JPH09109518A - Apparatus and method for power source control of electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of an obstacle following stop of driving of electronic equipment by avoiding surely a situation wherein a power source supply state midway of operation of the electronic equipment is broken. SOLUTION: When a remained amount of a battery 4 is detected to be decreased to a prescribed specific value, a control part 34 controls drive timing of a switch part 35 which transits a power source supply state from the battery 4 to a printer from an on-state to an off-state based on an operation state of the printer 5 which an electric current monitoring part 36 monitors.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply control device for controlling the supply of DC power from a battery charged to a predetermined electronic equipment and a power supply control method for electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic device, for example, a battery-powered printer device, is configured to stop a printing operation when the printer control unit detects the voltage when the battery voltage falls below a predetermined voltage value. However, such a power supply control function is not provided on the battery charger device side.

[0003]

Therefore, even when the printer is in operation, when the battery energy is exhausted and the voltage value drops to the set value, the printing operation is stopped, so that a plurality of sheets are printed. If the battery voltage drops to the above value during print output, the print operation may be interrupted midway, or the print operation may be interrupted midway through one page, resulting in waste of paper. was there.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the first to fourth inventions of the present invention is to reduce the remaining amount of a rechargeable battery to a predetermined value. However, by controlling the power supply cutoff timing according to the state of the electronic device driven by the battery, it is possible to reliably avoid the situation where the power supply state is cut off during operation of the electronic device, and to drive the electronic device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power supply control device and a power supply control method for electronic equipment that can prevent the occurrence of a failure due to a stop.

[0005]

A first invention according to the present invention is a battery which can be charged by an external power source, a switch means for turning on or off a power supply state from the battery to a predetermined electronic device, and the battery. Detecting means for detecting that the remaining amount of the battery has fallen to a set predetermined value, monitoring means for monitoring the operating state of the predetermined electronic device, and the detecting means for reducing the remaining battery capacity to the predetermined value. Driving of the switch means for changing the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic equipment based on the operating state of the predetermined electronic equipment monitored by the monitor means when it is detected that And a control means for controlling the timing.

In a second aspect of the present invention, the predetermined value can be changed and set to a desired value.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control means, when the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, the predetermined means for monitoring by the monitor means. When the operation state of the electronic device is in the standby state and a predetermined time has elapsed, the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device is changed from the on state to the off state by the switch means.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a power source control method for an electronic device which can be driven by power supply from a battery which can be charged by an external power source, in which the remaining amount of the battery is reduced to a set predetermined value. A detection step of detecting that the remaining amount of the battery has fallen to the predetermined value, a monitoring step of monitoring the operating state of the predetermined electronic device, and a step of monitoring the predetermined electronic device A determining step of determining an operating state, a time measuring step of measuring a predetermined time based on the determination result, and a transition of a power supply state from the battery to a predetermined electronic device from an on state to an off state after measuring the predetermined time. And a transition step.

[0009]

In the first aspect of the invention, when the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, the control is performed based on the operating state of the predetermined electronic equipment monitored by the monitor means. The means controls the drive timing of the switch means for changing the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device from the on state to the off state, and the battery remaining amount to be supplied to the electronic device decreases to a predetermined value. If the electronic device is operating, the power supply state can be continued until the operation is completed.

In the second aspect, the predetermined value can be changed and set to a desired value, and the power supply state from the battery can be controlled at a timing corresponding to the operating environment of the electronic device.

In a third invention, the control means is
When the detection means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, the operation state of the predetermined electronic device monitored by the monitor means is in a standby state and a predetermined time has elapsed. The switch means changes the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device from the on state to the off state, and it is possible to cut off the power supply when the state of the electronic device is stable in terms of potential.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the remaining amount of the battery is detected to have fallen to a set predetermined value and the remaining amount of the battery is detected to have fallen to the predetermined value, the predetermined amount is set. The operating state of the electronic device is monitored, the operating state of the monitored predetermined electronic device is discriminated, a predetermined time is timed based on the discrimination result, and after the predetermined time is counted, the battery is operated to the predetermined electronic device. Even if the power supply state is changed from the ON state to the OFF state, and the remaining battery level to be supplied to the electronic device is reduced to a predetermined value, the power supply state is continued until the operation ends if the electronic device is operating, and (EN) It is possible to automate the process of automating the process of surely cutting off the power supply at a timing when the power supply potential supplied to the electronic device is stable.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of an electronic equipment system to which a power supply control device according to the invention can be applied, and corresponds to, for example, a battery-operable printer system.

