JP2011055603A - Electronic apparatus system, battery pack control method, battery pack, and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problems of a conventional system:when a battery pack and electronic equipment are packed in connected state, risks increase during storage and transportation, and when unpacked, remaining battery capacity is low due to discharge during storage and transportation. <P>SOLUTION: When an EC 15 sets a battery pack 100 to a shipping mode in an electronic equipment system 1, it transmits a shipping history erasure command to a battery control circuit in a battery pack, and erases data in a shipping history memory in the battery pack. Next, the EC transmits a shipping command to the battery control circuit. The battery control circuit checks whether the shipping history information is recorded or not when it receives the shipping command, and records the shipping history information if there is no record, and controls a power switch part to turn off the connection state of a power line. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device system, a battery pack control method, a battery pack, and an electronic device including a battery pack and an electronic device that operates by supplying electric power from the battery pack.

  With the reduction in size and weight and the increase in capacity of battery cells, various types of electronic devices capable of attaching and detaching battery packs incorporating the battery cells are provided. A typical electronic device is an information processing apparatus such as a portable personal computer. In the information processing apparatus, the continuous operation time by the battery is an important factor that affects the evaluation of the product.

  By the way, the electronic device is transported to a store or an end user (hereinafter simply referred to as “user”) in a state of being packed in a production factory or a repair factory. At that time, if the electronic device and the battery pack are separated and packed, the entire volume increases, and therefore, the battery pack and the electronic device are often packed in a connected state.

  However, if the battery pack and electronic device are connected and packed, there is a risk of heat generation or damage due to the occurrence of a short circuit due to impact or the like during the transportation process from the factory shipping source to the store or purchaser user. It is not uncommon for the battery to become low and the battery level to be low after opening due to discharge during inventory or transportation.

  As a countermeasure, there is a method in which an insulating material is interposed between the connection terminals of the battery pack and the electronic device to make the connection terminals non-conductive. However, this countermeasure has many restrictions due to the shape of the contact terminals of each connector of the battery pack and the electronic device. For example, it is not suitable for a case where the contact terminals of each connector are fitted and contacted with each other in an uneven relationship. is there.

  Further, in order to suppress the discharge of the battery from the time of shipment until the electronic device reaches the user, there is a method of cutting off the discharge line in the battery unit by inputting a signal to the set terminal of the battery unit at the time of shipment. It has been published. Further, in this method, when the user connects the AC adapter to the electronic device and turns on the main switch, the interruption of the discharge line is released and the power supply from the battery unit to the electronic device is started (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

JP 2000-270485 A (paragraphs [0035]-[0038])

  When packing with the battery pack and electronic equipment connected, the risk during inventory and transportation increases, and the remaining battery level is low after opening due to discharge during inventory and transportation. There was a problem.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device system, a battery pack control method, a battery pack, and an electronic device that can connect the battery pack and the electronic device in a non-conductive state. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device system according to an aspect of the present invention is an electronic device system including an electronic device and a battery pack that is detachably attached to the electronic device and supplies power to the electronic device. The battery pack includes a battery cell for storing electric charge, a power switch unit capable of switching on / off of a power line for supplying electric power from the battery cell to the electronic device, and a shipment capable of storing shipment history information. The electronic device includes a history storage unit and a battery control unit, and the electronic device requests the battery control unit in the attached battery pack to erase the shipping history information in response to a predetermined command. A first command transmission unit for transmitting a command, and when an erasure completion notification is received from the battery control unit, the power line is connected to the battery control unit. A second command transmission unit that transmits a second command requesting to switch off the continuity, and the battery control unit erases the contents of the shipping history storage unit in response to the first command When the second command transmission unit receives a notification of completion of erasure and receives the second command, it determines whether or not the shipment history information is stored in the shipment history storage unit. If not, record the shipping history information in the shipping history storage unit, and control the power switch unit to switch off the conduction of the power line, from the charge / discharge circuit in the electronic device to the battery pack When the charging is detected, the power switch unit is controlled to turn on the conduction of the power line.

