JP2008193820A - Charging cradle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging cradle which can easily set self-propelled electric/electronic equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The charging cradle 30 is provided with a main guide 35 which guides a ball caster of the electric/electronic equipment 10, and sub guides 36 which guide a pair of wheels severally. The entry part of each guide is shaped such that it becomes narrower the deeper it goes to the back. When the electric/electronic equipment is retreated in condition that the ball caster is forced into main guide, the electric/electronic equipment changes its direction, being guided by the guide, regardless of the approach angle of the electric/electronic equipment to the charging cradle. Hereby, the charge terminals contacts properly with a feed terminal. By providing a recess 37 for receiving the ball of the ball caster in the specified position of the charging cradle, the electric/electronic equipment inclines, and the contact between the charge terminal and the feed terminal becomes stable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging stand used for charging an electric / electronic device, and more particularly to a charging stand used for charging a self-propelled electric / electronic device.

  The conventional charging stand has a charging stand having an up slope continuous with the floor, a down slope continuous with the floor, and a power supply terminal provided near the lower end of the down slope. When charging a self-propelled electric / electronic device, the electric / electronic device approaches the charging stand according to a program and controls its direction using a sensor or the like. The electrical / electronic device goes up the slope and goes down the slope with the power receiving terminal facing the charging station. The electric / electronic device that has advanced to the down slope stops driving the wheel and rotates the wheel freely. As a result, the electric / electronic device hits the charging stand by its own weight, and the charging terminal provided in the electric / electronic device presses and contacts the power supply terminal of the charging stand. The charging stand detects that the charging terminal is in contact with the power supply terminal and starts charging (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Moreover, although it is not a self-propelled electric / electronic device, a charging stand for a vacuum cleaner is provided with a convex section with a semi-cylindrical cross section and a concave section adjacent to the rear, and the wheel of the vacuum cleaner is positioned in the concave section. Some devices perform charging (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  Furthermore, although it is not a charging stand, in the structure which accommodates a subrack in a housing | casing, while providing a caster in a subrack and providing a caster guide in a housing | casing (for example, refer patent document 3).

JP 2006-204758 A JP-A-4-361727 JP-A-11-189100

  The conventional charging stand for charging self-propelled electric / electronic devices makes the charging terminal of the electric / electronic device correctly contact the power supply terminal of the charging stand unless the electric / electronic device enters straight from the front. I can't. That is, the conventional charging stand needs to control the direction and the traveling direction of the electric / electronic device with high accuracy. For this reason, the conventional charging stand has a problem that it is difficult to manually set the electric / electronic device when the secondary battery mounted on the electric / electronic device is discharged and becomes inoperable. is there.

  In addition, the conventional charging stand has a problem that it is difficult to know whether or not it is set correctly when an electric / electronic device is set manually.

  Furthermore, the conventional charging stand requires an upslope to enable the movement of the electrical / electronic device to the downslope in addition to the downslope of the area where the electrical / electronic equipment can be placed, There is also a problem that it is relatively large.

  Since the charging stand for the vacuum cleaner described in Patent Document 2 has a structure in which the wheel is positioned in the recess, it can be easily known whether or not the vacuum cleaner is set correctly. However, since this charging stand is intended for a stationary vacuum cleaner that has a special shape, it cannot be directly applied to self-propelled electric / electronic equipment that has a different special shape. There is a point. Moreover, since this charging stand has a structure in which a terminal plate having power supply terminals formed on both sides is sandwiched between a pair of charging electrodes, there is a problem that the charging electrodes may be deformed and cannot be charged.

  Further, the structure for housing the subrack in the casing described in Patent Document 3 is based on the premise that the subrack is positioned directly opposite the front of the casing. This is to prevent the body from tilting. That is, it does not change the direction of the subrack that has entered with an inclination. Therefore, the structure described in Patent Document 3 does not disclose or suggest any means for facilitating manual setting of the electric / electronic device to the charging stand.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charging stand in which a self-running electric / electronic device can be easily set.

