JP2003224675A - Remaining battery power warning method for communication device and the communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To warn a user than the remaining power of a battery gets low before the voltage of the battery drops below the lowest operable voltage of a communication device by natural discharge or as the battery is used as the power source of the communication device. <P>SOLUTION: The communication device 1 includes a voltage measurement part 5 which periodically measures the voltage of a backup battery 4 and decides whether or not the measured voltage value of the backup battery 4 exceeds a specified threshold and a mail transmission part 6 which generates and automatically sends battery power warning mail indicating that the remaining power of the backup battery 4 becomes short to an administrator of the communication device 1 when the voltage measurement part 5 judges that the remaining power of the backup battery 4 becomes short. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery remaining amount warning method for a communication device and a communication device which warns that the battery is low.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a communication device operates with the power of an AC power source, but has a built-in backup battery in case of a power failure or the like. Normally, even when the battery is not used, the remaining battery level gradually decreases due to spontaneous discharge, and the voltage also drops. If the voltage of the backup battery falls below the minimum operable voltage of the communication device, it will not serve the purpose of the backup battery.

Therefore, it is necessary for the user (user) to regularly check the remaining amount of the backup battery in the communication device and perform maintenance such as replacement and charging of the backup battery. However, the user tends to forget such maintenance, and it is possible that the backup battery runs out without being noticed. At this time, if a power failure or the like occurs and the power supply from the AC power supply is cut off, the communication device also stops.

Further, even when the communication device is operating on the backup battery due to a failure of the AC power source or the like, it is highly likely that the user is not aware that the communication device is currently operating on the backup battery. In this case, the remaining amount of the backup battery gradually decreases, and when the voltage of the backup battery falls below the operable minimum voltage of the communication device, the communication device suddenly stops.

[0005]

As described above, the backup battery in the standby state is gradually discharged due to the spontaneous discharge, and the voltage of the backup battery becomes the minimum operable voltage of the communication device without the user's knowledge. There was a problem that it did not function as a backup battery even if there was a power failure etc.

Further, even when the communication device is operating on the backup battery due to a failure of the AC power source or the like, the user does not notice that the communication device is operating on the backup battery, and the remaining amount of the backup battery decreases. There was also a problem that the communication device suddenly stopped due to battery exhaustion.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and the voltage of the battery is set to the minimum operable voltage of the communication device by spontaneous discharge or by being used as the power supply of the communication device. An object of the present invention is to obtain a battery remaining amount warning method for a communication device and a communication device which can warn a user that the remaining amount of the battery is low before it falls below the lower limit.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a battery remaining amount warning method for a communication device according to the present invention uses a battery (backup battery 4, battery 11) voltage periodically (for example, every 30 minutes). Voltage measuring step, a threshold value judging step for judging whether or not the measured battery voltage value exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and if the battery voltage value is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value, the battery remaining Judging that the amount has decreased,
And a mail sending step of sending a remaining amount warning mail notifying that the remaining battery level is low to a user (usually an administrator) through the network.

In the mail sending step, it is preferable to send a remaining amount warning mail based on information such as a destination mail address and a mail text that can be set in advance. I did it.

Further, as the predetermined threshold value, a voltage value which is higher than the voltage value of the minimum operable voltage of the communication device and which takes into consideration the operable time of the communication device due to the remaining battery level is set. It

In the communication device for communicating through the network according to the present invention, the battery (backup battery 4, battery 1
Voltage measuring means (voltage measuring unit 5) for periodically measuring the voltage in 1) and whether or not the measured battery voltage value exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and the battery voltage value is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value. If it is, threshold value judging means (voltage measuring unit 5 or mail transmitting unit 6) for judging that the remaining battery level is low,
When the threshold value judging means judges that the remaining amount of the battery is low, the threshold value judging means has a mail transmitting means (a mail transmitting section 6) for transmitting a remaining amount warning mail notifying that to the user through the network.

Further, it is preferable to provide a mail transmission setting means (mail transmission setting section 7) for setting information such as a destination mail address of the remaining amount warning mail and a mail body.

Further, as the predetermined threshold value, a voltage value which is higher than the voltage value of the minimum operable voltage of the communication device and which takes into consideration the operable time of the communication device due to the remaining battery level is set. It

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 1 includes a device operation processing unit 2, an AC power supply 3, a backup battery 4, a voltage measuring unit 5, a mail transmission unit 6, and a mail transmission setting unit 7. The communication device 1 may be, for example, a telephone, a router, a terminal adapter, or the like.

In the configuration of the communication device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the device operation processing section 2 is connected to a network and executes the communication operation of the communication device 1 through the network. The operation processing executed by the device operation processing unit 2 is appropriately changed according to the type of the communication device 1.

