JP5234039B2 - POWER SYSTEM, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, POWER SUPPLY DEVICE, AND POWER SUPPLY METHOD - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing various power sources and loads in an integrated manner.

  With the development of portable devices that use batteries or the like as power sources, opportunities to use a plurality of battery-equipped devices simultaneously are increasing. For example, when an image of a mobile computer is observed with an HMD (Head Mounted Display), or when the mobile computer is connected to a mobile phone through a modem card. Even in such a case, a dedicated battery is currently used for a mobile PC (personal computer), and a dedicated battery is used for an HMD or a cellular phone, and there is no interchange of energy between them.

  In addition, with the development of PCs and peripheral devices, wearable PCs have been proposed, and some commercialization examples have been seen. Even in this case, a dedicated power source is used, and even if there is a fully charged secondary battery, it is not compatible and cannot be diverted.

  On the other hand, in a mobile device including a wearable PC, how to secure a power source is an urgent problem, and in some cases, even a device such as a handheld generator is required.

  However, at present, there is no architecture that controls the power supply uniformly among various power supplies and various loads (devices), and even when designing secondary batteries, AC adapters, simple generators, etc. turn into.

  In order to solve the problems described above, the present invention abstracts them based on the idea of a power supply source and a power consumer, defines them uniformly, and a plurality of power supply sources (battery, AC adapter, etc.) An object of the present invention is to provide a system in which a plurality of power consumers can flexibly attach and detach on a common bus line.

  According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the configuration as described in the claims is adopted. Here, the description of the scope of claims will be supplementarily described.

  That is, according to the present invention, when the electronic device and the power supply device communicate information using the set address, and when it is determined that the load from the power supply device can be driven by the power from the power supply device through the communication of this information In addition, power is supplied from the power supply device.

  In this configuration, since communication of information is performed using a set address, power can be supplied and consumed in an optimum state (based on a preset standard) based on data to be transmitted and received, and the bus The system can be used to supply and consume power and send and receive data in an integrated manner. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly meet power supply and consumption between various devices.

  The bus system may periodically generate an address signal for data bus management, and information corresponding to the address signal may be transmitted by a block connected to the bus.

  In this case, it is preferable that the number of generated address signals is up to the maximum possible in the system.

  The generated address signal may be the number of blocks on the bus + 1.

  It is preferable to use a single data bus line to perform both address setting and data communication of a plurality of blocks connected thereto.

  In addition, setting of addresses of a plurality of blocks connected to a single data bus line and data communication may be performed in two stages.

  It is preferable that a plurality of blocks are connected to a single data bus line, and the address assignment method of the plurality of blocks has the following characteristics.

Address setting start timing is the same for all blocks (differs due to semiconductor element variations, circuit delays, etc. are not included here)
Each block outputs the randomly generated data to the data bus at the same timing, and therefore their OR signal is generated on the data bus line,
By comparing the information on the data bus line with the signal generated by each block, one block can be identified without knowing the data generated by other blocks.
By assigning a unique address to the identified block and repeating this series of operations, a unique address is finally assigned to all the blocks.

Moreover, it is preferable to perform the following unique address confirmation after the address assignment.
For the address generated by the data bus management means, the OR signal is generated by outputting the unique data of the address on the data bus,
Each block recognizes that the same address exists other than itself by comparing its own data with the data on the bus,
When the same address exists, the address bus is assigned again in the range of the block having the address at the same position, and the address is reassigned.

In addition, the block attribute for the specific address on the data bus line has disappeared, and the deletion of the block is recognized. Conversely, the block attribute is newly detected for the specific address where the block attribute does not exist. The connection may be recognized.
Furthermore, bi-directional data communication is possible between any block connected to the bus line, and any block (including itself) controls, reads information, and writes information by this communication. It is preferable to enable this.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be realized. A common power management architecture is provided for one mobile device and wearable device, and the battery and power source are shared.
2. Provide common communication means and language system to communicate each other's situation between different types of power sources (primary batteries, secondary batteries, AC adapters, DC adapters, generators) and different devices (loads). It is possible to design a power-related device that can be used in common among a plurality of devices.
3 By defining various power supply sources in a common architecture, a wide range of energy supply sources can be used for the power supply of the equipment, and the environment for using the equipment is dramatically expanded.
4. A plurality of different types of power supplies can be logically connected in parallel to a common bus line, and the power supply capacity can be increased only by increasing the number of power supplies connected to the bus lines.
5 This power management architecture is scalable and can be designed with the same idea, from relatively low power to a large number of objects and high power.
6 By designing based on this architecture, it is possible to standardize the power-related blocks, and to greatly reduce the power system design.
7 With the object emulator, it is possible to monitor the operating state of the power supply with a PC, for example, and a highly reliable power supply system can be easily constructed.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the Example of this invention as a whole. It is a figure explaining the structural example of the power supply object of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the structural example of the temporary energy storage object of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the structural example of the load object of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the bus management means of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the address provision of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the data communication format of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the data communication format of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the data communication format of the above-mentioned Example. It is a figure explaining the transmission of the command of the above-mentioned Example, and a reply. The above embodiment is not described with specific examples. It is a figure explaining the structure of the load of FIG. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement of FIG. 18 and FIG.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention will be described.

