WO2022239280A1

WO2022239280A1 - Power supply unit for aerosol generation device

Info

Publication number: WO2022239280A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/043912
Authority: WO
Inventors: 達也青山; 拓嗣川中子; 徹長浜; 貴司藤木; 亮吉田
Original assignee: 日本たばこ産業株式会社
Priority date: 2021-05-10
Filing date: 2021-11-30
Publication date: 2022-11-17

Abstract

This power supply unit for an aerosol generation device comprises: a power supply; a heater connector that is connected to a heater which consumes power fed from the power supply and heats an aerosol source; a control circuit that controls power feed from the power supply to the heater and monitors the state of the power supply; and a power supply monitoring circuit that monitors the state of the power supply. The power supply monitoring circuit feeds an error signal to the control circuit if the state of the power supply satisfies error notification conditions. The control circuit is capable of operating in a standby state of standing by until an error signal is fed from the power supply monitoring circuit, and in a monitoring state of monitoring the state of the power supply after transitioning according to the error signal having been fed from the power supply monitoring circuit during the operation in the standby state.

Description

Power supply unit for aerosol generator

The present invention relates to a power supply unit for an aerosol generator.

　Aerosol generating devices such as electronic cigarettes have a configuration for heating the liquid to form the aerosol. A battery-powered heating device described in US Pat.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-61361

Although Patent Document 1 protects the power supply unit of the aerosol generator by using a power supply monitoring circuit that monitors various characteristics of the power supply, there is room for improvement in this protection. An object of some aspects of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the safety of the power supply unit of the aerosol generator.

According to a first aspect, a power supply unit for an aerosol generator, comprising:
a power supply;
a heater connector connected to a heater that consumes power supplied from the power supply to heat the aerosol source;
a control circuit for controlling power supply from the power source to the heater and monitoring the state of the power source;
a power supply monitoring circuit that monitors the state of the power supply,
The power supply monitoring circuit supplies an error signal to the control circuit when the state of the power supply satisfies an error notification condition;
The control circuit is
a standby state waiting for the error signal to be supplied from the power supply monitoring circuit;
A power supply unit is provided that is operable in a monitoring state that transitions in response to the supply of the error signal from the power supply monitoring circuit during operation in the standby state and monitors the state of the power supply.
According to this aspect, since the control circuit is in a standby state until the error signal is supplied from the power supply monitoring circuit, the power consumption of the power supply unit can be reduced. In addition, since the control circuit monitors the state of the power supply when an error signal is supplied from the power supply monitoring circuit, the safety of the power supply unit can be improved.
According to the second aspect, while the control circuit is operating in the standby state, the power supply monitoring circuit monitors a predetermined physical quantity of the power supply in a first period,
While the control circuit is operating in the monitoring state, the control circuit monitors the predetermined physical quantity of the power supply in a second period;
A power supply unit according to a first aspect is provided, wherein the first period is longer than the second period.
According to this aspect, power consumption can be reduced while the control circuit is in the standby state. At the same time, the accuracy of the predetermined physical quantity of the power obtained while the control circuit is in the monitoring state is improved.
According to the third aspect, when the state of the power supply satisfies a predetermined condition during operation in the monitoring state, the control circuit performs charging of the power supply and supply of power from the power supply to the heater. A power supply unit according to the first aspect or the second aspect is provided, wherein at least one is at least temporarily limited.
According to this aspect, since the charging or discharging of the power supply is restricted, the safety of the power supply unit is improved.
According to a fourth aspect, the power supply unit according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the control circuit acquires the state of the power supply through the power supply monitoring circuit while operating in the monitoring state. is provided.
According to this aspect, the control circuit does not require a unique function for measuring the state of the power supply, or the function can be made small, so that the size of the control circuit can be reduced.
According to the fifth aspect, the power supply monitoring circuit outputs the error signal to the control circuit when the power supply enters a predetermined state continuously n times while the control circuit is operating in the standby state. supply and
The control circuit performs at least one of charging the power supply and supplying power from the power supply to the heater when the power supply enters a predetermined state m consecutive times during operation in the monitoring state. at least temporarily, and
There is provided the power supply unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein said m is greater than said n.
According to this aspect, when an error in the power supply is suspected, the control circuit can quickly shift to the monitoring state, and the control circuit operating in the monitoring state can monitor the state of the battery with high accuracy. This allows the power supply unit to be quickly and adequately protected.
According to the sixth aspect, the time required for the control circuit to determine that the power source has entered the predetermined state m consecutive times is determined by the power supply monitor that the power source has entered the predetermined state n times consecutively. A power supply unit according to the fifth aspect is provided that takes less time than the circuit takes to determine.
According to this aspect, the control circuit can monitor the state of the battery with high accuracy in a short period of time.
According to the seventh aspect, the power supply monitoring circuit supplies the error signal to the control circuit when the state of the power supply satisfies any condition of the first condition set,
The control circuit determines whether any condition of a second condition set is satisfied based on the state of the power supply newly acquired after receiving the error signal. A power supply unit according to one is provided.
According to this aspect, the power supply unit 1 can transition to the failure state based on the determination result by the control circuit, so the power supply unit can be appropriately protected.
According to an eighth aspect, there is provided the power supply unit according to the seventh aspect, wherein the first condition set includes conditions regarding physical quantities of the power supply that are not monitored by the second condition set.
According to this aspect, the power consumption of the power supply unit can be reduced by not monitoring some of the physical quantities by the power supply monitoring circuit.
According to the ninth aspect, the control circuit transitions the power supply unit to a failure state in which charging and discharging of the power supply is permanently prohibited when any condition of the second condition set is satisfied. Alternatively, a power supply unit according to the eighth aspect is provided.
According to this aspect, since the power supply unit transitions to the failure state when an error of high importance determined by the control circuit occurs, the safety of the power supply unit is further improved.
According to a tenth aspect, there is provided the power supply unit according to any one of the seventh to ninth aspects, wherein the second condition set includes a condition that the temperature of the power supply is higher than the upper limit temperature. be.
According to this aspect, the high-temperature state of the power supply, which is of high importance, is determined by a separate circuit, so the power supply unit can be appropriately protected.

According to the first form, the safety of the power supply unit of the aerosol generator is improved.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an appearance example of a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device according to some embodiments; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration example of a power supply unit according to some embodiments; The figure which shows the whole circuit structural example of the power supply unit of some embodiment. The figure explaining the structural example of the protection control part of some embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a battery monitoring condition set according to some embodiments; 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example battery monitoring operation by an MCU of some embodiments; FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example battery monitoring operation by an MCU of some embodiments; FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of battery monitoring operation by the battery monitoring circuit of some embodiments; FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of battery monitoring operation by the battery monitoring circuit of some embodiments; 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of interrupt operation by an MCU of some embodiments; FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of battery monitoring operation by a protection circuit of some embodiments; FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a battery deep discharge determination operation according to some embodiments; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a normal temperature range of a battery according to some embodiments;

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. Also, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of a power supply unit 1 of an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The power supply unit 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 2 with rounded corners. Case 2 constitutes the surface of power supply unit 1 . For the sake of convenience, the surface shown in FIG. 1(a) is the front surface, and the surface shown in FIG. 1(b) is the rear surface. The surface shown in FIG. 1(c) is the bottom surface, and the surface shown in FIG. 1(d) is the top surface.

The power supply unit 1 has a case (enclosure) 2 and a front panel 11 that can be attached to and detached from the case 2 . FIG. 1(f) shows a state in which the front panel 11 is removed from the state shown in FIG. 1(a). FIG. 1(g) shows the front panel 11 viewed from the inside. The front panel 11 functions as a front cover of the case 2 and allows the user to freely replace it to customize its appearance.

Two pairs of

magnets

14A and 14B and

magnets

15A and 15B are provided at opposing positions on the inner surface of the front panel 11 and the front surface of the case 2, respectively. The

magnets

14A and 15A attract each other, and the

magnets

14B and 15B attract each other, so that the front panel 11 is held in front of the case 2 by magnetic force.

In addition, a pushable switch SW and a light emitting unit NU are provided on the front of the case 2 . A protrusion 16 is provided on the inner surface of the front panel 11 at a position facing the switch SW. By pressing the central portion 12 of the front panel 11 while the front panel 11 is attached, the switch SW can be indirectly pressed through the convex portion 16 . Note that the switch SW can also be pressed directly with the front panel 11 removed. A plurality of light emitting elements (for example, LEDs) are arranged in a row in the light emitting unit NU. The state of the light emitting unit NU can be observed through a window 19 provided on the front panel 11. FIG.

A slider 13 that can be opened and closed is provided on the top surface of the case 2 . When the slider 13 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the heater chamber 17 appears as shown in FIG. 1(e). The slider 13 is not shown in FIG. 1(e) for the sake of convenience. The heater chamber 17 is a cylindrical space having an elliptical (elliptical) horizontal cross section, and heats a stick or cartridge inserted into the heater chamber 17 . The stick is cylindrical and has a horizontal cross-sectional diameter larger than the minor axis of the horizontal cross-section of the heater chamber 17 . As a result, the stick is radially compressed when it is inserted into the heater chamber 17, so that the contact between the outer surface of the stick and the heater chamber 17 is enhanced and the contact area is increased. Therefore, the stick can be efficiently heated. This can improve the amount and flavor of the aerosol generated from the stick.

When the slider 13 is moved to a position where the heater chamber 17 is exposed while the front panel 11 is attached to the power supply unit 1, and it is detected that the switch SW is continuously pressed for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds), Considering this as a heating start instruction, the heating operation is started.

The stick heated by the heater chamber 17 may contain only the aerosol source, or may contain the aerosol source and the flavoring substance. Aerosol sources can include liquids such as, for example, polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin or propylene glycol. As a specific example, the aerosol source may comprise a mixed solution of glycerin and propylene glycol. Alternatively, the aerosol source may include a drug or herbal medicine. Alternatively, the aerosol source may contain a flavoring agent such as menthol. Alternatively, the aerosol source may comprise liquid phase nicotine. The aerosol source can be liquid, solid, or a mixture of liquid and solid. A vapor source such as water may be used instead of or in addition to an aerosol source. The stick may include a carrier for carrying the aerosol source. The carrier itself may be a solid aerosol source. The carrier may include a sheet formed from raw materials derived from tobacco leaves.

A connector USBC is provided on the bottom of the case 2 for connecting an external device. Assume here that the connector USBC is a receptacle conforming to the USB Type-C standard. When charging the power supply unit 1, an external device (USB charger, mobile battery, personal computer, etc.) capable of supplying power according to the USB PD standard is connected to the connector USBC. Note that the connector USBC may conform to standards other than the USB Type-C standard. In place of the connector USBC, or in addition to the connector USBC, the power supply unit 1 may be provided with a power receiving coil for non-contact charging.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the power supply unit 1 with the case 2 removed. The same reference numerals are given to the same components as in FIG. The heater unit HT (hereinafter simply referred to as heater HT) is a load that is provided on the outer periphery of the heater chamber 17 and heats the heater chamber 17 by consuming power supplied from the power source, thereby heating the aerosol source. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the heater HT is covered with a heat insulating material. A heater thermistor TH attached to the heat insulating material of the heater HT or the heater HT itself is a temperature sensor that indirectly measures the temperature of the heater HT. Note that the heater HT may be of an induction heating type. In this case, the heater HT includes at least a coil for electromagnetic induction. A susceptor (metal piece) that receives the magnetic field sent from the electromagnetic induction coil may be included in the heater HT or may be built in the stick.

The puff thermistor TP is a suction sensor arranged at the upper end of the heater chamber 17 . When the aerosol is inhaled, the temperature detected by the puff thermistor TP fluctuates, which can be used to detect the inhalation.

The case thermistor TC is provided near the inner surface of the front of the case 2 and detects the case temperature.

The battery BT is rechargeable, for example a lithium-ion secondary battery. The battery BT is a power supply that supplies basic power for the power supply unit 1 . The battery BT is attached at the time of manufacture, and the power supply unit 1 is shipped in a state (sleep state) in which power is being supplied to most of the components except for the heater, thermistor, and the like.

The detector 170 is an open/close sensor that detects opening and closing of the slider 13, and may be an integrated circuit (Hall IC) using a Hall element.

The circuits of the power supply unit 1 are distributed and arranged on four circuit boards PCB1 to PCB4. Alternatively, the circuits of the power supply unit 1 may be arranged on one circuit board, or may be distributed on two or three or more circuit boards.

In the above configuration, the power supply unit 1 has the heater HT. Alternatively, the cartridge containing the aerosol source may have the heater. In this case, the power supply unit 1 has a heater connector, and this heater connector is connected to the connector on the heater side by attaching the cartridge to the power supply unit 1 . The power supply unit 1 supplies power to the heater inside the cartridge through the heater connector.

The operation of each component that configures the power supply unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. A positive terminal of the battery BT is electrically connected to the first power connector BC+, and a negative terminal of the battery BT is electrically connected to the second power connector BC-. The potential of the positive electrode of the battery BT can be supplied to the VBAT terminal of the protection circuit 90, the VBAT terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100, the VIN terminal of the transformer circuit 120, the BAT terminal of the charging circuit 20, and the potential input terminal of the switch circuit 80. .

The protection circuit 90 measures the current flowing through the path through which the current output from the battery BT flows using the resistor R2, and protects the battery BT according to the current. The protection circuit 90 measures the output voltage of the battery BT using the input to the VBAT terminal, and protects the battery BT according to the measured output voltage. A battery monitoring circuit 100 (also referred to as a power supply monitoring circuit) can measure the state of the battery BT using a resistor R1 arranged in a path through which current output from the battery BT flows.

