Electronic apparatus, fuel cell unit, and state display control method

• US 20040224199A1
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Published: 11/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ninomiya, Ryoji, Ishigaki, Satoru
• Application Number:
  US10/791,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20040224199A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/22
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 16/006 of fuel cells with rechargeable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/00 Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04186 of liquid-charged or electrolyte-charged reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04225 during start-up
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04228 during shut-down
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04302 applied during start-up
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04303 applied during shut-down
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04753 of fuel cell reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1009 with one of the reactants being liquid, solid or liquid-charged H01M8/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

An electronic apparatus operates on power supplied from a fuel cell unit that generates electric power using methanol as fuel. The power supply management utility executed by the CPU acquires status information on the fuel cell unit stored in the register of a power supply controller by way of BIOS. On the basis of the status information acquired, the power supply management utility displays messages peculiar to the fuel cell unit with good timing. The messages include a message to prompt the user to install a detachable cartridge fuel tank in the fuel cell unit and a message to prompt the user to replace the fuel tank.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a body;

a display unit provided on the body;

a fuel cell unit having a fuel cell capable of supplying electric power to the body and a tank for the fuel cell;

a sensing unit configured to sense a remaining amount of fuel in the tank; and

a control unit configured to cause the display unit to display the remaining amount of fuel sensed by the sensing unit.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display information to prompt a replacement of the tank or information that the remaining amount has decreased below a predetermined value, when the remaining amount of fuel sensed by the sensing unit has decreased below the predetermined value.

3. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a body;

a display unit provided on the body;

a fuel cell unit having a fuel cell capable of supplying electric power to the body and an installation portion in which a tank for the fuel cell can be installed;

a sensing unit configured to sense whether or not the tank has been installed in the installation portion; and

a control unit configured to cause the display unit to display information to prompt an installation of the tank or information that the fuel cell has not been installed, when the sensing unit has sensed that the tank has not been installed.

4. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a body;

a display unit provided on the body;

a fuel cell unit having a fuel cell capable of supplying electric power to the body and in and from which a tank for the fuel cell can be installed and removed;

a sensing unit configured to sense whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit; and

a control unit configured to cause the display unit to display information of the occurrence of an abnormality, when the sensing unit has sensed that an abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an abnormality processing unit configured to carry out a process corresponding to the abnormality.

6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit causes the display unit to display information that the body is to be shut down when a predetermined abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell, and

the abnormality processing unit shuts down the body after a predetermined time has elapsed since the display of information by the control unit.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the fuel cell unit includes a storage portion which stores status information indicating at least one of the presence or absence of the installation of the tank, the remaining amount of fuel in the tank, and the presence or absence of the occurrence of an abnormality in the fuel cell unit.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an informing unit configured to inform the sensing unit of the storage of the status information, when the status information has been stored in the storage portion, wherein

the sensing unit reads the status information stored in the storage portion, when being informed by the informing unit.

9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sensing unit reads the status information stored in the storage portion, at predetermined intervals of time.

10. The electronic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the fuel cell unit has updating portion which updates the status information stored in the storage portion so as to indicate that the remaining amount of fuel is a predetermined amount, when the tank has been removed or when the remaining amount of fuel in the tank has been reduced to zero.

11. A computer comprising:

a body;

a display unit provided on the body;

a fuel cell unit having a fuel cell capable of supplying electric power to the body and in and from which a tank for the fuel cell can be installed and removed;

a storage unit provided in the fuel cell unit and configured to store abnormal-status information indicating an occurrence of an abnormality, when the abnormality has occurred in the fuel cell unit; and

a control unit configured to cause the display unit to display the occurrence of an abnormality on the basis of the abnormality information stored in the storage unit.

12. The computer according to claim 11, wherein the abnormal-status information indicates at least either the uninstallation of the tank or fuel shortage due to the decrease of the remaining amount of fuel in the tank below a predetermined value.

13. The computer according to claim 11, wherein the fuel cell unit includes an informing unit configured to inform the control unit of the storage of the abnormal-status information, when the abnormal-status information has been stored in the storage unit, and

the control unit reads the abnormal-status information stored in the storage unit when being informed by the informing section, and causes the display unit to display the occurrence of the abnormality on the basis of the abnormal-status information read out.

14. A computer comprising:

a computer body;

a fuel cell unit having a fuel cell capable of supplying electric power to the computer body and in and from which a tank for the fuel cell can be installed and removed;

a remaining-amount acquiring unit configured to acquire the remaining amount of fuel in the tank; and

a remaining-amount control unit configured to inform an operating system run on the computer body of the value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the remaining amount acquired by the remaining-amount acquiring unit.

15. A fuel cell unit comprising:

a fuel cell;

a detachable tank for the fuel cell;

a storage unit configured to store information indicating the remaining amount of fuel in the tank; and

an updating unit configured to update the information stored in the storage unit so as to indicate that the remaining amount of fuel in the tank is a predetermined amount, when the tank has been removed.

16. A state display control method for an electronic apparatus capable of operating on electric power supplied from a fuel cell unit which has a fuel cell and in and from which a tank can be installed and removed, the method comprising:

acquiring the remaining amount of fuel in the tank installed in the fuel cell unit;

informing an operating system run on the electronic apparatus of the value obtained by subtracting a first predetermined value from the remaining amount acquired; and

displaying information to prompt the replacement of the tank, when the value obtained by subtracting the first predetermined value from the remaining amount is smaller than a second predetermined value.

17. A state display control method for an electronic apparatus capable of operating on electric power supplied from a fuel cell unit which has a fuel cell and in and from which a tank can be installed and removed, the method comprising:

sensing the removal of the tank from the fuel cell unit;

displaying information to prompt the installation of the tank, when the removal of the tank has been sensed; and

informing an operating system run on the electronic apparatus that the remaining amount of fuel is a predetermined amount, when the removal of the tank has been sensed.