JP2006211858A - Charger - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control charging according to models of digital cameras. <P>SOLUTION: When a digital camera 10 is set in a printer dock 12, the printer dock 12 supplies power supply to the digital camera 10, and charges a secondary battery of the digital camera 10. The digital camera 10 discriminates whether the models are adaptable to control of charging by the printer dock 12. If the digital camera 10 does not have a built-in inherent control circuit of charging, charging is carried out using a control circuit of charging in the printer dock 12. If the digital camera 10 has the inherent control circuit of charging, charging power is supplied with the control circuit of charging open in the printer dock 12. A display form of a charging state is the same in both models. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging device, and more particularly to a device that performs charging according to the specifications of a portable device when charging a portable device such as a digital camera.

  The digital camera incorporates a secondary battery such as a nickel metal hydride battery (Ni-MH battery) or a lithium ion battery (Li-ion battery), and is charged by supplying power from an external power source. A system that can easily print out images taken with a digital camera by simply setting the digital camera in the printer dock has been proposed. When the digital camera is set in the printer dock, power is supplied from the printer dock to the digital camera at the same time. Technology for charging secondary batteries of digital cameras is also installed.

  On the other hand, various specifications exist for digital cameras to be set in the printer dock, and new functions are sequentially installed. Therefore, it is desirable that the printer dock side can cope with a wide range of these various digital cameras.

  The following patent document relates to PHS, but identifies whether it is a charge-compatible PHS, and if it is a charge-compatible PHS, the charge voltage is 5 V, and if it is a non-charge-compatible type Describes a technique for switching the charging voltage to 3.8V. Whether or not it is a chargeable type is transmitted from the PHS side to the PC card via the PIAFS connector, and the type of the type is identified on the PC card side and the charging voltage is switched.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-300234

  However, there are digital cameras equipped with a unique charge control device, and a digital camera without a charge control device and a digital camera with a charge control device are mixed. When a digital camera that does not have a charging control device is controlled by the printer dock, the secondary battery of the digital camera can be charged while controlling the charging state with the charging control device on the printer dock side. When the digital camera is set, it is desirable not only to switch the charging voltage but also to efficiently use the unique charging control device on the digital camera side. In addition, it is considered that the user wants the secondary battery to be charged simply by setting the digital camera in the printer dock. For the user, whether or not the digital camera has a charge control device. Regardless of this, it is desirable that the battery is automatically charged by the same procedure.

  The objective of this invention is providing the apparatus which can charge the secondary battery reliably, even when the apparatus which has a different specification is set. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that can charge a secondary battery in the same procedure or mode even when devices having different specifications are set.

  The present invention is a charging device that is electrically connected to a portable device having a secondary battery, and at least first and second electrical contacts for connection with the portable device, and the first electrical contact. Charging control means for controlling charging of the secondary battery in the portable device connected to the battery, constant voltage power supply means connected to the second electrical contact, and the secondary battery in the portable device. Detecting means for detecting whether or not charge control is necessary, and when the secondary battery in the connected portable device is detected to require charge control, the first means Charge control of the secondary battery in the portable device through an electrical contact, and if it is detected that the secondary battery in the portable device does not require charge control, power is transmitted through the second electrical contact. Supply only, and do not control charging of the secondary battery. It is characterized in.

  In the present invention, it is detected whether the secondary battery of the portable device requires charging control on the charging device side, and if necessary, the secondary battery is charged using the charging control means on the charging device side. When not required, only the power is supplied without operating the charging control device on the charging device side so as to use the charging control means on the portable device side. Therefore, even if any model is set in the charging device, the secondary battery of the portable device can be charged. The state of charge of the secondary battery is displayed on the display unit on the charging device side, but if the display form at this time is the same form in any model, the user can check the charge state without being aware of the difference in the model. . An example of the portable device in the present invention is a digital camera, and an example of the charging device is a printer dock in which the digital camera is set. The printer dock has a printing function for printing image data in the digital camera and a charging function for charging a secondary battery of the set digital camera.

