JPH05172914A - Device for informing residual life of battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a device for informing residual life of batteries which informs the user of a battery of the exchanging timing of the battery by storing and displaying the number of charging times of the battery. CONSTITUTION:In this device which is mounted on a charger and informs the residual life of a battery after measurement, a storing means 4 which stores the number of charging times of the battery and updating means 2 which updates the number of charging times stored in the means 4 whenever the battery is charged are provided. In addition, the device is also provided with a residual life discriminating means 2 which discriminates the residual life of the battery when the number of charging times reaches a prescribed value and informing means 5 which informs the user of the battery of the residual life of the battery.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charging device for rechargeable batteries such as Ni-Cd batteries, and more particularly to battery life notification.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rechargeable battery is used by being attached to a portable battery application device or the like, and is removed from the device every time the battery capacity runs out, charged by a charger, and then attached to the device again. By repeating the above work, it is possible to use it many times. However, such a battery deteriorates in characteristics due to repeated charging, and there is a limit in the number of times it can be used. In that case, the battery has been replaced because it has reached the end of its life. Conventionally, the user of the device individually judges the life of the battery based on experience and the like.

The life of this battery means that its characteristics have largely deteriorated from those of the initial one. For example, several batteries set in a battery pack of a charging device are short-circuited or internal resistance of the battery is increased. As a result, the capacity of the battery-applied device main body does not run out, or the capacity is deteriorated such that the battery can be used for 1 hour in a predetermined usage mode for only 30 minutes.

[0004]

However, when the battery life is judged based on the experience of the user, there are the following problems. For example, in the case where the battery pack is detachable, there are cases where the battery cannot be used when trying to use the device because the battery has expired. In addition, when the battery is exhausted, such as an electric tool, there is a demand for knowing when to replace the battery, but this cannot be fully met. In particular, regarding equipment used in factories and the like, there is a problem that torque management becomes difficult when working with a deteriorated battery.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and by counting, storing and displaying the number of times the battery has been charged, the user can be accurately notified of the replacement time of the battery. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a storage device for storing the number of times of charging of a battery in an apparatus for measuring and notifying the life of a battery mounted on a charger and charged. Means, updating means for updating the number of times of charging stored in the storage means for each charge, life determining means for determining the life of the battery when the number of times of charging reaches a predetermined number, and notifying means for notifying the life of the battery Is provided (Claim 1).

Further, the storage means, the updating means, the life determining means and the notifying means may be provided on the battery side (claim 2).

Further, the battery may be provided with only the storage means (claim 3).

Further, the battery may be provided with the notifying means, and the notifying means may display the number of times of charging stored in the storage means (claim 4).

The updating means includes a deterioration factor detecting means for detecting a state of a factor that deteriorates the battery, and a weighting coefficient storage means for storing a weighting coefficient set according to the state of the deterioration factor. The number of times may be updated by weighting it based on the weighting coefficient (claim 5).

Further, it is equipped with an attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting attachment / detachment of the battery to / from the charger, and the updating means updates the number of times of charging when the attachment / detachment detecting means detects the attachment or detachment. It may be (claim 6).

[0012] Further, it may be provided with a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the start of charging, and the updating means may update the number of times of charging when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of charging (claim 7).

Further, the battery is provided with an identifier for identifying the battery, and the charger is provided with reading means for reading the identifier so that the number of times of charging is updated and stored for each battery. It is also possible (claim 8).

The identifier includes data on the number of times of charge indicating the life, and the life determining means determines whether or not the battery has reached the end of life based on the number of times of charging indicating the life corresponding to the battery read by the reading means. You may do so (Claim 9).

[0015]

According to the present invention, the number of times of charging the battery stored in the storage means is updated by the updating means for each charging, and when the number of times of charging reaches a predetermined number, the life determining means determines that the battery has reached the end of its life and notifies The means informs the battery life.

According to the invention described in claim 2, the same operation as in the invention described in claim 1 is performed on the battery side.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the number of times of charging read from the storage means is updated by the updating means and updated and stored in the storage means.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the number of times of charging of the battery stored in the storage means is displayed by the notifying means provided in the battery.

According to the invention of claim 5, the deterioration factor detecting means detects the state of the deterioration factor, and the weighting coefficient stored in the weighting coefficient storage means is calculated in accordance with the deterioration factor state. The number of times of charging stored in the storage means is weighted based on the weighting coefficient and updated by the updating means.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the number of times of charging stored in the storage means is updated by the updating means when the attachment / detachment detecting means detects attachment / detachment of the battery to / from the charger. ..

