TW201407927A - Charging method and mobile power supply divice - Google Patents

Abstract

A charging method and a mobile power supply device using the same are provided, the mobile power supply device coupled to a target device, and the mobile power supply device having a battery set, the charging method includes the following steps. A charging power is received from an external power supply device, and a rated power of the charging power is obtained. It is determined whether a total loading power of the target device is small than the rated power. Next, the charging power is assigned to the target device and the battery set according to the total loading power when the target device is small than the rated power. And the charging power is assigned to the target device but not assigned to the battery when the total loading power of the target device is not small than the rated power.

Description

Charging method and mobile power supply device

The present invention relates to a charging method and a mobile power supply device to which the charging method is applied.

In order to improve the portability of the portable electronic device (for example, a smart phone), the portable electronic device is smaller in size. The battery capacity of the portable electronic device also decreases correspondingly as its volume decreases. Before the built-in battery capacity is exhausted, the user must connect the power adapter to the portable electronic device. If the user does not plug in the power adapter, the notebook automatically goes into hibernation mode when the built-in battery is exhausted. Therefore, the importance of providing additional power to mobile electronic devices of portable electronic devices at any time and place is increasing.

In general, a mobile power supply unit can provide about one day to three days of normal operation of a portable electronic device, depending on its battery specifications and the power consumption of the portable electronic device. However, in order to charge a mobile power device that has been depleted, it is generally necessary to remove the mobile power device from the portable electronic device before charging it. Then, when the battery pack in the power supply device is capable of outputting additional power, it can be connected to the portable electronic device again to restore power to the portable electronic device.

In view of this, the present invention provides a charging method and a mobile power supply device that can efficiently distribute charging power to a target device and/or a battery pack.

The present invention provides a charging method suitable for a first mobile power supply device, wherein the first mobile power supply device is coupled to the target device, and the first mobile power supply device has a battery pack, and the charging method includes the following steps. Receiving charging power from an external power supply unit. Get the rated power of the charging power. Determining whether the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power. When the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power, the charging power is distributed to the target device and the battery pack according to the total load power, and when the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power At the time of power, the charging power is distributed to the target device, and the charging power is not distributed to the battery pack.

In an embodiment of the invention, the charging method further comprises the following steps. When the battery pack is in a state of saturation, the charging power is stopped from being distributed to the battery pack.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of determining whether the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power further comprises: measuring an output current and an output voltage of the first mobile power device output to the target device, and according to the output current and Output voltage, calculate total load power

In an embodiment of the invention, the external power supply device comprises a second mobile power device or a power adapter.

In an embodiment of the invention, the target device comprises a third mobile power device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the charging method further comprises the following steps. When the charging power of the external power supply device is removed, the battery pack supplies power to the target device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the charging method further comprises the following steps. When the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the battery pack and the external power supply device jointly supply power to the target device.

The present invention further provides a mobile power supply device coupled to a target device, the mobile power supply device including a battery pack, a power input interface, a charging circuit, a power rating obtaining circuit, and a control circuit. The power input interface is used to receive charging power from an external power supply device. The charging circuit is coupled to the battery pack and the power input interface. The rated power is obtained by the circuit to obtain the rated power of the charging power. The control circuit is coupled to the rated power obtaining circuit and the charging circuit for determining the relationship between the rated power and the total load power of the target device, and controlling the charging circuit. Wherein, when the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power, the control circuit distributes the charging power to the target device and the battery pack according to the total load power, and when the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the control circuit will charge the electric energy. Assigned to the target device and does not distribute charging power to the battery pack.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control circuit controls the charging circuit to stop distributing the charging power to the battery pack when the battery pack is in a state of charge saturation.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control circuit measures an output current and an output voltage outputted by the mobile power supply device to the target device, and calculates the total load power according to the output current and the output voltage.

In an embodiment of the invention, the target device comprises a notebook computer, a tablet computer or a smart phone.

