JP2013038961A - Electronic apparatus, battery, and battery identification method - Google Patents

Abstract

To identify which battery has the largest remaining battery capacity without connecting a plurality of batteries to an electronic device.
An electronic device according to the present invention receives battery information including identification information for identifying a plurality of batteries and charging information representing a physical quantity directly or indirectly indicating a current battery charge amount from the plurality of batteries. Comparing a communication unit obtained by wireless communication, a device battery that supplies power to the device itself, a memory that holds battery information of the device battery, charging information of the device battery, and charging information of the plurality of batteries A comparison unit; and a display unit configured to display information identifying one of the device battery and the plurality of batteries based on a comparison result of the comparison unit.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device that supplies power from a battery, a battery, and a battery identification method.

  In Patent Document 1, charging information is compared between a battery case and an electronic device, and the battery information of the smaller one can be displayed on the electronic device.

Japanese Patent No. 4090373

  However, when the user owns a plurality of batteries (batteries), in order to check the remaining amount of each of the plurality of batteries, all the batteries are connected to connectable electronic devices, and these batteries are connected. It is necessary to compare the remaining battery levels.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, a battery, and a battery identification method that can easily identify which battery has the largest remaining battery amount without connecting a plurality of batteries to the electronic device.

  The present invention relates to a communication unit that acquires battery information including identification information for identifying a plurality of batteries and charging information representing a physical quantity that directly or indirectly indicates a current battery charge amount from a plurality of batteries by wireless communication. A device battery that supplies power to the device itself, a memory that holds battery information of the device battery, a charging unit that compares charging information of the device battery, and charging information of the plurality of batteries, and the comparing unit An electronic device is provided that includes a display unit that displays information that identifies one of the device battery and the plurality of batteries based on the comparison result.

  In the electronic device, the identification information includes information indicating whether or not the plurality of batteries can be connected to the electronic device, and the comparison unit includes charging information of the device battery, and the plurality of batteries. Charge information of one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device among the batteries is compared, and the display unit is connectable to the device battery and the electronic device based on a comparison result of the comparison unit. Information for specifying a battery having the largest remaining battery capacity among one or a plurality of batteries is displayed.

  In the electronic device, the display unit displays information specifying one or more fully charged batteries among one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device based on the comparison result of the comparing unit.

  In the electronic device, the communication unit transmits a battery information acquisition instruction for acquiring battery information to the plurality of batteries, and acquires the battery information by wireless communication as a response to the battery information acquisition instruction.

  In the electronic apparatus, the communication unit acquires the battery information periodically transmitted from the plurality of batteries by wireless communication.

  In addition, the present invention wirelessly communicates battery information including a power supply circuit unit, identification information for identifying itself from other batteries, and charging information representing a physical quantity that directly or indirectly indicates the current charging amount. A battery including a communication unit that transmits to an electronic device and a light emitting unit that emits light upon receiving a light emission instruction from the electronic device when the remaining battery level is the largest is provided.

  In the battery, the communication unit receives a battery information acquisition instruction for acquiring battery information from the electronic device, and transmits the battery information to the electronic device by wireless communication as a response to the battery information acquisition instruction.

  In the battery, the communication unit periodically transmits the battery information to the electronic device by wireless communication.

  Moreover, this invention acquires the battery information containing the identification information which identifies a some battery, and the charge information showing the physical quantity which shows the charge amount of the present battery directly or indirectly from a some battery by radio | wireless communication. Based on the acquisition step, the charging information of the device battery connected to the electronic device, and the charging information of the plurality of batteries, and the comparison result of the comparison unit, any of the device battery and the plurality of batteries And a display step of displaying information for specifying the information on a display unit.

  In the battery specifying method, the identification information acquired in the acquisition step includes information indicating whether or not the plurality of batteries can be connected to the electronic device. In the comparison step, the device battery And charging information of one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device among the plurality of batteries, and in the display step, based on a comparison result of the comparison unit, the device battery, and the electronic device The information which specifies the battery with the largest remaining battery among one or a plurality of batteries connectable to is displayed.

