JPH1050355A - Battery charge capacity display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery charge capacity display device, capable of automatically selecting a proper charging method from the history of battery use and a current charged state. SOLUTION: Individual signs given to a battery 3 is identified by means of a microcomputer 20, charge and discharge characteristics specific to a battery pre-stored in a memory 21, and a measured value of the charge and discharge characteristics of the received battery are compared with the above stored charge and discharge characteristics corresponding to the above unidentified signs, and the residual charge for the battery is estimated. Based on the stored charge and discharge characteristics and the estimated residual charge, a required charge and discharge mode is set with respect to the battery, charging and discharging is performed according to the above charge and discharge mode using a charger 18 and a constant current circuit 19, so that the battery charge residue is displayed on a digital display 10 in these processes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery charge capacity display device, and more particularly to a battery charge capacity display device used for portable equipment such as a portable telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-manganese batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, lithium batteries and the like have been used as batteries for conventional cellular phones. The mobile phone has a function of displaying the remaining amount of the installed battery in several stages. A charger for charging these various batteries generally performs charging in a rapid charging mode in which charging is performed continuously at a constant current. Repeated charging and discharging of the battery causes a memory effect and prevents the battery from being charged to a sufficient charging voltage. To restore the capacity.

[0003]

However, the display of the remaining amount of the battery of the portable telephone is only a rough guide and the accuracy is low. I was thinking that the battery was actually low and I couldn't use my mobile phone when I needed it.

[0004] The above-mentioned rapid charging has an advantage that the charging time is short, but the battery cannot be completely charged, and can be charged only to about 80% to 90% of the original battery capacity. And quick charging reduces the life of the battery, and thus is not always a proper charging method.
When the battery is repeatedly charged and discharged for a long period of time, the battery effect occurs and the battery capacity does not recover satisfactorily. There is also.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and has as its object to enable accurate display of the remaining capacity of a battery. Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery charge capacity display device in which an appropriate charging method is automatically selected from a battery usage history and a current charged state.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a battery charging capacity display device, comprising: a battery identifying means for identifying a battery; a battery characteristic measuring means for measuring a characteristic of the battery; and an individual battery measured by the battery characteristic means. Battery characteristic storage means for storing the characteristics together with the identification code identified by the battery identification means; charge remaining estimation means for estimating the remaining charge of the battery from the measured value for the test battery and the battery characteristics; Means for converting the remaining charge estimated by the means into time and digitally displaying the converted time.

Further, the battery charge capacity display device of the present invention comprises a battery identifying means for identifying a battery, a battery characteristic measuring means for measuring a charging characteristic and / or a discharging characteristic of the battery, and an individual measured by the battery characteristic means. A battery characteristic storing means for storing the charge characteristics and / or the discharge characteristics of the battery together with the identification code identified by the battery identification means; Charge remaining amount estimating means for estimating the remaining charge amount of the battery by correlating the remaining charge amount and / or discharge characteristic, and means for converting the remaining charge amount estimated by the remaining charge amount estimating unit into time and digitally displaying the same. It is characterized by having.

[0008] By storing the charging characteristics and discharging characteristics of each battery and obtaining the remaining amount of the battery based on the characteristics, high-precision measurement becomes possible. By digitally displaying the obtained battery capacity as the remaining time, the user can recognize the state of charge of the battery without error. In addition, the apparatus further includes a charging method storage unit that stores the charging method of the battery in association with the identification code, and stores the remaining charge estimated by the charging capacity estimation unit and the previous charging method stored in the charging method storage unit. By providing the charging mode setting means for setting the charging mode for the battery based on the charging mode, the optimal charging mode can be automatically selected and charged.

The charging mode setting means sets, for example, a charging mode for charging after refreshing when the remaining amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and a charging mode for performing additional charging according to the previous charging mode when the remaining amount is equal to or more than the predetermined value. It is possible to select and set a charging mode for charging after refreshing. The charge after the refresh is preferably intermittent charge.
The battery charge capacity display device is separate from the charger,
It can be used by being detachably inserted into the battery insertion portion of the charger, or can be assembled integrally with the charger.

