KR20010061336A - Portable computer having battery calibration function notified of user or automatically performed in proper moment and method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A battery calibration time notifying or automatic battery calibrating portable computer and a method for the same are provided to enable a user to easily use a battery calibration function at a proper time so that it can enhance efficiency of the battery. CONSTITUTION: The portable computer comprises a microcomputer(130), a BIOS ROM(106) and a display(112). The microcomputer(130) reads battery charge data, for example voltage, current, residual current, maximum charge capacity and others, from the battery, and determines conditions of executing a battery calibration function based on the read data. For example, it checks the residual current and the maximum charge capacity, or compares the initial maximum battery charge capacity with a specific reference value. If a condition is satisfied to execute the battery calibration function, an SMI(System Management Interrupt) is transmitted to the BIOS ROM(106). The BIOS ROM controls informing the user of executing the battery calibration or directly executing the battery calibration in response to the SMI. The display(112) displays the information of executing the battery calibration.

Description

PORTABLE COMPUTER HAVING BATTERY CALIBRATION FUNCTION NOTIFIED OF USER OR AUTOMATICALLY PERFORMED IN PROPER MOMENT AND METHOD OF THE SAME}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable electronic device having a rechargeable battery, and more particularly, to notify a user or automatically perform an operation when a battery calibration function is operated in a portable computer having a battery calibration function for resetting an available charge of a battery. An apparatus and method for performing a function are provided.

BACKGROUND In general, portable electronic devices using a battery, for example, a portable computer or a cordless telephone, have a function of indicating a remaining charge amount of a battery being used to inform a user of when to recharge. That is, the battery remaining power is displayed using the information about the battery charge amount.

However, the charge set at the time of manufacture of the battery is somewhat different from the available charge of the actual battery, and a larger difference occurs when the number of charge / discharge cycles of the battery increases. As a result, the usage time of the portable electronic device is shorter than the displayed available charge amount, or a condition such as an unexpected system shutdown occurs, so that the displayed battery residual charge amount is unreliable.

1 is a view for explaining a battery calibration function, where (a) shows the actual battery charge amount, (b) is a microcomputer for controlling power management such as battery charge and discharge control and determining the remaining charge amount ( (Not shown) shows the available charge.

Referring to the figure, (a) shows the current maximum available charge of the battery as a percentage of the initial battery charge (full charge). Due to various factors such as battery age, temperature, battery voltage and charge / discharge current, the actual maximum available charge will be less than the initial charge of the battery. The current residual charge is then determined by the discharge amount at the maximum available charge amount.

For example, if the amount of discharge A (i.e. 30%) is consumed at 80% of the maximum available charge, and 50% of the remaining charge remains, the microcomputer will lose room at the battery initial charge, as in (b) above. 70% of the total charge minus A is recognized as the remaining charge. That is, the residual charge amount recognized by the microcomputer generates an error of the charge amount B (that is, 20%) than the actual residual charge amount. The microcomputer controls power management of the battery in response to the recognized residual charge amount. As a result, a battery usage time of the portable electronic device is shortened or a system shutdown occurs than the residual charge amount recognized by the microcomputer.

To solve this problem, some portable computers have a battery calibration function. Battery calibration refers to a function that accurately measures the amount of current available power according to charging and discharging of a battery and provides the user with the information.

Referring to FIG. 2, the operation procedure of the battery calibration function in the portable computer is determined in step S2 whether the battery calibration function is selected, for example, through a specific menu (eg, a power management setting menu) of the system setup program stored in the BIOS. Determine. If the battery calibration function has been selected, this procedure proceeds to step S4 to completely discharge the battery. At this time, the AC adapter disconnects the portable computer. Subsequently, when the battery is completely discharged in step S6, the portable computer is automatically turned off. Connect the AC adapter in step S8 to charge the battery until it is fully charged. Here, the user repeatedly executes the steps S4 to S8 about two to three times in order to increase the accuracy according to the charge / discharge of the battery. Subsequently, the charging amount of the battery is checked in step S10 to accurately measure the maximum available charging amount of the battery.

When a portable computer charges and discharges a battery several times, the battery gradually stores a small amount of power. For example, the available charge of the battery due to the life of the battery or charging and discharging corresponds to about 80% of the battery manufacturing time.

However, even if the user is not familiar with or knows the battery calibration function, it is not more efficient in using the battery since the battery calibration function is not used when necessary.

