TWI733124B - Battery state displaying device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery state displaying method comprises the following steps. A battery assembly transmits a battery data to a controller to determine a health state of the battery assembly when a CPU is not operating. When the health state is an abnormal state, the light-emitting assembly is controlled to generate light having the first optical characteristic. When the healthy state is a normal state, the controller determines whether is in a triggering period after receiving a trigger signal, and generates a power value according to the battery data. When the controller is in the triggering period, controls the light-emitting assembly to perform the current power display program according to the power value. Conversely, the controller determines whether the battery assembly receives an external power. When the battery assembly receives the external power, the light-emitting assembly is controlled to perform a charging state display program according to the power value.

Description

Battery status display device and method

The present invention relates to a method for displaying the battery status, particularly a method for displaying the battery status of the electronic device when the central processing unit of the electronic device is not operating.

Today, notebook computers have become a popular electronic product. Generally speaking, the battery of a notebook computer is equipped with a rechargeable battery that can be used repeatedly after charging, and the current battery level, charging time and other information of the battery are displayed in the operating system (OS).

However, when the notebook computer does not enter the operating system, the user cannot directly know the current power level, so that the user cannot accurately grasp the power level information when the user needs to temporarily carry the laptop out. Similarly, when the notebook computer is not in the operating system and is being charged, the user cannot directly know the charging progress, thereby increasing the probability of battery deterioration due to overcharging. In addition, most of the current notebook computers need to input additional commands to know the battery health, and the operation process is quite inconvenient for most general users.

In order to improve the above problems, the present invention provides a battery status display device and method.

A method for displaying battery status includes the following steps. When the central processing unit is not operating, the battery module transmits battery status data to the controller to determine the health status of the battery module. When the state of health is an abnormal state, the controller controls the light-emitting component to generate light with the first optical characteristic. When the state of health is a normal state, the controller determines whether it is within the trigger period after receiving the trigger signal, and based on the battery state data Generate a power value. When the controller is in the trigger period, it controls the light-emitting component to execute the real-time power display program according to the power value, and otherwise determines whether the battery component receives an external power source. When the controller determines that the battery assembly receives an external power source, it controls the light-emitting assembly to execute the charging status display program according to the power value.

A battery status display device is suitable for electronic devices with a central processing unit, and includes a battery assembly, a light-emitting assembly and a controller, wherein the controller is electrically connected between the battery assembly and the light-emitting assembly. The battery assembly generates battery status data when the central processing unit is not operating. The light-emitting component generates light with the first optical characteristic during the trigger period, and executes an instant power display program when the battery component receives an external power source. The controller generates a power value according to the battery status data, and determines the health status of the battery component according to the power value. When the controller determines that the health status is an abnormal state, it controls the light-emitting component to generate light with the first optical characteristic, and the controller is determining When the health state is the normal state, it is judged whether it is within the trigger period after receiving the trigger signal, and the power value is generated according to the battery status data. In the trigger period, the controller controls the light-emitting component to execute the real-time power display program according to the power value. And when the controller is not within the triggering period, it determines whether the battery assembly receives an external power source, wherein when the battery assembly receives the external power source, the controller controls the light-emitting assembly to execute the charging status display program according to the power value.

With the above structure, the battery status display device and method disclosed in the present invention, when the electronic device does not enter the operating system, generate light with different optical characteristics through the light-emitting element on the electronic device to display the current battery level and charging progress of the battery And battery health information, so that the user can quickly check the battery information when the electronic device is not in the operating system.

The above description of the disclosure and the following description of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the spirit and principle of the present invention, and to provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

E: Electronic device

1. 1’: Display device for battery status

11: battery pack

12: Light-emitting components

A1: The first area

L1, L2: the first lamp

A2: The second area

L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8: second lamp

L9, L10: third lamp

13: Controller

T: trigger element

AS: abnormal state

NS: Normal state

R1: first range

R2: second range

A3: The third area

S1~S7, S51~S53, S71~S73: steps

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a battery status display device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a battery status display device according to an embodiment of the invention.

2A is a block diagram of a battery status display device according to another embodiment of the invention.

