JP5085505B2 - Portable information processing apparatus, power control method thereof, and computer-executable program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information processing apparatus, a power control method thereof, and a computer-executable program, and more specifically, an apparatus main body that houses a main battery and a sub-battery, and is attached to the apparatus main body. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information processing apparatus including a sub-battery unit configured so as to be capable of controlling the power, and a program executable by a computer.

  A portable information terminal device such as a notebook personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a notebook PC) or a PDA is desired to operate with a secondary battery for a long time. For this reason, improvements have been made to reduce power consumption on the system side and to increase the capacity of secondary batteries.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in a power supply apparatus including a main battery and a rechargeable sub battery, a minimum voltage at which the main battery is discharged and an electronic device as a load can operate, or a voltage value with a small margin. A technique is disclosed in which power is supplied from the sub battery to the electronic device instead of stopping the power supply from the main battery when the power is reduced below.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in a portable information processing device having a fuel cell and a secondary battery, when charging from the fuel cell to the secondary battery, or when the portable information processing device is in a power supply state, the secondary battery is fully charged. A technique is disclosed in which charging is performed without charging detection (charging continues), and when the portable information processing apparatus is powered off, the secondary battery is fully charged and charging is stopped.

  Recently, some notebook PCs employ a dual battery pack system that uses two battery packs, a main battery pack and an auxiliary battery pack. In the dual battery pack method, the main battery pack is always mounted in the dedicated bay of the notebook PC, and the auxiliary battery pack is mounted when the notebook PC is carried and used for a long time.

  By the way, there is a request that the user wants to use the notebook PC for a long time by battery drive. For example, when the notebook PC is used in each room while being moved in the company, it is easily held by hand. There is also a demand to carry around. When the auxiliary battery pack is attached, the battery can be driven for a long time. However, since the weight of the notebook PC increases, it is difficult to carry it directly in the hand. On the other hand, when carrying a notebook PC in a bag, the weight of the notebook PC is not much of a concern, so there are many cases where a notebook PC with an auxiliary battery pack is carried in a bag. In this way, when a notebook PC with an auxiliary battery pack is placed in a bag and moved for a long time (for example, moved outside the company), the battery auxiliary pack is removed and the notebook PC is used in a light state. There is a demand to increase the operating time of the battery.

JP 2004-336934 A JP 2005-295705 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when the main battery is used as a power source after moving the portable information processing apparatus for a long time, the operable time of the battery can be made as long as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a portable information processing apparatus, a power control method thereof, and a computer-executable program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an apparatus main body that accommodates a main battery, and a sub-battery unit that accommodates a sub-battery and can be attached to the apparatus main body. In the portable information processing apparatus comprising: a movement detection means for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body has been moved continuously for a predetermined time or longer; and a movement of the apparatus main body continued for a predetermined time or longer by the movement detection means. Control means for charging the main battery using the power of the sub-battery when the sub-battery is detected.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the movement detecting means detects whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more when the sub battery unit is mounted on the apparatus main body. It is desirable to do.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the movement detecting means detects whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more when the apparatus main body is not in use. .

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the unused state is S3 to S5 of the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) standard.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the movement detection means detects a movement of the apparatus main body that has continued for a predetermined time or more based on a detection result of an acceleration sensor mounted on the apparatus main body.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the control means includes the sub battery when the capacity of the main battery is not more than a first predetermined value and the capacity of the sub battery is not less than a second predetermined value. It is desirable to charge the main battery using battery power.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an apparatus main body that accommodates a main battery, a sub battery that accommodates the sub battery, and is configured to be attachable to the apparatus main body. In a power control method for a portable information processing apparatus comprising a battery unit, a movement detection step for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body has continued to move for a predetermined time or longer, and a predetermined detection of the apparatus main body by the movement detection means. And a control step of charging the main battery using the power of the sub-battery when a movement that has continued for more than a time is detected.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an apparatus main body that accommodates a main battery, a sub battery that accommodates the sub battery, and is configured to be attachable to the apparatus main body. In a program installed in a portable information processing device comprising a battery unit, a movement detection step for detecting whether or not the device main body has continued to move for a predetermined time or more, and the movement detection means When a movement that has continued for a predetermined time or more is detected, a control step of charging the main battery using the power of the sub-battery is executed by a computer.