The overvoltage protection circuit 110 receives the voltage V _BUS supplied from the connector USBC as a power supply connector and outputs the voltage V _USB to the V _USB line. The overvoltage protection circuit 110 functions as a protection circuit that, even if the voltage V _BUS supplied from the connector USBC exceeds the specified voltage value, drops it to the specified voltage value and supplies it to the output side of the overvoltage protection circuit 110. I can. This specified voltage value may be set based on the voltage value input to the OVLo terminal.

Transformation circuit 120 is a DC/DC converter that transforms power supply voltage V _BAT supplied from battery BT to generate heater voltage V _BOOST for driving heater HT. The transformer circuit 120 may be a step-up circuit, a step-up/step-down circuit, or a step-down circuit. A heater HT is arranged to heat the aerosol source. A positive terminal of the heater HT can be electrically connected to the first heater connector HC+ and a negative terminal of the heater HT can be electrically connected to the second heater connector HC-.

The heater HT may be attached to the power supply unit 1 in such a manner that it cannot be removed without being destroyed (for example, by soldering), or may be attached in such a manner that it can be removed without being destroyed. good. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, an electrical connection by a "connector" can be divided into a form in which it cannot be separated from each other without being broken, and a form in which it can be separated from each other without being broken. It will be described as any one.

The MCU (Micro Controller Unit) 130 is a processor-based control circuit equipped with a program-executable processor, memory, interface, etc., and controls the operation of the power supply unit 1 . Programs executed by MCU 130 may reside in internal memory, non-volatile memory 70, or both.

The MCU 130 controls power supply to the heater HT for heating the aerosol source using power supplied from the battery BT. From another point of view, the MCU 130 controls heat generation of the heater HT for heating the aerosol source using power supplied from the battery BT. In still another aspect, the MCU 130 controls power supply to the heater HT and charging operation of the battery BT.

When causing the heater HT to generate heat, the MCU 130 turns on the switches SH and SS and turns off the switch SM. This allows the heater voltage V _BOOST to be supplied from the transformer circuit 120 to the heater HT through the switch SH. When measuring the temperature or resistance of the heater HT, the MCU 130 turns off the switch SH and turns on the switches SM and SS. This allows the heater voltage V _BOOST to be supplied from the transformer circuit 120 through the switch SM to the heater HT.

When measuring the temperature or resistance value of the heater HT, the operational amplifier A1 detects the voltage between the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the heater HT, in other words, the voltage between the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC-. to the PA7 terminal of the MCU 130. The operational amplifier A1 may be understood as a measurement circuit that measures the resistance value or temperature of the heater HT.

A shunt resistor RS can be arranged in a path electrically connecting the switch SM and the first heater connector HC+. The resistance value of the shunt resistor RS can be determined so that the switch SR is turned on during the heating period of the heater HT and turned off during the period of measuring the temperature or resistance value of the heater HT. When the switch SR is composed of an N-channel MOSFET, the drain terminal of the switch SR is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier A1, the gate terminal of the switch SR is connected between the shunt resistor RS and the first heater connector HC+, The source terminal of switch SR is connected to ground potential. A voltage obtained by dividing the heater voltage V _BOOST mainly by the shunt resistor RS and the heater HT is input to the gate terminal of the switch SR. The resistance value of the shunt resistor RS can be determined so that the divided value is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage of the switch SR. Also, the current flowing through the heater HT when the switch SH is turned off and the switches SM and the switches SS are turned on by the shunt resistor RS is the heater HT when the switches SH and the switches SS are turned on and the switch SM is turned off. is smaller than the current flowing through As a result, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the heater HT from changing due to the current flowing through the heater HT when measuring the temperature or resistance of the heater HT.

The load switch 10 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a low level is input to the ON terminal, and disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a high level is input to the ON terminal. are electrically connected to output the voltage _VCC5 from the VOUT terminal to the _VCC5 line. The voltage value of the voltage _VCC5 is, for example, 5.0 [V]. _{The VCC5} line is connected to the VBUS and VAC terminals of the charging circuit 20, which will be described later, and the light emitting unit NU. The ON terminal of the load switch 10 is connected to the collector terminal of an npn bipolar transistor. The emitter terminal of this bipolar transistor is connected to the ground potential and the base terminal is connected to the PC9 terminal of the MCU 130 . That is, the MCU 130 can control opening/closing of the load switch 10 through the bipolar transistor by adjusting the potential of the PC9 terminal.

Charging circuit 20 has a charging mode. In the charging mode, the charging circuit 20 electrically connects the SYS terminal and the BAT terminal internally. Thus, the voltage _VCC5 supplied to the VBUS terminal via the _VCC5 line can be used to supply the charging voltage from the BAT terminal to the battery BT via the first conductive path PT1. Charging circuit 20 preferably generates a suitable charging voltage by stepping down voltage _VCC5 . The charging mode can be enabled or activated by supplying a low level to the /CE terminal. The _VCC line is connected to the VIN and EN terminals of transformer circuit 30, which will be described later.

The charging circuit 20 can have a power pass function. When the power path function is enabled, the charging circuit 20 uses the voltage _VCC5 supplied to the VBUS terminal through the _VCC5 line, or the BAT from the battery BT through the first conductive path PT1. A power supply voltage V _BAT applied to a terminal is used to provide the voltage V _CC on the V _CC line. Specifically, when the power pass function is enabled in a state where the voltage _VUSB is available, the charging circuit 20 electrically connects the VBUS terminal and the SW terminal internally, and supplies the _VCC5 line. _VCC5 is used to supply voltage _VCC on the _VCC line. Further, when the power pass function is enabled in a state in which the voltage _VUSB cannot be used, the charging circuit 20 electrically connects the BAT terminal and the SW terminal internally, and the first conductive path from the battery BT. The power supply voltage V _BAT supplied to the BAT terminal through PT1 is used to provide the voltage V _CC on the V _CC line.

The charging circuit 20 has an OTG (On-The-GO) function. When the OTG function is enabled, the charging circuit 20 uses the power supply voltage V _BAT supplied from the battery BT to the BAT terminal through the first conductive path PT1 to apply the voltage V from the VBUS terminal to the V _CC5 line. _{Feed CC5} . When generating the voltage V _CC5 from the power supply voltage V _BAT , the charging circuit 20 is configured so that the voltage supplied to the light emitting unit NU is about the same as when generating the voltage V _CC5 from the voltage V _USB . Preferably, voltage V _BAT is boosted to provide voltage V _CC5 . With such a configuration, the operation of the light emitting unit NU is stabilized. When a high level is supplied to the /CE terminal, the charging circuit 20 operates using either the power pass function or the OTG function set by default or one enabled by the MCU 130 . sell.

Transformer circuit 30 is a DC/DC converter, which may be a boost circuit, a buck-boost circuit, or a buck circuit, and is enabled by applying voltage _VCC to the _VCC line. Specifically, the transformer circuit 30 is enabled by inputting a high-level signal to the EN terminal. Since the VIN and EN terminals are connected to the _VCC line, transformer circuit 30 is enabled by applying voltage _VCC to the _VCC line. Transformer circuit 30 provides voltage V _{CC33_0} from the VOUT terminal to the V _{CC33_0} line. The voltage value of the voltage V _{CC33_0} is, for example, 3.3 [V]. _{The VCC33_0} line is connected to the VIN terminal of the load switch 40, which will be described later, the VIN terminal and RSTB terminal of the reboot controller 50, which will be described later, and the VCC terminal and D terminal of FF2.

The load switch 40 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a low level is input to the ON terminal, and disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a high level is input to the ON terminal. are electrically connected to output the voltage _VCC33 from the VOUT terminal to the _VCC33 line. The voltage value of the voltage _VCC33 is, for example, 3.3 [V]. The _{VCC 33} line is connected to the VIN terminal of the load switch 60 described later, the VCC terminal of the nonvolatile memory 70, the VDD and CE terminals of the battery monitoring circuit 100 described later, the VDD terminal of the MCU 130, the VDD terminal of the detector 140 described later, and the VDD terminal of the detector 140 described later. a VCC_NRF terminal of the communication interface circuit 160, a VDD terminal of the detector 170, a VCC terminal and a D terminal of the FF1, a positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier A1, and a positive power supply of the operational amplifier A2, which will be described later. terminal, and a positive power supply terminal of an operational amplifier A3, which will be described later. The VIN terminal of the load switch 40 is electrically connected to the VOUT terminal of the transformer circuit 30 and supplied with the voltage _{VCC33_0} from the transformer circuit 30 . In order not to complicate the circuit board of the power supply unit 1, it is preferable that the voltage value of the voltage _{VCC33_0} and the voltage value of the voltage _VCC33 are substantially equal.

The reboot controller 50 outputs a low level from the RSTB terminal in response to the low level being supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal for a predetermined time. The RSTB terminal is electrically connected to the ON terminal of the load switch 40 . Accordingly, in response to the supply of the low level to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal of the reboot controller 50 for a predetermined period of time, the load switch 40 stops outputting the voltage _VCC33 from the VOUT terminal. When the output of the voltage _VCC33 from the VOUT terminal of the load switch 40 stops, the supply of the voltage _VCC33 to the VDD terminal (power supply terminal) of the MCU 130 is cut off, so the MCU 130 stops operating.

Here, when the front panel 11 is removed from the power supply unit 1 , a low level is supplied from the detector 140 to the SW2 terminal of the reboot controller 50 via the Schmidt trigger circuit 150 . Also, when the switch SW is pressed, a low level is supplied to the SW1 terminal of the reboot controller 50 . Therefore, when the switch SW is pressed while the front panel 11 is removed from the power supply unit 1 (state shown in FIG. 1(f)), the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal of the reboot controller 50 are supplied with a low level. The reboot controller 50 recognizes that a command to reset or restart the power supply unit 1 has been input when a low level is continuously supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds). It is preferable that the reboot controller 50 does not output a low level from the RSTB terminal after outputting a low level from the RSTB terminal. When the reboot controller 50 outputs a low level from the RSTB terminal, a low level is input to the ON terminal of the load switch 40, the load switch 40 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal, and the voltage _VCC33 is applied to the _VCC33 line. is no longer output. This causes the MCU 130 to stop operating. After that, when the reboot controller 50 stops outputting the low level from the RSTB terminal, the high level voltage _{VCC33_0} is input to the ON terminal of the load switch 40, so that the load switch 40 electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal. to output the voltage _VCC33 again from the VOUT terminal to the _VCC33 line. As a result, the MCU 130 that has stopped operating can be restarted.

The load switch 60 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a low level is input to the ON terminal, and disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a high level is input to the ON terminal. are electrically connected to output the voltage _{VCC33_SLP} from the VOUT terminal to the _{VCC33_SLP} line. The voltage value of the voltage V _{CC33_SLP} is, for example, 3.3 [V]. _{The VCC33_SLP} line is connected to a puff thermistor TP, which will be described later, a heater thermistor TH, which will be described later, and a case thermistor TC, which will be described later. The ON terminal of the load switch 60 is electrically connected to the PC11 terminal of the MCU 130 . The MCU 130 transitions the logic level of the PC11 terminal from high level to low level when the power supply unit 1 shifts to the sleep mode, and transitions the logic level of the PC11 terminal to low level when the power supply unit 1 shifts from the sleep mode to the active mode. Make a transition from level to high level. In other words, voltage _{VCC33_SLP} is not available in sleep mode and becomes available when transitioning from sleep mode to active mode. In order not to complicate the circuit board of the power supply unit 1, it is preferable that the voltage value of the voltage _{VCC33_SLP} and the voltage value of the voltage _VCC33 are substantially equal.

The power supply unit 1 can include a puff thermistor TP (for example, an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) that constitutes a puff sensor for detecting a puff (sucking) action by the user. The puff thermistor TP may be arranged, for example, to detect temperature changes in the airflow path associated with the puff. Note that the puff thermistor TP is only a specific example of the puff sensor. Instead of the puff thermistor TP, a microphone capacitor, a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, a flow velocity sensor, or the like may be used as the puff sensor. The power supply unit 1 may include a vibrator M. Vibrator M can be activated, for example, by turning on switch SN. The switch SN may be composed of a transistor, and a control signal may be supplied from the PH0 terminal of the MCU 130 to the base or gate of the transistor. The power supply unit 1 may have a driver for controlling the vibrator M.

The power supply unit 1 can include a heater thermistor TH (for example, an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) for detecting the temperature of the heater HT. The temperature of the heater HT may be detected indirectly by detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the heater HT. The operational amplifier A2 can output a voltage corresponding to the resistance value of the thermistor TH, in other words, a voltage corresponding to the temperature of the heater HT.

The power supply unit 1 may include a case thermistor TC (for example, an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) for detecting the temperature of the housing (case) 2 of the power supply unit. The temperature of case 2 may be detected indirectly by detecting the temperature in the vicinity of case 2 . The operational amplifier A3 outputs a voltage corresponding to the resistance value of the thermistor TC, in other words, a voltage corresponding to the temperature of the case 2.

Detector 140 may be configured to detect that front panel 11 is removed from power supply unit 1 . The output of detector 140 may be supplied to the SW2 terminal of reboot controller 50 and the PD2 terminal of MCU 130 via Schmitt trigger circuit 150 . One end of the switch SW may be connected to the V CC 33 line, the SW1 terminal of the reboot controller 50 and the _PC10 terminal of the MCU 130 . The other end of the switch SW can be connected to ground potential. Accordingly, when the switch SW is pressed, a low level is supplied to the SW1 terminal of the reboot controller 50 and the PC10 terminal of the MCU 130, and when the switch SW is not pressed, a high level is supplied to the SW1 terminal of the reboot controller 50 and the PC10 terminal of the MCU 130. can be

The detector 170 can be configured to detect opening and closing of the slider 13 . The output of detector 170 may be provided to the PC13 terminal of MCU 130 . The

detectors

140 and 170 can be configured by integrated circuits (Hall ICs) using Hall elements, for example.

