CN106774756A - Power management device, power management method and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a power management device, which is suitable for a battery pack of an electronic device and comprises a measuring circuit and a processor. The measuring circuit is used for measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value and a discharge power of the battery pack. The processor is used for receiving the discharge capacity, the temperature value and the discharge power from the measuring circuit and outputting a residual capacity according to the discharge capacity and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage. Wherein the first lowest discharge voltage is greater than the second lowest discharge voltage. When the temperature value is greater than or equal to a preset temperature value and the discharge power is greater than or equal to a preset discharge power, the processor outputs the residual capacity according to the discharge capacity and the first lowest discharge voltage.

Description

Power management device, power management method, and electronic device

technical field

The present invention relates to a power management device, a power management method and an electronic device, in particular to a power management device that adjusts the minimum discharge voltage of the battery according to the temperature and discharge power of the battery to avoid sudden power failure caused by excessive battery temperature, Power management method and electronic device.

Background technique

Due to the advancement of technology, the use of electronic devices is now popularized. In daily life, users can browse data or operate applications and other functions through electronic devices anytime and anywhere. However, due to the increasingly complex functions of application programs and the increasingly powerful processing performance of electronic devices, when users only provide power for electronic devices through electrochemical batteries, under high discharge power operations, the battery's The temperature will also rise rapidly. In order to prolong the service life of the battery, the electronic device has a built-in battery protection mechanism, that is, when the temperature is too high, the battery will automatically power off or reduce the operating frequency. However, in this case, the user may not be able to store the data being processed in time due to a sudden power failure, or the processing performance of the processor may be suddenly reduced, resulting in data loss or unsmooth operation. Therefore, how to enable the electronic device to perform the action of storing data in advance or remind the user to charge in the above situation is a problem that needs to be solved at present.

Contents of the invention

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a power management device suitable for a battery pack of an electronic device, including a measurement circuit and a processor. The measuring circuit is used for measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value and a discharge power of the battery pack. The processor is used for receiving the discharge capacity, the temperature value and the discharge power from the measuring circuit, and outputting a remaining power according to the discharge capacity and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage. Wherein, the first minimum discharge voltage is greater than the second minimum discharge voltage. When the temperature value is greater than or equal to a predetermined temperature value and the discharge power is greater than or equal to a predetermined discharge power, the processor outputs the remaining power according to the discharge capacity and the first minimum discharge voltage.

The present invention also provides a power management method, which is suitable for a battery pack of an electronic device. The steps include: measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value, and a discharge power of the battery pack through a measuring circuit; using a processor to self-measure the circuit receiving the discharge capacity, the temperature value and the discharge power; and outputting a remaining capacity through the processor according to the discharge capacity and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage. Wherein, the first minimum discharge voltage is greater than the second minimum discharge voltage. When the temperature value is greater than or equal to a first predetermined temperature value and the discharge power is greater than or equal to a predetermined discharge power, the processor outputs the remaining power according to the first minimum discharge voltage.

The invention further provides an electronic device, which includes a battery pack, a first processor, a display, a memory and a power management device. The battery pack consists of at least one electrochemical cell. The first processor is used for executing a plurality of function running threads, storing data according to a remaining power and executing a shutdown action. The display is used for displaying a user interface corresponding to the function running thread and data. Memory is used to store data. The power management device includes a measurement circuit and a second processor. The measuring circuit is used for measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value and a discharge power of the battery pack. The second processor is used for receiving discharge capacity, temperature value and discharge power from the measuring circuit, and outputting a remaining power according to the discharge capacity and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage. Wherein, the first minimum discharge voltage is greater than the second minimum discharge voltage. When the temperature value is greater than or equal to a first predetermined temperature value and the discharge power is greater than or equal to a predetermined discharge power, the second processor outputs the remaining power to the first processor according to the first minimum discharge voltage.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power management device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing discharge current, voltage and temperature of the battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the power management method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Explanation of reference signs:

100～power management device;

110～measurement circuit;

120, 220～processor;

210～battery pack;

230～monitor;

240～storage device;

250～controller;

S401～S406～step process;

Sa ~ warning signal;