Further, in the battery charge capacity display method according to the present invention, each battery is identified and its battery characteristics are measured and stored. Is characterized in that the remaining charge of the battery is estimated from the stored battery characteristics and the estimated remaining charge is converted into time and digitally displayed.

[0011]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a circuit of a battery charge capacity display device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. is there. This embodiment is an example in which a battery charge capacity display unit and a charging unit are integrated.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a battery charge capacity display device, and reference numeral 2 denotes an outer case. Reference numeral 3 denotes a battery detachable from the mobile phone, which is mounted on the battery charge capacity display device 1 and charged or charged / discharged. The outer case 2 includes a charging board 5 configured to receive an AC power supply from a power cord 4 to configure a charging circuit, and a main board configured to configure a discharging circuit and perform charge / discharge control and display control. 6, an operation button 7 for each designation operation of the battery charge capacity display device, each switch 8 operated by the operation, a digital display unit 9 for displaying each designation operation, an operation state, and the like. Note that the charging substrate 5 and the main substrate 6 may be a single substrate, or the functions may be shared differently from the above, such as disposing a discharge circuit on the charging substrate 5.

An operation button 7 is a remaining amount display button DISP for designating a remaining charge amount display described later on the battery 3.
And a charge designation button CH for designating charge (charge / discharge) of the battery 3, a registration designation button RE for registering and designating a measurement result described later of the characteristics of the battery 3, and a maximum charge time of the battery 3. An up-designation button UP and a down-designation button DN for increasing or decreasing the time display are provided, and a start button ST for indicating the remaining charge amount or instructing the start of charging. As the maximum charging time, for example, 5 hours, 7 hours, and 10 hours, and quick charging corresponding to a predetermined short time can be designated. Reference numeral 10 denotes a 7-segment digital display of the digital display unit 9, and reference numeral 11 denotes a display cover.

The battery 3 has terminals 12 including a power supply terminal.
And an identification seal 13 made of a bar code or the like indicating a number or the like individually assigned to the battery. The outer case 2 further includes a battery receiving port 14, a contact 15 for connecting the terminal 12 to the main board 6 when the battery 3 is received, and a light emitting diode 16 for reading the identification seal 13. And a number reading section 17 composed of a photodiode. This number reading section 17 is one element of the battery identification means.

In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The symbols + and-of the battery 3 indicate its power supply terminals, and the symbols S + and S- indicate control terminals. A charger 18 charges the battery 3 as needed. Reference numeral 19 denotes a constant current circuit for rapidly discharging the battery 3 as necessary, or for supplying a constant current to measure its discharge characteristics. The charger is provided on the charge / discharge substrate 5, and the constant current circuit 19 is provided on the main substrate 6. SW ₁
Is a switch that is turned ON when measuring the charging characteristics of the battery 3, and D is a constant current diode for regulating the current supplied at that time to a predetermined small current. SW ₂ is a switch which is turned ON when the battery 3 is charged, S
W ₃ is a switch that is turned ON when the battery 3 is rapidly discharged or when the discharge characteristics are measured.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a microcomputer that supervises and controls each element of the present invention. Reference numeral 21 denotes a memory, which is controlled by the microcomputer 20 and stores history data of charge / discharge characteristics unique to each battery, and reads the history data as necessary. The memory 21 forms a charge / discharge characteristic storage unit that individually stores in advance the charge / discharge characteristics specific to the battery. Reference numeral 22 denotes an alarm buzzer which issues an alarm when an abnormal state is detected when the above-mentioned remaining charge is detected. The buzzer 22 is not shown in FIGS. Reference numeral 23 denotes an A / D converter which converts analog measurement data (terminal voltage V of the battery 3) into a digital value and takes it into the microcomputer 20. C ₁ is a control terminal for ON · OFF switch SW _1, C ₂ are control terminals for ON · OFF switch SW _2, C ₃ is a control terminal for ON · OFF switch SW _3, C ₄ to the constant current circuit 19 control terminal for specifying the energizing current for, C ₅ is a control terminal overheat signal from the constant current circuit 19 is input. When overheat signal is input to the control terminal C _5, the microcomputer 20 stops the charging and discharging of the battery 3.

