JP2003087983A - Charger - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly value-added desk top type charger exhibiting a suitable illumination effect at a dark place. SOLUTION: The charger 4 can charge a feeding object 1, i.e., a portable electronic apparatus 1 including an MD player or a portable telephone, while mounting a chargeable battery 2. A part 6 for seating the object 1 being power supplied is formed in a pedestal 5 constituting the body and a light guide plate 8 is provided in the vicinity of the seating part 6. A lens 9 is bonded to the front side face of the light guide plate 8. Lower end face of the light guide plate 8 serves as a light receiving face 8A facing a light source 10 and the upper end face thereof serves as a part 8B for indicating the charged state of the battery 2. On the other hand, lower end face of the lens 9 also serves as a light receiving face 9A facing the same light source 10 and the upper end face thereof serves as a face 9B for projecting light to the object 1 being power supplied. Charged state of the battery 2 can be informed through emission of light at the charge indicating part 8B and the object 1 being power supplied seated on the seating part 6 is irradiated with light from the light projecting face 9B to exhibit an illumination effect at the time of charging operation.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a table-type portable electronic device such as a mini-disc player, a compact disc player, or a portable telephone equipped with a rechargeable battery. Related to a charging device. [0002] In recent years, mini-disc players, compact disc players, and the like, as well as portable communication devices (portable terminals) such as portable telephones, have become remarkably portable due to their small size. These portable electronic devices have a built-in battery serving as a power supply source for internal devices. As the battery, a rechargeable secondary battery such as a nickel-metal hydride storage battery or a lithium-sulfur storage battery is mainly used. Here, when the battery voltage drops, charging is required, and a charger such as that shown in FIG. 7 is generally well-known for charging. In FIG. 7, M denotes a pedestal (desk holder) serving as a main body of the charger. The pedestal M is formed with a seat H for placing, for example, a portable telephone as a power supply target. An AC / DC for plugging into an outlet of a commercial power supply or a cigarette lighter in a car is provided on the base M.
The adapter W is connected, and the seating portion H is provided with a charging terminal e that contacts an external electrode of the mobile phone. According to this type of charger, for example, AC
Power can be supplied from the adapter W to the mobile phone through the charging terminal e, and the battery (secondary battery) incorporated therein can be charged. Note that the mobile phone is provided with a light-emitting unit such as an LED that indicates a charging state, and there is also a charger in which such a light-emitting unit is provided at the base. [0004] However, although the conventional table-top charger has the simplicity that the battery can be charged simply by placing the target device on the seating portion, the charging function is basically provided. Just having the other does not show any special effect. Further, even in a charger including the above-described light-emitting unit, the light-emitting unit merely functions as a point light source as a display indicating the state of charge, and its visibility is poor. When charging at a place, the driver may not notice the presence of the charger and may step on it. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a high-value-added charging device having an illumination effect suitable for charging in a dark place. . In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable electronic device to which a rechargeable battery 2 is mounted as a power supply target 1 and a seating section 6 on which the power supply target 1 is arranged. And a light source 10 that emits light during charging of the battery 2 and one end face serving as a light receiving surface 8A. The light receiving surface 8 faces the light source 10.
A light guide plate 8 whose other end face facing A is exposed to the outside as a charge display portion 8B.
A light projecting means (lens 9) for irradiating the emitted light toward the surface of the power supply target 1 arranged on the seating section 6 is additionally provided. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a use state of the charging device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a power supply target composed of a small portable electronic device (portable MD in this example) such as a portable mini-disc player, a compact disc player, or a mobile phone. The rechargeable battery 2 (secondary battery) is loaded and mounted.
In this example, a reflective batch 3 that shines when receiving light is attached to the surface of the power supply target 1. On the other hand, reference numeral 4 denotes a charging device of the present invention for charging a battery built in the power supply target, and is mainly constituted by a pedestal 5 on which the power supply target 1 is mounted. The pedestal 5 includes a seating portion 6 that supports the lower end surface of the power supply target 1, and the seating portion 6.
