Patent Publication Number: US-2020297325-A1

Title: Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and ultrasonic diagnostic system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-050757 filed on Mar. 19, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technological Field 
     The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and an ultrasonic diagnostic system. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Ultrasonography is capable of acquiring conditions of the heart and an embryo as ultrasonic images with a simple operation such as placing an ultrasonic probe on the body surface or from a body cavity with high safety, so that examinations can be repeatedly conducted. There is known an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used for conducting such ultrasonography. 
     As such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus driven by batteries (cells) is known. Here, the configuration of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 C will be described by referring to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 C. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 C includes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C and an external power supply unit  30 C. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C includes a controller  11 C, a display  12 , switches  14 ,  15 , a power supply  16 , a charging/discharging controller  17 , and a battery  18 . In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C, each of other components such as an ultrasonic probe and an operator are not illustrated. The external power supply unit  30 C includes an AC (Alternating Current) adapter  32  and a cable  37 . The AC adapter  32  includes a plug  32   a.    
     The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C is defined as a portable (hand-carried type) ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be carried, for example. When the plug  32   a  is connected to an outlet of a commercial power supply, the AC adapter  32  converts an AC source power to a source power of a DC (Direct Current) voltage and supplies to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C via the cable  37 . At this time, when the battery  18  is not fully charged, the controller  11 C turns on the switches  14  and  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17 . The source power of the DC voltage is DC/DC converted by the power supply  16  and supplied to each component such as the controller  11 C and the display  12  of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C, and also supplied to the battery  18  to charge the battery  18 . 
     When the plug  32   a  is not connected to the outlet of the commercial power supply, the controller  11 C switches off the switch  14  and on the switch  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17 . The source power of the DC voltage discharged from the battery  18  is DC/DC converted by the power supply  16  and supplied to each component of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 C such as the controller  11 C and the display  12 . 
     There are a lot of demands to be able to use the portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for a long time only with the battery without connecting to the AC power supply. “Long time” means to be able to use for one day without connecting to the AC power supply, for example, which corresponds to about four operating hours when the power is frequently turned off and corresponds to about eight operating hours for unrestricted use without frequently turning off the power. 
     Therefore, there is known an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the source power is supplied from an external battery placed on a cart in addition to an AC-DC converter connected to a commercial power supply and a built-in battery (see JP 2011-78498A). 
     SUMMARY 
     In order to operate for a long time, the size and mass of the external battery become great so that the external battery is provided as a separate unit that is isolated from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. Considering the current energy density, the battery of the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus allows one-hour continuous operation or less, and the mass thereof is about 500 g. Therefore, in a case of eight-hour operation, the capacity of the battery becomes eight times the current capacity with a simple calculation so that the mass that is eight times the current mass also comes to be about 4 kg, which is too heavy to be mounted into the portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. 
     Further, when employing a configuration in which an (external) battery as a separate unit is connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side handles the battery as an input of the source power of the DC voltage. In such case, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus receives supply of the source power of the DC voltage from the AC power supply (commercial power supply) via the AC adapter or supply of the source power of the DC voltage by connecting to the external battery for long-time use, so that it is not possible on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side to know whether it is connected to the external battery or to the AC adapter. 
     As a typically used external battery, there is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The UPS is provided and utilized as a battery power supply between the AC power supply and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and designed to have a battery capacity capable of stably shutting down in case of a power failure. There are types of UPS with or without a function of giving a notification of the state of the AC power supply. In a case of having the function of giving such notification, it is common to use RS-232-C, USB (Universal Serial Bus), or LAN (Local Area Network) for a communication method of the notification. This is because an OS (Operating System) controls the whole actions in a case of a PC (Personal Computer) or the like and it is more advantageous to use the existing interface than utilizing a new interface considering the compatibility with the OS and because the UPS is not frequently detached. With the current UPS, USB or LAN is used in many cases. 
     Unlike the case of the UPS, the external battery for long-time use is designed to be utilized in an environment where the AC power supply is not available and to become free from troublesomeness of connecting to an AC power cable by utilizing the battery as the main power supply without connecting to the AC power supply. Therefore, there has been an increasing demand for a battery not only designed to connect the UPS as a connecting state and to enable stable shut down in a case of a power failure but also designed for long-time use. 