Next, the operation of the charge / discharge device shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 will be described. This charging / discharging device has a characteristic measurement / registration function for measuring and registering the charge / discharge characteristics of a battery, a remaining amount measurement / display function for measuring and displaying the remaining amount of the battery, It has a program charge function to charge and discharge under appropriate charge and discharge conditions with reference to the amount and charge and discharge history, a rapid charge function to rapidly charge with a constant current, and the like.

First, when the battery 3 is inserted into the battery receiving port 14 of the battery charge capacity display device 1, the registration designation button RE of the operation button 7 is pressed, and then the start button ST is pressed, the charge characteristics or the discharge of the battery 3 is discharged. Enter the characteristic measurement mode. First, the identification sticker 13 attached to the battery 3 is illuminated by the light emitting diode 16 of the number reading unit 17, the identification number recorded on the sticker 13 is read by the photodiode 17, and identified by the microcomputer 20. Then, the switch SW ₂ and the switch SW ₃ is OFF is being turned ON, the battery 3 is constant current charging and the terminal voltage V at predetermined time intervals is measured, the measured charge characteristics as shown in FIG. 4 Are stored in the memory 17 together with the identification numbers.

Next, the terminal voltage V of the battery 3 is measured by the microcomputer 20 when there is no load, the switch SW ₃ is subsequently turned on to discharge a constant current, and the terminal voltage V is measured at predetermined time intervals. For example, a continuous discharge characteristic as shown in FIG. 5 is measured, and the continuous discharge characteristic is stored in the memory 17 together with the identification number. The continuous discharge characteristic differs for each battery as shown by a and b in FIG. Whether to store the charging characteristics, the discharging characteristics, or both of them when registering the battery characteristics can be set in the apparatus in advance.

Next, the remaining amount display button DI of the operation button 7
When SP is pressed and then the start button ST is pressed, the remaining battery level is obtained by using the discharge characteristics of the battery stored in the memory 17, and the time is digitally displayed on the display unit 9 as the remaining battery time. The remaining battery power is obtained as follows. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a change in terminal voltage of a battery when a battery in a predetermined state of charge is used. In the case of mobile phones, the battery usually goes into standby after talking for a certain amount of time,
It is also used intermittently, such as being talked for some time. The current consumption of a mobile phone is large during a call and extremely small during a standby. If the battery is used intermittently by repeating ON / OFF, the terminal voltage of the battery drops during a call, but recovers to some extent during standby and then stabilizes.

In the present invention, by utilizing the phenomenon shown in FIG. 6, the battery whose remaining amount is to be detected is discharged, and the remaining amount of the battery is measured by observing a change in the terminal voltage. FIG. 7 is a principle diagram of battery voltage measurement. As shown in the figure, when the battery 3 is connected to the constant current circuit 19, the value of the terminal voltage is V, the electromotive voltage is e, and the internal resistance is r. When the internal resistance r changes according to the remaining charge of the battery, the terminal voltage value V changes according to the following equation: V = e−Ir. The terminal voltage value V is measured by the voltmeter V, so that data for measuring the remaining charge can be obtained.

The microcomputer 20 has a battery 3
Of the terminal voltage V in the no-load state of
W ₃ is turned ON to measure the terminal voltage V with a constant current discharge of the battery 3. Actually, it takes several minutes for the terminal voltage change to stabilize. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, only the initial change is measured to predict a stable voltage. And
The remaining time H of the battery is determined from the stable voltage and the continuous discharge characteristics of FIG. 5 measured and stored in advance for the battery being measured as shown in FIG. That is, the stable voltage V ₁ predicted in FIG.
To obtain the remaining time H.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of obtaining the remaining battery time by using the charging characteristics together with the discharging characteristics. In this method, the battery whose remaining time is to be measured is first charged with a small current for several seconds to one minute,
Find the stable value of the rising voltage. Then, a correlation value between a measured value and a change at the time of actual charging is measured in advance, and the voltage is applied to the charging characteristics shown in FIG. Further, a stable voltage is predicted by performing a short-time discharge following the charge, and the remaining time is obtained from the stable voltage at the time of the discharge and the continuous discharge characteristics shown in FIG. In this method, since two types of remaining time are obtained, the remaining time of the battery is obtained by performing a simple averaging or an averaging process in which the weight of the remaining time obtained from the discharge characteristics is increased.

