JP2002049444A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prolong the holding time of a battery charger for operating an information processor. SOLUTION: When present power consumption exceeds a prescribed valued and the power of a data interface power source is not enough for the power consumption, the power of a battery charger is auxiliarily utilized. Also, when the present power consumption is less than a prescribed value, and the power of the data interface power source is turned into a surplus state, the surplus power of the data interface power source is utilized for charging the battery. Thus, it is possible to suppress the apparent decrease of the capacity of the battery charger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of executing various types of information processing, for example, an information processing apparatus used as a peripheral device of a personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, personal computers have become widespread, and in connection with this, so-called peripheral devices have been used as information processing devices capable of performing various types of information processing by being connected to personal computers. Devices are in widespread use. As such a peripheral device, for example, a recording / reproducing device capable of recording / reproducing data is widely known. As such a recording / reproducing apparatus, a write-once CD-R (Recordable) or a rewritable CD-RW (R
2. Description of the Related Art CD-R / RW drive devices for recording and reproducing data corresponding to a disk on which data can be recorded and reproduced, such as rewritable, have become widespread. Such a CD-R / RW drive device is, for example, a CD-DA (Digital Audi) alone.
o) It is possible to play back a disk recorded in the format alone, but generally, for example, by connecting to a personal computer via a data interface such as USB or SCSI, the peripheral of the personal computer is connected. Used as equipment. As already well known as its usage form, first,
Application software for controlling the CD-R / RW drive device is installed in the personal computer. The user activates this application and performs an operation on the personal computer to read data from a disc loaded in the CD-R / RW drive connected to the personal computer, and to read data from the personal computer. Can be written.

In recent years, so-called notebook personal computers have also become widespread. This notebook personal computer is smaller and lighter than a so-called desktop personal computer, for example, and can be powered by a battery such as a rechargeable battery in addition to an AC power supply.
It is portable and allows a user to use a personal computer while moving, for example. Against this background, for example, the CD
-Peripheral devices such as an R / RW drive device are also becoming smaller and lighter so that portability can be obtained. And to get better portability,
As a CD-R / RW drive device, a device capable of supplying power from a rechargeable battery or a dry battery has been proposed.

[0004] In addition to the above-mentioned USB, SCSI, and data interfaces such as PCMCIA and IEEE 1394, power can be supplied from a personal computer to peripheral devices using a cable connecting the devices. There are many things that I do. Thus, for example, the peripheral device can be operated using the power supplied from the personal computer via the cable as described above, even if there is no power such as a battery or an AC adapter.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, at present,
The power that can be supplied through the data interface cable described above is not sufficient. For example, USB
Is set to a maximum power of 5 V / 500 mA.
With such power, a CD-R that requires a relatively large amount of power to control the rotation of, for example, a spindle motor is used.
An information processing device such as a / RW drive device is too heavy as a load. For this reason, even when, for example, a CD-R / RW drive device is operated by a data interface such as a USB, an external power supply via a cable is dared to obtain stable and reliable operation. The power must be independently obtained on the CD-R / RW drive device side without using it.

Therefore, when the CD-R / RW drive device is driven by a rechargeable battery, the CD-R / RW drive device operates only depending on the power of the rechargeable battery. The operation continuation time is determined by the capacity of the rechargeable battery.

A CD-R / RW drive can record a relatively large amount of data, for example, up to about 630 MB. For example, at present, the disk rotation drive speed is about several times faster. Therefore, it takes some time to record and reproduce data. Therefore,
When the CD-R / RW drive device is driven by the rechargeable battery, the operation is not practical unless the operation continuation time is too long. Therefore, for example, C
In a personal computer system in which a recording / reproducing device such as a DR / RW drive device is connected as a peripheral device, it is required that the duration of a rechargeable battery in the peripheral device be as long as possible.

Of course, when the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery is low, it is only necessary to connect an AC adapter or the like to perform charging. Becomes difficult for the user. Also, as described above, CD-R
When using the / RW drive device, it is not always the case that the user carries the AC adapter.
Even if you carry it, you are not necessarily in an environment where you can use an AC outlet. Therefore, from such a viewpoint, it is required that the duration of the rechargeable battery be extended so as not to decrease as much as possible.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus having the following configuration. That is, a connection unit capable of transmitting / receiving information to / from a connected external electronic device and inputting an external power supplied from the connected external electronic device, and using at least one of an external power supply and a rechargeable battery. Power supply means capable of supplying operating power to the internal circuit by using only the power of the external power supply, and a first power supply operation of supplying power to the internal circuit using power of the external power supply alone. Switching means provided so as to be able to switch between a second power supply operation for supplying operating power to the internal circuit with power obtained by supplementing the power of the rechargeable battery, and power supply means. A detecting means capable of detecting the power consumption, and a first power supply operation when the power consumption detected by the detecting means is equal to or less than a predetermined value. If the power consumption to be detected is not less than the predetermined, as a second power supply operation, it was decided and a control means for performing control on the switching means.

