BATTERY RESIDUAL QUANTITY DISPLAY METHOD AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

• US 20090280396A1
• Filed: 07/16/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: NAKASHIMA, Ryoichi, Tsuchiya, Yukio, Sato, Hideyuki, Nawa, Kazuyasu
• Granted Patent: US 8,368,356 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/96
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3646 for indicating electrical conditions or variables, e.g. visual or audible indicators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/81 by operating on the power supply, e.g. enabling or disabling power-on, sleep or resume operations
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4221 with battery type recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/488 Cells or batteries combined with indicating means for external visualization of the condition, e.g. by change of colour or of light density
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery pack detachably connectable to an equipment body to supply power to the equipment body, the battery pack including a battery cell, a microcomputer for communicating with the equipment body, a connection terminal connected to the microcomputer, a positive power supply input terminal connected to a cathode of the battery cell; and a negative power supply input terminal connected to an anode of the battery cell. After the power of the equipment body is turned on, the microcomputer alternately sends to the equipment body by serial communication via the connection terminal information to be used in authentication processing executed by the equipment body and information to be used in a battery residual quantity count executed by the equipment body. After the authentication processing is complete, the microcomputer sends to the equipment body information to be used in updating the battery residual quantity count executed by the equipment body.

Claims

1. A battery pack detachably connectable to an equipment body to supply power to the equipment body, the battery pack comprising:

a battery cell;

a microcomputer configured to communicate with the equipment body;

a connection terminal connected to the microcomputer;

a positive power supply input terminal connected to a cathode of the battery cell; and

a negative power supply input terminal connected to an anode of the battery cell,

wherein, after the power of the equipment body is turned on, the microcomputer is configured to alternately send to the equipment body by serial communication via the connection terminal information to be used in authentication processing executed by the equipment body and information to be used in a battery residual quantity count executed by the equipment body, and

after the authentication processing is complete, the microcomputer is configured to send to the equipment body information to be used in updating the battery residual quantity count executed by the equipment body.