JP2007328962A - Charge discharge system, battery pack and charge discharge device, and charge discharge method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily identify the kind of a battery pack and conduct appropriate charge and discharge. <P>SOLUTION: A battery pack information code indicating battery information such as charge discharge voltage or charge discharge current is described on the outer packaging of a battery pack. When the battery pack is mounted on a charge discharge device, a read part reads the battery pack information code described on the outer packaging of the battery pack and obtain the battery information. A control part converts AC power supplied from the outside into prescribed DC power in charging based on the obtained battery information and supplies it to the battery pack. In discharging, the control part converts the DC power supplied from the battery pack into the prescribed DC power, and supplies it to a load. The charge discharge device identifies the kind of the battery pack based on the battery pack information code described on the battery pack, and appropriately charges and discharged the battery pack. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charge / discharge system, a battery pack, a charge / discharge device, and a charge / discharge method that can easily determine the type.

  In recent years, portable electronic devices such as notebook personal computers, mobile phones, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) have become widespread, and secondary battery packs have been widely used as power sources. Currently, many battery packs used in such portable electronic devices have different shapes and capacities depending on the shape and application of the electronic device.

  In a battery pack of a secondary battery, if charging / discharging is not performed with an appropriate voltage or current, there is a risk of failure or deterioration, and further an accident such as heat generation or ignition. Therefore, in order to prevent such a danger, it is necessary to perform appropriate charging / discharging with respect to a battery pack.

  Conventionally, in a charger or electronic device using a battery pack, in order to properly charge and discharge the battery pack, only a battery pack corresponding to the shape can be mounted, and a battery pack that cannot be mounted cannot be charged / discharged. Mechanical solutions have been used. Moreover, the method of electrically solving using the information regarding charging / discharging of battery pack itself other than the method of solving mechanically has been used.

  As a mechanical solution, for example, there is a method in which the shape of the battery pack is changed for each type so that the battery pack can be attached only to a compatible charger or electronic device. Hereinafter, as a specific example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, when the electronic device 100 and the battery pack 110 that can be mounted on the electronic device 100 exist, the electronic device 200 and the electronic device 200 that are new models are mounted. A case where a possible battery pack 210 is added will be described.

  The battery pack 110 and the battery pack 210 have different shapes. However, the battery pack 210 has improved performance such as charge / discharge capacity with respect to the battery pack 110 and can be used in the electronic device 100 in terms of characteristics.

  In such a case, in order to make the battery pack 210 usable in the electronic device 100, the battery pack 210 is formed into a shape that can be attached to the electronic device 100. The electronic device 200 can be used.

  Therefore, in order to make the new battery pack usable in the conventional electronic device, the shape of the new battery pack may be determined so as to correspond to the shape of the conventional battery pack.

  As described above, a technique for determining the type of a battery pack based on the shape of the battery pack when the battery pack is attached to an electronic device such as a portable terminal device is described in Patent Document 1 below.

JP 2005-235480 A

  Further, as an electrical solution, there is a method of mounting a charge / discharge control circuit using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like for managing charge / discharge on the battery pack. Specifically, for example, a charge / discharge control circuit is provided in the battery pack, the battery pack acquires battery information such as its own charge / discharge voltage and charge / discharge current, and the acquired battery information is connected to the connected electronic device by communication. Send to device. Then, the electronic device performs charging / discharging with an appropriate charging / discharging voltage or charging / discharging current based on the battery information received from the battery pack.

  However, when the above-mentioned problems are mechanically solved, there is a problem that it is difficult to produce a newly designed battery pack in a shape that can be mounted on a conventional device and a new device. Moreover, since the shape is different for each battery pack, there is a problem that it is difficult to produce a charger corresponding to a plurality of battery packs having different shapes.

  On the other hand, if the battery pack itself makes a determination, this CPU can be used for charge / discharge control as long as the battery pack is equipped with a CPU or the like for performing control such as capacity accumulation inside the battery pack. .

  However, components such as a CPU used for the charge / discharge control circuit mounted on the battery pack are expensive. Therefore, the use of expensive parts only for charge / discharge control has a problem that the cost of the battery pack increases. In particular, in business electronic devices that use the main body for a long time while exchanging consumable parts such as a battery pack, such an increase in cost becomes a significant problem.