In the above configuration, when the power consumption is equal to or less than a predetermined value, only the input external power supply is used as the operating power supply for the internal circuit. Is used as an operating power source for the internal circuit. That is, normally, only the external power supply is used. For example, only when the power of the external power supply becomes insufficient due to the operation state of the information processing apparatus or the like, the shortage is compensated for by the power of the rechargeable battery. Is what it is. As a result, according to the present invention, the external power source, whose power is not always sufficient, can be constantly used, and the power source of the rechargeable battery is used only at the required timing and supplementarily. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the capacity consumption of the rechargeable battery.

The information processing apparatus is also configured as follows. That is, a connection unit capable of transmitting / receiving information to / from a connected external electronic device and inputting an external power supplied from the connected external electronic device, and using at least one of an external power supply and a rechargeable battery. Power supply means capable of supplying power for operating the internal circuit, charging means capable of charging the rechargeable battery using the input external power supply, and detection capable of detecting power consumption in the power supply means. Means, under a state in which the power supply means supplies operating power using an external power supply, when the amount of power consumption detected by the detection means is equal to or less than a predetermined value, causing the charging means to execute a charging operation; And control means for controlling to stop the charging operation by the charging means when the power consumption detected by the detecting means is equal to or more than a predetermined value.

In the above configuration, when the power consumption becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value and a surplus occurs in a state where an external power supply is used as an operation power supply, the surplus power is used to supply the rechargeable battery to the rechargeable battery. To charge the battery,
The capacity of the rechargeable battery can be increased, and as a result, the apparent duration of the rechargeable battery can be extended.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A CD-R / RW drive will be described as an example of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The CD-R / RW drive device according to the present embodiment includes a disc-shaped recording medium such as a CD-R or a CD-RW.
In addition, recording and reproduction can be performed in accordance with the data communication, and data transmission and reception are connected to the host computer via a predetermined data interface. Note that C of the present embodiment is
The DR / RW drive device is a CD-DA (Digital Au)
It is also possible to reproduce a reproduction-only medium in a so-called CD format such as dio) or a CD-ROM. Here, it is assumed that the data interface for connecting the host computer and the CD-R / RW drive device is a USB (Universal Serial Bus).
That is, for example, actually, the host computer and the CD-
The R / RW drive device is physically connected via a USB cable.

The following description will be made in the following order. 1. 1. CD-R / RW drive device Operation for Saving Rechargeable Battery Capacity 2-1. Power supply section 2-2. First example (power supply auxiliary control) 2-3. Second example (charge control) CD-R / RW drive device

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a CD-R / RW drive device as an information processing device according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the disc 90 is first stored in the CD-R / RW.
CD-R, CD- that drive device can support
RW, CD-DA, or CD-ROM. Here, the CD-R is of a write-once type, as is well known, and pits (recording marks) are formed by irradiating the recording layer of the organic dye with laser light at a recording level. Also CD
-RW is a rewritable medium using a technique in which pits are formed by phase change when laser light is irradiated. CD-DA, CD-RO
M is for reproduction only, and data is recorded by physical emboss pits.

The disk 90 is loaded on the turntable 7 and chucked, and has a constant linear velocity (CLV) by the spindle motor 6 during recording / reproducing operation.
Alternatively, it is driven to rotate at a constant angular velocity (CAV). Then, pit data (phase change pits or pits due to organic dye change (reflectance change)) on the disk 90 is read by the optical pickup 1. CD-
In the case of DA or CD-ROM, the pits are embossed pits. In addition, for the spindle motor 6, an FG (Frequency Geometry) for detecting a rotation cycle thereof is provided.
nerator) 6a. The FG 6a outputs one pulse at every predetermined rotation angle of the spindle motor 6.

In the pickup 1, a laser diode 4 as a laser light source, a photodetector 5 for detecting reflected light, an objective lens 2 as an output end of the laser light,
An optical system (not shown) for irradiating the laser beam to the disk recording surface via the objective lens 2 and guiding the reflected light to the photodetector 5 is formed. A monitor detector 22 that receives a part of the output light from the laser diode 4
Is also provided.

