KR20100000347A - Apparatus and method for charging control in portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A charge control device of a portable electronic device and a method thereof are provided to safely charge batteries by enabling a user to realize the state of inner temperature, power supply, and charging voltage of a battery which is being charged. CONSTITUTION: An interface part(10) connects to one or more terminals. According to the status information of a terminal, a charge control part(30) determines the progress or the stop of charging. According to the control signal of the charge control part, a power supply unit(40) supplies the power or blocks the power to charging circuit of the terminal. The charge control part comprises a terminal condition sensor(20) sensing the status information about the terminal connected to the charge control part through the interface unit. A display unit(50) displays status information on the terminal connected to the display unit through the interface unit.

Description

Apparatus and method for charging control in portable electronic equipment}

The present invention relates to a charging control device and a method of a portable electronic device, and more particularly, to a charging control device and a method that can safely charge a plurality of batteries.

Recently, secondary batteries have been actively developed such as lithium ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, or fuel cells having high energy density and small mass. The secondary battery has been applied to various fields, and in recent years, a secondary battery having a small mass and easy portability has been used as a power supply source for portable electronic devices.

In general, the secondary battery is based on a principle that conversion between chemical energy and electrical energy occurs through an electrochemical reaction in which internal chemicals are oxidized and reduced. And the performance of the secondary battery is determined according to the charging method, the degree of charge and discharge, the internal temperature and the number of charge and discharge.

On the other hand, the secondary battery is divided into a bare cell and a battery pack, wherein the bare cell means a state in which a protection circuit or a control circuit is not installed in a battery capable of charging and discharging, and the battery pack is a protection circuit in the bare cell. Alternatively, a control circuit is mounted to mean a state in which a battery pack is suitably packaged.

In this case, the protection circuit and the control circuit controls the charging and discharging of the secondary battery, performs a charging operation safely by cutting off the power supply when the secondary battery is overcharged, and serves to extend the life of the secondary battery.

However, the prior art as described above has the following problems.

That is, according to the prior art, the charging device should be provided differently according to the type of the battery mounted on different portable electronic devices, and at the same time there is a problem that it is not possible to charge the different types of battery pack.

In the related art, the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery being charged may be displayed or information about the supply and shutdown of power according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature may not be provided to the user, thereby indicating the state of the battery being charged by the user. There was an unrecognizable problem.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a charging control device for a portable electronic device capable of simultaneously charging a battery mounted on different portable electronic devices. It is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a user with information on the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery being charged, and the supply or shutdown of power according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature. It is to provide a charging control device of a portable electronic device.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention provides an interface unit for interconnecting one or more terminals, a charging control unit for determining whether to proceed or stop charging according to the status information of the terminal, And a power supply unit supplying or cutting off power to the charging circuit of the terminal according to the control signal of the charging control unit, wherein the charging control unit detects state information of each terminal connected through the interface unit. It is configured to include a wealth.

In this case, the charging control device of the portable electronic device may further comprise a display unit for displaying the state information for each terminal connected through the interface unit.

The state information may include information about the charging voltage of the terminal connected through the interface unit, and the charging control unit may determine whether to charge or stop charging according to whether the charging voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage according to the terminal. have.

In this case, the state information includes information on the internal temperature of the terminal connected through the interface unit, and the charging control unit to determine whether the charging proceeds or stopped depending on whether the internal temperature is above the limit temperature according to the terminal. Can be.

The interface unit may be connected by a portable electronic device equipped with a battery and a USB cable device.

On the other hand, the present invention comprises the steps of (a) detecting the status information for each of the one or more terminals connected for charging, (b) outputting a control signal regarding the progress or stop of charging according to the status information of the terminal, And (c) supplying or cutting off power to the charging circuit of the terminal according to the control signal.

In this case, the charging control method of the portable electronic device may further include (d) displaying the status information for each of the terminals.

And the state information includes information about the charging voltage of the terminal, and the step (b) outputs a control signal for charging or stopping the charging according to whether the charging voltage is higher than or equal to the threshold voltage according to the terminal. Can be performed.

In addition, the status information includes information on the internal temperature of the terminal, and the step (b) outputs a control signal for the progress or stop of charging depending on whether the charging voltage is above the limit temperature according to the terminal This can be done by.

In this case, step (a) may be performed by detecting state information of the terminal through a USB cable device for connection with a portable electronic device equipped with a battery.

As described in detail above, according to the charging control device and method of the portable electronic device according to the present invention, the following effects can be expected.

In other words, it is possible to simultaneously charge the batteries mounted on different portable electronic devices, thereby increasing the convenience of the user.