The AC power supply 3 is an AC commercial power supply for supplying power to the communication device 1. The communication device 1 normally operates with the power of the AC power supply 3. The backup battery 4 is a backup power supply for supplying power to the communication device 1 when power supply from the AC power supply 3 is lost due to a power failure or the like. The backup battery 4 includes a storage battery (battery) as well as a dry battery. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the backup battery 4 is a direct current power source (DC power source).
Therefore, the communication device 1 is provided with an inverter or the like for converting direct current into alternating current.

The voltage measuring unit 5 periodically measures the voltage of the backup battery 4 and determines whether the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 is low based on the measured result. When the voltage measuring unit 5 determines that the backup battery 4 has a low remaining amount, the mail transmitting unit 6 warns (notifies) that the backup battery 4 has a low remaining amount. Create a warning email,
The remaining amount warning mail is automatically transmitted to the user (usually the administrator) of the communication device 1 through the network.

The e-mail transmission setting unit 7 is used for the e-mail address of the destination (destination) of the remaining amount warning mail created by the e-mail transmitting unit 6, the content of the remaining amount warning e-mail (the title and body of the e-mail, etc.) This is a user interface for the user to set information such as the mail server to be used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ISDN router which is a specific example of the communication device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, in the ISDN router 1A, the device operation processing unit 2 in the communication device 1 of FIG.
It is composed of an N connection unit 9 and a routing processing unit 10.

The WAN connection section 8 is a WAN (Wide Area Neighbor).
twork) is an ISDN network and a routing processing unit 10. The WAN connection unit 8 takes out a packet from the ISDN frame sent from the WAN side and sends it to the routing processing unit 10, and also puts the packet sent from the routing processing unit 10 on the ISDN frame and sends it to the WAN side.

The LAN connection unit 9 is a LAN (Local Area N
etwork) and the routing processing unit 10.
The LAN connection unit 9 sends a packet sent from the LAN side to the routing processing unit 10, and sends a packet sent from the routing processing unit 10 to the LAN side.

The routing processing unit 10 performs packet routing. That is, the routing processing unit 10
Routes the packet sent from the WAN connection unit 8 or the LAN connection unit 9 according to a preset routing rule, and sends the packet to the WAN connection unit 8 or the LAN connection unit 9, respectively. Further, the routing processing unit 10
Similarly, the mail packet sent from the mail sending unit 6 is also routed according to a preset routing rule and sent to the WAN connection unit 8 or the LAN connection unit 9.

Since the configurations of the AC power source 3, the backup battery 4, the voltage measuring unit 5, the mail transmitting unit 6 and the mail transmitting setting unit 7 in FIG. 2 are the same as those described in FIG. The description is omitted.

Next, the operation of the communication apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the battery remaining amount warning operation of the communication device of the present invention.

First, the voltage measuring unit 5 of the ISDN router 1A is in a standby state (waiting process) before measuring the voltage of the backup battery 4 (step ST1). The voltage measuring unit 5 measures the voltage of the backup battery 4 again after a lapse of a predetermined time after measuring the voltage of the backup battery 4 (step ST2). That is, the voltage measuring unit 5 periodically measures the voltage of the backup battery 4 at predetermined intervals.

Next, the voltage measuring unit 5 determines whether or not the measured voltage value of the voltage of the backup battery 4 exceeds a preset voltage threshold value (step S).
T3). The voltage measuring unit 5 determines whether the voltage value of the voltage of the backup battery 4 exceeds a predetermined voltage threshold value.
It is determined whether the backup battery 4 has a low remaining amount.

Here, in general, the voltage of the battery decreases as the remaining amount decreases. Therefore, from the voltage value of the voltage of the backup battery 4 measured by the voltage measuring unit 5, the backup battery 4
The remaining amount of can be predicted. Further, the minimum operable voltage of the ISDN router 1A can be recognized in advance. Therefore, based on the voltage of the backup battery 4 and the minimum operable voltage of the ISDN router 1A, it can be predicted how long the ISDN router 1A can operate with the current remaining amount of the backup battery 4.

Therefore, the predetermined voltage threshold for the voltage measuring unit 5 to determine that the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 is small is ISD.
The voltage value is higher than the voltage value of the minimum operable voltage of the N router 1A, and the ISD depends on the remaining amount of the backup battery 4.
The operational time of the N router 1A is set in consideration.

As described above, when the voltage value of the voltage of the backup battery 4 approaches the operable minimum voltage value of the ISDN router 1A and falls below a predetermined voltage threshold value higher than the operable minimum voltage value, the voltage is lowered. The measuring unit 5 determines that the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 is low. This allows the voltage measuring unit 5 to recognize that the backup battery 4 has a small remaining amount before the voltage of the backup battery 4 falls below the operable minimum voltage of the ISDN router 1A.

