Power transmitting apparatus, power receiving apparatus, wireless power transfer system, control method, and storage medium

• US 10,243,403 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2014
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Shichino, Takahiro, Eguchi, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dominique, Emmanuel R
• Application Number:
  US14/889,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20160094050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,750 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/40 using two or more transmitting or receiving devices H02J50/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices

Abstract

A power transmitting apparatus that wirelessly transmits power to one or more power receiving apparatuses determines whether each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses has a function for internally lowering a voltage obtained through power reception, and controls the transmitted power so that, in a case where at least one of the one or more power receiving apparatuses does not have the function, overvoltage is not applied to the power receiving apparatus that does not have the function.

Claims

1. A power transmitting apparatus comprising:

a power transmission unit configured to wirelessly transmit power to one or more power receiving apparatuses; and

a processor configured to function as;

a receiving unit configured to receive, from each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses, function information;

a determination unit configured to determine, based on the function information received from each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses, whether each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses has a function for internally lowering a voltage obtained through power reception; and

a control unit configured to control the power transmission unit to perform power transmission in a first manner in a case where the determination unit determines that at least one of the one or more power receiving apparatuses does not have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception, and to control the power transmission unit to perform power transmission in a second manner that is different from the first manner in a case where the determination unit determines that all of the one or more power receiving apparatuses have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception.

2. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit controls the power transmission unit to perform, in a case where the determination unit determines that all of the one or more power receiving apparatuses have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception, the power transmission using a transmission power based on a total amount of received power by the one or more power receiving apparatuses in a case where the total amount of received power by the one or more power receiving apparatuses has changed by greater than a predetermined amount.

3. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit controls the power transmission unit to perform, in a case where the determination unit determines that all of the one or more power receiving apparatuses have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception, the power transmission using a transmission power based on a total amount of received power by the one or more power receiving apparatuses, regardless of whether or not the total amount of received power by the one or more power receiving apparatuses has changed by greater than a predetermined amount.

4. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit controls, in a case where the determination unit determines that at least one of the one or more power receiving apparatuses does not have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception and in a case where a total amount of received power by the one or more power receiving apparatuses has changed by greater than a predetermined amount, the power transmission unit to stop the power transmission or to suppress power to be transmitted so that overvoltage is not applied to the power receiving apparatus that does not have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception.

5. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to function as:

a second determination unit configured to determine whether a request has been received from at least one of the one or more power receiving apparatuses to control power to be transmitted so that the overvoltage is not applied to the power receiving apparatus that transmitted the request;

wherein, in a case where the second determination unit determines that the request has been received, the control unit controls the power transmission unit so that the overvoltage is not applied to the power receiving apparatus that transmitted the request.

6. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit comprises:

a detection unit configured to detect, in a case where the total amount of received power has changed, whether the amount of the change is greater than the predetermined amount; and

a power transmission control unit configured to control the power transmission unit to stop the power transmission to the one or more power receiving apparatuses or to suppress the power to be transmitted to no more than a predetermined power in a case where the detection unit detects that the amount of the change is greater than the predetermined amount.

7. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit further comprises:

an identifying unit configured to identify a power receiving apparatus that is present in a power-transmittable range of the power transmitting apparatus and that is to receive power from the power transmitting apparatus, and to identify an amount of power to be received by the identified power receiving apparatus, while the power transmission is stopped or power to be transmitted is suppressed to no more than a predetermined power,

wherein the power transmission control unit controls the power transmission unit to perform power transmission to the identified power receiving apparatus at the identified amount of power to be received after the identifying unit has identified the amount of power to be received by the identified power receiving apparatus.

8. The power transmitting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the power transmission unit wirelessly transmits power to two or more power receiving apparatuses.

9. A power receiving apparatus that receives power wirelessly from a power transmitting apparatus, the power receiving apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to function as;

a determination unit configured to determine, based on notification from the power transmitting apparatus, whether the power transmitting apparatus has a function for controlling power to be transmitted so that an overvoltage is not applied to the power receiving apparatus; and

a control unit configured to cause a notification unit to perform notification for causing power transmission from the power transmitting apparatus to the power receiving apparatus not to be performed, in a case where the determination unit determines that the power transmitting apparatus does not have the function for controlling power to be transmitted so that the overvoltage is not applied to the power receiving apparatus and the power receiving apparatus does not have a function for internally lowering a voltage obtained through the power reception.

10. The power receiving apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification indicating that the power receiving apparatus should not be placed upon the power transmitting apparatus.

11. The power receiving apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the notification unit is an LED, and wherein the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification by using at least one of a flashing pattern and a light-up color.

12. The power receiving apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the notification unit is a speaker, and

wherein the control unit causes the notification unit to perform the notification by using a sound.

13. A control method for a power transmitting apparatus that has a power transmission unit configured to wirelessly transmits power to one or more power receiving apparatuses, the method executed by a processor of the power transmitting apparatus comprising:

receiving, from each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses, function information;

determining, based on the function information received from each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses, whether each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses has a function for internally lowering a voltage obtained through power reception; and

controlling the power transmission unit to perform power transmission in a first manner in a case where it is determined in the determining that at least one of the one or more power receiving apparatuses does not have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception, and controlling the power transmission unit to perform power transmission in a second manner that is different from the first manner in a case where it is determined in the determining that all of the one or more power receiving apparatuses have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer in a power transmitting apparatus that has a power transmission unit configured to wirelessly transmits power to one or more power receiving apparatuses to execute:

receiving, from each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses, function information;

determining, based on the function information received from each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses, whether each of the one or more power receiving apparatuses has a function for internally lowering a voltage obtained through power reception; and

controlling the power transmission unit to perform power transmission in a first manner in a case where it is determined in the determining that at least one of the one or more power receiving apparatuses does not have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception, and controlling the power transmission unit to perform power transmission in a second manner that is different from the first manner in a case where it is determined in the determining that all of the one or more power receiving apparatuses have the function for internally lowering the voltage obtained through power reception.