  Furthermore, the charger that can charge a plurality of types of battery packs charges the rechargeable battery pack by a predetermined charging method. However, in the conventional charging method, the battery pack is charged by using the same charging method for a battery pack having a higher charging performance, based on the battery pack having a lower charging performance. Therefore, when charging a battery pack having a higher charging performance than a battery pack having a lower charging performance, there is a problem that it takes time to charge.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging / discharging system, a battery pack and a charging / discharging device, and a charging / discharging method that can easily determine the type and perform appropriate charging / discharging.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a first invention is a charge / discharge system including a battery pack and a charge / discharge device for charging / discharging the battery pack, wherein the battery pack is housed in an exterior material. Or a plurality of secondary batteries, a battery pack information code indicating battery information, and a first electrode terminal for connecting the secondary battery to an external device, and a bit having binary information as the battery pack information code One or more patterns are arranged on the exterior material, and the charging / discharging device reads the battery pack information code, acquires battery information, and AC power supplied from the outside during charging based on the battery information And a second electrode for charging / discharging the battery pack connected to the outside, and a controller for converting the DC power supplied from the battery pack to the predetermined DC power when discharging. With terminals A charge-discharge system characterized and.

  The second invention includes one or a plurality of secondary batteries housed in an exterior material, a battery pack information code indicating battery information, and a first electrode terminal for connecting the secondary battery to an external device. The battery pack is characterized in that one or more bit patterns having binary information are arranged on the exterior material as the battery pack information code.

  Further, the third aspect of the invention reads a battery pack information code indicating battery information of a connected battery pack and acquires battery information, and an AC supplied from the outside at the time of charging based on the battery information. A control unit that converts electric power into predetermined DC power and converts DC power supplied from the battery pack into predetermined DC power when discharging, and a second electrode terminal connected to an externally connected battery pack It is characterized by having.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a battery pack information code indicating battery information by arranging one or a plurality of bit patterns having binary information is described on an exterior material containing a secondary battery, and the first electrode terminal A battery pack that is connected to an external device through a secondary battery, and a secondary battery is connected to the external battery pack through a second electrode terminal to charge / discharge the battery pack. When the device is connected with the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal, the charging / discharging device reads the battery pack information code, acquires the battery information, and in the case of charging based on the battery information, AC power supplied from the battery pack is converted into predetermined DC power, and in the case of discharge, control is performed so as to convert DC power supplied from the battery pack into predetermined DC power based on battery information. It is a charge / discharge method

  Further, the fifth invention reads the battery pack information code indicating the battery information of the battery pack connected through the second electrode terminal, acquires the battery information, and in the case of charging based on the battery information, A charging / discharging method characterized by converting AC power supplied from the outside into predetermined DC power and, in the case of discharging, converting DC power supplied from a connected battery pack into predetermined DC power. is there.

  As described above, in the first and fourth inventions, the battery pack information code indicating the battery information is described on the exterior, and the battery pack in which an external device is connected via the first electrode terminal; The external battery pack is connected via the electrode terminal of the battery, and the charge / discharge device that controls the charge / discharge of the battery pack based on the battery information is connected by the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal. Therefore, the charging / discharging device can determine the type of the battery pack based on the battery information.

  In the second invention, one or more bit patterns having binary information are arranged on the exterior as the battery pack information code indicating the battery information, so that the connected external device acquires the battery information. can do.

  In the third and fifth aspects of the invention, an external battery pack is connected via the second electrode terminal via the second electrode terminal, and charging / discharging of the battery pack is controlled based on the battery information. Therefore, the type of the battery pack can be determined based on the battery information.

  In the present invention, since the battery pack information code is added to the battery pack and the battery pack information code is read by the charging / discharging device, the type of the battery pack can be determined and appropriate charging / discharging can be performed. There is an effect.

  A charge / discharge system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the charge / discharge system 1 includes a battery pack 10 and a charge / discharge device 20. The charge / discharge system 1 reads information related to the battery pack such as the charge / discharge voltage and the charge / discharge current described in the exterior material of the battery pack 10 attached to the charge / discharge device 20, and the battery pack 10 is read based on this information. Properly charge or discharge.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the battery pack 10 includes a name plate 11 and electrode terminals 12 as a first example. Although not shown, the battery pack 10 includes one or more secondary batteries connected in series and / or in parallel housed in an exterior material. As the exterior material, for example, a box-shaped casing or a laminate film using aluminum or the like may be used.

  Information on the battery pack 10 such as the manufacturer, serial number, and model name is described on the nameplate 11 and is affixed to the exterior material of the battery pack 10. In addition, a battery pack information code 13 in which information for charging / discharging with an appropriate charging / discharging voltage or charging / discharging current in the charging / discharging device 20 is coded at a predetermined position of the nameplate 11 is described. The battery pack information code 13 includes, for example, battery information indicating the type of battery pack such as the charge / discharge voltage and charge / discharge current of the battery pack 10. The details of the battery pack information code 13 will be described later. As a material of the nameplate 11, for example, a PP (polypropylene) film can be used. The electrode terminal 12 is connected to the electrode terminal of the charge / discharge device when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charge / discharge device 20.

