JP2015082917A - Electronic apparatus and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prolong the operable time of the whole information processing system by limiting the consumption of electric power supplied from an information processing device as an electric power supply source.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus includes: an information acquisition part which acquires information associated with the capacity of a battery from an information processing device including a storage battery, a connection part connecting with a communication cable capable of receiving external electric power, and the battery through the communication cable; an operation execution part which executes a predetermined function; an electric power supply switching part which switches electric power to be used to let the operation execution part execute the function between electric power supplied from the storage battery and the electric power supplied through the communication cable; and a control part which makes the electric power supply switching part switch the electric power to be used based upon the acquired information so as to limit the consumption of the electric power supplied through the communication cable.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and an information processing system, and more particularly to an electronic device that has a built-in storage battery and can receive power supply from other information processing devices, and an information processing system that includes the electronic device.

  Today, electronic devices that incorporate a storage battery such as a lithium ion battery and are driven by the power supplied from the storage battery are used. For example, electronic devices such as a wireless LAN router, a scanner, and a printer. Furthermore, some of these electronic devices are connected to an information processing device such as a personal computer, receive power from the personal computer, etc., and receive internal power supplied from the built-in storage battery and external power supplied from the personal computer, etc. There are ones that are used by switching, and ones that charge the internal storage battery using external power.

For example, in Patent Document 1, when a projector equipped with a built-in battery is connected to a personal computer with a USB cable and the remaining amount of the built-in battery is low, the projector is switched to a power source supplied from the personal computer through the USB cable. There has been proposed a projector system in which a projector is operated or a built-in battery is charged by receiving power from a personal computer.
In addition, this system periodically detects the remaining battery level of the computer's built-in battery and the remaining battery level of the projector's built-in battery, and calculates and calculates the battery life from these remaining level and the set brightness of the light source. It has also been proposed to display the estimated battery life.

JP 2004-69997 A

However, even when a commercial power supply is not available and the PC that supplies power is also operating on a storage battery, the electronic device that receives power from the PC is unconditionally operating and Electric power supplied from a personal computer was consumed to charge the storage battery.
In other words, regardless of the relationship between the remaining amount of the storage battery of the electronic device and the remaining amount of the storage battery of the personal computer, the power supplied from the personal computer is consumed in the electronic device. The operating time has been shortened.
Moreover, the storage battery of a personal computer may be exhausted before the storage battery of an electronic device, and the personal computer may become inoperable first.

  Many electronic devices, such as wireless routers, are connected to a personal computer with a USB cable and operate mainly depending on the operation of the personal computer. It is unreasonable that only the device is in an operable state. For example, in a communication system in which a personal computer and a wireless router work together to perform communication functions, if the personal computer's storage battery is exhausted and the personal computer cannot operate, the entire system can be This is not preferable because the operation cannot be performed. That is, it is not preferable that the time during which only one of the personal computer and the wireless router is operable is not long, and it is preferable that the operable time of the entire system in which both the personal computer and the wireless router operate is long.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and relates to an information processing apparatus on the side that supplies power to an electronic device while ensuring the operation of the electronic device that receives power from the outside. It is another object of the present invention to ensure a sufficient operable time and to increase the operable time of the entire system including the electronic device and the information processing apparatus as much as possible.

  The present invention provides a storage battery, a connection unit that connects a communication cable capable of receiving external power supply, and information on the capacity of the battery from the information processing device including the battery via the communication cable. An information acquisition unit to acquire, an operation execution unit for executing a predetermined function, and power used by the operation execution unit to execute the function are supplied via the power supplied from the storage battery and the communication cable. A power supply switching unit that switches to one of the powers that have been supplied, and a power supply that is used by the power supply switching unit to limit the consumption of power supplied via the communication cable based on the acquired information The present invention provides an electronic apparatus including a control unit that switches between the two.

  Further, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus in which an information processing apparatus capable of supplying power and an electronic device capable of receiving the supplied power are connected via a communication cable capable of carrying the supplied power. In the system, the information processing apparatus includes a battery, a battery remaining amount calculation unit that calculates remaining amount information of the battery capacity, a first connection unit that connects the communication cable, and the communication cable. A communication unit that transmits the calculated remaining amount information to the electronic device; and a power supply unit that supplies a part of power supplied from a battery to the electronic device via the communication cable. Is supplied via the communication cable, the second connection unit for connecting the communication cable, the information acquisition unit for acquiring the remaining amount information transmitted from the information processing device, and the communication cable. A storage unit that preliminarily stores comparison setting information for determining whether or not to use the generated power, an operation execution unit that executes a predetermined function, and an electric power that the operation execution unit uses to execute the function, Based on the magnitude relationship between the supply power switching unit that switches to one of the power supplied from the storage battery and the power supplied via the communication cable, the acquired remaining amount information, and the comparison setting information, An information processing system comprising: a control unit that switches supply power used by the supply power switching unit to limit consumption of power supplied via a communication cable. .

  Furthermore, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus in which an information processing apparatus capable of supplying power and an electronic device capable of receiving the supplied power are connected via a communication cable capable of carrying the supplied power. In the system, the information processing apparatus serves as a power supply determination criterion, a battery, a battery remaining amount calculation unit that calculates a remaining capacity value of the battery, a first connection unit that connects the communication cable, and Based on the magnitude relationship between the calculated remaining amount value and the comparison setting value, a part of the supply power from the battery is supplied to the electronic device based on the storage unit storing the comparison setting value of the supply power. A remaining amount determination unit that determines whether or not to be acceptable, and when it is determined that the electronic device should not be supplied, unusable information that requests not to use the power supplied from the battery, A communication unit that transmits to the electronic device, and a power supply unit that supplies a part of the power supplied from the battery to the electronic device via the communication cable, wherein the electronic device includes a storage battery and the communication cable. A second connecting unit to be connected; an information acquiring unit for acquiring unusable information sent from the information processing apparatus; an operation executing unit for executing a predetermined function; and the operation executing unit for executing the function. A power supply switching unit that switches power to be used to either power supplied from the storage battery or power supplied via the communication cable, and the information acquisition unit acquires unusable information The information processing system is characterized in that the supply power switching unit switches the power to be used to the supply power from the storage battery.

  According to this invention, based on the acquired information regarding the battery capacity of the information processing apparatus, the power used to execute the function is either the power supplied from the storage battery or the power supplied via the communication cable. By switching to one of these, in an electronic device, by restricting the consumption of the power supplied via the communication cable, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the operating time of the information processing apparatus on the power supply side alone. It is possible to increase the operable time of the entire system including the electronic device and the information processing apparatus.

