JPH04348290A - Battery type electric apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a battery type electric apparatus which indicates the available time in the case when it is used with a selected load. CONSTITUTION:A battery type electric apparatus is constructed so that a discharge current is supplied from a battery B to one load 9 selected from a plurality of kinds of loads being different in current consumption and thereby the load is operated. The discharge current is detected and the residual capacity of the battery B is computed from the detected discharge current. An arithmetic unit 3 or the like has a discriminating means which discriminates the kind of the load 9 by comparing the discharge current with a discrimination value set beforehand, and a converting means which converts the computed residual capacity into at least either the available time with the load 9 selected by using the result of the discrimination or the number of available times therewith, while it is provided with an indicating means such as an indicator 6 which indicates at least either the available time or the number of available times obtained by the conversion.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention operates by supplying a discharge current from a battery to one load selected from a plurality of types of loads having different current consumption, detects the discharge current, and detects the detected discharge current. The present invention relates to an improvement in a battery-powered electric device that calculates and displays the remaining capacity of the battery from the current.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, battery-powered electrical equipment that displays the remaining capacity of a built-in storage battery or the like has been known. This battery-powered electrical equipment can be used based on the average value of the remaining capacity and current consumption if the battery's nominal capacity is 100% and the remaining capacity is displayed as a percentage, or if the discharge current to the load is constant such as a shaver. Some devices calculate and display the remaining time (usable time) or the number of times the device can be used.

That is, as an example of the structure of the display part of the above-mentioned battery-powered electrical equipment, as shown in FIG. Then, the AD converter 12 converts it into a digital value. This digital value (current value) is corrected by the calculation unit 13 based on charging efficiency, discharging efficiency, etc., and then integrated as a charging amount (or a discharging amount). Furthermore, the amount of charge (or amount of discharge) is added to (or subtracted from) the remaining capacity of the storage battery stored in the calculation unit 13. Then, the remaining capacity is converted to a percentage value from the above calculation result,
This % value is determined by a plurality of display elements 141 (such as LCDs and LEDs)
The display unit 14 shown in FIG. 6) lights up and displays.

On the other hand, in the case of a battery-operated electric device in which the discharge current to the load is constant, the average value of the discharge current is stored in advance in the calculation unit 13, and the usable time is calculated based on the remaining capacity and the average value of the discharge current. It is calculated based on the value and displayed by lighting on the display unit 14.

By the way, battery-operated electrical devices such as mobile phones, video cameras, and cassette tape recorders have multiple types of loads (operating modes) with different discharge currents (current consumption), and one operating mode can be selected from these operating modes. can be selected. That is, for example, for a mobile phone, one of the operating modes such as standby state or talking state can be selected, and for a video camera, one of the operating modes such as recording state or playback state can be selected.

[0006]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] For this reason, in the case of battery-operated electrical devices such as the above-mentioned mobile phones, if the remaining capacity is displayed as a percentage, it is difficult to judge the usable time in the currently selected operating mode. It turns out you can't do it. On the other hand, it is possible to store the average value of the discharge current in advance and calculate and display the usable time based on this charge value, but if the difference in the discharge current in each operation mode is large, the actual usage There will be a large difference between the available time and the available time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a battery-powered electric device that displays accurate usable time, etc. when used under a selected load.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured to operate by supplying discharge current from a battery to one load selected from a plurality of types of loads having different current consumption. In addition, in a battery-powered electrical device that detects the discharge current and calculates the remaining capacity of the battery from the detected discharge current, the type of load is determined by comparing the discharge current with a preset discrimination value. a determining means for determining, a converting means for converting the calculated remaining capacity into at least one of the usable time or the usable number of times under the selected load using the above-mentioned determination result, and the obtained usable time or and display means for displaying at least one of the number of times the device can be used.

