INFORMATION PROCESSING EQUIPMENT AND THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

• US 20090284225A1
• Filed: 03/02/2009
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: NAKANUMA, Hiroyuki, YUKI, Toshiaki, MORITA, Shigehito, HARADA, Atsushi, OMYOU, Keiichi
• Application Number:
  US12/395,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20090284225A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1635 Details related to the integration of battery packs and other power supplies such as fuel cells or integrated AC adapter
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/263 Arrangements for using multiple switchable power supplies, e.g. battery and AC G06F1/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/441 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/209 adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells H01M50/216 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/247 specially adapted for portable devices, e.g. mobile phones, computers, hand tools or pacemakers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/271 Lids or covers for the racks or secondary casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/284 with incorporated circuit boards, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB]
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/569 Constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals battery terminal connectors with integrated measuring arrangements G01R31/364
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0019 using switched or multiplexed charge circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Information processing equipment is provided that can be operated continuously and stably for a long time due to improved stability during alternately switching between the batteries being used and, therefore, can maintain the reliability of the operation of switching the batteries being used over a long period. The information processing equipment includes battery housing portions configured to individually house a plurality of batteries; battery lids that are provided corresponding respectively to the plurality of batteries, that are opened and closed independently during attachment or removal of the batteries, and that are provided with magnets serving as magnetic-field-generating portions; magnetic-field-detecting elements that detect the strength of a magnetic field from the magnetic-field-generating portions; and a control microcomputer that controls a power-drawing portion based on a detection result obtained by the magnetic-field-detecting elements so as to change the switch.

Claims

1. Information processing equipment, comprising:

a plurality of battery housing portions configured to individually house batteries;

lid portions that are provided corresponding respectively to the battery housing portions, that are opened and dosed independently during attachment or removal of the batteries, and that are provided with magnetic-field-generating portions;

magnetic-field-detecting elements that are provided corresponding to the magnetic-field-generating portions, and that detect the strength of a magnetic field from the magnetic-field-generating portions;

a switching portion that selects the battery from which power is drawn, from among batteries housed in the plurality of battery housing portions; and

a control portion that controls the switching portion based on a detection result obtained by the magnetic-field-detecting elements.

2. The information processing equipment according to claim 1,

wherein the switching portion has a switching functionality through which power is drawn selectively from any one of the batteries housed in the plurality of battery housing portions, and,

when the magnetic-field-detecting element corresponding to the lid portion of the battery from which power is being drawn detects a weak magnetic field, the control portion controls the switching portion so as to change the battery from which power is drawn to another battery.

3. The information processing equipment according to claim 2, further comprising

an alert output portion for a user,

wherein, when the battery from which power is drawn is switched from one battery to another battery by the switching portion, the control portion controls the alert output portion so as to issue an alert if the remaining battery power of the other battery is lower than a predetermined value.

4. The information processing equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a charge/discharge control portion that acquires battery capacities of the plurality of batteries when the lid portion is closed, and performs switching of batteries so that when a battery capacity of one of the batteries is beyond a predetermined criterion value and a battery capacity of another battery is equal to or below the criterion value, the battery with the battery capacity beyond the criterion value is discharged, or the battery with the battery capacity below the criterion value is charged.

5. The information processing equipment according to claim 4,

wherein, when acquiring a battery capacity of a battery being charged, the charge/discharge control portion determines, when the battery capacity of the battery being charged has risen above a first battery capacity value, a battery with a battery capacity less than the first battery capacity value,

when another battery with an battery capacity value less than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control portion switches the battery being charged to the other battery, and charges the same, and

when no other battery with an battery capacity less than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control portion continues charging after changing the first battery capacity value to a second battery capacity value that is larger than the first battery capacity value, and

wherein acquiring a battery capacity of a battery being discharged, the charge/discharge control portion determines, when the battery capacity of the battery being discharged has fallen below a first battery capacity value, a battery with an battery capacity greater than the first battery capacity value,

when another battery with an battery capacity value greater than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control portion switches the battery being discharged to the other battery, and discharges the same, and

when no other battery with an battery capacity greater than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control portion continues discharging after changing the first battery capacity value to a second battery capacity value that is smaller than the first battery capacity value.

6. The information processing equipment according to claim 4, wherein the criterion value determines capacity zones as battery capacity ranges to which individual battery capacities of batteries belong,

the charge/discharge control portion acquires capacity zones to which battery capacities of the individual batteries belong to, and

when the capacity zones are different, the charge/discharge control portion performs the switching of batteries so that the battery belonging to the capacity zone for a greater capacity is discharged, or the battery belonging to the capacity zone for a smaller capacity is charged.

7. The integrated circuit according to claim 6, further comprising:

a maximum-battery-capacity-acquiring portion that acquires maximum battery capacities of the plurality of individual batteries; and

a battery-capacity-comparing portion that compares the maximum battery capacities of the individual batteries acquired by the maximum-battery-capacity-acquiring portion, and selects the battery with the largest maximum battery capacity,

wherein, when the capacity zones to which the battery capacities of the individual batteries belong are the same, the charge/discharge control portion disconnects a battery other than the selected battery, and uses the selected battery for a predetermined period, the selected battery being charged and discharged.