The objective lens 2 is held by a biaxial mechanism 3 so as to be movable in a tracking direction and a focus direction. The entire pickup 1 can be moved in the disk radial direction by a thread mechanism 8. The laser diode 4 in the pickup 1 is driven to emit laser light by a drive signal (drive current) from a laser driver 18.

The information on the reflected light from the disk 90 is detected by the photodetector 5, converted into an electric signal corresponding to the amount of received light, and supplied to the RF amplifier 9. The RF amplifier 9 includes a current-voltage conversion circuit, a matrix operation / amplification circuit, and the like corresponding to output currents from a plurality of light receiving elements as the photodetector 5, and generates necessary signals by matrix operation processing. For example, it generates an RF signal as reproduction data, a focus error signal FE for servo control, a tracking error signal TE, and the like. The reproduction RF signal output from the RF amplifier 9 is supplied to a binarization circuit 11, and the focus error signal FE and the tracking error signal TE are supplied to a servo processor 14. Note that the RF signal and the tracking error signal TE are also supplied to the traverse counter 23. The traverse counter 23 detects the number of tracks traversed by the laser spot irradiated on the disk 90 on the basis of the waveform of the tracking error signal TE, as described later. 14 is output. This information on the number of traversing tracks is used, for example, to determine the moving distance during seek.

As is well known, grooves (grooves) serving as guides for recording tracks are formed in advance on a disk 90 as a CD-R or CD-RW. Is wobbled (meandering) by an FM-modulated signal. Therefore, during the recording operation, tracking servo can be applied from the groove information, and the absolute address can be obtained from the wobble information of the groove. The RF amplifier 9 extracts the wobble information WOB (ATIP signal) by a matrix operation process and supplies it to the address decoder 24. In the address decoder 24,
By demodulating the supplied wobble information WOB (ATIP signal), absolute address information is obtained and output to the system controller 10. In the address decoder 24, the wobble information WOB (ATIP signal) includes
Various control information can also be extracted and output to the system controller 10. PLL information
By injecting the information into the circuit, the rotational speed information of the spindle motor 6 is obtained, and is compared with the reference speed information to generate and output a spindle error signal SPE.

The reproduced RF signal obtained by the RF amplifier 9 is 2
The signal is binarized by the value conversion circuit 11 to be a so-called EFM signal (8-14 modulated signal), which is supplied to the encoding / decoding unit 12.

The encoding / decoding unit 12 has a functional part as a decoder at the time of reproduction and a recording part as an encoder at the time of recording. During reproduction, processing such as EFM demodulation, CIRC error correction, deinterleaving, and CD-ROM decoding are performed as decoding processing.
The reproduction data converted into the M format data is obtained.
The encoding / decoding unit 12 also performs a subcode extraction process on the data read from the disk 90, and supplies a TOC, address information, and the like as the subcode (Q data) to the system controller 10. Further, the encode / decode section 12 generates a reproduction clock synchronized with the EFM signal by the PLL processing, and executes the decoding processing based on the reproduction clock. The rotation speed information of the spindle motor 6 is obtained from the reproduction clock. , And comparing it with the reference speed information, a spindle error signal SPE can be generated and output.

At the time of reproduction, the encoding / decoding unit 12
Accumulates the data decoded as described above in the buffer memory 20. As the reproduction output from the drive device, the data buffered in the buffer memory 20 is read and transferred and output.

The USB interface 13 is connected to an external host computer 80 via the USB bus 100, and communicates with the host computer 80, such as recording data, reproduction data, and various commands. At the time of reproduction, the data is decoded and stored in the buffer memory 2.
0 stored in the interface unit 13
Is transferred to the host computer 80 via the. The read command, write command and other signals from the computer 80 are transmitted through the USB interface 13
Is supplied to the system controller 10 via the. The USB bus 100 is physically connected to the CD-R /
The connector of the USB interface 13 of the RW drive device and the connector of the USB interface of the host computer 80 are connected by a USB cable. Also, as is well known, the USB interface is capable of supplying DC power from the host to the peripheral device side together with data. Therefore, the USB bus 100 transmits data as shown in the figure. A data bus 101 and a power bus 102 for transmitting power.
Consisting of: Here, a USB interface is used for communication with the host computer 80, but the present invention is not limited to this, and SCSI, IEEE,
1394, an ATAPI interface, or the like may be employed.