Based on the above, the embodiment of the present invention provides a charging method and a mobile power supply device, which can determine whether to charge the charging power provided by the external power supply device to the battery pack according to the total load power of the target device and the rated output power of the external power supply device. Charging, or supplying all of the above charging power to the target device. Thereby, the charging electric energy can be efficiently distributed.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

In order to enable the mobile power supply device to be powered by the serial connection, the embodiment of the present invention provides a mobile power supply device, which can measure whether the external power supply is to be used according to the total load power of the target device and the rated output power of the external power supply device. Part of the charging power provided by the device is distributed to the battery pack of the mobile power device for charging, or the charging power provided by the external power device is provided to the target device for use. Thereby, the flexibility and performance of the mobile power supply device in use can be effectively improved. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention further discloses a corresponding charging method. In order to make the content of the present invention easier to understand, the following specific embodiments are illustrative of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a mobile power supply device according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the mobile power device 10 is coupled to the external power device 11 and the target device 12 . The external power supply unit 11 may include a power adapter, another mobile power supply unit, or the like He provides power to the device. The external power supply unit 11 can supply charging power to the mobile power supply unit 10. The mobile power supply device 10 can dynamically determine that all or part of the charging power provided by the external power supply device 11 is supplied to the target device 12 for use by the target device 12 in accordance with the power demand of the target device 12. The target device 12 may include a plurality of portable electronic devices, such as a mobile power device, a notebook, a tablet PC, or a smart phone. The invention is not limited thereto.

The mobile power supply device 10 includes a battery set 101, a power input interface 102, a charging circuit 103, a rated power obtaining circuit 104, and a control circuit 105. Battery pack 101 includes one or more batteries. The power input interface 102 is configured to receive charging power from the external power supply device 11, wherein the power input interface 102 can include a direct current Jack (DC Jack) having a specific number of pins (Pin). The charging circuit 103 is coupled to the battery pack 101 and the power input interface 102. When the charging power of the external power source device 11 is transmitted to the power source input interface 102, the charging power of the external power source device 11 can be used to charge and/or power the battery pack to the target device 12 via the charging circuit 103.

When the power input interface 102 does not have the charging power of the external power supply device 11, the charging circuit 103 can supply power to the target device 12 using the electrical energy of the battery pack. For example, the charging circuit 103 can include at least one power output interface or bus interface (not shown) to connect to the target device 12 by various types of bus bars to supply power to the target device 12. For example, the charging circuit 103 can be connected to the target device 12 by using a universal serial bus (USB) and use the power of the battery pack. Electric to the target device 12. For another example, in another embodiment, the charging circuit 103 can be coupled to the target device 12 using a DC power interface and powered to the target device 12 using the electrical energy of the battery pack.

When the external power source device 11 is connected to the power source input interface 102, the rated power obtaining circuit 104 can obtain the rated power of the charging power of the external power source device 11. For example, the rated power obtaining circuit 104 can be connected to the external power supply unit 11 by various types of communication interfaces or bus bars to receive specifications or data related to the rated power of the charging power. For example, the rated power obtaining circuit 104 can be connected to the external power source device 11 by using the USB to obtain the rated voltage, rated current, rated power, and/or other related specification data of the charging power output by the external power source device 11. Therefore, the control circuit 105 can obtain the rated power of the charging electric energy output by the external power supply device 11 through the rated power obtaining circuit 104. In other embodiments, the rated power obtaining circuit 104 may also obtain the specification data indicating the rated power of the charging power directly from the power line of the power input interface 102 using Power Line Communication (PLC) technology.

