JP2009011068A - Battery recharger, information processor equipped with this battery recharger, and battery recharging method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery recharger which can suppress a maximum necessary electric power to rapidly recharge, to provide an information processor equipped with this battery recharger, and to provide a battery recharging method. <P>SOLUTION: The information processor 10 includes a main control unit 11, an LED 12 for the main body as a light emitting means, a heat dissipation fan 13 for the main body as a cooling apparatus to cool the information processor 10 on the whole, and a battery recharger 20. The battery recharger 20 includes a recharge control unit, a battery and a recharging power supply section. The CPU of the recharge control unit loads the constant power recharging program stored in the ROM of the recharge control unit and the data necessary for carrying out the program into the RAM of the recharge control unit and controls the recharging power supply section to recharge the battery with a desired constant power in accordance with the constant power recharging program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery charging device capable of rapidly charging a battery used as a power source of an electrical device such as a notebook personal computer, an information processing device including the battery charging device, and a battery charging method.

  In recent years, batteries composed of secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries have been widely used as power sources for information processing apparatuses such as mobile phones and notebook personal computers. In particular, a battery used in a portable information processing apparatus is often desired to be able to be charged rapidly.

  Conventionally, as a technique for rapidly charging this type of battery, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-316664 (Patent Document 1).

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-316664 (Patent Document 1), the battery voltage is monitored and a constant current is supplied until the battery voltage reaches the upper limit (hereinafter referred to as constant current charging). Thus, the battery can be rapidly charged.
JP-A-5-316664

  As power necessary for charging the battery, AC power supplied from a commercial power source is often used. This power is generally obtained by an AC adapter and supplied to the battery charger. The AC adapter, the battery, and the battery charging device are desired to be small and lightweight from the viewpoint of convenience, particularly when used in a portable information processing device.

  In the technology applying the conventional constant current charging, it is necessary to increase the supplied current value in order to shorten the charging time. However, when charging is performed at a high current value, as the charging proceeds and the battery voltage increases, the power required for charging also increases. For this reason, the maximum power required for charging (power at the upper limit of the battery voltage) becomes very high.

  Therefore, when constant current charging is performed at a high current value, the AC adapter that supplies this power must be enlarged in order to cope with the increase in the maximum required power, and the convenience is extremely deteriorated. On the other hand, when constant current charging is performed at a low current value to suppress the maximum required power, the charging time becomes long.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and provides a battery charging device capable of rapidly charging while suppressing the maximum required power, an information processing device including the battery charging device, and a battery charging method. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a battery charging device according to the present invention includes a battery, a charging power supply unit that supplies power to the battery, a battery voltage acquisition unit that acquires a voltage value across the battery, A charge control unit that controls the output of the charging power supply unit so as to charge the battery at a required constant power value when a voltage value at both ends of the battery is smaller than a charge end voltage value of the battery; It is characterized by this.

  Moreover, in order to solve the above-described problem, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a battery, a charging power supply unit that supplies power to the battery, and a battery voltage acquisition unit that acquires a voltage value across the battery. A charge control unit for controlling the output of the charging power supply unit so as to charge the battery at a predetermined constant power value when a voltage value at both ends of the battery is smaller than a charge end voltage value of the battery; The battery charging device is provided.

  On the other hand, in order to solve the above-described problem, the battery charging method according to the present invention obtains the voltage value across the battery, and when the voltage across the battery is smaller than the charge end voltage value of the battery, Charging the battery with a required constant power value.

  According to the battery charging device, the information processing device including the battery charging device, and the battery charging method according to the present invention, it is possible to charge rapidly while suppressing the maximum required power.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a battery charging device, an information processing device including the battery charging device, and a battery charging method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an information processing apparatus including a battery charging device according to the present invention.

  The information processing apparatus 10 includes a main control unit 11, a main body LED 12 as a light emitting unit, a main body heat radiation fan 13 as a cooling device, and a battery charging device 20.

  The main control unit 11 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like. The CPU of the main control unit 11 cooperates with the charge control unit 21 of the battery charging device 20 when charging the battery 31 according to the program stored in the ROM of the main control unit 11 and performs the light emission control processing of the main body LED 12 and the main body. In addition to performing drive control processing of the heat radiating fan 13, various processing operations of the information processing apparatus 10 are controlled. The RAM of the main control unit 11 provides a work area for temporarily storing programs and data executed by the CPU of the main control unit 11. The ROM of the main control unit 11 stores a startup program for the information processing device 10 and various data necessary for executing these programs.

  The ROM of the main control unit 11 has a configuration including a recording medium that can be read by the CPU of the main control unit 11 such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. Some or all of the programs and data may be downloaded via an electronic network.

  The main body LED 12 as the light emitting means is provided in a housing that covers the information processing apparatus 10, and can be turned on, blinked, or turned off according to the charging status so that the user can determine the charging status of the battery 31. Emits light. Light emission of the main body LED 12 is controlled by the main control unit 11 that has received an instruction from the battery charging device 20 via the main body LED control unit 14 serving as a heat dissipation control unit.

