JP2009194955A - Connection notification method for ac adapter, and portable information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection notification method for an AC adapter, which can bring a battery into a fully-charged state at a scheduled time when a user is scheduled to use a portable information processor with a battery, and which can shorten the time for connecting the portable information processor to the AC adaptor as much as possible, and provide a portable information processor. <P>SOLUTION: When a user sets a desired charge completion time for bringing a secondary battery into a fully-charged state (step S2), a battery capacity of the secondary battery is obtained at a prescribed time interval (step S3), a required charge time for bringing the secondary battery into a fully-charged state is calculated based on the obtained battery capacity (step S4), a charge starting time for starting charge of the secondary battery is calculated based on the fully-charged time and the required charge time (step S5), and indication requesting for connection of the portable information processor to the AC adaptor is displayed on the display of the portable information processor (step S8). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an AC adapter that urges a secondary battery used in a portable information processing apparatus such as a notebook computer or a PDA (personal digital assistant) used mainly in an office to be connected to the AC adapter for charging. The present invention relates to a connection notification method and a portable information processing apparatus.

  Since portable information processing devices, particularly notebook computers, were originally developed mainly for portable use, they are equipped with a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery (hereinafter also simply referred to as “battery”), and AC is used as a commercial power source in the office. The battery is connected while being connected via an adapter and used while being charged, and the charged battery is used as a power source when away from home.

  In order to extend the usage time when using a laptop computer on the go (hereinafter also referred to as “portable use”), the battery is charged at the maximum capacity (hereinafter also referred to as “full charge capacity”). In general, the charging is controlled as described above.

  In offices, it is also common to hold a notebook computer in a conference room to hold a conference. Many conference rooms do not have a power outlet for using a notebook computer with an AC adapter in a conference desk, so it is necessary to drive the notebook computer with an internal battery. For this reason, it is necessary to complete the charging of the battery before the meeting starts so that the battery is not consumed during the meeting and the notebook computer cannot be used.

  As a method for automatically recharging a battery, for example, those shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed.

  Further, as a method for prompting recharge of the battery in advance, for example, a method as shown in Patent Document 3 has been proposed.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured to automatically start charging in a portable terminal or portable device so that the battery is fully charged at a set arbitrary time.

  In this case, it is necessary to connect a mobile terminal or a mobile device to the charging device in advance.

In addition, what is disclosed in Patent Document 3 is configured to calculate whether a battery needs to be recharged within a predetermined time from the current time based on past battery consumption in a mobile phone, and to prompt the user to charge the battery. It is a thing.
Japanese Patent Publication No.11-355970 JP 2000-253596 A JP 2006-33409 A

  However, the methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have the following problems.

  That is, as described above, since the portable information processing apparatus cannot be used in a state where the portable information processing apparatus is connected to the AC adapter (charging device) at the place of going out or a conference desk, charging cannot be automatically started.

  In addition, in the method shown in Patent Document 3, although it is possible to know the necessity of charging, it is not possible to know exactly how long it should be charged, so the portable information processing device was inserted into the wall outlet early. It is necessary to charge with an AC adapter, and the portable information processing apparatus cannot be used in a conference room or on the go while charging. In addition, if the start of charging is delayed, there is no time to fully charge the battery, and the battery runs out during the place or at a meeting, and the personal computer cannot be used.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and when a user plans to use the portable information processing apparatus with a battery, the battery can be fully charged at the scheduled time. An object of the present invention is to provide an AC adapter connection notification method and a portable information processing apparatus that can shorten the time for connecting the portable information processing apparatus to the AC adapter as much as possible.

  In order to achieve the above object, an AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention is an AC adapter connection notification method in a portable information processing apparatus equipped with a secondary battery that can be charged by the AC adapter. Setting a desired charging completion time for charging to a predetermined charge amount, obtaining a battery capacity of the secondary battery at predetermined time intervals, and charging the secondary battery to a predetermined charge amount based on the obtained battery capacity The step of calculating the required charging time, the step of calculating the charging start time for starting the charging of the secondary battery based on the desired charging completion time and the required charging time, and the charging start time or a predetermined time before Including a step of requesting a person to connect an AC adapter. By this method, when the user is planning to use the portable information processing apparatus with a battery, the secondary battery can be fully charged at the scheduled time, and the portable information processing apparatus can be connected to the AC adapter. The time to connect to can be made as short as possible.

