JP2014171331A - Charger, charging method, terminal device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charger for implementing an efficient color charge.SOLUTION: When the remaining capacity of a secondary battery 107a is in such a state that it is chargeable at a prescribed level or below, a charge control unit 200 determines, on the basis of a sunlight irradiation angle obtained from detection output of an irradiation angle detector 201 (angle of elevation component θ and azimuth angle component φ), whether or not correction of inclination is needed, and, when the sunlight irradiation angle exceeds a prescribed range of angles from vertical incidence and correction of inclination becomes necessary, corrects inclination so that the normal vector of a panel body in which a solar panel 203 and the irradiation angle detector 201 are integrally molded is brought as much closer to the sunlight irradiation angle (angle of elevation component θ and azimuth angle component φ) as possible.

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging device, a charging method, a terminal device, and a program that realize efficient solar charging.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a technique is known in which a solar panel is laid on one surface of a terminal device casing, and a battery of the terminal device is charged based on the light reception power generation output of the solar panel. As this type of technology, for example, in Patent Document 1, the terminal device itself is rotated by vibrator vibration, and the azimuth angle at which the light reception output of the solar sensor provided on the same surface as the solar panel is maximized, and the drive motor. The terminal device itself is tilted to detect the elevation angle at which the light reception output of the solar sensor provided on the same surface as the solar panel is maximized, and the terminal device is again used with the vibrator vibration and the drive motor so that the detected azimuth angle and elevation angle are obtained. A technique for maximizing the amount of light received by a solar panel by rotating and tilting itself is disclosed.

JP 2006-33623 A

  By the way, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the terminal device itself is rotated by vibrator vibration, the azimuth angle at which the received light output of the solar sensor is maximized, and the terminal device itself is tilted by the drive motor. In order to increase the power generation efficiency of the solar panel, the terminal device itself is rotated and tilted with the vibrator vibration and the drive motor again so that the detected azimuth angle and elevation angle become the detected azimuth angle and elevation angle. There is a problem that much power consumption is required, resulting in inefficient solar charging.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a charging device, a charging method, a terminal device, and a program capable of realizing efficient solar charging.

  In order to achieve the above object, the charging device of the present invention includes a chargeability determination unit that detects battery charge level to determine whether or not to charge, an irradiation angle detection unit that detects an irradiation angle of sunlight, and the chargeability determination. And a solar panel inclination correction means for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when it is determined that charging is possible by the means. .

  Further, the charging method of the present invention can be charged by the chargeability determination process for detecting the remaining battery level to determine whether the battery can be charged, the irradiation angle detection process for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight, and the chargeability determination process. A solar panel tilt correction process for correcting the tilt of the solar panel according to the irradiation angle of sunlight detected in the irradiation angle detection process when determined.

  Further, the terminal device of the present invention can be charged by a chargeability determination unit that detects the remaining battery level to determine whether or not to charge, an irradiation angle detection unit that detects an irradiation angle of sunlight, and the chargeability determination unit. The solar panel inclination correcting means for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the irradiation angle of sunlight detected by the irradiation angle detecting means when determined.

  Further, the program of the present invention causes the computer to charge in a chargeability determination step for determining whether or not the battery can be charged by detecting the remaining battery level, an irradiation angle detection step for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight, and the chargeability determination step. When it is determined that it is possible, a solar panel inclination correction step of correcting the inclination of the solar panel is executed according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected in the irradiation angle detection step.

  In the present invention, efficient solar charging can be implemented.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the portable terminal 10 by one Embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a solar charging unit 109. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of an irradiation angle detector 201. FIG. It is the side view and top view which show one structural example of the solar panel inclination correction | amendment part 202. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a charging process executed in the mobile terminal 10. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a 1st modification. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd modification. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the charging device of Additional remark 1.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A. Configuration (1) Overall Configuration of Mobile Terminal 10 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of the mobile terminal 10 according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, a control unit 100 includes a CPU, an input / output circuit, and the like, and controls the operation of each unit according to an operation event supplied from an operation unit 106 described later. Under the control of the control unit 100, the communication unit 101 outputs voice data received and demodulated via an antenna (not shown) to the control unit 100 during a voice call, while modulating the voice data supplied from the control unit 100. The transmission signal thus obtained is amplified by radio frequency and wirelessly transmitted. During data communication, data is exchanged by radio communication with a base station of a mobile communication network via an antenna (not shown).