In addition, according to the present invention, the user can know the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery being charged and the power supply or shut-off state according to the present invention, and thus, the battery can be charged more safely.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the charge control device for a portable electronic device according to the present invention as described above will be described in detail.

1 is a block diagram showing a charging control device for a portable electronic device constituting a specific embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the charging control apparatus for a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention includes an interface unit 10.

The interface unit 10 interconnects with one or more terminals. That is, the interface unit 10 performs a connection for power supply and data transmission to a battery mounted to the terminal to charge one or more terminals and to transmit status information about the one or more terminals.

In this case, the interface unit 10 is connected by a portable electronic device and a USB cable device in which the battery is mounted. That is, the battery is mounted by attaching the battery to the portable electronic device, connecting the USB cable device to a connector of the portable electronic device equipped with the battery, and connecting the USB cable device to the interface unit 10. It is connected to the interface unit 10.

The USB cable device is constituted by a cable including a power line for supplying power to the battery and a communication line for receiving status information of the battery.

On the other hand, the charging control device for a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention comprises a terminal state detection unit 20.

The terminal state detecting unit 20 is included in the charging control unit 30 to be described later, and detects state information of each of the one or more terminals connected through the interface unit 10.

This is to detect whether the battery is overcharged or an abnormal internal temperature by using the state information, and to safely charge the battery by stopping the charging of the battery according to the detection result.

Here, the state information includes the charging voltage and the charging current of the terminal, the internal temperature, and the charging progress state of the battery. In this case, the information on the charging progress state means information about whether the charging progress or stop of the battery, the charging amount.

In addition, the state information is provided to the user by the display unit 50 to be described later, the user can be provided with information about the charging voltage and internal temperature of the terminal and the charging progress state.

On the other hand, the charging control device for a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention is configured to include a charging control unit (30).

The charging control unit 30 determines whether the charging proceeds or stops for each of the one or more terminals connected through the interface unit 10 according to the state information. In addition, the charging control unit 30 transmits a control signal according to whether the charging or the stopping of each of the terminals to the power supply unit 40 to be described later.

At this time, the charging control unit 30 is to supply power or power to the terminal depending on whether the charging voltage detected by the terminal state detection unit 20 is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage according to the type of battery mounted in the terminal. It is determined whether to stop charging by stopping supply.

This is because the threshold voltages that are allowed to be charged are different depending on the type of the terminal connected through the interface unit 10.

For example, when the battery mounted in the terminal connected through the interface unit 10 is 4.2V when fully charged, the limit voltage may be set to 4.3V.

In this case, the threshold voltage is a value determined by an experiment on the charging operation of each battery. That is, the limit voltage is a phenomenon that the temperature of the battery increases or the surface of the battery swells due to the increase of the temperature when the charging operation is continued after the battery reaches the full charge state by charging the battery It is determined by measuring the charging voltage at the time point by experiment.

Therefore, the threshold voltage is set differently according to the type of the terminal connected through the interface unit 10. Information about the threshold voltage according to the type of the terminal is stored in advance in the form of a table in the charging control unit 30, the charging control unit 30 recognizes the type of the terminal through the interface unit 10.

The charging control unit 30 compares the charging voltage of the terminal detected by the terminal state detecting unit 20 with a limit voltage according to the type of the terminal and stops charging when the charging voltage is higher than the limit voltage. When the charging voltage is less than the threshold voltage, a control signal is generated to continue charging.

Meanwhile, the charging control unit 30 determines to supply or cut off power to the terminal according to whether the internal temperature detected by the terminal state detecting unit 20 is greater than or equal to a limit temperature according to the battery mounted on the terminal. You may.

For example, when the battery mounted in the terminal connected through the interface unit 10 is normally charged at 55 ° C. or lower, the limit temperature may be set to 60 ° C. FIG.

At this time, the limit temperature is a value determined by an experiment on the charging operation of each battery. That is, the threshold temperature is determined by measuring the internal temperature of the battery at the time when the surface of the battery swells when the charging operation continues after the battery reaches the full charge state by charging the battery.

In addition, the limit temperature is set differently according to the type of battery mounted to the terminal connected through the interface unit 10, the information on the limit temperature according to the type of the battery is a table in the charge control unit 30 It is stored in advance in the form of, the charge control unit 30 recognizes the type of the battery through the interface unit 10.

The charging control unit 30 may generate a control signal to display a warning message and a charging stop message according to a plurality of limit voltages or limit temperatures determined by experiments.

That is, when the charging voltage or the internal temperature detected by the terminal state detection unit 20 is greater than the primary limit voltage or the primary limit temperature, a warning message is primarily displayed through the display unit 50 to be described later. When the charging voltage or the internal temperature is higher than the secondary limit voltage or the secondary limit temperature, the charging operation may be stopped and a message for stopping the charging operation may be displayed.