  According to the electronic device, the battery, and the battery identification method according to the present invention, it is possible to easily identify which battery has the largest remaining battery amount without connecting a plurality of batteries to the electronic device.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a battery 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of battery information The figure for demonstrating the information transmitted / received between the electronic device 100 and several battery 200A, B, C (A) Display example of the display unit 107, (b) A diagram schematically showing the light emitting unit 213 Operation flow of electronic device 100

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of batteries 200 that can be connected to electronic device 100 are identified from a plurality of batteries 200 including device battery 120 connected to electronic device 100, and a battery is identified from the plurality of identified batteries 200. The battery with the largest remaining amount can be identified and notified to the user of the electronic device 100.

  In the present embodiment, for the sake of explanation, when distinguishing each of the plurality of batteries 200 from each other, they are referred to as batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C.

  In the present embodiment, a battery connected to electronic device 100 is referred to as device battery 120 in order to distinguish from batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C.

  In the present embodiment, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the device battery 120, the battery 200A, and the battery 200C are batteries that can be connected to the electronic device 100, and the battery 200B is a battery that cannot be connected to the electronic device 100.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control unit 101, a battery information comparison unit 103, a communication unit 105, a display unit 107, an operation unit 109, a memory 111, a light emitting unit 113, a device battery 120, Is provided.

  The control unit 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 101 performs overall control of the electronic device 100 and performs various other arithmetic processing and control processing. The function of the control unit 101 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.), ASIC (gate array, etc.), and programs. The control unit 101 performs various processes according to the present embodiment based on a program (data) stored in a built-in information recording medium.

  The communication unit 105 transmits battery information acquisition instructions to the plurality of batteries 200 and receives battery information from the plurality of batteries 200 under the control of the control unit 101. The received battery information is output to the battery information comparison unit 103. In addition, the communication unit 105 transmits a light emission instruction to the battery 200 </ b> A having the largest remaining battery capacity under the control of the control unit 101.

  For communication with a plurality of batteries 200, a wireless LAN known as short-range wireless communication IEEE802.11a / b / g, Bluetooth (registered trademark), which is a short-range wireless communication standard for portable information devices, and near infrared communication. IrDA (registered trademark), which is a distance data communication standard, is used.

  Based on the battery information of the plurality of batteries 200 acquired via the communication unit 105, the battery information comparison unit 103 identifies a battery that can be connected to itself (the electronic device 100) from the identification information of each battery 200A, 200B, 200C.

  The battery information comparison unit 103 compares the charging information of the connectable batteries 200 </ b> A and 200 </ b> C and the charging information of the device battery 120, and specifies the battery having the largest remaining battery level.

  When the battery with the largest remaining battery is the battery 200 </ b> A, the battery information comparison unit 103 outputs the determination result to the control unit 101. In response to the determination result, the control unit 101 causes the display unit 107 to display information for specifying the battery having the largest remaining battery level. Furthermore, the control unit 101 generates a light emission instruction for causing the light emitting unit 213 of the corresponding battery 200 </ b> A to emit light, and outputs the generated light emission instruction to the communication unit 105. Thereby, electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment can visually notify the user of electronic device 100 that the remaining battery level of battery 200A is the largest among a plurality of batteries 200. This light emission instruction is transmitted to the battery 200 </ b> A via the communication unit 105.

  When the battery with the largest remaining battery level is the device battery 120, the battery information comparison unit 103 outputs the determination result to the control unit 101. In response to the determination result, the control unit 101 causes the display unit 107 to display information for specifying the battery having the largest remaining battery level, and causes the light emitting unit 113 to emit light. Thereby, electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment can visually notify the user of electronic device 100 that the battery remaining amount of device battery 120 among the plurality of batteries 200 is the largest.

  The display unit 107 functions as an output interface of the electronic device 100. Based on the determination result of the battery information comparison unit 103, the display unit 107 displays information for specifying the battery with the largest remaining battery level. The display unit 107 may be provided integrally with the operation unit 109 as an input / output interface such as a touch panel. Thereby, electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment can visually notify the user of electronic device 100 which battery has the largest remaining amount among a plurality of batteries 200.

