Charging device

Abstract

To provide a technique for efficiently exhausting heat from the inside of a charger.SOLUTION: A charger comprises a base plate for supplying a power to a charging target, and a housing for accommodating the base plate. A heat generating component is mounted on the base plate. At a first point of an outer wall of the housing, a first opening is formed. At a second point situated in the upper part than the first point of the outer wall of the housing, a second opening is formed. The heat generating component is arranged in a flow path, which connects the first opening and the second opening, within the inner space of the housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a charging device for supplying power to an object to be charged. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a charging device that includes a housing that houses a board. A heating element is mounted on the board. A space is formed inside the housing, and the space is located between the heating element and a battery installed on the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-315013 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned technology, the heat radiated from the heating element is insulated by the air in the space and is not directly transmitted to the battery.

[0005] The above-mentioned technology takes into consideration heat insulation from a heat generating body, but does not take into consideration exhaust heat.

[0006] In recent years, as the charging capacity of batteries increases, the amount of heat radiated from heating elements is also increasing, making it necessary to take heat generation into consideration in charging devices.

[0007] This specification provides a technique for efficiently dissipating heat from inside a charging device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The charging device disclosed in this specification comprises a board that supplies power to an object to be charged, and a housing that houses the board, wherein a heat-generating component is mounted on the board, a first opening is formed in a first location on an outer wall of the housing, and a second opening is formed in a second location on the outer wall of the housing that is located above the first location, and the heat-generating component is disposed in a flow path that connects the first opening and the second opening in the space inside the housing.

[0009] With this configuration, the heat radiated from the heat generating component flows through the flow path by the rising air current and into the second opening located above the first opening, thereby allowing the heat to be efficiently discharged from inside the charging device.

[0010] The first location may be included in a bottom surface of the housing, and the heat generating component may be disposed directly above the first location.

[0011] With this configuration, the cool air flowing in from the bottom surface can be brought into direct contact with the heat-generating components.

[0012] The housing may include a lower first housing and an upper second housing, an upper outer peripheral edge of the first housing fits inside a lower opening of the second housing, the first opening is formed in the first housing, and the second opening may be part of a gap between the outer peripheral edge of the first housing and an inner surface of the opening of the second housing.

[0013] According to this configuration, the inner surface of the opening on the lower side of the second housing acts as a visor for the second opening. This allows the visor to block fluid (e.g., water) adhering to the outside of the second housing and prevent it from entering the inside of the housing through the second opening. This allows efficient heat dissipation and waterproofing to be achieved at the same time.

[0014] The housing may include two or more installation sections, the object to be charged may be installed in each of the two or more installation sections, the heat-generating component may be arranged inside each of the two or more installation sections, and the first opening and the second opening may be formed in an outer wall of each of the two or more installation sections.

[0015] According to this configuration, it is possible to set a flow path for each of two or more heat generating components corresponding to two or more charging targets, and the efficiency of heat exhaust can be improved compared to a comparative example in which one flow path is set for two or more heat generating components. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view from above of the charging device. [Diagram 2] 1 shows a bottom perspective view of the charging device. [Diagram 3] 3 shows a part of a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] (Configuration of charging device 10: Figs. 1 to 3) A charging device 10 of a first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. The charging device 10 is a device for charging a battery (not shown) of a mobile terminal (not shown). The mobile terminal is a device for reading data recorded in an information code (e.g., a barcode) and data stored in an electronic tag (e.g., an RFID). In a modified example, the mobile terminal may be a smartphone, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, or the like.

[0018] In each figure, an xyz coordinate system is defined. The x, y, and z directions respectively indicate the left-right, front-rear, and height directions of the charging device 10. The charging device 10 is placed on a predetermined stand (e.g., a desk) with the bottom surface (the part marked with the reference symbol 12a) facing downward.

[0019] The charging device 10 includes a housing 12, and four mounting sections 14 are formed in the housing 12. In Fig. 1, one of the four mounting sections 14 is indicated by a reference numeral, and the reference numerals of the remaining mounting sections are omitted. In a modified example, the number of mounting sections 14 is not limited to four, and may be, for example, one, five, etc.