  In the present invention, since the battery pack and the electronic device can be connected in the non-conductive state, even if the battery pack and the electronic device are connected and packed, the user who is the store or purchaser from the factory shipping source It is possible to prevent heat generation and damage due to the occurrence of a short circuit due to an impact or the like in the transportation process. Further, by setting the power line to the non-conductive state, discharge from the battery pack at the time of inventory or transportation can be significantly reduced.

  In the electronic device system of the present invention, when the battery control unit determines that the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit, the battery control unit invalidates the received second command.

  That is, since the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit in the state where the power line conduction is switched off, the power line conduction from the electronic device to the battery pack is caused by some factor against the user's will. Even if a second command requesting to switch off is input, the command is treated as invalid in the battery pack. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the electronic device from being unusable due to no power being supplied from the battery pack to the electronic device against the user's will.

  In the electronic device system of the present invention, the battery control unit sends a notification that the continuity of the power line is switched off to the second command transmission unit, and the second command transmission unit transmits the notification. Upon reception, the second command may be transmitted again to the battery control unit, and the conduction state of the power line may be confirmed based on a response from the battery control unit. Thereby, it can ship, after confirming that the conduction | electrical_connection of the electric power line of a battery pack turned off reliably.

  In the electronic device system of the present invention, the electronic device includes an external power source detection unit that detects whether or not an external power source is connected, a battery pack detection unit that detects whether or not the battery pack is attached, and the external power source detection unit. When the connection of the external power source is detected and the battery pack detection unit detects the attachment of the battery pack, the battery pack detection unit further includes a charge instruction unit that instructs a charge / discharge circuit to charge the battery pack. It may be. Thereby, the continuity of the power line of the battery pack is switched from OFF to ON only by connecting the external power source and the battery pack to the electronic device, and the electronic device can be used immediately.

  A battery pack control method according to another aspect of the present invention is a battery pack control method for an electronic device system including an electronic device and a battery pack that is detachably attached to the electronic device and supplies power to the electronic device. In response to a predetermined command, the electronic device transmits a first command requesting the mounted battery pack to erase the shipping history information, and the battery pack responds to the first command. Then, after erasing the contents of the shipping history storage unit, a notification of erasure completion is sent to the electronic device, and when the electronic device receives the notification of erasure completion, the continuity of the power line to the battery pack is turned off. The battery pack transmits a second command requesting switching, and when the battery pack receives the second command, the shipment history information is stored in the shipment history storage unit. Is stored, and if not stored, the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit, the power line is turned off, and the battery pack is stored in the electronic device. When the charging to the battery pack is detected from the charging / discharging circuit, the conduction of the power line is switched on.

  A battery pack according to still another aspect of the present invention is a battery pack that is detachably attached to an electronic device and supplies electric power to the electronic device, the battery cell storing electric charge, and the electronic device from the battery cell. A power switch unit capable of switching on / off of the continuity of the power line that supplies power, a shipping history storage unit capable of storing shipping history information, and a battery control unit, and the battery control unit is input from the outside In response to the received first command, the contents of the shipping history storage unit are erased, a notification of completion of the deletion is responded, and when the second command is received from the outside, the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit. Is stored, and if not stored, the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit, and the power line is turned off. For example, the time from the charging and discharging circuit in the electronic device detects the charging of the battery pack, and controls the power switch unit to switch to turn on the conduction of the power line.

