JP2016167921A - Electronic apparatus and charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging system that can perform a suitable charging procedure in non-contact charging of a single lens camera used in combination with a plurality of apparatuses.SOLUTION: A charging system comprises: a camera body comprising first communication means and first contactless power reception means, and first power storage means; a camera accessory device comprising second communication means and second contactless power reception means, and second power storage means; a power transmission device comprising communication means with the first and second communication means, and power transmission means to the first and second contactless power reception means; detection means for detecting the attachment state of the camera accessory device; and accessory type information acquisition means for acquiring type information on the camera accessory device. The charging system determines a power transmission and reception execution procedure corresponding to the attachment state detection result and the accessory type information, exchanges the power transmission and reception execution procedure between the camera and the power transmission device through the communication means, and performs power transmission operation according to the power transmission and reception execution procedure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging system that performs contactless charging for a plurality of electronic devices and an electronic device corresponding to the charging system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a contactless charging system that supplies power to an electronic device having a rechargeable battery such as a digital still camera or a mobile phone without being connected by a connector or the like is known. Electric power is transmitted from a power supply device to an electronic device in a contactless manner using an electromagnetic induction method, a magnetic field coupling method, or an electric field coupling resonance method.

  As an advantage of the contactless charging system as described above, it is possible to charge by supplying power to a plurality of electronic devices simultaneously or sequentially with a single power supply device due to few physical coupling restrictions. is there.

  However, there is an upper limit to the power supplied from one power supply device. In the case of charging a plurality of electronic devices at the same time, the above-described power is distributed to the plurality of devices, and the power supplied to one device is reduced, and it takes a long time to complete the charging of all the electronic devices. Alternatively, even if charging is sequentially performed one by one using all the electric power, it takes much time until all the electronic devices are fully charged. As described above, there is a case where charging cannot be completed as time desired by the user, and there is a problem that the opportunity to use the electronic device is missed.

  In order to deal with such a problem, Patent Literature 1 discloses that the user sets ON / OFF the priority setting of charging, and further determines the priority order of charging using information such as the operating state of the electronic device and past usage history. Technology is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for preferentially charging a device that is presumed to start using earlier using information registered in the device.

JP 2010-022105 A JP 2012-182930 A

  In the prior art disclosed in the aforementioned patent document, the priority of charging is determined for each device. However, in the case of a system device that uses a plurality of electronic devices in combination, such as a single-lens camera, the charging priorities of these devices are not different and are considered to be equivalent. It is desirable that the charging of the device group constituting the system is completed almost at the same time without opening as much as possible.

  The objective of this invention is providing the charge system which can perform the suitable charge procedure in the non-contact charge of the single-lens camera used combining a some apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, a camera, a camera system, or a camera charging system of the present invention includes:
A first communication means and a first non-contact power receiving means; a camera body comprising a first power storage means;
A camera accessory device detachably attached to the camera body, comprising a second communication means, a second contactless power receiving means, and a second power storage means;
A power transmission apparatus comprising: a communication unit that communicates with the first and second communication units; and a power transmission unit that transmits power to the first and second contactless power reception units.
Detection means for detecting the attachment / detachment state of the camera accessory device to the camera;
Accessory type information acquisition means for acquiring type information of the camera accessory device;
An execution procedure determination means for determining a power transmission / reception execution procedure using the first and second contactless power reception means according to the attachment / detachment state detection result;
Execution procedure notifying means for exchanging the power transmission / reception procedure through the communication means between the camera and the power transmission device;
A power transmission control means provided in a power transmission device for performing a power transmission operation according to the power transmission and reception execution procedure;
It is characterized by providing.

  In particular, the execution procedure determining means is provided in the camera body.

  Further, when it is detected that the camera body and the camera accessory device are connected by the detecting means, the power transmission order to the first contactless power receiving means and the second contactless power receiving means is continued. It is characterized in that the execution procedure determining means determines so as to be continuous.

  According to the present invention, in a camera charging system that charges a camera and its camera accessory device in a contactless manner, the power transmission procedure can be changed depending on whether or not the camera accessory device is connected to the camera. Furthermore, when a camera accessory device is connected to the camera, the charging order of the camera and the accessory device is controlled so as to be continuous, and a camera charging system suitable for the camera system can be provided.

It is a flowchart explaining the charge operation of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a bird's-eye view showing a mode that devices, such as a camera, of the first embodiment of the present invention were mounted in the electric power feeder. It is a block diagram explaining the electric power feeder structure of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the camera and flash apparatus of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing arrangement | positioning of the battery pack of a camera and flash apparatus, and a receiving antenna in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing a mode that apparatuses, such as a camera, in 1st embodiment of this invention were mounted in the electric power feeder. It is a graph explaining the charging operation in 1st embodiment of this invention. It is an overhead view showing a mode that the camera system of 2nd embodiment of this invention was mounted in the electric power feeder. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the camera system of 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram showing arrangement | positioning of the battery pack of a camera system in 2nd embodiment of this invention, and a receiving antenna. It is a schematic diagram showing a mode that the camera system in 2nd embodiment of this invention was mounted in the electric power feeder. It is a graph explaining the charging operation in 2nd embodiment of this invention.

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

  First, a charging system for a digital single-lens reflex camera (hereinafter referred to as a camera) according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining an operation procedure of the camera charging system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an overhead view showing a state in which the present charging system is used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of cameras or accessory devices related to the cameras are placed in a predetermined range of the power feeding device 201 on a flat plate. Then, the camera or the accessory device can receive electric power from the power feeding device without contact, and can charge the battery cells in the battery packs attached to each of them. Reference numeral 202 denotes a camera mounted with the flash device 203 as an accessory device mounted thereon, 204 is another flash device, and 205 is another camera mounted with the other flash device 206 mounted upright. is there. Assume that the cameras 202 and 205 and the flash devices 203, 204, and 206 have the same configuration. Therefore, hereinafter, the camera 202 and the flash device 203 will be described as representatives.

(Description of configuration)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the charging system of the camera 202 in the first embodiment. The configuration of the present charging system will be described with reference to FIG. 3A shows the configuration of the power supply apparatus 201, and FIG. 3B shows the configuration of the camera 202 and the flash apparatus 203.

  First, the power supply apparatus 201 will be described.

  The conversion unit 301 converts, for example, power supplied from a commercial power source into power used for the operation of the power supply apparatus 201 itself or power transmitted to the camera via the power supply antenna 302 and distributes the power.

  The power supply control unit 303 performs current control for transmitting the power supplied from the conversion unit 301 by driving the power supply antenna 302. Further, the power supply control unit 303 detects a change in the current flowing through the power supply antenna 302 and the voltage supplied to the power supply antenna 302.