  The main body heat dissipating fan 13 as a cooling device is a heat dissipating fan that an electric device such as a personal computer generally covers inside the casing, and the wind generated from the main body heat dissipating fan 13 The heat generated by is released to the outside, and the entire information processing apparatus 10 including the battery charging apparatus 20 is cooled. The main control unit 11 receives an instruction from the battery charging device 20 and performs drive control of the main body heat radiation fan 13 via the main body heat radiation control unit 15 as a heat radiation control unit.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the battery charger 20 shown in FIG.

  The battery charging device 20 includes a charging control unit 21, a battery LED 22 as a light emitting unit, a battery heat dissipation fan 23 as a cooling device, a temperature sensor 24, and a charging circuit 30.

  The charging circuit 30 is configured by connecting a battery 31, a charging power supply unit 32, a voltage detector 33, a current detector 34, and an AC adapter 35 as shown in FIG.

  The charging control unit 21 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and has a function of controlling the charging power supply unit 32 so as to charge the battery 31 with a predetermined constant power.

  The CPU of the charging control unit 21 controls the processing operation of the battery charging device 20 according to a program stored in the ROM of the charging control unit 21. The CPU of the charging control unit 21 loads the constant power charging program stored in the ROM of the charging control unit 21 and data necessary for execution of the program into the RAM of the charging control unit 21 and follows the constant power charging program. Then, the battery 31 is charged with the required constant power (hereinafter referred to as constant power charging) to rapidly charge to the end-of-charge voltage, and after reaching the end-of-charge voltage, a constant value of voltage is supplied (hereinafter referred to as “the constant power charge”). The charging power supply unit 32 is controlled so as to charge the battery 31 so that the energy is stored to the full capacity.

  Here, the end-of-charge voltage refers to the maximum value of the charge voltage at which constant power charging can be performed safely. When charging the battery 31, control is performed so that the voltage across the battery 31 does not exceed the charge end voltage.

  The CPU of the charging control unit 21 performs at least a constant power charging availability determination unit, a battery voltage acquisition unit, a battery voltage determination unit, a rated value acquisition unit, a charging power determination unit, a charging current value calculation unit, a constant power according to a setting change program. Charging instruction unit, constant voltage charging instruction unit, charging current acquisition unit, charging current determination unit, charging end instruction unit, end information output unit, battery LED control unit as light emission control unit, abnormality determination unit, abnormal stop instruction unit, It functions as a battery heat dissipation control unit as a cooling determination unit, a cooling information output unit, and a heat dissipation control unit. Each unit uses a required work area in the RAM of the charging control unit 21 as a temporary storage location for data. In addition, you may comprise this function implementation part by hardware logics, such as a circuit, without using CPU of the charge control part 21. FIG.

  When charging the battery 31 with the required constant power (constant power charging), even if charging progresses and the voltage across the battery 31 rises, the power supplied to the battery 31 is always constant. For this reason, the enlargement of the AC adapter 35 which is a problem in constant current charging can be prevented. Power is given by the product of current and voltage. Therefore, according to constant power charging, when the both-ends voltage of the battery 31 is low, it can charge with a high electric current value, and can charge the battery 31 rapidly.

  The RAM of the charge control unit 21 provides a work area for temporarily storing programs and data executed by the CPU of the charge control unit 21. The ROM of the charging control unit 21 stores a constant power charging program and various data necessary for executing these programs.

  The various data stored in the ROM of the charging control unit 21 includes the rated values of the AC adapter 35 and the charging circuit 30. In the present embodiment, an example in which the rated power value is stored for the AC adapter 35 and the rated current value of the circuit (see FIG. 2) is stored for the charging circuit 30 will be described.

  The various data stored in the ROM of the charging control unit 21 includes a first predetermined current value Ith (FULL) that serves as a reference for determining whether energy has been accumulated to the full capacity of the battery 31 during constant voltage charging. ) Is included. In addition, various data stored in the ROM of the charge control unit 21 include, as data used by the abnormality determination unit of the charge control unit 21, an abnormality determination time as a predetermined time and an abnormality determination as a predetermined change amount. The amount of current change is included.

  Further, the various data stored in the ROM of the charge control unit 21 include a second predetermined current value Ith (FAN) that is a reference for determining whether the cooling determination unit should drive the heat dissipation fan, and a predetermined value. Temperature Tth (FAN).

  The ROM of the charging control unit 21 has a configuration including a recording medium that can be read by the CPU of the charging control unit 21 such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. Some or all of the programs and data may be downloaded via an electronic network.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal flow of the battery charging device 20 shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, a dotted line shows a signal flow.

  The battery LED 22 as the light emitting means emits light in various modes such as lighting, blinking, and extinguishing according to the charging state of the battery 31. The battery LED 22 is controlled by the charge control unit 21 to emit light.

  A battery heat dissipation fan 23 as a cooling device is provided in the vicinity of the battery 31. The wind generated from the battery heat dissipation fan 23 releases the heat generated from the battery 31 to the outside and cools the battery 31. The charging control unit 21 performs drive control of the battery heat dissipation fan 23 based on the output of the temperature sensor 24 that detects the temperature near the battery 31.

