Charging method and charging apparatus for electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10110031-B2
Application number	US-201514589200-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2015
Priority date	Jan 6, 2014
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

A charging method and a charging apparatus for an electronic device are provided. The method for charging a battery of a first electronic device, includes determining whether a current supply device is connected to a second electronic device connected to the first electronic device, recognizing at least one external device connected to the second electronic device when the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device, setting a charging current based on the recognized at least one external device, and receiving the set charging current from the current supply device connected to the second electronic device and charging the battery of the first electronic device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for charging a battery of a first electronic device, the method comprising:
determining whether a current supply device is connected to a second electronic device connected to the first electronic device;
recognizing at least one external device connected to the second electronic device while the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device;
setting, at the second electronic device, a charging current of the first electronic device based on the recognized at least one external device;
receiving, at the first electronic device, the charging current from the current supply device connected to the second electronic device; and
charging, with the charging current, the battery of the first electronic device,
wherein each of the first electronic device, the second electronic device, the current supply device, and the at least one external device are different from each other.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising supplying, when the current supply device is not connected to the second electronic device, a predetermined voltage by the first electronic device to the second electronic device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of whether the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device connected to the first electronic device comprises recognizing a specified resistance corresponding to whether the current supply device is connected.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the charging current is one of set in reverse proportion to a number of the recognized at least one external device or set based on information included in a universal serial bus (USB) descriptor.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the USB descriptor comprises at least one of a device descriptor, a configuration descriptor, an interface descriptor, an endpoint descriptor, or a string descriptor.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein, when the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device, a rest current obtained by subtracting the charging current from a current of the current supply device is supplied via the second electronic device to the recognized at least one external device.

7. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein, when the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device, the recognized at least one external device connected to the second electronic device is supplied with a required current from the current supply device, and
wherein a rest current which is obtained by subtracting the required current is used as the charging current.

8. A method for supporting battery charging of a first electronic device in a second electronic device, the method comprising:
outputting, while a current supply device is connected to the second electronic device and the second electronic device is connected to the first electronic device, a signal for a specified resistance corresponding to connection of the current supply device to the first electronic device;
supplying, by the second electronic device, a predetermined current to at least one external device connected to the second electronic device; and
supplying, by the second electronic device, a charging current, set at the second electronic device and based on the at least one external device, to the first electronic device,
wherein each of the first electronic device, the second electronic device, the current supply device, and the at least one external device are different from each other.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving, at the first electronic device when the current supply device is not connected to the second electronic device, a predetermined voltage from the second electronic device.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the charging current is set in reverse proportion to a number of the at least one external device or is set based on information included in a universal serial bus (USB) descriptor, by the first electronic device.

11. An apparatus for charging a battery of a first electronic device, the apparatus comprising:
at least one processor configured to:
determine whether a current supply device is connected to a second electronic device comprising the apparatus and connected to the first electronic device, and
recognize, when the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device, at least one external device connected to the second electronic device; and
a charging unit configured to:
set, at the second electronic device, a charging current of the first electronic device based on the recognized at least one external device, and
receive the charging current from the current supply device connected to the second electronic device and charging, with the charging current, the battery of the first electronic device,
wherein each of the first electronic device, the second electronic device, the current supply device, and the at least one external device are different from each other.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the first electronic device to supply a predetermined voltage to the second electronic device, when the current supply device is not connected to the second electronic device.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to recognize a specified resistance corresponding to whether the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device in order to determine whether the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device connected to the first electronic device.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the charging current is one of set in reverse proportion to a number of the recognized at least one external device or set based on information included in a universal serial bus (USB) descriptor.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the USB descriptor comprises at least one of a device descriptor, a configuration descriptor, an interface descriptor, an endpoint descriptor, or a string descriptor.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein, when the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device, a rest current obtained by subtracting the charging current from a current of the current supply device is supplied to the recognized at least one external device connected to the second electronic device.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 ,
wherein, when the current supply device is connected to the second electronic device, the recognized at least one external device connected to the second electronic device is supplied via the second electronic device with a required current from the current supply device, and
wherein a rest current which is obtained by subtracting the required current from a current of the current supply device is used as the charging current.

18. An apparatus for supporting battery charging of a first electronic device in a second electronic device, the apparatus comprising:
at least one processor configured to:
output, when a current supply device is connected to the second electronic device connected to the first electronic device, a signal for a specified resistance corresponding to connection of the current supply device to the first electronic device, and
supply a predetermined current to at least one external device connected to the second electronic device, and supplying a charging current, set at the second electronic device and based on the at least one external device, to the first electronic device,
wherein each of the first electronic device, the second electronic devi

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Woo-Kwang

Classifications

• A47G19/2205

  Drinking glasses or vessels (A47G19/23 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A45F3/18

  of rigid material · CPC title

• A47J31/06 Primary

  Filters or strainers for coffee or tea makers {; Holders therefor} · CPC title

• G06F1/263 Primary

  Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC (G06F1/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H02J7/42

  with electronic devices having internal batteries, e.g. mobile phones · CPC title