U.S. patent number 7,233,137 [Application Number 10/947,425] was granted by the patent office on 2007-06-19 for power supply system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Masahiro Kawamura, Takeshi Morimoto, Junichi Nakamura, Yutaka Okada.
United States Patent |
7,233,137 |
Nakamura , et al. |
June 19, 2007 |
Power supply system
Abstract
A power supply system is provided, having: a primary side coil;
a power transmission apparatus having a primary side circuit for
feeding a pulse voltage resulted from switching a DC voltage which
is obtained by rectifying and smoothing a commercial power supply
to the primary side coil; a secondary side coil magnetically
coupled to the primary side coil; and power reception equipment
having a secondary side circuit for rectifying and smoothing
voltage induced across the secondary side coil, wherein there is
provided a power adjusting section for adjusting a level of power
to be transmitted according to power required by the power
reception equipment. The power adjusting section has, in the
primary side circuit, a carrier wave oscillation circuit for
supplying a carrier wave to the primary side coil, a demodulation
circuit for demodulating a modulated signal transmitted from the
secondary circuit and received by the primary side coil, and a
power change-over section for selecting a level of power to be
transmitted according to an information signal from the power
reception equipment and demodulated by the demodulation circuit.
The power adjusting section has, in the secondary side circuit, a
modulation circuit for modulating the carrier wave fed from the
carrier wave oscillation circuit and received by the secondary side
coil with the information signal from the power reception equipment
and transmitting the modulated signal.
Inventors: |
Nakamura; Junichi (Kashiba,
JP), Kawamura; Masahiro (Mara, JP), Okada;
Yutaka (Yamatokoriyama, JP), Morimoto; Takeshi
(Sakai, JP) |
Assignee: |
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Osaka,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
34381791 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/947,425 |
Filed: |
September 23, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050068019 A1 |
Mar 31, 2005 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 30, 2003 [JP] |
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2003-340631 |
Sep 30, 2003 [JP] |
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2003-340772 |
Sep 30, 2003 [JP] |
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2003-341350 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
323/355 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02J
50/10 (20160201); H02J 50/60 (20160201); H02J
50/90 (20160201); G06F 1/26 (20130101); H02J
7/025 (20130101); H02J 7/0068 (20130101); H02J
50/80 (20160201); H02J 7/0049 (20200101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01F
17/00 (20060101); H02M 3/335 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;323/247,251,255,256,258,355,358,359
;363/16,20,21.01,21.04,95,97,131 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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63-112198 |
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May 1988 |
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JP |
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3-165013 |
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Jul 1991 |
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JP |
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3-235432 |
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Oct 1991 |
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JP |
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04-317527 |
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Nov 1992 |
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JP |
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6-133476 |
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May 1994 |
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JP |
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10-4688 |
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Jan 1998 |
|
JP |
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10-097931 |
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Apr 1998 |
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JP |
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10-257139 |
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Sep 1998 |
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JP |
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2001-016789 |
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Jan 2001 |
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JP |
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2001-292535 |
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Oct 2001 |
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JP |
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2001-309579 |
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Nov 2001 |
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JP |
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2001-339327 |
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Dec 2001 |
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JP |
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2002-26778 |
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Jan 2002 |
|
JP |
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2003-224937 |
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Aug 2003 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Matthew V.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Nixon & Vanderhye, P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A power transmission apparatus comprising: a primary side coil;
and a primary side circuit for feeding to the primary side coil a
pulse voltage resulting from switching a DC voltage obtained by
rectifying and smoothing commercial power and for supplying power
in DC voltage to power reception equipment through the primary side
coil, wherein the power transmission apparatus is configured to
receive an information signal containing information regarding the
power reception equipment from the power reception equipment
through a secondary side coil separated from and magnetically
connected to the primary side coil and through the primary side
coil, and wherein the power transmission apparatus further
comprises a power adjusting section configured to adjust, upon
receiving the information signal, a level of power to be
transmitted to the power reception equipment.
2. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the primary side coil comprises either a coil with a plurality of
taps each arranged on the coil at different turns thereof or
comprises a plurality of coils each having a different number of
turns, and the power adjusting section has a power change-over
section for selecting, according to the information signal, one
from among the plurality of taps to which the pulse voltage is
applied or has a power change-over section for selecting, according
to the information signal, one from among the plurality of coils to
which the pulse voltage is applied.
3. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
the power adjusting section comprises: a carrier wave oscillation
circuit, included in the primary side circuit, for regularly
supplying a carrier wave to the primary side coil; and a
demodulation circuit, included in the primary side circuit, for
receiving an information signal through the primary side coil and
demodulating the received information signal, the information
signal including information regarding the power reception
equipment, modulated, and transmitted from the power reception
equipment in response to the carrier wave, wherein the power
adjusting section is configured to adjust, in accordance with the
information signal demodulated by the demodulation circuit, the
level of power to be transmitted through a change-over operation
performed by the power change-over section.
4. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
the power adjusting section further comprises: a carrier wave
detection circuit, included in the secondary side circuit, for
detecting the carrier wave transmitted to the secondary side coil;
a clock extraction circuit, included in the secondary side circuit,
for extracting a clock signal necessary for modulation from the
carrier wave; and a modulation circuit, included in the secondary
side circuit, for modulating the carrier wave with the information
signal based on the clock signal and transmitting the modulated
signal through the secondary side coil when the carrier wave
detection circuit detects the carrier wave.
5. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a
coil configured to have the pulse voltage applied thereto, and a
coil configured to have the carrier wave applied thereto and the
information signal received therethrough are an identical coil
forming the primary side coil.
6. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a
coil configured to have the pulse voltage applied thereto, and a
coil configured to have the carrier wave applied thereto and the
information signal received therethrough are different coils
forming the primary side coil.
7. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
the power adjusting section has a function of recognizing the
information regarding the power reception equipment based on the
information signal demodulated by the demodulation circuit.
8. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
the information signal transmitted from the power reception
equipment includes a "code indicating power reception
equipment".
9. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
said apparatus is configured to transmit power to the power
reception equipment based on the "code indicating power reception
equipment" included in the information signal when equipment that
can receive power is positoned on the power transmission
apparatus.
10. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, further
comprising a power transmission enable/disable determination
circuit for determining, based on the "code indicating power
reception equipment" included in the information signal, whether or
not equipment that can receive power is positioned on the power
transmission apparatus.
11. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 10,
wherein, the power transmission enable/disable determination
circuit is configured to control, by determining that equipment
that can receive power is positioned on the power transmission
apparatus, the power change-over section so that the pulse voltage
will be applied to the primary side coil, if the "code indicating
being power reception equipment" included in the information signal
is a predetermined "code indicating being power reception
equipment", and power transmission enable/disable determination
circuit is configured to control, by determining that equipment
that can receive power is not positioned on the power transmission
apparatus, the power change-over section so that the pulse voltage
will not be applied to the primary side coil, if the "code
indicating power reception equipment" included in the information
signal is not the predetermined "code indicating power reception
equipment".
12. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, further
comprising, a power amount determination circuit, wherein the
information signal includes "information regarding consumed power",
and the power amount determination circuit is configured to
determine the level of power to be transmitted based on the
"information regarding consumed power" included in the information
signal.
13. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 12, wherein
the power amount determination circuit is configured to control the
power change-over section according to the determined level of
power to be transmitted.
14. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
the information signal includes "information regarding full
charge", if the power reception equipment has a battery that is
configured to be charged with power transmitted from the power
transmission apparatus.
15. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
said apparatus is configured to stop power transmission when the
power reception equipment is fully charged, based on the
"information regarding full charge" included in the information
signal.
16. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 3, further
comprising, a full-charge determination circuit for determining,
based on the "information regarding full charge" included in the
information signal, whether or not the power reception equipment is
fully charged.
17. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 16, wherein
the full-charge determination circuit is configured to control the
power change-over section, by determining that the power reception
equipment is not fully charged, the full-charge determination
circuit, so that the pulse voltage will be applied to the primary
side coil if the "information regarding full charge" included in
the information signal does not indicate that the power reception
equipment is not fully charged, and the full-charge determination
circuit is configured to control, by determining that the power
reception equipment is fully charged, the power change-over section
so that the pulse voltage will not be applied to the primary side
coil if the "information regarding full charge" included in the
information signal indicates that the power reception equipment is
fully charged.
18. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
the power adjusting section comprises: a carrier wave oscillation
circuit, included in the primary side circuit, for regularly
supplying a carrier wave to the primary side coil; and a
demodulation circuit, included in the primary side circuit, for
receiving an information signal through the primary side coil and
demodulating the received information signal, the information
signal including information regarding the power reception
equipment, modulated, and transmitted from the power reception
equipment in response to the carrier wave, wherein a transmission
efficiency of the power to be transmitted and a transmission
efficiency of the information signal are configured to change at
substantially an identical rate when a relative position between
the power transmission aparatus and the power reception equipment
changes, wherein the power adjusting section further comprises a
power transmission enable/disable determination circuit for
determining, according to the transmission efficiency of the
information signal received by the demodulation circuit, whether or
not the relative position between the power transmission apparatus
and the power reception equipment is suitable for transmitting
power.
19. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 18, wherein
the power transmission enable/disable determination circuit is
configured to control, when the transmission efficiency of the
information signal received by the demodulation circuit is larger
than a predetermined value and by determining that the relative
position between the power transmission apparatus and the power
reception equipment is suitable for transmitting power, the power
change-over section so that the voltage pulse will be applied to
the primary side coil, and the power transmission enable/disable
determination circuit is configured to control, when the
transmission efficiency of the information signal received by the
demodulation circuit is smaller than the predetermined value and by
determining that the relative position between the power
transmission apparatus and the power reception equipment is not
suitable for transmitting power, the power change-over section so
that the voltage pulse will not be applied to the primary side
coil.
20. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the primary side circuit includes a current voltage detection
circuit for detecting a change in current flowing through the
primary side coil and/or a change in voltage appearing across the
primary side coil.
21. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 20, wherein
said power transmission apparatus is configured to transmit power
to the power reception equipment when equipment that can receive
power is positioned on the power transmission apparatus and
according to the change in the current and/or the voltage detected
by the current voltage detection circuit.
22. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 20, wherein
the power adjusting section is configured to recognized information
regarding the power reception equipment according to the change in
the current and/or the voltage detected by the current voltage
detection circuit.
23. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
the primary side circuit includes a current voltage detection
circuit for detecting a change in current flowing through the
primary side coil and/or a change in voltage appearing across the
primary side coil, and said power transmission apparatus is
configured to switch over the power change-over section so as to
adjust the level of power to be transmitted according to the change
in the current and/or the voltage detected by the current voltage
detection circuit.
24. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 23, further
comprising, a power transmission enable/disable determination
circuit for determining, according to the change in the current
and/or the voltage detected by the current voltage detection
circuit, whether or not equipment that can receive power is placed
on the power transmission apparatus.
25. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 24, wherein
the power transmission enable/disable determination circuit is
configured to control, when a predetermined change in the current
and/or the voltage is detected by the current voltage detection
circuit and by determining that equipment that can receive power is
placed on the power transmission apparatus, the power change-over
section so that the voltage pulse will be applied to the primary
side coil, and the power transmission enable/disable determination
circuit is configured to control, when the predetermined change in
the current and/or the voltage is not detected by the current
voltage detection circuit and by determining that equipment that
can receive power is not placed on the power transmission
apparatus, the power change-over section so that the voltage pulse
will not be applied to the primary side coil.
26. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 23, further
comprising: a power amount determination circuit for determining
the level of power to be transmitted according to the change in the
current and/or the voltage detected by the current voltage
detection circuit.
27. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 26, wherein
the power amount determination circuit is configured to control the
power change-over section according to the determined level of
power to be transmitted.
28. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 20, wherein
said power transmission apparatus is configured to stop
transmitting power to said power reception equipment if the power
reception equipment has a battery that is configured to be charged
with the power transmitted from the power transmission apparatus
and if it is determined, according to the change in the current
and/or the voltage detected by the current voltage detection
circuit, that the power reception equipment is fully charged.
29. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 23, further
comprising a full-charge determination circuit for determining
whether or not the power reception equipment is fully charged
according to the change in the current and/or the voltage detected
by the current voltage detection circuit, if the power reception
equipment has a battery that is charged with power transmitted from
the power transmission apparatus.
30. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 29, wherein
the full-charge determination circuit is configured to control,
when a predetermined change in the current and/or the voltage is
detected by the current voltage detection circuit and by
determining that the power reception equipment is not fully
charged, the power change-over section so that the voltage pulse
will be applied to the primary side coil and the full-charge
determination circuit is configured to control, when the
predetermined change in the current and/or the voltage is not
detected by the current voltage detection circuit and by
determining that the power reception equipment is fully charged,
the power change-over section so that the voltage pulse will not be
applied to the primary side coil.
31. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
one of a protrusion and a depression is provided on a face of the
power transmission apparatus and other of a protrusion and a
depression is provided on a face, facing the face of the power
transmission apparatus, of the power reception equipment, and the
power transmission apparatus and the power reception equipment are
positioned relative to each other by engaging the protrusion with
the depression, when power is transmitted from the power
transmission apparatus to the power reception equipment.
32. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
marks indicating a region through which power can be transmitted
are provided respectively on a face of the power transmission
apparatus and a face, facing the face of the power transmission
apparatus, of the power reception equipment so that the power
transmission apparatus and the power reception equipment are
positioned relative to each other, when power is transmitted from
the power transmission apparatus to the power reception
equipment.
33. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
a display section for indicating the level of power to be
transmitted from the power transmission apparatus is provided
thereon.
34. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
a display section is provided so as to indicate that the power
reception equipment is fully charged, if the power reception
equipment has a battery that is charged with power transmitted from
the power transmission apparatus.
35. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
a display section is provided so as to indicate that the power
reception equipment has been removed from on the power transmission
apparatus after power has been transmitted from the power
transmission apparatus to the power reception equipment.
36. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
a display section is provided so as to indicate, when a position of
the power reception equipment relative to the power transmission
apparatus is not suitable for transmitting power, that the position
of the power reception equipment relative to the power transmission
apparatus is not suitable for transmitting power.
37. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,
the power transmission apparatus comprises: a pair of power
transmission electrodes in contact with a pair of power receiving
electrodes for supplying power to said power receiving electrodes;
when the power reception equipment is such equipment configured to
receive power through the pair of power receiving electrodes; an
inter-electrode current detection circuit for detecting current
flowing between the pair of power transmission electrodes when the
pair of power transmission electrodes and the pair of power
receiving electrodes of a contact type of the power reception
equipment are in contact with each other; and a power route
change-over circuit for selecting between a route for supplying the
power to be transmitted to the pair of power transmission
electrodes and a route for supplying the power to be transmitted to
the primary side coil according to the detecting result by the
inter-electrode current detection circuit.
38. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the power transmission apparatus is incorporated in a utensil.
39. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the utensil is a top plate of a desk.
40. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the utensil is a shelf.
41. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the utensil is a bottom plate that forms a lockable storage
compartment.
42. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the utensil is a holder for holding the power reception
equipment.
43. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the utensil is a dashboard and/or a console box of an
automobile.
44. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the utensil is a top mat.
45. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 38, wherein
the power transmission apparatus is incorporated in a side surface
of the utensil.
46. The power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the power transmission apparatus is incorporated in a floor, a
carpet for covering a floor, or a wall.
47. A power supply system comprising a power transmission apparatus
comprising: a primary side coil; and a primary side circuit for
feeding to the primary side coil a pulse voltage resulting from a
switching a DC voltage obtained by rectifying and smoothing
commercial power and for supplying power in DC voltage to power
reception equipment through the primary side coil, wherein the
power transmission apparatus is configured to receive an
information signal containing information regarding the power
reception equipment from the power reception equipment through a
secondary side coil separated from and magnetically connected to
the primary side coil and through the primary side coil, and
wherein the power transmission apparatus further comprises a power
adjusting section configured to adjust upon receiving the
information signal, a level of power to be transmitted to the power
reception equipment, said power supply system further comprising
power reception equipment for receiving power from the
powertransmission apparatus, wherein the power transmission
apparatus includes a signal transmission control circuit for
transmitting an information signal among the power transmission
apparatus, the power reception equipment and an external apparatus
connected to the power transmission apparatus.
48. The power supply system according to claim 47, wherein the
primary side circuit comprises: a carrier wave oscillation circuit
for regularly supplying a carrier wave to the primary side coil; a
first demodulation circuit for receiving through the primary side
coil and demodulating the information signal modulated by and
transmitted from the power reception equipment, and for feeding the
demodulated information signal to the power adjusting section and
the external apparatus; and a first modulation circuit for
modulating the carrier wave supplied from the carrier wave
oscillation circuit with the information signal supplied from the
external apparatus, and transmitting the modulated signal through
the primary side coil, wherein a secondary side circuit comprises:
a carrier wave detection circuit for detecting the carrier wave
transmitted to the secondary side coil; a clock extraction circuit
for extracting a clock signal required for modulation from the
carrier wave; and a second modulation circuit for modulating the
carrier wave with the information signal transmitted from the power
reception equipment based on the clock signal and for transmitting
the modulated signal through the secondary side coil, when the
carrier wave detection circuit detects the carrier wave.
49. The power supply system according to claim 47, wherein said
power supply system is configured to supply power to the power
reception equipment positioned in close proximity to the power
transmission apparatus, the information signal transmitted from the
signal transmission control circuit and transmitted between the
external apparatus and the power reception equipment through the
power transmission apparatus is a signal necessary for payment, and
said power supply system is configured to perform the payment by
utilizing the power reception equipment.
50. The power supply system according to claim 47, wherein the
power transmission apparatus is incorporated in a top plate of a
table provided in a shop, the power transmission apparatus is
configured to supply power to the power reception equipment
positioned on the top plate, the external apparatus is a server
provided in the shop, the information signal transmitted from the
signal transmission control circuit and transmitted between the
server and the power reception equipment through the power
transmission apparatus is a signal required for performing payment
for wining and dining in the shop, goods purchased in the shop,
and/or service provided by the shop, and said power supply system
is configured to perform the payment by utilizing the power
reception equipment.
51. The power supply system according to claim 47, wherein the
power transmission apparatus is incorporated in a utensil provided
in lodging facilities, the power transmission apparatus is
configured to supply power to the power reception equipment
positioned in close proximity to the utensil, the external
apparatus is a server provided in the lodging facilities, the
information signal transmitted from the signal transmission control
circuit and transmitted between the server and the power reception
equipment through the power transmission apparatus is a signal
required for performing payment for wining and dining in the
lodging facilities, goods purchased in the lodging facilities,
and/or service provided by the lodging facilities, and said power
supply is configured to perform the payment by utilizing the power
reception equipment.
52. The power supply system according to claim 47, wherein the
power transmission apparatus is incorporated in a ticket dispenser
connected to a server provided at a station, the power transmission
apparatus supplies power to the power reception equipment
positioned in close proximity to the ticket dispenser, the external
apparatus is the server, the information signal transmitted from
the signal transmission control circuit and transmitted between the
server and the power reception equipment through the power
transmission apparatus is a signal including personal information
of a user of the power reception equipment required for performing
payment for a ticket purchased through the ticket dispenser, and
said power supply system is configured to perform the payment by
utilizing the power reception equipment.
53. The power supply system according to claim 47 wherein the power
transmission apparatus is incorporated in an automatic ticket
examining machine provided at a ticket gate in a station, the power
transmission apparatus supplies power to the power reception
equipment positioned in close proximity to the automatic ticket
examining machine, the external apparatus is a server provided at
the station, the information signal transmitted from the signal
transmission control circuit and transmitted between the server and
the power reception equipment through the power transmission
apparatus is a signal including information regarding a departing
station and personal information of a user of the power reception
equipment required for performing payment of a fare, and said power
supply system is configured to perform the payment by utilizing the
power reception equipment.
54. A power transmission apparatus for receiving commercial power
and supplying power in DC voltage in a non-contact manner to power
reception equipment that is separate and independent from the power
transmission apparatus, wherein the power transmission apparatus is
configured to transmit power to the power reception equipment
through magnetically coupled elements that are separate and
independent from each other and are respectively provided in the
power transmission apparatus and the power reception equipment,
wherein the power reception equipment is configured to transmit an
information signal including information regarding the power
reception equipment to the power transmission apparatus through the
magnetically coupled elements, and wherein the power transmission
apparatus comprises a power adjusting section for adjusting a level
of power to be transmitted upon receiving the information signal.
Description
This non-provisional application claims priorities under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(a) on Patent Application No. 2003-340631 filed in Japan
on Sep. 30, 2003, Patent Application No. 2003-340772 filed in Japan
on Sep. 30, 2003, and Patent Application No. 2003-341350 filed in
Japan on Sep. 30, 2003, the entire contents of which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power supply system that
supplies power to electronic equipment and, more particularly, to a
power supply system that supplies power to mobile electronic
equipment such as portable telephones, notebook personal computers,
a digital cameras, and electronic toys.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In FIGS. 27 to 29, there are shown examples of a conventional power
supply system that supplies power to mobile electronic equipment.