     In a case of using the external battery (outside battery), however, it is only possible on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side to know a state where the DC power supply is supplied from outside but not possible to tell whether the connection with the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is the power supplied from the AC power supply or the power supplied from the external battery. Therefore, it may happen that the supplied source power is used for charging a built-in battery (inside battery) of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, which may result in consuming the power wastefully. 
     Further, when the power is supplied from the external battery, the state of the remaining charge of the external battery is unknown. Therefore, the remaining charge of the external battery may suddenly run out, and known is the operable and useable time only with the remaining charge of the inside battery so that it may not be possible to achieve systematic use. 
     Further, even when connection signals are prepared by a connector of a communication method such as USB, LAN, or RS-232-C other than a power connector for connection between the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body and the external battery as in the case of UPS, it is still necessary to connect a cable different from the power cable. Further, in a case of a portable external battery that can be carried, connection and removal of the cable occurs frequently so that there is a possibility of forgetting connection and there may also be troublesomeness felt when using. 
     It is an object of the present invention to notify information of the origin of the source power supplied to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus without providing a communication line separately from the power line. 
     To achieve at least one of the abovementioned objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus reflecting one aspect of the present invention is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a source power supplied from an external power supplier, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprises: 
     a smoother that smoothens a source power which is supplied from the external power supplier having an external battery and on which a signal of battery information showing a state of the external battery is superimposed; 
     a power supply that supplies the smoothened source power to each component within the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus; 
     a signal extractor that extracts the signal of the battery information from the source power supplied from the external power supplier; 
     a converter that converts the extracted signal to the battery information; and 
     a first hardware processor that performs control according to the converted battery information. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages and features provided by one or more embodiments of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is a diagram showing the ultrasonic diagnostic system and a waveform of a source power when a signal is not superimposed on the source power; 
         FIG. 2B  is a diagram showing the ultrasonic diagnostic system and a waveform of a source power when a signal is superimposed on the source power; 
         FIG. 3  is a chart showing a waveform of another source power; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing power supply control processing; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an ultrasonic diagnostic system according to a modification example and a waveform of a source power when a signal is superimposed on the source power; and 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment and a modification example according to the present invention will be described in detail in order by referring to the accompanying drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. 
     EMBODIMENT 
     By referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , the embodiment according to the present invention will be described. First, the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A according to the embodiment will be described by referring to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A of the embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A includes: a portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A that can be carried; and an external power supply unit  30 A. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A includes: a controller  11 A as a first controller; a display  12  as an outputter; a smoothing circuit  13  as a smoother; switches  14 ,  15 ; a power supply  16 ; a charging/discharging controller  17 ; a battery  18 ; a signal pickup circuit  19  as a signal extractor; and a decoder  20  as a convertor. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A, illustrations of each of other components such as an ultrasonic probe that transmits/receives ultrasonic waves, a transmitter that generates drive signals for the ultrasonic probe, a receiver that receives reception signals from the ultrasonic probe, an image generator that generates ultrasonic image data from the reception signals, a display controller that displays the generated ultrasonic image data on the display  12 , a storage that stores the ultrasonic image data and the like, an operator that receives operation input of users such as medical doctors, technologists, and the like are omitted. 
     The external power supply unit  30 A includes: a controller  31 A as a second controller; an AC adapter  32 ; a battery  33  as an external battery; switches  34 ,  35 ; a mixing circuit  36  as a superimposer; and a cable  37 . The AC adapter  32  includes a plug  32   a.    
     The controller  11 A includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access memory), and a ROM (Read Only memory), reads out and expands various kinds of processing programs such as a system program stored in the ROM, and controls each component of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A according to the expanded program. The ROM is configured with a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor, and stores a system program corresponding to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A, various kinds of processing programs that can be executed on the system program, various kinds of data such as a gamma table, and the like. Those programs are stored in a form of program codes that can be read out by computers, and the CPU successively executes actions according to the program codes. The RAM is a volatile storage, and forms a work area for temporarily storing various kinds of programs executed by the CPU and the data related to those programs. 
     As the display  12 , it is possible to employ display apparatuses such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) display, an organic EL (Electronic Luminescence) display, an inorganic EL display, a plasma display, and the like. The display  12  displays ultrasonic images and the like on a display screen according to image signals for display inputted from the display controller (not shown) under control of the controller  11 A. 
