Wireless Power Supply Case

Abstract

To provide a wireless power feeding case that comprises a wireless power feeding device capable of feeding electric power to electronic equipment housed in a housing part and that is suppressed in manufacturing cost while having a light-emitting display function.SOLUTION: There is provided a wireless power feeding case 1 which comprises a housing part 10 housing electronic equipment 40, a wireless power feeding device 20 for feeding electric power to the electronic equipment 40 housed in the housing part 10, and a light-emitting display part 272, wherein the wireless power feeding device 20 has a circuit board 25, a light source 26 mounted on the circuit board 25, and an enclosure 23 containing the circuit board 25, and a light guide body 27 which guides light that the light source 26 emits to the light-emitting display part 272 is fitted to the wireless power feeding device 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless power supply case. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a mobile phone holder device for holding a mobile phone has been known that has the function of supplying power to the held mobile phone and a charging indicator that lights up depending on the charging status of the mobile phone (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-77899 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although Patent Document 1 does not disclose a means for connecting the power supply device and the charging indicator, a typical structure involves connecting the power supply device's circuit board and the charging indicator's light source with a harness, which increases the cost of providing the charging indicator.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless power supply case equipped with a wireless power supply device that can supply power to an electronic device housed in a housing section, which has an illuminating display function while reducing manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention provides the following wireless power supply cases [1] to [3].

[0007] [1] A wireless power supply case comprising: a housing for housing an electronic device; a wireless power supply device for supplying power to the electronic device housed in the housing; and a light-emitting display unit, wherein the wireless power supply device has a circuit board, a light source mounted on the circuit board, and a housing for housing the circuit board; and a light guide attached to the wireless power supply device for guiding light emitted by the light source to the light-emitting display unit. [2] A wireless power supply case as described in [1] above, in which the light guide is fixed to the housing of the wireless power supply device, and the connection part between the housing and the light guide is covered with a waterproofing material to prevent water from entering the inside of the housing through the connection part. [3] The wireless power supply case according to [1] above, wherein the light-emitting display unit is provided so as to be exposed on the surface of a plate-shaped panel unit around the opening of the housing unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wireless power supply case equipped with a wireless power supply device that can supply power to an electronic device housed in a housing section, which has an illuminating display function while having reduced manufacturing costs. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wireless power supply case according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an installation position of a wireless power supply case according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wireless power supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a wireless power feeding case in which an electronic device having a power receiving coil inside is housed. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the light source in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] (Wireless power supply case configuration) 1 is a perspective view of a wireless power feeding case 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless power feeding case 1 includes a housing 10 for housing an electronic device, a wireless power feeding device 20 for feeding power to the electronic device housed in the housing 10, and a light-emitting display unit 272 for emitting light to display information according to the operating state of the wireless power feeding device 20, etc.

[0011] In the wireless power feeding case 1, wireless power feeding is performed by electromagnetic induction using the power feeding coil of the wireless power feeding device 20 and the power receiving coil of the electronic device accommodated in the accommodation section 10. By accommodating (inserting) the electronic device in the accommodation section 10, the power feeding coil of the wireless power feeding device 20 and the power receiving coil of the electronic device come close to each other in a nearly parallel state, and power feeding is performed by electromagnetic induction.

[0012] Electronic devices that can receive power from the wireless power supply device 20 are devices that have a power receiving device including a power receiving coil, and examples thereof include mobile phones such as smartphones, audio players, and portable game consoles.

[0013] The light-emitting display unit 272 can illuminate to indicate the charging status of the electronic device housed in the housing unit 10, such as when charging is in progress or charging is complete, or to indicate that a metallic foreign object has been detected inside the housing unit 10. Furthermore, by using different light-emitting timings, such as lighting or blinking, and different light colors, of the light-emitting display unit 272, these multiple different states can be indicated.

[0014] If wireless power feeding is performed with a metallic foreign object between or near the power feeding coil of the wireless power feeder 20 and the power receiving coil of the electronic device, current may flow through the metallic foreign object, causing problems such as heat generation and power loss. For this reason, a foreign object called FOD is detected, and when a foreign object is detected, the light-emitting display unit 272 displays the result to prompt the user to take action.

