JP2010272628A - Power supplying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power supplying apparatus capable of being magnetically coupled with a power supplied apparatus with certainty with keeping a position relation between a housing and the power supplied apparatus invariant when the power supplied apparatus is mounted on the housing of the power supplying apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A power supplying apparatus 10 includes: a power feeding part 12 housed in a housing 11; a spring 13 that positions the power feeding part 12 inside of the housing 11 so that a position relation between the power feeding part 12 and the bottom surface of the housing 11 becomes variable; and a magnetic member 14 provided in the power feeding part 12 and which is magnetically drawn by a magnet. When a receiving part of the power supplied apparatus comes close, the power feeding part 12 automatically moves to a position where power supply is possible to the receiving part because of the elastic force of the spring 13 by magnetic attraction of the magnetic member provided at the receiving part and the magnetic member 14 provided at the power feeding part 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply device that supplies power to a power-supplied device without a connection.

  Conventionally, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-303399 (Patent Document 1) as a technique for supplying electric power with this type of non-wired connection.

  The non-contact power feeding device with a positioning mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a first divided core wound with a primary coil embedded in a base and connected to a high-frequency power source, and two embedded in the base A magnetic piece, a second divided core wound with a secondary coil to which a power-supplied device is connected, and a magnet provided on the power-supplied device at a predetermined interval from the second divided core. If the two magnetic pieces embedded in the base with the power-supplied device and the two poles of the magnet provided in the power-supplied device are attracted close to each other, the split surface of the first split core embedded in the base And the split surface of the second split core provided in the power-supplied device are arranged to face each other accurately. For this reason, according to this non-contact electric power feeder, positioning operation of the electric power feeding apparatus with respect to a base can be performed easily and reliably.

JP 2006-303399 A

  However, in this non-contact power feeding device, since the first divided core is fixed to the base (housing), it is necessary to perform positioning by moving the power supplied device on the base. For this reason, the larger the power-supplied instrument, the more difficult it is to position the power-supplied device with respect to the housing using the magnetic attraction of the magnet.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances. When the power-supplied device is placed on the housing of the power supply device, the positional relationship between the housing and the power-supplied device remains unchanged. An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply device that can be magnetically coupled.

  In the power supply device according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, the positional relationship between the housing, the power feeding unit accommodated in the housing, and the power feeding unit and the bottom surface of the housing is variable. A spring for positioning the power supply unit within the housing, and a magnetic member that is provided in the power supply unit and is magnetically attracted by a magnet, and the power supply unit comes into proximity with the power supply unit. When the power receiving unit that receives electromagnetic energy from the proximity approaches, the magnetic member provided in the power receiving unit and the magnetic member provided in the power feeding unit magnetically attract each other while being supported by the spring to the power receiving unit. On the other hand, the magnetic member moves to a position where power can be supplied, and at least one of the magnetic member provided in the power supply unit and the magnetic member provided in the power reception unit is a magnet.

  The power supply device according to the present invention can be reliably magnetically coupled to the power-supplied device while the positional relationship between the housing and the power-supplied device remains unchanged when the power-supplied device is placed on the housing.

1 is a schematic external view showing an embodiment of a power supply device according to the present invention and a power-supplied device to which power is supplied by the power supply device. The figure which shows schematically the internal structural example of an electric power supply apparatus. The figure which shows schematically the internal structural example of a personal computer. (A) is a cross-sectional projection for demonstrating an example of the positional relationship of the primary coil of the electric power feeding part of the electric power supply apparatus in a non-use state, and the secondary coil of the receiving part of a personal computer, (b) is a perspective view. (A) is a cross-sectional projection for demonstrating an example of the positional relationship of the primary coil of the electric power feeding part of the electric power supply apparatus in use state, and the secondary coil of the receiving part of a personal computer, (b) is a perspective view. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional projection view of the power supply apparatus for explaining a state where the personal computer shown in FIG. 5 is removed from the power supply apparatus.