In the figure, 1 is a power plug, which is inserted into a commercial power outlet not shown. Reference numeral 2 is an AC adapter, which converts 100V AC into a desired DC current. A battery charger (charger) 3 charges the battery 4 with a DC current from the AC adapter 2. The battery charger 3 is attached to the printer 5 by a connector (not shown) to supply current. Further, the battery charger 3 and the printer 5 are connected by screws so that they can be integrated. The printer 5 includes an inkjet engine and performs monochrome / color printing on a recording medium based on print information input from a host device 6 including a host computer. The battery 4 is connected to the inside of the battery charger 3.
The host device 6 is connected to the printer 5 not by a cable but by an interface cable such as RS-232C, Centronics I / F. A power plug 7 supplies an AC voltage to the host device 6. When the AC adapter 2 is connected, the printer 5 uses the AC
The printing operation is performed based on the DC current from the adapter 2, and when the AC adapter 2 is not connected, the printing operation is performed based on the DC power source from the battery 4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the detailed structure of the power supply control device showing an embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the figure, 31 is an input connector terminal,
The direct current from the AC adapter 2 is input. Reference numeral 32 is an input connector terminal to which a detection signal for determining whether the output plug of the AC adapter 2 is inserted is input.
An output connector 33 supplies the printer 5 with the DC power source charged in the battery 4.

Reference numeral 34 is a control unit, which is a CPU, RAM, ROM
According to a control program stored in the ROM or another storage medium, the CPU makes a judgment / process such as control of charging / discharging of the battery 4 shown in a flowchart described later. The control unit 34 is configured to perform charging control for charging the battery 4 (chargeable battery) to a predetermined operation guarantee potential based on the direct current from the AC adapter 2.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a switch section (hereinafter referred to as SW section).
Then, based on the instruction from the control unit 34, the DC from the battery 4
Turns on / off the power supply. A current monitor unit 36 monitors a DC current flowing to the printer 5. Reference numeral 37 denotes an operation switch (hereinafter, operation SW), which is connected to the control unit 34 and is turned on / off in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the printer cover (not shown) by the user.

In the power supply control device configured as described above, the DC output of the AC adapter 2 shown in FIG. 1 is output to the printer 5 via the input connector terminal 31, the current monitor section 36, and the output connector terminal 33. Based on the output, the printer 5 makes a transition to a state in which the printing operation is always possible.
At this time, the SW unit 35 is in the OFF state, and the connection with the battery is cut off.

The control unit 34 also monitors the voltage of the battery 4, and stops the charging when the battery 4 is charged to a specified voltage. The charging may be stopped by monitoring the voltage and stopping the charging, or by stopping the charging for a certain period of time.

The timing at which the battery 4 operates is AC
This is when the operation SW 37 is pushed in conjunction with the opening and closing of the cover while the adapter 2 is not connected. The fact that the AC adapter 2 is not connected is detected by the detection signal from the input connector terminal 32.

When the operation SW 37 is pressed in conjunction with the cover opening / closing operation by the user, the control unit 34 turns on the SW unit 35, and the DC power source charged in the battery 4 causes the SW unit 35, the current monitoring unit 36, It is supplied to the printer 5 via the output connector terminal 33, and the printer 5 is ready for printing.

Generally, the current consumption of the printer 5 is greatly different between the operating state and the standby state. This is because a large load current is consumed by the motor and the print head during the printing operation.

As described above, the power consumption state of the printer 5 varies depending on the printing operation state. Therefore, the current of the battery 4 is monitored by the current monitor unit 36, and when it is determined that the stored energy of the battery 4 is exhausted, the battery 4 is immediately released. D from the battery 4 without interrupting the power supply of
The control unit 34 determines the timing at which the C output is cut off by the SW unit 35, and controls so that the user who uses the printer 5 is not affected by printing defects.

That is, during the printing operation of the printer 5, the energy of the battery 4 is exhausted and the DC output is turned off.
If the F state is set, the printing operation is interrupted, the above-mentioned waste of printing occurs, and an unexpected situation occurs for the user.

On the other hand, if the DC output of the battery 4 is cut off by the SW unit 35 after the printing operation is completed, that is, the power supply is continued until the user's printing processing is completed, and the printing of the printer 5 is interrupted. To avoid. It should be noted that whether or not the printing process by the printer 5 is completed can be recognized by the control unit 34 judging the difference in the current consumption value (the magnitude of the load current) as described above.

Therefore, the control unit 34 includes the current monitor unit 36.
When it is determined that the DC output from the battery 4 may be cut off, a determination process (determination is performed by comparison with a preset value) is performed based on the current consumption of the printer 5 monitored in step SW 35. To the OFF state.