  Moreover, an object of this invention is to provide the charging stand which can connect an electric power feeding terminal to the charging terminal of an electric equipment reliably.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a charging stand for charging a self-propelled electric / electronic device, wherein a charging terminal provided in the electric / electronic device contacts a power supply terminal provided in the charging stand. As described above, a guide for guiding the running of the electric / electronic device is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to the first aspect, the electric / electronic device includes a pair of wheels and one support leg, and the guide guides the support leg. It includes a main guide and a pair of sub-guides that respectively guide the pair of wheels.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to the second aspect, the support leg is provided at the center rear of the pair of wheels, and the power supply terminal is further rearward of the support leg. The guide is formed so that the power supply terminal comes into contact with the power supply terminal when the electric / electronic device travels from the back side toward the power supply terminal. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to the second or third aspect, the shape of the entrance portion of the main guide is a shape whose width becomes narrower toward the back.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to the fourth aspect, the shape of the inlet portion of the main guide is a shape in which the ratio of the width becomes narrower as it goes deeper.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the shape of the inlet portion of the sub-guide is a shape whose width becomes narrower toward the back.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the charging stand according to the sixth aspect, the shape of the inlet portion of the sub guide is such that the proportion of the width becomes narrower toward the back.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to any one of the second to seventh aspects, a tip shape of the support leg is hemispherical, a bottom surface of the guide, and the support leg A recess for receiving the tip of the support leg is formed at a position where the tip of the portion is to be placed.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the charging stand according to the eighth aspect, when the tip of the support leg enters the recess, the charging terminal contacts the power supply terminal, and the support leg When the tip is stabilized in the recess, the charging terminal is pressed against the charging terminal.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the electrical / electronic equipment system, the electrical / electronic equipment and the charging stand according to any one of the first to ninth aspects are included.

  An eleventh aspect of the present invention is a charging method for charging an electric / electronic device in which a traveling direction can be freely changed by a pair of wheels and a single supporting leg, and the supporting leg is directed in the traveling direction. The electric / electronic device travels toward the charging stand, and the supporting leg is brought into contact with the main guide of the charging stand to change the traveling direction of the supporting leg, and the pair of wheels is moved. Change the traveling direction of the pair of wheels by contacting the corresponding sub-guide, tilt the electric / electronic device by receiving the tip of the support leg in a recess formed near the innermost part of the main guide, The charging terminal provided on the back surface behind the support leg is pressed against the power supply terminal of the charging stand.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging method in which an electric / electronic device supported at three locations is placed on a charging stand for charging, and one of the three support points is defined as the charging stand. The electrical / electronic device is tilted by being received in a recess formed on the upper surface of the battery, and thereby the charging terminal provided on the side surface of the electrical / electronic device is pressed against the power supply terminal of the charging base.

  According to the present invention, the charging stand is provided with the guide for guiding the electric / electronic device so that the charging terminal provided on the electric / electronic device contacts the power supply terminal provided on the charging stand. Electric and electronic equipment can be easily set on the

  In addition, when the electric / electronic device includes a pair of wheels and a single support leg, a main guide for guiding the support leg and a pair of sub-guides for guiding the pair of wheels are provided, respectively. By forming the recess that receives the tip of the support leg near the innermost part of the battery, the connection between the charging terminal and the power feeding terminal can be ensured.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional view of an example of an electric / electronic device set on the charging stand of the present invention. The electric / electronic device 10 in FIG. 1 is, for example, a personal robot that can run on its own. In FIG. 1, the left side is the front (front) side of the electric / electronic device 10, and the right side is the rear (back) side.

  The electric / electronic device 10 of FIG. 1 has a pair of wheels 11 in front of the bottom surface. Each of these wheels 11 has a rotation axis that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the electric / electronic device 10 and parallel to the floor surface (that is, perpendicular to the paper surface), and is provided in parallel to each other. These wheels 11 are driven by a drive source (not shown) and can rotate independently of each other. By rotating the two wheels 11 in the same direction at the same speed, the electric / electronic device 10 travels in the front-rear direction. Further, by rotating these wheels 11 in the same direction at different rotational speeds, the electric / electronic device 10 travels while changing its direction. Furthermore, the direction of the electric / electronic device 10 can be changed substantially on the spot by rotating only one of the wheels 11 or rotating the wheels 11 in reverse.

  Moreover, the electric / electronic device 10 has a ball caster 13 having a rotatable ball 12 as a support leg for stabilizing its posture. The ball caster 13 is provided at the center rear of the pair of wheels 11. The electric / electronic device 10 is supported at three points by a pair of wheels 11 and a ball 12 of a ball caster 13. The ball caster 13 prevents contact between the main body of the electric / electronic device 10 and the floor surface, and makes the running / rotation of the electric / electronic device 10 smooth. The support leg may be a fixed leg having a hemispherical tip as shown in FIG. 2, for example, instead of the ball caster 13. In any case, the supporting leg portion may be any member that stabilizes the posture of the electric / electronic device 10 and does not hinder running.