[0015] The light-emitting display unit 272 is provided at a position that is visible to the user when the wireless power feeding case 1 is installed, for example, at a position that is visible from inside the vehicle cabin when the wireless power feeding case 1 is installed inside the vehicle cabin.

[0016] The storage unit 10 is a pocket-shaped container with an opening that opens upward and stores the electronic device in an upright position. Here, the upright position refers to a position where the short side of the electronic device faces the bottom surface inside the storage unit 10.

[0017] 1, the housing 10 has a plate-shaped panel portion 11 around the opening. For example, when the wireless power supply case 1 is attached to an object to which the wireless power supply case 1 is attached, the panel portion 11 becomes part of the panel portion of the object to which the wireless power supply case 1 is attached.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an installation position of the wireless power supply case 1. In the example illustrated in Fig. 2, the wireless power supply case 1 is installed in a center console 53 disposed between a driver's seat 51 and a passenger seat 52 of an automobile 50. In this case, the panel unit 11 of the wireless power supply case 1 becomes part of the upper panel of the center console 53, and a light-emitting display unit 272 is provided inside the upper panel.

[0019] When the wireless power supply case 1 is installed in the center console 53, both the passenger sitting in the driver's seat 51 and the passenger sitting in the passenger seat 52 can easily reach the vicinity of the wireless power supply case 1, and can therefore use the wireless power supply case 1 and store and remove electronic devices in the wireless power supply case 1 in a comfortable position.

[0020] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the wireless power supply device 20. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the wireless power supply case 1 in which an electronic device 40 having a power receiving coil 41 inside is housed.

[0021] The wireless power supply device 20 includes a power supply coil 21 for wireless power supply, a circuit board 25 connected to the power supply coil 21 and having a circuit for passing a power supply current through the power supply coil 21, a housing 23 for accommodating the circuit board 25, and a harness connector 24 connected to the circuit board 25 for supplying power from an external source.

[0022] In the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 described later, the housing 23 has a bottom plate 231 made of FR4 (glass epoxy) or the like, which faces the accommodating section 10 when the wireless power supply device 20 is attached to the accommodating section 10, and a resin cover 232 that is placed over the bottom plate 231 and covers the power supply coil 21 and the circuit board 25.

[0023] The wireless power supply device 20 is detachably attached to the outer surface 101 of the side wall of the housing 10. The wireless power supply device 20 is easy to maintain because it can be attached to and detached from the housing 10. The power supply coil 21 is typically a planar coil, and is provided at a position facing the outer surface 101 of the side wall of the housing 10 when the wireless power supply device 20 is attached to the housing 10.

[0024] 1 and 3 , the housing 23 has plate-like first protrusions 233 protruding laterally from both sides and a second protrusion 234 having a screw hole protruding downward from the bottom end, for attaching the wireless power supply device 20 to the housing 10. When attaching the wireless power supply device 20 to the housing 10, first, the wireless power supply device 20 is brought close to the housing 10 from below, and each of the two first protrusions 233 is slid into the corresponding groove 107 of the first fixing part 102 to fit it in. Then, the screw 13 is threaded through the hole of the second protrusion 234 and into the hole of the second fixing part 103 to fix the second protrusion 234 to the second fixing part 103.

[0025] Because power supply coil 21 is installed inside housing 23, it is possible to prevent moisture caused by condensation from adhering to power supply coil 21. Note that power supply coil 21 may be installed outside housing 23 to further reduce the distance from the power receiving coil of the electronic device housed in housing 10. The surface of power supply coil 21 may also be covered with a component such as a noise reduction filter.

[0026] The size and shape of power supply coil 21 are set according to, for example, the standards for wireless power supply. The shape of power supply coil 21 is typically a rectangle or circle with rounded corners, but other shapes such as a triangle or oval with rounded corners may be used to adjust the position where power can be supplied to the electronic device.

[0027] A light guide 27 is attached to the wireless power supply device 20 to guide the light emitted by the light source 26 to the light-emitting display unit 272. Typically, the light guide 27 is fixed to the housing 23 of the wireless power supply device 20, and in the example shown in Fig. 3, it is fixed to the cover 232 of the housing 23. The light guide 27 is made of a transparent material such as PMMA (methyl methacrylate) or PC (polycarbonate) that transmits the light emitted by the light source 26.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic device 40 is accommodated in the accommodation section 10 so that it is aligned with the inner surface 104 of the side wall of the accommodation section 10 on the side where the wireless power supply device 20 is attached, and so that the surface on which the power receiving coil 41 is arranged (for example, if the electronic device 40 is a smartphone, the surface opposite to the surface on which the display screen is provided) faces the inner surface 104.

