve of the battery and the current consumption table of the portable device, and displays the remaining capacity of the portable device based on the calculated capacity. However, since the capacity of the battery is related to the amount of current remaining, it is not easy to calculate the remaining capacity of the battery based on voltage alone, and sometimes cannot display the correct value. Existing portable devices measure the voltage of the battery, calculate the current battery level by displaying a table showing the current consumption of the program that the portable device executes, and display it to the user in numerical or graphical form. However, when a device having a function mounted on a portable device is diversified and the portable device has one or more processors and the one or more processors operate, the portable device calculates the total current that can be consumed by the battery in the future. It's hard to do. Therefore, the portable device is equipped with one or more processors, and the main processor calculates the battery level without knowing how much current is consumed when the processors separately execute the program. There was an uncomfortable problem.

The present invention devised to solve such a problem provides a method and apparatus for calculating a battery capacity that can be consumed in the future by measuring the current consumption according to the execution of a plurality of processors embedded in a portable device.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in a method of displaying the remaining battery capacity of a portable device,

Generating a current consumption information message including a current consumption amount of the subprocessor and a corresponding driving circuit as at least one of the subprocessors of the portable device operates, and transmitting the generated current consumption message to the main processor;

The main processor receiving the current consumption information messages from the subprocessors and calculating the total current consumption;

And calculating and displaying the remaining amount of the battery that can be used in the future by using the calculated total current consumption.

The device of the present invention is a device for displaying the remaining battery capacity in a portable device,

A subprocessor generating and outputting a current consumption information message including a current consumption of the corresponding driving circuit;

A main processor which receives the current consumption information message from the subprocessors, calculates a total current consumption, and calculates a remaining battery capacity using the calculated total current consumption;

And a display unit for displaying the calculated remaining amount.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should recognize that the disclosed concepts and specific embodiments of the invention may be readily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also recognize that structures equivalent to the invention do not depart from the spirit and scope of the broadest form of the invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted.

The main subject of the present invention is that the main processor calculates the total current consumption by passing the calculated value to the main processor for the current consumption of each subprocessor in the portable device.

1 is a format of a current consumption information message according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the current consumption information message is a message that the main processor receives from subprocessors. For example, if a DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) processor, a music player, a mobile telecom processor, or the like corresponding to subprocessors embedded in a portable device is executed or at least one of them is executed, the executed subprocessor is executed. The controller transmits a current consumption information message including the current consumption amount and additional information calculated by referring to the current consumption table for the current amount consumed by the main processor. That is, when at least one subprocessor or a plurality of subprocessors are executed in the portable device, the current consumption information message includes a value calculated by referring to the current consumption table of the current consumption of each subprocessor. Pass it to the processor.

The subprocessor operating according to the characteristics of the device transmits the current consumption information message according to its operation to the main processor before operating according to the user's input. For example, the current consumption information message includes a device number 100, a function mode 110, a current consumption amount 120, and a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) 130, and the device number 100 is assigned to a subprocessor. As an example, 000 is a subprocessor that operates a digital multimedia broadcast (DMB) circuit, 001 is a subprocessor that operates a codec circuit for a music player, and 010 is a subprocessor that operates a Wibro (Wireless Broadband) modem. And the like. The more subprocessors there are, the more device numbers are allocated. The function mode 110 distinguishes which mode the subprocessor is driven in. For example, 00 indicates a deep sleep mode, 01 indicates a sleep mode, 10 indicates an idle mode, 11 is the active mode used by the subprocessor to inform the main processor of its status.

The current consumption amount 120 is a current consumption amount according to the operation of the subprocessor and has a value of 24 bits. If 10.35 (mA) is consumed in the idle mode, the current consumption amount 120 is represented as a binary number '0000 0000 1010 0000.0011 0101'. That is, the tens digit 1 is 1010 and the ones digit 0 is 0000, and the decimal point 35 is also represented by 0011 0101. The CRC 130 is a check code for determining whether the current consumption information message is correctly delivered after being delivered to the main processor.

