JP5487604B2 - Battery monitoring method, portable electronic device, program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery monitoring method for a portable electronic device that operates in a plurality of operation modes using a rechargeable battery as a power source, the portable electronic device, and a battery monitoring program that causes a computer to execute the battery monitoring method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable electronic devices using a battery (including a primary battery and a secondary battery) such as a mobile phone as a power source have been used.
In the portable electronic device, if the battery is below the power supply voltage (low battery) that can normally drive the portable electronic device when going out or getting up, there is no place or time to charge the battery. After that, the user cannot continue to use the device for a long time, which may cause great damage to the user.

Conventionally, notification of the remaining amount of battery used in a mobile phone or the like is performed by changing display contents in about three to four steps using an icon 601 as shown in FIG.
In addition, the display on the catalog also only shows the time under extreme usage conditions such as continuous talk time and continuous standby time, and it varies from several hundred minutes to several hundred hours depending on the usage situation, so the remaining usable time It may be difficult to grasp the battery, and it may become low battery sooner than the user expects. If the battery becomes low in an environment where charging is not possible, such as when going out, there is a problem that the battery cannot be used until it can be charged by going home.

On the other hand, inventions that perform monitoring of the remaining amount of a battery have been developed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5).
Patent Document 1 discloses a battery remaining amount detection device that performs measurement when a battery is used and makes a determination when a battery voltage drop detection level is reached. In the invention described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the remaining time that can be used in real time cannot be updated and grasped. Further, since the battery abnormality detection is determined only at the battery voltage drop detection level, it is insufficient for detecting an abnormal operation due to a failure, and there is a problem that a highly accurate abnormality detection cannot be performed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an electronic device and a power supply deterioration determination method that perform battery deterioration determination according to operation. In the invention described in Patent Document 2, determination based on full charge is made. However, since the voltage drop is measured, it cannot be used during charging, and the remaining usable time cannot be accurately grasped in real time. In addition, abnormality detection is not assumed only when consumption is increased due to deterioration and consumption is reduced due to failure, and there is a problem that abnormality detection with high accuracy cannot be performed.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a pager that informs the remaining usable time of the battery. However, there is a problem that it is impossible to accurately grasp the remaining time that can be used in real time and to detect an abnormality with high accuracy. Also, it measures the on / off time of a device that consumes a large amount of current due to the hardware configuration specific to the device. The central processing unit (CPU), such as a mobile phone, varies depending on the phase-locked loop (PLL). There is a problem that it cannot be used for various portable electronic devices that operate at various frequencies. Moreover, since there is no consideration for charging, there is a problem that the measurement method is insufficient.

In addition, since the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are configured to perform determination by hardware, there is a problem that the correspondence is insufficient for an electronic device having various usage modes such as a mobile phone.
Also, Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose inventions that detect battery status, but it is difficult to accurately measure the remaining usable time. In addition, there is a problem that battery abnormality cannot be detected with high accuracy.

JP 2001-258165 A JP 2008-180645 A JP 7-162931 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-203061 JP-A-9-181804

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and by monitoring the battery usage status, the remaining usage time according to the usage status is more accurately predicted in real time, and accurate usage time information is obtained. The issue is to enable notification.
In addition, the present invention makes it possible to more accurately predict the remaining usable time according to the usage status in real time by monitoring the usage status of the battery, and to notify accurate usage time information. The problem is to perform abnormality detection with high accuracy.

  According to the present invention, in a battery monitoring method for a portable electronic device that operates in a plurality of operation modes using a rechargeable battery as a power source, each operation mode is referred to with reference to a current consumption table that represents current consumption in each operation mode. The first step of obtaining the accumulated battery consumption based on the operation time of the battery, and the battery remaining amount table representing the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery and the remaining amount of the battery. A second step of calculating a cumulative battery consumption amount at the time point from a difference from a battery voltage at the time of charging stop, a cumulative battery consumption amount obtained in the first step, and a cumulative battery consumption amount obtained in the second step And a third step of notifying the remaining usable amount of the battery obtained based on the remaining battery level in the remaining battery level table when the difference is within a predetermined range. Battery monitoring method characterized by comprising Te is provided.

  In the first step, the accumulated battery consumption is obtained based on the operation time of each operation mode with reference to the current consumption table representing the current consumption of each operation mode. In the second step, referring to a battery remaining amount table that represents the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery and the remaining amount of battery, the accumulation at the time is determined from the difference between the battery voltage at that time and the battery voltage at the time of the previous battery charging stop. Calculate battery consumption. In the third step, when the difference between the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the first step and the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the second step is within a predetermined range, the third step is based on the remaining battery amount in the battery remaining amount table. The remaining usable amount of the obtained battery is notified.

