JP2018191360A - Contactless power supply control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contactless power supply control system for performing wireless communication between a power transmitting device and a power receiving device in a contactless manner, capable of reducing troubles of reporting conducted in a case where power supply efficiency changes by a disposition condition of the power transmitting device and the power receiving device being changed while power is being transmitted and received in a contactless manner between the power transmitting device and the power receiving device.SOLUTION: When the power supply efficiency changes due to the change in the arrangement state of the power transmitting device and the power receiving device during power transmitting and receiving in a contactless manner between the power transmitting device and the power receiving device, a control is performed to change a threshold value of a battery voltage or a remaining battery level which activates reporting in accordance with the power supply efficiency between the power transmitting device and the power receiving device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a contactless power supply control method for transmitting and receiving power without contact.

  Rechargeable secondary batteries are often used for batteries of electronic devices as batteries of electronic devices have been reduced in size, increased in output, and increased in capacity.

  As a means for charging a secondary battery of an electronic device, a device using a dedicated charger, or a device that receives power supply from an external device in a wired manner and charges in an electronic device main body has been generally used. Non-contact power feeding for receiving power supply by electromagnetic waves without charging and charging in the electronic device main body has become common.

  In non-contact power feeding, electromagnetic waves radiated from the antenna of the power transmitting device on the power transmission side are received by the antenna of the power receiving device on the power receiving side, and power is transmitted and received, but power is transmitted and received depending on the distance and position between the antennas. May change. When the power transmitted and received decreases, there is a problem that the charging time is extended when the battery of the power receiving apparatus is charged.

  In non-contact power feeding, since the power transmitting device and the power receiving device are not engaged with each other by a cable and a connector, power transmission / reception may stop when the positions of the power transmitting device and the power receiving device change. When power transmission / reception is stopped, there is a problem that when the battery of the power receiving apparatus is charged, the battery is not fully charged, and the usage time of the power receiving apparatus using the battery is shortened.

  For this reason, there is a demand for a method for appropriately notifying the user of a change in the power transmitted / received between the power transmitting device and the power receiving device and the stop of the power transmission / reception.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a method of restricting power transmission from a power transmission device and notifying a user in accordance with a decrease in transmission efficiency in a system that performs non-contact power feeding between the power transmission device and the power reception device.

  Patent Document 2 proposes a system in which a warning is given to a user when charging power is outside a permissible range in a system that performs non-contact power feeding between a power transmitting device and a power receiving device.

JP 2013-132170 A JP 2012-5320 A

  Since the method described in Patent Document 1 can limit power transmission from the power transmission device in response to a decrease in transmission efficiency, it prevents power transmission in a state where transmission efficiency is low and continuation of battery charging in the power reception device. can do.

  Since the system described in Patent Document 2 can warn the user when the charging power of the power receiving apparatus falls outside the allowable range, charging in a state where the charging power is low in addition to crime prevention. It is also possible to prevent continuation.

  In the methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the power transmission efficiency between the power transmitting device and the power receiving device and the threshold value of the charging power are set, and when a value lower than the threshold value is detected, the user is notified. A method of notifying a warning has been proposed. However, since the above method is always a method of notifying a warning, there is a problem that a method of not notifying a warning when there is no need to notify the user of a warning is not considered.

  An object of the present invention is to use a wireless communication system that performs wireless communication and non-contact power transmission / reception between a power transmission device and a power reception device according to a change in power supply efficiency between the power transmission device and the power reception device. It is in providing the method of invoking the alerting | reporting to a person.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first invention of the present application includes a wireless communication unit and a wireless power receiving unit, a power receiving device capable of mounting a secondary battery, and a wireless communication unit capable of communicating with the power receiving device. A wireless power transmission means; and a notification means for notifying an operation state of the wireless power transmission means, wherein the wireless power transmission means transmits power to the power receiving device in a contactless manner, and the power is received by the secondary of the power receiving device. In the non-contact power feeding system constituted by a power transmission device capable of charging a battery, the power reception device and the power transmission device start the power transmission / reception in a contactless manner by the wireless power transmission means, and then the wireless communication The wireless communication for transmitting the device status information including at least the secondary battery information by means is repeatedly performed, and the power supply efficiency of the power transmitted and received between the power receiving device and the power transmitting device is If ized, it is to change the voltage threshold of the secondary battery be activate said notification means in accordance with power supply efficiency of the power.

  In order to achieve the above object, the second invention of the present application includes a wireless communication means and a wireless power receiving means, a power receiving device capable of mounting a secondary battery, and a wireless communication means capable of communicating with the power receiving device. A wireless power transmission means; and a notification means for notifying an operation state of the wireless power transmission means, wherein the wireless power transmission means transmits power to the power receiving device in a contactless manner, and the power is received by the secondary of the power receiving device. In the non-contact power feeding system constituted by a power transmission device capable of charging a battery, the power reception device and the power transmission device start the power transmission / reception in a contactless manner by the wireless power transmission means, and then the wireless communication The wireless communication for transmitting the device status information including at least the secondary battery information by means is repeatedly performed, and the power supply efficiency of the power transmitted and received between the power receiving device and the power transmitting device is If ized, it is to change the battery remaining amount level threshold of the secondary battery to activate the notification means in accordance with power supply efficiency of the power.

  According to the present invention, in a non-contact power feeding system that performs wireless communication and non-contact power transmission / reception between a power transmission device and a power receiving device, to a user when a change in power feeding efficiency or a power feeding stop occurs. It is possible to provide a non-contact power supply control method that reduces the troublesome notification.

The flowchart which shows in parallel the relationship of the procedure which performs non-contact electric power feeding between the power transmission apparatus and power receiving apparatus which concern on 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the power transmission apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the power receiving apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the power transmission apparatus and power receiving apparatus which concern on 1st Embodiment Example of status information transmitted between a power transmitting device and a power receiving device at the time of non-contact power feeding according to the first embodiment The diagram which shows the example of the electric power feeding efficiency which activates the alerting | reporting which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and a battery voltage Example of display on power transmission device side of notification according to the first embodiment The flowchart which shows in parallel the relationship of the procedure which performs non-contact electric power feeding between the power transmission apparatus and power receiving apparatus which concern on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the power transmission apparatus and power receiving apparatus which concern on 2nd Embodiment Example of status information transmitted between a power transmitting device and a power receiving device at the time of non-contact power feeding according to the second embodiment Example of display on the power receiving device side for notification according to the second embodiment The flowchart which shows in parallel the relationship of the procedure which performs non-contact electric power feeding between the power transmission apparatus and power receiving apparatus which concern on 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the power transmission apparatus and power receiving apparatus which concern on 3rd Embodiment

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The technical scope of the present invention is determined by the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments. In addition, all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the present invention.

  In addition, the dimensions, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts exemplified in the following embodiments should be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[First Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, power transmission / reception is performed between the power transmission device and the power reception device in a wireless communication and contactless manner, and the power transmission device notifies when there is a change in the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power. The method to perform is demonstrated.

