JPH05184072A - Battery state display - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily realize vidual confirmation of the residual capacity of a rechargeable battery. CONSTITUTION:A mechanical display 4 being driven through a charger or a machine to display the charged or consumed state of a battery is mounted on a battery case 2 so that residual capacity of the battery can be known easily by comparing the dial scale 15 of the battery 1 with an index 12 without requiring an additional voltmeter or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery status display device for knowing the remaining battery level of a rechargeable battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable electronic devices such as video devices have been developed and are often used outdoors. In this type of electronic device, a rechargeable battery is used in consideration of economy. In addition, the charging status such as the remaining amount of the battery is generally electrically detected by the battery checker on the charger or the electronic device side, and can be known from this. It's not. Therefore, in order to know the remaining amount of the battery, etc., it is set in a battery checker or an electronic device prepared separately and examined.

[0003]

For this reason, it has been inconvenient that the battery level cannot be easily known by the battery alone. Also, when used batteries and unused batteries are inadvertently mixed together, they cannot be distinguished from the outside, so in the worst case, you have to re-examine all batteries one by one. Such things also occur. Therefore, in order to distinguish the used battery from the unused battery, a method such as marking on the surface of the battery is used, but it is troublesome to handle and the workability is poor. was there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to make it possible to easily visually check the battery remaining amount including the charging or consumption condition of a rechargeable battery and the like. It is to provide a display device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a battery status display device according to the present invention is driven by a charger or a device in a battery case to display the remaining battery level including its charging or consumption status. This is provided with a mechanical display unit for doing so.

[0006]

According to this structure, the remaining battery level such as the charging status or the consumption status of the battery can be checked just by looking at the display section of the battery without using another voltmeter which is conventionally used. You can easily know.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a rechargeable battery to which an embodiment of a battery status display device according to the present invention is applied. 1 to 3, a battery 1 is provided with a battery case 2, and in the battery case 2, for example, NiCd (NiCd) or lithium (L
A secondary battery 3 such as i) and a mechanical display unit 4 are provided, and a pair of electrodes 5 electrically connected to the battery 3 are provided on the outer surface. Further, the mechanical display unit 4 includes a shaft 6 rotatably arranged in the battery case 2.
A key-shaped portion 7 is provided on one end side of the and the pinion 8 is attached to the other end side so as to be integrally rotatable.
An opening 9 is provided in a portion of the battery case 1 corresponding to the key-shaped portion 7, and the key-shaped portion 7 is exposed to the other end of the battery case 2 by the opening 9. There is. Further, the shaft 6 has a pinion 8 and a gear 10.
It is attached so as to be integrally rotatable with the dial 11 via. The dial 11 is composed of a dial portion 11a having an index 12 provided on the front surface thereof, and a shaft portion 11b having one end fixed to the center of the dial portion 11a and extending at a substantially right angle on the rear surface side of the dial portion 11a. ing. And
The dial 11 is rotatably supported by the battery case 1 with the shaft portion 11b penetrating the portion of the recess 13 formed on the upper surface of the battery case 2, and the dial portion 11a is provided in the recess 13. It is in the stored state. In addition, the gear 10 is integrally rotatably attached to the lower end of the shaft portion 11b while being meshed with the pinion 8. In addition, the recess 13 in which the dial portion 11a is arranged is closed by the transparent acrylic plate 14 so that the dial portion 11a cannot be contacted from the outside. Further, a dial graduation 15 is formed in the recess 13 along the outer periphery of the dial portion 11a, and the symbol F (Ful
It has a scale between l) and E (Emply).