  Further, according to the present invention, in a portable electronic device that operates in a plurality of operation modes using a rechargeable battery as a power source, a current consumption table that represents current consumption in each of the operation modes, a battery voltage of the battery, and a battery remaining power A storage means for storing a battery remaining amount table representing a relationship with the amount; and referring to the consumption current table to obtain a first cumulative battery consumption amount based on an operation time of each operation mode; A battery consumption amount calculating means for calculating a second cumulative battery consumption amount at the time point from a difference between the battery voltage at that time point and the battery voltage at the time of the previous battery charge stop with reference to the remaining amount table; When the difference between the battery consumption amount and the second cumulative battery consumption amount is within a predetermined range, it is obtained based on the battery remaining amount in the battery remaining amount table. Portable electronic device characterized in that it comprises a notifying means for notifying the remaining usable amount of the battery is provided.

  The storage means stores a current consumption table that represents current consumption in each operation mode, and a battery remaining amount table that represents the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery and the remaining battery level. The battery consumption calculation means refers to the current consumption table to obtain the first cumulative battery consumption based on the operation time of each operation mode, and refers to the battery remaining amount table to The second cumulative battery consumption at the time point is calculated from the difference between the battery voltage and the battery voltage at the time of the previous battery charging stop. When the difference between the first cumulative battery consumption amount and the second cumulative battery consumption amount is within a predetermined range, the notification means is a remaining usable amount of the battery obtained based on the remaining battery amount of the battery remaining amount table. To be notified.

  Moreover, according to this invention, the battery monitoring program which makes a computer perform the said battery monitoring method is provided.

  According to the battery monitoring method of the present invention, it is possible to more accurately predict the remaining usable time according to the usage status in real time by monitoring the usage status of the battery, and to notify accurate usage time information. It becomes possible. In addition, by monitoring the battery usage status, the remaining usable time according to the usage status is predicted more accurately in real time, accurate usage time information is notified, and battery abnormality detection is performed with high accuracy. It becomes possible.

  Also, according to the portable electronic device of the present invention, the remaining usable time corresponding to the usage status is predicted more accurately in real time by monitoring the usage status of the battery, and accurate usage time information is notified. It becomes possible. In addition, by monitoring the battery usage status, the remaining usable time according to the usage status is predicted more accurately in real time, accurate usage time information is notified, and battery abnormality detection is performed with high accuracy. It becomes possible.

  Moreover, according to the program of this invention, it becomes possible to make a computer perform the said battery monitoring method.

Hereinafter, a battery monitoring method, a portable electronic device, and a battery monitoring program according to embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable electronic device used in a battery monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a portable electronic device that operates in a plurality of operation modes using a rechargeable battery as a power source. An example of a telephone is shown.

In FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a battery control unit 102, a battery 103, a terminal side charging terminal 104, a display unit 105, and a storage unit 106. In addition, the mobile phone 10 includes an operation unit 107, a transmission / reception unit 108, a communication unit 109, and an antenna 110.
The CPU 101 controls each component of the mobile phone 10 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 106.

Although details will be described later, the CPU 101 executes the battery monitoring program stored in the storage unit 106 to control the battery control unit 102, monitor the voltage of the battery 103, and the remaining battery consumption and remaining usable capacity. A series of battery monitoring processes such as calculation processing of time and the like, display control of battery information such as remaining usable time for the display unit 105, and the like are performed.
Further, the CPU 101 executes the battery monitoring program to control the battery control unit 102 to control the charging of the battery 103 when the AC adapter 20 is connected to the terminal-side charging terminal 104, and terminate charging or stop charging. (These are collectively referred to as “charge stop”), and the consumption status of the battery 103 is monitored again.

The battery control unit 102 performs voltage detection and charge control of the battery 103 in response to the control of the CPU 101. The battery 103 is a power source that supplies driving power to each component of the mobile phone 10, and is configured by a rechargeable secondary battery. In the case where charging is not considered, the battery 103 can also use a primary battery.
The terminal side charging terminal 104 is connected to the power source side terminal 21 of the alternating current (AC) adapter 20, and the battery 103 is charged by the battery control unit 102. The display unit 105 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) 105 and displays the usage status of the battery 103 and the like.

  The storage unit 106 has a program storage area and a data storage area, and the program storage area stores a program such as a battery monitoring program in which a procedure for operating the CPU 101 is described. The CPU 101 performs battery monitoring processing to be described later according to the procedure described in the battery monitoring program. The data storage area of the storage unit 106 stores data such as current consumption in each operation mode of the mobile phone, the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery 103 and the remaining battery level, measurement data, and time.

