JP2019201462A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a user to check a charging state without newly adding a member for notifying the charging state again even if display of the charging state is turned off after completion of charging in a single battery grip.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus (a battery grip 100) includes: two or more power supply units (batteries 107 108); charging control means 110 for charging the power supply unit; charging state detecting means 114 for detecting a charging state of the power supply unit; display means 115, 116 for displaying the charging state of the power supply unit; connection determining means 111 for determining a connection state with an imaging device; and an operation unit 109. When the operation unit 109 accepts predetermined operation after the charging state detecting means receives a charging stop notification in a state where it is determined that control means is not connected to an imaging apparatus, a charging state another notification by the display means is allowed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device that controls charging of a plurality of batteries.

  Patent Document 1 describes a method of charging a plurality of secondary batteries connected to a battery grip.

  Patent Document 2 describes a method of re-notifying that the battery is fully charged when an input by the input unit is detected even if the charge state display is turned off due to the full charge.

JP 2013-102625 A JP 2007-3234036 A

  However, the method described in Patent Document 2 has a configuration having an input means such as a dedicated push button for re-notifying the state of charge. In charging with the battery grip and the imaging device connected, the imaging device can be restarted, and the state of charge can be confirmed by checking the remaining battery level from the menu. On the other hand, in the case of charging with a single battery grip, the state of charge cannot be confirmed from the menu, and therefore the state of charge cannot be confirmed when the charge state display is turned off. Furthermore, in addition to the operation member button for photographing when the image pickup apparatus is connected to the battery grip, arranging a dedicated push button for re-notifying the charging state increases the component cost and complicates the configuration. There is a problem.

  Therefore, the present invention allows the user to check the charge state without adding a new member for re-notifying the charge state even if the charge state display is turned off after the charge is completed in the charge of the battery grip alone. The purpose is to do so.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes two or more power supply units, a charge control unit that charges the power supply unit, a charge state detection unit that detects a charge state of the power supply unit, and a charge of the power supply unit A display unit for displaying a state, a connection determination unit for determining a connection state with the imaging device, and a state where it is determined that the connection is not connected to the imaging device, and after the charging state detection unit receives a charge stop notification And a control means for permitting re-notification of the charging state by the display means when the operation section accepts a predetermined operation.

  According to the present invention, even when the charging state display is turned off after charging is completed in charging with the battery grip alone, the user confirms the charging state without newly adding a member for re-notifying the charging state. be able to.

5 is a flowchart for illustrating charging control when USB charging is performed with the battery grip 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the determination process of whether to permit an electric state re-notification. 3 is a block diagram for explaining components of a battery grip 100 according to Embodiment 1 and components of a charger 140 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining constituent elements of batteries 107 and 108. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining charging control when USB charging is performed with the battery grip 100 according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3, the component of the battery grip 100 in Embodiment 1 and the component of the charger 140 in Embodiment 1 are demonstrated. The battery grip 100 in the first embodiment is an example of an electronic device, and the charger 140 in the first embodiment is an example of a USB (Universal Serial Bus) power source. In the first embodiment, charging control when the batteries 107 and 108 are secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries will be described.

  The connection unit 101 is a receptacle-shaped USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector. A VBUS 123, a signal line 124, a GND (not shown), and the like are connected via the connection unit 101. The VBUS 123 is a power supply line, and the signal line 124 includes signal lines such as D +, D−, CC, and a high-speed differential signal. The VBUS 123 is connected to the batteries 107 and 108 via the switch 112, the power supply circuit 102, the switch 104, and the switching circuit 106.

  The switch 112, the power supply circuit 102, the switch 104, and the switching circuit 106 are controlled by the control unit 110 described later. Details of the batteries 107 and 108 will be described later with reference to FIG. The switch 112 is a switch for turning on / off the power supply of VBUS, and when the overvoltage is applied, the switch 112 is turned off so that the overvoltage is not applied to the subsequent circuit.

  The power supply circuit 102 is configured by a DC / DC converter or the like for raising and lowering the voltage of VBUS to a necessary voltage. The switch 104 is a switch for supplying the stepped-up / step-down power to the battery side or the subsequent circuit unit. The switching circuit 106 is a circuit for switching which of the battery 107 and the battery 108 the power source is connected to. In addition, by controlling the voltage and current with the power supply circuit 102, CC charging (constant current charging), CV charging (constant voltage charging), precharging for charging with a current smaller than CC charging and CV charging, and the like are realized. Can do.

