POWER TRANSMISSION CONTROL DEVICE, POWER TRANSMITTING DEVICE, NON-CONTACT POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENT, AND POWER TRANSMISSION CONTROL METHOD

• US 20090174264A1
• Filed: 01/08/2009
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: KAMIJO, Takahiro, KAMIYAMA, Masayuki, ONISHI, Kota, SHIOZAKI, Nobutaka, SOGABE, Haruhiko, HASEGAWA, Minoru
• Granted Patent: US 8,803,364 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/104
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• 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 7/00045 Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0049 Detection of fully charged condition

Abstract

A power transmission control device provided in a power transmitting device of a non-contact power transmission system includes a power-transmitting-side control circuit that controls power transmission to a power receiving device, the power-transmitting-side control circuit causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent temporary power transmission, detecting a response from the power receiving device that has received the power due to the temporary power transmission to automatically detect installation of a power-receiving-side instrument that includes the power receiving device in an area in which power transmitted via non-contact power transmission can be received, and causing the power transmitting device to perform continuous normal power transmission to the power receiving device when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has been detected. A foreign object detection process may also be performed in combination.

Claims

1. A power transmission control device provided in a power transmitting device of a non-contact power transmission system, the non-contact power transmission system performing non-contact power transmission from the power transmitting device to a power receiving device via a primary coil and a secondary coil that are electromagnetically coupled, the power transmission control device comprising:

a power-transmitting-side control circuit that controls power transmission to the power receiving device,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent temporary power transmission, detecting a response from the power receiving device that has received the temporary power transmission to detect installation of a power-receiving-side instrument that includes the power receiving device in an area in which power transmitted via non-contact power transmission can be received, causing the power transmitting device to perform continuous normal power transmission to the power receiving device when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has been detected, and causing the power transmitting device to continuously perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has not been detected.

2. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 1,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit performing an ID authentication process when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has been detected, and causing the power transmitting device to perform normal power transmission when the ID authentication process has been completed successfully.

3. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 2,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit detecting the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument depending on whether or not ID authentication information has been received from the power receiving device within a given period of time from a start time of the temporary power transmission.

4. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 1,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit determining the presence or absence of a foreign object based on a change in waveform of an induced voltage signal of the primary coil, and causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission and perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when a foreign object has been detected during the normal power transmission.

5. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 1,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit detecting removal of the power-receiving-side instrument based on a change in waveform of an induced voltage signal of the primary coil, and causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission and perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when removal of the power-receiving-side instrument has been detected during the normal power transmission.

6. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 1,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit detecting the presence or absence of a takeover state in which the power transmitting device continuously performs the normal power transmission while regarding a foreign object placed between the primary coil and the secondary coil as the power-receiving-side instrument, and causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission and perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when the takeover state has been detected during the normal power transmission.

7. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 6,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit detecting the takeover state when detecting that a signal transmitted from the power receiving device is blocked by the foreign object and does not reach the power transmitting device.

8. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 6,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit detecting an intermittent change in a power-receiving-side load with respect to the power transmitting device, and detecting the presence or absence of the takeover state based on the presence or absence of an intermittent change in the power-receiving-side load during the normal power transmission.

9. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 8,

the power-receiving-side load with respect to the power transmitting device being cyclically changed during the normal power transmission due to load modulation of the power receiving device;

and

the power-transmitting-side control circuit detecting the presence or absence of the takeover state by determining whether or not the change in the power-receiving-side load can be detected over a given number of cycles.

10. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 1,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission and perform power transmission for removal detection after full-charging and power transmission for recharge necessity determination after full-charging when a full-charge notification transmitted from the power receiving device has been detected during the normal power transmission, causing the power transmitting device to perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when removal of the power receiving device has been detected based on a signal transmitted from the power receiving device that has received the power transmission for removal detection after full-charging, and causing the power transmitting device to resume the normal power transmission when the power-transmitting-side control circuit has determined that recharging is necessary based on a signal transmitted from the power receiving device that has received the power transmission for recharge necessity determination after full-charging.

11. The power transmission control device as defined in claim 10,

the power transmission for removal detection after full-charging being intermittent power transmission in a first cycle;

the power transmission for recharge necessity determination after full-charging being intermittent power transmission in a second cycle; and

the first cycle being longer than a cycle of the intermittent temporary power transmission, and the second cycle being longer than the first cycle.

13. A power transmitting device comprising:

the power transmission control device as defined in claim 1; and

a power transmitting section that generates an alternating-current voltage and supplies the alternating-current voltage to the primary coil.

