Battery monitoring system and battery pack

Abstract: The residual power of a battery (35) can accurately be displayed in real time even in electronic equipment which has greatly variable current consumption. A calculator unit (32) in a battery pack (31) measures an electric current supplied from a capacitor unit in the battery pack (31) to the main body (10) of a note type personal computer. If the measured current value is within a preselected range, it is used to calculate the residual power of the battery (35). If the measured current value is out of the preselected range, the present operational mode of the main computer body is judged on a mode display data obtained from an operational mode control circuit (21) in the main computer body. A preselected current consumption corresponding to the judged operational mode is read out of a mode table (33) in the battery pack (31) and is used to calculate the residual power of the battery (35). The calculated residual power of the battery (35) is supplied to the operational mode control circuit (21) as residual power data which may be displayed on a sub LCD (11) in real time.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention: The present invention relates to an electronic equipment suitable for use in personal computers and the like and particularly to a system for monitoring the residual power of a battery in a battery-powered device. Technical Background: Recently, many note type battery-powered personal computers have been developed in the field of small-sized electronic equipment. When the battery power is consumed in such a device during operation, it will lead to serious problems in that the program and data are destroyed. To avoid such serious problems, means for monitoring the residual power of the battery is required. The prior art has proposed a method of providing a battery monitoring program stored in the device itself to monitor the operation of the device while calculating the residual of the battery at all times. However, it was difficult for such a battery monitoring program to indicate the residual of the battery in real time. In an equipment having a substantially constant current consumption such as a battery-powered razor, the residual of the battery can be calculated and indicated by a microcomputer mounted in the interior of a battery pack and adapted to detect the flow of electric current. In another equipment having a current consumption variable over a large range (e.g. a range between 100 milliamperes and several amperes) such as a note type personal computer, the electric current could not accurately be measured throughout its operational range even if it includes such a microcomputer as described above. The JP-A-04 194 689 discloses a detecting device of residual capacity of a battery. By determining a full charge capacity calculated from the number of times of charging stored in a battery unit and from information on the intrinsic characteristics of a battery, and by determining a consumed power calculated from a consumed power value for each processing of an apparatus, an accurate detection of a residual capacity with low power consumption is enabled. The JP-A-57 200 874 discloses a residual time indicator for battery capacity. By enabling instantaneous capturing of residual time for the battery capacity in case of power failure with a specified computation and indication based on the output of a temperature sensor, measured current and the time of battery consumption, an efficent operation of the power source is achieved. The JP-A-03 041 378 discloses a residual battery power alarm, wherein by dividing the present residual electric power of the battery by a power consumption per unit time according to the condition of an operation the usable time of a battery to be accurately calculated and alarmed is enabled. It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery monitoring system which can accurately indicate the residual power of a battery in real time even if it is used in an electronic equipment having a greatly variable current consumption. In one aspect of the present invention, a battery monitoring system may comprise a battery for supplying an electric current to various parts in an eletronic equipment, means for measuring the current consumption in the electronic equipment, and calculating means for calculating the residual energy of said battery on a measurement from said measuring means if the measurement is within a given range, characterised in that said calculating means calculates the residual energy of said battery on a preselected current consumption corresponding to the operational mode of the electronic equipment if said measurement is out of said given range, said battery monitoring system further comprising a mode table in which a preselected current consumption has been registered for each operational mode, wherein said calculating means determines a current consumption in the present operational mode with reference to said mode table, and wherein said operational modes corresponding to the preselected current consumptions registered in said mode table include at least a suspended mode in which the current consumption in the electronic equipment at each device is limited, a main power-off mode in which the main power source in the electronic equipment is turned off, and a normal mode in which main and sub power supplies are turned on simultaneously. According to an embodiment of the battery monitoring system, said calculating means includes means for judging whether or not the measurement at said measuring means is within said given range. According to another embodiment said calculating means includes means for taking a mode data indicative of the present operational mode in the electronic equipment. In another aspect of the present invention the battery monitoring system comprises means for generating a mode data indicative of the present operational mode in the electronic equipment, means responsive to the mode data from said