  An electronic apparatus according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a power switch unit capable of switching on / off of conduction of a power line that extracts power from a battery cell, a shipping history storage unit capable of storing shipping history information, and a battery control unit A first command for requesting the battery control unit in the attached battery pack to erase the shipping history information in response to a predetermined command. A first command transmission unit for transmitting, and a second command for transmitting to the battery control unit a second command for requesting to switch off the continuity of the power line upon receipt of an erasure completion notification from the battery control unit. Command transmission unit.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the battery pack and the electronic device can be connected in a non-conductive state, and the battery pack and the electronic device are in a non-conductive state contrary to the user's intention. It is possible to prevent the device from being disabled.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the electronic device system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in more detail the relationship among an EC, a charge / discharge circuit, a battery pack, and an AC adapter detection circuit in the electronic device system shown in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence after EC receives "issue command issuance request". It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence after the battery control circuit in a battery pack receives "erasing history deletion command" from EC. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence after the battery control circuit in a battery pack receives "shipment command" from EC. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which EC returns a battery pack from "shipment mode" to "normal mode". 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the battery pack returns from “shipment mode” to “normal mode”.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
[Configuration of electronic device system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic device system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The electronic device system 1 includes an electronic device 10 and a battery pack 100. The electronic device 10 is an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, for example. The battery pack 100 is detachable from the electronic device 10 and supplies power for operation to the electronic device 10.

[Configuration of electronic equipment]
As shown in the figure, the electronic device 10 includes a CPU 11, a main memory 12, a north bridge 13, a south bridge 14, an EC 15 (first command transmission unit, second command transmission unit, battery pack detection unit), graphic Circuit circuit 16, display unit 17, keyboard unit 18, storage unit 19, charge / discharge circuit 20, and AC adapter detection circuit 21 (external power supply detection unit).

  A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 is connected to the north bridge 13 through a bus 31, communicates with other devices through the bus 31 and the north bridge 13, and performs overall control of each device.

  The main memory 12 provides a storage area for arithmetic processing of the CPU 11, and is a storage device capable of random access at high speed, such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The main memory 12 is connected to the north bridge 13 through the bus 32.

  The north bridge 13 is connected to the CPU 11, the main memory 12, the graphics circuit 16, and the south bridge 14, and bridges data between these devices.

  The graphics circuit 16 is connected to the north bridge 13 through the bus 33. The graphics circuit 16 performs a drawing process according to a drawing command issued from the CPU 11 and supplies drawing data to the display unit 17.

  The display unit 17 includes a display control circuit that converts drawing data supplied from the graphics circuit 16 into a display signal and supplies the signal to a display, a display connected to the display control circuit, and the like.

  The south bridge 14 is connected to the north bridge 13 through the bus 34, and bridges data among the north bridge 13, the EC 15, the keyboard unit 18, and the storage unit 19.

  An EC (Embedded Controller) 15 is connected to the south bridge 14 through the bus 35, and controls the keyboard unit 18, the charge / discharge circuit 20, and the battery pack 100. Specifically, the EC 15 is a controller configured with elements such as a microprocessor, a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM as one chip. The ROM stores control programs executed by the microprocessor and software such as various parameters.

  The keyboard unit 18 is connected to the south bridge 14 through the bus 36 and receives input from the user.

  The storage unit 19 is a storage device that is connected to the south bridge 14 through the bus 37 and stores various data, programs such as an operating system and application programs. As the storage unit 19, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SDD), or the like is used.

  The charging / discharging circuit 20 is connected to the EC 15 through the bus 38, and when a charging instruction is given from the EC 15 through the bus 38, the charging / discharging circuit 20 takes in the DC power through the AC adapter 200 (see FIG. 2), and charging current from the DC power supply. Is generated and supplied to the battery pack 100 to charge the battery pack 100. Further, the charging / discharging circuit 20 converts the electric charge stored in the battery pack 100 into each power consuming unit (load) in the electronic device 10 when there is no DC power input from the AC adapter detection circuit 21 to the charging / discharging circuit 20. Is supplied as a current (discharge current).

  The battery pack 100 is connected to the EC 15 through the bus 39. The battery pack 100 complies with SBS (Smart Battery System), which is a battery management standard for PCs. That is, the battery pack 100 supports a command that is standardly provided in the SBS. In this embodiment, in addition to the standard command, a “shipment command”, a “shipment history erase command”, It is supposed to support new commands. Each of the above commands will be described later.

