JP2684970B2 - Charger with discharge function - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charger with a discharge function that can effectively use discharge energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a charger with a discharge function, a discharger has been attached for the purpose of improving the discharge characteristics of the rechargeable battery itself. For example, the battery charger with a discharger described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-65027 is composed of a charge control circuit 1, a discharge control circuit 2, and a battery charge / discharge switching circuit 3 as shown in FIG. Discharge control circuit 2
Is a discharger for discharging the remaining capacity of the battery before charging. The battery charge / discharge switching circuit 3 detects the remaining capacity of the battery and controls whether the battery is discharged and then charged or directly charged. That is, the switch 4 is switched by the battery charge / discharge switching control circuit 3. A battery 7 and a battery connection terminal 8 are connected to the switch 4.

Here, the charging operation is immediately started for the charged battery, but the used battery is charged after being discharged to the optimum end voltage of the battery. On the other hand, the best charging / discharging cycle can always be repeated.

[0004]

In this conventional charger with a discharge function, a discharger is used to improve the discharge characteristics of the battery itself. At this time, the electric energy remaining in the battery is It was a waste of energy because it was wasted by the discharger.

[0005]

That due to the present invention, there is provided a means for solving] with discharge function
The charger has a charging circuit that charges the rechargeable battery, a discharge circuit that discharges the rechargeable battery, and a charging circuit that charges the rechargeable battery when charging.
And a first switching means for connecting the discharge circuit to the rechargeable battery when the rechargeable battery is discharged.
It provided several further, a capacitor for accumulating the discharge power of the rechargeable battery is discharged at a discharge circuit of the charge-discharge circuit, the discharge circuit
First detecting means for detecting the discharge voltage of the battery, second detecting means for detecting the energy stored in the capacitor, and charging of the discharge state.
Of the discharge circuit connected to the battery, the battery and the external power supply
Use one of the outputs as the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery
Connected to the second switching means to select and charge the rechargeable battery
To either the charging circuit or the battery
The third switch to supply the discharge current from the rechargeable battery
And switching means. And the second switching means is the first
And a rechargeable battery in a discharged state according to the output of the second detection means
The discharge circuit to be connected to the
Select the force as the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery in the charged state,
The switching means is responsive to the outputs of the first and second detection means.
The charging circuit connected to the rechargeable battery
To supply the discharge current from the charged rechargeable battery.
Features .

Further, another charger with a discharging function according to the present invention is, in addition to the above configuration, a third charger for detecting the presence or absence of a rechargeable battery.
Means and the second and third switching means include the first and second switching means.
The discharge circuit without a rechargeable battery according to the output of the detection means of 3.
Alternatively, the charging circuit is not selected .

[0007]

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a charger with a discharging function of the present invention. In the figure, the charger with a discharging function of the present embodiment shows a power source 10 for charging and a control circuit connected to an external power source, a charge control circuit 11 for charging a rechargeable battery 12, and energy of a rechargeable battery 12. Discharging circuit 13, a discharging circuit 13, which stores a discharging current and discards excess energy, and a voltage monitoring circuit 17 which monitors the accumulated voltage of the charging circuit 14 and the output voltage of the discharging circuit 13.
, Charging power switching circuit 15 and charging / discharging switching circuit 16
It is comprised including.

The charging power source switching circuit 15 includes the charging control circuit 1
While 1 can supply the electric energy sufficient to charge the rechargeable battery 12 from the charger 14, the terminals bc are closed and the charging current is supplied from the battery 14. When the storage battery 14 cannot supply sufficient electric energy, the charging power source switching circuit 15 closes the circuits ac. Whether or not the battery 14 can supply sufficient electric energy is determined by the voltage monitoring circuit 17, and the charging power source switching circuit 15 switches according to the output.

The charging / discharging switching circuit 16 closes the terminals ef while the rechargeable battery 12 is discharging and closes the terminals df during charging. The charge / discharge switching circuit 16 has three operation modes, which are a charge mode, a discharge mode, and a post-discharge charge mode, the selection of which is controlled by the mode selection circuit 18. In the charging mode, the terminals df are closed. In the discharge mode, the terminals ef are closed. In the post-discharge charging mode, first, ef is closed to operate as a discharge mode. When the discharge end is detected by the discharge voltage monitoring by the voltage monitoring circuit 17, the detection output automatically closes the terminal d-f and the charging mode. Move to.

The storage battery 14 has both the function of receiving discharge energy from the discharge circuit 13 and storing the energy in its own storage battery and the function of discarding excess discharge energy. Generally, it is desirable that the capacity of the battery is large enough so that there is no energy to be discarded.