The communication interface circuit 160 provides the MCU 130 with a function of wirelessly communicating with external devices such as smartphones, mobile phones, and personal computers. Communication interface circuit 160 may be, for example, a communication interface circuit compliant with one or more of any wireless communication standards, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

FF1 and FF2 are holding circuits that hold 1-bit information (0 or 1) indicating whether an abnormality has been detected as a low level or a high level. FF is an abbreviation for flip-flop. FF2 outputs the value obtained by inverting the value of the information it holds from the /Q terminal. FF1 also outputs the value of the information it holds from the Q terminal. FF1 and FF2 are preferably D-type flip-flop ICs.

　FF1 and FF2 have a /CLR terminal, and when the input level of the /CLR terminal changes from high level to low level, the value of the held information is initialized to 0 (low level). A change in the input level of the /CLR terminal from low level to high level does not affect the value of the held information.

In this embodiment, power is supplied to FF1 and FF2 through different power supply lines. That is, the VCC terminal (power supply terminal) of FF1 is supplied with the voltage _VCC33 , and the VCC terminal (power supply terminal) of FF2 is supplied with the voltage _{VCC33_0} . The voltage _{VCC33_0} is continuously supplied even while the voltage _VCC33 , which is the power supply of the MCU 130, is temporarily stopped in the reset operation. Therefore, the information held by the FF 2 (the output of the Q and /Q terminals) is held without disappearing even if the reset operation of the power supply unit 1 is executed. On the other hand, since power is supplied to FF1 from the power supply line that supplies power to MCU 130, the information held by FF1 is erased during the reset operation.

In FF1 and FF2, the input to the VCC terminal is also input to the D terminal. Therefore, while FF1 and FF2 are operating, a high level is always input to the D terminal. FF1 and FF2 have synchronization terminals (not shown), and when the input of the synchronization terminal changes from low level to high level, the input level of the D terminal is held. When the power supply unit 1 is operating normally, FF1 and FF2 keep high level.

A voltage that varies according to the resistance value of the heater thermistor TH is supplied to the inverting input of the operational amplifier A2, and a reference voltage is supplied to the non-inverting input. This reference voltage is such that the voltage of the non-inverting input is higher than the voltage of the inverting input when the heater HT is not overheated, and the voltage of the inverting input is higher than the voltage of the non-inverting input when the heater HT is overheated. designed to be higher than Therefore, the output of the operational amplifier A2 becomes high level when the heater HT is not overheated (normal state), and becomes low level when the heater HT is overheated (abnormal state).

The output of operational amplifier A2 is connected to the /CLR terminal of FF2. The output of operational amplifier A2 is also connected to the D terminal and /CLR terminal of FF1 via a reverse diode. In other words, the output of the operational amplifier A2 is connected to the cathode of the diode, and the D terminal and /CLR terminal of FF1 are connected to the anode of the diode. If the temperature of the heater HT is normal, the input to the /CLR terminal of FF2 becomes high level. When the input of the /CLR terminal is at high level, the output of the Q terminal of FF2 maintains the initial state. That is, the Q terminal of DD2 outputs a high level. A voltage _{VCC33_0} is input to the D terminal of FF2, and FF2 holds the input level of the D terminal in the initial state if there is no abnormality at startup. Therefore, when the temperature of the heater HT is normal, the Q terminal output of FF2 is at high level and the /Q terminal output is at low level.

When the heater HT is overheated, the output of the operational amplifier A2 changes to low level. As a result, the input of the /CLR terminal of FF2 changes to low level. When the /CLR terminal becomes low level, FF2 is forcibly initialized, the output of the Q terminal becomes low level, and the output of the /Q terminal becomes high level. The output of the /Q terminal of FF2 is supplied to the PB14 terminal of MCU130. Therefore, the MCU 130 can detect that the heater HT is in an overheating state in response to the signal input to the PB14 terminal switching from low level to high level.

The case thermistor TC is arranged at a position close to the inner surface of the case 2. Alternatively, the case thermistor TC is arranged at a position in contact with the inner surface of the case 2 . By measuring the relationship between the actual temperature of the case 2 and the resistance value of the case thermistor TC in advance, the resistance value of the case thermistor TC can be used as the temperature of the case 2 .

A voltage that varies according to the resistance value of the case thermistor TC is supplied to the inverting input of the operational amplifier A3, and a reference voltage is supplied to the non-inverting input. This reference voltage is such that the voltage of the non-inverting input is higher than the voltage of the inverting input when the case 2 of the power supply unit 1 is not at a high temperature, and the voltage of the inverting input is higher than the voltage of the non-inverting input when the case 2 is at a high temperature. designed to be higher than Therefore, the output of the operational amplifier A3 is high level when the case 2 is not at a high temperature (normal state), and is low level when the case 2 is at a high temperature (abnormal state).

The output of operational amplifier A3 is connected to the /CLR terminal and D terminal of FF1. If the temperature of Case 2 is normal, the input to the /CLR terminal of FF1 becomes high level. When the input of the /CLR terminal is high level, the output of the Q terminal of FF1 maintains the initial state. A voltage _VCC33 is input to the D terminal of FF1, and if there is no abnormality at startup, FF1 holds the input level of the D terminal in the initial state. Therefore, if the temperature of case 2 is normal, the output from the Q terminal of FF1 is at high level. When case 2 becomes hot, the output of operational amplifier A3 changes to low level. As a result, the input of the /CLR terminal of FF1 changes to low level. When the /CLR terminal becomes low level, FF1 is forcibly initialized and the output of the Q terminal becomes low level. The output from the Q terminal of FF1 is supplied to the PA10 terminal of MCU 130 and the base of switch SL. Therefore, the MCU 130 can detect that the case 2 is at a high temperature in response to the signal input to the PA10 terminal switching from high level to low level. Also, when the output from the Q terminal of FF1 switches from high level to low level, the switch SL is turned on. The collector of switch SL is connected to the /CE terminal of charging circuit 20, and the emitter of switch SL is connected to the _VCC33 line. When switch SL is turned on, voltage _VCC33 is input to the /CE terminal of charging circuit 20 . As a result, the signal supplied to the /CE terminal of charging circuit 20 switches to high level, and charging circuit 20 stops operating.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram extracting and describing the configuration related to the operation for protecting the power supply unit 1 based on the information regarding the battery BT among the components described using FIG. Hereinafter, the operation for protecting the power supply unit 1 is simply referred to as protection operation. The protection operation includes a direct operation such as stopping the current flowing to the battery BT, and an indirect operation such as sending a signal requesting other circuits to perform such a direct operation. may include both The protection operation may include, at least temporarily, limiting charging of the battery BT and/or power supply from the battery BT to the heater HT, as described in detail below. These restrictions on the operation of the battery BT may include completely disabling this operation (e.g. setting the charge or supply to zero) or partially disabling this operation ( For example, reducing the amount of charge or supply). Components of the power supply unit 1 protected by the protection operation may be arbitrary components such as the battery BT and the MCU 130 . In the embodiments described below, MCU 130, battery monitoring circuit 100, protection circuit 90, FF1, and charging circuit 20 each perform individual protection operations. Components for these protection operations are collectively referred to as a protection control unit 200 . The MCU 130, the battery monitoring circuit 100, the protection circuit 90, the FF1, and the charging circuit 20 included in the protection control unit 200 are configured as separate circuits.

The protection circuit 90 measures the current flowing through the battery BT and the voltage of the battery BT. Specifically, the CS terminal of the protection circuit 90 is connected to one end of the resistor R2, and the VSS terminal of the protection circuit 90 is connected to the other end of the resistor R2. The resistance value of the resistor R2 is stored in the protection circuit 90 in advance. Protection circuit 90 measures the current through resistor R2 by dividing the voltage between the VSS and CS terminals by the resistance of resistor R2. The resistor R2 is connected to a second power connector BC- to which the negative electrode of the battery BT is connected. Therefore, the current flowing through the resistor R2 is correlated with the current flowing through the battery BT. The protection circuit 90 can determine the direction of the current flowing through the resistor R2 by comparing the potential of the VSS terminal and the potential of the CS terminal. Thereby, the protection circuit 90 can determine whether the battery BT is being charged or discharged.

The VBAT terminal of the protection circuit 90 is connected to the first power connector BC+ to which the positive electrode of the battery BT is connected, and the VSS terminal of the protection circuit 90 is connected to the second power connector BC- to which the negative electrode of the battery BT is connected. It is connected. Therefore, the voltage between the VBAT terminal and the VSS terminal of the protection circuit 90 is equal to the voltage of the battery BT (power supply voltage V _BAT ). Therefore, the protection circuit 90 can measure the voltage of the battery BT by measuring the voltage of the VBAT terminal.

The protection circuit 90 can turn off the switch SD by switching the output from the DOUT terminal from high level to low level. A gate of the switch SD is electrically connected to the DOUT terminal of the protection circuit. The gate of switch SD functions as the control terminal of switch SD. Switch SD switches its conduction state based on the input to the gate. When the switch SD is turned off, the current path for discharging the battery BT is cut off, thereby limiting the discharge from the battery BT. Thus, switch SD functions as a discharge cutoff switch.

The protection circuit 90 can turn off the switch SC by switching the output from the COUT terminal from high level to low level. A gate of the switch SC is electrically connected to the COUT terminal of the protection circuit. The gate of switch SC functions as the control terminal of switch SC. Switch SC switches its conduction state based on the input to the gate. When the switch SC is turned off, the current path for charging the battery BT is cut off, thereby limiting the charging of the battery BT. Thus, the switch SC functions as a charge cutoff switch. The protection circuit 90 maintains the output from the DOUT terminal and the output from the COUT terminal at a high level during operation, and when the state of the battery BT satisfies a predetermined condition described later, the switches SC and The control signal supplied to SD is switched to low level.

The charging circuit 20 has the function of charging the battery BT as described above with reference to FIG. A BAT terminal of the charging circuit 20 is connected to a first power connector BC+ to which the positive electrode of the battery BT is connected. Charging circuit 20 charges battery BT by supplying power from the BAT terminal to battery BT. Charging circuit 20 monitors the potential of the BAT terminal, and limits power supply to battery BT when this potential satisfies a predetermined condition.

The SCL terminal of the charging circuit 20 is connected to the PB8 terminal of the MCU130, and the SDA terminal of the charging circuit 20 is connected to the PB9 terminal of the MCU130. The charging circuit ²⁰ performs I2C communication with the MCU 130 through the SCL terminal and the SDA terminal. Specifically, the clock is communicated through the SCL terminal of the charging circuit 20 and the data is communicated through the SDA terminal of the charging circuit 20 . Since data can be transmitted by both the MCU 130 and the charging circuit 20 , data can be communicated bidirectionally between the charging circuit 20 and the MCU 130 .

An enable signal is supplied to the /CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 . The charging circuit 20 performs a charging operation when a low level is supplied to the /CE terminal, and does not perform a charging operation when a high level is supplied to the /CE terminal.

The battery monitoring circuit 100 monitors various physical quantities of the battery BT. In some embodiments, battery monitoring circuit 100 monitors the temperature of battery BT, the voltage of battery BT, and the current through battery BT. Alternatively, battery monitoring circuit 100 may monitor only some of these physical quantities, or may monitor other physical quantities.

A resistor R3 and a battery thermistor TB are connected in series between the TREG terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 and the ground potential to which the negative electrode of the battery BT is connected. Furthermore, the THM terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the node between the resistor R3 and the battery thermistor TB. Battery thermistor TB is a thermistor (temperature sensor) for measuring the temperature of battery BT, and is arranged near battery BT. The resistance value of battery thermistor TB changes according to a predetermined temperature characteristic. The relationship between the actual temperature of battery BT and the resistance value of battery thermistor TB is measured in advance and stored in battery monitoring circuit 100 in advance. Also, the resistance value of the resistor R3 is stored in the battery monitoring circuit 100 in advance. The battery monitoring circuit 100 can measure the temperature of the battery BT by measuring the voltage between the TREG terminal and the THM terminal or the voltage between the THM terminal and the VSS terminal.

The VRSM terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to one end of the resistor R1, and the VRSP terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the other end of the resistor R1. The resistance value of resistor R1 is stored in battery monitoring circuit 100 in advance. Battery monitoring circuit 100 measures the current through resistor R1 by dividing the voltage between the VRSM and VRSP terminals by the resistance of resistor R1. The resistor R2 is connected in series with the second power connector BC- to which the negative electrode of the battery BT is connected. Therefore, the current flowing through the resistor R2 is correlated with the current flowing through the battery BT. The battery monitoring circuit 100 can determine the direction of the current flowing through the resistor R1 by comparing the potential of the VRSM terminal and the potential of the VRSP terminal. Thereby, the battery monitoring circuit 100 can determine whether the battery BT is being charged or discharged.

The VBAT terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the first power connector BC+ to which the positive terminal of the battery BT is connected, and the VSS terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the second power supply via the switches SD and SC and the resistor R2. It is connected to the power connector BC-. The VSS terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is also connected to the ground potential. Therefore, the voltage between the VBAT terminal and the VSS terminal of battery monitoring circuit 100 is substantially equal to the voltage of battery BT. Therefore, the battery monitoring circuit 100 can measure the voltage of the battery BT by measuring the voltage of the VBAT terminal.