  The AC adapter detection circuit 21 is connected to the EC 15 via the bus 40, detects whether the AC adapter 200 (see FIG. 2) is connected, for example, based on the input voltage to the charge / discharge circuit 20, and passes through the bus 40. This is notified to EC15.

[Battery pack configuration]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in more detail the relationship among the EC 15, the charge / discharge circuit 20, the battery pack 100, and the AC adapter detection circuit 21 in the electronic device system 1 shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the battery pack 100 includes a battery cell 110, a power switch unit 120, a shipping history storage unit 130, and a battery control circuit 140 (battery control unit).

  The battery cell 110 uses, for example, a lithium ion battery cell as a secondary battery. Of course, another type of secondary battery may be used.

  The power switch unit 120 is a power switch that switches an on / off state of the power line 22 between the battery cell 110 and the charge / discharge circuit 20 in the electronic device 10 under the control of the battery control circuit 140.

  The shipping history storage unit 130 is a storage element capable of recording shipping history information, and for example, a nonvolatile memory element such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) is used.

  The battery control circuit 140 is connected to the EC 15 through the bus 39, and can process a “shipment command” and a “shipment history erasure command” in addition to commands normally provided in the SBS. “Shipment command” refers to shifting to “shipment mode” in which the battery pack 100 and the electronic device 10 are brought into a non-conductive state when the battery pack 100 is packed in the electronic device 10 and shipped and transported. It is a command to instruct. When the battery control circuit 140 receives a “shipping command” from the EC 15 through the bus 39, the battery control circuit 140 accesses the shipping history storage unit 130 to check whether or not there is shipping history information. If no shipping history information is recorded, the battery control circuit 140 The power switch unit 120 is controlled to set the conduction state to OFF. Further, the battery control circuit 140 monitors the voltage of the power line 22 and confirms that charging of the battery pack 100 from the charging / discharging circuit 20 is started and voltage is applied to the power line 22. The power switch unit 120 is controlled to set the conduction state of the power switch to ON. A state where the conduction state of the power line 22 is set to ON is referred to as “normal mode”. That is, the “shipping mode” and the “normal mode” are in a mutually contradictory relationship in the on / off relationship of the conduction state of the power line 22.

  In addition, when the battery control circuit 140 receives a “shipping history deletion command” from the EC 15 through the bus 39, the battery control circuit 140 deletes the shipping history information recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130.

[Battery pack control method]
Next, a battery pack control method in electronic device system 100 configured as described above will be described.

  The battery pack control method includes a procedure A for setting the battery pack 100 to the “shipping mode” and a procedure B for returning the battery pack 100 from the “shipping mode” to the “normal mode”.

  First, the procedure A for setting the battery pack 100 to the “shipping mode” will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. Note that at the start of this procedure A, the conduction state of the power line 22 between the battery cell 110 in the battery pack 100 and the charging / discharging circuit 20 in the electronic device 10 is on, that is, in the “energization mode” state.

[Procedure A]
After the inspection of the electronic device 10 and the battery pack 100 at the factory shipment source, in order to shift the state of the battery pack 100 connected to the electronic device 10 from the “normal mode” to the “shipment mode”, Then, an instruction “issue request for shipping command” is input to the electronic device 10. This input is performed from, for example, the keyboard unit 18 of the electronic device 10. The instruction of “Request for Issuance of Shipping Command” input from the staff is given to the CPU 11. Upon receiving this instruction, the CPU 11 sends a “shipment command issuance request” to the EC 15 via the bus 31, the north bridge 13, the bus 34, the south bridge 14, and the bus 35 according to a program stored in the main memory 12, for example. Notice.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure after the EC 15 receives a “shipment command issuance request”. This procedure is executed according to a program stored in the storage unit in the EC 15. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure after the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives the “shipment history deletion command” from the EC 15. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure after the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives the “shipment command” from the EC 15.

