Noncontact charging device, charger, cordless electric equipment, and noncontact charger

• US 5,929,598 A
• Filed: 07/03/1997
• Issued: 07/27/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniden Corporation (Cornwall Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: Uniden Corporation (Cornwall Capital Management LP)
• Inventors: Nakama, Hidekazu, Fujikura, Toshiaki, Shigino, Akitsugu
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward H.
• Application Number:
  US08/888,122
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 320/107, 320/108, 320/109, 320/114, 320/DIG. 23, 320/FOR 101, 336/DIG. 2
• 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 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence

Abstract

Capacitors are connected in parallel to a primary side induction coil in a charger 1 and a secondary side induction coil in a cordless equipment (handset unit) respectively, and LC parallel resonance circuits are formed in the charger and the cordless equipment respectively with this parallel connection. Each of the primary side induction coil and secondary side induction coil is formed with a sheet coil, and the sheet coils are arranged and fixed in the charger and the cordless equipment respectively so that the sheet coils face to each other with a prespecified gap in the charging state where the cordless equipment has been set in the charger.

Claims

1. A noncontact charging device for transmitting power, by making use of mutual induction between a primary side induction coil provided in a charger and a secondary side induction coil provided in a cordless equipment incorporating a secondary battery therein, from said charger to said cordless equipment and charging said secondary battery;

wherein capacitors are connected in parallel to said primary side induction coil as well as to said secondary side induction coil respectively and an LC parallel resonance circuit is formed with this parallel connected in each of said charger and said cordless equipment, each of said primary side induction coil and said secondary side induction coil is built with a sheet coil and the sheet coils are provided and fixed in said charger and said cordless equipment so that the sheet coils face to each other at a specified gap from each other in the charging state where said cordless equipment is set in said charger.

2. A noncontact charging device according to claim 1, wherein the charger is provided in a base unit of a telephone set.

3. A noncontact charging device according to claim 1, wherein the cordless equipment is provided in a handset unit of a telephone set.

4. A noncontact charging device according to claim 1;

wherein said gap is set to a dimension where a critical connection state can be achieved between said primary side induction coil and said secondary side induction coil.

5. A noncontact device according to claim 4, wherein the charger is provided in a base unit of a telephone set.

6. A noncontact charging device according to claim 4, wherein the cordless equipment is provided in a handset unit of a telephone set.

7. A noncontact charging device according to claim 1;

wherein said sheet coil is spirally patterned on a plane.

8. A noncontact charging device according to claim 7, wherein the charger is provided in a base unit of a telephone set.

9. A noncontact charging device according to claim 7, wherein the cordless equipment is provided in a handset unit of a telephone set.

10. A noncontact charging device according to claim 1;

wherein said sheet coil comprises a pattern inductor patterned on a printed board.

11. A noncontact charging device according to claim 10, wherein the charger is provided in a base unit of a telephone set.

12. A noncontact charging device according to claim 10, wherein the cordless equipment is provided in a handset unit of a telephone set.

13. A noncontact charger for transmitting power to a cordless equipment including a secondary side induction coil and a secondary battery by making use of mutual induction by a primary side coil to charge said secondary battery comprising:

a resonance circuit including a primary side induction coil;

a resonance state switch for switching a resonant voltage level in said resonance circuit between a high level and a low level; and

a mutual induction state detector for checking whether said primary side induction coil is in the mutual induction state or not according to oscillation amplitude in said resonance circuit;

wherein the a oscillation voltage level in said resonance circuit is set to a high level by said resonance state switch when a mutual induction state is being detected by said mutual induction state detector, and otherwise is set to a low level by said resonance state switch.

14. A cordless equipment charged by a noncontact charger according to claim 13;

wherein a rectification circuit provided between the secondary side induction coil and the secondary battery is a double voltage rectification circuit.

15. A noncontact charger according to claim 13;

wherein said mutual induction state detector comprises a variable amplifier for catching change in oscillation amplitude in said resonance circuit as a voltage change and amplifying it, and a comparator for comparing an output voltage from said variable amplifier to a reference value for comparison;

said comparator outputs a determination signal indicating according to a result of comparison whether said primary side induction coil is in the mutual induction state or not; and

said variable amplifier sets an offset voltage in the state where the mutual induction state has not been effected to a level lower than that in the state where the mutual induction state has been effected according to said determination signal.

16. A cordless equipment charged by a noncontact charger according to claim 15;

wherein a rectification circuit provided between the secondary side induction coil and the secondary battery is a double voltage rectification circuit.

17. A noncontact charger according to claim 15 comprising a delay circuit for delaying a timing when said determination signal is given to said oscillation state switch.

18. A cordless equipment charged by a noncontact charger according to claim 17;

wherein a rectification circuit provided between the secondary side induction coil and the secondary battery is a double voltage rectification circuit.

19. A noncontact charger according to claim 15;

wherein said variable amplifier sets an amplification factor in the state where it is determined according to a determination signal outputted from said comparator that the mutual induction state has not been effected to a level higher than that in the state where the mutual induction state has been effected.

20. A cordless equipment charged by a noncontact charger according to claim 19;

wherein a rectification circuit provided between the secondary side induction coil and the secondary battery is a double voltage rectification circuit.

21. A noncontact charger according to claim 19 comprising a delay circuit for delaying a timing when said determination signal is given to said oscillation state switch.

22. A cordless equipment charged by a noncontact charger according to claim 21;

wherein a rectification circuit provided between the secondary side induction coil and the secondary battery is a double voltage rectification circuit.

23. A noncontact charger according to claim 13;

wherein said mutual induction state detector comprises a first comparator for comparing a resonance voltage obtained according to oscillation amplitude in said resonance circuit to a first reference value for comparison and a second comparator for comparing a resonance voltage obtained according to oscillation amplitude in said resonance circuit to a second reference value for comparison larger than the first reference value for comparison, and a determination signal indicating whether said primary side induction coil is in the mutual induction state or not is outputted according to a combination of an output signal from said first comparator and that from said second comparator.

24. A cordless equipment charged by a noncontact charger according to claim 23;

wherein a rectification circuit provided between the secondary side induction coil and the secondary battery is a double voltage rectification circuit.