  The present invention includes, as hardware, a power supply and data bus and its bus controller, a power supply configuration block connected to these buses, object modeling of the power supply configuration block as software, an operation mechanism of the bus controller, and between the power supply configuration blocks It relates to one architecture that encompasses communication formats.

Here, since the contents are diverse, the following three-part configuration will be used.
Part 1: Explains how to make an object model of a power supply building block. Part 2: Explain how to build an actual power bus system using the power object model.
Part 3: How each object model operates on the constructed power bus system will be described.

[Part 1 Object modeling of blocks used for power supply]
1. Arrangement of blocks used for power supply The blocks currently used or possibly related to power supply are as follows.
(1) Power supply source: Primary battery (dry cell etc.)
: AC adapter (DC is generated from a commercial line and used for powering equipment or charging secondary batteries)
: DC adapter (DC suitable for the target device is generated from a DC power source such as a car battery and used for the same application as the AC adapter)
: Simple generator (from generator with engine to manual generator)
: Solar cell: A device that generates energy from electromagnetic waves in space (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-146077)
: Other fuel cells, those that extract energy from living bodies (2) Power consumers (load)
: Various devices (generally this part provides some convenience to real users)
(3) Power supply, consumption source: Secondary battery (NiCd battery, Ni hydrogen battery, lithium battery, lithium ion battery, lead battery, etc.)
(The block that normally consumes electric power like a motor in an electric bicycle but has the possibility of generating electric power during braking (having a regenerative braking function) is not (3) but (2) load for the reasons described later. It is appropriate to classify them into
That is, if the blocks used for power supply are abstracted at a high level, they are divided into the above three, and (3) is considered to have the functions (1) and (2) in common. In order to abstract them, an object which is an idea mainly used in the field of computer programming is effective. Therefore, the above (1), (2), and (3) are defined as objects, but first, what is an object will be briefly described.

2. Object description An object is a term usually used in computer programming techniques. A part that realizes a function is treated as a black box, and the user (programmer) is given only the specifications from the outside, and programming is performed. The main purpose is to improve efficiency.

  The object is composed of data indicating the specification of the functional block and a group of functions that change the data or realize some function.

この例では、Ｔｕｒｔｌｅ（亀）クラスを定義し、そのデータとして位置座標ｘ、ｙと方向ｄｉｒｅｃｔｉｏｎ、クラスに対する動作を定義するものとして関数ｆｏｒｗａｒｄ（ｉｎｔ），ｔｕｒｎｌｅｆｔ（），ｔｕｒｎｒｉｇｈｔ（）を定義している。つまり、Ｔｕｒｔｌｅというオブジェクトを、その現在位置、進行方向、左回り動作、右回り動作、前進動作というデータおよび機能で規定している。 Object orientation itself is not specific to a specific programming language, but will be described here using the most common C ++ language.
Objects are defined as classes in C ++, for example: (Hereafter, Yamashita et al., C ++ programming style, p147, quoted from Ohm)

In this example, a Turtle class is defined, and the functions forward (int), turnleft (), and turnright () are defined as the data defining the position coordinates x, y and direction direction, and the operation for the class. Yes. That is, an object called Turtle is defined by data and functions of its current position, traveling direction, counterclockwise operation, clockwise operation, and forward operation.

3. Modeling of Blocks Used for Power Supply (3-1) Abstraction of Blocks Used for Power Supply System FIG. 1 shows a general power supply and consumption system. , GND, a bus line for signals. For the signal bus 3, in the case of a single line having GND 2 as a common return line, if it is composed of a plurality of lines independent of the power supply line, it is further superimposed on the power supply bus (1) and physically exists Sometimes not. 4 is a battery (regardless of a secondary battery such as nickel metal hydride or lithium ion, or a primary battery such as manganese or alkali), 5 is a temporary power source using an electric double layer capacitor as a storage source, and 6 is an AC adapter (charger). 7 is a general electric device serving as a load. The number of things connected to these buses (hereinafter defined as objects) does not matter. All of the blocks are not necessarily physically connected to the power bus line at the same time, and a switch (practically a semiconductor switch) is inserted between each block and the power bus line.

  Various elements can be considered as constituting the power supply system as described above. When these elements are abstracted, power supply sources (primary, AC adapter, DC adapter, etc.) and power are supplied from these sources. It can be roughly divided into consumers (load). One of the object-oriented features is that a new object having a common function can be derived from the original object. Therefore, also in accordance with this philosophy, an object connected to the power bus system is first defined, and a power supply object and a load object are derived therefrom. The AC adapter, the primary battery, etc. are derived from the power source object. The electrical device itself is simply abstracted as a load object from the viewpoint of this system. The item corresponding to the item (3) described in 1 is generated by inheriting the functions of the power supply source and the load. It is appropriate to consider that the secondary battery, which is the main power source in practical equipment, belongs to this item (3).

  The charging method for the secondary battery differs depending on the type of the battery (NiCd or lithium ion, etc.), and the method of charging the temporary power source using the electric double layer capacitor is also different from the battery. However, these differences can also be handled uniformly by polymorphism, which is a large object-oriented philosophy, and it is simply the same interface from the user (in this case, a designer who designs power-related equipment based on this architecture). Can handle.