     The smoothing circuit  13  is a circuit configured with a filter and the like for smoothing the voltage of the source power inputted from the external power supply unit  30 A. The source power inputted from the external power supply unit  30 A turns to a source power in which a signal component of battery information of the battery  33  is superimposed on a DC component. The smoothing circuit  13  removes the signal component by smoothing the voltage of the source power inputted from the external power supply unit  30 A, and then outputs it to a latter stage as the source power with suppressed noise. 
     The switch  14  is a switching device provided between the smoothing circuit  13  and the power supply  16  for switching on/off of the current flown between the smoothing circuit  13  and the power supply  16 . The switch  15  is a switching device provided between the battery  18  and the switch  14  as well as the power supply  16  for switching on/off of the current flown between the battery  18  and the smoothing circuit  13  or the power supply  16 . Note that the switching device includes a switch configured with a semiconductor such as an FET (Field Effect Transistor). 
     The power supply  16  DC-DC converts the source power inputted from the smoothing circuit  13  of the battery  18  and distributes to each component of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A. The power supply  16  is a power source that supplies the source power. The power supply  16  can be configured with a regulator (DC-DC converter, a series regulator). The regulator may be a circuit configured with a discrete component or may be configured with an IC (Integrated Circuit) or a circuit module. 
     The charging/discharging controller  17  is a circuit to which the source power is inputted from the smoothing circuit  13 , and controls charging/discharging of the battery  18  by switching the switches  14 ,  15  according to the inputted source power and the battery information of the battery  18  under control of the controller  11 A. The charging/discharging controller  17  can take various configurations according to the complication levels of the control, and can be achieved by a digital circuit, a small-scaled CPU such as a microcomputer, an IC dedicatedly used for controlling the power supply, or the like. The charging/discharging controller  17  is connected to the controller  11 A and the battery  18  via an SM (System Management)-Bus. 
     The battery  18  is a built-in battery of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A configured with a chargeable/dischargeable secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, and has a function of outputting RSOC (Relative State Of Charge: relative remaining charge of the battery), fault-related information, and the like to the charging/discharging controller  17  as the battery information. RSOC is a ratio of the remaining capacity with respect to the full-charge capacity of the battery, and expressed as 0 to 100%. The fault-related information is information indicating an abnormal state such as information indicating that the battery  18  is too hot, information indicating that an excessive discharge current is flowing, and the like. 
     The signal pickup circuit  19  is a circuit that removes the DC component from the source power inputted from the external power supply unit  30 A, regenerates DC, amplifies the signal component of the battery information of the battery  33  to be in a necessary amplitude, and then picks it up as a signal. 
     The decoder  20  decodes the signal inputted from the signal pickup circuit  19  in a decoding method corresponding to encoding of the controller  31 A, and outputs it as the battery information of the battery  33  to the controller  11 A. 
     The controller  31 A is a controller that controls each component of the external power supply unit  30 A, and has a function as an encoder that encodes the battery information outputted form the battery  33 , a function of switching on/off the switches  34 ,  35 , and the like. The controller  31 A can be achieved by a CPU such as a microcomputer, an IC dedicatedly used for controlling the power supply, or the like. 
     The AC adapter  32  is an adapter that converts the alternating current commercial source power to the source power of the DC (Direct Current) voltage, and includes the plug  32   a  connected to an outlet of the commercial power supply. The battery  33  is an external battery of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A configured with a chargeable/dischargeable secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, and outputs RSOC, fault-related information, power information for grasping the output power of the battery  33 , and the like to the controller  31 A as the battery information. Further, it is defined that the capacity of the battery  33  is larger than the capacity of the battery  18 , and is capable of outputting the source power for a relatively long time. 
     The switch  34  is a switching device provided between the AC adapter  32  and the mixing circuit  36  for switching on/off of the current flown between the AC adapter  32  and the mixing circuit  36 . The switch  35  is a switching device provided between the battery  33  and the switch  34  as well as the mixing circuit  36  for switching on/off of the current flown between the battery  33  and the AC adapter  32  or the mixing circuit  36 . Note that the switching device includes a switch configured with a semiconductor such as an FET. 
     The mixing circuit  36  is a circuit that adds and superimposes the voltage of the signal inputted from the controller  31 A to the DC voltage of the source power inputted from the AC adapter  32  (switch  34 ) or the battery  33  (switch  35 ). Note that the mixing circuit  36  may also be configured as a circuit that subtracts the voltage of the inputted signal from the DC voltage of the inputted source power for superimposing. 