The operation unit 107 includes a plurality of key switches and is operated by a user. The transmitter / receiver unit 108 includes a microphone for transmission and a speaker for reception. The communication unit 109 transmits and receives voice and data via the antenna 110.
Here, the memory | storage part 106 comprises the memory | storage means. The CPU 101 constitutes battery consumption calculation means and consumption current calculation means. Further, the CPU 101 and the display unit 105 constitute notification means.

The battery consumption amount calculation means refers to the current consumption table, obtains the first cumulative battery consumption amount based on the operation time of each operation mode, and refers to the battery remaining amount table to determine the battery voltage at that time. The second cumulative battery consumption at the time point can be calculated from the difference from the battery voltage at the time of the previous battery charge stop.
The consumption current calculation means can calculate the average consumption current based on the first accumulation battery consumption and the operation time when the difference between the first accumulation battery consumption and the second accumulation battery consumption is within a predetermined range. .

  The notifying means notifies when the difference between the first cumulative battery consumption amount and the second cumulative battery consumption amount is within a predetermined range, the remaining usable amount of the battery obtained based on the battery remaining amount in the battery remaining amount table. be able to. Further, the notifying means can calculate and notify the remaining usable time based on the remaining battery level and the average current consumption at the reference time obtained by referring to the remaining battery level table. Further, the notifying means can notify an abnormality when the difference between the first cumulative battery consumption and the second cumulative battery consumption is outside a predetermined range.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing of the mobile phone 10 and shows battery monitoring processing performed mainly by the CPU 101 executing the battery monitoring program stored in the storage unit 106.
FIG. 3 is a current consumption table in which the operation mode of the mobile phone 10 is associated with the average current consumption value (mode current value) in each operation mode. The consumption current table is a table representing the consumption current in each operation mode of the mobile phone 10.

  The operation mode of the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of operation modes such as a standby mode, a call mode, and a mail creation mode. For example, the average current consumption in the standby mode is 84 mA, the average current consumption in the call mode is 260 mA, etc. Each operation mode and the average consumption current are stored in the consumption current table in association with each other. The consumption current table is stored in the data storage area of the storage unit 106.

FIG. 4 is a remaining battery level table showing the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery 103 and the remaining battery level (%). In the example of FIG. 4, when the terminal voltage of the battery 103 is 4.200V, the remaining battery level is 100%, and when the terminal voltage of the battery 103 is 3.450V, the remaining battery level is 0% (low battery). Is divided into several stages. The battery remaining amount table is stored in a data storage area of the storage unit 106.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display mode of the display unit 105. In this example, the remaining usable time of the battery 103 is displayed in the icon 501 to notify the accurate remaining usable time. In FIG. 5, it is displayed that the remaining usable time is 24 hours.

  First, the outline of the battery monitoring function of the mobile phone 10 will be described. The CPU 101 measures the operation time in each operation mode, and based on the average consumption current value for each operation mode in the consumption current table of FIG. Accumulate current consumption for each mode. At the same time, the CPU 101 monitors the voltage of the battery 103 by controlling the battery control unit 102, and calculates the battery consumption amount and the battery remaining amount by referring to the battery remaining amount table in FIG.

Based on these calculation results, the CPU 101 determines whether there is no abnormality in the battery consumption and calculates the remaining usable time, and notifies the user by displaying the result on the display unit 105.
In addition, when the power supply side terminal 21 of the AC adapter 20 is connected to the charging terminal 104, the CPU 101 detects this and controls the battery control unit 102, so that the battery is supplied with the DC power supplied from the AC adapter 21. 103 is charged, and when charging is completed or stopped (that is, charging is stopped), the voltage of the battery 103 is measured and monitoring of the consumption state is resumed.

Hereinafter, the operation of the battery monitoring method, the portable electronic device, and the program according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
When the mobile phone 10 is powered on, the CPU 101 starts a time measuring operation (time count start) (S101). Next, the CPU 101 checks the operation mode (S102). In the check of the operation mode, the current operation mode is read from the storage unit 106 and confirmed. If the operation mode is changed, the changed operation mode is confirmed.

When changing the operation mode, the CPU 101 normally starts from the start mode and shifts to the standby mode. Thereafter, in response to the operation mode change operation of the operation unit 107, the CPU 101 performs various types illustrated in the current consumption table of FIG. Transition to mode.
If there is no change in the mode in the processing step S102, the CPU 101 checks the mode change until 1 minute elapses (S106). When 1 minute elapses, the CPU 101 uses the average current consumption value for each mode in the current consumption table. Then, current addition (mode current value × 1 minute) is performed (step S107).

