Charging apparatus

• US 7,839,122 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2007
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd. (Winbond Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Watabe, Ryou, Takada, Kazuhisa, Yoshida, Masato, Arai, Shigenori
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIAO, M BAYE
• Application Number:
  US11/949,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20080136264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106, 320/107, 320/111, 320/128, 320/130, 320/135, 320/134, 320/136, 320/137
• US Class Current: 320/128
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries

Abstract

There is provided a charging apparatus that, even when an AC adapter is connected and there is heavy load, makes it possible to reduce heat produced due to the power loss of a control transistor, reduce cost and area for implementation, and improve safety. Charging apparatus 100 has: P-channel MOS transistors M1 and M2 that control charging current; current detecting resistance Rs that is connected to current output terminals of P-channel MOS transistors M1 and M2 and detects the charging current; switch 130 that is arranged on a path that bypasses current detecting resistance Rs; and load 300 that receives power supply from battery 200 without involving current detecting resistance Rs when switch 130 is closed. Current difference amplifier 120 amplifies the detected voltage of current detecting resistance Rs, comparator 160 compares the output voltage of current difference amplifier 129 with the reference voltage, and thereby, when current flowing into battery 200 is equal to or less than a predetermined value, switch 130 is closed and current detecting resistance Rs is short-circuited.

Claims

1. A charging apparatus that charges a secondary battery from a direct current power supply via a control transistor, the charging apparatus comprising:

a current detecting resistance that is connected between a current output terminal of the control transistor and the secondary battery in series and detects charging current;

a terminal that is configured for connection to a load circuit and that is provided between the current output terminal of the control transistor and the current detecting resistance;

a switch section that is arranged on a path that bypasses the current detecting resistance; and

a control section that detects current flowing into the secondary battery, and closes the switch section and short-circuits the current detecting resistance when the detected charging current is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

2. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a load circuit that is connected to the terminal and that receives a power supply from one of the direct current supply and the secondary battery.

3. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section switches off the control transistor when the detected charging current is equal to or less than the predetermined value.

4. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control transistor comprises a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor.

5. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switch section comprises a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor.