Charge / discharge device

Abstract

To provide a technology for supplying a load with power greater than the power received from a power adapter.SOLUTION: When a charging terminal 110 is connected to a power adapter 300, a charging unit 112 charges a storage battery 200 with power supplied from the power adapter 300. When a discharging terminal 130 is connected to a first load 400a and a second load 400b and an operation unit 150 accepts an operation, a discharging unit 132 discharges the power of the storage battery 200 to the first load 400a and the second load 400b. When the charging terminal 110 is connected to the power adapter 300, the discharging terminal 130 is connected to the first load 400a and the second load 400b and the operation unit 150 accepts an operation, the control unit 140 stops charging by the charging unit 112 and causes the discharging unit 132 to perform discharging, and then stops discharging by the discharging unit 132 and causes the charging unit 112 to perform charging.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charging / discharging technology, and more particularly to a charging / discharging device that charges and discharges a storage battery. [Background technology]

[0002] When an external storage battery is connected to a quick charger that is connected to a commercial power source, the quick charger charges the external storage battery (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-19602 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If a charger / discharger can be connected to a power adapter, and then an external battery and a load can be connected to the charger / discharger to charge the external battery and the load, user convenience will be improved. However, since the output capacity of a power adapter is limited to a certain extent (due to dimensions, weight, price, etc.), the power required to charge the load may be greater than the power that can be received from the power adapter. Even in such a case, it is necessary to charge the load.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and has an objective to provide a technique for supplying a greater amount of power to a load than is received from a power adapter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a charging / discharging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a charging terminal connectable to a power adapter, a charging unit that charges a storage battery with power supplied from the power adapter when the charging terminal is connected to the power adapter, an operation unit that can receive operations from a user, a discharging terminal connectable to a load, a discharging unit that discharges power from the storage battery to the load when the discharging terminal is connected to the load and the operation unit receives the operation, and a control unit that controls the operation of the charging unit and the discharging unit. When the charging terminal is connected to the power adapter and the discharging terminal is connected to the load and the operation unit receives the operation, the control unit stops charging by the charging unit and causes the discharging unit to discharge, and then stops discharging by the discharging unit and causes the charging unit to charge.

[0007] Any combination of the above components, and conversion of the present disclosure into a method, device, system, recording medium, computer program, etc. are also valid aspects of the present disclosure. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to supply more power to a load than is received from a power adapter. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a charge / discharge system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the charge / discharge system of FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a flowchart showing a charging / discharging procedure performed by the charging / discharging device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a charge / discharge system according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Before describing the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, an overview of the embodiments will be described. The present embodiment relates to a charging / discharging system that enables charging / discharging of a storage battery pack by connecting the storage battery pack to a charging / discharging device. The charging / discharging device has a charging terminal and a discharging terminal. When a power adapter is connected to the charging terminal, power from the power adapter connected to a power source is supplied to the charging / discharging device. For example, the storage battery pack is charged by the supplied power. On the other hand, when a load is connected to the discharging terminal, power from the charging / discharging device is supplied to the load.

[0011] A situation may occur in which a power adapter is connected to the charging terminal of a charging / discharging device while a load is connected to the discharging terminal. In such a situation, power supply to the load should be prioritized over charging to the storage battery pack. For this reason, conventional charging / discharging devices do not charge the storage battery pack with the power supplied from the power adapter, but supply the power supplied from the power adapter to the load. In addition, the charging / discharging device charges the storage battery pack after the power supply to the load is completed. In such a configuration, the power adapter must supply more power than the power to be supplied to the load. However, the charging terminal side has restrictions on safety, size, weight, and price, and there are cases in which the power adapter cannot receive more power than the power to be supplied to the load. In such a case, the power to be supplied to the load is insufficient.

