JPH04259019A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of an electronic equipment which automatically interrupts the supply of power with the automatic power interruption processing when no operation is inputted for a fixed time. CONSTITUTION:An electronic equipment is provided with a battery 1 as an internal power supply and an external power supply 2 which is removably attached to the electronic equipment main body and supplies the power to the equipment via the electric power of a commercial power supply. A power controller 4 is provided on the electronic equipment which controls the supply and the interruption of power via an automatic power switch 3 together with a connection sensor 5 which detects whether the power supply 2 is connected and used for supply of power or not. The controller 4 performs the control based on the detecting result of the sensor 5 and then performs the automatic power interruption processing when the supply 2 is not connected and the battery 1 is used for the supply of power. Meanwhile the controller 4 inhibits the automatic power interruption processing as long as the supply 2 is connected and used for the supply of power.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to electronic equipment, and particularly to electronic equipment that performs an automatic power-off process that automatically cuts off power supply when there is no operation input from an operation input means such as a keyboard of the electronic equipment for a certain period of time. It concerns equipment.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in small electronic devices that use batteries as a power source, the capacity of the batteries is limited, so it is important to keep power consumption low. In particular, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) consisting of a microcomputer with a keyboard
Electronic devices that process information cannot function properly due to a drop in power supply power, so in order to avoid wasteful power consumption and minimize power drop, a configuration that performs the automatic power-off process described above is adopted. It's happening more often.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional configuration of electronic equipment that uses an external power source such as an AC adapter that is detachably connected in addition to a battery power source in an electronic device that performs the above-mentioned automatic power-off process, The automatic power-off processing function is designed to work even when the device is connected and used for power supply and there is no need to worry about the power decreasing. The automatic power-off processing function is useful for reducing power consumption, but if no key input is made for a certain period of time, the processing contents such as data of the processing that was being performed up to that point will be lost due to the power cut-off. It is inconvenient because it can be stored away. It is a problem that this inconvenience is forced even when using an external power source without fear of power reduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve these problems and improve the usability of this type of electronic equipment.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned type of electronic equipment,
If the external power supply is not connected and the internal battery power supply is used for power supply, automatic power-off processing will be performed, and if the external power supply is connected and used for power supply, automatic power-off processing will be prohibited. We adopted a configuration that includes a power supply control means for controlling the power supply.

[0006]

[Function] According to such a configuration, when an external power supply is connected and used for power supply, and there is no fear of a drop in the power of the power source, automatic power cutoff processing is not performed, and the inconvenience caused by automatic power cutoff processing can be eliminated.

[0007]

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

First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the configuration of essential parts related to power supply control of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a battery which is an internal power source. Reference numeral 2 denotes an external power source such as an AC adapter that converts alternating current from an external commercial power source into direct current to supply power, and is used by being detachably connected to the main body of the electronic device. Power supply lines L1 and L2 that lead the output of the battery 1 and external power source 2 are connected to a power supply line L3 via an automatic power switch 3 consisting of a relay or electronic switch, and power is supplied from the power supply line L3 to each part of the electronic device. will be done. Although not shown, a normal power switch that is turned on and off by the user of the electronic device is provided immediately before or after the automatic power switch 3.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a power supply controller that controls the power supply and cutoff by controlling the automatic power switch 3 to turn on and off, and is composed of a logic circuit or a microprocessor, and may be dedicated to power supply control, but may also be an electronic power supply controller. It may also be one that performs control processing for the entire device.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a connection sensor that detects whether or not the external power supply 2 is connected to an electronic device and is being used for power supply, and its detection signal is input to the power supply controller 4 via a signal line L5.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a keyboard as an operation input means for inputting various information such as data and commands to the electronic device. When a key input is made by operating a key on the keyboard 6, the power supply controller 4 is notified of the key input via a signal line L6.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. The automatic power switch 3 is turned on as an initial state when the user of the electronic device turns on a normal power switch (not shown), and power is supplied from the battery 1 or the external power source 2 by turning on both power switches. When the external power supply 2 is connected and used for power supply, the connection sensor 5 detects this fact, and the power supply controller 4 is notified.

The power supply controller 4 performs the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, first, through a loop in step S1, it is monitored whether or not there has been no key input on the keyboard 6 for a certain period of time T, and if there has been no key input, in step S2, the sensor 5 detects whether or not the external power supply 2 is connected and in use.
Judgment is made based on the signal.

[0014] If the external power supply 2 is not connected or used, that is, if the battery 1 is used for power supply, the automatic power switch 3 is turned off in step S3 to cut off the power supply, and the process ends. do.

On the other hand, if the external power source 2 is connected and being used for power supply, the process returns to step S1 and the following process is repeated. That is, the automatic power switch 3 is not turned off.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the external power source 2 is not connected and power is being supplied from the battery 1, automatic power cutoff processing is performed, but when the external power source 2 is connected,
Automatic power-off processing is prohibited while being used for power supply. As mentioned earlier, when an external power source is used, there is no need to worry about the power supply decreasing, and by prohibiting automatic power-off processing in this state and eliminating the inconvenience caused by this processing, the usability of electronic devices is improved. can.

Furthermore, the external power supply 2 is not connected, and the battery 1
Since power is supplied automatically and there is a concern that the power will drop, automatic power-off processing is performed, so unnecessary power consumption can be avoided.

Second Embodiment Next, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the main parts of an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of providing the connection sensor 5 of the first embodiment, a connection switch 7 is provided on the keyboard 6 as a means for the user of the electronic device to inform the power supply controller 4 whether or not the external power supply 2 is connected and used. It is set up. The power supply controller 4 determines whether or not the external power supply 2 is connected and used based on the on/off signal of the connection switch 7 inputted via the signal line L7, and based on this, similarly performs the control shown in FIG. 2 described earlier. As a result, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Although the connection switch 7 does not need to be provided on the keyboard 6, it is easier to operate it if it is provided on the keyboard 6. Further, the connection switch 7 is preferably not provided as a unique switch exclusively for it, but is a so-called software switch whose function is achieved by inputting a command using keys normally provided on the keyboard 6. In this way, the present invention can be realized without changing the hardware of conventional electronic equipment and without increasing costs.

[0020]

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, an electronic device that uses a battery power source as an internal power source and an external power source that is detachably connected to the main body of an electronic device and is supplied with power from a commercial power source. When the external power source is not connected to the device and the battery power source is used for power supply, an automatic power cutoff that automatically cuts off the power supply when there is no operation input to the electronic device for a certain period of time. A configuration is adopted in which a power supply control means is provided that prohibits the automatic power-off processing when the external power supply is connected and used for power supply, and the external power supply is connected and used for power supply. Automatic power-off processing is not performed in a state where there is no fear of a power drop in the power supply, and the inconvenience caused by automatic power-off processing can be eliminated, resulting in the excellent effect of improving the usability of electronic equipment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main parts related to power control of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of processing of the power supply controller in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of main parts related to power supply control of an electronic device according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Internal power battery 2 External power supply 3 Automatic power switch 4 Power controller 5 Connected sensor 6 Keyboard 7 Connection switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: In an electronic device that uses a battery power source as an internal power source and an external power source that is removably connected to the main body of the electronic device and is supplied with power from a commercial power source, the external power source is not connected and the battery power source is used for power supply, an automatic power cutoff process is performed to automatically cut off the power supply when there is no operation input to the electronic device for a certain period of time, and the external power supply is connected and used for power supply. An electronic device characterized in that it is provided with a power control means for prohibiting the automatic power-off processing when the automatic power-off processing is performed.