JPH0837036A - Battery power-supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the end control and display of residual amount accurately and simply with a battery system in which power terminals for supplying power to the body of apparatus concerned or for making the charge of the battery by furnishing a transmitting means for information inherent in the battery. CONSTITUTION:In the power input part of the load part 10 of a video tape recorder VCR 2, a switch is furnished which is on/off controlled in compliance with the control signal given from the control terminal of a microcomputer 11. When the control signal is on, the source voltage is supplied to the load part 10, and when off, supply of the source voltage is stopped. On the basis of the information of an inherent information circuit 6 of a battery 1 which is fed through a communication line 4, the microcomputer 11 makes display of the battery residual amount on a display 15 and performs the end control. The end control consists of comparing the residual amount data and output voltage data sent from the battery 1 with the predetermined reference value and putting off the switch when the output voltage has become lower than the reference voltage, and thereby the power supplied to the load part 10 is shut off automatically.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention provides a device which is supplied with power from a battery or a device which charges a battery, that is, by supplying unique information to the charger from the battery side, thereby controlling the power supply on the device side. The present invention relates to a battery power system adapted to be properly operated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery is equipped with a secondary battery or a storage battery which can be repeatedly charged and discharged by a chemical reaction, and is widely used as an economical and small power source, especially in portable devices.

The over-discharge output voltage, that is, the discharge end voltage, at which the discharge should be terminated is defined by the type of battery, purpose of use, and magnitude of discharge current. When a charged battery is discharged, the amount of electricity that can be taken out before the output voltage drops to the discharge end voltage is called the dischargeable capacity (expressed in ampere hours). , It changes depending on the operating environment temperature. For example, the dischargeable capacity decreases when the discharge current is large, when the temperature of the usage environment is low, or at the end of the life.

If the battery is discharged beyond the dischargeable capacity, it is over-discharged, and if it is excessively discharged, the reversibility of charge / discharge of the battery is lost.

In other words, when used with a large discharge current in a low temperature environment, for example, the discharge end voltage drops in a shorter time than when used under other conditions. Therefore,
At the time of discharging the battery, care must be taken to determine the minimum operating voltage in consideration of the voltage drop of the load circuit, and stop the use when the voltage drops below this value.

Further, if the battery is charged more than its capacity, it will be overcharged and the life of the battery will be shortened. Therefore, in the case of charging, the charging voltage determined by the type of the battery,
You must pay attention to the current and charging time.

As described above, the over-discharge during use of the battery and the over-charge during charging have a fatal effect on the battery, and cause a sudden drop in the power supply voltage or an unexpected interruption of the operation of the load circuit. In order to prevent this, various battery-powered portable devices such as a laptop computer and a video tape recorder (VCR) with a built-in camera have recently appeared that perform a remaining battery level display and termination control. .

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned remaining amount display and termination control in the conventional battery power supply system, one ideal battery discharge curve is assumed on the device side, whereby the remaining amount display and the remaining amount of the battery are displayed. The termination control etc. are performed, and the battery only supplies the power supply voltage to the device.

As described above, since the discharge curve of each battery changes depending on various use conditions such as capacity, number of times of use, temperature, etc., discharge is not performed according to an ideal discharge curve preset on the device side. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to accurately display the remaining amount and control the termination.

In addition, in order to properly charge the battery, it is necessary to change the shape of the battery for each type in order to easily identify the type of the battery.

Therefore, by supplying information on the type and current usage conditions from the battery to the battery-powered device and the charger, the device can properly display the remaining amount of the battery, perform termination control or charge the battery. There is a problem to be solved in realizing such a battery power supply system.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a battery power supply system according to the present invention is a battery having a power supply terminal for supplying or charging power to a device body. That is, it has a means for transmitting unique information.

Also, the unique information includes temperature information of the battery; the unique information includes change information of the voltage of the secondary battery; the transmitting means is composed of a microcomputer. The device main body side connected to the battery is provided with a microcomputer for processing the unique information from the transmission means; the unique information processed by the device body side microcomputer driven by the battery main body is secondary It is the remaining capacity data of the battery capacity; the microcomputer on the side of the device body performs power supply termination control based on the remaining amount data; and displays the unique information on the display provided on the side of the device body. The unique information processed by the microcomputer on the device body side charging the battery is information indicating the type of the battery; the device body charging the battery The microcomputer, it performs charging control based on the type of the battery; the above battery side, a battery power supply system comprising a display means for displaying the specific information.

[0014]

The battery power supply system having the above structure has the following operation.

(1) Information unique to the secondary battery in the battery,
For example, the provision of transmission means for transmitting battery temperature information, secondary battery voltage change information, and the like makes it possible to know the accurate state of the battery.

