JP2016123190A - Non-contact charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus capable of preventing the case in which charging fails because of mistaking a direction of a coil built-in unit including a movable mechanism (LCD unit etc.) in placing a camera on a charging pad.SOLUTION: A direction of a coil built-in unit including a movable mechanism (LCD unit etc.) is detected; a warning is originated in the case of a state in which charging efficiency is reduced or charging is impossible.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-contact charging system for electronic devices such as cameras and mobile phones.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic device that performs non-contact charging by installing a secondary coil in a main body and bringing the primary coil close to an external charger is known. For example, a camera has been devised in which the secondary coil is installed on the side opposite to the display surface of the movable display unit of the camera body (Patent Document 1).

  This merit is that by installing the secondary coil on the side opposite to the display surface of the display unit with a large area, the secondary coil can be enlarged and a large charging power can be supplied, so the charging time is shortened. Is possible.

  Further, when charging by directly placing the camera on a charger (commonly known as a charging pad) without unevenness, it can be placed in the most stable state and with a small charging pad area. Because it is possible to place the camera tripod screw face down, but if a large lens is attached, the balance may be lost and the tripod screw face may become slanted, which may reduce charging efficiency. . At the same time, since a large lens lies side by side, the charging pad area per unit becomes large, which is disadvantageous when charging a plurality of cameras.

JP 2010-109463 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, the following problems have occurred. First, consider a case where a camera is placed on a non-contact charger having a primary coil with a movable display unit facing downward. In addition, the apparatus here demonstrates a camera as an example like patent document 1. FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a layout external view at the time of charging, FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view showing a posture when charging is possible, and FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing a posture when charging is impossible. In FIGS. 23 and 24, reference numeral 200 denotes a movable display unit for confirming camera recording / playback, 201 denotes a camera body, and 202 denotes a lens unit. Reference numeral 203 denotes a biaxial hinge, which is a mechanical unit for moving the display unit in two directions of opening / closing and rotation, as in Patent Document 1.

  Further, reference numeral 204 denotes a charger, which has a large number of secondary coils built in, and non-contact charging is possible by placing a camera thereon. Reference numeral 205 denotes a secondary coil, 206 denotes a primary coil, and 207 denotes an LCD unit including an LCD and an LCD driver circuit.

  When performing non-contact charging with the above configuration, when the camera is placed with the display unit 200 housed so that the biaxial hinge 203 is rotated and the secondary coil 205 faces downward as shown in FIG. The secondary coil 205 and the primary coil 206 are close to each other and can be charged.

  However, as shown in FIG. 25, when the biaxial hinge unit 203 is rotated and the movable display unit 200 is housed so that the secondary coil 205 faces upward, the secondary coil 205 and the primary coil are placed. Since the distance between the LCD 206 and the LCD unit 207 is long, the battery 206 cannot be charged or the charging efficiency is significantly reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can prevent a case in which charging cannot be performed by changing the direction of a coil built-in unit having a movable mechanism when the device is placed on a charging pad.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention is a non-contact charging system related to an apparatus having a coil built-in unit having a movable mechanism, the coil built-in unit orientation detecting means, and the coil When the orientation of the built-in unit is incapable of charging or causes a reduction in charging efficiency, a warning is given.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when putting an apparatus on a charging pad, provision of the electronic device which can prevent the case where it cannot charge by changing direction of the coil built-in unit provided with the movable mechanism is realizable is realizable.

