Abstract:
Disclosed are a battery pack having a dummy battery function, a portable electronic apparatus and a control method thereof. The portable electronic apparatus, includes a system body connectable to a plurality of components; a battery to supply power to the system body; a battery charging part to charge the battery with power externally supplied; a user selecting part selectable between a dummy mode and a normal mode related to the battery; and a controller to control the battery charging part to not charge the battery when the dummy mode is selected through the user selecting part and control the battery charging part to charge the battery when the normal mode is selected through the user selecting part. With this configuration, a dummy battery function is provided avoid the performance of a battery from deterioration and the durability of the battery from being reduced.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2005-90649, filed Sep. 28, 2005 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     Aspects of the present invention relate to a battery pack, a portable electronic apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a battery pack having a dummy battery function, a portable electronic apparatus and a control method thereof.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In general, electronic apparatuses equipped with batteries have been widely used due to their portability and mobility. Examples include portable computers such as laptop computers, notebook computers, Personal Digital Assistants(PDA), or the like, CD players, video camcorders, etc., There are many cases where such portable electronic apparatuses use a battery and an adapter simultaneously. When the battery and the adapter are simultaneously used, the battery may be, in many cases, maintained at a charged rate of 100%. In addition, even when the portable electronic apparatuses use only the battery, there are many cases where the adapter may be used for a short time after the battery is used rather than having the exhausted battery recharged and reused.  
         [0006]     However, if the battery is used without a complete discharging and charging, a problem of reduced durability of the battery and deteriorated performance of the battery due to a memory effect may arise. In order to overcome such a problem, the adapter may be used with the battery detached, or a dummy battery (i.e., an imitation battery with no battery function), may be purchased and used separately in consideration of external appearance of the electronic apparatus.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a battery pack having a dummy battery function for preventing the performance of a battery from being deteriorated and the durability of the battery from being reduced for a portable computer and a control method thereof.  
         [0008]     Aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a portable electronic apparatus, including: a system body connectable to a plurality of components a battery to supply power to the system body; a battery charging part to charge the battery with power externally supplied; a user selecting part selectable between a dummy mode and a normal mode related to the battery; and a controller to control the battery charging part to release charging of the battery if the dummy mode is selected through the user selecting part and control the battery charging part to charge the battery when the normal mode is selected through the user selecting part.  
         [0009]     According to an aspect of the invention, the portable electronic apparatus further includes a memory in which mode information related to the dummy mode and the normal mode is set, wherein the controller sets the mode information based upon the mode selected through the user selecting part in the memory.  
         [0010]     According to an aspect of the invention, wherein the controller controls the battery charging part to charge the battery based on the mode information set in the memory.  
         [0011]     According to an aspect of the invention, the user selecting part is provided in the battery, and the controller includes a battery controller provided in the battery to provide the mode information corresponding to the selection of the user selecting part to the system body, and a body controller to control the battery charging part to charge the battery based on the mode information provided from the battery controller.  
         [0012]     According to an aspect of the invention, the battery includes a memory in which information related to the dummy mode and the normal mode is stored, and the battery controller stores the mode information on the mode selected through the user selecting part in the memory.  
         [0013]     According to an aspect of the invention, the battery controller communicates with the body controller via a system management (SM) bus.  
         [0014]     According to an aspect of the invention, the user selecting part includes a first user selecting part provided in the battery and a second user selecting part provided in the system body.  
         [0015]     According to an aspect of the invention, the memory includes a first memory in which first mode information corresponding to selection of the first user selecting part is stored and the system body includes a second memory in which second mode information corresponding to selection of the second user selecting part is stored, wherein the controller includes a battery controller provided in the battery to store the first mode information in the first memory, and a body controller to store the second mode information in the second memory.  
         [0016]     According to an aspect of the invention, the battery controller provides the first mode information to the system body, and the body controller controls the battery charging part to charge the battery based on the first mode information provided from the battery controller and the second mode information from the second memory.  