When audio data is reproduced, that is, a CD-DA or a CD-DA on which audio data is recorded in the same format as the CD-DA.
In the case of performing reproduction for R (and CD-RW), for example, the data decoded by the encoding / decoding unit 12 and stored in the buffer memory 20 is the encoding / decoding unit in the case of FIG. 12, for example, after being converted into an analog audio signal via a D / A converter 40,
Amplify and adjust the volume and output to the headphone terminal 42. The volume adjustment in the variable amplifier 41 is performed by, for example, the system controller 40 in accordance with an operation performed on a volume control operation provided on the operation unit 28.
Controls.

On the other hand, at the time of recording, the host computer 8
Recording data (audio data, CD-ROM data, user data such as various files, etc.) is transferred from 0, and the recording data is sent from the interface unit 13 to the buffer memory 20 and buffered.
In this case, the encoding / decoding unit 12 performs CD-R as encoding processing of the buffered recording data.
Processing for encoding OM format data into CD format data (when the supplied data is CD-ROM data), CIRC encoding and interleaving, subcode addition, EFM modulation, and the like are executed.

The EFM signal obtained by the encoding process in the encoding / decoding unit 12 is subjected to a process called write equalization by an equalizer 21 and then converted to a laser driver 1 as write data WDATA.
8 and written to disk. That is, the laser driver 18 gives the laser drive pulse modulated by the write data WDATA to the laser diode 4,
By performing the laser emission driving, pits (phase change pits and dye change pits) corresponding to the write data WDATA are formed on the disk 90.

APC circuit (Auto Power Control) 19
Is a circuit unit for controlling the output of the laser so as to be constant irrespective of the temperature while monitoring the laser output power by the output of the monitoring detector 22. The target value of the laser output is given from the system controller 10, and the laser driver 18 is controlled so that the laser output level becomes the target value.

The servo processor 14 determines the focus, tracking, thread, and spindle from the focus error signal FE and the tracking error signal TE from the RF amplifier 9 and the spindle error signal SPE from the encode / decode unit 12 or the address decoder 20. Generate various servo drive signals and execute servo operation. That is, the two-axis driver 1 generates the focus drive signal FD and the tracking drive signal TD according to the focus error signal FE and the tracking error signal TE.
6 The two-axis driver 16 drives the focus coil and the tracking coil of the two-axis mechanism 3 in the pickup 1. As a result, a tracking servo loop and a focus servo loop are formed by the pickup 1, the RF amplifier 9, the servo processor 14, the two-axis driver 16, and the two-axis mechanism 3.

In response to a track jump command from the system controller 10, the tracking servo loop is turned off, and a jump drive signal is output to the biaxial driver 16 to execute a track jump operation.

The servo processor 14 further sends a spindle error signal S to the spindle motor driver 17.
A spindle drive signal generated according to the PE is supplied. The spindle motor driver 17 applies, for example, a three-phase drive signal to the spindle motor 6 according to the spindle drive signal, and executes the CLV rotation of the spindle motor 6. In addition, the servo processor 14 generates a spindle drive signal in response to a spindle kick / brake control signal from the system controller 10, and causes the spindle motor driver 17 to execute operations such as starting, stopping, accelerating, and decelerating the spindle motor 6.

The servo processor 14 generates a thread drive signal based on, for example, a thread error signal obtained as a low-frequency component of the tracking error signal TE or an access execution control from the system controller 10 and supplies the thread drive signal to the thread driver 15. I do. The thread driver 15 drives the thread mechanism 8 according to a thread drive signal. Although not shown, the thread mechanism 8 has a mechanism including a main shaft for holding the pickup 1, a thread motor, a transmission gear, and the like.
5 drives the sled motor 8 according to the sled drive signal, whereby the required sliding movement of the pickup 1 is performed.

The various operations of the servo system and the recording / reproducing system as described above are controlled by a system controller 10 formed by a microcomputer. The system controller 10 executes various processes according to a command from the host computer 80. For example, when a reproduction command requesting transfer of certain data recorded on the disk 90 is supplied from the host computer 80, first, seek operation control is performed for the designated address. That is, a command is issued to the servo processor 14 to execute the access operation of the pickup 1 targeting the address specified by the seek command. Thereafter, operation control necessary for transferring the data in the specified data section to the host computer 80 is performed. That is, data reading / decoding / buffering from the disk 90 is performed, and the requested data is transferred.

When a write command (record command) is issued from the host computer 80, the system controller 10 first moves the pickup 1 to an address to be written. Then, the encoding / decoding unit 12 causes the data transferred from the host computer 80 to perform the encoding process as described above.
FM signal. Then, the write data WDATA equalized as described above is supplied to the laser driver 18 so that the recording is executed.