1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of an information processing system of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of an electronic device of the present invention. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of an information processing apparatus of the present invention. It is a graph of the battery capacity change of one Example when the operable time of PC is shorter than the operable time of TE. It is a graph of the battery capacity change in Example 1 of this invention corresponding to FIG. It is a graph of the battery capacity change of the prior art example 1 corresponding to FIG. It is a graph of the battery capacity | capacitance change of one Example when the operable time of PC is longer than the operable time of TE. It is a graph of the battery capacity change in Example 2 of this invention. It is a graph of the battery capacity change of the prior art example 2 corresponding to FIG. It is a flowchart of one Example of the power supply switching process in the electronic device of this invention. It is a flowchart of one Example of the monitoring process of the battery remaining charge in the information processing apparatus of this invention. 12 is a flowchart of an embodiment of power supply switching processing of the electronic device depending on FIG. 11.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, this does not limit the present invention.
<Configuration of information processing system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an information processing system including an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. Here, an information processing system in which the electronic device 1 and the information processing apparatus 2 are connected by a communication cable 3 is shown.
In FIG. 1, an electronic device 1 includes a storage battery (hereinafter also referred to as a battery), and is connected to an information processing apparatus 2 that can supply data communication and power via a communication cable 3. 2 to receive power supply.

The electronic device 1 is, for example, a device such as a wireless router, a scanner, a printer, or a modem. In the following embodiments, the electronic device 1 has a USB connection terminal for connecting a USB cable that is one of the communication cables 3. .
The information processing device 2 is a device corresponding to, for example, a notebook computer, a portable terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and the like, and similarly has a USB connection terminal.
Hereinafter, the electronic device 1 on the power receiving side is also referred to as a power consuming device or simply TE.
The information processing apparatus 2 on the power supply side is also called a power supply apparatus or simply a PC.
The communication cable 3 is a wired cable that can carry data communication and supply power, and for example, a USB cable is used.

The USB cable 3 is a four-wire cable conforming to a serial transfer bus standard (Universal Serial Bus) defined as an international standard, and includes a pair of signal lines and a pair of power supply lines.
The pair of power supply lines are composed of a + 5V line and a GND line, and DC power is supplied from the PC 2 to the TE 1 by flowing a maximum DC current of 500 mA through the power supply line.

<Configuration of electronic device TE>
FIG. 2 shows a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of the electronic apparatus TE1.
The electronic device TE1 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, an input unit 13, a charging unit 14, a supply power switching unit 15, a connection unit 16, an information acquisition unit 17, a used power determination unit 18, an operation execution unit 19, a storage battery (battery). ) 25 and a storage unit 30.
The control unit 11 is a part that executes the function of the electronic apparatus TE1 of the present invention, and is mainly realized by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O controller, a timer, and the like.
In addition, the CPU executes each process such as the charging process and the supply power switching process of the present invention by organically operating the hardware based on a program stored in the ROM or the like. For example, the supply power used to limit the consumption of the power supplied via the communication cable based on the magnitude relationship between the acquired battery remaining amount information of the PC and the comparison setting information stored in advance. Switch.

The communication unit 12 is a part that transmits and receives data to and from other information communication devices. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication unit 12 transmits and receives data to and from the personal computer 2 via the communication cable 3.
As the communication cable 3, a medium capable of wired communication may be used. However, the data communication may be performed not only by wired communication but also by wireless communication.
Since the present invention is directed to the electronic device TE1 that can be supplied with power from another information processing apparatus PC2, in the following embodiment, the electronic apparatus TE1 and the information processing apparatus (personal computer) PC2 are connected by the USB cable 3. It is assumed that the same USB cable 3 is used to perform wired data communication and transfer of DC power supplied from the PC 2 to the TE 1.

The input unit 13 is a part where a user inputs information such as characters and a function selection input, and a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, or the like is used. For example, the setting of the comparison setting information 35 or the like, or permission or prohibition of charging of the storage battery is set using the input unit 13. However, when the size of TE is small, the input unit 13 may not be provided.
The charging unit 14 is a part that charges a storage battery (battery) 25, and charges the battery by using power supplied via the USB cable 3.
In addition, when the battery 25 is charged to the maximum capacity (full charge), the charging is stopped, and when the charging start instruction is input by the user, or when the current capacity of the battery 25 is reduced to a predetermined value or less. Alternatively, the charging mode may be entered to start charging.
The charging mode is a mode in which the battery 25 is charged. When the user inputs a mode setting instruction using the input unit 13, permission or prohibition of the charging mode is set in advance. When the setting is made to prohibit the charging of the battery, the charging mode is canceled and the storage battery is not charged.

The power supply switching unit 15 is a part that switches the power supply path used by the operation execution unit 19 to execute the TE function. The power supply switching unit 15 supplies the power supplied from the battery 25 and the power supplied via the USB cable 3. Switch to either supply path.
For example, as will be described later, when the PC remaining amount information CPr32 sent from the PC is equal to or lower than the comparison setting information CPh35 preset in the storage unit 30 (CPr ≦ CPh), the battery of the TE The power supply path is switched by the power supply switching unit 15 so that the power supplied from 25 is used for the TE operation. At this time, even if power from the PC is supplied via the USB cable 3, the supplied power is not consumed. Also, the charging of the TE battery 25 is stopped. That is, using the power supplied from the PC, the functions of the TE are not executed, and the TE battery 25 is not charged.

The connection unit 16 is an interface part for connecting an external device. In particular, in the present invention, an interface capable of receiving an external power supply is used, and at least a USB connection terminal for connecting the USB cable 3 is used. Shall be provided.
Via this USB connection terminal, data transmission / reception between the TE and the PC and power supply from the PC are received.
The USB connection terminal is composed of four terminals for connecting the USB cable 3 described above, and includes two terminals for data communication and two terminals for power supply including a +5 V terminal and a ground (GND) terminal. I have.
When the supply power switching unit 15 is switched to use external power, the output current from the power supply terminal of + 5V and GND is given to the electronic circuit inside the TE and sent via the USB cable 3. The supplied power is used for the operation of TE1.

The information acquisition unit 17 is a part that acquires reception information sent from the PC via the communication unit 12, and particularly acquires information related to the battery capacity of the PC. Examples of the received information 31 to be acquired include PC remaining amount information CPr32 and unusable information 33. These pieces of reception information 31 are used for determination processing performed by the power consumption determination unit 18 described later.
Here, the PC remaining amount information CPr32 is information indicating the remaining capacity of the battery 65 provided in the PC. The unusable information 33 is information requesting the TE not to use the power supplied from the PC to the TE.