When the mode is changed in the processing step S102, the CPU 101 adds current consumption in the mode before change (mode current value before change × time (count) time) (S103), and is newly started. The mode, that is, the mode after change is confirmed (S104), and the mode current value after change is read from the average current consumption value for each mode in the current consumption table (S105).
Here, the processing steps S103 and S107 constitute a first step of obtaining a cumulative battery consumption based on the operation time of each operation mode with reference to a current consumption table representing the current consumption of each operation mode. Yes.

Next, the CPU 101 checks the charging state by monitoring the charging terminal 104 and the battery 103 through the battery control unit 102 (S108 to S109). That is, the CPU 101 confirms whether or not charging is in progress (step S108), and confirms whether charging is completed or charging is stopped (that is, whether or not charging is stopped) (step S109).
When the AC adapter 20 is connected and charging, the CPU 101 proceeds to the end confirmation (S119) without monitoring the battery voltage of the battery 103.

  When the CPU 101 determines that charging has been stopped or the charging has been stopped due to removal of the AC adapter 20 (that is, charging has been stopped), the CPU 101 determines the battery voltage and time (time information) of the battery 103 at the time of determination. Store (S110) and calculate the remaining usable time of the battery 103 (S117). The CPU 101 determines whether or not the battery 103 is being charged, and whether or not the charging of the battery 103 has been terminated or stopped based on the voltage level of the battery 103 and the voltage level detected via the charging terminal 104. .

  If the CPU 101 determines that the battery 103 is not being charged in the processing step S108 and the battery 103 is not stopped in the processing step S109, that is, if it is determined that the battery 103 is not charged, the battery voltage at that time is determined. Is measured (S111), and the voltage drop is calculated by subtracting the current voltage value from the voltage at the time of the previous charge stop (charge end / stop) (S112).

Next, the CPU 101 calculates the amount of battery consumption from the previous charge stop (charge end / stop) from the battery remaining amount table of FIG. 4 (S113).
Here, the processing step S113 refers to the battery remaining amount table that represents the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery 103 and the remaining battery level, and the difference between the battery voltage at the time of reference and the battery voltage at the time of the previous battery charging stop. To the second step of calculating the accumulated battery consumption at the time point.
Processing steps S103, S107, and S113 are processes performed by the battery consumption calculation means of the CPU 101.

Next, the CPU 101 compares the current consumption addition value accumulated in the processing steps S103 and S107 (S114). As a result of the comparison, if the difference between the two is greater than the predetermined value, the CPU 101 determines that the consumption is abnormal (S115), and notifies the user of the abnormality by displaying an alarm on the display unit 105 (S116). End the operation.
Here, the processing steps S114 to S116 include a fifth step of notifying an abnormality when the difference between the cumulative battery consumption obtained in the first step and the cumulative battery consumption obtained in the second step is outside a predetermined range. It is composed.

When the result of the comparison is less than or equal to the predetermined value (normal range), an average current consumption is calculated from the accumulated current consumption value and the accumulated accumulated usage time, and the remaining battery level expressed by the product of the current consumption and time The remaining usable time is calculated by dividing (S117), and the remaining usable time of the battery 103 (24 hours in FIG. 5) is displayed on the display unit 105 with the icon 501 as shown in FIG. 5 (S118). The above operation is continuously repeated until the power is turned off (S119).
Here, the processing steps S114, S115, S117, and 118 are performed when the difference between the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the first step and the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the second step is within a predetermined range. A third step of notifying the remaining usable amount of the battery obtained based on the remaining amount of battery in the amount table is configured.

Further, the processing steps S114, S115, and S117 are obtained in the first step when the difference between the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the first step and the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the second step is within a predetermined range. The fourth step of calculating the average current consumption based on the accumulated battery consumption and the operating time is configured. In this case, in the third step, the remaining usable time can be calculated and notified based on the battery remaining amount at the reference time obtained by referring to the battery remaining amount table and the average current consumption.
Note that the processing steps S114, S115, and S117 are processes performed by the consumption current calculation unit of the CPU 101. Processing steps S114 to S118 are processes performed by the notification unit of the CPU 101.

