JP2004153967A - Charge control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charge control method wherein only a secondary battery can be charged with reliability without fail in electronic equipment wherein a primary battery, the secondary battery, and an external power supply can be used. <P>SOLUTION: The charge control method for portable electronic equipment involves a function of charging a battery from an external power supply. The method comprises confirming procedures (Steps S2 and S3) for confirming the presence or absence of the entry of a signal to permit the start of charging by an operator with the external power supply connected, a starting procedure (Step S4) for starting a charging timer when the permission signal is entered and starting the charging of the battery from the external power supply, stopping procedures (Steps S5 and S6) for stopping charging and returning to the confirming procedures if the battery is in a non-connected state for a predetermined time of a battery interruption after charging is started, and charge restarting procedures (Steps S8 and S9) for resetting and restarting the charging timer to retry charging if the external power supply is in the non-connected state for a predetermined time of the external power supply interruption. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a charging control method for a portable electronic device having a function of charging a battery from an external power supply.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable electronic devices are often configured such that a primary battery, a secondary battery, an external power supply, or the like can be used as a power source.
A primary battery is a battery, such as a manganese dry battery or an alkaline dry battery, that cannot be recharged and reused once electricity is used. The secondary battery is a rechargeable battery that can be recharged and reused even once electricity is used, and is also called a rechargeable battery or a storage battery. The types include a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, and a lithium-ion battery.
As described above, when a secondary battery and an external battery are configured to be usable, a charging function for charging the secondary battery with the external battery is often provided.
However, since such a charging function is provided, if the charging function is activated while a primary battery such as an alkaline battery is mounted, trouble such as liquid leakage from the primary battery such as an alkaline battery may occur. There is a risk of occurrence.
For this purpose, a configuration has been proposed in which a switch for setting whether the mounted battery is a primary battery or a secondary battery is provided, and the charging function can be operated only when the battery is a secondary battery. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-184075 (abstract)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional charge control method as described above has a problem that the user forgets to operate the switch, and if the user replaces the primary battery during charging, the primary battery is charged. .
[0005]
Therefore, the present invention has been made with the object of providing a control method capable of charging only a secondary battery in a reliable and error-free manner without requiring a circuit configuration such as a switch which causes a cost increase. .
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In claim 1 of the charge control method according to the present invention,
In a charge control method in a portable electronic device having a function of charging a battery from an external power supply,
A confirmation procedure for confirming whether or not a charge start permission signal has been input while the external power supply is connected;
And starting a charging time timer when the permission signal is input, and starting charging of the battery from the external power supply.
[0007]
According to claim 2, after the start of charging,
A stop procedure is included in which when the battery is disconnected for a predetermined battery suspension time or longer, charging is stopped and the procedure returns to the confirmation procedure.
[0008]
In claim 3, after the start of charging,
When the external power supply is disconnected for a predetermined external power supply suspension time or more, the charging time timer is reset and restarted, and the charging is restarted.
[0009]
[Action]
According to the configuration of the first aspect, in a state where the external power supply is connected, it is checked whether or not a charge start permission signal is input, and when the permission signal is input, charging of the battery from the external power supply is performed. Therefore, if the user confirms that the primary battery is mounted and does not input the permission signal, the charging of the primary battery is not started. Further, when the user confirms that the secondary battery is mounted and inputs a permission signal, charging of the secondary battery is started.
[0010]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the battery is disconnected for a predetermined battery suspension time or longer after the start of charging, the charging is stopped and the procedure returns to the confirmation procedure. Even if the battery is replaced with a primary battery in the middle, there is no possibility that the battery is charged by mistake. If the disconnection time is less than the predetermined battery interruption time, it can be determined that the battery has not been replaced, and charging is continued as it is.
[0011]
According to the configuration of claim 3, when the external power supply is disconnected for a predetermined external power supply interruption time or more after the start of charging, the charging timer is reset and charging is restarted from the beginning. Is not inadequate. If the disconnection time is less than the predetermined external power interruption time, the charging is continued without resetting the charging timer.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a charging control method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a portable receiver employing a charging control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a portable receiver 1 includes a receiving unit 11 that demodulates and amplifies a signal received by an antenna and outputs the signal, a display unit 12 that displays information such as a reception frequency, and inputs operation information such as a reception frequency. An input unit 13 for performing the above-mentioned operations, a control unit 2 for integrating and controlling them, and a power supply unit 3 for supplying these powers are provided.
