Electronic device system and battery pack

• US 9,515,509 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2013
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kubo, Yosuke, Akasaka, Kiyotaka, Nagai, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kik, Phallaka
• Application Number:
  US13/951,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20140055097A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 320/134, 320/112, 320/124, 320/128, 320/135, 320/136, 324/428, 324/435, 340/636.19, 340/636.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/00 Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/00 Batteries for particular applications
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0025 Sequential battery discharge in systems with a plurality of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00714 in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

There is provided an electronic device system including a plurality of battery packs, and an electronic device that is driven by a power source supplied from the battery packs. At least one battery pack of the plurality of battery packs outputs one or both of discharge information indicating whether the battery pack is dischargeable and charge information indicating whether the battery pack is chargeable, and the electronic device includes a control unit that performs one or both of control of discharge of the battery pack based on the discharge information and control of charge of the battery pack based on the charge information.

Claims

1. An electronic device system comprising:

a plurality of battery packs; and

an electronic device that is driven by a power source supplied from the battery packs,

wherein at least one battery pack of the plurality of battery packs outputs, to the electronic device upon a request made by the electronic device to the at least one battery pack for information, one or both of discharge information indicating whether the battery pack is dischargeable and charge information indicating whether the battery pack is chargeable, and

wherein the electronic device includes a control unit that performs one or both of control of discharge of the battery pack based on the outputted discharge information that has been received by the electronic device and control of charge of the battery pack based on the outputted charge information that has been received by the electronic device.

2. The electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack includes a dedicated port that outputs the discharge information.

3. The electronic device system according to claim 2, wherein the battery pack outputs the discharge information based on a voltage and a temperature of a battery cell included in the battery pack and a current flowing from the battery cell.

4. The electronic device system according to claim 2, wherein, based on the discharge information, the control unit selects, when a battery pack other than a predetermined battery pack among the plurality of battery packs is dischargeable, the dischargeable battery pack as the power source, and selects, when the battery pack other than the predetermined battery pack among the plurality of battery packs is not dischargeable, the predetermined battery pack as the power source.

5. The electronic device system according to claim 4,

wherein the predetermined battery pack is a battery pack fixed to the electronic device, and

wherein the battery pack other than the predetermined battery pack is a battery pack detachable from or attachable to the electronic device.

6. The electronic device system according to claim 2, wherein the charge information includes information indicating whether high-speed charge in which a charge speed is fast is possible.

7. The electronic device system according to claim 6, wherein the battery pack outputs the charge information based on a voltage and a temperature of a battery cell included in the battery pack and a current flowing in the battery cell.

8. The electronic device system according to claim 6, wherein the battery pack stores a capacity threshold value of a remaining capacity of the battery pack when the high-speed charge is performed on the battery pack, and determines whether the high-speed charge is possible based on the capacity threshold value.

9. The electronic device system according to claim 6, wherein, based on the charge information, the control unit preferentially selects, as a charge target, a battery pack for which the high-speed charge is possible among chargeable battery packs.

10. The electronic device system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit preferentially selects a predetermined battery pack as the charge target when the predetermined battery pack is included in battery packs for which the high-speed charge is possible or when the chargeable battery packs are only battery packs for which the high-speed charge is not possible and the predetermined battery pack is included in the battery packs for which the high-speed charge is not possible.

11. The electronic device system according to claim 10,

wherein the predetermined battery pack is a battery pack fixed to the electronic device, and

wherein a battery pack other than the predetermined battery pack is a battery pack detachable from or attachable to the electronic device.

12. The electronic device system according to claim 2,

wherein a first control unit configured as hardware and a second control unit configured as software are included as the control unit,

wherein the first control unit performs the control of the discharge of the battery pack, and

wherein the second control unit performs the control of the charge of the battery pack.

13. The electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is implemented via at least one processor of the electronic device system.

14. The electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of battery packs outputs one or both of discharge information indicating whether the respective battery pack is dischargeable and charge information indicating whether the respective battery pack is chargeable, and

wherein the control unit performs the one or both of control of discharge and control of charge of each one of the plurality of battery packs.

15. The electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the one or both of control of discharge and control of charge of each one of the plurality of battery packs.

16. The electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one battery pack of the plurality of battery packs outputs both of the discharge information indicating whether the battery pack is dischargeable and the charge information indicating whether the battery pack is chargeable.

17. The electronic device system according to claim 16, wherein the control unit performs both control of discharge of the battery pack based on the discharge information and control of charge of the battery pack based on the charge information.

18. A battery pack that outputs charge information indicating whether charge is possible,

wherein the charge information is output to an electronic device that is driven by a power source supplied by the battery pack, upon a request made by the electronic device to the battery pack for the charge information.

19. The battery pack according to claim 18, wherein the charge information includes information indicating whether high-speed charge in which a charge speed is fast is possible.

20. The battery pack according to claim 19, wherein the battery pack outputs the charge information based on a voltage and a temperature of a battery cell included in the battery pack and a current flowing in the battery cell.

21. The battery pack according to claim 19, wherein the battery pack stores a capacity threshold value of a remaining capacity of the battery pack when the high-speed charge is performed on the battery pack, and determines whether the high-speed charge is possible based on the capacity threshold value.

22. A battery pack that outputs discharge information indicating whether discharge is possible,

wherein the discharge information is output to an electronic device that is driven by a power source supplied by the battery pack, upon a request made by the electronic device to the battery pack for the discharge information.

23. The battery pack according to claim 22, wherein the battery pack includes a dedicated port that outputs the discharge information.

24. The battery pack according to claim 23, wherein the battery pack outputs the discharge information based on a voltage and a temperature of a battery cell included in the battery pack and a current flowing from the battery cell.

25. The battery pack according to claim 23, wherein the battery pack further outputs charge information indicating whether charge is possible.

26. The battery pack according to claim 25, wherein the charge information includes information indicating whether high-speed charge in which a charge speed is fast is possible.

27. The battery pack according to claim 26, wherein the battery pack outputs the charge information based on a voltage and a temperature of a battery cell included in the battery pack and a current flowing in the battery cell.

28. The battery pack according to claim 26, wherein the battery pack stores a capacity threshold value of a remaining capacity of the battery pack when the high-speed charge is performed on the battery pack, and determines whether the high-speed charge is possible based on the capacity threshold value.