In the battery 1 thus constructed, when the shaft 6 is rotated by means to be described later, the dial 11 is also integrally rotated in a direction corresponding to the rotating direction of the shaft 6, and the dial 11 is also rotated. The open position can be known by comparing the index 12 on the dial portion 11a with the dial scale 15 in the recess 13. And here index 1
2 is moved between the symbols F and E on the dial scale 15,
A person who sees this can judge the remaining battery level of the secondary battery 3 in the battery 1 by the position thereof. That is, when the index 12 is close to the symbol F, it can be determined that the battery is sufficiently charged, and conversely, when the index 12 is close to the symbol E, it can be determined that the battery is exhausted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural layout diagram showing an example of a charger for charging the battery 1 in a state where the battery is being mounted. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 denote the same parts as those in FIGS. In FIG. 4, the charger 21 includes a case 22, and a recess 23 for mounting the battery 1 is formed on the upper surface side of the case 22. Also, this recess 2
A pair of electrodes 24 corresponding to the electrodes 5 on the battery 1 side are provided in the battery 3, and a switch 25 for detecting the battery 1 mounted in the recess 23 is provided. A key receiving member 26 is arranged corresponding to the opening 9 of No. 1. The key receiving member 26 is attached to the upper end of a shaft 27, which is arranged in the case 22 slidably in the vertical direction, so as to be rotatable integrally with the shaft 27, and on the upper surface of the key receiving member 26. Is the keyed portion 7 of the shaft 6.
A key hole 28 (see FIG. 8) that can be engaged with is formed.
In addition, a disc 29 and a gear 30 are integrally rotatably attached to the shaft 27, and a coil spring 31 is interposed between the gear 30 and the case 22. The coil spring 31 pushes the entire shaft 27 upward to a position where the disk 29 can come into contact with the arm 32a of the switch 32. Further, in the case 22, a controller 33, a motor 34, etc. are arranged. Among them, the electrode 24 is connected to the control unit 33 through the switch 32, and the signal of the switch 25 can be input. On the other hand, the motor 34 is driven by the control of the control unit 33, and a gear 35 meshed with the gear 30 is integrally rotatably attached to the output shaft 34a of the motor 34. Therefore, when the motor 34 is driven to rotate the output shaft 34a, this rotation allows the shaft 27 to be integrally rotated via the gears 35 and 30.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a control circuit of the charger 21 shown in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 denote the same parts as those in FIG. Therefore, the display operation when the secondary battery 3 of the battery 1 is charged by the charger 21 shown in FIG. 4 using the battery 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the battery 1 is not attached to the charger 21, the switch 25 is off and the charging switch circuit 41 is also off. An angle sensor 36 is attached to the motor 34 here,
It is a closed loop including the amplifier 46, and is controlled so that the output shaft 34a of the motor 34 stops at a rotation angle corresponding to the portion A in FIG. Next, when the battery 1 is inserted into the recess 23 of the charger 21 and the mounting operation is performed, the switch 25 is pushed by the side surface of the battery 1 to be turned on, and the electrode 24 on the charger 21 side and the battery 1 The side electrode 5 contacts. When the switch 25 is turned on, the sweep voltage generator 45 generates a sweep voltage. At this time, the reference voltage changeover switch 44 is connected to the sweep voltage generator 45 side, and the motor 34 rotates in the positive direction according to the sweep voltage. And
While the key-shaped portion 7 on the shaft 6 and the key hole 28 of the key receiving portion 26 do not correspond to each other, the key-shaped portion 7 causes the shaft 27 to move downward against the biasing force of the coil spring 31 (arrow in FIG. 4). The disk 29 separates from the arm 32a of the switch 32 as shown by the solid line in FIG.
2 is off. Further, when the key-shaped portion 7 and the key hole 28 correspond to each other by this rotation, the key receiving portion 26 ascends together with the shaft 27 in the direction of arrow U in FIG. 4, and as shown in FIG.
And the keyhole 28 are rotatably engaged with each other. Then, as the shaft 27 moves up, the disk 29 moves to the arm 3 of the switch 32.
Push 2a upwards. As a result, the switch 32 is turned on, the reference voltage changeover switch circuit 44 is connected to the time-to-voltage converter 43 side, the timer 42 is started, the charging switch circuit 41 is turned on, and the charging power source 40
Thereby, charging of the battery 1 is started.