  The detection circuit 103 is a detection circuit for detecting the VBUS voltage when the connection unit 143 is connected to the connection unit 101. The detection circuit 103 detects the VBUS voltage, and the control unit 110 described later controls the power supply circuit 102, the switch 112, and the switch 104.

  The connection unit 105 is a contact unit with an imaging apparatus (not shown) (such as a digital camera), and includes a power source, a communication line, and the like. The detection circuit 111 is a detection circuit unit for detecting connection with the imaging apparatus. The detection signal of the detection circuit 111 is connected to the control unit 110, and the control unit 110 monitors the connection status with an imaging device (not shown). In the first embodiment, the control is not changed depending on whether or not the camera is connected to the imaging device, and thus the description when the camera is connected to the imaging device is omitted.

  The operation unit 109 is a shooting operation member such as a release button when the battery grip 100 is used as a vertical grip when the imaging device is connected. The system control unit on the imaging device side (not shown) is connected via the imaging device connection unit 105. It is connected to the. The operation unit 109 is also connected to the control unit 110 of the battery grip 100, and is used as a button for relighting notification when charging is completed or when a charging error occurs.

  The power supply circuit 113 is a power supply circuit for generating electric power necessary for each block of the battery grip 100 from a power supply obtained by stepping up or down the battery 107, the battery 108, or the VBUS 123. It is composed of a DC / DC converter and a regulator.

  The control unit 110 is a control unit for controlling charging and discharging, and further communicates with the charger 140 and the imaging device. When connecting to the charger 140, the battery 107 and 108 are charged by receiving power from the connection unit 101. Further, when an imaging device is connected via the connection unit 105, the power from the batteries 107 and 108 can be discharged to the imaging device side (not shown). After detecting VBUS by the detection circuit 103, the control unit 110 selects a battery to be charged by the switching circuit 106. Then, the battery voltage of the battery to be charged is monitored, and the power supply circuit 102 is controlled to perform step-up / step-down control up to the charging voltage.

  The charging state determination unit 114 monitors the charging state of the battery 107 and the battery 108 and notifies the control unit 110 of the charging state. The charging state display units 115 and 116 are notifying means for notifying the charging state of the battery 107 or the battery 108 by LED lighting or sound according to the execution of the program in the control unit 110.

  The charger 140 has a connection part 143, and the connection part 143 can be connected to the connection part 101 of the battery grip 100. The connection unit 143 is, for example, a plug-shaped USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector. By connecting the connection unit 143 and the connection unit 101, the VBUS, the signal line, the GND, and the like of the battery grip 100 and the charger 140 are connected.

  The power connection unit 141 is an AC plug, is connected to a commercial power source, is converted into a DC power source via the power circuit 142, and is connected to the battery grip 100 or an imaging device (not shown) via the connection unit 143 and the connection unit 101. Etc. The control unit 144 is a control unit that controls the operation of the power supply circuit and controls communication with the battery grip 100 or an imaging device (not shown).

  Next, components of the battery 107 and the battery 108 will be described with reference to FIG. However, both the battery 107 and the battery 108 include components other than the components shown in FIG.

  The batteries 107 and 108 include a battery cell 117 and a battery control unit 118. The battery cell 117 is connected to the battery control unit 118, and the battery cell 117 supplies power to the battery grip 100 and an imaging device (not shown) via the battery control unit 118, the power supply path 119 and the power contact point unit 122. Further, the battery cell 117 supplies power to the battery control unit 118. The battery cell 117 may have a plurality of cells.

  The battery control unit 118 includes a communication function unit and a remaining amount detection unit that monitors the remaining battery level. And the battery control part 118 acquires and memorize | stores the various battery information regarding the battery cell 117. FIG. The battery control unit 118 communicates with the control unit 110 of the battery grip 100 via the signal line 120 and the communication contact unit 121.

  Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 1, charging control when performing USB charging with the battery grip 100 in the first embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, the battery 107 is referred to as a first battery 107, and the battery 108 is referred to as a second battery 108.

  In step S101, the control unit 110 notifies the user that the first battery 107 is being charged using the charging state display unit 115 of the first battery 107. The fact that the battery is being charged is notified by controlling the green LED of the charging state display unit 115 of the first battery 107 to blink. In step S <b> 102, control unit 110 starts charging first battery 107. In step S <b> 103, the control unit 110 confirms whether a charge stop notification for the first battery 107 is received from the charge state detection unit 114. If it has been received, the process proceeds to S104. If no stop notification has been received, step S103 is repeated.