[0009]

[Operation] According to the battery-powered electric device having the above configuration, when one load is selected from multiple types of loads with different current consumption,
A discharge current to the selected load is detected, and the remaining capacity of the battery is calculated from the detected discharge current. Then, the discharge current is compared with a preset discrimination value to determine the type of load, and the calculated remaining capacity is determined based on the determination result as the usable time or usable capacity with the selected load. At least one of the obtained usable time or the usable number of times is displayed.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the block configuration of a display portion of a battery-powered electric device according to the present invention. This block configuration includes a current detection section 1, an AD conversion section 2, a calculation section 3, an operation detection section 4, and a plurality of display sections 5 and 6.
This corresponds to display block 7 of . Further, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, when the charger 8 is connected to the connection terminals T1 and T2, a charging current flows to the storage battery B connected to the display block 7, while the solid line in FIG. As shown in the figure, when the load 9 is connected to the connection terminals T1 and T2, a discharge current flows from the storage battery B to the load 9. In addition, load 9
is selected from a plurality of types of loads (operation modes), and the current consumption, that is, the discharge current from storage battery B, differs depending on the operation mode.

The current detecting section 1 detects the charging current to the storage battery B and the discharging current to the load 9, converts the charging current and discharging current into voltages, and outputs the voltages to the AD converting section 2. The AD conversion section 2 converts the current detected by the current detection section 1 into a digital value (current value) and sends it to the calculation section 3 and the operation detection section 4.
This is what is output to. Note that the AD converter 2 distinguishes whether the current is a charging current or a discharging current based on the polarity depending on the direction of the charging current and the discharging current, for example, and outputs the same. Also,
When there is no output from the AD converter 2, it is determined that neither charging nor discharging is being performed.

If the current value from the AD converter 2 has a polarity indicating a discharge current, the operation detection section 4 compares the discharge current value with a previously stored discrimination value, and selects an operation mode based on the comparison result. That is, the type of the selected load 9 is determined, and the determination result is output to the calculation unit 3.

The calculation section 3 corrects the current value from the AD conversion section 2 based on charging efficiency, discharging efficiency, temperature characteristics, self-discharge rate, etc., and converts the corrected current value into, for example, the amount of charge per unit time. Alternatively, the amount of discharge is determined, and the current remaining capacity is calculated by adding or subtracting the amount of charge or discharge from the stored nominal capacity or remaining capacity of storage battery B. Further, the calculation unit 3 determines whether the current value is charging or discharging based on the polarity of the current value from the AD converter 2.

In the case of charging, the calculation unit 3 outputs a display signal to the display unit 5 to display the remaining capacity value as a percentage, while in the case of discharging, the calculation unit 3 outputs a display signal to the display unit 5 in order to display the remaining capacity value as a percentage. , converting the selected load 9 with the current remaining capacity into usable time indicating how many hours remaining,
In order to display the usable time, it is converted into a display signal and output to the display section 5 or 6. Note that the calculation section 3 and the motion detection section 4 may be configured by one microcomputer.

As shown in FIG. 4, the display section 5 is composed of a plurality of display elements 51 such as LCDs and LEDs,
Based on the display signal from the controller, the corresponding display element 51 is turned on or off in order to display the percentage value of remaining capacity, usable time, etc. The display section 6 is composed of a plurality of display elements 61 such as LCDs and LEDs, and turns on or off the corresponding display elements 61 in order to display the usable time and the like based on the display signal from the arithmetic section 3.

Next, an example of the operation of the above display function will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. In this flowchart, the connected load (operation mode) is a
, b. Further, the discrimination value of the operation detection unit 4 is set to be less than or equal to the discharge current value at load a and greater than or equal to the discharge current value at load b.

When the current value (digital value) from the AD conversion unit 2 is input to the calculation unit 3 (YES in step S1),
Since either charging or discharging is being performed, it is determined from the polarity of the current value whether it is a charging state or a discharging state (step S2), and if it is determined that it is a charging state (YES in step S2).
S), the current value is corrected based on charging efficiency, temperature characteristics, etc. (step S3). Subsequently, the amount of charge obtained from the corrected current value is added (counted up) to the remaining capacity of storage battery B stored in the calculation unit 3 (step S4), and the remaining capacity after this addition is displayed on the display unit. 5 is displayed as a percentage (step S5). After this, the process returns to step S1.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the discharge state is present (NO in step S2), the operation detection unit 4 determines whether the current value is equal to or greater than the determination value (step S2).
6), if it is equal to or greater than the discriminant value (YES in step S6),
It is determined that load a is selected and connected, and the current value is corrected based on the discharge efficiency, temperature characteristics, etc. corresponding to load a (step S7). Next, for example, the amount of discharge per unit time, which is determined from the corrected current value (discharge current value), is subtracted (counted down) from the remaining capacity of storage battery B stored in the calculation unit 3 (step S8). , Furthermore, the remaining capacity after this subtraction is determined by the operation detection section 4,
That is, the information on the load a is converted into a usable time (step S9), and this usable time is displayed on the display unit 5 (step S10). After this, the process returns to step S1.

