ELECTRIC APPARATUS, COMPUTER APPARATUS, CONTROLLER, AND BATTERY SWITCHING METHOD AND PROGRAM

• US 20030167415A1
• Filed: 02/28/2003
• Published: 09/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tanaka, Akiyoshi, Odaohhara, Shigefumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,024,574 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/340
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence

Abstract

Electric apparatus, computer apparatus, controller, and battery switching method and program is provided to prevent a system shutdown caused by a reduction of electric power from a battery. A computer apparatus is constructed to be able to accept and be powered by a rechargeable main battery and a rechargeable sub-battery. An embedded controller in the computer apparatus monitors a remaining capacity at a pre-specified temperature of the sub-battery under discharge by receiving information from CPU. When the monitored temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature and when the monitored remaining capacity becomes less than a predetermined capacity, the embedded controller receives electric power from the main battery by switching the power supply circuit to provide power from the main battery instead of the sub-battery.

Claims

1. ] An electric apparatus comprising:

a first battery which supplies electric power to a main body, said first battery being a rechargeable battery having a temperature sensor which provides an indication of the temperature of said first battery;

a second battery, different from said first battery, which supplies electric power to the main body; and

a controller which couples said first and second batteries and which switches the supply of electric power to the main body by stopping the supply of electric power by said first device and starting the supply of electric power by said second battery in response to a temperature indication by the temperature sensor which exceeds a predetermined temperature.

2. ] Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said controller monitors the capacity of said first battery and performs the switching in response to a further condition of detecting a capacity which is below a predetermined capacity.

3. ] Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature is preset as a temperature over which a protection circuit in said first battery is activated.

4. ] An electric apparatus comprising:

a main body;

a temperature monitor which monitors the temperature of a first battery which supplies electric power to said main body; and

a switch, operatively coupled to said main body and to said temperature monitor, which switches the supply of electric power to an other power source different from the first battery in response to a temperature as monitored by said temperature monitor exceeding a predetermined temperature.

5. ] Apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

a remaining capacity monitor which is coupled to the main body and which monitors the remaining capacity of the first battery;

wherein said switch further switches to the electric power supplied by the other power source in response to monitoring a remaining capacity which is below a predetermined capacity.

6. ] Apparatus of claim 4, wherein the other power source is a second battery different from the first battery and wherein said switch switches to the electric power supplied by the first battery if the second battery becomes exhausted after supplying electric power to the main body.

7. ] Apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a display which is coupled to the main body and which displays an alarm message if no dischargeable battery is available.

8. ] Apparatus of claim 4, wherein the other power source is an electric power supply which provides a connection to a commercial electric power source.

9. ] A computing apparatus comprising:

a main unit equipped to be able to receive electric power from a main battery and a sub-battery, both the main battery and the sub-battery being a charge-discharge battery;

a temperature monitor operatively coupled to said main unit which monitors the temperature of the sub-battery under discharge; and

a battery switch, housed within said main unit, which switches to the main battery from the sub-battery and which receives electric power supplied by the main battery when a temperature as monitored by said temperature monitor exceeds a predetermined temperature.

10. ] Apparatus of claim 9, wherein the predetermined temperature is 60Â

°

C.

11. ] Apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a remaining capacity monitor which is coupled to the main unit and which monitors the remaining capacity of the sub-battery;

wherein said battery switch switches from the sub-battery to the main battery thereby receiving electric power supplied by the main battery if a remaining capacity as monitored by said remaining capacity monitor is below a predetermined capacity.

12. ] Apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a detector, coupled to the main unit, which determines whether the remaining capacity of the main battery is substantially exhausted after said main unit receives electric power supplied by the main battery through switching by said battery switch;

wherein said battery switch switches to the sub-battery and receives electric power supplied by the sub-battery if said detector determines that the remaining capacity of the main battery is substantially exhausted.

13. ] A computing apparatus, comprising:

a first connector which provides connection to a first battery unit;

a second connector which provides connection to a second battery unit constructed as a different unit from the first battery unit; and

a discharge transfer circuit which couples said first and second connectors and which transfers discharge to the second battery unit provided on said second connector prior to termination of electric power supplied to a system by activating a protection function disposed to the first battery unit when receiving said discharge from the first battery unit provided on said first connector.

14. ] Apparatus of claim 13, wherein said discharge transfer circuit detects the temperature and remaining capacity of a battery cell in the first battery unit provided on said first connector and, if predetermined conditions are met, transfers to discharge from the second battery unit provided on said second connector.

15. ] Apparatus of claim 14, wherein the predetermined conditions are that the detected temperature of the battery cell is 55Â

°

C. or higher and the remaining capacity is 20% or less.

16. ] Apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a processor which is coupled to said discharge transfer circuit and which executes a predetermined suspend process if the first and second battery units provided on said first and second connectors are not dischargeable.

17. ] A controller comprising:

a monitor which monitors the temperature and remaining capacity of a battery cell in a first battery unit coupled to a system main body for discharging to the system main body; and

a switch which couples to said monitor and which effects a switchover to discharge from a second battery unit coupled to the system main body if a temperature as monitored by said monitor exceeds a predetermined value and the remaining capacity decreases below a predetermined value.

18. ] A battery switching method comprising the steps of:

detecting a cell temperature of a battery unit that is discharging electrical power to a main body having a plurality of battery units;

comparing the detected cell temperature with a temperature predetermined based on the operating temperature of a battery protection facility; and

effecting a switchover to discharge from another battery unit based on the result of said comparison step.

19. ] The battery switching method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a remaining capacity of the battery unit that is discharging;

wherein the switchover is further a function of said detected remaining capacity being less than a predetermined capacity which is based on the battery protection facility.

20. ] The battery switching method of claim 19, further comprising the step of:

executing a predetermined suspend process if the temperatures of all of the plurality of battery units exceed the predetermined temperature and the remaining capacities of all of the plurality of battery units are less than the predetermined capacity.

21. ] A battery switching method comprising the steps of:

supplying electric power to a main body by discharging from a battery unit coupled to the main body wherein the main body is adapted to receive electric power from the battery unit and an electric power supply which derives electric power from a commercial power source; and

stopping the discharge from the battery unit and switching over to discharge electric power from the power source if the cell temperature of the battery unit exceeds a predetermined temperature.

22. ] A program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer to which a plurality of battery units can be coupled, the computer readable program code in said program product implementing the functions of;

detecting the cell temperature of one of the plurality of battery units that is discharging;

presetting a reference temperature determined based on a condition under which battery protection is activated and storing said reference temperature in a memory;

comparing the detected cell temperature with the stored reference temperature; and

effecting a switchover to discharge from another coupled battery unit if the cell temperature exceeds the reference temperature.

23. ] The program according claim 22, further causing the computer to implement the functions of:

detecting the remaining capacity of the battery unit that is discharging;

presetting a reference capacity determined based on a condition under which battery protection is activated and storing said reference capacity in the memory;

comparing the detected remaining capacity with the stored reference capacity; and

effecting a switchover to discharge from another coupled battery unit if the remaining capacity is less than the reference capacity.