The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 01, 2003
Filed:
Feb. 06, 2002
Gregory J. Smith, Tucson, AZ (US);
William D. MacLean, Oro Valley, AZ (US);
National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A power management circuit for a battery operated electrical device that may include a number of switching circuits. The switching circuits are coupled between the battery and a corresponding one of various electronic sub-circuits. A battery monitoring circuit is arranged to monitor a voltage associated with the battery. Each switching circuit selectively couples a corresponding one of the electronic sub-circuits to the battery based on the battery voltage. In another example, the monitor circuit and the switching circuit functions are provided within the corresponding electronic sub-circuit. Battery power is conserved by selectively disabling (i.e., placing them in a sleep mode) the various electronic sub-circuits based on the battery voltage. The power management circuit may be arranged to select between charger circuits that have distinct charging characteristics, as well as to enable/disable various analog and digital electronics in the battery operated electrical device depending upon the monitored battery condition.