The used power determination unit 18 is a part that determines whether the power used for the operation of the TE is the power supplied from the battery 25 of the TE or the power supplied via the USB cable 3. .
For example, when the TE operates using the power supplied from the PC, but the PC remaining amount information CPr32 received from the PC is equal to or less than the comparison setting information CPh35 stored in the storage unit 30. The power consumption determination unit 18 uses the power supplied from the TE battery 25 and determines that the power supplied from the PC via the USB cable 3 is not used.
Similarly, when unusable information 33 is sent from the PC, it is determined that the power supplied from the USB cable is not used and the power supplied from the battery 25 of the TE is used. In this case, the supply power switching unit 15 switches to use the supply power from the TE battery 25.

The operation execution unit 19 is a part that executes a predetermined function of the TE1, for example, when the TE1 is a wireless router, it is a part that executes a wireless communication function with an access point or a wireless relay station.
The storage battery (battery) 25 is a rechargeable battery (secondary battery), and a NiCd battery, a lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, or the like is used.
For example, charging is performed using electric power supplied via an AC commercial power supply or the USB cable 3, and a predetermined function is executed by the operation execution unit 19 of the TE 1, so that the stored electric power is consumed.

The storage unit 30 is a part that stores information and programs necessary for the operation of the TE 1 of the present invention, and a semiconductor storage element such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or a storage device such as an HDD or an SSD is used.
The storage unit 30 stores, for example, the reception information 31 (PC remaining amount information CPr32, unusable information 33), the initial value To34 of the standby timer, the comparison setting information CPh35, and the like.
The standby timer initial value To34 is an initial value of a timer Tm used in a flowchart such as FIG. 10 described later, and corresponds to a time interval for acquiring the PC remaining amount information CPr. For example, To = 5 minutes is set.

  The PC remaining amount information CPr32 is information indicating the remaining amount of the battery 65 on the PC side as described above, but may be the remaining power capacity value (mAh) of the battery itself, for example. Alternatively, the ratio (%) of the current capacity value of the PC battery 65 to the full charge capacity may be used.

The comparison setting information CPh35 is information for determining whether or not the power supplied via the communication cable 3 can be used, and is a comparison value corresponding to the PC remaining amount information CPr32. When the PC remaining amount information CPr32 is transmitted from the PC, it is necessary to store it in the storage unit 30 in advance.
For example, when the remaining power capacity value (mAh) is transmitted from the PC as the PC remaining amount information CPr, the power capacity value (mAh) is also set as the comparison setting information CPh. When the ratio (%) to the full charge capacity is transmitted as the PC remaining amount information CPr, the ratio (%) to the full charge capacity is also set as the comparison setting information CPh.
The comparison setting information CPh is a comparison value used when the power consumption determination unit 18 determines which power to use. In the following embodiment, the power consumption determination unit 18 performs the following determination.

(1) When the PC remaining amount information CPr> comparison setting information CPh The power supplied via the USB cable 3 is used as the power for executing the TE operation. The battery 25 is charged without using the power supplied from the TE battery 25. In this case, the remaining amount of the PC battery is relatively large, and the power supplied from the PC battery 65 is used for the TE operation and the charging of the TE battery 25.

(2) When PC Remaining Information CPr ≦ Comparison Setting Information CPh The power supplied from the TE battery 25 is used as the power for executing the TE operation, and the power supplied via the USB cable 3 is not used. The TE battery 25 is not charged.
When the remaining amount of the PC battery 65 is decreasing, if the power supplied from the PC battery 65 is further used in the TE, the operable time of the PC is shortened, and the PC becomes shorter than the TE. May become inoperable first.
Therefore, the power supplied from the PC battery 65 is used for the operation of the PC itself and is not consumed by the TE. That is, the operable time of the PC is not rapidly shortened, and the operable time of the entire system composed of the PC and the TE is made as long as possible.

When the TE 1 includes the input unit 13, the user can set and input the comparison setting information CPh 35 using the input unit 13. However, in the electronic device 1 such as a small wireless router, the input unit 13 13 may not be provided. In this case, the setting is input on the PC side.
That is, as will be described later, in the PC, the user uses the input unit 54 to set and input the comparison set value CPh75, and before using TE or at the start of use, the comparison set value CPh75 set on the PC. May be transmitted from the PC to the TE and stored in the storage unit 30 of the TE as the comparison setting information 35.

The unusable information 33 is information transmitted from the PC to the TE. When the TE receives the unusable information 33, the unusable information 33 is supplied via the USB cable 3 regardless of the content of the PC remaining amount information CPr. Do not use power.
Therefore, when the unusable information 33 is always transmitted from the PC to the TE, and is set in advance between the PC and the TE, the TE performs a comparison determination between the PC remaining amount information CPr and the comparison setting information CPh. It does not have to be. In this case, the comparison setting information CPh need not be stored in advance in the TE storage unit.

  However, when the unusable information 33 is transmitted, as described later, the remaining amount of the PC battery 65 may be calculated on the PC side, and power may be supplied to the TE using the remaining amount. It is determined whether or not. As a result of the determination, when the power of the battery of the PC should not be supplied, unusable information 33 is generated on the PC side and transmitted to the TE.

<Configuration of information processing apparatus PC>
FIG. 3 shows a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of the information processing apparatus PC.
The information processing device PC2 is a device such as a personal computer or a portable terminal, and has a function of connecting a communication cable 3 capable of supplying power, and data communication and power supply to other electronic devices via the communication cable 3 It is a device that can.
The control unit 51 is a part that controls the operation of the PC, and is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU.
The display unit 52 is a part for displaying information necessary for the operation of the PC, and an LCD, an organic EL display, or the like is used.
The communication unit 53, the input unit 54, the charging unit 55, and the connection unit 56 each have the same configuration and function as each functional block of the same name provided in the TE1.
The charging unit 55 is a part that charges a storage battery (battery) 65 provided in the PC 2 and mainly charges the battery 65 using power supplied from an AC commercial power source (not shown).
The connection unit 56 includes a terminal (for example, a USB connection terminal) to which a cable capable of supplying power to an external electronic device can be connected. The USB connection terminal is connected to the electronic device 1 via the USB cable 3. Power is supplied.

  The battery remaining amount calculation unit 57 is a part that calculates remaining amount information of the capacity of its own battery 65, for example, a part that calculates a remaining power capacity value (mAh) of the battery. By measuring the output current value from the battery 65, the remaining capacity value (calculated remaining amount value CPr72) of the current battery can be obtained from a predetermined calculation formula. The calculated remaining amount information is transmitted to the TE via the communication cable.