  According to the present invention, in a portable information processing apparatus comprising: a device main body that accommodates a main battery; and a sub battery unit that accommodates a sub battery and is configured to be attachable to the device main body. A movement detecting means for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more; and when the movement detecting means detects the movement of the apparatus main body for a predetermined time or longer, the power of the sub-battery And control means for charging the main battery, so that when the main battery is used as a power source after the portable information processing device has been moved for a long time, the operating time of the battery is made possible. Information processing device that can be made longer, its power control method, and a computer-executable program Unlikely to.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.

  FIGS. 1-1 and 1-2 are schematic external views of a notebook PC to which a portable information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The notebook PC 1 according to the present invention is configured such that power can be obtained from a commercial power source and a battery using an AC adapter. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the notebook PC 1 includes a main body side housing 2 and a display side housing 3 that are substantially rectangular parallelepipeds. The display-side housing 3 includes a liquid crystal display 5.

  The main body side housing 2 detects an input unit 4 having a keyboard and track points (pointing devices), an LID sensor (not shown) for detecting opening / closing of the display side housing 3, and a movement of the notebook PC 1. An acceleration sensor (not shown) and a main battery (not shown) configured to be detachable. Further, the main body side housing 2 and the display side housing 3 are connected to each other by a pair of left and right connecting portions (hinge portions) 7a and 7b at the respective end portions, and the connecting portions 7a and 7b are connected to these housings. Is supported to be openable and closable. The main body side housing 2 and the display side housing 3 are referred to as an apparatus main body.

  When the display-side housing 3 is folded (closed) on the main body-side housing 2, in the notebook PC 1, an LID sensor (not shown) detects the closed state of the display-side housing 3. In the AC adapter 20, one plug is inserted into the outlet, and the other plug is connected to the terminal 2 a of the main body side casing of the notebook PC 1. The AC adapter 20 converts the AC voltage of the commercial power source into a DC voltage, and supplies power to the notebook PC load. When the AC adapter 20 cannot obtain power from the commercial power source, power is supplied from the main battery (not shown) and / or the sub battery (not shown) to the load of the notebook PC 1.

  In addition, a sub-battery unit 10 equipped with a sub-battery (not shown) can be mounted on the back side of the main body side housing 2 by a mounting mechanism (not shown). Since this mounting mechanism can use a well-known thing, the description is abbreviate | omitted. The second battery (not shown) of the second battery unit 10 can be charged by the charger 30. In a normal use state, the second battery unit 10 is detached from the main body side housing 2. Then, one plug of the charger 30 is inserted into the outlet, the other plug is connected to the terminal 10a of the sub battery unit 10, and the charger 30 converts the AC voltage of the commercial power source into a DC voltage to charge the second battery. Usually, the second battery (not shown) is fully charged. FIG. 1-2 shows a state where the second battery unit 10 is mounted on the main body side housing 2.

  In the present embodiment, when the user moves with the sub-battery unit 10 attached to the notebook PC 1, the notebook PC 1 detects the movement continued for a predetermined time in a non-use state. The main battery starts charging with the electric power. As a result, when the notebook PC 1 is moved for a long time and the sub-battery unit 10 is detached and the notebook PC 1 is used in a light state, the notebook PC 1 can be operated for a long time by driving the power of the main battery. .

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of hardware built in the main body side housing 2 and the display side housing 3 of the notebook PC 1. In the notebook PC 1 shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 111 executes various arithmetic processes under program control to control the entire notebook PC 1. The CPU 111 includes a system side FSB (Front Side Bus) 112, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus 120 as a high-speed I / O device bus, and an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) as a low-speed I / O device bus. Each component is interconnected via a three-stage bus called a bus 140.