FIG. 27 is a view showing an outer appearance of a conventional
power supply system performing power supply to a portable
telephone. In FIG. 27, a numerical symbol 101 indicates a portable
telephone and a numerical symbol 102 indicates a holder of a
terminal contact type charger (AC adapter) dedicated for charging a
battery built in the portable telephone 101. Attached to the holder
102 of the AC adapter are an AC adapter 102a (integral with an AC
plug) and a cord 102b. The AC plug is inserted into a socket
provided on a wall surface or the like and thereby a commercial
power supply (AC 100 V) is supplied to the AC adapter 102a. The AC
adapter 102a converts the supplied AC 100 V to a DC voltage used in
charging the battery of the portable telephone 101 and charges the
battery of the portable telephone 101 with the DC voltage through
the cord 102b, the AC adapter holder 102, and power transmission
electrodes that are made contact with power receiving electrodes of
the portable telephone 101. The DC voltage can also works directly
as a power supply for driving the portable telephone 101.
FIG. 28 is a view showing an outer appearance of another
conventional power supply system performing power supply to a
notebook personal computer (hereinafter referred to a notebook PC).
In FIG. 28, a numerical symbol 103 indicates a notebook PC and a
numerical symbol 104 indicates a dedicated charger (AC adapter) for
charging a battery built in the notebook PC 103. Attached to the AC
adapter 104 are an AC plug 104a, and cords 104b and 104c. The AC
plug 104a is inserted into a socket provided on a wall surface or
the like, and thereby the commercial power supply (AC 100 V) is
supplied to the AC adapter 104 through the cord 104b. The AC
adapter 104 converts the supplied AC 100 V to a DC voltage used in
charging the battery of the notebook PC 103 and supplies the DC
voltage to the notebook PC 103 through the cord 104c to thereby
charge the built-in battery. The DC voltage can also works as a
power supply for directly driving the notebook PC 103.
FIG. 29 is a view showing an outer appearance of still another
conventional power supply system performing power supply to a
shaver. In FIG. 29, a numerical symbol 105 indicates a shaver, and
a numerical symbol 106 indicates a non-contact dedicated charger
(AC adapter) for charging a battery built in the shaver 105.
Attached to the AC adapter 106 are an AC plug 106a and a cord 106b.
The AC plug 106a is inserted into a socket provided on a wall
surface or the like, and thereby the commercial power supply (AC
100 V) is supplied to the AC adapter 106 through the cord 106b. The
AC adapter 106 converts the supplied AC 100 V once to a DC voltage,
and, thereafter, the DC voltage is subjected to switching and
supplied to the battery of the shaver 105 by means of the
non-contact power supply using magnetic coupling so as to charge
the battery. The DC voltage can also works as a power supply for
directly driving the shaver 103.
A non-contact charger is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open No. 2001-16789, in which not only is a secondary side
coil installed at the bottom of the body thereof, but a primary
side coil is also installed below a body placement section of the
charger. When the body is placed on the body placement section of
the charger, the primary side coil installed below the body
placement section is coupled magnetically to the second side coil
installed at the bottom of the body so that a battery located in
the body is charged. A housing of the body is constituted of an
assembly of plural housing parts obtained by dividing the housing
in parallel to a plane to cut the secondary side coil
longitudinally, wherein a bottom wall is formed in continuity with
the outer peripheral wall of one of the housing parts, and the
secondary side coil is provided on the inner surface of the bottom
wall, while the outer surface of the bottom wall serves as a
contact surface with the body placement section of the charger when
charging is performed.
As shown in FIGS. 27 to 29, the dedicated AC adapters, however, are
required for charging the electronic equipment such as the portable
telephone 101, the notebook PC 103, and the shaver 105, and other
AC adapters cannot be used instead. This means that there is no
compatibility among AC adapters. Especially, in the case of the
portable telephone, dedicated AC adapters are used for respective
portable telephones which are different in model or make, thereby
providing no compatibility among these AC adapters, only being
resulted in inconvenience.
Since there is no compatibility among AC adapters, a problem has
arisen that a house is flooded with many AC adapters. In a case
where many adapters are present in a house, another problem has
arisen that the AC adapters and cords used for connecting the AC
adapters to the commercial power supply become impediments to
movement of family members.
In a case where equipment is installed on a shelf, such as a
personal computer rack, relocating the equipment involves both the
equipment and an AC adapter thereof as a set, only resulting in
cumbersomeness. A cleaning robot, a toy robot, and the like have to
be charged by respective dedicated charging adapters, which
requires an operation that each robot is connected to the AC
adapter for charging every time.
An AC adapter specially designed for corresponding electronic
equipment is necessary to be carried by a person who carries the
electronic equipment in a public facility at a destination of
travel or in transit, which has greatly devalued portability of the
mobile electronic equipment. When an automobile is used for
traveling, a charging adapter is attached to a dashboard, a console
box, or the like to thereby charge a portable telephone, whereas in
such a case, the adapter and a cord thereof become obstacles during
driving, and a case arises where a view field of a driver is partly
blocked.
In a conventional technology described in Japanese Patent
Application Laid-Open No. 2001-16789, since there is no worrisome
possibility of level differences occurring among parts bonded at
the bottom of the housing, and a spacing between the primary side
and secondary side coils can be kept constant, stable charge
current can be supplied to the main body of electronic equipment.
However, only one designated type of electronic equipment can be
charged by the non-contact charger with a problem that the
non-contact charger cannot charge plural types of electronic
equipment.
In a case where a price for drinking and eating is paid at a
cashier after the drinking and eating in eating houses such as a
coffee shop, a restaurant, or the like, or in a case where a hotel
charge or the like is paid at a front desk when guests check out of
accommodations such as hotels and inns, in some cases, the cashier
or the front desk is inundated with many guests who come there at a
time in order to pay for their bills. In such situations, the
cashier or the front desk is crowded, causing a problem of
disabling a smooth payment. Moreover, the problem causes a
necessity for employees in the eating house or the hotel
accommodation to stand by at the cashier or the front desk in order
to facilitate a smooth payment.
In a case where a train ticket is purchased from an automatic
ticket dispenser, it is necessary to find out a fare to a
destination in a fare schedule or the like and then purchase the
ticket, which has been problematically cumbersome. In addition,
another annoyance accompanies when the ticket is actually
purchased, small change has to be carried. On the other hand, there
is a payment method already available in which a prepaid card is
purchased in advance, and the prepaid card is put through an
automatic ticket dispenser installed at a ticket gate in a station,
and thereby a charge required for a boarding distance is subtracted
from a recorded balance on the prepaid card, whereas a problem has
remained unsolved that such a prepaid card is not standardized
among railway companies. If passengers change trains and take
routes operated by a plurality of companies, many kinds of prepaid
cards are required to be at hand for selective use.
BRIEF SUMMARY
In light of the above problems, it is an object of to provide a
power supply system capable of not only supplying power to
different types of electronic equipment by using a single power
transmission apparatus, but also saving space and performing
payment for public service and charges.
The present technology is, in order to achieve the object, directed
to a power supply system for supplying power, in a non-contact
manner, to power reception equipment from a power transmission
apparatus to which a commercial power supply is fed, wherein there
is provided a power adjusting section for adjusting a level of
power to be transmitted according to power required by the power
reception equipment. With this configuration, a single power
transmission apparatus can supply power to different types of power
reception equipment.
According to another aspect of the technology, a power supply
system comprises: a primary side coil; a power transmission
apparatus having a primary side circuit for feeding a pulse voltage
to the primary side coil, the pulse voltage resulting from
switching a DC voltage which is obtained by rectifying and
smoothing a commercial power supply; a secondary side coil
magnetically coupled to the primary side coil; and power reception
equipment having a secondary side circuit for rectifying and
smoothing an induced voltage induced across the secondary side
coil, wherein there is provided a power adjusting section for
adjusting a level of power to be transmitted according to power
required by the power reception equipment. With this configuration,
a single power transmission apparatus can supply power to different
types of power reception equipment.
According to still another aspect of the technology, it is
preferable that the primary side coil comprise either a coil with a
plurality of taps each arranged on the coil at different turns
thereof or comprise a plurality of coils each having a different
number of turns, and the power adjusting section have a power
change-over section for selecting, according to the power required
by the power reception equipment, one from among the plurality of
taps to which the pulse voltage is applied or have a power
change-over section for selecting, according to the power required
by the power reception equipment, one from among the plurality of
coils to which the pulse voltage is applied. With this
configuration, the levels of power transmitted from the power
transmission apparatus can be selected depending on the power
required by the power reception equipment.
According to still another aspect of the technology, it is
preferable that the power adjusting section comprise a carrier wave
oscillation circuit, included in the primary side circuit, for
regularly supplying a carrier wave to the primary side coil, and a
demodulation circuit, included in the primary side circuit, for
receiving an information signal through the primary side coil and
demodulating the received information signal, the information
signal including information regarding the power reception
equipment, modulated, and transmitted from the power reception
equipment in response to the carrier wave, wherein the power
adjusting section adjusts, in accordance with the information
signal demodulated by the demodulation circuit, the level of power
to be transmitted through a change-over operation performed by the
power change-over section. With this configuration, the level of
power transmitted from the power transmission apparatus can be
adjusted according to the information signal fed from the power
reception equipment.
According to still another aspect of the technology, the power
transmission apparatus is incorporated in a utensil. Therefore, it
is possible to use a single type of power transmission apparatus
for feeding power to different types of power reception equipment,
thereby making it possible to achieve a power supply system
contributing to space saving.
