Power control method and apparatus suitable for use in a radio communication device

• Main Authors: Janssen, John Jerome, Hietala, Alexander Wayne
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 27.05.2003

Generally, this invention relates to controlling power in electronic equipment and, more specifically, to maximizing the use of a battery's energy in a portable electronic device. A portable radio communication device () includes power control circuitry () for monitoring the voltage level incoming from a battery (), and provides power to the rest of the radio communication device (). The power control circuitry () includes a boost regulator () that is used to generate an internal reference signal for use throughout the radio communication device including an analog to digital converter (ADC) for digitizing the battery voltage for use by the power control circuitry (). The power control circuitry () compares the digitized battery voltage to thresholds to control power to the remainder of the radio communication device (). Additionally, a secondary comparator () is provided to prevent damage to the battery and radio communication device circuitry. The secondary comparator uses multiple undervoltage thresholds depending upon the power state of the radio communication device ().