JP2000357031A - Battery-driven information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a first secondary battery packaged in the main body of computer and a second secondary battery packaged in a keyboard charged by that first secondary battery while prolonging a service life as much as possible. SOLUTION: A battery-driven information processor 37 is provided with a main body 1 of computer and a keyboard 9 and connected by a connecting cable 8. When remaining capacity Ek of a second battery 24 in the keyboard 9 is detected by a charging type battery remaining capacity detecting circuit part 21 and it is discriminated by a discriminating part in the main body 1 of computer that the remaining capacity Ek of the second battery 24 is less than a predetermined value Ek1, the second battery 24 is charged by applying power from a first battery 2a in the main body 1 of computer through a changeover switch to a charging control circuit part 23. When remaining capacity Eh of the battery 2a in the main body 1 of computer gets less than the remaining capacity Ek of the second battery 24, charging is stopped and the consumption of the first battery 2a is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery-driven information processing apparatus using a secondary battery, for example, a battery-driven information processing apparatus in which a computer and a keyboard as an input device are driven by the secondary battery. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical prior art is disclosed in JP-A-61-204.
232. In this prior art, a computer main body is provided with a first secondary battery, and a keyboard connected to the computer main body is provided with a second secondary battery,
The arithmetic operation of the computer main body is performed by the input operation of the keyboard. The second secondary battery provided in the keyboard is constantly charged by the power of the first secondary battery 2a provided in the computer body. This eliminates the need to replace the second secondary battery provided in the keyboard, and improves operability. Further, the keyboard is provided with a voltage drop detection circuit for detecting that the voltage of the second secondary battery has dropped. When the voltage drop detecting circuit unit detects that the voltage of the second secondary battery has dropped, a signal indicating the drop is transmitted from the keyboard to the computer as an optical signal, and the computer issues a warning. .

In this prior art, the second secondary battery provided on the keyboard is constantly charged by the first secondary battery provided on the computer body.
When the remaining amount of the first secondary battery provided in the computer main body is low, that is, when the battery is a low battery, the first
The secondary battery of the keyboard is consumed earlier than the second secondary battery of the keyboard, and the power consumption of the first secondary battery is large. In the case where the computer body and the keyboard are used in combination, if either one of the secondary batteries is exhausted first, it becomes impossible to use both the computer body and the keyboard. Therefore, it is desirable to solve this problem and extend the battery life of the combination of the first and second secondary batteries provided in the computer body and the keyboard as much as possible.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery drive capable of extending the life of a battery as much as possible by cooperation of secondary batteries provided in a computer and an input device such as a keyboard. An object of the present invention is to provide a formula information processing device.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a computer main body 1 which is driven by a first secondary battery 2a and is provided with input information and performs arithmetic processing, and is driven by a second secondary battery 24. A battery-operated information processing apparatus including an input device 9 that communicates with the computer main body 1 and provides input information to be operated to be input to the computer main body 1 in a second secondary battery powered by the first secondary battery 2a. Charging means 20-3, 23 for charging the battery 24; remaining battery level detecting means 2, 21 for detecting the remaining battery levels Eh, Ek of the first and second secondary batteries 2a, 24; In response to the output of the detecting means, the first and second secondary batteries 2a, 2
The charging means 20-3,
23. A battery-driven information processing apparatus comprising:

According to the present invention, the computer main body 1 and the input device 9 such as a separate keyboard are provided with first and second secondary batteries 2a and 24, respectively. The remaining battery power Eh and Ek are detected by the remaining battery power detecting means 2 and 21, and the control means 20 controls the charging means 23 for charging the first secondary battery 2a for charging the second secondary battery 24. The control is performed so that the life of both the first and second secondary batteries 2a and 24 is prolonged. As a result, one of the first and second secondary batteries 2a and 24 is not consumed first. Therefore, the computer body and the input device can be used in combination for a long time.

Further, according to the present invention, the battery remaining amount detecting means includes a battery remaining amount Ek of the second secondary battery 24 every predetermined time T.
When the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery 24 is less than a predetermined value Ek1, the control unit controls the charging of the second secondary battery 24 by the power of the first secondary battery 2a. It is characterized by performing.

According to the present invention, the first secondary battery 24 is provided only when the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery 24 provided in the input device decreases and falls below a predetermined value Ek1. The second secondary battery 24 is charged by the battery 2a. Therefore, the first secondary battery 2a does not always charge the second secondary battery 24, and the battery life of the first secondary battery 2a can be made as long as possible.