According to still another aspect of the technology, it is
preferable that a signal transmission control circuit be provided
for transmitting an information signal among the power transmission
apparatus, the power reception equipment, and an external apparatus
connected to the power transmission apparatus. With this
configuration, a power supply system capable of performing payment
by using the power reception equipment can be realized.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
This and other features of the present invention will become clear
from the following description, taken in conjunction with the
preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings
in which:
FIG. 1A is a view showing an outer appearance of an example
embodiment of a power supply system;
FIG. 1B is a view showing an outer appearance of an example power
supply system in another state;
FIG. 2A is a representation for describing a schematic construction
of the interior of a power transmission apparatus and a portable
telephone shown in FIG. 1A;
FIG. 2B is an enlarged view showing coil portions in the interior
of the power transmission apparatus and the portable telephone
shown in FIG. 2A;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a first example embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing power supply operations in a power
transmission apparatus shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a example second embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a third example embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a fourth example embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a fifth example embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a sixth example embodiment;
FIG. 10A is a block diagram showing an internal construction of a
power supply system of a seventh example embodiment;
FIG. 10B is a block diagram showing an internal construction of the
power supply system of a seventh example embodiment in another
state;
FIG. 11A is a graph showing relationships between a relative
position of a portable telephone to a power transmission apparatus
and the absolute values of transmission efficiencies of power and
an information signal;
FIG. 11B is a graph showing relationships between a relative
position of the portable telephone to the power transmission
apparatus and relative values of transmission efficiencies of power
and the information signal;
FIG. 12 is a table showing display states of LEDs by operating
states of the power transmission apparatus;
FIG. 13A is a view showing an outer appearance of an example power
supply system of an eighth example embodiment;
FIG. 13B is an enlarged view showing an outer appearance of a part
of the power supply system shown in FIG. 13A;
FIG. 13C is a view showing an outer appearance of another example
of the power supply system of the eighth example embodiment;
FIG. 13D is a view showing an outer appearance of another example
of the power supply system of the eighth example embodiment;
FIG. 13E is a view showing an outer appearance of another example
of the power supply system of the eighth example embodiment;
FIG. 14 is a view showing an outer appearance of an example of a
power supply system of a ninth example embodiment;
FIG. 15A is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a tenth example embodiment;
FIG. 15B is an enlarged view showing an outer appearance of a part
of the power supply system shown in FIG. 15A;
FIG. 16 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of an eleventh example embodiment;
FIG. 17 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a twelfth example embodiment;
FIG. 18 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a thirteenth example embodiment;
FIG. 19 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a fourteenth example embodiment;
FIG. 20 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a fifteenth example embodiment;
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a sixteenth example embodiment;
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of the
power transmission apparatus and the power reception equipment
shown in FIG. 21;
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a payment procedure using the power
supply system shown in FIG. 21;
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a procedure of mobile banking using
the power supply system shown in FIG. 21;
FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing another payment procedure using the
power supply system shown in FIG. 21;
FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing still another payment procedure
using the power supply system shown in FIG. 21;
FIG. 27 is a view showing an outer appearance of a conventional
power supply system;
FIG. 28 is a view showing an outer appearance of another
conventional power supply system; and
FIG. 29 is a view showing an outer appearance of still another
conventional power supply system.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Description will be given of an embodiment of the present invention
below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B
are views showing outer appearances of power supply systems
embodying the present invention. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, a numerical
symbol 1 indicates a power transmission apparatus for supplying
power. FIG. 1A shows a case where power reception equipment is a
portable telephone 2, and FIG. 1B shows a case where the power
reception equipment is a notebook PC 3. The power transmission
apparatus 1 is equipped with an AC plug 1a and a cord 1b. The AC
plug 1a is inserted into a socket provided on a wall surface or the
like to thereby feed a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) to the
power transmission apparatus 1 through the cord 1b. The power
transmission apparatus 1 converts the supplied AC 100 V to a DC
voltage, thereafter, the DC voltage is subjected to switching and
supplied to a battery of the portable telephone 2 or the notebook
PC 3, which is power reception equipment, so that the battery is
charged by means of the non-contact power supply using magnetic
coupling. The DC voltage can be also used as a power supply for
directly driving the portable telephone 2 and the notebook PC
3.
Since the power transmission apparatus 1 has functions of
recognizing power reception equipment placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1 so as to transmit power necessary for the
power reception equipment thereto depending on the type, a single
power transmission apparatus 1 can charge even batteries of
electronic equipment differing in power required for charging, such
as the portable telephone 2 and the notebook PC 3. Though not
shown, any type of electronic equipment equipped with a battery,
such as a digital camera, a camcorder, a PDA, or the like, can be
charged similarly. The power transmission apparatus 1 is equipped
with light emitting diodes (display section) LED1 and LED2
(hereinafter referred to simply as LED1 and LED2) indicating an
input state of AC 100 V, a state of power supply to power reception
equipment, and other information. Description will be given of
functions, operations, and others of the LED1 and LED2 later.
Next, description will be given of a principle of a non-contact
transmission system with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIGS. 2A and
2B are schematic diagrams for describing schematic constructions of
the interiors of the power transmission apparatus 1 and the
portable telephone 2 shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 2A is an entire view
showing the power transmission apparatus 1 and the portable
telephone 2. FIG. 2B shows an enlarged view of coil portions. In
FIGS. 2A and 2B, the same constituents as in FIG. 1 are attached
with the same symbols and descriptions thereof will not be given
herein. As shown in FIG. 2A, the power transmission apparatus 1
includes a primary side circuit 10 and a primary side coil 11, and
the portable telephone 2 includes a secondary side coil 12, a
secondary side circuit 13, and a charge control circuit 14.
The primary side circuit 10 full-wave rectifies and smoothes AC 100
V supplied through the AC plug 1a and the cord 1b to convert the AC
100 V once to a DC voltage, and thereafter the DC voltage is
subjected to switching to obtain a pulse voltage which is then
supplied to the primary side coil 11. The primary side coil 11 and
the secondary side coil 12 constitute a transformer through
magnetic coupling between a primary side core (ferrite) 15 and a
secondary side core (ferrite) 16, wherein when the pulse voltage
obtained by switching is applied across the primary side coil 11, a
voltage is induced across the secondary side coil 12 by magnetic
coupling depending on a turns ratio between the primary side coil
11 and the secondary side coil 12. The induced voltage is rectified
to a DC voltage and smoothed in the secondary side circuit 13; the
resultant DC voltage is supplied to a charge control circuit 14;
and the charge control circuit 14 charges a battery with the
supplied DC voltage. In this way, a non-contact power supply is
performed from the power transmission apparatus 1 to the portable
telephone 2.
A signal including information such as information regarding power
supply or the like is transmitted between the primary side circuit
10 and the secondary side circuit 13 by the non-contact
transmission method. The transmission of the signal is performed
for the purposes described below. First, when power is transmitted
in a state where a piece of metal or the like is placed on the
power transmission apparatus 1, a problem arises that the piece of
metal produces heat due to occurrence of an eddy current therein.
Therefore, the signal is transmitted to recognize whether or not
equipment that can receive power is placed. Second, in order to
transmit necessary power for the power reception equipment, the
power transmission apparatus 1 side should perform a change-over
selection from among coils and circuits. Therefore, the power
transmission apparatus 1 should recognize information regarding
power required by the power reception equipment. Third, when the
power reception equipment is fully charged, it is necessary to
cease power transmission (for saving energy). Therefore, the power
transmission apparatus 1 should recognize whether or not the full
charge is achieved.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a first example embodiment. In FIG. 3, the
same constituents as in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 2B are attached with the
same symbols and descriptions thereof will not be given herein.
In FIG. 3, a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) is externally fed
from the AC plug 1a through the cord 1b, and the supplied AC 100 V
is full-wave rectified in a rectification circuit 21 in the primary
side circuit 10 and thereafter smoothed in a smoothing circuit
constituted of a coil L1 and a capacitor C1 so as to be converted
into a DC voltage. A pulse voltage obtained by subjecting the DC
voltage to switching in a switching circuit 22 is supplied to the
primary side coil 11 through transistors (power change-over
section) TR11, TR12, and TR13.
All of the transistors TR11, TR12, and T13 are NPN-type
transistors, and collectors thereof are all connected to an output
terminal of the switching circuit 22. An emitter of the transistor
TR11 is connected to one end of the primary side coil 11 and the
other end of the primary side coil 11 is grounded. The primary side
coil 11 has taps a, b, and c in the descending order of a distance
from the grounded coil end, i.e., in the descending order of the
number of turns. An emitter of the transistor TR12 is connected to
the tap a, and an emitter of the transistor TR13 is connected to
the tap b. The tap c is connected to a demodulation circuit 36 and
a carrier wave oscillation circuit 37 in a power transmission
control IC (power adjusting section) 24 that performs power
transmission control of the primary side circuit 10.
Bases of the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 are all connected to
a power change-over circuit (power change-over section) 32 in the
power transmission control IC 24. The power transmission control IC
24 is an IC including a LED display circuit 31, the power
change-over circuit 32, a power transmission enable/disable
determination circuit 33, a power amount determination circuit 34,
a full-charge determination circuit 35, a demodulation circuit 36,
and the carrier wave oscillation circuit 37, and takes on a shape
of an IC chip for achieving a compact and lower-profile shape.
Description will be given of functions and operations of the
respective circuits later. Note that the transistors TR11, TR12,
and TR13 may be replaced with different switching elements such as
MOSFETs, selector switches, or the like.
The pulse voltage obtained by switching in the switching circuit 22
is supplied to the transformer 23 as well. Then, the pulse voltage
is converted to a predetermined voltage by the transformer 23,
rectified by the rectification circuit 25, and smoothed by a
smoothing circuit constituted of a coil L2 and a capacitor C2 so as
to be converted to a DC voltage. The DC voltage is applied to
control circuits and the like in the primary side circuit 10 as a
power supply Vcc for controlling the primary side circuit 10.
The collectors of the NPN-type transistors TR1 and TR2 are
connected to the power supply Vcc, the emitter of the transistor
TR1 is connected to an anode of the LED1 through a current limiting
resistor R1, and a cathode of the LED1 is grounded. On the other
hand, the emitter of the transistor TR2 is connected to an anode of
the LED2 through a current limiting resistor R2, and a cathode of
the LED2 is grounded. The bases of the transistors TR1 and TR2 are
connected to the LED display circuit 31 in the power transmission
control IC 24.
By this configuration, when the LED display circuit 31 turns on the
transistor TR1, the LED 1 emits light, and when the LED display
circuit 31 turns on the transistor TR2, the LED2 emits light. The
LED1, under control of an unillustrated lighting control circuit or
the like, emits light in red, yellow, green, purple, or orange
according to a signal from the LED display circuit 31. The LED2
also has a function of emitting light in red or green in a similar
manner. Note that the transistors TR1 and TR2 may be different
switching elements such as MOSFETs or the like.
Next, description will be given of the portable telephone 2 side. A
smoothing capacitor C4 and a rectification circuit 41 are connected
to both ends of the secondary side coil 12, and an induced voltage
across the secondary side coil 12 is full-wave rectified in the
rectification circuit 41 and, thereafter, smoothed by a smoothing
circuit constituted of a coil L3 and a capacitor C3 and converted
to a DC voltage. The DC voltage is supplied to a power-on reset
circuit (carrier wave detection circuit) 44, a power clamp circuit
46, and a regulator 47 in a power receiving side control IC (power
adjusting section) 42 that performs power receiving control of the
secondary side circuit 13.
The power-on reset circuit 44 is a circuit that detects a DC
voltage obtained by converting a carrier wave transmitted from the
primary side circuit 10 described later and thereby, determines
that a request for an information signal has been issued from the
power transmission apparatus 1 so as to reset the power receiving
control IC 42 to cause transmission of the information signal to be
started. The voltage clamp circuit 46 is a circuit in which the DC
voltage obtained by the conversion is clamped at a predetermined
voltage to thereby prevent circuits from being subjected to voltage
breakdown, and the regulator 47 converts the DC voltage obtained by
the conversion to a predetermined voltage used for charging and
supplies the predetermined voltage to the charge control circuit
14. The power receiving control IC 42 is further provided with a
clock extraction circuit 43 connected to the secondary side coil 12
and a modulation circuit 45, and performs a signal processing for a
signal transmitted through the primary side coil 11 and the
secondary side coil 12. Note that the power receiving control IC 42
is in the shape of an IC chip so that a compact and lower-profile
shape of the portable telephone 2 is achieved.