[0029] 4 indicates the in-plane center position of electronic device 40. In general, power receiving coil 41 is disposed near the center of electronic device 40. Therefore, the in-plane center position of power receiving coil 41 substantially coincides with the position indicated by the in-plane center line C.

[0030] To wirelessly feed power by electromagnetic induction, power feeding coil 21 of wireless power feeder 20 and power receiving coil 41 of electronic device 40 are positioned such that the magnetic field generated by the current flowing through power feeding coil 21 passes through the inside of power receiving coil 41. Therefore, wireless power feeding is possible as long as the in-plane center position of power feeding coil 21 and the in-plane center position of power receiving coil 41 are relatively close to each other, and electronic devices 40 of various sizes can be supported.

[0031] Since electronic device 40 is stored in storage section 10 in an upright position, its vertical position is determined by the depth of bottom surface 105 inside storage section 10. Therefore, there is almost no vertical positional deviation of electronic device 40, and electronic device 40 can be stored accurately in a position where power can be supplied.

[0032] In the wireless power feeding case 1, an electronic device 40 such as a smartphone is usually housed in the housing portion 10 with a part of its upper side protruding outside the housing portion 10. This allows the electronic device 40 to be removed from the housing portion 10 by grasping this protruding portion. Furthermore, even when the electronic device 40 is housed in the housing portion 10, the protruding portion can be easily seen, which makes it easy to prevent the electronic device 40 from being left behind.

[0033] Light source 26 is mounted on circuit board 25 of wireless power supply device 20. Light source 26 is a light source for emitting light from light-emitting display unit 272, and uses a light-emitting element such as an LED chip. When a light-emitting element capable of emitting light of multiple colors, such as a full-color LED, is used as light source 26, light-emitting display unit 272 can display light in multiple colors.

[0034] The wireless power supply device 20 can receive data including information about the state of the electronic device 40, such as the charging state of the electronic device 40, from a power receiving device included in the electronic device 40 via the power receiving coil 41 and the power supply coil 21. Then, for example, based on the information received from the power receiving device included in the electronic device 40, a controller mounted on the circuit board 25 controls a driver also mounted on the circuit board 25 to pass a current through the power supply coil 21.

[0035] Specifically, it is possible to supply power to the electronic device 40 by passing a current through the power supply coil 21, or to stop the current and terminate the power supply, depending on the charging state of the electronic device 40. Then, in conjunction with the control of the current to the power supply coil 21, the controller controls the operation of the light source 26, causing it to emit light according to the state, such as during charging (power supply) or when charging (power supply) is complete.

[0036] Furthermore, when detecting a metallic foreign object in the housing 10, for example, the controller monitors the Q value of the power supply coil 21 and controls the operation of the light source 26 according to the magnitude of the obtained Q value, thereby causing the light source 26 to emit light in accordance with the detection of a metallic foreign object. When a metallic foreign object has entered the housing 10, the Q value of the power supply coil 21 will be a different value from when the electronic device 40 is housed in the housing 10, and therefore, by monitoring the Q value, it is possible to detect the metallic foreign object.

[0037] 5 is an enlarged view of the periphery of light source 26 in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, light source 26 and light guide 27 are installed so that light emitted from light source 26 is mainly directed toward light intake surface 271, which is one end face in the longitudinal direction of light guide 27. Light emitted from light source 26 and entering light guide 27 from light intake surface 271 propagates inside light guide 27 and is emitted from light-emitting display unit 272, which is the end face of light guide 27 opposite light intake surface 271. Therefore, light-emitting display unit 272 emits light according to the light emission state, such as the timing of light emission and the emitted color, of light source 26.

[0038] 5 and other figures, the tip of light guide 27 on the light-emitting display unit 272 side is fitted into a hole provided in panel unit 11 from the back side of panel unit 11, and light-emitting display unit 272 is exposed on the surface of panel unit 11. Light guide 27 typically has a rod-like shape with light-intake surface 271 and light-emitting display unit 272 as end faces, but can have various shapes, such as a bent shape, depending on the positional relationship between light source 26 and light-emitting display unit 272, etc.