Ss～Stop power supply signal.

detailed description

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Other scopes of applicability of the apparatus and method of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description provided below. It must be understood that the following detailed description and specific embodiments, while presenting exemplary embodiments of power management devices, power management methods, and electronic devices, are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a power management device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the power management device 100 includes a battery gauge 110 and a processor 120 . Wherein, the power management device 100 is coupled to a battery pack 210 . The battery pack 210 is composed of at least one electrochemical cell. The measurement circuit 110 measures battery information such as a discharge capacity, a temperature value, and a discharge power of the battery pack 210 . In one embodiment, the measuring circuit 110 includes at least three measuring instruments, which are respectively used to measure the discharge capacity, the temperature value and the discharge power of the battery. The discharge capacity refers to the total charge discharged from the battery pack 210 , which can be obtained according to the discharge current. The processor 120 is used to receive battery information such as the discharge capacity, temperature value, and discharge power of the battery pack 210 from the measurement circuit 110, and decide to use a first minimum discharge voltage or a second discharge voltage according to the temperature value and discharge power of the battery pack 210. The minimum discharge voltage is used as a minimum discharge voltage reference to calculate the remaining capacity of the battery pack 210, wherein the first minimum discharge voltage is greater than the second minimum discharge voltage.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the electronic device 200 includes a battery pack 210 , a processor 220 , a display 230 , a memory 240 , a controller 250 and the power management device 100 . The configuration of the power management device 100 shown in FIG. 2 is the same as that of the power management device 100 shown in FIG. 1 , and will not be described here for brevity. The electronic device 200 can be any electronic device powered by a battery, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, or a game device. The processor 220 is used for executing a plurality of function running threads, storing data according to the remaining power and executing a shutdown action. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the processor 220 learns through the power management device 100 that the remaining power of the battery pack 210 is 3% or 5%, it can display a warning window on the display 230 and store the data currently being processed, and then That is, the shutdown action is executed. The display 230 is used for displaying a user interface corresponding to function running threads and data. The storage 240 can be a memory or a disk drive, etc., and is used for storing instructions and data required for executing the operating system and application programs. The controller 250 is used for receiving a power supply stop signal SS from the processor 120 of the power management device 100 , and cutting off power supplied to other components of the electronic device 200 according to the power supply stop signal SS.

FIG. 3 is a graph of discharge voltage and temperature of the battery pack according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the battery pack consists of two groups of four connected in series, and its discharge power is 123 watts (ie high power discharge case). Wherein, the voltage range of each electrochemical cell is 3.0 volts to 4.2 volts. In other words, when the voltage of the electrochemical cell is 12.0 volts, the remaining capacity is defined as 0%. Conversely, when the voltage of the battery pack is 16.8 volts, the remaining capacity is defined as 100%. In order to protect the battery pack, the processor 120 of the power management device 100 sets an over-temperature protection point (usually 80°C), that is, when the measured temperature of the battery pack exceeds 80°C, the processor 120 of the power management device 100 outputs The stop power supply signal SS is sent to the controller 250 to cut off the power supplied to other elements of the electronic device 200 to protect the battery pack 210 . In some embodiments, in order to slow down the temperature rise of the battery pack and avoid sudden power failure, when the temperature of the battery pack 210 exceeds 75° C., the processor 120 of the power management device 100 will output a warning signal Sa to notify The temperature of the battery pack of the processor 220 of the electronic device is close to the over-temperature protection point, so that the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 maintains the current processing performance or performs a frequency reduction action to avoid continuous temperature rise. In addition, when the remaining power of the battery pack drops to 3%-5%, the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 executes the operation of storing data and shutting down the device to avoid loss of user data. However, in this embodiment, when the temperature of the battery pack reaches 80° C. (as shown at point A in the figure), the power management device 100 outputs a power supply stop signal SS to the controller 250 to cut off the power supply. There is still about 8% of the remaining power left (as shown by point B in the figure), so the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 will not execute the operation of storing data, resulting in data loss.