(3-2) Input / Disconnect of Power Object and Load Object In the system shown in FIG. 1, both the power supply object (FIG. 2) and the load object (FIG. 4) have a switch for the power bus line. When there is only one power supply object and one load object, it is redundant to have a switch for the power supply for each. However, considering a plurality of power supply objects and load objects, and objects that become power supplies or loads, this structure It is appropriate to do.

With this structure, who defines which object's switch (for the power bus) is turned on is specified as follows.
The switch of the power supply object is used to enable only one of the plurality of power supply objects when they exist on the same bus line. When selecting one of a plurality of power supply objects, the following prioritization is followed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 AC adapter 2 DC adapter 3 Secondary battery 4 Primary battery 5 Temporary energy storage That is, it is set to the order of what can supply energy for the longest time. Further, when there are power supply objects of the same level, for example, they are arranged in order of capacity or address (this is a problem in system implementation).
Since the switching of the load object is in principle controlled by a request for a set existing ahead of the load, the load itself controls it. At this time, a control command is transmitted to itself. In this way, other objects on the bus line can also share information.

4). Object Modeling of Power Supply Source Block (4-1) Top Level Object Model Hereinafter, object modeling of blocks connected to the power supply system shown in the present embodiment will be described.

上記クラスの定義の中で、データとしてアドレスは存在するが、関数としてアドレスを読み出すものはない。これは、本システムの構造上、オブジェクトに対してアドレスを問い合わせる事はできない（つまり、データ問い合わせのベースとなるのがアドレスであるので）からである。 First, a class including everything connected to the power supply system (except for bus management means) is defined, and all objects are derived or inherited from it. This model is therefore the prototype for all classes.

In the above class definition, an address exists as data, but there is no one that reads an address as a function. This is because the address of the object cannot be queried due to the structure of this system (that is, the address is the basis of the data query).

(4-2) Modeling of power supply source This is a basic model of a power supply source such as a battery or an AC adapter. This model is a collection of information necessary for a power supply source and related functions.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a DC power source, regardless of whether it is a battery or a DC power source rectified from AC. 11 is a resistor for current detection, 12 is a switch for connecting to the power bus (16), and 19 is a microprocessor for making this physical device a logical object (that is, it is expected from the information bus line 17) This physical device appears to be a logical object), specifically measuring the voltage and output current of the DC power supply, controlling the switch 12, setting the address on its own bus, and communicating data with other objects .

また、以下に内部データに対するコードの割り当て例を示す。上記モデルだけでは二次電池は対象外であるが、二次電池は上記オブジェクトモデルと負荷オブジェクトモデルを継承して生成されるので、ＰｏｗｅｒＴｙｐｅのコード割り当てに二次電池や一時電源もいれておく。０ｘは１６進数を表す。

An example of an object model of such a general power supply source is shown below.

An example of code assignment for internal data is shown below. Although the secondary battery is excluded from the above model alone, since the secondary battery is generated by inheriting the object model and the load object model, the secondary battery and the temporary power source are also included in the code assignment of PowerType. 0x represents a hexadecimal number.

チャージャの型のコード割付例を示す。（ＰｏｗｅｒＴｙｐｅの割付例参照）

(4-3) Energy Charge Object This is responsible for charging the energy storage object and supplying power. This object may be an AC adapter, a DC input such as charging from a car battery, or other means such as converting electromagnetic waves present in the environment into voltage. Chargers differ depending on the target, and the charge method is different, so a general model example that combines them is shown below. The actual object is further derived from this to define detailed data. In addition, these individual chargers use different commands and parameters depending on the implementation method (for example, in charging a NiCd battery, a method for detecting a change in charging voltage, a method for detecting a change in battery temperature, and a battery state) Since there are various methods such as so-called trickle charging that charges with a minute current without looking at it), it is generally difficult and unsuitable to define a command system. Therefore, in order to cope with commands unique to such a device, a mechanism for transmitting / receiving device-specific commands is prepared in the command system of the present invention report (see Part 3 7-3).

An example of code assignment for the charger type is shown below. (Refer to the PowerType assignment example)

5. Modeling of load objects (5-1) Modeling of basic load objects Information and functions necessary for basic load models are collectively modeled. A product that provides services to an actual user exists in the object object-oriented power architecture ahead of the load object model, and is buried in the load object, and it does not matter what it is.

  In FIG. 4, 16, 17 and 18 are a power supply bus, a data bus and GND, respectively. 50 is a switch for turning on and off the original load 57 (this is actually a part that provides convenience to the user), and 55 is a microprocessor that generates a load object. Although the current consumption is basically detected by the resistor 51, since the current consumption state of 57 is known, data may be obtained from the microprocessor 58 that controls 57 via the communication path 56. Of course, 55 and 58 are the same processor. Reference numeral 59 denotes a capacitor for mitigating an instantaneous interruption of the power supply bus 16 or a sudden voltage change when the power supply object is replaced. An electric double layer capacitor, an auxiliary secondary battery, or the like can be used. In some cases, it can be omitted.

An example object is shown below.