  The power feeding antenna 302 is an antenna for transmitting the power generated by the power feeding control unit 303 to the camera 202 or the flash device 203 by an electromagnetic induction method. Further, the power supply apparatus 201 can transmit a command to the camera 202 or the flash apparatus 203 via the power supply antenna 302.

  Further, the power feeding apparatus 201 can receive a command and a response signal from the camera 202 or the flash apparatus 203 via the power feeding antenna 302. Further, the power feeding antenna 302 can be physically moved within a predetermined range in the power feeding apparatus 201 by the antenna driving unit 304. As schematically shown by a broken line in FIG. 1, the inside of the power supply apparatus 201 can be moved two-dimensionally in parallel to the device placement surface. Although a detailed description of the mechanism of the antenna drive unit 304 is omitted, any mechanism such as a method using a lead screw as well known is applicable. The antenna driving unit 304 is controlled by the control unit 305.

  The modem circuit 306 modulates the power generated by the power supply control unit 303 in accordance with a predetermined protocol in order to transmit a command for controlling the camera 202 or the flash device 203. The power generated by the power supply control unit 303 is transmitted by superimposing a command to be transmitted to the camera 202 or the flash device 203 by the modem circuit 306.

  Also, the modem circuit 306 receives information by demodulating information or commands transmitted from the camera 202 or the flash device 203. When power for communication is supplied from the power supply apparatus 201, the camera 202 or the flash apparatus 203 changes the load in the apparatus with respect to the power supplied from the power supply apparatus 201. As a result, the power supply apparatus 201 can receive predetermined information, commands, and the like corresponding to the load modulation method from the camera 202 or the flash apparatus 203.

  Information and commands received from the camera 202 or the flash device 203 are sent from the modem circuit 306 to the control unit 305.

  The control unit 305 is driven by electric power supplied via the conversion unit 301 and controls each unit of the power supply apparatus 201. In addition, the control unit 305 controls the operation of each unit of the power supply apparatus 201 based on information such as a computer program stored in the ROM 307 and parameters regarding the operation of each unit. The control unit 305 controls the power supplied to the camera 202 or the flash device 203 by controlling the power supply control unit 303. Also, the control unit 305 controls the modulation / demodulation circuit 306 to transmit a command to the camera 202 or the flash device 203. Further, the control unit 305 controls the antenna driving unit 304 in order to move the power supply antenna 302 to a predetermined position in the power supply apparatus 201.

  The position detection sensor 308 is a sensor for detecting the mounting position of the camera 202 or the flash device 203, and a large number of detection coils are arranged in a matrix so as to cover the entire device mounting surface on the power supply device 201. Is. A weak current flows through each detection coil. When devices having power receiving antennas 310 and 329 such as the camera 202 are placed and the power receiving antennas 310 and 329 come close to each other within a predetermined distance of the position detection sensor 308, A change occurs in the current flowing through the detection coil. The control unit 305 monitors the current change, and stores the position of the detection coil having the largest current change in the RAM 309 as the position of the power receiving antennas 310 and 329. By distinguishing current changes with a certain threshold value, it is possible to perform highly accurate detection and to know the positions of a plurality of power receiving antennas.

  The control unit 309 refers to the position information of each power receiving antenna stored in the RAM, and controls the antenna driving unit 304 to target the positions of the power receiving antennas 310 and 329 according to a predetermined procedure to be described later to control the power feeding antenna 302. Move.

  The RAM 309 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and is temporarily received from the camera 202 or the flash device 203 by the computer circuit for controlling the operation of each unit of the power supply apparatus 201, information on parameters regarding the operation of each unit, and the modulation / demodulation circuit 306. Record information.

  Next, the camera 202 will be described.

  The power receiving antenna 310 is an antenna for receiving power supplied from the power supply apparatus 201 by an electromagnetic induction method. The camera 202 receives power from the power supply apparatus 201 via the power receiving antenna 310. In addition, a command transmitted from the power supply apparatus 201 is received via the power receiving antenna 310, and information or a command is transmitted as a signal to the power supply apparatus 201.

  The power received by the power receiving antenna 310 is sent to the power reception control unit 311 and rectified.

  The power sent from the power reception control unit 311 is converted into a voltage by the power conversion unit 312, and part of the power is sent to the control unit 313 as a drive power source for the control unit 313. Accordingly, the camera 202 can perform an operation necessary for contactless charging with the electric power obtained from the power supply apparatus 201 even when the remaining amount of the battery pack 314 is not present.

  The remaining power is sent as charge power to the battery pack 314 via the battery interface 315.

  The modem circuit 316 detects a command superimposed on the received power, performs command analysis according to a predetermined communication protocol, and sends the analysis result to the control unit 313.

  The control unit 313 determines what command the received command is according to the analysis result supplied from the modem circuit 316, and performs an operation specified by the command code corresponding to the received command. The entire camera 202 is controlled.

  The ROM 317 stores information such as a computer program for controlling the operation of each unit of the camera 202 and parameters relating to the operation of each unit. The control unit 313 controls the operation of each unit of the camera 202 by executing a computer program stored in the ROM 317.

  The ROM 317 stores identification information of the camera 202. The identification information of the camera 202 includes, for example, an apparatus identification ID, a manufacturer name, an apparatus name, a manufacturing date, and the like.

  A RAM 318 is a rewritable non-volatile memory, and is temporarily received from the power supply apparatus 201, a computer program that temporarily controls the operation of each part of the camera 202, information such as parameters relating to the operation of each part, information on the attachment / detachment state of the battery pack 314, Information, information acquired from the flash device 203 described later, and the like are stored.

  Electric power is supplied from the battery pack 314 to the camera 202 via the battery interface 315. The power conversion unit 312 controls the voltage of the power supplied from the battery pack 314 to a predetermined voltage value, and distributes and supplies the power to each unit of the camera 202.

  The accessory attachment / detachment detection unit 319 detects attachment / detachment of a camera accessory device such as a flash device 203 described later using a detection switch or the like. The accessory interface 320 includes a camera accessory device attaching / detaching mechanism, but it may be a well-known accessory shoe mechanism. The detection result in the accessory attachment / detachment detection unit 319 is sent to the control unit 313, and the control unit 313 can identify whether or not the accessory device is attached to the camera 202.

  The operation unit 321 includes operation members such as buttons, levers, dials, and touch panels used by the user to operate each unit of the camera 202. When the operation unit is operated, an operation signal is sent to the control unit 313, and the control unit 313 operates and controls each unit of the camera according to the operation signal.