         [0017]     According to an aspect of the invention, the body controller controls the battery charging part to not charge the battery when at least one of the first mode information and the second mode information is related to the dummy mode.  
         [0018]     Another aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a battery pack mounted in an electronic apparatus for supplying power to the electronic apparatus, including: a battery; a user selecting part selectable between a dummy mode and a normal mode related to the battery; a memory in which mode information related to the dummy mode and the normal mode is stored; and a battery controller to set the mode information on the mode selected through the user selecting part in the memory and transmit the set mode information to the electronic apparatus.  
         [0019]     Aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a portable electronic apparatus, including: a battery connector to which a battery is connected; a system body connectable to a plurality of components driven by power supplied from the battery; a battery charging part to charge the battery with power externally supplied; a user selecting part selectable between a dummy mode and a normal mode related to the battery; and a controller to control the battery charging part to not charge the battery when the dummy mode is selected through the user selecting part and control the battery charging part to charge the battery when the normal mode is selected through the user selecting part.  
         [0020]     According to an aspect of the invention, the portable electronic apparatus further includes a memory in which mode information related to the dummy mode and the normal mode is set, and the controller sets the mode information based upon the mode selected through the user selecting part in the memory and controls the battery charging part to charge the battery based on the mode information set in the memory.  
         [0021]     According to an aspect of the invention, the controller controls the battery charging part to not charge the battery, based on first mode information provided from the battery and second mode information stored in the memory, when at least one of the first mode information and the second mode information is related to the dummy mode.  
         [0022]     Aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a control method of a portable electronic apparatus having a system body having a plurality of components, a battery to supply power to the system body, a battery charging part to charge the battery with power externally supplied, and a user selecting part, the control method including: selecting one of a dummy mode and a normal mode related to the battery through the user selecting part, the user selecting part allowing a selection selectable between dummy and normal modes; and controlling the battery charging part to not charge the battery when the dummy mode is selected through the user selecting part, and controlling the battery charging part to charge the battery when the normal mode is selected through the user selecting part.  
         [0023]     According to an aspect of the invention, the controlling the battery charging part includes setting mode information based upon the mode selected through the user selecting part in a predetermined memory and controlling the battery charging part to charge the battery or release charging of the battery based on the mode information set in the memory.  
         [0024]     According to an aspect of the invention, the user selecting part is provided in the battery, and the controlling the battery charging part includes providing mode information corresponding to selection of the user selecting part to the system body and controlling the battery charging part to charge the battery or not charge the battery based on the mode information.  
         [0025]     According to an aspect of the invention, the battery further includes a memory in which the mode information related to the dummy mode and the normal mode is set, and the providing the mode information corresponding to selection of the user selecting part to the system body includes setting the mode information in the memory in correspondence with selection of the user selecting part and transmitting the mode information set in the memory to the system body.  
         [0026]     According to an aspect of the invention, the user selecting part includes a first user selecting part provided in the battery and a second user selecting part provided in the system body; the memory includes a first memory in which first mode information corresponding to selection of the first user selecting part is stored and the system body includes a second memory in which second mode information corresponding to selection of the second user selecting part is stored; and the controlling the battery charging part includes storing the first mode information in the first memory, storing the second mode information in the second memory, providing the first mode information to the system body, and controlling the battery charging part to charge the battery or not charge the battery based on the first mode information and the second mode information.  
         [0027]     According to an aspect of the invention, the controlling the battery charging part to charge the battery or not charge the battery includes controlling the battery charging part to release charging of the battery when at least one of the first mode information and the second mode information is related to the dummy mode.  
         [0028]     According to another aspect of the present invention, a portable device includes: a battery having a first selector; a main body having a second selector and a controller, wherein the controller disables the battery when either of the first or second selectors is set to a disable mode.  
         [0029]     According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a portable device having a battery having a first selector and a main body having a second selector, including disabling a charging of the battery when either of the first or second disable selectors is set to a disable mode.  
