JP2011083154A - Portable information terminal such as cell phone, and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable information terminal, along with a control method thereof, capable of predicting the time required for a secondary battery to be fully charged, and notifying a user of a possibility that charging will take time. <P>SOLUTION: The portable information terminal includes a secondary battery 15, a charge control part 13 which measures a battery charge current Ib that is charged into the secondary battery 15 at the charging, and a display part 17 which notifies a user of measuring result of the charge control part 13. The display part 17, if the battery charge current Ib is equal to a first charge current threshold value th1 or less, notifies a user of a fact that longer time than predetermined time is required for completing charging of the secondary battery 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone having a secondary battery and a control method thereof, and more particularly to charge control of a secondary battery in a portable information terminal.

  In recent years, AC adapters for mobile phones with various charging performances have appeared and are being used. In addition, functions mounted on mobile phones are diversified, and some functions consume a large amount of current. Depending on the performance of the AC adapter and the usage status of the mobile phone, sufficient current may not be supplied to the battery, and although the AC adapter is connected to the mobile phone, the battery is not actually charged or the battery is not fully charged. Problems such as taking time may occur.

  For example, even if an AC adapter is connected to a mobile phone, the user is not notified of how much charging current is actually flowing in the battery. For this reason, the charging current is reduced depending on the usage state of the mobile phone, and it takes time until the charging is completed, and problems such as power interruption have occurred.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the charging current of the mobile phone, the battery charging current, and the current consumption. In the power supply control when charging the mobile phone, the charging current Ia supplied from the AC adapter to the mobile phone is both the consumption current Ic due to the operation of the mobile phone and the battery charging current Ib supplied to the battery inside the mobile phone. Used for. Here, if the charging current Ia is not sufficiently larger than the consumption current Ic, the battery charging current Ib is reduced, so that it takes time to complete the charging. Further, when the charging current Ia is smaller than the consumption current Ic, the battery is not charged.

  By the way, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology of a mobile phone with a charging state display function. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a charging voltage and a charging current value corresponding to a charging rate of a charging characteristic of a battery to be charged are stored in a memory, and a low resistance is provided between the charging circuit and the cell phone battery. And charging current is calculated by detecting the voltage across the low resistance during charging. Then, the calculated charging current and charging voltage are compared with the values in the memory, and the charging state is determined and displayed on the liquid crystal display screen of the mobile phone, so that the user can determine whether or not the battery is 100% charged. Notice.

JP 2001-102096 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the charging performance of the battery is deteriorated due to the use condition of the user during charging of the mobile phone, the user recognizes that the battery is not sufficiently charged. There is a problem that cannot be done.

  A portable information terminal according to the present invention includes: a secondary battery; a charge control unit that measures a battery charging current for charging the secondary battery during charging and / or a consumption current consumed by the portable information terminal; and the charge control unit A notification unit for notifying a user of a measurement result, wherein the notification unit is when the battery charging current is not more than a first charging current threshold and / or the consumption current is not less than a first consumption current threshold. In this case, the user is notified that the completion of charging of the secondary battery takes longer than a predetermined time.

  A method for controlling a portable information terminal according to the present invention is a method for controlling a portable information terminal having a secondary battery, and is a battery charging current for charging the secondary battery and / or a current consumption consumed by the portable information terminal during charging. When the battery charging current is equal to or lower than the first charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than the first current consumption threshold, the charging completion of the secondary battery is predetermined for the user. It is notified that it will take longer than this time.

  The program according to the present invention causes the computer to execute the above-described notification of the state of charge.

  In the present invention, when the battery charging current is equal to or lower than the first charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than the first current consumption threshold, the battery charging current is small, so that the time longer than the normal charging time. Notify the user that is needed. Therefore, when the user rushes to charge, it is possible to take measures such as stopping a program being used in the portable information terminal.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a portable information terminal capable of predicting the time until the secondary battery is fully charged and notifying the user when charging is likely to take time and a method for controlling the portable information terminal. be able to.

It is a block diagram which shows the mobile telephone of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between threshold value th1-th3 and battery charging current Ib. It is a figure which shows the relationship between consumption current threshold value TH1-3 and consumption current Ic. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the display part in state AD. It is a flowchart which shows the charge condition notification method of the mobile phone of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the charging current of a mobile telephone, battery charging current, and consumption current.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a mobile phone that notifies a user of a charged state of a secondary battery.

  In the present embodiment, the battery charging current supplied to the battery is monitored when the battery of the mobile phone is charged. Based on this monitoring result, the user is notified of the state of charge of the mobile phone. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 uses a secondary battery 15, a charging control unit 13 that measures a battery charging current Ib that charges the secondary battery 15 during charging, and a measurement result of the charging control unit 13 to the user. And a display unit 21 as a notification unit for notification. When the battery charging current Ib is equal to or less than the charging current threshold th1, the display unit 21 notifies the user that the completion of charging of the secondary battery 15 takes longer than a predetermined time.

  The mobile phone 1 includes an AC connector 11 connected to an AC adapter, a charge control unit 13 to which a charging current Ia is supplied from the AC adapter via the AC connector 11, a CPU 19 that controls the display unit 21, and the like, which will be described later. The storage unit 17 stores data (user notification data) displayed on the display unit 21 in accordance with the threshold value and the threshold value. A part of the charging current Ia is used as power for the mobile phone. Here, out of the charging current Ia, the current consumed by the mobile phone 1 is defined as consumption current Ic, and the current used for charging the battery 15 is defined as battery charging current Ib. The charging control unit 13 measures various conditions of the mobile phone 1, determines the amount of the battery charging current Ib to be supplied to the battery 15, and supplies the battery charging current Ib to the battery 15.

  The CPU 19 acquires the battery charging current Ib to the battery 15 measured by the charging control unit 13. These are compared with the threshold values (charging current threshold values) th1 to th3 stored in the storage unit 17. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the thresholds th1 to th3 and the battery charging current Ib. As shown in FIG. 2, it can be classified into states A, B, C, and D according to the magnitude of the battery charging current Ib. States A to D indicate states of the mobile phone with different AC adapters and functional operation states. Here, threshold th1> threshold th2> threshold th3.

  The state A indicates a state in which the battery 15 is supplied with a battery charging current Ib that can be charged in a charging time that is standard for the mobile phone manufacturer. As an example of the state A, there is a case where a function is not particularly activated such as displaying a standby screen. The minimum current value in this state is the threshold value th1.

  State B indicates a state where a longer time than the standard charging time is required to complete charging. In this state, since a certain amount of battery charging current is flowing, it takes time but can be charged. As an example of this state B, there is a case where a voice call is in progress and a voice call function is activated. This state is obtained when the battery charging current Ib is not less than the threshold th2 and less than the threshold th1.

  The state C indicates that the mobile phone can be continuously used, but the battery charging current Ib is close to 0, and charging seems to be almost stopped from the user. As an example of this state C, there is a case where, for example, a videophone call is in progress and the videophone function is activated. This state is obtained when the battery charging current Ib is not less than the threshold th3 and less than the threshold th2.

  The state D is a state where charging is not possible, and the mobile phone cannot be used if used as it is. As an example of the state D, a videophone call is being performed while a one-segment broadcast is being recorded, that is, a videophone function is being activated while a function for receiving the one-segment broadcast and a function for recording the received one-segment broadcast is being activated. is there. In this state D, since the consumption current of the mobile phone is large, the battery 15 is consumed conversely, and the battery charging current Ib is negative. This state is obtained when the battery charging current Ib is less than the threshold th3.

