JP2010218704A - Battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a battery of a battery pack from being replaced with a non-genuine one for reuse. <P>SOLUTION: When the battery pack 10 is decomposed, a light sensor 18 senses ambient light, and a control part 16 stores a decomposition signal in an internal memory 16a. When the battery pack is used, a set side (notebook personal computer and the like) checks the decomposition signal in the memory 16a through communication terminals 17a and 17b. It determines the usability of the battery according to the decomposition signal, and controls charge/discharge operation of the battery. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for preventing danger when a battery pack including a secondary battery is illegally modified.

  Electronic devices including portable information processing devices such as notebook personal computers (hereinafter also abbreviated as “notebook personal computers”) and mobile phones that are carried around include lithium-ion batteries that can be charged from an external power source. A secondary battery (hereinafter referred to as “battery”) is mounted.

  This battery is one in which one or a plurality of single cell batteries are housed in a package, and is usually called a battery pack. A printed wiring board on which an electronic circuit made of a semiconductor element for protecting the battery from severe use (overcurrent discharge, overcharge, etc.) is mounted inside the package.

  In addition, since this type of battery is used by being attached to an electronic device (hereinafter also referred to as “set”), it has a built-in charging device on the set side or a dedicated charging device as an accessory. There are many.

  When the battery is repeatedly charged and discharged, the battery capacity gradually decreases and becomes unusable after several hundred charge / discharge cycles. Used batteries are processed by the set manufacturer or a recycler designated by the set manufacturer. However, the printed circuit board described above has little performance degradation and is not cheap, so it can be reused and replaced with a new battery. Battery pack is regenerated.

  However, in companies other than the set manufacturer or the recycler specified by the set manufacturer or the owner of the set, when the above-mentioned new battery is replaced and the regenerated battery pack is used in a set, If the replaced battery is not specified by the set manufacturer or is inferior, the aforementioned electronic circuit or the set body will not operate properly, and the battery pack may ignite or, in extreme cases, rupture. There is a danger of serious damage to the user.

  For this reason, the proposal as shown, for example in patent document 1 which made it impossible to use an irregular reproduction | regeneration battery pack is made | formed.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the interrupting circuit is blocked by an optical sensor that is sensitive when the package is opened.
JP 2008-204878 A

  However, the method shown in Patent Document 1 is inconvenient because it requires external battery light replacement work even in the case where the battery is replaced by an authorized recycler, because it receives external light and the blocking circuit blocks. .

  In addition, when a battery pack that has been blocked by the blocking circuit by being opened on the user side is replaced by a regular recycler, it is necessary to replace the blocking circuit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack in which an illegally replaced battery cannot be used with a simple configuration, and therefore inexpensively.

  In order to achieve the above object, a battery pack of the present invention is a battery pack in which at least one single cell battery is accommodated in a package and connected to an electronic device to supply power, and the package is opened. Sometimes, an optical sensor that operates by external light and a control unit that is communicable with an electronic device and has a non-volatile memory installed therein, the control unit receives a signal from the photosensor and sends a predetermined signal to the non-volatile memory. Is stored.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to reliably detect that an unauthorized recycler has opened the battery pack package, and to store the information in the nonvolatile memory of the control unit such as a microcomputer. Moreover, it becomes possible to prohibit the use of an unauthorized battery pack by communicating information stored in the nonvolatile memory with an electronic device.

  In the battery pack of the present invention, the control unit may read a predetermined signal from the nonvolatile memory and transmit the signal to the electronic device when the electronic device is connected.

  With such a configuration, when an unauthorized battery pack is attached to an electronic device, the electronic device communicates with the control unit to acquire information on the nonvolatile memory, thereby prohibiting the use of the battery. Accidents when a simple battery pack is attached to an electronic device can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the battery pack from being ignited or ruptured by preventing the use of the battery pack in which the irregular battery is replaced.

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

(Embodiment)
First, the configuration of battery pack 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the battery pack 10, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the battery pack 10.