In addition, whether or not to perform the battery calibration function is determined by the subjective judgment of the user, the battery calibration function according to the exact state of the battery is not achieved, rather it can shorten the life of the battery.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, in a portable computer having a battery calibration function for battery power management, a device for determining the appropriate time to perform the battery calibration function, and informs the user of the information And providing a method.

In addition, the present invention provides a portable computer and a method for determining whether the battery calibration function is performed and informing a user of the corresponding information, and automatically executing the battery calibration function.

1 is a diagram showing a battery charge amount for explaining a battery calibration function;

2 is a flowchart showing a battery calibration operation procedure of a portable computer having a battery calibration function;

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable computer according to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for notifying a user of an operation time of a calibration function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for notifying a user of an operation time of a calibration function according to another embodiment of the present invention; And

6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of automatically executing a calibration function according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawing *

100: portable computer 102: central processing unit

104: RAM 106: BIOS ROM

112: display device 130: microcomputer

132 flag 134 LED device

136: battery 138: AC adapter

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, in a portable computer having a rechargeable battery and the calibration function of the battery: determining whether to execute the battery calibration function by reading the battery charge information from the battery Discriminating means for; Control means for notifying a user of whether or not to execute the battery calibration function in response to the determination result or controlling to automatically execute the battery calibration function after the notification; And display means for outputting display information for notifying the user of the execution of the battery calibration function when the control means notifies or automatically executes the battery calibration function, and automatically notifies the user to execute the battery calibration function or after the notification. Perform the battery calibration function.

In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the discriminating means is provided with a microcomputer.

In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the discriminating means generates a system interrupt when the determination result, a battery calibration function should be executed, or stores setting information according to the determination result.

In a preferred embodiment of this feature, the control means is provided as a BIOS or an application program.

In a preferred embodiment of this feature, the display device is provided with an LED device for notifying a user of the battery calibration function.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, in a portable computer having a rechargeable battery and a calibration function of the battery, a method for notifying a user of a suitable time to perform a battery calibration function: Reading battery charging information according to a current state of charge from the battery; Determining whether the read information is in a state in which a battery calibration function is to be executed; And outputting display information to the user to execute the battery calibration function, when the determination result indicates that the battery calibration function is to be executed.

In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the method further includes the step of outputting the display information and automatically executing a battery calibration function.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the microcomputer reads the battery charging information according to the current state of charge from the battery. If the readout information is a condition to execute the battery calibration function, a flag is generated to generate a system interrupt to the BIOS or to store the setting information to notify and / or execute the battery calibration function with reference to an application program.

(Example)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable computer according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the portable computer 100 includes a novel microcomputer 130, a BIOS ROM 106, and a display device 112 according to the present invention.

The components of a general portable computer may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) 102, a RAM 104, a PCMCIA controller 108, a display controller 110, an input / output controller 114, an IDE controller 124, a serial device. And a parallel interface device 122, input devices 118 and 120, and auxiliary storage devices 116, 126 and 128.

And an AC adapter 138 and a rechargeable battery 136 for supplying the power Vcc of the portable computer 100. The battery 136 is, for example, a smart battery. When the AC adapter 138 is disconnected from the portable computer 100, the battery 136 supplies power Vbat of the portable computer 100.

The microcomputer 130 reads battery charge information (eg, voltage, current, residual power, and maximum charge amount) from the battery 136. Then, it is determined whether the read information is a condition to execute the battery calibration function. For example, it is determined by comparing the remaining battery power and the maximum battery charge amount, or by comparing the initial maximum battery charge amount with a specific reference value. If it is determined that the battery calibration function is to be executed, the BIOS 106 generates a system management interrupt (SMI).

The BIOS 106 notifies the user to execute the battery calibration function in response to a system interrupt (SMI) or controls to automatically execute the battery calibration function. It also controls to display the display information for the notification or automatic execution.

The display device 112 is provided with a CRT and an LCD device, and outputs display information for notifying a user of a battery calibration function in response to the control of the BIOS 106. As another example, the display information may be output using the LED device 134 connected to the microcomputer 130. This outputs display information for notifying the microcomputer 130 under control of the BIOS 106 to execute the battery calibration function.

In addition, after the battery calibration function is notified, in case of automatic execution, the progress of the battery calibration function is displayed on the display apparatus 112.

