JPH03277130A - Battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately grasp characteristics of a secondary cell by arbitrarily updating characteristic data of the cell stored in a nonvolatile memory contained therein. CONSTITUTION:Driving power is supplied from a secondary cell 2 of a battery pack 1 to an information processor 5. In this case, the processor 5 reads the characteristic data of the cell 2 stored in a nonvolatile memory cell 3 through a communication unit 4, and calculates its residual capacity. If the residual capacity is reduced, a low battery is displayed to raise an alarm. The processor 5 transmits information such as using time, the residual capacity of the battery at each predetermined time to the pack 1 based on the calculation of the capacity, and updates the data stored in the cell 3 through the unit 4.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a rechargeable battery used in a portable electronic device powered by a battery, such as an information processing device such as a laptop computer. Regarding battery back.

(Prior Art) In recent years, portable electronic devices powered by batteries, such as information processing devices such as laptop computers, have become widespread.

The secondary batteries used in such information processing devices are simply a collection of multiple secondary batteries, and the information on battery characteristics and aging deterioration cannot be determined based on the semi-fixed settings of the batteries. Therefore, it was necessary to use an information processing device that uses the battery as a driving power source.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, the characteristics of secondary batteries always change depending on the usage environment and the number of charging and discharging, making it difficult to control charging and capacity calculation of secondary batteries. Ta.

In addition, with the conventional method of managing secondary battery characteristics and aging information on the information processing device itself, it is difficult to identify the battery when using the removable battery bag that has become popular recently. Therefore, there was a problem in that it was not possible to manage battery characteristics and aging deterioration information.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a battery bag that can accurately grasp the characteristics of a secondary battery by updating the characteristics data of the secondary battery recorded in a built-in non-volatile memory as needed. It's about doing.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a secondary battery that supplies power to an external device and is charged under the control of the external device, and a secondary battery that supplies power to an external device and is charged under the control of the external device. A writable non-volatile memory element for storing characteristic data of the secondary battery, and a secondary memory element for transmitting the characteristic data stored in the non-volatile memory element to the external device and updating the characteristic data from the external device. Since the configuration includes a communication unit that receives information regarding charging and discharging of the battery, by updating the characteristic data of the secondary battery stored in the nonvolatile memory element in the battery bag,
Even if the characteristics of the battery change depending on the usage environment or charge/discharge history, accurate charging control and capacity calculation can be performed.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

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

As shown in the figure, the battery pack 1 includes a secondary battery 2
, a nonvolatile memory element 3, and a communication section 4.

The secondary battery 2 supplies driving power to an information processing device 5 such as an external device such as a laptop computer, and the secondary battery 2 converts current supplied from an AC adapter (not shown) into a charging current controlled by the information processing device 5. is charged by

Furthermore, the nonvolatile memory element 3 made of E FROM is
Information regarding the secondary battery 3, such as characteristic data such as the number of times of charging and discharging, remaining capacity, battery usage time, and charging status, is stored, and the contents are updated at any time according to the charging and discharging status of the secondary battery 2.

Further, the communication unit 4 is interposed between the nonvolatile memory element 3 and the information processing device 5, and transmits characteristic data of the secondary battery 2 stored in the nonvolatile memory element 3 to the information processing device 5. Communication control is performed to receive information regarding the charging/discharging status of the secondary battery 2 from the information processing device 5. The characteristic data of the secondary battery 2 stored in the nonvolatile memory element 3 is updated based on the charging/discharging information of the secondary battery 2 received by the communication unit 4.

On the other hand, the information processing device 5 operates by power supply from the secondary battery 2 or the AC adapter, and reads out information regarding the secondary battery 2 through communication with the nonvolatile memory element 3 via the communication unit 4. 2, or to update the characteristic data stored in the non-volatile memory element 3 according to the usage status of the secondary battery 2, to the transmitter 4 at a predetermined time. Send every time. This time interval is set as appropriate.

Hereinafter, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be explained.

When an AC adapter serving as an external power source is not connected, driving power is supplied from the secondary battery 2 of the battery pack 1 to the information processing device 5 . At this time, the information processing device 5
reads the characteristic data of the secondary battery 2 stored in the nonvolatile memory element 3 via the communication unit 4, and calculates the remaining capacity. When the remaining capacity becomes low and the battery reaches a so-called low battery state, a low battery is displayed on a display device (not shown) and a warning is issued to call the operator's attention. On the other hand, since the characteristics of the secondary battery 2 in use change over time, the information processing device 5 calculates the usage time and remaining capacity of the battery at predetermined intervals based on the calculation of the remaining capacity. Information such as capacity is transmitted to the battery pack 1 and the characteristic data stored in the nonvolatile memory element 3 is updated via the communication section 4.

Next, when the AC adapter is connected, the AC adapter supplies driving power to the information processing device 5 and also supplies charging current to the secondary battery 2 .

The charging current supplied to the secondary battery 2 is controlled by the information processing device 5, and an optimal charging current is supplied according to the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 2. That is, the information processing device 5 reads the characteristic data of the secondary battery 2 stored in the nonvolatile storage element 3, and performs optimal charging control according to the read remaining capacity of the secondary battery 2. On the other hand, since the characteristic data of the secondary battery 2 during charging changes, the information processing device 5 calculates the charging status such as the time required for charging, the remaining capacity, etc., and calculates the charging status and remaining capacity at each predetermined time. and other information to the battery bag 1. The characteristic data stored in the nonvolatile memory element 3 is updated via the communication section 4 based on the information transmitted to the battery bag 1.

As mentioned above, 2 stored in the nonvolatile memory element 3
The characteristic data of the secondary battery 2 is updated at any time according to the charging/discharging status of the secondary battery 2.

In the above embodiment, the information processing device was explained as a laptop computer, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can of course be applied to various electrical products that use a rechargeable battery back, such as a video camera. .

In addition, although the non-volatile memory element is E FROM, it is not limited to this, but it can also be backed up 5-RAM or D-ROM.
RAM may also be used.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the battery bag of the present invention, since the battery bag has a built-in nonvolatile memory element that stores characteristic data of the secondary battery,
Even if the characteristics of the secondary battery change depending on the usage environment or charge/discharge history, accurate charging control and capacity calculation can be performed using the characteristic data stored in the battery pack.

Additionally, since the battery bag itself stores its characteristic data, any external device can be used with any removable battery bag, and battery bags with different capacities and chemical characteristics can be mixed. can also be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. ■ 01. Battery back, secondary battery, ... nonvolatile memory element, ... communication section, ... information processing device (external device)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A secondary battery that supplies power to an external device and is charged under the control of the external device, a writable nonvolatile memory element that stores characteristic data of this secondary battery, and the characteristics stored in this nonvolatile memory element. A battery pack comprising: a communication section that transmits data to the external device and receives information regarding charging and discharging of the secondary battery for updating characteristic data from the external device.