  The memory unit 102 includes a work area, a program area, a data area, and a user area. The work area of the memory unit 102 is used as a work area of the control unit 100 and temporarily stores various register / flag data. Various programs executed by the control unit 100 are stored in the program area of the memory unit 102. The various programs include a charging process program to be described later. The data area of the memory unit 102 stores control data referred to by a predetermined program, various screen data forming a standby screen, and the like. The user area of the memory unit 102 stores various user data such as sent / received mails and addresses.

  The display unit 103 includes a color liquid crystal panel and a display driver, and displays various screens such as a standby screen under the control of the control unit 100. The speaker 104 emits an audio signal that is D / A converted and output from the control unit 100. The microphone 105 converts the input sound into a sound signal and outputs the sound signal to the control unit 100. The operation unit 106 includes a touch panel unit and a key switch unit. The touch panel unit of the operation unit 106 is laid on the display screen of the display unit 103, and inputs information by touching the screen corresponding to the soft keyboard displayed on the display screen. The key switch unit of the operation unit 106 includes a volume key for setting the volume of the speaker 104 in addition to a power switch for turning on / off the power supply unit 102, although not shown. An operation event corresponding to is generated and output to the control unit 100.

  The power supply unit 107 supplies power for driving each unit of the mobile terminal 10 under the control of the control unit 100. Further, in the power supply unit 107, when the remaining battery level becomes a predetermined level or less, the rechargeable battery 107a is charged by the solar charging unit 109 described later. The additional function unit 108 includes a GPS function and a camera function for acquiring the current position of the terminal itself. The solar charging unit 109 charges the rechargeable battery of the power source unit 107 under the control of the control unit 100 with the power generation output obtained by receiving sunlight. The configuration of the solar charging unit 109 will be described in detail later.

(2) Configuration of Solar Charging Unit 109 Next, the configuration of the solar charging unit 109 mounted on the mobile terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the solar charging unit 109. The solar charging unit 109 shown in this figure includes a charging control unit 200, an irradiation angle detector 201, a solar panel tilt correction unit 202, and a solar panel 203.

  The charging control unit 200 is a configuration requirement corresponding to a function of a charging process (described later) executed by the control unit 100. The charging control unit 200 detects the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a included in the power supply unit 107, and acquires the detection output of the irradiation angle detector 201 when the detected remaining capacity becomes a chargeable state equal to or lower than a predetermined level. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the irradiation angle detector 201 is arranged on the same plane as a solar panel 203 described later, and includes a two-dimensional illuminance sensor 201b in which light receiving elements such as photodiodes are two-dimensionally arranged, and the two-dimensional illuminance. The light-shielding plate 201a is disposed opposite to the sensor 201b and has a pinhole in the center. According to such a configuration, the sunlight incident through the pinhole of the light shielding plate 201a is irradiated to any one of the light receiving elements forming the two-dimensional illuminance sensor 201b, so that the sunlight irradiation angle θ is achieved. The corresponding detection signal is output.

  That is, on the two-dimensionally arranged light receiving element surface, the light receiving element at the center position facing the pinhole is used as a reference (origin), and the position coordinates of the light receiving element irradiated with the sunlight spot from the pinhole are used as detection signals Output. Note that the position coordinates of the light receiving element indicate the nth in the vertical direction and the mth in the horizontal direction when counting from the light receiving element at the center position. With this position coordinate, it becomes possible to acquire the irradiation angle (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ) of sunlight with respect to the light receiving element surface.

  In the present embodiment, the two-dimensional illuminance sensor 201b in which light receiving elements such as photodiodes are two-dimensionally arranged is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a mode using a two-dimensional CCD used as an imaging element may be used. In other words, an imaging element (two-dimensional CCD) provided as a camera function of the additional function unit 108 can be shared by the irradiation angle detector 201.

