Patent Publication Number: US-2011074339-A1

Title: Information processing apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-228902 filed on Sep. 30, 2009. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of mounting a plurality of batteries having different charging currents. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In recent years, there is devised a battery capable of being charged with a large current as compared with a commonly used lithium-ion battery (hereinafter referred to as “new type battery”). Since the new type battery has specifications which allow charging by passing a current larger than that for the lithium-ion battery, as a result, it becomes possible to charge the new type battery up to a fully charged condition in a time period shorter than that for the lithium-ion battery. 
     Consequently, it is considered that, if the lithium-ion battery or the new type battery can be selected and used in accordance with the use of each user, an improvement in convenience for the user is facilitated. 
     By the way, JP-A 2006-324064 discloses a battery pack of the lithium-ion battery in which a battery determination element for determining the battery type is provided, and the position of its plus terminal is formed at a position different from the position of the plus terminals of battery packs of a nickel-cadmium battery and a nickel-hydrogen battery. A structure is adopted in which the battery pack of the lithium-ion battery can be used in the equipment assuming the use of the battery packs of the nickel-cadmium battery and the nickel-hydrogen battery. 
     In the technique described in JP-A 2006-324064, the position of the plus terminal is changed in accordance with the battery type so as to be able to use the batteries of different types in combination, but it is not assumed that the configuration itself of a connection terminal and a structure are modified in order to pass a current as large as that for the new type battery. 
     When consideration is given to the application of the new type battery to an information processing apparatus represented by a notebook personal computer, the amount of current which can be passed through the connection terminal for the commonly used lithium-ion battery at present is not enough so that it is difficult to complete the charging in a short time period. 
     For example, in order to support both of two types of batteries having different charging currents such as the lithium-ion battery and the new type battery, it is required to have the connection terminal for passing the current larger than the amount of the current which can be passed through the connection terminal for the lithium-ion battery. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A general architecture that implements the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not limited the scope of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is an outer appearance perspective view showing a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a back face of the computer according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the structure of the computer according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a view for explaining the structure related to charging control in the embodiment of the present invention in greater detail; and 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart showing an example of a procedure for the charging control according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Various embodiments according to the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     In the present embodiment, the description will be given of a notebook computer as an example of an information processing apparatus.  FIG. 1  is an outer appearance perspective view showing the computer according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     A computer  1  includes a main body case  2 , and a display case  3  is openably and closably attached to the main body case  2  via a hinge  4 . The display case  3  can be opened and closed at an open position where an upper face  2   a  of the main body case  2  is exposed, and at a close position where the upper face  2   a  of the main body case  2  is covered. In the display case  3 , a display device  3   a  formed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is incorporated. 
     In the main body case  2 , a circuit board (not shown) on which a plurality of electronic components are mounted is accommodated. On the upper face  2   a  of the main body case  2 , a touch pad  5  and a keyboard  6  are attached as internal input devices. On the upper face  2   a  of the main body case  2 , a power switch  7  for turning ON/OFF the power of the computer  1  is also provided. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing aback face of the computer according to the embodiment of the present invention. On a back face  2   b  of the main body case  2  of the computer  1 , a battery attachment module  10  is provided. To the battery attachment module  10 , a first battery  100  or a second battery  200  is selectively attached. In the first battery  100 , a first connection terminal  101  is provided. In the second battery  200 , second connection terminals  201  are provided. In the present embodiment, the description is based on the assumption that the first connection terminal  101  is also provided in the second battery  200  together with the second connection terminals  201 , but it is optional whether or not the first connection terminal  101  is provided in the second battery  200 . 
     In the battery attachment module  10 , connectors for connection are provided such that both of the first and second batteries  100  and  200  can be attached to and detached from the battery attachment module  10 . Specifically, a first connector  11  to be connected with the connection terminal  101  of the first battery  100 , and second connectors  21  to be connected with the connection terminals  201  of the second battery  200  are provided. 
     In the present embodiment, the second battery  200  is structured to be capable of charging with a current larger than that for the first battery  100 . Accordingly, the second battery  200  can be charged more rapidly than the first battery. 
     Specific figures will be presented as an example. When the charging is performed by using the first connection terminal  101  and the first connector  11 , it is assumed that the current of 1.8 A can be passed. At this time, the charging is performed by passing the current of 1.8 A for two hours with respect to the capacity of the first battery  100  of 4000 mAh, and the battery is thereby charged up to 3600 mA (90%). 
     On the other hand, when the charging is performed by using the second connection terminals  201  and the second connectors  21 , it is assumed that the current of 21.6 A can be passed. At this time, since the charging is performed by passing the current of 21.6 A with respect to the capacity of the second battery  200  of 4000 mAh, the battery is charged up to 3600 mA (90%) in only 10 minutes. The charging performed in a relatively short time period by passing such a large current is occasionally referred to as fast charging for convenience sake in the present embodiment. 