Further, according to the invention described in claim 7, the number of times of charging stored in the storage means is updated by the updating means when the time counting means counts a predetermined time from the start of charging.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the reading means reads the identifier provided in the battery. Then, the number of times of charging is updated for each battery by the updating means for each battery based on the identifier for each charging, and stored in the storage means for each battery.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the identifier provided in the battery is read by the reading means, and the number of times of charging indicating the life of the battery is read.
Then, the number of times of charging is updated for each charging by the updating means based on the identifier, and this number of times of charging is compared with the number of times of charging indicating the lifespan read from the identifier by the life determining means to determine whether or not the life has expired.

[0024]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a battery life notification device according to the present invention. A battery pack B accommodating the battery 1 is detachably attached to the charger A, and the positive terminal 18, the negative terminal 19 and the terminal 8 of the charger A,
The positive terminal 13, negative terminal 14 and terminal 3 of the battery pack B are connected to each other. Battery pack B
Is composed of a battery 1, a microcomputer 2, a non-volatile memory 4, a display circuit 5, and the like.

The battery 1 is formed by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series. The microcomputer 2 updates the number of times of charging stored in the non-volatile memory 4 when charging is started.
The display circuit 5 composed of the above, etc., is lit up and displayed. The terminal 3 is connected to the ground in the charger A through the terminal 8 and the resistor 6 is connected in the battery pack B.
It has been pulled up by. Therefore, when the battery pack B is attached to the charger A, the potential of the terminal 3 changes from'H 'to'L', and the microcomputer 2 can determine the attachment.

The charger A comprises a charge control circuit 16 and a charge circuit 17. Charging circuit 17 is + terminal 1
A charging current is supplied to the battery 1 via the 8, -terminals 19 and the + terminals 13, -terminals 14 of the battery pack B.
The charge control circuit 16 controls the operation of the charge circuit 17 to start charging, complete charging, and the like.

Next, the operation of the battery life informing device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2
3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the battery life notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

When the power is turned on and the reset start is performed, first, the charging start flag indicating that the number of times of charging is updated is reset (step S1). Next, whether or not the battery pack B is attached to the charger A is determined by detecting the voltage level of the terminal 3 (step S2). If not attached, the process returns to step S1.

On the other hand, if the battery pack B is attached to the charger A in step S2, it is determined whether or not the charging start flag is set (step S3). If it is set, the process returns to step S2, If it is not set, the number of times of charging has not been updated yet, so the number of times of charging TC is read from the non-volatile memory 4 (step S4).
C is incremented (step S5) and the charging start flag is set (step S6).

After writing the updated number of times of charging TC to the non-volatile memory 4 (step S7), the number of times of charging TC is compared with a predetermined life judgment reference value TC _MAX (step S8), and TC> TC If it is not _{MAX, the process} directly returns to step S2 and the above operation is repeated. If TC> TC _MAX , the fact that the life has expired is displayed on the display circuit 5 (step S2).
9) and returns to step S2.

In this way, by updating the number of times of charging stored in the non-volatile memory 4 at the start of charging, the number of times of charging can be surely counted, and when the number of times of charging reaches the predetermined life judgment reference value, the display circuit 5 displays. By displaying it, the user can be notified of that fact.

Next, a second embodiment of the battery life notifying device according to the present invention will be described. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the battery life notification device according to the present invention.

The nonvolatile memory 4 is connected to the charging control circuit 161 via terminals 21 and 22. The charging control circuit 161 controls the charging circuit 17 and updates the number of times of charging stored in the non-volatile memory 4.
It is composed of a microcomputer and the like. The terminal 8 is connected to the ground in the battery pack B via the terminal 3 and is pulled up by the resistor 15 in the charger A. Therefore, when the battery pack B is attached to the charger A,
Since the potential of the terminal 8 changes from'H 'to'L', the charging control circuit 161 can determine its attachment. The display circuit 23 is composed of an LED, a liquid crystal, or the like, and displays the number of times of charging read by the charging control circuit 161 from the nonvolatile memory 4 and also indicates that the battery has reached the end of its life.

The operation of the second embodiment of the battery life notifying device constructed as described above is the same as the operation of the first embodiment, and therefore its explanation is omitted.