The SCL terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the PC0 terminal of the MCU 130 , and the SDA terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the PC1 terminal of the MCU 130 . ^The battery monitoring circuit 100 performs I2C communication with the MCU 130 through the SCL terminal and the SDA terminal. Specifically, the clock is communicated through the SCL terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 and the data is communicated through the SDA terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 . Since both the MCU 130 and the battery monitoring circuit 100 can transmit data, data can be communicated bidirectionally between the battery monitoring circuit 100 and the MCU 130 .

The VDD and CE terminals of the battery monitoring circuit 100 are each connected to the _VCC33 line. The operating power of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is supplied to the VDD terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 . An enable signal is supplied to the CE terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 . The battery monitoring circuit 100 operates when a high level is supplied to the CE terminal, and does not operate when a low level is supplied to the CE terminal. Therefore, the battery monitoring circuit 100 operates while the voltage _VCC33 is supplied to the _VCC33 line.

The IO5 terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the PB12 terminal of the MCU 130 . The battery monitoring circuit 100 outputs the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to the MCU 130 through the IO5 terminal. This signal is communicated uni-directionally from the battery monitoring circuit 100 to the MCU 130 . Battery monitoring circuit 100 maintains the nGAUGE_INT2 signal at a high level while the measurement result for battery BT is normal. The battery monitoring circuit 100 switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level when an abnormality occurs in the battery BT. Therefore, the low-level nGAUGE_INT2 signal may be regarded as an error signal that notifies an error. Specific conditions for battery monitoring circuit 100 to transmit an error signal to MCU 130 will be described later.

The ALERT terminal of the battery monitoring circuit 100 is connected to the /CLR terminal and D terminal of FF1 via a reverse diode D1. In other words, the cathode of diode D1 is connected to the ALERT terminal of battery monitoring circuit 100, and the anode of diode D1 is connected to the /CLR and D terminals of FF1. The battery monitoring circuit 100 outputs the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to FF1 through the ALERT terminal. This signal is communicated uni-directionally from battery monitoring circuit 100 to FF1. The battery monitoring circuit 100 maintains the nGAUGE_INT1 signal at high level while the measurement result regarding the battery BT is normal. The battery monitoring circuit 100 switches the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to low level when an abnormality occurs in the battery BT. Therefore, the low-level nGAUGE_INT1 signal may be regarded as an error signal that notifies an error. A specific condition for the battery monitoring circuit 100 to transmit the error signal to FF1 will be described later.

When the nGAUGE_INT1 signal switches from high level to low level, the inputs to the /CLR terminal and D terminal of FF1 also become low level. As a result, the output from the Q terminal of FF1 also becomes low level, as described above.

The Q terminal of FF1 is connected to the gate of switch SS via reverse diode D2. In other words, the cathode of diode D2 is connected to the Q terminal of FF1 and the anode of diode D1 is connected to the gate of switch SS. When the output from the Q terminal of FF1 becomes low level, the switch SS is turned off. When the switch SS is turned off, the minus terminal HC- of the heater HT is cut off from the ground potential, so that the supply of electricity to the heater HT is interrupted.

The Q terminal of FF1 is also connected to the base of switch SL. When the output from the Q terminal of FF1 becomes low level, the switch SL is turned on. When the switch SL is turned on, the resistor R6 no longer contributes to the voltage division of the voltage _VCC33 with the resistor R7, and charging is prohibited because the input to the /CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 becomes the same high level as the voltage _VCC33 . . By setting the output of FF1 to a low level in this manner, the charging and discharging of the battery BT and the energization of the heater HT can be prohibited without going through the MCU 130, thereby protecting the circuit.

The Q terminal of FF1 is also connected to the PA10 terminal of MCU130. The MCU 130 can detect that FF1 has notified an error in response to the input of the PA10 terminal switching from high level to low level. In response to this, the MCU 130 may prompt the user to perform a reset operation using the light emitting unit NU or the vibrator M.

MCU 130 can communicate with battery monitoring circuit 100 via ^I2C communication, as described above. The MCU 130 acquires information on the battery BT from the battery monitoring circuit 100, and performs protection operations based on this information.

The PC2 terminal of MCU 130 is connected to switch circuit 80 via resistor R4. The switch circuit 80 becomes conductive when the input from the PB4 terminal of the MCU 130 becomes high level, and the PC2 terminal of the MCU 130 and the positive electrode of the battery BT become conductive. As a result, the PC2 terminal of the MCU 130 is supplied with the power supply voltage V _BAT divided by the resistors R4 and R5. In the following description, the power supply voltage V _BAT divided by resistors R4 and R5 is also referred to as voltage ADCB+. Therefore, the MCU 130 can acquire the voltage of the battery BT without going through the battery monitoring circuit 100 by switching the output of the PB4 terminal to high level.

Conditions for the protection control unit 200 to start the protection operation will be described with reference to FIG. As described below, each component of protection control section 200, ie, battery monitoring circuit 100, protection circuit 90, and charging circuit 20, performs individual protection operations according to individual conditions.

A column 501 in FIG. 5 indicates the physical quantity of the battery BT monitored by the protection control unit 200 . Protection control unit 200 monitors the current, temperature, and voltage of battery BT. A column 502 indicates the contents of monitoring by the protection control unit 200 . The protection control unit 200 monitors the current of the battery BT for overcurrent, the temperature of the battery BT for overheating and low temperature, and the voltage of the battery BT for overcharge, overdischarge and deep discharge. Deep discharge refers to a state in which battery BT is discharged more than overdischarge. Overdischarge refers to a state in which the output voltage of battery BT is lower than the final discharge voltage.

Column 503 in FIG. 5 indicates the timing of monitoring the physical quantity in column 501 . In the row described as “charging”, it is determined whether the physical quantity of the battery BT satisfies the condition only while the battery BT is being charged by the charging circuit 20 . In the row described as "discharging", it is determined whether the physical quantity of the battery BT satisfies the condition only while the charging circuit 20 is not charging the battery BT. In particular, it may be determined whether the condition is satisfied while power is being supplied from the battery BT to the heater HT (for example, while the heater voltage V _BOOST is being applied to the heater HT). In the row described as "always", it is determined whether the physical quantity of the battery BT satisfies the condition regardless of whether the battery BT is being charged by the charging circuit 20 or not.

A column 504 represents conditions for MCU 130 to periodically monitor the physical quantity of battery BT and to perform protection operations based on the monitoring results. As will be described later, the MCU 130 periodically acquires the physical quantity of the battery BT from the battery monitoring circuit 100 via I ² C communication, and executes protection operation based on the acquired physical quantity of the battery BT. A column 505 indicates conditions for the battery monitoring circuit 100 to monitor the physical quantity of the battery BT and to request FF1 to perform the protection operation based on the monitoring result. Column 506 represents conditions for battery monitoring circuit 100 to monitor the physical quantity of battery BT and to request MCU 130 to perform a protection operation based on this monitoring result. As will be described later, the battery monitoring circuit 100 requests the MCU 130 to execute a protection operation by means of an interrupt signal. Upon receiving the interrupt signal, MCU 130 starts monitoring the physical quantity of battery BT. Column 507 represents conditions for charging circuit 20 to monitor the physical quantity of battery BT and to perform protection operation based on the monitoring result. A column 508 represents conditions for the protection circuit 90 to monitor the physical quantity of the battery BT and perform protection operation based on the monitoring result.

A combination of the timing in column 503 and the conditions in columns 504 to 508 defines the condition for starting the protection operation. For example, the top item in column 505 defines a condition that protection operation is started when the current of battery BT is 10 [A] or more during discharge. FIG. 5 describes a plurality of conditions for the protection control section 200 to start the protection operation. A set composed of these conditions is hereinafter referred to as a monitoring condition set, and each element of this set is referred to as a monitoring condition. The protection control unit 200 executes a protection operation when any monitoring condition included in the monitoring condition set is satisfied. The content of the protective action to be performed depends on which monitoring condition is satisfied. Numerical values for each monitoring condition described in FIG. 5 are an example, and other numerical values may be used. Moreover, the protection control unit 200 may not use some of the conditions shown in FIG. 5 as the monitoring conditions, or may use conditions not shown in FIG.

　Bold-lined frames in FIG. 5 indicate transition destinations of the state of the power supply unit 1 when the protection control unit 200 executes the protection operation. A solid line frame indicates a condition for transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the failure state. A dashed frame indicates a condition for transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. The dashed-dotted frame indicates the conditions for transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state.

The failure state is a state in which the power supply unit 1 cannot be changed to the normal state by the operation of the power supply unit 1 or by the operation of the user of the aerosol generation device equipped with the power supply unit 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the user). be. A fault condition also means a condition that permanently inhibits charging and discharging of the battery BT. The normal state may refer to a state in which the heater HT can be heated by the power supply unit 1 by a user's operation. A fault condition can be resolved, for example, by repairing the power supply unit 1 at the factory. A failure condition may be referred to as a permanent failure condition. The reset waiting state is a state in which a reset operation by the user can transition to a normal state. A specific example of the reset operation will be described later. The connection standby state is a state in which a transition to a normal state can be made by a user connecting an external device to the connector USBC via a USB plug. The reset waiting state and the connection waiting state are states that require an error resolution action by the user. Therefore, the reset waiting state and the connection waiting state can be collectively referred to as the user action waiting state. The user operation standby state is a state in which transition to a normal state cannot be performed by an operation of the power supply unit 1, but transition to a normal state can be performed by an operation by the user. In other words, a user action is required to release the limited discharge or charge of the power source in the user action waterfall state.

The operation for the protection control unit 200 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state and the method for resolving the state will be described. Among the protection control units 200, the MCU 130 and the FF1 can each transition the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Other circuits in the protection control unit 200 may request the MCU 130 or FF1 to transition to the reset waiting state.

An operation for the MCU 130 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state will be described. The MCU 130 switches the output of the PC12 terminal of the MCU 130 from high level to low level. This turns off the switch SS and disconnects the negative terminal HC- of the heater HT from the ground potential. The PC12 terminal of MCU 130 is also connected to the EN terminal of transformer circuit 120 . Therefore, when the output of the PC12 terminal of the MCU 130 switches from high level to low level, the operation of the transformer circuit 120 is stopped and the application of the heater voltage V _BOOST to the heater HT is prohibited. By the operation described above, power supply from the battery BT to the heater HT is restricted. Furthermore, the MCU 130 switches the output of the PB3 terminal of the MCU 130 from low level to high level. As a result, the /CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 becomes high level, so that the charging circuit 20 prohibits charging.

Next, the operation of FF 1 for transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the reset waiting state will be described. FF1 switches the output of the Q terminal of FF1 from high level to low level. This turns off the switch SS and disconnects the negative terminal HC- of the heater HT from the ground potential. The Q terminal of FF1 is also connected to the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120 via a reverse diode D2. Therefore, when the output of the D terminal of FF1 switches from high level to low level, the operation of the transformer circuit 120 is stopped, and the application of the heater voltage V _BOOST to the heater HT is also prohibited. By the operation described above, power supply from the battery BT to the heater HT is restricted . Further, when the output of the D terminal of FF1 is switched from high level to low level, the /CE terminal of charging circuit 20 becomes high level as described above, so that charging circuit 20 prohibits charging.
An operation for the charging circuit 20 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state will be described. When the voltage V _BAT of the battery BT satisfies the monitoring condition, the charging circuit 20 requests the MCU 130 to shift the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state through I ² C communication. In response to this request, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state by executing the above operation.

Next, the method for canceling the reset standby state will be explained. When both of (1) the front panel 11 is removed and (2) the switch SW is pressed for a certain period of time longer than the heating start instruction, the power supply unit 1 of the present embodiment detects: Recognize that the reset operation has been performed by the user.

Specifically, the reboot controller 50 detects these conditions. The SW1 terminal of the reboot controller 50 is connected to the switch SW, and the SW2 terminal is connected to the Schmitt trigger circuit 150 that outputs a signal indicating attachment/detachment of the front panel 11 . When the switch SW is pressed with the front panel 11 removed, both the inputs of the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal become low level. When this state continues for a certain period of time, the reboot controller 50 starts a reset operation.

The reboot controller 50 monitors whether the state in which both the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal are at low level continues until a user-settable reboot delay time (for example, 1 to 20 seconds) elapses. During the reboot delay time, the MCU 130 uses the light emitting unit NU and the vibrator M to notify the user of the reset.

The reboot controller 50 changes the output of the RSTB terminal to low level when the state in which both the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal are at low level continues for the reboot delay time. As a result, the ON terminal of the load switch 40 becomes low level, and the supply of the voltage _VCC33 from the VOUT terminal of the load switch 40 and the voltage _{VCC33_SLP} from the VOUT terminal of the load switch 60 are stopped. As a result, power supply to the MCU 130 is cut off, and the MCU 130 stops operating.

The reboot controller 50 does not automatically set the RSTB terminal to low level after a predetermined time (for example, 0.4 seconds) has elapsed since the RSTB terminal was set to low level. As a result, the voltage _{VCC33_0} is input to the ON terminal of the load switch 40 via the _{VCC33_0} line. Supply of the voltage _VCC33 from the load switch 40 is resumed, and the MCU 130 is activated. In other words, the MCU 130 is activated when the state in which power is not supplied to the VDD terminal changes to the state in which power is supplied. The power supply unit 1 enters a sleep state or a charging state when the MCU 130 is activated. Voltage _{VCC33_SLP} is not provided at this time. When the MCU 130 is restarted in this way, problems such as freezing occurring in the MCU 130 may be resolved.

An operation for the protection control unit 200 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state and a method for canceling the state will be described. Of the protection control unit 200, the protection circuit 90 can transition the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state. Further, another circuit of the protection control unit 200 may request the protection circuit 90 to transition to the connection standby state.