  According to the present invention, even when a portable device having a different specification is set, the secondary battery can be reliably charged. Moreover, since the display state of the charge state is made the same regardless of which model is set, the user can charge the secondary battery of the portable device in the same procedure without being aware of the difference in specifications or models.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings by taking a printer dock for charging a digital camera as an example.

  FIG. 1 shows the system of this embodiment. It comprises a digital camera 10 and a printer dock 12.

  The digital camera 10 has a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel metal hydride battery therein. The captured image data is stored in a memory card or an internal flash memory. When printing image data, the user sets the digital camera 10 at a predetermined position on the printer dock 12.

  The printer dock 12 has a printing function for receiving and printing image data stored in the memory of the digital camera 10, a charging function for charging the secondary battery of the digital camera 10, and a constant voltage for operation to the digital camera 10. A voltage supply function is provided. When the digital camera 10 is set via the camera connector 28 and the camera mounting pin 30 of the printer dock 12, the power of the digital camera 10 is supplied from the printer dock 12 side instead of the built-in secondary battery. When the print button 20 is operated while the digital camera 10 is set in the printer dock 12, print processing is executed based on the image data stored in the memory of the digital camera 10, and printing is performed on the paper set in advance in the paper tray 18. Is output. In the printing process, the paper is reciprocated a plurality of times (for example, four times) until printing is completed and the paper is discharged, and the yellow, magenta, and cyan layers are sequentially printed, and finally the protective layer is coated and discharged. The The image to be printed is selected by operating a selection button arranged in the vicinity of the print button 20. By operating the selection button, captured images are sequentially displayed on the rear LCD of the digital camera 10, and the user confirms the image to be printed by viewing the LCD. The print image size is switched by operating the image size button 22, and the current image size is displayed on the image size display unit 24. At the time of charging, the charging state is displayed on the charging display unit 14. The charge display unit 14 includes three LEDs arranged in a straight line, and the number of LEDs that emit light is controlled according to the state of charge. That is, one LED emits light at the beginning of charging, and two or three LEDs emit light as charging progresses. 3 LEDs indicate the completion of charging. The printer dock 12 is provided with a USB connector 26 for connection to a computer. When the printer dock 12 is connected to the computer and the transfer button 16 is operated, the image data is transferred from the printer dock 12 to the computer. In this case, the printer dock 12 functions as a USB hub that connects the digital camera 10 and the computer. The printer dock 12 also functions as a printer that can be controlled from a computer by USB connection. In addition, the printer dock 12 also has a USB connector for connecting a PictBridge compatible digital camera.

  When the digital camera 10 is set to the connector 28 in this way, the printer dock 12 detects this and starts charging the secondary battery of the digital camera 10. There are models that have a device and models that do not have a charge control device. A model that does not have a charging control device is a model that supports charging control on the printer dock 12 side, and a model that has a unique charging control device is a model that does not support charging control on the printer dock 12 side. The printer dock 12 identifies which model the digital camera 10 is by transmitting and receiving data to and from the set digital camera 10, and the presence / absence of a specific charge control device or charging control by the printer dock 12 side. Switch the charging method according to whether or not it is compatible.

  FIG. 2 shows the building blocks of the printer dock 12. The printer dock 12 includes a CPU (or a microprocessor) 40 that executes the printing function and the charging function, a DC-DC converter 42 that generates a necessary power source from an AC adapter input, and a charging state of a secondary battery to be charged. A charging control circuit 44 that controls charging current control and charging start and end, and a display switching circuit 46 that switches the display of the charging display unit 14.

  The digital camera 10 </ b> A that does not have a unique charge control circuit includes a secondary battery 50 and a processing circuit 52. The CPU 54 in the processing circuit 52 integrally controls various functions of the digital camera 10A. The digital camera 10 </ b> B having a unique charge control circuit also includes a secondary battery 60 and a processing circuit 62. The processing circuit 62 has a unique charge control circuit 64 and a CPU 66.