  The charging control unit 200 acquires the irradiation angle (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ) of sunlight based on the detection signal (corresponding to the position coordinates described above) output from the irradiation angle detector 201, and the acquired irradiation angle According to (the elevation angle component θ and the azimuth angle component φ), a correction instruction is given to the solar panel inclination correction unit 202.

  Here, a schematic structure of the solar panel tilt correction unit 202 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the side view and plan view of FIG. 4A, the solar panel tilt correction unit 202 includes actuators 202a disposed at the four corners of a panel body in which the solar panel 203 and the irradiation angle detector 201 are integrally formed. To 202d.

  Each of the actuators 202a to 202d is a piezoelectric actuator in which a plurality of piezoelectric elements that have a large stroke (displacement amount) and can be driven with low power consumption are stacked, and expands and contracts by a predetermined stroke according to the drive voltage to be applied. For example, when the two actuators on one end side of the four corners of the panel body in which the solar panel 203 and the irradiation angle detector 201 are integrally molded are most contracted and the two actuators on the other end side are most expanded, the same As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the normal vector of the panel body changes.

  In the solar panel tilt correction unit 202, the actuators 202 a to 202 d described above are individually expanded and contracted in accordance with a correction instruction from the charging control unit 200, and sunlight is irradiated as vertically as possible to the light receiving surface of the solar panel 203. However, since the strokes of the actuators 202a to 202d are actually limited, the normal vector shown in FIGS. The inclination is corrected so as to be close to θ and the azimuth angle component φ). Note that to make the normal vector of the panel body as close as possible to the irradiation angle of sunlight means to minimize the angle formed by the normal vector and the irradiation angle of sunlight within a range in which the inclination can be corrected.

  The solar panel 203 whose inclination is corrected by the solar panel inclination correction unit 202 charges the rechargeable battery 107 a of the power supply unit 107 under the control of the charging control unit 200 with the power generation output obtained by receiving sunlight. The charging control unit 200 gives a correction instruction to the solar panel inclination correcting unit 202 every predetermined time in response to the change in the elevation angle / azimuth angle of the sun.

B. Operation Next, the operation of the solar charging unit 109 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the charging control unit 200 (one function of the control unit 100) is the main operation, and the operation of the charging process performed by the charging control unit 200 will be described. The charging process is one of application functions provided in the mobile terminal 10 and is executed by a user operation.

  When this process is executed by a user operation, the charging control unit 200 proceeds to step S1 illustrated in FIG. 5 and detects the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a built in the power supply unit 107. Subsequently, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the detected remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a is in a chargeable state of a predetermined level or less. If the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a is higher than a predetermined level, the charging is impossible, so the determination result is “NO”, and the present process ends.

  On the other hand, if the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a is in a chargeable state below a predetermined level, the determination result in step S2 is “YES”, and the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the detection output of the irradiation angle detector 201 is acquired. Next, in step S4, the irradiation angle (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ) of sunlight is calculated based on the acquired detection output of the irradiation angle detector 201. In step S5, it is determined whether inclination correction is necessary based on the calculated irradiation angle of sunlight (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ).

  If the irradiation angle of sunlight is within a predetermined angle range from the normal incidence, the determination result is “NO” because the inclination correction is not necessary, and the process returns to step S1 described above. On the other hand, when the irradiation angle of sunlight exceeds the predetermined angle range from the normal incidence, the determination result in Step S5 is “YES”, and the process proceeds to Step S6. In step S6, the normal vector of the panel body in which the solar panel 203 and the irradiation angle detector 201 are integrally molded is calculated according to the sunlight irradiation angle (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ) calculated in step S4. After correcting the inclination so as to be as close as possible to the irradiation angle of sunlight, the process returns to step S3.

