JP6575816B2 - Power supply - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply device capable of supplying power.

There is known a power supply device that can supply power to another device. Specific construction of this type of power supply apparatus, for example, described in Patent Document 1.

  The power supply device described in Patent Literature 1 determines whether or not the required power can be supplied to the other device based on the data regarding the required power received from the other device. When it is determined that the required power cannot be supplied to another device, the power supply device monitors the power state in the power supply device until the required power can be supplied. When the power supply device can supply the required power to another device, the power supply device issues a bus reset and then supplies power to the other device.

JP 2003-44179 A

  However, the configuration described in Patent Document 1 points out a problem that power supply to other devices is interrupted during a period in which the required power cannot be supplied to the other devices.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is suitable for continuing the power supply to other devices while securing the power necessary to stably operate itself. Is to provide a simple power supply device.

  A power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a power supply unit, means for obtaining power that can be supplied to another device based on power supplied from the power supply unit and its own status, and other power obtained. Supply means for supplying to the apparatus.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the means for obtaining power may be configured to obtain power that can be supplied to another device based on the power supplied from the power supply unit and its own operation mode.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the means for obtaining power obtains power that can be supplied to other devices by subtracting power required to operate in the operation mode from power supplied from the power supply unit. It is good also as a structure.

  In addition, the power supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a unit that stores a plurality of types of profiles that define power supplied to other apparatuses. In this configuration, the means for obtaining the power can be supplied to the other apparatus by selecting a profile that defines the power that can be supplied to the other apparatus from a plurality of types of profiles based on the result of the subtraction. Ask for power.

  In addition, the power supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a notification unit that notifies the other device of the profile selected by the unit for obtaining power, and another device specified from the profiles included in the notification. It is good also as a structure provided with the receiving means which receives the information of a profile from this other apparatus. In this configuration, the supply means supplies power to the other device based on the profile information received from the other device.

  Moreover, the power supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a notification unit that notifies information about the power obtained by the unit for obtaining power to other devices. In this configuration, the supply unit supplies power to the other device based on the response result of the other device to the notification by the notification unit.

  Moreover, the power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include means for receiving information on required power requested by another device. Further, the power supply unit may include a receiving unit that receives power from an external power supply. In this configuration, the means for obtaining power determines whether or not the required power can be supplied to another device based on the power received from the external power source and its own status, and determines that the required power cannot be supplied to the other device. If so, it requires the external power supply to supply more power than it currently does. The supply means supplies power to other devices using power received from the external power supply after the request.

  Moreover, the power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include means for receiving information on required power requested by another device. Further, the power supply unit may include a receiving unit that receives power from an external power supply and a battery power supply. In this configuration, the means for obtaining power determines whether or not the required power can be supplied to another device based on the power received from the external power source and its own status, and determines that the required power cannot be supplied to the other device. When the power supply device is operating with the power received from the external power source, the power source necessary for the operation is switched to the battery power source. The supply means supplies power received from the external power source to other devices.

  The power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a setting unit that sets whether or not to prioritize other devices over the power supply device. In this configuration, the means for obtaining the power is the power that the power supply device receives from the external power source when it is determined that the required power cannot be supplied to the other device only when priority is given to the other device. When operating, the power source required for the operation is switched to the battery power source.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the means for obtaining power does not switch the power source necessary for operation to the battery power source, for example, when the remaining amount of the battery power source is a predetermined amount or less.

  Moreover, the power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention is, for example, a photographing device. The operation mode in this case includes at least a shooting mode for shooting an image.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, a power supply device suitable for continuing power supply to other devices while securing power necessary for stable operation of the device is provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric power supply system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the electric power supply process performed in one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a power supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power supply system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The power supply system 1 includes a plurality of (at least two) devices capable of mutual communication. In the example of FIG. 1, the power supply system 1 includes three devices (devices 10, 20, and 30).

