Fast battery charging through digital feedback

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for charging a battery of a portable device are disclosed, including receiving, by a charging component, an amount of voltage on a power bus connectable to an external device, wherein the charging component charges the battery with the amount of voltage received. The methods and apparatus include authenticating, by an authentication component, the portable device with the external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein the authentication component is configured to transmit one or more authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal lines. The methods and apparatus include transmitting, by a configuration component, a modified voltage signal and a modified current signal to the external device via the plurality of signal lines, wherein the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal are operable to cause the external device to modify the amount of voltage transmitted to the power bus.

We claim the following: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for charging a battery, comprising:
 a charging component configured to receive an amount of voltage on a power bus connectable to an external device, wherein the charging component charges the battery with the amount of voltage received;   an authentication component configured to authenticate the apparatus with the external device via a plurality of signal lines, wherein the authentication component is configured to transmit one or more authentication signals on one or more of the plurality of signal lines; and   a configuration component configured to transmit a modified voltage signal and a modified current signal to the external device via the plurality of signal lines, wherein the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal are operable to cause the external device to modify the amount of voltage transmitted to the power bus.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the charging component is directly connected to the power bus. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the charging component is further configured to include a halver directly connected to the power bus, wherein the halver is configured to divide the amount of voltage in half. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the modified voltage signal corresponds to an amount of voltage the apparatus requests, and wherein the modified current signal corresponds to a threshold amount of current that the external device is limited to transmitting to the apparatus. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a detection component configured to determine the amount of voltage received from the external device. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a control component configured to modify the modified voltage signal and the modified current signal transmitted by the configuration component based at least in part on the amount of voltage received and whether the apparatus is authenticated;   wherein the control component is configured to be prevented from operating when the apparatus fails to authenticate; and   wherein the power bus receives a default amount of voltage transmitted by the external device when the authentication component fails to authenticate the apparatus with the external device.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the detection component determines, either continuously or periodically, the amount of voltage received by the charging component. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus operates in conformance to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification, wherein the power bus comprises a voltage bus (VBUS) and the plurality of signal lines comprise a D− signal line and a D+ signal line. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the apparatus further operates in a USB On-The-Go (OTG) configuration, and wherein the apparatus simultaneously receives an amount of voltage on the power bus and transmits one or more signals on the plurality of signal lines. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the external device is a High Voltage Dedicated Charging Port (HVDCP) device, wherein the power bus comprises a voltage bus (VBUS) and the plurality of signal lines comprise a D− signal line and a D+ signal line. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the charging component determines whether the external device is an HVDCP device based on the amount of voltage received by charging component on the VBUS. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the battery is configured as at least one or both of a single cell battery or a multiple cell battery. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the authentication component is configured to authenticate the apparatus with the external device either initially upon connecting with the external device or periodically.