  In the present invention, the power received by the power receiving device relative to the power transmitted by the power transmitting device is referred to as transmission / reception power or power feeding power, and the ratio between the power transmitted by the power transmitting device and the power received by the power receiving device is fed. Called efficiency.

  Note that FIG. 1 is the best representation of the first embodiment, but in order to make the explanation easier to understand, the first embodiment will be described from FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the power transmission device according to the present embodiment. In the block diagram used for the description of the present embodiment, power supply connections to blocks that are not necessary for the description of the present embodiment are omitted. Also, detailed descriptions of blocks and operations that are not necessary for the description of the present embodiment are omitted.

  In FIG. 2, a power transmission device 101 is a device capable of power transmission without contact with a counterpart device. The AC / DC conversion circuit 102 converts an AC voltage input from the outside of the power transmission apparatus 101 into a DC voltage. The output converted to DC by the AC / DC conversion circuit 102 is converted by the TX constant voltage circuit 103 into a voltage that can be supplied to the circuit block at the subsequent stage. The TX power supply IC 107 is a power supply IC for converting the voltage output of the TX constant voltage circuit 103 into a voltage that can be supplied to a subsequent digital low voltage system circuit block.

  A TX-CPU (Central Processing Unit) 108 is a CPU that controls the power transmission apparatus 101. In order to distinguish from a CPU described later, the CPU on the power transmission apparatus 101 side is referred to as TX-CPU. The TX-CPU 108 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a work area and a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the processing procedure of the TX-CPU 108.

  The TX communication unit 109 is capable of short-range wireless communication with other devices, and performs control data communication for power transmission without contact. It is assumed that short-range wireless communication performed by the TX communication unit 109 is compatible with Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy, which is a short-range wireless standard.

  The TX communication matching circuit 155 is a circuit for performing impedance matching between the TX communication unit 109 and a TX communication antenna 156 described later. The TX communication matching circuit 155 may be a circuit that can be adjusted by the control of the TX-CPU 108 or a fixed constant circuit. Further, the TX communication matching circuit 155 is provided with a protection circuit so that an excessive voltage is not generated.

  The TX communication antenna 156 is an antenna that can perform short-range wireless communication with other devices. The TX antenna 156 is assumed to be an antenna having a resonance frequency in the vicinity of 2.4 GHz that is the UHF band, for example.

  The TX display unit 110 is a display unit that displays the status of the power transmission apparatus 101, and includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The TX sound generation unit 111 is a sound generation unit that generates an operation sound or a warning sound of the power transmission apparatus 101, and includes, for example, a sound processing IC and a speaker. The TX wireless communication unit 112 is a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication, and the antenna 113 is an antenna for performing wireless communication. The TX wireless communication unit 112 is assumed to support a wireless standard different from that of the TX communication unit 109. As an example, it is assumed that IEEE 802.11, which is a WLAN standard, is supported.

  The power transmission circuit 104 is a circuit for wirelessly transmitting power to the counterpart device, and mainly includes a transistor amplifier circuit and a crystal oscillation circuit. The TX matching circuit 105 is a circuit for performing impedance matching between the power transmission circuit 104 and a TX antenna 106 described later. The TX matching circuit 105 is a circuit that can be adjusted by the control of the TX-CPU 108. Further, the TX matching circuit 105 is provided with a protection circuit so that an excessive voltage is not generated when power is transmitted without contact.

  The TX antenna 106 is an antenna that can transmit electric power to other devices without contact. The TX antenna 106 is assumed to be an antenna having a resonance frequency in the vicinity of, for example, 6.78 MHz or 13.56 MHz which is an HF band.

  In FIG. 3, a power receiving device 201 is a device that can receive power from a partner device in a contactless manner. The RX antenna 202 is an antenna that can receive power from other devices without contact. The RX antenna 202 is assumed to be an antenna having a resonance frequency in the vicinity of, for example, 6.78 MHz or 13.56 MHz which is an HF band.

  The RX matching circuit 203 is a circuit for performing impedance matching between the RX antenna 202 and a rectifying / smoothing circuit 204 described later. The RX matching circuit 203 is a circuit that can be adjusted by the control of the RX-CPU 209 described later. Further, the RX matching circuit 203 is configured to include a protection circuit so that an excessive voltage is not generated in the circuit when receiving power without contact.

  The rectifying / smoothing circuit 204 is a rectifying / smoothing circuit that shapes an AC voltage generated by the power received from the power transmission apparatus 101 into a DC voltage. The voltage shaped into a DC voltage by the rectifying / smoothing circuit 204 is converted by the RX constant voltage circuit 205 into a voltage that can be supplied to a subsequent circuit block.

  The charge control circuit 206 is a charge control circuit that can charge the battery 207. The charge control circuit 206 has a function of outputting the voltage of the battery 207 to other circuits in addition to the function of charging the battery 207. The battery 207 is assumed to be a one-cell lithium ion battery as an example.

  The RX power supply IC 211 is a power supply IC for converting an input voltage into a voltage of a digital low voltage system circuit block at a subsequent stage. The RX-CPU 209 is a CPU that performs short-range wireless communication with the power transmission apparatus 101 using the RX communication antenna 252 and performs power reception control in a contactless manner using the RX antenna 202. In order to distinguish from a CPU described later, the CPU that performs power reception control on the power receiving apparatus 201 side is referred to as RX-CPU. It is assumed that the RX-CPU 209 includes a RAM that is used as a work area and a ROM that stores a processing procedure of the RX-CPU 209.

  The power measurement circuit A210 is a power measurement circuit for measuring the received power when receiving power from the power transmission apparatus 101 in a contactless manner. Since the power measuring circuit A is a general technique, description thereof is omitted. The power measurement circuit B 212 is a power measurement circuit for measuring the received power when receiving power from the power transmission apparatus 101 in a contactless manner. Since the power measuring circuit B is a general technique, description thereof is omitted. The difference between the power measurement circuit A210 and the power measurement circuit B212 is that the power measurement circuit A210 measures the output power of the RX constant voltage circuit 205, whereas the power measurement circuit B212 measures the output power of the RX antenna 202. It is. Depending on the operating state of the power receiving apparatus 201, the power measurement circuit A210 or the power measurement circuit B212 may be selected to measure the power received by the RX antenna 202, or the power measurement circuit A210 and the power measurement circuit You may measure with both B212.

  The RX communication unit 208 is capable of short-range wireless communication with other devices, and also performs control data communication for power transmission without contact. It is assumed that short-range wireless communication performed by the RX communication unit 208 corresponds to Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy, which is a short-range wireless standard.

  The CPU 230 is a CPU that controls the entire power receiving apparatus 201, and is different from the above-described RX-CPU 209 that performs power receiving control of power without contact. The RAM 231 is a RAM used as a work area for the CPU 230. The ROM 232 is a ROM that stores the processing procedure of the CPU 230, and is composed of a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, for example.

  The RX display unit 233 is a display unit that displays images such as image data and operation information on the screen of the power receiving apparatus 201, and is configured by an LCD, for example.

  The operation input unit 234 is an operation input unit that receives various operations of the power receiving apparatus 201, and transmits operation information to the CPU 230. The memory card 235 can write and read digital data. The imaging unit 236 includes an optical unit that includes a lens and its drive system, and an imaging element.

