JPH10326379A - Battery charging station - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery charging station that provides a paied charging service for a battery for portable electric equipment at the station installation place. SOLUTION: This battery charging station 1 has a charger 4, which rectifies the electric power of an alternating power source 3 and outputs charging electric power and a feed terminal 7 connected to the charging terminal 6 of a battery 5 and is equipped with a charging completion detecting means 8 for the battery 5, a charging stop means 9, which stops charging the battery 5 when the charging completion is detected, an integrating means 10 for a charging quantity up to the charging completion, an arithmetic means 11 for calculating a charging rate from the integrated charging quantity, and a charging rate display means 12 for the calculated rate. Further, the station is equipped with battery storage means 13 and 17 for the battery 5, a charge receiving means 14, a received charge decision means 15 which decides whether or not the received money is larger than the calculated charge, and a battery storage resetting means 16 which resets the storing operation for the battery 5 when the received money is larger than the calculated rate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery charging station for providing a battery charging service for portable electric equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable electric appliances such as portable telephones, simplified portable telephones (so-called PHS), portable CD players, portable cassette players and the like have been widely used. Since these portable electric devices are easily carried, rechargeable batteries such as lithium ion batteries and nickel hydrogen batteries are frequently used as power sources.

[0003] Such a battery charging terminal is provided in a variety of locations and models depending on the type, manufacturer and model of the portable electric device, and it is considered that no unified standard is established. By the way, in the general-purpose mobile phone 30 shown in FIG.
Is provided. On the other hand, in the general-purpose mobile phone 30a shown in FIG. 7, charging terminals 6a are provided at equal intervals on the bottom surface, and various types are available.

[0004]

When talking on a mobile phone, if the user is absorbed in talking and talks continuously for a long time, or if the call is frequently repeated in business, a large amount of power is consumed, and The battery may run out during operation. In such a case, the battery can be charged by a dedicated charger at the user's home or work place, but if the user is out of the office or traveling, it will be adapted to his / her own device from the various devices as described above. It is extremely difficult to find a charger. On the other hand, if the user forgets to charge the battery at home or the like due to carelessness, it cannot be used outside the home the next day. Therefore, there is a case where the user wants to charge the battery while going out, even if the user is charged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to realize a battery charging station capable of providing a charged charging service to a battery for a portable electric device at a place where the station is installed. I do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a battery charging station according to the present invention is connected to a charger for rectifying an AC power supply and outputting charging power, and to a power output side of the charger. A charging terminal of a battery for a portable electric device and a power supply terminal detachably connected thereto, and a charging completion detecting means for detecting completion of charging of the battery; and a charging completion detecting means. A charge stopping means for stopping charging the battery when the completion of charging is detected; a charge amount integrating means for integrating the charge amount from the start of charging to the completion of charging; The charge rate calculating means for calculating the charge and the charge rate display means for displaying the amount of the calculated charge to the outside are provided.