  The recording / reproducing unit 323 includes an imaging device for generating video data from an optical image of a subject, an image processing circuit that performs image processing on the video data generated by the imaging device, and compressing or compressing the video data It has a compression / decompression circuit for decompressing video data. Thereby, the recording / reproducing unit 323 captures a subject image, performs predetermined image processing on the obtained video data such as a still image and a moving image, converts the image data into a predetermined format, and converts the data into a predetermined format (not shown) To record.

Although detailed description of the details of the recording / reproducing unit 323 is omitted, the recording / reproducing unit 323 can be copied in any configuration of a well-known digital camera, digital video camera, or other imaging device.
Next, the battery pack 314 of the camera 202 will be described.

  The battery pack 314 includes a battery cell 324 and can be attached to and detached from the camera 202 by a battery interface 315. The battery cell 324 is a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium ion battery.

  The battery interface 315 has a connection terminal (not shown) for transferring power between the camera 202 and the battery pack 314, a connection terminal (not shown) for transferring commands and response signals, and the battery pack 314 can be attached to and detached from the camera 202. Mechanical coupling mechanism (not shown). Information and commands for controlling the battery pack 314 are supplied from the control unit 313 to the control unit 325 of the battery pack 314 via a connection terminal (not shown). On the other hand, information and commands from the battery pack 314 to the camera 202 are supplied from the control unit 325 to the control unit 313 of the camera 202.

  From the battery pack 314, the power stored in the battery cell 324 is supplied to the camera 202 in accordance with an instruction from the control 325.

  The charging power supplied to the battery pack 314 is charged into the battery cell 324 via the charge / discharge control unit 326 provided in the battery pack 314.

  The charge / discharge control unit 326 detects the current and voltage flowing through the battery cell 324 and supplies the values to the control unit 325 of the battery pack 314. The control unit 325 monitors the current and voltage flowing through the battery cell 324, and controls the charge / discharge control unit 326 to stop charging the battery cell 324 if there is an abnormality.

  In addition, the control unit 325 detects the remaining capacity from the current and voltage flowing through the battery cell 324 and stores the information (hereinafter referred to as “residual amount information”) in the RAM 327.

  The ROM 328 stores information such as a computer program for controlling the operation of each part of the battery pack 314 and parameters relating to the operation of each part. In addition, information such as identification information of the battery pack 314 and the number of times of charging / discharging the battery cell 324 is recorded in the ROM 328. The identification information of the battery pack 314 includes, for example, an identification ID of the battery pack 314, a manufacturer name, a device name, a manufacturing date, and the like.

  Next, the flash device 203 will be described.

  Similar to the camera 202, the flash device 203 includes a power receiving antenna 329.

  The power receiving antenna 329 is an antenna for receiving the power supplied from the power feeding apparatus 201. The flash device 203 receives power from the power supply device 201 via the power receiving antenna 329. Similarly to the camera 202, a command is received from the power supply apparatus 201 and information or a command is transmitted to the power supply apparatus 201.

The power received by the power receiving antenna 329 is sent to the power receiving control unit 330 and rectified.
The power sent from the power reception control unit 330 is converted by the power supply conversion unit 331, and a part thereof is sent to the control unit 332 as a drive power source for the control unit 332. As a result, the flash device 203 can perform an operation required for contactless charging with the electric power obtained from the power supply device 201 even when the remaining amount of the battery pack 337 is not present.

  The remaining power is sent to the battery pack 337 as charging power via the battery interface 333.

  The modem circuit 334 detects a command superimposed on the received power, analyzes the command according to a predetermined communication protocol, and sends the analysis result to the control unit 332.

  The control unit 332 determines what type of command is received according to the analysis result supplied from the modem circuit 334, and performs an operation specified by the command code corresponding to the received command. The entire flash unit 203 is controlled.

  The ROM 335 stores information such as a computer program for controlling the operation of each unit of the flash device 203 and parameters relating to the operation of each unit. The control unit 332 controls the operation of each unit of the flash device 203 by executing a computer program stored in the ROM 335.

  The ROM 335 records identification information of the flash device 203. The identification information of the flash device 203 includes, for example, a device identification ID, a manufacturer name, a device name, a manufacturing date, and the like.

  The RAM 336 is a rewritable non-volatile memory, a computer program that temporarily controls the operation of each part of the flash device 203, information such as parameters relating to the operation of each part, information received from the power supply apparatus 201, and attachment / detachment of the battery pack 337. Record status information.

  When the flash device 203 is attached to the camera 202, the attachment / detachment detection unit 319 recognizes the attachment state of the flash device 203 to the camera 202, and power is supplied from the camera 202 body to the control unit 332 via the accessory interface 320. Is supplied. The control unit 332 controls each unit of the flash device 203 by the power supplied from the camera 202. The control unit 332 communicates with the power conversion unit 331 and the control unit 339 to supply power from the battery pack 337, stores the supplied power in a flash capacitor (not shown) included in the light emitting unit 343, and instructs to emit light. Wait and wait.

  Although a detailed description of the light emitting unit 343 is omitted, it may be the same as a well-known flash device.

  Next, the battery pack 337 of the flash device 203 will be described. The battery pack 337 of the flash device 203 has the same configuration as the battery pack 314 of the camera 202 described above.

  The battery pack 337 contains the battery cell 338 and can be attached to and detached from the flash device 203 by the battery interface 333. The battery cell 338 is a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium ion battery.

  The battery interface 333 includes a connection terminal (not shown) for transferring power between the flash device 203 and the battery pack 337, a connection terminal (not shown) for transferring commands and response signals, and a battery pack 337 connected to the flash device 203. A detachable mechanical coupling mechanism (not shown) is included. Information and commands for controlling the battery pack 337 are supplied from the control unit 332 to the control unit 339 of the battery pack 337 via a connection terminal (not shown). On the other hand, information and commands from the battery pack 337 to the flash device 203 are supplied from the control unit 339 to the control unit 332.

  From the battery pack 337, the power stored in the battery cell 338 is supplied to the flash device 203 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 339.

  The charging power supplied to the battery pack 337 is charged to the battery cell 338 via the charge / discharge control unit 340 included in the battery pack 337.

  The charge / discharge control unit 340 detects the current and voltage flowing through the battery cell 338 and supplies the values to the control unit 339 of the battery pack 337. The control unit 339 monitors the current and voltage flowing through the battery cell 338, and performs control such as stopping the charging of the battery cell 338 by controlling the charge / discharge control unit 340 when there is an abnormality.