Next, description will be given of power supply operations in the
power transmission apparatus 1 and the portable telephone 2 having
such a configuration with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a
flowchart showing power supply operations in the power transmission
apparatus 1. The power transmission apparatus 1 starts its
operation when AC 100 V is supplied thereto. First, when AC 100 V
is inputted, the power supply Vcc for control is supplied to the
power transmission control IC 24. Then, the LED display circuit 31
turns on the LED 1 in red and turns off the LED2 (step S1). The
carrier wave oscillation circuit 37 outputs a predetermined carrier
wave at constant intervals (step S2) so that whether or not the
power reception equipment is placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1 is determined (step S3). Description will be given
below of a method for determining whether or not the power
reception equipment is placed.
The carrier wave outputted from the carrier wave oscillation
circuit 37 is supplied to the tap c of the primary side coil 11,
and in a case where the portable telephone 2 is placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1, the carrier wave is transmitted to the
secondary side coil 12 which is magnetically coupled with the
primary side coil 11. The carrier wave transmitted onto the
secondary side coil 12 is rectified and smoothed by the
rectification circuit 41, the coil 3, and the capacitor C3, and
thereby converted to a DC voltage. The power-on reset circuit 44
detects the DC voltage obtained by converting the carrier wave and
thereby recognizes that the carrier wave has been transmitted. The
clock extraction circuit 43 connected to the secondary side coil 12
extracts a clock signal required for modulation from the carrier
wave, and the modulation circuit 45 modulates the carrier wave
based on information regarding the portable telephone 2, namely,
"code indicating power reception equipment", "information regarding
consumed power", and "information regarding full charge" and
supplies the modulated wave to the secondary side coil 12. A
modulation system adopted at this time is a phase modulation in
which a carrier wave is cyclically intensity modulated to express
0/1 information with phase change information of a signal. In such
a way, since a clock signal necessary for modulation is extracted
from the carrier wave transmitted from the power transmission
apparatus 1, no necessity arises for the portable telephone 2,
which is power reception equipment, to have an oscillation circuit
therein. Furthermore, since power supplied from the carrier wave is
used as a driving power for the clock extraction circuit 43 and the
modulation circuit 45, no necessity arises for the portable
telephone 2, which is power reception equipment, to have a power
supply therein, thereby enabling simplification of a circuit to be
achieved.
The modulated wave supplied to the secondary side coil 12 from the
modulation circuit 45 is transmitted to the primary side coil 11
magnetically coupled thereto. The demodulation circuit 36 connected
to the tap c of the primary side coil 11 receives and demodulates
the transmitted modulated wave and supplies the "code indicating
power reception equipment", "information regarding consumed power",
and "information regarding full charge", which are included in the
demodulated information signal, to the power transmission
enable/disable determination circuit 33, the power amount
determination circuit 34, and the full-charge determination circuit
35. Herein, the power transmission enable/disable determination
circuit 33 determines whether or not power reception equipment is
placed on the power transmission apparatus 1, based on the "code
indicating power reception equipment" (step S3). If a predetermined
"code indicating power reception equipment" is received, it is
determined that power reception equipment is placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1 and it is determined whether or not the
power reception equipment is correctly placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1 (step S4). On the other hand, unless the
predetermined "code indicating power reception equipment" is
received, it is determined that no power reception equipment is
placed on the power transmission apparatus 1, and the carrier wave
is outputted again (step S2).
Next, as for determination on whether or not the power reception
equipment is correctly placed on the power transmission apparatus
1, the meaning of this phrase is whether or not the coil of the
power receiving side and the coil of the power transmission side
are arranged at positions where a high power transmission
efficiency in a non-contact power supply system is obtained. In
other words, whether or not the transmission apparatus 1 and the
portable telephone 2 which is power reception equipment, shown in
FIG. 2, are arranged at positions where a high coupling degree in
magnetic coupling is established between the primary side core 15
of the power transmission apparatus 1 and the secondary side core
16 of the portable telephone 2.
FIGS. 11A and 11B are graphs showing relationships between a
relative position of the portable telephone 2 to the power
transmission apparatus 1 (a positional deviation of the portable
telephone 2 from the power transmission apparatus 1) and a
transmission efficiency of power and the information signal.
Herein, the term "information signal" means the modulated wave
transmitted back from the secondary side circuit 13 in response to
a carrier wave transmitted from the primary side circuit 10. FIG.
11A shows the absolute values of the transmission efficiencies of
power (in solid line) and the information signal (in broken line).
FIG. 11B shows relative values of transmission efficiencies of
power (in solid line) and the information signal (in broken line).
In either of FIGS. 11A and 11B, the abscissas are assigned to a
deviation of the portable telephone 2, which is power reception
equipment, from the power transmission apparatus 1. When the power
transmission apparatus 1 and the portable telephone 2 are located
at positions where the highest coupling degree in magnetic coupling
is established between the primary side core 15 of the power
transmission apparatus 1 and the secondary side core 16 of the
portable telephone 2, the deviation is given 0. Deviations in a
left-to-right direction or a forward-to-rearward direction of the
portable telephone 2 from the position with the deviation of 0 are
measured in units of mm.
As shown in FIG. 11A, the larger the deviation of the portable
telephone 2 from the power transmission apparatus 1 becomes, the
lower the transmission efficiencies of both power and information
signal drop. Since the transmission efficiencies of power and
information signal are, as shown in FIG. 11B, reduced at the same
rate with an increase in deviation of the portable telephone 2 from
the power transmission apparatus 1, a deviation of the portable
telephone 2 from the power transmission apparatus 1 can be
recognized by measuring a signal intensity of the information
signal even in a state where the power transmission apparatus 1
transmits no power.
Since the larger the positional deviation of the portable telephone
2 from the power transmission apparatus 1 becomes, the lower the
transmission efficiencies of power and information signal drop,
there will be no meaning to transmit the power, because the
portable telephone 2 is not capable of receiving it in a case where
the power transmission efficiency is extremely low. Therefore, it
is determined whether or not the positional deviation of the
portable telephone 2 from the power transmission apparatus 1
exceeds a predetermined value (step S4). If it exceeds, no power
transmission is performed from the power transmission apparatus 1,
and the LED1 is turned on in orange and the LED 2 is turned off as
a warning indication (step S5). In this situation, a warning sound
may be emitted instead.
On the other hand, if the positional deviation of the portable
telephone 2 from the power transmission apparatus 1 does not exceed
the predetermined value, the process moves to a process for
determining a level of power to be transmitted (step S6). The
determination process is performed in the power amount
determination circuit 34 based on the "information on consumed
power" included in the information signal demodulated in the
demodulation circuit 36. The power of the portable telephone 2 is
recognized based on the "information on consumed power". A power
transmission output is adjusted at one of three levels of large,
medium, and small depending on the recognized power. A result of
the determination from the power amount determination circuit 34 is
transmitted to the LED display circuit 31 and the power change-over
circuit 32 so as to perform the process described below in response
to one of the large, medium, and small levels as the result of the
determination.
If the determination result shows the small level, the LED display
circuit 31 turns on the LED1 in yellow and turns on and off the
LED2 in red (step S7) so as to indicate that power transmission is
performed at the small level. At the same time, the power
change-over circuit 32 turns on the transistor TR11. When the
transistor TR11 is turned on, a pulse voltage from the switching
circuit 22 is applied across the total length of the primary side
coil 11 to start power transmission (step S8). Then, when the
determination result shows the medium level, the LED display
circuit 31 turns on the LED1 in green and turns on and off the LED2
in red (step S9) so as to indicate that power transmission is
performed at the medium level. Moreover, the power change-over
circuit 32 turns on the transistor TR12. When the transistor TR12
is turned on, a pulse voltage from the switching circuit 22 is
applied to the tap a of the primary side coil 11 to start power
transmission (step S10). When the determination result shows the
large level, the LED display circuit 31 turns on the LED1 in purple
and turns on and off the LED2 in red (step S11) so as to indicate
that power transmission is performed at the large level. Moreover,
the power change-over circuit 32 turns on the transistor TR13. When
the transistor TR13 is turned on, a pulse voltage from the
switching circuit 22 is applied to the tap b of the primary side
coil 11 to start power transmission (step S12).
By selecting one from among the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13, a
location of the winding of the primary side coil 11 at which a
pulse voltage from the switching circuit is applied changes. That
is, since an actual effective number of turns of the primary side
coil changes, a turns ratio of the primary side coil 11 to the
secondary side coil 12 changes. In such a way, power in accordance
with the power required by the power reception equipment can be
transmitted. Note that, although the present embodiment shows that
the power transmission output is selected from among the three
levels, large, medium, and small, the number of levels may be
increased.
Even after the power transmission is started, the carrier wave is
regularly transmitted (step S13), and it is checked whether or not
the portable telephone 2, which is power reception equipment, has
been removed from the power transmission apparatus 1 according to
the information included in the modulated wave transmitted back in
response to the carrier wave (step S14). In the confirmation, the
power transmission enable/disable determination circuit 33
determines, in a similar manner to that in step S3, whether or not
the power reception equipment is placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1, based on the "code indicating power reception
equipment". If a predetermined "code indicating power reception
equipment" has not been received, it is determined that the power
reception equipment has been removed from the power transmission
apparatus 1, and the power change-over circuit 32 turns off all of
the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 to cease power transmission
(step S15).
On the other hand, if the predetermined "code indicating power
reception equipment" has been received, it is recognized that the
power reception equipment has been placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1, and then, it is determined whether or not the power
reception equipment has been placed correctly on the power
transmission apparatus 1 (step S16). The determination is performed
in a similar manner to that in step S4 by determining whether or
not a deviation of the portable telephone 2 from the power
transmission apparatus 1 exceeds a predetermined value. If the
positional deviation exceeds the predetermined value, no power
transmission is performed from the power transmission apparatus 1.
Then, in a similar manner to that in step 5, the LED1 is turned on
in orange and the LED2 is turned off as a warning indication (step
S17). In this situation, a warning sound may be emitted
instead.
On the other hand, if the positional deviation of the portable
telephone 2 from the power transmission apparatus 1 does not exceed
the predetermined value, then the process moves to a process in
which it is determined whether or not the portable telephone 2 has
been fully charged (step S18). The determination process is
performed in a way such that the full-charge determination circuit
35 determines whether or not the portable telephone 2 is in a state
of full charge, based on the "information on full charge" included
in the information signal demodulated in the demodulation circuit
36. If the information shows a state of full charge, the power
change-over circuit 32 turns off all of the transistors TR11, TR12,
and TR13 to cease power output (step S19), and the LED1 is turned
on in red and the LED2 is turned on in green (step S20) so as to
indicate that the power transmission ceases, because the power
reception equipment is in a full charge sate. Thereafter, the
carrier wave is outputted to thereby continue confirmation of a
state of the power reception equipment (step S13). On the other
hand, if the information does not show a state of full charge, the
confirmation of a state of the power reception equipment continues
while performing power transmission (step S13). In this way as
described above, a non-contact power supply is performed from the
power transmission 1 to the portable telephone 2.