For example, the predetermined measuring interval of the voltage measuring unit 5 is set to 30 minutes in order to allow the voltage measuring unit 5 to determine that the remaining amount is small one day before the battery of the backup battery 4 runs out. Is set to 2.9V.

In this setting, the voltage measuring unit 5 is
The voltage of the backup battery 4 is periodically measured every minute (step ST1). Then, the voltage measurement unit 5 compares the measured voltage value of the backup battery 4 with the voltage threshold value of 2.9 V, and the voltage value of the backup battery 4 is determined to be the voltage threshold value of 2.9.
It is determined whether or not V is exceeded (step ST3).

When the voltage value of the backup battery 4 exceeds (or exceeds) the voltage threshold value of 2.9 V as a result of the comparison and judgment, the voltage measuring unit 5 judges that the backup battery 4 has a sufficient remaining amount. , Wait 30 minutes again (step ST
1).

On the other hand, when the voltage value of the backup battery 4 is below the voltage threshold value of 2.9 V, the voltage measuring unit 5
Judging that the backup battery 4 is running low,
This is notified to the mail transmission unit 6.

Upon receiving the notification from the voltage measuring unit 5, the mail transmitting unit 6 follows the backup battery according to the information such as the destination (address) mail address, the title of the mail, the body of the mail, etc., which are the setting contents of the mail transmitting setting unit 7. A remaining amount warning mail for warning (notifying) that the remaining amount of 4 is low is created, and the remaining amount warning mail is transmitted via the routing processing unit 10 (step ST4).

Here, as the destination mail address,
Generally, it is set to the mail address of the administrator of the ISDN router 1A who can take necessary measures such as replacement and charging of the backup battery 4.

Upon receiving the mail packet sent from the mail sending unit 6, the routing processing unit 10 routes the mail packet according to the routing rule and sends the mail packet to the WAN connecting unit 8 or the LAN connecting unit 9. That is, the destination email address of the remaining amount alert email is LAN
If it is the address of the outside terminal, the routing processing unit 10
Sends the mail packet to the WAN connection unit 8, and conversely, if the destination mail address of the remaining amount warning mail is the address of the terminal in the LAN, the routing processing unit 10 sends the mail packet to the LAN connection unit 9. .

The administrator of the ISDN router 1A is the ISDN
When the remaining amount warning mail automatically sent from the router 1A is received through the network (WAN or LAN etc.), the mail confirms that the backup battery 4 of the ISDN router 1A is low, and the backup battery 4 is replaced. , Take necessary measures such as charging.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the voltage measuring unit 5 periodically measures the voltage of the backup battery 4 and determines whether the measured voltage value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the voltage value is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 is low, and the mail transmitting unit 6 transmits the remaining amount warning mail to the user through the network.

With this configuration, the user is warned by e-mail that the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 is low before the voltage of the backup battery 4 falls below the operable minimum voltage of the communication device 1 (ISDN router 1A). You will be able to

Therefore, even if the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 becomes low due to natural discharge, the user recognizes that the remaining amount of the backup battery 4 is low and takes necessary measures such as replacement of the backup battery 4. be able to.
As a result, when the AC power source 3 cannot be used due to a sudden power failure or the like, it is possible to avoid the inconvenient situation that the backup battery 4 does not function.

Further, even when the remaining amount becomes small due to the backup battery 4 being used as the backup power source of the communication device 1, the user can
It is possible to take necessary measures such as restoration of the failed AC power source 3 by recognizing that the remaining amount of the power is low. As a result, while the communication device 1 is operating on the backup battery 4,
It is possible to avoid an unexpected situation where the communication device 1 suddenly stops due to the battery exhaustion.

In the first embodiment, the voltage measuring unit 5
By determining whether or not the measured voltage value of the voltage of the backup battery 4 is less than or equal to a predetermined voltage threshold,
It was determined whether the backup battery 4 has a low remaining amount. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the mail transmission unit 6 determines whether or not the voltage value of the voltage of the backup battery 4 measured by the voltage measurement unit 5 is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage threshold value, so that the backup battery 4 remains It may be determined whether or not the amount is small.

Embodiment 2. Embodiment 1 shown in FIG.
The communication device 1 of 1. normally operates on the AC power supply 3 and includes the backup battery 4 as a backup power supply.
On the other hand, the communication device 1B of the second embodiment shown in FIG.
Operates on the battery 11 only. That is, the communication device 1B
The battery 11 is not a backup power source for the AC power source but a power source for normal operation.