Further, when the charging capacity maximum value CPm73 when the battery 65 is fully charged is known in advance, the value CPm is stored in the storage unit 71, and the ratio of the calculated remaining amount value CPr to the charging capacity maximum value CPm ( %) May be calculated.
When the determination by the remaining amount determining unit 58 described later is not performed by the PC, the calculated remaining amount value CPr72 or the ratio (%) to CPm is transmitted to the TE as the transmission information SD74.

Based on the magnitude relationship between the calculated remaining amount value CPr of the battery 65 of the PC and the comparison setting value CPh stored in advance, the remaining amount determination unit 58 uses the USB cable 3 to convert a part of the power supplied from the battery. This is a part for determining whether or not to supply to the connected TE.
For example, when the calculated remaining amount value CPr72 is equal to or less than the comparison set value CPh75 stored in advance in the storage unit 71 (CPr ≦ CPh), in order to reduce the pace at which the PC's own operable time is shortened. In addition, it is determined that the power of the battery of the PC should not be supplied to the TE via the USB cable 3.
Conversely, if CPr> CPh, it is determined that the power of the battery of the PC may be supplied to TE. However, when the TE side uses the received PC remaining amount information CPr to determine the power consumption, the remaining amount determination unit 58 does not have to perform the process.

The transmission information generation unit 59 is a part that generates information (transmission information SD74) to be transmitted to the TE. The generated transmission information SD74 is transmitted to the TE via the USB cable 3.
For example, when CPr ≦ CPh, transmission information SD including the calculated remaining amount value CPr is generated and transmitted to the TE.
Alternatively, when the determination by the remaining amount determination unit 58 is performed, the determination result may be the transmission information SD. For example, when it is determined that power should not be supplied from the PC to the TE, unusable information requesting not to use the power supplied from the battery 65 of the PC is generated and used as transmission information SD. In this case, unusable information is transmitted to the TE.

The power supply unit 60 is a part that supplies a part of DC power supplied from the battery 65 to the connected USB cable 3 via the USB connection terminal of the connection unit 56.
The operation execution unit 61 is a part that executes a predetermined function of the PC. When AC commercial power is connected, each function of the PC is executed using AC power, but when AC commercial power is not connected, the power supplied from the battery 65 is consumed, Each function of the PC is executed.
Further, when the electronic device TE is connected via the USB cable 3, even if the PC is operating using only the power supplied from the battery 65, a part of the supplied power is connected. The USB connection terminal of the unit 56 can be supplied to the external electronic device TE1.
When the connected TE1 uses the power supplied from the USB cable 3, the power supplied from the battery 65 is consumed by the operation of the TE1 in addition to the consumption by the PC2's own operation.

The storage battery (battery) 65 is a secondary battery charged by the charging unit 55 and is consumed by the operation of the PC hardware. A battery similar to TE may be used.
The storage unit 61 stores information and programs necessary for the operation of the PC. For example, the calculated remaining amount CPr72, the maximum charge capacity CPm73, the transmission information SD74, the comparison set value CPh75, and the like are stored. .

The comparison set value CPh75 is information to be compared with the calculated remaining amount value CPr72, and is used for the determination process of the remaining amount determination unit 58. The comparison setting value CPh75 may be a battery capacity value (mAh) or a numerical value indicating a percentage (%) corresponding to the charging capacity maximum value CPm.
The comparison set value CPh may be set when the determination process by the remaining amount determination unit 58 is performed. However, when setting and inputting the comparison setting information CPh35 stored in the TE on the PC side, the comparison setting value CPh75 set by the user on the PC is transmitted to the TE as transmission information SD. The calculated PC remaining amount value 72 corresponds to the TE PC remaining amount information 32, and the PC comparison setting value 75 corresponds to the TE PC comparison setting information 35.

<Explanation of battery capacity change>
Hereinafter, a change in the battery capacity due to the switching process of the supplied power in the TE of the present invention will be described in comparison with the conventional example.
First, FIG. 4 and FIG. 7 show graphs of an example of battery capacity change (decrease change) with respect to the elapsed time after startup for each of PC and TE.
Here, a case where each of the PC and TE is operated by using only its own battery is shown.
The vertical axis represents the battery capacity CP (mAh), and the horizontal axis represents the drive time T of the PC and TE. At time T = 0, both the PC and TE batteries are assumed to be fully charged.

In FIG. 4, the PC battery 65 was 5000 mAh in the initial (T = 0) full charge state, but the battery capacity gradually decreased by performing a predetermined operation. In the state after the minute (Tpc0) has elapsed, the PC is almost discharged and the PC becomes inoperable.
In addition, the TE battery 25 was about 2000 mAh in the initial (T = 0) full charge state, but the battery capacity gradually decreased by performing a predetermined operation, and about 5 hours and 40 minutes. In a state after (Tte0) has elapsed, it is almost discharged and TE becomes inoperable.
In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 4, the relationship of Tpc0 <Tte0 is established with respect to the time when discharge becomes inoperable, and the PC has a shorter driveable time than TE.
In the case of FIG. 4, the operable time of the entire system including the PC and TE is determined by the shorter driveable time of the PC, and is about 3 hours and several minutes.

In FIG. 7, the capacity of the PC battery 65, which was about 9000 mAh in the initial (T = 0) full charge state, is almost discharged after about 6 hours (Tpc0), and the PC becomes inoperable. The case where it becomes is shown.
Also, regarding the TE battery 25, the capacity which was about 1000 mAh in the initial (T = 0) full charge state is almost discharged after about 3 hours (Tte0), and the TE becomes inoperable. Shows the case.

In the case of the embodiment of FIG. 7, the relationship of Tpc0> Tte0 is established with respect to the time when discharge becomes inoperable, and the PC has a longer drivable time than TE.
In the case of FIG. 7, the PC driveable time (Tpc0) is sufficiently longer than TE, and there is a relative margin in the operation of the PC alone using only the PC battery. It is possible to supply power to the TE side via the USB cable 3.
That is, by supplying power from the PC to the TE, the PC driveable time (Tpc0) is somewhat shortened, but by supplying power to the TE, the TE driveable time (Tte0) is increased. As the operation of the entire system including the PC and the TE, it is considered that the operation time of the entire system becomes longer than that when power is not supplied from the PC to the TE. In the case of FIG. 7, the operable time of the entire system is about 3 hours because it is determined by the shorter TE driveable time (Tte0).