While description has been given of the case where operation states
and others of the power transmission apparatus 1 (presence or
absence of power transmission, transmission power level, and fully
charged or not) are represented by display colors and states of
lighting (turning off, turning on, and turning on and off) of the
LEDs, description will be given of display behaviors of the LED1
and LED2 below with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a table
showing display states of the LEDs corresponding to operating
states of the power transmission apparatus 1. First, when the AC
plug 1a is not connected to the commercial power supply (AC 100 V),
the LED1 is turned off and the LED2 is turned off. When the AC plug
1a is connected to AC 100 V, the LED1 is turned on in red and the
LED2 is turned off. Depending on the level of the power being
transmitted among the large, medium, and small levels, based on the
information of the power reception equipment, the LED1 is turned on
in purple and the LED2 is turned on and off in red for the large
level; the LED1 is turned on in green and the LED2 is turned on and
off in red for the medium level; and the LED1 is turned on in
yellow and the LED2 is turned on and off in red for the small
level. In a case where the power reception equipment is being
charged or in a state of full charge, the LED1 is turned on and off
in red during charging; and the LED2 is turned on in green in the
state of full charge. In a case where the power reception equipment
has been placed on the power transmission apparatus 1 with a
positional deviation of the predetermined value or more, the LED1
can be turned on in orange together with a warning sound emission.
With such display states adopted, a user can visually judge the
operating state of the power transmission apparatus. Note that
locations of the LEDs and combinations of colors, turning on,
turning on and off, turning off, and the like of the LEDs are
exemplified above, on which no specific limitation is placed.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a second example embodiment. In FIG. 5, the
same constituents as in FIG. 3 are attached with the same symbols
and descriptions thereof will not be given herein. The power supply
system shown in FIG. 5 is different from the power supply system
shown in FIG. 3 in that a primary side coils 11x, 11y, and 11z are
provided instead of the primary side coil 11 of the power
transmission apparatus 1. The three primary side coils are attached
with the symbols 11x, 11y, and 11z in the descending order of the
number of turns thereof, and one end thereof are all grounded.
Other end of the primary side coil 11x is connected to the emitter
of the transistor TR11; other end of the primary side coil 11y is
connected to the emitter of the transistor TR12; and other end of
the primary side coil 11z is connected to the emitter of the
transistor TR13. The coils are provided with a tap d (on the
primary side coil 11x), a tap e (on the primary side coil 11y), and
a tap f (on the primary side coil 11z) respectively, at points
where the number of turns are the same from the grounded ends of
the coils. The taps d, e, and f are all connected to the
demodulation circuit 36 and the carrier wave oscillation circuit
37. Note that, although the primary side coils 11x, 11y, and 11z
are illustrated apart from one another in FIG. 5, the primary side
coils are actually disposed very close to one another. Therefore,
the secondary side coil 12 can be disposed in close proximity to
any of the three primary side coils.
In this embodiment, the power transmission apparatus 1 has the
configuration in which three coils for power transmission and
respective transistors are provided. It is also possible to
transmit power in the same manner as in the case of the power
transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3 where one primary side
coil 11 is used. In this embodiment, to be specific, one of the
transistors is selected by the power change-over circuit 32
according to the level of power to be transmitted determined from
the signal containing the "information on consumed power" received
from the portable telephone 2. Accordingly, a coil for transmitting
power can be selected, and power required for the power reception
equipment can be transmitted. For example, in a case where the
power of the power reception equipment is small, a coil with a
large number of turns is used. In a case where the power of the
power reception equipment is large, a coil with a small number of
turns is used.
While in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, transmission of
the information signal between the power transmission apparatus 1
and the portable telephone 2 is performed using the same coil as in
the power supply, the power supply coil and the signal transmission
coil may be separated from each other as shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a third example embodiment. In FIG. 6, the
same constituents as in FIG. 3 are attached with the same symbols
and descriptions thereof will not be given herein. The power supply
system shown in FIG. 6 is different from the power supply system
shown in FIG. 3 in that primary side coils 11a and 11b are provided
instead of the primary side coil 11 of the power transmission
apparatus 1, and secondary side coils 12a and 12b are provided
instead of the secondary side coil 12 of the portable telephone
2.
In the power transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3, the
demodulation circuit 36 and the carrier wave oscillation circuit 37
are connected to the tap c of the primary side coil 11. However, in
the power transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 6, the
demodulation circuit 36 and the carrier wave oscillation circuit 37
are connected to one end of the primary side coil 11b, and the
other end of the primary side coil 11b is grounded. Therefore, the
primary side coil 11a serves as a coil dedicated to the power
transmission, and the primary side coil 11b serves as a coil
dedicated to the signal transmission. Furthermore, the secondary
side coils 12a and 12b are connected in parallel instead of a
single secondary side coil 12 of the portable telephone 2 shown in
FIG. 3. The secondary side coil 12a serves as a coil dedicated to
the power transmission, and the secondary side coil 12b serves as a
coil dedicated to the signal transmission. With such a
configuration in which the power transmission coil and the signal
transmission coil are separated from each other, it is also
possible to transmit power required for the power reception
equipment in a similar manner to the case where the power and the
signal are transmitted through one primary side coil 11 and one
secondary side coil 12 as in the power transmission apparatus 1
shown in FIG. 3. In a case where the signal transmission coil and
the power transmission coil are electrically separated from each
other as are in the case of the primary side coils 11a and 11b, it
is possible to reduce a withstand voltage required of electronic
components or the like used in control circuits such as the
demodulation circuit 36 to which the signal is transmitted.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a fourth example embodiment. In FIG. 7, the
same constituents as in FIG. 3 are attached with the same symbols
and descriptions thereof will not be given herein. The power supply
system shown in FIG. 7 is different from the power supply system
shown in FIG. 3 in that the carrier wave oscillation circuit 37 in
the primary side circuit 10 of the power transmission apparatus 1
is removed, and a current voltage detection circuit 38 detecting a
change in current flowing in and/or voltage appearing across the
primary side coil 11 is provided instead of the demodulation
circuit 36. The clock extraction circuit 43, the power-on reset
circuit 44, and the demodulation circuit 45 of the secondary side
circuit 13 of the portable telephone 2 are removed.
In performing power supply from the power transmission apparatus 1
to the portable telephone 2 as described above, it is necessary to
recognize the three types of information. The first one is to
recognize whether or not power reception equipment is placed on the
power transmission apparatus 1. The second one is to recognize
power required for the power reception equipment. The third one is
to recognize whether or not the power reception equipment has been
fully charged. As for the first one, since the current flowing in
and/or the voltage appearing across the primary side coil 11
changes depending on whether or not the equipment placed on the
power transmission apparatus 1 can receive power, the presence or
the absence of the equipment can be recognized by a change in the
current and/or the voltage.
For example, in a case where the power transmission apparatus 1
turns on one of the transistors TR1, TR2, and TR3, and performs
power transmission, the current flowing in and/or the voltage
appearing across the primary side coil 11 detected by the current
voltage detection circuit 38 changes when an item that can not
receive power such as a piece of metal is placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1. However, such a change in current and/or
voltage is different from the change in current and/or voltage that
occurs when different pieces of equipment that can receive power
are placed on the power transmission apparatus 1. A pattern of the
change is measured in advance, that pattern is compared with the
actually measured pattern, and thereby the power transmission
enable/disable determination circuit 33 determines whether or not
an item placed is a piece of metal or equipment that can receive
power. In a case where the power transmission enable/disable
determination circuit 33 determines that no item that can receive
power is placed, the power change over circuit 22 is controlled so
that the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 are all turned off to
thereby enable power transmission to be ceased. Such a
configuration serves to enhance safety, because a piece of metal or
the like does not produce heat when placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1.
On the other hand, in a case where equipment that can receive
power, for example the portable telephone 2, is placed, a change is
observed in the current flowing in and/or the voltage appearing
across the primary side coil 11 detected by the current voltage
detection circuit 38, because the portable telephone 2 has a proper
impedance. A pattern of the change is measured in advance, and that
pattern is compared with the actually detected pattern, and thereby
the power transmission enable/disable determination circuit 33
determines whether or not an item placed is power reception
equipment. If the power transmission enable/disable circuit 33
determines that equipment that can receive power is placed, the
power change-over circuit 32 is changed over, wherein one of the
transistors TR1, TR2, and TR3 is selectively turned on to thereby
enable power transmission to be performed.
Next, as for the second recognition, since the number of turns of
the coil used in the power reception equipment is different
depending on a difference in power of the power reception
equipment, the current flowing in and/or the voltage appearing
across the primary side coil 11 changes depending on a difference
in power of the placed power reception equipment. Hence, it is
possible to recognize the information regarding power required by
the power reception equipment placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1. For example, in a case where power transmission gets
started by turning on one of the transistors TR1, TR2, and TR3, at
that time, one of a large change, a medium change, and a small
change occurs in the current flowing in and/or the voltage
appearing across the primary side coil 11 detected by the current
voltage detection circuit 38. Then, the power amount determination
circuit 34 determines whether power of the portable telephone 2 is
large power, medium power, or small power. Accordingly, the power
change over circuit 32 is controlled to select one of large,
medium, and small levels. In such a way, power of the portable
telephone 2 is recognized to thereby enable a power level to be
transmitted to be adjusted.
Next, as for the third recognition, with progress in charging of
the power reception equipment, current flowing in the power
reception equipment decreases. In this situation, since current
flowing in the primary side coil 11 also decreases, a change in
current flowing in the primary side coil 11 is detected to thereby
enable whether or not the power reception equipment reaches a fully
charged condition (charging has been completed or not) to be
recognized. For example, while one of the transistors TR1, TR2, and
TR3 is turned on, and thereby power transmission is performed, the
full-charge determination circuit 35 determines whether or not the
portable telephone 2 has been fully charged based on the change in
the current flowing in the primary side coil 11 detected by the
current voltage detection circuit 38. If a fully charged condition
is determined, the power change-over circuit 32 is controlled so
that the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 are all turned off to
enable power transmission to be ceased.
In this way, power depending on the power requirement of the power
reception equipment can be transmitted only when the power
reception equipment that can receive power is placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1. When the placed power reception equipment
has been fully charged, power transmission can be ceased. With this
arrangement, it is not necessary to transmit an information signal
between the power transmission apparatus 1 and the portable
telephone 2, thereby enabling a power supply system to be
simplified.