The present invention also provides a battery remaining amount detecting means.
Also detects the remaining battery level Eh of the first secondary battery 2a at every predetermined time T, and the control means determines that the remaining battery level Eh of the first secondary battery is lower than the remaining battery level Eh of the second secondary battery. When the remaining battery charge is less than Ek, charging is stopped.

According to the present invention, of the remaining battery powers Eh and Ek of the first and second secondary batteries 2a and 24, the remaining battery power Eh of the first secondary battery 2a is changed to the second secondary battery 2a. When the remaining battery charge of the battery 24 is less than Ek (Eh <Ek), the charging of the second secondary battery 24 by the power of the first secondary battery 2a is stopped. Thus, power consumption by the first secondary battery 2a can be prevented, and the life of the first secondary battery 2a can be extended.

According to the present invention, the computer main unit 1 and the input device 9 include first communication means for performing wireless communication by electromagnetic waves and second communication means for performing communication via a line.
The communication means is selectively used to perform mutual communication, and the control means switches from the first communication means to only the second communication means when the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery 24 becomes less than a predetermined value Ek2. And perform communication.

According to the present invention, the computer main body and the input device communicate with each other by the first and second communication means, and the computer main body performs an arithmetic processing operation in response to a signal obtained by an input operation of the input device. . The first communication means has a configuration for performing wireless communication using electromagnetic waves, and uses, for example, high-frequency radio waves or optical signals. The second communication means has a configuration for transmitting and receiving an electric signal via a line. Such first and second communication means are used at the same time, or only one of them is used, and selectively used in this way, so that mutual communication between the computer main body and the input device is performed.

[0013] The first communication means has the above-described configuration for performing wireless communication, and thus the second communication means for performing communication via a line.
Power consumption is greater than communication means. Therefore, the control means stops communication by the first communication means when the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery 24 provided in the input device falls below a predetermined value Ek2, and stops the second communication. Communication is performed by switching only to the means. Thus, power consumption of the first and second secondary batteries 2a, 24 can be suppressed. In an embodiment described later, for example, Ek1 <Ek
It may be 2.

Further, according to the present invention, at least one of the computer main unit and the input means has a display means for displaying that the second secondary battery 24 is not charged in response to the output of the control means. It is characterized by being provided.

According to the present invention, the display means 19, 44 such as an indicator light for indicating that the second secondary battery provided in the input device is not charged is provided in one of the computer main body and the input device. Or be prepared for both. Thereby, the operator can know that the second secondary battery 24 is not charged, and exchange the first and / or second secondary batteries 2a, 24, or charge with a commercial AC power supply. And the use of the battery-powered information processing apparatus can be continued.

Although the power of the first secondary battery 2a may be supplied to the second secondary battery 24 through a conductor line, the power of the first secondary battery 2a is wirelessly transmitted by electromagnetic waves. You may make it supply to the 2nd secondary battery 24. To transmit power wirelessly, an AC electromagnetic wave is generated by the first secondary battery 2a, and the electromagnetic wave is received and resonated in the input device 9 by, for example, a resonance circuit including a coil and a capacitor. Is converted by a conversion means into a direct current,
Charge 4.

Further, according to the present invention, in a computer main body which is driven by a first secondary battery 2a and is provided with input information and performs arithmetic processing, the remaining battery power E of the first secondary battery 2a is obtained.
The first battery remaining amount detecting means 2 for detecting h and the output from the first battery remaining amount detecting means 2 are provided, and a signal indicating the battery remaining amount Ek of the external second secondary battery 24 is received. A determination means 20-1 for determining that the lifespan of both the first and second secondary batteries 2a and 24 are extended, and deriving a charge command signal; and a charge command signal from the determination means 20-1. And a charging means 20-3 for responding and supplying the power of the first secondary battery 2a for charging the second secondary battery 24.

The present invention also relates to an external first rechargeable battery 2a.
And an input device driven by electric power from the second secondary battery 24, including a charging unit 23 that is supplied with the electric power of the second secondary battery 24 and charges the built-in second secondary battery 24.
An input including means 21 for deriving a signal indicating the remaining battery level Ek of the secondary battery 24, and charging means 23 for charging the second secondary battery 24 with the power of the first secondary battery 2a. Device.

