JP2988918B1 - Monitoring system for multiple battery packs in electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

A host computer monitors only a battery for which a battery ID is specified, and monitors a plurality of batteries without using a switch. A plurality of battery packs including a host control circuit, one or more master battery packs that can be identified by the circuit, one or more slave battery packs that cannot be identified by the circuit, and a bus. In the system, the master battery pack 6 includes a receiving unit 10 for receiving a battery state transmission command from the circuit 3.
Processing means 11 for requesting the slave battery pack 7 to transmit status information, and processing information transmitted from the slave battery pack 7 in accordance with the request;
Transmitting means 12 for transmitting the processing result to the circuit 3;

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs of an electronic device, and more particularly, to a monitoring system in which a battery identification ID is specified for only one battery pack.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A battery device used in a portable electronic device such as a laptop computer, a mobile phone, and a video camera is not merely a portable electronic device that can be used while traveling. They also want battery status information. The battery status information includes, for example, the remaining capacity of the battery and when charging is to be completed. In order to display such status information on the screen of the electronic device, a system for monitoring a battery is required in the electronic device.

There is a smart battery system as a system for monitoring and controlling a battery for operating an electronic device. The smart battery system connects a system host controller that controls electronic devices, a battery charger, and a battery pack containing a microcomputer to the battery via a bus that can transmit control signals in both directions, thereby providing information on the status of the battery, This is a system that can monitor and control the charging status of the charger. A monitoring command is issued from the system host controller to the battery pack, and a microcomputer built in the battery pack sends a response signal to the system controller via a bus to exchange information.

The information sent from the battery pack includes, for example, state information such as temperature, voltage, current, remaining capacity of the battery, time required for charging, the number of charge / discharge cycles, and design capacity and design voltage of the battery itself. There is attribute information and the like.

[0005] In the conventional smart battery system, the battery pack has a battery ID, and the system host controller, the charger, and other devices identify the battery pack using the battery ID. The system host controller will monitor only the battery pack having the battery ID.

[0006]

However, in this smart battery system, since the system host controller can identify only one battery ID, communication with the host computer is limited to one battery pack. However, many electronic devices require multiple battery packs to increase operating time,
A monitoring system capable of communicating information with a plurality of battery packs using one battery ID is desired.

In a smart battery system, a switch can be provided to monitor a plurality of battery packs with one battery ID. However, a large switch circuit is additionally required in the electronic device. Electronic devices tend to be miniaturized, and a system that does not require this switching circuit is desired in terms of space saving of circuits in the electronic devices.

The present invention provides a battery pack monitoring system having only one or a predetermined number of battery IDs, which can monitor a plurality or a predetermined number or more of battery packs without using a switching circuit. The purpose is to:

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs, comprising: a host control circuit for controlling an electronic device;
One or more master battery packs that can be identified by the host control circuit, one or more slave battery packs that cannot be identified by the host control circuit, and signal exchange between the host control circuit, the master battery pack, and the slave battery pack. A bus for enabling transmission / reception, the master battery pack receiving means for receiving a battery status transmission command from the host control circuit, and receiving status information corresponding to the battery status transmission command to the slave battery pack. It is characterized by comprising processing means for requesting transmission and processing status information sent from the slave battery pack in accordance with the request, and transmitting means for transmitting the processing result to the host control circuit.

[0010] In the monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs according to the second invention, in the first invention, the bus may include one or more masters that give the connected battery packs an identification ID that can be identified by the host control circuit. Connectors and
One or more slave connectors that do not provide the host control circuit with an identification ID that can be identified by the host control circuit, to the connected battery pack, wherein the master battery pack is a battery pack connected to the master connector, and the slave battery pack is It is a battery pack connected to the slave connector.

Further, in the monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs according to the third invention, in the first or second invention, the battery status transmission command is a battery remaining amount inquiry command, and the processing means of the master battery pack is A request is made to the battery for transmission of battery remaining amount information, and in accordance with the request, the battery remaining amount information sent from the slave battery pack and the battery remaining amount information of the master battery pack are totaled.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 A monitoring system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a battery device that connects a plurality of external battery packs to the PC main body 1 will be described as an example. Of course, the present invention can be applied between an internal battery and an external battery.