(5-2) Power Generation Load Object For example, consider a motor as the final load. The characteristic that the motor generates torque is that the load object is purely a load, and no electric power is generated from it. However, when a force for forcibly rotating the motor from the outside works (for example, when the motor is driven by inertia force without supplying power to the motor with an electric bicycle), the load object is regenerated. If it supports braking, this object can also be a power supply object. However, the practical use of such objects has the following problems.

  That is, the power supply bus system can switch the power supply object only in synchronization with the address polling timing of the system, and the power generation mode cannot be asynchronously entered into the system. Therefore, a means for solving this is required in the corresponding object. Specifically, this means that a power storage means such as an auxiliary rechargeable battery or an electric double layer capacitor will be provided. Moreover, since it is practical to construct the power used by this auxiliary power source to be used in this object, it is optimal to simply define it as a load object.

  However, it cannot be said that it cannot be generated by inheritance from the power supply object and load object.

6). Inheritance of objects (6-1) Modeling of secondary batteries Secondary batteries, temporary storage, etc., sometimes become a power supply source, but in some cases, power consumers (loads) are power supply objects and loads It is appropriate to create by inheriting each property from the object.

  In FIG. 2, when the DC power source 10 is considered as a battery, this figure is the internal configuration of the battery object as it is. In addition to this, various components that have already been put into practical use, such as a fuse and a temperature detection element as a battery protection circuit, are included, but are omitted because they are not relevant to the gist of the present invention.

ここで、関数の中身（実装方式）は設計項目でありその具現化方式そのものは本発明とは直接の関係はなく、例えばバッテリー残量計算や表示アルゴリズムはすでにカムコーダなどで実現されている。 Examples of object models are shown below, but there are other ways to define them, and new data and new functions may be added.

Here, the content of the function (implementation method) is a design item, and the realization method itself is not directly related to the present invention. For example, the battery remaining amount calculation and the display algorithm are already realized by a camcorder or the like.

When a battery is defined as such a class, the load object can know the following information.
{1} Is the battery usable for the current load? {2} The remaining capacity of the current battery {3} The (expected) life of the battery currently in use.

  In addition, although the battery model name is not interested in the load object, if a power block emulator is connected to the bus line, the information of each block can be read and used for services and the like. Accordingly, there are cases where the object has such auxiliary information.

(6-2) Temporary Energy Storage Object This is an object whose main function is to temporarily store a voltage using a large capacity capacitor such as an electric double layer capacitor. Although a block diagram is shown in FIG. 3, only the part of the DC power source is replaced with the electric double layer capacitor 20, and the rest is the same as FIG. The microprocessor 19 is always supplied with power from 14, but of course the operation is stopped when the electric power stored in 20 is discharged. Therefore, a route for receiving power supply from the power line is prepared as in 21. In addition, the electric double layer capacitor 20 can be charged via 16; however, when the electric double layer capacitor 20 is charged from the outside through a completely different route without passing through 16 (for example, the power bus 16 by electromagnetic induction). Without).

  The capacity of electric double layer capacitors can be easily obtained from about 0.1 F to about 100 F at present, but a normal electrolytic capacitor can be used for this part depending on the application. At this time, the capacity is from about 10 μF to several thousand. It will be μF. Therefore, since the capacitance range is wide, the coefficient is separately defined in units of μF.

The following example shows an abstraction of this as an object.

[Part 2: Building a power bus system using a power object model]
1. Basic system construction Up to the previous section, the object modeling of each block of the power supply has been completed, but in order to implement this on the actual bus line, it is necessary to further define the following functions.

  First, a method of connecting and disconnecting each block of the power supply at an arbitrary timing to the current bus system (assuming a three-wire system of power supply, GND, and data) will be described.

  In FIG. 5, 63 is a bus management means prepared on the bus line. This bus management means is different from the object in this report. This part is actually constituted by a microprocessor, and power is supplied from a power supply bus. That is, the operation does not start unless a power supply object is connected to the bus line. 61 is a pull-up resistor for the data line, 62 is for outputting address management data from the microprocessor to the data bus, and the data line is wired OR with each power supply object. Reference numeral 64 is an example of a power supply object (here, the details are omitted because the purpose is to show that the data line is wired-or).

  When the power is supplied to the bus management means 63 and the operation is started, as shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined number N of address pulses (refer to Part 3, 1, address format for details of N) are cyclically displayed. Occurs. A time t for outputting data corresponding to these addresses on the data bus is assigned between the address pulse and the next address pulse. FIG. 7 shows an actual data pulse waveform. In the figure, 4 bits are allocated to the address, but the initial number is always 0, and the maximum number of addresses is 8 to express the start of the address. Of course, the maximum number of addresses is not limited to 8, and a battery such as a lithium battery may be mounted in advance in the bus management means.

  With the above preparation, the actual address assignment and communication method will be described below.

(1) Address setting mode The state of the bus can be broadly divided into a state in which the address of each object is being set and a state in which data communication is performed between objects after the address is fixed. The former is defined as an address setting mode, and the latter is defined as a data communication mode. The address setting mode includes an address setting process and an address confirmation process as will be described later.