[0020] The mounting portion 14 includes a first mounting portion 16 and a second mounting portion 18. The first mounting portion 16 is a portion on which a first battery (not shown) is mounted. The second mounting portion 18 is a portion on which a second battery (not shown) smaller than the first battery is mounted. In a modified example, the mounting portion 14 may include only one of the first mounting portion 16 and the second mounting portion 18.

[0021] The top surface of the first mounting portion 16 is inclined so that the side in the negative y-axis direction is lower. A terminal 16a to be connected to a terminal of a first battery (not shown) is exposed on the first mounting portion 16. The first battery is charged by connecting the terminal of the first battery to the terminal 16a.

[0022] The upper surface of the second mounting portion 18 is also inclined so that the side in the negative y-axis direction is lower. A terminal 18a to be connected to a terminal of a second battery (not shown) is exposed on the second mounting portion 18. The second battery is charged by connecting the terminal of the second battery to the terminal 18a.

[0023] The housing 12 includes a first housing 12a on the lower side and a second housing 12b on the upper side. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, an upper outer peripheral edge 12p of the first housing 12a fits inside an opening 12q on the lower side of the second housing 12b. A second opening 32 is formed in a part of the gap between the outer peripheral edge 12p and the inner surface of the opening 12q. In addition, the width of the gap between the outer peripheral edge 12p and the inner surface of the opening 12q, excluding the second opening 32, is smaller than the width of the second opening 32. The width of the second opening 32 is designed to be smaller than that of insects, etc. The width of the second opening 32 is, for example, 1.4 mm. Insects, etc. are prevented from entering the housing 12 through the second opening 32. In addition, according to this configuration, the gap between the outer peripheral edge 12p and the inner surface of the opening 12q can be used as the second opening 32.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2, a first opening 30 is formed on the bottom surface of the lower first housing 12a. As shown in Fig. 2, the first opening 30 and the second opening 32 are aligned in the x-axis direction (i.e., the left-right direction). As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the inside of the first opening 30 is divided into a lattice shape. The width of the gap between the lattices is, for example, 1.0 mm. Insects and the like are prevented from entering the housing 12 through the first opening 30.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 3, an inner wall 12c that supports a board 40 is formed inside the second housing 12b. The board 40 is fixed to the lower surface of the inner wall 12c. The board 40 supplies power to a battery (not shown) to be charged. An IC 42 for controlling the power supplied to the battery is mounted on the board 40. As shown in Fig. 3, the IC 42 is disposed directly above the first opening 30.

[0026] 3, the second opening 32 is formed in a gap between the outer peripheral edge 12p of the first housing 12a and the opening 12q of the second housing 12b, and the first opening 30 is formed on the bottom surface of the first housing 12a. That is, the second opening 32 is located above the first opening 30. A flow path 60 connecting the first opening 30 and the second opening 32 is formed inside the housing 12. The IC 42 is disposed in the flow path 60.

[0027] The functions of the openings 30 and 32 will now be described. The IC 42 generates heat. Therefore, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3, the heat radiated from the IC 42 flows through the flow path 60 by the ascending air current and into the second opening 32 located above the first opening 30. This allows the heat to be efficiently discharged from inside the charging device 10.

[0028] Moreover, this rising air current causes the cool air outside the housing 12 to flow into the housing 12 through the first opening 30. The cool air comes into direct contact with the IC 42 disposed directly above the first opening 30. This can promote cooling of the IC 42.

[0029] Furthermore, according to a configuration in which the outer peripheral edge 12p of the first housing 12a fits into the opening 12q of the second housing 12b (see FIG. 3), the inner surface of the opening 12q serves as an eave for the second opening 32. This makes it possible to prevent fluid (e.g., water) adhering to the outside of the second housing 12b from entering the inside of the housing 12 through the second opening 32, as it is blocked by the eave. This makes it possible to achieve both efficient heat dissipation and waterproofing.

[0030] In this embodiment, the ICs 42 are installed on the inside of each of the four mounting portions 14. That is, the charging device 10 includes four ICs 42. As shown in FIG. 2, a first opening 30 and a second opening 32 are formed on the bottom and side of each of the four mounting portions 14. With this configuration, a flow path 60 as shown in FIG. 3 can be individually set for each of the four ICs 42 corresponding to the four charging targets. Compared to a comparative example in which one flow path is set for each of the four ICs 42, the efficiency of heat exhaust can be improved.