2B and 2C are schematic diagrams of light-emitting components of a battery status display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for displaying battery status according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a detailed flowchart of a method for displaying battery status according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following embodiments. The content is sufficient to enable anyone familiar with the relevant art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and according to the content disclosed in this specification, the scope of patent application and the drawings. Anyone who is familiar with relevant skills can easily understand the purpose and advantages of the present invention. The following examples further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention in detail, but do not limit the scope of the present invention by any viewpoint.

Please refer to Figure 1A and Figure 1B. FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a battery status display device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the battery status display device of FIG. 1A. The battery status display device 1 is suitable for an electronic device E having a central processing unit (CPU), such as a notebook computer. The monitoring device 1 includes a battery assembly 11, a light-emitting assembly 12 and a controller 13.

The battery assembly 11 is electrically connected to the controller 13 and generates battery status data when the central processing unit is not operating. In detail, the battery assembly 11 includes a battery and an integrated circuit that are electrically connected to each other. The integrated circuit obtains battery status data from the battery and transmits it to the controller 13. For example, the integrated circuit may be a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), and the battery may be a secondary battery such as a lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, lithium-ion battery, etc. The present invention is not limited thereto.

It should be added that the aforementioned "CPU not operating" refers to the situation where the electronic device E has not entered the operating system (OS), that is, S1 to S5 corresponding to the system power states (S-States) .

The light-emitting component 12 is electrically connected to the controller 13 and executes a real-time power display program or a charging status display program according to instructions sent by the controller 13. In detail, the real-time power display program displays the current power of the battery assembly 11, and the charging status display program is used to display the current charging progress when the battery assembly 11 is being charged. The light-emitting component 12 can display the current power or charging progress of the battery component 11 by generating light with different optical characteristics. For example, the light-emitting component 12 can display the current power or charging progress of the battery component 11 with lights of different flashing frequencies or light of different colors. In practice, the light-emitting component 12 may include a microcontroller (MCU) and a lamp, where the lamp may be a light-emitting diode (LED) or an organic light-emitting diode (LED). OLED) etc., the present invention is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the light-emitting element 12 is disposed on the surface of the electronic device E, and the surface is exposed to the electronic device E when the screen of the electronic device E is shielded. For example, when the electronic device E is a notebook computer, the light-emitting component 12 can be arranged on one of the sides of the notebook computer (as shown in FIG. 1B), and the side surface will not be closed when the notebook computer is closed. Be obscured. Therefore, even when the notebook computer is closed, the light-emitting assembly 12 can still present the current power or charging progress of the battery assembly 11 to the user, so that the user can check the required information more quickly.

The controller 13 is electrically connected between the battery assembly 11 and the light-emitting assembly 12 and receives battery state data from the battery assembly 11. The controller 13 judges the health status of the battery assembly 11 according to the battery status data, and generates the power value according to the battery status data; wherein when the health status of the battery assembly 11 is an abnormal state, the light-emitting assembly 12 generates light with the first optical characteristic ( For example, flashing red light). In addition, the controller 13 determines whether to control the light-emitting assembly 12 to perform the real-time power display program within the trigger period after receiving the trigger signal, and determines whether to control the light-emitting assembly 12 to perform charging based on whether the battery assembly 11 receives an external power source. Status display program. When the light-emitting component 12 executes the real-time power display program and the charging status display program, the light-emitting component 12 can use light with the second optical characteristic (for example, a red breathing light) and a light with the third optical characteristic (for example, a yellow breathing light). Distinguish the power value of different ranges. In detail, the battery status data may include information such as the factory power, number of charging times, current voltage and charging current of the battery assembly 11, and the power value is a value calculated by the controller 13 from the battery status data, and can represent the battery assembly 11. The current battery level. In practice, the controller 13 can be an embedded controller 13 An embedded controller (EC) is implemented, and as long as the controller 13 is electrically connected to the battery of the battery assembly 11, it can continuously receive battery state data.

