Charging device and hand-held device for a small mobile electrical device

• US 10,116,172 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2014
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trisa Holding AG
• Original Assignee: Trisa Holding AG
• Inventors: Fischer, Franz, Meier, Hanspeter
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Omar, Ahmed
• Application Number:
  US14/896,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20160134151A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,602 Days
• Field of Search: 320108
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00304 Overcurrent protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00308 Overvoltage protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0032 disconnection of loads if battery is not under charge, e.g. in vehicle if engine is not running
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage

Abstract

A charging device having contactless transmission of electrical energy in order to supply energy to a wireless hand-held device. An electronic circuit for feeding an inductive energy transmitter is designed to adapt energy fed to the inductive energy transmitter in accordance with energy drawn from the inductive energy transmitter. A hand-held device is designed to interrupt the supply of a load when energy is fed into the hand-held device by means of the inductive energy transmitter.

Claims

1. A charging device for contactless transmission of energy for the energy supply of a cordless hand-held device, wherein the charging device comprises:

an electronic circuit for feeding an inductive energy transmitter, the circuit being configured to adapt energy fed to the inductive energy transmitter, in accordance with energy taken from the inductive energy transmitter, the circuit comprising;

a primary winding for feeding a hand-held device, wherein the primary winding is part of an oscillation circuit;

a driver circuit for the pulsed feeding of energy into the oscillation circuit in accordance with a driver signal;

a current measuring circuit for producing a current measurement signal corresponding to a current flowing into the oscillation circuit; and

a control device which is configured to detect the current measurement signal and, in accordance with the current measurement signal, to generate the driver signal for the activation of the driver circuit, as a pulse-width modulated signal with a frequency corresponding to a resonance frequency of the oscillation circuit,

wherein the current measuring circuit comprises a measuring shunt and a rectifier circuit for rectifying a voltage occurring across the measuring shunt and for generating the current measurement signal, and the control device comprises a microprocessor or microcontroller comprising an analog input for determining the current measurement signal.

2. A charging device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to be situated in a sleep state or in a charging state, wherein in the sleep state the control device intermittently generates a driver signal during a test time period, thus feeding energy into the oscillation circuit, to test whether the current measurement signal thereby exceeds a first threshold value, and if this is the case, the control device changes its state to the charging state, and if this is not the case, the control device remains in the sleep state.

3. A charging device according to claim 2, wherein the control device is configured, in the charging state, to continuously generate the driver signal, to test whether the current measurement signal thereby falls short of a second threshold value, and to change into the sleep state if this is the case, and to remain in the charging state if this is not the case.

4. A charging device for contactless transmission of energy for the energy supply of a cordless hand-held device, wherein the charging device comprises:

an electronic circuit for feeding an inductive energy transmitter, the circuit being configured to adapt energy fed to the inductive energy transmitter, in accordance with energy taken from the inductive energy transmitter, the circuit comprising;

a primary winding for feeding a hand-held device, wherein the primary winding is part of an oscillation circuit;

a driver circuit for the pulsed feeding of energy into the oscillation circuit in accordance with a driver signal;

a current measuring circuit for producing a current measurement signal corresponding to a current flowing into the oscillation circuit; and

a control device which is configured to detect the current measurement signal and, in accordance with the current measurement signal, to generate the driver signal for the activation of the driver circuit, as a pulse-width modulated signal with a frequency corresponding to a resonance frequency of the oscillation circuit; and

a supply securing circuit which pulls the voltage at a connection point (Vp) to a reference voltage, wherein the connection point is connected to a communication lead of an interface to a supply device, and the charging device is configured to measure a voltage at the connection point and to modify a charging procedure by the charging device in accordance with the measured voltage.

