CONTACTLESS CHARGING DEVICE, PROGRAM THEREFOR, AND AUTOMOBILE HAVING CONTACTLESS CHARGING DEVICE MOUNTED THEREIN

• US 20170018950A1
• Filed: 12/08/2014
• Published: 01/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: YAMANISHI, YUTO, HATAKEYAMA, KEN
• Granted Patent: US 10,090,718 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction

Abstract

A contactless charging device includes a placement plate on which a portable apparatus is placed, a charging coil, a position detector having a position detection coil, a foreign object detector having a foreign object detection coil, an alarm, and a controller. The position detection coil and the foreign object detection coil are disposed on or under the placement plate. The controller drives the alarm if the foreign object detector detects the presence of a conductive foreign object on the placement plate, and then the position detector detects the portable apparatus on the placement plate.

Claims

1. A contactless charging device comprising:

a placement plate on which a portable apparatus is placed;

a charging coil that is disposed to oppose a rear surface side of the placement plate;

a position detector that includes a position detection coil disposed on or under the placement plate, and detects the portable apparatus present on the placement plate at a predetermined time interval;

a foreign object detector that includes a foreign object detection coil disposed on or under the placement plate, and detects a conductive foreign object present on the placement plate at a predetermined time interval;

an alarm that issues a warning on the basis of detection results from the position detector and the foreign object detector; and

a controller that drives the alarm if the position detector detects the portable apparatus after the foreign object detector detects the presence of a conductive foreign object.

2. The contactless charging device of claim 1,

wherein, if the foreign object detector detects the presence of the conductive foreign object, and the position detector detects the portable apparatus after a predefined time period elapses, the controller drives the alarm.

3. The contactless charging device of claim 1, further comprising:

a charging coil controller that drives the charging coil,

wherein, if the foreign object detector does not detect the presence of the conductive foreign object, and the position detector detects the portable apparatus, the controller drives the charging coil via the charging coil controller, so as to start charging.

4. The contactless charging device of claim 1,

wherein the controller alternately drives the position detector and the foreign object detector.

5. The contactless charging device of claim 1,

wherein each of the position detection coil and the foreign object detection coil is formed of a plurality of detection coils disposed on or under the placement plate.

6. A program for driving the controller of the contactless charging device of claim 1, the program executing:

a step of detecting the presence of the portable apparatus on the placement plate at a predetermined time interval;

a step of detecting the conductive foreign object present on the placement plate at a predetermined time interval; and

a step of issuing a warning if the presence of the portable apparatus is detected after the presence of the conductive foreign object is detected.

7. An automobile comprising:

a vehicle interior; and

the contactless charging device of claim 1 that is disposed in the vehicle interior so that the placement plate faces upward.