As described above, according to the battery monitoring method and the portable electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention, by monitoring the usage status of the battery 103, the remaining usable time corresponding to the usage status can be determined in real time. It is possible to predict more accurately and notify the user of accurate usable time information. Further, by notifying the user of an abnormality when the consumption of the battery 103 is far away from the usage status, the user does not notice even if the user normally uses the mA unit that could not be detected in the past. Since the level abnormality can be detected, the abnormality detection of the battery 103 can be performed with high accuracy. In particular, it is more effective for portable electronic devices that cannot be used until they are charged when a low battery such as a cellular phone is used.
Moreover, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a battery monitoring program capable of causing a computer to execute the battery monitoring method.

In the above-described embodiment, the remaining usable time is displayed on the display unit 105 as shown in FIG. 5, but the percentage display of the remaining usable capacity and the current time calculated during the processing of FIG. It is also possible to configure so that the user is notified by displaying in the form of a time display (usable end time) in which the remaining usage time is added.
In the processing step S117, the remaining usable time is calculated based on the average consumption current. However, the remaining usable time may be calculated based on the current consumption current in the operation mode.

Further, a speaker may be provided so that the abnormality is notified by sound.
In the above-described embodiment, a mobile phone is described as an example of a portable electronic device. However, PHS (Personal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Data Assistance, Personal Digital Assistants), notebook type The present invention can be used for portable electronic devices such as personal computers and using a battery as a power source.

  The present invention can be used for portable electronic devices that use a battery as a power source, such as a mobile phone, a PHS, a PDA, and a notebook personal computer.

It is a block diagram of the portable electronic device used for the battery monitoring method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the consumption current table used in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the battery remaining amount table used in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display mode in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display mode in the conventional mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Mobile phone 101 ... CPU
102 ... Battery control unit 103 ... Battery 104 ... Terminal side charging terminal 105 ... Display unit 106 ... Storage unit 107 ... Operation unit 108 ... Transmission / reception unit 109 ... Communication 110 ... Antenna 20 ... AC adapter 21 ... Power supply side terminals 501, 601 ... Icon

Claims (5)

In a battery monitoring method for a portable electronic device that operates in a plurality of operation modes using a rechargeable battery as a power source,
A first step of determining a cumulative battery consumption based on an operation time of each operation mode with reference to a current consumption table representing a current consumption of each operation mode;
With reference to a battery remaining amount table representing the relationship between the battery voltage of the battery and the battery remaining amount, the accumulated battery consumption at the time point is calculated from the difference between the battery voltage at that time and the battery voltage at the time of the previous battery charging stop A second step of calculating,
The battery obtained based on the remaining battery level in the remaining battery level table when the difference between the accumulated battery consumption determined in the first step and the accumulated battery consumption determined in the second step is within a predetermined range. a third step of notifying the remaining usable amount of,
A battery comprising: a fifth step of notifying an abnormality when a difference between the cumulative battery consumption obtained in the first step and the cumulative battery consumption obtained in the second step is outside a predetermined range. Monitoring method. When the difference between the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the first step and the accumulated battery consumption obtained in the second step is within a predetermined range, based on the accumulated battery consumption and operation time obtained in the first step. A fourth step of calculating an average current consumption,
The third step calculates and notifies the remaining usable time based on the remaining battery level at the time point obtained by referring to the remaining battery level table and the average current consumption. The battery monitoring method described. In portable electronic devices that operate in multiple operation modes using a rechargeable battery as a power source,
Storage means for storing a current consumption table that represents current consumption in each of the operation modes, and a battery remaining amount table that represents a relationship between a battery voltage of the battery and a battery remaining amount;
Referring to the current consumption table, the first cumulative battery consumption is obtained based on the operation time of each operation mode, and the battery voltage at that time and the battery charge immediately before are obtained by referring to the battery remaining amount table. Battery consumption calculation means for calculating the second cumulative battery consumption at the time point from the difference from the battery voltage at the time of stop;
Difference between the first cumulative battery consumption and second accumulation battery consumption notifies the remaining usable amount of the battery based on the obtained battery remaining amount of the pre-Symbol remaining battery capacity table-out bets within a predetermined range A portable electronic device comprising notification means for notifying an abnormality when a difference between the first cumulative battery consumption and the second cumulative battery consumption is outside a predetermined range . When the difference between the first cumulative battery consumption amount and the second cumulative battery consumption amount is within a predetermined range, consumption current calculation means for calculating an average consumption current based on the first cumulative battery consumption amount and an operation time. ,
5. The notification means calculates and notifies a remaining usable time based on the remaining battery level at the time point obtained by referring to the remaining battery level table and the average current consumption. Portable electronic devices. The battery monitoring program which makes a computer perform the battery monitoring method of Claim 1 or 2 .

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