According to the present invention, when the input device is used in combination with the computer body containing the first secondary battery 2a, the first secondary battery provided in the computer body is used.
Secondary battery 2a and second secondary battery 24 provided in input device
The charging is performed and the charging is stopped so that the lifespans of both are prolonged.

The input device is provided with means 21 for deriving a signal representing the remaining battery level Ek of the second secondary battery 24.
This means 21 does not have a function of judging whether or not the second secondary battery 24 can be charged, and the charge control is performed by the judging means 20-1 provided in the computer main body. Can be simplified, and a computer main body can be used in common for various types of input devices, which facilitates implementation of the present invention.

The remaining amount of electricity Eh, Ek depends on the secondary batteries 2a, 2a.
4 or the time rate of change of the output voltage at the time of power consumption, a value corresponding to the time rate of change, and an output current or a value related to the output current. Value may be used.

[0022]

FIG. 1 shows a battery-driven information processing apparatus 37 including a detachable keyboard 9 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram of. In FIG. 1, a desktop computer main body 1 and a keyboard 9 which is an input device separated from the desktop computer main body 1 are provided, and an optical signal 7 is provided as a communication path between the desktop computer 1 and the keyboard 9.
And a connection cable 8 connected to the keyboard 9 and detachable from the desktop computer main body 1 by the connector 34. Desktop computer body 1
(Hereinafter simply referred to as the main body) is a power source of the main body 1, a rechargeable power supply unit 2 having a battery 2a as a secondary battery, an optical signal processing unit 3 for receiving an optical signal 7 from a keyboard 9, and a connection cable. A circuit 4 having both an electric signal receiving unit 4a and a cable connection detecting unit 4b for determining the connection of the keyboard 8 and receiving data from the keyboard 9;
A received data switching unit 5 for deriving data 6 by switching data received via a connection cable 8 and a keyboard 9
And a charge stop indicator 19 that displays a charge stop by a charge stop signal from the keyboard charge control unit 20.

The keyboard 9 has a detachable rechargeable battery 24 as a secondary battery serving as a power source, a charge control circuit 23 for controlling charging of the rechargeable battery 24, and presence / absence of the rechargeable battery 24 through the charge control circuit 23. Rechargeable battery 24 through a rechargeable battery detection circuit 22 and a charge control circuit 23 for detecting
Rechargeable battery remaining amount detection circuit section 21 for detecting the voltage of rechargeable battery 24, and key 35 as input means and input means
A transmission data generation unit 17 for generating transmission data from the information input by the operation described above, an optical signal transmission unit 11 for transmitting the transmission data to the main unit 1 by an optical signal 7, and an electric signal for transmitting the transmission data to the main unit 1 by a connection cable 8. The signal transmission unit 12 includes a diode 15 that functions to prevent backflow of the charging current from the main body 1 to the power supply 2 of the keyboard 9, for example, for floating charging.

The rechargeable battery remaining amount detecting circuit 21 can also determine whether or not a detachable battery 24 is mounted on the keyboard 9. When the battery 24 is not loaded and it is detected that there is no battery as described above, a signal indicating this is transmitted to the transmission data generation unit 1.
7 is transmitted to the computer main body 1 by the transmission data 13.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the keyboard charging control section 20 of the main body 1 shown in FIG. The keyboard charging control unit 20 includes a changeover switch 20-3 for switching whether to supply the power supplied from the rechargeable power supply unit 2 via the line 14c to the keyboard 9, and a power supply remaining obtained from the rechargeable power supply unit 2. An analog / digital (A / D) converter 20- for converting the quantity information 20-5 into digital data.
4. The information of the remaining battery level and the presence / absence of the battery from the keyboard 9 is input as received data 20-6.
A keyboard charge stop determination unit 20-1 that determines whether to stop charging the keyboard 9 in response to 0-5, and a program and known information used when making a determination in the keyboard charge stop determination unit 20-1 are stored in advance. It is configured to include the memory 20-2.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in main body 1, when driven by battery 2a, rechargeable power supply unit 2 outputs information 20-5 representing a low battery in which the output voltage of battery 2a is less than a predetermined value. , A / D converter 20-4
Is input to the keyboard charging stop determination unit 20-1 as digital data. The determination unit 20-1 stops charging the keyboard 9 by the changeover switch 20-3. Also, by inputting the information signal from the keyboard charging stop determination unit 20-1 to the charging stop indicator 19, the indicator 19 for notifying the user of the stop of charging is turned on. The information 20-5 indicating the low battery from the rechargeable power supply unit 2 depends on the characteristics of the battery 2a which is a secondary battery provided in the rechargeable power supply unit 2 of the main body 1. For example, in the case of a lithium ion battery, , Can be treated as the remaining battery level based on the battery voltage. In the present embodiment, the processing is performed by a processing circuit such as the microcomputer 20-1a using the A / D converter 20-4. In another embodiment, however, the processing is performed to detect the low battery voltage. Can be realized by a configuration including only hardware components such as a comparator.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the memory 20-2 included in the keyboard charging control unit 20 shown in FIG.
The memory 20-2 stores an area A for storing a keyboard charging stop determination program used in charging control of the keyboard 9, and an area for storing a battery remaining amount detection interval time T indicating a period for periodically detecting the remaining battery level of the battery 20a. B, an area C for storing the amount of remaining battery power δEh per time T, and an area D for storing the amount of keyboard battery remaining increase δEk per time T.

