Network system, managing server, electrical apparatus, battery status managing method, battery diagnosis method, and program thereof

• US 7,019,659 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2002
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masaki, Odaohhara, Shigefumi, Kumaki, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): EDWARDS JR, TIMOTHY
• Application Number:
  US10/304,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20030105601A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.07, 340/635, 340/636.1, 320/107, 320/111, 320/114, 700/11, 700/17, 702/182, 702/183, 702/186
• US Class Current: 340/636.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/30 Charge provided using DC bus or data bus of a computer
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]

Abstract

A network system in which an electrical apparatus having a battery which performs charges and discharges to supply electric power to the electrical apparatus and a managing server are connected by the network and perform a diagnosis of the battery provided for the electrical apparatus. The electrical apparatus accesses a Web page provided by the managing server through the network and then transmits an information file about the battery to the managing server. The managing server reads the information file to analyze the information about the battery and then transmits the analytical results to the electrical apparatus.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a network;

an electrical apparatus connected to said network and having a battery which performs charges and discharges to supply electric power to the electrical apparatus; and

a managing server connected to said network and performing a diagnosis of said battery provided for said electrical apparatus;

wherein said electrical apparatus accesses a Web page provided by said managing server through said network and then transmits an information file about said battery to said managing server, and

wherein said managing server reads said information file to analyze the information about said battery, maintains a database of collected historical data, transmits the analytical results to said electrical apparatus, and provides guidance to a customer for effective usage of said battery, based on said collected historical data.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said managing server analyzes the status of said battery and determines whether said battery is under warranty.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said managing server determines whether said battery is under warranty, based on some information about the service starting date of said battery which is stored in said information file.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electrical apparatus stores into said information file the full charge capacity of said battery which is obtained from said battery, and then transmits the full charge capacity of said battery to said managing server.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electrical apparatus uses a browser to access the Web page which is provided by said managing server, and specifies a URL which exists in an HTML document transmitted by said managing server to have a diagnosis of said battery performed by said managing server.

6. Apparatus comprising:

a managing server which performs through a network a diagnosis of a battery connected to an electrical apparatus, said server having;

an information file reader which reads an information file about the battery which is stored in the electrical apparatus;

a battery information analyzer which performs an information analysis including a fault diagnosis and/or a degradation diagnosis of the battery, based on the information file read by said information file reader; and

a result output module which provides analytical results from said battery information analyzer to said electrical apparatus and provides guidance to a customer for effective usage of said battery, based on collected historical data.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said battery information analyzer compares a current full charge capacity acquired from the information file with a predetermined guaranteed capacity to perform a fault diagnosis of the battery.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said battery information analyzer acquires information about the service starting date of the battery from the information file and determines whether it is under warranty.

9. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said battery information analyzer acquires from the information file information about high temperature storage time and/or high voltage charging time and determines a battery degradation factor, based on such acquired information about high temperature storage time and/or high voltage charging time.

10. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said result output module provides analytical results to said electrical apparatus in order to give guidance in storage of said battery to the user.

11. An electrical apparatus comprising:

battery information acquisition means for acquiring a variety of information about a battery which supplies electric power to the electrical apparatus;

storage means for storing as an information file the variety of information about said battery which is acquired by said battery information acquisition means;

transmission means for transmitting, to a managing server through a network, said information file stored by said storage means; and

reception means for receiving, from said managing server through said network, analytical results based on said information file transmitted by said transmission means, said analytical results comprising guidance to a customer for effective usage of said battery, based on collected historical data.

12. The electrical apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said storage means stores, as said information file, some information used to perform a fault diagnosis of said battery and some information used to determine whether said battery is under warranty.

13. The electrical apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said storage means stores, as said information file, some information about service time at a specific range of temperatures and/or service time at a specific range of voltages.

14. A method comprising the steps of:

acquiring information useful in performing a degradation diagnosis of said battery and information useful in determining a degradation factor for said battery;

storing said acquired information;

transmitting said stored information through a network to a managing server which performs a diagnosis and a status determination of said battery, and providing guidance to a customer for effective usage of said battery, based on collected historical data; and

receiving the results of a degradation diagnosis and/or a degradation factor determination from said managing server through said network.

15. The battery status managing method according to claim 14, wherein the information used for said degradation diagnosis is full charge capacity information of said battery and the information used for said degradation factor determination is usage information at a specific range of temperatures and/or usage information at a specific range of voltages.

16. A battery diagnosis method for performing a diagnosis of a battery provided for an electrical apparatus connected through a network, comprising the steps of:

reading an information file about said battery which is acquired through said network;

comparing a full charge capacity of said battery which is acquired from said read information file with a predetermined guaranteed capacity;

determining whether said battery is under warranty, if the full charge capacity of said battery is lower than said guaranteed capacity; and

performing a process for battery replacement, if said battery is under warranty, and providing guidance to a customer for effective usage of said battery, based on collected historical data.

17. The battery diagnosis method according to claim 16, wherein said process for battery replacement is to provide delivery information for said battery.

18. A battery diagnosis method for performing a diagnosis of a battery provided for an electrical apparatus connected through a network, comprising the steps of:

reading an information file about said battery which is acquired through said network;

collecting historical data for said battery which is acquired from said read information file; and

providing to said electrical apparatus through said network guidance to the customer for effective usage of a battery, based on said collected historical data.

19. The battery diagnosis method according to claim 18, wherein said historical data to be collected for said battery is data for service time of said battery at a specific range of temperatures and/or data for service voltage of said battery at a specific range of voltages.

20. A program for causing a computer which performs a diagnosis of a battery provided for an electrical apparatus connected through a network to implement the functions for:

reading an information file about said battery which is acquired through said network;

comparing a full charge capacity of said battery which is acquired from said read information file with a predetermined guaranteed capacity;

determining whether said battery is under warranty, if the full charge capacity of said battery is lower than said guaranteed capacity; and

performing a process for battery replacement, if said battery is under warranty, and providing guidance to a customer for effective usage of said battery, based on collected historical data.

21. A program for causing a computer which performs a diagnosis of a battery provided for an electrical apparatus connected through a network to implement the functions for:

reading an information file about said battery which is acquired through said network;

collecting historical data for service time and/or service voltage of said battery which is acquired from said read information file; and

providing to said electrical apparatus through said network guidance to the customer for effective usage of a battery, based on said collected historical data.