External view of the non-contact charging mode according to the first embodiment Non-contact charging coil layout according to the first embodiment External view of camera according to first embodiment (display unit open position, rotation is B position) External view of camera according to the first embodiment (display unit open position, rotation is A position) External view of camera according to first embodiment (display unit closed position) Sectional view of the camera according to the first embodiment (Lens upward position, display unit closed position, rotation is at position A) Sectional view of the camera according to the first embodiment (Lens upward orientation, display unit closed position, rotation is at B position) Sectional view of the camera according to the first embodiment (Lens sideways posture) Sectional view of the camera according to the first embodiment (Lens upward orientation, display unit open position, rotation is at B position) Sectional view of the camera according to the first embodiment (Lens upward position, display unit closed position, rotation is at position A) Block diagram according to the first embodiment Flow chart according to the first embodiment External view of camera according to second embodiment (display unit open position, rotation is at B position) External view of a camera according to the second embodiment (display unit open position, rotation is A position) External view of camera according to second embodiment (display unit closed position) Sectional view of a camera according to the second embodiment (Lens upward orientation, display unit closed position, rotation is at position A) Sectional view of a camera according to the second embodiment (Lens upward orientation, display unit closed position, rotation is at B position) Sectional view of the camera according to the second embodiment (lens sideways posture) Sectional view of the camera according to the second embodiment (Lens upward position, display unit open position, rotation is at B position) Sectional view of a camera according to the second embodiment (Lens upward orientation, display unit closed position, rotation is at position A) Block diagram according to the second embodiment Flow chart according to the second embodiment External layout view during charging according to the conventional example Sectional drawing which shows the attitude | position when charge is possible by a prior art example Sectional drawing which shows the attitude | position at the time of impossible charging by a prior art example

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

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a contactless charging mode in the camera according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a coil layout diagram of contactless charging. Here, 001 is a movable display unit, 002 is a camera body, 003 is a lens unit, 004 is a biaxial hinge unit for moving the movable display unit 001, and the movable display unit 001 is movable in two directions to be described later. It has become.

  005 is a charger, 006 is a secondary coil, 007 is a primary coil (54 mounted), and 008 is a weak wireless transmission / reception unit. Thereby, electric power can be supplied from the charger 005 to the plurality of camera bodies 002 in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction of the coil. In this case, only the primary coil in the vicinity of the camera is operated to supply electric power. For this means, for example, a method using a change in inductance as in Patent Document 2 is generally used.

  Further, by communicating with the camera body 002 by the weak wireless transmission / reception unit 008, it transmits and receives charging control signals such as charging stop and charging start, and detects whether the distance between the weak wireless transmission / reception unit 008 and the camera is a certain value or less can do. The distance detection means can be detected, for example, by using a received pulse waveform change as in Patent Document 3 or by determining whether or not a weak signal has been received. Thereby, it can be detected whether the camera 002 is mounted on the charger.

  3, 4 and 5 are external views of the camera according to the first embodiment. Here, 009 is a main LCD display surface, which is a display surface for mainly displaying captured / reproduced images, and 010 is a sub LCD display surface, which is a display surface for mainly displaying mode states and warnings. Reference numeral 011 denotes a weak wireless transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving a charge control signal to / from the charger 005, 012 an attitude detector for detecting the attitude of the camera, and 013 an opening / closing axis indicating the opening / closing center of the movable display unit 001. Reference numeral 014 denotes a rotation axis indicating the rotation center of the movable display unit 001.

  Here, regarding the operation of rotating about the rotation shaft 014, the B state in FIG. 3 and the A state in FIG. 4 can be set as rotation ends, and can be rotated at an arbitrary angle between 180 degrees. 3 shows the position where the movable display unit 001 is opened, and the rotation direction is the B position. FIG. 4 is a position where the movable display unit 001 is opened, and the rotational direction state is the A position. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the display unit is closed.

  Further, in order to bring the display unit into a closed state (FIG. 5), it is necessary to close the display unit after setting the rotational direction state to the B position (FIG. 3) or the A position (FIG. 4). This is because if the rotation direction is closed in a state other than the A and B positions (C position in FIG. 3), a part of the display unit hits the exterior of the camera, and the storage state is not as shown in FIG. is there. Furthermore, the posture detector 012 is a detector capable of detecting the six-direction posture of the camera. For example, a method using mercury as in Patent Document 4 or a method using gravity acceleration as in Patent Document 5 is used. is there.

  The movement of the movable display unit 001 as described above is the configuration of the most widely used movable display unit and is the same configuration as that of Patent Document 1.