  As the battery 31, a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery, a lead secondary battery, or a nickel cadmium secondary battery can be used.

  The battery 31 includes an assembled battery in which a plurality of secondary batteries are connected to each other in addition to a single secondary battery. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which an assembled battery having a charge end voltage of 12.6 V, in which three lithium ion secondary batteries having a charge end voltage of 4.2 V are connected in series, is used as the battery 31.

  In addition, the battery 31 is covered with a casing to form a so-called battery pack. In addition to the assembled battery of the secondary battery, an NVRAM 31a as a nonvolatile storage unit is provided in the casing of the battery 31 as shown in FIG.

  The NVRAM 31a stores at least the rated power value of the battery 31 and information on whether or not the battery 31 is compatible with constant power charging (hereinafter referred to as constant power charging availability information).

  The NVRAM 31a may be built in the casing of the battery 31, or may be provided outside the casing of the battery 31 by being attached to the outer surface of the casing of the battery 31, for example. The NVRAM 31a is a non-volatile storage medium that can retain stored information even after the battery charging device 20 is turned off, and includes a storage medium that can be read and written by the charging control unit 21. . For example, an EEPROM or the like can be used as the NVRAM 31a.

  The charging power supply unit 32 has positive and negative terminals. Both terminals of the charging power supply unit 32 are connected to both terminals of the battery 31, respectively. The charging power supply unit 32 outputs a charging current and a charging voltage in order to supply power to the battery 31. The charging current value and the charging voltage value to be supplied are controlled by the charging control unit 21. As the charging power supply unit 32, one having a function as a constant current source and a constant voltage source is used.

  The voltage detector 33 is connected to both ends of the battery 31 in order to detect the voltage across the battery 31. The voltage detector 33 gives the detected voltage value across the battery 31 to the charging control unit 21.

  The current detector 34 is connected between at least one terminal between the positive electrode terminal or the negative electrode terminal of the battery 31 and the charging power supply unit 32 in order to detect a charging current value supplied to the battery 31. The current detector 34 gives the detected charging current value to the charging control unit 21.

  The AC adapter 35 supplies power supplied from a commercial power source or the like to the charging power supply unit 32. The charging power supply unit 32 charges the battery 31 using the power supplied from the AC adapter 35.

  Next, an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment (including the operation of the battery charging device 20) will be described.

  In FIG. 4, the battery 31 is rapidly charged to the end-of-charge voltage by charging with constant power, and after reaching the end-of-charge voltage, the battery 31 is charged so as to accumulate energy to the full capacity of the battery 31. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure at the time. In FIG. 4, reference numerals with numbers added to S indicate steps in the flowchart.

  In advance, the ROM of the charge control unit 21 stores the rated power value of the AC adapter 35, the rated current value of the charging circuit 30, the first predetermined current value Ith (FULL), the abnormality determination time, and the abnormality determination current. It is assumed that the change amount, the second predetermined current value Ith (FAN), and the predetermined temperature Tth (FAN) are stored.

  Further, it is assumed that the rated power value of the battery 31 and the constant power charge availability information about the battery 31 are stored in the NVRAM 31a in advance.

  First, a procedure for rapidly charging the battery 31 to the end-of-charge voltage by performing constant power charging will be described. In the present embodiment, being under constant power charging means being rapidly charged toward the end-of-charge voltage.

  In step S <b> 1, the constant power charge availability determination unit reads the constant power charge availability information stored in the NVRAM 31 a of the battery 31 and determines whether or not the battery 31 is compatible with constant power charge. If the NVRAM 31a stores information indicating that the battery 31 supports constant power charging, the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, when information indicating that it is not supported is stored or when constant power charging availability information is not stored, the series of procedures for charging the battery 31 is completed.

  Next, in step S <b> 2, the battery voltage acquisition unit acquires the voltage value across the battery 31 before starting charging from the voltage detector 33.

  Next, in step S <b> 3, the battery voltage determination unit determines whether or not the voltage value across the battery 31 before the start of charging is less than 12.6 V (charge end voltage value). If the voltage across the battery 31 before the start of charging is less than 12.6 V, the process proceeds to step S4 to perform constant power charging. On the other hand, when the both-ends voltage value of the battery 31 before the start of charging has reached 12.6 V, the process proceeds to step S21 to perform constant voltage charging.

  Next, in step S4, the rated value acquisition unit acquires the rated power value of the AC adapter 35 and the rated current value of the charging circuit 30 from the ROM of the charging control unit 21, and the rated power value of the battery 31 from the NVRAM 31a. .

  Next, in step S5, the charging power determination unit receives various rating values from the rating value acquisition unit, and the maximum power value and the maximum current to which the AC adapter 35, the charging circuit 30 and the battery 31 are exposed when performing constant power charging. A required constant power value (charging power value) for charging is determined based on the voltage value across the battery 31 before starting charging so that the value is equal to or less than the rated value of each element, and a charging current value calculating unit To give.