FIG. 4 shows a keyboard charging stop judging section 20-.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a keyboard charging stop determination program A executed by a processing circuit 20-1a included in the first embodiment. When detecting that the main body 1 is driven by the battery 2a by the signal via the line 20-8, the information from the rechargeable battery detection circuit 22 is input as the reception data from the electric signal receiving unit 4a in step s1, If it is determined in step s2 that the battery 24 has not been loaded and that there is no battery 24, then in step s7 the changeover switch 20
The charging of the keyboard 9 is stopped by the interruption of -3, and the process ends. If it is determined in step s2 that there is a battery, the rechargeable battery remaining power detection circuit 21 sends the transmission data generator 17
The transmission data 13 is transmitted by the electric signal transmission unit 12 through the connection cable 8 and the information is input as reception data from the electric signal reception unit 4a through the connection cable 8 and the connector 34. In step s3, the remaining amount Ek of the keyboard battery 24 is
Is detected. Here, it is checked whether or not the battery 24 is at the low battery level in step s4.
3 starts charging the keyboard 9. Steps
4 is not low battery level (Ek> Ek
1), proceed to step s6. Ek1 is a predetermined voltage value.

Next, in step s6, the process waits until the battery remaining time detection interval T stored in the area B of the memory 20-2 elapses, and waits, and returns the control to step s1.

The overall operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. When the main body 1 is in the battery driven state and the low battery of the battery 24 is detected by the rechargeable battery remaining amount detection circuit section 21 inside the keyboard 9, that is, to the keyboard charge control section 20 via the connection cable 8. When a signal indicating that the battery 24 of the keyboard 9 is a low battery is given,
A charge command signal is derived from the charge control unit 20, and charging of the keyboard 9 is started by the changeover switch 20-3.

Further, the rechargeable battery detection circuit section 22
When it is detected that the output voltage of the battery 24 is zero, and thus the absence of the battery is detected, the keyboard charging control unit 20 transmits the transmission data 13 from the transmission data generation unit 17 to the keyboard charging control unit 20.
Is derived by the electric signal transmitting unit 12 and information indicating that the battery 24 is not loaded in the keyboard 9 via the connection cable 8 and no battery 24 is present is determined from the line 20-6 via the electric signal receiving unit 4a. It is provided to the unit 20-1.
As a result, a charge stop signal is input to the charge stop indicator 19 to notify the user that charging has been stopped. When an external power supply, for example, a commercial AC power supply, is connected to the
The battery 2a and the battery 24 of the keyboard 9 are constantly floating charged.

With reference to the above-described configurations of FIGS. 1 to 3,
Further, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the processing circuit 20-1a that executes another part of the keyboard charging stop determination program A stored in the area A of the memory 20-2. When it is detected that the main body 1 is driven by the battery in the same manner as described above, the main body battery 2a is obtained from the power supply remaining amount information 20-5 in the rechargeable power supply section 2 in step s21.
Is detected. Next, information on the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery 24 from the rechargeable battery remaining amount detection circuit 21 is input as reception data from the electric signal receiving unit 4, and is set as the keyboard remaining battery amount Ekj in step s22. next,
In step s23, the main body battery remaining amount decrease amount δEhi per time T stored in the area C of the memory 20-2 is calculated and set as a new Eh (i + 1). Eh (i + 1) = Ehi−δEhi (1)

At step s24, the area D of the memory 20-2 is
Is calculated as the sum of the keyboard battery remaining amount increase δEkj and Ekj per time T stored in Ek (j + 1). Ek (j + 1) = Ekj + δEkj (2) The subscripts i, i + 1, j, j + 1 may be omitted.