  The CPU 111 employs a cache memory that stores a part of the contents of the main memory in, for example, an SRAM, and the processing speed is increased by storing program codes and data in the cache memory. For example, an SRAM of about 128 Kbytes is integrated as a primary cache inside the CPU 111, but in order to compensate for a shortage of storage capacity, for example, 512 K to 2 Mbytes via a BSB (Back Side Bus) 113 which is a dedicated bus A secondary cache 114, which is an external cache of a certain degree, is placed. Note that it is possible to reduce the cost by omitting the BSB 113 and connecting the secondary cache 114 to the FSB 112 to avoid a package having a large number of terminals.

  The FSB 112 and the PCI bus 120 are connected by a CPU bridge (host-PCI bridge) 115 called a memory / PCI chip. The CPU bridge 115 includes a memory controller function for controlling an access operation to the main memory 116, a data buffer for absorbing a difference in data transfer speed between the FSB 112 and the PCI bus 120, and the like. It has become.

  The main memory 116 is a writable memory that is used as a read area for the execution program of the CPU 111 or a work area for writing processing data of the execution program. For example, it is composed of a plurality of DRAM chips. The execution program includes an OS such as Windows XP (R) capable of power control based on ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface), various drivers for hardware operation of peripheral devices, and an application for executing a specific job. Includes programs.

  The video subsystem 117 is a subsystem for realizing functions related to image display, and includes a video controller. The video controller processes a drawing command from the CPU 111, writes the processed drawing information to the video memory, reads the drawing information from the video memory, and outputs the drawing information to the liquid crystal display 5 as drawing data.

  The PCI bus 120 is a bus capable of relatively high-speed data transfer. Connected to the PCI bus 120 are an I / O bridge (also referred to as a south bridge or an I / O hub) 121, a card bus controller 122, an audio subsystem 125, a docking station interface (Dock I / F) 126, and the like.

  The I / O bridge 121 is a control circuit having a bridge function between the PCI bus 120 and the ISA bus 140, and includes a DMA controller function, a programmable interrupt controller (PIC) function, a programmable interval timer (PIT) function, and an IDE ( It has various functions such as an integrated device electronics (USB) interface function, a universal serial bus (USB) function, and a system management bus (SMB) interface function, and has a built-in real-time clock (RTC).

  The DMA controller function is a function for executing data transfer between a peripheral device (for example, an FDD (floppy disk (R) drive)) and the main memory 116 without the intervention of the CPU 111. The PIC function is transmitted from the peripheral device. A function for executing a predetermined program (interrupt handler) in response to an interrupt request (IRQ) The PIT function is a function for generating a timer signal in a predetermined cycle, and the generation cycle is programmable. As an interface realized by the IDE interface function, an IDE hard disk drive (HDD) 131 is connected, and a CD-ROM drive 132 is connected by ATAPI (AT Attachment Packet Interface) instead of the CD-ROM drive 132. DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) dry Other types of IDE devices such as the HDD 131 and the CD-ROM drive 132 may be connected to an external storage device such as a “media bay” or “device” in the main body of the notebook PC 1. Stored in a storage location called a “bay”.

  The I / O bridge 121 is provided with a USB port and is connected to the USB connector 130. Furthermore, the EEPROM 33 is connected to the I / O bridge 121 via the SM bus. The EEPROM 133 stores information such as a basic input / output system (BIOS), a program for controlling the embedded controller 141, a password registered by the user, a supervisor password, and a product serial number. A memory that is nonvolatile and can be electrically rewritten.

  The card bus controller 122 is a dedicated controller for directly connecting the bus signal of the PCI bus 120 to the interface connector (card bus) of the card bus slot 23. The card bus slot 123 can be loaded with a PC card. It is. The docking station interface 126 is hardware for connecting a docking station (not shown), which is a function expansion device when the notebook PC 1 is a notebook personal computer.

  The ISA bus 140 is a bus having a lower data transfer rate than the PCI bus 120. An embedded controller 141, a flash ROM 144, and a Super I / O controller 145 are connected to the ISA bus 140. The Super I / O controller 145 is connected to an I / O port 146, which drives FDD, inputs / outputs parallel data via the parallel port (PIO), and inputs / outputs serial data via the serial port (SIO). ) Is controlling.