The operation for the protection circuit 90 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state will be described. The protection circuit 90 maintains the output of the DOUT terminal and the output of the COUT terminal at high level while the power supply unit 1 is in a normal state. The protection circuit 90 switches the output of the DOUT terminal and the output of the COUT terminal to low level in order to transition the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state. As a result, the switches SD and SC are turned off, so that when an external device is not connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug, power supply to all circuits other than the protection circuit 90 in the power supply unit 1 is stopped. be done.

Next, a method for canceling the connection standby state will be described. When an external device is connected to connector USBC via a USB plug, voltage V _USB is generated by overvoltage protection circuit 110 . As a result, the potential of the ON terminal of the load switch 10 becomes high level, and the voltage _VCC5 is output from the VOUT terminal of the load switch 10 to the _VCC5 line. At this time, the input of the /CE terminal of charging circuit 20 is at a high level, so charging circuit 20 generates voltage _VCC by the power pass function. Thereafter, voltages V _{CC33_0} and V _CC33 are generated and MCU 130 is activated in the same manner as described above with respect to FIG. After being activated, MCU 130 determines whether battery BT is fully charged by an operation described later. When the battery BT is deeply charged, the power supply unit 1 transitions to the failure state. Otherwise, MCU 130 maintains the output of PB3 of MCU 130 at a low level. As a result, the input to the /CE terminal of charging circuit 20 is maintained at a low level, and power is supplied from the BAT terminal of charging circuit 20 to the VBAT terminal of protection circuit 90 . When the remaining amount of the battery BT recovers, the protection circuit 90 switches the output from the DOUT terminal and the COUT terminal to high level. As a result, the power supply unit 1 transitions to the normal state.

In the above example, the protection circuit 90 turned off both the switch SC and the switch SD in order to transition the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state. Alternatively, the protection circuit 90 may turn off only one of the switches SC and SD. For example, when overcharging of the battery BT is detected, the protection circuit 90 may turn off the switch SC functioning as a charge cutoff switch and leave the switch SD functioning as a discharge cutoff switch turned on. On the other hand, when overdischarge of the battery BT is detected, the protection circuit 90 may turn off the switch SD functioning as a discharge cutoff switch and leave the switch SC functioning as a charge cutoff switch turned on.

Next, an operation for the protection control unit 200 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the failure state will be described. The MCU 130 stops the power pass function of the charging circuit 20 (the function of outputting power input to the VBUS terminal and the BAT terminal from the SYS terminal) through I ² C communication with the charging circuit 20 . As a result, the voltage _{VCC is no longer supplied from the charging circuit 20, and the supply of the voltages VCC33_0} _, _VCC33 , and _{VCC33_SLP} derived from the voltage _VCC is stopped. Therefore, power is not supplied to most of the circuits including the MCU 130, and the power supply unit 1 substantially stops operating. Since power is not supplied to the reboot controller 50, the reset operation is also not accepted. By stopping the power pass function of the charging circuit 20, it becomes impossible to discharge the battery BT and charge the battery BT. Also, even if an external device is connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug, the MCU 130 does not start up because the voltage _VCC is not generated. In order to further improve the safety of the power supply unit 1, the MCU 130 may prohibit discharging and charging of the battery BT by the method described above before stopping the power pass function of the charging circuit 20.

Next, the monitoring conditions explained with reference to FIG. 5 will be explained in detail. First, the monitoring condition set defined in column 504 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6A and 6B. This monitoring condition set is, as described above, a set of conditions for MCU 130 to periodically monitor the physical quantity of battery BT and to perform protection operations based on the monitoring results. It is assumed that the power supply unit 1 is in a sleep state at the start of the operations in FIGS. 6A and 6B. The sleep state is a state in which the user can use the power supply unit 1 and the user is not using the power supply unit 1 (specifically, the switch SW has not been pressed for a predetermined time, and the connector USBC is connected to the USB plug). It is a state in which an external device is not connected via The sleep state is a state in which the power consumption of the battery BT is reduced when the power supply unit 1 is not used by the user. While the power supply unit 1 is in the sleep state, the MCU 130 does not generate the voltage _{VCC33_SLP} described with reference to FIG. 3 (that is, sets the output of the PC11 terminal to low level). Also, while the power supply unit 1 is in the sleep state, the MCU 130 monitors signals from other circuits. For example, while the MCU 130 is in the sleep state, the input of the PC10 terminal whose value changes according to the depression of the switch SW, the input of the PC13 terminal whose value changes according to the opening of the slider 13, and the Input from the PB12 terminal to which the nGAUGE_INT2 signal is supplied from the IO5 terminal, input from the PA10 terminal to which the signal from the Q terminal of FF1 is supplied, and when an external device is connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug. Monitor the input of the PA9 terminal whose value changes.

At step S601, the MCU 130 determines whether the slider 13 has been opened. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S602 when the slider 13 is opened ("YES" in step S601), and shifts the process to step S612 otherwise ("NO" in step S601). The opening of the slider 13 can be detected by the signal supplied from the OUT terminal of the detector 170 to the PC13 terminal of the MCU 130 switching to a high level.

In step S602, MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of battery BT is 51° C. or higher. MCU 130 shifts the process to step S610 if the temperature of battery BT is 51° C. or higher ("YES" in step S602), otherwise ("NO" in step S602) shifts the process to step S603. do. ^The MCU 130 can acquire the temperature of the battery BT from the battery monitoring circuit 100 through I2C communication. Regarding determination of the temperature of the battery BT in other steps in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the MCU 130 can similarly acquire the temperature of the battery BT. In the determination in step S602, YES is given when the condition satisfies the equation (when the temperature of the battery BT is exactly 51° C.), but NO may be given in this case. The same applies to other conditions described below.

If the determination in S602 is NO (that is, if the temperature of battery BT is less than 51° C.), MCU 130 determines that battery BT is normal, and in step S603, transitions power supply unit 1 to the heating standby state. do. The heating standby state is a state in which the aerosol source can be heated according to user instructions. In order to transition to the heating standby state, the MCU 130 generates the voltage _{VCC33_SLP} by setting the output of the PC11 terminal to high level.

On the other hand, if the determination in S602 is YES (that is, if the temperature of battery BT is 51° C. or higher), MCU 130 determines that the temperature of battery BT is not suitable for transition to the heating standby state. In this case, the MCU 130 waits until the temperature of the battery BT becomes 45° C. or less in step S610 while keeping the power supply unit 1 in the sleep state. Specifically, in step S610, MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of battery BT is 45° C. or lower. MCU 130 shifts the process to step S601 if the temperature of battery BT is 45° C. or less (“YES” in step S610), and repeats step S610 otherwise (“NO” in step S610). As a result, the power supply unit 1 in which the temperature of the battery BT is determined to be 51° C. or higher can transition to a state other than the sleep state when the temperature of the battery BT becomes 45° C. or lower.

After transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the heating standby state in step S603, in step S604, the MCU 130 determines whether or not the user has issued a heating instruction. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S605 if the user has issued a heating instruction ("YES" in step S604), otherwise ("NO" in step S604) to step S604. The heating instruction can be detected by switching the input of the PC10 terminal of the MCU 130 to low level by pressing the switch SW. Note that if the heating instruction is not issued for a predetermined period of time, the MCU 130 may advance the process to step S611.

At step S605, the MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT is 51°C or higher. MCU 130 shifts the process to step S609 if the temperature of battery BT is 51° C. or higher ("YES" in step S605), otherwise ("NO" in step S605) shifts the process to step S606. do.

If the determination in S605 is NO (that is, if the temperature of battery BT is less than 51° C.), MCU 130 determines that battery BT is normal, and in step S606, transitions power supply unit 1 to the heating state. . A heated state is a state in which the aerosol source is heated. To transition to the heating state, the MCU 130 activates the transformer circuit 120 and turns on the switch SS by setting the output of the PC12 terminal to high level. After that, the MCU 130 turns on the switch SH by setting the output of the PA2 terminal to low level. This forms a closed circuit between the battery BT and the heater HT. Furthermore, the MCU 130 may control the temperature of the heater HT while the power supply unit 1 is in the heating state. The temperature control of the heater HT may be feedback control based on the output of the operational amplifier A1 while the switch SS is on or the input of the PA6 terminal to which the heater thermistor TH is connected. This feedback control may be realized by PID control. The gain of at least one component of PID control may be zero. The duty ratio of the switch SH calculated as the manipulated variable of the PID control may be realized by PWM control or by PFM control.

On the other hand, if the determination in S605 is YES (that is, if the temperature of battery BT is 51° C. or higher), MCU 130 determines that the temperature of battery BT is not suitable for transition to the heated state. In this case, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state in step S609, and waits until the temperature of the battery BT becomes 45° C. or lower in step S610.

While the power supply unit 1 is in the heating state, in step S607, the MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT is 55°C or higher. MCU 130 shifts the process to step S618 if the temperature of battery BT is 55° C. or higher ("YES" in step S607), otherwise ("NO" in step S607) shifts the process to step S608. do.

If the determination in S607 is NO (that is, if the temperature of the battery BT is less than 55°C), the MCU 130 determines that the battery BT is normal and keeps the power supply unit 1 in a heated state. On the other hand, if the determination in S607 is YES (that is, if the temperature of the battery BT is 55° C. or higher), the MCU 130 determines that an error has occurred in the battery BT, and waits for the power supply unit 1 to reset in step S618. state.

At step S608, the MCU 130 determines whether to end the heating state. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S611 when ending the heating state ("YES" in step S608), and shifts the process to step S607 in other cases ("NO" in step S608). For example, the MCU 130 determines to end the heating state when the slider 13 is closed, when the number of puffs by the user reaches the upper limit, or when a predetermined time has elapsed since transitioning to the heating state. After ending the heating state, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state in step S611.

When it is determined in step S601 that the slider 13 is not opened, in step S612 the MCU 130 determines whether an external device is connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S613 when an external device is connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug ("YES" in step S612), otherwise ("NO" in step S612). The process transitions to step S601. The connection of an external device to the connector USBC via the USB plug can be detected by switching the PA9 terminal to high level. Note that the MCU 130 may continue to execute the process of step S612 even after step S602, and if determined to be "YES", stop the process of step S602 and thereafter, and proceed to step S613.

In step S613, MCU 130 determines whether battery BT is not in a deeply discharged state by executing a deeply discharged determination process, which will be described later. As will be described later, when the battery BT is not normal, the power supply unit 1 transitions to the reset standby state or failure state, and the process is terminated. If battery BT is normal, MCU 130 starts normal charging to battery BT in step S614. Specifically, MCU 130 maintains power supply from charging circuit 20 to battery BT by maintaining the output of PB3 terminal at a low level. In normal charging, charging of the battery BT is first started with a current of about 2000 mA. A specific current value may be transmitted from the MCU 130 to the charging circuit ²⁰ through I2C communication.

In step S615, MCU 130 determines whether the current flowing through battery BT is 1.1 times or more the set value. MCU 130 shifts the process to step S618 if the current flowing through battery BT is 1.1 times or more the set value ("YES" in step S615), otherwise ("NO" in step S615). The process transitions to step S616. The MCU 130 can acquire the current flowing through the battery BT from the battery monitoring circuit 100 through I ² C communication. The set value is a current value predetermined for CC (Constant-Current) charging among CCCV charging performed by the charging circuit 20 .

If the determination in S615 is NO (that is, if the current flowing through the battery BT is less than 1.1 times the set value), the MCU 130 determines that the battery BT is normal and continues charging the battery BT. . On the other hand, if the determination in S615 is YES (that is, if the current flowing through the battery BT is 1.1 times or more of the set value), the MCU 130 determines that an error has occurred in the battery BT, and in step S618, Transition the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state.

At step S616, the MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT is 55°C or higher or 0°C or lower. If the temperature of the battery BT is 55° C. or higher or 0° C. or lower (“YES” in step S616), MCU 130 shifts the process to step S618, otherwise (“NO” in step S616). The process transitions to step S617.

If the determination in S616 is NO (that is, the temperature of battery BT is higher than 0°C and lower than 55°C), MCU 130 determines that battery BT is normal and continues charging battery BT. On the other hand, if the determination in S616 is YES (that is, if the temperature of the battery BT is 55° C. or higher or 0° C. or lower), the MCU 130 determines that an error has occurred in the battery BT. 1 to the reset waiting state. Note that the order of steps S615 and S616 may be reversed. Also, the MCU 130 may perform steps S615 and S616 at the same time.

In step S617, MCU 130 determines whether or not to end charging. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S611 if charging is to be terminated ("YES" in step S617), and otherwise shifts the process to step S615 ("NO" in step S617). For example, the MCU 130 determines to end charging when the USB plug and the external device are removed from the connector USBC, when the voltage of the battery BT reaches a predetermined voltage, or the like. Alternatively, the MCU 130 may determine to end charging by receiving a notification that charging has ended from the charging circuit ²⁰ through I2C communication. After completing the charging, in step S611, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state.

As described above, the MCU 130 determines whether any of the monitoring condition sets including a plurality of monitoring conditions (S602, S605, S607, S613, S615, S616) are satisfied for the physical quantity of the battery. Among these monitoring conditions, when any one of the monitoring conditions (S607, S615, S616) is satisfied, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset waiting state. Among these monitoring conditions, if any of the other monitoring conditions (S602, S605) are satisfied, the MCU 130 maintains or transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state, and the predetermined condition (S610). remains asleep until Depending on the result of the deep discharge determination process executed in S614, the MCU 130 can transition the power supply unit 1 to an error state or a reset standby state, as will be described later. Some of the conditions in FIGS. 6A and 6B (S605, S607, S610, S615, S616) are repeatedly determined. The MCU 130 may determine these conditions at predetermined intervals (for example, every second).