  An embodiment of a power supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic external view showing an embodiment of a power supply device according to the present invention and a power-supplied device to which power is supplied by the power supply device.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a power supply device that supplies power to a power-supplied device without a connection. In the present embodiment, an example in which a notebook personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) is used as a power-supplied device to which power is supplied from the power supply device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows an example of a state in which a personal computer is placed in a housing that houses the power supply device.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the power supply device 10 includes a power feeding unit 12 inside a housing 11. In addition, the personal computer 20 as the power supplied device includes a power receiving unit 21. The power reception unit 21 is magnetically coupled to the power supply unit 12 when close to the power supply unit 12, and can receive electromagnetic energy from the power supply unit 12 by electromagnetic induction.

  Note that the area of the upper surface of the housing 11 may be an area where the personal computer 20 of various sizes can be placed on the upper surface of the housing 11. For example, when the area of the upper surface of the housing 11 is larger than the area of the bottom surface of a notebook personal computer having a 19-inch display device, display devices of various sizes such as 17-inch, 14-inch, and 12-inch are used. The notebook personal computer can be placed on the upper surface of the housing 11.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration example of the power supply apparatus 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the internal configuration of the personal computer 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the power supply apparatus 10 includes a power supply unit 12, a spring 13 that positions the power supply unit 12 in the housing 11, and a magnetic member 14 provided in the power supply unit 12. The power supply unit 12 includes a high-frequency power source 15 that is supplied with power from a commercial power source (not shown), and a primary coil 16 connected to the high-frequency power source 15.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the personal computer 20 includes a power receiving unit 21, a magnetic member 22 provided in the power receiving unit 21, a power supply control unit 23 to which power is supplied from the power receiving unit 21, and a secondary battery. And at least a battery 24 constituted by: The power receiving unit 21 includes a secondary coil 25 connected to the power supply control unit 23.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the positional relationship between the bottom surface of the personal computer 20 and the power receiving unit 21 is fixed will be described.

  When the personal computer 20 is placed on the casing 11 of the power supply device 10 and the primary coil 16 and the secondary coil 25 are in a position where they can be magnetically coupled, the high-frequency power output from the high-frequency power supply 15 is converted into the primary coil 16. And supplied to the power supply control unit 23 via the secondary coil 25.

  In the prior art, it is not considered to apply a device as heavy as the personal computer 20 as the power-supplied device. For this reason, when the conventional technology is applied, when the personal computer 20 is placed on the casing 11 of the power supply apparatus 10, the user must slide the personal computer 20 on the casing 11, and this is very Inconvenient.

  Therefore, the power supply device 10 according to the present embodiment automatically couples the primary coil 16 and the secondary coil 25 magnetically when the personal computer 20 is roughly placed on the housing 11 by the user. The power feeding unit 12 supported by the casing 11 by the spring 13 is configured to be movable so as to be in a possible position.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the power feeding unit 12 is positioned in the housing 11 by the spring 13 so that the positional relationship between the power feeding unit 12 and the bottom surface of the housing 11 is variable. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the power feeding unit 12 is positioned near the center of the bottom surface of the casing 11 when the personal computer 20 is not placed on the casing 11 (hereinafter referred to as a non-use state). .

  When the power feeding unit 12 is positioned in the vicinity of the center of the bottom surface of the housing 11 in the non-use state, the power feeding unit 12 and the power receiving unit in a state where the personal computer 20 is placed on the housing 11 (hereinafter referred to as “use state”). The maximum value in the bottom direction of the distance to 21 can be minimized. For this reason, it becomes possible to respond widely to the installation position of the power receiving unit 21 in the personal computer 20. When the installation position of the power receiving unit 21 of the power supplied device is a known predetermined position, the power feeding unit 12 in the non-use state may be positioned at a position corresponding to the predetermined position.

  The magnetic member 14 provided in the power feeding unit 12 and the magnetic member 22 provided in the power receiving unit 21 are configured to be attracted to each other by magnetic attraction when approaching. At least one of one magnetic member 14 provided in the power feeding unit 12 and one magnetic member 22 provided in the power receiving unit 21 corresponding to the magnetic member may be configured by a magnet. In FIG. 2, two magnets are used as the magnetic member 14 provided in the power feeding unit 12, and the magnetic member 22 provided in the power receiving unit 21 is two magnetic pieces provided at positions corresponding to the magnets. An example of the case is given.

