JP4389837B2 - Charger - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging device, and more specifically to a device for charging a rechargeable battery of a portable device in a contactless manner.

  Mobile devices such as mobile phones and mobile information processing devices generally operate using a battery as a power source, and a rechargeable battery is often used as the battery, and a charging terminal for charging the rechargeable battery. Is exposed to the outside.

  When charging a rechargeable battery, a charging device connected to a commercial AC power source and the portable device are connected by a charging cable, and when the rechargeable battery is sufficiently charged, the charging cable is disconnected from the portable device.

  There is also a charging device that generates power from a solar cell and outputs a DC voltage / current. Even if this type of charging device is connected to the charging terminal of the portable device, the rechargeable battery of the portable device can be charged. Also, Patent Document 1 discloses a mobile phone equipped with a solar cell on the surface of a housing.

A charging system for charging a portable device is described in Patent Document 2.
JP 2005-057983 A JP 2005-057917 A

  The method of connecting the charging device and the portable device with the charging cable is reliable but cumbersome. A charging cable must always be prepared. This means that charging is not possible when there is no corresponding charging cable.

  An object of this invention is to show the charging device which can charge the rechargeable battery of a portable apparatus more simply.

A charging device according to the present invention is a charging device for charging a rechargeable battery of a portable device having a rechargeable battery charged by a photoelectric conversion element exposed to the outside. An entry detection means for detecting the entry of the portable device into the predetermined area where the output light reaches, a timer for measuring the passage of a predetermined time from the entry detection by the entry detection means, and the exit of the portable device from the prescribed area According to the entry detection output of the exit detection means and the entry detection means, the surface light emitting means is caused to emit light, the elapse of the predetermined time by the timer, and the predetermined area detected by the exit detection means And control means for stopping the light emission of the surface light emitting means at the earlier of the exit of the portable device .

According to the present invention, it is possible to charge a rechargeable battery of a portable device simply by placing the portable device within a predetermined area where the output light of the surface emitting means reaches. There is no restriction such as connection of a charging cable to the portable device or installation of the portable device in a cradle or the like, and the photoelectric conversion element of the portable device and the surface emitting means need only face each other, so that the portable device can be used easily. By providing the timer and the exit detection means, useless power consumption can be prevented.

By using a plurality of light emitting diodes as the surface light emitting means , it is possible to reduce the adverse effect of heat on the portable device.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile device 10 includes a secondary battery 12 serving as a power source, a solar cell 14 exposed to the outside of the mobile device 10, and a charging circuit 16 that charges the secondary battery 12 with the output of the solar cell 14.

  In the charging device 20, a surface light-emitting panel 24 is installed above the base 22 with a space through which the mobile device 10 can pass. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the charging device 20. The surface-emitting panel 24 uses a high-intensity lamp, a high-intensity light-emitting diode or a diffusion-processed high-intensity laser diode as a light source, and these are arranged in a plane. Any of a configuration in which long high-intensity lamps are arranged side by side, a configuration in which a high-intensity lamp, a high-intensity light emitting diode, or a diffusion-processed high-intensity laser diode is two-dimensionally arranged may be used. A high-intensity light-emitting diode or a diffusion-processed high-intensity laser diode is superior to a high-intensity lamp in that the adverse effect of heat on the portable device 10 can be avoided.

  In the present embodiment, the portable device 10 with the solar cell 14 facing the surface light emitting panel 24 is manually moved on the table 22 or in the space between the table 22 and the surface light emitting panel 24. On the front side of the surface light emitting panel 24, a photocoupler 26 is disposed as an entry detector that detects the entry of the mobile device 10 into the space between the table 22 and the surface light emitting panel 24. The photocoupler 26 includes a light emitting element 26a embedded in the base 22 and a light receiving element 26b that is arranged next to the surface light emitting panel 24 and receives the output light of the light emitting element 26a. Immediately before the portable device 10 enters the space between the table 22 and the surface light emitting panel 24, the light from the light emitting element 26a to the light receiving element 26b is blocked. The entry of the mobile device 10 into the space between the panels 24 can be detected.

  In addition, a photocoupler 28 as an exit detector that detects the exit of the portable device 10 from the space between the table 22 and the surface light emitting panel 24 is disposed on the side of the surface light emitting panel 24 opposite to the photocoupler 26. It is. The photocoupler 28 includes a light emitting element 28a embedded in the base 22 and a light receiving element 28b that is arranged next to the surface light emitting panel 24 and receives the output light of the light emitting element 28a. Since the light from the light emitting element 28a to the light receiving element 28b is blocked when the portable device 10 comes out of the space between the base 22 and the surface light emitting panel 24, the output of the light receiving element 28b changes the output of the base 22 and the surface light emitting panel 24. It is possible to detect the exit of the mobile device 10 from the space between.

  The control circuit 30 monitors the outputs of the light receiving elements 26b and 28b. When the control circuit 30 detects that the mobile device 10 has entered due to a change in the output of the light receiving element 26b, the control circuit 30 instructs the drive circuit 34 to cause the surface emitting panel 24 to emit light. The drive circuit 34 drives the surface light emitting panel 24 to emit light using commercial AC power as a power source in accordance with a command from the control circuit 30. The control circuit 30 also starts the timer 32 when detecting the entry of the portable device 10 by the output change of the light receiving element 26b.