With the above configuration, the battery pack B, which is a consumable item, can be constructed at a low price, and the user can be surely informed of the life of the battery.

Next, a third embodiment of the battery life notifying device according to the present invention will be described. The configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except for the display control operation by the display circuit 5 and the microcomputer 2. Display circuit 5
Is arranged at an appropriate place on the upper surface of the battery pack B, and is composed of an LED, a liquid crystal or the like, and the microcomputer 2 displays a graph as shown in FIG. For example, assuming that the battery 1 has a life of 1000 times of charging,
If this is set to 100% and the current number of times of charging is 200 times, a mark is displayed at the position of 20% as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, with the above-mentioned configuration, the degree of deterioration of the battery can be notified to the user.
You can have a replacement battery ready before the battery reaches its end of life.

The format of the graph display is not limited to that shown in FIG. 4, and the ratio to the life may be displayed in% by using numbers.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the battery life notifying device according to the present invention will be described. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of the battery life notification device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing weighting coefficients set according to the maximum temperature of the battery during charging.

The temperature sensor 9 is arranged close to the battery 1 and converts a temperature change of the battery 1 into a voltage change and outputs the voltage change. The temperature detection circuit 10 amplifies the voltage input from the temperature sensor 9 and outputs it. The A / D converter 11 converts the voltage input from the temperature detection circuit 10 into a digital value and outputs it to the microcomputer 2. In the microcomputer 2, the weighting coefficient K set according to the maximum temperature of the battery being charged as shown in FIG. 6 is stored in advance in, for example, a table format or an expression format. Then, the microcomputer 2 updates the number of times of charging stored in the non-volatile memory 4 based on the weighting coefficient K.

Next, the operation of the battery life informing device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 7
6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the battery life notification device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

When the power is turned on and the reset start is performed, first, the charging end flag indicating that charging is completed and the number of times of charging is updated is reset, and t _MAX indicating the maximum temperature of the battery during charging is set to 0. To be cleared (step S21). Next, it is determined whether or not the battery pack B is attached to the charger A by detecting the voltage level of the terminal 3 (step S22). If not attached, the process proceeds to step S23, and if attached, charging is performed. The end flag is reset (step S29), the battery temperature t is fetched (step S30), and t _MAX and t are compared (step S31).

If t _MAX > t, step S
33, if t _MAX > t is not satisfied, t _MAX is updated (step S32), and the process proceeds to step S33 to compare the number of times of charging TC with a predetermined life judgment reference value TC _MAX (step S33). If TC> TC _{MAX is} not satisfied, the process returns to step S22 and the above operation is repeated until TC> T
If C _{MA X,} and displayed on the display circuit 5 to the effect that the lifetime (Step S34), the flow returns to step S22.

On the other hand, in step S22, the charger A
If the battery pack B is not attached to the battery pack, it is determined whether the charging end flag is set (step S2).
3) If it is set, the process returns to step S22, and if it is not set, the number of times of charge TC stored in the nonvolatile memory 4 is read (step S24), and weighting is performed from the maximum temperature of the battery during the immediately preceding charge. The coefficient K is calculated (step S25). Then, the weighting coefficient K is added to the number of times of charging TC to update the number of times of charging TC (step S26), the charging end flag is set (step S27), and the number of times of charging TC updated in the non-volatile memory 4 is set.
After writing (step S28), the process returns to step S22.

The life of the battery greatly changes due to deterioration factors such as recharging, high current charging and temperature rise during charging. In particular, the deterioration of batteries is largely due to overcharging. For example, when overcharging with a charging amount of 200% or more with a charging current of a predetermined value or more, the internal pressure increases, the valve opens, and liquid leakage occurs. Therefore, if this is repeated, liquid dripping may occur, leading to capacity deterioration. In addition, since the battery temperature becomes high during overcharging, deterioration of each material of the battery becomes faster. Since the charger detects that the battery is fully charged and stops charging,
Normally, overcharging does not occur, but if the user accidentally recharges the fully charged battery, overcharging will occur.

According to this embodiment, as described above, when charging is completed, the number of times of charging weighted by the weighting coefficient K according to the maximum temperature of the battery being charged is updated and stored in the non-volatile memory 4. Thus, it is possible to display the life according to the degree of deterioration of the battery.