2 is a flowchart of a main processor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, in step 200, the main processor of the portable device prepares a list of subprocessors in the portable device when the power is turned on. For example, create a list according to the program that each subprocessor runs, such as subprocessor # 1 that runs the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) circuit and subprocessor # 2 that runs the codec circuit for the player to listen to music. do. In operation 210, a current is consumed as an active mode, an active mode, and a sleep mode among the subprocessors, and the list of subprocessors is determined. In step 220, the main processor checks whether there is a change in the mode in which the at least one subprocessor is operating, and if there is a change, proceeds to step 230 and, if there is no change, proceeds to step 240. In the step 230, the main processor receives and updates the current consumption of the subprocessor and the operation circuit according to the changed mode of the subprocessor whose mode is changed through the current consumption information message from the corresponding subprocessor. In operation 240, the main processor calculates the total current consumption of the processors by summing the current consumption amounts according to the modes in which each subprocessor operates. In operation 250, the main processor calculates a time for which the battery can be used in the future by referring to a battery characteristic curve graph prepared in advance according to the calculated total current consumption and displays a battery bar or a number on the screen of the portable device. Display in form.

3 is a flowchart of a subprocessor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step 300, power is supplied to the portable device, and if the user executes a function such as digital multimedia broadcast (DMB), music, mobile communication, or the like, the subprocessors corresponding to the function may be configured in each step ( 305, 310, and 315. In step 305, the subprocessor # 1 is a processor for driving the DMB circuit, and in step 320, it is determined whether the current state of the subprocessor # 1 is an active state, that is, the operating state. If it is an active state, it proceeds to step 325, and if it is not the active state, it proceeds to step 330. In step 325, the subprocessor # 1 calculates a current consumption amount for the subprocessor # 1 and the DMB circuit according to the active operation mode by referring to the corresponding current consumption table and proceeds to step 350. If the current state of the subprocessor # 1 is the idle state, that is, the power is turned on but does not operate in step 330, and if the idle state is not active, proceed to step 335. If it is not the idle state, the flow proceeds to step 340. In step 335, the subprocessor # 1 calculates a current consumption amount according to the idle mode and proceeds to step 350. If the current state of the subprocessor # 1 is a sleep state, that is, the power is supplied but the mode performing only the minimum required operation is performed in step 340, if the current state of the subprocessor # 1 is the sleep state. The flow proceeds to step 345 and if it is not the sleep state, the flow returns to step 320. In step 345, the subprocessor # 1 calculates a current consumption amount according to the sleep mode and proceeds to step 350. In step 350, the subprocessor # 1 transfers the calculated current consumption amount in the current consumption information message to the main processor.

The subprocessor # 2 310 and the subprocessor # 3 315 also operate in the same manner as above, and refer to the current consumption table of the subprocessor for the current consumption of the subprocessor and the circuit operated by the subprocessor. Calculate and pass to the main processor.

4 is a structural diagram of a portable device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the battery 400 supplies power to the subprocessors # 1, 2, 3 (410, 420, 430) and the main processor according to the sleep mode, the idle mode, and the active mode. The subprocessor # 1 410 operates a DMB circuit (not shown) that exchanges signals with a base station and receives a broadcast signal. The subprocessor # 2 420 is a device for playing or recording music, and the subprocessor # 3 430 operates a Wibro modem that communicates with a base station to transmit and receive Internet signals. For example, when the subprocessor # 2 420 is executed, the subprocessor # 2 420 becomes active and calculates the current consumption accordingly to the main processor 440 through the current consumption information message. Deliver it. When a user who wants to use the Internet operates the subprocessor # 3 430, the subprocessor # 3 430, which is in an idle mode or sleep mode, is converted into an active mode and calculates the amount of current in the changed mode to the main processor 440. To pass). The main processor 440 stores the current consumption transferred by the subprocessors in the storage unit 450 to update the current consumption of the corresponding subprocessor, the current consumption of the subprocessor with the changed mode, and the current consumption of the previously stored subprocessor. The total current consumption is calculated by integrating and the battery remaining amount or time that can be operated in the future is displayed on the display unit 460 of the portable device with reference to the battery characteristic curve graph.