  The devices constituting the power supply system 1 can supply power and receive power according to the result of communication between the devices. For example, USB (Universal Serial Bus) -PD (Power Delivery) It is equipment corresponding to. Specific examples of equipment include digital single-lens reflex cameras, mirrorless single-lens cameras, compact digital cameras, video cameras, camcorders, desktop PCs, notebook PCs, tablet terminals, PHS (Personal Handy phone System), smartphones, smart watches, and feature phones. , Game machines, music players, TVs, car navigation systems, projectors, various peripheral devices such as printers and storages, various accessories such as strobes, GPS units, and external viewfinders.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the devices 10, 20, and 30 are a photographing device, a PC, and a strobe, respectively. Hereinafter, the device 10 is referred to as “imaging device 10”, the device 20 is referred to as “PC 20”, and the device 30 is referred to as “strobe 30”. In the present embodiment, for the sake of convenience, a device-specific configuration (for example, a solid-state imaging device or a lens for a photographing apparatus, a monitor display or HDD for a PC, a flash lamp or a trigger circuit for a strobe), a general housing such as a housing, etc. The illustrations and explanations of the constitutions that may be omitted may be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the photographing apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100, a power supply circuit 110, a battery 120, USB connectors 130 and 140, a memory 150, and a UI (User Interface) 160.

  The UI 160 includes various operation means for the user to operate the photographing apparatus 10, such as a power switch, a release switch, and a photographing mode switch. When the power switch is operated by the user, power is supplied from the power supply circuit 110 to various circuits in the photographing apparatus 10 through the power supply line. The power supply sources to the power supply circuit 110 are a detachable battery 120, a commercial power supply, and the PC 20. The photographing apparatus 10 basically operates with electric power supplied from the battery 120, but when connected to a commercial power source or the PC 20, it is manually or automatically switched to operation with electric power supplied from the connection destination. The power supply by the PC 20 will be described in detail later.

  When the CPU 100 receives power from the power supply circuit 110, the CPU 100 accesses the memory 150, reads the control program, loads it into the work area, and executes the loaded control program, so that the overall control of the photographing apparatus 10 is centralized. Do. For example, when the release switch is pressed, the CPU 100 executes imaging processing with appropriate exposure and focus based on AE control and AF control, and generates and records captured image data.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 20 includes a CPU 200, a power supply circuit 210, a USB connector 220, a memory 230, and a UI 240.

  The UI 240 includes various operation means for the user to operate the PC 20 such as a power switch, a keyboard, and a mouse. When the power switch is operated by the user, power is supplied from the power supply circuit 210 to various circuits in the PC 20 through the power supply line. The power supply source to the power supply circuit 210 is a commercial power supply. The power supply source to the power supply circuit 210 may be a battery (not shown).

  When receiving power from the power supply circuit 210, the CPU 200 accesses the memory 230, reads the control program, loads it into the work area, and executes the loaded control program, thereby performing overall control of the PC 20. For example, the CPU 200 issues a request to the Web server in response to a user operation, and downloads and stores content corresponding to the issued request.

  One end of a USB cable 400 is connected to the USB connector 220 of the PC 20. The other end of the USB cable 400 is connected to the USB connector 130 of the photographing apparatus 10. The photographing apparatus 10 and the PC 20 are connected via a USB cable 400 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The USB connector 130 of the photographing apparatus 10 and the USB connector 220 of the PC 20 are USB-PD compatible connectors, for example, USB Type-C connectors. The USB cable 400 is a USB-PD compatible cable, for example, a USB Type-C cable.
Therefore, the imaging device 10 can receive power from the PC 20 and can supply power to the PC 20. When the photographing apparatus 10 and the PC 20 are connected, a host (power supply side device) is set in response to a user operation or automatically. Here, the PC 20 is set as the host. The power supply circuit 110 of the photographing apparatus 10 issues a power supply request to the host (PC 20) in response to a user operation or automatically.

The power supply circuit 210 of the PC 20 holds a plurality of types of power profiles that define power supplied to other devices. The following shows an example of a power profile held by the power supply circuit 210.
(Example of power profile)
PROFILE POWER VOLTAGE CURRENT
PROFILE0 RESERVED
PROFILE1 10W 5V 2A
PROFILE2 18W 12V 1.5A
PROFILE3 36W 12V 3A
PROFILE4 60W 20V 3A
PROFILE5 100W 20V 5A

  When the power supply circuit 210 of the PC 20 receives a power supply request from the imaging apparatus 10, the power profile that subtracts the operating power necessary for the operation of the PC 20 from the power received from the commercial power supply and satisfies the subtracted value power. Select. For example, consider a case where the received power from the commercial power supply is 100 W and the operating power of the PC 20 is 60 W. In this case, the power supply circuit 210 selects a power profile 0 to 3 of 40 W (= 100 W-60 W) or less from the above power profile group, and captures the selected power profile 0 to 3 as an available power profile. The device 10 is notified.