  In step S <b> 104, control unit 110 stops charging first battery 107. In step S105, the control unit 110 communicates with the charge state detection unit 114 to check whether or not the charge stop factor of the first battery 107 is a stop due to full charge detection. If the charging is stopped due to full charge detection, the process proceeds to step S106. If the charging is not stopped due to full charge detection, the process proceeds to step S115.

  In step S <b> 106, the control unit 110 notifies the user that the first battery 107 is fully charged using the charge state display unit 115 of the first battery 107. Note that the completion of charging is notified by controlling lighting of the green LED of the charging state display unit 115 of the first battery 107. In step S107, the control unit 110 notifies the user that the second battery 108 is being charged using the charging state display unit 116 of the second battery 108. In step S <b> 108, control unit 110 starts charging second battery 108.

  In step S <b> 109, the control unit 110 confirms whether a charge stop notification for the second battery 108 is received from the charge state detection unit 114. If it is received, the process proceeds to step S110. If no stop notification is received, step S109 is repeated. In step S110, control unit 110 stops charging second battery 108. In step S111, the control unit 110 communicates with the charge state detection unit 114 to check whether or not the charge stop factor of the second battery 108 is a stop due to full charge detection. If the charging is stopped due to detection of full charge, the process proceeds to step S112. If the charging is not stopped due to detection of full charge, the process proceeds to step S115.

  In step S112, the control unit 110 turns off the charge display on the charge state display unit 115 of the first battery 107 and the charge display on the charge state display unit 116 of the second battery 108. On the other hand, in step S115, the charging state display units 115 and 116 are used to notify the user that a charging error has occurred. The charging error is notified by controlling lighting of the red LED.

  In step S116, control unit 110 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S117. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, step S116 is repeated. Here, for example, the user is notified that charging is stopped due to a charging error for about one minute.

  In step S113, the control unit 110 determines whether or not to permit re-notification of the state of charge of the first battery 107 and the second battery 108 according to the procedure shown in the subroutine of FIG. Details of step S113 will be described with reference to the subroutine of FIG. In the subroutine of FIG. 2, a procedure for determining whether or not to permit re-notification of the charging state by the operation unit 109 after the charging is completed will be described.

  In step S <b> 201, the control unit 110 determines whether or not an imaging device (not shown) is connected from the detection circuit 111. If the imaging device is not connected, the process proceeds to step S202. If it is connected, the subroutine is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S114 in FIG.

  In step S <b> 202, the control unit 110 permits the interruption of the charging state re-notification by the operation unit 109, and sets the factor to wake up from the power saving mode. The charging state re-notification interruption by the operation unit 109 is permitted, and the interruption is executed, whereby the charging state re-notification of the first battery 107 and the second battery 108 is performed. Thus, the subroutine is terminated, and the process proceeds to step S114 in FIG. In step S114, the control unit 110 ends the charging control and shifts to the power saving mode.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, even when the user wants to check the charging state after the charging of the first battery 107 and the second battery 108 is completed, the first control is performed by performing input control from the operation unit 109. The state of charge of the battery 107 and the second battery 108 can be confirmed.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described. The battery grip 100 in the second embodiment is an example of an electronic device, and the charger 140 in the second embodiment is an example of a USB power source. Note that among the components of the battery grip 100 in the second embodiment, the same components as those of the battery grip 100 in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Among the constituent elements of the charger 140 in the second embodiment, the same constituent elements as those of the charger 140 in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is also omitted.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5, charging control when performing USB charging with the battery grip 100 in the second embodiment will be described. In FIG. 5, the battery 107 is referred to as a first battery 107 and the battery 108 is referred to as a second battery 108.

  In step S301, the control unit 110 notifies the user that the first battery 107 is being charged using the charging state display unit 115 of the first battery 107. The fact that the battery is being charged is notified by controlling the green LED of the charging state display unit 115 of the first battery 107 to blink. In step S <b> 302, control unit 110 starts charging first battery 107. In step S <b> 303, the control unit 110 confirms whether a charge stop notification for the first battery 107 is received from the charge state detection unit 114. If it has been received, the process proceeds to step S304. If no stop notification has been received, step S303 is repeated.

  In step S304, control unit 110 stops charging first battery 107. In step S <b> 305, the control unit 110 communicates with the charge state detection unit 114 to check whether or not the charge stop factor of the first battery 107 is a stop due to detection of full charge. If the charging is stopped due to full charge detection, the process proceeds to step S306. If the charging is not stopped due to full charge detection, the process proceeds to step S316. In step S <b> 306, control unit 110 turns off the charging display on charging state display unit 115 of first battery 107.