  Furthermore, the electric / electronic device 10 has a charging terminal 14 at the center in the left-right direction on the back (that is, behind the ball caster 13).

  The other configuration of the electric / electronic device 10 is not related to the present invention, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  3A and 3B show a charging stand 30 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  3 includes a guide plate 31 fixed on a bottom plate (see FIG. 5), a rear wall 32 standing near the rear edge of the guide plate 31 (upward in the drawing), and a rear wall 32. And a power supply terminal portion 33 provided on the front side. The power supply terminal portion 33 is provided with a power supply terminal 34 so as to be in contact with the charging terminal 14 of the electric / electronic device 10.

  The guide plate 31 is formed with a main guide 35 extending from the front edge toward the rear edge at the left and right center. A pair of sub-guides 36 are formed on both sides. The main guide 35 is a guide for guiding the ball caster 13 of the electric / electronic device 10, and the pair of sub-guides 36 are guides for guiding the wheels 11, respectively.

  The entrance portions of the main guide 35 and the sub guide 36 are formed with slopes (see FIG. 5) so that the electric / electronic device 10 traveling on the floor surface can smoothly move onto the charging stand 30.

  In addition, the widths of the entrance portions of the main guide 35 and the sub guide 36 are configured to be narrower as they go deeper, and the ratio of the narrowing is reduced (that is, an R shape). The width of the part deeper than the vicinity of the center in the depth direction of each guide is constant except for the innermost part.

  4A and 4B are a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A and a cross-sectional view taken along line I-A in FIG. In the state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the ball caster 13 is guided to the back by the main guide 35. That is, the ball caster 13 is guided by the stepped portion or the curved portion 41 formed in the main guide 35.

  FIG. 5 shows a central longitudinal sectional view of the charging stand 30 in a state where the electric / electronic device 10 is set. As shown in FIG. 5, on the upper surface of the guide plate 31 that is the upper surface of the charging stand 30 (the bottom surface near the innermost portion of the main guide 35), at the position where the ball 12 of the ball caster 13 should be placed. A recess 37 for receiving the ball 12 is formed. The concave portion 37 cannot prevent movement of the ball 12 when the wheel 11 is driven, but has a size that can prevent movement of the ball 12 against light vibrations. When the ball 12 is received by the concave portion 37, the electric / electronic device 10 placed on the charging base 30 is slightly tilted toward the rear wall 32, and the charging terminal 14 of the electric / electronic device 10 becomes the power supply terminal 34 of the charging base 30. Pressed.

  The power supply terminal 34 is elastic in the front-rear direction so that it contacts the charging terminal 14 when a part of the ball 12 enters the recess 37 and contacts even when the part of the ball 12 is completely received by the recess 37. For example, a plate spring or the like is provided so as to be displaceable.

  Next, an operation of setting the electric / electronic device 10 on the charging stand 30 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The electric / electronic device 10 may be manually driven by the user or may be self-propelled.

  First, the electric / electronic device 10 is positioned in front of the charging stand 30. At this time, the electric / electronic device 10 is oriented such that the back surface thereof faces the charging stand 30. However, high accuracy is not required for the position and orientation.

  Next, the electric / electronic device 10 is caused to travel toward the charging stand 30. At this time, the ball caster 13 is caused to travel (reverse) so as to be positioned in front of the wheels 11 in the traveling direction, so that the ball caster 13 enters the entrance of the main guide 35.

  As described above, the entrance of the main guide 35 has a shape that becomes narrower as it goes deeper, and the entrance side is widest, so that the ball caster 13 can easily enter.

  When the electric / electronic device 10 is located directly in front of the charging stand 30 and is not directly facing, the ball caster 13 contacts the side step and / or the ball 12 contacts the curved portion 41 as shown in FIG. To do. If the entry direction of the electric / electronic device 10 is between the tangent 61 and the normal line 62 of the side step (within the range indicated by the arrow A in the figure), the electric / electronic device 10 is run as it is (reversed). The ball caster 13 is guided to the back of the main guide 35 by the side step of the main guide 35. That is, the ball caster 13 moves to the back along the side step of the main guide 35.