  The RX wireless communication unit 237 is a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication, and the antenna 238 is an antenna for performing wireless communication. The RX wireless communication unit 237 is assumed to support a wireless standard different from that of the RX communication unit 208. As an example, it is assumed that IEEE 802.11, which is a WLAN standard, is supported.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing in parallel the relationship of procedures for performing non-contact power feeding between the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment. 1 is executed by the TX-CPU 108, and the power receiving apparatus 101 is executed by the RX-CPU 209 unless otherwise specified. Since the CPU 230 of the power receiving apparatus 201 is not involved in the non-contact power supply control of this embodiment, the description of the CPU 230 and its peripheral function blocks is omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 described in the flow of FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is an example of device status information transmitted / received between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 described in the flow of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment in each of the arrangement examples (A) to (D) of FIG. It is. The arrangement examples (A) to (D) in FIG. 4 and the apparatus status information (A) to (D) in FIG. 5 will be described assuming that the same symbols correspond to each other.

  The device status information transmitted / received between the power transmitting device 101 and the power receiving device 201 includes, for example, “device name”, “power reception availability”, “corresponding power supply method”, “battery voltage”, “battery full charge voltage”, “ It includes “remaining battery level”, “rated energy capacity”, “maximum received power”, “transmission / reception required power”, “transmission / reception set power”, “received power”, and the like. The device status information is stored in the TX-CPU 108 for the power transmission device 101 and in the RX-CPU 209 for the power reception device 201.

  In the present embodiment, the power transmission device 101 transmits a polling signal, and the power transmission device 101 scans to discover devices from each other and perform connection processing to establish a short-range wireless communication connection.

  In step S101, the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits a polling signal using the short-range wireless communication of the TX communication unit 109, and determines whether there is a connection request from the power reception apparatus 201 in step S102. As an example, the short-range wireless communication in S101 is performed by transmitting a packet in the advertising mode of Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy. The Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy protocol is a general method and will not be described.

  If it is determined in S102 that there is no connection request from the power receiving apparatus 201, the power transmitting apparatus 101 returns to S101 and transmits a polling signal again. If it is determined in S102 that there is a connection request from the power receiving apparatus 201, in S103, the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 perform connection processing to transmit / receive apparatus status information.

  In step S <b> 104, the power transmission apparatus 101 determines whether the power reception apparatus 201 can receive power based on “power reception availability” in the apparatus status information received in step S <b> 104. If it is determined in S104 that the power receiving apparatus 201 is not in a state where it can receive power, the power transmitting apparatus 101 returns to S101 and transmits a polling signal again. If it is determined in S104 that the power receiving apparatus 201 is in a state where it can receive power, the process proceeds to S105.

  Here, a flow on the power receiving apparatus 201 side will be described. In step S201, when the power receiving apparatus 201 receives the short-range wireless communication polling signal from the power transmission apparatus 101 by the RX communication unit 208, the power receiving apparatus 201 transmits a connection request in step S202. As an example, the short-distance wireless communication in S202 performs a response to the advertise packet in the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy initiating mode.

  If the power receiving apparatus 201 does not receive the short-range wireless communication polling signal from the power transmitting apparatus 101 by the RX communication unit 208 in S201, the process returns to S201. In step S201, the power receiving apparatus 201 receives a polling signal for short-range wireless communication, and transmits a connection request in step S202. In step S203, the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 perform connection processing and transmit / receive apparatus status information. . When the process of S103 in the power transmission apparatus 101 and the process of S203 in the power reception apparatus 101 are completed, the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201 enter the connection mode.

  Here, the description returns to the flow on the power transmission apparatus 101 side. In S105, the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines a power feeding method supported by the power receiving apparatus 201 based on the “corresponding power feeding method” of the apparatus status information received in S104. If it is determined in S105 that the power receiving apparatus 201 is compatible with the first power feeding method, in S106, the power transmitting apparatus 101 selects a first notification threshold diagram to be described later.

  If it is determined in S105 that the power receiving apparatus 201 does not support the first power feeding method, the power transmitting apparatus 101 selects a second notification threshold diagram to be described later in S107. In S105, when the power receiving apparatus 201 supports both the first power supply method and the second power supply method, it may be determined to preferentially select the first power supply method.

  In the description of the present invention, the first power supply method is described as a magnetic resonance method, and the second power supply method is described as an electromagnetic induction method. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of power supply efficiency and battery voltage threshold value for invoking the notification according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6A is a notification threshold line diagram when the power supply method is a magnetic resonance method, and FIG. 6B is a notification threshold line diagram when the power supply method is an electromagnetic induction method.

  In step S108, the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits and receives apparatus status information to and from the power reception apparatus 201 in order to start power transmission in a contactless manner using the power supply method determined in step S105. Assume that the device status information transmitted and received in S108 is the device status information shown in FIG. 5A in this embodiment. In step S109, the power transmission apparatus 101 sets “power transmission / reception setting power” according to “battery voltage”, “maximum power reception power”, and “power transmission / reception request power” of the apparatus status information of the power reception apparatus 201 received in step S108. The “power transmission / reception setting power” set in S109 is set to 2.8 W in accordance with the “power transmission / reception required power” of the power receiving apparatus 201. The “transmission / reception set power” set in S109 is set to a power that does not exceed the “maximum received power”.

  In step S <b> 110, the power transmission device 101 controls the power transmission circuit 104 to transmit power to the power reception device 201 in a contactless manner. When power is transmitted in a contactless manner in S110, the TX matching circuit 105 is set to a circuit suitable for contactless power transmission from the power transmission circuit 104.

  In the following description of the present invention, when the power transmission circuit 104 is controlled to transmit power, the TX matching circuit 105 is set as a circuit suitable for non-contact power transmission from the power transmission circuit 104. Omitted.

  Here, a flow on the power receiving apparatus 201 side will be described. In step S <b> 204, the power receiving apparatus 201 transmits and receives status information to and from the power transmitting apparatus 101 in order to start receiving power without contact. In S205, the power receiving apparatus 201 connects the charging control circuit 206 to the RX constant voltage circuit 205 according to the “power transmission / reception setting power” of the apparatus status information transmitted / received in S204, and sets the receiving power. To receive power.

  In S206, the RX matching circuit 203 is set to a circuit suitable for receiving non-contact power from the power transmission circuit 104 of the power transmission apparatus 101 at the same time that the charging control circuit 206 is connected.

  In the following description of the present invention, when receiving contactless power, the RX matching circuit 105 is set to a circuit suitable for receiving contactless power from the power transmission circuit 104, and the description is omitted.

  When the process of S110 in the power transmission apparatus 101 and the process of S206 in the power reception apparatus 101 are completed, the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201 are in a state of transmitting and receiving power in a contactless manner. In the present embodiment, for example, if the arrangement state of the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 is the arrangement state illustrated in FIG. 4A, the apparatus status information is the apparatus status information illustrated in FIG. The arrangement state illustrated in FIG. 4A can be said to be a state in which there is little misalignment between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 and power supply efficiency of power transmitted and received without contact is high. For example, when the power supply efficiency in the arrangement state of FIG. 4A is 70%, the power receiving device 201 receives 2.8 W, which is the “power transmission / reception set power”, from the power transmitting device 101. The “received power” is 1.96 W.