  In the AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention, the predetermined time interval may be set based on the acquired battery capacity, and the predetermined time interval may be set smaller as the acquired battery capacity is smaller. This method makes it possible to calculate the charging start time more accurately and reduce the processing load on the portable information processing apparatus.

  In the AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention, the predetermined time interval may be set based on the remaining time until the charging start time, and the predetermined time interval may be set smaller as the remaining time is smaller. This method makes it possible to calculate the charging start time more accurately and reduce the processing load on the portable information processing apparatus.

  In the connection notification method for an AC adapter according to the present invention, the required charging time may be calculated based on an average power consumption for a predetermined time immediately before calculating the required charging time. This method makes it possible to calculate the charging start time more accurately.

  The AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention includes a step of detecting that the AC adapter is not connected to the portable information processing apparatus at any time after the charging start time has elapsed, and the AC adapter is connected at the time. If it is detected that the charging is not completed, the method may further include a step of calculating a charging completion time based on the required charging time and a step of notifying the user of the charging completion time. By this method, the user can be notified of the time when the full charge capacity is reached when charging is started after elapse of the charging start time, and thus the degree of freedom of judgment such as going out is increased.

  The AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention includes a step of detecting that the AC adapter is not connected to the portable information processing apparatus at any time after the charging start time has elapsed, and the AC adapter is connected at the time. When it is detected that the charging is not performed, the method may further include a step of calculating a charging rate of the secondary battery at a desired charging completion time and a step of notifying the user of the charging rate. With this method, even when charging is started after elapse of the charging start time, the user can be notified of the charging rate at the initially set time, so that the degree of freedom of determination such as going out is increased.

  The AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention includes a step of detecting that the AC adapter is connected to the portable information processing apparatus at any time after the charging start time has elapsed, and the AC adapter is connected at the time. If this is detected, the method may further include a step of calculating a charging completion time based on the required charging time and a step of notifying the user of the charging completion time. By this method, the user can know the exact charging completion time, so that it is possible to make a determination such as going out more accurately.

  The AC adapter connection notification method of the present invention includes a step of detecting that the AC adapter is connected to the portable information processing apparatus at any time after the charging start time has elapsed, and the AC adapter is connected at the time. If this is detected, the method may further include a step of calculating a charging rate of the secondary battery at a desired charging completion time and a step of notifying the user of the charging rate. By this method, the user can know the accurate charging rate of the secondary battery at the scheduled time of going out, and therefore, it is possible to make a determination of going out more accurately.

  The portable information processing apparatus of the present invention is a portable information processing apparatus equipped with a secondary battery that can be charged by an AC adapter, and sets a desired charge completion time for charging the secondary battery to a predetermined charge amount. Setting means, battery capacity acquisition means for acquiring the battery capacity of the secondary battery at predetermined time intervals, and calculating and setting the required charging time for charging the secondary battery to a predetermined charge amount based on the acquired battery capacity Charging start time calculating means for calculating the charging start time of the secondary battery from the desired charging completion time, and AC adapter connection notifying means for requesting the user to connect the AC adapter at or before the charging start time. It is provided with.

  In the portable information processing apparatus of the present invention, the connection notification means of the AC adapter may include means for notifying by display on the display of the portable information processing apparatus, sound, or light emission of the light emitting means. With this configuration, even when the user does not see or notice the display on the display, the time when the AC adapter should be connected can be known from the sound notification or the light emission state of the LED or the like.

  The portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a power supply detection unit that detects power supply from the AC adapter, and an arbitrary time after the start of charging, and the power supply detection unit does not detect power supply from the AC adapter. Further, it may further comprise a charging completion time calculating means for calculating the charging completion time when the AC adapter is connected at the time based on the required charging time, and a notification means for notifying the user of the charging completion time.

