Apple Inc.

Markus C Wallgren

Steven J Young

Mark C Gurries

Mark H Seibert

Kihachiro Tonomura

Andrew Hargadon

An integrated AC adapter and battery charger is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an AC adapter unit for converting AC power to a DC power and a battery charging apparatus coupled to the AC adapter unit for charging a battery pack. The battery charging apparatus further comprises a microcontroller for sensing the condition of the battery pack or tacks being charged, a memory for storing the proper charging profile for a number of different types of battery packs, and a charging current generator capable of generating a varying charging current based on the microcontroller's determination of the battery's condition and the charging profile stored in the memory.

Power supply and battery charger

A power management system for a portable computer is disclosed. The system can determine which one of a plurality of battery packs has been coupled to the system. After determining the type of battery pack, the system recalls from storage the recommended charging pattern for the particular battery pack and begins to charge the battery at the recommended rate. The system's information is used during charging to determine if the battery pack is defective. When the computer is running off the battery pack, the charge counter measures the total amount of charge supplied to the computer and provides this information to the system. When the difference betweem the total amount of charge supplied to the computer and the total charge available from the battery reaches a predefined limit, the system indicates to the computer that a low-power situation exists and that the computer should prepare for a possible loss-of-power event.

Power management system for battery powered computers

A power consumption reduction method and apparatus for a computer is described. The operating system running on the CPU of the computer determines when the CPU is not actively processing and generates a power-off signal to a control logic circuit. The control logic circuit then disconnects the CPU from the power supply. Pulses sent by a periodic timer or interrupts from input/output units are applied to the control logic circuit to at least periodically issue a power-on signal to the CPU. Power is supplied to the CPU for a given time period at every power-on signal. During this period, the CPU executes miscellaneous housekeeping chores including the polling of disk drives and determines when the CPU should resume normal processing. The control logic circuit also determines, at every power-on signal, whether the CPU is already on or being turned off. The control logic circuit will not issue a reset signal to enable the reset of the CPU if it is already on. If, however, the CPU has been turned off by the operating system, the control logic circuit will reset the CPU at every periodic power-on signal until CPU resumes its normal operation.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Markus C Wallgren