  When the digital camera 10 </ b> A or the digital camera 10 </ b> B is set in the printer dock 12, data transmission / reception is performed between the CPU 54 or CPU 66 and the CPU 40 of the printer dock 12 according to a predetermined protocol. The protocol includes a procedure for transmitting battery type, capacity, or charging control permission / prohibition, and the CPU 54 or CPU 66 transmits the presence / absence of a charging control device or charging control permission / prohibition to the CPU 40 according to this protocol. . By receiving this data, the CPU 40 determines whether to execute or prohibit the charging control by the charging control circuit 44 and controls the operation of the charging control circuit 44 on / off. When receiving the charging control permission signal from the CPU 54, the CPU 40 permits (ON) the operation of the charging control circuit 44 and charges the secondary battery 50 of the digital camera 10 </ b> A. The secondary battery 50 is charged by controlling the charging voltage or charging current and the charging time according to the type and capacity of the secondary battery 50. On the other hand, when receiving the charge control prohibition signal from the CPU 66, the CPU 40 prohibits (turns off) the operation of the charge control circuit 44 and supplies the DC power from the DC-DC converter 42 to the digital camera 10B. The method of identifying permission / prohibition of charging control by negotiation between CPUs by data transmission / reception is merely an example, and other identification methods are possible. For example, a dedicated terminal may be provided in both the printer dock 12 and the digital camera 10, and the set digital camera 10 may be identified by detecting the terminal potential on the printer dock 12 side as a charge control compatible model or a non-compatible model. . The model identification using the terminal potential will be further described later.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration when the digital camera 10A is set. The CPU 54 transmits / receives data to / from the CPU 40 and transmits a charging control permission signal to the CPU 40. The CPU 40 permits the operation of the charge control circuit 44 based on this signal. The charge control circuit 44 may be permitted to operate as long as the default state is permitted for charge control and no charge control prohibition signal is received from the CPU 54. The DC-DC converter 42 generates and outputs a predetermined DC voltage. The charge control circuit 44 supplies the secondary battery 50 with the DC voltage from the DC-DC converter 42 and charges it. The charge state of the secondary battery 50 is detected by the charge control circuit 44 based on the terminal voltage of the secondary battery 50, and the display switching circuit 46 is commanded according to the detected charge state. The terminal voltage of the secondary battery 50 may be transmitted from the CPU 54 to the CPU 40, and the CPU 40 may instruct the display switching circuit 46. The display switching circuit 46 controls the number of light emission of the three LEDs constituting the display unit 14 as described above according to the state of charge of the secondary battery 50. By visually recognizing the display unit 14 of the printer dock 12, the user can know that the secondary battery 50 of the digital camera 10 is charged and that the charging is completed. When the digital camera 10A is set in the printer dock 12, charging control is executed by the charge control circuit 44 until the secondary battery 50 of the digital camera 10A is fully charged. However, the printer dock 12 performs a printing operation. When started, it is preferable to place the charge control circuit 44 in a pause state during the printing operation, stop the printing operation, and start the charging control after a lapse of a predetermined time. The power supply capacity of the printer dock 12 can be suppressed by shifting the timings of the printing operation and the charging control operation. The CPU 40 monitors whether or not the printing operation is in progress, and controls the charging control circuit 44 from the operating state to the hibernation state at the timing of starting the printing operation, and again after a certain time has elapsed after the printing operation is completed, the charging control circuit. 44 is controlled from the resting state to the operating state. Alternatively, the charging control may be performed when the CPU 40 detects that the power source of the digital camera 10 is OFF. The digital camera 10 shifts from a power-on state to a power-off state (auto power save) without any operation for a certain time. Charging control is executed when the digital camera 10 is powered off. Thereafter, when the user operates the print button 20 of the printer dock 12, an event command is transmitted from the printer dock 12 to the digital camera 10, the digital camera 10 is turned on, and shooting data is transmitted to the printer dock 12 side. A printing operation is performed. When the CPU 40 of the printer dock 12 detects that the power of the digital camera 10 is turned on, the charging control is suspended.
During the printing operation, since the power source of the digital camera 10 is in the ON state, the charging control is also maintained in the pause state. When the printing operation is completed and a predetermined time elapses, the digital camera 10 is turned off again. The CPU 40 of the printer dock 12 detects this OFF state and starts charging control again.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration when the digital camera 10B is set. The CPU 66 transmits / receives data to / from the CPU 40 and transmits a charge control prohibition signal to the CPU 40. The CPU 40 prohibits the operation of the charging control circuit 44 based on this signal. The DC voltage from the DC-DC converter 42 is supplied to the charging control circuit 64 of the digital camera 10B, and the charging control circuit 64 controls the charging of the secondary battery 60. The charge state of the secondary battery 60 is detected by the charge control circuit 64 and transmitted to the CPU 40 via the CPU 66. The CPU 40 commands the display switching circuit 46 according to the received state of charge. The display switching circuit 46 controls the number of light emission of the LEDs constituting the display unit 14 in accordance with a command from the CPU 40. In the figure, charging power is supplied directly from the DC-DC converter 42 to the digital camera 10B, but charging power may be supplied to the digital camera 10B via the charging control circuit 44. Since the charge control circuit 44 has stopped its operation in response to a command from the CPU 40, the charge control circuit 44 does not perform charge control and simply functions as a power supply path. The printer dock 12 does not perform charging control of the digital camera 10B, and supplies only a charging voltage and a constant voltage for operation to the digital camera 10B from different terminals.