  The CPU 19 compares the magnitude of the battery charging current Ib of the battery 15 measured by the charging control unit 13 with the thresholds th1 to th3 stored in the storage unit 17, and notifies the user of the comparison result.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the battery charging current Ib is measured to notify the user of the charging state, but it is also possible to measure the current consumption Ic consumed by the mobile phone 1 and notify the charging state. It is.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the consumption current thresholds TH1 to TH3 and the consumption current Ic. Like the battery charging current Ib, the battery can be classified into the states A to D according to the magnitude of the consumption current Ic. State A is a state in which charging is performed normally, and the current consumption Ic at this time is less than the current consumption threshold TH1. State B is a state where it takes longer to charge than usual, and the current consumption Ic at this time is equal to or greater than the current consumption threshold TH1 and less than the current consumption threshold TH2. The state C is a state in which the mobile phone can be used but cannot be charged, and the current consumption Ic at this time is equal to or greater than the current consumption threshold TH2 and less than the current consumption threshold TH3. The state D is a state where charging is impossible and the mobile phone cannot be used continuously. The current consumption Ic at this time is equal to or greater than the current consumption threshold TH3.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit 21 in the states A to D. FIG. 4A shows an example of a display unit of a mobile phone similar to the conventional case when the battery is not charged, in which an icon indicating a remaining battery capacity, a radio wave state, a date, a time, and the like are displayed. Yes. FIG. 4B shows an example of a conventional mobile phone display unit that is being charged normally in state A, that is, an icon indicating that the battery is being charged. FIG. 4C shows the state B, in which an example (warning 1) of warning that the battery charging current Ic is small and charging takes time is displayed. FIG. 4D shows the state C, which displays an example (warning 2) that warns that the battery can be continuously used but the battery charging current is small and charging is not possible. FIG. 4E shows the state D, and an example of warning that the battery charging current Ib for charging the battery is not flowing, charging is impossible, and continuous use is not possible (warning). 3) is displayed.

  Next, a charging state notification method for a mobile phone according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a charging state notification method. As shown in FIG. 5, the charging control unit 13 always monitors whether or not the AC adapter is connected to the AC connector 11 (step S1). Then, when it is detected that the AC adapter is connected to the AC connector 11, the processing from the subsequent step S is performed.

  In step S <b> 3, the CPU 19 acquires the battery charging current Ib measured by the charging control unit 13. Next, the CPU 19 acquires the threshold th1, the threshold th2, and the threshold th3 from the storage unit 17, and compares the battery charging current Ib with these thresholds th1 to th3 (step S4).

  First, when the battery charging current Ib is equal to or greater than the threshold th1 (step S5: Yes), the charging can be completed within the charging time assumed by the mobile phone manufacturer. Therefore, in this case, the display unit displays the normal charging state (step S6).

  Next, when the battery charging current Ib is less than the threshold th1 but not less than the threshold th2 (step S7: Yes), the charging performance is low because the consumption current Ic is large. In this case, a display (warning 1) that warns the user that the charging time is longer than usual is displayed (step S8). If the battery charging current Ib is less than the threshold th2 but not less than the threshold th3 (step S9: Yes), the battery is hardly charged because the current consumption Ic is large, but there is a current that can be used continuously. The power is supplied from the AC adapter. In this case, a display (warning 2) that warns the user that charging cannot be performed is displayed (step S10). Then, when the battery charging current Ib is less than the threshold th3 (step S11: Yes), since the current consumption is large, the current flows out from the battery, and the battery is not charged. In this case, a warning 3 is displayed asking the user to stop the function being used on the mobile phone (step S11).

  These warnings 1 to 3 (FIGS. 4C to 4E) are periodically displayed according to the magnitude of the battery charging current Ib, and the processing from step S3 is repeated until charging is completed.