  The portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a power supply detection unit that detects power supply from the AC adapter, and an arbitrary time after the start of charging, and the power supply detection unit does not detect power supply from the AC adapter. The charging rate calculating means for calculating the charging rate of the secondary battery at the desired charging completion time and the notifying means for notifying the user of the charging rate may be further provided.

  The portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a power supply detection unit that detects power supply from the AC adapter, and any time after the start of charging, and when the power supply detection unit detects power supply from the AC adapter. The charging completion time calculating means for calculating the charging completion time based on the required charging time and the notifying means for notifying the user of the charging completion time may be further provided.

  The portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a power supply detection unit that detects power supply from the AC adapter, and any time after the start of charging, and when the power supply detection unit detects power supply from the AC adapter. The charging rate calculating means for calculating the charging rate of the secondary battery at the desired charging completion time and the notifying means for notifying the user of the charging rate may be further provided.

  According to the present invention, when a user plans to use the portable information processing apparatus with a battery, the battery can be fully charged at the scheduled time, and the portable information processing apparatus can be connected to the AC adapter. It is possible to provide an AC adapter connection notification method and a portable information processing apparatus that can shorten the time required for connection to a personal computer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  For convenience of explanation, a numerical value is increased for explanation, but the present invention is not limited to this numerical value.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of portable information processing apparatus 1 in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The portable information processing apparatus 1 includes a battery 2, a portable information processing apparatus main body 3, power supply terminals 4 a and 4 b that receive power supply from an external power source (not shown) such as an AC adapter, and a microcomputer (hereinafter “microcomputer”). 5) and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 7.

  The battery 2 includes a measurement / calculation unit 2a that measures the charging current and discharging current of the battery 2 and calculates the remaining capacity of the battery 2, and information in the battery such as the remaining capacity, the battery voltage, and the battery 2 A communication unit 2b capable of communicating information such as an ID with the outside is provided. A charge control unit 41 and a power supply detection unit 42 are connected to the power supply terminals 4a and 4b.

  The microcomputer 5 includes a battery capacity acquisition unit 52, an acquisition interval table 52a describing a time interval for acquiring the battery capacity, a charging start time calculation unit 53, a power consumption storage table 53a, and an AC adapter connection notification unit 54. Built-in. Further, the CPU 7 incorporates a charging completion desired time setting unit 51. However, although the processing units inside the microcomputer 5 and the CPU 7 are expressed as separate components for convenience, they are actually executed by software, and there is no separate processing unit corresponding to each processing. .

  Further, a mouse / keyboard 61, a RAM 62, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 63, and a display 65 such as a liquid crystal display element are connected to the CPU 7 as peripheral devices. The microcomputer 5 is connected to a power control unit 64 and a light emitting unit 67 such as an LED.

  The charging control unit 41 supplies a part of the power supplied from the external power source to the inside of the portable information processing device main body 3 (peripheral devices such as the CPU 7 and the display 65) based on an instruction from the microcomputer 5. And charge control of the battery 2 is carried out with various patterns. The various patterns refer to how much charge capacity the battery 2 is charged, whether to charge slowly or rapidly.

  Normally, when the portable information processing apparatus 1 is used in a state where power can be supplied to the office, an AC adapter (not shown) is connected to the power supply terminals 4a and 4b, and the battery 2 is used while being charged. In this case, the charging control unit 41 charges the battery 2 to the maximum capacity of the battery 2 according to the user's selection, or reduces the maximum capacity of the battery 2 to several tens of percent to extend the life of the battery 2. Charge control is performed as follows.

  Note that the charging control unit 41 also has a function of supplying the power of the battery 2 to the inside of the portable information processing device main body 3 when an external power source is not connected to the power supply terminals 4a and 4b.

  In addition, when the portable information processing device 1 is portable, the battery 2 is charged in advance to the full charge capacity.