         [0030]     According to another aspect of the present invention, a battery pack for a portable device, including: a cell to supply power; a controller to control charging of the cell according to selection states selectable between a dummy mode and a normal mode; and a memory storing the selection states used by the controller.  
         [0031]     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0032]     These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the aspects, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:  
         [0033]      FIG. 1  is a control block diagram of a portable computer according to an aspect of the present invention;  
         [0034]      FIG. 2  is a control flow chart of the portable computer according to an aspect of the present invention; and  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  is a control flow chart of a portable computer according to an aspect of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]     Reference will now be made in detail to the aspects of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The aspects are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0037]      FIG. 1  is a control block diagram of a portable computer according to an aspect of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the portable computer includes a battery  10  and a computer body  20 . The battery  10  is a smart battery with a dummy function and includes a connector  11  to be connected to the computer body  20 , a battery cell  12  for supplying power, a first user selecting part  13 , a first memory  14  and a battery controller  15 . The connector  11  includes a power input/output terminal for supplying and receiving power of the battery  10  and power of an adapter  30  from the computer body  20  (related to the thin line shown), and a data input/output terminal for communication between the battery  10  and the computer body  20  (related to the crossed hatched arrow shown).  
         [0038]     The first user selecting part  13  serves to set and release the dummy function of the battery  10 . The first user selecting part  13  may be provided with buttons or keys to select or release the dummy function. The first user selecting part  13  may be used to set other functions as well. Moreover, the battery cell  12  can be more than one cell, and can be any rechargeable battery type, such as lithium ion. Additionally, the selection can be input via the computer  20  such that the first user selecting part  13  need not be used in all aspects of the present invention.  
         [0039]     In addition, the first memory  14  stores information on set and release of the dummy function of the battery  10 . The first memory  14  may be implemented as a register or a flash memory. For example, if a register is used and if a dummy mode is set, a value of the register may be set to “1”. If a normal mode is set, a value of the register may be set to “0”. When one of the dummy mode and the normal mode is selected through the first user selecting part  13 , the battery controller  15  stores information on the selected mode in the first memory  14  and transmits the information to the computer body  20  when the computer body  20  requests the information. The battery controller  15  may be implemented by a microcontroller. Accordingly, if the dummy mode is selected, a register value of the first memory  14  is set to “1”. If the normal mode is selected, a register value of the first memory  14  is set to “0”. Then, the register value set (or stored) in the first memory  14  is transmitted to the computer body  20 . On the other hand, the battery controller  15  may receive a mode setting control signal related to the dummy function of the battery  10  from the computer body  20  and use the received mode setting control signal to set the register value in the first memory  14 . The battery controller  15  may communicate with the computer body  20  via an interface such as a system management (SM) bus, which may be the implementation of the data input/output terminal discussed above. It is to be understood that such communication may be achieved via interfaces other than the SM bus, such as serial buses.  
         [0040]     The computer body  20  shown in  FIG. 1  includes a connector  21 , a system part  22 , a power supply  23 , a battery charging part  24 , a second user selecting part  25 , a second memory  26  and a computer body controller  27 . The system part  22  includes various electronic components, such as a CPU, a processor chip, and so on, and operates by power supplied from the adapter  30  or the battery  10 . The power supply  23 , which is connected to the adapter  30  or the battery  10 , selects a power path through which power is supplied from the adapter  30  or the battery  10  under the control of the computer body controller  27 , and outputs the power supplied from the adapter  30  or the battery  10  as power (for example, 12V, 5V, 3.3V, 2.7V, 2.5V, etc.) required for various components of the system part  22 , such as the CPU, a mother board, a display, a hard disk drive, a CD ROM drive, etc. When the battery  10  is charged under the control of the computer body controller  27 , the battery charging part  24  supplies a charging current and a charging voltage to the battery  10 . The second user selecting part  25  serves to set and release the dummy function of the battery  10  and may be provided with buttons, keys, a mouse, a keyboard, a remote controller, etc. to select the dummy function. The second user setting part  25  may be used to select any functions of the battery  10  or the computer body  20 . The computer body controller  27  controls the battery charging part  24  based on battery mode information set in the first memory  14  and the second memory  26  and may be implemented by a microcontroller and/or BIOS. More specifically, when one of the dummy mode and the normal mode is selected through the second user selecting part  25 , the computer body controller  27  stores information on the selected mode in the second memory  26 . For example, if the dummy mode is selected, a register value of the second memory  26  is set to “1”, and, if the normal mode is selected, a register value of the second memory  26  is set to “0”. The computer body controller  27  communicates with the battery controller  15  to confirm the mode information related to the dummy function of the battery  10 , and accordingly, determines whether or not the battery charging part  24  charges the battery  10 .  