Next, the monitoring condition sets defined in

columns

505 and 506 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7A and 7B. As described above, this monitoring condition set is a set of conditions for battery monitoring circuit 100 to monitor the physical quantity of battery BT and FF 1 or MCU 130 to perform a protection operation based on the monitoring results. Battery monitor circuit 100 repeats the operations of FIGS. 7A and 7B during operation (ie, while voltage _VCC33 is being generated). The battery monitoring circuit 100 keeps the nGAUGE_INT1 signal and the nGAUGE_INT2 signal high unless the conditions described below are met. After changing the nGAUGE_INT1 signal and the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level, the battery monitoring circuit 100 maintains these signals at low level until the battery monitoring circuit 100 is reset.

At step S701, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the voltage of the battery BT is 4.235V or more or 2.8V or less. The battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S702 if the voltage of the battery BT is 4.235 V or more or 2.8 V or less (“YES” in step S701), otherwise (“NO” in step S701). ”), the process shifts to step S703. The battery monitoring circuit 100 can acquire the input of the VBAT terminal as the voltage of the battery BT. The same applies to obtaining the voltage of the battery BT in other steps in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the voltage of the battery BT is 4.235 V or more or 2.8 V or less, and switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level in step S702. After executing step S702, the battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to execute subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

At step S703, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the battery BT is discharging. If the battery BT is being discharged ("YES" in step S703), the battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S704; otherwise ("NO" in step S703), the process shifts to step S714. do. Battery monitoring circuit 100 can determine whether battery BT is discharging by measuring the direction of current through resistor R1. Battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine YES in step S703 only in some cases during discharging from battery BT. For example, the battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine YES in step S703 only when the power supply unit 1 is in a heating state. Battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine whether power supply unit ¹ is in a heating state based on information provided from MCU 130 through I2C communication. If YES is determined in step S703, the battery monitoring circuit 100 performs the processes of steps S704 to S713.

At step S704, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the current (discharge current) flowing through the battery BT is 9.75 A or more. Battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S705 if the current flowing through battery BT is 9.75 A or more ("YES" in step S704), otherwise ("NO" in step S704). Then, the process transitions to step S708. The battery monitoring circuit 100 can acquire the current flowing through the battery BT from the inputs of the VRSM terminal and the VRSP terminal. The same applies to obtaining the current flowing through the battery BT in the other steps of FIGS. 7A and 7B. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the current flowing through the battery BT is 9.75 A or more, and switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level in step S705.

At step S706, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the current flowing through the battery BT is 10A or more. Battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S707 if the current flowing through battery BT is 10 A or more ("YES" in step S706), otherwise ("NO" in step S706). to step S708. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the current flowing through the battery BT is 10 A or more, and switches the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to low level in step S707. After executing step S707, the battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to execute subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In step S708, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained above 60°C for more than two seconds. The battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S709 if the temperature of the battery BT is 60° C. or higher for two seconds or longer (“YES” in step S708), otherwise (“NO” in step S708). ”), the process transitions to step S712. The battery monitoring circuit 100 can acquire the temperature of the battery BT based on the input of the THM terminal. The same applies to obtaining the temperature of the battery BT in other steps in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the temperature of the battery BT is 60° C. or higher for two minutes or longer, and switches the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to low level in step S709. After executing step S709, the battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to execute subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In step S710, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained at 85°C or higher for two minutes or longer. The battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S711 if the temperature of the battery BT has been 85° C. or higher for two minutes or more (“YES” in step S710), otherwise (“NO” in step S710). ”), the process transitions to step S712. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes or longer, and switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level in step S711. After executing step S711, the battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to execute subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In step S712, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained below -5°C for five seconds or longer. The battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S713 if the temperature of the battery BT has remained at −5° C. or lower for five seconds or longer (“YES” in step S712); otherwise (step S712 ("NO" in step S701). The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the temperature of the battery BT is −5° C. or lower for five seconds or more, and switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level in step S713. After executing step S713, the battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to execute subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

At step S714, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the battery BT is being charged. If the battery BT is being charged ("YES" in step S714), the battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S715; otherwise ("NO" in step S714), the process shifts to step S701. do. Battery monitoring circuit 100 can determine whether battery BT is being charged by measuring the direction of current through resistor R1. Battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine YES in step S714 only while battery BT is being charged (that is, only while power is being supplied to battery BT from the BAT terminal of the charging circuit). Alternatively, battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine YES in step S714 when an external device is connected to connector USBC via a USB plug. If YES is determined in step S714, the battery monitoring circuit 100 performs the processes of steps S715 to S720.

At step S715, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the current (charging current) flowing through the battery BT is 2.75 A or more. Battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S716 if the current flowing through battery BT is 2.75 A or more ("YES" in step S715), otherwise ("NO" in step S715). Then, the process transitions to step S719. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the current flowing through the battery BT is 2.75 A or more, and switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level in step S716.

At step S716, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the current flowing through the battery BT is 3.0A or more. Battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S718 if the current flowing through battery BT is 3.0 A or more ("YES" in step S717), otherwise ("NO" in step S717). Then, the process transitions to step S719. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the current flowing through the battery BT is 3.0 A or more, and switches the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to low level in step S718. The battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to perform subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B after performing step S718.

In step S719, the battery monitoring circuit 100 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained at 85°C or higher for two minutes or longer. Battery monitoring circuit 100 shifts the process to step S720 if the temperature of battery BT has remained at 85° C. or higher for two minutes or more (“YES” in step S719), otherwise (“NO” in step S719). ”), the process transitions to step S701. The battery monitoring circuit 100 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes or longer, and switches the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level in step S720. The battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have to perform subsequent processes in FIGS. 7A and 7B after performing step S720.

As described above, in the battery monitoring circuit 100, any condition of the monitoring condition set including a plurality of monitoring conditions (S701, S704, S706, S708, S710, S712, S715, S717, S719) is satisfied for the physical quantity of the battery. determine whether or not The battery monitoring circuit 100 switches the nGAUGE_INT1 signal or the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level as a protection operation when any condition of the monitoring condition set is satisfied. The nGAUGE_INT1 signal is supplied to FF1, and in response to the switching of the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to the low level, FF1 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset waiting state as described above. The nGAUGE_INT2 signal is supplied to the MCU 130, and in response to the nGAUGE_INT2 signal switching to a low level, the MCU 130 performs a protection operation, which will be described later.

　In the methods of FIGS. 7A and 7B, the order of determining the monitoring conditions may be different from that of FIGS. 7A and 7B, or may be performed in parallel. The battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine these conditions at predetermined intervals (for example, every second). Furthermore, the battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine each monitoring condition with a different period for each monitoring condition. For example, the battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine the monitoring condition of step S710 (85° C. or higher continues for two minutes or longer) in a one-minute cycle.

Next, the operation of the MCU 130 when a low-level nGAUGE_INT2 signal is supplied will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The MCU 130 can operate regardless of the state of the power supply unit 1 (for example, sleep state, heating standby state, heating state, etc.) if it can operate (that is, if operating power is supplied to the VDD terminal). , may perform the operations of FIG. When executing the operations of FIG. 8, the MCU 130 may interrupt other operations being executed or may execute them in parallel. Thus, MCU 130 treats the low level nGAUGE_INT2 signal as an interrupt signal.

In step S801, the MCU 130 acquires the cause of switching the ^nGAUGE_INT2 signal to low level from the battery monitoring circuit 100 through I2C communication. When the nGAUGE_INT2 signal is switched to low level, the battery monitoring circuit 100 may internally store the cause, and respond to the inquiry from the MCU 130 with this cause. Alternatively, MCU 130 may newly acquire information on battery BT from battery monitoring circuit 100 and determine which monitoring condition is satisfied.

At step S802, the MCU 130 determines whether the high temperature was the cause (that is, whether S710 or S719 was the cause). If the cause is high temperature ("YES" in step S802), the MCU 130 shifts the process to step S803, otherwise ("NO" in step S802), shifts the process to step S805.

In step S803, the MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained at 85°C or higher for 5 seconds or longer. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S804 if the temperature of the battery BT has remained at 85° C. or higher for five seconds or more (“YES” in step S803), otherwise (“NO” in step S803) The process transitions to step S806. When the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher for five seconds or longer, the MCU 130 determines that the battery BT is not normal and cannot be recovered by resetting, and puts the power supply unit 1 into a failure state in step S804. Transition. If the temperature of the battery BT has not remained above 85° C. for five seconds or more, the MCU 130 determines that recovery is possible by resetting, and transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state in step S806.

If the cause is other than high temperature, in step S805, the MCU 130 determines whether or not the monitoring condition requiring transition to the reset standby state is satisfied. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S806 if the monitoring condition requiring transition to the reset standby state is satisfied ("YES" in step S805), otherwise ("NO" in step S805). to step S807. The monitoring conditions that require a transition to the reset standby state are the monitoring conditions surrounded by dashed lines in the column 506 of FIG. is. A condition that requires a transition to the reset standby state can also be understood as a condition that, when satisfied, requires the MCU 130 to transition the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. The MCU 130 determines that recovery by reset is possible when the monitoring condition requiring transition to the reset standby state is satisfied, and in step S806, transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state.

If the monitoring conditions requiring a transition to the reset standby state are not satisfied (specifically, a part of S701 (overdischarge), S712), in step S807, the MCU 130 determines that the power supply unit 1 is in a state other than the sleep state. Determine if the state is In the present embodiment, the case where the monitoring condition requiring a transition to the reset standby state is not satisfied is not the condition caused by a high temperature among the monitoring conditions, but the monitoring condition requiring a transition to the reset standby state. It can also be understood as a case where the condition is satisfied. If the power supply unit 1 is in a state other than the sleep state ("YES" in step S807), the MCU 130 shifts the process to step S808; otherwise ("NO" in step S807), the process shifts to step S809. Transition. In step S808, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state. Note that the MCU 130 may notify the user of the error via the light emitting unit NU or the vibrator M before proceeding to step S808 or in step S808.

In step S809, the MCU 130 determines whether the low temperature was the cause (that is, whether S712 was the cause). The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S810 if the low temperature is the cause ("YES" in step S809), otherwise ends the process ("NO" in step S809). If the cause is low temperature, the MCU 130 determines that the use of the battery BT in this state is not suitable, and keeps the power supply unit 1 in the sleep state. wait until This is for the purpose of suppressing the progress of electrodeposition, which will be described later. Specifically, in step S810, MCU 130 determines whether the temperature of battery BT is 0° C. or higher. MCU 130 ends the process if the temperature of battery BT is 0° C. or higher (“YES” in step S810), otherwise (“NO” in step S810), and repeats step S810. As a result, the power supply unit 1 in which the temperature of the battery BT is determined to be −5° C. or lower can transition to a state other than the sleep state in response to the temperature of the battery BT becoming 0° C. or higher. In other words, the power supply unit 1 is forcibly maintained in the sleep state unless the temperature of the battery BT reaches 0° C. or higher (unless "YES" is determined in step S810).

Some of the conditions (S803, S810) in FIG. 8 are determined repeatedly. The MCU 130 may determine these conditions at predetermined intervals (for example, every second).

The set of monitoring conditions defined in column 508 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This monitoring condition set is a set of conditions for protection circuit 90 to monitor the physical quantity of battery BT and to perform a protection operation based on the monitoring results, as described above. Protection circuit 90 repeats the operations of FIG. 9 during operation (ie, while power supply voltage V _BAT is present). The protection circuit 90 maintains the DOUT and COUT signals at high level unless the conditions described below are met.

In step S901, the protection circuit 90 determines whether the voltage of the battery BT is 4.28V or more or 2.5V or less. The protection circuit 90 shifts the process to step S904 if the voltage of the battery BT is 4.8 V or more or 2.5 V or less ("YES" in step S901), otherwise ("NO" in step S901). ), the process transitions to step S902. The protection circuit 90 can acquire the input of the VBAT terminal as the voltage of the battery BT. The protection circuit 90 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the voltage of the battery BT is 4.8 V or more or 2.5 V or less, and transitions the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state in step S904. Note that the protection circuit 90 may cause only the COUT signal of the DOUT signal and the COUT signal to transition to a high level when the process proceeds to step S904 because the voltage of the battery BT is 4.28V or higher. In other words, in such a case, the protection circuit 90 may turn off only the switch SC out of the switches SC and SD. Further, when the voltage of the battery BT is 2.5 V or less and the process proceeds to step S904, the protection circuit 90 may cause only the DOUT signal to transition to a high level among the DOUT signal and the COUT signal. In other words, in such a case, the protection circuit 90 may turn off only the switch SD out of the switches SC and SD.

At step S902, the protection circuit 90 determines whether the battery BT is discharging. If the battery BT is being discharged ("YES" in step S902), the protection circuit 90 shifts the process to step S903, otherwise ("NO" in step S902), shifts the process to step S901. . Protection circuit 90 can determine whether battery BT is discharging by measuring the direction of current through resistor R2.