     There may be a case where about several A of current is flown in the power line that is inputted to the mixing circuit  36  from the AC adapter  32  or the battery  33 . Therefore, the controller  31 A decreases the pulse voltage (amplitude) of the signals generated by encoding the battery information of the battery  33  within a range with which malfunction does not occur and sets relatively larger intervals for the signals so as not to wastefully consume the power. Further, for the pulse voltage of the signals generated by encoding, it is also necessary suppress radiation and the like by controlling the frequency and the energy to be in a level with which no issues arise in terms of EMC (ElectroMagnetic Compatibility). 
     The cable  37  is a single power cable with one end being electrically connected to the mixing circuit  36  and the other end being electrically connected to an insertion port of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A. 
     For each of the components of the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A, a part of or the whole part of the functions of each of the functional blocks may be achieved as a hardware circuit such as an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is an LSI (Large Scale Integration), for example, and the LSI may also be called an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI depending on the integration levels. Further, the method of achieving the integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and it is possible to employ a dedicated circuit or a multi-purpose processor or to use a reconfigurable processor that is capable of reconfiguring connection and setting of the circuit cells within the LSI. Further, a part of or the whole part of the functions of each of the functional blocks may be executed by software. In such case, the software is recorded in one or more recording medium such as a ROM, an optical disc, a hard disc, or the like, and the software is executed by a calculation processor. 
     Next, actions of the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A will be described by referring to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 2A  is a diagram showing the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A and a waveform of the source power when the signal is not superimposed on the source power.  FIG. 2B  is a diagram showing the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A and a waveform of the source power when the signal is superimposed on the source power.  FIG. 3  is a chart showing a waveform of another source power.  FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing power supply control processing. 
     First, actions of the external power supply unit  30 A side will be described by referring to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 3 . In the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A, it is assumed that the external power supply unit  30 A is connected in advance to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A via the cable  37 . For the power supply used for connection, it is assumed that the AC adapter  32  or the battery  33  as the external power supply is given priority over the battery  18  as the internal power supply of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A and the adapter  32  is given priority over the battery  33 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2A , described is a case where the plug  32   a  of the AC adapter  32  is connected to an outlet of a commercial power supply. The controller  31 A switches on the switch  34  for supplying the power via the AC adapter  32 . Further, the controller  31 A refers to the battery information of the battery  33  and switches on the switch  35  when RSOC as the battery information is not 100% (not fully charged) and the fault-related information does not indicate an abnormal state. The AC adapter  32  outputs the source power of a constant DC voltage by the AC power supply. The source power of a constant DC voltage outputted from the AC power supply is inputted to the mixing circuit  36  and also supplied to the battery  33  to charge the battery  33 . However, the battery  33  is charged without discharging, so that the controller  31 A does not generate a signal corresponding to the battery information. The mixing circuit  36  outputs the source power of the DC voltage with a constant voltage value with respect to the time as in a waveform shown in  FIG. 2A . 
     The source power of the constant DC voltage is inputted to the smoothing circuit  13  and the signal pickup circuit  19 . The smoothing circuit  13  smoothens the inputted source power of the DC voltage and outputs to the power supply  16 . The signal pickup circuit  19  does not extract the signal of the battery information from the inputted source power of the DC voltage since there is no battery information of the battery  33  and no signal of the battery information is outputted to the controller  11 A via the decoder  20 . 
     Further, in the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A, the plug  32   a  of the AC adapter  32  is connected to the outlet of the commercial power supply, and the controller  31 A switches on the switch  34  and off the switch  35  when the RSOC that is the battery information of the battery  33  is 100% (fully charged) or the fault-related information indicates an abnormal state. The source power of the constant DC voltage outputted from the AC adapter  32  is inputted to the mixing circuit  36 . However, the battery  33  is unconnected to the mixing circuit  36 , so that the controller  31 A does not generate the signal corresponding to the battery information of the battery  33 . Therefore, the mixing circuit  36  outputs the source power of the DC voltage with a constant voltage value with respect to the time as in the waveform shown in  FIG. 2A . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2B , described is a case where the plug  32   a  of the AC adapter  32  is not connected to the outlet of the commercial power supply and the battery  33  has a remaining charge (RSOC&gt;0%). The controller  31 A switches off the switch  34  for preventing backflow from the battery  33  to the AC adapter  32 . Further, the controller  31 A switches on the switch  35 . The source power of the constant DC voltage discharged from the battery  33  is inputted to the mixing circuit  36 . When the output power value of the battery  33  reaches a prescribed value or more according to the power information of the battery information of the battery  33 , the controller  31 A generates a signal by encoding the battery information outputted from the battery  33  and outputs the signal to the mixing circuit  36 . 