         [0041]     In addition, the computer body controller  27  may transmit a control signal to set the mode information related to the dummy function of the battery  10  to the battery controller  15 , and accordingly, control the battery controller  15  to set a relevant mode (dummy mode or normal mode) in the first memory  14 . Detailed operation of the computer body controller  27  will be described below.  
         [0042]      FIG. 2  is a control flow chart of the portable computer according to an aspect of the present invention. When the set or the release of the dummy mode is selected through the first user selecting part  13 , a corresponding key select signal is input to the battery controller  15  at operation  100 . If the dummy mode is selected (yes in operation  100 ), the battery controller  15  sets a register value of the first memory  14  to “1” at operation  101  and releases a charging/discharging function at operation  102 . In addition, if the dummy mode is released (no in operation  100 ), that is, the normal mode is selected, the battery controller  15  sets a register value of the first memory  14  to “0” at operation  103  and sets a charging/discharging function at operation  104 .  
         [0043]     Similarly, in the computer body  20 , as described above, when one of the set (yes) and the release (no) of the dummy mode is selected through the second user selecting part  25  at operation  100 , the computer body controller  27  sets the correct information on the selected mode in the second memory  26  at operations  101  and  103 , respectively. Then the corresponding subsequent release charging/discharging function at operation  102 , or the set charging/discharging function at operation  104  is performed.  
         [0044]     Then, when the battery controller  15  receives a signal requesting the mode information from the computer body  20 , the battery controller  15  transmits the mode information set in the first memory  14  to the computer body  20 . Upon receiving the mode information, the computer body controller  27  of the computer body  20  compares the received mode information with the mode information set in the second memory  26 . If either of the first memory or the second memory  14  and  26  is set to the dummy mode, the computer body controller  27  sets a register value related to the dummy mode to “1” in the first memory  14  and the second memory  26  at operation  101  and releases the charging/discharging function at operation  102 .  
         [0045]     On the other hand, the release of the dummy mode is set in both of the first memory  14  and the second memory  26 , the computer body controller  27  sets the charging/discharging function at operation  104 . Thus, by adding the dummy function to the battery  10  and allowing a user to select the dummy function, deterioration of performance and reduction of durability of the battery  10  can be prevented by preventing charging of the cell  12  when the dummy function is selected.  
         [0046]      FIG. 3  is a control flow chart of a portable computer according to an aspect of the present invention. The chart will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 . In the following description, the same elements and operation as the first aspect will be omitted for the sake of brevity of explanation. When the portable computer is powered on at operation  200 , the computer body  20  determines whether or not the battery  10  is mounted in the computer body  20  at operation  201 . If it is determined that the battery  10  is mounted in the computer body  20  (yes in operation  201 ), the computer body controller  27  determined whether or not the battery  10  has the dummy function at operation  202 . If it is determined that the battery has no dummy function (no in operation  202 ), the computer body controller  27  sets a dummy-related register value of the second memory  26  of the portable computer to “0” at operation  204 . The remainder of the operations is discussed below.  