  For example, when the rated power value of the AC adapter 35 is 200 W, the rated current value of the charging circuit 30 is 10 A, the rated power value of the battery 31 is 120 W, and the voltage value across the battery 31 before starting charging is 8 V The charging power determination unit determines the charging power value as 80W. This is because at 80 W or more, the rated current value (8 A) of the charging circuit 30 is exceeded. In addition, since the both-ends voltage of the battery 31 becomes high compared with the time of a charge start after charge start, under a fixed electric power value, charge current becomes small. For this reason, when applying constant power charging, it should be noted that the current value at the start of charging is the maximum current value.

  Here, an example of a method for determining the charging current value will be described in more detail. First, the charging power determination unit extracts a rated power value from various rated values, and acquires a minimum value among the rated power values (120 W of the battery 31 in the above example). Moreover, a rated current value is extracted from various rated values, and a minimum rated current value is acquired. Next, the minimum rated power value is divided by the both-ends voltage value of the battery 31 before the start of charging (8 V in the above example) to calculate a charging current value (charging start current value) required at the start of charging (above In the example, 120W / 8V = 15A). Then, the charging start current value derived from the minimum rated power value (15A in the above example) is compared with the minimum rated current value (8A of the charging circuit 30 in the above example), and charging derived from the minimum rated power value is performed. When the starting current value is smaller, the minimum rated power value is obtained. When the smallest rated current value is smaller (in the case of the above example), the voltage across the battery 31 before charging is started with respect to the smallest rated current value. The power value multiplied by the value is set as a charging power value (required constant power value).

  Next, in step S6, the charging current value calculation unit receives the charging power value from the charging power determination unit, and converts the charging power value to the both-ends voltage value of the battery 31 before the start of charging (in the case of returning from step S10, step S9). The current value to be supplied to the battery 31 is calculated by dividing by the current voltage value of the both ends of the battery 31 acquired in step 1).

  Next, in step S <b> 7, the constant power charging instruction unit gives an instruction to the charging power supply unit 32 to output current with the current value calculated by the charging current calculation unit.

  Next, in step S <b> 8, the charging power supply unit 32 outputs current with the current value calculated by the charging current calculation unit, and charges the battery 31.

  Next, in step S9, the charging control unit 21 of the battery charging device 20 and the main control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 monitor the abnormality during charging, the light emission control processing of the LED, the main body radiating fan 13 and the battery. Various other processes during constant power charging, such as a drive control process for the heat radiating fan 23, are executed.

  Next, in step S <b> 10, the battery voltage acquisition unit acquires the current voltage value across the battery 31 from the voltage detector 33.

  Next, in step S <b> 11, the battery voltage determination unit determines whether or not the current voltage value across the battery 31 has reached 12.6 V (charge end voltage). If the current voltage across the battery 31 has reached 12.6 V, the process proceeds to step S21 to perform constant voltage charging. On the other hand, if the voltage across the battery 31 before the start of charging is less than 12.6 V, the process returns to step S6 to perform constant power charging.

  The battery 31 can be rapidly charged to the end-of-charge voltage by performing constant power charging according to the procedure shown in steps S1 to S11.

  Next, a procedure for charging the battery 31 so as to accumulate energy to the full capacity of the battery 31 by performing constant voltage charging after the battery 31 reaches the end-of-charge voltage will be described.

  Some secondary batteries still have available capacity when the end-of-charge voltage is reached. The battery 31 using this type of secondary battery can accumulate more energy (charge) in the free capacity of the battery 31 by performing constant voltage charging at the end-of-charge voltage after reaching the end-of-charge voltage. it can. In this case, for example, by detecting that the charging current has become equal to or less than a predetermined current value, it can be determined that the energy has been accumulated to the full capacity of the battery 31.

  In step S21, the constant voltage charge instructing unit receives information from the battery voltage determining unit that the voltage value across the battery 31 has reached 12.6V (charge end voltage), and instructs to output 12.6V. Is supplied to the charging power supply unit 32.

  Next, in step S <b> 22, the charging power supply unit outputs a voltage at 12.6 V and performs constant voltage charging of the battery 31.

  Next, in step S23, the charging control unit 21 of the battery charging device 20 and the main control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 perform LED light emission control processing, drive control processing for the main body heat radiation fan 13 and the battery heat radiation fan 23, In addition, various other processing during constant voltage charging, such as monitoring processing for abnormalities during charging, is executed.

  Next, in step S <b> 24, the charging current acquisition unit acquires a charging current value supplied from the current detector 34 to the battery 31.

  Next, in step S25, the charging current determination unit determines whether or not the charging current value is less than a first predetermined current value Ith (FULL) stored in the ROM of the charging control unit 21. If the charging current value is less than Ith (FULL), it is determined that the energy has been accumulated to the full capacity of the battery 31, and the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, when the charging current value is equal to or greater than Ith (FULL), it is determined that the capacity of the battery 31 is still empty, and the process returns to step S22 to perform constant voltage charging.