  The operation unit 109 functions as an input interface of the electronic device 100. For example, an operation of the electronic device 100 configured by input keys in response to a user's key operation is output to the control unit 101. The operation unit 109 may be provided integrally with the display unit 107 as an input / output interface such as a touch panel.

  The memory 111 holds battery information (identification information and charging information) of the device battery 120. In addition, the battery information of the batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C acquired by the communication unit 105 is held. The battery information includes identification information and charging information indicating the current remaining battery level. Details will be described later.

  The light emitting unit 113 emits light to visually notify the user of the electronic device 100 of the battery with the largest remaining battery amount under the control of the control unit 101.

  The device battery 120 is a battery connected to the electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 operates with power supplied from the device battery 120 under the control of the control unit 101. The configuration of the device battery 120 is the same as that of the battery 200 described later.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of battery 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The battery 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a control unit 201, a battery information instruction acquisition unit 203, a communication unit 205, a power supply circuit unit 207, a memory 211, and a light emitting unit 213. That is, the battery 200 is a battery with a built-in communication function.

  The control unit 201 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 201 performs overall control of the battery 200 and performs various other arithmetic processing and control processing. The function of the control unit 201 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.), ASIC (gate array, etc.), and programs. The control unit 201 performs various processes of the present embodiment based on a program (data) stored in an internal information recording medium.

  The control unit 201 causes the light emitting unit 213 to emit light based on the light emission instruction received from the electronic device 100 via the communication unit 205. When the battery information instruction acquisition unit 203 acquires the battery information of the battery 200, the control unit 201 transmits the battery information to the electronic device 100 via the communication unit 205.

  The battery information instruction acquisition unit 203 receives the battery information acquisition instruction transmitted from the electronic device 100 via the communication unit 205 and acquires the battery information of the battery 200 held in the memory 211.

  The battery information instruction acquisition unit 203 transmits the battery information of the battery 200 to the electronic device 100 via the communication unit 205 under the control of the control unit 201.

  The memory 211 holds battery information of the battery 200. The battery information will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the battery information includes identification information for identifying the plurality of batteries 200 and charging information indicating the remaining battery capacity. The identification information also includes information indicating whether or not the electronic device 100 can be connected.

  The device battery 120 can be connected to the electronic device 100 and its charging information is 40. That is, the current battery remaining amount of the device battery 120 is 40% (full charge is assumed to be 100%).

  The battery 200 </ b> A can be connected to the electronic device 100, and its charging information is 80. That is, the current remaining battery level of the battery 200A is 80% (full charge is assumed to be 100%).

  The battery 200B cannot be connected to the electronic device 100, and its charging information is 60. That is, the current remaining battery level of the battery 200B is 60% (full charge is 100%).

  The battery 200C can be connected to the electronic device 100, and its charging information is 70. That is, the current remaining battery level of the battery 200C is 70% (full charge is assumed to be 100%).

  When the communication unit 205 receives the battery information acquisition instruction from the electronic device 100, the communication unit 205 outputs the battery information acquisition instruction to the battery information instruction acquisition unit 203.

  When the battery information of the battery 200 is input from the battery information instruction acquisition unit 203, the communication unit 205 transmits the battery information of the battery 200 to the electronic device 100.

  When the communication unit 205 receives a light emission instruction from the electronic device 100, the communication unit 205 outputs the light emission instruction to the control unit 201.

  For communication with the electronic device 100, a wireless LAN known as short-range wireless communication IEEE802.11a / b / g, Bluetooth (registered trademark), which is a short-range wireless communication standard for portable information devices, and short-range infrared rays are used. IrDA (registered trademark), which is a data communication standard, is used.

  The power supply circuit unit 207 is a circuit for supplying power to the electronic device 100, and supplies power to the electronic device 100 under the control of the control unit 201 when the battery 200 is connected to the electronic device 100.

  The light emitting unit 213 emits light under the control of the control unit 201. Thereby, the battery 200 according to the present embodiment can visually notify the user of the electronic device 100 which battery has the largest remaining battery among the plurality of batteries 200.

  With reference to FIG. 4, information transmitted and received between electronic device 100 and a plurality of batteries 200 will be described.