mode data generating means for determining a current consumption corresponding to the present operational mode with reference to said mode table, and means responsive to the judgment from said judging means for calculating the residual energy of the battery on either the current consumption in the electronic equipment measured by said measuring means or the current consumption determined by said determining means. According to a still other aspect of the present invention, the battery monitoring there is system comprises a battery pack detachably mounted within the electronic equipment and adapted to supply an electric current into the electronic equipment. The battery pack comprises the battery for supplying an electric current to the electronic equipment, the means for measuring the electric current supplied from said battery to the electronic equipment, the mode table for correlating the operational mode of the electronic equipment with a current consumption in that operational mode, and the means for calculating the residual power of said battery on a measured value from said measuring means if the measured value is within a given range and for reading a current consumption corresponding to the information of operational mode provided by the electronic equipment from said mode table to calculate the residual power of the battery on the read current consumption if the measured value in the measuring means is out of said range. The battery pack can perform the processing operation through the calculating unit mounted therein in the same manner as in the aforementioned battery monitoring system. The battery monitoring system can cause the display mounted in the electronic equipment to indicate the residual power of the battery periodically calculated by the calculating means in real time. In a further aspect of the present invention, the battery pack further comprises a display in the external surface of the battery pack exposed when it is mounted in the electronic equipment, the display being adapted to indicate the residual power of the battery periodically calculated by said calculating means in real time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the primary parts of a note type personal computer including a battery monitoring system to which one embodiment of the present invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the outline of the note type personal computer. Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the internal arrangement of the battery pack shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 illustrates the contents of the mode table shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the processing in the calculating unit shown in Fig. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the present invention applied to a note type personal computer as an electronic equipment. Fig. 1 shows the primary parts of the note type personal computer to which one embodiment of the present invention is applied while Fig. 2 shows the outline of the note type personal computer. As can be seen from Fig. 2, the main body 10 of the note type personal computer includes a push-button type momentary actuator switch 12 at the front face thereof. Each time the switch 12 is depressed, the personal computer can be switched from a normal operation mode to a suspended mode in which various parts in the personal computer are interrupted in operation and placed in a sleep state or vice versa. The personal computer also includes an openable screen panel 16 having a large-sized liquid crystal display (hereinafter called "main LCD") 14. The main LCD 14 is adapted to indicate input data from a key board 13 and data generated in the interior of the personal computer. The personal computer further includes a small-sized sub LCD 11 disposed independently of the main LCD 14. The sub LCD 11 is adapted to indicate such system information as will be described later. The personal computer may be powered by an electric current supplied thereinto from a battery pack 31 which is detachably mounted within the personal computer through the side opening thereof. Referring now to Fig. 1, the main body 10 of the personal computer comprises an operational mode control circuit 21 for. controlling the current consumption at various devices within the personal computer in the suspend mode and for controlling the sub LCD 11 through an LCD driver 28. The devices within the personal computer may include the main LCD 14, a hard disc (HD), a main CPU and others. The operational mode control circuit 21 is connected to the actuator switch 12. When the actuator switch 12 is depressed in the normal operation mode, the operational mode control circuit 21 may perform a given control for shifting the normal mode to the suspended mode. In the suspended mode, the main LCD 14 is turned off, the hard disc motor is stopped and the main CPU is placed in its hold state. The contents in the main memory (RAM), video memory (VRAM) and others as well as the necessary and minimum logic can be backed up by the battery. The operational mode control circuit 21 generates a mode display data 26 indicating whether the personal computer is in the normal operation mode or suspended mode. The mode display mode 26 is supplied to the battery pack 31. The personal computer further includes main and sub power supplies 23 and 24 each of which is adapted to output a constant DC voltage by the use of the battery pack 31 as a source of energy. The sub power supply 24 is adapted to back up the operational mode control circuit 21 at all times independently of a power switch (not shown). The main power supply 23 begins to supply the electric power to various computer parts when the power switch is actuated. Fig. 3 shows the internal details of the battery pack 31. A current detecting resistor 36 is connected between the plus and minus output terminals of the battery 35. A voltage across these terminals is converted into a digital value by an analog/digital (A/D) converter 34, the