  Alternatively, the control unit 339 detects the remaining capacity from the current and voltage flowing through the battery cell 338 and records the information (hereinafter referred to as “residual amount information”) in the RAM 341.

  The ROM 342 stores information such as a computer program for controlling the operation of each part of the battery pack 337 and parameters relating to the operation of each part. In addition, information such as identification information of the battery pack 337 and the number of times of charging / discharging of the battery cell 338 is recorded in the ROM 342. The identification information of the battery pack 337 includes, for example, an identification ID of the battery pack 337, a manufacturer name, a device name, a manufacturing date, and the like.

(Explanation of layout of power feeding antenna and power receiving antenna)
FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the internal layout of the camera 202 and the flash device 203 in the present embodiment. 4A is a front view of the camera 202 with the flash device 203 attached, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the same. A battery pack 314a and a power receiving antenna 310a are arranged inside the camera 202. Similarly, the flash device 203 is also provided with a battery pack 337a and a power receiving antenna 329a. The power receiving antennas 310a and 329a are all arranged on the back side of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 schematically shows the mounting state of each device on the power feeding device 201 shown in FIG.
Since the position detection sensor 308 is disposed in the power supply apparatus 201 so as to cover the entire surface of the device placement surface, the position of the power receiving coil of the placed device can be detected. The cameras 202 and 205 and the flash units 203, 204, and 206 shown in FIG. 2 have the same configuration. Therefore, in the following description, the same components are denoted by the same numbers and alphabetic suffixes. To indicate that they are separate.

  In the camera 202 mounted with the flash device 203 mounted on its side, each of the power receiving antenna 329 a provided in the flash device 203 and the power receiving antenna 310 a provided in the camera 202 body faces the mounting surface of the power feeding device 201. That is, each of the power receiving antennas 310 a and 329 a is correctly detected by the position detection sensor 308 and can be opposed to the power feeding antenna 302 in the power feeding device 201 in an appropriate posture. If the position of the power feeding antenna 302 is aligned with the position of the power receiving antenna obtained by the position detection sensor 308, power can be transmitted and received without contact.

  Since the flash device 204 placed alone is also placed with the back side down, the power receiving antenna 329b is almost directly opposite the placement surface of the power feeding device 201, and the power feeding antenna 302 is aligned as before. For example, it is a state in which power can be transmitted and received without contact.

  The other camera 205 mounted with the flash device 206 mounted upright includes the power receiving antenna 310b, but the power receiving antenna 310b does not face the mounting surface of the power feeding device 201. Not detected. That is, the other cameras 205 cannot perform power transmission / reception without contact.

  Similarly, although the flash device 206 includes the power receiving antenna 329c, the position detecting sensor 308 does not detect the power receiving antenna 329c because the power receiving antenna 329c is separated from the placement surface of the power feeding device 201, and power cannot be transmitted or received.

(Explanation of charging operation)
Now, the operation procedure of the present charging system will be described with reference to FIG.

  In STEP 1, the position detection sensor 308 detects that some device including a power receiving antenna is placed on the power feeding apparatus 201. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the device is in a mounted state as shown in FIGS. In this case, as described above, the camera 202, the flash device 203, and the flash device 204 placed alone are detected by the position detection sensor 308.

  Since the position and number of the power receiving antennas placed in the detection process of STEP 1 can be known, in STEP 2, the power feeding device 201 sequentially moves the power feeding antennas 302 to the positions of the power receiving antennas 310 a, 329 a, and 329 b, and receives the power receiving antennas 310 a and 329 a. 329b is superposed with a command for inquiring about the identification ID of the device and the mounting state of the battery pack.

  As described above, the control unit 313a of the camera 202 or the control units 332a and 332b of the flash devices 203 and 204 are activated by the power obtained from the power supply device 201, and acquire their own identification ID by referring to the respective ROMs 317a, 335a, and 335b. And transmitted to the power supply apparatus 201. Furthermore, the battery packs 314a, 337a, and 337b are detected to be attached / detached, and the information is stored in its own RAM 318a, 336a, and 336b and transmitted to the power supply apparatus 201.

  The power supply apparatus 201 stores the positions of the power receiving antennas 310 a, 329 a, and 329 b detected in STEP 1, the identification ID of each apparatus, and the battery pack mounting state information in the RAM 309 of the power supply apparatus 201. The above operation is referred to as scanning of the placement device. The scanning operation of the placement device is repeated by the number of power receiving antennas detected in STEP1.

  Note that the scanning operation of the mounting device may be performed in the order in which each power receiving antenna is detected by the position detection sensor, or may proceed in the order close to the current position of the power feeding antenna.

  From STEP 2, it can be determined from the identification ID of the device that the camera 202 to which the accessory device including the flash devices 203 and 204 can be attached is present in the mounting device.

  When the camera 202 to which the accessory device can be attached exists in the mounting device (STEP 3), the power feeding device 201 moves the power feeding antenna 302 to the position of the power receiving antenna 310a of the camera 202 again, and the power receiving antenna 310a of the camera 202 is moved to the power receiving antenna 310a. On the other hand, power transmission is performed by superimposing a command for inquiring the charging procedure (STEP 4).

  The camera 202 drives the control unit 313a using the supplied power, and detects the accessory attachment / detachment state from the accessory attachment / detachment detection unit 319a. When the information on the attachment of the accessory is obtained, the control unit 313a makes an inquiry about the device identification ID and the battery attachment / detachment state to the accessory control unit. Since the attached accessory device is the flash device 203, the control unit 332a of the flash device 203 receives an identification ID including information indicating that the device is a flash device and a rechargeable battery pack can be attached. To the control unit 313a.

  The control unit 313a of the camera 202 inquires of the control unit 332a of the flash device 203 about the attachment / detachment state information of the battery pack 337a and the remaining amount information thereof. The control unit 332a of the flash device 203 detects that the battery pack 337a is attached via the battery interface 333a, and communicates with the control unit 339a to read the remaining amount information from the RAM 341a. Information indicating that the battery pack 337a is mounted and remaining amount information of the battery pack 337a are transmitted to the control unit 313a of the camera 202 via the control unit 332a of the flash device 203.

  The control unit 313a of the camera 202 stores the identification ID of the flash device 203, the attachment / detachment state information of the battery pack 337a, and the remaining amount information obtained as described above in its own RAM 318a. At the same time, the camera 202 acquires the remaining amount information of the battery pack 314a attached to the camera itself and stores it in the RAM 318a. The above is STEP5.

  From the information acquired in STEP 5, the camera 202 can determine whether or not a chargeable accessory is attached. When a chargeable accessory is attached (STEP 6), the camera 202 determines a charging procedure of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 itself and the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203a attached (STEP 7). The charging procedure will be described later.