  In FIG. 4, for the sake of explanation, when distinguishing each of the plurality of batteries 200 from each other, they are referred to as batteries 200 </ b> A, 200 </ b> B, and 200 </ b> C.

  In FIG. 4, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the device battery 120, the battery 200A, and the battery 200C are batteries that can be connected to the electronic device 100, and the battery 200B is a battery that cannot be connected to the electronic device 100. Note that the battery that can be connected to the electronic device 100 may be plural or one.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the electronic device 100 transmits battery information acquisition instructions to the plurality of batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C, the battery information is received from each of the batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C as a response to these instructions. Sent to. Then, electronic device 100 transmits a light emission instruction to battery 200A having the largest remaining battery capacity determined from the charging information of each battery 200A, 200B, and 200C. At this time, electronic device 100 displays information specifying the battery with the largest remaining battery capacity on display unit 107.

  FIG. 5A shows a display example of the display unit 107. As shown in FIG. 5A, the electronic device 100 displays “currently remaining battery is the battery 200 </ b> A” as information for specifying the battery having the largest remaining battery amount on the display unit 107. The Furthermore, the electronic device 100 turns on the light emitting unit 113. FIG. 5B schematically shows the light emitting unit 213 of the battery 200A. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the battery 200 </ b> A receives a light emission instruction from the electronic device 100 and turns on the light emitting unit 213.

  In the present embodiment, the display unit 107 displays information for identifying the battery with the largest remaining battery level, and the light emitting unit 113 or the light emitting unit 213 is turned on to inform the user of the electronic device 100 of the current battery. The battery with the largest remaining amount is notified, but not limited to this. Information for specifying the battery having the largest remaining battery capacity may be displayed on the display unit 107 only. Further, a device that generates sound, such as a speaker, may be provided in the electronic device 100 to notify the user of the electronic device 100 of information specifying the battery with the largest remaining battery level by sound.

  FIG. 6 shows an operation flow of the electronic device 100. In FIG. 6, for the sake of explanation, when distinguishing each of the plurality of batteries 200 from each other, they are referred to as batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C.

  In FIG. 6, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the device battery 120, the battery 200 </ b> A, and the battery 200 </ b> C are batteries that can be connected to the electronic device 100, and the battery 200 </ b> B is a battery that cannot be connected to the electronic device 100.

  In ST601, communication unit 105 transmits a battery information acquisition instruction to batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C. And it changes to ST603.

  In ST603, communication section 105 receives battery information from batteries 200A, 200B, and 200C. And it changes to ST605.

  In ST605, battery information comparison section 103 identifies a battery connectable to itself (electronic device 100) from the identification information of each battery 200A, 200B, 200C. And it changes to ST607.

  In ST607, the battery information comparison unit 103 compares the charging information of the connectable batteries 200A and 200C and the charging information of the device battery 120, and identifies the battery with the largest charge amount. And it changes to ST609.

  In ST609, control unit 101 displays specified battery 200A on display unit 107 based on the comparison result of the charging information. And it changes to ST611.

  In ST611, control unit 101 generates a light emission instruction for causing the light emitting unit of specified battery 200A to emit light. And it changes to ST613.

  In ST613, communication unit 105 transmits a light emission instruction to specified battery 200A. Then, the process ends.

  In the present embodiment, as charging information, a numerical value indicating the current charge amount (remaining battery amount) with respect to full charge as a percentage [%] is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any physical quantity that directly or indirectly indicates the current charge amount (for example, a voltage value between battery terminals (+, −), etc.) can be used as charge information.

  In the present embodiment, information specifying the battery with the largest remaining battery capacity is displayed on the display unit 107, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the information specifying the battery having the largest remaining battery level, information specifying one or more batteries whose charging information is 100 (in other words, full charge) may be displayed on the display unit 107. That is, when there are a plurality of batteries whose charging information is 100 (in other words, full charge), the light emitting units of the plurality of batteries may emit light.

  In the present embodiment, the electronic device 100 transmits a battery information acquisition instruction (see FIG. 4) for acquiring the battery information of each battery from the electronic device 100 to the plurality of batteries 200, and the electronic device 100 receives each battery as a response. The battery information is acquired from, but is not limited to this. It is also possible to set so that the battery information of itself is periodically transmitted to the electronic device 100 by a timer built in the control unit 201 of each battery 200.