[0039] 5 and the like, the light extraction surface of the light guide 27 is used as the light-emitting display unit 272, but the light-emitting display unit 272 may be a separate component from the light guide 27. For example, a transparent member embedded in the panel unit 11 may serve as the light-emitting display unit 272, and the light guide 27 may guide light to the transparent member.

[0040] As described above, in the wireless power feeding case 1, light is guided from the light source 26, which is directly mounted on the circuit board 25, to the light-emitting display unit 272 using the light guide 27, and emitted. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the light source is connected to the circuit board 25 using a harness, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0041] The circuit board 25 may be provided with a harness connector 24 for external power supply and other harness connectors for connecting to operating units such as buttons provided on a console, but a harness connector for the light-emitting display unit 272 is not required.

[0042] In order to prevent water from entering the inside of the housing 23 from the connection portion between the housing 23 and the light guide 27, the connection portion is preferably covered with a waterproofing member. In the example shown in Figures 3 to 5, the side surface of the wide portion 273 of the light guide 27 that comes into contact with the housing 23 is covered with an annular protrusion 28 that is part of the housing 23, thereby preventing water from entering the inside of the housing 23 from the gap between the housing 23 and the light guide 27. In this case, the protrusion 28 of the housing 23 (for example, of the cover 232) functions as the waterproofing member. The form of the waterproofing member is not particularly limited, and for example, a waterproof tape may be wrapped around the connection portion between the housing 23 and the light guide 27 and used as the waterproofing member.

[0043] (Effects of the embodiment) In the wireless power feeding case 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, light is guided from the light source 26 directly mounted on the circuit board 25 to the light-emitting display unit 272 using the light guide 27, and the light is emitted, so the manufacturing cost can be reduced compared to a configuration in which a harness is used to connect the light source to the circuit board 25. Therefore, the wireless power feeding case 1 has a light-emitting display function while maintaining a reduced manufacturing cost.

[0044] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the components of the above-described embodiments can be combined in any manner without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0045] For example, although the above-described wireless power feeding case 1 employs an electromagnetic induction method for wireless power feeding, other methods such as an electric field coupling method may also be employed. Also, although the above-described wireless power feeding case 1 has a structure for accommodating the electronic device 40 in an upright position, the present invention is not limited to this, and may have a structure for feeding power to the electronic device 40 in a state where it is placed flat in a tray-shaped housing portion, for example.

[0046] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and it should be noted that not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1 Wireless power supply case 10 Storage section 11 Panel section 20 Wireless power supply device 23 Case 25 Circuit Board 26 light source 27 Light guide 272 Illuminated display unit 28 Protrusion 40 Electronic equipment

Claims

1. a housing section for housing an electronic device; a wireless power supply device for supplying power to the electronic device accommodated in the accommodation unit; A light-emitting display unit; Equipped with the wireless power supply device includes a circuit board, a light source mounted on the circuit board, and a housing that houses the circuit board; a light guide that guides the light emitted from the light source to the light-emitting display unit is fixed to the housing of the wireless power supply device; In order to prevent water from entering the housing from a connection portion between the housing and the light guide, a side surface of the light guide at the connection portion that comes into contact with the housing is covered with an annular protrusion that is a part of the housing. Wireless power supply case.

2. The light-emitting display unit is provided so as to be exposed on the surface of a plate-shaped panel unit around the opening of the storage unit. The wireless power supply case according to claim 1 .

3. The housing of the wireless power supply device has a plate-like first protrusion protruding laterally from both side portions and a second protrusion having a screw hole protruding downward from the bottom end, the accommodation portion has, on a side wall thereof, a first fixing portion having a groove that opens downward and into which the first protrusion is fitted from below, and a second fixing portion to which the second protrusion is screwed by a screw that passes through the screw fixing hole; and after sliding and fitting each of the first protrusions into the groove of the first fixing portion, threading the screw through the hole of the second protrusion into the hole of the second fixing portion to fix the second protrusion to the second fixing portion, thereby detachably attaching the wireless power supply device to the back surface of the side wall of the housing portion in a state facing the back surface of the side wall of the housing portion. The wireless power supply case according to claim 1 or 2.

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