The timing for shutting off the DC output from the battery 4 is to shut off the DC output after a lapse of a certain time from the time when it seems that the printer 5 is in the standby state (data standby state) because the current consumption of the printer 5 has disappeared. It is better to do. Further, the DC output may be cut off in association with the timing when the SW 37 is turned off, that is, when it is recognized that the cover is closed.

Correspondence between the present embodiment and each means of the first to third inventions and their operation will be described below with reference to FIGS.

A first aspect of the invention is to turn on or off a battery (battery 4) that can be charged by an external power source (AC adapter 2) and a power supply state from the battery to a predetermined electronic device (printer 5 in this embodiment). Switch means (switch section 35), a detection means (detection section of control section 34) for detecting that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to a set predetermined value, and an operating state of the predetermined electronic device is monitored. Based on the operating state of the predetermined electronic device monitored by the monitor means when the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value. Control means (control section 34) for controlling the drive timing of the switch means for changing the power supply state from the battery to a predetermined electronic device from the on state to the off state. , When the remaining capacity of the battery 4 is detected that drops to the predetermined value, the current monitor section 36
Based on the operating state of the printer 5 monitored by
4 controls the drive timing of the switch unit 35 for changing the power supply state from the battery 4 to the printer 5 from the ON state to the OFF state, and the electronic device is operated even if the remaining battery level to be supplied to the electronic device is reduced to a predetermined value. If the device is operating, the power supply state can be continued until the operation is completed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the predetermined value of the battery detected by the detection means can be changed and set to a desired value, and the power supply state from the battery is controlled at a timing corresponding to the operating environment of various electronic devices. Is possible.

A third invention is the control means (control section 3
In 4), when the detection means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, the operation state of the predetermined electronic device monitored by the monitor means becomes a standby state and a predetermined time has elapsed. At the timing (timed by an internal timer or counter (not shown)), the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device is changed from the on state to the off state by the switch means, and the state of the electronic device is stable in potential. It is possible to cut off the power supply.

The power control method of the power control device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the power supply control method of the power supply control device according to the present invention. Note that (1) to (7) indicate each step.

First, in step (1), it is determined whether or not the output connector from the AC adapter 2 is connected to the connector input terminal 31 (the detection signal indicating the connected state of the AC adapter 2 is a connector input terminal). 32
Control unit 34 determines whether or not the
If it is determined that the output connector from the AC adapter 2 is connected to the input connector terminal 31, the process proceeds to another routine.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (1) that the output connector from the AC adapter 2 is not connected to the input connector terminal 31, the operation SW 37 is in the ON state (cover open) in step (3). Status)
If it is determined that the operation SW 37 is not in the ON state (OFF state), the process proceeds to another routine.

On the other hand, in step (2), the operation SW
When it is determined that 37 is in the ON state, the battery drive preparation state is entered, and in step (3), the control unit 34 checks the voltage of the battery 4, and the result shows that the charging capacity of the battery 4 is sufficient. If it is determined that the charging capacity of the battery 4 is sufficient, the SW unit 35 is turned on in step (7). As a result, the DC power source of the battery 4 is the SW unit 3
5, the current is supplied to the printer 5 through the current monitor 36 and the output connector terminal 33, and the printer 5 becomes operable.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (3) that the charge capacity of the battery 4 is not sufficient, the current monitor section 36 checks the current value supplied to the printer 5 in step (4). 34, it is determined whether the load current of the printer 5 is the standby current value. If NO, that is, if it is determined that the printer 5 is in the print processing state, the process returns to step (1) again.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step (4) that the current of the printer 5 is the current value in the standby state (data standby state), in step (5)
After waiting for a certain period of time and after a certain period of time has passed, in step (6), the control unit 34 sets the SW unit 35 to the OFF state, and the process ends.

As a result, the battery output of the battery 4 is turned off, and the power supply to the printer 5 is cut off. Therefore, during the printing operation of the printer 5, even if the charging amount of the battery 4 becomes small and the DC voltage becomes equal to or lower than the reference value, the printing operation is continued for a predetermined time, and when the printing operation of the printer 5 ends. Battery 4 D
Since the C output is cut off, the printing process of the printer 5 is interrupted during printing, and it is possible to avoid a situation such as paper waste or reprinting.

