charger

Abstract

To improve alignment between a receiving coil of a mobile terminal and a transmission unit of a charger.SOLUTION: A charger 100 includes: a storage unit 110 that has an opening part provided at one end in an axial direction Y, a bottom part provided at a position facing the opening part so as to be movable along the axial direction Y, and an inner surface part extending along the axial direction Y from the opening part to form together with the bottom part a storage space for accommodating a mobile terminal 170 which is inserted from the opening part; a detection unit 120 that is built into the inner surface part and detects a signal output from a power receiving coil built into the mobile terminal 170; a power transmission unit 130 that is built into the inner surface part and charges the mobile terminal 170 by supplying power wirelessly to the power receiving coil; and a drive unit 140 that drives the bottom part along the axial direction Y toward the opening part in a state where the mobile terminal 170 is accommodated in the storage space with one end of the mobile terminal 170 brought into contact with the bottom part and that aligns the power receiving coil with the power transmission unit 130 on the basis of a signal detected by the detection unit 120.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a charger.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a charging stand that moves a magnet for aligning the power transmission coil of the contactless charging stand and the power reception coil of the device to be charged in a magnet attraction type contactless charging stand that uses magnetic force for positioning the device to be charged.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a mobile terminal is inserted into a charger, if the positions of the power reception coil of the mobile terminal and the power transmission unit of the charger are misaligned, the mobile terminal cannot be charged or the charging efficiency decreases.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to improve the alignment between the power reception coil of the mobile terminal and the power transmission unit of the charger.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The charger according to the present disclosure has a housing portion having an opening provided at one end in the axial direction, a bottom surface portion provided movably along the axial direction at a position facing the opening, and an inner surface portion that extends along the axial direction from the opening and forms a housing space for accommodating a mobile terminal inserted from the opening together with the bottom surface portion, a detection unit built in the inner surface portion for detecting a signal output from a power reception coil built in the mobile terminal, A power transmission unit is built into the inner surface and charges the mobile terminal by wirelessly transmitting power to the power receiving coil, With the mobile terminal housed in the housing space and one end of the mobile terminal in contact with the bottom surface, the drive unit drives the bottom surface toward the opening in the axial direction and aligns the power receiving coil and the power transmitting unit based on the signal detected by the detection unit. It is equipped with. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, the alignment between the power receiving coil of a mobile device and the power transmitting unit of a charger can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a charger according to the first embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a charger with a mobile terminal inserted, according to the first embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a charger according to the second embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a charger with a mobile terminal inserted, according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Several embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the figures.

[0010] In each figure, identical or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the description of each embodiment, the description of identical or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0011] The configuration of the charger 100 according to the first embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

[0012] The charger 100 according to the first embodiment comprises a housing unit 110, a detection unit 120, a power transmission unit 130, and a drive unit 140. The charger 100 is an in-vehicle device installed in any type of vehicle, such as a BEV, HEV, or PHEV. BEV is an abbreviation for battery electric vehicle. HEV is an abbreviation for hybrid electric vehicle. PHEV is an abbreviation for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

[0013] The storage section 110 has an opening 111, a bottom surface 112, and an inner surface 113. The opening 111 is provided at one end of the storage section 110 in the axial direction Y. The axial direction Y is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the storage section 110. In this embodiment, the axial direction Y is shown as the vertical direction, but it can be any direction such as the horizontal or diagonal direction. In this embodiment, the opening 111 is a rectangular hole, but it can be any other shape, such as an ellipse, as long as it is a shape that can accommodate a mobile terminal 170 such as a smartphone. The bottom surface 112 is provided opposite the opening 111 and is movable along the axial direction Y. In this embodiment, the bottom surface 112 is plate-shaped, but it can be any other shape, such as a mesh, as long as it is a shape that can support the mobile terminal 170. The inner surface 113 extends from the opening 111 along the axial direction Y and together with the bottom surface 112 forms the storage space 114. In this embodiment, the inner surface 113 is a hollow rectangular prism, i.e., a rectangular tube, but it can be appropriately changed to match the shape of the opening 111, for example, if the opening 111 is elliptical, it can become cylindrical. In this embodiment, the inner surface 113 is part of the vehicle's interior, but it may be formed separately from the vehicle's interior. The mobile terminal 170 is inserted through the opening 111 and housed in the housing space 114. In this embodiment, the housing space 114 is a rectangular parallelepiped, but it can be appropriately changed to match the shape of the inner surface 113, for example, if the inner surface 113 is cylindrical, it can become cylindrical.

