JP2001197670A - Personal digital assistant device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a personal digital assistant device capable of realizing design principles based on downsizing and energy saving by making it possible to supply power according to power consumption. SOLUTION: The personal digital assistant device provided with card slots is so constituted that the slots can be connected to insert one card 1-5 as a secondary battery into at least one card slot and supply its power to drive a function card 1-4 connected to the other card slot.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information terminal provided with a card-type battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, mobile has become a keyword. With the miniaturization of notebook PCs and personal digital assistants, there has been an increasing demand for sending and receiving e-mails, creating and sending documents, and accessing the Internet from anywhere, not only in the office or at home. As a result, it is possible to immediately respond to e-mails and the like and to conduct business activities based on the latest information (for example, stock prices and stock confirmations). Initially, it was a wired connection using a modem card, but wireless data communication using mobile phones and PHS has been growing significantly in recent years. As an I / F (interface) of such a card, a PCMCIA or CF format is generally used, and not only a memory system but also a modem, a PHS connection I / F, a card with a PHS function, a PDC
Connection I / F, Ethernet connection, SCSI, TV tuner, etc.

On the other hand, nickel-metal hydride batteries and lithium ion batteries are the mainstream secondary batteries. Recently, lithium polymer batteries in which an electrolytic solution is made into a gel form have come into practical use. Since the electrolytic solution is in a gel state, it is not necessary to store the electrolytic solution in a metal container such as aluminum unlike a conventional battery, and the degree of freedom in shape and the weight are reduced. Accordingly, thin card-shaped batteries have become possible.

[0004]

However, when adding a card-type functional element to a PC or a portable information terminal,
The question is how much power is required.
In deciding the power supply and battery capacity of a device, all functions must have a considerably large capacity in order to have a battery life. That is a difficult point contrary to the design concept of small size and energy saving.

[0005] If a small battery capacity is mounted with priority given to miniaturization, the battery is quickly exhausted when a card with a relatively high power consumption function (communication system) is connected, and the mobile function with an unusual function is also required. We cannot use enough. On the other hand, when a large battery capacity is mounted, a large body weight and volume are secured from the beginning even when not in use.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a portable information terminal device capable of supplying power in accordance with power consumption and coping with a small and energy-saving design concept. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information terminal having a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be attached and detached. At least one card is 2
The secondary battery is characterized in that it can be connected to be supplied with power for driving a function card connected to another card slot.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information terminal device having a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be inserted and removed, wherein a plurality of card detecting means, a card type battery means, and a card slot are provided. Battery determination means for determining that the inserted card is a battery, and power supply from the card-type battery to another card detected by the card detection means when the battery determination means determines that the card is a card-type battery. Control means for supplying.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information terminal device having a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be attached and detached, wherein a plurality of card detecting means, card type battery means, and Battery determination means for determining that the inserted card is a battery, and control means for connecting charging means of the portable information terminal device to the card-type battery when the battery determination means determines that the card is a card-type battery. It is characterized by having.

A portable information terminal according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the portable information terminal according to the third aspect, wherein the control means repeatedly performs charging at regular time intervals.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a portable information terminal device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1-1 denotes a card control unit. Here, it plays a role of an I / F for connecting a standardized card I / F such as a PCMCIA or a CF card to a CPU bus in a portable information device. It also has the function of causing a detection interrupt or the like on the main unit when a card is inserted or removed. According to the present invention, when a card-type battery is inserted into a card slot, it can be determined that the card is a battery from information written in an attribute register (ConfigREG) of the card. Decide which path to supply power to the battery
I / for sending the direction of W (DIR) and selection (SEL)
There is also the role of the O port.

1-2 and 1-3 are card connectors, which may be standard I / Fs (PCMCIA: CF) or unique ones. 1-4 are normal function cards, modem, PH
S connection I / F, card with PHS function, PDC connection I / F
F, Ethernet connection, SCSI, TV tuner, etc. 1-5 is a card type secondary battery. The battery is said to be a lithium polymer battery, and the feature is that the electrolyte is not a liquid but a gel, so it is not necessary to put it in a metal container exactly like a lithium ion battery, it can be made into a thin card shape It is now possible. Because it is a card shape, I / F has Config REG,
It stores therein company codes, card types, and the like. Further, a regulation function (DC-DC) for keeping the voltage constant may be provided inside.