  6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are cross-sectional views of the camera according to the first embodiment, and are cross-sections in a posture 5 pattern in which the camera body 002 is likely to be placed on the charger 005. . 6 shows a state in which the movable display unit 001 is closed with the movable display unit 001 rotating at the A position with the lens facing upward, and FIG. 7 shows a movable display with the movable display unit 001 rotating at the B position in the lens upward posture. Unit 001 is closed. FIG. 8 shows the lens sideways posture. 9 shows a state in which the movable display unit 001 rotation is set to the B position and the movable display unit 001 is left open in a state where the lens is upward, and FIG. 10 illustrates a movable display in which the movable display unit 001 rotation is set to the A position. In this state, the unit 001 is left open.

  Here, 015 is an LCD unit, and 016 is SW1 (movable display unit rotation detection switch which is turned on in the movable display unit 001 A state). 017 is SW2 (movable display unit rotation detection switch which is turned ON in the movable display unit B state). 018 is SW3 (movable display unit open / close detection switch which is turned on when the movable display unit is open). Reference numeral 019 denotes SW4 (movable display unit opening / closing detection switch which is turned ON when the movable display unit is closed). In addition, about the structure of the detection switch (SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4) of the said movable display unit 001, it can comprise with what utilized the small mechanical switch like patent document 6. FIG.

  As apparent from FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, in FIGS. 6 and 9, the secondary coil 006 and the primary coil 007 are close to each other and can be charged. However, in FIGS. 7 and 10, since the distance between the secondary coil 006 and the primary coil 007 increases with the LCD unit 015 interposed therebetween, charging becomes impossible or charging efficiency is significantly reduced. Further, in FIG. 8 also, the primary coil 007 and the secondary coil 006 are arranged vertically, so that charging is similarly impossible or charging efficiency is significantly reduced.

  In this embodiment, in order to prevent the inability to charge and the decrease in charging efficiency, in the case of FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG. 10, the warning display and the warning voice alert the user that the posture of the camera and the movable display unit 001 is not appropriate. The system configuration prompts the camera to be charged in the correct posture.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram for operating the above system. The operation will be described below. Here, 051 is a camera unit, 053 is a charger unit, and 052 and 054 are weak wireless communication units for transmitting and receiving control signals and data between the camera unit 051 and the charger unit 053. 030 and 048 are communication antennas, 031 and 049 are signal processing units that process the weak radio signals, and 032 and 050 are communication control units that control the signal processing units 031 and 049. Also, 033 is a charge control unit, 034 is a posture detection means for detecting the posture of the camera, 035 is a battery, 036, 037, 038, and 039 are switches for detecting the posture of the movable display unit 001, SW1, SW2, SW3, The operation of SW4 is as described above.

  Further, 040 is a rectifying / smoothing unit that converts supplied AC power into DC, 041 is a secondary coil that receives power, and 042 is a primary coil that supplies power. Here, as described above, 54 primary coils are installed so that a plurality of cameras can be charged (see FIG. 2). In addition, 043 is an excitation unit that excites the primary coil, 044 is a power transmission control unit, 047 is a commercial power supply, 046 is a rectification smoothing unit for rectification, and 045 is a DC / DC converter that converts a voltage. In addition, 055 is a sub LCD display unit for performing warning display and mode display, 056 is a sound output unit for emitting warning sound, and 057 is a backup battery for performing a warning operation when the camera battery is exhausted. Generally, it is also used for backup of necessary data of the camera.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for operating the above system, and the operation will be described below. First, a signal is intermittently transmitted by a weak radio from the charger (S102). At this time, the camera side is always in a weak wireless standby state. Next, it is determined on the camera side whether or not the weak wireless signal has been received (S103). If received, the process proceeds to S104. If not received, the process returns to S102. Next, the weak radio received by the camera is analyzed from the pulse waveform change described above, and it is determined whether the camera 002 is within a predetermined distance from the center of the charger (position of the weak radio transceiver unit 008 of the charger) (S104). ). Here, “within a predetermined position” designates the space area where the camera in the charger is placed. That is, it is determined whether the camera is on the charger. If the distance is within the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to S105. If the distance is not within the predetermined distance, the process returns to S102.

