JP3202695B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device which can be connected to an AC adapter and has a built-in battery, and which can eliminate unnecessary power consumed by the AC adapter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional electronic equipment such as a portable information processing device generally includes a central processing unit (CPU), a display unit such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a disk drive unit, a semiconductor memory unit, a power control unit, and a battery. And so on. In general, power is supplied to such a portable electronic device from a commercial power supply via an AC adapter or from a built-in battery. In a state where power is supplied from the AC adapter connected to the electronic device, naturally, no power is supplied to the electronic device from the battery. On the other hand, when the power adapter is removed, power is supplied from the battery to the electronic device.

In such an electronic device, even if the electronic device is not used, a part of the power supply control unit and the semiconductor memory (various initial value data necessary when the electronic device is restarted) is stored in the electronic device. It is necessary to supply power to the stored volatile storage portion). in this case,
When the AC adapter is connected, power is supplied from the AC adapter. However, since the power supply circuit in the AC adapter has a characteristic of maintaining a constant power at a constant voltage, the electronic device itself When the power consumption is small, excess power is consumed as heat in a power supply circuit in the AC adapter.

Therefore, in order to prevent such wasteful power consumption, when the electronic device is not used, the AC adapter is unplugged from the outlet of the commercial power supply or the AC adapter is removed from the electronic device, so that the built-in device is not used. It is necessary to switch to power supply from the battery.

[0005]

However, when the electronic device is not used, it is a troublesome operation for the user to remove the AC adapter or the outlet from the outlet every time the electronic device is not used. Further, even when power is supplied to the electronic device from the built-in battery in this way, there is a possibility that after a long period of time, the voltage of the battery drops and sufficient power cannot be supplied.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device capable of eliminating waste of power in the AC adapter when the electronic device is not used, even when the AC adapter is connected.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising: an electronic apparatus main body; and a power adapter which is detachably attached to the electronic apparatus and supplies power to the main body from a commercial power supply. The power adapter includes a supply circuit for supplying power from the commercial power source to the main body; the main body includes a plurality of electronic circuits, a battery, and a power supply from the power adapter to the plurality of electronic circuits. Control the
In response to an external stop instruction, after switching the power supply to itself from the power adapter to the battery, a first control signal is sent to the supply circuit of the power adapter to operate the supply circuit. And a control circuit for stopping the operation.

According to a second electronic device of the present invention, in the first electronic device described above, the control circuit monitors a state of the battery, and when the control circuit determines that the battery needs to be charged, the control circuit supplies the battery. When the circuit is not operating, a second control signal is sent to the supply circuit, and after the supply circuit is operated, the battery is charged with power from the supply circuit.

According to a third electronic device of the present invention, in the above second electronic device, the control circuit sends the first control signal to the supply circuit after the charging of the battery is completed. I do.

In a fourth electronic device according to the present invention, in the first to third electronic devices, the control circuit responds to the stop instruction to supply power to a part of the plurality of electronic circuits. After switching a supply source from the power adapter to the battery, the first control signal is sent to the supply circuit.

According to a fifth electronic apparatus of the present invention, in the first to fourth electronic apparatuses, the stop instruction is given by software or physical switch means.

A sixth electronic apparatus according to the present invention is an electronic apparatus including an electronic apparatus main body and a power adapter detachably attached to the electronic apparatus and supplying power to the main body from a commercial power supply. An AC / DC converter for supplying power from a power source to the main body; the main body includes a battery, a central processing unit, and a DC / DC converter for supplying power from the battery or the power adapter to the central processing unit. A DC converter, a first switch circuit provided between the DC / DC converter and the battery, and controlling supply of power from the power adapter to the power controller and the DC / DC converter;
In response to an external stop instruction, sending a first control signal to the DC / DC converter to stop the operation of the DC / DC converter and sending a second control signal to the first switch circuit; After the first switching circuit is turned on and the power supply to itself is switched from the power adapter to the battery, a third control signal is sent to the AC / DC converter of the power adapter, A
A power controller for stopping the operation of the C / DC converter.

According to a seventh electronic device of the present invention, in the sixth electronic device, the main body further includes a charging circuit, and the power supply controller monitors a state of the battery, and charges the battery. If the AC / DC converter is not operating when it is determined that the charging circuit is required, a fourth control signal is sent to the AC / DC converter to operate the AC / DC converter, and then the charging circuit is operated. , And the charging circuit charges the battery with power from the AC / DC converter.

According to an eighth electronic apparatus of the present invention, in the above-mentioned seventh electronic apparatus, the power supply controller sends the third control signal to the AC / DC converter after the charging of the battery is completed. Features.

According to a ninth electronic device of the present invention, in the sixth to eighth electronic devices, the main body further includes a plurality of electronic circuits, and the power supply controller responds to the stop instruction. Stopping means for stopping supply of power to a part of the plurality of electronic circuits, and a part other than a part of the plurality of electronic circuits whose supply of power is stopped by the stopping means of the plurality of electronic circuits. After switching the power supply to the electronic circuit from the power adapter to the battery,
The third control signal is sent to the AC / DC converter.

