Electronic device and battery pack

• US 9,577,292 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2014
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yajima, Takayuki, Komaki, Keiichi, Fujimori, Norio, Ookubo, Tsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryan, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anthony, Julian
• Application Number:
  US14/184,123
• Publication Number:
  US 20140193676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: 429/61, 429/100, 429/149, 320/112
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/14 Mounting supporting structure in casing or on frame or rack
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

An electronic device includes a storing unit which is provided on a battery pack and which retains power information of the battery pack, an acquiring unit which is provided in the main unit and which acquires the power information of the battery pack from the storing unit, and a control unit which is provided in the main unit and which controls the operation of the main unit based on the power information of the battery pack.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a battery to supply power to the electronic device, wherein the battery is installed in the electronic device and the battery includes storing circuitry that stores power information of the battery; and

control circuitry that acquires the power information of the battery from the storing circuitry, and that controls an operating frequency of the electronic device based on the acquired power information of the battery,

wherein the power information includes a maximum amount of power the battery is capable to deliver, and

wherein the storing circuitry of the battery calculates the maximum amount of power and transmits the calculated maximum amount of power to the control circuitry provided in the device.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the power information of the battery is regularly stored by the storing circuitry, and the regularly stored power information is continuously or intermittently acquired by the control circuitry.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the maximum amount of power is a maximum amount of energy per unit time that the battery is capable to deliver.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the storing circuitry calculates the maximum amount of power associated with the battery based on one or more of an ambient temperature of the battery, voltage of the battery, and deterioration factor of the battery.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

the battery includes a detectable part, wherein the detectable part includes a detectable shape or a detectable circuit that enables detection of a type of the battery,

the electronic device further includes a detecting part, wherein the detecting part includes a detecting shape or a detecting circuit to detect the type of the battery, and

the control circuitry controls an operation of the electronic device based on the power information and the type of the battery detected by the detecting part.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a housing for the battery that includes, on an outer surface, one of a detectable projection and a detectable recess as the detectable part, wherein

the electronic device includes, as the detecting part, one of a detecting recess into which the detectable projection is to be inserted and a detecting projection to be inserted into the detectable recess.

7. A method, comprising:

storing power information in storing circuitry of a battery of an electronic device,

wherein the battery supplies power to the device and the battery is installed in the device, the power information including a maximum amount of power that the battery is capable of delivering;

acquiring, by control circuitry provided in the device, the power information of the battery;

controlling an operating frequency of the device based on the power information of the battery acquired in the acquiring;

calculating, by the storing circuitry of the battery, the maximum amount of power; and

transmitting, by the storing circuitry of the battery, the calculated maximum amount of power to the control circuitry provided in the device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the maximum amount of power is calculated based on one or more of an ambient temperature of the battery, voltage of the battery, and deterioration factor of the battery.