The power supply unit 3 selects and uses one of a battery B as an internal power supply mounted on a battery storage unit 31 disposed in a case of the portable receiver 1 and an external power supply A such as an AC adapter. It is configured to be possible.
[0014]
In FIG.
The power supply unit 3 includes a battery terminal 32 connected to a terminal of the battery B, an external power supply terminal 33 to which an external power supply A can be connected, and a power supply for the main body of the portable receiver 1 using the battery B or an external power supply. An external / battery switching circuit 34 for switching whether to use A and a charging circuit 4 for charging a battery B using an external power supply A from the external power supply terminal 33 are provided. A battery voltage detecting circuit 5 for detecting the terminal voltage of the battery B via the battery terminal 32 and an external power input detecting circuit 6 for detecting the voltage of the external power source A via the external power terminal 33 are provided. Have.
[0015]
The battery terminal voltage signal detected by the battery voltage detection circuit 5 and the voltage signal of the external power supply detected by the external power supply input detection circuit 6 are input to the control unit 2. The charging circuit 4 is controlled by the control unit 2.
[0016]
In FIG. 3 showing a circuit diagram of a main part of FIG.
The internal power supplied from the battery B via the power supply terminal 32 is divided by the two resistors 5R and is supplied to the analog port 21 of the CPU 20 constituting the control unit 2. The battery voltage detection circuit 5 includes the two resistors 5R, the analog port 21, and the analog signal processing circuit 22 built in the CPU 20.
The external power supply A supplied via the external power supply terminal 33 is subjected to processing such as voltage level conversion by a signal adjustment circuit 61 including a diode and an analog IC, and is supplied to the analog port 23 of the CPU 20 constituting the control unit 2. Is done. The external power input detection circuit 6 is composed of the signal adjustment circuit 6, the analog port 23, and the analog signal processing circuit 24 built in the CPU 20.
[0017]
The internal power supplied from the battery is connected to the internal power input terminal 342 of the switching IC 341, and the external power is connected to the external power input terminal 343 via a backflow prevention diode. Then, when an external power supply of a predetermined voltage or more is applied to the external power supply detection terminal 344 via the voltage drop diode 345, it is detected that the external power supply is connected, and the external power supply is inputted from the internal power supply input terminal 342. Shut off internal power and output external power as main unit power. When an external power supply of a predetermined voltage or more is not applied to the external power supply detection terminal 344, it is detected that no external power supply is connected, and the internal power supply input from the internal power supply input terminal 342 is changed to the external power supply input terminal 343. Output as the power supply of the main unit.
The switching IC 341 and the voltage drop diode 345 constitute an external / battery switching circuit 34.
[0018]
The charging circuit 4 is provided between the external power supply terminal 33 and the battery terminal 32. The charging circuit 4 includes a charging control transistor 41 that controls a charging current, a backflow prevention diode 42, and the like. By controlling the potential of the charging control transistor 41 with a control signal 43 from the CPU 20, whether charging is possible or not is determined. It is configured to control.
[0019]
Next, the operation of the above circuit configuration will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
In FIG.
In step S1,
When the terminal voltage of the battery detected via the battery terminal 32 is within a predetermined range (for example, 1 to 4 V), and the voltage of the external power supply detected via the external power supply terminal 33 is equal to or higher than a predetermined voltage , It is detected that the battery is installed and the external power supply is connected, and the process proceeds to step S2.
[0020]
When an external power supply is connected while pressing a specific key, for example, a function key, the process directly proceeds to step S4.
Step S1 is repeated when the terminal voltage of the battery is within a predetermined range (for example, other than 1 to 4 V) or when no external power supply is connected.
Next, in step S2, the display unit 12 displays a screen for inquiring the user whether the battery stored in the battery storage unit 31 is a primary battery or a secondary battery. This screen may be a screen that displays, for example, the characters "Do you want to start charging?"
In step S3, when the primary battery is mounted, the user inputs a signal not permitting the start of charging from the input unit 13, and when the secondary battery is mounted, the user inputs the signal. A signal for permitting the start of charging is input from the unit 13.
When the user inputs a signal not permitting the start of charging, the process returns to step S1.
When it is confirmed that the user has input the signal for permitting the start of charging, the process proceeds to step S4 to start charging and start the charging time timer.
[0021]
In step S5, the presence / absence of removal of the battery B is monitored via the battery terminal 32, and it is detected that the battery has been removed due to a sudden increase in voltage or the like. If the connection has been removed and the non-connection state continues, the process proceeds to step S6, in which the control unit 2 outputs a control signal to the charging circuit 4 to stop charging.
If no disconnection state for one second or longer is not detected, the process proceeds to step S7 to continue charging and advance the charging time timer.
[0022]
In step S8, whether or not the external power supply A is removed or disconnected is monitored via the external power supply terminal 33. If the voltage of the external power supply terminal 33 drops (including 0 V), the external power supply A is disconnected or disconnected. When the occurrence of the connection state is detected and the predetermined external power supply interruption time (for example, one minute) has continuously elapsed, the process proceeds to step S9, and the control unit 2 outputs a control signal to the charging circuit 4, Reset and restart the charging time timer to continue charging. If the disconnected state is less than one minute, charging is continued in step S10, and the charging time timer is advanced.
[0023]
In step S10, step S5 and subsequent steps are repeated until the charging time set in the charging time timer expires. When the charging time has expired, charging ends and the process returns to step S1.
[0024]
In the above configuration, step S3 corresponds to a confirmation procedure described in claim 1, and step S4 corresponds to a start procedure.
Steps S5 and S6 correspond to the stop procedure described in claim 2.
Steps S8 and S9 correspond to the charging restart procedure described in claim 3.
[0025]
Note that the charge control method of the present invention is not limited to a portable receiver and can be applied to various chargeable electronic devices.
Further, specific circuit configurations and flowcharts are not limited to those illustrated.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect, in a state where the external power supply is connected, the presence or absence of the input of the charging start permission signal is confirmed, and the charging is started when the user confirms and the permission signal is input. Accidental charging of the primary battery can be prevented.
Further, since a circuit configuration for setting whether the battery is a primary battery or a secondary battery becomes unnecessary, the cost does not increase.
[0027]
According to the second aspect, after the start of charging, when the battery is disconnected for a predetermined battery suspension time or longer, charging is stopped and the process is repeated from the beginning. It is not charged when batteries are installed. Therefore, erroneous charging of the primary battery can be prevented. If the time is less than the battery suspension time, the battery is continuously charged without determining that the battery has been replaced.
[0028]
According to the third aspect, after the start of charging, when the external power supply is disconnected for a predetermined external power supply interruption time or longer, the charging time timer is reset and restarted, and charging is restarted. Insufficiency can be prevented. In addition, when the time is shorter than the external power interruption time, the charging is continued, so that the trouble of resetting is unnecessary.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a portable receiver employing a charging control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a main part of FIG.
FIG. 3 is an example of a circuit diagram of a main part of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a main part of the operation of FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
A external power supply B battery, internal power supply 1 portable electronic device 12 display unit 13 input unit 2 control unit 3 power supply unit 4 charging circuit, charging function

Claims (3)

In a charge control method in a portable electronic device having a function of charging a battery from an external power supply,
A confirmation procedure for confirming whether or not a charge start permission signal has been input while the external power supply is connected;
A charging control method comprising: starting a charging time timer when a permission signal is input; and starting charging of the battery from the external power supply. After charging starts,
The charging control method according to claim 1, further comprising a stop procedure in which when the battery is disconnected for a predetermined battery suspension time or longer, charging is stopped and the procedure returns to the confirmation procedure. After charging starts,
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of resetting and restarting the charging time timer when the external power supply is disconnected for a predetermined external power supply interruption time or longer, and restarting charging. Or the charging control method according to any one of 2.

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