  In the present embodiment, when the mobile phone 1 is connected to the AC adapter, the user is notified of the state of charge of the battery 15, so the user can check whether or not the battery charging current Ib flows through the battery of the mobile phone 1. When the battery charging current Ib is small, it is possible to prevent the increase in time until the charging is completed and unintentional power interruption by displaying a warning to the user.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the measurement result of the charging control unit 13 is notified to the user (warning to the user) using the display unit 21, but the notification unit that performs the notification is displayed on the display unit. Not limited to this, it may be by other means such as voice. In the case of the mobile phone 1 connected to the main body by a movable part of the display unit 17, when the display unit 17 is not visible to the user, the user is notified of the warning by other means such as LED lighting. May be. In any case, by notifying the user of the state of charge of the battery, the user can grasp the state of charge of the battery and the user can easily take measures such as speeding up the charge.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone 11 Connector 13 Charge control part 15 Battery 17 Memory | storage part 21 Display part

Claims (13)

A secondary battery,
A charging control unit for measuring a battery charging current for charging the secondary battery at the time of charging and / or a consumption current consumed by the portable information terminal; and
A notification unit for notifying the user of the measurement result of the charge control unit;
When the battery charging current is equal to or lower than the first charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than the first current consumption threshold, the notification unit notifies the user that charging of the secondary battery is complete. A portable information terminal that notifies that it will take longer than a predetermined time.   The notifying unit is configured such that the battery charging current is a second charging current threshold value to the first charging current threshold value and / or the consumption current is the first consumption current threshold value to the second consumption current threshold value. In this case, the portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the user is notified that charging of the secondary battery takes longer than a predetermined time.   The notification unit cannot charge the secondary battery to a user when the battery charging current is equal to or lower than a second charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than a second consumption current threshold. The portable information terminal of Claim 1 or 2 which notifies that.   The notifying unit may be configured such that the battery charging current is a third charging current threshold value to the second charging current threshold value and / or the consumption current is the second consumption current threshold value to the third consumption current threshold value. The portable information terminal according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a case user is notified that the secondary battery cannot be charged.   When the battery charging current is equal to or lower than the third charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than the third current consumption threshold, the notifying unit charges the user when the current state is maintained. The portable information terminal according to claim 4, which notifies that there is a risk of cutting.   The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit is a display unit or a speaker. A method of controlling a portable information terminal having a secondary battery,
Measure the battery charging current to charge the secondary battery during charging and / or the current consumption consumed by the portable information terminal,
When the battery charging current is equal to or lower than the first charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than the first current consumption threshold, the charging completion of the secondary battery is longer than a predetermined time for the user. A method of controlling a portable information terminal that notifies that it takes time.   In the notification step, the battery charging current is a second charging current threshold value to the first charging current threshold value and / or the consumption current is the first consumption current threshold value to the second consumption current threshold value. In this case, the control method of the portable information terminal according to claim 7, wherein the user is notified that the completion of charging of the secondary battery takes longer than a predetermined time.   In the notification step, when the battery charging current is less than or equal to a second charging current threshold and / or when the consumption current is greater than or equal to the second consumption current threshold, the secondary battery cannot be charged to the user. The control method of the portable information terminal of Claim 7 or 8 which notifies that.   In the notification step, the battery charging current is from a third charging current threshold to the second charging current threshold and / or the consumption current is from the second consumption current threshold to the third consumption current threshold. The control method of the portable information terminal of Claim 8 or 9 which notifies that a case user cannot charge the said secondary battery.   In the notification step, when the battery charging current is equal to or lower than a third charging current threshold and / or when the consumption current is equal to or higher than the third consumption current threshold, the user is charged when the current state is maintained. The method for controlling a portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein a notification that there is a risk of running out is provided.   The method of controlling a portable information terminal according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein in the notification step, the notification is displayed on a display unit or output from a speaker. A program for causing a computer of a portable information terminal having a secondary battery to execute a predetermined operation,
Measure the battery charging current to charge the secondary battery during charging and / or the current consumption consumed by the portable information terminal,
When the battery charging current is equal to or lower than the first charging current threshold and / or when the current consumption is equal to or higher than the first current consumption threshold, the charging completion of the secondary battery is longer than a predetermined time for the user. A program that notifies you that it will take time.

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