Here, the system controller 10 can set reference speed information to the servo processor 14, and the servo processor 14 compares the set reference speed information with the rotation speed information from the decoder 12 to determine the spindle error. Generate a signal SPE. Further, by changing the setting of the reference speed information, it is possible to change and set the disk rotation drive speed. That is, in the case of reproduction, it is possible to reproduce at a predetermined double speed, which is higher than the normal rotation speed of the disk. At this time, the reproduction clock obtained by operating the PLL circuit in the encode / decode section 12 also has a frequency corresponding to the set double speed, so that signal processing corresponding to double speed reproduction is executed. You. Further, when the disk rotation drive speed is set to a double speed higher than 1 × speed at the time of recording, a frequency corresponding to the set double speed is set as a clock for recording. Encoding processing in encoding / decoding section 12 and equalizer 2
1 is performed according to this clock. Then, by supplying the data WDATA processed in this manner to the laser drive bar 18, recording on the disk is performed at a write rate corresponding to the set disk rotation drive speed.

The operation unit 28 includes keys for operating the CD-R / RW drive. In this case, for example, a power key and an eject key are provided. Further, the CD-R / RW drive device of the present embodiment can reproduce a CD-DA by itself without depending on the control from the host computer 80. Therefore, a key related to this reproduction is also provided. ing.
An operation information signal obtained according to the operation on the operation unit 28 is supplied to the system controller 10, and the system controller 10 appropriately executes a required control process according to the operation information signal.

The display unit 28 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crys).
tal Display) and the system controller 10
, The display according to the current operation status is performed. In addition, the system controller 10 also performs control related to lighting of the backlight on the LCD serving as the display unit 28.

The power supply section 30 is provided for supplying a DC voltage stabilized to a predetermined level as a power supply voltage Vcc to each functional circuit section inside the CD-R / RW drive device. Here, the power supply unit 30 of the present embodiment
, DC power supplied from an AC adapter, a rechargeable battery 31, and a dry battery 32 can be input. In the case of the present embodiment, the rechargeable battery 31 and the dry battery 32 are housed in a battery holder provided in the main body. The battery holder is provided at a different position between the rechargeable battery and the dry battery. . In the case of the present embodiment,
DC power supplied from the host computer 80 via the power bus 102 of the USB bus 100 can also be input. Then, in the power supply unit 30, among those power sources, those that are currently physically connected,
An appropriate power source is appropriately selected and input, and the input power source is used to supply DC power internally.

A ROM 26 and a RAM 27 are provided for the system controller 10. ROM2
6 stores, for example, a program to be executed by the system controller 10 and information necessary for the system controller 10 to perform various operation controls. R
The AM 27 holds various information obtained according to various control processes executed by the system controller 10.

2. Operation for Saving Rechargeable Battery Capacity 2-1. Power supply unit In the present embodiment, the rechargeable battery 3
1 is configured to be extended in duration.
In other words, savings in apparent rechargeable battery capacity are made. The first example and the second example
An example will be given.

Here, prior to the description of the operation as the first example and the second example, the power supply unit 30 corresponding to the present embodiment is described.
Will be described with reference to FIG. In addition,
The power supply unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which functions for realizing the first example and the second example are shared. Further, as the configuration of the power supply unit 30 shown in this figure, only a part that generates a power supply voltage Vcc using a USB power supply and a rechargeable battery 31 in the following description is shown.

In FIG. 2, a DC / DC converter 41 receives a USB power supply, performs DC / DC conversion, and generates and outputs a power supply voltage Vcc stabilized to a required level. In addition, for example, when the USB power is not supplied and the rechargeable battery 31 is provided, the rechargeable battery 31 is supplied as power. That is, the rechargeable battery 31
Is input from the charging circuit 42 via the power line 45 for a rechargeable battery. When the power of the rechargeable battery 31 is input to the DC / DC converter in this way, the switch 46 inserted into the power supply line 45 for the rechargeable battery is controlled to be turned on. Then, the input rechargeable battery 3
1 is subjected to DC / DC conversion to obtain the power supply voltage Vc.
Output c. In addition, particularly corresponding to a first example described later,
In the DC / DC converter 41, when the USB power is input to generate the power supply voltage Vcc, the switch 46
Is turned on and the power of the rechargeable battery 31 is also input, the power of the rechargeable battery 31 is added to (supplemented with) the USB power source to generate and output the power supply voltage Vcc. It also has a function that can do.