To illustrate the charging status display procedure, please continue to refer to Figure 1B. When the battery assembly 11 receives an external power source, the controller 13 can further control the light-emitting assembly 12 to generate light with different optical characteristics by determining that the power value is within the first range or the second range. When the controller 13 determines that the power value is within the first range, it controls the light-emitting component 12 to generate light with the second optical characteristic. On the other hand, when the controller 13 determines that the power value is within the second range, it controls the light-emitting assembly 12 to generate light with the third optical characteristic. In one embodiment, the second optical characteristic and the third optical characteristic have different color systems, but other embodiments are not limited to this.

For example, the power value can be divided into a first range, a second range, and a third range. The first range can indicate low power (for example, 0% to 20%), and the light-emitting element 12 generates red light (second optical characteristic); the second range can indicate normal power (for example, 20% to 80%), and The light-emitting component 12 generates yellow light (the third optical characteristic); the third range can indicate high power (for example, 80% to 100%), and the light-emitting component 12 generates green light (that is, the optical characteristic is different from the second optical characteristic). Characteristics and third optical characteristics). It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented with two different power value ranges, and the foregoing example is only used to illustrate this technical feature more clearly, not to limit the present invention.

Please refer to Figure 2A. 2A is a block diagram of a battery status display device according to another embodiment of the invention. The battery status display device 1'further includes a trigger element T, which is electrically connected between the light-emitting assembly 12 and the controller 13. In detail, the trigger element T can transmit when triggered The trigger signal is sent to the controller 13, and after receiving the trigger signal, the controller 13 controls the light-emitting component 12 to execute a real-time power display program during the trigger period.

To illustrate the real-time battery display procedure, please refer to Figure 2B and Figure 2C. 2B and 2C are schematic diagrams of the light-emitting assembly 12 of the battery status display device of FIG. 2A. For clear description, the light-emitting assembly 12 of FIGS. 2B and 2C is provided with two first lamps L1 and L2 in the first area A1, and five second lamps L3, L4, L5, L6, L7 are provided in the second area A2. And L8, the third area A3 is provided with two third lamps L9 and L10. It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented by providing at least one lamp in each of the first area A1 and the second area A2, and is not limited to the examples shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. Similar to the example in the previous paragraph, the first range can indicate the power between 0% and 20%, the second range can indicate the power between 20% and 80%, and the third range can indicate the power between 80% and 100%. When the controller 13 determines that the power value is 10% within the trigger period, it proportionally controls the first lamp L1 to generate light with the second optical characteristic. When the controller 13 determines that the power value is 50% within the trigger period, it controls all the first lamps L1 and L2 to produce light with the second optical characteristic, and controls the second lamps L3, L4, and L5 to produce light with the second optical characteristic proportionally. Three optical characteristics of light. It can be seen that as the power of the battery assembly 11 continues to increase, the controller 13 will sequentially control the second lamps L6, L7, and L8 to generate light with the third optical characteristic, and the third lamps L9 and L10 to generate light with the second, The third light with different optical characteristics.

It can be seen from this that when the power value is within the first range but not within the second range, at least one of the first lamps L1 and L2 can generate light with the second optical characteristic within the trigger period. When the power value is within the second range but has not yet reached the third range, within the trigger period, all the first lamps L1 And L2 can generate light with the second optical characteristic, and at least one second lamp L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, and L8 generates light with the third optical characteristic. In one embodiment, the second optical characteristic and the third optical characteristic have different color systems (for example, red and yellow), but other embodiments are not limited thereto.

Please refer to Figure 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for displaying battery status according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to step S1: when the central processing unit is not operating, the battery assembly transmits battery status data to the controller; the battery status data is the raw data generated by the battery assembly. Please refer to step S2: the controller judges the health status of the battery assembly according to the battery status data; the health status is related to the service life of the battery assembly.