  The power supply circuit 110 of the imaging device 10 defines the operating power necessary for stably operating the imaging device 10 for each operation mode. Examples of the operation mode include a still image shooting mode, a moving image shooting mode, a still image playback mode, a moving image playback mode, a power saving mode, and a sleep mode. The power supply circuit 110 designates an optimum power profile according to the current status (in the present embodiment, the current operation mode (operation power)) from the power profiles 0 to 3 included in the notification from the PC 20, The designated power profile is notified to the PC 20 and the power supply source is switched from the battery 120 to the PC 20.

  The power supply circuit 210 of the PC 20 supplies power corresponding to the power profile specified by the photographing apparatus 10 to the photographing apparatus 10 via the USB cable 400. The photographing apparatus 10 operates with the received power received from the PC 20.

  Note that the power supply circuit 110 of the imaging device 10 subtracts the operating power from the received power when the operating power required to stably operate the imaging device 10 with respect to the received power received from the PC 20 is smaller than a predetermined value. Battery 120 may be charged using the remaining power. Further, when the received power received from the PC 20 is smaller than the operating power, the power supply circuit 110 may switch the power supply source to the battery 120 and charge the battery 120 using the received power.

  In the above embodiment, the PC 20 is the power supply side and the photographing device 10 is the power receiving side. However, in another embodiment, the photographing device 10 is the power supply side and the PC 20 is the power receiving side. May be.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the strobe 30 includes a CPU 300, a power supply circuit 310, and a USB connector 320. The strobe 30 may have a configuration in which a battery is mounted.

  One end of a USB cable 500 is connected to the USB connector 320 of the strobe 30. The other end of the USB cable 500 is connected to the USB connector 140 of the photographing apparatus 10. The photographing apparatus 10 and the strobe 30 are connected to each other via a USB cable 500 so that they can communicate with each other.

  The USB connector 140 of the photographing apparatus 10 and the USB connector 320 of the strobe 30 are USB-PD compatible connectors, for example, USB Type-C connectors. The USB cable 500 is a USB-PD compatible cable, for example, a USB Type-C cable. Therefore, the photographing apparatus 10 can receive power from the strobe 30 and can supply power to the strobe 30.

[Power supply processing]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of power supply processing executed by the power supply circuit 110 of the photographing apparatus 10 when the strobe 30 is connected. It is assumed that the photographing apparatus 10 is operating with the received power received from the PC 20 when connected to the strobe 30.

[S11 in FIG. 2 (Power Supply Request Determination)]
In this processing step S11, it is determined whether or not a power supply request is received from the strobe 30. When it is determined that the power supply request has not been received from the strobe 30 (S11: NO), the power supply process shown in this flowchart ends. The strobe 30 requires a large amount of power only when the internal capacitor needs to be charged in preparation for the next shooting after light emission.

[S12 in FIG. 2 (Accessory priority determination)]
This processing step S12 is executed when it is determined in processing step S11 (power supply request determination) that a power supply request has been received from the strobe 30 (S11: YES). In this processing step S12, it is determined whether or not the accessory is prioritized over the photographing apparatus 10. Whether to give priority to the accessory with respect to the imaging apparatus 10 may be set by a user operation on the UI 160, for example, or may be automatically set for each accessory.

[S13 in FIG. 2 (judgment of electric energy)]
This processing step S13 is executed when it is determined in the processing step S12 (accessory priority determination) that the accessory is prioritized over the photographing apparatus 10 (S12: YES). The power supply request from the strobe 30 includes information on the required power required by the strobe 30. In this processing step S13, the operating power necessary for stably operating the photographing apparatus 10 (in other words, the voltage defined for the current operating mode) and the required power of the strobe 30 (more precisely, Whether or not the sum of the power defined by the power profile and the power required by the strobe 30 is larger than the received power received from the PC 20. Is determined.

[S14 in FIG. 2 (Switching Setting Validity Determination)]
In this processing step S14, the total of the operating power necessary for stably operating the photographing apparatus 10 in the processing step S13 (determination of electric power) and the required full power of the strobe 30 is received from the PC 20. This is executed when it is determined that the power is larger than the power (S13: YES). In this processing step S14, it is determined whether or not the switching setting for switching the power supply source of the photographing apparatus 10 to the battery 120 is valid. The user can set the validity / invalidity of the switching setting by operating the UI 160, for example.