  The “received power” received by the power receiving apparatus 201 is measured using the power measurement circuit A 210 connected to the RX constant voltage circuit 205 or the power measurement circuit B 212 connected to the RX antenna 202. .

  In step S207, the power receiving apparatus 201 transmits / receives status information to / from the power transmitting apparatus 101 in order to transmit information on the power received in a non-contact manner and the state of the apparatus. In step S211, the power receiving apparatus 201 determines whether the battery 207 is fully charged. If the power receiving apparatus 201 determines that the battery 207 is fully charged in step S211, the power receiving apparatus 201 ends the process of this flowchart. If the power receiving apparatus 201 determines in S211 that the battery 207 is not fully charged, the power receiving apparatus 201 returns to S204 to transmit / receive status information to / from the power transmitting apparatus 101.

  Here, the description returns to the flow on the power transmission apparatus 101 side. In step S <b> 111, the power transmission apparatus 101 exchanges status information with the power reception apparatus 201. In step S112, the power transmission apparatus 101 determines whether the battery 207 of the power reception apparatus 201 is at the full charge level based on the “battery voltage” or “remaining battery level” in the apparatus status information received in step S111. If the power transmission apparatus 101 determines in step S112 that the battery 207 of the power reception apparatus 201 is at the full charge level, in step S120, the power transmission apparatus 101 stops the transmission of non-contact power and ends the process of this flowchart.

  If the power transmission apparatus 101 determines in step S112 that the battery 207 of the power reception apparatus 201 is not at the full charge level, in step S113, the power transmission apparatus 101 increases the power supply efficiency of power that is transmitted and received in a contactless manner between the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201. Determine if there has been a change. In S113, whether the power supply efficiency has changed is determined based on “received power” of the device status information received by the power transmission device 101 in S111. For example, if “transmission / reception setting power” is a constant value, if there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between “reception power” received for the Nth time and “reception power” received for the (N + 1) th time, power supply efficiency is improved. It can be determined that there has been a change. The difference greater than or equal to the predetermined value is preferably a value larger than the received power measurement error in the power receiving apparatus 201.

  In S113, the determination as to whether or not the power supply efficiency has changed may be determined that the power supply efficiency has changed when the power transmitting apparatus 101 cannot normally receive the apparatus status information in S111. If it is determined in S113 that there is a change in the power supply efficiency of power transmitted and received in a contactless manner between the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201, the process proceeds to S114. If it is determined in S113 that there is no change in the power supply efficiency of the power transmitted and received in a contactless manner between the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201, the process returns to S111, and the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits and receives status information to and from the power reception apparatus 201. .

  In step S114, the power transmission apparatus 101 determines whether the power reception apparatus 201 is in a power reception stop state based on “reception power” of the apparatus status information received in step S111. In S114, whether the power receiving apparatus 201 is in a power reception stop state is determined based on “power reception” of the apparatus status information received by the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S111. For example, if the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power calculated from the ratio between the “transmission / reception setting power” and the “reception power” of the power reception apparatus 201 is less than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the power reception is stopped. In S114, the determination as to whether or not the power receiving apparatus 201 is in the power receiving stop state may be made when the power transmitting apparatus 101 has not received the device status information normally in S111 and is in the power receiving stopped state. Further, in the determination of the power reception stop state in S114, it may be determined that the power transmission efficiency of the transmitted / received power is less than 10% as the power reception stop state.

  In the present embodiment, for example, if the arrangement state of the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201 is the arrangement state shown in FIG. 4D, the apparatus status information becomes the apparatus status information shown in FIG.

  In the arrangement state illustrated in FIG. 4D, the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 have a large positional deviation, and the power receiving apparatus 201 is detached from the power transmitting apparatus 101. I can say that. For example, in the arrangement state of FIG. 4D, the “received power” received by the power receiving apparatus 201 is 0 with respect to 2.8 W where the power transmitted from the power transmitting apparatus 101 is “power transmission / reception set power”. If the power is 0.035 W, the power supply efficiency can be calculated as 1.25%.

In S114, when it is determined that the power supply efficiency of the transmission / reception power is less than 10% as the power reception stop state, the arrangement state illustrated in FIG. 4D is determined as the power reception stop state. If the power transmission apparatus 101 determines in S114 that the power reception apparatus 201 is in a power reception stop state, the process proceeds to S115. If the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines in S114 that the power receiving apparatus 201 is not in a power reception stop state, the process proceeds to S121.
First, the case where it is determined in S114 that the power reception is stopped will be described.

  In S115, the power transmission apparatus 101 uses the power supply efficiency calculated based on the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S115 and the “battery voltage” or “remaining battery level”, and the notification threshold diagram in FIG. It is judged whether it is more than 1st threshold value. For example, if the magnetic resonance method is selected as the power feeding method, the first threshold value is determined using the notification threshold value diagram of FIG. If the electromagnetic induction method is selected as the power supply method, the first threshold value is determined from the notification threshold diagram of FIG.

  The first threshold value in the notification threshold diagrams in FIGS. 6A and 6B may be a constant value regardless of the power supply efficiency. As an example, the first threshold value in the notification threshold diagram is 4.15 V for “battery voltage” and 95% for “battery level”.

  In the present embodiment, for example, if the arrangement state of the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 is the arrangement state shown in FIG. 4D, the latest apparatus status information received before the processing of S115 is shown in FIG. The device status information shown in FIG.

  Assuming that the first threshold value in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6 is “battery voltage” is 4.15 V and “remaining battery level” is 95%, “battery voltage” is 3.8 V <4.15 V, Since the “battery remaining level” is 70% <95%, it is determined in S115 that the battery level is not equal to or higher than the first threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. The first threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6 is desirably set to a value sufficiently higher than the hardware startable threshold and the software startable threshold of the power receiving apparatus 201.

  The threshold value for enabling hardware activation is a value at which normal operation of some functions by hardware control of the power receiving apparatus 201 is guaranteed by the battery 207 of the power receiving apparatus 201. The software startable threshold is a value that is higher than the hardware startable threshold and that ensures normal operation of some functions by software control of the power receiving apparatus 201 by the battery 207 of the power receiving apparatus 201.

  If the power transmission apparatus 101 determines that the battery of the power reception apparatus 201 is equal to or greater than the first threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6 in S115, the power transmission apparatus 101 stops the transmission of non-contact power in S120 and performs the processing of this flowchart. finish. In step S120, the power transmission device 101 stops the transmission of non-contact power, and the power transmission device 101 may notify the TX display unit 110 of the stop of power reception in step S116 before ending the processing of this flowchart. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the notification of the stoppage of power reception in S116 is made on the TX display unit 110 so that the battery charge state in the latest device status information received before the process of S116 can be recognized. Information may be displayed and notified.

  The notification of power reception stop in S116 may or may not be performed depending on the configuration of the apparatus. When notifying the stop of power reception in S116, the notification is performed so that the user does not feel bothered, for example, the amount of information is smaller than the first state notification described later and the TX sound generator 111 is not used. Is desirable.