In another embodiment, the microcomputer 130 includes a flag 132 and sets the flag 132 to store information corresponding to the determination result if the condition for executing the battery calibration function is performed. . At this time, an application program (not shown) (for example, a program that notifies or automatically executes a battery calibration function) included in the BIOS 106 or the hard disk drive 126 may set the flag 132. Is read and processed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

Specifically, a method of notifying or automatically executing a user to execute the battery calibration function will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for notifying execution of a battery calibration function according to an embodiment of the present invention. This procedure is a program included in the microcomputer 130, and shows that the microcomputer 130 operates under the control of the BIOS 106. FIG.

Referring to the drawing, when the power supply Vbat of the portable computer 100 is supplied in step S140, the battery charging information according to the current charging state is read from the battery 136 connected in step S142. For example, the current state of charge of the battery is read out through battery charge information such as battery voltage, residual power, and maximum charge amount. Subsequently, in step S144, it is determined whether the read information is a condition that the battery calibration function should be executed.

If the state of charge of the current battery is a condition to execute the battery calibration function, the flow advances to step S146 to generate a system interrupt (SMI). In response, the BIOS 106 controls to output display information informing the user to execute the battery calibration function. As a result, the display information is output using the display device 112 or the LED device 134 in step S148. If it is determined in step S144 that the battery calibration function does not need to be executed, the procedure proceeds to step S150 to execute a general operation (for example, a power management function such as battery charge / discharge control).

Referring to another example, FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for setting a flag 132 for storing information for executing a battery calibration function of the microcomputer 130.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 5 shows a procedure for setting a flag 132 provided in the microcomputer 130 in step S166 instead of step S146 for generating the system interrupt SMI shown in FIG. In addition, since other steps of FIG. 5 are the same as corresponding steps of FIG. 4, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Accordingly, the BIOS 106 or an application program (not shown) may read the setting information of the flag 132 to notify or automatically execute the battery calibration function.

4 to 5 described above determine the appropriate time to perform the battery calibration function and informs the user of this, thereby improving the efficiency of charging and discharging the battery.

6 further includes automatically executing the battery calibration function (S190) in a function of notifying the battery calibration function of FIGS. 4 to 5.

Referring to the drawing, when the power Vbat of the portable computer 100 is supplied from the battery 136 in step S180, the battery charging information according to the current state of charge is read from the battery 136 in step S182. Subsequently, it is determined whether the battery information read out in step S184 is a condition that the battery calibration function should be executed. If the current state of charge of the battery is a condition that should execute the battery calibration function, the flow proceeds to step S186 to generate a system interrupt (SMI) or to set the flag 132 provided in the microcomputer 130.

The BIOS 106 then notifies the user to execute the battery calibration function in response to a system interrupt (SMI), or the BIOS 106 or application can read the setting information of the flag 132 to execute the battery calibration function. Control to output display information for notifying the user.

As a result, display information is output using the display apparatus 112 or the LED apparatus 134. In step S190, a processing routine (for example, the flowchart of FIG. 2) for the battery calibration function is executed. If the determination result of step S184 is not a condition to execute the battery calibration function, the procedure proceeds to step S192 to perform a general operation.

As described above, the present invention makes it easy for the user to use the battery calibration function by notifying the user of the execution time of the battery calibration function or automatically executing the battery calibration function at an appropriate time. By using it in time, you can increase the efficiency of battery usage.

Claims (6)

In a portable computer having a rechargeable battery and a calibration function of the battery: Determining means for reading battery charging information from the battery and determining whether to execute a battery calibration function; Control means for notifying a user of whether or not to execute the battery calibration function in response to the determination result or controlling to automatically execute the battery calibration function after the notification; And display means for outputting display information for notifying the user of the execution of the battery when the control means notifies or automatically executes the battery calibration function. A portable computer which notifies the user to execute the battery calibration function or automatically executes the battery calibration function after the notification. The method of claim 1, And the determining means generates a system interrupt when the determination result, a battery calibration function should be executed, or stores setting information corresponding to the determination result. The method of claim 1, The control means is a portable computer, characterized in that provided as a BIOS (BIOS) or an application program. The method of claim 1, The display device further comprises a LED device for notifying a user of the battery calibration function. In a portable computer having a rechargeable battery and a calibration function of the battery, there is provided a method for informing a user of a suitable time to perform a battery calibration function: Reading battery charging information according to a current charging state from the battery; Determining whether the read information is in a state in which a battery calibration function is to be executed; And if the determination result indicates that the battery calibration function is to be executed, outputting the display information to the user to execute the battery calibration function. The method of claim 5, Outputting said display information and automatically executing a battery calibration function.