  The address setting mode occurs when the power supply source object is first connected to the power bus system to which the load object is already connected, or when an error signal is generated from the object and the power system needs to be reconstructed. When a new object is added or removed while the bus system is in the data communication mode, the address setting is possible in the data communication mode, so the address setting mode is not entered. (However, it is of course possible to implement the address setting mode.) Details will be described later.

(1-1) Address setting process When the power is turned on and activated in the state where the address is not defined in the object connected on the bus line, the address is first defined in each object. This is called an address setting process.

  What is to be implemented here is that each object having the same algorithm at exactly the same timing tries to distinguish each other while sharing one data bus line. For this purpose, it is necessary to determine how many objects are connected to a common bus line and to distinguish them. If this is performed, for example, in an analog fashion, a method may be considered in which each object pulls down the pulled-up data line with the same impedance, and the DC level of the data line is observed. (In other words, a DC level corresponding to the number of objects is observed.) Recognizing this, the objects are separated one by one, and one address is given to the last remaining one to obtain its existing address. Repeat for other objects. Even in this case, it is not possible to determine which of the objects having the same algorithm is to be separated (each object itself). Therefore, a function for generating a random number is prepared for each object, and the object itself determines which object is to be separated (or left) according to the value. In other words, it is a method of deciding by doing a kind of junk between objects.

  The following is a complete digital implementation of this idea.

  Here, the address setting of a maximum of eight power supply objects will be described, but of course this number is not limited to eight. As shown in FIG. 8, an address voting interval of 8 bits from b0 to b7 is prepared after a fixed length l after all address pulses. All the power supply objects connected to the bus line are pulses of which only 1 bit out of 8 bits is “1” (that is, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, One of 128) is randomly generated and voted (output) simultaneously in this interval.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of such voting, where objects 1 to 8 vote for b6, b4, b5, b3, b2, b0, b0, and b7, respectively. Therefore, these OR outputs are 11111101 as shown in the lowermost stage. Now, each object sets an address based on this OR output and the output that it voted for. From the OR output in FIG. 9, the location where the bit closest to the LSB side becomes “1” (in this case, the LSB itself at b0) can be seen. Since the object voted here is set to the address m, the next address pulse generation timing (m may be incremented at this time, but here, for simplicity, until the address is finally determined, It is assumed that the increment is not performed, that is, the address m is output by the bus management means until the address m is completely set. It is important that each object knows itself and that it is not necessary to know at all how other objects voted). In this case, the objects 6 and 7 have the right to vote and vote again as shown in FIG. At this time, voting was performed for b2 and b4, respectively, and an OR output of 0,010,100 was obtained. Here, since the OR output still has “1” of 2 bits or more, the object corresponding to the place where “1” is obtained at the bit closest to the LSB side as before, gets the next voting right. FIG. 11 shows the state of this voting. Here, only the object 6 votes, and the OR output and the voting bit position of the object match. At this stage, an address m is provisionally assigned to the object 6.

  Here, provisional means that the voting place where each object is generated is quite probabilistic. For example, if the objects 6 and 7 vote for the same bit in FIG. 9, the same address m is assigned to 6 and 7. . Therefore, an address confirmation process for avoiding this problem is included, which will be described later.

  Now, after passing through the confirmation process, as described above, when the address of the object 6 is fixed to m, the voting right is lost, and the same operation is performed on the addresses m + 1, m + 2,. Do. By repeating this, the addresses of all objects are finally determined.

The address setting process is determined by the value in the data issued by the bus management means at the timing of address 0 (command = 0x00). Details will be described later.

各パケットは、この情報により現在のバスのモードを知る事ができ、暫定アドレスを取得したオブジェクトは、自分の暫定アドレスに続いて自分のデータを出力する。 (1-2) Address Confirmation Process If the address m is provisionally assigned to the object, the address confirmation process is entered. In this process, each data is output to the address m generated by the bus management means, and the information (or data) on the data bus is compared with its own data. (See Figure 12)
The address confirmation process can be determined by the following data issued by the bus management means after the address (0) of the bus management means (command 0x01 indicates the address confirmation process). (See Part 3 for data format.)

Each packet can know the current bus mode from this information, and the object that acquired the temporary address outputs its own data following its temporary address.

宛先アドレスは自分自身のアドレスであり（この様に決めておく）、コマンドはアドレス確認プロセスである事を示す値（０ｘ０１）であるが、パラメータに関しては、自分に固有のものを出力する。例えば、パラメータとしてシリアル番号を出力すれば、二つ以上のオブジェクトの固有データのオアを見ることで、自分以外に同時に出力した別オブジェクトの存在が認識できる。 The format at this time is as follows.

The destination address is its own address (determined in this way), and the command is a value (0x01) indicating that it is an address confirmation process, but parameters unique to itself are output. For example, if a serial number is output as a parameter, it is possible to recognize the existence of another object that is output at the same time other than itself by looking at the OR of the unique data of two or more objects.

  Here, if address duplication is detected, the address setting process is passed again.

  FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the address setting and confirmation processes (1-1) and (1-2). Note that the operation of FIG. 13 can be easily understood from the description, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

(2) Data communication mode The address of each power supply object is uniquely determined by going through the processes of the above items (1-1) and (1-2). Thereafter, the bus management means processor periodically issues an address, and since the corresponding object indicates its existence, it outputs data on the bus line. As a result, when the address makes a round, all objects on the bus line share the attributes and attributes of other objects. In this mode, communication between objects is performed. This state is defined as a data communication mode. Details of the data format and the like will be described in detail in Part 3.
2. Adding and deleting objects (dynamic system rebuild)
When an object is added to the power bus, by looking at its data line, it can be seen whether all other addresses are currently or are being established. If everything is confirmed, you can simply start issuing your own data following the free address (ie, the data part after the address is empty). The bus management means processor and other objects recognize the addition of the object by seeing that data has entered after the address. If it is confirmed, wait until it is confirmed, and then start the same operation.

  Thereafter, each object requests information and sends it spontaneously as necessary.

  When an object is deleted, the data corresponding to that address disappears (however, when the only power supply object is deleted, the system stops as it is), each object will thereby disappear the object associated with that address. Is detected. At this time, the management function processor may perform address padding or leave the address empty for the time being (in the implementation in which the address is polled by the current number of objects + 1, it is necessary to pad the address. Can be used in any implementation that polls. In any case, since object information is cyclically output on the bus, all objects can share information.

[Part 3 Power Bus System Control System]
So far, the first part described objectification of the main blocks that make up the power supply, and the second part explained the outline of how an actual power supply system was constructed, maintained, and dynamically rebuilt. . In Part 3, the command system (API group) used for construction and maintenance of these and its format will be described.

  Note that the checksums are separate for the total number of bytes and destination address in the following codes.

1. Address format The address of each object is generated cyclically by the bus management function processor, and its length is 7 bits (therefore, the maximum number of addresses is 128, but the bus management processor address is defined as 0 and the broadcast address is defined as 127). To do). Each object can place its own data on the bus line during this address. The format of this part is shown in FIG.

  In the figure, 100 is an address generated by the bus management function processor, the head (MSB) is always 0, followed by a 7-bit address. Since this address portion is simply incremented except in the address setting mode, no checksum is prepared.

The following rules are set for the value of this address.
Address 0 (0x00); this is defined as the address of the bus management function processor.
Address 127 (0x7F); this is a broadcast address. All objects will respond to the data that follows.

  Accordingly, 126 addresses from 1 to 126 can be actually used for the object.

  In addition, the addresses generated by the bus management means are all cyclically generated from 0 to 126, and all addresses are generated only in the address setting mode. In the data communication mode, the number of objects actually connected + 1. There is a method of shortening the cycle as (that is, an additional empty space of a newly added object).

このパケットが一つのアドレスのデータ部分に、最小１個（３バイト）、最大１２７個（３８１バイト）存在する。この３バイトを一単位とする総パケット数を各オブジェクトおよびデータバス管理手段プロセッサが発信するデータの先頭に置く。（図１４の１０１）この値を見ることで、何個のコマンドパケットが存在するか分かるとともに、この数でパケットの同期を取る。 2. Maximum value of packet One packet is defined as follows.

There is a minimum of one packet (3 bytes) and a maximum of 127 packets (381 bytes) in the data portion of one address. The total number of packets having 3 bytes as a unit is placed at the head of the data transmitted by each object and the data bus management means processor. (101 in FIG. 14) By looking at this value, it can be known how many command packets exist, and the number of packets is synchronized.

3. Maximum value of address generation cycle In FIG. 15, 101 and subsequent data is data transmitted by each object.

  The basic unit is a packet with a minimum of 3 bytes, and is composed of the number of packets, the address of the communication destination, a command for the communication destination, and an argument (parameter) of the command.

  The number of packets sent by the object specified by the address is 101 packet number display bytes. Since LSB is used as a checksum, the minimum is 1 and the maximum is 127.

FIG. 16 shows a communication form of one cycle and an approximate time when communication is performed at a speed of 100 kbps. Since the minimum information packet is 3 bytes (number of packets, destination address, command), neglecting overhead such as blank bits for synchronization, the minimum is 4 × 127 (maximum number of addresses) = 509 bytes maximum (1 + 3 × 127) × 127 = 48. If the communication speed is 5 Kbytes and 100 Kbps, one cycle is a minimum of 41 ms.
The maximum is about 3.8 seconds. Since the maximum value is a value when all addresses are polled and each address has 127 bytes of data, it is practically shorter than this.

4). Command Generation Form FIG. 17 shows a command transmission status from each object and a response status to the command. All commands are sent and their responses are designed to be one-to-one, and handshaking is always performed. Address generation cycles 1, 2, and 3 are consecutive in this order. For example, when object 1 (the object assigned address 1) issues a command to n (204), object n can recognize this content immediately after issuance (that is, without waiting for the timing 206, for example). Therefore, an answer to this is prepared, and information is actually transmitted at the timing of data transmission (this is 206). Also, since object n can transmit data to a plurality of addresses, for example, an answer (207) to object 2 or a command transmission (208) to object 3 is within its own allocation timing (that is, after receiving address n). Is possible.