[0012] In a situation where a power adapter is connected to the charging terminal of a charging / discharging device and a load is connected to the discharging terminal, and even if the power to be supplied to the load from the power adapter is greater than the power that the charging terminal can receive, it is required to supply power to the load. In a situation where a power adapter is connected to the charging terminal and a load is connected to the discharging terminal, the charging / discharging device according to this embodiment discharges power from a storage battery pack to the load. After discharging to the load is completed, the charging / discharging device charges the storage battery pack with the power supplied from the power adapter.

[0013] Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a charging / discharging system 1000, and Fig. 2 shows the appearance of the charging / discharging system 1000. The charging / discharging system 1000 includes a charging / discharging device 100, a storage battery 200, a power adapter 300, and a first load 400a and a second load 400b collectively referred to as load 400. The charging / discharging device 100 includes a charging terminal 110, a charging unit 112, a storage battery terminal 120, a first discharging terminal 130a and a second discharging terminal 130b collectively referred to as discharge terminal 130, a discharging unit 132, a control unit 140, an operation unit 150, and a display unit 160.

[0014] Charging / discharging device 100 includes a charging terminal 110, a storage battery terminal 120, and a discharging terminal 130 as connectors with the outside. Charging terminal 110 is detachably connected to a power adapter 300. Power adapter 300 is connected to a commercial power source (not shown), converts AC power supplied from the commercial power source (AC power source) into DC power, and outputs the DC power (hereinafter also simply referred to as "power") to charging / discharging device 100.

[0015] The storage battery terminal 120 is detachably connected to the storage battery 200. The storage battery 200 corresponds to the above-mentioned storage battery pack, and is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion secondary battery. When the storage battery 200 is attached to the charging / discharging device 100 by being connected to the storage battery terminal 120, the charging / discharging device 100 performs charging / discharging to the storage battery 200.

[0016] The discharge terminal 130 is detachably connected to the load 400. The load 400 is an electronic device, for example, the first load 400a is a personal computer, and the second load 400b is a smartphone. The number of the discharge terminals 130 is not limited to "2", and the number of the loads 400 connected to the discharge terminals 130 is also not limited to "2". These loads 400 incorporate a rechargeable storage battery (not shown), and charge the storage battery (not shown) with power supplied from the charging / discharging device 100 when connected to the discharge terminal 130.

[0017] If the charging terminal 110 is connected to the power adapter 300 and the storage battery 200 is connected to the storage battery terminal 120, the charging unit 112 charges the storage battery 200 with power supplied from the power adapter 300. In addition, if the discharging terminal 130 is connected to the load 400 and the storage battery 200 is connected to the storage battery terminal 120, and an operation unit 150 described below is pressed down, the discharging unit 132 discharges (outputs) power from the storage battery 200 to the load 400.

[0018] Here, the maximum value of the power discharged by the discharge unit 132 is set to be greater than the maximum value of the power charged by the charge unit 112. For example, when the charge unit 112 is compatible with USB PD (Power Delivery), the maximum value of the power charged is "240 W" according to the current standard, but in consideration of weight, dimensions, price, and the like, "100 W" or less is the mainstream. On the other hand, the load 400 compatible with USB PD requires power of about "60 W". When two loads 400 are connected to the charging / discharging device 100 as shown in FIG. 1, the maximum value of the power discharged by the discharge unit 132 is "120 W". Also, the maximum value of the power discharged by the storage battery 200 is set to, for example, "300 W". In other words, the maximum value of the power discharged by the storage battery 200 is set to be greater than the maximum value of the power discharged by the discharge unit 132.

[0019] The control unit 140 controls the operation of the charging unit 112 and the discharging unit 132. The control by the control unit 140 will be described later. The operation unit 150 is an interface that can be operated by the user, for example, a button. For example, when discharging the storage battery 200, the user presses down the operation unit 150. The display unit 160 is an interface for notifying the user of various information. The display unit 160 includes, for example, multiple LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), and changes the lighting pattern of the multiple LEDs depending on the content of the information. The various information is the charging / discharging state of the charging / discharging device 100 and the state of the storage battery 200. The display unit 160 may be a display.