  Next, the basic operation of the portable information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 5 and FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of display on the display 65 of the portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an acquisition interval of battery capacity acquisition of the portable information processing device 1 in the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the AC adapter connection notification unit 54 of the portable information processing device 1 in the present embodiment. . The basic operation starts when a user who intends to go out starts using the portable information processing apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 2, first, in step S1, the user clicks a charge reservation button (not shown) stored in the task bar on the display 65 with the mouse 61, and a dialog (frame display) 65a as shown in FIG. Is displayed. Next, in step S2, the user inputs his / her scheduled going-out time by operating the mouse / keyboard 61 (dialog 65b in FIG. 3), and charging is completed by operating the OK button (same dialog 65c). The desired time is set. The above operation is performed by the charging completion desired time setting unit 51 in the CPU 7 using the mouse / keyboard 61 as a setting input. These operations are in the form of a program of the CPU 7 in which the CPU 7, the RAM 62, the HDD 63, and the like cooperate. Executed.

  The processing steps of the next step S3 to step S8 are steps in which the program of the microcomputer 5 is automatically processed.

  In step S <b> 3, the battery capacity acquisition unit 52 acquires the battery capacity of the battery 2 via the communication unit 2 b of the battery 2. In step S4, the charging start time calculation unit 53 calculates the time to start charging the battery 2 based on the battery capacity of the battery 2 acquired in step S3 and the desired charging completion time set in step S2. (Details will be described later). In step S5, it is checked whether the current time has reached the charging start time calculated in step S4. If YES in step S5, the process proceeds to step S8. If NO, the process returns to step S3 through steps S6 and S7, and the loop operation in steps S3 to S7 is repeatedly executed until YES in step S5. The

  Here, in step S6, the battery capacity acquisition unit 52 collates the acquisition interval table 52a. This acquisition interval table 52a is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the acquired battery capacity and the acquisition time interval for acquiring the battery capacity next, and the acquisition time interval is a value proportional to the battery capacity. That is, the acquisition time interval is set smaller as the battery capacity (remaining capacity) of the battery 2 is smaller. As a result of collating this table, the next acquisition time interval is determined. After the acquisition time interval elapses in the next step S7, the battery capacity acquisition described in step S3 is executed. The acquisition time interval for acquiring the battery capacity may be determined based on the remaining time until the charging start time. By doing so, it is possible to calculate the charging start time more accurately.

  In the course of executing the loop of step S3 to step S7, if the result of step S5 is YES, the AC adapter connection notification unit 54 issues a command to the CPU 7 in step S8 and is shown in the dialog 65d in FIG. Such a dialog is displayed on the display 65. If the user sees this display, moves the portable information processing apparatus 1 to the place of the power outlet, and charges the battery 2 with the AC adapter, the battery 2 is fully charged at the initially set time. It becomes possible to charge.

  Note that the display in step S8 is determined in step S5 based on the time calculated in step S4. However, the time determination in step S5 has a margin in the time calculated in step S4, for example, 5 It does not matter even if it is minutes ago. Further, in addition to the display on the display 65 in step S8, a notification sound or a sound may be generated by a sound generation unit such as a speaker owned by the portable information processing device 1. Further, when the portable information processing device 1 is in the shut-off state, the light emitting unit 67 such as an LED held by the portable information processing device 1 may emit light to notify the user. In other words, when the portable information processing device 1 is in the shut-off state, the power supply to the CPU 7 is stopped, but the power supply to the microcomputer 5 and the light emitting unit 67 is continued, so that the notification using the light emitting unit 67 as described above is also possible. It becomes.

  Next, the detailed operation of step S4 described in FIG. 2 will be described using FIG. 6 with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. This operation is performed by the charging start time calculation unit 53 (FIG. 1). FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the method for calculating the charging start time of portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, based on the battery capacity acquired in step S4a, a charging time for full charge is determined from this battery capacity. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example (characteristic A) of a tendency of a lapse of time and a decrease in battery capacity when the portable information processing apparatus 1 is driven by the built-in battery 2. In this drawing, for example, the time required for the battery 2 to be fully charged when the battery capacity is 80% is (characteristic B1 indicated by the dotted line) t1, and the battery 2 when the battery capacity is 40% is set to the full charge capacity. The time is (Same B2) t2.