However, the present invention does not limit the implementation of the rated power obtaining circuit 104 for obtaining the rated power of the charging power. For example, the rated power obtaining circuit 104 can also use the look-up table to query the rated power of the external power supply unit 11 of the corresponding specification or model. In addition, structurally, in the present embodiment, the power input interface 102 and the rated power obtaining circuit 104 are connected to the external power supply device 11 by respective interfaces, but in another embodiment of the present invention, the power input interface 102 And the rated power obtaining circuit 104 can also utilize the same power input interface (for example, universal serial convergence The above-mentioned charging power or data data provided by the external power supply device 11 can be respectively received.

In this embodiment, the control circuit 105 may include one or more micro-controllers, an embedded controller, or a central processing unit (CPU), etc., but the control circuit 105 The embodiment is not limited to the above. In addition, the control circuit 105 may also include one or more memories, wherein the memory may be a variety of volatile memory (Volatile Memory), non-volatile memory (Non-Volatile Memory) or a combination thereof, such as dynamic random access. Memory (Dynamic Random Access Memory, DRAM) or Static Random Access Memory (SRAM). The control circuit 105 is coupled to the charging circuit 103 and the rated power obtaining circuit 104 for determining the relationship between the rated power of the charging power provided by the external power supply device 11 and the total loading power of the target device 12.

Control circuit 105 can detect the total load power of target device 12 in any manner. For example, the control circuit 105 can measure the output current and the output voltage of the output power supply device 10 to the target device 12 by using one or more resistance elements, and calculate the target according to the output current and the output voltage. The total load power of device 12. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of calculating the total load power of the target device 12 according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the mobile power supply device 10 includes the battery pack 101, the power input interface 102, the charging circuit 103, the rated power obtaining circuit 104, and the control circuit 105, which have been described in FIG. In addition, as described in Figure 2 In the embodiment, the mobile power supply device 10 further includes an impedance element (for example, a resistor) 201 whose impedance value is represented by R. The control circuit 105 can measure the output current I and the output voltage V2 that the action power supply device 10 outputs to the target device 12 by the impedance element 201. Specifically, the control circuit 105 can measure the voltage levels V1 and V2 across the impedance element R, and calculate the current value I flowing to the target device 12 using Ohm's law. Then, based on the voltage level V2 and the current value I, the control circuit 105 can calculate the total load power of the target device 12.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the control circuit 105 can determine the relationship between the rated power of the charging power supplied from the external power supply unit 11 and the total load power of the target device 12, and accordingly control the charging circuit 103. When the control circuit 105 determines that the total load power of the target device 12 is less than the rated power of the charging power provided by the external power supply device 11, the control circuit 105 can control the charging circuit 103 according to the total load power of the target device 12 to provide the external power supply device 11 The charging power is distributed to the target device 12 and the battery pack 101.

For example, assume that the rated power of the charging power provided by the external power supply unit 11 is 45 watts, and the total load power of the target device 12 is only 30 watts, at which time the control circuit 105 controls the charging circuit 103 to charge the electric energy. The rated power (45 watts) is allocated 30 watts to the target device 12. In addition, the control circuit 105 distributes 15 watts remaining in the rated power of the charging power (i.e., not allocated to the target device 12) to the battery pack 101 to charge the battery pack 101 by the charging circuit 103. When the battery pack 101 is in the power saturation state, the control circuit 105 controls the charging circuit 103 to stop the external power supply device 11 The supplied charging power is distributed to the battery pack 101, so the charging circuit 103 stops charging the battery pack 101.

On the other hand, when the total load power of the target device 12 is not less than (ie, greater than or equal to) the rated power of the above-described charging power supplied from the external power source device 11, the control circuit 105 controls the charging circuit 103 to distribute the above charging power to The target device 12 does not distribute the above-described charging power to the battery pack 101. For example, assuming that the rated power of the charging power provided by the external power supply unit 11 is 45 watts and the total load power of the target device 12 is 50 watts, the control circuit 105 controls the charging circuit 103 to provide the external power supply unit 11 All of the power (45 watts) of charging power is supplied to the target device 12, so the charging circuit 103 stops charging the battery pack 101. It is worth mentioning that, in the above example, in addition to all the charging power provided by the external power supply device 11 is supplied to the target device 12, the control circuit 105 can further control the charging circuit 103 so that the battery pack 101 can also be used. The electrical energy is supplied 5 watts to the target device 12 in time to meet the total load power requirement (50 watts) of the target device 12. In other words, when the total load power of the target device 12 is not less than the rated power of the charging power supplied from the external power source device 11, the battery pack 101 and the external power source device 11 can be collectively supplied with power to the target device 12.