If the battery is recovering the voltage immediately after use, accurate methods cannot always be obtained by the method of calculating the remaining use time based on the discharge characteristics. The method of using the charge characteristics and the discharge characteristics together can accurately determine the remaining time of the battery even in such a case. Next, the charging mode will be described. The memory 21 stores data such as a past charging method for each battery, that is, whether a refresh operation has been performed, intermittent charging, or rapid charging.

When the battery 3 is mounted on the charging / discharging device 1, the charge designation button CH is operated, and the up designation button UP
And the down designation button DN, for example, the maximum charging time is set to 5 hours or more, and the start button S
When T is operated, the microcomputer 20 recognizes the battery identification number and calculates the initial remaining amount of the battery. When the remaining amount is, for example, the following 50%, the charge and discharge device 18 is operated for discharge, is and the switch SW ₃ is ON, the terminal voltage V is discharged to decrease to a predetermined voltage, battery refresh is performed . When the refresh is completed, intermittent charging is performed subsequently. In this intermittent charging, charging is performed by repeating charging and charging suspension every several minutes to several tens of minutes. In this process, the registered charging characteristics of the battery and the terminal voltage V are compared to calculate the remaining charge, and the result is displayed on the digital display 10 as time.
The refresh effect and the intermittent charging eliminate the memory effect of the battery and maintain the original charging life of the battery. When the battery is charged after the refresh, the charge / discharge characteristics of the battery are measured and the data of the battery characteristics is updated.

When the initial remaining charge is 50% or more, the memory 1 stores the last charging method used.
7, and if the previous charge was accompanied by refresh, additional charge is performed. The time required for additional charging is determined according to the percentage of the remaining charge. Also in this charging process, the remaining charge is calculated in the same manner as described above, and the result is displayed on the digital display 10. In this way, by refreshing the battery last time and omitting the refresh operation for the battery with a large remaining capacity,
The charging life is extended without unnecessarily increasing the number of refreshes. On the other hand, if the previous charging method is the additional charging, intermittent charging is performed after refreshing, as in the case where the remaining charge is 50% or less. Therefore, the memory effect of the battery is eliminated, and the original charge life of the battery can be maintained.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a circuit of a battery charge capacity display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 24 denotes a resistance measurement circuit for identifying a battery number. In this embodiment,
1 is provided with a resistance measuring circuit 24 in place of the identification number reading section 17 of the circuit of FIG. 1, and the rest is the same as the circuit of FIG. A thermistor for monitoring the temperature of the battery is connected between the control terminals S + and S- in the battery 3, and the thermistor has a slightly different resistance for each battery. Therefore, the resistance measurement circuit 2
4 identifies the battery number by measuring the thermistor resistance of each battery.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are views for explaining an embodiment in which the battery charge capacity display device is provided separately from the charger. FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a method of mounting a battery on the battery charge capacity display device, and FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the battery charge capacity display device of FIG. FIG. 12, FIG.
In FIG. 3, the same parts as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a battery charge capacity display device;
Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer case, which is used by being inserted into a battery receiving port of a separate battery charger. The battery 3 is mounted in the battery receiving port 14 of the battery capacity display device 30 and is charged or discharged. The outer case 31 includes a plug portion 33 that is inserted into a battery receiving port of a separately prepared battery charger and has a terminal 32 for connecting to a terminal of the charger. The battery charge capacity display device 30 includes:
The circuit of FIG. 1 is used and works as before. However, in FIG. 1, the charger 18 is separate from the battery charge capacity display device 30 and is not included in the battery charge capacity display device 30 of this embodiment.