A U-shaped frame 7 for holding and holding the power supply target 1 arranged above is formed, and a charging terminal (not shown) that is in contact with an external electrode of the power supply target 1 protrudes from the seating portion 6. You. An AC / DC adapter is connected to the pedestal 5 via a connector (not shown), and power (mainly AC 100 V commercial power) obtained from the adapter is supplied to the power supply target 1 through a charging terminal, and attached to the power supply. The battery 2 to be charged can be charged. The pedestal 5 is provided with a charge display section 8B which is close to the seat section 6 and indicates that the battery 2 is in a charged state. The charging display section 8B extends in the width direction of the power supply target 1 arranged on the seating section 6, and is indirectly illuminated by a light source described later. Irradiation is performed between the power supply target 1 and the upper side of the surface of the power supply target 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the charging device. As is apparent from this figure, a light guide plate 8 forming a charge display portion 8B is provided upright along the front edge of the seat portion 6 along its front edge, and the same type of light guide plate 8 as the light guide plate 8 is provided on the front surface thereof. A lens 9 made of a plate material is attached. In particular, the lens 9 shares the light guide plate 8 and the light source 10, and constitutes light projecting means for projecting and radiating light emitted from the light source 10 toward the surface of the power supply target 1 arranged on the seating section 6. Here, the light guide plate 8 and the lens 9 are made of a transparent hard plate such as plastic or glass such as acrylic resin, and the lower end surface of the light guide plate 8 faces the light source 10 as a light receiving surface 8A. The opposing upper end face serves as the charging display section 8B and the base 5
Exposed to the outside. On the other hand, the lower end surface of the lens 9 also faces the light source 10 common to the light guide plate as the light receiving surface 9A, and the upper end surface thereof is lower than the charging display portion 8B and the light reaching from the light source 10 is supplied with power. A light projecting surface 9B for irradiating 1 is formed. The light source 10 is a single light emitting diode (L)
ED), which is mounted on a circuit board 11 provided inside the pedestal 5 and emits light while the battery 2 in the power supply target 1 is being charged. That is, the circuit board 11 supplies the power to the power supply target 1 by, for example, converting an external power supply input from the connector into a DC voltage, and supplies a part of the power to the light source 10 so that the voltage of the battery 2 becomes a predetermined value. The light source 10 is turned on until recovery. Therefore, during charging of the battery 2, the light source 10 emits light, and the emitted light enters the light guide plate 8 and the lens 9, and is transmitted through the inside of the light guide plate 8 and the lens 9, respectively, and emitted from the charge display unit 8B and the light emitting surface 9B. You. In particular, the lens 9
The light incident on the light guide plate 8 is radiated from the light projecting surface 9B toward the power supply target 1 by being refracted at the boundary surface with the light guide plate 8. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view showing a main part of the charging apparatus of the present invention configured as described above.
Shows a front view and a perspective view, respectively. 4 and 5, in this example, the light guide plate 8 and the lens 9 each have an inverted triangular shape, and each lower end thereof is connected to the light source 1.
The light receiving surfaces 8A and 9A are cut out in a semicircular shape along 0.