  Upon receiving the “shipment command issuance request”, the EC 15 checks whether the AC adapter 200 and the battery pack 100 are connected to the electronic device 10 (FIG. 3: ST101). This confirmation is performed when the EC 15 inquires of the AC adapter detection circuit 21 and the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 whether or not the AC adapter 200 and the battery pack 100 are connected. When the AC adapter detection circuit 21 receives an inquiry about the presence or absence of connection of the AC adapter 200 from the EC 15 via the bus 40, the AC adapter detection circuit 21 detects the presence or absence based on the input voltage to the charge / discharge circuit 20 and responds to the EC 15 via the bus 40. To do. Further, when the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives an inquiry from the EC 15 regarding whether or not the battery pack 100 is connected through the bus 39, the battery control circuit 140 responds to the EC 15 through the bus 39 that the connection is established.

  When EC 15 knows that AC adapter 200 and battery pack 100 are connected, it instructs charging / discharging circuit 20 to stop charging through bus 38 (FIG. 3: ST102). That is, the charging / discharging circuit 20 is set to start charging the battery pack 100 in the initial state after activation, and stops charging the battery pack 100 when receiving the above instruction from the EC 15.

  Next, the EC 15 transmits a “shipment history deletion command” to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 through the bus 39 (FIG. 3: ST103). As shown in FIG. 4, when the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives this “shipping history deletion command” (FIG. 4: ST201), the contents of the shipping history storage unit 130 are deleted (FIG. 4: ST202). That is, the battery control circuit 140 deletes the shipping history information if it has been recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130. After completion of erasing the contents of the shipping history storage unit 130, the battery control circuit 140 notifies the EC 15 to that effect via the bus 39.

  When the EC 15 receives a notification of completion of deletion of the contents of the shipping history storage unit 130 from the battery control circuit 140 through the bus 39, the EC 15 transmits a “shipping command” to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 through the bus 39 (FIG. 3). ST104).

  When the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives a “shipment command” from the EC 15 through the bus 39 as shown in FIG. 5 (FIG. 5: ST301), the battery control circuit 140 performs the following processing. That is, the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 checks whether or not the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130 (FIG. 5: ST302). If the shipping history information is not recorded, the battery control circuit 140 records the shipping history information in the shipping history storage unit 130 (FIG. 5: ST303). Subsequently, the battery control circuit 140 controls the power switch unit 120 so as to set the conduction state of the power line 22 to off. As a result, the battery pack 100 is shifted to the “shipping mode” state, and the battery control circuit 140 notifies the EC 15 through the bus 39 that the battery pack 100 is shifted to the “shipping mode” (FIG. 5). : ST304).

  If the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130 in ST302, the battery control circuit 140 does not change the conduction state of the power line 22 (ie, keeps the “normal mode”). ). In this case, a notification that the battery pack 100 has been shifted to the “shipping mode” is not issued from the battery control circuit 140 to the EC 15. Alternatively, in this case, the battery control circuit 140 may be configured to issue a notification (error notification) that the battery pack 100 has not been shifted to the “shipping mode” to the EC 15.

  In the description of this operation, in ST103, the “shipment history erasure command” is transmitted from the EC 15 to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100, and the battery control circuit 140 that receives the command transmits the shipment history information from the shipment history storage unit 130. Is assumed to be erased in ST202. Therefore, in ST304, the battery pack 100 is shifted to the “shipment mode” state.

  When the EC 15 receives notification from the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 through the bus 39 that the battery pack 100 has shifted to the “shipping mode” (FIG. 3: YES in ST105), the EC 15 confirms again. The “shipment command” is sent to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 through the bus 39 (FIG. 3: ST106).

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives a “shipping command” from the EC 15 through the bus 39 (FIG. 5: ST301), the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130. It is checked whether or not (FIG. 5: ST302). At the present time, since the battery pack 100 is set to the “shipping mode”, the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130. In this case, the battery control circuit 140 remains in the “normal mode”. In this case, the battery control circuit 140 does not notify that the battery pack 100 has been shifted to the “shipping mode”.