(2) Since the transmission means provided in the battery is composed of a microcomputer, it becomes possible to easily perform a detailed observation of the state of the battery on the equipment main body side on which the battery is mounted.

(3) On the equipment main body side connected to the battery,
A microcomputer for processing unique information from the battery transmission means is provided, and by this microcomputer, for example, the remaining amount of the secondary battery capacity and the power supply termination control are performed.
It becomes possible to successively observe the state of the battery while using the battery.

(4) Since the remaining amount data is displayed on the display provided on the device body side, the state of the battery can be visually observed.

(5) The unique information processed by the microcomputer on the charger side for charging the battery is data indicating the type of battery, and the microcomputer on the charger side performs charge control based on the type of battery. By doing so, it becomes possible to perform appropriate charging corresponding to the specifications of the battery.

(6) Since the battery side is provided with the indicator for displaying the peculiar information, the charging state can be visually observed only by the battery regardless of the connected device.

[0021]

EXAMPLE An example in which the battery power supply system according to the present invention is applied to a VCR will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment comprises a battery 1, a VCR 2, a power supply line 3 connecting the battery 1 and the VCR 2 and a communication line 4 as a serial data communication means.

The battery 1 is a secondary battery 5 that can be charged and discharged.
And a unique information section 6 for generating unique information of the battery 1,
It has power supply output terminals (plus terminals) 7 and (minus terminals) 8 connected to the output terminals of the secondary battery 5 and a serial communication port 9 connected to the output terminals of the unique information section 6.

That is, the battery 1 is constructed so that the output voltage of the secondary battery 5 is sent from the power supply output terminals 7 and 8 to the power supply line 3 and the unique information is sent from the serial communication port 9 in the form of serial data. Has been done.

The VCR 2 includes a load unit 10 including a motor serving as a load of a battery power source, various circuits such as a CCD, a microcomputer 11 for controlling the power source to the load unit 10 according to a preset program, and a power source input terminal 12. , 13 and
It has a data input terminal 14 and a display 15 as a display means.

The power input terminals 12 and 13 are connected to the load section 10, the microcomputer 11 and the display 1 by connecting wires (not shown).
5 is connected to each power supply input section and supplies a power supply voltage to each. However, in the power input section of the load section 10,
A switch that is on / off controlled by a control signal output from the control terminal of the microcomputer 11 is provided. When the control signal is on, the power supply voltage is supplied to the load unit 10, and when this control signal is off, The supply of the power supply voltage to the load unit 10 is stopped.

The microcomputer 11 of the VCR 2 uses the display 15 based on the unique information of the battery 1 input through the communication line 4.
The remaining battery level is displayed and the termination control is performed.
This termination control compares the battery type data, the remaining amount data, and the output voltage data sent from the battery 1 with a preset reference value, and when the output voltage becomes lower than the reference voltage, the switch is turned on. By turning it off, the power supplied to the load unit 10 is automatically cut off.

FIG. 2 shows the detailed structure of the battery 1. The unique information section 6 of the battery 1 includes a microcomputer 16 and a memory 1
7, a temperature sensor 18, an output voltage detector 19, and A /
It is composed of D converters 20 and 21 and a regulator 22, and the connection state thereof is as shown below.

The microcomputer 16 has a terminal A connected to the memory 17, a temperature data input terminal B, a voltage data input terminal C, and a power supply input terminal VCC.

The temperature data input terminal B of the microcomputer 16 is set to A
Connected to the output terminal of the A / D converter 20, the voltage data input terminal C connected to the output terminal of the A / D converter 21, and the terminal VC
C is connected to the output terminal of the regulator 22.

The input terminal of the A / D converter 20 is connected to the output terminal of the output voltage detector 19. Output voltage detector 1
9 is configured by connecting resistors R1 and R2 in series between the positive and negative output terminals of the secondary battery of the power supply unit 5, and the connection point of these resistors R1 and R2 is the output voltage detector 19 Output terminal.

That is, the divided voltage value of the output voltage of the secondary battery 5 is converted into a digital value by the A / D converter 20 and then input to the microcomputer 15. Microcomputer 16
Knows the output voltage of the power supply unit 5 every moment based on the input digital value, counts the number of times of use and the number of times of charging and discharging based on the change in the output voltage, and stores them in the memory 17.

The input terminal of the A / D converter 21 is connected to the output terminal of the temperature sensor 18. The temperature sensor 18 outputs an analog signal indicating the internal temperature of the battery 1, that is, the operating environment temperature of the secondary battery 5. This analog signal is A
After being converted into digital temperature data by the / D converter 21, it is input to the microcomputer 16.