[0014] The detection unit 120 is built into the inner surface 113. In this embodiment, the detection unit 120 is embedded in the wall surface of the inner surface 113, but it may be recessed from the wall surface. The detection unit 120 detects the signal output from the power receiving coil 171 built into the mobile terminal 170. The intensity of the signal detected by the detection unit 120 increases as the distance from the power receiving coil 171 decreases, and decreases as the distance increases. In this embodiment, the detection unit 120 includes a first coil sensor 121 that receives the signal output from the power receiving coil 171, and a second coil sensor 122 that receives the signal output from the power receiving coil 171. The second coil sensor 122 is located further from the opening 111 than the first coil sensor 121 along the axial direction Y. The intensity of the signals received by the first coil sensor 121 and the second coil sensor 122 increases as the distance from the power receiving coil 171 decreases, and decreases as the distance increases.

[0015] The power transmission unit 130 is built into the inner surface 113. In this embodiment, the power transmission unit 130 is located midway between the first coil sensor 121 and the second coil sensor 122 in the axial direction Y, and recessed from the wall surface of the inner surface 113. The power transmission unit 130 does not have to be recessed from the wall surface of the inner surface 113, and may be embedded in a line with the first coil sensor 121 and the second coil sensor 122 midway between them along the axial direction Y. The power transmission unit 130 charges the mobile terminal 170 by wirelessly transmitting power to the power receiving coil 171.

[0016] The drive unit 140 drives the bottom surface 112 toward the opening 111 in the axial direction Y when the mobile terminal 170 is housed in the housing space 114 and one end 172 of the mobile terminal 170 is in contact with the bottom surface 112, and aligns the power receiving coil 171 and the power transmitting unit 130 based on the signal detected by the detection unit 120. In this embodiment, the drive unit 140 is a mechanism that combines two rails formed on opposing wall surfaces of the inner surface 113, an actuator that drives the bottom surface 112 along the rails, and a controller that controls the actuator based on the detected signal. However, the drive unit 140 may be any other mechanism as long as it is capable of driving the bottom surface 112 toward the opening 111 in the axial direction Y. For example, the drive unit 140 may be a platform that protrudes along the axial direction Y so as to push the bottom surface 112 toward the opening 111. In this embodiment, the drive unit 140 aligns the power receiving coil 171 and the power transmitting unit 130 by stopping the drive of the bottom portion 112 when the difference between the signal strength received by the first coil sensor 121 and the signal strength received by the second coil sensor 122 reaches a predetermined value.

[0017] An example of the alignment of the drive unit 140 is described below. The mobile terminal 170 is inserted through the opening 111 and moves along the axial direction Y within the housing space 114. When the distance H1 between the power receiving coil 171 and the first coil sensor 121 comes within a first range, the first coil sensor 121 receives a signal. As the mobile terminal 170 moves along the axial direction Y, H1 decreases, and the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor 121 increases. As the power receiving coil 171 passes the first coil sensor 121, H1 increases, and the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor 121 decreases. The second coil sensor 122 operates similarly to the first coil sensor 121. That is, as the mobile terminal 170 moves further along the axial direction Y, when the distance H2 between the power receiving coil 171 and the second coil sensor 122 comes within a second range, the second coil sensor 122 receives a signal. The second range may be the same as the first range. As the mobile terminal 170 moves along the axial direction Y, H2 decreases, and the signal strength received by the second coil sensor 122 increases. When the receiving coil 171 passes the second coil sensor 122, H2 increases, and the signal strength received by the second coil sensor 122 decreases. When the bottom surface 112 is at its lowest position, if one end 172 of the mobile terminal 170 contacts the bottom surface 112, the signal strength received by the first coil sensor 121 and the signal strength received by the second coil sensor 122 stop fluctuating. However, depending on the position of the second coil sensor 122, the receiving coil 171 may not pass the second coil sensor 122. In that case, one end 172 of the mobile terminal 170 contacts the bottom surface 112 while the signal strength received by the second coil sensor 122 is increasing, and the signal strength received by the second coil sensor 122 stops fluctuating. After a certain period of time has elapsed since the signal strengths received by the first coil sensor 121 and the signal strengths received by the second coil sensor 122 stopped fluctuating, the drive unit 140 may determine that one end 172 of the mobile terminal 170 has come into contact with the bottom surface 112. Alternatively, the drive unit 140 or the bottom surface 112 may be provided with a weight sensor that detects the weight applied to the bottom surface 112, and the drive unit 140 may determine that one end 172 of the mobile terminal 170 has come into contact with the bottom surface 112 based on the weight detected by the weight sensor.When it is determined that one end 172 of the mobile terminal 170 has come into contact with the bottom surface portion 112, the drive unit 140 drives the bottom surface portion 112 in the axial direction Y toward the opening portion 111. The bottom surface portion 112 moves in the axial direction Y toward the opening portion 111. When the bottom surface portion 112 moves, H1 and H2 become small again, and the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor 121 and the intensity of the signal received by the second coil sensor 122 increase. As the bottom surface portion 112 moves toward the opening portion 111, H1 becomes small, and the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor 121 increases. The intensity of the signal received by the second coil sensor 122 first increases, but decreases when the power receiving coil 171 passes through the second coil sensor 122. The drive unit 140 stops driving the bottom surface portion 112 when the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor 121 and the intensity of the signal received by the second coil sensor 122 become the same value, thereby aligning the power receiving coil 171 and the power transmission unit 130. At this time, H1 and H2 are equal, the power receiving coil 171 is located between the first coil sensor 121 and the second coil sensor 122 in the axial direction Y, and the distance from the power transmission unit 130 is the shortest. Thereby, the alignment between the power receiving coil 171 of the mobile terminal 170 and the power transmission unit 130 of the charger 100 can be improved.