  Next, in step S26, the charging end instruction unit receives information from the charging current determination unit that energy has been accumulated to the full capacity of the battery 31, and gives an instruction to stop the output to the charging power supply unit 32. give.

  Next, in step S27, the charging power supply unit 32 receives the instruction from the charging end instruction unit and stops the output.

  Next, in step S <b> 28, the end information output unit provides information indicating that the charging is completed to the battery LED control unit and the main control unit 11 as the light emission control unit of the battery charging device 20.

  Next, in step S <b> 29, the battery LED control unit of the battery charging device 20 controls the light emission of the battery LED 22 in a manner corresponding to the case where the charging is completed. The main control unit 11 controls the light emission of the main body LED 12 via the main body LED control unit 14 in a mode corresponding to the case where the charging is completed. As the light emission mode of the LED in response to the completion of the charging, for example, lighting in a predetermined color such as green or turning off is exemplified. In this case, the user recognizes that the charging is completed by visually recognizing that the main body LED 12 is lit in green or turned off.

  According to the above steps S21 to S29, the battery 31 can be charged so as to accumulate energy to the full capacity of the battery 31 by performing constant voltage charging after the battery 31 has reached the end-of-charge voltage.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which constant voltage charging is performed after the voltage across the battery 31 has reached the end-of-charge voltage. However, in step S11, the battery voltage determination unit determines that the voltage has reached 12.6V. In such a case, the charging of the battery 31 may be terminated without proceeding to step S21. In this case, in response to the YES determination in step S11, the charging power supply unit 32 stops the output, and then performs the processing in steps S28 and S29 so that the user is informed that charging has ended via the LED. It is good to.

  Subsequently, during constant power charging, when performing various other processing such as monitoring processing for abnormalities during charging, LED light emission control processing, and drive control processing for the heat radiating fan 13 for the main body and the heat radiating fan 23 for the battery. The procedure of will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a subroutine flowchart showing the procedure of various other processes during constant power charging, which are executed by the charging control unit 21 of the battery charging device 20 and the main control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 in step S9 of FIG. It is. In FIG. 5, reference numerals with numbers added to S indicate steps in the flowchart.

  In step S901, the charging current acquisition unit acquires the current charging current value supplied from the current detector 34 to the battery 31, and stores the current charging current value in a required work area of the RAM of the charging control unit 21. Information on the time (acquisition time) at which the current charging current value is acquired is stored in association with each other.

  The time information only needs to be information that can calculate the time between each acquisition time point as compared with the information at other acquisition time points. For example, the battery charging device 20 or the information processing device 10 does not have to be the time itself. A hard timer or a soft timer may be provided in advance, and values output by these timers at the time of acquisition may be used as information at the time of acquisition.

  Next, in step S <b> 902, the abnormality determination unit acquires the abnormality determination time and the abnormality determination current change amount from the ROM of the charge control unit 21. Then, the abnormality determination unit determines whether the change amount of the charging current value in the time longer than the abnormality determination time is smaller than the abnormality determination current change amount, so that the charging circuit 30 including the battery 31 or the like during charging. Determine whether any abnormalities have occurred.

  More specifically, the abnormality determination unit is first associated with information on an acquisition time point that is at least an abnormality determination time before the current charging current value acquisition time point and is closest to the current charging current value acquisition time point. The current charging current value is read from the RAM of the charging control unit 21. Next, the abnormality determination unit determines whether or not the difference between the read charging current value and the current charging current value is smaller than the abnormality determination current change amount. If it is less, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the charging circuit 30, and the flow proceeds to step S903 to stop constant power charging. On the other hand, if there are many, the process proceeds to step S905 to continue the series of procedures.

  Next, in step S <b> 903, the abnormal stop instruction unit receives information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the charging circuit 30 from the abnormality determination unit, and gives an instruction to stop the output to the charging power supply unit 32.

  Next, in step S904, the charging power supply unit 32 receives an instruction from the abnormal stop instructing unit, stops output, stops constant power charging, and the sequence of charging the series of batteries 31 ends.

  According to the procedure of steps S901 to S904 shown in FIG. 5, it is monitored whether an abnormality has occurred in the charging circuit 30 during constant power charging. If there is an abnormality, the constant power charging can be stopped.

  On the other hand, in step S905, after the execution of step S5 in FIG. 4, the charging power determination unit receives information from the abnormality determination unit in step S902 that no abnormality has occurred in the charging circuit 30 during charging, and performs constant power charging. Information indicating that the battery is in the middle is provided to the battery LED control unit and the main control unit 11 of the battery charger 20.

  Next, in step S906, the battery LED control unit of the battery charging device 20 controls the light emission of the battery LED 22 in a manner corresponding to the case of constant power charging (during rapid charging). Further, the main control unit 11 controls the light emission of the main body LED 12 via the main body LED control unit 14 in a manner corresponding to the case during constant power charging. As the light emission mode of the LED according to the case of constant power charging, for example, lighting in a predetermined color such as red can be cited. In this case, the user visually recognizes that the main body LED 12 is lit in red and recognizes that constant power charging is being performed (during rapid charging).