1-6 and 1-7 are a card controller (1-
The switches SW1 and SW2 determine the power supply route from the direction of the power supply supported through 1) and the selection signal. In FIG. 1, the card-type secondary battery (1-5) inserted into the card connector 1-3 is connected to the SW2 (1--5).
7) The power is supplied to the function card (1-4) inserted into the 1-2 card connector via the SW1 (1-6). When there is no card type secondary battery (1-5) inserted in the card connector 1-3, the function card (1--5) inserted in the 1-2 card connector is not used.
In 4), power is supplied from the Vcc of the main body.

FIG. 2 is an overall block diagram of a portable information terminal used in the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2-1 denotes a CPU for performing overall control, for example, a 32-bit RIS.
It is a C type. 2-2, a memory control unit;
An appropriate device is selected according to the instruction from (2-1), and a refresh operation and a backup operation are performed. 2
Reference numeral -3 denotes an actual memory device, which is, but not limited to, an SRAM, a DRAM, and a ROM (including a flash). The stored contents are OS, application, and user data input by the user.
Reference numeral 2-4 denotes an input control unit, and this terminal controls a 2-5 digitizer or a normal switch that enables pen input. Reference numeral 2-6 denotes a display control unit which sequentially reads out display data from a VRAM (not shown) and sends data and timing suitable for the liquid crystal screen of 2-7. Reference numeral 2-8 denotes a card control unit (1-1) shown in FIG.
I / F between various cards connected to / F and the internal bus. Reference numeral 2-10 denotes a power supply / charge control unit that monitors and charges a power supply (such as a DC-DC converter) in the main body and a secondary battery (2-11) in the main body. Furthermore, the card type secondary battery (1-5) can be charged via the card I / F (2-9).

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of the exterior of the portable information terminal device of the present invention. Since it is based on pen input,
The liquid crystal screen and the digitizer of the resistive film type are integrated, and the function card (1-4) used in the present invention is on the side.
And a card slot into which a card-type secondary battery (battery card) (1-5) is inserted.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view when charging the card type battery. As a premise at this time, it is assumed that external power such as an AC adapter is supplied to the main body, although not shown. Therefore, the function card (1-4) is connected to the power supply of the main body.
Driven by Vcc. The charging unit of 4-1 is
Remaining power of the main battery of the main body (eg, battery terminal voltage)
Is periodically checked, and when the remaining amount is less than the specified remaining amount, charging is performed. In the meantime, the card-type secondary battery (1-
When 5) is inserted, go to the remaining battery level check. When the remaining amount is equal to or less than the specified remaining amount, charging is performed via the charging control unit (4-1). However, if the charging control section (4-1) is always occupied for the card type secondary battery (1-5), the charging timing of the battery on the main body side will be delayed. The main battery (4-2) on the main body side is checked, and when the remaining amount is OK, the card-type secondary battery (1-5) is continuously charged.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of card connection. In step (S5-1), it is determined whether or not the card is inserted into the card slot. If you have hardware that can handle interrupts when a card is inserted into a card slot, it will jump to this routine when the card is inserted into the card slot. If a certain port is viewed as software, a periodic check is performed.

In step (S5-2), when a new card is inserted into the card slot, the attributes of the card are checked. That is, read Config REG in the card,
It is determined whether the card is a modem or a PHS built-in. If the card is a battery (step S5-3), another card (function card) has already been used.
Is determined to be inserted into another card slot (step S5-4), and if no other card (function card) is inserted, a card type secondary battery (battery card) is inserted.
The control command is written in the REG of the card so that the output of (1-5) is turned off (step S5-7). Card type 2 when another card (function card) is already inserted
The switch SW2 (1--5) is connected so that the output of the next battery (1-5) is connected to the power input of another card (function card).
7) Control SW1 (1-6) and turn on the output of the card type secondary battery (1-5) (step S5-
5). Then, the other connected cards (function cards) are initialized (step S5-6).

If the inserted card is not a battery, it is checked whether the card type secondary battery (1-5) already exists in another card slot (step S5-8). Proceeding to step (S5-5), the inserted card is configured to operate with the card-type secondary battery (1-5), and when the card-type secondary battery (1-5) does not exist. The card (function card) is configured to operate with the normal power supply Vcc, and the card (function card) is initialized (step S5-9).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for charging a card type secondary battery. In the system, the main battery (4-
Checking the status of 2). When operating with an external power supply (such as an AC adapter), the main battery (4-2)
When the voltage Vbat is less than or equal to a certain specified value Vth (step S6-1), the main charging is started (step S6).
-2). At this time, when the voltage of the main battery (4-2) is lower than a certain level (for example, when over-discharge protection is activated), a current is supplied little by little as preliminary charging, and rapid charging is performed when the level exceeds the level. Do. Then, charging is continued until the battery is fully charged (step S6-3). Full charge can be determined by a decrease in charge current using a dedicated charge IC or the like in the charge control unit (4-1). It usually takes about one hour. If full charge is confirmed, charging is terminated (step S6-4), and it is further confirmed whether or not a card type secondary battery (battery card) (1-5) is present (step S6-5). Step (S6-5)
Comes when it is determined in step (S6-1) that the voltage of the main battery (4-2) is higher than the predetermined value.