20. An electronic instrument comprising the power transmitting device as defined in claim 13.

12. A power transmission control device provided in a power transmitting device that transmits power to a power receiving device, the power transmission control device comprising:

a position detection section that detects a position of the power receiving device; and

a power transmission control section that controls an operation of the power transmitting device,

the power transmission control section causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent power transmission, causing the power transmitting device to perform continuous power transmission when the position detection section has detected a response from the power receiving device that has received the intermittent the power transmission, and causing the power transmitting device to continuously perform the intermittent power transmission when the position detection section does not detect the response.

14. A non-contact power transmission system comprising a power transmitting device and a power receiving device, the non-contact power transmission system performing non-contact power transmission from the power transmitting device to the power receiving device via a primary coil and a secondary coil that are electromagnetically coupled,

the power transmitting device including a power-transmitting-side control circuit that controls power transmission to the power receiving device based on an induced voltage in the primary coil;

the power receiving device including a power supply control section that controls power supply to a load, and a power reception control device that includes a power-receiving-side control circuit that controls the power receiving device; and

the power-transmitting-side control circuit of the power transmitting device causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent temporary power transmission, detecting a response from the power receiving device that has received the power due to the temporary power transmission to detect installation of a power-receiving-side instrument that includes the power receiving device in an area in which power transmitted via non-contact power transmission can be received, causing the power transmitting device to perform continuous normal power transmission to the power receiving device when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has been detected, and causing the power transmitting device to continuously perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has not been detected.

15. The non-contact power transmission system as defined in claim 14,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent temporary power transmission to the power receiving device, detecting the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument depending on whether or not ID authentication information as the response from the power receiving device has been received within a given period of time from a start time of the temporary power transmission, performing an ID authentication process on the power receiving device using the received ID authentication information when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has been detected, causing the power transmitting device to perform continuous normal power transmission to the power receiving device when the ID authentication process has been completed successfully, and causing the power transmitting device to perform the intermittent temporary power transmission to the power receiving device when the installation of the power-receiving-side instrument has not been detected or the ID authentication process has not been completed successfully.

16. The non-contact power transmission system as defined in claim 14,

the power-transmitting-side control circuit determining the presence or absence of a foreign object during the normal power transmission based on a change in waveform of an induced voltage signal of the primary coil, and causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission and perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when a foreign object has been detected.

17. The non-contact power transmission system as defined in claim 16,

the power receiving device further including a load modulation section, the power-receiving-side control circuit causing the load modulation section to regularly perform regular load modulation after the normal power transmission has started;

and

the power-transmitting-side control circuit of the power transmitting device detecting a regular change in a power-receiving-side load with respect to the power transmitting device, and causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission when the regular change in the power-receiving-side load has not been detected during the normal power transmission.

18. The non-contact power transmission system as defined in claim 17,

the power receiving device further including a full-charge detection section that detects whether or not the load has been fully charged;

the power-receiving-side control circuit causing the load modulation section to perform load modulation and transmit a full-charge notification to the power transmitting device when the full-charge detection section has detected that the load has been fully charged; and

the power-transmitting-side control circuit causing the power transmitting device to stop the normal power transmission and perform first-cycle intermittent power transmission for removal detection after full-charging and second-cycle intermittent power transmission for recharge necessity determination after full-charging when the full-charge notification transmitted from the power receiving device has been detected during the normal power transmission, causing the power transmitting device to perform the intermittent temporary power transmission when removal of the power receiving device has been detected based on a signal transmitted from the power receiving device that has received the first-cycle intermittent power transmission for removal detection after full-charging, and causing the power transmitting device to resume the normal power transmission when it has been determined that recharging is necessary based on a signal transmitted from the power receiving device that has received the second-cycle intermittent power transmission for recharge necessity determination after full-charging.

19. The non-contact power transmission system as defined in claim 17,

the power-receiving-side control circuit causing the power supply control section to perform a load reduction process that compulsorily reduces an amount of power supplied the load to apparently reduce the load when causing the load modulation section to perform the regular load modulation during the normal power transmission.

21. A power transmission control method that controls power transmission from a power transmitting device to a power receiving device, the method comprising:

causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent temporary power transmission;

causing the power receiving device that has received the intermittent temporary power transmission to transmit a response to the power transmitting device;

causing the power transmitting device to detect the response to detect installation of the power receiving device in an area in which power transmitted via non-contact power transmission can be received;

causing the power transmitting device to perform continuous normal power transmission when the installation of the power receiving device has been detected; and

causing the power transmitting device to perform intermittent power transmission when the installation of the power receiving device has not been detected.