As shown in FIG. 4, the communication device 1B also has a voltage measuring unit 5 and a mail transmitting unit 6 which are characteristic features of the present invention.
Also, a mail transmission setting unit 7 is provided, and the battery remaining amount warning method of the present invention is applied.

The voltage measuring unit 5 confirms the remaining amount of the battery 11 which gradually decreases during the normal operation of the communication device 1B.
The voltage of the battery 11 is regularly measured. Then, the voltage measuring unit 5 is similar to the case described in the first embodiment in that the battery 1
It is confirmed whether the voltage value of 1 is higher or lower than a predetermined voltage threshold value, and when the voltage value of the battery 11 is lower than the predetermined voltage threshold value, it is determined that the remaining amount of the battery 11 is low.

In FIG. 4, other configurations are as follows.
The configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. Further, the subsequent operation is the same as the operation described in FIG. Therefore,
Description that overlaps with the first embodiment will be omitted.

As described above, in the present embodiment, not only the battery for backup (backup battery 4) but also the battery 11 having the same operation is confirmed to be low, and the user is informed. You can warn by email. As a result, it is possible to prevent an unexpected situation in which the battery 11 is exhausted and the communication device 1B suddenly stops.

[0048]

As described above, in the present invention, the voltage of the battery is periodically measured, and it is determined whether the measured voltage value of the battery exceeds a predetermined threshold value. If it is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the remaining battery level is low, and a remaining amount warning mail notifying that the remaining battery level is low is sent to the user via the network.

According to this structure, the user can be notified by mail that the remaining amount of the battery is low before the voltage of the battery falls below the operable minimum voltage of the communication device.
As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the communication device suddenly stops due to battery exhaustion or the like.

Further, when the information such as the destination mail address and the mail body of the remaining amount warning mail can be set in advance, the remaining amount warning mail is surely sent to the administrator who can take measures such as battery replacement. Can be sent. Further, even if the administrator or the like is changed, it is possible to easily change the setting content and deal with it.

Further, as the predetermined threshold value, a voltage value which is higher than the voltage value of the minimum operable voltage of the communication device and which takes into consideration the operable time of the communication device depending on the remaining battery level is set. In this case, it is possible to reliably recognize that the remaining battery level is low before the battery voltage falls below the operable minimum voltage of the communication device. In addition, it is possible to reliably secure the time until the user receives the remaining amount warning mail and takes measures such as battery replacement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ISDN router which is a specific example of the communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a battery remaining amount warning operation of the communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of a communication device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,1B communication device 1A ISDN router (communication device) 4 backup battery (battery) 5 Voltage measuring unit (voltage measuring means, threshold value judging means) 6 Mail sending unit (mail sending means, threshold value judging means) 7 E-mail transmission setting section (e-mail transmission setting means) 11 batteries

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5C086 AA32 BA13 CA02 DA03 DA10                       DA14 EA05 FA11                 5C087 AA02 AA03 AA10 BB12 BB32                       BB74 DD08 DD33 EE08 FF01                       FF02 FF14 GG06 GG37 GG69                 5K067 AA34 BB04 FF18 HH22 KK05                       LL11                 5K101 KK02 KK14 KK20 NN00 NN41                       RR12

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A voltage measuring step of periodically measuring a voltage of a battery, a threshold judging step of judging whether or not a measured voltage value of the battery exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and a voltage value of the battery If it is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that the remaining battery level is low, and a mail sending step of sending a remaining amount warning mail notifying that the remaining battery level is low to the user through the network. A battery remaining amount warning method for a communication device, comprising: 2. The battery remaining amount warning method for a communication device according to claim 1, wherein in the mail transmitting step, a remaining battery amount warning mail is transmitted based on information such as a destination mail address and a mail text that can be set in advance. . 3. The predetermined threshold value is a voltage value higher than a voltage value of a minimum operable voltage of the communication device, and is set in consideration of the operable time of the communication device depending on the remaining battery level. The method for warning the remaining battery level of a communication device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. A communication device which communicates through a network, wherein voltage measuring means for periodically measuring the voltage of a battery, and whether or not the measured voltage value of the battery exceeds a predetermined threshold value, When the voltage value of the battery is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, a threshold value determining unit that determines that the remaining amount of the battery is low, and the threshold value determining unit determines that the remaining amount of the battery is low, the A communication device, comprising: a mail sending unit for sending a remaining amount warning mail for notifying the user to the user through the network. 5. The destination email address of the remaining amount warning email,
The communication device according to claim 5, further comprising a mail transmission setting means for setting information such as a mail text. 6. The predetermined threshold is a voltage value higher than a voltage value of a minimum operable voltage of the communication device, and is set in consideration of an operable time of the communication device depending on a remaining battery level. The communication device according to claim 4 or 5, which is characterized in that.