  The embedded controller 141 is a one-chip microcomputer that monitors and controls various devices (peripheral devices, sensors, etc.) regardless of the system state of the notebook PC 1, and has a built-in power management controller. The power management function is performed by (PMC: Power Management Controller). Such a one-chip microcomputer is a microcomputer composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and further includes a plurality of channels of A / D input terminals, D / A output terminals, timers, and digital input / output terminals. The one-chip microcomputer stores a program for executing a charge control process when the notebook type PC 1 described later is moved. The embedded controller 141 is connected to the input unit 4, the acceleration sensor 151, the LID sensor 152, the DC / DC converter 160, the charge / discharge unit 170, and the like through these input / output terminals, and controls these operations. . The embedded controller 141 can execute a program related to management of the operating environment inside the notebook PC 1 independently of the CPU 111.

  Moreover, the embedded controller 141 can control the DC-DC converter 160 and the charge / discharge unit 170 based on the power supply classification defined according to the system state. Six states S0 to S5 are defined as system states (ACPI states), S0 is a full operation state, S1 is a low power consumption state (however, both the processor and chipset are powered on), and S2 is a low power consumption state. (However, the processor and cache are powered off, the chipset is powered on), S3 is in a standby state, S4 is in a dormant state, and S5 is powered off by software. Here, the states after S3 (S3 to S5) are referred to as non-use states of the apparatus main body. The embedded controller 141 is configured to be operable even in the state of S3 to S5. In this state, the acceleration sensor 151, the DC / DC converter 160, the charge / discharge unit 170, and the like can be operated.

  The DC-DC converter 160 converts DC power supplied from the AC adapter 20, the main battery 191, or the sub-battery 192 into a plurality of voltages necessary for operating the notebook PC 1, and further according to the system state. Based on the defined power supply category, power is supplied to each device. The AC adapter 20 and the sub battery unit 10 are detachable from the notebook PC 1.

  The charging / discharging unit 170 converts the AC voltage into a DC voltage by the AC adapter 20 to supply power to the load of the notebook PC 1 and also connects the main battery 191 and the sub battery 192 via a charging circuit (not shown). Supply power to charge. When the AC adapter 20 cannot obtain power from the commercial power supply, power is supplied from the main battery 191 and the sub battery 192 to the load.

  The acceleration sensor 51 measures acceleration applied to the notebook PC 1 from the outside, and outputs an analog voltage corresponding to the acceleration to the A / D input terminal of the embedded controller 141. The embedded controller 141 acquires acceleration information by A / D converting the voltage input from the acceleration sensor 141, and determines whether the movement of the notebook PC 1 has continued for a predetermined time based on the acceleration information.

  The LID sensor 152 detects opening / closing between the main body side housing 2 and the display side housing 3 and outputs the detected result to the embedded controller 141. A permanent magnet is embedded in the display-side casing 3, and the permanent magnet approaches the LID sensor 152 disposed on the main body-side casing 2 side in a state where the notebook PC 1 is closed. When the notebook PC 1 is opened, the permanent magnet moves away from the LID sensor 152. The LID sensor 152 can detect whether or not the permanent magnet is approaching itself by sensing the magnetic force from the permanent magnet, and whether the notebook PC 1 is closed or opened from there. Can know. The LID sensor 152 detects opening / closing between the main body side housing 2 and the display side housing 3 and outputs the detected result to the embedded controller 141. The embedded controller 141 sets the system state to S3 when the LID sensor 152 detects that the display side housing 3 is closed when the system state is S0, while the LID sensor 152 sets the system state to S3. When opening of the display-side housing 3 is detected, the system state is returned to S0.

