Battery charger cradle

• US 8,305,036 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Toya, Shoichi, Mizoguchi, Yasunari, Satsuma, Eiji, Terao, Kyozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): OMAR, AHMED H
• Application Number:
  US12/314,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20090153098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 320/108
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries

Abstract

In a battery charger cradle, a battery incorporated in a battery built-in device is charged by electric power induced to an induction coil. The cradle includes a primary coil for inducing electromotive force to the induction coil, a casing having a top plate atop of which the battery built-in device is placed, a movement mechanism for moving the primary coil along an inner surface of the top plate, and a position detection controller for detecting a position of the battery built-in device placed on the top plate and controlling the movement mechanism to bring the primary coil closer to the induction coil in the battery built-in device. When the battery built-in device is placed on the top plate, the position detection controller detects the position of the battery built-in device, and the movement mechanism moves the primary coil closer to the induction coil in the battery built-in device.

Claims

1. A battery charger cradle designed to be used with a battery built-in device having an electromagnetically coupled induction coil incorporated in the battery built-in device and a battery rechargeable with a power induced by the induction coil, the battery charger cradle comprising:

a primary coil connected to an AC power source for inducing electromotive force to the induction coil;

a casing containing the primary coil and having a top plate, wherein the primary coil is enclosed within the casing and the battery built-in device is to be placed on a top surface of the top plate;

a movement mechanism for moving the primary coil along an inner surface of the top plate, the inner surface being opposite relative to the top surface of the top plate, wherein the movement mechanism is enclosed within the casing; and

a position detection controller for detecting a position of the battery built-in device placed on the top plate and controlling the movement mechanism to bring the primary coil closer to the induction coil contained in the battery built-in device, the position detection controller comprising a plurality of stationary position detection coils fixed inside the top plate of the casing,

wherein, when the battery built-in device is placed on the top surface of the top plate of the casing, the position detection controller detects the position of the battery built-in device with the plurality of stationary position detection coils, the position detection controller controls the movement mechanism so that the movement mechanism moves the primary coil along the inner surface of the top plate to bring the primary coil closer to the induction coil contained in the battery built-in device.

3. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the position detection controller detects the position of the induction coil and brings the primary coil closer to the induction coil.

4. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the position detection controller moves the primary coil along the top plate in the directions of at least either the X axis or the Y axis to be brought closer to the induction coil.

5. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the position detection controller further comprises a pulsed power source for supplying a pulse signal to the position detection coil, a receiver circuit for receiving an echo signal outputted to the position detection coil from the induction coil which is excited by the pulse signal supplied from the pulsed power source to the position detection coil, and a discrimination decision circuit for judging a position of the induction coil on the basis of the echo signal received by the receiver circuit.

6. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 5, wherein the position detection coil comprises a plurality of X-axis detection coils 30A for detecting an X-axis position of the induction coil, and a plurality of Y-axis detection coils for detecting a Y-axis position of the induction coil.

7. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 6, wherein the X-axis detection coils are of a loop elongated in the direction of Y axis, the plurality of X-axis detection coils being fixed at prescribed intervals to an inner surface of the top plate.

8. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 7, wherein a distance between the adjacent X-axis detection coils is set to be smaller than an outer diameter of the induction coil.

9. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 6, wherein the plurality of the Y-axis detection coils are of a loop elongated in the direction of X-axis, the plurality of Y-axis detection coils being fixed at prescribed intervals to the inner surface of the top plate.

10. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 9, wherein a distance between the adjacent Y-axis detection coils is set to be smaller than an outer diameter of the induction coil.

11. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 5, wherein the position detection controller comprises a switching circuit switching each of the position detection coils to connect with the receiver circuit, wherein an input into the receiver circuit is switched one after another to be connected with the plurality of position detection coils.

12. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 5, wherein the position detection controller comprises a switching circuit switching and connecting an output side of the pulsed power source to the position detection coil, wherein the pulsed power source is switched to the plurality of position detection coils to output the pulse signal.

13. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the AC power source has a self-excited oscillation circuit, and the position detection controller detects the position of the induction coil on the basis of an oscillating frequency of the self-excited oscillation circuit to control the movement mechanism.

14. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the position detection controller comprises a first position detection controller for roughly detecting a position of the induction coil contained in the battery built-in device and a second position detection controller for precisely detecting the position of the induction coil, wherein the primary coil having been brought closer to the induction coil by the first position detection controller is then brought even closer to the induction coil by the second position detection controller.

15. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 14, wherein the first position detection controller comprises a plurality of position detection coils fixed to the top plate, a pulsed power source for supplying a pulse signal to the position detection coil, a receiver circuit for receiving an echo signal outputted to a position detection coil from an induction coil which is excited by the pulse signal supplied from the pulsed power source to the position detection coil, and a discrimination decision circuit for judging a position of the induction coil on the basis of the echo signal received by the receiver circuit.

16. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 14, wherein the AC power source has a self-excited oscillation circuit, and the second position detection controller detects a position of the induction coil on the basis of an oscillating frequency of the self-excited oscillation circuit and controls the movement mechanism.

17. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the position detection controller comprises a plurality of position detection coils fixed to an inner surface of a top plate, a pulsed power supply for supplying a pulse signal to the position detection coil, a receiver circuit for receiving an echo signal outputted to the position detection coil from the induction coil which is excited by the pulse signal supplied from the pulsed power source to the position detection coil, and a discrimination decision circuit for judging a position of the induction coil on the basis of the echo signal received by the receiver circuit;

and further the discrimination decision circuit comprises a memory circuit for storing a level of the echo signal induced to each of the position detection coils with respect to the position of the induction coil, wherein the level of the echo signal induced to each of the position detection coils is compared with a level of the echo signal stored in the memory circuit to detect a position of the induction coil.

18. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 14, wherein the second position detection controller moves the primary coil and stops the primary coil at a position where a voltage of the primary coil becomes the lowest.

19. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 14, wherein the second position detection controller moves the primary coil and stops the primary coil at a position where power consumption of an AC power source becomes the smallest.

20. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 14, wherein the second position detection controller moves the primary coil and stops the primary coil at a position where an electric current flowing through the induction coil becomes the largest.

21. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the battery built-in device has a capacitor being parallel-connected to the induction coil, a parallel resonance circuit is constituted by the capacitor and the induction coil, and a resonance frequency of the capacitor and the induction coil is a frequency similar to a frequency electrically carried from the primary coil.

22. The battery charger cradle as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of position detection coils are disposed over at least an area corresponding to a region that the primary coil reaches within the top plate of the casing, and wherein the primary coil is configured to be fixed in a direction of the Z axis, which is perpendicular to the top plate, when the position detection controller detects the position of the battery built-in device.

2. A battery charger cradle designed to be used with a battery built-in device having an electromagnetically coupled induction coil incorporated in the battery built-in device and a battery rechargeable with a power induced by the induction coil, the battery charger cradle comprising:

a primary coil connected to an AC power source for inducing electromotive force to the induction coil;

a casing containing the primary coil and having a top plate on the top of which the battery built-in device is to be placed;

a movement mechanism, contained in the casing, for moving the primary coil along an inner surface of the top plate; and

a position detection controller for detecting a position of the battery built-in device placed on the top plate and controlling the movement mechanism to bring the primary coil closer to the induction coil contained in the battery built-in device,

wherein, when the battery built-in device is placed on the top plate of the casing, the position detection controller detects the position of the battery built-in device, the position detection controller controls the movement mechanism, and the movement mechanism moves the primary coil along the top plate to bring the primary coil closer to the induction coil contained in the battery built-in device,

wherein the top plate of the casing is so sized as to allow a plurality of battery built-in devices to be placed thereon;

the position detection controller incorporates a full charge state detection circuit for detecting a full charge state of a built-in battery;

when the full charge state detection circuit detects the full charge state of the battery contained in the battery built-in device being subjected to a charging operation, a position of a non-charged battery built-in device incorporating a battery which is not fully charged is detected; and

the movement mechanism is controlled to bring the primary coil closer to the induction coil contained in the non-charged battery built-in device to charge the battery contained in the non-charged battery built-in device.