In addition, when the charging power of the external power source device 11 is removed (for example, the external power source device 11 is detached from the mobile power source device 10), the control circuit 105 controls the charging circuit 103 to supply the battery pack 101 to the target device 12. Or, when the first time, the charging of the external power supply unit 11 is not obtained. In the case of electric energy, the battery pack 101 can also supply power to the target device 12 using the amount of electricity stored in the battery pack 101 itself.

On the other hand, when the mobile power supply device 10 is connected to the target device 12, the control circuit 105 can inform the target device 12 of the maximum output power (rated output power) of the mobile power supply device 10. For example, the control circuit 105 can be connected to the target device 12 by various types of communication interfaces or bus bars to transmit data related to the maximum output power of the mobile power supply device 10. For example, control circuit 105 can be coupled to target device 12 using USB to communicate the maximum output power of mobile power device 10 and/or other related specification data. In other embodiments, the control circuit 105 can also transmit data related to the maximum output power of the mobile power supply device 10 to the target device 12 through the power line of the charging circuit 103 using Power Line Communication (PLC) technology.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a mobile power device connected to a target device according to an embodiment of the invention. The action power supply device 30 shown in FIG. 3 can refer to the related description of the mobile power supply device 10 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 3, the mobile power supply device 30 is connected in series with the target device 32 and can be adaptively supplied to the target device 32.

For example, the mobile power device 30 includes a battery pack 301, a power input interface 302, a charger 303, and a rectifying element 304. The rectifying element 304 may then include at least one diode-reducing element such as a diode. The battery pack 301 and the power input interface 302 are similar to the battery pack 101 and the power input interface 102 in FIG. 1, respectively, and thus detailed descriptions are not repeated herein. It is worth mentioning that the charger 303 in this embodiment can be regarded as substantially one. The integrated charger or chip can perform the functions of the charging circuit 103, the rated power obtaining circuit 104, and the control circuit 105 of FIG. For example, the charger 303 can receive the charging power provided by the external power supply device (for example, the external power supply device 11 of FIG. 1) through the power input interface 302, and know the rated power of the charging power. Next, the charger 303 can determine whether the total load power of the target device 32 is less than the rated power.

When the total load power of the target device 32 is less than the rated power, the charger 303 can distribute the charging power to the target device 32 and the battery pack 301 according to the total load power of the target device 32. For example, assuming that the rated power of the charging power provided by the external power supply device is 45 W and the total load power of the target device 32 is 40 W, the charger 303 can allocate 40 W of the charging power to the target device 32, and 5 W of the charging power. It is assigned to the battery pack 301 for charging.

When the total load power of the target device 32 is not less than the rated power, the charger 303 can distribute the charging power to the target device 32 and not distribute the charging power to the battery pack 301. For example, assuming that the rated power of the charging power supplied by the external power supply device is 45 W and the total load power of the target device 32 is 50 W, the charger 303 can allocate 45 W of the charging power to the target device 32 and let the battery pack 301 supply power together. 5W is given to the target device 32.