On the other hand, the charging control device for a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention is configured to include a power supply (40).

The power supply unit 40 receives a control signal from the charge control unit 30 and supplies power for charging to a battery connected through the interface unit 10.

That is, the power supply unit 40 determines by the charging control unit 30 whether to supply or cut off power to the charging circuit of the terminal according to the state information of the terminal detected by the terminal state detection unit 20. When the control signal of the charging control unit 30, the power supply to the charging circuit of the terminal or cut off the power supply.

Therefore, since the charging operation is performed by the power supply unit 40 only when the terminal state detection unit 20 detects that the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery are within a safe range. Prevent explosion.

On the other hand, the charging control device for a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention includes a display unit 50.

The display unit 50 displays the state information detected by the terminal state detection unit 20.

That is, the display unit 50 displays the charging voltage and the internal temperature for each of the terminals connected through the interface unit 10, and displays information on the progress of charging according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature to the user. to provide.

Therefore, the user can be provided with the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the terminal being charged through the display unit 50, and provides information on whether the charging proceeds or stops according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the terminal, and the current charging amount. I can receive it.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the charging control method of the portable electronic device according to the present invention as described above will be described in detail.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a charging control method of a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2, the charging control method for a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention starts from determining whether the portable electronic device equipped with a battery is connected through a USB cable device (S100). .

In this case, when the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is connected through the USB cable device, step 110 is performed. On the other hand, if the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is not connected through the USB cable device, step 100 is performed.

According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, a charging control method for a portable electronic device includes mounting the battery on the portable electronic device and simultaneously connecting the portable electronic device equipped with the battery through the USB cable device to perform charging and communication. It depends on how you do it.

In this case, the USB cable device is composed of a cable including a power line for supplying power to the battery and a communication line for receiving the state information of the battery, so that the data on the state information of the battery at the same time as the charging operation is performed. You can give and receive.

Here, the state information includes the charging voltage and the charging current of the battery, the internal temperature, and information about the charging progress state of the battery. In this case, the information on the charging progress state means information about whether the charging progress or stop of the battery, the charging amount.

In addition, the charging control method for a portable electronic device according to a specific embodiment of the present invention is connected to the USB cable device through an interface device having a plurality of USB connectors, so that each battery mounted on the plurality of portable electronic devices is charged. It is characterized by the fact that it can be performed simultaneously.

Next, when it is determined in step 100 that the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is connected through a USB cable device, the battery is charged by supplying power to the charging circuit of the battery (S110).

Subsequently, the charging voltage is sensed for each of the plurality of batteries connected for charging (S120).

This is to determine whether the battery is overcharged by sensing the charging voltage and to safely charge the battery by stopping charging when the battery is in an overcharge state according to the determination result.

Next, status information is displayed for each of the plurality of batteries (S130).

That is, the charging voltage and the internal temperature of each of the plurality of batteries connected through the interface device are displayed, and the information on the progress of charging according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature is displayed and provided to the user.

Therefore, the user may be provided with the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery being charged, and may be provided with information about whether the charging progresses or stops according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery and the current charging amount.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the charging voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage (S140).

In this case, if the charging voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage, step 150 is performed. On the other hand, if the charging voltage is less than the threshold voltage, step 130 is performed.

Here, the limit voltage is a value determined by an experiment on the charging operation of each battery, and the limit voltage is the temperature of the battery increases when the charging operation is continued after reaching the full charge state by charging the battery. Or by measuring the charge voltage at the time when the phenomenon that the surface of the battery is swelling due to the increase of the temperature is determined as described above.

In addition, since the threshold voltage is different depending on the type of battery connected through the interface device, information on the threshold voltage according to the type of the battery is stored in advance in the form of a table. Is recognized.

Next, when the charging voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage as determined in step 140, the charging of the battery is stopped by stopping the power supply to the charging circuit of the battery (S150).

Therefore, since the charging operation is performed only when the charging voltage of the battery is detected to be within a safe range, overheating and battery explosion due to overcharging of the battery can be prevented.

Subsequently, status information of each of the plurality of batteries is displayed (S130). In addition, even when the charging voltage is less than the threshold voltage as determined in step 140, status information is displayed for each of the plurality of batteries (S130).

It displays the charging voltage and internal temperature of the battery being charged, and displays the current status of the battery by displaying information on whether the battery is being charged or stopped, and the current charge amount, so that the battery can be charged more safely. For sake.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a charging control method of a portable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the charging control method of the portable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention starts from determining whether the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is connected through the USB cable device (S200). .