[0007] In addition to the above configuration, a battery storage means for storing a battery to be charged while being attached to a power supply terminal, a charge receiving means for receiving and counting charges, and a charging means for charging the counted charges. Receiving fee determining means for determining whether the calculated fee is equal to or more than the calculated fee, and battery storage releasing means for releasing the battery storage operation by the battery storing device when the counted fee is determined to be greater than or equal to the calculated fee. It is provided.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of main control of a battery charging station according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a battery charging station 1 is connected to n chargers 4 (1) to 4 (n) for rectifying an AC power supply 3 and outputting charging power, and to a power output side of each charger 4 respectively. And n power supply terminals 7 (1) to 7 (n) detachably connected to a charging terminal 6 of a battery 5 for various portable electric devices, and charging completion detecting means 8 which will be described in detail later. , Charge amount integrating means 10,
The control device 2 having the functions of the charging fee calculating means 11 and the receiving fee determining means 15, the charging stopping means 9, the display (an example of the charging fee displaying means) 12, and the storage room 13
, Charge receiving means 14 and battery storage releasing means 16
(1) to (n). Each charger 4 has a general-purpose transformer 18, a rectifier 19, and a normally closed contact 20, and a voltage detector 21 is connected in parallel to the power output side.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a battery charging station. In the figure, a battery charging station 1
Is composed of a control unit 25 for controlling the entire station, and a storage unit 26 for storing various batteries 5. The control unit 25 includes the control device 2,
A keyboard 22 for inputting data to the control device 2, a display 12 for displaying the contents of calculations by the control device 2 and menu text, a printing device 23 for printing out the results of the calculations on a printing paper 24, and the like are provided. The storage unit 26 includes a plurality (n) of storage rooms 13 (1) to 13 (n).
Are formed, and each front opening is formed by a door 2.
At 7 (1) to 27 (n), it is opened and closed freely. These doors 27 (1) to 27 (n) are strictly locked by individually provided door keys 17 (1) to 17 (n) to prevent improper activities such as theft. In each of the storage rooms 13 (1) to 13 (n),
Various chargers 4 (1) to 4 (n) are provided.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main configuration of a battery charging station. In the figure, a control device 2 is mainly configured by a microcomputer CPU, and a timer T, a memory M,
The input / output port I / O is connected. The data input side of the control device 2 includes a fee collection means 1 for collecting and counting the fee.
4. A keyboard 22 for data input, voltage detectors 21 (1) to 21 (n) for detecting a DC voltage, and the like are connected. On the other hand, on the data output side, the display 12, the printing device 23, the chargers 4 (1) to 4 (n) connected to the power supply terminals 7 (1) to 7 (n), and the door keys 17 (1) to 17 (17)
Battery storage canceling means 16 (1) to 16 (n) composed of a solenoid or the like connected to (n) are connected.

Next, a mode of use of the battery charging station 1 configured as described above will be described. When the user inputs data relating to the start of use from the keyboard 22,
The menu contents as shown in FIG. 4 are displayed on the display 12 in an interactive manner. First, it asks, "What equipment do you use?" If the device to be used is a mobile phone, the cursor (indicated by a blink mark in the figure) may be moved to the position of “mobile phone”, and then the return key may be pressed. Next, the screen is scrolled to change the page, and the message "What is the communication company?" If the communication company being used is, for example, NTT DoCoMo, the cursor may be moved to "docomo" and the return key may be pressed.

Next, when asked, "What is the model?"
The corresponding model name (here, N201 model) is input.
Subsequently, the message "Please put your mobile phone in the storage room of No. n." Is displayed, and the storage room (here, the nth one) containing the corresponding charger is indicated on the screen. You. As for the data relating to the “device used”, “model”, and “other related information (such as“ communication company ”), various data are prepared in advance as a tree-type database and stored in the memory M. ing.

[0013] Then, the user can adapt the charger 4 (n).
, For example, the door 27 (n) of the storage room 13 (n)
, The charging terminal of the battery of the mobile phone 30 is connected to the power supply terminal 7 of the charger 4 (n) as shown in FIG.
(N). Thereafter, when the data relating to the completion of the setting is input from the keyboard 22, "Close the door of the storage room for No. n and lock the door key by hand" is displayed. After locking the door key 17 (n), the user inputs “complete” from the keyboard 22.

Then, "Start charging?" Is displayed. Therefore, when "start" is input, the control device 2 energizes the charger 4 (n) to start battery charging. When the DC voltage detected by the voltage detector 21 (n) reaches a predetermined voltage (a voltage corresponding to the full charge) preset for each type of the battery 5, the control device 2 The charging completion detecting means 8 detects the completion of charging of the battery 5. When the completion of charging is detected by the charging completion detecting means 8, the control device 2 outputs a drive signal to the charging stopping means 9 comprising a solenoid or the like. The charging stop means 9 is driven to open the normally closed contact 20 of the charger 4 (n), and the power supply to the battery 5 is stopped.

On the other hand, the charging amount integrating means 10 is based on the time measured from the start of charging by the timer M, the DC voltage history detected by the voltage detector 21, the DC current history detected by an ammeter (not shown), and the like. In addition, the charge amount from the start of charging to the completion of charging is integrated. When charging is complete,
The charge rate calculating means 11 calculates a charge related to charging based on the integrated charge amount by the charge amount integrating means 10. Then, the amount of the calculation fee is displayed on the screen of the display 12.