Next, the operation of the entire apparatus will be described. Rechargeable battery 1
When 2 is set in the charging mode after discharging, the charging / discharging switching circuit 16 closes the terminals ef and stores the electric energy remaining in the rechargeable battery 12 in the capacitor 14 through the discharging circuit 13. When the sufficient discharging is completed, the charging / discharging switching circuit 16 closes the terminals df and shifts to the charging mode. At this time, if the battery 14 has sufficient energy stored therein, the charging power source switching circuit 15 closes the terminals bc, and if the battery 14 does not have sufficient energy, the terminals ac are closed and the charging control circuit 11 closes. The rechargeable battery 12 is charged. Even if the charging is first started and the terminals bc are closed, the voltage monitoring circuit 17
Therefore, if it is determined that the storage battery 14 cannot release sufficient charging energy, the switching circuit 15 immediately determines the terminals ac.
Close. As a result, the charge control circuit 11 continues to charge the rechargeable battery 12. However, in this case, the terminals ac may be closed from the beginning.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the charger with a discharging function of the present invention. In the figure, in this embodiment, a charging power source 110, charging / discharging circuits 130 and 131 for charging and discharging two rechargeable batteries 112 and 122, and a rechargeable battery 11 are shown.
2, 122 includes a storage battery 114 for accumulating discharge energy discharged, and a charging power supply switching circuit 115.

The charging / discharging circuits 130 and 131 have discharging control circuits 111 and 123, discharging circuits 113 and 123, and charging / discharging circuits.
The discharge switching circuits 116 and 126 and the mode selection circuit 117,
127 are the discharge control circuit 11, the discharge circuit 13, the charge / discharge switching circuit 16 and the mode selection circuit 18 of FIG. 1, respectively.
Respectively.

The charging power source switching circuit 115 includes a switch A,
The switch A has a terminal B connected to the inputs of the charging control circuits 111 and 121, a terminal g on the charging power source side, and a capacitor 1
14 is connected to either the output-side terminal h or the terminal i, and the switch B connects the terminal n connected to the outputs of the discharge circuits 113 and 123 to the terminal k or the input-side terminal m of the condenser 114. Is. Here, the terminals i and k are connected to each other. Therefore, the switch A is a switch that selects any one of the outputs of the charging power supply 110, the storage battery 114, and the outputs (when the terminals k and n are connected) of the discharging circuits 113 and 123 as the charging voltage, and the switch B is the storage battery 114. Alternatively, the charge control circuits 111 and 121 (terminals i-j
It is a switch for supplying a discharge current to either of (when connected).

Here, the switch A has a function of automatically selecting the charging power source in the order of the terminals i, h, and g. Once terminal h-j
Even if the capacitor 114 is selected, if the output voltage becomes insufficient, it is switched to the terminal g-j. In addition, if a sufficient power supply (by discharge) is supplied to the terminal i, the terminal h-
transition from the closed state of j to the closed state of terminals i-j,
Select the charging power supply from the lower selection level. The switch B outputs the discharge circuits 113 and 12 to the output destinations in the order of the terminals k and m.
The output current from 3 is distributed. That is, first, if the required current is supplied to the terminal k, the remaining current is supplied to the terminal m.

The switches A and B are discharge voltage monitoring circuits 130.
It is controlled by the outputs of the battery presence / absence detection circuit 140 and the voltage monitoring circuit 150. The discharge voltage monitoring circuit 130 switches the switch A, the switch A according to the discharge output voltage of the discharge circuits 113, 123.
B and charge / discharge switching circuits 116 and 126 are switched. The battery presence / absence detection circuit 140 controls the switch B to close the terminals m-n when only one of the rechargeable batteries 112 and 122 is connected. Further, the voltage monitoring circuit 150 uses the storage battery 1
The output discharge voltage of 14 is monitored and switches A and B are switched.

Next, the operation of the charging circuit with the discharging function shown in FIG. 2 will be described.

1. When the rechargeable battery 112 is in the charging mode and the rechargeable battery 122 is in the charging mode after discharging, in the initial state, the switch A has the terminals g to j closed and the rechargeable battery 11
It is assumed that the rechargeable battery 122 is set in the post-discharge charging mode when the rechargeable battery 122 is being charged, the storage energy of the storage battery 114 is zero.
-State 1-When the rechargeable battery 122 starts discharging, the discharging current passes through the discharging circuit 123 and the charging power source switching circuit 115.
Into the terminal n of the switch B. Here, the switch B switches to the terminal k by the output of the discharge voltage monitoring circuit 130 and then supplies the current. At the same time, switch A has terminals g-j
And the terminals i-j are closed, and the rechargeable battery 1
The discharging energy of the rechargeable battery 122 is used to charge the battery 12. -State 2-Next, when the discharge voltage monitoring circuit 130 detects that the discharge of the rechargeable battery 122 progresses and the discharge energy cannot release sufficient energy required by the charge control circuit 111, the output thereof causes the switch A
Shifts from a state in which the terminals i-j are closed to a state in which the terminals g-j are closed, and at the same time, the switch B is controlled so that discharge energy flows to the terminal m.
-State 3-If in State 3 above,
Assuming that the capacitor 114 is sufficiently charged in the state 1, the switch B is switched from the terminal i-j to the terminal g-j by the output of the voltage monitoring circuit 150 before the capacitor 11 is charged.
In order to use the charging energy of No. 4 to charge the rechargeable battery 112, it is switched to the terminals k-j. This is based on the operation of the switch A selecting the power supply for charging from the lower selection level as described above.