When the card type secondary battery (1-5) is inserted, it is further determined whether or not the voltage Vbat of the card type secondary battery (1-5) is higher than a predetermined value Vth (step S6). -6), the card-type secondary battery (1-
5) is also charged (step S6-7). However, in this case, it takes too much time to perform quick charge to full charge as in the case of the main battery (4-2).
Since it is a problem if the remaining amount in -2) is low, charging is periodically stopped, and the process returns to step (S6-1) again to monitor the state of the main battery (4-2). The charging of (1-5) is performed continuously.

As described above, in a portable information terminal device provided with a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be inserted and removed, at least one card is a secondary battery, and its power is connected to another card slot. Since the connection can be made so that power is supplied for driving the function card, the operation time can be extended without increasing the battery capacity of the main body.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a portable information terminal device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the supply line of the card type secondary battery (1-5) is connected to the switch SW on the main body substrate.
1 (1-6) and SW2 (1-7), this example shows an example in which the function card (7-1) is directly connected to the card type secondary battery (battery card) (7-2). . That is, when two cards are inserted and the cards are arranged up and down, contact terminals are provided between both cards so that the up and down continuity is established. In the function card (7-1),
Power is supplied from both the power supply Vcc of the main battery (4-2) from the main body and the card-type secondary battery (7-2), and switching is performed by an internal switch. At this time, the switch is operated so that the configuration from the card type secondary battery (7-2) has priority. Of course, the same is true even if the card ends are directly connected by cables or connectors instead of the contact terminals.

At this time, the main body is connected to the main battery (4-
It is not known which of 2) or the card type secondary battery (7-2) is supplying power to the function card (7-1). However, as in the first embodiment, the charging of the card type secondary battery (7-2) is performed at intervals between the charging of the main battery (4-2) on the main body side. Have been. In addition, when a card-type secondary battery is present, the same effect as described above can be obtained by directly connecting cards.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a function card with a large load is connected to a portable information device, it is driven by a card-type secondary battery that is also mounted in a card slot, so that the battery capacity, power supply, overall shape, cost, weight, etc. of the main body are reduced. It can be designed as an optimal one only for a card, and it can be combined with heavy equipment by also using it as a card type secondary battery (battery card) depending on the use of a card or the like with high power consumption. Further, regarding the charging of the card-type secondary battery, the use of the charging function of the battery on the main body side can temporarily reduce the number of new additional elements and does not occupy the charging function on the main body side. Also, the battery on the main body side can always be kept fully charged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a portable information terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall block diagram of a portable information terminal used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an exterior of the portable information terminal device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when charging a card-type battery.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of card connection.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of charging a card-type secondary battery.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the portable information terminal device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1 Card control section 1-2, 1-3 Card connector (I / F) 1-4, 7-1 Function card 1-5, 7-2 Card type secondary battery (battery card) 4-1 Charge control Part 4-2 Main battery

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A portable information terminal device having a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be attached and detached, wherein at least one of the cards is a secondary battery, and the power of the rechargeable battery is the same as that of the function card connected to another card slot. A portable information terminal device capable of being connected so as to be supplied with power for driving. 2. A portable information terminal device having a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be attached and detached, wherein a plurality of card detection means, a card type battery means, and a card inserted in the card slot are batteries. Battery determining means for determining whether a battery is a card-type battery, and a control means for supplying power from the card-type battery to another card detected by the card detecting means when the battery determining means determines that the battery is a card-type battery. A portable information terminal device characterized by the following. 3. A portable information terminal device provided with a card slot in which a plurality of function cards can be attached and detached, wherein a plurality of card detecting means, a card type battery means, and a card inserted in the card slot are batteries. And a control means for connecting a charging means of the portable information terminal device to the card-type battery when the battery judgment means determines that the battery is a card-type battery. apparatus. 4. The portable information terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the control means repeatedly performs charging at regular time intervals.