However, in the case of FIG. 4, since the PC driveable time (Tpc0) is shorter than the TE driveable time (Tte0), if power is supplied from the PC to the TE, the PC driveable time (Tpc0) Will be even shorter.
When the PC driveable time (Tpc0) has passed and the PC has become inoperable, the TE battery capacity remains, and even if the TE can operate alone, the PC and TE are included. Since the operation of the entire system is impossible, in the case of FIG. 4, it is better not to supply power from the PC to the TE. Alternatively, whether power can be supplied should be determined in consideration of the remaining amount of battery of the PC even when power is supplied to the TE.

(Conventional example 1)
In FIG. 6, the graph of the change of the battery capacity of the prior art example 1 is shown.
Again, a capacity change graph is shown for a battery having the same full charge capacity as shown in FIG. A broken line graph shows the capacity change graph of FIG.
As a conventional example, TE and PC are connected with a USB cable, and after connection, power is supplied unconditionally from PC to TE. On the TE side, the power supplied from its own battery and the PC via USB cable are connected. Operation is performed using either of the supplied power, and the TE battery is charged using the power supplied from the PC until the battery capacity of the PC becomes a predetermined value or less. .

In FIG. 6, regarding the change in the battery capacity of TE, power is supplied from the PC to the TE for about the first hour, so the TE operates with the power supplied from the PC and the battery is being charged. The battery capacity of TE increases. Thereafter, if the TE is operated by the power supplied from the PC without charging the TE battery until the capacity of the PC battery is completely discharged, the TE battery gradually decreases.
After the power supply from the PC is stopped at the time of Tpc1, since the TE operates only by the TE battery, the TE battery continues to be discharged, but the TE driveable time (Tte1) is shown in FIG. It becomes longer than the single drivable time (Tte0).

On the other hand, in FIG. 6, since power is supplied from the PC to the TE with respect to the change in the battery capacity of the PC, the time until the PC actually becomes inoperable (driveable time Tpc1 = about 2 hours) The drive time becomes shorter than Tpc0 (= about 3 hours) (Tpc1 <Tpc0).
That is, in the conventional example 1, since the TE and the PC are connected to the USB cable, power is continuously supplied from the PC to the TE. Therefore, from the TE drivable time (Tte0) Since the PC driveable time (Tpc1), which has been shorter, becomes shorter, the operation time of the entire system including the PC and TE also becomes shorter. In the case of the conventional example 1 in FIG. 6, the operable time of the entire system is determined by the PC driveable time Tpc1 shorter than TE, and therefore is about 2 hours.

(Embodiment 1 of the present invention)
FIG. 5 shows a graph of changes in battery capacity according to Example 1 of the present invention.
Here, a capacity change graph for a battery having the same full charge capacity as shown in FIG. 4 is shown. The broken line shows the capacity change graph of FIG.
Also in the case of FIG. 5, the driveable time for each of TE and PC is Tpc0 <Tte0.

  In the first embodiment, both the PC and the TE start to use in the fully charged state, and the TE uses the power supplied from the PC until the remaining battery capacity CPr of the PC becomes equal to or less than the comparison setting information CPh. And charge the battery of TE.

Further, in the first embodiment, it is assumed that 70% of the full charge capacity of the PC battery is set as the comparison setting information CPh35 for determining the switching of the used power.
That is, when the current remaining amount CPr of the PC becomes 70% or less of the full charge capacity, only the power supplied from the TE battery 25 is used as the power used without using the power supplied from the PC. Shall be switched to.

  In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the time point P0 is a time when the remaining amount of the battery of the PC is 70% of the capacity of the fully charged state. Initially, the power supplied from the PC is used to perform not only the PC but also the operation of the TE and the charging of the battery of the TE. Too early.

  On the other hand, since the battery of TE is charged at the time point P0, the battery capacity of TE increases. When TE determines that the PC remaining amount information CPr indicating the remaining amount value of the PC battery transmitted from the PC has decreased to 70% of the capacity in the fully charged state at the time of P0, the TE In order to suppress a decrease in the remaining amount of the PC battery, the power supply source is switched to the TE battery 25 side so as not to consume the power supplied from the PC.

As a result, the TE executes a predetermined function using only the power supplied from the battery 25 of the TE itself. Further, the charging of the battery 25 using the power supplied from the PC is also stopped so that the power supplied via the USB cable is not used. In FIG. 5, the TE drivable time Tte1 is longer than Tte0 in the case of FIG. 4, and is about 6 hours 30 minutes.
On the other hand, after the time point P0, the battery capacity of the PC decreases in the same manner as the capacity change graph of the single use of the PC shown in FIG. 4, and the PC driveable time Tpc1 in FIG. Is about 3 hours, which is slightly shorter than the PC driveable time (Tpc0).
Therefore, in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the operable time of the entire system is determined by the PC driveable time Tpc1 shorter than TE, and is about 3 hours.

  Compared with the conventional example 1 of FIG. 6, the time until the PC becomes inoperable is about 2 hours in the conventional example 1 of FIG. 6, whereas it is about 3 hours in the example 1 of FIG. Therefore, in the present invention, the operable time of the PC is longer by about 1 hour than in the prior art. Furthermore, since the operable time of the entire system composed of the PC and the TE is determined by the operable time Tpc1 of the PC shorter than the TE in FIGS. 5 and 6, it is made longer in the first embodiment of FIG. be able to.

(Conventional example 2)
In FIG. 9, the graph of the change of the battery capacity of the prior art example 2 is shown.
Here, a capacity change graph for a battery having the same full charge capacity as shown in FIG. 7 is shown. The broken line shows the capacity change graph of FIG.
Also in the case of FIG. 9, the drivable time for each of TE and PC is Tte0 <Tpc0.
In Conventional Example 2, as in Conventional Example 1, power is supplied from the PC to the TE while the TE and the PC are connected by a USB cable.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, for the first two hours or so, the TE operates using the power supplied from the PC and charges the TE's own battery. Until the battery is discharged and becomes inoperable, the TE battery is not charged and operates using the power supplied from the PC. Thereafter, only the power supplied from the own battery is used, and the TE battery is operated. Shall be operated.

Also in the case of FIG. 9, since TE charges the battery by receiving power supplied from the PC, the drivable time is increased from about 3 hours (Tte0) to about 10 hours (Tte1). However, the PC driveable time is shortened from the initial PC driveable time (Tpc0 = 6 hours) to about 3 hours (= Tpc1).
As a result, the PC drivable time (Tpc1) becomes shorter than the TE drivable time (Tte1), so that the operation possible time of the entire system including the PC and the TE is shorter. It is determined by the possible time Tpc1, and is equivalent to or shorter than the case of FIG.