  If the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines in S115 that the battery of the power receiving apparatus 201 is not equal to or greater than the first threshold in the notification threshold diagram, in S118, the power transmitting apparatus 101 uses the TX display unit 110 and the TX sound generating unit 111 to stop receiving power. A first status notification for notification is performed.

  The first status notification in S118 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, and the TX display unit 110 so that the state of charge of the battery in the latest device status information received before the processing of S115 can be understood. Information may be displayed and notified. Furthermore, a sound may be generated from the TX sound generation unit 111 to notify the power reception stop state more easily. When the first state notification is performed in S118, the power transmission apparatus 101 stops the transmission of non-contact power in S120, and the process of this flowchart ends.

  Next, a case where it is determined in S114 that the power reception is not stopped will be described. In step S121, the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits and receives status information to and from the power reception apparatus 201. In S122, the power transmitting apparatus 101 uses the power supply efficiency calculated based on the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S122 and the “battery voltage” or “remaining battery level”, and the notification threshold diagram in FIG. It is judged whether it is more than 2nd threshold value. For example, if the magnetic resonance method is selected as the power feeding method, the second threshold value is determined from the notification threshold diagram of FIG. If the electromagnetic induction method is selected as the power feeding method, the second threshold value is determined from the notification threshold value diagram of FIG.

  The second threshold value in the notification threshold diagrams in FIGS. 6A and 6B is a value that varies depending on the power supply efficiency. The second threshold value of the notification threshold diagram is such that the higher the power feeding efficiency, the lower the “battery voltage” and “battery remaining level” threshold values, and the lower the power feeding efficiency, the “battery voltage” and “battery remaining power”. It is assumed that the threshold of “quantity level” is set to be high.

  FIG. 6A is a notification threshold diagram when the magnetic resonance method is selected as the power feeding method, and FIG. 6A is a notification threshold diagram when the electromagnetic induction method is selected as the power feeding method. In B), the second threshold value in the notification threshold diagram is set to a higher threshold value in FIG. 6B than in FIG. 6A.

  As a general property, the amount of change in power supply efficiency with respect to the positional deviation between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 is larger in the electromagnetic induction method than in the magnetic resonance method. Therefore, the second threshold value in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6 is preferably set to a higher threshold value in the electromagnetic induction method than in the magnetic resonance method, and the threshold value determination with respect to the change in power supply efficiency is strict.

  When the power supply method is a magnetic resonance method, as an example, the second threshold value in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6A is that when the power supply efficiency is 50%, the “battery voltage” is 3.7V, The “remaining level” is 60%. When the power supply efficiency is 15%, the “battery voltage” is 4.15 V and the “battery remaining level” is 95%.

  When the power feeding method is an electromagnetic induction method, for example, the second threshold value in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6B is that when the power feeding efficiency is 50%, the “battery voltage” is 4.1 V, The “remaining level” is 90%. When the power supply efficiency is 15%, the “battery voltage” is 4.15 V and the “battery remaining level” is 95%.

  In the present embodiment, for example, when the electromagnetic induction method is selected as the power feeding method, if the arrangement state of the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 is the arrangement state illustrated in FIG. The latest apparatus status information received before is the apparatus status information shown in FIG.

  For example, in the arrangement state of FIG. 4B, the “power reception” received by the power reception device 201 is 1 for 2.8 W, which is “power transmission / reception setting power”, transmitted from the power transmission device 101. When the power is .4 W, the power supply efficiency can be calculated as 50%.

  The second threshold of the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6A is that when the power supply efficiency of power is 50%, the “battery voltage” is 3.7 V, and the “battery remaining level” is 60%. Since “battery voltage” is 3.8V> 3.7V and “remaining battery level” is 70%> 60%, in S122, it is equal to or higher than the second threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. It will be judged.

  In the present embodiment, for example, if the arrangement state of the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201 is the arrangement state shown in FIG. 4C, the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S122 is shown in FIG. The device status information shown in FIG.

  For example, in the arrangement state of FIG. 4C, the “received power” received by the power receiving apparatus 201 is 0 with respect to 2.8 W where the power transmitted from the power transmitting apparatus 101 is “power transmission / reception set power”. When the power is .42 W, the power supply efficiency can be calculated as 15%.

  The second threshold value in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6A is that when the power supply efficiency is 15%, the “battery voltage” is 4.15 V, and the “battery remaining level” is 95%. Since “battery voltage” is 3.8 V <4.15 V and “battery remaining level” is 70% <95%, it is not more than the second threshold value in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. Will be judged.

  If the power transmission apparatus 101 determines that the battery of the power reception apparatus 201 is equal to or greater than the second threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6 in S122, the process returns to S108, and the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits and receives status information to and from the power reception apparatus 201. If the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines in S122 that the battery of the power receiving apparatus 201 is not equal to or greater than the second threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6, in S123, the power transmitting apparatus 101 uses the TX display unit 110 and the TX sound generating unit 111. A second state notification for notifying a change in the power receiving state is performed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7 (C) or (D), the second status notification in S123 is based on the latest power status or the latest power status from the latest device status information received before the processing in S123. Information may be displayed on the TX display unit 110 so that the remaining charging time can be known. Furthermore, a sound may be generated from the TX sound generation unit 111 and notified so as to be easier to understand.

  When notifying the remaining charging time, the “battery voltage”, “battery full charge voltage”, “rated energy capacity”, “received power” of the power receiving device 201 are determined from the latest device status information received before the processing of S123. It can be calculated from the above.

  When the second status notification is performed in S123, the process returns to S108, and the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits and receives status information to and from the power reception apparatus 201.

  According to the present embodiment, when power transmission / reception is performed in a contactless manner between the power transmission device and the power reception device, a change occurs in power supply efficiency due to a change in the arrangement state of the power transmission device and the power reception device. Then, control is performed to change the threshold value of the battery voltage and the remaining battery level that activates the notification according to the power supply efficiency.

  When the power supply efficiency is high, since the influence on the received power and the charging time is small, the battery voltage and the remaining battery level for invoking the notification are lowered to make the invocation difficult. When the power supply efficiency is low, the influence on the received power and the charging time is large. Therefore, the battery voltage and the remaining battery level that activate the notification are increased, and the notification is easily activated.

  In addition, depending on whether the power feeding method is a magnetic field resonance method or an electromagnetic induction method, control is performed to change the threshold value of the battery voltage and the remaining battery level for invoking notification.

  When the power feeding method is the magnetic field resonance method, the change in power feeding efficiency due to the arrangement state of the apparatus is gradual. Therefore, the battery voltage and the remaining battery level for informing the notification are lowered to make the informing difficult. When the power feeding method is the magnetic field resonance method, since the change in power feeding efficiency due to the arrangement state of the device is steep, the battery voltage and the battery remaining level for invoking the notification are raised to facilitate the invocation.