  Characteristic C in FIG. 8A shows the charging time until the battery capacity and the full charge capacity. This drawing shows a standard charging time when the portable information processing device 1 is driven with standard power consumption, and the battery capacity and the charging time are in an inversely proportional relationship. However, the power consumption of the portable information processing apparatus 1 varies depending on the brightness of the backlight 66 (FIG. 1) set by the user and an application such as a word processor used in the portable information processing apparatus 1. This power consumption affects the charging time. Therefore, the charging start time calculation unit 53 collates the power consumption storage table 53a in step S4b.

  In the power consumption storage table 53a, the most recent average power consumption (for example, a moving average value per hour) of the portable information processing apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. 8B and the correction rate of the charging time based thereon are described. Has been. The characteristic D in FIG. 8B shows the relationship between the power consumption (%) and the charging time correction rate. For example, if the latest average power consumption is 40% of the maximum value, the correction rate is indicated by d1. 0.9 is obtained. Therefore, if the battery capacity is 40%, a standard charging time of 70 minutes can be obtained by multiplying the correction factor of 0.9 by 63 minutes.

  Next, in step S4c, the charging start time 15:57 is obtained from the time (63 minutes) obtained in step S4b and the desired charging completion time (17:00) set in step S2. The operations in steps S4a to S4c are repeated as described with reference to FIG.

  In this way, the charging start time is corrected according to the actual usage of the portable information processing device 1, so that the user arrives at the predetermined charging start time and sees the display in step S8 in FIG. Even if the portable information processing device 1 is subsequently used while charging the information processing device 1, the battery 2 can be fully charged at the initially set time.

(Embodiment 2)
The present embodiment is an embodiment of the invention related to the first embodiment.

  This relates to the operation after step S8 described in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, and the electrical configuration of the present embodiment is the same as FIG. The operation will be described below with reference to FIG. 9 with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display on display 65 of portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. .

  In FIG. 9, after notifying the user to connect the AC adapter in step S <b> 8, the microcomputer 5 checks the signal of the power supply detection unit 42 in step S <b> 9. If feeding is detected here, the charging controller 41 is instructed to start charging the battery 2 (step S16). However, if the user is not aware of the display in step S8 or if he / she is aware, the operations in steps S10 to S15 are performed.

  That is, in step S10, the battery capacity is acquired, and in step S11, the charging completion time when charging is started at the present time is calculated based on the acquired battery capacity. The charging completion time is obtained by obtaining the charging time by the method described with reference to FIG. 6 and adding the obtained charging time to the current time.

  Next, in step S12, based on the acquired battery capacity, the charge rate (ratio of charge capacity to full charge capacity) at the charge completion desired time (17:00) initially set when charging is started at the present time is calculated. calculate. This charging rate can be calculated using a proportional expression from the time difference between the current time and the set desired charging completion time and the necessary charging time in FIG.

  Next, in step S13, the results calculated in steps S11 and S12 are displayed on the display 65 as shown in the display example of FIG. In the dialog 65e in FIG. 10, the time to reach full charge (charge completion time) 65f (17:12), the charge rate 65g (90%) of the battery 2 at the initially set desired charge completion time (17:00), Is displayed. The operations of Step S10 to Step S13 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, one minute intervals) (Step S15) unless the above-described feeding detection is obtained in Step S14, and the display in FIG. Updated with new data.

  When power feeding is detected in step S14, charging of the battery 2 is started in step S16, and the display in FIG.

  In this way, by notifying the user of the charging rate at the time when the charging is started after elapse of the charging start time for charging the battery 2 to the full charging capacity, or at the time set at the beginning, The user has a higher degree of freedom in determining whether to postpone the time to go out or to go out by recognizing the degree of charge of the battery 2.