[0018] In the present embodiment, the detection unit 120 includes two coil sensors, but may include only one coil sensor. The drive unit 140 may align the power receiving coil 171 and the power transmission unit 130 by stopping the drive of the bottom surface portion 112 when the intensity of the signal received by one coil sensor reaches a desired value.

[0019] Although not necessary, in the present embodiment, the accommodating portion 110 further includes a pressing portion 150. The pressing portion 150 is rod-shaped in the present embodiment, but may have any other shape such as a plate shape or a box shape as long as it can press the portable terminal 170. The pressing portion 150 is provided movably along the direction X orthogonal to the axial direction Y at a position on the inner surface portion 113 facing the power transmission portion 130 across the accommodation space 114. A hole having a size through which the pressing portion 150 can pass is formed in the wall surface of the inner surface portion 113. The pressing portion 150 is urged by an elastic material such as a spring so as to protrude into the accommodation space 114 through this hole. Therefore, the pressing portion 150 presses the portable terminal 170 in the direction X orthogonal to the axial direction Y in a state where the portable terminal 170 is accommodated in the accommodation space 114. Alternatively, when the portable terminal 170 is not accommodated in the accommodation space 114, the tip of the pressing portion 150 may retreat to the wall surface of the inner surface portion 113. For example, when the bottom surface portion 112 moves in the axial direction Y toward the opening portion 111 for alignment and the portable terminal 170 is accommodated in the accommodation space 114, the pressing portion 150 may be electrically driven, advance through the hole, and press the portable terminal 170 in the direction X. When the portable terminal 170 contacts the inner surface portion 113, the pressing portion 150 stops. By the pressing portion 150, the portable terminal 170 remains in contact with the side where the power transmission portion 130 of the inner surface portion 113 is built in, and a state where the distance between the power receiving coil 171 and the power transmission portion 130 is close can be maintained. Thereby, the alignment between the power receiving coil 171 of the portable terminal 170 and the power transmission portion 130 of the charger 100 can be improved.

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the configuration of the charger 100 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0021] The charger 200 according to the second embodiment includes an accommodating portion 210, a detecting portion 220, a power transmission portion 230, and a driving portion 240. Similar to the charger 100 according to the first embodiment, the charger 200 is an in-vehicle equipment mounted on an arbitrary type of vehicle such as a BEV, a HEV, or a PHEV.

[0022] The housing section 210, detection section 220, and drive section 240 are the same as the housing section 110, detection section 120, and drive section 140 of the charger 100 according to the first embodiment, respectively, so their description is omitted. The power transmission section 230 will also be described in terms of its differences from the power transmission section 130 of the charger 100 according to the first embodiment, and other aspects may be omitted from the description.

[0023] The power transmission unit 230 includes a first power transmission unit 231 that wirelessly transmits power to the power receiving coil 271 using a first power transmission method, and a second power transmission unit 232 that wirelessly transmits power to the power receiving coil 271 using a second power transmission method different from the first power transmission method. The power receiving coil 271 is built into a mobile terminal 270 such as a smartphone. The power receiving coil 271 is compatible with both the first and second power transmission methods, but the second power transmission method takes precedence over the first power transmission method.