  The control circuit 30 instructs the driving circuit 34 to detect the exit of the portable device 10 by the output of the light receiving element 28b and the elapse of a certain period of time by the output of the timer 32, whichever is earlier. Turn off the light. By providing the timer 32, it is possible to avoid unnecessary light emission for a long time. Moreover, useless light emission can be avoided also by stopping the light emission of the surface light emission panel 24 according to the output of the light receiving element 28b.

  A procedure for charging the secondary battery 12 of the portable device 10 by the charging device 20 will be described. The user holds the portable device 10 with the solar cell 14 of the portable device 10 facing upward, and exits from the side of the photocoupler 26 as an entry detector, between the surface emitting panel 24 and the base 22. The portable device 10 is manually moved so as to pass through the photocoupler 28 as a detector. When the portable device 10 interrupts the optical path of the photocoupler 26, the control circuit 30 instructs the drive circuit 34 to cause the surface light emitting panel 24 to emit light according to the change in the output of the light receiving element 26b, and starts the timer 32.

  While the mobile device 10 is positioned below the surface light emitting panel 24, the output light of the surface light emitting panel 24 is incident on the solar cell 14 of the mobile device 10. The solar cell 14 converts incident light power into electric power, and the charging circuit 16 charges the secondary battery 12 with the output power of the solar cell 14.

  When the portable device 10 blocks the optical path of the photocoupler 28 serving as the exit detector or the timer 32 indicates that a predetermined time has elapsed, the control circuit 30 instructs the drive circuit 34 to emit light from the surface light emitting panel 24. Stop.

  The amount of charge of the secondary battery 12 is determined by the brightness of the surface light emitting panel 24, the power generation capacity of the solar cell 14, and the moving distance or residence time of the portable device 10 below the surface light emitting panel 24. These parameter values may be determined according to the required charge amount. In any case, the present embodiment is useful for simple charging. Since it is not necessary to connect the charging cable to the portable device 10 and it is not necessary to install the portable device 10 on a charging stand such as a cradle, it can be used easily. In addition, by adopting a method in which the user moves the mobile device 10 in his / her hand, the possibility that the mobile device 10 is taken away is reduced, and a high sense of security can be given to the user.

  Of course, the portable device 10 may be electrically moved between the base 22 and the surface emitting panel 24 by a belt conveyor or the like. In that case, it is preferable to arrange a transparent shielding plate on the front face so that the presence of the portable device 10 can be confirmed at all times and the user does not touch the belt of the belt conveyor.

  Although photocouplers have been exemplified as the entrance detector and the exit detector, other means such as a proximity sensor may be used.

  By causing the surface light emitting panel 24 to emit light downward, the possibility that high-intensity light enters the eyes of the user is greatly reduced. When the surface light emitting panel 24 is incorporated in the base 22 to emit light upward, a light shielding means for preventing the user from entering the eyes should be provided. Of course, by setting the height of the base 22 appropriately, it is possible to prevent light from entering the eyes of the user even with upward light emission.

  By using surface light emission, the optical positional relationship between the solar cell 14 and the surface light emitting panel 24 of the portable device 10 can be determined roughly, and a complicated optical axis adjustment mechanism or the like is not required.

  In the said Example, although the solar cell 14 was illustrated as a photoelectric conversion element, it is clear that the photoelectric conversion element which converts optical power into electric power other than a solar cell can be used. The photoelectric conversion element is determined according to the emission wavelength of the surface light emitting panel 24. The secondary battery 12 is an example of a rechargeable battery, and the rechargeable battery includes an electric double layer capacitor.

  Although the invention has been described with reference to specific illustrative embodiments, various modifications and alterations may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. This is obvious to an engineer in the field to which the present invention belongs, and such changes and modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a schematic block diagram of one Example of this invention. 2 is an external perspective view of a charging device 20. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10: Mobile device 12: Secondary battery 14: Solar battery 16: Charging circuit 20: Charging device 22: Stand 24: Surface emitting panel 26: Photocoupler (entrance detector)
26a: Light emitting element 26b: Light receiving element 28: Photocoupler (retraction detector)
28a: light emitting element 28b: light receiving element 30: control circuit 32: timer 34: drive circuit

Claims (2)

A charging device for charging the rechargeable battery (12) of a portable device (10) having a rechargeable battery (12) charged by a photoelectric conversion element (14) exposed to the outside,
Surface emitting means (24);
An entry detecting means (26) for detecting the entry of the portable device (10) into a predetermined area where the output light of the surface emitting means reaches;
A timer (32) for measuring the elapse of a predetermined time from the entry detection by the entry detection means;
An exit detection means (28) for detecting the exit of the mobile device from the predetermined area;
In accordance with the approach detection output of the approach detection means, the surface light emitting means (24) is caused to emit light . Control means (30) for stopping light emission of the surface light emitting means (24) at the earlier of the exit of the portable device
A charging device comprising: The charging device according to claim 1 , wherein the surface light emitting means includes a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged two-dimensionally.

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