FIG. 8 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a fifth example embodiment. In FIG. 8, the same
constituents as in FIG. 1A are attached with the same symbols and
descriptions thereof will not be given herein. In FIG. 8, there are
shown a state where the power transmission apparatus 1 and the
portable telephone 2 are separated away from each other and a state
where the portable telephone 2 is placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1. A protrusion 151 is, as shown in FIG. 8, formed on the
power transmission apparatus 1, while a depression 152 is formed on
the portable telephone 2. The protrusion 151 and the depression 152
are engaged with each other to thereby enable positioning of the
power transmission apparatus 1 and the portable telephone 2 to be
established. Moreover, though not shown, a depression 152 in
absolutely the identical shape as found on the portable telephone 2
can be formed on different types of power reception equipment such
as notebook PCs, digital cameras, PDAs, or the like, thereby
enabling positioning of each type of equipment with the power
transmission apparatus 1 to be established. With this structure, a
single power transmission apparatus 1 can be commonly used for many
types of power reception equipment.
FIG. 9 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a sixth example embodiment. In FIG. 9, the same
constituents as in FIG. 8 are attached with the same symbols and
descriptions thereof will not be given herein. In FIG. 9, there are
shown a state where the power transmission apparatus 1 and the
portable telephone 2 are separated away from each other and a state
where the portable telephone 2 is placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1. A mark 153 indicating a chargeable region and an
auxiliary mark (cross-shaped mark) 154 for positioning are provided
on the power transmission apparatus 1, and a mark 155 for
positioning is provided on the portable telephone 2. The portable
telephone 2 is placed on the power transmission apparatus 1 so that
the mark 155 of the portable telephone 2 is included in the
chargeable region thereof. In other words, the mark 155 and the
mark 153 are superimposed on each other to thereby enable the
portable telephone 2 to be charged. Moreover, though not shown, the
mark 155 in absolutely the identical shape as found on the portable
telephone 2 can be formed on different power reception equipment
such as notebook PCs, digital cameras PDAs, or the like, thereby
enabling positioning of each type of equipment with the power
transmission apparatus 1 to be established. With this structure, a
single power transmission apparatus 1 can be commonly used for many
types of power reception equipment. In such a positioning with
marks, it is not necessary to form the protrusion and the
depression as provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, thereby
enabling the power transmission apparatus 1 and the portable
telephone 2 to assume a low profile shape.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are block diagrams showing internal constructions
of a power supply system of a seventh example embodiment. In FIG.
10A, there is shown a state where a conventional portable telephone
101 is placed on the power transmission apparatus 1, and in FIG.
10B, there is shown a state where the portable telephone 2 is
placed on the power transmission apparatus 1. In FIGS. 10A and 10B,
the same constituents as in FIG. 2A are attached with the same
symbols and descriptions thereof will not be given herein.
The power transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B is
different from the power transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1
in that power transmission electrodes 117a and 117b for supplying
power in a contact manner, an inter-electrode current detection
circuit 118 for monitoring current flowing between the power
transmission electrodes 117a and 117b, and a power route
change-over circuit 119 are added so as to be used for the
conventional portable telephone 101 as well so that charging can be
also performed with power supplied through power receiving
electrodes 101a and 101b that are kept in contact.
The inter-electrode current detection circuit 118 monitors current
flowing between the power transmission electrodes 117a and 117b,
and if the conventional portable telephone 101 of a contact charge
type, as shown in FIG. 10A, is placed on the power transmission
apparatus 1 and the power receiving electrodes 101a and 101b for
charging are brought into contact with the respective power
transmission electrodes 117a and 117b, current flows between the
power transmission electrodes 117a and 117b, and thereby the
presence of the portable telephone 101 is recognized. In a case
where the contact charge type portable telephone 101 is recognized,
power is supplied only to the side of the power transmission
electrodes 117a and 117b by the power route change-over circuit
119. On the other hand, in a case where a non-contact charge type
portable telephone 2 is, as shown in FIG. 10B, placed, power is
supplied only to the primary side coil 11 by the power route
change-over circuit 119 to thereby perform power supply according
to a method similar to that in the embodiments that have been
described so far. In such a way, a single power transmission
apparatus 1 can supply power to both the portable telephones of the
contact and non-contact types. Though not shown, a charger for
digital cameras, PDAs, or the like can be operated in a similar way
by both the contact type and the non-contact type.
FIGS. 13A to 13E are views showing outer appearances of power
supply systems of an eighth example embodiment. The power supply
systems shown in FIGS. 13A to 13E are characterized by that the
power transmission apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A,
2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and 10B is embedded in a top plate of a desk
(utensil), of which some examples are shown. In FIG. 13A, there is
shown an outer appearance of a study desk 51 placed in a study room
or the like and having a top plate 51a in which a power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. In FIG. 13B, there is shown a
partial enlarged view of a portion 51b, in which the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, of the top plate 51a. The
power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded inside of the top plate
51a so as not to protrude from the surface of the top plate
51a.
In FIG. 13C, there is shown an outer appearance of a conference
desk placed in a conference room or the like and having a top plate
52a in which power transmission apparatuses 1 are embedded. In FIG.
13C, a numerical symbol 52b indicates portions where the power
transmission apparatuses 1 are embedded. The power transmission
apparatuses 1 are embedded in the same manner as in FIG. 13B. In
FIG. 13D, there is shown an outer appearance of a dining table 53
placed in an eating house or the like and having a top plate 53a in
which a power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. In FIG. 13D, a
numerical symbol 53b indicates a portion where the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. The power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded in the same manner as in FIG. 13B. In FIG.
13E, there is shown an outer appearance of a table 54 provided in a
train and having a top plate 54a in which a power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded. In FIG. 13E, a numerical symbol 54b
indicates a portion where the power transmission apparatus 1 is
embedded. The power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in the
same manner as in FIG. 13B. Note that, although an AC plug and a
cord for supplying the commercial power supply (AC 100 V) to the
embedded power transmission apparatus or apparatuses 1 are not
shown, the commercial power supply is fed to the embedded power
transmission apparatus or apparatuses 1 through a power supply cord
or the like embedded in the interiors of the desk or the table and
the top plate thereof shown in FIGS. 13A to 13E.
In FIGS. 13A to 13E, a numerical symbol 2 indicates the portable
telephone shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9 and 10B. A
numerical symbol 3 indicates the notebook PC shown in FIG. 1B. The
power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in the top plate of each
of the various kinds of desks or tables. When the portable
telephone 2 or the notebook PC 3 is placed at the portion where the
power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, the amount of power
required for the portable telephone 2 or the notebook PC 3 thus
placed is detected as described above, and thereby, power to be
transmitted is adjusted and supplied. This means that, a single
power transmission apparatus 1 can supply power to any of various
kinds of power reception equipment placed on a desk in which said
one transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. By embedding the power
transmission apparatus in the top plate of a desk, not only is a
space which an AC adapter and a charger occupy unnecessary, but a
power supply cord for supplying a commercial power will not be an
obstacle either, leading to an advantage enabling effective use of
a space on a desk.
In a case where the power transmission apparatus 1 is, as shown in
FIG. 13E, embedded in a table in an automobile in traveling or, as
shown in FIGS. 13C and 13D, embedded in a table in a facility at a
destination (a shop or a conference room), no necessity arises for
an AC adapter and a charger dedicated to equipment to be carried
with a user, and the equipment can be charged anywhere the user
wishes, thereby enabling the equipment to be used without worrying
about the remaining battery power. Since the power transmission
apparatus 1 can charge various types of equipment, the power
transmission apparatus 1 can charge any equipment having a battery
such as PDAs, digital cameras, camcorders, or the like in a similar
manner without specifically limiting the use thereof to a portable
telephone and a notebook PC. Note that, in addition to the examples
shown in the figures, the power transmission apparatus or
apparatuses 1 can be embedded in tables of vehicles such as an
airplane and a ship, a learning desk, a desk installed at a place
where a wireless LAN communication is possible, and desks provided
in hotel rooms in a similar manner.
FIG. 14 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a ninth example embodiment. A power supply system shown
in FIG. 14 is characterized by that the power transmission
apparatuses 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and
10B are embedded in shelves (utensils) and an example thereof is
shown. In FIG. 14, a numerical symbol 61 indicates a rack. A
numerical symbol 61a indicates a plurality of shelves arranged in
the rack 61 and having the embedded power transmission apparatuses
1 (not shown). A numerical symbol 61b indicates portions 61a at the
shelves where the power transmission apparatuses 1 (not shown) are
embedded. The power transmission apparatuses 1 are embedded in a
similar manner to that shown in FIG. 13B. Note that, although an AC
plug and a cord for feeding a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) to
the power transmission apparatuses 1 embedded are not shown, the
commercial power supply is fed to the embedded power transmission
apparatuses 1 through a power supply cord or the like embedded in
the interior of the rack 61 and the shelves 61a shown in FIG.
14.
In FIG. 14, a numerical symbol 2 indicates the portable telephone
shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, and 10B, and a
numerical symbol 3 indicates the notebook PC 3 shown in FIG. 1B.
The power transmission apparatus 1 embedded in the shelf 61a, when
the portable telephone 2 or the notebook PC 3 is placed at a
portion 61b where the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded,
detects power necessary for the portable telephone 2 or the
notebook PC 3 placed in a manner described above, and adjusts and
supplies the power thereto. That is, a single power transmission
apparatus 1 can supply power to any of various types of power
reception equipment placed on the shelf 61a in which said power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. As described, when the power
transmission apparatuses 1 are embedded in shelves 61a, space to
accommodate AC adapters and chargers become unnecessary. It is also
possible to reduce the number of power supply cords because a
plurality of power transmission apparatuses 1 can share a common
single power supply cord which extends to the rack 61 from an AC
socket provided on a wall surface of a room or the like from which
a commercial power supply is provided. In a case where no power
transmission apparatus 1 is used, all of the space corresponding
thereto can be available for storage. Since the power transmission
apparatuses 1 are installed in a plurality of shelves 61a, the
equipment can be easily relocated. Charging can be performed on any
types of portable telephones or notebook PCs regardless of their
models or makes, and can also be performed on other types of
equipment such as digital cameras and portable game machines.
FIGS. 15A and 15B are views showing an outer appearance of a power
supply system of a tenth example embodiment. The power supply
system shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B is characterized by that the
power transmission apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3,
5 to 9, 10A, and 10B is embedded in a bottom plate (utensil)
forming a storage compartment. In FIGS. 15A and 15B, there is shown
an example. In FIGS. 15A and 15B, a numerical symbol 71 indicates a
locker. A numerical symbol 72 indicates a plurality of storage
compartments provided in the locker 71. FIG. 15A shows an entire
outer appearance of the locker 71, and FIG. 15B shows one of the
storage compartments 72 in an enlarged view. The storage
compartment 72 is of a construction in which, as shown in FIG. 15B,
a door 73 and a lock 74 are provided and, thereby, is lockable. The
power transmission apparatus 1 (not shown) is embedded in a bottom
plate 72a constituting the storage compartment 72. In FIG. 15B, a
numerical symbol 72b indicates a portion of the bottom plate 72a at
which the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. The power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in a similar manner to that in
FIG. 13B. Note that, although an AC plug and a cord for feeding a
commercial power supply (AC 100 V) to the embedded power
transmission apparatus 1 is not shown, the commercial power supply
is fed to the embedded power transmission apparatus 1 through a
power supply cord or the like embedded in the interior of the
locker 71 and the interior of the bottom plate 72a.