[0020] The control of charging and discharging in control unit 140 will be described below in the order of (1) basic operation and (2) additional operation. (1) Basic operation If the user does not press down operation unit 150, control unit 140 does not accept a notice of the press from operation unit 150. If control unit 140 does not accept a notice of the press, it instructs charging unit 112 to perform a charging operation and instructs discharging unit 132 to stop discharging. When instructed to perform a charging operation, charging unit 112 charges storage battery 200 with power supplied from power adapter 300 as described above. Also, when instructed to stop discharging, discharging unit 132 stops discharging.

[0021] When the storage battery 200 is fully charged, charging stops. The charging unit 112 detects the stop of charging of the storage battery 200 by a known technique. The charging unit 112 notifies the control unit 140 of the stop of charging. When the control unit 140 receives the notification, it recognizes that the storage battery 200 is fully charged. As a result, charging of the storage battery 200 ends.

[0022] When the user presses down on operation unit 150, operation unit 150 notifies control unit 140 of the press. When control unit 140 receives the press notification from operation unit 150, it instructs charging unit 112 to stop charging, and instructs discharging unit 132 to perform a discharge operation. When instructed to stop charging, charging unit 112 stops. When instructed to perform a discharge operation, discharging unit 132 discharges (outputs) power from storage battery 200 to load 400 as described above.

[0023] While discharging the storage battery 200, the discharging unit 132 periodically measures the value of the current from the storage battery 200 to the load 400. The discharging unit 132 outputs the measured current value to the control unit 140. If the current value received from the discharging unit 132 is equal to or greater than a threshold value (hereinafter referred to as the "discharging threshold value"), the control unit 140 decides to continue discharging. On the other hand, if the current value becomes smaller than the discharging threshold value, the control unit 140 decides to stop discharging. This corresponds to detecting the end of discharging to the load 400. When the control unit 140 decides to stop discharging, it instructs the discharging unit 132 to stop discharging. When instructed to stop discharging, the discharging unit 132 stops discharging from the storage battery 200. As a result, discharging of the storage battery 200, that is, charging of the load 400, ends.

[0024] When the control unit 140 instructs the discharge unit 132 to stop discharging, it instructs the charging unit 112 to perform a charging operation. When the charging unit 112 is instructed to perform a charging operation, it charges the storage battery 200 with the power supplied from the power adapter 300, as described above. Subsequently, as described above, the storage battery 200 is charged until the storage battery 200 is fully charged. As a result of this process, the charging of the load 400 and the storage battery 200 is completed.

[0025] That is, when charging terminal 110 is connected to power adapter 300, discharging terminal 130 is connected to load 400, and operation unit 150 is pressed down, control unit 140 stops charging by charging unit 112 and causes discharging unit 132 to perform discharging. Subsequently, control unit 140 stops discharging by discharging unit 132 and causes charging unit 112 to perform charging.

[0026] When the user presses down on operation unit 150 while storage battery 200 is being charged, operation unit 150 notifies control unit 140 of the press. When control unit 140 receives the press notification from operation unit 150, it instructs charging unit 112 to stop, and instructs discharging unit 132 to perform a discharge operation. The subsequent processing is the same as before.

[0027] (3) Additional Actions In the basic operation, when the operation unit 150 is pressed down, discharging is performed from the storage battery 200 to the load 400, and when discharging to the load 400 is completed, charging is performed from the power adapter 300 to the storage battery 200. The additional operation assumes a case where discharging of the storage battery 200 becomes impossible before discharging to the load 400 is completed in the basic operation.

[0028] As before, when the user presses down on the operating unit 150, the control unit 140 instructs the charging unit 112 to stop charging and instructs the discharging unit 132 to perform a discharging operation, thereby discharging from the storage battery 200 to the load 400.