In order to avoid the occurrence of the above situation, another embodiment of the present invention resets the minimum discharge voltage or increases the ratio of battery discharge capacity and remaining power, so that the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 can operate when the temperature of the battery pack 210 exceeds Execute the action of saving data before the temperature protection point. For example, when the processor 120 of the power management device 100 is under the condition of high power discharge and the temperature reaches 70° C., the ratio of the battery discharge capacity and remaining power is increased to a predetermined rate, such as the original 1% power consumption. It will be changed to 1.5% or 1.8%, so that by accelerating the decline rate of the remaining power, the temperature of the battery pack will issue a low battery warning before the charging action exceeds 75°C, so as to avoid the power being cut off or the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 generating In the case of frequency reduction, or before the over-temperature protection point is exceeded, the remaining power will be lower than 3%-5%, so that the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 can execute the action of storing data earlier. In addition, the same efficacy as described above can also be achieved by increasing the minimum discharge voltage of each electrochemical cell. For example, the minimum discharge voltage is increased to 3.3 volts, that is, when the voltage of the battery pack is 13.2 volts (as shown by point C in the figure), the remaining power is displayed as 0%, so that the processor 120 of the power management device 100 Recalculate the battery discharge capacity and the ratio of remaining power based on the higher minimum discharge voltage, so as to prevent the temperature of the battery pack from exceeding 80°C before the remaining power is lower than 3% to 5%. As shown in FIG. 3 , when the voltage of the battery pack 210 is 13.2 volts (that is, the remaining power is 0%), the temperature of the battery pack 210 is about 75° C., which has not exceeded the over-temperature protection point and has not yet reached frequency reduction. conditions, so that the electronic device 200 has time to perform the operation of storing data before the battery pack 210 is forced to shut down due to overheating. Wherein, the ratio of the discharge capacity of the battery to the remaining power varies with the discharge efficiency of the electrochemical cells, so the user can adjust it according to the condition of each electrochemical cell, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that when the minimum discharge voltage is reset, although the remaining power output by the processor 120 of the power management device 100 is not the actual remaining power, the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 is still only according to the power management device. The remaining power outputted by the processor 120 of the 100 determines whether to execute the action of storing data.

Please refer to Figure 4 in conjunction with Figure 2. FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the power management method according to an embodiment of the invention. In step S401 , the measurement circuit 110 measures the discharge capacity, temperature value and discharge power of the battery pack 210 . In step S402, the processor 120 of the power management device 100 receives the discharge amount, the temperature value and the discharge power. In step S403, the processor 120 of the power management device 100 determines whether the temperature value exceeds a predetermined temperature value, and whether the discharge power is higher than a predetermined discharge power. If yes, go to step S404, where the processor 120 of the power management device 100 outputs the remaining power according to the discharge capacity and the first minimum discharge voltage. If not, go to step S405, where the processor 120 of the power management device 100 outputs the remaining power according to the discharge capacity and the second lowest discharge voltage. Wherein, the first minimum discharge voltage is greater than or equal to the second minimum discharge voltage. In step S406 , the processor 120 of the power management device 100 outputs a warning signal Sa to the processor 220 of the electronic device 200 according to the remaining power.

To sum up, with the power management device, power management method and electronic device proposed by the present invention, the user can adjust the minimum discharge voltage of the battery pack or the ratio of the discharge power to the remaining power to avoid the battery pack when the remaining power is higher than 3%~ In 5% cases, the battery temperature will rise above the over-temperature protection point, and the above-mentioned method can also be used to remind the user to charge the battery before the battery reaches the temperature at which the operating frequency needs to be reduced, so as to continuously provide sufficient power for the electronic device to maintain The normal operating efficiency of the processor.