  FIG. 3A is a schematic block diagram of the charge / discharge unit 170 of FIG. In addition to controlling each FET and switch element of the charge / discharge unit 170, the embedded controller 141 performs data communication with the notebook PC 1 and controls the battery capacity, current, voltage, temperature, and the like of the main battery 191 and the sub battery 192. Monitor. In the present embodiment, when power is not supplied from a commercial power source, that is, when battery driving is performed, when the sub battery unit 192 is mounted, the power of the sub battery 192 is preferentially used, The power consumption of the main battery 191 is suppressed.

  Each FET (field effect transistor) constituting the charge / discharge unit 170 has a parasitic diode (also referred to as a body diode) in which an anode is connected to a drain and a cathode is connected to a source. When the AC adapter 20 whose plug is inserted into the outlet is connected to the notebook PC 1, the FET 201 suppresses a large current flowing to charge the capacitance component included in the load for a predetermined time from the off state. It is controlled so that it is completely turned on. In the FET 202, the AC adapter 20 is connected to the notebook PC 1, but when the plug is removed from the outlet and power is not supplied from the commercial power source, the current discharged from the main battery 191 or the sub battery 192 is the AC adapter. This is an element for preventing leakage to 20.

  The charging circuit 210 generates a charging voltage from the DC voltage supplied from the AC adapter 20 to charge the main battery 191 and the sub-battery 192, or generates a charging voltage from the DC voltage supplied from the sub-battery 192. It is a device that charges the battery 191 and operates in a constant voltage constant current (CVCC) control system.

  The main battery 191 and the sub battery 192 can be composed of a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, for example. The FETs 203 and 204 form a charge / discharge path for the main battery 191, and the FETs 205 and 206 form a charge / discharge path for the sub battery 192. Parasitic diodes with cathodes connected to the corresponding main battery 191 and sub-battery 192 sides are formed on the FETs 204 and 206, and parasitic diodes with anodes connected to the corresponding main battery 191 and sub-battery 192 sides on the FETs 203 and 205, respectively. Is formed.

  The switch elements 208 and 209 are switches for switching paths when the main battery 191 and the sub-battery 192 are charged or discharged, and can be composed of, for example, FETs. The FET 207 is provided to allow the charging circuit 210 to generate a charging voltage when the AC adapter 20 charges the main battery 191 and the sub battery 192 while supplying power to the load. The FET 207 is set to an off state when the AC adapter 20 supplies power to the load, and is set to an on state when the AC adapter 20 supplies power from the main battery 191 or the sub battery 192 to the load. The

  Next, an outline of the operation of the charge / discharge unit 170 will be described. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a path for charging the main battery 191 and the sub battery 192 from the AC adapter 20. When charging the main battery 191 and the sub-battery 192 from the AC adapter 20, the embedded controller 141 sets the FETs 201 to 206 and the switch unit 209 to the on state, and sets the switch unit 208 and the FET 207 to the off state. As a result, a path for charging the main battery 191 and the sub-battery 192 from the AC adapter 20 is formed as indicated by the wavy arrow in the figure, and the charging circuit 210 is charged from the DC voltage supplied from the AC adapter 20. The main battery 191 and the sub battery 192 are charged by generating a voltage.

  FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a path for charging the main battery 192 from the sub battery 191. When charging the main battery 192 from the sub-battery 191 (when there is no power supply from the AC adapter 11), the embedded controller 141 turns on the FETs 203 to 206 and the switch unit 208, the switch unit 209 and the FETs 201 and 202, 207 is set to the off state. As a result, a path for charging the main battery 191 from the sub-battery 192 is formed as indicated by the wavy arrow in the figure, and the charging circuit 210 generates a charging voltage from the DC voltage supplied from the sub-battery 192. The main battery 191 is charged.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a charging control process when the notebook PC 1 is moved, which is executed by the embedded controller 141 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the power transfer process of FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the embedded controller 141 determines whether or not the main battery 191 is attached (step S1). If the main battery 191 is not installed (“No” in step S1), the flow ends. On the other hand, if the main battery 191 is installed (“Yes” in step S1), the sub battery 192 is installed. It is determined whether it has been performed (step S2). If the sub-battery 192 is not attached (“No” in step S2), the flow ends.