The target device 32 may include a battery pack 321, a power input interface 322, a charging circuit 323, a rectifying element 324, a system load 325, and a ground port 326. The power input interface 322 and the charging circuit 323 can be similar to the power input interface 302 and the charger 303 of the mobile power device 30, respectively. or, The power input interface 322 and the charging circuit 323 may also be a conventional power input interface (for example, DC Jack) and a charging circuit, and may receive power provided by the mobile power supply device 30 to supply power to the battery pack 321 and/or system load. 325, the invention is not limited thereto. Additionally, the rectifying element 324 is similar to the rectifying element 304, which may include at least one diode element. Ground port 326 is used for grounding. It should be particularly noted that the present invention does not limit the components of the target device 32 because the mobile power supply device of the embodiment of the present invention is substantially applicable to various portable electronic devices currently available on the market.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, in practical applications, the external power supply device 11 may be substantially another mobile power supply device (for example, the second mobile power supply device 10), and connected in series with the mobile power supply device 10, and the target device 12 In essence, it may be included as another mobile power supply device (for example, the third mobile power supply device 10). The three mobile power devices can be connected in series with each other. By analogy, a plurality of mobile power devices 10 can be connected in series to form a smart charging power supply chain.

4 is a schematic diagram of a smart charging power supply chain according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the smart charging power supply chain 40 includes mobile power supply devices 41, 42, ..., 4 (M-1), 4M connected in series, wherein the mobile power supply devices 41 to 4M are respectively the same or similar to the figure. 1 action power supply unit 10. For example, the power output interface of the charging circuit of the mobile power device 41 can be connected in series with the power input interface of the mobile power device 42, and so on. In this embodiment, the smart charging power supply The mobile power supply devices 41 to 4M in the chain 40 can determine how to operate by referring to the related description of the mobile power supply device 10 of Fig. 1 described above, respectively.

For example, in the case of the mobile power device 41, the mobile power device 41 is not coupled to any external power device, and the target device coupled to the mobile power device 41 can be regarded as being connected by the mobile power devices 42~4M. Target device. Accordingly, for the mobile power supply device 41, the total load power of the target device to be considered includes the total load power of the mobile power supply devices 42-4M, and the power supplied to the target device is the battery inside the mobile power supply device 41. Group to provide. Therefore, the mobile power supply unit 41 can supply power to the mobile power supply unit 42 in accordance with the total load power of the mobile power supply units 42 to 4M.

For example, in the mobile power supply device 4M, the external power supply device coupled to the mobile power supply device 4M is the mobile power supply device 4 (M-1), so the mobile power supply device 4M receives the motion power supply device 4 (M-1). Charging electric energy, wherein the charging electric energy provided by the mobile power supply device 4 (M-1) includes electric energy provided by other mobile power supply devices (for example, the mobile power supply device 41) and/or the internal power supply device 4 (M-1) The power provided by the battery pack. In addition, the target device coupled to the mobile power supply device 4M is the target device 12. Accordingly, the mobile power supply device 4M can supply the charging power provided by the mobile power supply device 4 (M-1) to the target device 12 according to the total load power of the target device 12, or can be supplied to the target device 12 with its own battery pack. .

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a charging method according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, first, receiving charging power from an external power supply device (Step S502), and the rated power of the charging electric energy supplied from the external power supply device is obtained (Step S504). Next, it is judged whether or not the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power (step S506). When the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power, the charging power is distributed to the target device and the battery pack in accordance with the total load power (step S508). When the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the charging power is distributed to the target device, and the charging power is not distributed to the battery pack (step S510).

It should be noted that, for the above method, sufficient teaching, suggestion and implementation description can be obtained from the embodiments shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, and details are not described herein again.