On the other hand, if it is less than or equal to the determination value in step S6 (NO in step S6), it is determined that load b is selected and connected, and the current value corresponds to the discharge efficiency, temperature characteristics, etc. corresponding to load b. is corrected based on (step S11
). Subsequently, the remaining capacity of storage battery B stored in the calculation unit 3 is calculated from the corrected current value (discharge current value).
For example, the amount of discharge per unit time is subtracted (countdown)
(step S12), and the remaining capacity after this subtraction is further converted into usable time from the determination result in the operation detection section 4, that is, information on load b (step S13), and this usable time is displayed on the display section 6. displayed (step S14)
. After this, the process returns to step S1.

That is, taking a tape recorder equipped with a radio receiver as an example, the discharge current is smaller in the radio reception mode than in the tape recorder usage mode. Therefore, in the above flowchart, if the discrimination value is set to be greater than or equal to the discharge current in the radio reception mode and less than or equal to the discharge current in the tape recorder usage mode, when the radio reception mode is selected, the display unit 5 will display the radio reception mode. On the other hand, when the tape recorder usage mode is selected, the usable time in the tape recorder usage mode is displayed on the display section 6.

Note that the discharge current of each load 9 (operation mode) may be stored in advance, and the usable time in each operation mode may be calculated and displayed from the stored discharge current and remaining capacity. . Further, the number of times of use may be displayed instead of or together with the usable time. When displaying the usable number of times together with the usable time, for example, the usable time is displayed on the display section 5 and the usable number of times is displayed on the display section 6.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the display block may be configured as a circuit module 10 and may be attached to a battery pack or incorporated into an electrical device. Further, in the above description, two display sections are provided, but one display section may be switched between displaying the percentage of remaining capacity in the charging state and displaying the usable time, etc. in the discharging state.

Furthermore, in the above description, the rechargeable storage battery B
However, the present invention may be applied to a non-rechargeable dry battery or the like. In this case, instead of the process of determining the state of charge, battery replacement is detected, and the remaining capacity of the battery is set to the nominal capacity, ie, 100%, when the battery is replaced.

Furthermore, in the above flowchart, there are two types of loads (operation modes), but three or more types of loads may be selectable. In this case, the discrimination values are increased according to the type of load, and the selected load is discriminated by comparing these discrimination values and the discharge current.

[0025] In the above explanation, the load (operation mode)
The type of operation is determined by the operation detection unit 4 based on the magnitude of the discharge current value, but the operation mode is determined based on a signal from an operation mode selection switch provided on the main body of the device, for example. You can.

In addition, if the discrimination value is set to the average value of the discharge current of each load (operation mode), the discrimination depends on whether they are equal or not, but in this case, after loading the battery pack etc. Even before the operation mode starts, the usable time and the like for each operation mode may be estimated and displayed. Furthermore, instead of displaying the charge as a percentage value, it may be displayed as a time or the like.

[0027]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the usable time for the selected load is displayed, so the currently used load (
You can accurately check the usable time of the operating mode).

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a display portion of a battery-powered electric device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a battery-powered electric device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the configuration of the display portion according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a circuit module of a display block according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conventional display section.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional display unit.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Current detection section 2 AD conversion section 3 Arithmetic unit (conversion means) 4 Motion detection section 5, 6 Display section (display means) 7 Display block 8 Charger 9 Load 10 Circuit module 51, 61 Display element B Storage battery

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] The battery is configured to supply a discharge current to one load selected from a plurality of types of loads having different current consumption to operate the load, and the discharge current is detected, and the detected discharge current is In the battery-operated electrical equipment that calculates the remaining capacity of the battery from the above, a discriminating means for discriminating the type of load by comparing the discharging current with a preset discriminant value, and a discriminating means for discriminating the type of load by comparing the discharge current with a preset discriminant value; and a display means for displaying at least one of the obtained usable time or the usable number of times under the selected load. A battery-powered electrical device featuring: