Electronic apparatus having multiple loads, driven by plural batteries

• US 5,814,972 A
• Filed: 04/24/1997
• Issued: 09/29/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tatsumi, Eisaku, Nagasaki, Katsuhiko, Sunakawa, Shinichi, Shimada, Kazutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): TSO, EDWARD H
• Application Number:
  US08/845,365
• Time in Patent Office: 523 Days
• Field of Search: 320/5, 320/6, 320/7, 320/13, 320/17, 320/18, 320/25, 320/132, 320/135
• US Class Current: 320/132
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/10 Parallel operation of dc sources
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/061 for DC powered loads

Abstract

An electronic apparatus comprising a plurality of loads, which are separately driven by a plurality of batteries, further comprises a switching device which automatically changes a system of connection between the batteries and the loads in accordance with the conditions of the electronic apparatus. Such conditions of the electronic apparatus include the remaining capacities of the batteries, load changes in the loads, and temperature changes in the electronic apparatus. An electronic apparatus provided with a system clock generating device and a peak load device comprises a system clock controller which suspends the supply of a system clock or divides the system clock while a peak voltage is being generated. A drive controller changes the connection between the first and second batteries in accordance with detected remaining capacities of the first and second batteries.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising a plurality of loads, which are separately driven at respective different voltages by a plurality of batteries, further comprises switching means which automatically changes a system of connection between the batteries and the loads in accordance with an operating mode established based on conditions of the electronic apparatus.

2. An electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conditions of the electronic apparatus are remaining capacities of said batteries.

3. An electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conditions of the electronic apparatus are load changes in said loads.

4. An electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conditions of the electronic apparatus are temperature changes in the electronic apparatus.

5. A drive controller for an electronic apparatus which has first and second loads driven at respective different voltages, said drive controller comprising first and second batteries, which drive said electronic apparatus, a detecting means, which detects remaining capacities of said first and second batteries, and a changing means, which changes a connecting route of said first and second batteries to said first and second loads of the electronic apparatus in accordance with a detection result given by said detecting means.

6. A drive controller for an electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said first and second batteries are connected in series if the voltages of said first and second batteries are lower than the lowest drive voltage of said electronic apparatus.

7. A power supply control apparatus comprising:

a battery;

detection means for detecting an output voltage of said battery;

generating means for generating a voltage in response to the output voltage of said battery;

connection means for connecting said battery to a load; and

control means for controlling said connection means to connect said battery to the load via said generating means when said detection means detects that the output voltage of said battery is higher than a first value or lower than a second value and to connect said battery directly to the load when said detection means detects that the output voltage of said battery is lower than or equal to the first value or higher than or equal to the second value.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an additional battery and an additional generating means for generating a another voltage in response to an output voltage of said additional battery, wherein said control means controls connection such that said additional battery is connected to another load via said additional generating means.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first value is larger than the second value.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said generating means decreases or increases its input voltage to generate the voltage, and said additional generating means increases its input voltage to generate the another voltage.

11. An apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising additional detection means for detecting an output voltage of said additional battery, wherein said control means controls to connect said battery and said additional battery in series to the load when said detection means and said additional detection means detect that the output voltages of said battery and said additional battery are both lower than the second value.

12. A method of operating an electronic apparatus comprising a plurality of loads, which are separately driven at respective different voltages by a plurality of batteries, comprising a switching step, for automatically changing a system of connection between the batteries and the loads in accordance with an operating mode established based on conditions of the electronic apparatus.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the conditions of the electronic apparatus are remaining capacities of the batteries.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the conditions of the electronic apparatus are load changes in the loads.

15. A method according to claim 12, wherein the conditions of the electronic apparatus are temperature changes in the electronic apparatus.

16. A method of operating a drive controller for an electronic apparatus which has first and second loads driven at respective different voltages by first and second batteries of the drive controller, comprising the steps of (1) detecting remaining capacities of the first and second batteries, and (2) changing a connecting route of the first and second batteries to the first and second loads of the electronic apparatus in accordance with a detection result given by said detecting step.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein said changing step includes connecting the first and second batteries in series if the voltages of the first and second batteries are lower than the lowest drive voltage of the electronic apparatus.

18. A method of operating a power supply control apparatus which has a battery, comprising the steps of:

detecting an output voltage of the battery;

generating a voltage in response to the output voltage of the battery, using a generating means;

connecting the battery to a load; and

controlling said connecting step, to connect the battery to the load via the generating means when said detecting step detects that the output voltage of the battery is higher than a first value or lower than a second value and to connect the battery directly to the load when said detecting step detects that the output voltage of the battery is lower than or equal the first value or higher than or equal to the second value.

19. A method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of using an additional battery and an additional generating means for generating another voltage in response to an output voltage of the additional battery, wherein said controlling step includes controlling the connecting step such that the additional battery is connected to another load via the additional generating means.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the first value is larger than the second value.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the generating means decreases or increases its input voltage to generate the voltage, and the additional generating means increases its input voltage to generate the another voltage.

22. A method according to claim 19, further comprising an additional detecting step of detecting an output voltage of the additional battery, wherein said controlling step includes controlling connecting the the battery and the additional battery in series to the load when said detecting step and said additional detecting step detect that the output voltages of the battery and the additional battery are both lower than the second value.