The microcomputer 16 calculates the remaining capacity of the discharge capacity based on the number-of-uses data and the temperature data, and transmits the remaining capacity data to the VCR 2 through the serial communication port 9.

The microcomputer 11 of the VCR 2 displays the remaining amount on the display unit 15 based on the remaining amount data sent from the microcomputer 16 of the battery 1 in time and the like. Further, the battery power is controlled so as to be terminated by the program control before the remaining amount is over-discharged.

In another embodiment in which the battery power system according to the present invention is applied to a charger, the microcomputer 1
Data 6 representing the type of the secondary battery 5 is taken out from the memory 17 and transmitted to the charger through the serial communication port 9. On the other hand, the charger has a microcomputer for controlling ON / OFF of the output voltage, and this microcomputer performs appropriate charging by controlling the overcharge voltage, the charging current and the charging time based on the type data.

As still another embodiment, an indicator may be provided on the battery side so that, for example, the residual amount data, which is the unique information of the secondary battery, is displayed on the battery 1 side. By doing so, the charged state of the battery 1 and the like can be visually and finely observed without being caught by the connected electronic device or charger.

[0037]

As described above, the battery power supply system according to the present invention has the following effects.

(1) Information unique to the battery,
For example, by providing a transmission means for transmitting battery temperature information, secondary battery voltage change information, etc., the accurate state of the battery, for example, for battery-operated equipment, the battery remaining amount from the battery side, etc. It is possible to send data, battery-operated equipment can accurately and easily perform end control and remaining amount display, and there is no trouble caused by reduction of power supply voltage during VCR use or power supply stop. Produce the effect.

(2) Since the transmission means provided in the battery is composed of a microcomputer, it becomes possible to easily perform detailed observation of the state of the battery on the side of the equipment on which the battery is mounted, and the VCR It has an extremely excellent effect that it is possible to prevent a trouble caused by a drop in power supply voltage during use, a power supply stop, or the like.

(3) The device connected to the battery is provided with a microcomputer for processing the information peculiar to the battery from the battery transmission means, and this microcomputer performs, for example, the remaining amount of the secondary battery capacity and the power supply termination control. By doing so, there is an extremely excellent effect that the state of the battery can be successively observed while using the battery, and the drive state can be accurately controlled.

(4) By displaying the remaining amount data on the display provided on the device side, the state of the battery can be visually observed, and the drive state of the battery can be manually controlled. It has an extremely excellent effect that can be achieved.

(5) The information peculiar to the battery, which is processed by the microcomputer on the charger side for charging the battery, is data indicating the type of the battery, and the microcomputer on the charger side controls the charging based on the type of the battery. By doing so, for example, when charging the battery, it is not necessary to distinguish the type of the battery by the shape, and therefore,
This has an extremely excellent effect that the shapes of the batteries can be unified.

(6) Since the battery side is provided with a display for displaying information peculiar to the battery, the charging state can be visually observed only by the battery regardless of the connected device, and a complicated remaining amount display This has an extremely excellent effect that it is possible to perform appropriate drive control without calculation of.

[0044]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a battery power supply system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a battery in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Battery 2 VCR 3 Power Supply Line 4 Communication Line 5 Secondary Battery 6 Unique Information Section 7, 8 Power Supply Output Terminal 9 Data Output Terminal 10 Circuit 11 Device Side Microcomputer 12, 13 Power Supply Input Terminal 14 Data Input Terminal 15 Display 16 Battery Side Microcomputer 17 Memory 18 Temperature sensor 19 Output voltage detector 20, 21 A / D converter 22 Regulator

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A battery power supply system comprising: a battery having a power supply terminal for supplying or charging power to an apparatus body, wherein the battery is provided with means for transmitting unique information. 2. The battery power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the unique information includes temperature information of the battery. 3. The battery power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the specific information includes change information of the voltage of the secondary battery. 4. The battery power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission means is composed of a microcomputer. 5. A device main body connected to the battery,
The battery power supply system according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, further comprising a microcomputer that processes unique information from the transmission means. 6. The battery power supply system according to claim 5, wherein the unique information processed by the microcomputer on the device body side driven by the battery body is residual capacity data of the capacity of the secondary battery. . 7. The battery power supply system according to claim 6, wherein the microcomputer on the device body side performs power supply termination control based on the remaining amount data. 8. The battery power supply system according to claim 6, wherein the display unit provided on the apparatus body side displays the unique information. 9. The battery power supply system according to claim 5, wherein the unique information processed by the microcomputer on the device body side for charging the battery is information indicating the type of the battery. 10. The battery power supply system according to claim 9, wherein the microcomputer on the device main body side that charges the battery performs charge control based on the type of the battery. 11. A display means for displaying the unique information is provided on the battery side.
The battery power supply system according to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10.