  The light emission of the main body LED 12 and the battery LED 22 can be controlled in a manner according to the case of constant power charging by the procedure of steps S905 and S906 shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S <b> 907, the cooling determination unit determines whether the battery heat dissipation fan 23 and the main body heat dissipation fan 13 should be driven to cool the battery 31. More specifically, first, the cooling determination unit obtains a second predetermined current value Ith (FAN) and a predetermined temperature Tth (FAN) from the ROM of the charge control unit 21. Next, the cooling determination unit determines that the charging current value acquired by the charging current acquisition unit in step S901 is greater than Ith (FAN), and the temperature near the battery 31 output by the temperature sensor 24 is higher than Tth (FAN). If at least one of the two conditions is satisfied, information to that effect is given to the cooling information output unit, and the process proceeds to step S908. On the other hand, if both conditions are not satisfied, information to that effect is given to the cooling information output unit, and the process proceeds to step S910.

  Next, in step S908, the cooling information output unit gives information to the effect that the heat dissipating fan should be driven to the battery heat dissipating control unit and the main control unit 11 of the battery charging device 20.

  Next, in step S <b> 909, the battery heat dissipation control unit of the battery charging device 20 drives the battery heat dissipation fan 23 to release the heat generated from the battery 31 to cool the battery 31. The main control unit 11 drives the main body heat dissipation fan 13 via the main body heat dissipation control unit 15 to release heat generated by the information processing apparatus 10 to the outside, and the information processing apparatus including the battery charging device 20 The whole 10 is cooled, and the other various processes during the series of constant power charging ends, and the process proceeds to step S10 in FIG.

  On the other hand, in step S910, the cooling information output unit provides information to the effect that the heat dissipating fan should be stopped to the battery heat dissipating control unit and main control unit 11 of the battery charging device 20.

  Next, in step S911, the battery heat dissipation control unit of the battery charger 20 stops driving when the battery heat dissipation fan 23 is driven. Further, the main control unit 11 controls the main body heat radiation fan 13 via the main body heat radiation control unit 15, and when the main body heat radiation fan 13 is driven, stops the driving and performs a series of constant power charging. The other various processes in the process are ended, and the process proceeds to step S10 in FIG.

  The battery radiating fan 13 including the battery 31, the battery 31 and the information are driven by driving the radiating fan 13 for the main body and the radiating fan for the battery as necessary during constant power charging by the procedure of steps S907 to S911 shown in FIG. The entire processing apparatus 10 can be cooled.

  According to the above steps S901 to S911, during constant power charging, other processing such as monitoring processing for abnormalities during charging, LED light emission control processing, and drive control processing for the main body heat radiation fan 13 and the battery heat radiation fan 23, etc. Various processes can be executed.

  Subsequently, during constant voltage charging, when performing various other processes such as an abnormality monitoring process during charging, an LED light emission control process, and a drive control process of the main body radiating fan 13 and the battery radiating fan 23 The procedure of will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a subroutine flowchart showing a procedure of various other processes during constant voltage charging, which are executed by the charging control unit 21 of the battery charging device 20 and the main control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 in step S23 of FIG. It is. In FIG. 6, reference numerals with numbers added to S indicate steps in the flowchart. Steps equivalent to those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In step S <b> 2301, the charging power supply unit 32 receives an instruction from the abnormal stop instruction unit, stops output, stops constant voltage charging, and ends the sequence of charging the battery 31.

  According to the procedure of steps S901 to S903 and step S2301 shown in FIG. 6, it is monitored whether an abnormality has occurred in the charging circuit 30 during constant voltage charging, and if there is an abnormality, the constant voltage charging is stopped. Can do.

  In step S2302, the constant voltage charging instruction unit receives information from the abnormality determining unit in step S902 that no abnormality has occurred in the charging circuit 30 during charging after performing step S21 in FIG. Is provided to the battery LED control unit and the main control unit 11 of the battery charging device 20.

  Next, in step S2303, the battery LED control unit of the battery charging device 20 controls the light emission of the battery LED 22 in a manner corresponding to the case of constant voltage charging. Further, the main control unit 11 controls the light emission of the main body LED 12 via the main body LED control unit 14 in a manner corresponding to the case of constant voltage charging. Examples of the light emission mode of the LED according to the case of constant voltage charging include lighting in a predetermined color such as yellow and blinking. In this case, the user visually recognizes that the main body LED 12 is lit yellow or blinks, and recognizes that constant voltage charging is being performed.

  The light emission of the main body LED 12 and the battery LED 22 can be controlled in a manner according to the case of constant voltage charging by the procedure of steps S905 and S906 shown in FIG.

  Further, step S907 to step S911 shown in FIG. 6 are equivalent to the step shown in FIG. 5, and according to the procedure of step S907 to step S911, the main body heat radiating fan 13 can be used during constant voltage charging. The battery heat dissipation fan can be driven to cool the battery 31, the battery charger 20 including the battery 31, and the information processing apparatus 10 as a whole.