In summary, the charging method and the mobile power supply device in the embodiment of the present invention can receive charging power from an external power source device and obtain a rated power of the charging power. Then, it is judged whether the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power of the charging power. When the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power, the charging power is distributed to the target device and the battery pack according to the total load power. When the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the charging power is distributed to the target device without allocating the charging power to the battery pack. Thereby, the charging electric energy can be efficiently distributed. In addition, the mobile power supply device in the embodiment of the present invention can also form a smart charging power supply chain by means of serial connection, so as to utilize the above charging method to achieve proper charging power management and distribution.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art does not deviate. In the spirit and scope of the present invention, the scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10, 30‧‧‧Mobile power supply unit

11‧‧‧External power supply unit

12, 32‧‧‧ target device

101, 301, 321‧‧‧ battery pack

102, 302, 322‧‧‧ power input interface

103, 323‧‧‧Charging circuit

104‧‧‧Rated power acquisition circuit

105‧‧‧Control circuit

201‧‧‧ impedance components

303‧‧‧Charger

304, 324‧‧‧Rectifying components

325‧‧‧System load

326‧‧‧ Grounding port

40‧‧‧Smart charging power supply chain

41~4M‧‧‧Mobile power supply unit

S502, S504, S506, S508, S510‧‧‧ steps of the charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a mobile power supply device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of calculating a total load power of a target device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a mobile power device connected to a target device according to an embodiment of the invention.

4 is a schematic diagram of a smart charging power supply chain according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a charging method according to an embodiment of the invention.

10‧‧‧Mobile power supply unit

11‧‧‧External power supply unit

12‧‧‧ Target device

101‧‧‧Battery Pack

102‧‧‧Power input interface

103‧‧‧Charging circuit

104‧‧‧Rated power acquisition circuit

105‧‧‧Control circuit

Claims (15)

A charging method is applicable to a first mobile power supply device, wherein the first mobile power supply device is coupled to a target device, and the first mobile power supply device has a battery pack, the charging method comprising: receiving from an external power supply device a charging power; obtaining a rated power of the charging power; determining whether a total load power of the target device is less than the rated power; when the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power, according to the total load power Charging power is distributed to the target device and the battery pack; and when the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the charging power is distributed to the target device, and the charging power is not allocated to the battery pack . The charging method of claim 1, further comprising: when the battery pack is in a state of saturation of power, stopping the charging of the charging power to the battery pack. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the total load power of the target device is less than the rated power further comprises: measuring an output current of the first mobile power device output to the target device And an output voltage; The total load power is calculated based on the output current and the output voltage. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the external power supply device comprises a second mobile power supply device or a power adapter. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the target device comprises a third mobile power device. The charging method of claim 1, further comprising: when the charging power of the external power supply device is removed, the battery pack supplies power to the target device. The charging method of claim 1, further comprising: when the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the battery pack and the external power supply device jointly supply power to the target device. A mobile power supply device is coupled to a target device, the mobile power supply device comprising: a battery pack; a power input interface for receiving a charging electrical energy from an external power supply device; a charging circuit coupled to the a battery pack and the power input interface; a rated power obtaining circuit for obtaining a rated power of the charging power; a control circuit coupled to the rated power obtaining circuit and the charging circuit for determining a relationship between the rated power and a total load power of the target device, and controlling the charging circuit, wherein the total load power of the target device When the power is less than the rated power, the control circuit allocates the charging power to the target device and the battery pack according to the total load power, and when the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the control circuit Charging power is distributed to the target device and the charging power is not distributed to the battery pack. The mobile power supply device of claim 8, wherein the control circuit controls the charging circuit to stop allocating the charging power to the battery pack when the battery pack is in a state of saturation. The mobile power supply device of claim 8, wherein the control circuit measures an output current and an output voltage outputted by the mobile power supply device to the target device, and calculates the current according to the output current and the output voltage. Total load power. The mobile power supply device of claim 8, wherein the external power supply device comprises a second mobile power supply device or a power adapter. The mobile power supply device of claim 8, wherein the target device comprises a third mobile power supply device. The mobile power supply device of claim 8, wherein the control circuit controls the charging circuit to supply the battery pack to the target device when the charging power of the external power device is removed. The mobile power supply device of claim 8, wherein when the total load power of the target device is not less than the rated power, the battery pack and the external power supply device jointly supply power to the target device. The mobile power device of claim 8, wherein the target device comprises a notebook computer, a tablet computer or a smart phone.