[0030]

According to the present invention, the charge / discharge characteristics of each battery are measured and stored, and the measured remaining battery characteristics are compared with the stored charge / discharge characteristics to determine the remaining charge of the battery. Since it is obtained and is digitally displayed as the remaining time, the displayed content is accurate, and the user can recognize the remaining time without error. Further, since an appropriate charge / discharge mode is set based on the charge history and the remaining charge, the capacity of the battery can be maximized and the life of the battery can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit of a battery charge capacity display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the charge / discharge device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the charge / discharge device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing charging characteristics of a battery.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing continuous discharge characteristics of a battery.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a typical change in terminal voltage of a battery during use.

FIG. 7 is a principle diagram of battery voltage measurement.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method for predicting a stable voltage.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a method for obtaining a remaining battery time.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a method of obtaining remaining battery time using discharge characteristics and charge characteristics.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another example of the circuit of the battery charge capacity display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another example of a battery charge capacity display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Battery charge capacity display device 2 ... Outer case
3, battery, 4 ... power cord, 5 ... charging board, 6
... Main board, 7 ... Operation buttons, 8 ... Switch, 9 ... Digital display unit, 10 ... Digital display, 11 ... Display cover, 12 ... Terminal, 13 ... Identification seal, 14 ... Battery receiving opening, 15 ... Contact, 16 ... light emitting diode, 17 ...
Photodiode (number reading unit), 18 ... charger, 1
9: constant current circuit, 20: microcomputer, 21 ...
Memory 22 buzzer for alarm, 23 A / D converter,
24: resistance measuring circuit, 30: battery charge capacity display device, 31: outer case, 32: terminal, 33: plug part,
_{SW 1, SW 2, SW 3} ... switch, D ... constant current diode, DISP ... level display button, CH ... charging designation button, RE ... registration designation button, UP ... up designation button,
DN: down designation button, ST: start button.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. Battery identifying means for identifying a battery, battery characteristic measuring means for measuring characteristics of a battery, and individual battery characteristics measured by the battery characteristic means together with an identification symbol identified by the battery identifying means. A battery characteristic storing means for storing, a charge remaining amount estimating means for estimating a remaining charge amount of the battery from a measured value for the test battery and the battery characteristic, and a charge remaining amount estimated by the charge remaining amount estimating means for time. And means for digitally displaying the converted battery capacity. 2. Battery identifying means for identifying a battery, battery characteristic measuring means for measuring a charging characteristic and / or discharging characteristic of a battery, and charging characteristic and / or discharging of each battery measured by the battery characteristic means. Battery characteristic storage means for storing a characteristic together with the identification code identified by the battery identification means; and the charging characteristic and / or the measurement value obtained by the battery characteristic measurement means stored in association with the same battery. A charge remaining amount estimating means for estimating the remaining charge amount of the battery in correlation with the discharge characteristics; and a means for digitally displaying the remaining charge amount estimated by the charge remaining amount estimating means in terms of time. Battery charge capacity display device. 3. A charging method storing means for storing a charging method of a battery in association with the identification code, wherein a remaining charge estimated by the charging capacity estimating means is provided;
3. The battery charge capacity display device according to claim 1, further comprising a charge mode setting unit configured to set a charge mode for the battery based on a previous charging method stored in the charging method storage unit. 4. The charging mode setting means sets a charging mode for charging after refreshing when the remaining amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and additionally charging according to a previous charging mode when the remaining amount is equal to or more than the predetermined value. 3. The battery charge capacity display device according to claim 1, wherein a charge mode for charging after refreshing is selected. 5. The battery charger according to claim 1, which is separate from the battery charger and is detachable from a battery insertion portion of the battery charger.
5. The battery charge capacity display device according to any one of 4. 6. The battery charger according to claim 1, wherein the battery charger is assembled integrally with a charger. 7. A battery for identifying an individual battery, measuring and storing the battery characteristics, and measuring the characteristics of the battery whose remaining charge is to be measured and the battery characteristics stored for the battery. And estimating the remaining charge of the battery from the above, converting the estimated remaining charge into time, and digitally displaying the converted charge.