The charging circuit 42 can form a power supply path for supplying the power of the rechargeable battery to the DC / DC converter 41 via the rechargeable battery power supply line 45 as described above. , For generating a charging current for charging the rechargeable battery 31 and supplying the same to the rechargeable battery 31. When charging, the switch 48 of the charging line 47 is turned on, so that the DC / DC converter 4
1 to the charging circuit 42 is supplied with charging power via a charging line 47. The charging circuit 42 charges the rechargeable battery by using the supplied power to supply a charging current to the rechargeable battery. In addition, according to this figure, the power supply source for the charging current is a USB power supply. However, in practice, a DC voltage supplied from an AC adapter (not shown) can be input as the power supply source. Is what is being done.

The power consumption detection circuit 43 is, for example, a DC / D
By detecting a load current level assumed to flow to the power supply voltage Vcc of the C converter 41, the current power consumption in the CD-R / RW drive device is detected, and the detected information is transmitted to the system via the interface circuit 44. Output to the controller 10. The interface circuit 44 includes, for example, the system controller 10 and the power supply unit 3.
It is provided so that information can be exchanged with 0. The system controller 10 outputs a control signal for the on / off operation to the switches 46 and 48 via the interface circuit 44 based on the input detection information of the power consumption. Have been. By this operation, the first
The operation of saving the rechargeable battery capacity as the example and the second example is realized.

2-2. First Example (Power Supplementary Control) Next, a first example of the rechargeable battery capacity saving operation of the present embodiment will be described based on the configuration of the power supply unit 30 described above. In this description, reference is made to the flowchart of FIG. Here, as the CD-R / RW drive device of the present embodiment, a USB bus 10
2 is connected to a device such as a host computer 80,
USB power is obtained via the power bus 102,
When the rechargeable battery 30 is set, basically,
The power supply voltage Vcc is supplied to the internal circuit using only the USB power supply. The processing shown in FIG.
It is executed under this state. The processing shown in this figure is executed by the system controller 10.

Here, the system controller 10 monitors information on the power consumption detected by the power consumption detection circuit 43. Then, first, as a process of step S101, a predetermined threshold value a is set for the monitored power consumption.
It is determined whether or not the above is true.

The power consumption of the CD-R / RW drive (ie, the load power of the power supply voltage Vcc) is not constant but changes according to the operating state at that time. For example, more electric power is required particularly during the rotational drive control of the so-called sled motor in the spindle motor 6 and the sled mechanism 8. In the case of the spindle motor 6, the amount of power consumption is increased when the rotation is started or when the speed is controlled for acceleration / deceleration. In the case of the sled motor, the optical head is driven to rotate when the optical head moves during access. Power consumption when running. Also, for example, in general, the laser power is higher during recording than during reproduction, so that the power consumption increases during recording than during reproduction. As the various conditions including these are combined in accordance with the operation of the device at that time, the power consumption by the CD-R / RW drive device dynamically fluctuates as described above.

As described above, the power of the power supplied through the data interface such as USB is relatively small, and the maximum power of the USB power is 5 V / 500 mA. In the case of the present embodiment, usually, CD-R / RW
Although the drive device can be driven, when the power consumption increases due to various factors as described above, a state occurs in which the power of the USB power supply becomes insufficient. Thus, in the present embodiment, a predetermined power consumption determined substantially corresponding to such a level that the power of the USB power supply becomes insufficient is set as the threshold a in the previous step S101. is there.

If it is determined in step S101 that the current power consumption is equal to or greater than the threshold value a and a positive result is obtained, the system controller 10 proceeds to step S102. Step S102
Means that the current power consumption may cause power shortage with the power supply from the USB power supply. Therefore, in step S102, a control signal is output to execute a control process for turning on the switch 46 of the power supply line 45 for the rechargeable battery. Thus, in the power supply unit 30, the power of the rechargeable battery 31 is supplied from the charging circuit 42 to the DC / DC converter 41 via the rechargeable battery power line 45. At this time, the DC / DC converter 41 mainly uses the USB power supply to
Although the R / RW drive device is driven, the shortage of the power of the USB power supply caused by the increase in power consumption is covered by the power of the rechargeable battery 31 so that the power supply voltage Vcc of the specified power is output. Is done. That is, in step S102, the supply of the auxiliary power for relieving the power shortage of the USB power is started, and in step S1
As long as a positive result is obtained in 01, this state is maintained.

On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step S101 that the current power consumption is not greater than or equal to the threshold a, the process proceeds to step S103. Step S10
In 3, it is determined whether or not the current power consumption is below the threshold a. Step S103
If an affirmative result is obtained in the above, it means that the current power consumption is sufficient with the power of the USB power source alone. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step S104, in which the switch 46 of the power supply line 45 for the rechargeable battery is controlled to be turned off, and the supply of the auxiliary power is stopped. If a negative result is obtained in step S103, or after the processing in step S104, the process returns to, for example, the main routine, and returns to the process in step S101 shown in FIG. You.