A command used when an operation is completed or answered in response to an instruction or an information request (all are collectively referred to as a command) is defined as a response command. (Code 0x26)
It is also possible to send a plurality of commands to the same destination. At this time, the destination address-command-parameter sequence is repeated, and the answers are defined to occur in the order of commands. (212, 213)
Nesting is prohibited in the answer pair for the command, and when an error occurs between the command and the answer, the command is reissued. It is also possible to issue a command to itself. For example, if the load object itself issues a command to turn on the load object, other objects connected to the bus line can share this information. As a result, the power supply source object knows that the load is connected without detecting that the current has increased.

5. Bus mode As described above, the power bus has an address setting mode and a data communication mode. The difference between them is expressed on the bus as follows.

  Address 0 is the address of the bus management function processor, followed by a data packet of a minimum of 3 bytes. (This format is the same as other objects.)

これらのモードの遷移は一サイクル（すべてのアドレスポーリング完了まで）単位となる。 The mode is asserted using this data packet.

These mode transitions are in units of one cycle (until all address polling is completed).

各オブジェクトはアドレスとそれに付随するコマンド、パラメータを読む事により、現在の電源バスライン上にどのような属性のものが接続されているかが知れる。さらに詳しい情報は必要なオブジェクトが相手先に問い合わせ、認識できる。 6). Object attribute transmission system When the power bus enters the data communication mode, each object broadcasts its own attributes. The data format at this time is as follows.

Each object can know what attribute is connected to the current power supply bus line by reading the address and the command and parameter associated therewith. For more detailed information, necessary objects can inquire and recognize the other party.

7). Command System and Usage Examples Since this specification is not a specification for the entire command system, commands (APIs) in some usage examples will be described. Note that the command here has a broad meaning, and includes an information request command, a request information response, an operation command, a mode statement, and the like.

(7-1) Data bus management command Data bus management commands include the following.

(7-2) Commands used during the data communication mode The commands used during the data communication mode are as follows.

以下、実際の応用例である

パラメータ中に固有情報を挿入するが、その長さはｍパケット（３ｍバイト）となるように調節し、最大１２７パケット（３ｘ１２７バイト）である。 (7-3) Exception Command The following are defined as wrappers for communicating unique data, commands, etc. that do not conform to the format of this architecture.

The following is an actual application example

Specific information is inserted into the parameter, but the length is adjusted to be m packets (3 mbytes), and the maximum is 127 packets (3x127 bytes).

ここに、コマンド０ｘ１４はオブジェクトに対するスイッチデータ情報要求、パラメータ０ｘ００は単にスペースを埋めるためのもの、電源供給オブジェクトが発行したコマンドは０ｘ１５でコマンドに対する返事を表現し、パラメータ０ｘ００は、スイッチがオフである。 (7-4) Information request example for other objects in data communication mode (refer to Part 4-1)
A detailed information request example is shown for the load object (address 8) to the power supply object (address 2) on the bus line.

Here, the command 0x14 is a switch data information request for the object, the parameter 0x00 is merely for filling the space, the command issued by the power supply object represents the reply to the command with 0x15, and the parameter 0x00 is that the switch is off. .

8). List of classes Below is a list of classes.

(8-1) Basic class The basic class is described as follows.

(8-2) Power Supply Object The power supply object is described as follows.

(8-3) Charger The charger is described as follows.

(8-4) Load The load is described as follows.

(8-5) Secondary Battery The secondary battery is described as follows.

つぎに、電源および負荷が１つずつの最も基本的な例を用いて具体的に説明する。 (8-6) Temporary power supply The temporary power supply is described as follows.

Next, a specific description will be given using the most basic example of one power source and one load.

  In FIG. 18, a power supply bus line 302, a GND bus line 303, and a data bus line 304 are connected to the bus controller 301. A power source 305 and a load 306 are connected to these bus lines via connectors 307 and 308, respectively.

  The operation status of each part will be described.

(1) Contents of power supply It is assumed that the specifications of the power supply belonging to the PowerSource class are as follows.
Power_type = 0x00 (represents a secondary battery and a NiCd battery)
catalog_voltage = 6 (nominal output voltage = 6V)
max_va = 6 (nominal capacity = 6VA)
output_voltage = 7 (current output voltage = 7V)
alarm_voltage = 5.6 (minimum supplyable voltage = 5.5V)
Of the above data, the current output voltage is higher than the nominal output voltage, but this is usually the case immediately after charging. The minimum supplyable voltage 5.5V is a value that, for example, the battery is damaged when the battery is used until the voltage becomes lower than this.

(2) Content of load On the other hand, it is assumed that load data belonging to the load class is as follows.
max_voltage = 8V (maximum allowable input voltage = 8V)
min_voltage = 4V (operable minimum voltage = 4V)
max_current = 1A (maximum input current = 1A)

(3) Operation of Power Supply System Assume a case where the load 306 is connected to the bus after the power supply 305 is connected to the bus in the block shown in FIG. (Nothing happens if the load is connected first)
As shown in FIG. 2, the microprocessor 19 in the power supply object is always in operation if the DC power supply 10 exceeds a certain value.

  Therefore, when the power supply 305 is connected to the bus, the bus management means (bus controller 301) starts operating, and first the system operates in the address setting mode. Thus, the address of the power supply object (power supply 305) is determined (becomes address 1) based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the address is determined, it knows that there is no other power supply connected to this bus (actually nothing else is connected), so the bus system can be used Turn on the main switch (12) of the object.