[S15 in FIG. 2 (Issuance of Supply Power Increase Request)]
This processing step S15 is performed when it is determined in processing step S14 (switching setting validity determination) that the switching setting for switching the power supply source of the photographing apparatus 10 to the battery 120 is not valid (invalid) (S14: NO). ) Is executed. In this case, since at least one of the operating power necessary for stably operating the photographing apparatus 10 and the required sufficient power of the strobe 30 cannot be ensured without deficiency, in this processing step S15, the supplied power amount is set from the present. A request to increase the power (for example, a request for power exceeding the sum of the operating power and the required full power) is issued to the PC 20. In response to this request, the PC 20 increases the power supplied to the photographing apparatus 10 within a possible range.

[S16 in FIG. 2 (Supplying power to the accessory)]
In this processing step S16, when it is determined in processing step S12 (accessory priority determination) that the accessory is not prioritized over the imaging device 10 (S12: NO), imaging is performed in processing step S13 (power amount determination). When it is determined that the sum of the operating power necessary to stably operate the apparatus 10 and the required full power of the strobe 30 is equal to or less than the received power received from the PC 20 (S13: NO) or processing step S15 Executed after (issue of supply power increase request).

  In this processing step S <b> 16, the remaining power obtained by subtracting the operating power necessary to stably operate the photographing apparatus 10 from the received power received from the PC 20 is supplied to the strobe 30. Illustratively, when the received power is 100 W and the operating power is 30 W (when the subtracted power is 70 W), the power profiles 0 to 4 in the above power profile example are strobes from the power supply circuit 110 of the photographing apparatus 10. 30, and the one designated by the strobe 30 from the power profiles 0 to 4 is returned to the power supply circuit 110. The power supply circuit 110 supplies power specified by the specified power profile to the strobe 30.

  When the sum of the operating power of the photographing apparatus 10 and the required full power of the strobe 30 is equal to or less than the received power from the PC 20, the power satisfying the request is supplied to the strobe 30, and the internal capacitor of the strobe 30 is charged within the specified time. To complete. When the received power is larger than the sum of the operating power and the required sufficiency power by a certain value or more, it is the power specified by the power profile in order to charge the internal capacitor more rapidly. A larger one may be supplied to the strobe 30.

  Further, even if the total of the operating power of the photographing apparatus 10 and the required full power of the strobe 30 is larger than the received power from the PC 20, the operating power is subtracted from the received power even though it is less than the required power. The power specified by the power profile is supplied to the strobe 30. Therefore, the internal capacitor of the strobe 30 is charged by the power supplied from the photographing apparatus 10. The charging of the internal capacitor is completed although it exceeds the specified time. That is, according to the present embodiment, even when the power received from the PC 20 is not sufficient, the power supply to the strobe 30 is ensured while ensuring the operating power necessary to stably operate the photographing apparatus 10. Is continued and the internal capacitor is charged.

  If the sum of the operating power of the image capturing device 10 and the required power of the strobe 30 is larger than the power received from the PC 20, the operation mode of the image capturing device 10 is shifted to the power saving mode or the sleep mode during the charging period, that is, The operating power of the imaging device 10 may be temporarily reduced. By reducing the operating power only during the charging period, the charging speed of the internal capacitor of the strobe 30 can be increased while suppressing the influence on the operation of the photographing apparatus 10.

[S17 in FIG. 2 (switching power supply source)]
This processing step S17 is executed when it is determined in processing step S14 (switching setting validity determination) that the switching setting for switching the power supply source of the photographing apparatus 10 to the battery 120 is valid (S14: YES). The In this processing step S17, the power supply source of the photographing apparatus 10 is switched to the battery 120. However, when the remaining capacity of the battery 120 is less than a predetermined amount, the operation of the photographing apparatus 10 may be hindered. In this case, switching to the battery 120 may be forcibly prohibited.

[S18 in FIG. 2 (judgment of electric energy)]
In this processing step S18, it is determined whether or not the required full power of the strobe 30 is larger than the received power from the PC 20.

[S19 in FIG. 2 (Issuance of Supply Power Increase Request)]
This processing step S19 is executed when it is determined in processing step S18 (determination of electric energy) that the required full power of the strobe 30 is larger than the received power from the PC 20 (S18: YES). In this process step S19, the request | requirement which increases supply electric energy more than the present (for example, the request | requirement of the electric power exceeding request sufficient electric power) is issued to PC20. In response to this request, the PC 20 increases the power supplied to the photographing apparatus 10 within a possible range.