  Thereafter, while the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a is in a chargeable state equal to or lower than a predetermined level, the above-described series of processing is repeated to change the irradiation angle of sunlight (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component) that changes with time. The inclination of the solar panel 203 following (φ) is corrected. When the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a exceeds a predetermined level due to solar charging and becomes unchargeable, the determination result in step S2 described above becomes “NO”, and the present process ends.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when the remaining capacity of the rechargeable battery 107a is in a chargeable state of a predetermined level or less, the irradiation angle (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component) of sunlight is based on the detection output of the irradiation angle detector 201. φ) is calculated, and it is determined whether or not tilt correction is necessary based on the calculated sunlight irradiation angle (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ). And when inclination correction is required, that is, when the irradiation angle of sunlight exceeds a predetermined angle range from normal incidence, the solar panel 203 depends on the irradiation angle of sunlight (elevation angle component θ and azimuth angle component φ). And the normal vector of the panel body in which the irradiation angle detector 201 is integrally formed is corrected so as to be as close as possible to the irradiation angle of sunlight, so that it is necessary to increase the power generation efficiency of the solar panel as in the past. Efficient solar charging can be implemented by avoiding the negative effects of high power consumption resulting in inefficient solar charging.

C. Modified Example Next, a first modified example and a second modified example of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in the 1st modification shown in FIG. 6 and the 2nd modification shown in FIG. 7, the same number is attached | subjected to the same component as embodiment mentioned above, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first modification illustrated in FIG. 6, instead of omitting the solar panel tilt correction unit 202, the charging control unit 200 corrects the tilt of the solar panel 203 with respect to the user using the display unit 103 and the speaker 104. To guide you. Specifically, the charging control unit 200 displays on the display unit 103 the direction in which the inclination of the solar panel 203 is corrected, or guides the inclination from the speaker 104 by voice. According to such an aspect, efficient solar charging can be implemented while reducing the product cost by omitting the solar panel tilt correction unit 202.

  In the second modification illustrated in FIG. 7, the solar charging unit 300 is configured by the irradiation angle detector 201, the solar panel tilt correction unit 202, and the solar panel 203 as a separate device from the mobile terminal 10. The solar charging unit 300 is connected to the portable terminal 10 using a general-purpose connector, and charging is controlled under the control of the control unit 100 (charging control unit 200) of the portable terminal 10. Thus, the size and weight of the mobile terminal 10 can be reduced by separating the mobile terminal 10 into a separate device unit. Further, the solar charging unit 300 may be configured to function as a charging cradle for the mobile terminal 10.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. As an example, this embodiment is applicable not only to terminal devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablet-type PDAs, but also to other electronic devices (game devices, tablet PCs, laptop / notebook PCs, etc.). .

C. Correspondence Relationship between Charging Device described in Supplementary Note 1 and Embodiment Next, a correspondence relationship between the charging device described in Supplementary Note 1 and the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the charging device described in appendix 1. In this figure, the charge availability determination means 20 corresponds to the charge control unit 200 shown in FIG. More specifically, it corresponds to the processing function of steps S1 to S2 (see FIG. 5) executed by the charging control unit 200. The irradiation angle detection means 30 corresponds to the irradiation angle detector 201 shown in FIG. The solar panel tilt correction means corresponds to the charging control unit 200, the solar panel tilt correction unit, and the solar panel 203 illustrated in FIG. More specifically, this corresponds to the processing functions of steps S3 to S6 (see FIG. 5) executed by the charging control unit 200.

  According to the above configuration, when it is determined that charging is possible by the chargeability determination unit 20, the solar panel inclination correction unit 30 performs the solar panel detection according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection unit 30. In order to correct the inclination, the power consumption required to increase the power generation efficiency of the solar panel is large as in the conventional case, avoiding the negative effects of inefficient solar charging, resulting in efficient solar charging. There is an effect that can be.

E. Additional Notes Next, features of the present invention will be added. In addition, although a part or all of said embodiment may be described as the following additional remarks, it is not limited to the description.

(Appendix 1)
Chargeability determination means for detecting the remaining battery level and determining whether or not charging is possible;
An irradiation angle detection means for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight;
Solar panel inclination correction means for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when the chargeability determination means determines that charging is possible. A charging device.

(Appendix 2)
The irradiation angle detection means includes
A two-dimensional illuminance detecting means provided on the same plane as the solar panel and having a light receiving surface in which light receiving elements are two-dimensionally arranged;
The charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a light shielding unit disposed opposite to the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional illuminance detection unit and having a pinhole formed in a central portion thereof.