The PC main body 1 includes a microcomputer 2
And a plurality of battery bays 4 for connecting an external battery pack with a host control circuit 3 having a built-in memory, and a bus 5 for transmitting information bidirectionally. The battery bay 4 is a connector for connecting the battery pack and the bus 5. It has a master battery pack 6 and a slave battery pack 7 as external battery packs, and each has a battery (not shown) composed of a plurality of cells and a microcomputer 8 for controlling the inside of the battery. Master battery pack 6 has a battery ID that host control circuit 3 can identify as a battery pack.
In this case, the battery ID is XX. Further, the slave battery pack 7 does not have such a battery ID, and therefore, the host control circuit 3 cannot identify the slave battery pack 7. The host control circuit 3 and each battery bay 4 are mutually connected by a bus 5 so that information can be transmitted and received not only between the host control circuit 3 and the battery bay 4 but also between the battery bays 4. . The battery packs 6 and 7 have pins on the side and are connected by being inserted into the battery bay 4. The broken line 9 indicates that the battery packs 6 and 7
Indicates a state in which communication is possible via the bus.

If the number of slave battery packs 7 is one or more, the present invention is applied. There is no particular limitation on the number of battery packs.

The microcomputer 8 of the master battery pack 6 requests the receiving means 10 for receiving a battery status transmission command from the host control circuit 3 and the slave battery pack 7 to transmit status information corresponding to the transmission command. Processing means 11 for performing arithmetic processing such as addition processing and maximum value detection on the state information inside the battery sent from the slave battery pack 7 and the state information inside the master battery pack 6; And transmission means 12 for transmitting the data to

On the other hand, the slave battery pack 7 has an identification ID so that the master battery pack 6 can recognize its existence and transmit and receive information. As shown in FIG. 1, the slave battery pack 7 connected to the second battery bay 4 has an identification ID of YY, and the slave battery pack 7 connected to the nth battery bay 4 has an identification ID of ZZ. Note that the microcomputer of the slave battery pack 7 does not have the function of the receiving means 10 or the like like the master battery pack 6, but checks the status in the battery in response to the monitoring command from the master battery pack 6, and outputs the status information signal. Just send. As will be described later in detail, the microcomputer of the slave battery pack 7 also has the receiving means 10 and the like. However, if the microcomputer recognizes itself as a slave battery pack, the function may not be operated. .

FIG. 2 shows an operation procedure of a monitoring system using both battery packs. The monitoring command here is
Battery remaining capacity.

First, a command to inquire about the remaining battery charge is issued from the host control circuit 3 to the battery pack 6 having the battery ID: XX (S101).

Only the master battery pack 6 having the battery ID of XX receives the remaining capacity inquiry command (S102).

The master battery pack 6 checks the remaining battery capacity of the master battery pack 6 and also checks the slave battery pack 7
Request the remaining battery capacity to the user (S10).
3). Before this, the master battery pack 6 checks the existence, the number, and the like of the slave battery packs 7. A request for inquiring of the remaining capacity to the slave battery pack is transmitted with IDs (YY to ZZ) for identifying each battery pack.

The battery pack 8 connected to the second to n-th battery bays 4 receiving the request for the remaining capacity having each ID checks the remaining capacity of its own battery.
Data is transmitted to master battery pack 6 (S10)
4).

The master battery pack 6 that has received the remaining capacity data from each slave battery pack 7 processes the data information (S105). Here, the battery pack is 3
The battery of the master battery pack 6 and the two batteries of the slave battery pack 7 are 50, respectively.
If the remaining battery capacity is 45 or 55 mAh, the following processing is performed. When the inquiry command from the host control circuit 3 is the state of charge of the battery, it is determined in advance that a process of adding all data is performed.
+ 45 + 55 = 150 mAh is the state data transmitted to the host control circuit 3. This processing is not limited to the addition processing, and any processing can be performed according to the type of the monitoring command from the host control circuit 3.
For example, when detecting the temperature of the battery, it is a problem if at least one of the batteries indicates an abnormally high temperature. Therefore, the highest value among the temperature data is selected and used as transmission data to the host control circuit 3.

This battery remaining capacity data (150 mA
h) is transmitted from the master battery pack 6 to the host control circuit 3 (S106).

The host control circuit 3 may display the remaining battery capacity data on a screen of a PC as remaining battery capacity data. Alternatively, it may be determined that the remaining battery charge is low and a charge message may be automatically displayed on the screen to notify the user. If an AC adapter is connected to the PC, charging may be controlled to start automatically. Although a PC has been described as an example, this system can be applied to any electronic device as long as it has functions equivalent to those of the present embodiment.

As described above, in the present system, even if the host control circuit 3 can recognize only the master battery 6 having the battery ID, it is possible to monitor the status of a plurality of battery packs without using a switch.

The present invention can be applied to the case where the host control circuit 3 has a plurality of IDs. In this case, the number of master batteries is increased, and more batteries can be monitored.