On the other hand, in state 2, when the rechargeable battery 112 is fully charged and the battery presence / absence detection circuit 140 detects that the rechargeable battery 112 is removed, the charge control circuit 111 no longer needs to supply charging energy. Therefore, the discharge current is switched from the terminal k of the switch B to the terminal m.
-After state 4-state 4, when the rechargeable battery 122 completes discharging and shifts to the charging mode, the switch A first closes the terminals h-j as a charging power source for the rechargeable battery 122. Then, the rechargeable battery 122 discharges during its own discharge mode and first consumes the energy stored in the battery 114.
-State 5-State 5 progresses further, and it becomes impossible for the battery 114 to supply sufficient charge energy to the charge control circuit 121.
Then, the terminals g-j of the switch A are closed and charging is continued.

The above operation is the same when the rechargeable battery 122 is set to charge and the rechargeable battery 112 is set to the charge after discharge mode.

2. When the rechargeable battery 112 is in the charging mode and the rechargeable battery 122 is in the discharging mode, the above-mentioned states 1 to 4 are executed.

3. When both the rechargeable batteries 112 and 122 are in the discharge mode In this mode, the terminal m-n of the switch B is closed and the discharge current flows into the electric storage pack 114.

4. When both the rechargeable batteries 112 and 122 are in the charging mode, the switch A first uses the discharge energy of the capacitor 114 by closing the terminals h-j. When the voltage detection circuit 150 detects that sufficient discharge energy cannot be supplied, the output switches to the terminal g-j, and the charging power supply 110 becomes the charging power supply.

[5] When only one of the rechargeable batteries 112 and 122 is connected The battery presence / absence detection circuit 140 detects that one of the chargers is not connected and closes the terminals m-n of the switch B. The subsequent operation is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG.

As described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
Since the charging power source of the rechargeable battery being charged is selected in the order of the rechargeable battery being discharged and the storage battery 114 charging power supply 110, the discharge energy of the rechargeable battery being discharged can be quickly used for charging, and the discharge energy can be used efficiently. Will also contribute.

It should be noted that the discharge energy of the rechargeable battery being discharged is not immediately used for charging the rechargeable battery being charged.
If it is stored in 14, it is not necessary to connect the terminals i-j of the switch A and the terminals k-n of the switch B. In this case, the terminal i of the switch A and the switch B are unnecessary, and the outputs of the discharge circuits 113 and 123 may be directly connected to the capacitor 114.

[0029]

As described above, the charger with the discharge function according to the present invention is configured to include the control means for causing the discharge energy of the storage battery for storing the discharge energy to flow into the rechargeable battery being charged. In addition, there is a power-saving effect that discharge energy can be used for another charge, and an effect of effective use of energy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional charger with a discharging function.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A charging circuit for charging a rechargeable battery, a discharge circuit for discharging the rechargeable battery, a charging circuit connected to the rechargeable battery when charging the rechargeable battery, and a discharge circuit for discharging the rechargeable battery. including a first switching means for connecting to said rechargeable battery
No discharge circuit is provided with a plurality of each rechargeable battery, further the charge
A storage device for accumulating the discharge output of the rechargeable battery discharged in the discharge circuit of the discharge circuit, and a first detecting means for detecting a discharge voltage from the discharge circuit.
When the said discharge circuit which connects a second detecting means for detecting the stored energy of the capacitor, the battery state of discharge capacitor
Output of either one of
Second switching means for selecting the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery, the charging circuit and the storage battery connected to the rechargeable battery in a charged state
Supply the discharge current from the rechargeable battery
And a third switching means for switching so that the said second switching means, said first and second detecting means
Depending on the output of the discharge connected to the battery in the discharged state
The output of the circuit, the battery and the external power source are charged in this order.
Selected as the charging voltage of the rechargeable battery in the state of being in the state, the third switching means is the first and second detecting means.
Depending on the output of the charge, the charge connected to the rechargeable battery
Discharge from the rechargeable battery in the charged state in the order of the circuit and the battery
Charger with discharge function characterized by supplying current . 2. A third means for detecting the presence or absence of a rechargeable battery is provided.
However, the second and third switching means are configured to detect the third detection.
Depending on the output of the means, the discharge circuit without a rechargeable battery or before
The charger with a discharging function according to claim 1, wherein the charging circuit is not selected .