  Next, the camera attitude is determined from the camera attitude detection means 034 output (S105). If the lens unit is upward, the process proceeds to S106, and if not, the process proceeds to S110. Next, it is determined whether or not the display unit SW1 is ON (state A in FIG. 3) (S106). If ON, the process proceeds to S107, and if OFF, the process proceeds to S108. Next, it is determined whether or not the display unit SW2 is ON (state B in FIG. 3) (S108). If ON, the process proceeds to S109, and if OFF, the process proceeds to S110. On the other hand, it is determined whether or not the display unit SW4 is ON (display unit closed state) (S107). If ON, the process proceeds to S111, and if OFF, the process proceeds to S110. Next, it is determined whether or not the display unit SW3 is ON (display unit open state) (S109). If ON, the process proceeds to S111, and if OFF, the process proceeds to S110.

  Further, in S110, a warning display and a warning sound are generated, and the process returns to S102. Here, it is desirable that the warning display and the warning sound be generated so as to prompt the correct posture, for example, “the direction of the display unit is opposite” or “the posture of the camera is not correct”.

  In S111, one or a plurality of charger side supply primary coils in the vicinity of the position where the camera body 002 is mounted are selected, and charging is started via these coils (S112). Note that the coil selection means can be performed by a method such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707. Further, the charging control unit 033 detects the completion of charging. If it cannot be detected, the process returns to S113. If it can be detected, a charging completion signal is sent from the camera body 002 to the charger 005 by weak wireless communication by weak wireless communication (S114). The charging is stopped (S115).

  With the above configuration, it is possible to call attention when the posture is not suitable for non-contact charging as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG. However, it is possible to call attention even when the camera body 002 is facing downward on the lens, facing down on the left and right side surfaces, and facing down on the sub LCD display.

  Further, the opening angle around the rotation axis (013, 014) of the biaxial hinge unit 003 of the movable display unit 001 is other than those shown in FIGS. That is, even when the main LCD display surface of the movable display unit 001 is not parallel to the camera body (for example, position C in FIG. 3), it can be regarded as a posture that is not suitable for non-contact charging and can be cautioned. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of inability to charge the secondary coil in a state where it floats obliquely.

  In the present embodiment, one weak wireless transmission / reception unit is arranged near the center of the charger 005. However, in order to improve the accuracy of detecting that the camera body 002 is placed on the charger, a plurality of weak wireless transmission / reception units are provided. Alternatively, a plurality of weak wireless transmission / reception unit antennas may be arranged.

[Example 2]
A second actual example will be described. The external view of the non-contact charging mode in the camera according to the second embodiment and the coil arrangement diagram of the non-contact charging are the same as those in the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 2). Is omitted.

  FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 are external views of the camera according to the second embodiment, and basically show the same form as the external views (FIGS. 3, 4, and 5) according to the first embodiment. FIG. In the figure, 060 is the proximity detection coil 1, and 061 is the proximity detection coil 2. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment except that the attitude detector 012 is not provided.

  Here, the proximity detection coil 1_060 is installed near the back surface of the camera body 002 in the optical axis direction, and the proximity detection coil 2_061 is installed near the bottom surface of the camera body 002 in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis. As a result, the proximity detection coil 1_060 can detect that the camera is placed on the charger 005 and the proximity detection coil 2_061 can detect that the camera is placed on the bottom. .

  Here, the proximity detection method is a method of detecting whether the proximity detection coil 1_060 and the proximity detection coil 2_061 can be received by electromagnetic induction by intermittently driving the primary coil 007 and superimposing a proximity detection signal. A method of using an inductance change of the primary coil 007 and the proximity detection coil 1_060 or the proximity detection coil 2_061 due to the proximity of the primary coil 007 and the proximity detection coil 1_060 or the proximity detection coil 2_061 can be considered. The former was adopted. Further, the proximity detection coil 1_060 and the proximity detection coil 2_061 are exclusively used for proximity detection and are driven by a minute current, so that they may be smaller than the secondary coil 006.

  16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 are sectional views of a camera according to the second embodiment. Basically, it shows a form similar to the external view (FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) according to the first embodiment, and the camera body 002 may be placed in the charger 005. It is a cross section in a high posture 5 pattern. In the above figure, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the attitude detector 012 is not provided.

