Electronic apparatus and feed system

• US 10,389,175 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2012
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2011
• 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): Henze-Gongola, David V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rankine, Tarikh Kanem
• Application Number:
  US14/359,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20140333257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,443 Days
• Field of Search: 320108
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/488 Cells or batteries combined with indicating means for external visualization of the condition, e.g. by change of colour or of light density
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4278 Systems for data transfer from batteries, e.g. transfer of battery parameters to a controller, data transferred between battery controller and main controller
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/05 using capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition
• 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: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

An electronic apparatus includes: a power reception section configured to receive power transmitted with use of a magnetic field or an electric field; a secondary battery; a charging section configured to perform charging to the secondary battery, based on received power received by the power reception section; a load configured to perform predetermined operation, based on supplied power; and a control section configured to forcibly set a power path on a preceding side of the load to a predetermined state when the load is activated in the charging to the secondary battery.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:

power reception circuitry configured to receive power transmitted via a magnetic field or an electric field;

a battery;

charging circuitry configured to perform charging to the battery based on the power received by the power reception circuitry;

a state informing section configured to inform outside of an apparatus state of itself, the state informing section including a light emitting element;

a load configured to perform a predetermined operation;

control circuitry configured to;

control the charging circuitry and the load;

detect whether the load is activated or not in the charging to the battery based on information indicating that the load is activated from the load; and

in case that it is detected that the load is activated in the charging to the battery based on the information indicating that the load is activated, forcibly fix an informing mode by the state informing section to a mode of informing outside of the apparatus state irrespective of presence of a surplus power, the surplus power being obtained by subtracting a power consumed by the load from the power received by the power reception circuitry, such that the state information section is forcibly set to the mode of informing outside of the apparatus state both when the surplus power is present because the power received by the power reception circuitry is larger than the power consumed by the load, and when the surplus power is not present because the power consumed by the load is larger than the power received by the power reception circuitry; and

a first switching device provided on a power supply path to the load and between the load and an input side of the light emitting element such that a source of the first switching element is connected to the input side of the light emitting element and a drain of the first switching device is connected to the load, wherein the control section sets the first switching device to OFF state to forcibly put the power supply path to the load into a blocked state when the load is activated in the charging.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuitry forcibly fixes the informing mode by forcibly setting a power path.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the state informing section informs a state in charging to the battery and a state after completion of the charging as the apparatus state by a distinguished informing mode.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the state informing section includes a lighting section configured to inform a state in the charging and a state after completion of the charging, according to a lighting state, and lighting control circuitry configured to control the lighting state of the lighting section, and

the control circuitry performs control to allow the lighting state of the lighting section to be fixed irrespective of lighting control by the lighting control circuitry when the load is activated in the charging.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the state informing section includes one or a plurality of kinds of switching devices, and

the control circuitry sets ON-OFF state of one or more kinds of the one or the plurality of kinds of switching devices and forcibly sets the power path, to fix the lighting state of the lighting section when the load is activated in the charging.

6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the state informing section includes a second switching device as the one or the plurality of kinds of switching devices, and

the control circuitry sets the second switching device to an ON state and forcibly puts the power path into a conductive state, to fix the lighting section to a lighting state when the load is activated in the charging.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the state informing section includes a second switching device as the one or the plurality of kinds of switching devices, and

the control circuitry sets the second switching device to OFF state, and forcibly puts the power path into a blocked state, to fix the lighting section to a lighting-off state when the load is activated in the charging.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control circuitry fixes the lighting state of the lighting section according to supply state of the power received by the power reception circuitry and power consumption state of the load when the load is activated in the charging.

9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when a generation period of surplus power is relatively high rate, the control circuitry forcibly puts the power path into the conductive state to fix the lighting section to the lighting state, and when the generation period of the surplus power is relatively low rate, the control circuitry forcibly puts the power path into the blocked state to fix the lighting section to the lighting-off state, the surplus power being obtained by subtracting power consumed by the load from the power received by the power reception circuitry, and the surplus power being used in charging to the battery.

10. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the load is activated in the charging and when a charged amount in the battery is lower than a predetermined threshold, the control circuitry sets the first switching device to the OFF state.

11. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to forcibly set a power path on a preceding side of the load to a predetermined state when the load is activated in the charging to the battery.

12. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charging circuitry is configured to perform charging to the battery based on the power provided to the charging circuitry by being controlled by the control circuitry.

13. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control power provided to the charging circuitry based on power obtained by subtracting the power consumed by the load from the power received by the power reception circuitry.

14. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lighting section for informing outside of the apparatus state is fixed to a lighting state in the mode of informing outside of the apparatus state.

15. A feed system comprising:

one or more electronic apparatuses; and

a feed unit configured to transmit power to the electronic apparatuses with use of a magnetic field or an electric field,

wherein each of the electronic apparatuses comprises;

power reception circuitry configured to receive power transmitted from the feed unit;

a battery;

charging circuitry configured to perform charging to the battery based on the power received by the power reception circuitry;

a state informing section configured to inform outside of an apparatus state of itself, the state informing section including a light emitting element;

a load configured to perform predetermined operation;

control circuitry configured to;

control the charging circuitry and the load;

detect whether the load is activated or not in the charging to the battery based on information indicating that the load is activated from the load; and

in case that it is detected that the load is activated in the charging to the battery based on the information indicating that the load is activated, forcibly fix an informing mode by the state informing section to a mode of informing outside of the apparatus state irrespective of presence of a surplus power, the surplus power being obtained by subtracting a power consumed by the load from the power received by the power reception circuitry, such that the state information section is forcibly set to the mode of informing outside of the apparatus state both when the surplus power is present because the power received by the power reception circuitry is larger than the power consumed by the load, and when the surplus power is not present because the power consumed by the load is larger than the power received by the power reception circuitry; and

a first switching device provided on a power supply path to the load and between the load and an input side of the light emitting element such that a source of the first switching element is connected to the input side of the light emitting element and a drain of the first switching device is connected to the load, wherein the control section sets the first switching device to OFF state to forcibly put the power supply path to the load into a blocked state when the load is activated in the charging.