  The EC 15 confirms the completion of the transition of the battery pack 100 to the “shipping mode” with the occurrence of this error as an error that there is no notification that the battery pack 100 has transitioned to the “shipping mode” for a certain period of time (see FIG. 3: YES of ST107). Then, the EC 15 turns off the main power supply of the electronic device 10 (FIG. 3: ST108). Thereafter, the clerk pulls out the AC adapter 200 from the electronic device 10, and the electronic device 10 is packed with the battery pack 100 connected, and transported after the packing is completed.

  By the way, in ST105, EC15 does not receive notification from the battery control circuit 140 that the battery pack 100 has shifted to the “shipping mode” (FIG. 3: NO in ST105). This means that the “shipment history erasure command” issued in is not executed correctly. Therefore, in this case, a failure analysis is performed on the electronic device 10 in order to determine the cause (FIG. 1: ST109).

  In addition, when the EC 15 receives the notification that the battery pack 100 has been transferred to the shipping mode from the battery control circuit 140 in ST107, the “shipment command” sent to the battery control circuit 140 by the EC 15 in ST104 is correct. Means not executed. Therefore, also in this case, a failure analysis is performed on the electronic device 10 in order to determine the cause (FIG. 1: ST109).

[Procedure B]
Next, a procedure B for returning the battery pack 100 from the “shipping mode” to the “normal mode” will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  When the AC adapter 200 is connected to the electronic device 10, power for operation is supplied to the electronic device 10 through the AC adapter 200 and each device in the electronic device 10 is activated. After startup, the EC 15 inquires of the AC adapter detection circuit 21 whether or not the AC adapter 200 is connected (FIG. 6: ST401).

  When the EC 15 receives a response from the AC adapter detection circuit 21 that the AC adapter 200 is connected, the EC 15 inquires of the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 whether or not the battery pack 100 is connected through the bus 39 (FIG. 6: ST402). In the present embodiment, since the battery pack 100 is attached to the electronic device 10 at the time of unpacking, it is confirmed that the battery pack 100 is connected from the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 through the bus 39. Responds to EC15.

  When AC adapter 200 is not connected to electronic device 10 or when battery pack 100 is not connected, the loop of ST401 and ST402 is repeated.

  In ST402, when the EC 15 (charging instruction unit) receives a response that the battery pack 100 is connected from the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 through the bus 39, the EC 15 (charge instruction unit) charges the charging / discharging circuit 20 through the bus 38. It is instructed to start (FIG. 6: ST403). The charging / discharging circuit 20 starts charging the battery pack 100 in response to this instruction.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the battery control circuit 140 detects charging from the charging / discharging circuit 20 to the battery pack 100 by monitoring the voltage of the power line 22 (FIG. 7: ST501), and the conduction of the power line 22 is detected. The power switch unit 120 is controlled to set the state to ON. As a result, the battery pack 100 is shifted from the “shipping mode” to the “normal mode” (FIG. 7: ST502).

[Effect of the embodiment]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the battery pack 100 and the electronic device 10 can be connected in a non-energized state in the shipping mode, the transportation process from the factory shipping source to the user who is the store or the purchaser. It is possible to prevent heat generation or damage due to occurrence of a short circuit due to impact or the like. In addition, since the battery pack 100 and the electronic device 10 are in a non-energized state in the shipping mode, the discharge of the battery pack 100 during the transportation process can be greatly reduced, and a sufficient battery remaining immediately after the shipping mode is canceled. The amount is guaranteed. Thereby, the electronic device 10 can be operated using the battery pack 100 immediately after purchase.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, by packing the battery pack 100 in a state in which the battery pack 100 is mounted on the electronic device 10, the packing size can be reduced, and packing materials can be reduced, transportation costs can be reduced, and the like. .