     In order to achieve specifications mentioned above, the connection terminals  201  of the second battery  200  and the second connectors  21  with which the second battery  200  is connected have the configurations of the connection terminals themselves and the connectors themselves which are formed to be thicker than those of the connection terminal  101  of the first battery  100  and the connector  11  with which the first battery  100  is connected. This is for the purpose of allowing the passage of the charging current larger than that for the first battery  100  to the second battery  200 . 
     If possible, instead of forming the configurations of the connection terminals themselves and the connectors themselves to be thick, the connection terminals  201  of the second battery  200  and the second connectors  21  with which the second battery  200  is connected may be formed by using a material which allows the passage of the larger charging current. 
     In the present embodiment, when the second battery  200  is used, it is also possible to perform the charging in a relatively short time period by passing the larger charging current using the second connection terminals  201  during the charging, and perform discharging from the first connection terminal  101  provided in the second battery  200  during the discharging. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the structure of the computer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the computer  1 , there are provided a CPU  30 , a north bridge  31 , a main memory (RAM)  32 , a graphics controller  33 , a south bridge  34 , a hard disc drive (HDD)  36 , a BIOS-ROM  37 , an embedded controller/keyboard controller IC (EC/KBC)  40 , the display device  3   a , the touch pad  5 , the keyboard  6 , and the power switch  7 . 
     The CPU  30  is a processor which controls the operations of the individual components of the computer  1 . The CPU  30  executes an operating system and various application programs/utility programs which are loaded from the HDD  36  into the main memory (RAM)  32 . The main memory (RAM)  32  is also used for the storage of various data buffers. 
     In addition, the CPU  30  also executes a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM  37 . The BIOS is a program for hardware control. The BIOS includes a group of BIOS drivers and, in order to provide a plurality of functions for the hardware control to the operating system and the application programs, each BIOS driver includes a group of a plurality of function execution routines in correspondence to the functions. 
     In addition, the BIOS loads the operating system into the main memory (RAM)  32  from a storage device such as the HDD  36  to execute processing for bringing the computer  1  into an operable state for a user. 
     The north bridge  31  is a bridge device for connecting between a local bus of the CPU  30  and the south bridge  34 . Further, the north bridge  31  has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller  33  via a PCI Express bus or the like. Furthermore, in the north bridge  31 , a memory controller for controlling the main memory (RAM)  32  is embedded. 
     The graphics controller  33  is a display controller for controlling the display device  3   a  used as a display monitor of the present computer  1 . The graphics controller  33  sends out, to the display device  3   a , a video signal in correspondence to display data written in a video memory (VRAM)  331  by the OS or the application programs. 
     The south bridge  34  is connected with a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus and an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus, and performs the control of a PCI device and an LPC device. The HDD (Hard Disc Drive)  36  stores the OS, various application programs/utility programs, and a data file. 
     The embedded controller/keyboard controller (EC/KBC)  40  is a one-chip microcomputer obtained by integrating an embedded controller for managing a power and a keyboard controller for controlling the touch pad  5  and the keyboard  6 . In cooperation with a power controller  41 , the EC/KBC  40  executes processing for turning POWER ON/POWER OFF the computer  1  in response to the operation of the power switch  7  by the user. The power controller  41  supplies power to individual components in the computer  1  by using power from the first or second battery  100  or  200  connected with the computer  1 , or power supplied from the outside via an AC adaptor  43 . 
     A charging circuit  45  supplies the current for the charging to the first or second battery  100  or  200  attached to the battery attachment module  10 . 
     A temperature sensor  46  is connected with the charging circuit to detect a temperature of the charging circuit  45 . The temperature sensor  46  is a sensor provided in order to detect a rise in temperature caused by the heat generation of elements themselves such as an FET and a resistor in the charging circuit  45  resulting from the operation of the charging circuit  45 . 
     On the other hand, a temperature sensor  47  is a sensor for detecting the temperature of the first or second battery  100  or  200  attached to the battery attachment module  10 . 
     It is to be noted that the first battery  100  includes an EEPROM  105  inside the battery. Similarly, the second battery  200  includes an EEPROM  205  inside the battery. The system of the computer  1  is capable of reading information on the first battery  100  from the EEPROM  105 , and also reading information on the second battery  200  from the EEPROM  205  via, e.g., the power controller  41 . 
     In the EEPROM  105  of the first battery  100 , there is stored the information related to the first battery  100 , i.e., ID information for indicating the first battery  100 , the capacity of the first battery  100 , and a parameter related to charging control such as a completion current value when the first battery  100  is fully charged. 