  According to the present embodiment, when non-contact power feeding is performed between the power transmission device and the power receiving device, the use of the battery state, the charging time, and the alarm activation balanced to the user without feeling annoying. A feeling can be provided.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, power transmission / reception is performed between the power transmission device and the power reception device in a wireless communication and contactless manner, and the power transmission device notifies when there is a change in the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power. Explained how to do.

  In the second embodiment, power transmission / reception is performed between a power transmission device and a power reception device in a wireless communication and contactless manner, and when the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power is changed, the power transmission device is A method of communicating with the other device and performing notification by the power receiving device and the other device will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing in parallel the relationship of procedures for performing contactless charging between the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar processes as those in FIG.

  Since the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, description of the apparatus configuration is omitted. In addition, since the power receiving device 301 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the power receiving device 201, description of the device configuration is omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the power transmission device 101, the power reception device 201, and the power reception device 301 described in the flow of FIG. 8 according to the present embodiment. The arrangement of the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 is the same as (A) to (D) in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment. It is assumed that the power receiving apparatus 301 is separated from the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 that transmit and receive power in a contactless manner, and the power receiving apparatus 301 does not transmit and receive power in a contactless manner with the power transmitting apparatus 101. .

  FIG. 10 is an example of device status information transmitted and received between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 described in the flow of FIG. 8 according to the present embodiment. In the device status information, in addition to the information of FIG. 5 according to the first embodiment, connection destination information of the power receiving device 301 is added as connection destination information of another device.

  In the flow of FIG. 8, the difference from the flow of FIG. 1 of the first embodiment will be described. In S103, the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 perform connection processing to transmit / receive apparatus status information. The device status information transmitted and received in S103 includes the connection destination information of the power receiving device 201 as the connection destination of the wireless communication in the wireless communication unit 237 as “other connection destination information”. Furthermore, the connection destination information of the power reception device 301 registered in the past as the connection destination of the wireless communication by the RX communication unit 208 or the wireless communication unit 237 is included as “other connection destination information” by the power reception device 201.

  Based on the “other connection destination information” received from the power receiving device 201, the power transmitting device 101 establishes a wireless communication connection with the power receiving device 301 using the TX communication unit 109 or the TX wireless communication unit 112, and performs wireless communication. It shall be possible. The power receiving device 301 is assumed to have at least one of the RX communication unit 208 and the RX wireless communication unit 237 of the power receiving device 201, and the same function as the RX display unit 233 and the RX sound generation unit 239. If the power transmission apparatus 101 notifies the power reception stop in S116, the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits power reception stop notification information to the power reception apparatus 201 in S117.

  Here, the flow of the power receiving apparatus 201 will be described. When the power receiving apparatus 201 receives the notification information from the power transmission apparatus 101 in S208, the power receiving apparatus 201 displays the notification information using the RX display unit 233 in S209. In step S <b> 209, the power supply apparatus 201 changes the content displayed on the RX display unit 233 depending on the type of notification information received from the power transmission apparatus 101. Further, the power receiving apparatus 201 may sound a sound with the RX sound generation unit 239.

  If the power receiving apparatus 201 does not receive the notification information from the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S208, the process proceeds to S211 and the power receiving apparatus 201 determines whether the battery 207 is fully charged. In step S209, when the power receiving apparatus 201 displays the notification information, the power reception device 201 determines whether the notification information received in step S210 is a second warning notification described later. In S210, if the power receiving apparatus 201 determines that the received notification information is the second warning notification, the process proceeds to S211 and the power receiving apparatus 201 determines whether the battery 207 is fully charged. If the power receiving apparatus 201 determines in S210 that the received notification information is not the second warning notification, the power receiving apparatus 201 ends the process of this flowchart.

  Here, the description returns to the flow of the power transmission apparatus 101. The power reception stop notification information transmitted by the power transmission apparatus 101 in S117 may be information including the power reception stop and the state of charge of the battery in the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S117. When the power receiving apparatus 201 receives the power receiving stop notification information transmitted by the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S117, for example, as shown in FIG. 11A, the power receiving stop and the state of charge of the battery in the latest apparatus status information can be understood. Information may be displayed on the display unit 233 for notification.

  The transmission of the power reception stop notification information in S117 is performed by either the TX communication unit 109 or the TX wireless communication unit 112. When the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission apparatus 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception apparatus 201 is maintained, transmission / reception notification information is transmitted / received between the TX communication unit 109 and the RX communication unit 208. However, when the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception device 201 is disconnected, the TX wireless communication unit 112 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX wireless communication unit 237 of the power reception device 201 Then, connection processing is performed, a wireless communication connection is established, and power reception stop notification information is transmitted and received.

  In addition, transmission of the power reception stop notification information in S117 may be performed not only between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 but also between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 301. For example, even if the power receiving apparatus 201 cannot receive the power reception stop notification information transmitted in S117, it is only necessary that the power receiving apparatus 301 can receive the notification information and the power receiving apparatus 301 can notify the notification information.

  The operation flow of the power receiving apparatus 301 is S308. If the power receiving apparatus 301 does not receive the notification information from the power transmitting apparatus 101, the process returns to S308. In step S308, when the power receiving apparatus 301 receives the notification information from the power transmission apparatus 101, the process proceeds to step S309. The power receiving apparatus 301 notifies the notification information, and the flow ends.

  The transmission stop notification information in S117 may or may not be implemented depending on the configuration of the apparatus. When transmitting the power reception stop notification information in S117, transmitting limited information that does not make the user feel bothered, such as reducing the amount of information compared to first warning notification information described later. Is desirable.

  When the power reception stop notification information is transmitted in S117, the power transmission apparatus 101 stops the transmission of non-contact power in S120, and ends the process of this flowchart. In S118, the power transmission device 101 performs the first state notification for notifying the reception stop using the TX display unit 110 and the TX sound generation unit 111. In S119, the power transmission device 101 notifies the power reception device 201 of the first warning. Send information.

  The first warning notification information transmitted by the power transmission apparatus 101 in S119 may be information including the power reception stop and the state of charge of the battery in the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S119. When the power receiving apparatus 201 receives the first warning notification information transmitted by the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S119, for example, as shown in FIG. 11B, the power reception is stopped and the state of charge of the battery in the latest apparatus status information can be known. Alternatively, information may be displayed on the RX display unit 233 for notification. Furthermore, a sound may be generated from the RX sound generation unit 239 to notify the power reception stop state more easily.

  The transmission of the first warning notification information in S119 is performed by either the TX communication unit 109 or the TX wireless communication unit 112. When the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception device 201 is maintained, the first warning notification information is transmitted and received between the TX communication unit 109 and the RX communication unit 208. Do. However, when the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception device 201 is disconnected, the TX wireless communication unit 112 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX wireless communication unit 237 of the power reception device 201 A connection process is performed to establish a wireless communication connection, and the first warning notification information is transmitted and received.

  In addition, the transmission of the first warning notification information in S119 may be performed not only between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 but also between the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 301. For example, even when the power receiving apparatus 201 cannot receive the first warning notification information transmitted in S119, it is only necessary that the power receiving apparatus 301 can receive the information and the power receiving apparatus 301 can notify the information. If transmission of the 1st warning alerting | reporting information by S119 is performed, the power transmission apparatus 101 will stop transmission of non-contact electric power by S120, and will complete | finish the process of this flowchart.