  Next, the camera 202 notifies the power supply apparatus 201 of charging procedure information of the camera 202 and the flash device 203 (STEP 8). The charging procedure information is accompanied by identification IDs of the camera 202 and the flash device 203, mounting state information and remaining amount information of the battery packs 314a and 337a. The power supply apparatus 201 stores the acquired charging procedure information in its own RAM 309.

  The power supply apparatus 201 checks whether the charging procedure notified from the camera 202 can be executed, the scan result of the placement device in STEP 2 and the identification ID notified from the camera 202 (STEP 9). For example, when the identification ID notified from the camera 202 does not match the identification ID of the mounting device stored in the RAM 309 of the power supply apparatus 201, an error warning may be issued. Alternatively, it is possible to change the charging procedure so as to skip charging of the mounting device whose identification ID does not match.

  In STEP 6, when a chargeable accessory is not attached to the camera 202, STEP 7 to STEP 9 are skipped.

  If it is determined in STEP 2 that there are a plurality of cameras to which the accessory device can be attached, STEP 4 to STEP 9 are repeated as many times as there exist, and charging procedure information is acquired from each camera.

  If acquisition of charging procedure information for all cameras is completed (STEP 10) and there is a camera equipped with a chargeable accessory (STEP 11), the process proceeds to STEP 12.

  In this embodiment, the apparatus is mounted as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, and the camera 202, flash device 203, and other flash device 204 are detected in STEP 2. Since there is one camera 202 to which the accessory device can be attached, the procedure from STEP 4 to STEP 9 is executed once, and the charging procedure for the camera 202 to which the flash device 203 is attached (hereinafter this combination is referred to as the camera system 207). One piece of information is acquired and stored in the RAM 309.

  When the power supply apparatus 201 starts charging the camera system 207 in STEP 12, the charging procedure information of the target camera system 207 is read from the RAM 309 in STEP 13.

  In STEP14 to STEP17, the camera system 207 is charged in accordance with the above-described charging procedure information, which will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the operation elapsed time of the charging system and the change in the charging rate of each of the battery packs 314a, 337a, and 337b.

  The camera 202 determines a charging procedure so that the charging rate of the battery pack 314a of the flash device 203 attached to the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 itself does not deviate by 10% or more. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the initial charge rate of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 is 50% and that of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 attached to the camera 202 is 25%. First, the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 attached to the camera 202 is charged, and charging is performed until the charging rate approaches 50% of the charging rate of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202. Actually, the power feeding device 201 controls the antenna driving unit 304 to align the position of the power feeding antenna 302 with the power receiving antenna 329a of the flash device 203 attached to the camera 202 (STEP 14), and the charging rate is 50%. Charging is executed with the target as (STEP 15).

  The power supply apparatus 201 inquires about the current charging rate at a predetermined timing, and the flash apparatus 203 notifies the current charging rate information to the power supply apparatus 201 in response thereto (STEP 16). If the charging rate has reached a predetermined allowable value within a range not exceeding the target charging rate of 50%, the process returns to STEP14.

  Returning to STEP 14, next, the power feeding antenna 302 of the power feeding device 201 is aligned with the power receiving antenna 310a of the camera 202 (STEP 14). At this time, the charging rate of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 is 50%, and that of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 attached to the camera 202 is approximately 50%. In accordance with the charging procedure information, the power supply apparatus 201 performs charging with the target that the charging rate of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 is 60% (STEP 15). The current charge rate is inquired in the same manner as above (STEP 16). If the target charge rate exceeds 60% and the charge rate has reached within a predetermined allowable value, the process returns to STEP 14.

  Next, the position of the power feeding antenna 302 is aligned again with the power receiving antenna 329a of the flash unit 203 (STEP 14), and charging is executed with the current charging rate of 60% of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 as a target (STEP 15). The current charging rate is inquired at a predetermined timing (STEP 16), and if the charging rate has reached a predetermined allowable value within a range not exceeding the target charging rate of 60%, the process returns to STEP14.

  As described above, the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 and the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 attached to the camera 202 are alternately charged while the charge rate target is raised by 10%. When the charging rate of the battery pack 314a of the camera 202 finally reaches 100% and the charging rate of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 eventually reaches 100%, the charging procedure notified from the camera 202 to the power supply device 201 is completed. (STEP 17). At this time, information indicating charging completion is stored in the RAM 309 of the power supply apparatus 201 in association with each device ID.

  Note that the charging procedure notified from the camera 202 is not limited to the alternating charging with the charging rate target as described above in increments of 10%. The target charging rate may be appropriately determined according to the type and characteristics of the camera or accessory device. Even if the charging is not performed alternately, the charging of the camera may be completed first, and then the accessory device mounted on the camera may be charged. The reverse is also acceptable. The condition for terminating the charging may be other than a charging rate of 100% (full charge), for example, 80%.

  However, in this embodiment, it is possible to control the camera system so as to maintain a suitable charging progress without interrupting the charging order of other devices in the charging order relationship between the camera and the accessory device mounted on the camera. This is the purpose.

  If the charging procedure is completed in STEP 17 and there is another charging object (STEP 18), the process returns to STEP 12. When the next charging target is another camera system, STEP 13 to STEP 17 are executed. If the next charging target is not a camera system, the process proceeds to STEP 19. In the present embodiment, as described above, since the other flash device 204 that can be charged is mounted in addition to the camera system 207, the process proceeds to STEP19.

  Note that, when STEP 12 is executed for the first time, it is arbitrary which of the camera system 207 and the other flash device 204 is charged first. It can be determined from the type information of the device, or can be determined by a user's presetting.

  The power feeding device 201 aligns the position of the power feeding antenna 302 with the power receiving antenna 329b of the other flash device 204 (STEP 19), and executes charging (STEP 20). The power supply apparatus 201 inquires about the current charging rate at a predetermined timing, and the other flash apparatuses 204 notify the power supply apparatus 201 of the current charging rate information in response thereto. The charging rate is 100% (full charge) and charging is completed (STEP 21). As shown in FIG. 6, for example, assuming that the initial charging rate of the battery pack 337b of the other flash device 204 is 70%, charging is started after the charging of the camera system 207 is completed, and the charging rate is 100%. The charging is completed. At this time, information indicating charging completion is stored in the RAM 309 of the power supply apparatus 201 in association with the device ID of the other flash apparatus 204.

  Next, the process returns to STEP 18, and if there are other devices to be charged, the process returns to STEP 12. If there is no next charging target device, the series of charging operations is terminated (STEP 22).