According to such processing, for example, the threshold a
Under the normal power consumption state corresponding to the lower power consumption, only the USB power supply was used as the driving power supply, and the power consumption was higher than the threshold a. Sometimes, the shortage of USB power is
Is compensated by the power of This allows
In the present embodiment, since the power of the rechargeable battery 31 is used only when the power consumption is high, the usage time of the rechargeable battery 31 is reduced accordingly.
The capacity of the rechargeable battery 31 can be saved. Moreover, even when the rechargeable battery 31 is used, only the power used to compensate for the shortage of the USB power supply is used, so that the capacity of the rechargeable battery 31 reduced at this time can be almost minimized. Thus, the capacity of the rechargeable battery 31 is efficiently saved. Further, in the present embodiment, by supplying the auxiliary power by the rechargeable battery as described above, power supplied via a relatively low-power data interface cable, such as a USB power supply, is reduced. It is also possible to use the main power supply constantly.

2-3. Second Example (Charge Control) Next, a description will be given of a rechargeable battery capacity saving operation as a second example, and here, an outline of the operation will be described first. As described above, the power supplied through the data interface cable, such as a USB power supply, has relatively low power, but, for example, a so-called suspend mode in which no recording / reproducing operation is performed. In this case, since various motors such as the spindle motor are not driven to rotate, nor are the laser beams radiated to the disk, for example, the maximum power of the USB power supply is used in the CD-R / RW drive device. The power consumption will be much smaller.
That is, in this case, the power of the USB power supply has a margin. Therefore, as a second example, when it is determined that such a state is present, the rechargeable battery 31 is charged using the surplus power of the USB power supply. By doing so, the capacity of the rechargeable battery 31 can be increased during the charging period, and as a result,
It is possible to save the apparent capacity of the rechargeable battery 31 and extend the duration thereof. The processing for this is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In the process shown in FIG. 4, the system controller 10 monitors the information on the power consumption detected by the power consumption detection circuit 43 as in the case of the first example. Then, first, in the process of step S201, it is determined whether or not the monitored power consumption is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold b. This threshold b
As can be understood from the contents of the operation outline of the second example described above, the power consumption as the power supply voltage Vcc is sufficient to secure a surplus enough to charge the rechargeable battery 31 with the power of the USB power supply. It is set based on the amount.

The case where an affirmative result is obtained in step S201 means that the rechargeable battery 3
1 is in the enabled state. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step S202, and control is performed so that the rechargeable battery 31 is charged by the surplus power of the USB power supply. For this reason, the system controller 10 turns on the switch 48 of the charging line 47 in the power supply unit 30. Thus, charging power obtained from the USB power supply is supplied from the DC / DC converter 41 to the charging circuit 42. The charging circuit 42 charges the rechargeable battery 31 using the supplied power. However, when charging is to be started by the processing in step S202 and the rechargeable battery 31 is already in a fully charged state, the charging operation need not be performed.

On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step S201, the process proceeds to step S203. In the process of step S203, it is determined whether or not the current power consumption is above the threshold value b. Then, if a positive result is obtained here, the process proceeds to step S204. When the process proceeds to step S204, the current power consumption indicates that the rechargeable battery 3 is powered by the USB power source.
This is a case in which there is no margin for power enough to charge the battery 1. Therefore, in step S204, for example, if charging has been performed so far, this charging operation is stopped, and this state is continued as long as a positive result is obtained in step S203. Also in this case, if a negative result is obtained in step S203, or after the processing of step S204, the process returns to the main routine, and returns to step S201 at a predetermined timing, for example.

The circuit configuration of the power supply unit and the like for realizing the operation of saving the rechargeable battery capacity according to the present invention is not limited to the one described in the above embodiment.
For example, the switches 46 and 48 shown in FIG. 2 are merely for convenience. For example, in actuality, the charging circuit 42 and the DC / DC
In a functional circuit unit such as the DC converter 41, an operation corresponding to the ON / OFF operation of the switches 46 and 48 may be executed. In the above-described embodiment, for example, the system controller 10 controls the power supply unit 30 to realize the operation of saving the rechargeable battery capacity. For example, the control circuit system in the power supply unit 30 is configured by hardware or the like. Thus, the operation of saving the rechargeable battery capacity according to the present invention may be realized in a form completed by the power supply unit 30. Further, in the above embodiment, the first operation is performed as a saving operation of the rechargeable battery capacity.
An example and a second example are given, but each of these operations is performed on a CD-ROM.
The R / RW drive device may be configured to perform only one of them, or may be configured to use both operations in combination.

