In-vehicle battery charging system

• US 9,248,791 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2012
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Access Corp. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Access Corp. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Misono, Yoshimasa
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, NGHIA M
• Application Number:
  US13/606,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20130147426A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 320/113, 320/115
• 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

Abstract

An in-vehicle battery charging system adaptable to a wide variety of objects to be charged. A charging system 1 includes a battery charger 3 with a built-in primary coil 2 used to charge an object 7 with a secondary coil 5 and a rechargeable battery 6. By allowing the battery charger 3 and the object 7 to come close to each other, the rechargeable battery 6 is charged through an electromagnetic inductive action between the coils. The battery charger 3, provided in a vehicle instrumental panel 4, includes a slider assembly 23 for adjusting a position of the secondary coil 5 of the object 7 with respect to the primary coil 2 of the battery charger 3. This slider assembly 23 enables a positional relationship between the coils to be properly adjusted, enabling a proper charge condition to be maintained for a variety of objects to be charged.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle battery charging system for charging an object including an energy receiving unit and a rechargeable battery, comprising:

a battery charger with an energy transmitting unit, the battery charger being provided in an instrumental panel of a vehicle and including a mounting surface on which the object to be charged is mounted with a surface of the object contacting the mounting surface, thus charging the rechargeable battery, using an energy received by the energy receiving unit from the energy transmitting unit; and

a holding unit for adjusting a position of the energy receiving unit of the object to be charged with respect to the energy transmitting unit of the battery charger,

wherein the mounting surface is tilted forward in a travelling direction of the vehicle, and the holding unit is provided, on the mounting surface, slidably movable along the mounting surface in such a fashion that a vertical position of the holding unit is adjustable,

wherein a recess is formed in an upper portion of the mounting surface, the recess being formed into a size large enough for an upper portion of the object to be charged to get thereinto when the upper portion of the object is pushed toward the recess such that a lower portion of the object is disengaged from the mounting surface, and

wherein a housing portion for housing and mounting the object to be charged is provided in a central portion of the instrumental panel of the vehicle, the housing portion being provided with the mounting surface.

2. The in-vehicle battery charging system according to claim 1, further comprising a position adjusting unit for adjusting a position of the object to be charged, wherein the position adjusting unit includes an operative unit for enabling a vertical position of the holding unit to be fixed and unfixed.

3. The in-vehicle battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein the energy transmitting unit is a primary coil and the energy receiving unit is a secondary coil, the primary coil being provided continuously over a substantially entire length of the mounting surface in a traverse direction thereof.

4. The in-vehicle battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein the object to be charged is a mobile terminal with a built-in GPS device, a wireless function and an information display function, while the in-vehicle battery charging system includes a communication unit for transmitting, to the object to be charged, information collected from a travelling condition acquiring sensor mounted on a vehicle.

5. The in-vehicle battery charging system according to claim 1, wherein an angle of the mounting surface to a horizontal plane is 45 degrees or more and 73 degrees or less.

6. An in-vehicle battery charging system for charging an object including an energy receiving unit and a rechargeable battery, comprising:

a battery charger with an energy transmitting unit, the battery charger being provided in an instrumental panel of a vehicle, thus charging the rechargeable battery, using an energy received by the energy receiving unit from the energy transmitting unit; and

a holding unit for adjusting a position of the energy receiving unit of the object to be charged with respect to the energy transmitting unit of the battery charger,

wherein the energy transmitting unit includes a first capacitive element and the energy receiving unit includes a second capacitive element, and an electric power is fed from the energy transmitting unit to the energy receiving unit through an electric field coupling system between the first capacitive element and the second capacitive element.

7. An in-vehicle battery charging system for charging an object including an energy receiving unit and a rechargeable battery, comprising:

a battery charger with an energy transmitting unit, the battery charger being provided in an instrumental panel of a vehicle, thus charging the rechargeable battery, using an energy received by the energy receiving unit from the energy transmitting unit; and

a holding unit for adjusting a position of the energy receiving unit of the object to be charged with respect to the energy transmitting unit of the battery charger,

wherein the energy transmitting unit is a light emitting unit configured to emit a light, and the energy receiving unit is a solar battery configured to receive the emitted light and convert the emitted light to an electricity by using a photovoltaic effect.

8. An in-vehicle battery charging system for charging an object including an energy receiving unit and a rechargeable battery, comprising:

a battery charger with an energy transmitting unit, the battery charger being provided in an instrumental panel of a vehicle, thus charging the rechargeable battery, using an energy received by the energy receiving unit from the energy transmitting unit; and

a holding unit for adjusting a position of the energy receiving unit of the object to be charged with respect to the energy transmitting unit of the battery charger,

wherein the energy transmitting unit is a heat generating unit configured to generate a heat, and the energy receiving unit is a thermocouple configured to receive the generated heat and convert the generated heat to an electricity by using a thermoelectromotive effect.

9. The in-vehicle battery charging system according to claim 8, wherein the battery charger includes a mounting surface on which the object to be charged is mounted and a high thermal conducting member with higher thermal conductivity than that of the mounting surface is provided on the mounting surface, and the heat generating unit is arranged in a rear surface of the high thermal conducting member.