JPH1028341A - Electric equipment and method for monitoring its power source - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the cost of electric equipment by setting a state such that the electric power is supplied from a battery by breaking ordinary power supply from a commercial power source when the checking of a battery is requested, and when it is detected that the power supply voltage deviates from a normal state, judging the battery abnormal. SOLUTION: When it is judged that a battery 6 is abnormal upon receiving a request for checking the battery 6, the CPU 8a interrupts the power supply (AC power supply interruption) to a driving section 7 and control section 8 from a DC power source circuit 2 (from a commercial power source), by opening switches 3A and 3B through a relay-drive circuit 8e. When the power supply to the sections 7 and 8 from the power source circuit 2 is interrupted, DC power is supplied to the sections 7 and 8 from the battery 6. When the battery 6 is in an abnormal state, the DC power supply voltage supplied from the battery 6 drops from a normal voltage range, and the CPU 8a which is driven with the DC power is reset. Therefore, the abnormality in the battery 6 can be detected from the resetting of the CPU 8a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric device and a power supply monitoring method thereof, and more particularly to a technique for detecting a battery state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some electric devices are operated by switching the power supply from a commercial power supply to a backup battery when the supply of commercial power is cut off. In such electric equipment, the abnormality of the battery is monitored as follows.

[0003] That is, a dummy load and a voltage detecting device are provided in an electric device for monitoring a battery abnormality, and the terminal voltage of the battery is detected by the voltage detecting device in a state where the battery is connected to the dummy load, thereby obtaining a battery. An abnormality such as the state of charge of the battery is monitored.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional electric equipment has a problem that the cost is increased because it is necessary to provide a dummy load and a voltage detection device for monitoring the abnormality. In an electric device, a power load changes according to an operation state of the electric device, and is not fixed. Therefore, conventional electrical equipment
Since the battery abnormality is determined based on the terminal voltage of the dummy load, that is, the fixed load that is not a substantial load (actual load) that reflects the actual operation state of the electric device, it is possible to detect the accurate state of the battery. There is a problem that can not be.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has the following objects. (1) An electric device capable of reducing the cost of the electric device and a power supply monitoring method thereof are provided. (2) To provide an electric device capable of more accurately monitoring the state of a battery and a power supply monitoring method thereof. (3) To provide an electric device capable of monitoring the state of a battery without impairing the original operation of the electric device, and a power supply monitoring method thereof.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, as a first device means, when a check of a battery is required in an electric appliance supplied with power from a battery or a commercial power supply, the commercial power supply is used. Means to supply power from the battery by interrupting the normal power supply, and to provide a control unit for determining that the battery is abnormal when the power supply voltage deviates from the normal voltage range.

[0007] As a second device means, in the first device means, the control unit stores control data relating to control of the electric equipment in a non-volatile memory and then cuts off power supply from a commercial power supply. Means is adopted.

As a third device means, in the first or second device means, the control unit is driven by a CPU, and detects a reset of the CPU to determine that the battery is abnormal. Means is adopted.

As a first methodal means, a power supply monitoring method for an electric device to which power is supplied from a battery or a commercial power supply is provided. Means of detecting the deviation of the voltage from the normal voltage range to determine the abnormality of the battery is employed.

As a second method, in the first method, the power supply from the commercial power supply is cut off after preserving the control data related to the control of the electric device.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electric apparatus and a power supply monitoring method for the same according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the electric device according to the present embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a commercial AC power supply (AC power supply), for example, 100 V
/ 60 Hz two-phase AC power supply. Reference numeral 2 denotes a DC power supply circuit unit that converts an AC voltage input from the commercial power supply 1 into a DC voltage and outputs the DC voltage as a normal power supply (DC power supply) for the electric device. The DC power supply circuit section 2 is, for example, a linear regulator such as a series regulator or a shunt regulator, or various switching regulators. Switches 3A and 3B are closed in a normal state, and are opened when a drive current a is supplied to the exciting coil 4. A charging circuit 5 supplies a charging current to the battery 6.

The battery 6 is charged by the DC power output from the DC power supply circuit unit 2 via the charging circuit 5 and supplies DC power to the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8 via the charging circuit 5. . As the battery 6, for example, a general secondary battery such as a lead storage battery or a nickel-cadmium storage battery is applied. The battery 6 is connected in parallel with the output of the DC power supply circuit section 2 via a charging circuit 5 as shown in the figure.