[S20 in FIG. 2 (Supplying power to the accessory)]
This processing step S20 is the processing step S18 (determination of electric energy), when the required full power of the strobe 30 is equal to or less than the received power from the PC 20 (S18: NO) or processing step S19 (issue of supply power increase request). Will be executed later.

  In this processing step S20, the received power received from the PC 20 is supplied to the strobe 30.

  Specifically, when the required full power of the strobe 30 is less than or equal to the power received from the PC 20, the power satisfying the request is supplied to the strobe 30 and the charging of the internal capacitor of the strobe 30 is completed within a specified time. When the received power is larger than the required full power by a certain value or more, the strobe 30 may be supplied with a power larger than the current required full power in order to charge the internal capacitor more rapidly.

  Further, even when the required full power of the strobe 30 is larger than the received power from the PC 20, the received power is supplied to the strobe 30 although the power is less than the required power. Therefore, the internal capacitor of the strobe 30 is charged by the power supplied from the photographing apparatus 10. The charging of the internal capacitor is completed although it exceeds the specified time. That is, according to the present embodiment, even when the power received from the PC 20 is not sufficient, the power supply to the strobe 30 is ensured while ensuring the operating power necessary to stably operate the photographing apparatus 10. Is continued and the internal capacitor is charged.

[S21 in FIG. 2 (Power Supply Request Determination)]
In this processing step S21, it is determined whether or not a power supply request is received from the strobe 30. When it is determined that a power supply request has been received from the strobe 30 (S21: YES), the power supply process shown in this flowchart returns to process step S12 (accessory priority determination). If it is determined that the power supply request is not received from the strobe 30 (S21: NO), the power supply process shown in this flowchart is terminated.

  The above is the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the embodiment of the present application also includes an embodiment that is exemplarily specified in the specification or a combination of obvious embodiments and the like as appropriate.

1 Power Supply System 10 Imaging Device 20 PC
30 Accessories 100 CPU
110 Power supply circuit 120 Battery 130, 140 USB connector 150 Memory 160 UI
200 CPU
210 Power supply circuit 220 USB connector 230 Memory 240 UI
300 CPU
310 Power supply circuit 320 USB connector 400, 500 USB cable

Claims (9)

A power supply,
Means for obtaining power that can be supplied to other devices based on the power supplied from the power supply unit and its own status;
Supply means for supplying the determined power to the other device;
Means for receiving required power information requested by the other device;
With
The power supply unit is
Including a receiving means for receiving power from an external power source and a battery power source,
The means for obtaining the power is:
Determining whether the required power can be supplied to the other device based on the power received from the external power source and its own status;
When it is determined that the required power cannot be supplied to the other device and the power supply device is operating with power received from the external power source, the power source necessary for the operation is switched to the battery power source,
The supply means includes
Supplying power received from the external power source to the other device;
Power supply device. The means for obtaining the power is:
Obtain power that can be supplied to the other device based on the power supplied from the power supply unit and its own operation mode.
The power supply apparatus according to claim 1. The means for obtaining the power is:
By subtracting the power required to operate in the operation mode from the power supplied from the power supply unit, the power that can be supplied to the other device is obtained.
The power supply apparatus according to claim 2. The power supply device is a photographing device;
The operation mode is:
Including at least a shooting mode for shooting images,
The power supply device according to claim 2 or claim 3. Means for storing a plurality of types of profiles defining power supplied to the other device;
The means for obtaining the power is:
Based on the result of the subtraction, by selecting a profile that defines the power that can be supplied to the other device from the plurality of types of profiles, the power that can be supplied to the other device is obtained.
The electric power supply apparatus of Claim 4 which quotes Claim 3 or Claim 3. Notification means for notifying the other device of the profile selected by the means for obtaining the power;
Receiving means for receiving, from the other device, information on a profile designated by the other device from among the profiles included in the notification;
With
The supply means includes
Supplying power to the other device based on profile information received from the other device;
The power supply apparatus according to claim 5. A notification means for notifying the other device of information on the power obtained by the means for obtaining the power;
The supply means includes
Supplying power to the other device based on a response result of the other device to the notification;
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Setting means for setting whether to give priority to the other device over the power supply device;
The means for obtaining the power is:
Only when it is set to give priority to the other device, when it is determined that the required power cannot be supplied to the other device and the power supply device is operating with the power received from the external power source. , Switching the power source necessary for the operation to the battery power source,
The power supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The means for obtaining the power is:
When the remaining amount of the battery power source is a predetermined amount or less, the power source necessary for the operation is not switched to the battery power source,
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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