Although the weighting is performed based on the maximum temperature of the battery being charged in this embodiment, the weighting may be performed based on the value of the charging current, the number of recharges of the fully charged battery, or the like.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the battery life notifying device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the fifth embodiment of the battery life notification device according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is an external view showing the battery pack of the present embodiment.

The bar code 32 is a unique identifier for each battery pack B, and is attached to the surface of the battery pack B and the insertion portion into the charger A. Reader 30
Is a bar code 32 to be read. The bar code 32 is arranged on the surface of the charger A so as to face the bar code 32 when the battery pack B is inserted. There is.

The charging control circuit 162 controls the operation of the charger A and is composed of a microcomputer or the like. The charging control circuit 162 controls the charging circuit 17 and the display circuit 23, and at the same time, for each battery pack B read by the reading device 30. The number of times of charging is updated and stored in the built-in memory. In addition, power is supplied from the backup battery 31 so that the internal memory is not erased if necessary.

The operation of the battery life informing device having the above-described structure in the fifth embodiment will be described. When the user attaches the battery pack B to the charger A, the charging control circuit 16
Reference numeral 2 indicates the number of times of charging stored in the built-in memory, and the number of times of charging read by the reading device 30, that is, the number of times of charging corresponding to the mounted battery pack B is updated. Then, the display circuit 23 displays the number of times of charging, or the fact that the life has reached when the number of times of charging reaches a predetermined number
It is designed to be displayed in.

If the built-in memory is a non-volatile memory, the backup battery 31 is unnecessary. A RAM or EEPROM 33 may be provided instead of the built-in memory. Further, instead of the barcode 32, a magnetic tape may be used as an identifier.

By thus attaching the identifier to the battery pack B, the battery pack B can be realized with a simple structure and at a low price without disposing a non-volatile memory or the like in the battery pack B which is a consumable item. can do.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the battery life notifying device according to the present invention will be described. The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG.

In addition to the above-mentioned unique identifier, the bar code 32 includes data on the number of times of charging, which is a life judgment criterion unique to each battery pack B.

The operation of the sixth embodiment of the battery life notification device having such a structure will be described. When the user mounts the battery pack B on the charger A, the charge control circuit 162 is stored in the built-in memory. Reading device 3
The number of times of charging corresponding to the battery pack B read by 0 is updated. Then, the judgment as to whether or not it is the end of life is made by judging the magnitude based on the judgment reference value read by the reading device 30.

As described above, by adding the data of the life judgment reference of the battery pack to the identifier attached to the battery pack, it is possible to judge the life according to each battery pack.

Next, a seventh embodiment of the battery life notifying device according to the present invention will be described. The configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The microcomputer 2 has a charging timer that measures the charging time. The operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the power is turned on, first, the charge timer for measuring the charge time is cleared to "time" = 0, and the write flag indicating that the writing to the nonvolatile memory 4 is completed is reset (step S41). ).
Then, each time the Δt time elapses, the operations from step S43 onward are repeated (step S42).

That is, whether or not the battery pack B is attached to the charger A is determined by detecting the voltage level of the terminal 3 (step S43). If not attached, the process returns to step S41, and if attached, , "Time"
Is incremented (step S44), then it is determined whether the write flag is set (step S45), and if it is set, the process returns to step S42.

On the other hand, if the write flag is not set in step S45, it is determined whether or not the charging time has exceeded the predetermined time TM, that is, "time" ≥TM.
It is determined whether or not (step S46), “time” ≧
If it is not TM, the process returns to step S42, and "time"
If ≧ TM, the number of times of charging TC stored in the non-volatile memory 4 is read (step S47), the TC is incremented (step S48), the write flag is set (step S49), and the non-volatile memory 4 is set. The updated number of times of charging TC is written (step S50).

Then, the number of times of charging TC is compared with a predetermined life judgment reference value TC _MAX (step S51), and TC>
If it is not TC _MAX , the process directly returns to step S42 and the above operation is repeated. If TC> TC _MAX , the fact that the life has expired is displayed on the display circuit 5 (step S52) and the process returns to step S42.

As described above, since the number of times of charging is updated after a predetermined time has passed since the battery pack B was attached to the charger A, the battery pack was removed and reattached in a short time from the start of charging. In such a case, the number of times of charging will not be erroneously counted.

The number of times of charging may be updated when full charge is detected.