5. A hand-held device with a contactless energy supply, comprising:

a secondary winding for the inductive energy transmission from a charging device to the hand-held device;

an electrical energy store chargeable via the secondary winding;

a consumer including a drive or motor; and

a switching device for the switching on and off the supply of energy to the consumer by the energy store;

a protective circuit which interrupts the supply of the consumer when energy is fed into the hand-held device via the secondary winding; and

a current measuring device which detects a charging current in a charging current circuit of the hand-held device, and wherein the protective circuit interrupts the supply of energy to the consumer when the charging current exceeds a threshold,

wherein the current measuring device comprises a measuring rectifier which rectifies a voltage across a measuring element in the charging current circuit and forms a rectified voltage at a measuring capacitor, wherein the protective circuit interrupts the supply of the consumer when the rectified voltage exceeds a threshold.

6. A hand-held device according to claim 5, further comprising a mechanical switch which pulls a control input of the switching device to a first potential, for switching on the supply of energy to the consumer, wherein the protective circuit pulls the control input to a second potential given the occurrence of a charging current, and switches off the supply of energy to the consumer when the protective circuit pulls the control input to the second potential.

9. A hand-held device according to claim 5,

further comprising a hand-held device coil body,

wherein the electrical energy store comprises a battery chargeable via the secondary winding,

wherein the secondary winding is arranged on the hand-held device coil body,

wherein the hand-held device coil body comprises a support section which is integrally formed as one piece, the support section being elastically deformable, and

wherein in the operationally ready state of the hand-held device, the hand-held device coil body with its support section presses against the battery, thereby resiliently fixing the battery.

7. A hand-held device with a contactless energy supply, comprising:

a secondary winding for the inductive energy transmission from a charging device to the hard-held device;

an electrical energy store chargeable via the secondary winding;

a consumer including a drive or motor;

a switching device for the switching on and off the supply of energy to the consumer by the energy store;

a protective circuit which interrupts the supply of the consumer when energy is fed into the hand-held device via the secondary winding; and

an integrated circuit with a measuring input, wherein the integrated circuit is configured to switch off the consumer should a voltage at the measuring input exceed a first threshold value,

wherein the integrated circuit is configured to process the voltage at the measuring input as the battery voltage when the voltage at the measuring input falls short of a second threshold value, and to display a charging state of the electrical energy store to a user via a display in accordance with the battery voltage.

8. A hand-held device according to claim 7, further comprising a battery voltage measuring resistor which pulls the voltage at a measuring capacitor to the battery voltage.

10. A hand-held device with a contactless energy supply, comprising:

a secondary winding for the inductive energy transmission from a charging device to the hand-held device;

an electrical energy store chargeable via the secondary winding and comprising a battery;

a control unit;

a battery voltage measurement device for measuring a battery voltage;

a detection circuit for detecting whether the hand-held device is suppliable with energy by a charging part; and

an isolating circuit, by which a charging of the battery can be interrupted,

wherein the control unit is configured to charge the battery during a defined minimum charging time if the battery voltage has fallen short of a minimum value, and to continue charging the battery during the defined minimum charging time without regard to the battery voltage during the minimum charging time.

11. A hand-held device, according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to resume the charging of the battery, until the minimum charging time is reached, in the case that the charging of the battery is interrupted before reaching the minimum charging time, and the hand-held device is subsequently again suppliable with energy by the charging part.

12. A hand-held device, according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured, after the minimum charging time has been reached and the hand-held device continues to be suppliable with energy by the charging part, to resume the charging of the battery, in the case that the battery voltage falls short of a lower threshold value.

13. A hand-held device, according to claim 12, wherein the control unit is further configured to again interrupt the charging of the battery, in the case that the battery voltage exceeds an upper threshold value.

14. A method for charging an energy store of a small mobile electrical device with a contactless energy supply, wherein the small mobile electrical device comprises a control unit, a battery, a battery voltage measurement for measuring a battery voltage, a detection circuit for detecting whether the hand-held device is suppliable with energy by a charging part, and an isolating circuit configured to interrupt charging of the battery, the method comprising the steps of:

determining whether the battery voltage falls below a minimum value;

charging the battery during a defined minimum charging time if the determining step determines that the battery voltage falls below the minimum value; and

continuing to charge the battery during the defined minimum charging time without regard to the battery voltage during the minimum charging time.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the minimum value comprises a minimum voltage for operation of the control unit.