  By the procedure shown in FIG. 6, even during constant voltage charging, as in constant power charging, abnormality monitoring processing during charging, LED light emission control processing, and the main body radiating fan 13 and battery radiating fan 23 Various other processes such as a drive control process can be executed.

  The battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment performs constant power charging for charging the battery 31 with required constant power. For this reason, even if charging progresses and the voltage of the battery 31 rises, the power supplied to the battery 31 is constant, and it is possible to avoid an increase in the maximum required power that becomes a problem in constant current charging. Further, according to the constant power charging, when the voltage of the battery 31 is low, charging can be performed with a high current value, so that the battery 31 can be rapidly charged. Therefore, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20 can rapidly charge the battery 31 and have the maximum required power that causes a problem in constant current charging. Since the increase can be avoided and the increase in size of the AC adapter 35 can be prevented, it is very convenient.

  In addition, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment acquires information (constant power charge availability information) stored in the nonvolatile storage unit of the battery 31, and can the battery 31 be charged with constant power based on this information? Whether it can be determined. For this reason, it is possible to accurately perform constant power charging only for the battery 31 that supports constant power charging.

  In addition, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment has a maximum power value and a maximum current value to which elements constituting the charging circuit 30 such as the AC adapter 35 and the battery 31 are exposed when performing constant power charging. A required constant power value (charging power value) is determined so as to be less than the rated value. For this reason, during constant power charging, each element of the charging circuit 30 is not exposed to power and current exceeding the rated value. Therefore, according to the battery charging device 20 and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment, each element of the charging circuit 30 is exposed to power and current exceeding the rated value during charging. It is possible to prevent harmful effects and to charge the battery 31 safely.

  In addition, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment can perform constant voltage charging after reaching the charge end voltage by constant power charging. Therefore, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20 can accumulate energy to the full capacity of the battery 31 even after reaching the charge end voltage.

  Further, when the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment reaches the end-of-charge voltage by constant power charging, it can determine that fact. Further, when energy is accumulated to the full capacity of the battery 31 by constant voltage charging after reaching the charge end voltage, it can be determined. Therefore, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20 store energy to the full capacity of the battery 31 when the charge end voltage is reached by constant power charging or by constant power charging. Since charging can be easily terminated at any time point of accumulation, the battery 31 can be charged according to the application, which is highly convenient.

  Further, the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment monitors whether or not the amount of change in the charging current value over a predetermined time during charging is less than the predetermined amount of change. Therefore, according to the battery charging device 20 and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to quickly detect an abnormality of the charging circuit 30 that may occur during charging and stop charging. Can prevent accidents.

  Further, the battery charging device 20 and the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment are provided with LEDs as light emitting means that emit light in various modes such as lighting, blinking, and extinguishing according to the charging state. Therefore, according to the battery charging device 20 and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20, the user can know at a glance the current charging status (such as during rapid charging).

  Furthermore, the battery charging device 20 and the information processing device 10 according to the present embodiment are provided with a heat dissipation fan that is driven as necessary. Therefore, according to the battery charging device 20 and the information processing device 10 including the battery charging device 20, the battery 31, the battery charging device 20 including the battery 31, and the information processing device 10 as a whole can be cooled as necessary. In this way, harmful effects caused by thermal runaway can be prevented.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, you may delete some components (For example, LED22 for batteries of the battery charger 20 etc.) from all the components shown by embodiment.

1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an information processing apparatus including a battery charging device according to the present invention. The block diagram which showed simply the structure of the battery charging device shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which showed the flow of the signal of the battery charging device shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of charging so that a battery may be charged to a charge end voltage rapidly by carrying out constant power charge, and it may accumulate | store energy to a capacity | capacitance by carrying out constant voltage charge after reaching the charge end voltage. FIG. 5 is a subroutine flowchart showing a procedure of other various processes during constant power charging, which are executed by the charging control unit of the battery charging device and the main control unit of the information processing device in step S9 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a subroutine flowchart showing a procedure of other various processes during constant voltage charging, which are executed by the charging control unit of the battery charging device and the main control unit of the information processing device in step S23 of FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Information processing apparatus 11 Main control part 12 Main body LED
13 Main unit heat dissipation fan 14 Main unit LED control unit 15 Main unit heat dissipation control unit 20 Battery charger 21 Charge control unit 22 Battery LED
23 Battery heat dissipation fan 24 Temperature sensor 30 Charging circuit 31 Battery 31a NVRAM
32 Charging power supply unit 33 Voltage detector 34 Current detector 35 AC adapter

Claims (13)