On the other hand, the rotation of the motor 34 causes the shaft 27 to rotate.
When the key receiving portion 26 is rotated together with the key receiving portion 26, the key-shaped portion 7 and the key receiving portion 2 are rotated.
The shaft 6 is rotated integrally with the shaft 27 by the coupling with the shaft 6, and the dial 11 is also rotated integrally with the shaft 6 in the forward direction, that is, the index 12 is directed from the symbol E to the direction F. When the charging is completed after the elapse of a certain time by the timer 42,
The timer 42 is activated, the charging circuit switch 41 is turned off, the charging completion lamp 47 provided in the case 22 of the charger 21 is turned on, and at the same time, the control unit 19 detects this and stops the motor 34. Dial 1 at this time
The index 12 on the dial portion 11a of No. 1 is located at the position of the symbol F on the dial scale 15.
Displays the charging status of the secondary battery 3.

After the charging is completed in this way, the battery 1 is removed from the charger 21 and is ready for use in a device, which will be described later. And the index 1 in the mechanical display unit 4 that displays the charging status of the cat
The position 2 keeps this state until it is used by the device. Therefore, a person who sees the index 12 on the mechanical display unit 4 can visually confirm that the battery 1 is still in a usable state.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural layout view showing an example of the device 121 using the battery 1 in a state after the battery mounting is completed. 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 denote the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 to 3. In FIG. 6, the device 121 is, for example, a portable type video camera or the like, and includes a case 122,
A recess 123 for mounting the battery 1 is formed on the upper surface side of the case 122. Also, this recess 12
A pair of electrodes 124 corresponding to the electrodes 5 on the battery 1 side are provided in the switch 3, and a switch 1 for detecting the battery 1 mounted in the recess 123.
25, and a key receiving member 126 corresponding to the opening 9 of the battery 1. The key receiving member 12
6 is attached to the upper end of a shaft 127, which is arranged in the case 122 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, so as to rotate integrally with the shaft 127, and the charger is provided on the upper surface of a key receiving member 126. As in the case of No. 21, a key hole 128 that can be engaged with the key portion 7 of the shaft 6 is formed. In addition, axis 1
A disk 129 and a gear 130 are integrally rotatably attached to the unit 27, and the gear 130 and the case 1 are attached.
A coil spring 131 is interposed between the coil spring 131 and the coil 22. The coil spring 131 causes the shaft 1
27, the disk 129 is the arm 1 of the switch 132.
It is in a state of being pushed up and biased to a position where it can come into contact with 32a. Further, in the case 122, a control unit 133, a motor 134, etc. are arranged. Of these, the control unit 133 is connected to the electrode 1 via the switch 132.
24 is connected and the signal of the switch 125 can be input. On the other hand, the motor 134
Is driven by the control of the control unit 133, and a gear 135 meshed with the gear 130 is integrally rotatably attached to the output shaft 134a of the motor 134.
Therefore, the motor 134 is driven to output the output shaft 134a.
When is rotated, this rotation allows the shaft 127 to rotate integrally via the gears 135 and 130.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the control circuit of the device 121 shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 denote the same parts as those in FIG. Therefore, the display operation when the battery 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is used in the device 121 shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the battery 1 is not attached to the device 121, the switch 125 is off. Further, the angle sensor 136 is attached to the motor 134 here, and the motor 134 has a closed loop including the amplifier 146 so that the output shaft 134a of the motor 134 stops at the rotation angle corresponding to the portion B in FIG. Is controlled by. Next, when the battery 1 is inserted into the recess 123 of the device 121 and a mounting operation is performed, the switch 125 is pushed by the side surface of the battery 1 to be turned on, and the device 121 is also turned on.
The electrode 124 on the side and the electrode 5 on the side of the battery 1 are in contact with each other. When the switch 125 is turned on, the sweep voltage generator 145 generates a sweep voltage. At this time, the reference voltage changeover switch 144 is connected to the sweep voltage generator 145 side, and the motor 134 rotates in the negative direction opposite to the case of the motor 34 of the charger 21 according to the sweep voltage. While the key-shaped portion 7 on the shaft 6 and the keyhole 128 of the key receiving portion 126 do not correspond, the key-shaped portion 7
As a result, the shaft 127 rotates in a state of being displaced downward (direction of arrow D in FIG. 6) against the biasing force of the coil spring 131, the disk 129 separates from the arm 132a of the switch 132, and the switch 132 is turned off. There is. Further, when the key-shaped portion 7 and the keyhole 28 correspond to each other by this rotation, the key receiving portion 2
6 rises in the direction of the arrow U in FIG. 6 together with the shaft 27, and the key-shaped portion 7 and the keyhole 128 are integrally rotatably engaged as in the case shown in FIG. Then, as the shaft 127 rises, the disk 129 pushes the arm 132a of the switch 132 upward. As a result, the switch 132 is turned on, and the reference voltage changeover switch 144 is connected to the voltage detector 51 side.

