JPH07336903A - Method of judging life of battery in electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily judge the life of a battery by judging that the life of a battery has run out, in the case that counter value at the point of time does not show the usual count value corresponding to the level of charging level, when the voltage of the battery terminal reaches the charging level. CONSTITUTION:CPU 13 judges the life of a secondary battery 2. The count value of a timer counter 17 is subtracted, according to the situation of use. On the other hand, CPU 13 detects the voltage (BV) of the battery terminal of the secondary battery 2 through a battery voltage detecting circuit (BD) 23 at every specified time, and if it drops to the charging level on which a cordless telephone does not operate normally, this checks the count value. And, if the life of the secondary battery 2 has run out and it is in the condition that the energy accumulation capacity has deteriorated, the count value at the time of the quantity of energy having run out and the detected L level of BV of the secondary battery 2 by BD 23 ceases to accord with each other. In short, BD 23 detects that BV reaches charge level before the counter value reaches the initial value.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cordless telephone, a pager, or a cordless communication device.
The present invention relates to a battery life determining method for determining the life of a battery used as a power source for an electronic device such as a portable personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional example, a cordless telephone will be described. A quick charge mode for rapidly charging a charged battery at a charge level that requires charging to operate the device normally with a large current, and a charged battery at a charge level for the device to operate normally are small. It has a normal charge (trickle charge) mode in which it is charged with an electric current, and the switching of the mode setting is performed using a timer counter. A method of setting using the above timer counter is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-37698.

That is, the battery to be charged is set in the quick charge mode.
Timer counter when charged to the full charge level for a predetermined time
Is set to the maximum value (Vmax). Next,
Status of the phone, such as communication time, standby time,
Charging time when placed on the main unit or charging stand
For example, the set value of the timer counter is increased or decreased. Normal
Depending on the setting value of this timer counter, the main unit or charging
When placed on a table, the charging operation is performed according to the set value and the
The set value of the counter is a predetermined value (V min) or less
Switching from normal charge mode to quick charge mode
It has become. Also, in the vicinity of full charge, normal charging mode
Switching to, does not shorten the battery life.

Therefore, the cordless telephone handset determines which charging mode to charge the battery by the timer counter value, and when the counter value is less than or equal to the predetermined value Vmin, sets the quick charging mode to the charging stand. When it is placed, it starts from the quick charge mode,
The display lamp of the cordless telephone is turned on and the battery "Low" is displayed to inform the user.

[0005]

The state of the battery which is the secondary battery of the above cordless telephone is the battery "Lo".
The display is performed by the w "display, which is a display that informs the outside that charging is necessary, and is not a so-called life display that indicates that the secondary battery itself must be replaced. There was a problem such as repeated useless operations such as recharging a secondary battery that has run out of power, etc. That is, the battery that is the secondary battery of the cordless telephone is repeatedly charged, for example. As a result, when the life of the battery is gradually shortened, even if the battery is quickly charged to full charge, it is discharged during almost no use, and the voltage of the battery drops even though the counter value of the timer counter does not fall below the predetermined value Vmin. There is no charge energy remaining.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery life determining method in an electronic device which can easily determine the life of a battery used as a power source.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A battery life determining method for an electronic device according to the present invention is provided with a timer counter and at least one of the timer counters as at least one of determining elements for switching between a quick charging mode and a normal charging mode. The value is increased / decreased according to the usage status, and is a battery life determination method in an electronic device that includes a charge state determination unit that determines the charge state of the remaining energy level of the battery by the counter value, and is fully charged. When the battery terminal voltage that decreases according to the use of the battery reaches an empty charge level with no remaining charge energy, when the counter value at that time does not indicate a normal counter value corresponding to the empty charge level. Has a life judging step for judging that the battery has run out. Further, the electronic device is a cordless telephone, and a life display step for displaying the battery life by the battery life display means when it is determined in the life judgment step that the battery life has run out is provided.

