CHARGER AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS STABLY SUPPLYING OPERATING VOLTAGE

• US 20160352121A1
• Filed: 03/04/2016
• Published: 12/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: YUYAMA, Masami
• Granted Patent: US 9,641,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0708 the source being electromagnetic or magnetic
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0709 the source being an interrogation field
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices

Abstract

A charger includes a power obtaining unit and a power transfer unit. The power obtaining unit charges a first power storage device with a voltage supplied from outside. The power transfer unit transfers power stored in the first power storage device to a second power storage device so as to store the power in the second power storage device. The power transfer unit includes a voltage decrease reduction unit. The voltage decrease reduction unit reduces voltage decrease of the first power storage device per transfer of the power from the first power storage device to the second power storage device. The second power storage device has a capacitance larger than the first power storage device.

Claims

1. A charger comprising:

a power obtaining unit which charges a first power storage device with a voltage supplied from outside; and

a power transfer unit which transfers power stored in the first power storage device to a second power storage device having a capacitance larger than the first power storage device so as to store the power in the second power storage device, wherein

the power transfer unit includes a voltage decrease reduction unit which reduces voltage decrease of the first power storage device per transfer of the power from the first power storage device to the second power storage device.

2. The charger according to claim 1, wherein the power transfer unit performs chopping operation to perform the transfer intermittently.

3. The charger according to claim 2, wherein

the voltage decrease reduction unit includes an inductor provided at a point on a path of transfer current flowing between the first power storage device and the second power storage device, and

during the chopping operation, the inductor (i) reduces the transfer current while the transfer is being performed, thereby reducing the voltage decrease of the first power storage device, and (ii) generates current and stores power in the second power storage device after the transfer is suspended.

4. The charger according to claim 2, wherein the power transfer unit includes:

an oscillator circuit; and

a switching unit which repeatedly switches connection between the first power storage device and the second power storage device on and off according to oscillation operation of the oscillator circuit.

5. The charger according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer allowing/prohibiting unit which (i) does not allow the transfer while an output voltage of the first power storage device is lower than a predetermined reference voltage, and (ii) allows the transfer from when the output voltage of the first power storage device becomes a predetermined upper limit voltage or higher, the upper limit voltage being higher than the reference voltage, until the output voltage of the first power storage device becomes lower than the reference voltage.

6. The charger according to claim 5, wherein the transfer allowing/prohibiting unit:

includes a comparison unit which compares the output voltage of the first power storage device with each of the reference voltage and the upper limit voltage, and

determines whether or not to allow the transfer based on a comparison result of the comparison unit.

7. The charger according to claim 5, wherein

the power transfer unit includes:

an oscillator circuit; and

a switching unit which repeatedly switches connection between the first power storage device and the second power storage device on and off according to oscillation operation of the oscillator circuit,

the transfer allowing/prohibiting unit stops the oscillation operation of the oscillator circuit while not allowing the transfer, and

the switching unit keeps the connection off while the oscillation operation of the oscillator circuit stops.

8. The charger according to claim 1, wherein the power obtaining unit includes:

an antenna which receives a wireless radio wave transmitted from an external apparatus; and

a rectifier circuit which rectifies current of the received wireless radio wave.

9. The charger according to claim 8, wherein the antenna receives the wireless radio wave transmitted through near-field radio communication from the external apparatus which is involved in at least one of reading and writing of an RF tag.

10. The charger according to claim 1, wherein the second power storage device is one of a secondary cell and an electric double-layer capacitor.

11. The charger according to claim 1, wherein the first power storage device is a capacitor.

12. The charger according to claim 5, wherein the reference voltage is determined according to the output voltage, thereby being variable.

13. The charger according to claim 5, wherein the reference voltage and the upper limit voltage are determined according to the output voltage, thereby being variable.

14. An electronic apparatus comprising:

the charger according to claim 1;

an RF tag which operates with, as power, a wireless radio wave transmitted from the outside through near-field radio communication; and

an operating unit which performs predetermined operation with the power stored in the second power storage device.

15. The electronic apparatus according to claim 14, wherein

the charger further comprises a transfer allowing/prohibiting unit which (i) does not allow the transfer while an output voltage of the first power storage device is lower than a predetermined reference voltage, and (ii) allows the transfer from when the output voltage of the first power storage device becomes a predetermined upper limit voltage or higher, the upper limit voltage being higher than the reference voltage, until the output voltage of the first power storage device becomes lower than the reference voltage, and

the reference voltage is determined to be higher than an operating voltage of the RF tag.

16. A charging method comprising:

a power obtaining step of charging a first power storage device with a voltage supplied from outside; and

a power transfer step of transferring power stored in the first power storage device to a second power storage device having a capacitance larger than the first power storage device so as to store the power in the second power storage device, wherein

the power transfer step includes a voltage decrease reduction step of reducing voltage decrease of the first power storage device per transfer of the power from the first power storage device to the second power storage device.

17. The charging method according to claim 16, wherein in the power transfer step, chopping operation to perform the transfer intermittently is performed.

18. The charging method according to claim 16, further comprising a transfer allowing/prohibiting step of (i) not allowing the transfer while an output voltage of the first power storage device is lower than a predetermined reference voltage, and (ii) allowing the transfer from when the output voltage of the first power storage device becomes a predetermined upper limit voltage or higher, the upper limit voltage being higher than the reference voltage, until the output voltage of the first power storage device becomes lower than the reference voltage.

19. The charging method according to claim 18, wherein

the transfer allowing/prohibiting step includes a comparison step of comparing the output voltage of the first power storage device with each of the reference voltage and the upper limit voltage, and

in the transfer allowing/prohibiting step, whether or not to allow the transfer is determined based on a comparison result of the comparison step.