  In addition, even when the battery pack and the electronic device are conventionally packed and transported, the transportation cost is reduced when the electronic device is transported between the factory shipping source for repair and the user who is the purchaser. For this reason, the battery pack is sometimes packed and transported in a state where it is mounted on an electronic device. For this reason, a transport test (such as a durability test of the packaging during transport) may be required in a state where the battery pack is mounted on the electronic device and a state where the battery pack is not mounted. According to the present embodiment, it is only necessary to consider packing and transportation in a state where the battery pack is mounted on the electronic device, and the transportation test can be simplified.

  Furthermore, the overall strength of the battery pack attached to the electronic device is steadily higher than that of the single electronic device, and as a result, the degree of freedom in designing the electronic device is improved, and the size and thickness can be reduced. .

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the EC 15 sets the battery pack 100 to the “shipping mode”, the “shipping history deletion command” is transmitted to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 to The contents of the shipping history storage unit 130 are deleted. Then, the EC 15 transmits a “shipment command” to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100. On the other hand, when the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 receives the “shipping command” from the EC 15, it checks whether or not the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130. If the shipping history information is not recorded, the battery control circuit 140 records the shipping history information in the shipping history storage unit 130 and controls the power switch unit 120 so as to set the conduction state of the power line 22 to off. This shifts to “shipment mode”. In addition, when the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit 130, the battery control circuit 140 keeps the power line 22 in the on state (main mode).

  By adopting such a logic, even if a “shipment command” is input from the electronic device 10 to the battery pack 100 due to some factor such as thermal runaway of the EC 15 at the user's site, the “ The “shipment command” is regarded as invalid. For this reason, against the intention of the user, it is prevented that the battery pack 100 shifts to the “shipping mode” and power is not supplied from the battery pack 100 to the electronic device 10 and the electronic device 10 becomes unusable. can do.

  In the present embodiment, the EC 15 transmits a “shipment command” to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 to shift the battery pack 100 to the “shipment mode”, and then “shipment” again for confirmation. The command "is sent to the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100. The EC 15 confirms whether or not the transition to the “shipping mode” is surely completed when the notification that the transition to the “shipping mode” from the battery control circuit 140 in the battery pack 100 is not responded. Yes. As a result, the battery pack 100 can be shipped in a state in which the battery pack 100 is reliably set to the “shipping mode”.

Next, a modification according to the present embodiment will be described.
<Modification 1>
In the above embodiment, the “shipment command” is transmitted from the EC 15 in the electronic device 10 to the battery pack 100. Not limited to this, it is also possible to transmit a “shipping command” to the battery pack 100 from the tool used in the inspection process at the time of factory production using the interface of the EC 15. By using the inspection tool, the battery pack 100 can be shifted to the “shipping mode” more reliably and easily than when the “shipping command” is transmitted from the EC 15 in the electronic device 10 to the battery pack 100.

<Modification 2>
In the above embodiment, in order to confirm that the battery pack 100 has entered the “shipping mode”, the “shipment command” is sent again from the EC 15 to confirm the communication state with the battery pack 100. Not limited to this, a command other than the “shipment command” may be used as long as the communication state with the battery pack 100 can be confirmed. Alternatively, it is also possible to confirm that the “shipping mode” has been entered by a method such as electrically confirming the voltage of the battery pack 100 or confirming that the power is not turned on by pressing the power button.

  Note that the configuration of the electronic device 10 of the present embodiment can be applied not only to a personal computer but also to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, an audio device, a disc player, and a television receiver.