Embodiment 2 FIG. In the present embodiment, instead of giving the role of master and slave to each battery pack, the battery pack itself has equivalent performance,
The roles of the master and the slave are determined by a battery bay having a battery ID to which a battery pack is physically connected.

FIG. 3 shows the details of the connection between the battery bay having the battery ID and the battery pack. The battery bay 4 has three terminals 13 for a battery ID detection signal and one terminal 14 for a master / slave detection signal corresponding to the pin arrangement when the battery packs 6 and 7 are connected. is there. The number of these terminals can be arbitrarily determined. For example, in FIG. 3, the battery ID and the identification ID are:
Although three types of XX, YY, and ZZ are required, if three terminals are used, eight types of IDs can be created. If the number of battery packs increases and an identification ID is further required, the number of terminals may be increased.

The identification of the battery ID using the battery ID detection terminal 13 will be described. First battery bay 4
In this case, the terminals 13 are all OPEN, and this is called ID: X
Let it be X. The battery pack connected to the first battery bay 4 recognizes itself as ID: XX based on the battery ID detection signals from the three terminals 13.
In the second battery bay, terminal 13 is connected to (OPEN, O
PEN, GND), which is called ID: YY. Unlike the previous combination of terminals, the battery pack connected to the second battery bay
It recognizes that it is the identification ID of Y. In the n-th battery bay, the terminals are (GND, OPEN, OPEN), which is called ID: ZZ. Similarly, the battery pack connected here recognizes that it is the identification ID of ZZ.

Next, identification of the master / slave using the master / slave detection terminal 14 will be described. GND
Is used as a master detection signal, it is possible to identify the master / slave with one terminal. The right end of the first battery bay 4 is a master / slave detection terminal 14, which is now connected to GND, and thus becomes a master connector. The battery pack connected to the first battery bay 4
From the slave detection signal, it recognizes that it is a master battery pack. The master / slave detection terminals 14 of the second and nth battery bays are OPEN and serve as slave connectors. The battery packs connected to the second and nth battery bays recognize that they are slave battery packs based on the master / slave detection signal from the terminal 14.

Here, the battery ID and the master / slave detection are distinguished, but the battery ID: XX may be an identifier which also serves as the master detection in advance.

As described above, the roles of the master and the slave are determined by the battery bay (connector) to which the battery pack is physically connected. Therefore, all the battery packs having equivalent performance can be used.
Therefore, there is no need to use a battery pack having two types of control circuits or programs depending on whether it is a master or a slave.
What is necessary is to have equivalent performance and to control the performance according to the master / slave detection signal.

[0033]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, in a system in which only a battery pack in which a battery ID is specified is monitored by a host computer, a plurality of battery IDs can be specified without using a switch. It is also possible to monitor a battery pack that has not been used.

By providing an identification terminal for identifying the role of a battery in the battery bay, it is possible to use battery packs having the same performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 PC main body, 2,8 microcomputer, 3 host control circuit, 4 battery bay, 5 bus,
6 master battery pack, 7 slave battery pack, 10 receiving means, 11 processing means, 12 transmitting means, 13 battery ID detection terminal, 14 master / slave detection terminal.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H02J 7/00-7/12 H02J 7/34-7/36 G01R 31/36 WPI (DIALOG)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A host control circuit that controls an electronic device; one or more master battery packs that can be identified by the host control circuit; one or more slave battery packs that cannot be identified by the host control circuit; In a monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs, comprising a bus that enables transmission and reception of signals between the master battery pack and the slave battery pack, the master battery pack receives a battery status transmission command from the host control circuit. Receiving means for requesting the slave battery pack to transmit state information corresponding to the battery state transmission command, and processing means for processing state information sent from the slave battery pack in accordance with the request; Monitoring system of a plurality battery pack, characterized in that a transmission means for transmitting to the host control circuit. 2. The bus provides an identification ID that can be identified by a host control circuit to a connected battery pack.
The master battery pack includes at least one master connector and one or more slave connectors that do not provide the connected battery pack with an identification ID that can be identified by the host control circuit. The master battery pack is a battery pack connected to the master connector. 2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the slave battery pack is a battery pack connected to the slave connector. 3. The battery status transmission command is a battery remaining amount inquiry command, and the processing means of the master battery pack requests the slave battery to transmit battery remaining amount information, and transmits the battery remaining amount information in accordance with the request. 3. The monitoring system for a plurality of battery packs according to claim 1, wherein a totalizing process of the obtained battery remaining amount information and the battery remaining amount information of the master battery pack is performed. 4.