  In the above description, when the power supply detection unit 42 does not detect power supply in step S9, the charging completion time when the AC adapter is connected at the time and the charging rate at the desired charging completion time are displayed. The above display may be triggered by the fact that the power supply detection unit 42 has detected power supply. As a result, the user can know the exact charging completion time and the charging rate, so that it is possible to make a determination such as going out more accurately.

  When the AC adapter is connected after the charging start time has passed, charging may be performed in a high-speed charging mode in which charging is performed faster than in the normal charging mode. Thereby, since the time until it becomes fully charged can be shortened, the waiting time of the user can be reduced.

(Embodiment 3)
In the present embodiment, when a desired charge completion time for causing the battery 2 to be fully charged is not set, when a specific key such as the keyboard 61 of the portable information processing device 1 is pressed, the charging rate of the battery 2 at that time, The time until the charging is completed, the charging completion time, etc. are displayed on the display 65 or the like.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, first, in step S17, it is detected whether or not a specific key such as the keyboard 61 is pressed. When the specific key is pressed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S18 to acquire the remaining capacity of the battery 2 at the time. Thereafter, the charging rate is calculated from the remaining battery capacity acquired in step S19, the required charging time until full charge is calculated in step S20, and the charging completion time is calculated from the required charging time in step S21. In step S22, these calculation results are displayed on the display 65. On the other hand, when it is not detected in step S17 that the specific key is pressed (No), the process waits until the specific key is pressed. Also in FIG. 11, the processing of step S <b> 17 and step S <b> 22 is executed by the program of the CPU 7, and the other processing steps are executed by the program of the microcomputer 5.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example on the display 65 of the portable information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. In FIG. 12, the dialog 65h of the display 65 displays a charging rate 65i (60%), a required charging time 65j (4hr) until full charging, and a charging completion time (20:00).

  As described above, the user of the portable information processing apparatus 1 can know the charging rate, the required charging time, and the charging completion time of the battery 2 by pressing a specific key such as the keyboard 61 at an arbitrary time. The convenience of portable use of the device 1 is greatly improved.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a warning is displayed on the display screen and the user is requested to connect the AC adapter when the power of the portable information processing apparatus 1 is turned on has been described. The present invention is also applicable when the power of the device 1 is off. In this case, the LED or the like attached to the main body of the portable information processing device 1 is turned on and notified, or the blinking and notification of the approximate time until the battery is fully charged depending on the blinking interval, the number of lighting of a plurality of LEDs, etc. It may be.

  The present invention is not limited to notebook computers and PDAs, and can be widely applied to all portable information processing devices that require charging by connecting an AC adapter.

The figure which shows the electrical structure of the portable information processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Flow chart for explaining the operation of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the example of the display on the display of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the acquisition interval of battery capacity acquisition of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the example of a display of the AC adapter connection notification part of the portable information processing apparatus Flowchart for explaining the procedure of the method for calculating the charging start time of the portable information processing apparatus The figure for demonstrating the detail of the calculation method of the charge start time of the portable information processing apparatus It is a figure for demonstrating the detail of the calculation method of the charge start time of the portable information processing apparatus, (a) shows a standard charging time when the portable information processing apparatus is driven with standard power consumption. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating the most recent average power consumption of the portable information processing apparatus and the charging time correction rate based on the average power consumption. The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the portable information processing apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the display on the display of the portable information processing apparatus The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the portable information processing apparatus in Embodiment 3 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the display on the display of the portable information processing apparatus

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile information processing device 2 Secondary battery (battery)
3 Mobile information processing device main body 4a, 4b Power supply terminal 41 Charge control unit 42 Power supply detection unit 5 Microcomputer
51 charging completion desired time setting unit 52 battery capacity acquisition unit 52a acquisition interval table 53 charging start time calculation unit 53a power consumption storage table 54 AC adapter connection notification unit 61 mouse / keyboard 62 RAM
63 HDD
64 Power Control Unit 65 Display 66 Backlight 67 LED (Light Emitting Unit)
7 CPU

Claims (14)