  In S123, when the power transmission apparatus 101 performs the second state notification to notify the power reception state change using the TX display unit 110 and the TX sound generation unit 111, the power transmission apparatus 101 notifies the power reception apparatus 201 of a second warning in S124. Broadcast information is transmitted. The second warning notification information transmitted by the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S124 is information including the latest power receiving state in the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S124, the remaining charging time in the latest power receiving state, and the like. It may be.

  When the power receiving apparatus 201 receives the second warning notification information transmitted by the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S124, for example, as shown in FIG. 11 (C) or (D), the power receiving state in the latest apparatus status information, the latest Information may be displayed on the RX display unit 233 so that the remaining charging time in the power receiving state can be known. Furthermore, a sound may be generated from the RX sound generation unit 239 to notify the power reception state in an easy-to-understand manner.

  When notifying the remaining charging time, the “battery voltage”, “battery full charge voltage”, “rated energy capacity”, “received power” of the power receiving device 201 are determined based on the latest device status information received before the processing of S124. It can be calculated from the above.

  The transmission of the second warning notification information in S124 is performed by either the TX communication unit 109 or the TX wireless communication unit 112. When the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission apparatus 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception apparatus 201 is maintained, the second warning notification information is transmitted and received between the TX communication unit 109 and the RX communication unit 208. Do. However, when the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception device 201 is disconnected, the TX wireless communication unit 112 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX wireless communication unit 237 of the power reception device 201 A connection process is performed to establish a wireless communication connection, and the second warning notification information is transmitted and received.

  Further, the transmission of the second warning notification information in S124 may be performed not only between the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 201 but also between the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power reception apparatus 301. For example, even when the power receiving apparatus 201 cannot receive the second warning notification information transmitted in S <b> 124, it may be received by the power receiving apparatus 301 and information can be notified by the power receiving apparatus 301. After transmitting the second warning notification information in S124, the process returns to S108, and the power transmission apparatus 101 transmits and receives status information to and from the power reception apparatus 201.

  According to the present embodiment, when power transmission / reception is performed in a contactless manner between the power transmission device and the power reception device, a change occurs in power supply efficiency due to a change in the arrangement state of the power transmission device and the power reception device. Can be notified not only on the power transmission apparatus side but also on the power reception apparatus side.

  In addition, it is possible to increase the possibility that the user notices the notification by notifying the power receiving device other than the combination of the power transmission device and the power receiving device performing non-contact power feeding.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, power transmission / reception is performed between the power transmission device and the power reception device in a wireless communication and contactless manner, and the power transmission device notifies when there is a change in the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power. Explained how to do.

  In the second embodiment, power transmission / reception is performed between a power transmission device and a power reception device in a wireless communication and contactless manner, and when the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power is changed, the power transmission device is In addition, a method has been described in which communication is performed with the other device and the power receiving device and the other device perform notification.

  In the third embodiment, power transmission / reception is performed between a power transmission device and a power reception device in a wireless communication and contactless manner, and when the power transmission efficiency of the transmission / reception power is changed, the power transmission device is A method of performing wireless communication and changing the notification method according to the received signal strength of wireless communication will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing in parallel the relationship of procedures for performing contactless charging between the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar processes as those in FIGS. 1 and 8, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Since the power transmission apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment have the same configurations as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, description of the apparatus configuration is omitted. Further, since the power receiving device 301 according to the present embodiment is not directly related to the present embodiment, description of the device configuration is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the power transmission device 101 and the power reception device 201 described in the flow of FIG. 12 according to the present embodiment. The arrangement of the power transmitting apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 does not correspond to (A) to (D) in FIG. 4 or (A) to (D) in FIG. 9 of the first and second embodiments.

  In FIG. 13A, when power is transmitted and received between the power transmission device and the power reception device, the position of the power reception device is shifted to stop power transmission and reception, and the power reception device remains in place. This is an arrangement example. FIG. 13B shows that when power is being transmitted and received between the power transmitting device and the power receiving device in a non-contact manner, the power receiving device is taken out by a user, for example, and power transmission / reception is stopped. It is an example of arrangement when moving without staying on the ground.

Differences from the flow of FIG. 8 in the flow of FIG. 8 in the second embodiment will be described.
First, the flow of the power transmission apparatus 101 will be described. In S115, the power transmission apparatus 101 uses the power supply efficiency calculated based on the latest apparatus status information received before the process of S115 and the “battery voltage” or “remaining battery level”, and the notification threshold diagram in FIG. It is judged whether it is more than 1st threshold value.

  If the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines that the battery of the power receiving apparatus 201 is equal to or greater than the first threshold in the notification threshold diagram of FIG. 6 in S115, the power transmitting apparatus 101 transmits a short packet information request to the power receiving apparatus 201 in S151. The short packet information request transmitted by the power transmitting apparatus 101 in S151 is information including part of the apparatus status information and including information for causing the power receiving apparatus 201 to repeatedly transmit a short packet information response for a certain period.

  The transmission of the short packet information request in S151 is performed by either the TX communication unit 109 or the TX wireless communication unit 112. When the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission apparatus 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception apparatus 201 is maintained, a short packet information request is transmitted between the TX communication unit 109 and the RX communication unit 208. However, when the connection between the TX communication unit 109 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX communication unit 208 of the power reception device 201 is disconnected, the TX wireless communication unit 112 of the power transmission device 101 and the RX wireless communication unit 237 of the power reception device 201 Connection processing is performed to establish a wireless communication connection, and a short packet information request is transmitted.

  After transmitting the short packet information request in S151, in S152, the power transmitting apparatus 101 repeatedly receives the short packet information response from the power receiving apparatus 201 for a certain period, and checks whether the change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response is less than the threshold value. to decide.

  The determination in S152 is, for example, determining whether the change between the received signal strength of the short packet information response received at the Nth time and the received signal strength of the short packet information response received at the (N + 1) th time is less than a predetermined value. . The determination as to whether the change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response is less than a predetermined value may be made over a plurality of times, Nth and N + 1th, N + 1th and N + 2th,.

  If the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines in S152 that the change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response is less than the threshold, the process proceeds to S118. The power transmission apparatus 101, the power reception apparatus 201, and the arrangement example when it is determined in S152 that the change in the received signal strength is less than the threshold is an arrangement in which the power reception apparatus 201 stays on the spot as shown in FIG. . Since the arrangement of the electric power device 101 and the electric power receiving device 201 does not change, it is determined that there is no change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response and the change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response is less than a predetermined value. It will be.

  If the power transmitting apparatus 101 determines in S152 that the change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response is not less than the threshold, the process proceeds to S119. As shown in FIG. 13B, the power transmitting apparatus 101, the power receiving apparatus 201, and the arrangement example in the case where it is determined in S152 that the change in the received signal strength is not less than the threshold value are moved without the power receiving apparatus 201 remaining on the spot. Arrangement. Since the arrangement of the power receiving apparatus 101 and the power receiving apparatus 201 changes, it is determined that there is a change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response and the change in the received signal strength of the short packet information response is not less than a predetermined value. become.