  As the ball caster 13 advances to the back of the main guide 35, the electric / electronic device 10 changes its traveling direction. At the same time, the wheel 11 also enters the entrance of the corresponding sub guide 36 and advances to the back along the side step of each guide.

  As described above, the electric / electronic device 10 is guided by the main guide 35 and the sub guide 36, is placed on the charging base 30, and proceeds toward the rear wall 32. Since the pair of wheels 11 and the ball caster 13 are individually guided by the corresponding guides 35 and 36, the direction of the electric / electronic device 10 can be directed to a predetermined direction. That is, the charging terminal 14 of the electric / electronic device 10 can be directly opposed to the power supply terminal 34 of the charging stand 30.

  As described above, the recess 37 is formed in the vicinity of the innermost part of the main guide 35, and the ball 12 of the ball caster 13 is received by the recess 37. Thereby, the electric / electronic device 10 is slightly tilted toward the rear wall 32 and is stabilized. A user who has traveled the electric / electronic device 10 manually can get a sense of lock when the ball 12 falls into the concave portion 37 and easily recognizes that the charging terminal 14 is contact-connected to the power supply terminal 34. be able to. Further, with this configuration, the contact between the charging terminal 14 and the power feeding terminal 34 is stably maintained even if a slight vibration or impact is applied to the charging base 30.

  In the case of self-propelled, even if the electric / electronic device 10 enters with an inclination with respect to the charging stand 30, it is set correctly in the same manner as described above. The electric / electronic device 10 detects that the charging terminal 14 is in contact with the power supply terminal 34 and stops the rotation of the wheel 11. Accordingly, the electric / electronic device is stabilized in a state where a part of the ball 12 of the ball caster 13 is received by the concave portion 37.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the charging terminal 14 contacts the power supply terminal 34 while a part of the ball 12 of the ball caster 13 falls into the recess 37. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the charging terminal 14 is in contact with the power supply terminal 34 even when a part of the ball 12 is completely dropped (received) into the recess 37. In the state of FIG. 7A and the state of FIG. 7B, the contact positions of the charging terminal 14 and the power feeding terminal 34 are different. That is, during the transition from the state of FIG. 7A to the state of FIG. 7B, the charging terminal 14 and the power feeding terminal 34 rub against each other and polish the surface of the other party. Thereby, the contact surfaces of the charging terminal 14 and the power feeding terminal 34 are always kept clean (that is, there is a self-cleaning effect).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the guides 35 and 36 for guiding the ball 12 and the wheel 11, the electric / electronic device 10 can be easily set on the charging stand 30.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since a part of the ball 12 is received by the concave portion 37, it is possible to give a lock feeling to the user, and the electric / electronic device 10 is tilted to feed the charging terminal 14 by gravity. It can be pressed against the terminal 34 to stabilize the contact connection between them. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the charging failure by a vibration or an impact can be suppressed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 8 thru | or FIG. 10, the charging stand which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  8A is a plan view of the charging stand according to the present embodiment, FIG. 8B is a front view, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line in FIG. 8A, and FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the charging stand 80 according to the present embodiment has a notch 82 defined by a main guide 81 that guides the ball caster 13.

  The ball 12 of the ball caster 13 travels on the floor surface (see FIGS. 9 and 10) on which the charging stand 80 is placed. Even in this configuration, the ball caster 13 is guided by the step generated between the main guide 81 and the floor surface, as in the case of the first embodiment.

  Since the wheel 11 rides on the bottom surface of the sub-guide 36 as in the first embodiment, the electric / electronic device 10 is inclined toward the rear wall 32. In the present embodiment, the bottom surface of the sub guide 36 is parallel to the floor surface, but the charging terminal 14 of the electric / electronic device can be pressed against the power supply terminal 34 by providing an inclination or a recess.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 11 thru | or FIG. 13, the charging stand which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  FIG. 11A is a plan view of the charging stand according to the present embodiment, FIG. 11B is a front view, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line in FIG. 11A, and FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the charging stand 110 according to the present embodiment is defined by the sub guide 111 in addition to the notch 82 defined by the main guide 81 that guides the ball caster 13. The notch 112 is provided.

  The ball caster 13 and the wheel 11 travel on the floor surface on which the charging stand 110 is placed (see FIGS. 12 and 13). However, the first embodiment is caused by the step generated between each guide and the floor surface. Guidance is provided as in the case of the form.

  In the present embodiment, it is possible to move smoothly without a step until the electric / electronic device is set on the charging stand 110.

