WIRELESS POWER FEEDING UNIT, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING WIRELESS POWER FEEDING UNIT

• US 20150236544A1
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Published: 08/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Uchida, Masaya, Nishida, Junji, Nishii, Atsushi
• Application Number:
  US14/426,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20150236544A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0068 Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply H02J7/0013 takes precedence

Abstract

A wireless power feeding unit includes a receiving antenna; a control circuit having a wireless communication function in accordance with a communication standard; an impedance matching circuit, connected between the receiving antenna and the control circuit, for impedance matching between the receiving antenna and the control circuit; a conversion circuit converting alternate-current power into a direct-current voltage; a resonant circuit connected between the receiving antenna and the conversion circuit, receiving, in a resonant condition, electromagnetic energy via the receiving antenna, and outputting alternate-current power; and a switch circuit, based on a control signal from the control circuit, connecting the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit or the resonant circuit selectively. The control circuit controls the switch circuit so as to connect the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit for wireless communication and connect the receiving antenna with the resonant circuit for wireless power feeding.

Claims

1. A wireless power feeding unit comprising:

a receiving antenna;

a control circuit that has a wireless communication function which is in accordance with a predetermined communication standard;

an impedance matching circuit that is connected between the receiving antenna and the control circuit, and carries out impedance matching between the receiving antenna and the control circuit;

a conversion circuit that converts alternate-current power into a direct-current voltage;

a resonant circuit connected between the receiving antenna and the conversion circuit, the resonant circuit receiving, in a resonant condition, electromagnetic energy received by the receiving antenna, and outputting alternate-current power; and

a switch circuit that, based on a control signal from the control circuit, connects the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit or the resonant circuit selectively,

wherein the control circuit controls the switch circuit so as to cause the switch circuit to connect the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit at a time of carrying out wireless communication and connect the receiving antenna with the resonant circuit at a time of carrying out wireless power feeding.

2. The wireless power feeding unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the control circuit has wireless communication functions that are in accordance with a predetermined plurality of communication standards,

the receiving antenna has a length that is variable among a plurality of lengths in accordance with carrier frequencies of the plurality of communication standards,

when the switch circuit connects the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit, the switch circuit connects the receiving antenna having one of the plurality of lengths with the impedance matching circuit, and

the control circuit controls the switch circuit so as to cause the switch circuit to connect, at the time of carrying out wireless communication, the impedance matching circuit and the receiving antenna having one of the plurality of lengths corresponding to the carrier frequency of the communication standard that is set.

3. The wireless power feeding unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the receiving antenna is wound a plurality of turns and has a plurality of intermediate taps, the receiving antenna having the length variable among the plurality of lengths corresponding to the carrier frequencies of the plurality of communication standards and corresponding to a number of turns of the plurality of turns of the receiving antenna,

when the switch circuit connects the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit, the switch circuit connects the receiving antenna having the number of turns with the impedance matching circuit, and

the control circuit controls the switch circuit so as to cause the switch circuit to connect, at the time of carrying out wireless communication, the impedance matching circuit and the receiving antenna having the number of turns corresponding to the carrier frequency of the communication standard that is set.

4. An electronic apparatus comprising:

the wireless power feeding unit claimed in claim 1; and

an electronic apparatus circuit, to which the conversion circuit of the wireless power feeding unit supplies the direct-current voltage, the electronic apparatus circuit being connected with the control circuit of the wireless power feeding unit via a predetermined communication interface.

5. A method of controlling a wireless power feeding unit, the method comprising

controlling, by one or more processors, a switch circuit so as to cause the switch circuit to connect a receiving antenna with an impedance matching circuit at a time of carrying out wireless communication and connect the receiving antenna with a resonant circuit at a time of carrying out wireless power feeding, wherein

the wireless power feeding unit includes,

the receiving antenna,

the impedance matching circuit that carries out impedance matching,

the resonant circuit that receives, in a resonant condition, electromagnetic energy received by the receiving antenna, and outputs alternate-current power, and

the switch circuit that connects the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit or the resonant circuit selectively.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein

the controlling includes controlling, by the one or more processors, the switch circuit so as to cause the switch circuit to connect, at the time of carrying out wireless communication, the impedance matching circuit and the receiving antenna having one of a plurality of lengths corresponding to a carrier frequency of a communication standard that is set, wherein

the receiving antenna has a length that is variable among the plurality of lengths in accordance with carrier frequencies of a plurality of communication standards, and

when the switch circuit is controlled by the one or more processors to connect the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit, the switch circuit is controlled by the one or more processors to connect the receiving antenna having one of the plurality of lengths with the impedance matching circuit.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein

the controlling includes controlling, by the one or more processors, the switch circuit so as to cause the switch circuit to connect, at the time of carrying out wireless communication, the impedance matching circuit and the receiving antenna having a number of turns corresponding to the carrier frequency of the communication standard that is set, wherein

the receiving antenna is wound a plurality of turns and has a plurality of intermediate taps, the receiving antenna having the length variable among the plurality of lengths corresponding to the carrier frequencies of the plurality of communication standards and corresponding to the number of turns of the plurality of turns of the receiving antenna, and

when the switch circuit is controlled by the one or more processors to connect the receiving antenna with the impedance matching circuit, the switch circuit is controlled by the one or more processors to connect the receiving antenna having the number of turns with the impedance matching circuit.