When the controller determines that the health state is the abnormal state AS, please refer to step S3: the controller controls the light-emitting component to generate light with the first optical characteristic. In one embodiment, the first optical characteristic and the second optical characteristic have different flicker frequencies, so as to distinguish whether the state of the battery assembly is a low battery or an abnormal state AS. On the other hand, when the controller determines that the state of health is the normal state NS, please refer to step S4: the controller determines whether it is within the trigger period after receiving the trigger signal, and generates the power value according to the battery status data; where the power value is related The current capacity of the battery pack. In one embodiment, the battery assembly has the current maximum power value and the factory power value for the controller to determine whether the ratio of the current maximum power value to the factory power value is within the abnormal range. When the ratio is not within the abnormal range, the controller determines that the health state is the normal state. Conversely, when the ratio is within the abnormal range, the controller determines that the health state is an abnormal state.

In detail, the controller can threshold whether the ratio is within the abnormal range. For example, the threshold can be set to 50%, when the ratio is greater than 50%, it is the normal state, and it is not greater than 50%. (Including 50%), it is an abnormal state. In addition, the conditions for defining the abnormal range can also be set to be less than 50% as an abnormal state, and less than 50% (including 50%) as a normal state. It should be noted that the actual service life of the battery assembly will vary according to factors such as battery brand and battery type. Therefore, the aforementioned 50% is only an example to illustrate this technical feature, not to limit the present invention. On the other hand, the controller can also determine whether the health state of the battery assembly is an abnormal state based on the charging speed, discharging speed, and abnormal power failure of the battery, and the present invention is not limited to this.

When the controller is in the trigger period, please refer to step S5: the controller controls the light-emitting component to execute an instant power display program according to the power value; the real-time power display program instructs the light-emitting component to generate light to display the power value during the trigger period. When the controller is not within the trigger period, please refer to step S6: the controller determines whether the battery assembly receives an external power source, which means that it determines whether the electronic device is being charged. When the controller determines that the battery component receives an external power source, please refer to step S7: the controller controls the light-emitting component to execute a charging status display program according to the power value; the charging status display program indicates the light-emitting component to present a charging progress.

Please refer to Figure 4. Fig. 4 is a detailed flowchart of steps S5 and S7 in Fig. 3. To illustrate the instant battery display procedure, please refer to steps S51 to S53. Please refer to step S51: The controller determines which of the multiple ranges the power value lies in; the number of these ranges is at least two (ie, the first range R1 and the second range R2), but can also be increased to three Or more. When the controller determines that the power value is within the first range R1 among these ranges, please refer to step S52: the controller controls at least one of the at least one first lamp to generate light with the second optical characteristic according to the power value; The optical characteristic is used to present the power value within the first range R1. When the controller judges The power value is within the second range R2 among these ranges, please refer to step S53: the controller controls each of the at least one first lamp to generate light with the second optical characteristic, and controls the at least one second lamp according to the power value At least one of generates light having a third optical characteristic. To put it simply, the third optical characteristic is used to present a power value within the second range R2, and may have a different color system or flicker frequency from the second optical characteristic.

To illustrate the charging status display procedure, please refer to steps S71 to S73. Step S71 is the same as S51, so the description will not be repeated. When the controller determines that the power value is within the first range R1 among these ranges, please refer to step S72: the controller controls the light-emitting component to generate light with the second optical characteristic. On the other hand, when the controller determines that the power value is within the second range R2 among these ranges, please refer to step S73: the controller controls the light-emitting component to generate light with the third optical characteristic. In detail, when the controller controls the light-emitting component to perform the charging status display program, all the lamps on the light-emitting component will generate light to present different charging progress with different optical characteristics.

In summary, the present invention is to provide a battery status display device and method, and the monitoring device and method are suitable for electronic devices. The monitoring device and method can generate light with different optical characteristics through the light-emitting element on the electronic device when the electronic device is not in the operating system, so as to display the current battery power, charging progress, and battery health information, so that the user can When the electronic device is not in the operating system, quickly check the battery information.

Although the present invention is disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. All changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention belong to the present invention The scope of patent protection. For the scope of protection defined by the present invention, please refer to the attached scope of patent application.