     Similarly, in the EEPROM  205  of the second battery  200 , there is stored the information related to the second battery  200 , i.e., the ID information for indicating the second battery  200 , the capacity of the second battery  200 , the parameter related to the charging control such as the completion current value when the second battery  200  is fully charged, and information for indicating that the second battery  200  is a battery compatible with the fast charging. 
     The power controller  41  is capable of acquiring the information stored in the EEPROM  105  from the first battery  100  by performing communication using an I2C bus  108 . The power controller  41  is similarly capable of acquiring the information stored in the EEPROM  205  from the second battery  200  by performing communication using an I2C bus  208 . 
       FIG. 4  is a view for explaining the structure related to the charging control in the embodiment of the present invention in greater detail. It is to be noted that, with regard to matters which have already been explained in the description related to  FIG. 3 , a repeated description thereof is occasionally omitted. 
     The power controller  41  reads the information related to the battery from the first battery  100  attached to the battery attachment module  10  through the I2C bus  108 , or from the second battery  200  through the I2C bus  208 . In addition to the acquisition of the ID information on the battery, the capacity of the battery, the parameter related to the charging control of the battery, and the information for indicating that the battery is compatible with the fast charging which have been mentioned in the above description, the power controller  41  can also detect that the battery is fully charged, that an overvoltage of the battery is occurring, and that the battery is in a low-battery state where the capacity thereof is lower than a given threshold value. 
     The power controller  41  selects the charging current for charging the battery based on the information read through the I2C bus from the first battery  100  or the second battery  200 , and reports the passage of the charging current to the charging circuit  45 . 
     At this time, the power controller  41  sends an ON/OFF signal of a charging path to a switch  48 . In accordance with the signal sent from the power controller  41  to the switch  48 , it is selected whether the charging current is supplied to the first battery  100  through a first charging path  51 , or the charging current is supplied to the second battery  200  through a second charging path  52 . 
     When the charging circuit  45  receives the report on the passage of the charging current to the battery from the power controller  41 , the charging circuit  45  supplies the charging current to the battery attached to the battery attachment module  10 . When the first battery  100  is attached, the charging current suitable for the first battery  100  is supplied through the first charging path  51 , while when the second battery  200  is attached, the charging current suitable for the second battery  200  is supplied through the second charging path  52 . 
     Thus, in accordance with the type of the battery connected with the battery attachment module  10 , the charging current to be supplied to the battery is selected. In other words, when the first battery  100  is attached, the charging current suitable for the first battery  100  is supplied, while when the second battery  200  is attached, the charging current larger than that for the first battery  100  is supplied. In the computer  1  of the present embodiment, it becomes possible to handle both of the charging for the first battery  100  and the fast charging for the second battery  200 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart showing an example of a procedure for the charging control according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the power controller  41  performs the communication utilizing the I2C buses to monitor whether or not the first battery  100  or the second battery  200  is attached to the battery attachment module  10  (step  1 - 1 ). 
     When it is detected that the first battery  100  or the second battery  200  is attached (Yes in the step  1 - 1 ), the ID information on the battery, the capacity of the battery, the parameter related to the charging control of the battery, and the information for indicating that the battery is compatible with the fast charging are acquired from the attached battery (step  1 - 2 ). At this time, it is detected whether or not the battery is fully charged, whether or not the overvoltage of the battery is occurring, and whether or not the battery is in the low-battery state where the capacity thereof is lower than the given threshold value. 
     The power controller  41  determines whether or not the battery attached to the battery attachment module  10  is chargeable based on the acquired information items (step  1 - 3 ). This determination is performed based on the charging capacity of the battery and the temperature of the battery. Examples of the determination criterion include whether or not the battery is in a fully charged condition, whether or not the battery is in an overcharged condition, and whether or not the temperature of the battery is in a range of normal temperatures. As the result of the determination, when the battery is not chargeable (No in the step  1 - 3 ), the charging for the battery is not performed. At this time, an error report may be sent to the system of the computer  1  from the power controller  41 . 
     When there is no particular abnormality in the battery attached to the battery attachment module  10 , and the battery is chargeable (Yes in the step  1 - 3 ), the type of the battery is determined based on the ID information on the battery acquired from the attached battery (step  1 - 4 ). When the attached battery is the first battery  100  (Yes in the step  1 - 4 ), the first charging path is selected (step  1 - 5 ), and the charging current suitable for the first battery  100  is supplied through the first charging path  51  (step  1 - 7 ). On the other hand, when the attached battery is the second battery  200  (No in the step  1 - 4 ), the second charging path is selected (step  1 - 6 ), and the charging current suitable for the second battery  200  is supplied through the second charging path  52  (step  1 - 7 ). 
     As has been described thus far, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide the information processing apparatus which allows the support for both of the first battery and the second battery having the charging current larger than that for the first battery. 
     The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.