[0029] While discharging the storage battery 200, the discharging unit 132 periodically measures the value of the current from the storage battery 200 to the load 400. The discharging unit 132 outputs the measured current value to the control unit 140. If the current value received from the discharging unit 132 is equal to or greater than the discharge threshold value, the control unit 140 decides to continue discharging. If the discharge to the load 400 should be continued, the storage battery 200 stops discharging when it becomes empty or close to empty. The discharging unit 132 detects the stop of discharging of the storage battery 200 by a known technique. The discharging unit 132 notifies the control unit 140 of the stop of discharging. Upon receiving the notification, the control unit 140 decides to resume charging. If the control unit 140 decides to resume charging, it instructs the charging unit 112 to perform a charging operation.

[0030] The storage battery 200 outputs capacity information on the charged capacity to the control unit 140. The control unit 140 recognizes the charged capacity based on the received capacity information. When the charged capacity reaches a predetermined amount, the control unit 140 decides to stop charging and resume discharging. Here, the predetermined amount is a value smaller than the capacity of a full charge. In addition, the control unit 140 may decide to stop charging and resume discharging when a predetermined period has elapsed since instructing the charging unit 112 to perform a charging operation. Here, the predetermined period is a period shorter than the period from an empty state to a full charge. This corresponds to charging the storage battery 200 to an extent that discharging is possible without fully charging the storage battery 200. In the above, discharging is resumed without fully charging the storage battery 200 in order to quickly resume discharging to the load 400, but the storage battery 200 may be charged until fully charged. When the control unit 140 decides to stop charging and resume discharging, it instructs the charging unit 112 to stop charging and instructs the discharging unit 132 to perform a discharging operation.

[0031] Control unit 140 repeatedly executes such processing until the current value received from discharge unit 132 becomes smaller than the discharge threshold value. When the current value becomes smaller than the discharge threshold value, control unit 140 decides to stop discharging. When control unit 140 decides to stop discharging, it instructs discharge unit 132 to stop discharging. When instructed to stop discharging, discharge unit 132 stops discharging from storage battery 200.

[0032] When the control unit 140 instructs the discharge unit 132 to stop discharging, it instructs the charging unit 112 to perform a charging operation. In other words, when the control unit 140 detects the end of discharging to the load 400, it stops discharging by the discharge unit 132 and causes the charging unit 112 to perform charging. When the charging unit 112 is instructed to perform a charging operation, it performs charging from the power adapter 300 to the storage battery 200. Subsequently, as described above, the storage battery 200 is charged until it is fully charged.

[0033] The subject of the device, system, or method in the present disclosure includes a computer. The computer executes a program to realize the function of the subject of the device, system, or method in the present disclosure. The computer includes a processor that operates according to a program as a main hardware configuration. The type of the processor does not matter as long as it can realize the function by executing the program. The processor is composed of one or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) or an LSI (Large Scale Integration). The multiple electronic circuits may be integrated into one chip or may be provided on multiple chips. The multiple chips may be integrated into one device or may be provided on multiple devices. The program is recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable ROM, an optical disk, or a hard disk drive. The program may be stored in the recording medium in advance, or may be supplied to the recording medium via a wide area communication network including the Internet.

[0034] The operation of the charging / discharging system 1000 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a charging / discharging procedure by the charging / discharging device 100. The control unit 140 detects the connection of the storage battery 200 to the charging / discharging device 100 (S10). A known technique may be used to detect the connection. If the operation unit 150 is pressed down (Y in S14) and the load 400 is connected (Y in S16), the discharge unit 132 executes discharge to the load 400 (S18). If the storage battery 200 can continue discharging (Y in S20) and the load 400 is not fully charged (N in S22), the process returns to step 18. If the load 400 is fully charged (Y in S22) or if the operation unit 150 is not pressed down (N in S14), the control unit 140 checks whether the storage battery 200 is chargeable based on the capacity information from the storage battery 200 (S24). If the load 400 is not connected (N in S16), the process returns to step 10.