  FIG. 2B shows an example of the shape of the battery pack 10 ′ as the second example. Similar to the battery pack 10, the battery pack 10 ′ includes a name plate 11 ′ and an electrode terminal 12 ′. A marking plate 11 ′ is affixed to the exterior material of the battery pack 10 ′, and a battery pack information code 13 ′ is written at a predetermined position on the marking plate 11 ′.

  Referring back to FIG. 1, the charging / discharging device 20 includes a label code reading unit 21, an AC / DC (Alternating Current / Direct Current) converter 23, and a load 26. Further, the control unit 27 includes a charge / discharge control unit 22, a charging unit 24 and a discharge / load amount limiting unit 25.

  The label code reading unit 21 reads the battery pack information code 13 written on the nameplate 11 of the battery pack 10 attached to the charging / discharging device 20 by a predetermined method. As a reading method of the battery pack information code 13, for example, an electric reading method can be used. The label code reading unit 21 acquires battery information such as a charge / discharge voltage and a charge / discharge current described in the read battery pack information code 13 and supplies the battery information to the charge / discharge control unit 22. Details of the method for reading the battery pack information code 13 by the label code reading unit 21 will be described later.

  The charging / discharging control unit 22 controls the charging unit 24 and the discharge / load amount limiting unit 25 based on the battery information supplied from the label code reading unit 21. The charge / discharge control unit 22 supplies information related to charging in the battery information to the charging unit 24. Further, the charge / discharge control unit 22 supplies information related to discharge in the battery information to the discharge / load amount limiting unit 25.

  The AC / DC converter 23 converts AC power supplied from the outside into DC power and supplies it to the charging unit 24. The charging unit 24 converts the DC power supplied from the AC / DC converter 23 into an appropriate charging voltage and charging current for charging the battery pack 10 based on the charging information supplied from the charging / discharging control unit 22. The battery pack 10 mounted on the charge / discharge device 20 is supplied.

  The discharge / load amount limiting unit 25 limits the discharge voltage and discharge current supplied from the battery pack 10 to appropriate voltages and currents for the load 26 based on the discharge information supplied from the charge / discharge control unit 22. Supply to the load 26. The load 26 consumes the discharge voltage and the discharge current supplied from the discharge / load amount limiting unit 25.

  When the load 26 can change the load amount, the discharge / load amount limiting unit 25 generates a load amount control signal for controlling the load amount of the load 26 and supplies it to the load 26. Good. In this case, the load 26 changes the load amount based on the load amount control signal supplied from the discharge / load amount limiting unit 25 and consumes the discharge voltage and discharge current supplied from the discharge / load amount limiting unit 25.

  Here, when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charging / discharging device 20, the surface on which the nameplate 11 is attached is brought into contact with the charging / discharging device 20 so that the battery pack information code 13 can be reliably read. It is necessary to let Therefore, when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charging / discharging device 20, the surface on which the battery pack information code 13 of the battery pack 10 is described, and the surface on which the label code reading unit 21 of the charging / discharging device 20 is provided. Are preferably in contact with each other.

  Further, the surface on which the battery pack information code 13 of the battery pack 10 is described and the surface connected to the charging / discharging device 20 are the surface on which the label code reading unit 21 of the charging / discharging device 20 is provided, and the battery pack 10. It is more preferable to mount the battery pack 10 so that the surfaces connected to the battery are in close contact with each other. By doing so, the battery pack 10 is securely attached to the charging / discharging device 20, and reading failure of the battery pack information code 13 due to poor contact or the like can be prevented.

  Next, the battery pack information code 13 will be described with reference to the drawings. The battery pack information code 13 is obtained by coding battery information related to the charge / discharge voltage, charge / discharge current, and the like of the battery pack 10 and the battery cells housed in the battery pack 10. As shown in FIG. 2A, the battery pack information code 13 is described in a region provided at a predetermined position on the nameplate 11 of the battery pack 10.

  This region is used to read the electrodes and the like provided in the label code reading unit 21 of the charge / discharge device 20 so that the battery pack information code 13 can be read when the battery pack is attached to the charge / discharge device 20. It is sufficient if the size is such that parts can be arranged. Specifically, for example, a size of about 40 mm × 10 mm is preferable.