  In STEP 3, when a camera capable of mounting an accessory device is not included in the mounting device, or in STEP 11, when there is no camera mounted with a chargeable accessory, how to determine the charging order of the mounting device Can be anything. As described in the prior art, information for determining the charging order may be acquired from each device. Here, it progresses to STEP23 and the electric power feeder 201 shall determine a charging order arbitrarily.

  According to the charging order determined by the power supply apparatus 201, the power supply antenna is aligned with the power receiving antenna of the device to be charged (STEP 24), charging is performed (STEP 25), and the charging is completed when the charging rate reaches 100% (full charge). (STEP 26).

  If there is a next charging target (STEP 27), the process returns to STEP 24.

  If there is no next charging target (STEP 27), the series of charging operations is terminated (STEP 22).

  When it is detected that a new device has been placed on the power supply apparatus 201 after the end of the charging operation, the apparatus identification ID and the battery pack mounting state information are acquired as described in STEP 1. The operation from is executed. As for the devices other than the newly placed device, as described above, information indicating completion of charging is stored in the RAM 309 of the power feeding device 201 in association with the device ID, so that the power feeding device 201 has already completed charging. It is possible to skip the operation for the device.

  As described above, the charging system according to the present embodiment includes a camera including a chargeable power storage unit and an accessory device that is attached to the camera and includes the chargeable power storage unit. A charging procedure including the charging order of the camera and the accessory device is defined. The charging procedure is determined so that the camera and the accessory device are regarded as a set of camera systems, the charging order is made inseparable, and charging of other devices is not interrupted in the charging order.

  Next, a camera charging system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is used when pointing out the same component as Example 1 demonstrated previously. In addition, alphabetical suffixes are attached to components that are the same component but need to be treated as separate components.

  FIG. 7 is an overhead view showing a state in which the present charging system is used. A camera system 702 with a so-called battery grip 701 mounted on a power supply device 201 is laid down on a power supply device 201 with a camera 202 as a center and a flash device 203 and an accessory device that has a shape that supports camera holding and can accommodate a plurality of battery packs. It is location. The battery grip 701 can accommodate two battery packs. The battery bags housed in the battery grip 701 are referred to as 314e and 314d, respectively.

(Description of configuration)
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a system configuration relating to charging of the camera system 702. The configuration of the present charging system will be described with reference to FIG.

  In addition, since the structure of the electric power feeder 201 is the same as Example 1, description here is abbreviate | omitted also including illustration. Further, the configuration of the camera 202, the flash device 203, and the battery pack 337 of the flash device 203 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Further, since the configurations of the battery packs 314e and 314d are the same as the battery packs 314a, 314b and 314c described above, the description thereof will be omitted, but for the convenience of description, they are distinguished by alphabetic subscripts.

  The configuration of the battery grip 701 will be described below.

  A battery grip 701 is connected to the camera 202 using the battery interface 315. Battery packs 314d and 314e are stored in the battery grip 701.

  The charging power received by the power receiving antenna 310a and the command or information sent from the control unit 313a of the camera 202 are sent to the battery grip 701 via the battery interface 315a. The battery grip 701 is provided with a battery grip control circuit 801, and a battery interface 315a is connected thereto. The battery grip control circuit 801 can switch the charging power, command, or information transmitted from the camera 202 via the battery interface 315a to any one of the battery packs 314d and 314e. This can be switched by a command from the control unit 313a of the camera 202, or can be switched by a user operation.

  From the battery grip 701, power output from any of the battery packs 314d and 314e selected by the battery grip control circuit 801 is supplied to the camera 202 via the battery interface 315a.

  In addition, the battery grip control circuit 801 can detect and store the attachment / detachment states of the battery packs 314d and 314e and the remaining amount information of each, and the information is obtained in response to a request from the control unit 313a of the camera 202. It can be sent to the control unit 313a.

(Explanation of layout of power feeding antenna and power receiving antenna)
FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of the internal layout of the camera system 702. FIG. 9A is a front view of the camera system 702, and FIG. 9B is a side view of the same.

  A flash device 203 and a battery grip 701 are connected to the camera 202. The camera 202 is provided with a power receiving antenna 310a.

  Battery packs 314 d and 314 e are accommodated in the battery grip 701.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the flash device 203 is provided with a battery pack 337a and a power receiving antenna 329a.

  The power receiving antennas 310a and 329a are all arranged on the back side of the apparatus.

  FIG. 10 schematically shows a state where the camera system 702 is mounted on the power supply apparatus 201, which is the same as that shown in FIG.

  Since each of the power receiving antenna 329a and the camera power receiving antenna 310a faces the mounting surface of the power feeding apparatus 201, the power receiving antennas 310a and 329a are correctly detected by the position detection sensor 308. The power feeding antenna 302 in the power feeding device 201 is aligned with the positions of the power receiving antennas 310a and 329a, so that power can be transmitted and received without contact.

(Explanation of charging operation)
Now, the operation procedure of the present charging system will be described with reference to FIG.

  The charging operation of the camera system 702 is the same as that in the flowchart of FIG. 1, but the charging procedure is different.

  In STEP 1, the position detection sensor 308 detects the power receiving antenna 310 a of the camera 202 and the power receiving antenna 329 a of the flash device 203.

  In STEP 2, the power feeding apparatus 201 sequentially moves the power feeding antenna 302 to the positions of the power receiving antennas 310a and 329a, and inquires the power receiving antennas 310a and 329a about the identification ID of the apparatus and the mounting state of the battery pack.

  Upon receiving the inquiry, the control unit 332a of the flash device 203 is activated, acquires its own identification ID with reference to the ROM 335a, and transmits it to the power supply device 201. In addition, the battery pack 337a is detected as being attached or detached, and the information is stored in the RAM 336a of the flash device 203 itself and transmitted to the power supply device 201.

  The power supply apparatus 201 stores the identification ID information of the flash apparatus 203 and the attachment / detachment state and remaining amount information of the battery pack 337a in the RAM 309a in association with the position of the power receiving antenna 329a detected in STEP1.

  Next, the control unit 313a of the camera 202 that has received the inquiry is activated, acquires its own identification ID with reference to the ROM 317a, and transmits it to the power supply apparatus 201. Furthermore, the control unit 313a of the camera 202 detects whether or not the battery pack is attached by attempting to communicate with the battery pack via the battery interface 315a. Since the battery grip 701 is connected to the battery interface 315a, the battery grip control circuit 801 responds to communication from the control unit 313a of the camera 202.