  In FIG. 1, the battery pack 10 houses four unit cell batteries 13 inside resin cases 11 and 12. The four unit cell batteries 13 are connected in series, and both electrodes are connected to the battery terminal 14a and the battery terminal 14b. A printed circuit board 15 is provided on the upper part of the single cell battery 13. Connected to the printed circuit board 15 are lead wires drawn from the poles at both ends of the group of single cell batteries 13. The resin case 11 and the resin case 12 are fixed by fitting claws or screws, and both can be removed when the battery is replaced.

  In FIG. 2, the poles at both ends of the unit cell group 13 are connected to the battery terminal 14a and the battery terminal 14b, and the control unit 16 is connected. A communication terminal 17 a and a communication terminal 17 b are connected to the control unit 16.

  An optical sensor 18 is connected to the control unit 16.

  The control unit 16 is constituted by a microcomputer (microcomputer), which is not shown, but also includes a CPU (central processing unit), a ROM and a RAM in which a processing program is incorporated, and a nonvolatile memory 16a.

  The optical sensor 18 is a semiconductor whose impedance changes in response to light such as a phototransistor or a photodiode, and is attached to the upper surface of the printed board 15 as shown in FIG. In the removed state, external light (sunlight or illumination light) is sensed.

  In the initial assembly state, the battery pack is shipped after clearing the signal of the nonvolatile memory 16a in the control unit 16 (not shown) by communication between the communication terminals 17a and 17b and the outside.

  Next, the operation when the battery is illegally replaced will be described using FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation in the battery pack 10 in the present embodiment.

  When the battery pack 10 is disassembled in step S1, the optical sensor 18 is sensitive to outside light in step S2. Next, in step S3, the control unit 16 stores the decomposition flag (“1” of the “1” and “0” signal) in the nonvolatile memory 16a of the control unit 16.

  The operation when the battery pack 10 whose battery has been replaced in this way is mounted in a set (such as a notebook computer) will be described with reference to FIG. The set is not shown.

  In step S11, the set inquires of the battery pack about the presence / absence of the disassembly flag via the communication terminals 17a and 17b. In the next step S12, the control unit 16 responds that there is a disassembly flag in the nonvolatile memory 16a. The set that has received this prohibits discharging from the battery pack 10 and charging to the battery pack 10 in step S13. If the battery pack 10 responds that there is no flag in step S14 in response to the inquiry in step S11, the set enables the battery pack 10 to discharge and charge the battery pack in step S15. .

  Even when the battery is replaced in an appropriate department, the disassembly flag described in FIG. 3 is stored at the time of battery replacement. However, in the proper department, the disassembly flag in the nonvolatile memory 16a is reset (erased). Therefore, the battery pack can be used normally on the set side.

  As described above, in the battery pack 10 of the present invention, when the package is opened, the optical sensor 18 that is sensitive to external light detects that the battery has been replaced illegally, and the detection result (open flag) ) Is stored in the nonvolatile memory 16 a in the control unit (microcomputer) 16. When the unauthorized battery pack 10 is attached to the set, the set communicates with the control unit 16 to read the opening flag of the nonvolatile memory 16a so that the battery cannot be used. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an accident when the unauthorized battery pack 10 is attached to the set. Also, unlike the conventional method of shutting off the shut-off circuit by external light, when the user or a regular recycler replaces the battery, work in the dark so that the shut-off circuit is not shut off or shut off when opened There is no need to replace the interrupted circuit.

  The present invention can be applied not only to portable information processing apparatuses but also to all portable apparatuses using a battery as a power source.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a battery pack in an embodiment of the present invention. Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the battery pack Flow chart showing operation in the battery pack Flow chart showing the operation when the battery pack is installed in the set

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Battery pack 11,12 Resin case 13 Single cell battery 14a, 14b Battery terminal 15 Printed circuit board 16 Control part (microCPU)
16a Non-volatile memory 17a, 17b Communication terminal 18 Optical sensor

Claims (2)

A battery pack that houses at least one single cell battery in a package and supplies power by connecting to an electronic device,
An optical sensor that is activated by external light when the package is opened;
A control unit capable of communicating with the electronic device and equipped with a nonvolatile memory therein,
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the control unit receives a signal from the photosensor and stores a predetermined signal in the nonvolatile memory. 2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein when the electronic device is connected, the control unit reads the predetermined signal from the nonvolatile memory and transmits the signal to the electronic device.

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