  As described above, when the digital camera 10A is set, the secondary battery 50 is charged using the charging control circuit 44 of the printer dock 12, and when the digital camera 10B is set, the charging control circuit of the printer dock 12 is set. Since the secondary battery 60 is charged by using the charging control circuit 64 unique to the digital camera 10B without operating 44, the user is unaware of which model the digital camera owned by the user is. It can be set and charged. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since either the digital camera 10A or the digital camera 10B is set, the charge state is displayed on the display unit 14, so the user charges his digital camera in the same procedure or manner. be able to.

  When the digital camera 10 is set in the printer dock 12, the power source of the digital camera 10 is switched from the built-in secondary battery to the power source of the printer dock 12 as described above. That is, the printer dock 12 supplies operating power to the digital camera 10. However, since the digital camera 10 has a model that operates at 3.3V (nickel metal hydride battery) and a model that operates at 5V (lithium ion battery), power is supplied to the digital camera 10 from the printer dock 12. Therefore, it is necessary to switch to a voltage corresponding to the model of the digital camera 10. Of course, it is possible to boost the supply voltage to 5V later by supplying 3.3V first and transmitting / receiving data between the CPU of the digital camera 10 and the CPU of the printer dock 12, but the control is complicated. It becomes. When the digital camera 10B is not connected to the connector 28 of the printer dock 12, the charging function in the digital camera 10B is used. When the digital camera 10B is set to the connector 28 of the printer dock 12, the printer dock 12 is used. It is also possible to use the internal charging function. In this case, when the digital camera 10B alone is charged, the digital camera 10B can be made compact by using a small AC adapter and a charging circuit, but the digital camera 10B can be made compact. It is possible to charge at a higher speed than in the case of charging. In addition, it is preferable to use the charging / discharging device of the printer dock 12 instead of the digital camera 10 for mounting the refresh function (recharge after discharge), which is difficult to implement with the digital camera 10 alone.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the charging method is switched according to the presence or absence of a specific charging control device, and the supply voltage when supplying the power power of the digital camera 10 is automatically switched according to the model of the digital camera 10. To do.