     At this time, the mixing circuit  36  outputs the source power in which a signal of a constant amplitude corresponding to the battery information of the battery  33  is superimposed (added) on the DC voltage with a constant voltage value with respect to the time as in a waveform shown in  FIG. 2B , for example. 
     The power consumption of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A also becomes high when the voltage signal is superimposed on the source power inputted to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A. Therefore, when the output power value of the battery reaches the prescribed value or more, the signal is superimposed on the source power and the frequency of communication and the signal amount are decreased to also decrease the power consumption of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A, and to shorten the time until the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A side recognizes by the superimposed signal that the battery  33  is connected (the source power is discharge) to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A. 
     Further, the battery information can be transmitted by determining a transmission/reception protocol according to the signal defined in advance and encoding the battery information according to the transmission/reception protocol by the controller  31 A to generate the signal. The controller  31 A encodes the battery information of the battery  33  and controls the frequency, the amplitude, the pulse width, and the like to generate the signal. For example, the number of pulses is determined according to the signal amount transmitted at once. For example, it may be defined that the RSOC is 10% or less with the source power from the battery  33  with a single pulse and that the RSOC is 10% or more and 50% or less with the source power from the battery  33  with two pulses. When the controller  31  determines in advance to transmit the battery information of the battery  33  at prescribed intervals such as once in every 10 minutes, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A side can correspond to that. 
     The source power on which the signal of the battery information is superimposed is inputted to the smoothing circuit  13  and the signal pickup circuit  19 . The smoothing circuit  13  smoothens the inputted source power of the DC voltage and outputs to the power supply  16 . The signal pickup circuit  19  picks up the signal of the battery information from the inputted source power of the DC voltage. The decoder  20  decodes the signal extracted by the signal pickup circuit  19  and outputs to the controller  11 A. 
     Further, the controller  31 A may be configured to generate signals with DC voltage levels of a plurality of stages as UNREG voltages (Unregulated: power supply of inconstant voltages) as shown in  FIG. 3  by encoding. 
     Further, the controller  31 A may also be configured to generate signals coded by other communication methods such as CAN (Controller Area Network), 8b/10b, and the like. A CAN signal is a signal of a bus standard of the communication employed for communication and the like inside automobiles. Note that 8b/10b is a method which converts 8-bit data to 10-bit data and transfers the converted data, and a clock signal is embedded in a signal line to transfer the data and the clock via a same wiring. This method is also employed for Ethernet (R) (LAN), PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect express), SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment), and USB 3.0 (SS (Super Speed)). While physical layers and transfer rates are different from respective standardized interfaces, it is possible to use the existing communication protocols as they are by employing those code methods as the signal transmission method, and those coding methods can be used when a large-volume of communication is required. 
     Next, voltage control processing executed by the controller  31 A will be described as actions on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A side by referring to  FIG. 4 . First, the controller  11 A determines whether or not there is input of the source power from the external power supply unit  30 A according to presence of the source power inputted to the charging/discharging controller  17  (step S 11 ). If there is input of the external source power (YES in step S 11 ), the controller  11 A determines whether or not the battery information of the battery  33  is included in the source power according to the presence of the decoded signal of the battery information from the decoder  20  (step S 12 ). 
     If the battery information is included (YES in step S 12 ), the controller  11 A determines that the source power is external battery drive supplied from the battery  33 , generates and displays on the display  12  the display information indicating that the source power is the external battery drive and showing the inputted battery information of the battery  33 , performs power supply control by on/off controlling the switches  14 ,  15  according to the inputted battery information of the battery  18  by the charging/discharging controller  17  (step S 13 ), and shifts to step S 11 . 
     The display information of step S 13  includes information showing the RSOC such as characters and figures and warning information corresponding to the fault-related information within the battery information of the battery  33 , for example. Further, in step S 13 , the controller  11 A controls to switch on the switch  14  and off the switch  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17 , determining that charging the battery  18  from the battery  33  is wasteful. 