digital value being then supplied to a calculator unit 32. The calculator unit 32 is operated with a predetermined clock frequency (e.g. 32 KHz) which is provided by an oscillator 38. The calculator unit 32 calculates an electric current flowing through the current detecting resistor 36, based on the digital value from the A/D converter 34. The calculator unit 32 performs a processing operation on the calculated current value. More particularly, if the detected current is equal to or higher than a given level (in this embodiment, its minimum measurable limit being 50 milliamperes, for example), the calculator unit 32 calculates the residual energy in the capacitor unit 35 on the detected current value. If the detected current value is lower than the given level, the operational mode control circuit 21 in the main body 10 of the electronic equipment reads a current consumption corresponding to the mode display data 26 provided through an interface (I/F) 37 out of a mode table 33. Based on the read current consumption, the residual energy in the capacitor unit 35 may be calculated by the calculator unit 32. The calculated value will be outputted through the interface 37 in the form of 5-bit residue data 25. Fig. 4 shows the contents of the mode table 33. As seen from Fig. 4, the mode display data 26 from the operational mode control circuit 21 in the main computer body 10 is represented by three bits which can be combined to set eight operational modes. In this embodiment, there are three operational modes, that is, a suspended mode used to limit the current consumption in the personal computer at each device; a main power-off mode used to cause only the sub power supply 24 in the operational mode control circuit 21 to operate and to stop the main power supply 23; and a normal operational mode used to initiate the main and sub power supplies 23, 24 simultaneously. In the suspended mode, the current consumption may be equal to 10 milliamperes. In the main power-off mode, the current consumption may be equal to zero. Referring also to Fig. 5, the operation of the note type personal computer will be described. The operational mode control circuit 21 in the main computer body 10 controls the operational modes in the personal computer and outputs the mode display data 26 corresponding to the present mode in real time. The calculator unit 32 in the battery pack 31 measures an electric current value I M supplied from the capacitor unit 35 to the main computer body 10, based on the differential potential from the A/D converter 34 (step S101). If the measured current value is equal to or higher than 50 milliamperes (step S102; N), the measured current value I M is taken as a current consumption I (step S107) which is in turn used to calculate the residual energy in the capacitor unit 35 (step S105). The current value actually measured may broadly range between one milliamperes and about 2.3 amperes. However, the current value cannot be accurately measured if it is below 50 milliamperes, as described. It is now assumed that a processing cycle (S101-S106) in the flowchart of Fig. 5 is 10 Milliseconds. The calculator unit 32 calculates a new residual value B which is obtained by subtracting a value (0.1 seconds X I amperes) from the original (previous) residual value B. If the measured value I M is lower than 50 milliamperes (step S102; Y), the calculator unit 32 judges that the measurement is impossible and takes the mode display data 26 to read a preselected current consumption corresponding to the mode display data 26 out of the mode table 33 (step S104). For example, if the mode display data 26 is "011", the calculator unit 32 judges that the present mode is the suspended mode and determines that the current consumption I is equal to 10 milliamperes. Based on the determined value, the same calculation as in the step S105 will be performed to determine the residual value B. The calculator unit 32 feeds the resulting residual value B to the operational mode control circuit 21 in the main computer body 10 as 5-bit data 25 (step S106). The operational mode control circuit 21 in the main computer body 10 outputs the residual data 25 from the battery pack 31 to the LCD driver 28, the residual data 25 being thus displayed on the sub LCD 11. Such a cycle of operations is carried out for each period of 100 milliseconds as described. Therefore, the residual energy in the battery pack 31 may be displayed on the sub LCD 11 in real time. Although the preferred embodiment has been described as to the sub LCD 11 in the main computer body 10 for displaying the residual power the battery, the present invention is not limited to such an arrangement, but may be applied in various modifications, for example, in which the residual power of the battery is displayed on part of the main LCD 14 or in which a small-sized LCD is disposed on the external face of the battery pack 31 exposed when it is mounted in the main computer body. Where the residual power of the battery is to be displayed on the main LCD 14, however, it may be switched off in the suspend mode. It is therefore more desirable that the residual power of the battery is displayed on the sub LCD in the main computer body or the LCD on the external surface of the battery pack. As will be apparent from the foregoing, the battery monitoring system or battery pack of the present invention can calculate the residual power of said battery on a measured current if the measured current is within a given range and on a preselected current consumption corresponding to the present operational mode of the device if the measured current is out of said range. Therefore, the residual power of the battery can accurately be grasped even in electronic equipment which has greatly variable current consumption. Furthermore, the residual power of the battery can be periodically calculated and displayed on the main computer body in real time. The user can always grasp the residual power of the battery which is variable, from time to time.