In this case, when the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is connected through the USB cable device, step 210 is performed. On the other hand, if the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is not connected through the USB cable device, step 200 is performed.

The charging control method of a portable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention is capable of simultaneously charging a battery of a plurality of portable electronic devices by using an interface device having a plurality of USB connectors. The feature is as described above.

Next, as a result of the determination in step 200, when the portable electronic device equipped with the battery is connected through the USB cable device, the battery is charged by supplying power to the charging circuit of the battery (S210).

Subsequently, an internal temperature is detected for each of the plurality of batteries connected for charging (S220).

This is to determine whether the battery is being charged in an abnormally high temperature state by sensing the internal temperature, and to charge the battery safely by proceeding or stopping the charging according to the determination result.

Next, status information is displayed for each of the plurality of batteries (S230).

Therefore, the user may be provided with the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery being charged, and may be provided with information about whether the charging progresses or stops according to the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery and the current charging amount.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the internal temperature is greater than or equal to the limit temperature (S240).

In this case, if the internal temperature is equal to or greater than the limit temperature, step 250 is performed. On the other hand, if the internal temperature is less than the limit temperature, step 230 is performed.

Here, the limit temperature is a value determined by an experiment on the charging operation of each battery, and the limit temperature is the temperature of the battery increases when the charging operation is continued after the battery reaches the full charge state by charging the battery. Or by measuring the internal temperature at the time when the phenomenon that the surface of the battery swells due to the increase of temperature occurs by experiment.

In addition, since the limit temperature is different depending on the type of battery connected through the interface device, the information on the limit temperature according to the type of the battery is stored in the form of a table in advance, and the type of the battery is the interface device. Is recognized.

Next, when the internal temperature is greater than the limit temperature as determined in step 240, the power supply to the charging circuit of the battery is cut off to stop the charging of the battery (S250).

Therefore, since the charging operation is performed only when the internal temperature of the battery is detected to be within a safe range, overheating and battery explosion due to overcharging of the battery can be prevented.

Subsequently, status information of each of the plurality of batteries is displayed (S230). In addition, as determined in operation 240, even when the internal temperature is less than the limit temperature, status information is displayed for each of the plurality of batteries (S230).

Therefore, the user may be provided with the charging voltage and the internal temperature of the battery being charged, and may be provided with information about whether the battery is being charged or stopped, and the current charging amount.

The rights of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described above, but are defined by the claims, and those skilled in the art can make various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the claims. It is self-evident.

1 is a block diagram showing a charging control device for a portable electronic device constituting a specific embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a flow chart showing in detail the charging control method of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart showing in detail the charging control method of the portable electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: interface unit 20: terminal state detection unit

30: charge control unit 40: power supply

50: display unit

Claims (10)

An interface unit for interconnecting with one or more terminals; A charging control unit determining whether the charging is to be progressed or stopped according to the state information of the terminal; And And a power supply unit supplying or cutting off power to the charging circuit of the terminal according to the control signal of the charging control unit: The charging control unit, And a terminal state sensing unit for sensing state information for each of the terminals connected through the interface unit. The method of claim 1, The charging control device of the portable electronic device, And a display unit for displaying the status information for each of the terminals connected through the interface unit. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The state information, Includes information on the charging voltage of the terminal connected via the interface unit: The charging control unit, The charging control device of the portable electronic device, characterized in that it determines whether the charging proceeds or stopped depending on whether the charging voltage is above the threshold voltage according to the terminal. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The state information, It includes information about the internal temperature of the terminal connected via the interface unit: The charging control unit, Charging control device of a portable electronic device characterized in that it determines whether the charging proceeds or stopped depending on whether the internal temperature is above the limit temperature according to the terminal. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The interface unit, Charge control device of a portable electronic device, characterized in that the battery is connected by a portable electronic device and a USB cable device. (a) detecting status information on each of the one or more terminals connected for charging; (b) outputting a control signal relating to the progress or interruption of charging according to the state information of the terminal; And (c) supplying or cutting off power to the charging circuit of the terminal according to the control signal. The method of claim 6, Charging control method of the portable electronic device, and (d) displaying the status information for each of the terminals. The method according to claim 6 or 7, The state information, Includes information about the charging voltage of the terminal: In step (b), And controlling the progress or interruption of charging according to whether the charging voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage according to the terminal. The method according to claim 6 or 7, The state information, Including information on the internal temperature of the terminal: In step (b), And controlling the progress or interruption of charging according to whether the charging voltage is higher than or equal to a limit temperature according to the terminal. The method according to claim 6 or 7, In step (a), Charging control method of a portable electronic device, characterized in that performed by detecting the status information of the terminal through a USB cable device for connecting a portable electronic device equipped with a battery.

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