  In step S307, the control unit 110 determines whether to permit re-notification of the charge state of the first battery 107 according to the procedure shown in the subroutine of FIG. In step S307, processing similar to that in step S113 is performed. However, in step S307, unlike step S113, it is not determined whether or not to permit re-notification of the charge state of the second battery 108. In step S307, if re-notification of the charge state is permitted, the re-notification of the charge state of the first battery 107 is performed even if the second battery 108 is being charged when the operation unit 109 is input thereafter. .

  In step S308, the control unit 110 notifies the user that the second battery 108 is being charged using the charge state display unit 116 of the second battery 108. In step S <b> 309, the control unit 110 starts charging the second battery 108. In step S <b> 310, the control unit 110 confirms whether a charge stop notification for the second battery 108 has been received from the charge state detection unit 114. If it has been received, the process proceeds to step S311. If no stop notification has been received, step S310 is repeated. In step S <b> 311, the control unit 110 stops charging the second battery 108.

  In step S312, the control unit 110 communicates with the charge state detection unit 114 to check whether the charge stop factor of the second battery 108 is a stop due to full charge detection. If the charging is stopped due to full charge detection, the process proceeds to step S313. If the charging is not stopped due to full charge detection, the process proceeds to step S316. In step S313, control unit 110 turns off the charge display on charge state display unit 116 of second battery 108.

  On the other hand, in step S316, the charging state display units 115 and 116 are used to notify the user that a charging error has occurred. The charging error is notified by controlling lighting of the red LED. In step S317, control unit 110 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S318. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, step S317 is repeated. Here, for example, the user is notified that charging is stopped due to a charging error for about one minute.

  In step S314, the control unit 110 determines whether to permit re-notification of the charge state of the second battery 108 according to the procedure shown in the subroutine of FIG. In step S314, processing similar to that in step S113 is performed. However, in step S314, unlike step S113, it is not determined whether or not to permit re-notification of the charge state of the first battery 107. In step S315, the control part 110 complete | finishes charge control and transfers to power saving mode.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, even when the user wants to check the charging state after the charging of the first battery 107 or the second battery 108 is completed, the first control is performed by performing input control from the operation unit 109. The state of charge of the battery 107 or the second battery 108 can be confirmed.

  In the second embodiment, the determination of permission of recharging of the charging state is performed in step S107 and step S314, but it may be performed before reaching these steps. In the second embodiment, as the charging state display, the green LED blinks during charging, the green LED is lit when charging is completed, and the red LED is lit when charging is complete, but this is not a limitation.

[Embodiment 3]
The various functions, processes, or methods described in the first or second embodiment can be realized by a personal computer, a microcomputer, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a microprocessor, and the like using a program. Hereinafter, in the third embodiment, a personal computer, a microcomputer, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a microprocessor, and the like are referred to as “computer X”. In the third embodiment, a program for controlling the computer X and realizing the various functions, processes, or methods described in the first or second embodiment is referred to as “program Y”.

  Various functions, processes, or methods described in the first or second embodiment are realized by the computer X executing the program Y. In this case, the program Y is supplied to the computer X via a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium according to the third embodiment includes at least one of a hard disk device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, a magneto-optical storage device, a memory card, a volatile memory, and a nonvolatile memory. The computer-readable storage medium in the third embodiment is a non-transitory storage medium.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described Embodiment 1, 2, or 3. The above-described first, second, or third embodiment that is changed or modified without departing from the gist of the invention is also included in the embodiment of the present invention.

100 Battery grip (electronic equipment)
140 battery charger 107 battery 108 battery

Claims (6)

Two or more power supplies,
Charging control means for charging the power supply unit;
Charge state detection means for detecting a charge state of the power supply unit;
Display means for displaying the state of charge of the power supply unit;
Connection determination means for determining a connection state with the imaging device;
When the operation unit accepts a predetermined operation after the charge state detection unit receives the charge stop notification in a state where it is determined that the display unit is not connected to the imaging device, the display unit allows the charge state re-notification And an electronic device.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the charge state detection unit performs a charge stop notification to the control unit when any one of the power supply units is fully charged.   3. The charge state detection unit, when any one of the power supply units is in a charge error state during charge control, sends a charge stop notification to the control unit. The electronic device as described in.   4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, when the operation unit receives the predetermined operation, the control unit performs a re-notification of a charging state by the display unit for a predetermined time. 5. Electronics.   5. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the operation unit receives the predetermined operation, the control unit performs re-notification of a charging state by the display unit while receiving the predetermined operation. The electronic device according to any one of the above.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a battery grip.