(Appendix 3)
The solar panel tilt correction means is
Correction determination means for determining whether or not inclination correction is necessary based on the irradiation angle of sunlight detected by the irradiation angle detection means;
When it is determined by the correction determining means that inclination correction is necessary, the solar panel normal vector of the light receiving surface of the solar panel is as close as possible to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detecting means. The charging device according to claim 1, further comprising: a correcting unit that corrects the inclination of the light receiving surface.

(Appendix 4)
A chargeability determination process for determining the chargeability by detecting the remaining battery capacity;
An irradiation angle detection process for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight,
A solar panel inclination correction process for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected in the irradiation angle detection process when it is determined that charging is possible in the chargeability determination process. Charging method characterized by.

(Appendix 5)
Chargeability determination means for detecting the remaining battery level and determining whether or not charging is possible;
An irradiation angle detection means for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight;
Solar panel inclination correction means for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when the chargeability determination means determines that charging is possible. A terminal device characterized by the above.

(Appendix 6)
Chargeability determination means for detecting the remaining battery level and determining whether or not charging is possible;
An irradiation angle detection means for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight;
Correction guidance means for guiding the user to correct the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when the chargeability determination means determines that charging is possible. A terminal device comprising the terminal device.

(Appendix 7)
On the computer,
A charge enable / disable determining step of detecting the remaining battery level to determine whether or not charge is possible;
An irradiation angle detection step for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight; and
If it is determined that charging is possible in the chargeability determination step, a solar panel tilt correction step of correcting the tilt of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected in the irradiation angle detection step is executed. A program characterized by that.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile terminal 101 Communication part 102 Memory part 103 Display part 104 Speaker 105 Microphone 106 Operation part 107 Power supply part 107a Rechargeable battery 108 Additional function part 109 Solar charging part 200 Charging control part 201 Irradiation angle detector 201a Light-shielding plate 201b Two-dimensional illumination sensor 202 Solar Panel Inclination Correction Units 202a to 202b Actuator 203 Solar Panel 300 Solar Charging Unit 20 Charge Allowability Determination Unit 30 Irradiation Angle Detection Unit 40 Solar Panel Inclination Correction Unit

Claims (7)

Chargeability determination means for detecting the remaining battery level and determining whether or not charging is possible;
An irradiation angle detection means for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight;
Solar panel inclination correction means for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when the chargeability determination means determines that charging is possible. A charging device. The irradiation angle detection means includes
A two-dimensional illuminance detecting means provided on the same plane as the solar panel and having a light receiving surface in which light receiving elements are two-dimensionally arranged;
The charging device according to claim 1, further comprising: a light-shielding unit disposed opposite to the light-receiving surface of the two-dimensional illuminance detection unit and having a pinhole formed in a central portion thereof. The solar panel tilt correction means is
Correction determination means for determining whether or not inclination correction is necessary based on the irradiation angle of sunlight detected by the irradiation angle detection means;
When it is determined by the correction determining means that inclination correction is necessary, the solar panel normal vector of the light receiving surface of the solar panel is as close as possible to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detecting means. The charging device according to claim 1, further comprising: a correcting unit that corrects an inclination of the light receiving surface. A chargeability determination process for determining the chargeability by detecting the remaining battery capacity;
An irradiation angle detection process for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight,
A solar panel inclination correction process for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected in the irradiation angle detection process when it is determined that charging is possible in the chargeability determination process. Charging method characterized by. Chargeability determination means for detecting the remaining battery level and determining whether or not charging is possible;
An irradiation angle detection means for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight;
Solar panel inclination correction means for correcting the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when the chargeability determination means determines that charging is possible. A terminal device characterized by the above. Chargeability determination means for detecting the remaining battery level and determining whether or not charging is possible;
An irradiation angle detection means for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight;
Correction guidance means for guiding the user to correct the inclination of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected by the irradiation angle detection means when the chargeability determination means determines that charging is possible. A terminal device comprising the terminal device. On the computer,
A charge enable / disable determining step of detecting the remaining battery level to determine whether or not charge is possible;
An irradiation angle detection step for detecting the irradiation angle of sunlight; and
If it is determined that charging is possible in the chargeability determination step, a solar panel tilt correction step of correcting the tilt of the solar panel according to the sunlight irradiation angle detected in the irradiation angle detection step is executed. A program characterized by that.

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