5 is a table of current consumption of a subprocessor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a sleep, idle, and active mode is divided into sleep modes, and the sleep mode is divided into a deep sleep and a sleep mode, and the active mode is the highest power source. It is divided into the middle power and the lowest power mode. The current consumption table is for identifying the current consumption amount as data of each subprocessor of the portable device. In the subprocessor mode, the deep sleep mode consumes 10 mA by searching for a radio signal or transmitting a location of the portable device to a base station. The sleep mode consumes 20 mA by performing a search and location transmission of the radio signal and a search for a message or a signal transmitted from the base station for a predetermined time interval. The idle mode is a state in which the portable device does not operate at all, and consumes the least 1mA since the portable device operates after the sleep mode or the deep sleep mode and before. Among the active modes, the lowest power mode is located closest to the base station when the portable device operates in the active mode, and consumes 300 mA of current, and the highest power mode is the mobile device farthest from the base station. When the current consumption of 600mA. That is, the active mode is a state in which a signal is received from the base station or the at least one subprocessor transmits a signal to the base station, and a relatively large amount of current is consumed according to signal transmission and reception.

6 is a graph showing a battery characteristic curve according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, as an example, three (600, 610, and 620) characteristic curves are shown according to the current consumption amount. The total current consumption of the portable device is 4.2 V buffered battery as the total battery discharge curve of the portable device. Shows the change over time with respect to the voltage up to discharge (3.2V).

The characteristic curve graph shows a characteristic curve in which the main processor of the portable device sums the current consumptions of the subprocessors. The more the subprocessors operated by the portable device, the total current consumption calculated by the main processor is 2200 mA (620). It is close to and the usage time is less than 1 hour and reaches 30V when it reaches 30 minutes, and discharge occurs. If there are few subprocessors operated, the current consumption curve calculated by the main processor approaches the 550 mA (600), and the use time reaches 3.2v when the time is over 2 hours and reaches 3.2v. The 1100 mA 620 is discharged after 1 hour as a reference for the total current consumption of the portable device. That is, whenever the mode is changed, the subprocessor calculates the current consumption amount and transfers the current consumption information message to the main processor, and the main processor transmits the current according to the voltage in the three characteristic curves 600, 610, and 620 in the battery characteristic curve graph. Find in between and find the remaining time accordingly.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. In the present specification, the actual number is written in the characteristic curve graph or table of the battery. However, since the actual number is obtained from the data obtained from the experiment, the actual number may be easily changed due to the characteristics of the circuit or component to be added.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by those equivalent to the scope of the claims.

The present invention is characterized in that the main processor calculates the total current consumption by transferring the current consumption calculated by each subprocessor of the portable device to the table for the current consumption.

The present invention has the advantage that the main processor receives the current consumption of the sub-processor to sum the total current consumption to know how much battery can be used in the future.

Claims (8)

In the method of displaying the remaining battery capacity in a portable device, Generating a current consumption information message including a current consumption amount of the subprocessor and a corresponding driving circuit as at least one of the subprocessors of the portable device operates, and transmitting the generated current consumption message to the main processor; The main processor receiving the current consumption information messages from the subprocessors and calculating the total current consumption; And calculating and displaying the remaining amount of battery that can be used in the future by using the calculated total current consumption. The method of claim 1, wherein the current consumption information message, Battery number display method further comprises a device number, function mode, CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Code). The method of claim 1, wherein the subprocessors, At least one of a subprocessor for driving a DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) circuit for listening to a broadcast, a subprocessor for operating a codec circuit for a music player, and a subprocessor for driving a Wibro (Wireless Broadcast) modem capable of Internet access. Battery remaining amount display method comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the subprocessors, And operating in one of a corresponding active mode, an idle mode, and a sleep mode, and calculating the current consumption amount by referring to a current consumption table according to the operation mode. In a device for displaying the remaining battery capacity in a portable device, A subprocessor generating and outputting a current consumption information message including a current consumption of the corresponding driving circuit; A main processor which receives the current consumption information message from the subprocessors, calculates a total current consumption, and calculates a remaining battery capacity using the calculated total current consumption; And a display unit for displaying the calculated remaining amount. The method of claim 5, wherein the current consumption information message, A battery level indicator further comprising a device number, a function mode, and a cyclic redundancy code (CRC). The method of claim 5, wherein the subprocessors, At least one of a subprocessor for driving a DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) circuit for listening to a broadcast, a subprocessor for operating a codec circuit for a music player, and a subprocessor for driving a Wibro (Wireless Broadcast) modem capable of Internet access. Battery remaining amount display device comprising a. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the subprocessors, And operating in one of a corresponding active mode, an idle mode, and a sleep mode, and calculating the current consumption amount by referring to a current consumption table according to the operation mode.

Images