A is formed. Here, the charging display portion 8B formed by the upper end surface of the light guide plate 8 is a light diffusion layer having fine irregularities formed by satin finish, and the entire surface thereof receives the light from the light source 10 and has a uniform brightness over the entire length. To emit light. On the other hand, the light projecting surface 9B formed by the upper end surface of the lens 9 is mirror-finished so that light reaching from the light source 10 can be irradiated to the power supply target 1 without loss. The light guide plate 8 and the lens 9 are joined by welding or an adhesive, and both ends of the light guide plate 8 are fixed to the pedestal 5. Numerals 12 denote fixing projections formed at both ends of the light guide plate 8, and the projections 12 are sandwiched between both ends of the upper surface of the base 5 by the frame 7 shown in FIG. Here, the operation of the charging device configured as described above will be described. First, in order to charge the battery 2 of the power supply target 1 such as a portable MD, for example, an AC adapter is used. The AC adapter is inserted into an outlet of a commercial power supply, and a connector of the AC adapter is connected to the pedestal 5. Then, while the battery 2 is mounted on the main body of the portable MD or the like serving as the power supply target 1, the battery 2 is inserted into the frame 7 and placed on the seating section 6, and its external electrodes and charging terminals provided on the seating section 6 are provided. And contact. As a result, while charging of the battery 2 is started, the light source 10 emits light, and the radiated light enters the light guide plate 8 and the lens 9 from one end thereof, and enters the light guide plate 8. The light reaches the charge display section 8B and causes the same to emit light while being irregularly reflected, thereby indicating that the battery 2 is in a charged state. Further, the light incident on the lens 9 reaches the upper light projecting surface 9B of the lens while being refracted at the boundary surface with the light guide plate 8, and is directed upward from the light projecting surface 9B to the surface of the power supply target 1. Irradiated. Thus, the power supply target 1 is lighted up to stand out, and the batch 3 arranged on the surface of the power supply target 1 shines brightly in the illumination light. Therefore,
The illumination effect alleviates the frustration of waiting for the charging to be completed, and also prevents the charging device 4 and the power supply target 1 coupled thereto from being accidentally stepped down during charging due to the improved visibility by the illumination light. As described above, according to this embodiment, the light guide plate and the lens share the light source as described above, and the red LE
D, yellow LED, blue LED, etc. are used,
By changing the light transmittance and the color of the light guide plate and the lens, the luminance and the color of the charging display unit and the illuminance and the color of the power supply target can be changed. In addition, the charging device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described example. For example, a light reflecting layer may be formed on the back side surface of the light guide plate 8 as a light projecting unit instead of the lens 9, or the light receiving surface 8 A as shown in FIG. The light guide plate 8 having the light splitting surface 13 that can divide the incident light into the charging display unit 8B side and the power supply target 1 side, and the light splitting surface 13 can be used as a light projecting unit for illuminating the power supply target 1. . As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a battery charging apparatus for a portable electronic device such as an MD player, a CD player, or a mobile phone, showing a charging state. While the charging display unit is made to emit light, the emitted light of the light source is divided by the light projecting means and radiated to the surface of the portable electronic device arranged in the seating portion, so that the portable electronic device is reflected in the illumination light. Illumination effect is obtained. Further, the illumination effect reduces the irritation of waiting for charging to be completed, and the portable electronic device is illuminated to improve its visibility. There is no accidental stepping down. Further, since the same light source is commonly used for the light emission of the charging display unit and the lighting of the portable electronic device, the power consumption can be reduced, and the space for storing the light source is reduced, so that the device can be downsized. Can also be planned.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state of use of a charging device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the charging device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the charging device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a main part of the charging device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the charging device according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a modification of the main part of the charging device. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional charger. [Description of References] 1 Power supply target (portable electronic device) 2 Battery (secondary battery) 4 Charging device 5 Base 6 Seating part 8 Light guide plate 8A Light receiving surface 8B Charging display part 9 Lens (light emitting means) 9A Light receiving surface 9B Light emitting surface 10 Light source

Claims (1)

Claims 1. A portable electronic device, on which a rechargeable battery is mounted, is a power supply target, and has a seating portion for arranging the power supply target, and a power supply target placed on the seating portion. In the charging device capable of charging the battery, a light source that emits light during charging of the battery, and one end surface facing the light source as a light receiving surface and the other end surface facing the light receiving surface serving as a charge display unit are externally provided. And a light guide plate exposed to the
The light guide plate is provided with light projecting means for irradiating radiated light of the light source toward a surface of a power supply target disposed on a seating portion.