[0008]

According to the method of determining the battery life in the electronic device of the present invention, when the battery terminal voltage, which decreases according to the usage status of the fully charged battery, reaches the empty charge level, the counter value at that time becomes the empty charge level. If the corresponding normal counter value is not indicated, it is determined that the battery has run out of life, and the electronic device performs processing to notify the outside based on the determination result. Further, when the electronic device is a cordless telephone, the battery life display means informs the display device of the display so that the battery life can be easily determined from the outside.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a cordless telephone handset 100 in which the battery life determining method for an electronic device of this embodiment is used. In the figure, the child device 100 is placed on the parent device or the charging stand 4. 2 is a rechargeable secondary battery (battery), 3 is a child device 100 is a parent device or a charging stand 4
It is a charging terminal that comes into contact with the power supply terminal 5 of the master unit or the charging stand 4 when placed on the. The positive electrode side of the charging terminal 3 is
Circuit 8 for quick charging by switch 8 via diode
And the normal (trickle) charging circuit 10 and either of them are connected to the secondary battery 2. The secondary battery 2 is connected to the power supply circuit 11. The child device 100 is provided with a communication circuit 12 for performing wireless communication with the parent device, a microcomputer 13 for controlling the communication circuit 12, etc., a power switch 25, and the like. The microcomputer 13 (hereinafter referred to as CPU) has a switch signal output port 13a to the switch 8, an input port 13b from a detection circuit 14 that detects whether the cordless handset 100 is on the charging stand 4, and a communication circuit 12 control port 13c. , An input port 13d of the ROM 15 that stores the system control and battery charge control program and the battery life determination program,
The RAM 16 includes a control port 13e, a timer counter 17 control port 13f, a battery voltage detection circuit 23 battery voltage detection port 13g, and the like. Further, an output port 13h to the display 24 is provided. In the figure, the display unit 24 has a display unit 24a for displaying that the secondary battery 2 is in a state of an empty charge level and a display unit 24b for displaying that the secondary battery 2 has reached the end of its life. These display units are preferably LEDs with different emission colors, or LEDs with one of which blinks.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a battery life determining method in the electronic device of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the CPU 13 executes the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 to determine the life of the secondary battery 2.
This program is stored in the ROM 15. This program is first executed by the CPU 13 when the battery of the secondary battery 2 is used or when the power switch 25 is input. When entering this program, the CPU 13 outputs the output port 1 to perform the quick charge mode in step S1.
A signal is sent from 3a to the switch 8 to switch to the quick charging circuit 9. In the next step S2, the timer counter 17 is started. In this case, the counter value of the timer counter 17 starts from the initial value state. In step S3, quick charging is performed until the timer counter 17 reaches Vmax, and in step S4, it is determined whether or not the full charge is completed, and steps S3 and S4 are performed until the full charge is completed.
And repeat. The counter value Vmax of the timer counter 17 when the full charge is completed corresponds to the electric energy stored in the secondary battery 2.

In step S5, the energy stored in the secondary battery is consumed depending on various usage conditions from the state where the secondary battery 2 is fully charged. The counter value is incremented by a predetermined value depending on the usage condition. It shows the steps that are subtracted. It should be noted that the subtraction operation of the counter value of the timer counter 17 is to subtract the estimated value based on experience such as actual measurement from the timer counter 17 assuming that the battery is normal. In the case of a live battery, the remaining energy level of the secondary battery 2 will not be met. On the other hand, at every predetermined time in the middle of this step, the CPU 13
Detects the battery terminal voltage of the secondary battery 2 via the battery voltage detection circuit 23. Here, as long as the battery terminal voltage does not reach an empty charge level (“Low” level) that does not make the operation of the cordless telephone normal, step S5
And step S6 are repeated. If the charge level has dropped to the empty charge level (“Low” level), the flow advances to step S7 to check the timer counter value.

When the secondary battery 2 is still in the life, the following occurs. The energy stored in the secondary battery is consumed each time from the fully charged state according to various usage situations, and when the remaining amount of energy is exhausted, the counter value of the timer counter 17 at this time also changes accordingly. On the other hand, the increase / decrease of the timer counter according to each use condition is set so as to be close to the initial value. Accordingly, when the counter value of the timer counter 17 becomes close to the initial value "0" during the life, the battery voltage detection circuit 23 also causes the terminal voltage of the secondary battery 2 to become an empty charge level ("Low" level). Detect that there is. That is, when the secondary battery 2 is still in the service life, the counter value close to the initial value of the timer counter 17 for determining that the remaining energy is exhausted and the battery terminal voltage of the secondary battery 2 by the terminal voltage detection circuit 23. It almost coincides with the detection time of the empty charge level, that is, the "Low" level. Therefore, in this case, only the battery "Low" is displayed (step S8).