  Upon receiving communication from the control unit 313a of the camera 202, the battery grip control circuit 801 detects the attachment / detachment state and remaining amount information of the battery packs 314d and 314e, and transmits them to the control unit 313a of the camera 202 together with its own recognition ID. . The control unit 313a of the camera 202 stores the attachment / detachment state and remaining amount information of the battery packs 314d and 314e in the RAM 318a of the camera 202 itself and transmits the information to the power supply apparatus 201.

  The power supply apparatus 201 stores, in the RAM 309, the identification ID information of the camera, and the attachment / detachment state and remaining amount information of the battery packs 314d and 314e in association with the position of the power receiving antenna 310a detected in STEP1. Thus, the power supply apparatus 201 recognizes that the two battery packs 314d and 314e are attached to the camera 202.

  Note that either the camera 202 or the flash device 203 may be used as the order of the scanning operation of the mounting device.

  Since it is determined in STEP 2 that the camera 202 to which the accessory device can be attached exists in the mounting device (STEP 3), the power feeding device 201 moves the power feeding antenna 302 to the position of the power receiving antenna 310a of the camera 202 again. Then, power is transmitted by superimposing a command for inquiring the charging procedure to the power receiving antenna 310a of the camera 202 (STEP 4).

  The camera 202 drives the control unit 313a using the supplied power, and detects the accessory attachment / detachment state from the accessory attachment / detachment detection unit 319a. When the information on the attachment of the accessory is obtained, the control unit 313a makes an inquiry about the device identification ID and the battery attachment / detachment state to the accessory control unit. Since the attached accessory device is the flash device 203, the control unit 332a of the flash device 203 uses an identification ID including information indicating that it is a flash device and that a rechargeable battery pack can be attached to the camera. 202 to the control unit 313a.

  The control unit 313a of the camera 202 inquires of the control unit 332a of the flash device 203 about the attachment / detachment state information of the battery pack 337a and the remaining amount information thereof. The control unit 332a of the flash device 203 detects that the battery pack 337a is attached via the battery interface 333a, and communicates with the control unit 339a to read the remaining amount information from the RAM 341a. Information indicating that the battery pack 337 is attached and information on the remaining amount of the battery pack 337a are transmitted to the control unit 313a of the camera 202 via the control unit 332a of the flash device 203.

  The control unit 313a of the camera 202 stores the identification ID of the flash device 203, the attachment / detachment state information of the battery pack 337a, and the remaining amount information obtained as described above in its own RAM 318a. The above is STEP5.

  From the information acquired in STEP 5, the camera 202 can acquire information on whether or not a chargeable accessory is attached to the camera 202 and how much is remaining. Further, the battery grip 701 is attached via the battery interface 315a, and information that the battery packs 314d and 314e are attached and the remaining amount information thereof are already acquired and stored in the RAM 318a.

  Since an accessory including a rechargeable battery pack is attached (STEP 6), the camera 202 determines a charging procedure for the battery packs 314d and 314e and the battery pack 337a (STEP 7). The charging procedure will be described later.

  Next, the camera 202 notifies the power supply apparatus 201 of charging procedure information of the battery packs 314d and 314e and the battery pack 337a (STEP 8). The charging procedure information is accompanied by the identification ID of the camera 202 and the flash device 203, the mounting state information of the battery packs 314d, 314e, and 337a and the remaining amount information. The power supply apparatus 201 stores the acquired charging procedure information in its own RAM 309.

  The power supply apparatus 201 checks whether the charging procedure notified from the camera 202 can be executed, the scan result of the placement device in STEP 2 and the identification ID notified from the camera 202 (STEP 9).

  After acquisition of charging procedure information for all the mounted cameras is completed (STEP 10), if there is a camera equipped with a chargeable accessory (STEP 11), the process proceeds to STEP 12.

  In this embodiment, the devices are in the mounted state as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, and the camera 202 and the flash device 203 are detected in STEP2. Since there is one camera 202 to which the accessory device can be attached, the procedure from STEP 4 to STEP 9 is executed once. As a result, the flash device 203 is attached, and (by attaching the battery grip 701), one charging procedure information of the camera 202 to which the two battery backs 314d and 314e are attached, that is, the camera system 702 is acquired and stored in the RAM 309. Storing.

  When the power supply apparatus 201 starts charging the camera system 702 in STEP 12, the charging procedure information of the target camera system 702 is read from the RAM 309 in STEP 13.

  In STEP14 to STEP17, the camera system 702 is charged in accordance with the above-described charging procedure information, which will be described here with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a graph showing the operation elapsed time of the present charging system and the change in the charging rate of each of the battery packs 314d, 314e, and 337a.

  The camera 202 is charged so as to perform alternate charging while controlling the charging rate with the battery pack 337a of the flash unit 203 based on the battery pack with the larger remaining amount among the battery packs attached to the battery grip 701. Define the procedure. This time, as shown in FIG. 11, it is assumed that the initial charge rate of the battery pack 314d is 50% and the initial charge rate of the battery pack 314e is 10%. Then, the alternating charging procedure is determined so that the charging rate of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 does not cause a deviation of 10% or more from the battery pack 314d.

  The state of alternating charging is the same as that in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, since the initial charging rate of the battery pack 314d is 50%, charging is performed until the charging rate of the battery pack 337a of the flash unit 203 approaches 50%. In practice, the power feeding device 201 controls the antenna driving unit 304 to align the position of the power feeding antenna 302 with the power receiving antenna 329a of the flash device 203 (STEP 14), and performs charging with a target of a charging rate of 50%. (STEP 15). The power supply apparatus 201 inquires about the current charging rate at a predetermined timing, and the flash apparatus 203 notifies the current charging rate information to the power supply apparatus 201 in response thereto (STEP 16). If the charging rate has reached a predetermined allowable value within a range not exceeding the target charging rate of 50%, the process returns to STEP14.

  Returning to STEP 14, next, the power feeding antenna 302 of the power feeding device 201 is aligned with the power receiving antenna 310 a of the camera 202. At this time, the charging rate of the battery pack 314d is 50%, and that of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 is approximately 50%. In accordance with the charging procedure information, the power supply apparatus 201 performs charging with the target that the charging rate of the battery pack 314d is 60% (STEP 15). The current charge rate is inquired in the same manner as above (STEP 16). If the target charge rate exceeds 60% and the charge rate has reached within a predetermined allowable value, the process returns to STEP 14.

  Next, the position of the power feeding antenna 302 is aligned again with the power receiving antenna 329a of the flash unit 203 (STEP 14), and charging is performed with the current charging rate of 60% of the battery pack 314d as a target (STEP 15). The current charging rate is inquired at a predetermined timing (STEP 16), and if the charging rate has reached a predetermined allowable value within a range not exceeding the target charging rate of 60%, the process returns to STEP14.