AS: abnormal state

NS: Normal state

S1~S7: steps

Claims (9)

A method for displaying battery status, which is suitable for an electronic device with a central processing unit, includes: using a battery assembly to transmit battery status data to a controller when the central processing unit is not operating; The battery state data determines a health state of the battery assembly; when the controller determines that the health state is an abnormal state, the controller controls a light-emitting assembly to generate light with a first optical characteristic; when the controller determines the health The state is a normal state. The controller determines whether it is within a trigger period after receiving a trigger signal, and generates a power value according to the battery state data; when the controller determines that it is within the trigger period, the control The device controls the light-emitting component to execute a real-time power display program according to the power value; when the controller determines that it is not within the trigger period, the controller determines whether the battery component receives an external power source; and when the controller determines The battery component receives the external power source, and the controller controls the light-emitting component to perform a charging status display program according to the power value; wherein the battery component has a current maximum power value and a factory power value, and the controller according to The battery status data to determine the health status of the battery assembly includes: Use the controller to determine whether a ratio of the current maximum power value to the factory power value is within an abnormal range; when the ratio is not within the abnormal range, use the controller to determine that the health state is the normal state; and If the ratio is within the abnormal range, the controller determines that the health state is the abnormal state. The display method of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the light-emitting component to execute the charging state display program according to the power value, including: the controller determines which of the multiple ranges the power value lies; When the controller determines that the power value is within a first range among the ranges, the controller controls the light-emitting component to generate light with a second optical characteristic; and when the controller determines that the power value is within the In a second range among the ranges, the controller controls the light-emitting element to generate light having a third optical characteristic. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting component includes at least one first lamp located in a first area, and at least one second lamp located in a second area, when the controller is controlled according to the power value When the light-emitting component executes the real-time power display procedure, it includes: the controller determines which of the multiple ranges the power value lies; when the controller determines that the power value is in a first range among the ranges Inside, the controller controls at least one of the at least one first lamp to generate light having a second optical characteristic according to the power value; and When the controller determines that the power value is within a second range among the ranges, the controller controls each of the at least one first lamp to generate light with the second optical characteristic, and according to the power value At least one of the at least one second lamp is controlled to generate light having a third optical characteristic. The display method according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the second optical characteristic and the third optical characteristic have different color systems. The display method according to claim 1, wherein the first optical characteristic and the second optical characteristic have different flicker frequencies. A battery status display device, which is suitable for an electronic device with a central processing unit, includes: a battery assembly that generates battery status data when the central processing unit is not operating; and a light-emitting assembly for a trigger period A light with a first optical characteristic is generated inside, and a charging status display program is executed when the battery assembly receives an external power source; and a controller is electrically connected between the battery assembly and the light-emitting assembly, The controller receives and determines a health state of the battery assembly according to the battery state data. When the controller determines that the health state is an abnormal state, it controls the light-emitting assembly to generate light with the first optical characteristic, and the When the controller determines that the state of health is a normal state, it determines whether it is within the trigger period after receiving a trigger signal, and generates an electric quantity value according to the battery state data, wherein the controller determines that it is within the trigger period , According to the power value to control the light-emitting component to execute the real-time power display program, and the controller determines that the battery pack is not within the trigger period Whether the device receives the external power source, wherein the controller controls the light-emitting component to execute the charging status display program according to the power value when the battery component receives the external power source; wherein the battery component has a current maximum power value And a factory power value, the controller further determines whether a ratio of the current maximum power value to the factory power value is within an abnormal range; when the ratio is not within the abnormal range, the controller determines that the health status is the Normal state; when the ratio is within the abnormal range, the controller determines that the health state is the abnormal state. The display device according to claim 6, wherein the light-emitting assembly includes at least one first lamp located in a first area and at least one second lamp located in a second area, wherein at least one of the at least one first lamp is located in the When the controller determines that the power value is in a first range, it generates light with a second optical characteristic according to the power value, and all the at least one first lamp is in a second range when the controller determines that the power value is When internal, light having the second optical characteristic is generated, and at least one of the at least one second lamp has a third optical characteristic according to the power value when the controller determines that the power value is within the second range Light. The display device according to claim 7, wherein the second optical characteristic and the third optical characteristic have different color systems. The display device according to claim 6, wherein the light-emitting component is disposed on a surface of the electronic device, and the surface is exposed to the electronic device when a screen of the electronic device is shielded.

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