Claims: A battery monitoring system comprising a battery (35) for supplying an electric current to various parts in an eletronic equipment (10), means (36, 34) for measuring the current consumption in the electronic equipment (10), and calculating means (32) for calculating the residual energy of said battery (35) on a measurement from said measuring means (36, 34) if the measurement is within a given range, characterised in that said calculating means (32) calculates the residual energy of said battery (35) on a preselected current consumption corresponding to the operational mode of the electronic equipment (10) if said measurement is out of said given range, said battery monitoring system further comprising a mode table (33) in which a preselected current consumption has been registered for each operational mode, wherein said calculating means (32) determines a current consumption in the present operational mode with reference to said mode table (33), and wherein said operational modes corresponding to the preselected current consumptions registered in said mode table (33) include at least a suspended mode in which the current consumption in the electronic equipment (10) at each part is limited, a main power-off mode in which the main power source (23) in the electronic equipment (10) is turned off, and a normal mode in which main and sub power supplies (23, 24) are turned on simultaneously. The battery monitoring system as defined in claim 1, wherein said calculating means (32) includes means for judging whether or not the measurement at said measuring means (36, 34) is within said given range. The battery monitoring system as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein said calculating means (32) includes means for taking a mode data indicative of the present operational mode in the electronic equipment (10). The battery monitoring system as defined in claims 2 or 3, further comprising means (21) for generating a mode data indicative of the present operational mode in the electronic equipment (10), means (32) responsive to the mode data from said mode data generating means (21) for determining a current consumption corresponding to the present operational mode with reference to said mode table (33), and means responsive to the judgment from said judging means for calculating the residual energy of the battery (35) on either the current consumption in the electronic equipment (10) measured by said measuring means (36, 34) or the current consumption determined by said determining means (32). The battery monitoring system as defined in any of the claims 1 to 4, further comprising a display in the electronic equipment (10), the display being adapted to indicate the residual energy of the battery (35) periodically calculated by said calculating means (32) in real time. The battery monitoring system as defined in claim 5, wherein said display includes an exclusive display device (11) disposed independently of a main display device (14). The battery monitoring system as defined in claim 5 or 6, wherein said display includes a liquid crystal display device. The battery monitoring system as defined in any of the claims 1 to 7 comprising a battery pack (31) detachably mounted within said electronic equipment (10) and adapted to supply an electric current into said electronic equipment (10), said battery pack (31) comprising said battery (35) for supplying an electric current to the electronic equipment (10), said means (36,34) for measuring the electric current supplied from said battery (35) to the electronic equipment (10), said mode table (33) for correlating said operational mode of said electronic equipment (10) with a current consumption in that operational mode, and said means (32) for calculating the residual energy of said battery (35) on a measured value from said measuring means (36, 34) if the measured value is within a given range and for reading a current consumption corresponding to an operational mode data provided by the electronic equipment (10) from said mode table (33) to calculate the residual of said battery (35) on the read current consumption if the measured value in the measuring means (36,34) is out of said range. The battery monitoring system as defined in claim 8, wherein said battery pack (31) further comprises an additional display in the external surface of said battery pack (31) exposed when it is mounted in said electronic equipment (10), said display being adapted to indicate the residual energy of said battery (35) periodically calculated by said calculating means (32) in real time. The battery monitoring system as defined in claim 9, wherein said display includes a liquid crystal display device.

Inventors: ISHIDA MASAYOSHI, ISHIDA, MASAYOSHI
Applicants: SANYO ELECTRIC CO, SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G01R31
IPC codes: G01R31, G06F1