[0031] (Correspondence) The substrate 40 and the IC 42 are examples of a "substrate" and a "heat-generating component", respectively. The housing 12, the first housing 12a, and the second housing 12b are examples of a "housing", a "first housing", and a "second housing", respectively. The first opening 30, the second opening 32, and the flow path 60 are examples of a "first opening", a "second opening", and a "flow path", respectively. The four mounting portions 14 are an example of "two or more installation portions".

[0032] Although specific examples of the technology disclosed in this specification have been described above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples exemplified above. For example, the following modifications may be adopted.

[0033] (Variation 1) The "chargeable object" is not limited to a battery, and may be, for example, the mobile terminal itself.

[0034] (Variation 2) The first opening 30 is not limited to being formed on the bottom surface of the lower first housing 12a, but may be formed, for example, on a side surface of the lower first housing 12a in the x-axis or y-axis direction, or on a side surface of the upper second housing 12b, etc.

[0035] (Variation 3) The second opening 32 is not limited to being formed in the gap between the first housing 12a and the second housing 12b, but may be formed, for example, in a side surface of the first housing 12a in the x-axis direction or y-axis direction, a side surface of the second housing 12b in the x-axis direction or y-axis direction, or an upper surface of the second housing 12b in the z-axis direction.

[0036] (Variation 4) The IC 42 need not necessarily be located directly above the first opening 30, but may be located within the flow path 60. Generally speaking, it is sufficient that "the heat-generating component is located within the flow path that connects the first opening and the second opening in the space inside the housing."

[0037] (Modification 5) In the above embodiment, the upper outer periphery 12p of the first housing 12a fits inside the lower opening 12q of the second housing 12b. Instead of this, for example, the lower outer periphery of the second housing 12b may fit inside the upper opening of the first housing 12a.

[0038] (Variation 6) The "heat generating component" is not limited to the IC 42, but may be, for example, another electronic component such as a capacitor.

[0039] The technical elements described in this specification or drawings have technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of these objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10: Charging device 12: Housing 12a: First housing 12b: Second housing 12c:Inner wall 12p: Outer edge 12q:Aperture 14: Placement section 16: First placement section 16a: Terminal 18: Second placement section 18a: Terminal 30: First opening 32: Second opening 40: Substrate 60: Flow path

Claims

1. A board that supplies power to the charging target; A housing that houses the substrate; Equipped with A heat generating component is mounted on the substrate, a first opening is formed in a first location of an outer wall of the housing; a second opening is formed in a second location of the outer wall of the housing, the second location being located above the first location; the heat generating component is disposed in a flow path that connects the first opening and the second opening in the space inside the housing, The housing includes a lower first housing and an upper second housing, an upper outer periphery of the first housing fits into an inside of a lower opening of the second housing; the first opening is formed in the first housing, A charging device, wherein the second opening is part of a gap between the outer peripheral edge of the first housing and an inner surface of the opening of the second housing.

2. The housing includes two or more mounting portions, The object to be charged is placed in each of the two or more placement sections, The heat generating component is disposed inside each of the two or more mounting portions, The charging device according to claim 1 , wherein the first opening and the second opening are formed in an outer wall of each of the two or more mounting portions.

3. A board that supplies power to the charging target; A housing that houses the substrate; Equipped with A heat generating component is mounted on the substrate, a first opening is formed in a first location of an outer wall of the housing; a second opening is formed in a second location of the outer wall of the housing, the second location being located above the first location; the heat generating component is disposed in a flow path that connects the first opening and the second opening in the space inside the housing, The housing includes two or more mounting portions, The object to be charged is placed in each of the two or more placement sections, The heat generating component is disposed inside each of the two or more mounting portions, A charging device, wherein the first opening and the second opening are formed in an outer wall of each of the two or more installation portions.

4. the first portion is included in a bottom surface of the housing; The charging device according to claim 1 , wherein the heat generating component is disposed directly above the first location.

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