  The battery pack information code 13 is, for example, a plurality of bit patterns having binary information “0” and “1” arranged in a predetermined area. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the battery pack information code 13 indicates binary information of “0” and “1” by a bit pattern shown in a white square shape and a black square shape. Details of the battery pack information code 13 will be described later.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along line XX of FIG. 2A. In order to read the battery pack information code 13 by the charging / discharging device 20 as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined region of the nameplate 11 provided on the exterior material of the battery pack 10 An agent 31 is provided, and a conductive material 32 such as aluminum is disposed thereon. This portion of the conductive material 32 corresponds to the value “0” of the bit pattern. Then, an insulating material 33 such as a film or paint is disposed on the conductive material 32 in a portion corresponding to the bit pattern value “1”.

  In the above-described example, the portions of the conductive material 32 and the insulating material 33 correspond to the bit pattern values “0” and “1”, respectively, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the portions of the conductive material 32 and the insulating material 33 may correspond to the bit pattern values “1” and “0”, respectively.

  Next, an exemplary structure of the label code reading unit 21 of the charging / discharging device 20 will be described. FIG. 4A shows the periphery of the label code reading unit 21 in the charge / discharge system 1 before the battery pack 10 is mounted on the charge / discharge device 20. The label code reading unit 21 includes a plurality of electrodes 41, 41,... At positions facing the battery pack information code 13 when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charge / discharge device 20.

  FIG. 4B shows a surface where the label code reading unit 21 contacts the battery pack information code 13. As shown in FIG. 4B, the electrodes 41, 41,... Are arranged so as to correspond to the respective bit patterns of the battery pack information code 13 provided on the nameplate 11 of the battery pack 10. When 10 is mounted on the charging / discharging device 20, the corresponding bit pattern is contacted.

  FIG. 4C shows a cross section of the label code reading unit 21 when cut along the YY line of FIG. 4B. When the battery pack 10 is attached to the charge / discharge device 20, the height is different between the portion where the insulating material 33 is provided and the other portions, and therefore when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charge / discharge device 20. , There will be a step. Therefore, in order to prevent poor contact due to this step, the electrodes 41, 41,... Are pushed into the charging / discharging device 20 when contacting the battery pack 10, as shown in FIG. .

  In this example, when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charging / discharging device 20, in the bit pattern having a value of “0”, the electrode 41 is in contact with the conductive material 32, so that a current flows. On the other hand, in the bit pattern having a value of “1”, the electrode 41 contacts the insulating material 33 and the contact with the conductive material 32 is prevented, so that no current flows.

  As described above, it is possible to determine whether the value of each bit pattern is “0” or “1” by detecting whether or not a current flows through the electrodes 41, 41,.

  Next, a description will be given of an example of a method for describing the battery pack information code 13 with reference to FIG. In this example, as shown in FIG. 5A, one bit pattern has a square shape with a side of about 5 mm, and eight bit patterns arranged in this area are described in two columns. One square bit pattern is treated as 1 bit (bit), and bit 0, bit 1,... In addition, a configuration in which eight bit patterns are arranged horizontally is treated as one byte, and the upper column is the first byte column and the lower column is the second byte column. Therefore, the battery pack information code 13 has 16 bits of information.

  In the following, a case where the value of the square bit pattern displayed in black is “1” and the value of the square bit pattern displayed in white is “0” will be described as an example.

  Each bit pattern is not limited to being displayed independently as shown in FIG. 5A. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, when adjacent bits have the same value, bit patterns may be connected to each other.

  When the battery pack information code 13 written in the battery pack 10 is read by an electrical method, the label code reading unit 21 is provided with electrodes for the bit patterns of the respective battery pack information codes 13, and current flows through the respective electrodes. Whether or not each bit value of the battery pack information code 13 is determined.

  Therefore, when the electrode and the battery pack information code 13 are in contact with each other, a current is generated between the bit pattern indicating one of the values “0” and “1” and the electrode corresponding to the bit pattern. Make it flow. In addition, current is prevented from flowing between the bit pattern indicating the other value and the electrode corresponding to this bit pattern. In this way, the value of each bit can be determined.

  Next, the contents of an example of a code defined by each bit of the battery pack information code 13 will be described. Significant information of 7 bits and parity of 1 bit are assigned to each bit constituting each byte of the first byte sequence and the second byte sequence in the battery pack information code 13. For example, a code relating to values of a voltage coefficient, a current coefficient, a charging voltage, a discharging voltage, a charging current, and a discharging current is assigned to the 7-bit significant information.

  First, the code content of the first byte string of the battery pack information code 13 will be described. A code relating to the value of the voltage coefficient, the charging current, and the charging voltage is assigned to the code of the first byte string.

  Bit 0 is used as a parity bit for detecting an error. In this example, it is odd parity, and the value of bit 0 is set so that the number of bits having a value of “1” among the 8 bits of the first byte sequence is always an odd number. That is, of the 7 bits from bit 1 to bit 7, when the number of bits whose value is “1” is an even number, the value of bit 0 is set to “1”. The value of 0 is set to “0”. By doing this, for example, when the number of bits having a value of “1” out of 8 bits is an even number, it is indicated that there is an error in any of the bits in the first byte sequence. Can be detected.

  Bit 1 and bit 2 are used for a code indicating a voltage coefficient. The voltage coefficient is a coefficient for multiplying the charge voltage and discharge voltage per cell by an integer according to the number of battery cells connected in series among the battery cells used in the battery pack 10.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, a predetermined value is assigned to each of four types of codes in which bit 1 and bit 2 are combined. For example, when the values of bit 1 and bit 2 are “0” and “0”, respectively, the voltage coefficient is “1”.

  Bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 are used for a code indicating a charging current. The charging current is a value of the maximum charging current per cell at the time of charging. A value obtained by multiplying the value of the maximum charging current by a later-described current coefficient becomes a value of the maximum charging current as the battery pack 10.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the maximum charging current is the maximum charging current per cell of the battery cells used in the battery pack 10 with respect to the eight types of codes combining bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5. Assigned. For example, when the values of bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 are “0”, “0” and “0”, respectively, the maximum charging current per cell is “200 mA”. In this example, when the values of bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 are “1”, “1” and “1”, respectively, the maximum charging current is undefined.

  Bit 6 and bit 7 are used for a code indicating a charging voltage. The charging voltage is a value of the maximum charging voltage per cell at the time of charging. A value obtained by multiplying the value of the maximum charging voltage by a voltage coefficient becomes the value of the maximum charging voltage as the battery pack 10.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, the maximum charging voltage is assigned to the four types of codes combining the bit 6 and the bit 7 with the maximum charging voltage per battery cell used in the battery pack 10 being assigned. Yes. For example, when the values of bit 6 and bit 7 are “0” and “0”, respectively, the maximum charging voltage per cell is “4.0 V”.

  Next, the code content of the second byte string of the battery pack information code 13 will be described. A code relating to the values of the current coefficient, the discharge current, and the discharge voltage is assigned to the code of the second byte string.

  Bit 0 is used as a parity bit. In this example, as with bit 0 of the first byte sequence, the parity is odd, and bit 0 is set so that the number of bits having a value of “1” among the 8 bits of the first byte sequence is always odd. The value of is set.

  Bit 1 and bit 2 are used for a code indicating a current coefficient. The current coefficient is a coefficient for multiplying the maximum charge current and the maximum discharge current per cell by an integral number according to the number of battery cells connected in parallel among the battery cells used in the battery pack 10. .

  As shown in FIG. 7A, a predetermined value is assigned to each of the four codes combining bit 1 and bit 2 as the current coefficient. For example, when the values of bit 1 and bit 2 are “0” and “0”, respectively, the current coefficient is “1”.

  Bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 are used for a code indicating a discharge current. The discharge current is the value of the maximum discharge current per cell during discharge. The value obtained by multiplying the value of the maximum discharge current by the current coefficient is the value of the maximum charge current as the battery pack 10.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the maximum discharge current is the maximum discharge current per battery cell used in the battery pack 10 with respect to the eight types of cords combining the bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5. Assigned. For example, when the values of bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 are “0”, “0” and “0”, respectively, the maximum discharge current per cell is “1800 mA”. In this example, the values of bit 3, bit 4, and bit 5 are “1”, “0”, “1”, “1”, “1”, “0”, and “1”, respectively. ”,“ 1 ”, and“ 1 ”, the maximum discharge current is undefined.

  Bit 6 and bit 7 are used for a code indicating a discharge voltage. The discharge voltage is a value of the minimum discharge voltage per cell at the time of discharge. The minimum discharge voltage of the battery pack 10 is obtained by multiplying the value of the minimum discharge voltage by a voltage coefficient.

  As shown in FIG. 7C, the minimum discharge voltage is obtained by assigning the minimum discharge voltage per battery cell used in the battery pack 10 to the four types of codes combining the bits 6 and 7. Yes. For example, when the values of bit 6 and bit 7 are “0” and “0”, respectively, the minimum discharge voltage per cell is “3.0 V”. Note that the minimum discharge voltage is undefined when the values of bit 6 and bit 7 are “1” and “0” and “1” and “1”, respectively.

  For example, when the battery pack information code 13 is written as shown in FIG. 5A, the maximum charging current of the battery pack 10 is the value of bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 of the first byte string indicating the charging current, respectively. Since it is “1”, “1”, and “0”, it becomes “800 mA” from FIG. 6B, and the values of bit 1 and bit 2 of the second byte sequence indicating the current coefficient are “0” and “1”, respectively. Therefore, since it is “3 times” from FIG. 7A, it is “2400 mA”.

  Further, the maximum charging voltage of the battery pack 10 is “4.3V” from FIG. 6C because the values of the bits 6 and 7 of the first byte string indicating the charging voltage are “1” and “1”, respectively. Since the values of bit 1 and bit 2 of the first byte string indicating the voltage coefficient are “0” and “0”, respectively, the value becomes “1 ×” from FIG. 6A, and thus becomes “4.3 V”.

  Further, the maximum discharge current of the battery pack 10 is that the values of bit 3, bit 4 and bit 5 of the second byte string indicating the discharge current are “0”, “1” and “0”, respectively. Since the values of bit 1 and bit 2 of the second byte sequence indicating the current coefficient are “0” and “1”, respectively, “3100” from FIG. 7A, “6300 mA” Become.

  Furthermore, the minimum discharge voltage of the battery pack 10 is “2.5 V” from FIG. 7C because the values of the bits 6 and 7 of the second byte string indicating the discharge voltage are “1” and “0”. Since the values of bit 1 and bit 2 of the first byte string indicating the voltage coefficient are “0” and “0”, respectively, they are “1 times” from FIG.

  As described above, by encoding battery information such as a charge / discharge voltage and a charge / discharge current and describing the information on the battery pack exterior material, the type of the battery pack can be easily determined.

  Next, a modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the modification of the embodiment of the present invention, as a method for reading the battery pack information code 13, an optical method is used instead of an electrical method. In addition, below, about the part which is common in one above-mentioned embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted and only a different part from one Embodiment is demonstrated.

  First, a description will be given of a method of describing the battery pack information code 13 according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. When the battery pack information code 13 written in the battery pack 10 is read by an optical method, the battery pack information code 13 distinguishes bit values by changing the reflectance of light.

  Moreover, although mentioned later for details, the charging / discharging apparatus 20 provides the optical sensor part with respect to the bit pattern of each battery pack information code 13, and with respect to the battery pack information code 13 of the battery pack 10 from each optical sensor part. The irradiated light is reflected, and the value of each bit of the battery pack information code 13 is determined according to the amount of reflected light irradiated to the light receiving portion of the optical sensor.

  Therefore, when light is applied to the battery pack information code 13 from the optical sensor unit, the battery pack information code 13 has a bit pattern whose bit value indicates one of “0” and “1”. In such a case, light having a light amount equal to or greater than a predetermined value is reflected on the optical sensor unit, and in the case of the other value, light having a light amount equal to or less than the predetermined value is reflected on the optical sensor unit. In this way, the value of each bit can be determined.

  For example, as a first example of a battery pack according to a modification of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8A, an adhesive 31 is provided in a predetermined region of the nameplate 11 provided on the exterior material of the battery pack 10. The base material 34 is disposed thereon as a reflecting portion that reflects light. The portion of the base material 34 corresponds to the bit value “0”. Then, in a portion corresponding to the bit value “1”, a print 35 is provided on the base material 34 as a non-reflective portion having a light reflectance lower than that of the base material 34, for example. In this way, different bit values “0” and “1” can be expressed.

  Further, as a second example of the battery pack according to the modified example of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8B, as shown in FIG. Reduce the diffusivity of reflected light. This embossed portion 36 corresponds to the bit value “1”. The portion without the texture 36 corresponds to the bit value “0”. By doing this, the light irradiated to the portion of the embossed part 36 is diffusely reflected, and the amount of light irradiated to the light receiving part of the optical sensor unit can be reduced compared to the part without the embossed part 36. The values “0” and “1” can be represented.

  In the above-described example, the base material 34 and the print 35 are described as corresponding to the bit values “0” and “1”, respectively, but this is not limited to this example. For example, portions of the base material 34 and the print 35 may correspond to bit values “1” and “0”, respectively.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when reading by an electrical method, for example, by using a material having a lightness different from that of the conductive material 32 as the insulating material 33, the present invention can also be applied when reading by an optical method. .