The features of many embodiments are described above, so that those skilled in the art can clearly understand the form of this specification. Those skilled in the art can understand that they can use the disclosure of the present invention as a basis to design or change other processes and structures to achieve the same objectives and/or achieve the same advantages as the above-mentioned embodiments. Those skilled in the art can also understand that equivalent structures without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention can make any changes, substitutions and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A power management device, suitable for a battery pack of an electronic device, comprising: A measuring circuit for measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value and a discharge power of the battery pack; and A processor, used to receive the above-mentioned discharge amount, the above-mentioned temperature value, and the above-mentioned discharge power from the above-mentioned measurement circuit, and output a remaining power according to the above-mentioned discharge amount and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage, wherein the above-mentioned first A minimum discharge voltage is greater than the above-mentioned second minimum discharge voltage, when the above-mentioned temperature value is greater than or equal to a first predetermined temperature value, and the above-mentioned discharge power is greater than or equal to a predetermined discharge power, the processor will The minimum discharge voltage outputs the above-mentioned remaining power. 2. The power management device according to claim 1, wherein when the temperature value is less than the first predetermined temperature value and the discharge power is less than the predetermined discharge power, the processor will 2. The minimum discharge voltage outputs the above-mentioned remaining power. 3. The power management device according to claim 2, further comprising: a controller for controlling an output of the battery pack, and stopping the output of the battery pack according to a power supply stop signal; Wherein, the processor further outputs the power supply stop signal according to the second minimum discharge voltage and/or a second predetermined temperature value, and the second predetermined temperature value is greater than the first predetermined temperature value. 4. The power management device according to claim 3, wherein the processor further outputs a frequency reduction signal to another processor of the electronic device according to a third predetermined temperature value, so that the other processor reduces An operating frequency of the electronic device, wherein the third predetermined temperature value is between the first predetermined temperature value and the second temperature value. 5. The power management device according to claim 1, wherein when the remaining power is lower than a predetermined power, the processor outputs a storage signal to another processor of the electronic device, so that the other processing The server stores the data being processed. 6. A power management method, applicable to a battery pack of an electronic device, comprising: Measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value and a discharge power of the above-mentioned battery pack through a measurement circuit; receiving the discharge amount, the temperature value, and the discharge power from the measurement circuit through a processor; Outputting a remaining power through the processor according to the discharge amount and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage, wherein the first minimum discharge voltage is greater than the second minimum discharge voltage; and When the temperature value is greater than or equal to a first predetermined temperature value and the discharge power is greater than or equal to a predetermined discharge power, the processor outputs the remaining power according to the first minimum discharge voltage. 7. The power management method according to claim 6, wherein the step of outputting the remaining power by the processor according to the discharge amount and the first minimum discharge voltage or the second minimum discharge voltage further comprises: When the temperature value is less than the first predetermined temperature value and the discharge power is less than the predetermined discharge power, the processor outputs the remaining power according to the discharge amount and the second minimum discharge voltage. 8. The power management method according to claim 6, further comprising: Outputting a power supply stop signal through the processor according to the second minimum discharge voltage and/or a second predetermined temperature value, wherein the second predetermined temperature value is greater than the first predetermined temperature value; and An output of the battery pack is stopped by a controller according to the power supply stop signal. 9. The power management method according to claim 8, further comprising: The processor outputs a frequency reduction signal to another processor of the electronic device according to a third predetermined temperature value, so that the other processor reduces an operating frequency of the electronic device, wherein the third predetermined temperature value is between Between the above-mentioned first predetermined temperature value and the above-mentioned second temperature value. 10. The power management method according to claim 6, further comprising: When the remaining power is lower than a predetermined power, the processor outputs a storage signal to another processor of the electronic device, so that the other processor stores the data being processed. 11. An electronic device comprising: a battery pack consisting of at least one electrochemical cell; A first processor, used to execute a plurality of function running threads, store data according to a remaining power and execute a shutdown action; A display for displaying a user interface corresponding to the above-mentioned function running thread and the above-mentioned data; a storage device for storing the above data; and A power management device, comprising: A measuring circuit for measuring a discharge capacity, a temperature value and a discharge power of the battery pack; and A second processor, configured to receive the discharge amount, the temperature value, and the discharge power from the measurement circuit, and output the remaining power according to the discharge amount and a first minimum discharge voltage or a second minimum discharge voltage, wherein The above-mentioned first minimum discharge voltage is greater than the above-mentioned second minimum discharge voltage, when the above-mentioned temperature value is greater than or equal to a first predetermined temperature value, and the above-mentioned discharge power is greater than or equal to a predetermined discharge power, the above-mentioned second processor The lowest discharge voltage outputs the remaining power to the first processor.