  Next, when a load object (load 306) is connected, address arbitration is performed again, and the load object address is determined (address 2).

Through the above process, the power supply bus system is ready for operation.
(4) Actual Operation Example How the power supply bus system is used is determined by an application program on the architecture that is the gist of the present invention. An example is given below.

  Although the load is assumed as described above (section (2) above), there are products such as radio and PDA ahead of this load in the actual situation. Here, for the sake of simplicity, a product with only an on / off function is assumed to be a flashlight, for example.

  FIG. 19 shows the structure of the load object in the case of the flashlight. 309 is a microprocessor, 310 is a main switch, for example, MOSFET, 312 is a lamp, 311 is a control switch for the lamp, and 313 is an alarm indication LED.

  When the connector 308 is connected to the bus system and the address arbitration of the load object is completed, the microprocessor starts the following operation. This operation is shown in FIG. Since the operation of FIG. 20 can be easily understood from the drawing, only a brief description will be given here.

  Query the power supply voltage; use the CatalogVoltage () function to query the power supply object for the nominal output voltage and compare it with its own maximum allowable voltage to determine if the power supply voltage is appropriate. The nominal voltage is of course different from the actual voltage, but if this is known, an approximate judgment can be made. If very strict judgment is required, such data and query API can be defined.

  Inquiry about the type of power supply; even if the power supply voltage is appropriate, it is judged from the type of power supply in order to determine the necessary current capacity. Most primary and secondary batteries can be used with a flashlight of up to 1A. If it is desired to know the current capacity accurately, such an API may be prepared.

  Up to this point, since the voltage of the power source and the approximate supply current are known, the flashlight control switch is detected. If the switch is turned on here, power is supplied to the light bulb 112. Thereafter, the battery remaining amount is appropriately inquired (in the flowchart, the portion to wait for this time is omitted). When the remaining battery amount is low, the light bulb is turned off and the alarm LED is turned on.

  The alarm LED is lit not only when the battery is low while the flashlight is in use, but also when the compatibility with the power supply connected to the bus system is poor, to display the status to the user .

1 Power Bus Line 2 GND (Ground) Bus Line 3 Data (Signal) Bus Line 4 Battery 5 Temporary Power Supply 6 AC Adapter 7 Load (General Electrical Equipment)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 DC power supply 11 Current detection resistor 12 Switch 13, 14, 15, 21 Microprocessor input / output 16 Power bus line 17 Information bus line 18 Ground bus line 19 Microprocessor 20 Electric twenty layer capacitor 50 Switch 51 Current consumption detection Resistors 52, 53, 54 Input / output 55 of microprocessor 55 Microprocessor 56 Communication path 57 Original load 58 Microprocessor 59 of load 57 Capacitor 60 Microprocessor 61 Pull-up resistor 62 Data output transistor 63 Bus management means (bus controller)
64 Power supply object

Claims (8)

An electronic device that communicates with a power supply device and drives a load;
A power supply device for performing power supply and communication with the electronic device,
The electronic device and the power supply device include a bus connection port for performing communication,
The electronic device and the power supply device broadcast an attribute to one bus line connected to the bus connection port, using an address set in an address setting mode including an address setting process and an address confirmation process. Output and share the attribute, between the power supply device indicating the attribute of the power supply source and the electronic device indicating the attribute of the load, using the address to communicate the power specification via the bus line, When it is determined that the load can be driven by the electronic device using the power from the power supply device through the communication of the power supply specification, the power is supplied from the power supply device to the electronic device via the bus line. A power supply system characterized by performing . The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device or the power supply apparatus inquires about a power supply specification using the set address. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the voltage specification includes information indicating a minimum supplyable voltage, and the current specification includes information indicating a maximum output current. A bus connection port for communication;
Using an address set in an address setting mode composed of an address setting process and an address confirmation process , the attribute is broadcasted to one bus line connected to the bus connection port, and the attribute is shared. Communicates with the power supply device through the bus line using the address with the power supply device indicating the attribute of the power supply source, and drives the load with the power from the power supply device through the communication of the power supply specification And a control unit that drives the load with electric power supplied from the power supply device. 5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit makes an inquiry about power supply specifications using the set address. A power supply for supplying power;
A bus connection port for communication;
Using an address set in an address setting mode composed of an address setting process and an address confirmation process , the attribute is broadcasted to one bus line connected to the bus connection port, and the attribute is shared. Communication with the power supply specification is performed via the bus line using the address with the electronic device indicating the attribute of the load, and the load in the electronic device is driven by the power from the power supply unit through the communication of the power supply specification. And a control unit that supplies power from the power supply unit when it is determined that the power supply is possible. The power supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit inquires about a power supply specification using the set address. An electronic device and a power supply device having a bus connection port are connected to one bus line connected to the bus connection port by using an address set in an address setting mode including an address setting process and an address confirmation process. Outputting attributes by broadcasting and sharing attributes;
Between the power supply device indicating the attribute of the power supply source and the electronic device indicating the attribute of the load , performing communication of the power specification via the bus line using the address ;
A step of supplying power to the electronic device when the power supply device determines that the load on the electronic device can be driven by the power from the power supply device through communication of the power specification. A power supply method characterized by the above.

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