On the other hand, the rotation of the motor 134 causes the shaft 1 to rotate.
When the key receiving portion 126 is rotated together with 27, the shaft 6 is also rotated integrally with the shaft 127 due to the connection between the key-shaped portion 7 and the key receiving portion 126, and the dial 11 is also integrated in the negative direction, that is, the index 12 is integrally rotated. Rotates from the symbol F toward the direction E.
Further, as the load 100 consumes the electric power of the secondary battery 3, the voltage at the portion C in FIG. 7 drops, and the voltage is passed from the voltage detector 51 through the reference voltage changeover switch circuit 144 to B in FIG. The motor is rotated to the rotation angle position according to the voltage transmitted to the section, and the dial 11 is rotated. Therefore, at this time, the index 12 and the dial scale 15 on the dial portion 11a of the dial 11 are arranged.
By comparing with the upper scale, the consumption state of the secondary battery 3, that is, the remaining battery level is displayed.

In this way, the battery 1-2
After the secondary battery 3 is exhausted, it is removed from the device 121 and charged again by the charger 21, but the position of the index 12 continues to maintain this state until it is charged again. Therefore, a person who looks at the index on the mechanical display unit 4 can easily visually confirm that the battery 1 is not fully charged.

Also, in the above embodiment, the battery 1
In the control circuit shown in FIG. 5, the drive voltage of the motor 34 corresponding to the voltage is output when the battery is not fully discharged and charging is started from the middle of the discharge state. The index 12 is in a state of indicating a position corresponding to the charged state.

The present invention is very effective when applied to a lithium battery expected as a secondary battery in the future. That is, since the discharge characteristic of the conventional Ni-Cd battery changes in a relatively gentle curve as shown in FIG. 9, it is difficult to check the discharge amount using the relationship between the discharge amount and the voltage. In the case of a lithium battery, since it changes linearly as shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to check the discharge (remaining amount) by checking the voltage. Also, since there is little self-discharge, if it is displayed on the device used, changes due to natural discharge after removal will not cause any problems.

[0021]

As described above, according to the battery status display system of the present invention, it is possible to simply view the mechanical display section of the battery without using another voltmeter or the like which is conventionally used. It can be expected that the charging status or consumption status of the battery can be easily known.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a rechargeable battery to which an embodiment of a battery status display device according to the present invention is applied.

2 is a top view of the same battery shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical sectional side view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a main part showing an example of a charger for charging the same battery shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 in a state where the battery is being mounted.

5 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit of the charger shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a layout view of main parts showing an example of a device using the battery shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 in the battery mounted state.

7 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit in the device shown in FIG.

8 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an engaged state of a key receiving portion and a battery-side key-shaped portion in the charger shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing general discharge characteristics of a NiCad battery.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing general discharge characteristics of a lithium battery.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Battery 2 ... Battery Case 3 ... Secondary Battery 4 ... Mechanical Display 11 ... Dial 12 ... Index 15 ... Dial Scale 21 ... Charger 121 ... Equipment

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A battery status display device, comprising: a battery case, which is driven by a charger or a device, and is provided with a mechanical display unit for displaying a remaining battery level including a charging or consumption status thereof.