Mobile electronic equipment and battery charger cradle

• US 20090267559A1
• Filed: 04/21/2009
• Published: 10/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyozo Terao, Shoichi Toya, Toshiki Nakasho, Yasunari Mizoguchi
• Original Assignee: Kyozo Terao, Shoichi Toya, Toshiki Nakasho, Yasunari Mizoguchi
• Inventors: Mizoguchi, Yasunari, Toya, Shoichi, Nakasho, Toshiki, Terao, Kyozo
• Granted Patent: US 7,830,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/40 using two or more transmitting or receiving devices H02J50/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• 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 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries

Abstract

Mobile electronic equipment incorporating an induction coil and a battery; and a battery charger cradle for recharging the battery in the mobile electronic equipment. Regarding the charger cradle, a bottom surface of a mounting portion is curved in a U-grooved shape, and a primary coil is incorporated inside the U-grooved bottom surface, with the primary coil being connected to a power source. Regarding the mobile equipment, its rear surface placed on the mounting portion of the charger cradle is curved to match with the U-grooved bottom surface, and the induction coil is incorporated inside the curved rear surface. When the mobile equipment is placed on the mounting portion of the charger cradle, the electric power is carried from the primary coil to the induction coil which are electromagnetically coupled with each other, and the battery in the mobile equipment is recharged by the electric power induced to the induction coil.

Claims

1. Mobile electronic equipment and a battery charger cradle for recharging the mobile electronic equipment, the mobile electronic equipment comprising:

an incorporated induction coil; and

an incorporated battery rechargeable by electric power being induced to the induction coil,

the battery charger cradle recharging the battery contained in the mobile electronic equipment when the mobile electronic equipment is detachably placed on the battery charger cradle,

wherein the battery charger cradle is so constructed and arranged that a bottom surface of a mounting portion is a curved bottom surface being curved in a U-grooved shape and that a primary coil electromagnetically coupled to the induction coil of the mobile electronic equipment is incorporated inside the curved bottom surface, with the primary coil being connected to an electric power source, wherein the mobile electronic equipment is so constructed and arranged that a rear surface thereof to be placed on the mounting portion of the battery charger cradle is a curved rear surface being in a curved shape of matching with the curved bottom surface being U-grooved and that the induction coil is incorporated inside the curved rear surface, and

wherein when the mobile electronic equipment is placed on the mounting portion, the electric power is carried from the primary coil to the induction coil being electromagnetically coupled with each other, and the battery contained in the mobile electronic equipment is recharged by the electric power being induced to the induction coil.

2. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile electronic equipment is a remote controller for operating an electronic device.

3. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the induction coil is a coil wound on a curved surface matching with the curved rear surface.

4. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile electronic equipment is covered with a detachable cover, and the mounting portion of the battery charger cradle is internally profiled to enable the mobile electronic equipment covered with the cover to be placed thereon.

5. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the mounting portion of the battery charger cradle is postured to be inclined upwardly toward a rear side in a longitudinal direction of the curved bottom surface being U-grooved and has a stopper wall provided at a bottom end of the mounting portion, and a bottom end of the mobile electronic equipment is placed and mounted on the stopper wall in a posture of being inclined upwardly toward a rear side in a longitudinal direction of the mobile electronic equipment 50 which is to be placed on the mounting portion.

6. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 5, wherein the mobile electronic equipment incorporates the induction coil wound in a state of a curved surface matching with the curved rear surface, and the induction coil is in a loop elongated in a longitudinal direction of the curved bottom surface being curved in the U-grooved shape.

7. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile electronic equipment comprises:

an electronic device having a battery storage for accommodating a plurality of cylindrical batteries in a mutually parallel relationship at a rear surface; and

a battery pack detachably accommodated in the battery storage of the electronic device, and

the battery pack incorporates the induction coil and the batteries.

8. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the battery charger cradle has an upper casing defining the mounting portion, and the bottom surface of the mounting portion at the upper casing is a curved bottom surface being curved in a U-grooved shape.

9. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 8, wherein the mounting portion at the upper casing is so constructed and arranged that the longitudinal direction of the curved bottom surface being U-grooved is postured to be inclined upwardly toward the rear direction, that a stopper wall is provided at the bottom end of the mounting portion, and that a light guide is exposed on the stopper wall to irradiate a light of an LED to the outside.

10. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 9, wherein the light guide is made of a translucent plastic material and guides the light of the LED, disposed on a circuit board fixed in a casing, to an exposure portion at a tip thereof, and the light is irradiated from the exposure portion to the outside.

11. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 10, wherein the tip of the exposure portion of the light guide is exposed on an outer surface side of the stopper wall and on an inner surface side of the stopper wall, and the light emitted from the LED is irradiated to the outer surface of the stopper wall and to the inner surface of the stopper wall.

12. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the primary coil is a flat coil wound in a planar state and is wound in a loop elongated in the longitudinal direction of the U-shaped groove so as to enable the electric power to be carried to an area elongated along the longitudinal direction.

13. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the primary coil has a shield layer provided at a side opposite to the induction coil.

14. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 13, wherein the shield layer is a layer composed of metal or ferrite having high magnetic permeability and shields the side of the primary coil opposite to the induction coil.

15. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 14, wherein the shield layer and the primary coil are fixed to a plastic-made support platform incorporated in the casing.

16. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 13, wherein the support platform has the circuit board fixed to the casing, and the shield layer and the primary coil are disposed in place at the casing.

17. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 16, wherein the support platform has a slanted surface matching with the curved bottom surface, and the shield layer and the primary coil are fixed to the slanted surface in a layered state.

18. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the battery charger cradle has a connection portion allowing the adjacent battery charger cradle to be detachably interconnected.

19. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 18, wherein the connection portion is connected to the bottom surface of the casing such that the connection portion is retractable inside by pivotal motion of 90 degrees in a horizontal plane.

20. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 18, wherein the connection portion has a first end thereof connected pivotably to the casing, while the connection portion has at a second end thereof a fitting-on protrusion projecting upwardly to be guided into a fitting-in recess defined at a lower casing of the adjacent battery charger cradle.

21. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 20, wherein the casing has at its bottom the fitting-in recess to guide the fitting-on protrusion of the connection portion into the fitting-in recess, and the connection portion is retracted inside when not in use.

22. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the battery charger cradle comprises:

a power source connector to which the electric power is inputted by an AC adaptor; and

an exterior inputting connector to which the electric power is inputted by the adjacent battery charger cradle, and

in order to recharge the battery contained in the mobile electronic equipment, the power source switches the electric power inputted from the power source connector and the electric power inputted from the exterior inputting connector.

23. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 18, wherein the battery charger cradle has a power source cord for supplying the electric power to the adjacent battery charger cradle.

24. The mobile electronic equipment and the battery charger cradle as recited in claim 22, wherein the battery charger cradle has a storage recess defined at the bottom surface of the casing so as to allow the power source cord to be fitted in the storage recess.