[0035] If the storage battery 200 is chargeable (Y in S24), the charging unit 112 charges the storage battery 200 (S26). If the operation unit 150 is not pressed down (N in S28) and the storage battery 200 is fully charged (Y in S30), the process returns to step 10. If the operation unit 150 is pressed down (Y in S28), the process returns to step 16. If the storage battery 200 is not fully charged (N in S30), the process returns to step 26. If the storage battery 200 is not chargeable (N in S24), the process returns to step 10.

[0036] If the storage battery 200 cannot continue discharging (N in S20) but the storage battery 200 is chargeable (Y in S32), the charging unit 112 charges the storage battery 200 (S34). If the storage battery 200 is charged to a predetermined amount (Y in S36), the process returns to step 16. If the storage battery 200 is not chargeable (N in S32), the process returns to step 10. If the storage battery 200 is not charged to the predetermined amount (N in S36), the process returns to step 34.

[0037] (Modification) In the charging / discharging system 1000 described above, the storage battery 200 is detachable from the charging / discharging device 100. The storage battery 200 may be built into the charging / discharging device 100. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a charging / discharging system 1000 according to a modified example. The charging / discharging system 1000 includes a charging / discharging device 100, a power adapter 300, and a first load 400a and a second load 400b, which are collectively referred to as a load 400. The charging / discharging device 100 includes a charging terminal 110, a charging unit 112, a first discharging terminal 130a and a second discharging terminal 130b, which are collectively referred to as a discharging terminal 130, a discharging unit 132, a control unit 140, an operation unit 150, a display unit 160, and the storage battery 200. The operation of the charging / discharging device 100 is the same as that described above, and therefore will not be described here.

[0038] According to this embodiment, after discharging from storage battery 200 to load 400, power adapter 300 charges storage battery 200, so that a larger amount of power can be supplied to load 400 than the power received from power adapter 300. Furthermore, the maximum value of the power discharged by discharging unit 132 is greater than the maximum value of the power charged by charging unit 112, and the maximum value of the power discharged by storage battery 200 is greater than the maximum value of the power discharged by discharging unit 132, so that a larger amount of power can be supplied to load 400 than the power received from power adapter 300. Furthermore, after discharging to load 400 by discharging unit 132, charging by charging unit 112 is executed when end of discharging to load 400 is detected, so that discharging from storage battery 200 can be executed before charging to storage battery 200.

[0039] Furthermore, if it becomes impossible to discharge from the storage battery 200 before the completion of discharging to the load 400 is detected, the discharging is stopped and charging to the storage battery 200 is performed, so that discharging to the load 400 can be performed after the charging to the storage battery 200 is completed. Furthermore, since the storage battery 200 is built into the charging / discharging device 100, they can be integrated. Furthermore, since the storage battery 200 is detachable from the charging / discharging device 100, discharging to the load 400 can be continued by replacing the storage battery 200.

[0040] An outline of one aspect of the present disclosure is as follows. (Item 1) A charging terminal (110) connectable to a power adapter (300); a charging unit (112) that charges a storage battery (200) with power supplied from the power adapter (300) when the charging terminal (110) is connected to the power adapter (300); an operation unit (150) capable of receiving operations from a user; a discharge terminal (130) connectable to a load (400); a discharge unit (132) that discharges the power of the storage battery (200) to the load (400) when the discharge terminal (130) is connected to the load (400) and the operation unit (150) accepts an operation; a control unit (140) that controls an operation of the charging unit (112) and an operation of the discharging unit (132), The charge / discharge device (100) is configured, when the charging terminal (110) is connected to the power adapter (300), the discharging terminal (130) is connected to the load (400), and the operation unit (150) has accepted an operation, to stop charging by the charging unit (112) and cause the discharging unit (132) to perform discharging, and then stop discharging by the discharging unit (132) and cause charging by the charging unit (112).

[0041] (Item 2) the maximum value of the power discharged by the discharge unit (132) is greater than the maximum value of the power charged by the charging unit (112); 2. The charging / discharging device (100) according to item 1, wherein a maximum value of the electric power discharged by the storage battery (200) is greater than a maximum value of the electric power discharged by the discharge unit (132).