     If the RSOC in the battery information of the battery  18  is not 100% (not fully charged) and the fault-related information does not indicate an abnormal state in step S 13 , the controller  11 A may be configured to switch on the switches  14 ,  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17  to supply the source power to each component of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A via the smoothing circuit  13  and the power supply  16  and to charge the battery  18 . With such configuration, if the RSOC in the battery information of the battery  18  is 100% (fully charged) or the fault-related information indicates an abnormal state in step S 13 , the controller  11 A switches on the switch  14  and off the switch  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17  to supply the source power to each component via the smoothing circuit  13  and the power supply  16 . 
     If the battery information is not included (NO in step S 12 ), the controller  11 A determines that the source power is AC drive supplied from the AC adapter  32 , generates and displays on the display  12  the display information indicating that the source power is the AC drive and showing the battery information of the battery  18 , performs power supply control by on/off controlling the switches  14 ,  15  according to the inputted battery information of the battery  18  by the charging/discharging controller  17  (step S 14 ), and shifts to step S 11 . 
     If the RSOC in the battery information of the battery  18  is not 100% (not fully charged) and the fault-related information does not indicate an abnormal state in step S 13 , the controller  11 A switches on the switches  14 ,  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17  to supply the source power to each component of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A via the smoothing circuit  13  and the power supply  16  and to charge the battery  18 . Further, if the RSOC in the battery information of the battery  18  is 100% (fully charged) or the fault-related information indicates an abnormal state in step S 13 , the controller  11 A switches on the switch  14  and off the switch  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17  to supply the source power to each component via the smoothing circuit  13  and the power supply  16 . 
     If there is no input of the external source power (NO in step S 11 ), the controller  11 A determines that the source power is internal battery drive supplied from the battery  18 , generates and displays on the display  12  the display information indicating that the source power is the internal battery drive and showing the inputted battery information of the battery  18 , performs power supply control by on/off controlling the switches  14 ,  15  according to the inputted battery information of the battery  18  by the charging/discharging controller  17  (step S 15 ), and shifts to step S 11 . 
     The display information of step S 15  includes information showing the RSOC such as characters and figures and warning information corresponding to the fault-related information within the battery information of the battery  33 , for example. Further, if the fault-related information of the battery information of the battery  18  does not indicate an abnormal state in step S 15 , the controller  11 A switches off the switch  14  and on the switch  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17  to supply the source power to each component. If the fault-related information of the battery information of the battery  18  indicates an abnormal state in step S 15 , the controller  11 A switches off the switch  14  as well as the switch  15  by the charging/discharging controller  17  to stop supply of the source power to each component, for example. 
     When the RSOC of the battery becomes small (when becomes lower than a prescribed value, for example), it is also possible for the controller  11 A to take an action for reducing the power consumption. For example, as necessary, the controller  11 A tries to reduce the power consumption by shifting to “standby” as a standby power mode or by shifting to “resume” or the like with which the information of the current state is temporarily saved in the storage as a low power consumption mode according to the RSOC. 
     According to the embodiment as described above, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A has the source power supplied from the external power supply unit  30 A. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A includes: the smoothing circuit  13  that smoothen the source power which is supplied from the external power supply unit  30 A having the external battery  33  and on which the signal of the battery information showing the state of the battery  33  is superimposed; the power supply  16  that supplies the smoothened source power to each component inside the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A; the signal pickup circuit  19  that extracts the signal of the battery information of the battery  33  from the source power supplied from the external power supply unit  30 A; the decoder  20  that decodes the extracted signal into the battery information; and the controller  11 A that performs control according to the decoded battery information. 
     Therefore, it is possible to notify the battery information of the battery  33  as the origin of the source power supplied to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A without providing a communication line separately from the cable  37  as the power line, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A side can recognize the battery information of the battery  33 . 
     Further, the controller  11 A generates and displays the display information according to the decoded battery information on the display  12 . Therefore, because the battery information of the battery  33  is notified, the user can recognize the battery information, the useable time and the like based thereupon, and can take a necessary measure. 
     Further, the battery information includes the remaining charge information of the battery  33 . The controller  11 A shifts to the low power consumption mode such as “standby” or “resume” according to the RSOC in the battery information of the decoded signal. This makes it possible to save the power of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A according to the RSOC. 
     Further, the controller  11 A determines whether or not there is extracted (decoded signal) when the source power is supplied from the external power supply unit  30 A, determines that the source power is supplied from the battery  33  when there is the extracted signal, and determines that the source power is supplied from the AC power of the AC adapter  32  of the external power supply unit  30 A when there is no extracted signal. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that there is no connection with the battery  33  based on the fact that there is no superimposed signal on the source power, and the controller  11 A can perform display control of the display information and the power control according to the supply (the AC adapter  32  or the battery  33 ) of the source power. 
     Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A includes the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A and the external power supply unit  30 A. The external power supply unit  30 A includes: the controller  31 A that generates the signal from the battery information inputted from the battery  33 ; and the mixing circuit  36  that superimposes the generated signal on the source power discharged from the battery  33 . Therefore, it is possible to notify the battery information of the battery  33  as the origin of the source power supplied to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A without providing a communication line separately from the cable  37  as the power line. 
     Further, the mixing circuit  36  adds or subtracts the generated signal to superimpose on the source power that is discharged from the battery  33 . Therefore, the signal can be easily superimposed on the source power. 
     Further, the controller  31 A generates the signal by controlling the frequency, the amplitude, and the pulse width. Therefore, the signal can be generated appropriately. 
     Further, the controller  31 A generates the signal by coding the battery information. Therefore, the signal with a large amount of information can be easily generated. 
     Further, the controller  31 A determines whether or not the output power of the battery  33  has reached a prescribed threshold value or more, and generates a signal from the battery information inputted from the battery  33  when determined to have reached the prescribed threshold value or more. Therefore, by not constantly sending the information between the battery  33  and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A but by determining discharge of the source power from the battery  33  based on the power consumption and starting communication thereupon, it is possible to decrease the power consumption of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A by decreasing waste of the power caused by constantly sending the information and also possible to lower the risk of having noise or the like generated by the information communication. Further, it is also possible to shorten the time until the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A side recognizes with the superimposed signal that the battery  33  is connected (the source power is discharged) to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A. 
     Modification Example 
     A modification example of the embodiment will be described by referring to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 B and a waveform of a source power when a signal is superimposed on the source power. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , in the modification example, the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 B is used instead of the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 A of the embodiment. The ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 B includes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 B and an external power supply unit  30 B. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 B has a configuration in which the controller  31 A of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A according to the embodiment is replaced with the controller  31 B. The external power supply unit  30 B has a configuration in which the decoder  20  according to the embodiment is replaced with a demodulator  21  as a converter. 
     The controller  31 B is a controller that controls each component of the external power supply unit  30 B, and has a function as a modulator that modulates the battery information outputted from the battery  33 , a function of switching on/off the switches  34 ,  35 , and the like. The controller  31 B can be achieved by a CPU such as a microcomputer, an IC dedicatedly used for controlling the power, or the like. As the modulation method of the battery information of the battery  33 , it is possible to employ FM (Frequency Modulation), AM (Amplitude Modulation), or the like as the modulation method using analog signals, for example. Thereby, the battery information is transmitted as analog signals, so that it is possible to limit the frequency to be mixed and to suppress the influence of the noise imposed upon the circuit of the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 B. 
     The demodulator  21  demodulates the signal inputted from the signal pickup circuit  19  with a demodulation method corresponding to the modulation method of the controller  31 B, and outputs to the controller  11 A as the battery information of the battery  33 . 
     According to the modification example as described above, the controller  31 B modulates the battery information of the battery  33  to generate an analog signal. The demodulator  21  demodulates the analog signal extracted from the source power to convert into the battery information. Therefore, the signal can be appropriately generated. At the same time, the battery information is transmitted as the analog signal, so that it is possible to limit the frequency to be mixed and to suppress the influence of the noise imposed upon the circuit of the ultrasonic diagnostic system  1 B. 
     Note that the embodiment and the modification example described above are examples of the preferred ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and ultrasonic diagnostic system according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to those. 
     For example, while the embodiment and the modification example are configured such that the controller  11 A generates and displays on the display  12  the display information based on the battery information of the battery  33 , the configuration is not limited to that. It is also possible to employ a configuration in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus  10 A or  10 B includes a sound outputter such as an amplifier or a speaker as an outputter, and the controller  11 A generates sound information based on the battery information of the battery  33  and has the sound outputter output the sound. 
     Further, detailed configurations and detailed actions of each component configuring the ultrasonic diagnostic systems  1 A and  1 B according to the embodiment and the modification example described above can be changed as necessary without departing from the range of the gist of the present invention. 
     Although embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in detail, the disclosed embodiments are made for purposes of illustration and example only and not limitation. The scope of the present invention should be interpreted by terms of the appended claims.