  Note that a general notebook personal computer has a power capacity of about 90 W. The size of the power supply unit corresponding to this level of power capacity is about the same as that of a compact disk medium, and the weight can be moved by the magnetic force of the magnet.

  The power supply control unit 23 of the personal computer 20 is supplied with power output from the high frequency power supply 15 via the primary coil 16 and the secondary coil 25, and includes various devices of the personal computer 20 including the battery 24 built in the personal computer 20. Controls the power supply to.

  Next, an example of operation | movement of the electric power supply apparatus 10 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a positional relationship between the primary coil 16 of the power feeding unit 12 of the power supply apparatus 10 and the secondary coil 25 of the power receiving unit 21 of the personal computer 20 in a non-use state. ) Is a cross-sectional projection view, and (b) is a perspective view. In FIG. 4A, the configuration of the personal computer 20 shows only the magnetic piece 22 and the secondary coil 25, and the other configurations are not shown.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the center position of the loop surface of the secondary coil 25 is shifted from the center position of the loop surface of the primary coil 16. With this positional relationship, the power supply efficiency from the power supply unit 12 to the power reception unit 21 is expected to be poor.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of the positional relationship between the primary coil 16 of the power feeding unit 12 of the power supply device 10 and the secondary coil 25 of the power receiving unit 21 of the personal computer 20 in the usage state. Is a sectional view, and (b) is a perspective view. In FIG. 5A, the configuration of the personal computer 20 shows only the magnetic piece 22 and the secondary coil 25, and the other configurations are not shown. In FIG. 5A, a dotted line indicates the position of the power feeding unit 12 in FIG.

  When the personal computer 20 is placed on the housing 11, the magnet 14 of the power supply device 10 and the magnetic piece 22 of the personal computer 20 attract each other. For this reason, the electric power feeding part 12 moves so that the magnet 14 may adjoin to the magnetic piece 22 with the elastic force of the spring 13. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5A, when looking down from the upper surface of the housing 11, the magnet 14 and the magnetic piece 22 overlap each other, and the center position of the loop surface of the primary coil 16 and the loop surface of the secondary coil 25. The center position of automatically matches. Since the center position of the loop surface of the primary coil 16 and the center position of the loop surface of the secondary coil 25 coincide with each other, power can be efficiently supplied from the power feeding unit 12 to the power receiving unit 21.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional projection view of the power supply apparatus 10 for explaining a state where the personal computer 20 shown in FIG. 5 is removed from the power supply apparatus 10. In FIG. 6, the dotted line indicates the position of the power feeding unit 12 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the personal computer 20 is removed, the power feeding unit 12 is again supported by the spring 13 and positioned at the same position as in the non-use state shown in FIG.

  In the power supply apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the power supply unit 12 is supported so that the positional relationship between the power supply unit 12 and the bottom surface of the housing 11 is variable. For this reason, the power supply unit 12 is automatically moved to the position of the power receiving unit 21 of the personal computer 20 only by placing the personal computer 20 roughly on the housing 11, so that the housing 11 and the personal computer are moved. The power receiving unit 21 and the power feeding unit 12 of the personal computer 20 can be reliably magnetically coupled while the positional relationship with the computer 20 remains unchanged. Therefore, the power supply device 10 according to the present embodiment has a weight that the power-supplied device placed on the housing 11 cannot automatically slide on the upper surface of the housing 11 by the magnetic attraction of the magnet 14. In addition, the power receiving unit 21 and the power feeding unit 12 can be easily magnetically coupled.