Battery,
Charging power supply means for supplying power to the battery;
Battery voltage acquisition means for acquiring a voltage value across the battery;
A charge control means for controlling the output of the charging power supply means so as to charge the battery at a required constant power value when a voltage value across the battery is smaller than a charge end voltage value of the battery;
A battery charging device comprising: The charge control means includes
With respect to a charging circuit including at least the battery and the charging power supply unit as elements, a rated value acquisition unit that acquires a rated value of each of the elements constituting the charging circuit;
The required constant power value is determined so that the maximum power value and the maximum current value to which each element is exposed when the battery is charged with the required constant power value are less than the rated value of each element. Charging power determining means to perform,
Charging current value calculating means for calculating a current value to be supplied to the battery based on the determined required constant power value and a voltage value across the battery;
Constant power charging instruction means for instructing the charging power supply means to output current at the calculated current value;
Have
The charging power supply means receives an instruction to output a current at the calculated current value, and outputs the current at the calculated current value to charge the battery;
The battery charger according to claim 1. The charge control means includes
Constant voltage charge instruction means for instructing the charging power supply means to output a voltage at the charge end voltage value when the both-end voltage value of the battery has reached the charge end voltage value ,
The charging power supply means receives an instruction to output a voltage at the charge end voltage value, and outputs the voltage at the charge end voltage value to charge the battery;
The battery charger according to claim 1 or 2. Charging current acquisition means for acquiring a current value supplied to the battery from the charging power supply means;
The charge control means includes
A charge end instruction means for instructing the charge power supply means to stop outputting the voltage at the charge end voltage value when a current value supplied to the battery is equal to or less than a first predetermined value; In addition,
The charging power supply means receives an instruction to stop the output of the voltage at the charge end voltage value, and stops the output of the voltage at the charge end voltage value;
The battery charger according to claim 3. Charging current acquisition means for acquiring a current value supplied to the battery from the charging power supply means;
The charge control means includes
An abnormality stop instruction means for giving an instruction to stop the output to the charging power supply means when a change in a current value supplied to the battery at a predetermined time is less than a predetermined change amount;
The charging power supply means receives an instruction to stop the output, and stops the output.
The battery charger according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Charging current acquisition means for acquiring a current value supplied to the battery from the charging power supply means;
The charge control means includes
Charging end instruction means for instructing the charging power supply means to stop outputting the voltage at the charging end voltage value when a current value supplied to the battery is equal to or less than a first predetermined value. When,
An abnormality stop instruction means for giving an instruction to stop the output to the charging power supply means when a change in a current value supplied to the battery at a predetermined time is less than a predetermined change amount;
The charging power supply means receives an instruction to stop the output, and stops the output.
The battery charger according to claim 3. The battery has non-volatile storage means,
The nonvolatile storage means stores constant power charge availability information that is information as to whether or not the battery is compatible with charging performed at the required constant power value,
The charge control means includes
It further comprises constant power charge availability determination means for reading constant power charge availability information from the nonvolatile storage means and determining whether or not the battery is compatible with charging performed at the required constant power value.
The battery charger according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A cooling device for cooling the battery charger;
A temperature sensor provided in the vicinity of the battery;
Further comprising
The charge control means includes
Temperature acquisition means for acquiring a temperature in the vicinity of the battery from the temperature sensor;
When at least one of the condition that the current value supplied to the battery is equal to or higher than a second predetermined value and the condition that the temperature near the battery is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature is satisfied, the cooling device Cooling information output means for outputting information that should be driven,
Receiving information that the cooling device should be driven, and heat radiation control means for driving the cooling device;
Further having
The battery charger according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Battery,
Charging power supply means for supplying power to the battery;
Battery voltage acquisition means for acquiring a voltage value across the battery;
A charge control means for controlling the output of the charging power supply means so as to charge the battery at a required constant power value when a voltage value across the battery is smaller than a charge end voltage value of the battery;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a battery charging device having: The charge control means includes
With respect to a charging circuit including at least the battery and the charging power supply unit as elements, a rated value acquisition unit that acquires a rated value of each of the elements constituting the charging circuit;
The required constant power value is determined so that the maximum power value and the maximum current value to which each element is exposed when charging the battery at the required constant power value are less than or equal to the rated value of each element. Charging power determining means to perform,
Charging current value calculating means for calculating a current value to be supplied to the battery based on the determined required constant power value and a voltage value across the battery;
Constant power charging instruction means for instructing the charging power supply means to output current at the calculated current value;
Have
The charging power supply means receives an instruction to output a current at the calculated current value, and outputs the current at the calculated current value to charge the battery;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 9. Obtaining a voltage value across the battery;
Charging the battery with a required constant power value when the voltage value across the battery is less than the end-of-charge voltage value of the battery;
A battery charging method comprising: The charging step includes
For a charging circuit including at least the battery and the charging power supply means as elements, obtaining a rated value of each element constituting the charging circuit;
The required constant power value is determined so that the maximum power value and the maximum current value to which each element is exposed when charging the battery at the required constant power value are less than or equal to the rated value of each element. And steps to
Calculating a current value to be supplied to the battery based on the determined required constant power value and a voltage value across the battery;
Charging the battery by supplying a current at the calculated current value;
Having
The battery charging method according to claim 11. Outputting information indicating that charging is performed with the required constant power; and
Receiving information indicating that charging is performed with the required constant power, and controlling light emitting means to emit light in a manner corresponding to the case where charging is performed with the required constant power;
Further having
The battery charging method according to claim 11 or 12.

Images