In step S903, the protection circuit 90 determines whether the current (discharge current) flowing through the battery BT is 12.67 A or more. If the current flowing through battery BT is 12.67 A or more ("YES" in step S903), protection circuit 90 causes the process to proceed to step S904; The process transitions to step S901. The protection circuit 90 can acquire the current flowing through the battery BT from the inputs of the CS terminal and the VSS terminal. The protection circuit 90 determines that the battery BT is not normal when the current flowing through the battery BT is 12.67 A or more, and transitions the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state in step S904. Note that when the current (discharge current) flowing through the battery BT is 12.67 A or more and the process proceeds to step S904, the protection circuit 90 may cause only the DOUT signal out of the DOUT signal and the COUT signal to transition to a high level. good. In other words, in such a case, the protection circuit 90 may turn off only the switch SD out of the switches SC and SD.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 8, the battery monitoring circuit 100 transmits an error signal to the MCU 130 when the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes or longer (step S710 to step S711). After receiving the error signal, the MCU 130 newly acquires the temperature of the battery BT, and if this temperature continues to be 85° C. or higher for 5 seconds or longer, the power supply unit 1 transitions to the failure state (from step S803 to step S804). In this manner, the power supply unit 1 can be properly protected because the power supply unit 1 can transition to the failure state based on the determination result of a separate circuit. In other words, since the transition to the failure state of the power supply unit 1 is an irreversible transition, erroneous transition can be suppressed.

The battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine at a predetermined cycle whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained at 85° C. or higher for two minutes or longer. For example, the battery monitoring circuit 100 may determine whether the temperature of the battery BT has remained at 85° C. or higher for two minutes or longer at intervals of one minute. In this case, the battery monitoring circuit 100 may supply an error signal to the MCU 130 when the temperature of the battery BT is detected to be 85° C. or higher twice consecutively. Note that the period at which the battery monitoring circuit 100 obtains the temperature of the battery BT may be shorter than one minute. MCU 130 may determine at a predetermined cycle whether the temperature of battery BT has remained at 85° C. or higher for five seconds or longer. For example, the MCU 130 may determine whether the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher for five seconds or longer at intervals of one second. In this case, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state when the temperature of the battery BT is detected to be 85° C. or higher five times consecutively. The period and number of times are not limited to this example. In general, the battery monitoring circuit 100 monitors whether the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher in a first period (for example, 1 minute), and if this state occurs n times (for example, twice) consecutively, , provides an error signal to MCU 130 . In other words, a low level nGAUGE_INT2 signal is provided to MCU 130 . The MCU 130 monitors whether the temperature of the battery BT is 85° C. or higher in a second cycle (for example, 1 second), and when this state occurs m times (for example, 5 times) in succession, the power supply unit 1 is turned on. Transition to fault state. The first period is longer than the second period and m is greater than n. The value of the second period×m is shorter than the value of the first period×n. In other words, the time required for the MCU 130 to determine whether or not to transition the power supply unit 1 to the failure state is shorter than the time required for the battery monitoring circuit 100 to determine whether or not to supply the MCU 130 with the low-level nGAUGE_INT2 signal. Thereby, the MCU 130 can determine the high temperature in a shorter time than the high temperature determination by the battery monitoring circuit 100 .

After receiving the error signal, the MCU 130 does not acquire new information on the battery BT except for the conditions related to the temperature of the battery BT (specifically, its high temperature state), and follows the determination result of the battery monitoring circuit 100 to protect the battery BT. Actions may be performed. Thereby, the power consumption of the power supply unit 1 can be reduced.

A specific example of the deep discharge determination process (S613) in FIG. 6B will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an example of processing for determining deep discharge, and deep discharge may be determined by other processing. The operation of FIG. 10 is performed with an external device connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug.

In step S1001, MCU 130 determines whether voltage ADCB+ is 0.1V or less or power supply voltage V _BAT is 1.5V or less. If the voltage ADCB+ is 0.1 V or less or the power supply voltage V _BAT is 1.5 V or less ("YES" in step S1001), the MCU 130 shifts the process to step S1002; otherwise ("NO" in step S1001). ”), the process transitions to step S1011. Voltage ADCB+ is the voltage that appears at the PC2 terminal when switch circuit 80 is on. The MCU 130 can obtain the power supply voltage V _BAT from the battery monitoring circuit 100 via I ² C communication. If this condition is not satisfied, MCU 130 determines that battery BT is normal in step S1011. If this condition is not met, MCU 130 determines that battery BT may be deeply discharged, and executes subsequent processing. The voltage ADCB+ is a voltage obtained by dividing the power supply voltage V _BAT by resistors R4 and R5, and one end of the resistor R5 on the low potential side of the voltage dividing circuit is connected to the ground potential. Therefore, when the battery BT discharges to the extent that the switch circuit 80 cannot be turned on, the voltage ADCB+ becomes substantially equal to the ground potential. Therefore, in step S1001, the threshold for the voltage ADCB+ is set to 0.1V.

In S1002, the MCU 130 starts charging at 540 mA, waits for 1 second while continuing charging, and then transitions to step S1003. Since the charging in this step is performed on the battery BT that may be deeply discharged, the value of the charging current in this step is preferably smaller than the value of the charging current in step S614 described above. Also, it should be noted that this charging is continued in subsequent steps S1003 to S1011.

At step S1003, the MCU 130 determines whether the voltage ADCB+ is 3.5V or higher. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S1004 if the voltage ADCB+ is 3.5 V or higher ("YES" in step S1003), and otherwise shifts the process to step S1008 ("NO" in step S1003).

In step S1004, MCU 130 determines whether current I _BAT is greater than -20 mA and less than 20 mA. If the current I _BAT is greater than −20 mA and less than 20 mA ("YES" in step S1004), MCU 130 shifts the process to step S1005; transition to A current I _BAT is a current flowing through the battery BT, and can be obtained by the MCU 130 from the battery monitoring circuit 100 via I ² C communication. In this step, the current I _{BAT with a + (plus) sign means a charging current, and the current I BAT} _with a - (minus) sign means a discharging current. If this condition is not satisfied, the MCU 130 determines that the battery BT is not in the deep discharge state, and transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state.

In step S1005, the MCU 130 determines whether S1003 and S1004 have been repeated a predetermined number of times. If the MCU 130 repeats S1003 and S1004 a predetermined number of times ("YES" in step S1005), the MCU 130 shifts the process to step S1006; otherwise ("NO" in step S1005), the process shifts to step S1003. . If S1003 and S1004 are satisfied even after the predetermined number of repetitions, the MCU 130 determines that the battery BT is in a deeply discharged state, and transitions the power supply unit 1 to a failure state. If the determination is "YES" in step S1005, the voltage ADCB+ indicates a large value even though the battery BT has been charged with the charging current of 540 mA for only a short period of several seconds. This is probably because deep discharge of the battery BT causes an irreversible change in its internal structure, and the internal resistance (impedance) of the battery BT greatly increases (worsens). Note that step S1004 is for confirming whether or not the voltage ADCB+ includes a voltage drop corresponding to the internal resistance of the battery BT.

At step S1008, the MCU 130 determines whether the voltage ADCB+ is less than 3.35V. MCU 130 shifts the process to step S1009 if the voltage ADCB+ is less than 3.35 V ("YES" in step S1008), otherwise shifts the process to step S1011 ("NO" in step S1008). . If this condition is not satisfied, MCU 130 determines that battery BT is normal in step S1011.

In step S1009, MCU 130 determines whether power supply voltage V _BAT obtained from battery monitoring circuit 100 via I2C communication is less ^than 2.35V or higher than 2.65V. MCU 130 transitions the process to step S1010 if the power supply voltage V _BAT is less than 2.35 V or higher than 2.65 V ("YES" in step S1009), otherwise ("NO" in step S1009) The process transitions to step S1008.

At step S1010, the MCU 130 determines whether a predetermined time has passed since charging was started at step S1002. The MCU 130 shifts the process to step S1007 if a predetermined time has elapsed since charging was started in step S1002 ("YES" in step S1010), otherwise ("NO" in step S1010). to step S1008. If S1008 and S1009 are satisfied even after repeating for a predetermined period of time, the MCU 130 determines that an error has occurred in the charging of the battery BT by the charging circuit 20, and transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state in step S1007.

In S1001, S1003 and S1008, MCU 130 conditions the value of ADCB+. ADCB+ conditions can be determined without using information acquired from the battery monitoring circuit 100, so even if the battery monitoring circuit 100 cannot normally acquire the state of the battery BT, deep discharge can be determined correctly. can. Generally, battery monitoring circuit 100 is optimized to accurately monitor the state of battery BT when the voltage of battery BT is normal. In other words, when the voltage of battery BT is not normal, the state of battery BT acquired by battery monitoring circuit 100 is likely to have an error. Here, the state in which the voltage of the battery BT is normal refers to the state in which the power supply voltage V _BAT is equal to or lower than the full charge voltage of the battery BT and equal to or higher than the final discharge voltage.

　Referring to FIG. 5 again, the interrelationship of the above monitoring conditions will be described. The battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal (low-level nGAUGE_INT1 signal) to FF1 when any condition of the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 is satisfied, and If either condition is met, another error signal (low level nGAUGE_INT2 signal) is provided to MCU 130 . Therefore, each condition in the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 505 and each condition in the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 506 may be referred to as an error notification condition for providing an error signal. The error signal itself supplied to FF1 is not supplied to MCU130. The error signal supplied to MCU 130 is not supplied to FF1. When the error signal is supplied to FF1, FF1 executes the protection operation by hardware as described above. Thus, FF1 functions as an error processing circuit. On the other hand, when an error signal is supplied to the MCU 130, the MCU 130 executes the protection operation by software as described above. In this way, by individually supplying error signals to both FF1 and MCU 130 from battery monitoring circuit 100, even if one of FF1 and MCU 130 does not operate normally, power supply unit 1 can be operated properly. protected by

Furthermore, any monitoring condition in the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 505 causes the power supply unit 1 to transition to the reset standby state. As described above, the reset waiting state is a state that requires user action to release the restriction on discharging or charging of the battery BT. Therefore, by automatically canceling the restriction on discharging or charging the battery BT regardless of the user's operation, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of further errors. Also, when any of the monitoring condition sets defined in column 505 is satisfied, FF1 restricts the discharging or charging of battery BT by means of hardware. This restriction does not cause the power supply unit 1 to fail because it has not been determined by the MCU 130, which is highly accurate. This enhances user convenience. In other words, the MCU 130 is more resistant to external noise such as static electricity and internal noise such as glitch noise than FF1. Therefore, the determination by the MCU 130 is excellent in accuracy.

On the other hand, if a part of the monitoring condition set defined in column 506 is satisfied, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state. Since the power supply unit 1 transitions to the failure state when a specific condition is satisfied, the safety of the power supply unit 1 is further improved. In addition, since the power supply unit 1 transitions to the failure state based on the determination by the MCU 130, it is possible to accurately determine whether this transition is possible.

The number of conditions included in the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 506 is greater than the number of conditions included in the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 505 . As a result, some conditions of high importance are processed by the MCU 130 regardless of the FF1, so the power supply unit 1 can be protected more appropriately. For example, the physical quantity of battery BT monitored by the monitoring condition set defined in column 506 includes the physical quantity of battery BT not monitored by the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 . Specifically, the monitoring condition set defined in column 506 includes a condition regarding the voltage of battery BT, but the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 does not include a condition regarding the voltage of battery BT. The monitoring condition set defined in column 506 includes a condition regarding the lower limit temperature of battery BT, but the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 does not include a condition regarding the lower limit temperature of battery BT.

Conditions related to overheating of battery BT are included in both the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 505 and the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 506 . Regarding the upper limit of the temperature of the power supply, the high-precision error processing by the control circuit causes the power supply unit to transition to the failure state, and the hardware error processing by the error processing circuit causes the power supply unit to transition to the reset waiting state. can be better protected. In addition, since both the FF 1 and the MCU 130 monitor conditions related to overheating of the battery BT, the power supply unit 1 can be protected even if one of them does not operate normally. Also, the upper limit temperature (60° C.) monitored by the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 505 is lower than the upper limit temperature (85° C.) monitored by the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 506 . As a result, the protection operation is performed first by FF1, which operates faster, so that the high temperature state of the battery BT can be maintained and progress of deterioration of the battery BT can be suppressed.

The condition regarding the overcurrent of the battery BT is included in both the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 and the monitoring condition set defined in column 506. Since both FF 1 and MCU 130 monitor conditions related to overcurrent of battery BT, power supply unit 1 can be protected even if one of them does not operate normally. Further, the upper limit current value (10 A during discharging, 3.0 A during charging) monitored by the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 is the upper limit current value monitored by the monitoring condition set defined in column 505 ( 9.75A, 2.75A when charging). As a result, since the MCU 130 performs the protective operation first, the high temperature state of the battery BT can be maintained, and progress of deterioration of the battery BT can be suppressed. At the same time, even if the MCU 130 has a failure such as freezing, the FF1 performs a protection operation.

The set of conditions monitored by the protection circuit 90 defined in column 508 includes conditions related to the current flowing through the battery BT (specifically, overcurrent during discharge) and the voltage of the battery BT (specifically, overcharge and overdischarge). including conditions relating to Since the current and voltage are also monitored by the battery monitoring circuit 100, the power supply unit 1 can be protected even if one of the battery monitoring circuit 100 and the protection circuit 90 does not operate normally.

Regarding the current flowing through the battery BT during discharging, the monitoring condition (9.75 A or more) for switching the nGAUGE_INT2 signal is stricter than the monitoring condition (10 A or more) for switching the nGAUGE_INT1 signal. In other words, as the current through battery BT continues to increase during discharge, the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT2 signal (S704) is met first, followed by the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT1 signal (S706). be That condition A is more stringent than condition B may mean that condition A is a necessary but not sufficient condition of condition B. Conversely, condition A is less stringent than condition B, which may mean that condition A is a sufficient but not a necessary condition for condition B. Similarly, regarding the current flowing through the battery BT during charging, the monitoring condition (2.75 A or higher) for switching the nGAUGE_INT2 signal is stricter than the monitoring condition (3.0 A or higher) for switching the nGAUGE_INT1 signal. there is In other words, as the current through battery BT continues to increase during charging, the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT2 signal (S715) is met first, followed by the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT1 signal (S717). be Regarding the overheating of the battery BT, the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT2 signal (85°C or higher continues for 2 minutes) is looser than the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT1 signal (60°C or higher continues for 2 seconds). there is In other words, when the temperature of the battery BT continues to rise, the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT1 signal (S709) is met first, and then the monitoring condition for switching the nGAUGE_INT2 signal (S711) is met.