Then, the user confirms the amount displayed on the display 12 and inserts money from the insertion port of the fee collection means 14. The fee collection means 14 receives and counts the inserted money. Subsequently, the receipt fee determination means 15 calculates the charge counted by the fee receipt means 14 as the charge fee calculation means 1.
It is determined whether the charge is equal to or greater than the calculation fee by step 1. At this time, if the counted fee is equal to or greater than the calculated fee, the battery storage release unit 16 releases the lock of the door key 17 of the storage room 13. Thus, the user can open the door 27 and take out the charged mobile phone.

However, for a user who wants to receive the portable electric device halfway due to urgent use or the like, charging may be forcibly stopped by an interrupt input from the keyboard 22 even before charging is completed. Also, at the stage when the calculation fee is displayed on the display 12, the user can hand over the display fee to the station installer in cash and settle it. That is, the above-described configuration including the storage chambers 13, the door 27, and the door key 17 is means for storing the battery 5 to be charged while being attached to the power supply terminal 7. Is an example.

The above-described battery charging station 1 allows the user to receive a charging service at the nearest station installation location, and allows the station installer to receive a charge as a service fee. Therefore, the user can use the portable electric device without worrying about running out of the battery when going out. That is, this battery charging station 1
For example, convenience stores, supermarkets,
It can be used very conveniently when installed in schools, stations, hotels, banks, public facilities, etc.

In the above-described embodiment, the completion of charging is detected based on the DC voltage of the charger. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the time from the start of charging measured by the timer T of the control device 2 may be measured. When the time reaches a predetermined time determined in advance for each type of battery, the charging may be regarded as completed and the charging may be stopped by the charging stop means 9.

In the above description, the battery being charged is stored by the storage room 13, the door 27, and the door key 17, but the battery storage means of the present invention is not limited to this. A configuration may also be adopted in which a gripping claw device (not shown) is arranged and the battery being charged is held by the battery gripping claw device.

The portable electric equipment used in the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned portable telephone, but may be a PHS, portable C
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a D player, a portable cassette player, a notebook personal computer and the like.

[0022]

As described above, according to the battery charging station of the present invention, the user can receive the battery charging service at the nearest station installation location even when the battery runs out while going out. , The station installer can receive a charging fee. Therefore, the user does not have to worry about the use of the device due to running out of battery when going out, and can carry the electric device with confidence.

If the battery is stored during charging and the storage operation is canceled when the charging fee is paid, the portable electric device and battery being charged are stored strictly. It helps prevent theft and protects privacy through unauthorized use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of main control of a battery charging station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a battery charging station.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a main configuration of a battery charging station.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a menu screen displayed on a CRT of a battery charging station.

FIG. 5 is an external view showing a charger of a battery charging station and a mobile phone attached to the charger.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing an example of a charging terminal in a general-purpose mobile phone.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing another example of a charging terminal in a general-purpose mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery charging station 3 AC power supply 4 Battery charger 5 Battery 6 Charging terminal 7 Power supply terminal 8 Charging completion detecting means 9 Charging stop means 10 Charge amount accumulating means 11 Charging rate calculating means 12 Display (charging rate displaying means) 13 Storage room (Battery storage means) 14 Charge receipt means 15 Receipt charge judgment means 16 Battery storage release means 17 Door key (Battery storage means) 20 Normally closed contact 21 Voltage detector 27 Door (Battery storage means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A charger for rectifying an AC power supply and outputting charging power, and a power supply connected to a power output side of the charger and detachably connected to a charging terminal of a battery for a portable electric device. Charge completion detecting means for detecting the completion of charging of the battery; charge stopping means for stopping charging of the battery when the completion of charging is detected by the charge completion detecting means; Charge amount integrating means for integrating the charge amount from the start to completion of charging, charge charge calculating means for calculating a charge related to charging from the integrated charge amount by the charge amount integrating means, and a charge amount for displaying the amount of the calculated charge to the outside A battery charging station comprising a display means. 2. A battery storage means for storing a battery to be charged while being attached to a power supply terminal, a charge reception means for receiving and counting a charge, and the counted charge is equal to or more than a charge calculated by the charge charge calculation means. 2. A receipt charge judging means for judging whether or not a battery charge is released, and a battery storage canceling means for canceling a battery storage operation by the battery storage means when it is determined that the counted charge is equal to or higher than the calculated charge. Battery charging station.