         [0047]     If it is determined that the battery has the dummy function (yes in operation  202 ), the computer body controller  27  confirms a battery dummy function-related register value of the first memory  14  or the second memory  26  at operation  203 . The register value set in the second memory  26  may be confirmed directly in the computer body, and the register value set in the first memory  14  of the battery  10  can be confirmed when the computer body controller  27  requests the battery  10  to provide the mode information related to the dummy function and the battery controller  15  transmits the mode information set in the first memory  14  to the computer body controller  27 .  
         [0048]     Based on the mode information set in the first memory  14  provided from the battery controller  15  and the battery dummy function-related register value of the second memory  26 , if both of the dummy function-relate register values are set to “0” (i.e., setting of the normal mode (no in operation  203 )), the computer body controller  27  maintains the values “0” at operation  204 . Then, the computer body controller  27  sets the charging/discharging function to charge the battery  10  at operation  205 .  
         [0049]     Next, it is determined at operation  206  whether or not the dummy mode is selected through the first user selecting part  13  or the second user selecting part  25  during release of the dummy mode (that is, operation of the normal mode). If it is determined that the dummy mode is selected (yes in operation  206 ), the above-described processes are again performed, such as the determination about whether or not the battery is mounted in the computer body  20  at operation  201 .  
         [0050]     On the other hand, if at least one of the register values of the first memory  14  and the second memory  26  is “1” (yes in operation  203 ), the computer body controller  27  determines that the dummy mode is set and determines at operation  207  whether or not an AC adapter  30  is plugged in.  
         [0051]     If the dummy mode is set and the AC adapter  30  is plugged in (yes in operation  207 ), the computer body controller  27  controls both of the first memory  14  and the second memory  26  to set the dummy function-related register values to “1” at operation  208 . Then, the computer body controller  27  releases the charging function of the battery charging part  24  at operation  209 .  
         [0052]     In addition, during operation of the dummy mode, if the dummy mode is released (that is, the normal mode is selected) through the first user selecting part  13  or the second user selecting part  25  at operation  210 , the computer body controller  27  sets the dummy function-related register values of the second memory  26  and the first memory  14  of the battery  10  to “0” and then allows the battery to be charged at operations  204  and  205 .  
         [0053]     On the other hand, if the dummy mode is set but the AC adapter  30  is not plugged in (no in operation  207 ), the computer body controller  27  determines at operation  211  whether usable power remains in the battery  10  (yes in operation  211 ). If the power remains in the battery  10 , the computer body controller  27  outputs an alarm message indicating the absence of the AC adapter  30  at operation  212  and shuts off the power after a specified period of time elapses at operation  213 . If no power remains (no in operation  211 ), the power is shut off.  
         [0054]     Accordingly, by controlling the charging function of the battery  10  depending on the dummy mode or the normal mode set in the battery  10  or the computer body  20 , the problem of reduction of durability and deterioration of performance of the battery  10  can be managed.  
         [0055]     Although it is illustrated in the aspects of the present invention that the first user selecting part  13  and the first memory  14  are provided in the battery  10  and the second user selecting part  25  and the second memory  26  are provided in the computer body  20 , these user selecting parts  13 ,  25  and memories  14 ,  26  may be provided in only one of the battery  10  and the computer body  20 . In addition, although it is illustrated in the above aspects that the registers are exemplified as the first memory  14  and the second memory  26  as dummy function-related information storages, other forms of data storages may be used as the memories, such as flash ROMs and/or non-volatile memories.  
         [0056]     In addition, although it is illustrated in the above aspects that the dummy mode is set in one of the computer body  20  and the battery  10 , the dummy mode may be set in both of the computer body  20  and the battery  10 .  
         [0057]     As apparent from the description, aspects of the present invention provide a battery pack having a dummy battery function for reducing deterioration of performance of a battery and reduction of durability of the battery, a portable computer and a control method thereof. While not required in all aspects, it is understood that all or portions of the invention can be implemented as software encoded on one or more computer readable media for use with one or more computers/processors.  
         [0058]     Although a few aspects of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these aspects without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.