The switches 3A and 3B are inserted between the connection points p1 and p2 between the charging circuit 5 and the DC power supply circuit section 2 and the DC power supply circuit section 2, and are connected from the DC power supply circuit section 2 to the drive section. The power supply of the DC power to the control unit 7 and the control unit 8 is turned ON / OFF. The electric device is supplied with DC power from the DC power supply circuit unit 2 when the switches 3A and 3B are closed, and from the battery 6 when the switches 3A and 3B are open.

The drive unit 7 is driven by the DC power supply circuit unit 2 or the DC power supply supplied from the battery 6, and is a substantial load of the electric device that mainly consumes power. The load varies depending on the operation state of the drive unit 7. The control unit 8 is driven by the DC power supply to control the driving unit 7, and also monitors the state of the battery 6 using the nonvolatile memory 9 as described in detail below. Note that the non-volatile memory 9 is a memory that retains the stored contents even when no DC power is supplied, and an EEPROM (electrically erasable memory) or the like is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the control unit 8. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
(Central processing unit) 8a, ROM (read only memory) 8b, RAM (read / write memory) 8c
, A device control interface 8d, and a relay drive circuit 8e.

The CPU 8a outputs control information to the device control interface 8d by executing processing according to a control program stored in the ROM 8b. The device control interface 8d controls the driving unit 7 based on control information input from the CPU 8a and device status information input from each unit of the electric device. Also, C
The PU 8a executes a process according to the control program to control the relay drive circuit 8e, and turns on the drive current a.
/ OFF. The RAM 8c stores arithmetic data when the CPU 8a executes various processes, and temporarily stores the storage contents of the nonvolatile memory 9.

Next, a power supply monitoring process by the control unit 8
That is, the state check process of the battery 6 executed by the CPU 8a based on the control program will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described along the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the electric device is turned on, the CPU 8a accesses the non-volatile memory 9 and checks the stored contents (step S1). And
It is determined whether or not the battery check mode for checking the state of the battery 6 is specified as the device control mode based on the battery check code stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 (step S2).

The above-described battery check code is written by the CPU 8a at a predetermined address of the non-volatile memory 9 when a check request for the battery 6 is issued, as described below.
Are erased from the non-volatile memory 9 when it is determined that is normal.

The determination in step S2 is "NO"
In the case of, that is, when it is determined that the battery 6 is normal when the electric device is turned on last time, the CPU 8a returns to the normal operation of controlling the original operation of the electric device in step S7. Transfer processing. On the other hand, if the determination is “YES”, the non-volatile memory 9
Is copied to the main memory, that is, the RAM 8c (step S3), and then the storage contents of the non-volatile memory 9 are deleted (step S4), and the battery check code is also deleted (step S5).

Then, the CPU 8a executes an abnormality process for the battery 6 in step S6. This abnormality processing may be performed by, for example, activating an alarm device provided in the electric device to notify the abnormality of the battery 6 to the outside by sounding, or visually displaying the abnormality of the battery 6 on the control operation display panel. .

When the abnormal processing in step S6 is completed, the normal operation processing is executed as in the case where the determination in step S2 is "NO" as described above (step S2).
7). The CPU 8a controls the operation of each unit of the electric device via the device control interface 8d based on the control program.

Subsequently, the CPU 8a determines whether or not a check request for the battery 6 has been input in step S8. This check request is provided with an operation switch on the electric device, and is input to the CPU 8a irregularly by operating the operation switch. Alternatively, a timer is provided, and a periodic clock is provided based on the time by the timer. May be input to the CPU 8a.

If the judgment in step S8 is "no", the normal operation processing is executed in step S7. If the judgment is "yes", that is, if the check of the battery 6 is requested, the following processing is executed. Is done.

That is, first, when the battery 6 is abnormal, the CPU 8a executes the main memory, that is, the RAM 8 so as to continue the normal operation processing in step S7.
The stored content of c is copied to the non-volatile memory 9 (step S9), and various control data related to the normal operation processing of step S7 is maintained. Also, the battery check code is written into the nonvolatile memory 9 (step S1).
0), by controlling the relay drive circuit 8e to supply the drive current a to the exciting coil 4 to open the switches 3A and 3B, thereby supplying power from the DC power supply circuit unit 2 to the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8. Is cut off (AC power cut off) (step S11).

In this state, the CPU 8a determines whether or not it has been reset (initialized) (step S12). Here, when the power supply from the DC power supply circuit unit 2 to the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8 is cut off, the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8 are supplied with DC power from the battery 6 via the charging circuit 5. You.

However, if there is any abnormality in the battery 6 and the battery 6 is not charged enough to supply a sufficient current to the actual load composed of the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8, the DC power supplied from the battery 6 The voltage falls below the normal voltage range, and the CPU 8 driven by the DC power supply
“a” is reset and the abnormality of the battery 6 is detected.

