Battery level warning device

• US 4,269,494 A
• Filed: 07/12/1978
• Issued: 05/26/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishihara, Haruji, Shiozawa, Kazuo, Shimokawa, Ryushi, Suzuki, Kijiro, Aratame, Kazuhisa, Yagi, Michio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hix, L. T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Perkey, William B.
• Application Number:
  US05/924,010
• Time in Patent Office: 1,049 Days
• Field of Search: 354/53, 354/60 R, 354/60 E, 354/60 A, 354/60 L, 354/289, 354/23 D, 354/284, 354/266-268, 354/235, 354/50, 354/51, 320/48, 324/29.5, 340/636, 340/663, 352/170, 352/171
• US Class Current: 396/279
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3646 for indicating electrical conditions or variables, e.g. visual or audible indicators

Abstract

Battery voltage level warning is made according to the output signals of two detecting circuits. A first detecting circuit detects the power supply voltage having lowered to a value somewhat above the lower limit of the operation power supply voltage of an electronic system. The output thereof supplies weak battery warning. The second detecting circuit detects the power supply voltage having lowered to the lower limit level of said operation power-supply voltage. The output thereof prohibits the operation of said electronic system. Thereby, desirable battery-replacement times becomes clarified and the malfunction of said electronic system is prevented.

Claims

1. An electronic system for driving display means and a load means comprising:

a battery;

a battery check circuit for detecting the drop of the power-supply voltage from said battery to a comparatively low value above the lower limit of the operation voltage of said electronic system and for detecting the drop of said power-supply voltage from said battery to said lower limit;

a sequence control circuit coupled to the electronic system and controlled by a first and a second switch and by the output of said battery check circuit; and

a power switching means connected between said battery and said battery check circuit,

wherein said first switch is set to the ON condition so as to start a first operation of said electronic system, wherein said second switch is thereafter set to the ON condition so as to start a second operation of said electronic system, wherein said power switching means is set to the ON condition by the ON condition of said first switch so that said battery check circuit is supplied with said power-supply voltage from said battery and said battery check circuit starts to detect said power-supply voltage, wherein said display means is controlled by said battery check circuit and said sequence control circuit to indicate internal information of said electronic system and battery-level warning information during said first operation of said electronic system based on the ON condition of said first switch when said power-supply voltage through said power switching means is lower than said comparatively low value, wherein said internal information is inherently derived by the function of said electronic system when the power supply voltage is higher than said lower limit, wherein said load means is driven by said electronic system in said second operation of said electronic system based upon the ON condition of said second switch when said power-supply voltage is higher than said lower limit, and wherein said battery check circuit prohibits said sequence control circuit from starting the second operation of said electronic system when said power-supply voltage from said power switching means is lower than said lower limit.

2. An electronic system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said power switching means includes a semiconductor device having a first and a second electrode and a control electrode, wherein the electrical conduction between said first and said second electrode is controlled by an electric signal applied to said control electrode, and wherein said first and said second electrodes are directly connected to said battery and the battery check circuit respectively and said control electrode is connected to said first switch.

3. An electronic system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gate means coupled to said first switch is used to receive said detection signal from said battery check circuit of the power-supply voltage from said battery dropping to said lower level as a gate signal, and the operation of said electronic system is substantialy prohibited by prohibiting the signal which is generated by said ON condition of said first switch from passing said gate means.

4. An electronic system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said electronic system is provided to control as said load means the electronic-control shutter of a camera, and said gate means prohibits the output of said signal of said first switching from starting the control operation of said electronic system.

5. An electronic system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electronic system includes means to detect light levels, and the internal information generated by said electronic system is an indication as to the optimum aperture setting for a camera for the detected light based on values of shutter speed, an ASA sensitivity, and the F-number of the camera lens which are preset into said electronic system.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the optimum aperture setting is indicated by continuous lighting of a display element and the warning signal is indicated by a flickering of a display element.

7. An electronic camera comprising:

a battery;

a first and a second release switch respectively interlocked with a release button of said electronic camera and successively set to the ON conditions by the depressing of said release button;

a shutter mechanism;

display means;

an electronic system which includes a photo sensing circuit, an arithmetic unit for computing optimum information for obtaining a proper photograph based upon the output of said photo sensing circuit, wherein said display means indicates information based upon said optimum information output of said arithmetic unit;

a battery check circuit for detecting the drop of the power supply voltage from said battery to a comparatively low value above the lower limit of the operation voltage of said electronic system and for detecting the drop of said power supply voltage from said battery to said lower limit;

a control circuit coupled to said electronic system which is controlled by said battery check circuit and by said first and said second release switch; and

a power switching means connected between said battery and said battery check circuit,

wherein said power switching means is set to the ON condition by the ON condition of said first release switch so that said battery check circuit is supplied with a power-supply voltage from said battery and said battery check circuit starts to detect said power-supply voltage, wherein said display means are controlled by said battery check circuit and said control circuit so as to indicate said information based upon said optimum information and battery-level warning information during the ON condition of said first release switch when said power-supply voltage from said power switch means is lower than said comparatively low value, wherein said shutter mechanism is controlled by said control circuit so as to commence the photographic operation based upon the ON condition of said second release switch, and wherein said battery check circuit prohibits said control circuit from starting the operation of said electronic system when said power-supply voltage from said power switching means is lower than said lower limit.

8. An electronic camera as claimed in claim 7, wherein said power switching means includes a semiconductor device having a first and a second electrode and a control electrode, wherein the electrical conduction between said first and second electrode is controlled by an electric signal applied to said control electrode, and wherein said first and said second electrodes are directly connected to said battery and the battery check circuit respectively and said control electrode is connected to said first release switch.

9. An electronic camera as claimed in claim 8, wherein said control circuit further comprises a gate circuit which receives the signal from said first release switch and the detector signal from said battery check circuit so as to prohibit the start of the control operation of said control circuit when said power-supply voltage from said power switching means is lower than said lower limit.

10. An electronic camera as claimed in claim 8, wherein said display means comprise a plurality of display elements and a selected one of said display elements flickers with a first frequency so as to indicate overexposure or underexposure based upon said optimum information, and wherein one of the other display elements flickers with a second frequency different from said first frequency so as to indicate said battery-level warning information for warning that said power-supply voltage drops below said comparatively low value.

11. A system according to claim 8, wherein the optimum information is the optimum aperture setting for a camera for the light sensed by the photo sensing circuit for values of shutter speed, ASA sensitivity and the F-number of the camera lens which are preset in the arithmetic unit.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the optimum aperture setting is indicated by continuous light of a display element and the warning signal is indicated by a flickering of a display element.