According to a tenth electronic device of the present invention, there is provided the above-mentioned sixth electronic device.
In the ninth to ninth electronic devices, the stop instruction is given to the central processing unit by software means, and the central processing unit sends a sixth control signal indicating that the stop instruction is given to the power supply controller. It is characterized by sending.

An eleventh electronic device according to the present invention includes the sixth electronic device.
The ninth to ninth electronic devices are characterized in that the stop instruction is given by a physical switch unit connected to the power controller.

[0018]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present invention includes a portable information processing apparatus 10 and a commercial power supply (not shown).
And an AC adapter 20 connected to the

The portable information processing apparatus 10 includes a charging circuit 11
, Power supply controller 12 and DC / DC converter 1
3, CPU 14, battery 15, switch 16
And a mechanical power switch 17. Note that the portable information processing device 10 includes various circuits such as a semiconductor memory, but these are omitted in FIG. 1 for simplicity.

The power controller 12 controls the supply of power to these various circuits in the portable information processing device 10.

The AC adapter 20 converts an AC (AC) voltage supplied from a commercial power supply into a DC (DC) voltage.
Portable information processing device 1 including C / DC converter 21
0 to supply DC voltage (power). The operation / non-operation (hereinafter, ON / OFF) of the AC / DC converter 21 is controlled by an AC / DC converter control signal transmitted from the power supply controller 12 via the signal line 35. When the AC / DC converter 21 is on, power is supplied to the portable information processing device 10, and when it is off, power is not supplied.

The battery 15 supplies power to the DC / DC converter 13 and the power supply controller 12 when the switch 16 is turned on, and supplies the power to the portable information processing device 10 when the switch 16 is turned off. No power is supplied to any of the circuits. ON / OFF of the switch 16 is controlled by a switch control signal provided from the power supply controller 12 via the signal line 30. The state of the battery 15, for example, the output voltage of the battery 15,
It is monitored by the power supply controller 12 via the signal line 31. The state of the battery 15 is constantly monitored as long as the power controller 12 is operating.

The portable information processing device 10 is connected to the AC adapter 2
0, the power supply controller 1
2 indicates that the state of the battery 15
When it is determined that charging of the battery 15 is necessary (for example, when it is detected that the output voltage of the battery 15 has dropped to a predetermined value), the power supply controller 12 requires the charging circuit 11 to charge. The charging circuit 11 transmits a charging signal indicating that the charging signal has been transmitted via the signal line 32, and supplies the power from the AC adapter 20 to the battery 15 to charge the battery 15.

The power switch 17 is a switch for starting the portable information processing device 10.

The CPU 14 receives power from the AC adapter 20 or the battery 15 through the DC / DC converter 13 whose on / off is controlled by a DC / DC converter control signal supplied from the power supply controller 12 via a signal line 33. Supplied. Further, when receiving an instruction to put the portable information processing apparatus 10 into the non-operation state from the software, the CPU 14 transmits a stop signal to the power supply controller 12 via the signal line 34.

The power supply controller 12 that has received the stop signal sends a DC / DC converter control signal for turning off the DC / DC converter 13 to the DC / DC converter 13 via the signal line 33.

When a stop signal is received from the CPU 14, the portable information processing device
When power is supplied from the power supply, the power supply controller 12 transmits an AC / DC converter control signal for turning off the AC / DC converter 21 to the AC / DC converter 21 via the signal line 35, and A switch control signal for turning on the switch 16 is transmitted to the switch 16 via the signal line 30.

Next, a more detailed operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the user operates the portable information processing apparatus 10.
The power switch 17 is turned on to start the operation (step S1). Note that the following operation is the same when automatically starting by a timer or the like.

When the power switch 17 is turned on in this way, the power supply controller 12 operates the DC / DC converter 1
3 is turned on, and it is detected whether the AC adapter 20 is connected to the portable information processing device 10 (step S2). This detection is performed by the power controller 12
May be performed by detecting a current supplied from the AC adapter 20 to the power supply controller 12, or may send a connection confirmation signal via the signal line 35 and
It may be performed by waiting for a response from the adapter.

When the AC adapter 20 is the portable information processing device 1
0, the power supply controller 12 transmits a switch control signal for turning off the switch 16 to the switch 16 via the signal line 30 to turn off the switch 16, The supply of power from the power supply 15 is completely cut off (step S3). At this time, all the power required for the portable information processing device 10 is supplied from the AC adapter 20. That is, the DC / DC converter 13 is supplied with electric power from the AC
14 is supplied with the electric power.

Thus, the portable information processing apparatus 10
Is ready for use by the user (step S4).

Next, the user operates the portable information processing apparatus 10.
When the use of the portable information processing device 1 is stopped by the user via the software to end the use of the portable information processing device 1
An instruction to set 0 to a non-operating state is given, or the power switch 17 is turned off.

When an instruction to deactivate the portable information processing device 10 is given to the CPU 14 from software, the CPU 14 transmits a stop signal to the power supply controller 12 via the signal line 34 (step S5).

