Patent ID: 9342127
Filing Date: 2016-05-17
CPC Classification: G06F,H01M,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. An electronic apparatus that selectively uses as a power source one of a battery and an external power source to be powered therefrom, comprising: a peak shift information retrieving unit that receives, from a peak shift database server, a peak shift time band during which power demand for an electric power company is lower than the power demand during a time period other than the received peak shift time band, the peak shift database server being configured to store each of a plurality of pieces of position information identifying regions to which a plurality of electric power companies are responsible for supplying power, in association with one of the peak shift time bands; a charging unit that charges the battery through the external power source; a power status determining unit that determines whether the external power source is able to drive the electronic apparatus; a history storage unit that stores a history of determination results of the power status determining unit; and a charging control unit that sets, to a first level, an upper limit of battery remaining power at which a charging operation of the charging unit is determined as being complete when the history of the determination results indicates that the external power source was previously unable to drive the electronic apparatus for at least part of a specific past period, and sets the upper limit to a second level lower than the first level when the history of the determination results indicates that the external power source was previously able to drive the electronic apparatus throughout the specific past period, wherein the peak shift information retrieving unit receives the peak shift time band that is associated, by the peak shift database server, with the plurality of piece of position information identifying on a region in which the electric apparatus is currently located so that the received peak shift time band varies depending on a location of the electric apparatus; and the charging control unit permits the charging unit to perform the charging operation during the received peak shift time band, and restricts the charging operation of the charging unit during the time period other than the received peak shift time band.