Further, in each embodiment, the display circuits 5 and 2 are provided.
The number 3 is not limited to a light emitting display element such as an LED, but may be notified by voice or a buzzer.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment in which the battery pack is used as the battery side, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to general batteries.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, the storage means for storing the number of times of charging the battery, the updating means for updating the number of times of charging stored in the storage means for each charging, and the number of times of charging are set to a predetermined number. In this case, since the life determining means for determining the life of the battery and the notifying means for notifying the life of the battery are provided, it is possible to accurately notify the user of the life of the battery.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the battery is configured to include only the storage means, the battery configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced, and the battery can be practically used as a consumable item.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the number of times of charging is displayed on the notification means provided in the battery, the user can easily grasp the degree of deterioration of the battery.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, since the weight is updated by weighting based on the weighting coefficient set according to the state of the deterioration factor detected in the number of times of charging, the battery life is further improved. You can judge accurately.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an attachment / detachment detection means for detecting attachment / detachment of the battery to / from the charger, and when the attachment / detachment detection means detects the attachment or detachment. Since the number of times of charging is updated, the number of times of charging can be surely counted without omission.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, the number of times of charging is updated when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of charging, so that the number of times of charging can be updated only when the charging is reliably performed, It is possible to more accurately determine the battery life.

According to the invention described in claim 8, since the identifier for identifying the battery is read by the reading means of the charger, the number of times of charging is updated and stored for each battery, the battery is simplified. With a simple configuration and low cost, the life of each battery can be notified by one charger.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, since the identifier includes the data on the number of times of charge indicating the life, the reading means reads the data to determine whether the life corresponds to the battery. Therefore, the battery can be simplified. It is possible to realize a simple configuration and at a low price, and it is possible to notify the life of various batteries having different lives with one charger.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a battery life notification device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the battery life notification device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display format of a display circuit in a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fourth embodiment of the battery life notification device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing weighting coefficients set according to the maximum temperature of a battery being charged.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a fifth embodiment of the battery life notification device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an external view showing a battery pack according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation in the seventh embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Battery 2 Microcomputer 3, 8 Terminal 4 Non-volatile Memory 5, 23 Display Circuit 6 Resistor 9 Temperature Sensor 10 Temperature Detection Circuit 11 A / D Converter 13, 18 + Terminal 14, 19-Terminal 16, 161, 162 Charge Control Circuit 17 Charging Circuit 30 Reading Device 31 Backup Battery 32 Bar Code A Charger B Battery Pack

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for measuring and notifying the life of a battery which is attached to a charger and charged, and storage means for storing the number of times of charge of the battery, and the number of times of charge stored in the storage means for each charge. A battery life notifying device comprising: an updating means for updating, a life judging means for judging the life of the battery when the number of times of charging reaches a predetermined number, and a notifying means for notifying the life of the battery. 2. The battery life notification device according to claim 1, wherein the storage means, the update means, the life determination means, and the notification means are provided in the battery. 3. The battery life informing device according to claim 1, wherein the battery includes only the storage means. 4. The battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery includes the notification means, and the notification means is configured to display the number of times of charging stored in the storage means. Life alarm device. 5. The battery life notification device according to claim 1, wherein a deterioration factor detecting means for detecting a state of a factor that deteriorates the battery, and a weighting factor storing a weighting factor set according to the state of the deterioration factor. A battery life informing device comprising: a storage unit, wherein the updating unit updates the number of times of charging by weighting the number of times of charging based on the weighting coefficient. 6. The battery life informing device according to claim 1, further comprising attachment / detachment detection means for detecting attachment / detachment of the battery to / from the charger, wherein the updating means has the attachment / detachment detection means. A battery life informing device, characterized in that the number of times of charging is updated when a separation is detected. 7. The battery life informing device according to claim 1, further comprising a time counting unit that counts an elapsed time from the start of charging, and the updating unit updates the number of times of charging when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of charging. A battery life informing device, characterized in that 8. The battery life notification device according to claim 1, wherein the battery includes an identifier for identifying the battery, and the charger includes a reading unit that reads the identifier, and charges each battery. A battery life informing device characterized in that the number of times is updated and stored. 9. The identifier includes charge count data indicating a life, and the life determining unit determines whether or not the battery is a life based on the charge count indicating a life corresponding to the battery read by the reading unit. The battery life notification device according to claim 8, wherein the device is a battery life notification device.