  Next, an exemplary structure of the label code reading unit 21 ′ of the charge / discharge device 20 will be described. FIG. 9A shows the periphery of the label code reading unit 21 ′ in the charge / discharge system 1 before the battery pack 10 is attached to the charge / discharge device 20. The label code reading unit 21 ′ includes a plurality of optical sensor units 51, 51,... At positions facing the battery pack information code 13 when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charging / discharging device 20.

  FIG. 9B shows a surface where the label code reading unit 21 ′ contacts the battery pack information code 13. The optical sensor units 51, 51,... Are arranged so as to correspond to the respective bit patterns of the battery pack information code 13 provided on the nameplate 11 of the battery pack 10, as shown in FIG. 9B.

  FIG. 9C shows a cross section of the label code reading unit 21 ′ taken along the line ZZ in FIG. 9B. The optical sensor units 51, 51,... Include, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 52 and a photodiode 53 as a light receiving unit, as shown in FIG. 9C. When the battery pack 10 is mounted on the charging / discharging device 20, the corresponding bit pattern is irradiated with light from the LED 52, and the reflected light is irradiated onto the photodiode 53.

  Specifically, for example, the current flowing through the optical sensor unit 51 is converted into light by the LED 52, and the light emitted from the LED 52 is applied to the battery pack information code 13. Then, the reflected light reflected by the battery pack information code 13 is received by the photodiode 53, and the light is converted into a current.

  In this example, when the battery pack 10 is attached to the charging / discharging device 20, in the bit pattern having a value of “0”, when light from the LED 52 of the optical sensor unit 51 is irradiated onto the base material 34, the reflection unit Since the reflectance of the base material 34 is high, the light is regularly reflected to the photodiode 53 of the optical sensor unit 51. At this time, the light applied to the photodiode 53 is converted into a current.

  On the other hand, in the bit pattern having a value of “1”, when the light from the LED 52 of the optical sensor unit 51 is irradiated to the print 35 that is a non-reflective portion, the reflectance of the print 35 is low. The light applied to the photodiode 53 is reduced, and the amount of current to be converted is reduced compared to the case of regular reflection.

  As described above, it is possible to determine that the value of each bit is “0” or “1” based on the amount of current flowing through the photodiode 53 of the optical sensor unit 51, 51,.

  When the battery pack 10 is mounted on the charging / discharging device 20, it is preferable that the optical sensor units 51, 51,... And the nameplate 11 on which the battery pack information code 13 is written are in close contact with each other. If there is a gap between the optical sensor units 51, 51,... And the marking plate 11 on which the battery pack information code 13 is written, the light from the outside is reflected by the optical sensor units 51, 51,. This is because there is a risk of erroneous detection.

  In the above-described embodiment and the modification of the embodiment, the battery pack information code is added to the battery pack, and the battery pack information code is read by the charging / discharging device. Judgment and proper charge / discharge can be performed.

  In addition, the charging / discharging device reads the battery pack information code added to the battery pack, determines the type of the battery pack, and performs appropriate charging / discharging. Therefore, since the charging / discharging device does not need to determine the type of the battery pack according to the shape of the battery pack, the battery packs to which the same battery pack information code rule is applied can be unified in shape.

  Furthermore, since the type of the battery pack attached to the charging / discharging device is determined by the charging / discharging device, it is not necessary to mount a circuit for performing charge / discharge management on the battery pack, thereby reducing the cost of the battery pack. Can be reduced.

  Furthermore, by unifying the shape of the battery pack so that the electronic device can determine the type of the battery pack based on the battery pack information code, the newly created battery pack can be used in the conventional electronic device. It becomes. Therefore, it is not necessary to manufacture a battery pack that can be used only for conventional electronic devices, and it is possible to easily manage battery pack maintenance parts and the like.

  In addition, in a charger that can charge a plurality of types of battery packs, it is possible to determine the appropriate charging voltage and charging current of each battery pack using the above-described battery pack information code. Appropriate charging can be performed for each battery pack having a low battery pack or a battery pack having a higher charging performance.

  The embodiment of the present invention and the modification of the embodiment have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment of the present invention and the modification of the embodiment. Various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the code assigned to each bit is not limited to this example. If the same rule is used as the battery pack information code 13 in a battery pack mounted on a predetermined charging / discharging device 20, each bit is assigned. You may freely set the code assigned to.