In step s25, Eh (i + 1) and Ek
(J + 1), and the value of Eh (i + 1) becomes Ek (j +
1) or more (ie, Eh (i + 1) ≧ Ek (j
If (+1)), it is determined that the life of the battery 24 of the keyboard 9 is shorter than the life of the battery 2a of the main body 1, and the keyboard charging stop determination unit 20-1 determines that charging has started. Thus, in step s26, the charging of the battery 24 of the rechargeable keyboard 9 is started by the conduction of the changeover switch 20-3.

In step s25, if Eh is smaller than Ek (that is, Eh (i + 1) <Ek (j +
If it is 1), it is determined that the life of the battery 2a of the main body 1 is shorter than the life of the battery 24 of the rechargeable keyboard 9, and the keyboard charging stop determination unit 20-1 determines that charging is stopped.
As a result, in step s28, the changeover switch 20-
3 stops charging the rechargeable keyboard 9. Next, in step s27, the control waits for the battery remaining time detection interval time T stored in the area B of the memory 20-2, and returns the control to step s21.

The power supply unit 2 of the computer main body 1 has a function of periodically detecting the remaining battery capacity Eh of the battery 2a at every time T. This time T may be, for example, 100 msec, but may be, for example, every 30 minutes, or another time interval may be selected. Keyboard 9
The rechargeable battery remaining power detection circuit 21 functions to periodically detect the remaining battery power Ek of the battery 24, for example, at every time T, and notify the computer main body 1. Battery level Eh, Ek
May be equal, but may be different. When charging the keyboard 9 of the computer main body 1, a current supplied through the power supply line 14a is detected by the charging control circuit unit 23, and the battery 2a of the computer main body 1 is reduced per unit time by the charging current. The remaining amount δEh is detected, the remaining amount δEk of the battery 24 which increases per unit time due to charging is detected, and these remaining amounts δEh and δEk are stored in a memory provided in the charge control circuit unit 23. Hold. Thus, the remaining battery charge of the battery 2a (Eh-δE
h) and the remaining battery capacity (Ek + δEk) of the battery 24,
When the remaining battery charge (Eh-δEh) of the battery 2a becomes smaller, the charging operation is stopped. In this way, the computer main body 1 recognizes the battery levels Eh and Ek of the battery 2a and the battery 24, and
By calculating the difference δEh from the remaining battery charge that is reduced by charging the battery 4, the remaining battery charge Eh of the battery 2a after a unit time can be predicted. The voltage of the battery 24 in the keyboard 9 predicts the remaining battery charge Ek of the battery 24 after a unit time by calculating a difference δEk between the remaining battery charge Ek increased by charging and the remaining battery charge at that time. be able to. In this way, by the charge control function, based on these values δEh, δEk, periodically,
The necessity of charging the battery 24 is determined, and the charging of the battery 24 is controlled.

Steps s1 to s7 in FIG.
And the processing of steps s21 to s28 in FIG.
The communication is continued until the main body 1 cannot communicate with the keyboard 9 due to the power OFF or the like, the connection cable 8 is disconnected, or external power is supplied to the main body 1. That is, the operations of FIGS. 4 and 5 are continued until the control unit 20 of the main body 1 detects that the manually operated power switch provided on the main body 1 is turned off and the power is turned off. Also, the cable connection detection unit 4 of the main body 1
4 and 5 are performed while the connector 34 detects that the connection state of the connector 34 is maintained. When the detection unit 4b detects that the connector 34 has been disconnected, 1 is suspended. 4 and 5 are performed when power is not supplied to the main body 1 from the external power supply, and the control unit 20 detects that power is supplied from the external power supply by the external power supply detection means. Then, the main body 1 and the keyboard 9 are operated by the power from the external power supply, and the batteries 2a and 24 are charged. At this time, the operations in FIGS. 4 and 5 are not performed. According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the main body 1 has the remaining power Eh of the main battery 2a and the remaining power Eh of the battery 24 of the keyboard 9.
By detecting k every time T and stopping or starting charging of the rechargeable keyboard, the power of the batteries 2a and 24 of both the main body 1 and the keyboard 9 is efficiently consumed.