  If the sub-battery 192 is mounted (“Yes” in step S2), the embedded controller 141 determines whether or not the system state is S3 or less (non-use state: S3 to S5) (step S3). ) If the system state is not S3 or less (“No” in step S3), the flow is terminated. On the other hand, if the system state is S3 or less (“Yes” in step S3), the acceleration sensor 151 Acquisition of acceleration information is started (step S4), and it is determined whether or not the apparatus main body has shaken based on the acceleration information (step S5).

  When the embedded controller 141 detects the occurrence of shaking of the apparatus main body (“Yes” in step S5), the embedded controller 141 starts a timer (step S6) and determines whether or not the shaking of the apparatus main body has continued for a predetermined time or more. However, if the shaking of the apparatus main body has not continued for a predetermined time or longer ("No" in step S7), the process returns to step S5, while if the shaking of the apparatus main body has continued for a predetermined time or longer (step S7) “Yes” in step S7), the power transfer process (step S8) is executed. Here, when the shaking of the apparatus main body continues for a predetermined time or more, it can be determined that the notebook PC 1 is moving for a long time (for example, moving outside the office), while the shaking of the apparatus main body is predetermined. If it does not continue for more than the time, it can be determined that the movement is a short time (for example, movement within the company).

  The power transfer process in step S8 will be described with reference to FIG. 5, first, the embedded controller 141 determines whether or not the capacity of the main battery 191 is 95% or less (step S11). If the capacity of the main battery 191 is not 95% or less (step S11). "No"), return. On the other hand, when the capacity of the main battery 191 is 95% or less (“Yes” in step S11), it is determined whether or not the capacity of the sub battery 192 is 10% or more (step S12). When the capacity of the sub battery 192 is 10% or more (“Yes” in step S12), power transfer from the sub battery 192 to the main battery 191 is started (step S13). Specifically, the embedded controller 141 forms a path for charging the main battery 191 from the sub-battery 192, and causes the charging circuit 210 to generate a charging voltage from the DC voltage supplied from the sub-battery 191, thereby causing the main battery to 192 is charged (see FIG. 3-3).

  The embedded controller 141 determines whether or not the main battery 191 is fully charged (step S14). When the main battery 191 is fully charged (“Yes” in step S14), the embedded controller 141 The power transfer to the battery 191 is stopped (step S16). On the other hand, when the main battery 191 is not fully charged (“No” in step S14), the embedded controller 141 determines whether or not the sub battery 192 is empty (step S15). If the sub battery 192 is empty (“Yes” in step S15), the power transfer from the sub battery 192 to the main battery 192 is stopped (step S16), while if the sub battery 192 is not empty (step S16). “No” in S15), the process returns to step S14. Thus, when the sub-battery unit 10 is mounted on the notebook PC and moved for a long time, the main battery 191 is longer when the sub-battery unit 10 is detached and the notebook PC 1 is used in a light state. Time operation is possible. Note that when the sub-battery unit 10 is used without being attached to or detached from the notebook PC, the sub-battery 192 is first used as a power source, and the main battery 191 is used after the sub-battery 192 is empty. . As described above, by suppressing the power consumption of the main battery 191, it is possible to operate the main battery 191 for a long time even when the sub-battery unit 10 is removed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the apparatus main body that accommodates the main battery 191 and the sub battery unit 10 that accommodates the sub battery 192 and is configured to be attachable to the apparatus main body. In the notebook PC 1 provided, the embedded controller 141 detects whether or not the apparatus main body has moved continuously for a predetermined time or more, and when detecting the movement of the apparatus main body for a predetermined time or longer, the power of the sub-battery 192 is detected. Since the main battery 191 is charged using the main battery 191, when the main battery 191 is used as a power source after the notebook PC 1 is moved for a long time, the operating time of the battery is made as long as possible. Is possible.

  Further, since the embedded controller 141 detects whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or longer when the sub-battery 192 is attached to the apparatus main body, an unnecessary detection operation is omitted. Is possible.

  In addition, since the embedded controller 141 detects whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more when the apparatus main body is not in use, there is no possibility of actual long-term movement. It is possible to omit the detection operation under conditions.