(Embodiment 2 of the present invention)
FIG. 8 shows a graph of changes in battery capacity in Example 2 of the present invention.
The broken line graph of FIG. 8 shows a change in battery capacity when the PC and TE shown in FIG. 7 are used alone.
In the second embodiment, the case where the initial driveable time Tpc0 of the PC alone is longer than the initial driveable time Tte0 of the TE alone (Tpc0> Tte0) is shown.
In the second embodiment, it is assumed that TE is set to a charging mode that operates with power supplied from a PC and charges its own battery with the supplied power.
However, after the PC and TE start operation, the TE uses the power supplied from the PC to charge the battery 25 of the TE until the current battery remaining amount CPr of the PC becomes equal to or less than the comparison setting information CPh. However, after CPr ≦ CPh, it is assumed that the operation is performed using only the power supplied from the battery 25 of the TE itself. Here, it is assumed that the comparison setting information CPh is set to 30% of the full charge capacity.

In FIG. 8, CPr> CPh from time T to time point Po, but at the time drive time Po, the remaining amount CPr of the PC battery becomes equal to CPh which is 30% of the full charge capacity. Suppose.
First, when 0 <time T <Po, the TE operates with the power supplied from the PC and charges the battery of the TE, but the PC uses the power supplied from its own battery. Since the PC is operated and a part of the supplied power is also given to the TE side, the battery capacity of the PC is rapidly decreasing from 9000 mAh to about 3000 mAh.
On the other hand, during this period (0 <T <Po), since the battery charges the battery using electric power supplied from the PC, the battery capacity of the TE has increased to nearly 3000 mAh.
In addition, when T = Po, the battery capacity of the PC decreases. As a result, the time that the PC can be driven when the PC operates independently decreases, whereas the battery capacity of the TE increases. The time during which TE can be driven when operating is increased.

After T = Po, if the charging of the TE battery is not stopped using the power supplied from the PC, the capacity of the PC battery will decrease as soon as the power consumed for the charging, There is a higher possibility that the PC becomes inoperable earlier than TE.
Therefore, even if TE is operable, in order to avoid a situation in which the PC cannot be operated first and the entire system including the PC and TE cannot be operated, the remaining battery capacity CPr of the PC is set to the full charge capacity. After the reduction to 30%, that is, after the driving time Po in FIG. 8 (T ≧ Po), TE uses only the power supplied from its own battery 25 without using the power supplied from the PC. And make it work.
The power supply switching unit 15 switches the power supply source to the battery 25 side so that the power supplied via the USB cable 3 is not consumed.

As a result, in the portion where T ≧ Po, the PC battery capacity decreases based on the consumption of the single PC operation, so the time Tpc1 until the PC battery is discharged and the PC operation is disabled. Is about 4 hours as shown in FIG.
Compared with the conventional example 2 of FIG. 9, the time (Tpc1) until the conventional PC becomes inoperable was about 3 hours, whereas in the example 2 of FIG. It will be about an hour long.

  As for TE, when T ≧ Po, it operates only with the power supplied from its own battery, so the battery capacity of TE decreases at the same rate as the broken line, but the TE battery discharges and TE As shown in FIG. 8, the time Tte1 until the operation becomes impossible is about 8.5 hours. Compared with Conventional Example 2 in FIG. 9, the time during which TE alone can operate is shorter than that of Conventional Example 2.

However, considering the time in which the entire system including PC and TE can be operated, Tte1 is 8.5 hours and Tcp1 is 4 hours in Example 2 in FIG. 4 hours can be secured.
On the other hand, in the conventional example 2 of FIG. 9, although the TE drive time Tte1 is 10 hours, the PC drive time Tpc1 is shortened to about 3 hours, so that the entire system operable time is secured only about 3 hours. It will not be possible.
Therefore, as shown in the second embodiment, by switching the power consumption mode in the TE, the consumption of power supplied from the PC by the TE is limited, and the decrease in the operable time of the PC alone is suppressed. As a whole, the operation time of the system including TE and TE can be made longer than before.

In addition, the battery capacity change in the above-described two embodiments shows one example, and the battery capacity change is not limited to these embodiments.
The change in capacity varies depending on the full charge capacity of the battery and the number and types of functions to be operated. In order to make the operable time of the entire system as long as possible, the power supply can be switched so that the PC and TE drivable times are almost the same, and the PC and TE become inoperable almost simultaneously. It is preferable to perform control.

<Electronic device TE supply power switching process (determining the battery level of the PC on the TE side)>
Here, a case will be described in which a determination process of the remaining battery amount of the PC is performed on the TE side using the remaining PC amount information sent from the PC.
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of one embodiment of the supply power switching process in the electronic apparatus TE of the present invention.
In step S1, the control unit 11 sets an initial value T0 in the standby timer Tm.
The standby timer Tm counts the time interval for acquiring the PC remaining amount information CPr.
In step S2, it is monitored whether or not the standby timer Tm has timed out. It is confirmed that the time corresponding to the initial value T0 has elapsed, and when the time has elapsed and the standby timer Tm has timed out, the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S <b> 3, the information acquisition unit 17 receives the PC remaining amount information CPr from the PC and stores it in the storage unit 30. The PC remaining amount information CPr may be transmitted from the PC at regular intervals, for example. Alternatively, the request information may be transmitted from the TE to the PC and received as a reply to the request information.

In step S <b> 4, the power usage determination unit 18 compares the received PC remaining amount information CPr with the comparison setting information CPh stored in advance in the storage unit 30.
In step S5, if CPr ≦ CPh, the process proceeds to step S6, and if not, the process proceeds to step S7.
In the case of CPr ≦ CPh, since the remaining amount of the battery on the PC side is less than the predetermined value, if the power supplied from the PC is further used in the TE, the battery of the PC is It is considered that there is a high possibility that the PC will be consumed much earlier, the PC operable time becomes shorter, and the PC becomes inoperable.

Therefore, in step S <b> 6, the supply power switching unit 15 switches the power supply source to the own battery 25. The charging of the battery 25 is stopped. Thereby, the power supplied from the PC is not used. Thereafter, the TE uses the power supplied from its own battery 25 to execute a predetermined function of the TE.
Then, it returns to step S1.

In step S <b> 7, the supply power switching unit 15 switches the power supply source to the supply power from the PC connected to the connection unit 16. Further, the TE battery 25 is charged using the power supplied from the PC. However, when the TE is not in the charging mode, the battery 25 of the TE is not charged. Thereby, TE performs the predetermined function of TE using the electric power supplied from PC.
Then, it returns to step S1.

In step S5, unless CPr ≦ CPh, the power supply from the PC is used to perform the TE operation in step S7. Thereafter, the battery capacity of the PC decreases, and CPr ≦ CPh. If this is the case, the process proceeds to step S6, and the TE operation is performed using the power supplied from the battery 25 of the TE itself without using the power supplied from the PC.
By performing the above processing, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the remaining amount of the battery of the PC and appropriately control the degree of decrease in the battery capacity due to the use of the PC and TE batteries, including the PC and TE. The operating time of the entire system can be made as long as possible.