Whether the power switch 17 is turned off or
Alternatively, when the stop signal is received, the power controller 1
2 transmits a DC / DC converter control signal for turning off the DC / DC converter 13 via a signal line 33, and receives the DC / DC converter control signal.
Is turned off, and the supply of power to the CPU 14 is stopped (step S6).

Next, the power controller 12 operates the switch 1
A switch control signal for turning on the switch 6 is transmitted to the switch 16 via the signal line 30, and the switch 16 receiving this signal turns on. Further, the power controller 12
Transmits an AC / DC converter control signal for turning off the AC / DC converter 21 via a signal line 35 to A
The AC / DC converter 21 that has transmitted the signal to the C / DC converter 21 and received this signal is turned off (step S7). Thus, the power supply from the AC adapter is switched to the power supply from the battery 15.

The power supply controller 12 constantly monitors the state of the battery 15, and when the voltage of the battery 15 decreases, the power supply controller 12 outputs the AC / D signal via the signal line 35.
A C converter control signal is sent to the AC / DC converter 21 to turn on the AC / DC converter 21, and a charging signal is sent to the charging circuit 11 via the signal line 32 (step S8). The charging circuit 1 that has received this charging signal
1 charges the battery 15 with the power from the AC adapter 20 (step S9). After the charging is completed, the AC / DC converter is turned off by the AC / DC converter control signal from the power supply controller 12 (step S1).
0).

On the other hand, if it is detected in step 2 that the AC adapter 20 is not connected to the portable information processing device 10, the power supply controller 12 sends a switch control signal for turning on the switch 16 to a signal. Line 3
1 and turns on the switch 16 (step S11). Thus, the DC / DC converter 13 is supplied with power from the battery 15 and supplies the CPU 14 with the power.

Thus, the user is ready to use the portable information processing device 10 (step S12).

Next, the user operates the portable information processing apparatus 10.
When the use of the portable information processing device 1 is stopped by the user via the software to end the use of the portable information processing device 1
Give an instruction to deactivate 0, or
The power switch 17 is turned off.

When an instruction to deactivate portable information processing apparatus 10 is given to CPU 14 from software,
The CPU 14 transmits a stop signal to the power controller 12 via the signal line 34 (Step S13).

Whether the power switch 17 is turned off or not
Alternatively, when the stop signal is received, the power controller 1
2 transmits a DC / DC converter control signal for turning off the DC / DC converter 13 via a signal line 33, and receives the DC / DC converter control signal.
Is turned off, and the supply of power to the CPU 14 is stopped (step S14). That is, the portable information processing device 10 enters a non-operation state.

In this embodiment, only the power supply controller 12 is supplied with power when the portable information processing device 10 is in the non-operation state. Power may also be supplied to a circuit (memory or the like) that requires the above.

[0046]

As described above, the present invention has an effect that even when the AC adapter is connected, the power consumption of the AC adapter can be eliminated when the electronic device is not used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 portable information processing device 11 charging circuit 12 power supply controller 13 DC / DC converter 14 CPU 15 battery 16 switch 17 power switch 20 AC adapter 21 AC / DC converter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 signal line

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 1/26 G06F 1/32

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic device, comprising: an electronic device main body; and a power adapter that is detachably attached to the electronic device and supplies power to the main body from a commercial power source, wherein the power adapter supplies power from the commercial power source to the main body. A to supply
A main battery; a central processing unit; a DC / DC converter for supplying power from the battery or the power adapter to the central processing unit; a DC / DC converter; and the battery. A first switch circuit provided between the power supply adapter and the battery and the DC / D
Controls power supply to C converter, the external
In response to a stop instruction for stopping the operation of the central processing unit, a first control signal is sent to the DC / DC converter to stop the operation of the DC / DC converter, and the first switch circuit sends a first control signal to the first switch circuit. 2 and sends the first control signal
After turning on the power supply to itself from the power adapter to the battery, sending a third control signal to the AC / DC converter of the power adapter, an electronic apparatus comprising the the operation and the power supply controller to stop. 2. The power supply controller further includes a charging circuit, wherein the power supply controller monitors a state of the battery, and operates when the AC / DC converter determines that the battery needs to be charged. When not,
Sending a fourth control signal to the AC / DC converter;
After operating the AC / DC converter, a fifth control signal is sent to the charging circuit, and the charging circuit
Electronic equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that charging the battery with electric power from the C / DC converter. 3. The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the power supply controller sends the third control signal to the AC / DC converter after charging of the battery is completed. 4. The power supply controller further comprises a plurality of electronic circuits, wherein the power supply controller stops supply of power to a part of the plurality of electronic circuits in response to the stop instruction. After switching the power supply source to the battery from the power adapter to the electronic circuit other than a part of the plurality of electronic circuits, the supply of power of which is stopped by the stopping unit of the plurality of electronic circuits, according to claim 1, characterized in that sending said third control signal to the AC / DC converter
Or the electronic device according to 3 . 5. The stop instruction is given to the central processing unit by software means, and the central processing unit
A sixth control signal indicating that the stop instruction has been given is sent to the power supply controller.
The electronic device according to 1, 2, 3, or 4 . Wherein said stop instruction is claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 electronic device, wherein the provided by the connected physical switch means to said power controller.