[0042] (Item 3) When the charging terminal (110) is connected to the power adapter (300), the discharging terminal (130) is connected to the load (400), and the operation unit (150) has received an operation, the control unit (140) (1) stopping charging by the charging unit (112) and discharging by the discharging unit (132); (2) The charging / discharging device (100) according to item 1 or 2, wherein, when completion of discharging to the load (400) is detected, discharging by the discharging unit (132) is stopped and charging by the charging unit (112) is performed.

[0043] (Item 4) When the charging terminal (110) is connected to the power adapter (300), the discharging terminal (130) is connected to the load (400), and the operation unit (150) has received an operation, the control unit (140) (1) stopping charging by the charging unit (112) and discharging by the discharging unit (132); (2) when it becomes impossible to discharge the storage battery (200) before detecting the completion of discharge to the load (400), cause the charging unit (112) to perform charging; (3) when it becomes possible to discharge the storage battery (200), stopping the charging unit (112) from charging and causing the discharging unit (132) to discharge the storage battery (200); (4) The charging / discharging device (100) according to item 1 or 2, wherein, when completion of discharging to the load (400) is detected, discharging by the discharging unit (132) is stopped and charging by the charging unit (112) is performed.

[0044] (Item 5) 5. The charging / discharging device (100) according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein the storage battery (200) is built into the charging / discharging device (100).

[0045] (Item 6) 5. The charging / discharging device (100) according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein the storage battery (200) is detachable from the charging / discharging device (100).

[0046] The present disclosure has been described above based on the embodiments. These embodiments are merely illustrative, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of each component or each treatment process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 100 charging / discharging device, 110 charging terminal, 112 charging unit, 120 storage battery terminal, 130 discharging terminal, 132 discharging unit, 140 control unit, 150 operation unit, 160 display unit, 200 storage battery, 300 power adapter, 400 load, 1000 charging / discharging system.

Claims

1. A charging terminal that can be connected to a power adapter; a charging unit that charges a storage battery with power supplied from the power adapter when the charging terminal is connected to the power adapter; An operation unit capable of receiving an operation from a user; a discharge terminal connectable to a load; a discharge unit that discharges the power of the storage battery to the load when the discharge terminal is connected to the load and the operation unit receives an operation; A control unit that controls an operation of the charging unit and an operation of the discharging unit, The control unit, when the charging terminal is connected to the power adapter, the discharge terminal is connected to the load, and the operation unit accepts an operation, stops charging by the charging unit and causes discharging by the discharging unit, and then stops discharging by the discharging unit and causes charging by the charging unit.

2. a maximum value of the power discharged by the discharge unit is greater than a maximum value of the power charged by the charging unit, The charging / discharging device according to claim 1 , wherein a maximum value of the electric power discharged by the storage battery is greater than a maximum value of the electric power discharged by the discharge unit.

3. When the charging terminal is connected to the power adapter, the discharging terminal is connected to the load, and the operation unit receives an operation, (1) stopping charging by the charging unit and discharging by the discharging unit; (2) The charging / discharging device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a charging section that stops discharging the load and causes the charging section to charge the load when the charging section detects completion of discharging the load.

4. When the charging terminal is connected to the power adapter, the discharging terminal is connected to the load, and the operation unit receives an operation, (1) stopping charging by the charging unit and discharging by the discharging unit; (2) when discharge from the storage battery becomes impossible before detecting completion of discharge to the load, causing the charging unit to perform charging; (3) when it becomes possible to discharge the storage battery, stopping the charging by the charging unit and discharging by the discharging unit; (4) The charging / discharging device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a charging section that stops discharging the load and causes the charging section to charge the load when it detects completion of discharging the load.

5. The charging / discharging device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage battery is built into the charging / discharging device.

6. 3. The charging / discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the storage battery is detachable from the charging / discharging device.

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