Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Computer power control
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-20
2004-11-16
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 2116)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Computer power control
C713S310000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820205
ABSTRACT:
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric power unit, an electric power controller, an electric power controlling method, and a computer, more particularly to an electric power unit provided with a battery enabled to supply an electric power to an external device, an electric power controller and an electric power controlling method that control the electric power unit, and a computer that employs the electric power controlling method.
2. Background Art
In recent years, there have appeared portable personal computers (hereinafter, to be referred to as a portable PC respectively) developed in various size and provided with various functions so as to cope with the required spread of mobile computing. For example, there are lap-top personal computers, more compact lap-top personal computers, palm-top personal computers, PDA (Personal Data Assistants) devices, etc.
A portable PC has a battery built in itself. And, due to this built-in battery, the user can use the portable PC even under an environment in which no commercial electric power source is available, for example, in a train. Generally, a secondary battery that can be charged for repetitive use is employed as such a battery described above.
While such the secondary battery is employed widely for home electric appliances including such the portable PC, etc., an intelligent battery with an electronic circuit integrated therein is now attracting a great deal of attention. According to this intelligent battery, the electronic circuit integrated in the battery can communicate the battery residual capacity to the connected external device very accurately. Consequently, for example, in case such an intelligent battery is employed for a portable PC as a secondary battery, the user can know how much the residual capacity of the secondary battery is before it is used up while using a portable PC under an environment in which no commercial electric power source is available. The user can thus prevent the PC from being shut down abruptly during an operation.
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
On the other hand, makers (manufacturers) of portable PCs and/or home electric appliances provided with such a secondary battery respectively have been confronted with a problem. Concretely, they have to bear a great deal of cost for replacing the secondary battery free of charge almost unconditionally in case they receive complaints from users that the operation time of the secondary battery is short and/or the battery does not work, etc.
That is, such the secondary battery provided as an intelligent battery, etc. has no means for knowing a date on which the user starts the use of his/her delivered portable PC, a home electric appliance, or the like with such the battery built therein, although the secondary battery has a predetermined warranty period (ex., one year). It has thus been impossible to know whether or not the warranty period of the subject secondary battery is still valid. And, this is why the makers (manufacturers) have to accept the replacement of the battery free of charge.
In the same way, the user has also confronted with an inconvenience; it is difficult for the user to judge whether or not the warranty period of the secondary battery is still valid and/or when the user should replace it with a new one.
Under such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric power unit, an electric power controller, and an electric power controlling method that can know when the use of the battery is started, as well as to provide a computer that can know when the use of a built-in electric power unit is started.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The electric power unit of the present invention is provided with a battery enabled to supply an electric power to an external device and a memory in/from which data can be written/read from the external device. The memory stores at least information denoting when the use of the above battery is started. The battery use starting information may include all of the day, the month, and the year in which the use of the battery is started. The information may include only the year, only the year and the month, and only the month and the day. In case information that denotes the production date, the delivery date, etc. is stored in the memory, the information may denote, for example, “three months” as a date difference information from the original date information in case using of the subject battery is started three month after it is delivered.
Because the electric power unit is provided with a memory that stores at least battery use starting information so as to be written/read from an external device such way, the user and/or the maker can read the battery use starting information from the memory, thereby knowing when the use of the electric power unit is actually started.
The memory described above should preferably enable the user to write such data only once. Consequently, the electric power unit can be protected from illegal rewriting of the use starting information.
The electric power unit of the present invention should preferably be further provided with information exchange controller for controlling exchanges of information between the memory and an external device. Consequently, the electric power unit memory can be accessed more easily from the external device.
Furthermore, the electric power unit of the present invention should preferably be provided with a terminal for outputting a signal to the external device. The signal denotes whether or not the battery supplies an electric power to the external device. Consequently, it is possible for the external device to decide whether or not the electric power unit is connected to a destination device, thereby the external device can access the memory only when the electric power unit is connected to the destination device.
On the other hand, the electric power controller and the electric power controlling method of the present invention are used to control the electric power unit of the present invention so that the battery use starting information is stored in the memory of the electric power unit in case it is not stored in the memory. Consequently, the user and/or the maker can read the use starting information from the memory so as to know when the use of the electric power unit is started actually. And, according to the present invention, because the operation for storing such the use starting information is omitted in case the information is already stored in the memory, it is possible to prevent illegal rewriting of the use starting information.
Generally, in many cases, such an electric power unit is configured so as to be removable from the destination device, so that it is not always connected to the destination device.
This is why the electric power controller and the electric power controlling method of the present invention should preferably be controlled so that the use starting information of the electric power unit is stored in the memory in case the electric power unit is connected to a destination device. Consequently, accurate use starting information can be stored surely in the memory.
Furthermore, it is possible to decide that the electric power unit is connected to the destination device in case the voltage or current supplied from the electric power unit is over its corresponding predetermined value.
On the other hand, in case the electric power controlling method of the present invention applies to a computer provided with a CPU, a storage device, a display device, an input device, and the electric power unit of the present invention that are connected to each another via a bus respectively, the storage device can be employed as a recording medium readable from the computer so as to realize the above application. In this case, it is premised that the recording medium stores a program for controlling the electric power unit according to the electric power controlling method of the present invention. And, the computer can know the
Naitoh Arimasa
Odaohhara Shigefumi
Browne Lynne H.
Herzberg Louis P.
Yanchus, III Paul
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