<Electronic device TE supply power switching process (PC side determines PC battery level)>
In this case, the PC side performs a process for determining the remaining battery level of the PC, and when the remaining battery level of the PC becomes low, it is used to ask the TE not to use the PC battery. An embodiment in which disabling information is generated and transmitted to the TE will be described.

  FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of one embodiment of the remaining battery level determination process in the information processing apparatus PC of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of the supply power switching process in the electronic apparatus TE of the present invention.

In step S11, as in step S1, an initial value T0 is set in the standby timer Tm. In step S12, whether or not the standby timer Tm has timed out is monitored as in step S2. It is confirmed that the time corresponding to the initial value T0 has elapsed, and when the standby timer Tm times out, the process proceeds to step S13.
In step S13, the battery remaining amount calculation unit 57 calculates the remaining amount CPr of the battery 65 of the PC and stores it in the storage unit 71 as the calculated remaining amount value CPr72.
In step S14, the remaining amount determination unit 58 compares the remaining amount CPr of the PC battery 65 with the comparison set value CPh75.
In step S15, if CPr ≦ CPh, the process proceeds to step S16, and if not, the process returns to step S11.

In the case of CPr ≦ CPh, the capacity of the PC battery 65 is smaller than a predetermined value, so it is considered that there is no room to supply to the TE, and the power supplied from the PC is not used for the TE. Sends information (unusable information) to indicate.
In step S16, the transmission information generation unit 59 generates unusable information and stores it as transmission information SD74. Then, the communication unit 53 transmits the transmission information SD including the unusable information to the TE via the USB cable 3.
Then, it returns to step S11.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, in TE, similarly to steps S1 and S2, in step S21, standby timer Tm is initialized to initial value T0, and in step S22, the standby timer Tm is monitored for timeout. . When the time corresponding to the initial value T0 has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, the information acquisition unit 17 checks reception of information sent from the PC.
In step S24, information from the PC is received, and it is checked whether unusable information has been received. If unusable information is received, the process proceeds to step S25. If unusable information is not received, the process proceeds to step S26.

In step S25, as in step S6 of FIG. 10, the supply power switching unit 15 switches the power used. Here, the electric power supplied from the TE's own battery 25 is switched to use, and charging of the own battery 25 is also stopped. Thereby, the power supplied from the PC is not used.
Then, it returns to step S21.

On the other hand, in step S26, simultaneously with step S7 of FIG. 10, the power supply switching unit 15 switches the power usage so that the power supplied from the PC is used. In this case, the TE battery 25 is also charged using the power supplied from the PC.
Then, it returns to step S21.

In this embodiment, since the PC battery capacity remaining amount is determined on the PC side, the load on the PC increases. On the TE side, however, the power is only switched by checking the reception of unusable information. So the processing burden is small.
Similarly, the degree of decrease in the battery capacity of each of the PC and TE can be appropriately suppressed, and the operation time of the entire system including the PC and TE can be extended.

<Appendix>
The present invention is an electronic apparatus and an information processing system having the following configuration.
(Supplementary Note 1) Information regarding the capacity of the battery is obtained from the storage battery, the connection unit that connects the communication cable that can receive power supply from the outside, and the information processing device including the battery via the communication cable. An information acquisition unit to acquire, an operation execution unit for executing a predetermined function, and power used by the operation execution unit to execute the function are supplied via the power supplied from the storage battery and the communication cable. A power supply switching unit that switches to one of the powers that have been supplied, and a power supply that is used by the power supply switching unit to limit the consumption of power supplied via the communication cable based on the acquired information An electronic apparatus comprising a control unit that switches between the two.
According to this, in the electronic device, since the supply power to be used is switched so as to limit the consumption of the power supplied via the communication cable, the reduction in the operable time of the information processing device is suppressed, and the electronic device The operable time of the entire information processing system including the information processing apparatus can be extended.

(Additional remark 2) The memory | storage part which memorize | stored beforehand the comparison setting information for determining the availability of the electric power supplied via the said communication cable, and the electric power used when the said operation execution part performs a function, A power usage determining unit that determines whether to use power supplied from the storage battery or power supplied via the communication cable, and the information acquired by the information acquiring unit is the capacity of the battery It is remaining amount information, and when the used power determining unit determines that the acquired remaining amount information is equal to or less than the comparison setting information stored in the storage unit, it is determined that the power supplied from the storage battery is used, The supply power switching unit switches to use the power supplied from the storage battery, and uses the power supplied via the communication cable to execute a predetermined function by the operation execution unit, and Electronic apparatus according to Note 1, characterized in that does not perform the electrodeposition.
According to this, when the remaining capacity information of the battery capacity of the information processing apparatus becomes equal to or less than the comparison setting information, the electronic device uses the power supplied from its own storage battery and is supplied via the communication cable. Therefore, the information processing device can use the power supplied from the battery only for its own operation, suppressing the reduction in the operable time of the information processing device. A reduction in the operable time of the entire system can also be reduced.

(Supplementary Note 3) The communication cable further includes an input unit, and the comparison setting information stored in the storage unit is input by a user using the input unit, or set and input by the information processing apparatus, and then the communication cable. The electronic apparatus according to appendix 2, wherein the electronic apparatus is acquired by the information acquisition unit via
According to this, since the user inputs his / her own intention to set and input the comparison setting information for determining whether or not the power supplied from the battery of the information processing device can be used in the electronic device or the information processing device. In response to this, the user can appropriately switch the power supply.

(Additional remark 4) When the said information acquisition part acquires the unusable information which requests | requires not using the electric power supplied via the communication cable from the said information processing apparatus, the said power supply switching part is from the said storage battery. The electronic device according to appendix 1, wherein the electronic device is switched to use the supplied power.
According to this, when the electronic device acquires the unusable information from the information processing device, it switches to using the power supplied from its own storage battery, so the power supplied from the information processing device is consumed on the electronic device side. Thus, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the operable time of the information processing apparatus.