  Next, the flow of the power receiving apparatus 201 will be described. When the short packet information request is received in S251, the power receiving apparatus 201 repeatedly transmits a short packet information response to the power receiving apparatus 101 in a certain period in S252. If the short packet information request is not received in S251, the process proceeds to S208.

  According to the present embodiment, when power transmission / reception is performed in a contactless manner between the power transmission device and the power reception device, a change occurs in power supply efficiency due to a change in the arrangement state of the power transmission device and the power reception device. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the cause of the change in the arrangement state is a positional shift or a user's take-out.

  When there is a high possibility that the change in the arrangement state is a positional shift, the power transmission device is notified. When there is a high possibility that the user will bring out the change in the arrangement state, a notification is provided by the power transmission device. By not doing, the notification destination can be changed effectively.

[Other Embodiments]
In the first to third embodiments, the wireless communication means that performs control for transmitting and receiving power in a non-contact manner has been described as an example of performing communication using the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy protocol. However, the wireless communication protocol to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy.

  For example, the present invention can be applied even if wireless communication is performed using protocols of ISO / IEC21481, ISO / IEC14443, and ISO / IEC15693. When the protocol is supported, the power transmission device 101 has a non-contact IC reader / writer device, and the power reception device 201 has a non-contact IC function.

  Further, the wireless communication means of the present invention may be IEEE 802.11 that is a WLAN standard and IEEE 802.15.1 that is a short-range wireless standard. Instead of the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy protocol, which is a wireless communication unit of the power transmission device and the power reception device, a wireless communication unit corresponding to the WLAN standard or the short-range wireless standard may be provided. In short, if the present invention is a device configuration that wirelessly communicates between a power transmitting device and a power receiving device and transmits and receives power without contact, what is the wireless communication means that performs control for transmitting and receiving power without contact? It does not matter.

  Various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention, and a part of the above-described embodiments may be appropriately combined. Also, a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied from a recording medium directly to a communication system or an electronic device having a computer that can execute the program using wired / wireless communication, and the program is executed. This case is also included in the present invention. Accordingly, the program code itself supplied and installed in the computer in order to implement the functional processing of the present invention by the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the present invention. In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS. The recording medium for supplying the program may be, for example, a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk or a magnetic tape, an optical / magnetomagnetic recording medium, or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. As a program supply method, a method of recording a computer program forming the present invention on a server on a computer network and downloading a computer program by a connected client computer is also conceivable.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, program codes corresponding to the flows shown in FIGS. 1, 8, and 12 are stored in the recording medium.

101 power transmission device, 201 power reception device, 301 power reception device

Claims (16)

A power receiving device including a wireless communication unit and a wireless power receiving unit, capable of mounting a secondary battery, a wireless communication unit communicable with the power receiving device, a wireless power transmitting unit, and an operating state of the wireless power transmitting unit are notified. A non-contact power feeding system comprising: a notification unit, wherein the wireless power transmission unit is configured to transmit power to the power reception device in a contactless manner, and to charge a secondary battery of the power reception device with the power. ,
The power reception device and the power transmission device are configured to transmit device status information including at least information on the secondary battery by the wireless communication unit after the wireless power transmission unit has started contactless power transmission / reception by the wireless power transmission unit. Voltage threshold of a secondary battery that repeats wireless communication and activates the notification means according to the power supply efficiency of the power when the power supply efficiency of the power transmitted and received between the power reception device and the power transmission device changes The non-contact electric power feeding control method characterized by changing the setting of. A power receiving device including a wireless communication unit and a wireless power receiving unit, capable of mounting a secondary battery, a wireless communication unit communicable with the power receiving device, a wireless power transmitting unit, and an operating state of the wireless power transmitting unit are notified. A non-contact power feeding system comprising: a notification unit, wherein the wireless power transmission unit is configured to transmit power to the power reception device in a contactless manner, and to charge a secondary battery of the power reception device with the power. ,
The power reception device and the power transmission device are configured to transmit device status information including at least information on the secondary battery by the wireless communication unit after the wireless power transmission unit has started contactless power transmission / reception by the wireless power transmission unit. When the power supply efficiency of the electric power transmitted and received between the power receiving device and the power transmission device is changed by repeatedly performing wireless communication, the remaining amount of the secondary battery that activates the notification unit according to the power supply efficiency of the power A non-contact power supply control method characterized by changing a level threshold setting.   The non-contact power feeding control method according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit does not activate the notifying unit when the threshold value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, and activates the notifying unit when the threshold value is less than the threshold value. .   4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of methods of the wireless power transmission means are provided, and a setting of a threshold value for invoking the notification means is further changed according to a method of the plurality of wireless power transmission means provided. The contactless power supply control method according to one item.   5. The threshold value for activating the notification means is set such that the threshold value decreases as the power supply efficiency increases, and the threshold value increases as the power supply efficiency decreases. The contactless power supply control method according to one item.   When the power supply efficiency of the power transmitted / received between the power receiving device and the power transmitting device changes and the power transmission / reception stops, a threshold value different from the threshold value is further provided, and notification is made by a threshold value different from the threshold value. 6. The non-contact power feeding control method according to claim 1, wherein the notification information in the means is changed.   The information notified by the notification means is the latest information obtained by wireless communication for transmitting device status information including at least the secondary battery information by the wireless communication means before the notification means is activated. The contactless power feeding control method according to claim 1, wherein the contactless power feeding control method is used.   The power receiving device further includes notification means for notifying an operating state of the wireless power transmission means, and when the notification means is activated, the power reception device and the power transmission device communicate with each other by the wireless communication means, and The non-contact power feeding control method according to claim 1, wherein an operation state of the power transmission unit is notified by a notification unit of the power receiving device.   The power transmission device and the power receiving device further include second wireless communication means different from the wireless communication means, and the wireless communication means transmits connection information of the second wireless communication means, and the notification means is activated. In this case, the power reception device and the power transmission device communicate with each other by the second wireless communication unit, and the operation state of the wireless power transmission unit is notified by the notification unit of the power reception device. The non-contact electric power feeding control method as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8.   When the power supply efficiency of the power being transmitted / received between the power receiving device and the power transmitting device is changed and the power transmitted / received is stopped, the power transmitting device and the power receiving device have received signal strength by the wireless communication means. The communication for acquiring the change is repeated, and if the change in the received signal strength within a predetermined time is not less than a predetermined value, the notification unit of the power transmission device is not used and the notification unit of the power reception device is not used. The contactless power feeding control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.   11. The non-contact power feeding control method according to claim 1, wherein the information notified by the notification unit includes charging state information of the secondary battery.   The non-contact power feeding control method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the information notified by the notification means includes information on a remaining charging time of the secondary battery.   The information notified by the notification means includes power supply efficiency information of power transmitted / received between the power reception device and the power transmission device. The contactless power supply control method described in 1.   A wireless communication apparatus using the non-contact power supply control method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.   A wireless communication apparatus using the non-contact power feeding control method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 in combination.   A computer-readable program for causing the wireless communication apparatus according to claim 14 or 15 to function.