Battery controller for controlling batteries of different kinds and including battery monitoring means for calculating remaining operation time and an information processing apparatus including such battery controller

• US 5,963,010 A
• Filed: 10/30/1997
• Issued: 10/05/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Clevo Company, Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Clevo Company, Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ozeki, Satoshi, Kao, Thomas, Chen, Will, Hayashi, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward H.
• Application Number:
  US08/961,421
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106, 320/110, 320/119, 320/132, 320/136, 320/149, 320/153, 320/FOR 114, 320/FOR 129, 320/FOR 134, 320/FOR 138, 320/FOR 142, 320/FOR 147 , 320/DIG. 18, 320/DIG. 21
• US Class Current: 320/106
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3648 comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3835 involving only voltage measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4221 with battery type recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/5044 Cells or batteries structurally combined with cell condition indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00047 with provisions for charging different types of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery controller for controlling at least two batteries of different kinds, includes a kind-of-battery detection unit for detecting a kind of battery, and a battery switching unit in which a switching voltage, a suspended mode shift voltage and a termination voltage having different values in accordance with the kind of the battery detected by the kind-of-battery detector are previously set to compare an output voltage of a battery being discharged with the previously set switching voltage, suspended mode shift voltage and termination voltage so that switching of the battery being discharged, stopping of operation of an apparatus being supplied with electric power by the battery being discharged or stopping of supply of electric power by the battery being discharged is performed.

Claims

1. A battery controller for controlling at least two batteries of different kinds, comprising:

kind-of-battery detection means for detecting a kind of battery; and

battery switching means in which a switching voltage, a suspended mode shift voltage and a termination voltage having different values in accordance with the kind of the battery detected by said kind-of-battery detection means are previously set to compare an output voltage of a battery being discharged with said previously set switching voltage, suspended mode shift voltage and termination voltage so that switching of the battery being discharged, stopping of operation of an apparatus being supplied with electric power by the battery being discharged or stopping of supply of electric power by the battery being discharged is performed.

2. A battery controller according to claim 1, comprising:

battery charging means for charging the batteries of various kinds in combination of constant current charging and constant voltage charging; and

charge control means for controlling said battery charging means in accordance with the kind detected by said kind-of-battery detection means.

3. A battery controller according to claim 1, wherein said kind-of-battery detection means measures an impedance of a thermistor terminal of each battery to thereby detect the kind of the battery.

4. A battery controller according to claim 1, wherein each of the batteries includes a thermistor terminal, a battery voltage terminal and a battery monitoring IC.

5. A note-type personal computer including a battery controller for controlling at least two batteries of different kinds, comprising:

kind-of-battery detection means for detecting a kind of battery; and

battery switching means in which a switching voltage, a suspended mode shift voltage and a termination voltage having different values in accordance with the kind of the battery detected by said kind-of-battery detection means are previously set to compare an output voltage of a battery being discharged with said previously set switching voltage, suspended mode shift voltage and termination voltage so that switching of the battery being discharged, stopping of operation of an apparatus being supplied with electric power by the battery being discharged or stopping of supply of electric power by the battery being discharged is performed.