The computer main body 1 includes a processing circuit 38 realized by a microcomputer or the like.
Received data 6 is provided. This received data 6 also
It can also be provided from the optical signal processing unit 3 provided in the computer main body 1. The signal from the processing circuit 38 is supplied to the transmission circuit 39, and is supplied to the reception circuit 41 of the keyboard 9 via the connector 34 and the connection cable 8. The output of the transmitting circuit 39 is also provided to an optical signal transmitting unit 42 provided in the computer main body 1 to derive an optical signal. The optical signal from the optical signal transmitting unit 42 is
The optical signal is received by the optical signal receiving unit 43 provided in the keyboard 9. The output from the optical signal receiving unit 43 is
Given to one. The receiving circuit 41 is provided with display means 44 such as an indicator lamp.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the keyboard charging stop judging section 20-1 of the keyboard charging control section 20. The process proceeds from step s31 to step s32, in which the battery remaining amount Ek of the battery 24 of the keyboard 9 detected by the rechargeable battery remaining amount detecting circuit 21 is detected.
Is a predetermined value Ek2 (however, for example, Ek1 <E
k2) is determined, and if so, the process proceeds to step s34, where wired communication is performed, and optical communication is suspended.
That is, the transmission circuit 39 transmits a signal to the reception circuit 41 via the connector 34 and the connection cable 8, and a signal from the electric signal transmission unit 12 is given to the electric signal reception unit 4 a via the connection cable 8 and the connector 34. . Thus, power consumption for communication is reduced.

If the remaining battery charge Ek of the battery 24 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ek2 in step s32, the process proceeds from step s32 to step s36, and the computer main body 1 and the keyboard 9 perform optical communication. That is, the optical signal 7 is derived from the optical signal transmitting unit 11 from the keyboard 9, is received by the optical signal receiving unit 3 in the keyboard 9, and the signal to be transmitted from the processing circuit 38 is transmitted from the transmitting circuit 39 by the optical signal It is provided to the transmission unit 42.
That is, the signal to be transmitted from the transmission circuit 39 is given to the optical signal transmission unit 42. The optical signal 44 from the optical signal transmitting unit 42 is given to the optical signal receiving unit 43 and
It is led to 1. Thus, when the battery remaining amount Ek of the battery 24 is relatively large, optical communication is performed, and operability is improved.
At this time, wired communication using the connection cable 8 may be performed at the same time.

[0041]

According to the present invention, the battery life of both the first secondary battery 2a provided in the computer main body and the second secondary battery 24 provided in the input device used with the computer main body is long. Control means 2
0 controls the charging means 23,
The first secondary battery 2a can be prevented from being exhausted first, thereby making it possible to continue using the battery-driven information processing apparatus for as long as possible.

According to the present invention, the battery remaining amount Ek of the second secondary battery 24 provided in the input device is set to the predetermined value Ek.
The charging is performed by the first secondary battery 2a only when the battery level drops to less than 1, and when the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery 24 is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ek1, the first secondary battery 2a is charged. Is not performed, thereby reducing the consumption of the first secondary battery 2a as much as possible.
This prevents waste of power of the first secondary battery 2a.

According to the present invention, when the battery remaining amount Eh of the first secondary battery provided in the computer body decreases due to the charging thereof, and drops below the battery remaining amount Ek of the second secondary battery. Stop charging the first secondary battery,
Of the secondary battery is prevented from being consumed, and the life of the secondary battery is prolonged.

According to the present invention, when the remaining battery level Ek of the second secondary battery provided in the input device falls below a predetermined value Ek2, use of the first communication means using electromagnetic waves with large power consumption is used. Is stopped, and communication between the computer main body and the input device is performed using only the second communication means that performs communication via the line. Thus, the first and second
Of the secondary batteries 2a, 24 as long as possible. When the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ek2, only the first communication means is used, or both the first and second communication means are used.

According to the present invention, the display means is provided in the computer main body or the input means, and it is displayed that the second secondary battery is not charged, so that the first secondary battery is consumed. You can guess that
In order to use the input device by the secondary battery, the battery is charged by performing rectification of a commercial AC power supply outside the first secondary battery, such as charging or replacing the second secondary battery, or the first battery. It is possible to know that the secondary battery has to be replaced.