(Supplementary Note 5) An information processing system in which an information processing apparatus capable of supplying power and an electronic device capable of receiving the supplied power are connected via a communication cable capable of carrying the supplied power The information processing apparatus includes a battery, a battery remaining amount calculation unit that calculates remaining capacity information of the battery capacity, a first connection unit that connects the communication cable, and the communication cable through the communication cable. A communication unit that transmits the calculated remaining amount information to the electronic device, and a power supply unit that supplies a part of power supplied from a battery to the electronic device via the communication cable, the electronic device comprising: A storage battery; a second connection unit that connects the communication cable; an information acquisition unit that acquires remaining amount information sent from the information processing device; and an electric power supplied via the communication cable. A storage unit preliminarily storing comparison setting information for determining whether to use the device, an operation execution unit for executing a predetermined function, and an electric power used by the operation execution unit for executing the function from the storage battery. Based on the magnitude relationship between the supply power switching unit that switches between supply power and power supplied via the communication cable, and the acquired remaining amount information and the comparison setting information, via the communication cable An information processing system comprising: a control unit that switches supply power used by the supply power switching unit in order to limit consumption of the supplied power.

(Supplementary note 6) In an information processing system in which an information processing apparatus capable of supplying power and an electronic device capable of receiving the supplied power are connected via a communication cable capable of carrying the supplied power The information processing apparatus includes a battery, a battery remaining amount calculation unit that calculates a remaining capacity value of the battery capacity, a first connection unit that connects the communication cable, and the supply that serves as a power supply determination criterion. A part of the power supplied from the battery may be supplied to the electronic device based on the magnitude relationship between the calculated remaining amount value and the comparison setting value, and the storage unit storing the power comparison setting value. A remaining amount determination unit that determines whether or not to be supplied to the electronic device, and when it is determined that the supply power from the battery is not used, And a power supply unit that supplies a part of the power supplied from the battery to the electronic device via the communication cable, and the electronic device connects the storage battery and the communication cable. 2 connection units, an information acquisition unit that acquires unusable information sent from the information processing device, an operation execution unit that executes a predetermined function, and power that the operation execution unit uses to execute the function A supply power switching unit that switches to one of the power supplied from the storage battery and the power supplied via the communication cable, and when the information acquisition unit acquires unusable information, the supply An information processing system, wherein a power switching unit switches the power to be used to power supplied from the storage battery.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device TE, 2 Information processing apparatus PC, 3 Communication cable (USB cable), 11 Control part, 12 Communication part, 13 Input part, 14 Charging part, 15 Supply power switching part, 16 Connection part, 17 Information acquisition part, 18 Power usage determination unit, 19 Operation execution unit, 25 Storage battery (battery), 30 Storage unit, 31 Reception information, 32 PC remaining amount information CPr, 33 Unusable information, 34 Standby timer value T0, 35 Comparison setting information CPh, 51 Control unit, 52 display unit, 53 communication unit, 54 input unit, 55 charging unit, 56 connection unit, 57 battery remaining amount calculation unit, 58 remaining amount determination unit, 59 transmission information generation unit, 60 power supply unit, 61 operation execution Part, 65 storage battery (battery), 71 storage part, 72 calculated remaining value CPr, 73 charge The amount maximum value CPm, 74 transmission information SD, 75 compare the set value CPh

Claims (6)

A storage battery,
A connection part for connecting a communication cable capable of receiving an external power supply; and
An information acquisition unit that acquires information on the capacity of the battery from the information processing apparatus including a battery via the communication cable;
An operation execution unit for executing a predetermined function;
A power supply switching unit that switches power used by the operation execution unit to execute a function between power supplied from the storage battery and power supplied via the communication cable;
A control unit configured to switch the supply power used by the supply power switching unit in order to limit the consumption of the power supplied via the communication cable based on the acquired information. Electronics. A storage unit that pre-stores comparison setting information for determining whether or not to use the power supplied via the communication cable;
A power consumption determining unit that determines whether the power used by the operation executing unit to execute the function is the power supplied from the storage battery or the power supplied via the communication cable; Prepared,
The information acquired by the information acquisition unit is the remaining capacity information of the battery capacity,
When the power usage determining unit determines that the acquired remaining amount information is equal to or less than the comparison setting information stored in the storage unit, the power usage determining unit determines to use power supplied from the storage battery;
The supply power switching unit switches to use the supply power from the storage battery,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the operation execution unit does not execute a predetermined function and does not charge the storage battery using the power supplied via the communication cable. An input unit,
The comparison setting information stored in the storage unit is input by the user using the input unit, or acquired by the information acquisition unit via the communication cable after being input by the information processing apparatus. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2. When the information acquisition unit acquires unusable information requesting not to use the power supplied from the information processing device via a communication cable,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the supply power switching unit switches to use the supply power from the storage battery. An information processing system in which an information processing apparatus capable of supplying power and an electronic device capable of receiving the supplied power are connected via a communication cable capable of carrying the supplied power,
The information processing apparatus calculates the battery, a battery remaining amount calculation unit that calculates remaining capacity information of the battery, a first connection unit that connects the communication cable, and the calculated through the communication cable. A communication unit that transmits remaining amount information to the electronic device, and a power supply unit that supplies a part of power supplied from a battery to the electronic device via the communication cable,
The electronic device includes a storage battery, a second connection unit that connects the communication cable, an information acquisition unit that acquires remaining amount information transmitted from the information processing device, and power supplied via the communication cable. A storage unit preliminarily storing comparison setting information for determining whether to use the device, an operation execution unit for executing a predetermined function, and an electric power used by the operation execution unit for executing the function from the storage battery. Based on the magnitude relationship between the supply power switching unit that switches between supply power and power supplied via the communication cable, and the acquired remaining amount information and the comparison setting information, via the communication cable An information processing system comprising: a control unit that switches supply power used by the supply power switching unit in order to limit consumption of the supplied power. An information processing system in which an information processing apparatus capable of supplying power and an electronic device capable of receiving the supplied power are connected via a communication cable capable of carrying the supplied power,
The information processing device is a battery, a battery remaining amount calculation unit that calculates a remaining capacity value of the battery, a first connection unit that connects the communication cable, and a comparison of the supplied power that is a power supply determination criterion Whether or not a part of the power supplied from the battery may be supplied to the electronic device based on the magnitude relationship between the storage unit that stores the set value and the calculated remaining amount value and the comparison set value And a communication unit that transmits unusable information for requesting not to use power supplied from the battery to the electronic device when it is determined that the electronic device should not be supplied. And a power supply unit that supplies a part of the power supplied from the battery to the electronic device via the communication cable,
The electronic device includes a storage battery, a second connection unit that connects the communication cable, an information acquisition unit that acquires unusable information transmitted from the information processing device, and an operation execution unit that executes a predetermined function. A power supply switching unit that switches the power used by the operation execution unit to execute the function to one of the power supplied from the storage battery and the power supplied via the communication cable,
When the information acquisition unit acquires unusable information, the supply power switching unit switches the power to be used to supply power from the storage battery.