  Further, for example, a battery pack information code using a new rule may be used for battery packs having different shapes.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment and the modification of the embodiment, the description has been given using the charging / discharging device 20 capable of charging / discharging. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only one of charging and discharging is possible. It can be applied to various devices.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an example of the charging / discharging system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a basic diagram which shows the shape of an example of the battery pack by one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing at the time of seeing the battery pack by one Embodiment of this invention from the side surface direction. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of an example of the label code reading part 21 applicable to one Embodiment of this invention. It is a basic diagram shown about description of a battery pack information code. It is a basic diagram which shows the code content of the 1st byte sequence in a battery pack information code. It is a basic diagram which shows the code content of the 2nd byte sequence in a battery pack information code. It is sectional drawing at the time of seeing the battery pack by the modification of one Embodiment of this invention from the side surface direction. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of an example of the label code reading part applicable to the modification of one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the shape of an example of the conventional electronic device and a battery pack.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charging / discharging system 10 Battery pack 11 Name plate 13 Battery pack information code 20 Charging / discharging device 21 Label code reading unit 22 Charging / discharging control unit 23 AC / DC converter 24 Charging unit 25 Discharge / load amount limiting unit 26 Load 27 Control unit 32 Conductive material 33 Insulating material 34 Base material 35 Printing 36 Wrinkle 41 Electrode 51 Optical sensor 52 LED
53 Photodiode

Claims (11)

A charge / discharge system comprising a battery pack and a charge / discharge device for charging / discharging the battery pack,
The battery pack
One or more secondary batteries housed in an exterior material;
A battery pack information code indicating battery information;
A first electrode terminal for connecting the secondary battery to an external device;
As the battery pack information code, one or more bit patterns having binary information are arranged on the exterior material,
The charging / discharging device
A reading unit that reads the battery pack information code and obtains the battery information;
Based on the battery information, control is performed to convert AC power supplied from the outside into predetermined DC power during charging and to convert DC power supplied from the battery pack into predetermined DC power during discharging. And
A charge / discharge system comprising: a second electrode terminal connected to the battery pack. The charge / discharge system according to claim 1,
The reading unit is
Having electrodes respectively corresponding to the one or more bit patterns;
A charge / discharge system, wherein the value of the bit pattern is determined based on whether or not a current flows through the electrode. The charge / discharge system according to claim 2,
The battery pack information code is
A charge / discharge system, wherein a conductive material is provided on the exterior material according to the value of the bit pattern. The charge / discharge system according to claim 1,
The reading unit is
An optical sensor corresponding to each of the one or more bit patterns,
The charging / discharging system, wherein the reflected light of the light emitted from the optical sensor to the bit pattern determines the value of the bit pattern according to the amount of light incident on the optical sensor. The charge / discharge system according to claim 4,
The battery pack information code is
A charging / discharging system, wherein a reflecting portion is provided on the exterior material according to the value of the bit pattern. The charge / discharge system according to claim 4,
The battery pack information code is
The charging / discharging system according to the present invention, wherein the exterior material is textured according to the value of the bit pattern. The charge / discharge system according to claim 1,
In the above battery pack information code,
The charging / discharging system characterized by including the information which shows charging current, charging voltage, discharge current, and discharge voltage. One or more secondary batteries housed in an exterior material;
A battery pack information code indicating battery information;
A first electrode terminal for connecting the secondary battery to an external device;
One or more bit patterns having binary information as the battery pack information code are arranged on the exterior material. Read a battery pack information code indicating the battery information of the connected battery pack, and obtain the battery information,
Based on the battery information, control is performed to convert AC power supplied from the outside into predetermined DC power during charging and to convert DC power supplied from the battery pack into predetermined DC power during discharging. And
A charge / discharge device comprising: a second electrode terminal connected to the battery pack connected to the outside. A battery pack information code indicating battery information by arranging one or a plurality of bit patterns having binary information is described on the exterior material in which the secondary battery is housed,
An external device is connected via the first electrode terminal, and the battery pack is configured to charge and discharge the secondary battery;
When an external battery pack is connected via the second electrode terminal and the charge / discharge device for charging / discharging the battery pack is connected by the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal,
The charging / discharging device
Read the battery pack information code, get the battery information,
Based on the battery information, in the case of charging, AC power supplied from the outside is converted into predetermined DC power. In the case of discharging, the DC power supplied from the battery pack is converted to predetermined power based on the battery information. The charging / discharging method characterized by being controlled so that it may convert into the direct-current power of. Read the battery pack information code indicating the battery information of the battery pack connected via the second electrode terminal, obtain the battery information,
Based on the battery information, in the case of charging, AC power supplied from the outside is converted into predetermined DC power. In the case of discharging, the DC power supplied from the connected battery pack is converted to predetermined DC power. A charge / discharge method characterized by converting into electric power.

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