When the voltage of the DC power supply supplied to the CPU 8a falls below the normal voltage, the relay drive circuit 8e becomes unable to supply the drive current a to the exciting coil 4. As a result, the switches 3A and 3B are closed, and the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8 are again supplied to the DC power supply circuit unit 2.
Supplies DC power. That is, in this case, when the CPU 8a is reset, the DC power supply of the normal voltage is immediately supplied from the DC power supply circuit section 2 to be in a normal operation state.

If the determination in step S12 is "YES", that is, if the CPU 8a is reset, the CPU 8a shifts the processing to step S1 and repeats the above-described processing. If the determination is "NO", that is, if the CPU 8a is not reset. In step S13, it is determined whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the execution of the AC power shutdown in step S11.

Until the determination is "NO", that is, until the predetermined time has elapsed, the CPU 8a returns the process to step S12 and waits for the predetermined time to elapse. That is, the CPU 8a determines whether or not the battery 6 has been reset and the abnormality of the battery 6 has been detected until the above-mentioned predetermined time has elapsed since the AC power supply was cut off. In addition, this fixed time,
It is set in advance according to the capacity of the battery 6 and the load formed by the drive unit 7 and the control unit 8.

When the predetermined time has elapsed and the determination in step S13 is "YES", the CPU 8a controls the relay drive circuit 8e to close the switches 3A and 3B,
The state is restored to the state where DC power is supplied from the DC power supply circuit section 2 to the drive section 7 and the control section 8 (step S14). Then, the code during the battery check written in step S10 is erased (step S15), and the process shifts to the normal operation in step S7.

As described above, as one embodiment of the present invention, the abnormality monitoring of the electric equipment using the secondary battery has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to the monitoring of the electric equipment using the primary battery. It is also possible to apply. In this case, the charging circuit is not required, and the battery is directly connected to the switch, the driving unit, and the control unit.

[0034]

As described above, according to the electric apparatus and the power supply monitoring method of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) When a battery check is required in an electric device that is supplied with power from a battery or a commercial power supply, the normal power supply from the commercial power supply is interrupted, and the power is supplied from the battery. Since the control unit that determines that the battery is abnormal when a deviation from the normal voltage range is detected is provided, the abnormality can be monitored by connecting the battery to an electric device that is an actual load (actual load). Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a dummy load and a voltage detecting device for monitoring the abnormality of the battery as in the related art, so that the cost of the electric equipment can be reduced. (2) As described above, since the battery is monitored based on the actual load, the state of the battery can be monitored more accurately than when monitoring is performed using a fixed dummy load. (3) The control unit shuts off the power supply from the commercial power supply after storing the control data related to the control of the electric device in the non-volatile memory, so that when the battery is abnormal, the control data is stored in the non-volatile memory. The control of the electric device can be continuously performed based on the control data. Therefore, the state of the battery can be monitored without impairing the original operation of the electric device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a power supply monitoring process performed by a control unit in an embodiment of an electric device and a power supply monitoring method thereof according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit in an embodiment of an electric apparatus and a power supply monitoring method thereof according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... commercial power supply, 2 ... DC power supply circuit section, 3A, 3B ...
... switch, 4 ... excitation coil, 5 ... charging circuit, 6 ...
... Battery, 7 ... Drive unit, 8 ... Control unit, 8a ...
CPU, 8b ROM, 8c RAM, 8d Device control interface, 8e Relay drive circuit, 9
…… Non-volatile memory, a …… Drive current

Claims (5)

[Claims] In an electric device to which power is supplied from a battery (6) or a commercial power supply (1), when a battery check is required, the normal power supply from the commercial power supply is cut off and power is supplied from the battery. And a control unit (8) that determines that the battery is abnormal when the power supply voltage deviates from the normal voltage range. 2. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (8) stores control data relating to control of the electric device in a nonvolatile memory (9), and then supplies power from a commercial power supply (1). An electrical device characterized by shutting off electricity. 3. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is driven by a CPU, and detects a reset of the CPU to determine that the battery is abnormal. An electrical device characterized by determining. 4. A power supply monitoring method for an electric device to which power is supplied from a battery (6) or a commercial power supply (1), wherein a normal power supply from a commercial power supply is cut off to supply power from the battery. A power supply monitoring method for an electrical device, comprising detecting a deviation of a voltage from a normal voltage range and determining an abnormality of a battery. 5. The method for monitoring power supply of an electric device according to claim 1, wherein power supply from a commercial power supply is cut off after maintaining control data relating to control of the electric device. How to monitor equipment power.