  Here, the difference from the first embodiment is that the first embodiment detects that the camera body 002 is placed on the charger 005 by weak radio, and the orientation detector 012 determines the orientation of the camera body 002. Detected. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the proximity detection coil 1_060 and the proximity detection coil 2_061 detect that the camera body 002 is placed on the charger 005, and also detect the orientation of the camera body 002.

  In this embodiment, since only two proximity detection coils are installed, only two postures of the camera body 002 can be detected. Usually, however, other postures are very unlikely to be mistakenly placed. Therefore, it is omitted in this embodiment. Needless to say, if necessary, two or more proximity detection coils can be installed to detect other postures.

  FIG. 21 is a block diagram for operating the system, and the operation will be described below. In FIG. 21, reference numeral 060 denotes the proximity detection coil 1, and 061 denotes the proximity detection coil 2, which correspond to 060 and 061 in FIGS. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, respectively. Outputs from these coils are input to the charging control unit 033 through the rectifying / smoothing unit 040, respectively. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart for operating the system, and the operation will be described below.

  First, the charger 005 carries a predetermined proximity detection signal and intermittently drives the primary coil 007 (S102). Next, it is detected whether the proximity coil 1_062 has received the proximity detection signal from the primary coil 007, and it is determined whether the proximity coil 1_062 has approached the primary coil 007 (S103). If it is determined that it has approached, the process proceeds to S106, and if not, the process proceeds to S104. In S104, it is detected whether the proximity coil 2-063 has received the proximity detection signal from the primary coil 007, and it is determined whether the proximity coil 2-063 has approached the primary coil 007 (S104). If it is determined that it has approached, the process proceeds to S110, and if not, the process returns to S102. Since S106 and subsequent steps are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  With the above flow, attention can be urged when the posture is not suitable for non-contact charging as shown in FIGS. 17, 18, and 20, and the trouble of inability to charge can be solved.

001 movable display unit, 002 camera body, 003 lens unit,
004 2-axis hinge unit, 005 charger, 006 secondary coil,
007 Primary coil (54 installed), 008 Weak wireless transceiver unit

Claims (8)

  A non-contact charging system for a device having a coil built-in unit having a movable mechanism, comprising a coil built-in unit orientation detection means, wherein the direction of the coil built-in unit is incapable of charging or causes a reduction in charging efficiency. An electronic device characterized by warning if there is any.   A non-contact charging system related to a device having a coil built-in unit having a movable mechanism, comprising: proximity detection means between the device and a charger; direction detection means of the coil built-in unit; proximity of the device and the charger The direction of the coil built-in unit is detected, and a warning is issued if the device and the charger are close to each other and the direction of the coil built-in unit is incapable of charging or causes a reduction in charging efficiency. An electronic device characterized by that.   A non-contact charging system for a device having a coil built-in unit having a movable mechanism, comprising proximity detection means for the device and a charger, posture detection means for the device body, and direction detection means for the coil built-in unit Detecting the proximity of the device and the charger, the orientation of the device body, and the orientation of the coil built-in unit, and the device and the charger are in proximity, and the orientation of the device body and the orientation of the coil built-in unit However, an electronic device is characterized in that a warning is given when charging is impossible or when charging efficiency is reduced.   The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the coil built-in unit including the movable mechanism is a display unit that is rotatable and capable of detecting a direction of the rotation state. .   “The state of the coil built-in unit is incapable of charging or causes a reduction in charging efficiency” is a state in which predetermined electrical / mechanical parts are sandwiched between the coil and the charger. Alternatively, the coil is separated from the charger by a predetermined distance. Or the coil in a coil built-in unit and the coil in a charger are the states which are not parallel, The electronic device as described in any one of the Claims 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   “Warning” is a warning by voice or display, and a word or warning sound that prompts a method to avoid the cause of inability to charge or a decrease in charging efficiency is output, or a sentence or a symbol that prompts a method to avoid is displayed. The electronic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electronic apparatus is characterized in that   The proximity detection means between the device and the charger detects the distance between the device and the charger according to the state of wireless communication, or performs proximity detection based on whether wireless communication is possible or not. machine.   4. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the proximity detection unit between the device and the charger performs proximity detection by incorporating a proximity detection coil in the device.