A method for notifying connection of an AC adapter in a portable information processing apparatus equipped with a secondary battery that can be charged by an AC adapter,
Setting a charge completion desired time for charging the secondary battery to a predetermined charge amount;
Obtaining a battery capacity of the secondary battery at predetermined time intervals;
Calculating a required charging time for charging the secondary battery to the predetermined charge amount based on the acquired battery capacity;
Calculating a charging start time for starting charging of the secondary battery based on the desired charging completion time and the required charging time;
An AC adapter connection notification method including a step of requesting a user to connect the AC adapter at the charging start time or a predetermined time before the charging start time. The AC adapter connection notification method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time interval is set based on the acquired battery capacity, and the predetermined time interval is set to be smaller as the acquired battery capacity is smaller. 2. The AC adapter connection notification method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time interval is set based on a remaining time until the charging start time, and the predetermined time interval is set to be smaller as the remaining time is smaller. The AC adapter connection notification method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the required charging time is calculated based on an average power consumption for a predetermined time immediately before the time when the required charging time is calculated. At any time after the charging start time has passed,
Detecting that the AC adapter is not connected to the portable information processing apparatus;
If it is detected that the AC adapter is not connected at the time, a step of calculating a charge completion time based on the charge required time;
The AC adapter connection notification method according to claim 1, further comprising: notifying a user of the charging completion time. At any time after the charging start time has passed,
Detecting that the AC adapter is not connected to the portable information processing apparatus;
If it is detected that the AC adapter is not connected at the time, calculating a charging rate of the secondary battery at the charging completion desired time;
The AC adapter connection notification method according to claim 1, further comprising: notifying a user of the charging rate. At any time after the charging start time has passed,
Detecting that the AC adapter is connected to the portable information processing apparatus;
When detecting that the AC adapter is connected at the time, calculating a charge completion time based on the charge required time;
The AC adapter connection notification method according to claim 1, further comprising: notifying a user of the charging completion time. At any time after the charging start time has passed,
Detecting that the AC adapter is connected to the portable information processing apparatus;
When detecting that the AC adapter is connected at the time, calculating a charging rate of the secondary battery at the desired charging completion time;
The AC adapter connection notification method according to claim 1, further comprising: notifying a user of the charging rate. A portable information processing device equipped with a secondary battery that can be charged by an AC adapter,
Charging completion desired time setting means for setting a charging completion desired time for charging the secondary battery to a predetermined charge amount;
Battery capacity acquisition means for acquiring the battery capacity of the secondary battery at predetermined time intervals;
A charge start time for calculating a charge required time for charging the secondary battery to the predetermined charge amount based on the acquired battery capacity, and calculating a charge start time of the secondary battery from the set desired charge completion time A calculation means;
A portable information processing apparatus comprising: an AC adapter connection notifying unit that requests a user to connect the AC adapter at or before the charging start time or a predetermined time. 10. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the AC adapter connection notifying means includes a means for notifying by display on the display of the portable information processing apparatus, sound, or light emission of the light emitting means. Power supply detection means for detecting power supply from the AC adapter;
Charging completion time when the AC adapter is connected at the time based on the required charging time when the charging start time does not detect feeding from the AC adapter at any time after the charging start time has passed Charging completion time calculating means for calculating
The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of the charging completion time. Power supply detection means for detecting power supply from the AC adapter;
Charging rate calculation means for calculating the charging rate of the secondary battery at the desired charging completion time at an arbitrary time after the charging start time and when the power feeding detection means does not detect power feeding from an AC adapter When,
The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of the charging rate. Power supply detection means for detecting power supply from the AC adapter;
A charging completion time calculating means for calculating a charging completion time based on the required charging time at any time after the charging start time has elapsed and when the power supply detecting means detects power supply from an AC adapter; The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of the charging completion time. Power supply detection means for detecting power supply from the AC adapter;
A charging rate calculation unit that calculates a charging rate of the secondary battery at the desired charging completion time at any time after the charging start time has elapsed and when the feeding detection unit detects feeding from the AC adapter. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of the charging rate.

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