1 Electronic Device System 10 Electronic Device 11 CPU
12 main memory 15 EC (first command transmission unit, second command transmission unit, battery pack detection unit, charging instruction unit)
20 Charge / Discharge Circuit 21 AC Adapter Detection Circuit (External Power Supply Detection Unit)
100 battery pack 110 battery cell 120 power switch unit 130 shipment history storage unit 140 battery control circuit (battery control unit)

Claims (7)

An electronic device system having an electronic device and a battery pack that is detachable from the electronic device and supplies power to the electronic device,
The battery pack is
A battery cell for storing electric charge;
A power switch unit capable of switching on / off of conduction of a power line that supplies power from the battery cell to the electronic device;
A shipping history storage unit capable of storing shipping history information;
A battery control unit,
The electronic device is
A first command transmission unit that transmits a first command that requests the battery control unit in the mounted battery pack to delete the shipping history information in response to a predetermined command;
A second command transmission unit for transmitting a second command for requesting the battery control unit to switch the continuity of the power line off when receiving a notification of completion of erasure from the battery control unit;
The battery control unit erases the contents of the shipping history storage unit in response to the first command, sends a notification of completion of deletion to the second command transmission unit, and receives the second command, It is determined whether or not the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit. If the shipping history information is not stored, the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit and the continuity of the power line is switched off. Controlling the power switch unit to control the power switch unit to switch on the conduction of the power line when charging to the battery pack is detected from a charge / discharge circuit in the electronic device. system. The electronic device system according to claim 1,
The battery control unit, when determining that the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit, invalidates the received second command. The electronic device system according to claim 2,
The battery control unit sends a notification to the second command transmission unit that the continuity of the power line is switched off;
When the second command transmission unit receives the notification, the second command transmission unit transmits the second command to the battery control unit again, and sets the power line conduction OFF state based on a response from the battery control unit. Check electronic system. The electronic device system according to claim 3,
The electronic device is
An external power source detection unit that detects whether or not an external power source is connected;
A battery pack detector for detecting whether or not the battery pack is mounted;
Charging that instructs the charge / discharge circuit to charge the battery pack when the connection of the external power supply is detected by the external power supply detection unit and the attachment of the battery pack is detected by the battery pack detection unit An electronic device system further comprising an instruction unit. A battery pack control method for an electronic device system comprising: an electronic device; and a battery pack that is detachable from the electronic device and supplies power to the electronic device,
In response to a predetermined command, the electronic device transmits a first command requesting the mounted battery pack to erase the shipping history information,
The battery pack, after erasing the contents of the shipping history storage unit according to the first command, sends a notification of erasure completion to the electronic device,
When the electronic device receives the erasure completion notification, the electronic device transmits a second command requesting the battery pack to switch off the continuity of the power line,
When the battery pack receives the second command, the battery pack determines whether the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit, and if not, stores the shipping history information in the shipping history storage unit. Record history information, switch off the continuity of the power line,
The battery pack control method for switching on the conduction of the power line when the battery pack detects charging of the battery pack from a charge / discharge circuit in the electronic device. A battery pack that is detachable from an electronic device and supplies electric power to the electronic device,
A battery cell for storing electric charge;
A power switch unit capable of switching on / off of conduction of a power line that supplies power from the battery cell to the electronic device;
A shipping history storage unit capable of storing shipping history information;
A battery control unit,
The battery control unit erases the contents of the shipment history storage unit in response to a first command input from the outside, responds with a notification of erasure completion, and receives the second command from the outside, It is determined whether or not the shipping history information is stored in the shipping history storage unit. If the shipping history information is not stored, the shipping history information is recorded in the shipping history storage unit and the continuity of the power line is switched off. The power switch unit is controlled to control the power switch unit to turn on the power line when the charging of the battery pack from the charge / discharge circuit in the electronic device is detected. A battery pack comprising a power switch that can switch on and off the power line that extracts power from the battery cell, a shipping history storage that can store shipping history information, and a battery control unit is a detachable electronic device There,
A first command transmission unit that transmits a first command that requests the battery control unit in the mounted battery pack to delete the shipping history information in response to a predetermined command;
An electronic device comprising: a second command transmission unit configured to transmit a second command requesting the battery control unit to switch off the continuity of the power line when receiving a notification of erasure completion from the battery control unit. machine.

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