Correspondence between the present embodiment and each step of the fourth invention and its action will be described below with reference to FIG.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a power source control method for an electronic device that can be driven by power supply from a battery (battery 4) that can be charged by an external power source (AC adapter 2), and the remaining amount of the battery is set. A detection step of detecting a decrease to a predetermined value (step (3) in FIG. 3), and an operating state of the predetermined electronic device is monitored when it is detected that the remaining amount of the battery has decreased to the predetermined value. Monitor process (Fig. 3)
Step (4)), a determination step of determining the operating state of the monitored predetermined electronic device (step (4) of FIG. 3), and a timing step of measuring a predetermined time based on the determination result (FIG. 3 (step (5)) and a transition step of transitioning the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device from the on state to the off state after the predetermined time is counted (FIG. 3).
Step (6)) is executed, and even if the remaining battery level to be supplied to the electronic device is reduced to a predetermined value, if the electronic device is operating, the power supply state is continued until the operation ends, and (EN) It is possible to automate the process of reliably cutting off the power supply at a timing when the power supply potential supplied to the device is stable.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the case where the voltage detection level or the current detection level of the battery 4 and the detection time and the like are constant has been described, but the voltage detection level or the current of the battery 4 is described. The detection level and the detection time thereof may be variable.

Thus, if the voltage detection level or the current detection level of the battery 4 and its detection time can be varied, it can be used as a battery charger for electronic equipment other than the printer.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, by reading a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. .

Furthermore, by downloading and reading a program represented by software for achieving the present invention from a database on the network by a communication program, the system or apparatus can be
It is possible to enjoy the effects of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the printer is taken as an example of the electronic device, but the portable electronic device, such as an electronic notebook device, a game device, an audio device, a data processing device (data terminal device, etc.), a handler device ( It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to any of the manual scanning printers.

[0048]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present invention is described.
According to the invention, when the detection means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, the control means controls the battery based on the operating state of the predetermined electronic device monitored by the monitor means. Since the drive timing of the switch means for changing the power supply state to the predetermined electronic device from the on state to the off state is controlled, even if the battery remaining amount to be supplied to the electronic device falls to the predetermined value, If it is in operation, the power supply state can be continued until the operation is completed.

According to the second aspect, the predetermined value can be changed and set to a desired value, so that the power supply state from the battery can be controlled at a timing corresponding to the operating environment of the electronic device.

According to the third invention, the control means, when the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has decreased to the predetermined value, the predetermined electronic equipment monitored by the monitor means. When a predetermined time has elapsed after the operating state of the electronic device has become the standby state, the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device is changed from the on state to the off state by the switch means, so that the state of the electronic device is stable in potential. The power supply can be cut off in this state.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the remaining amount of the battery is detected to have fallen to a set predetermined value and the remaining amount of the battery is detected to have fallen to the predetermined value, the predetermined amount is set. Monitoring the operating state of the electronic device, determining the operating state of the monitored predetermined electronic device, measuring a predetermined time based on the determination result, and after measuring the predetermined time, a predetermined electronic device from the battery Since the power supply state for the device is changed from the on state to the off state, even if the remaining battery level to be supplied to the electronic device drops to a predetermined value, the power supply state is continued until the operation ends if the electronic device is operating. In addition, it is possible to automate the process of reliably cutting off the power supply at the timing when the power supply potential supplied to the electronic device is stable.

Therefore, it is possible to surely avoid the situation where the power supply state is interrupted during the operation of the electronic device, and to prevent the occurrence of troubles due to the stop of the driving of the electronic device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device system to which a power supply control device according to the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a power supply control device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a power supply control method for a power supply control device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 input connector terminal 32 input connector terminal 33 output connector terminal 34 control unit 35 switch unit 36 current monitor unit 37 operation switch

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H02J 7/34 G06F 1/00 333C

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A battery which can be charged by an external power source, a switch means for turning on / off a power supply state from the battery to a predetermined electronic device, and a remaining amount of the battery lowered to a set predetermined value. Detection means for detecting, and monitor means for monitoring the operating state of the predetermined electronic device,
When the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, power supply from the battery to the predetermined electronic equipment is performed based on the operating state of the predetermined electronic equipment monitored by the monitor means. And a control unit for controlling the drive timing of the switch unit for changing the state from the ON state to the OFF state. 2. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value can be changed and set to a desired value. 3. The control means, when the detection means detects that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value, the operating state of the predetermined electronic device monitored by the monitor means is in a standby state. 2. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply state from the battery to the predetermined electronic device is changed from the on state to the off state by the switch means when a predetermined time has elapsed. 4. A power supply control method for an electronic device, which can be driven by power supply from a battery that can be charged by an external power supply,
A detection step of detecting that the remaining amount of the battery has fallen to a set predetermined value, and an operating state of the predetermined electronic device is monitored when it is detected that the remaining amount of the battery has dropped to the predetermined value. Monitoring step, a determination step of determining the operating state of the monitored predetermined electronic device, a timing step of measuring a predetermined time based on the determination result, and a predetermined electronic signal from the battery after the predetermined time measurement. A power supply control method for an electronic device, comprising: a transition step of transitioning a power supply state to the device from an on state to an off state.