  In the present embodiment, the movement of the apparatus main body is detected based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 151. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the apparatus main body is detected using a wireless network. The movement may be detected.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the notebook type PC is exemplified and described as the portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention. However, the portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the notebook type PC. Any configuration having a removable sub-battery unit may be used, and the present invention is applicable to various portable information processing devices such as a mobile phone, a PDA, and a digital camera.

  The portable information processing apparatus, the power control method thereof, and the computer-executable program according to the present invention are useful for extending the battery operable time after the portable information processing apparatus has moved for a long time.

1 is a schematic external view of a notebook PC to which a portable information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied (open state). 1 is a schematic external view of a notebook PC to which a portable information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied (closed state). It is the schematic which shows the structure of the hardware incorporated in the main body side housing | casing and display side housing | casing of notebook type PC. It is a schematic block diagram of a charging / discharging unit. It is a figure which shows the path | pass which charges a main battery and a sub battery from AC adapter. It is a figure which shows the path | pass which charges a main battery from a sub battery. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the charge control process at the time of notebook-type PC movement performed by an embedded controller. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the electric power transfer process of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Notebook PC
2 Body side housing 3 Display side housing 4 Input unit 5 Liquid crystal display 7a, 7b Connecting unit 10 Sub battery unit 20 AC adapter 30 Charger
111 CPU
112 FSB
113 BSB
114 Secondary cache 115 CPU bridge (host-PCI bridge)
116 Main Memory 117 Video Subsystem 120 PCI Bus 121 I / O Bridge 122 Card Bus Controller 126 Docking Station Interface (Dock I / F)
130 USB connector 131 IDE hard disk drive (HDD)
132 CD-ROM drive 133 EEPROM
140 ISA bus 141 embedded controller 144 flash ROM
145 Super I / O controller 146 I / O port 151 Acceleration sensor 152 LID sensor 160 DC / DC converter 191 Main battery 192 Sub-battery 201-206, 207 FET
208,209 Switch element 210 Charging circuit

Claims (8)

In a portable information processing apparatus comprising: a device main body that accommodates a main battery; and a sub battery unit that accommodates a sub battery and is configured to be attachable to the device main body.
Movement detecting means for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more;
Control means for charging the main battery using the power of the sub-battery when the movement detecting means detects a movement of the apparatus main body that has continued for a predetermined time or more;
A portable information processing apparatus comprising:   The said movement detection means detects whether the said apparatus main body moved continuously more than predetermined time, when the said sub-battery unit is mounted | worn with the said apparatus main body. Portable information processing device.   The said movement detection means detects whether the said apparatus main body moved continuously more than predetermined time, when the said apparatus main body is a non-use state, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Portable information processing device.   4. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the non-use state is S3 to S5 of the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) standard.   The said movement detection means detects the movement which continued the said apparatus main body for the predetermined time or more based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor mounted in the said apparatus main body. The portable information processing apparatus according to one.   The control means uses the power of the sub-battery when the capacity of the main battery is less than or equal to a first predetermined value and the capacity of the sub-battery is greater than or equal to a second predetermined value. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mobile information processing apparatus is charged. In a power control method for a portable information processing apparatus, comprising: a device main body that accommodates a main battery; and a sub battery unit that accommodates a sub battery and is configured to be attachable to the device main body.
A movement detecting step for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more;
A control step of charging the main battery using the power of the sub-battery when the movement detecting means detects a movement of the apparatus main body that continues for a predetermined time or more;
A power control method for a portable information processing apparatus. In a program mounted on a portable information processing apparatus that includes a device main body that stores a main battery, a sub battery unit that stores a sub battery and is configured to be attachable to the device main body,
A movement detecting step for detecting whether or not the apparatus main body has continuously moved for a predetermined time or more;
A control step of charging the main battery using the power of the sub-battery when the movement detecting means detects a movement of the apparatus main body that continues for a predetermined time or more;
A computer-executable program characterized by causing a computer to execute.

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