ELECTRICAL POWER RECEIVING APPARATUS AND ELECTRICAL POWER RECEIVING METHOD

• US 20130141039A1
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Kazuma, Kobayashi, Hirokazu, Nishikawa, Takayuki, Senga, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,018,901 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

This electrical power-receiving apparatus makes it possible to suppress a decline in power supply efficiency in a variety of different circumstances while avoiding an increase in circuit scale. This apparatus comprises an impedance control unit (307) for sequentially switching through any one of a plurality of charging devices in a charging device group (310), as candidate charging devices for a supply destination to which electrical power is to be supplied. The impedance control unit (307) also selects from the candidates a charging device to which electrical power is actually supplied, on the basis of the difference between the impedance of the charging device group (310) for each candidate and the impedance of an electrical power receiving antenna unit (301), and causes electrical power to be supplied to the selected charging device.

Claims

1. An electrical power receiving apparatus comprising:

an electrical power receiving antenna section that receives electrical power;

a first impedance measurement section that measures impedance of the electrical power receiving antenna section;

a charging apparatus group that has a plurality of charging apparatuses and accumulates the electrical power;

a second impedance measurement section that measures impedance of the charging apparatus group; and

a control section that sequentially switches at least one of the plurality of charging apparatuses as candidates for the charging apparatuses as a supply destination to which the electrical power will be supplied, selects the charging apparatus, to which the electrical power will be actually supplied, from the candidates on the basis of the difference between impedance of the charging apparatus group for each candidate and impedance of the electrical power receiving antenna section, and causes the electrical power to be supplied to the selected charging apparatus.

2. The electrical power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control section preferentially selects the candidate with a small difference between impedance of the charging apparatus group and impedance of the electrical power receiving antenna section as the charging apparatus to which the electrical power will be actually supplied.

3. The electrical power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control section sets each of the plurality of charging apparatuses as the candidate.

4. The electrical power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control section sets the combination of the plurality of charging apparatuses as the candidate.

5. The electrical power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control section sets each or the combination of the plurality of charging apparatuses as the candidate.

6. The electrical power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication section that acquires information regarding transmission electrical power; and

a calculation section that calculates electrical power supply efficiency using the electrical power and the transmission electrical power,

wherein the control section determines the timing of acquiring impedance of the electrical power receiving antenna section from the first impedance measurement section on the basis of the degree of change in the electrical power supply efficiency.

7. The electrical power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a measurement section that measures the electrical power,

wherein the control section determines the timing of acquiring impedance of the electrical power receiving antenna section from the first impedance measurement section on the basis of the degree of change in the electrical power.

8. An electrical power receiving method comprising:

receiving electrical power;

measuring impedance of an electrical power receiving antenna section that receives the electrical power;

measuring impedance of a charging apparatus group that has a plurality of charging apparatuses and accumulates the electrical power;

sequentially switching at least one of the plurality of charging apparatuses as candidates for the charging apparatuses as a supply destination to which the electrical power will be supplied;

selecting the charging apparatus, to which the electrical power will be actually supplied, from the candidates on the basis of the difference between impedance of the charging apparatus group for each candidate and impedance of the electrical power receiving antenna section; and

causing the electrical power to be supplied to the selected charging apparatus.