  In the present embodiment, in order to stabilize the contact between the charging terminal 14 and the power feeding terminal 34, a recess such as the recess 37 of the first embodiment may be formed directly on the floor surface. Alternatively, the charging stand 110 may be placed on a dedicated table or table, and a recess may be formed in the dedicated table or the like.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated according to some embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the shape of the main guide and the sub guide may be a combination of straight lines. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a personal robot but also to any self-propelled electric / electronic device including a vacuum cleaner and a secondary battery.

It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows an example of the electric / electronic device which can be set to the charging stand of this invention. It is a side view of the fixed leg which can be used as a support leg part of the electric / electronic device of FIG. (A) is a top view of the charging stand which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, (b) is the front view. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3A, and FIG. It is a center longitudinal cross-sectional view of the charging stand of FIG. 3 in the state by which the electric / electronic device was set. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which sets an electrical / electronic device to the charging stand of FIG. (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state of the vicinity of the charging terminal when the ball caster's ball begins to enter the recess formed in the charging stand, and (b) shows that the ball caster has completely entered the recess. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the mode of charging with respect to a state. (A) is a top view of the charging stand which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is the front view. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line in FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-A in FIG. (A) is a top view of the charging stand which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is the front view. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line O in FIG. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Electric / Electronic Equipment 11 Wheel 12 Ball 13 Ball Caster 14 Charging Terminal 31 Guide Plate 31
32 Rear wall 33 Feed terminal portion 34 Feed terminal 35 Main guide 36 Sub guide 37 Concavity 41 Curved portion 61 Tangent 62 Normal 80 Charge base 80
81 Main guide 82 Notch 110 Charging stand 112 Notch

Claims (12)

In a charging stand for charging self-propelled electric / electronic devices,
A charging stand comprising a guide for guiding the traveling of the electric / electronic device so that a charging terminal provided in the electric / electronic device contacts a power supply terminal provided in the charging stand.   The electric / electronic device includes a pair of wheels and a support leg, and the guide includes a main guide that guides the support leg, and a pair of sub-guides that respectively guide the pair of wheels. The charging stand according to claim 1.   The support leg is provided at the center rear of the pair of wheels, and the power supply terminal is provided at a back surface further rearward of the support leg, and the electric / electronic device is connected from the back side to the power supply terminal. The charging stand according to claim 2, wherein the guide is formed so that the power supply terminal comes into contact with the power supply terminal when traveling forward.   4. The charging stand according to claim 2, wherein the shape of the entrance portion of the main guide is such that the width becomes narrower toward the back. 5.   5. The charging stand according to claim 4, wherein the shape of the entrance portion of the main guide is a shape in which the proportion of the width becomes narrower as it goes deeper.   6. The charging stand according to claim 4, wherein the shape of the inlet portion of the sub-guide is a shape whose width becomes narrower toward the back.   The charging stand according to claim 6, wherein the shape of the inlet portion of the sub-guide is a shape in which the ratio of the width becomes narrower as it goes deeper.   The tip of the support leg is hemispherical, and a recess for receiving the tip of the support leg is formed at a position on the bottom surface of the guide where the tip of the support leg is to be placed. The charging stand according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that   When the part of the support leg enters the recess, the charging terminal comes into contact with the power feeding terminal, and the charging terminal is pressed against the charging terminal when the tip of the support leg is stabilized in the recess. The charging stand according to claim 8, wherein:   An electric / electronic device system comprising the electric / electronic device and the charging stand according to claim 1. In a charging method for charging an electric / electronic device that can freely change the traveling direction with a pair of wheels and one support leg,
Running the electric / electronic device toward the charging base with the support leg in the direction of travel;
The travel direction of the support leg is changed by bringing the support leg into contact with the main guide of the charging base and further traveling, and the pair of wheels is brought into contact with the corresponding sub-guide to advance the pair of wheels. Change direction,
Tilt the electrical / electronic device by placing the tip of the support leg in a recess formed in the vicinity of the innermost part of the main guide,
Pressing the charging terminal provided on the rear back surface of the support leg against the power feeding terminal of the charging base;
A charging method characterized by the above. In the charging method of charging by placing electrical and electronic devices supported at three places on a charging stand,
The electric / electronic device is tilted by receiving one of the three support points in a recess formed on the upper surface of the charging stand, whereby a charging terminal provided on a side surface of the electric / electronic device. Is pressed against the power supply terminal of the charging stand.

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