MOBILE TERMINAL CHARGING DEVICE AND AUTOMOBILE USING SAME

• US 20160261135A1
• Filed: 10/20/2014
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: IWABUCHI, OSAMU
• Granted Patent: US 10,014,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/03 for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems or for circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/46 for ICE-powered road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge

Abstract

In a case where a mobile terminal charging device stops charging due to a decrease of charging efficiency, the cause thereof is, for example, that the mobile terminal is slightly moved on the upper surface of the installation plate, due to the vibration and inertia resulting from the driving of the automobile. In such a case, the mobile terminal charging device moves the charging coil to a portion corresponding to the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector, using a drive unit, and thereafter resumes charging, in a condition that the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector and the position of the charging coil are separated from each other by the second set distance or more.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal charging device comprising:

a body case having an installation plate disposed on an upper surface of the body case;

a detector that is provided on or below the installation plate, and detects a position of a mobile terminal that is present on an upper surface of the installation plate;

a charging coil that is movably disposed inside the body case, in a state of facing a lower surface of the installation plate;

a drive unit that moves the charging coil in a state of facing the lower surface of the installation plate;

a charging controller that is connected to the drive unit and the charging coil; and

a charging communication unit that is connected to the charging controller and communicates with the mobile terminal,

wherein if a charging stop request and a stop reason are acquired from the mobile terminal, the charging controller stops charging and sets a determination distance between a position of the mobile terminal and a position of the charging coil to a first set distance or a second set distance which is less than the first set distance, depending on the stop reason, the determination distance being a reference to resume the charging, and

wherein if a distance between the position of the mobile terminal which is acquired from the detector and the position of the charging coil is greater than the determination distance, the charging controller moves the charging coil to a portion corresponding to the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector, using the drive unit, and thereafter resumes charging.

2. The mobile terminal charging device of claim 1,

wherein the charging controller

moves the charging coil in a state of facing the lower surface of the installation plate, using the drive unit, and thereafter resumes charging, at a time of charging start,

moves the charging coil to a portion corresponding to the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector, using the drive unit, and thereafter resumes charging, in a case where it is determined that charging stop is caused by a reason that charging efficiency of the mobile terminal is lower than a set efficiency value, and the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector and the position of the charging coil are separated from each other by the second set distance or more, at the time of charging stop after the start of charging, and

moves the charging coil to a portion corresponding to the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector, using the drive unit, and thereafter resumes charging, in a case where it is determined that charging stop is caused by a reason other than the reason that the charging efficiency of the mobile terminal is lower than the set efficiency value, and the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector and the position of the charging coil are separated from each other by the first set distance or more, at the time of charging stop after the start of charging.

3. The mobile terminal charging device of claim 2,

wherein a retry counter is connected to the charging controller, and

wherein the charging controller performs a count input to the retry counter in a case where it is determined that charging stop is caused by a reason that the charging efficiency of the mobile terminal is lower than the set efficiency value, after the charging start of the mobile terminal, based on charging communication information from the charging communication unit, and ends resumption of power supply to the charging coil if a count number of the retry counter is a set count value or more.

4. The mobile terminal charging device of claim 3,

wherein the charging controller

stops power supply to the charging coil according to a stop request from the mobile terminal,

performs a count input to the retry counter, and thereafter resumes power supply to the charging coil, in a case where it is determined that the stop request is caused by a reason that the charging efficiency of the mobile terminal is lower than the set efficiency value, and

ends resumption of power supply to the charging coil if the count number of the retry counter is the set count value or more.

5. The mobile terminal charging device of claim 4,

wherein the charging controller

stops power supply to the charging coil according to a stop request from the mobile terminal,

performs a count input to the retry counter, and sets a movable reference of the charging coil to the second set distance, in a case where it is determined that the stop request is caused by a reason that the charging efficiency of the mobile terminal is lower than the set efficiency value,

moves the charging coil to the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector, using the drive unit, and thereafter resumes power supply to the charging coil, in a case where it is determined that the position of the mobile terminal which is detected by the detector and the position of the charging coil are separated from each other by the second set distance or more, and

ends resumption of power supply to the charging coil if the count number of the retry counter is the set count value or more.

6. An automobile comprising:

an automobile interior; and

the mobile terminal charging device according to claim 1, which is disposed in the automobile interior.