The monitoring condition (10 A or more or 9.75 A or more) for the battery monitoring circuit 100 to generate an error signal for the current flowing through the battery BT during discharging is the condition for the protection circuit 90 to limit the discharging or charging of the battery BT. The conditions are stricter than the monitoring conditions (12.67 A or more). In other words, if the current through battery BT continues to increase during discharging, the monitoring conditions for battery monitoring circuit 100 to generate an error signal are met first, and then protection circuit 90 discharges or charges battery BT. is satisfied. Also, regarding the voltage of the battery BT, the monitoring condition (4.235 V or more or 2.8 V or less) for the battery monitoring circuit 100 to generate an error signal is the condition for the protection circuit 90 to limit discharging or charging of the battery BT. The conditions are stricter than the monitoring conditions (4.28 V or more or 2.5 V or less). In other words, if the voltage of battery BT continues to increase or decrease, the monitoring conditions for battery monitoring circuit 100 to generate an error signal are met first, and then protection circuit 90 limits the discharging or charging of battery BT. The monitoring conditions for Releasing the protection operation by the protection circuit 90 requires connection of an external device via a USB plug, and therefore takes more time and effort than the protection operation by the battery monitoring circuit 100 . User convenience is improved by performing the protection operation by the battery monitoring circuit 100 first.

A monitoring condition set for the battery monitoring circuit 100 to generate an error signal includes the condition that the current flowing through the battery BT is 10A or more and the condition that it is 9.75A or more. The difference between these thresholds is 0.25A. The difference between the thresholds of these conditions (10 A and 9.75 A) and the threshold of the condition for the protection circuit 90 to limit the discharge or charge of the battery BT (12.67 A) is 2.67 A and 2.92 A respectively. is. Both of these are greater than 0.25A. This makes it easier to prevent the protection operation by the battery monitoring circuit 100 and the protection operation by the protection circuit 90 from functioning at the same time. Moreover, the protection operation by the battery monitoring circuit 100 can be realized before the protection operation by the protection circuit 90 . That is, if the battery monitoring circuit 100 does not have an abnormality, the battery monitoring circuit 100 performs a protection operation instead of the protection circuit 90 . This facilitates recovery from the state in which the protection operation has been performed.

In the set of monitoring conditions defined in column 506, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state when the voltage of the battery BT becomes 2.8V or less. When the remaining amount of battery BT becomes equal to or less than a predetermined first lower limit, the voltage of battery BT becomes equal to or less than 2.8V. Further, the monitoring condition set defined in column 508 turns off switches SC and SD when the voltage of battery BT drops below 2.5V. When the remaining amount of battery BT becomes equal to or less than the predetermined second lower limit, the voltage of battery BT becomes equal to or less than 2.5V. The second lower limit is lower than the first lower limit. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, when the voltage of the battery BT becomes 1.5 V or less or the ADCB+ voltage becomes 0.1 V or less, the MCU 130 puts the power supply unit 1 into a failure state if a predetermined condition is satisfied. Transition. When the remaining amount of the battery BT becomes equal to or less than the predetermined third lower limit, the voltage of the battery BT becomes equal to or less than 1.5V, or the ADCB+ voltage becomes equal to or less than 0.1V. The third lower limit is lower than the second lower limit. Thus, in some embodiments, stepwise protective operation is performed according to the remaining amount of battery BT. A state in which the remaining amount of the battery BT is equal to or less than the predetermined third lower limit indicates that the battery BT is in a deeply discharged state.

When the voltage of the battery BT becomes 2.8 V or less, the protection circuit 90 turns off the switch SD to transition the power supply unit 1 to the connection standby state. If the remaining amount of the battery BT is greater than the above-described third lower limit value, the power supply unit 1 does not transition to the failure state. The progress of BT charging turns the switch SC back on. As a result, it is possible to prevent the battery BT from being continuously charged when the battery BT is in a deeply discharged state.

The set of conditions monitored by the protection circuit 90 defined in column 508 does not include conditions related to the temperature of the battery BT. Thus, by not monitoring the temperature, the size of the protection circuit 90 can be reduced. Since the temperature of battery BT is not monitored by protection circuit 90, another circuit (battery monitoring circuit 100) provides more rigorous protection. Specifically, the battery monitoring circuit 100 uses the condition regarding the high temperature of the battery BT as the condition for transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the failure state. This further improves the safety of the power supply unit 1 . The battery monitoring circuit 100 uses the condition that the temperature of the battery BT is low as the condition for transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state. Since the low temperature of the battery BT is expected to resolve itself, no user action is required to resolve the restriction on discharging or charging the battery BT. This enhances user convenience.

FIG. 11 is a diagram summarizing the temperature of the battery BT that the power supply unit 1 determines as an error. As described above, when the temperature of the battery BT is outside the normal range, the protection control unit 200 at least temporarily limits at least one of the charging of the battery BT and the power supply from the battery BT to the heater HT. do. The normal temperature range of battery BT varies depending on the operating state of power supply unit 1, as will be described in detail below.

The lower limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT differs depending on whether the battery BT is discharging or charging. When the battery BT is discharging, the lower limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT is -5°C. When the temperature of the battery BT becomes −5° C. or lower, the battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to the MCU 130, and the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state accordingly. On the other hand, when battery BT is being charged, the lower limit of the normal temperature range of battery BT is 0.degree. When the temperature of the battery BT becomes 0° C. or lower, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Although an external device is connected to the connector USBC via a USB plug, even while the battery BT is not being charged, the upper and lower limits of the normal temperature range of the battery BT are the same as during charging. There may be.

Thus, the protection control unit 200 raises the lower limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT from -5°C to 0°C when charging the battery BT is started. If the battery BT is at a low temperature during charging, electrodeposition is likely to occur. Electrodeposition is a phenomenon in which a metal oxide, which is an active material, is ionized by an oxidation-reduction reaction and deposits on the surface of a negative electrode to form a metal layer. By raising the lower limit of the normal range of the temperature of the battery BT when starting charging of the battery BT, it becomes easier to suppress the occurrence of electrodeposition. The time when charging of the battery BT is started is an arbitrary time from when an external device is connected to the USB connector USBC of the power supply unit 1 via a USB plug until power is stably supplied to the battery BT. may

The lower limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT reaches its maximum while the battery BT is being charged. Thus, by lowering the lower limit of the normal range of the temperature of the battery BT during discharging of the battery BT, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the battery BT from excessively deviating from the normal state during discharging.

The upper limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT varies depending on the operating state of the power supply unit 1. When the power supply unit 1 is in the sleep state, the upper limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT is 60.degree. When the temperature of the battery BT reaches 60° C. or higher, the battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to FF1, and FF1 accordingly transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Furthermore, when the temperature of the battery BT reaches 85° C. or higher, the battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to the MCU 130, and the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state accordingly. When the power supply unit 1 is in the heating standby state, the upper limit value of the normal temperature range of the battery BT is the same as when the power supply unit 1 is in the sleep state.

When the power supply unit 1 is activated, that is, when the power supply unit 1 is transitioning from the sleep state to the heating standby state (steps S601 to S603 in FIG. 6A), the upper limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT is 51°C. be. When the temperature of the battery BT reaches 51° C. or higher, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the sleep state. Furthermore, when the temperature of battery BT reaches 60° C. or higher, battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to FF1, and FF1 accordingly transitions power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Furthermore, when the temperature of the battery BT reaches 85° C. or higher, the battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to the MCU 130, and the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state accordingly. Even when the power supply unit 1 is transitioning from the heating standby state to the heating state, the upper limit value of the normal range of the temperature of the battery BT is the same as when the power supply unit 1 is transitioning from the sleep state to the heating standby state. is.

When the power supply unit 1 is in a heated state, the upper limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT is 55°C. When the temperature of the battery BT reaches 55° C. or higher, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Furthermore, when the temperature of battery BT reaches 60° C. or higher, battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to FF1, and FF1 accordingly transitions power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Furthermore, when the temperature of the battery BT reaches 85° C. or higher, the battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to the MCU 130, and the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state accordingly.

When the power supply unit 1 is charging, the upper limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT is 55°C. When the temperature of the battery BT reaches 55° C. or higher, the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the reset standby state. Furthermore, when the temperature of the battery BT reaches 85° C. or higher, the battery monitoring circuit 100 supplies an error signal to the MCU 130, and the MCU 130 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state accordingly.

Thus, the protection control unit 200 raises the upper limit of the normal range of the temperature of the battery BT from 51°C to 55°C when starting the heating of the heater HT. During heating of heater HT, that is, during supply of electric power from battery BT to heater HT, battery BT generates heat due to internal resistance of battery BT. Therefore, by setting the upper limit value of the normal range of the heater BT during heating transition to be lower than the upper limit value during heating, it becomes easier to suppress the temperature of the battery BT from exceeding the normal range during heating of the heater HT. In other words, when the temperature of battery BT is expected to exceed the normal range during heating of heater HT, heating of heater HT is not performed. The timing of starting heating of the heater HT may be an arbitrary point of time from when the instruction to heat the heater HT is received until the heater HT reaches a heated state.

The upper limit of the normal range of the battery BT is the maximum (60°C) when the power supply unit 1 is in the sleep state and heating standby state (that is, when the heater HT is in a state other than heating). As described above, the sleep state is a state in which the MCU 130 is waiting for a signal generated in response to the user's operation of the slider 13 . The heating standby state is a state in which the MCU 130 is waiting for a signal generated in response to the user's operation of the switch SW. When the power supply unit 1 is in these states, the power consumption of the battery BT is small and the amount of heat generated by the battery BT is also small. Therefore, by increasing the upper limit of the normal range of battery BT in these cases as compared to during heating, it is possible to suppress excessive protection regarding the temperature of battery BT.

The amount of increase in the lower limit value of the normal temperature range of the battery BT when charging of the battery BT is started (that is, 0° C.-(-5° C.)=5° C.) of the upper limit of the normal temperature range of the battery BT (that is, 55° C.-51° C.=4° C.). Thus, by setting the lower limit temperature of the normal range of the battery BT during charging strictly, the safety of the power supply unit 1 is further improved.

The protection control unit 200 transitions the power supply unit 1 to the failure state when the temperature of the battery BT is higher than the temperature threshold (85°C) higher than the upper limit of the normal state. If the temperature of the battery BT continues to rise even after the error processing due to the battery BT exceeding the upper limit value of the normal state, it is considered that some kind of failure has occurred in the power supply unit 1 . Therefore, the safety of the power supply unit 1 can be improved by transitioning the power supply unit 1 to the failure state when the temperature of the battery BT exceeds the temperature threshold (85° C.) higher than the upper limit value of the normal state.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the invention.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-079743 filed on May 10, 2021, and the entire contents thereof are incorporated herein.

Claims

A power supply unit for an aerosol generator,
a power supply;
a heater connector connected to a heater that consumes power supplied from the power supply to heat the aerosol source;
a control circuit for controlling power supply from the power source to the heater and monitoring the state of the power source;
a power supply monitoring circuit that monitors the state of the power supply,
The power supply monitoring circuit supplies an error signal to the control circuit when the state of the power supply satisfies an error notification condition;
The control circuit is
a standby state waiting for the error signal to be supplied from the power supply monitoring circuit;
A power supply unit that is operable in a monitoring state that transitions in response to the supply of the error signal from the power supply monitoring circuit during operation in the standby state and monitors the state of the power supply.
While the control circuit is operating in the standby state, the power supply monitoring circuit monitors a predetermined physical quantity of the power supply in a first cycle,
While the control circuit is operating in the monitoring state, the control circuit monitors the predetermined physical quantity of the power supply in a second period;
2. The power supply unit according to claim 1, wherein said first period is longer than said second period.
The control circuit at least temporarily causes at least one of charging the power supply and supplying power from the power supply to the heater when the state of the power supply satisfies a predetermined condition during operation in the monitoring state. 3. The power supply unit of claim 1 or 2, wherein the power supply unit is limited to
The power supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control circuit acquires the state of the power supply through the power supply monitoring circuit while operating in the monitoring state.
The power supply monitoring circuit supplies the error signal to the control circuit when the power supply enters a predetermined state continuously n times while the control circuit is operating in the standby state,
The control circuit performs at least one of charging the power supply and supplying power from the power supply to the heater when the power supply enters a predetermined state m consecutive times during operation in the monitoring state. at least temporarily, and
5. The power supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said m is greater than said n.
The time required for the control circuit to determine that the power supply has entered the predetermined state m consecutive times is the time required for the power supply monitoring circuit to determine that the power supply has entered the predetermined state for n consecutive times. 6. The power supply unit of claim 5, shorter than an hour.
The power supply monitoring circuit supplies the error signal to the control circuit when the state of the power supply satisfies any condition of a first condition set;
7. The control circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, based on the state of the power supply newly acquired after receiving the error signal, the control circuit determines whether or not any condition of the second condition set is satisfied. power supply unit described in .
8. The power supply unit according to claim 7, wherein said first condition set includes conditions relating to physical quantities of said power supply that are not monitored by said second condition set.
9. The power supply unit according to claim 7, wherein said control circuit transitions said power supply unit to a failure state that permanently prohibits charging and discharging of said power supply when any condition of said second set of conditions is satisfied. .
The power supply unit according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the second condition set includes a condition regarding that the temperature of the power supply is higher than the upper limit temperature.