  As described above, the battery pack 314d and the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 are alternately charged while raising the charging rate target in increments of 10%. When the charging rate of the battery pack 314d finally reaches 100% and the charging rate of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 eventually reaches 100%, the charging procedure notified from the camera 202 to the power supply device 201 is completed (STEP 17). . At this time, information indicating charging completion is stored in the RAM 309 of the power supply apparatus 201 in association with each device ID.

  After the charging of the battery packs 314d and 337a is completed, charging of the battery pack 314e is started. Since the charging of the battery pack 337a of the flash device 203 has been completed, the battery pack 314e may be continuously charged until the charging rate reaches 100% (full charge).

  Note that the charging procedure is not limited to the alternate charging as described above, which is the same as in the first embodiment. Further, as can be easily inferred from the above description, the present invention can be applied even if the battery packs 314d and 314e are directly mounted in the camera 202 main body in addition to being connected by the battery grip 701.

  However, when the camera has a plurality of power storage means, the camera system does not interrupt the other charging order into the order relationship between at least one charging order and the charging of the accessory device attached to the camera. The gist of the present embodiment is to perform control so as to maintain a favorable charging progress as a whole.

  If the charging procedure is completed in STEP 17 and there is another charging object (STEP 18), the process returns to STEP 12. When the next charging target is another camera system, STEP 13 to STEP 17 are executed. If the next charging target is not a camera system, the process proceeds to STEP 19 to charge the target device. When charging is completed (STEP 21), the process returns to STEP 18, and if there is another device to be charged, the process returns to STEP 12. If there is no next charging target device, the series of charging operations is terminated (STEP 22).

  In STEP 3, when a camera capable of mounting an accessory device is not included in the mounting device, or in STEP 11, when there is no camera mounted with a chargeable accessory, how to determine the charging order of the mounting device Is the same as in the first embodiment.

  Here, in accordance with the charging order determined by the power supply apparatus 201 (STEP 23), the power supply antenna is aligned with the power receiving antenna of the device to be charged (STEP 24), charging is performed (STEP 25), and the charging rate is 100% (full charge). Then, the charging is completed (STEP 26).

  If there is a next charging target (STEP 27), the process returns to STEP 24.

  If there is no next charging target (STEP 27), the series of charging operations is terminated (STEP 22).

  As described above, in the charging system of the present embodiment, a camera including a plurality of rechargeable power storage units and an accessory device that is attached to the camera and includes a chargeable power storage unit exist as charging targets. In this case, a charging procedure including at least one of the power storage means provided in the camera and the charging order of the accessory device is determined. The charging procedure is such that at least one of the power storage means provided in the camera and the accessory device are regarded as a set of camera systems, the charging order is inseparable, and charging of other devices is not interrupted in the charging order. Determine.

  Note that the features described in the first and second embodiments are the order in which contactless charging is performed and how to determine the order, and the principle of contactless charging, commands and information between the power supply apparatus 201 and the charging target device. Other transmission methods including known techniques may be used. The mechanism of contactless charging may be an electromagnetic induction method, but may be one that transmits and receives electric power by an electric field resonance method or a magnetic field resonance method. It can be applied to any other system that can exchange power without contact. The command and information transmission method may be infrared communication or optical communication, and can be applied to transmission means including other mechanical means.

  In addition, “contactless” charging refers to a mechanism for supplying charging power to devices to be charged without using contacts such as connectors, but “contactless” can be rephrased as “contactless” or “wireless”. There is no departure from the spirit of the invention.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

201 power supply device, 202, 205 camera,
203, 204, 206 Flash device, 302 Feed antenna,
305, 313, 325, 332, 339 control unit,
307, 317, 328, 335, 342 ROM,
309, 318, 327, 336, 341 RAM,
310,329 power receiving antenna, 314,337 battery pack,
319 Accessory attachment / detachment detector 319, 324, 388 Battery cell

Claims (6)

A camera body (202) comprising a first communication means (310), a first contactless power receiving means (310), and a first power storage means (324);
A camera accessory device (203) that is detachable from the camera (202) body and includes a second communication means (329), a second contactless power receiving means (329), and a second power storage means (338);
A power transmission device (201) including a communication means (302) for communicating with the first and second communication means, and further a power transmission means (302) for transmitting power to the first and second contactless power reception means,
Detection means (319) for detecting the attachment / detachment state of the camera accessory device (203) to the camera (202);
Accessory type information acquisition means (332) for acquiring type information of the camera accessory device;
An execution procedure determining means (313) for determining a power transmission / reception execution procedure using the first and second contactless power receiving means according to the attachment / detachment state detection result and the accessory type information;
Execution procedure notifying means (305, 313) for exchanging the power transmission / reception procedure between the camera (202) and the power transmission device (201) through the communication means (302, 310);
A power transmission control means (305) provided in the power transmission device for performing a power transmission operation according to the power transmission and reception execution procedure;
A camera, a camera system, or a camera charging system. The camera, the camera system, or the camera charging system according to claim 1, wherein the execution procedure determining means (313) is provided in a main body of the camera (202). When it is detected that the camera (202) main body and the camera accessory device (203) are connected by the detection means (319), the first contactless power receiving means (310) and the second contactless The camera or camera system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the execution procedure determining unit (313) determines the power transmission order to the power receiving unit (338) to be continuous. Or camera charging system. A second power amount that includes a first power amount detection means (313) that detects a remaining power amount of the first power storage means (324) and that detects a remaining power amount of the second power storage means (338). A detection means (332), and the first and second contactless power reception means (310, 332) according to the attachment / detachment state detection result and the detection results of the first and second electric energy detection means (313, 332). 329), a camera, a camera system, or a camera charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising execution procedure determination means (313) for determining a power transmission / reception execution procedure using the camera 329). . The first and second contactless power receiving means so that the difference between the remaining power amount of the first power storage means (324) and the remaining power amount of the second power storage means (338) is kept below a predetermined amount. The camera or camera system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising execution procedure determination means (313) for determining a power transmission / reception execution procedure using (310, 329). Camera charging system. The difference between the remaining power amount of the first power storage means (324) and the remaining power amount of the second power storage means (338) is less than a predetermined amount, and the remaining power amount of the first power storage means (324) Execution procedure determining means for determining a power transmission / reception execution procedure using the first and second contactless power receiving means (310, 329) so that the remaining power amount of the second power storage means (338) is always exceeded. 313), the camera, the camera system, or the camera charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.