  Further, in the power supply device 10 according to the present embodiment, the power feeding unit 12 is positioned near the center of the bottom surface of the housing 11 when not in use. For this reason, it becomes possible to respond widely to the installation position of the power receiving unit 21 in the personal computer 20. Moreover, by making the area of the upper surface of the housing 11 larger than the maximum bottom area of the personal computer 20 that uses the power supply apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the power supply apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has various types. The present invention can be applied to a personal computer 20 having a size.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment.

  For example, as long as the supporting member can position the power feeding unit 12 within the housing 11 so that the positional relationship between the power feeding unit 12 and the bottom surface of the housing 11 is variable, the support member is not limited to the spring 13 and may be other materials such as rubber. It may be an elastic body. Moreover, the installation position and the number of installation of this support member are not limited to the installation position and the number of installation shown in FIG.

  Further, a permanent magnet or an electromagnet (or a ferromagnetic material) is provided on the surface of the power feeding unit 12 on the bottom surface side of the housing 11, and a ferromagnetic material (or a bottom surface of the housing 11 corresponding to a desired positioning position in a non-use state). Even when a permanent magnet or an electromagnet is provided, the power feeding unit 12 is positioned in the vicinity of the ferromagnetic material on the bottom surface of the housing 11 when not in use, and provided in the power receiving unit 21 when in use. The magnetic member provided and the magnetic member provided in the power feeding unit 12 can be moved to a position where power can be fed to the power receiving unit 21 by magnetically attracting each other.

  The power supply apparatus 10 according to the present invention can be applied to various power-supplied apparatuses in addition to the notebook personal computer 20 described in the present embodiment, and in particular, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), The present invention can be applied to portable information processing devices such as portable game machines, portable music players, and portable video players.

  In addition, when the power feeding unit 12 moves inside the housing 11 and the housing 11 and the power feeding unit 12 come into contact with each other and a frictional force is applied, the housing 11 and the power feeding unit 12 are members having a small friction coefficient. It is good to form by mutual (for example, plastics etc.).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric power supply apparatus 11 Housing | casing 12 Electric power feeding part 13 Spring 14 Magnet (Magnetic member provided in the electric power feeding part 12)
15 High-frequency power supply 16 Primary coil 20 Personal computer 21 Power receiving unit 22 Magnetic piece (magnetic member provided in power receiving unit 21)
23 Power supply control unit 24 Battery 25 Secondary coil

Claims (5)

A housing,
A power feeding unit housed in the housing;
A spring for positioning the power feeding unit within the housing such that the positional relationship between the power feeding unit and the bottom surface of the housing is variable;
A magnetic member provided in the power supply unit and magnetically attracted by a magnet;
With
The power feeding unit is
When a power receiving unit that receives electromagnetic energy from the power feeding unit comes close to the power feeding unit, the magnetic member provided in the power receiving unit and the magnetic member provided in the power feeding unit magnetically attract each other. Move to a position where power can be supplied to the power receiving unit while being supported by a spring,
At least one of the magnetic member provided in the power feeding unit and the magnetic member provided in the power receiving unit is a magnet. The power feeding unit is
A high frequency power supply,
A coil connected to the high-frequency power source;
Have
The high frequency power supply is
Power is supplied to the power reception unit while being supported by the spring by magnetically attracting the magnetic member provided in the power reception unit and the magnetic member provided in the power supply unit close to the power reception unit. When moved to a possible position, the coil and the coil of the power receiving unit are magnetically coupled to supply electromagnetic energy to the power receiving unit.
The power supply apparatus according to claim 1. The power feeding unit is
When the electronic device having the power receiving unit is placed on the casing, the magnetic member provided in the power receiving unit and the magnetic member provided in the power feeding unit are magnetically attracted to each other to thereby form the spring. Moving to a position where power can be supplied to the power receiving unit while being supported by
The power supply device according to claim 1 or 2. The power feeding unit is
When the magnetic attractive force between the magnetic member provided in the power feeding unit and the magnetic member provided in the power receiving unit is weakened, the spring is positioned at the center of the housing.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The magnetic member of the power feeding unit is composed of a magnet,
The magnetic member of the power receiving unit is configured by a magnetic piece that is magnetically attracted when approaching the magnet.
The power supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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