[0024] The charger 200 further includes a magnet sensor 260, which is built into the inner surface 213 and detects a terminal-side magnet 273 built into the mobile terminal 270. In this embodiment, the magnet sensor 260 is embedded in a line with the first coil sensor 121 and the second coil sensor 122, at a position closer to the bottom surface 212 than the first coil sensor 221 along the axial direction Y. More specifically, the magnet sensor 260 is adjacent to the first coil sensor 221 along the axial direction Y. The magnet sensor 260 may be recessed from the wall surface of the inner surface 213.

[0025] The second power transmission unit 232 has a charger-side magnet 261 corresponding to the terminal-side magnet 273. When the magnet sensor 260 does not detect the terminal-side magnet 273, the second power transmission unit 232 is at a first position P1, which is a certain distance from the surface of the inner surface 213. When the magnet sensor 260 detects the terminal-side magnet 273, the second power transmission unit 232 moves to a second position P2, which is closer to the surface of the inner surface 213 than the first position P1. When the magnet sensor 260 does not detect the terminal-side magnet 273, the first power transmission unit 231 is at the second position P2. When the magnet sensor 260 detects the terminal-side magnet 273, the first power transmission unit 231 moves to a third position P3, which is further from the opening 211 along the axial direction Y than the second position P2. The third position P3 may be closer to the opening 211 along the axial direction Y than the second position P2. As the second power transmission unit 232 moves to the second position P2, the charger-side magnet 261 and the terminal-side magnet 273 attract each other and remain close together. This improves the alignment between the power receiving coil 271 of the mobile terminal 270 and the second power transmission unit 232 of the charger 200.

[0026] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. The configurations shown in each figure may be modified without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0027] 1 System 100 charger 110 Storage Unit 111 Opening 112 Bottom part 113 Inner surface 114 Containment Space 120 Detection unit 121 First coil sensor 122 Second coil sensor 130 Power Transmission Section 140 Drive unit 150 Pressing part 170 Mobile devices 171 Power receiving coil 172 (One end of a mobile device) 200 charger 210 Storage Unit 211 Opening 212 Bottom part 213 Inner surface 214 Containment Space 221 First coil sensor 222 Second coil sensor 230 Power Transmission Section 231 First power transmission section 232 Second power transmission section 240 Drive unit 250 Pressing part 260 Magnetic Sensors 261 Charger side magnet 270 Mobile devices 271 Power receiving coil 272 Magnet on the terminal side 273 (One end of a mobile device)

Claims

1. A housing portion having an opening provided at one end in the axial direction, a bottom portion provided at a position opposite to the opening so as to be movable along the axial direction, and an inner surface portion extending from the opening along the axial direction and together with the bottom portion forming a housing space for housing a portable terminal inserted through the opening, A first coil sensor is built into the inner surface and receives a signal output from a power receiving coil built into the mobile terminal, A second coil sensor is housed within the inner surface and positioned further away from the opening than the first coil sensor along the axial direction, and receives the signal. A power transmission unit is built into the inner surface and positioned between the first coil sensor and the second coil sensor in the axial direction, and charges the mobile terminal by wirelessly transmitting power to the power receiving coil. A charger comprising a drive unit that, when the mobile terminal is housed in the housing space and one end of the mobile terminal is in contact with the bottom surface, drives the bottom surface toward the opening in the axial direction and stops driving the bottom surface when the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor and the intensity of the signal received by the second coil sensor become equal, thereby aligning the power receiving coil and the power transmitting unit.

2. The charger according to Claim 1, wherein the drive unit drives the bottom portion toward the opening in the axial direction when the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor increases and then decreases, and the intensity of the signal received by the second coil sensor increases and then decreases or increases, and a certain amount of time has elapsed since the intensity of the signal received by the first coil sensor and the intensity of the signal received by the second coil sensor have stopped fluctuating.

3. Further comprising a weight sensor for detecting the weight applied to the bottom surface, The charger according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit, when it determines that one end of the mobile terminal has come into contact with the bottom surface based on the weight detected by the weight sensor, drives the bottom surface toward the opening in the axial direction.

4. The charger according to claim 1, wherein the housing portion is provided on the inner surface of the housing space at a position opposite to the power transmission portion, and further comprises a pressing portion that presses the mobile terminal in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction when the mobile terminal is housed in the housing space.

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