According to the computer main body of the present invention, the judging means 20-1 makes the life of the first secondary battery 2a provided in the computer main body and the external second secondary battery 24 longer. , And the second secondary battery 24 is charged by the power of the first secondary battery 2a, so that the first and second secondary batteries 2a, 24
Of the battery-powered information processing device for a long time.

According to the input device of the present invention, the power of the external second secondary battery 2a such as a computer main body is used.
The charging of the second secondary battery 24 incorporated in the input device is performed by the charging means 23, and a signal representing the remaining battery level Ek of the second secondary battery 24 is derived to the input device. Since the input device is not configured to determine whether the second secondary battery 24 should be charged by the external first secondary battery 2a, the configuration of the input device can be simplified, and The present invention is easy to implement using various types of input devices by means of an external device such as a connected computer main body, and the present invention can be implemented in a wide range.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a battery-driven information processing device 37 including a separated keyboard 9 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a keyboard charging control unit 2 of the main body 1 shown in FIG.
0 is a detailed block diagram of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a memory 20-2 included in the keyboard charging control unit 20 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part of a keyboard charge stop determination program A executed by a processing circuit 20-1a included in the keyboard charge stop determination unit 20-1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a processing circuit 20-1a that executes another part of the keyboard charging stop determination program A stored in an area A of the memory 20-2.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of a keyboard charging stop determination unit 20-1 of the keyboard charging control unit 20;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer main body 2 Rechargeable power supply unit 2a Battery 9 Separate keyboard 15 Diode 19 Charge stop indicator 20 Keyboard charge control unit 20-1 Keyboard charge stop determination unit 20-2 Memory 20-3 Changeover switch 21 Rechargeable battery remaining amount detection circuit Unit 22 rechargeable battery detection circuit unit 23 charge control circuit unit 24 rechargeable battery 38 processing circuit 44 display means

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A computer that is driven by a first secondary battery and performs arithmetic processing by receiving input information, and is driven by a second secondary battery to communicate with the computer and perform input operation. A battery-driven information processing apparatus including an input device for providing input information to a computer main body; a charging unit for charging a second secondary battery with power of a first secondary battery; A battery remaining amount detecting means for respectively detecting the battery remaining amounts Eh and Ek of the next battery; and a first and a second battery responding to the output of the battery remaining amount detecting means.
A battery-driven information processing apparatus, comprising: control means for controlling a charging means so as to extend the life of both of the secondary batteries. 2. The battery remaining amount detecting unit detects a battery remaining amount Ek of the second secondary battery at predetermined time intervals, and the control unit determines that the battery remaining amount Ek of the second secondary battery is predetermined. 2. The battery-driven information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the value is less than the predetermined value Ek1, the second secondary battery is charged with the power of the first secondary battery. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the battery remaining amount detecting means determines a predetermined time T.
For each time, the remaining battery level Eh of the first secondary battery is also detected, and the control unit determines that the remaining battery level Eh of the first secondary battery is less than the remaining battery level Ek of the second secondary battery. 3. The battery-driven information processing device according to claim 2, wherein charging is stopped when the battery is charged. 4. The computer main unit and the input device communicate with each other by selectively using a first communication unit that performs wireless communication by electromagnetic waves and a second communication unit that performs communication via a line. The control means performs communication by switching from the first communication means to only the second communication means when the remaining battery charge Ek of the second secondary battery becomes less than a predetermined value Ek2. The battery-driven information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. In response to an output of the control means, at least one of the computer main body and the input means,
The battery-driven information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising display means for displaying that charging of the second secondary battery is not performed. 6. A computer main body driven by a first secondary battery and provided with input information to perform arithmetic processing, comprising: first battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining battery amount Eh of the first secondary battery; Receiving an output from the first battery remaining amount detecting means and receiving a signal indicating the remaining battery amount Ek of the external second secondary battery, and determining the life of both the first and second secondary batteries. Determining means for determining to be longer, and deriving a charging command signal; and responding to the charging command signal from the determining means, supplying power of the first secondary battery for charging of the second secondary battery. And a charging unit that performs charging. 7. A power supply unit for receiving power from an external first secondary battery and charging a built-in second secondary battery, wherein the charging unit is driven by power from the second secondary battery. The input device, comprising: means for deriving a signal indicating the remaining battery level Ek of the second secondary battery; and charging means for charging the second secondary battery with the power of the first secondary battery. Input device.