  In the present embodiment, the display unit 107 displays information for identifying the battery having the largest remaining battery level, and the light emitting unit 113 is lit to allow the user of the electronic device 100 to have the largest remaining battery level. Informs the battery, but is not limited to this. Information for specifying the battery having the largest remaining battery capacity may be displayed on the display unit 107 only. Further, a device that generates sound, such as a speaker, may be provided in the electronic device 100 to notify the user of the electronic device 100 of information specifying the battery with the largest remaining battery level by sound.

  The electronic device, the battery, and the battery identification method according to the present invention have an effect that it is possible to easily identify which battery has the largest remaining battery amount without connecting a plurality of batteries to the electronic device, such as a portable terminal. Useful as.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Electronic device 101 Control part 103 Battery information comparison part 105 Communication part 107 Display part 109 Operation part 111 Memory 113 Light emission part 120 Device battery 200, 200A, 200B, 200C Battery 201 Control part 203 Battery information instruction | indication acquisition part 203
205 Communication Unit 207 Power Supply Circuit Unit 211 Memory 213 Light Emitting Unit

Claims (10)

A communication unit that acquires battery information including identification information for identifying a plurality of batteries and charging information representing a physical quantity that directly or indirectly indicates a current battery charge amount from a plurality of batteries; and
A device battery for supplying power to the device;
A memory for holding battery information of the device battery;
A comparison unit for comparing charging information of the device battery and charging information of the plurality of batteries;
An electronic device comprising: a display unit configured to display information for identifying one of the device battery and the plurality of batteries based on a comparison result of the comparison unit. The identification information includes information indicating whether or not the plurality of batteries can be connected to the electronic device,
The comparison unit includes:
Compare the charging information of the device battery, and charging information of one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device among the plurality of batteries,
The display unit
Based on the comparison result of the comparison unit, displaying information identifying the battery with the largest remaining battery among the device battery and one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device,
The electronic device according to claim 1. The display unit
Based on the comparison result of the comparison unit, information indicating one or more fully charged batteries among one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device is displayed.
The electronic device according to claim 2. The communication unit is
Transmitting a battery information acquisition instruction for acquiring battery information to the plurality of batteries, and acquiring the battery information by wireless communication as a response to the battery information acquisition instruction;
The electronic device as described in any one of Claims 1-3. The communication unit is
Acquiring the battery information periodically transmitted from the plurality of batteries by wireless communication;
The electronic device as described in any one of Claims 1-3. A power circuit section;
A communication unit that transmits battery information including identification information for identifying itself from another battery and charging information representing a physical quantity that directly or indirectly indicates a current charging amount to an electronic device by wireless communication;
A battery that includes a light emitting unit that emits light upon receiving a light emission instruction from the electronic device when the remaining battery level is the largest. The communication unit is
Receiving a battery information acquisition instruction for acquiring battery information from the electronic device, and transmitting the battery information to the electronic device by wireless communication as a response to the battery information acquisition instruction;
The battery according to claim 6. The communication unit is
Periodically transmitting the battery information to the electronic device by wireless communication;
The battery according to claim 6. Obtaining battery information including identification information for identifying a plurality of batteries and charging information representing a physical quantity directly or indirectly indicating a current battery charge amount from a plurality of batteries by wireless communication;
A comparison step of comparing charging information of the device battery connected to the electronic device and charging information of the plurality of batteries; and
A display step of displaying information for specifying one of the device battery and the plurality of batteries on a display unit based on a comparison result of the comparison unit. In the identification information acquired in the acquisition step,
Information indicating whether or not the plurality of batteries can be connected to the electronic device is included,
In the comparison step,
Compare the charging information of one or more batteries that can be connected to the electronic device among the device battery and the plurality of batteries,
In the display step,
Based on the comparison result of the comparison unit, displaying information identifying the battery with the largest remaining battery among the device battery and one or more batteries connectable to the electronic device,
The battery identification method according to claim 9.

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