However, when the secondary battery 2 is no longer in service life and the energy storage capacity is deteriorated, the following occurs. The counter value of the timer counter 17 when the remaining amount of energy runs out and the detection of the "Low" level of the battery terminal voltage of the secondary battery 2 by the battery voltage detection circuit 23 do not match. This is because the counter value of the timer counter 17 is based on the estimated value, as described above. That is, since the energy storage capacity of the secondary battery 2 has deteriorated, the terminal voltage of the secondary battery 2 remains at the empty charge level ( "Low" level). That is, the battery voltage detection circuit 23 detects that the battery terminal voltage has reached the empty charge level (“Low” level) before the counter value of the timer counter 17 reaches the initial value.

In steps S6 to S9, the state of the secondary battery 2 is exhausted by detecting a state that occurs when the secondary battery 2 is exhausted and the energy storage capacity is deteriorated. Is a processing step for determining. That is, in step S6, the secondary battery 2
When it is detected that the battery terminal voltage of the battery has reached the "Low" level which is the empty charging level, the counter value of the timer counter 17 at this time is the normal value corresponding to the empty charging level ("Low" level) in the subsequent step S7. It is determined whether the counter value has been reached. When the counter value of the timer counter 17 has reached near the initial value, it is determined that the secondary battery 2 has a life and the energy storage capacity is maintained, and the battery "Low" is displayed in step S8, that is, charging is required. A display is made to notify that.
On the other hand, when the counter value of the timer counter 17 has not reached near the initial value in step S7, it is determined that there is an abnormality, and the life of the secondary battery 2 is exhausted, and the energy storage capacity is not maintained, and in step S9. In addition to the battery "Low" display, a battery life display is provided to inform that there is no battery life and the secondary battery itself needs to be replaced.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the remaining energy level of the battery in the electronic device reaches the empty charge level, the battery has consumed energy in a normal state, or the battery has reached the end of life. Since a step of determining whether or not the charged energy is discharged and dropped to the empty charge level is provided, there is an effect of eliminating the waste of repeatedly charging the battery having no life every time the empty charge level is reached. Further, there is an effect that it is possible to easily determine whether or not the battery has run out and the battery itself needs to be replaced. Also, when the battery life is determined when the electronic device is a cordless telephone, the battery life display means provides an easy-to-understand display notification immediately to the outside, so that the battery can be replaced at an early stage. As described above, it is particularly effective for a portable cordless telephone.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cordless telephone in which a battery life determining method for an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a battery life determination method in the electronic device of FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Secondary Battery (Battery) 8 Switch 9 Quick Charging Circuit 10 Normal Charging Circuit 11 Power Supply Circuit 12 Communication Circuit 13 Microcomputer (CPU) (Battery Life Judgment Processing Program) 14 Detection Circuit 17 Timer Counter (Charge Status Judgment Means) 23 Battery Voltage Detection Circuit 24 Display 24a Battery "Low" Display 24b Battery Life Display (Battery Life Display Means) 25 Power Switch 100 Cordless Telephone Handset

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A timer counter as at least one of the determination factors for switching between the quick charge mode and the normal charge mode, and the counter value of the timer counter is increased or decreased according to the use situation, and the battery value is determined by the counter value. A method for determining battery life in an electronic device, comprising: a state of charge determining means for determining the state of charge of the remaining amount of energy, wherein the battery terminal voltage that decreases with use of the fully charged battery is the remaining amount of charging energy. When there is no empty charge level, when the counter value at that time does not indicate a normal counter value corresponding to the empty charge level, a life judging step for judging that the battery has run out is provided. A method of determining battery life in an electronic device, comprising: 2. The battery life determining method for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a cordless telephone, and when it is determined in the life determining step that the battery has run out, the battery life is displayed by the battery life display means. A battery life determining method for an electronic device, comprising a life displaying step for displaying a life.