Feed unit, feed system, and electronic device for controlling charging of a battery

• US 10,270,278 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2018
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Akiyoshi, Koichi, Uramoto, Yoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pelton, Nathaniel R
• Application Number:
  US15/972,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20180254656A1
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 320107, 320108
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0068 Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply H02J7/0013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007 Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00714 in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A feed unit includes: a power transmission section configured to perform power transmission using a magnetic field or an electric field, to a device to be fed including a secondary battery; and a power-transmission control section configured to control power transmission operation in the power transmission section. In a charging period in which charging to the secondary battery is performed based on transmitted power in the power transmission, when the device to be fed including the secondary battery is activated, the power-transmission control section controls the power transmission operation, to increase the transmitted power.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a power receiving coil configured to receive power that is wirelessly supplied from a feed device;

a voltage converting circuit configured to generate a predetermined voltage based on the power;

a battery configured to receive the power from the voltage converting circuit; and

a control circuit configured to;

(i) determine whether the electronic device is in one of an activated state and a non-activated state, and

(ii) transmit a request to the feed device, wherein

in response to a determination that the electronic device is in the activated state, the request transmitted by the control circuit indicates to increase the power to keep the predetermined voltage,

the feed device determines whether to increase or decrease the power wirelessly supplied to the power receiving coil based on the request transmitted by the control circuit, and

in response to a determination that the electronic device is in the non-activated state, the power receiving coil is configured to;

(i) receive a first power, which indicates a first power level, in response to storage of a first charge by the battery,

(ii) receive a second power, which indicates a second power level that is less than the first power level, in response to storage, by the battery, of a second charge that is greater than the first charge, and

(iii) receive a third power, which indicates a third power level that is less than the second power level, in response to a completion of a charging of the battery.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

in response to the first charge being greater than a predetermined threshold, the feed device is configured to stepwise reduce the power wirelessly transmitted to the power receiving coil from the first power level to the second power level and then to the third power level.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

the control circuit is configured to control the electronic device to enter the activated state in a period before the power received by the power receiving coil is increased in response to the request transmitted to the feed device.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

the control circuit transmits the notification to the feed device to

decrease the transmitted power by one step in response to the transmitted power being larger than the minimum power value, and

increase the transmitted power by one step in response to the transmitted power being smaller than the minimum power value.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a charging circuit configured to charge the battery; and

a voltage stabilizer configured to stabilize an input voltage based on the power received by the power receiving coil and to supply the charging circuit with an output voltage based on the stabilized input voltage, wherein

the minimum power value is based on a magnitude of each of the input voltage and the output voltage in the voltage stabilizer.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

the activated state includes a power-on state in which the electronic device is activated in response to a power button of the electronic device being activated, and

the non-activated state includes a power-off state in which the electronic device is not activated by the power button.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

the control circuit transmits a notification to the feed device, upon completion of charging the battery, indicating that the charging of the battery is complete.

8. An electronic device, comprising:

processing circuitry configured to;

(i) control charging of a battery with power that is wirelessly supplied from a feed device and wirelessly received by a coil;

(ii) determine whether the electronic device is in an activated state or in a non-activated state; and

(iii) transmit a request to the feed device, wherein

in response to a determination that the electronic device is in an activated state, the request transmitted by the processing circuitry indicates to increase the power supplied from the feed device to keep a predetermined voltage generated by a voltage converting circuit based on the power,

the feed device determines whether to increase or decrease the power wirelessly supplied to the coil based on the request transmitted by the processing circuitry, and

in response to a determination that the electronic device is in a non-activated state, the processing circuitry is configured to control the charging of the battery to;

(i) a first level of power received by the coil in response to storage of a first charge by the battery,

(ii) a second level of power received by the coil in response to storage of a second charge by the battery, and

(iii) a third level of power received by the coil in response to the charging of the battery being complete,

the first charge is less than the second charge,

the second charge is less than a predetermined threshold,

the second level of power is less than the first level of power, and

the third level of power is less than the second level of power.

9. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry determines whether the electronic device is in the activated state or in the non-activated state based on the load that of the electronic device.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the load to cause the electronic device to enter the activated state in a period before the power received by the coil is increased in response to the request transmitted to the feed device.

11. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry transmits the notification to the feed device to decrease the transmitted power by one step in response to the transmitted power being larger than the minimum power value, and

increase the transmitted power by one step in response to the transmitted power being smaller than the minimum power value.

12. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

control a charging circuit to charge the battery; and

control a voltage stabilizer to stabilize an input voltage based on the power received by the coil and to supply the charging circuit with an output voltage based on the stabilized input voltage, wherein

the minimum power value is based on a magnitude of each of the input voltage and the output voltage in the voltage stabilizer.

13. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry transmits a notification to the feed device, upon completion of charging the battery, indicating that the charging of the battery is complete.

14. An electronic device, comprising:

a power receiving coil configured to receive power that is wirelessly supplied from a feed device;

a battery configured to be charged by the power received by the power receiving coil; and

a control circuit configured to;

(i) determine whether the electronic device is in an activated state or a non-activated state,

(ii) transmit a request to the feed device, wherein

in response to a determination that the electronic device is in the activated state, the request transmitted by the control circuit indicates to increase the power supplied from the feed device to keep a predetermined voltage generated by a voltage converting circuit based on the power,

the feed device determines whether to increase or decrease the power wirelessly supplied to the power receiving coil based on the request transmitted by the processing circuitry, and

in response to a determination that the load indicates that the electronic device is in the non-activated state and the battery stores a charge greater than a predetermined threshold and the charging of the battery is not complete, the power receiving coil receives power that is reduced until the charging of the battery is complete.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the feed device is configured to, in response to storage by the battery of a charge greater than a predetermined threshold, reduce the power wirelessly transmitted to the power receiving coil in one or more steps.

16. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the load so that the electronic device enters the activated state in a period before the power received by the power receiving coil is increased in response to the request transmitted to the feed device.

17. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit is configured to transmit a notification to the feed device, in a period in which the electronic device is in the non-activated state, to perform the stepwise reduction of the power wirelessly transmitted to the power receiving coil.

18. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit transmits the notification to the feed device to

decrease the transmitted power by one step in response to the transmitted power being larger than the predetermined threshold, and

increase the transmitted power by one step in response to the transmitted power being smaller than the predetermined threshold.

19. The electronic device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a charging circuit configured to charge the battery; and

a voltage stabilizer configured to stabilize an input voltage based on the power received by the power receiving coil and to supply the charging circuit with an output voltage based on the stabilized input voltage, wherein

the predetermined threshold is based on a magnitude of each of the input voltage and the output voltage in the voltage stabilizer.

20. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein

the activated state includes a power-on state in which the electronic device is activated in response to a power button of the electronic device being activated, and

the non-activated state includes a power-off state in which the electronic device is not activated by the power button.