8. The information processing equipment according to claim 6, further comprising:

a charge/discharge-count-acquiring portion that acquires charge or discharge counts of the plurality of individual; and

a charge/discharge-count-comparing portion that compares the charge or discharge counts of the individual batteries, and selects a battery with the smallest count,

wherein, when the capacity zones to which the battery capacities of the individual batteries belong are the same, the charge/discharge control portion acquires the charge or discharge counts of the plurality of batteries belonging to the same capacity zone, selects the battery with the smaller count, and uses the selected battery until the charge or discharge count of the selected battery is equal to that of the battery other than the selected battery, the selected battery being charged and discharged.

9. An integrated circuit that controls switching of a battery from which power is drawn, and that is provided in information processing equipment, comprising:

a plurality of battery housing portions configured to individually house batteries; and

lid portions that are provided corresponding respectively to the battery housing portions, that are opened and closed independently during attachment or removal of the batteries, and that are provided with magnetic-field-generating portions;

the integrated circuit comprising;

magnetic-field-detecting circuits that are provided corresponding to the magnetic-field-generating portions, and that detect the strength of a magnetic field from the magnetic-field-generating portions;

a switching circuit that selects the battery from which power is drawn, from among batteries housed in the plurality of battery housing portions; and

a control circuit that controls the switching circuit based on a detection result obtained by the magnetic-field-detecting circuits.

10. The integrated circuit according to claim 9,

wherein the switching circuit has a transfer switch that connects only one of the batteries housed in the plurality of battery housing portions to a load so that power is drawn selectively from said battery, and,

when the magnetic-field-detecting circuit corresponding to the lid portion of the battery from which power is being drawn detects a weak magnetic field, the control circuit controls the transfer switch of the switching circuit so as to change the battery from which power is drawn to another battery.

11. The integrated circuit according to claim 10,

wherein the information processing equipment further comprises an alert output portion for a user, and,

when the battery from which power is drawn is switched from one battery to another battery by the switching circuit, the control circuit controls the alert output portion so as to issue an alert if the remaining battery power of the other battery is lower than a predetermined value.

12. The integrated circuit according to claim 9, further comprising a charge/discharge control circuit that acquire battery capacities of the plurality of individual batteries when the lid portion is dosed, and performs switching of batteries so that when a battery capacity of one of the batteries is beyond a predetermined criterion value and a battery capacity of another battery is equal to or below the criterion value, the battery with the battery capacity beyond the criterion value is discharged, or the battery with the battery capacity below the criterion value is charged.

13. The integrated circuit according to claim 12,

wherein, when acquiring a battery capacity of a battery being charged, the charge/discharge control circuit determines, when the battery capacity of the battery being charged has risen above a first battery capacity value, a battery with a battery capacity less than the first battery capacity value,

when another battery with an battery capacity value less than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control circuit switches the battery being charged to the other battery, and charges the same, and

when no other battery with an battery capacity less than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control circuit continues charging after changing the first battery capacity value to a second battery capacity value that is larger than the first battery capacity value, and

wherein acquiring a battery capacity of a battery being discharged, the charge/discharge control circuit determines, when the battery capacity of the battery being discharged has fallen below a first battery capacity value, a battery with an battery capacity greater than the first battery capacity value,

when another battery with an battery capacity value greater than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control circuit switches the battery being discharged to the other battery, and discharges the same, and

when no other battery with an battery capacity greater than the first battery capacity is detected, the charge/discharge control circuit continues discharging after changing the first battery capacity value to a second battery capacity value that is smaller than the first battery capacity value.

14. The integrated circuit according to claim 12, wherein the criterion value determines capacity zones to which respective battery capacities of batteries belong,

the charge/discharge control circuit acquires capacity zones to which battery capacities of the individual batteries belong to, and

when the capacity zones are different, the charge/discharge control circuit performs the switching of batteries so that the battery belonging to the capacity zone for a greater capacity is discharged, or the battery belonging to the capacity zone for a smaller capacity is charged.

15. The integrated circuit according to claim 14, further comprising:

a maximum-battery-capacity-acquiring circuit that acquires maximum battery capacities of the plurality of individual batteries; and

a battery-capacity-comparing circuit that compares the maximum battery capacities of the individual batteries acquired by the maximum-battery-capacity-acquiring circuit, and selects the battery with the largest maximum battery capacity,

wherein, when the capacity zones to which the battery capacities of the individual batteries belong are the same, the charge/discharge control circuit disconnects a battery other than the selected battery, and uses the selected battery for a predetermined period, the selected battery being charged and discharged.

16. The integrated circuit according to claim 14, further comprising:

a charge/discharge-count-acquiring circuit that acquires charge or discharge counts of a plurality of individual batteries; and

a charge/discharge-count-comparing circuit that compares the charge or discharge counts of the individual batteries, and selects the battery with the smallest count,

wherein, when the capacity zones to which the battery capacities of the individual batteries belong are the same, the charge/discharge control circuit disconnects the a battery other than the selected battery, and uses the selected battery until the charge or discharge count of the selected battery is equal to that of the battery other than the selected battery, the selected battery being charged and discharged.