  FIG. 5 shows another configuration of the printer dock 12. The printer dock 12 includes a microprocessor, a DC-DC converter, a USB connector, and various terminals. The various terminals correspond to the respective terminals of the camera connector 28. “CAM_PWR” is a terminal for supplying a power supply voltage to the digital camera 10, and a voltage of 5 V or 3.3 V is supplied from this terminal. The “GND” terminal and the “BATT +” terminal are terminals for charging the secondary battery of the digital camera 10, and are connected to the terminals of the secondary battery of the digital camera 10, respectively. “CD1”, “CD2”, and “CD3” are power supply control terminals, and “CD1” (third terminal) and “CD2” (fourth terminal) set the digital camera 10 in the printer dock 12. This is a terminal that is short-circuited through a short-circuit resistor. These terminals are provided separately from the power supply voltage supply terminal and the charging terminal. The short-circuit resistor is provided in the digital camera 10 and has a different resistance value depending on whether the operating voltage of the digital camera 10 is 5V or 3.3V. For example, the short-circuit resistance R = 10K in the digital camera 10 with the operating voltage 5V, and the short-circuit resistance R = 51K in the digital camera 10 with the operation voltage 3.3V. In the figure, a short-circuit resistor R for a digital camera 10C with an operating voltage of 5V and a digital camera 10D with an operating voltage of 3.3V is shown. The microprocessor (μP) 40 of the printer dock 12 detects the partial voltage of the short-circuit resistance R and the resistance in the printer dock 12 and sets either the digital camera 10C with the operating voltage 5V or the digital camera 10D with the operating voltage 3.3V. Identify what has been done. That is, the partial pressure is converted into a digital value by an A / D converter in the processor, and which is set is identified based on the digital value. When the digital camera 10C having the operating voltage of 5V is set, the microprocessor 40 operates the switching circuit 70 for 5V conversion to convert the DC voltage from the DC-DC converter into 5V and outputs it from the “CAM_PWR” terminal. On the other hand, when the digital camera 10D having the operating voltage of 3.3V is set, the 3.3V conversion switching circuit 72 is operated to convert the DC voltage from the DC-DC converter into 3.3V and from the “CAM_PWR” terminal. Output.

  The “CD3” terminal (fifth terminal) is a terminal for double safety protection. A voltage corresponding to the operating voltage is set to the terminal on the digital camera side corresponding to the “CD3” terminal. The corresponding terminal of the digital camera 10C with an operating voltage of 5V is open, and the corresponding terminal of the digital camera 10D with an operating voltage of 3.3V is connected to GND. Therefore, the microprocessor 40 can further verify the identified result based on the signals from the “CD1” terminal and the “CD2” terminal by detecting the potential of the “CD3” terminal. Specifically, based on the partial pressure of the “CD1” and “CD2” terminals, the set digital camera is identified as a digital camera 10C with an operating voltage of 5V, and the “CD3” terminal is open (high impedance). If it is detected that the digital camera 10C is set, the supply voltage is set to 5V. Based on the divided voltage of the “CD1” and “CD2” terminals, the set digital camera is identified as the digital camera 10C with the operating voltage of 5V, and when the “CD3” terminal is detected as GND, Since there is a possibility that the digital camera 10D having the operating voltage 3.3V is set, the supply voltage is set to 3.3V. As described above, it is possible to prevent the digital camera 10D having the operating voltage of 3.3V from being damaged by accidentally supplying 5V. Further, “SB” (sixth terminal) and “SCLK” (seventh terminal) are terminals for serial communication. Using these terminals, the microprocessors perform two-wire synchronous serial communication to perform secondary communication. Data on the type and capacity of the battery 50, whether or not the digital camera 10 needs to be charged, battery temperature data is sent and received, and charging status data is sent and received to control the charging display.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be widely applied not only to digital cameras but also to portable devices such as portable information terminals, portable music / video playback devices, and cellular phones. In the present embodiment, a printer dock having a function of printing image data captured by a digital camera is exemplified as the charging device, but it may have only a charging function. In this embodiment, the case of the digital camera 10 having a secondary battery has been described. However, when the digital camera 10 having a primary battery is set, battery type data is transmitted from the digital camera 10. Thus, the CPU 40 of the printer dock 12 does not perform charging control, but simply supplies a constant voltage for operation.

It is a system configuration figure of an embodiment. It is a block block diagram of an embodiment. It is charge control explanatory drawing when the digital camera which does not have a specific charge control circuit is set. It is charge control explanatory drawing when the digital camera which has a specific charge control circuit is set. It is a block diagram of the configuration of another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  10 digital camera, 10A digital camera (without charge control circuit), 10B digital camera (with charge control circuit), 10C digital camera (operating voltage 5V), 10D digital camera (operating voltage 3.3V), 12 printer dock .

Claims (10)

A charging device electrically connected to a portable device having a secondary battery,
At least first and second electrical contacts for connection with the portable device;
Charging control means for controlling charging of the secondary battery in the portable device connected to the first electrical contact;
Constant voltage power supply means connected to the second electrical contact;
Detecting means for detecting whether or not charging control of the secondary battery in the portable device is necessary;
And the secondary battery in the portable device is connected through the first electrical contact when it is detected that the secondary battery in the connected portable device needs charging control. When charge control is performed and it is detected that the secondary battery in the portable device does not require charge control, only power is supplied through the second electrical contact, and charge control of the secondary battery is A charging device characterized by not performing. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
Display means for displaying a charging state of the connected portable device, whether the secondary battery in the connected portable device requires charging control or not A charging device comprising display means for displaying in the same display form. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
Discriminating means for discriminating the type and capacity of the secondary battery;
Charge switching means for switching at least one of charging voltage or charging current and charging time according to the type and capacity of the secondary battery;
A charging device comprising: The apparatus of claim 3.
The determination means includes a third terminal and a fourth terminal that are connected to corresponding terminals of the portable device when the portable device is set, respectively, and are different from the first and second electrical contacts, When a portable device is set, the third terminal and the fourth terminal are short-circuited by a resistance on the portable device side, and the type of the secondary battery is determined by detecting a partial pressure by the resistance. Charging device. The apparatus of claim 3.
The determination means includes a third terminal and a fourth terminal that are connected to corresponding terminals of the portable device when the portable device is set, respectively, and are different from the first and second electrical contacts, When the portable device is set, the third terminal and the fourth terminal are short-circuited by the resistance on the portable device side, and the voltage required by the second electrical contact is detected by detecting the partial pressure by the resistance. A charging device characterized by determining. The apparatus of claim 5.
The determination means further includes a fifth terminal connected to a corresponding terminal of the portable device when the portable device is set, and the potential of the fifth terminal is a potential that does not conflict with the determined potential. A charging device characterized by being verified by being. The apparatus of claim 5.
The discriminating means is connected to corresponding terminals of the portable device when the portable device is set, and the first and second electrical contacts and a sixth terminal different from the third and fourth terminals and It has a serial communication unit by a seventh terminal, and uses the serial communication unit to transmit / receive data of at least one of the type and capacity of the secondary battery, the necessity of charging the portable device, and the charging display. Charging device. In the apparatus in any one of Claims 1-7,
The portable device is a digital camera;
A charging device that also functions as a printer that receives and prints image data from the digital camera connected electrically. The apparatus of claim 8.
During the printing operation of the printer, the charging control unit for the secondary battery is put into a pause state, the printing operation is stopped, and charging control is started after a predetermined time. The apparatus of claim 8.
The charge control means executes charge control when the power of the digital camera is OFF, and the charge control is performed during the printing operation of the printer and the power of the digital camera is ON. And charging control is started when the printing operation is stopped and the power of the digital camera is turned off.

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