Battery management system and method
A battery management system for managing a plurality of subsystem circuits and functions of a mobile communication device powered by a battery is disclosed. The battery management system includes a battery monitoring circuit, a user interface, and a battery management module. The battery monitoring circuit is operable to monitor a present battery capacity and generate a battery capacity signal based on the present battery capacity. The user interface is operable to receive a user-input allocation of battery capacity among the subsystem circuits and functions. The battery management module is operable to receive the user-input allocation and the battery capacity signal, and to selectively disable each subsystem circuit or function when each subsystem circuit or function has depleted its allocation of battery capacity.
1. A battery management system for managing a plurality of subsystems of a mobile communication device powered by a battery, comprising:
means for monitoring a present battery condition of the battery;
means for comparing the present battery condition with an enable condition of the plurality of subsystems to determine if a disable condition has been met; and
means for selectively disabling a subsystem in the plurality of subsystems if the disable condition has been met for the subsystem;
wherein the enable condition is a threshold temperature associated with the subsystems, the present battery condition is a battery temperature measurement, and the disable condition is met when the battery temperature is less than the threshold temperature for a subsystem.
2. The battery management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
means for receiving a battery chemistry indicator; and
means for associating the threshold temperature enable conditions for the subsystems as a function of the received battery chemistry indicator.
3. The battery management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
means for notifying the user of the mobile communication device that a subsystem is about to be selectively disabled if the disable condition has been met; and
means for enabling the user of the mobile communication device to abort the selective disabling of the subsystem.
4. The battery management system of claim 3 , further comprising:
means for modifying the enable condition of the subsystem in response to aborting the selective disabling of the subsystem.
5. The battery management system of claim 1 , further comprising:
means for temporarily disabling the selectively disabling of a subsystem in response to the mobile communication device being coupled to an alternate power source than the battery.
6. A method for managing a plurality of subsystems in a mobile communication device having a battery, comprising:
monitoring a present condition of the battery;
comparing the present battery condition with an enable condition of the plurality of subsystems to determine if a disable condition has been met; and
disabling a subsystem in the plurality of subsystems if the disable condition has been met for the subsystem;
wherein the enable condition is a threshold temperature associated with the subsystems, the present battery condition is a battery temperature measurement, and the disable condition is met when the battery temperature is less than the threshold temperature for a subsystem.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
identifying a battery chemistry indicator; and
associating the threshold temperature enable conditions for the subsystems as a function of the battery chemistry indicator.
8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
notifying the user of the mobile communication device that a subsystem is about to be disabled if the disable condition has been met; and
enabling the user of the mobile communication device to abort the disabling of the subsystem.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
modifying the enable condition of the subsystem in response to aborting the disabling of the subsystem.
10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
temporarily disabling the disabling of a subsystem in response to the mobile communication device being coupled to an alternate power source than the battery.
11. A mobile communication device, comprising
a battery for supplying power to a plurality of subsystems of the mobile communication device;
a battery monitoring circuit for monitoring a present battery condition of the battery; and
a battery management module for comparing the present battery condition with an enable condition of the plurality of subsystems to determine if a disable condition has been met, and for selectively disabling a subsystem in the plurality of subsystems if the disable condition has been met for the subsystem;
wherein the enable condition is a threshold temperature associated with the subsystems, the present battery condition is a battery temperature measurement, and the disable condition is met when the battery temperature is less than the threshold temperature for a subsystem.