The data interface applied to the present invention is not limited to the USB only, but can be applied to a data interface having a standard of a transmission cable capable of supplying data and power. Also,
The information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied includes a CD-R /
The present invention is not limited to the disk drive device represented by the RW drive device, and can be applied to various peripheral devices of a so-called personal computer. Further, the present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus other than a peripheral device of a personal computer as long as the information processing apparatus can receive power supply via a data interface cable.

[0058]

As described above, the present invention provides a power supply (hereinafter, also referred to as a "data interface power supply") supplied through a data interface cable when the current power consumption of the information processing apparatus is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. If the power is insufficient, the power of the rechargeable battery is used in an auxiliary manner, and the information processing device can be operated only by the power of the data interface power supply when the power is below a predetermined level. In such a case, the power assist by the rechargeable battery is stopped. In this configuration, the rechargeable battery is used only when the power consumption of the data interface power supply is insufficient to the extent that the power of the data interface power supply is insufficient, and only the amount of power used to compensate for the shortage of the power of the data interface power supply is used. Therefore, the capacity consumption of the rechargeable battery can be suppressed to a necessary minimum. Thereby, the duration of the rechargeable battery can be extended. Further, in the present invention, in order to constantly and stably operate the information processing apparatus, even when the power of the data interface power supply is somewhat insufficient, the data interface power supply may be used as the main power supply. , Stable operation can be expected.

According to the present invention, when the current power consumption of the information processing apparatus falls below a predetermined level and the power of the data interface power supply becomes surplus, If the surplus of the power of the data interface power supply becomes insufficient to charge the rechargeable battery when the charge exceeds the predetermined value, the charging is stopped. I have. With such a configuration, for example, even when the information processing apparatus is driven by a relatively low-power data interface power supply, it is possible to obtain an opportunity to charge the rechargeable battery. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in the capacity of the battery and extend the duration of the rechargeable battery. Thus, according to the present invention, as a result, the duration of the rechargeable battery can be extended, and the operation time of the information processing apparatus when the rechargeable battery is used as a power source can be extended accordingly. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a CD as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an R / RW drive device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power supply unit provided in the CD-R / RW drive device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing operation to be executed by a system controller in order to realize a rechargeable battery capacity saving operation as a first example;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation to be executed by a system controller in order to realize a rechargeable battery capacity saving operation as a second example.

[Explanation of symbols]

6 spindle motor, 8 thread mechanism, 10 system controller, 30 power supply section, 31 rechargeable battery, 41
DC / DC converter, 42 charging circuit, 43 power consumption detecting circuit, 44 interface circuit, 45 power line for rechargeable battery, 46, 48 switch, 47 charging line, 80 host computer, 100 USB bus

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B011 DA02 DA13 DB21 EB07 GG02 JB10 LL08 5G003 AA01 BA01 DA04 DA16 DA18 GB03 5G065 DA02 EA02 EA04 GA06 HA17 LA03 5H030 AA00 AS11 FF41

Claims (2)

[Claims] A connection unit configured to transmit / receive information to / from a connected external electronic device and to input an external power supplied from the connected external electronic device; and at least one of the external power supply and the rechargeable battery. A power supply unit capable of using one of them as an operation power supply for an internal circuit; and a first power supply operation in which the power supply unit supplies an operation power supply to the internal circuit with power of only the external power supply; A switch provided so as to be capable of switching with a second power supply operation for supplying operation power to an internal circuit with power obtained by supplementing the power of the rechargeable battery with the power of the external power supply. Means for detecting power consumption in the power supply means, and the first power supply operation when the power consumption detected by the detection means is equal to or less than a predetermined value. So that to, also,
Control means for controlling the switching means so as to perform the second power supply operation when the power consumption detected by the detection means is equal to or more than a predetermined value. apparatus. 2. A connection means capable of transmitting / receiving information to / from a connected external electronic device and inputting an external power supplied from the connected external electronic device, and at least one of the external power supply and the rechargeable battery A power supply means capable of supplying the operation power of the internal circuit using one of the power supplies; a charging means capable of charging the rechargeable battery using the input external power supply; Detection means capable of detecting the amount of power, and when the amount of power consumption detected by the detection means is less than or equal to a predetermined value in a state in which the power supply means supplies the operating power using the external power supply Controlling means for performing a charging operation by the charging means, and controlling to stop the charging operation by the charging means when the power consumption detected by the detecting means is equal to or more than a predetermined amount; The information processing apparatus comprising: a.