POWER CONTROL APPARATUS AND POWER CONTROL METHOD

• US 20120319656A1
• Filed: 01/23/2012
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Toma, Hideyuki, Murakami, Fumihiko
• Application Number:
  US13/356,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20120319656A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3212 Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0068 Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply H02J7/0013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/63 Generation or supply of power specially adapted for television receivers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a power control apparatus includes a power supply module and a controller. The power supply module is configured to supply, to a power supply destination, externally supplied external power or battery power from a battery which is configured to be chargeable by the external power. The controller is configured to supply the battery power in response to a battery-drive instruction, stop, upon detecting that a voltage of the battery power is less than a reference voltage, supply of battery power, and control supply of the external power and charging of the battery by the external power according to a control condition.

Claims

1. A power control apparatus comprising:

a power supply module configured to supply, to a power supply destination, externally supplied external power or battery power from a battery which is configured to be chargeable by the external power; and

a controller configured to supply the battery power in response to a battery-drive instruction, stop, upon detecting that a voltage of the battery power is less than a reference voltage, supply of battery power, and control supply of the external power and charging of the battery by the external power according to a control condition.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to supply the external power in response to an external power-drive instruction, and to stop supply of external power and supply the battery power in response to the battery-drive instruction.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control to be in a first state in which the battery is not charged while stopping supply of external power according to a first control condition.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured not to restart supply of external power in response to the external power-drive instruction in the first state.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to restart to supply the external power in response to the external power-drive instruction in the first state.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control to achieve a second state in which the battery is charged while stopping supply of external power according to a second control condition.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control to achieve a third state in which supply of external power starts and the battery is not charged according to a third control condition.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control to achieve a fourth state in which supply of external power starts and the battery is charged according to a fourth control condition.

9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to stop, upon detecting that a voltage of the battery power is less than the reference voltage during a predetermined period, supply of battery power, and to control to achieve the first state according to the first control condition.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to control to achieve a second state in which the battery is charged while stopping, upon detecting that a voltage of the battery power is less than the reference voltage, supply of external power according to a second control condition designated by a user.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to control to achieve a third state in which, upon detecting that a voltage of the battery power is less than the reference voltage, supply of external power starts and the battery is not charged according to a third control condition designated by a user.

12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to continue supply of external power in response to the battery-drive instruction in a battery-drive disable state in which it is detected that a voltage of the battery power is less than the reference voltage or the battery is not incorporated.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to control, in response to the battery-drive instruction in the battery-drive disable state, output of information for displaying the battery-drive disable state.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to continue supply of external power in response to the battery-drive instruction in the battery-drive disable state during a first period, and to stop supply of external power in response to the battery-drive instruction in the battery-drive disable state during a second period.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising:

a display configured to display a video,

wherein the power supply module is configured to supply the external power or the battery power to the display for the display to display the video.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to change video output to video recording during a predetermined period.

17. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to start to supply the external power, and to change video output to video recording according to the third control condition.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to output display information for displaying a fact that video output will be changed to video recording, and to change video output to video recording.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to charge the battery outside a video recording period based on video recording reservation information.

20. A power control method comprising:

supplying, in response to a battery-drive instruction, to a power supply destination, battery power from a battery which is configured to be chargeable by external power; and

stopping, upon detecting that a voltage of the battery power is less than a reference voltage, supply of battery power, and controlling supply of the external power and charging of the battery by the external power according to a control condition.