In FIG. 15B, a numerical symbol 2 is the portable telephone shown
in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, and 10B. The power
transmission apparatus 1 embedded in the bottom plate 72a, when the
portable telephone 2 is placed at the portion 72b where the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, as described above, detects
power necessary for the portable telephone 2 placed thereon to
thereby adjust and supply the power. That is, a single power
transmission apparatus 1 can supply power to any of various types
of power reception equipment placed on the bottom plates 72a in
which the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. Since the
storage compartment 72 can be locked, no necessity arises for a
user to wait in a public area even when the portable telephone 2
placed in the storage compartment 72 is charged there, which is
convenient. Furthermore, there is also another advantage of less
chance of the power transmission apparatus 1 being stolen or broken
even in a public area. Charging can be performed on any type of
portable telephone 2 regardless of model and make, and can also be
performed on other types of equipment such as notebook PCs, digital
cameras, and portable game machines.
FIG. 16 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of an eleventh example embodiment. The power supply system
shown in FIG. 16 is characterized by that the power transmission
apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and
10B is embedded in a wall of a room or the like. In FIG. 16, there
is shown an example. In FIG. 16, an alphanumeric symbol 81a
indicates a wall, and an alphanumeric symbol 81b indicates a
portion on the wall where a power transmission apparatus 1 (not
shown) is embedded. The power transmission apparatus 1 (not shown)
is embedded in a similar manner to that shown in FIG. 13B. A
structure (not shown) for hooking the equipment is provided at a
portion 81b where the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded,
and the portable telephone 2 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5
to 9, and 10B is hooked there. Note that, although an AC plug and a
cord for feeding a commercial power supply (AC 100V) to the
embedded power transmission apparatus 1 are not shown, the
commercial power supply is fed to the embedded power transmission
apparatus 1 through a power supply cord or the like embedded inside
the wall 81a.
Charging can be started when the portable telephone 2 is, as shown
in FIG. 16, hooked at the portion 81b where the power supply
apparatus 1 is embedded. At that time, the power transmission
apparatus 1 embedded in the wall 81a, as described above, detects
power necessary for the portable telephone 2 hooked at the portion
81b where the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded to adjust
and supply the power. That is, a single power transmission
apparatus 1 can supply power to any of various types of power
reception equipment hooked at the wall where the power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded. Since the power transmission apparatus 1
is embedded in the wall, neither a cord to be routed on the surface
thereof nor space on the floor for placing the portable telephone 2
is required. Note that, in the embodiment, although the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in the wall 81a, the power
transmission apparatus 1 can be embedded in a side surface of
furniture and utensils such as a refrigerator, a cabinet, and a
shelf, in which cases, a similar effect can be obtained. Charging
can be performed on any types of portable telephone 2 regardless of
their models and makes, and can also be performed on other types of
equipment such as notebook PCs, digital cameras, and portable game
machines.
FIG. 17 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a twelfth example embodiment. The power supply system
shown in FIG. 17 is characterized by that the power transmission
apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and
10B is embedded in a holder (utensil). In FIG. 17, there is shown
an example. In FIG. 17, a numerical symbol 91 indicates a holder
for holding the portable telephone 2 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A,
2B, 3, 5 to 9, and 10B, and the holder is fixed to the rear side of
a seat of train. The power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in
the holder 91 in a similar manner to that shown in FIG. 13B. Note
that, although an AC plug and a cord for feeding a commercial power
supply (AC 100 V) to the embedded power supply apparatus 1 are not
shown, the commercial power supply is fed to the embedded power
transmission apparatus 1 through a power supply cord or the like
embedded inside the holder 91.
When a portable telephone 2 is, as shown in FIG. 17, held by the
holder 91, charging starts. The power transmission apparatus 1
embedded in the holder 91, as described above, detects power
necessary for the portable telephone 2 so as to adjust and supply
the power. That is, a single power transmission apparatus 1 can
supply power to any of various types of power reception equipment
held by the holder 91 in which the power transmission apparatus 1
is embedded. Since the power transmission apparatus 1 is of a
holder type, a positional deviation is hard to occur during
traveling so as to enable stable charging. By using and charging
the portable telephone 2 alternately, there arises an advantage
that the portable telephone 2 can be used for longer time without
paying attention to the remaining battery power even in a train in
running. Since the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, a
chance of the power transmission apparatus 1 being taken away even
from a public site without permission becomes smaller. Charging can
be performed on any types of portable telephone 2 regardless of
their models and makes, and can also be performed on other types of
equipment such as notebook PCs, digital cameras, and portable game
machines.
FIG. 18 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a thirteenth example embodiment. The power supply system
shown in FIG. 18 is characterized by that the power transmission
apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and
10B is embedded in a dashboard (utensil) of an automobile. In FIG.
18, there is shown an example. Note that, the embedded power
transmission apparatus 1 not only operates by obtaining power
supply through a power supply cord provided in the interior of the
dashboard or the like from a battery of the automobile, but power
from the battery is also supplied to power reception equipment. In
FIG. 18, an alphanumeric symbol 92a indicates a dashboard, and an
alphanumeric symbol 92b indicates a portion of the dashboard 92a
where the power transmission apparatus 1 (not shown) is embedded.
The power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in a similar manner
to that shown in FIG. 13B.
In FIG. 18, a numerical symbol 2 indicates the portable telephone
shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, and 10B. The power
transmission apparatus 1 embedded in the dashboard 92a, when the
portable telephone 2 is placed on the portion 92b where the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, as described above, detects
power necessary for the portable telephone 2 placed thereon to
adjust and supply the power. That is, a single power transmission
apparatus 1 can supply power to any of various types of power
reception equipment placed on the dashboard 92a where the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. Since the power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded in the dashboard 92a, there is nothing to
block a view field of a driver in the absence of a charging adapter
or a cord, which would otherwise block the view, thereby
contributing to safety in driving. By using and charging the
portable telephone 2 alternately, there arises an advantage that
the portable telephone 2 can be used longer time without paying
attention to the remaining battery power even in an automobile
during running. Charging can be performed on any types of portable
telephone 2 regardless of their models and makes, and can also be
performed on other types of equipment such as notebook PCs, digital
cameras, and portable game machines. Even in a case where the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in a console box 93 (utensil)
of an automobile shown in FIG. 18, a similar effect can be
attained.
FIG. 19 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a fourteenth example embodiment. The power supply system
shown in FIG. 19 is characterized by that the power transmission
apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and
10B is embedded in a top mat (utensil). In FIG. 19, there is shown
an example. In FIG. 19, a numerical symbol 94 indicates a desk and
a numerical symbol 95a indicates a top mat, made of resin or glass
in which a power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, placed on
the desk 94. A numerical symbol 95b indicates a portion of the top
mat 95a where the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded. The
power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in a similar manner to
that shown in FIG. 13B. Note that, although an AC plug and a cord
for feeding a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) to the embedded
power transmission apparatus 1 are not shown, the commercial power
supply is fed to the embedded power transmission apparatus 1
through a power supply cord or the like embedded in the top mat
95a.
In FIG. 19, a numerical symbol 2 indicates the portable telephone
shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, and 10B. The power
transmission apparatus 1 embedded in the top mat 95a, when the
portable telephone 2 is placed at the portion 95b where the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, as described above, detects
power necessary for the portable telephone placed to adjust and
supply the power. That is, a single power transmission apparatus 1
can supply power to any of various types of power reception
equipment placed on the top mat 95a in which the power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded. Since the power transmission apparatus 1
is embedded in the top mat 95a, the entire top mat 95a can be used
when no charging is performed. Note that, in the embodiment,
although the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in the top
mat 95a placed on the desk 94, the power transmission apparatus 1
can be embedded in a top mat placed on a dining table (table top
mat), a closet, a piano, or the like, or other pieces of furniture
or utensils in a similar manner, in which cases a similar effect
can be attained. Charging can be performed on any types of portable
telephone regardless of their models and makes, and can be also
performed on other types of equipment such as notebook PCs, digital
cameras, and portable game machines.
FIG. 20 is a view showing an outer appearance of a power supply
system of a fifteenth example embodiment. The power supply system
shown in FIG. 20 is characterized that the power transmission
apparatus 1 shown in one of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, 10A, and
10B is embedded in a floor. In FIG. 20, there is shown an example.
In FIG. 20, a numerical symbol 96 indicates a floor and a numerical
symbol 97 indicates a portion of the floor 96 where the power
transmission apparatus 1 (not shown) is embedded. A plurality of
power transmission apparatuses 1 are embedded in a similar manner
to that shown in FIG. 13B. Note that, although an AC plug and a
cord for feeding a commercial power supply (AC 100 V) to the
embedded power transmission apparatuses 1 are not shown, the
commercial power supply is fed to the power transmission
apparatuses 1 through a power supply cord or the like embedded in
the floor 96.
A numerical symbol 98 indicates a cleaning robot that cleans the
floor. The cleaning robot 98 is power reception equipment having a
power adjusting section corresponding to the power transmission
apparatus 1 as in the case of the portable telephone 2 shown in one
of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 3, 5 to 9, and 10B. The power transmission
apparatus 1, when the cleaning robot 98 moves onto the portion 97
where the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, as described
above, detects power necessary for the cleaning robot 98 so as to
adjust and supply the power. Since, in this way, the cleaning robot
98 can be charged while it is in motion, the cleaning robot 98 can
continue to run for a long time. Since the power transmission
apparatuses 1 are embedded in the floor 96, no surface irregularity
occurs on the floor 96 so that the cleaning robot 98 can move
smoothly. Charging can be performed on any types of cleaning robot
98 regardless of their models and makes, and can be also performed
on other types of equipment such as notebook PCs, digital cameras,
and portable game machines. Although, in the embodiment, the power
transmission apparatuses 1 are embedded in the floor 96, the power
transmission apparatuses 1 can be embedded in floor covering
fabrics, such as a rug, a carpet, or a tatami mat, in which cases a
similar effect can be attained.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of a
power supply system of a sixteenth example embodiment. For
convenience's sake in the description, the same constituents as in
the power supply system shown in FIG. 3 are attached with the same
symbols. In FIG. 21, a numerical symbol 1 indicates a power
transmission apparatus. The power transmission apparatuses 1 are
embedded in the top plates (not shown) of a plurality of tables
provided in a shop such as an eating house. A numerical symbol 2
indicates a portable telephone which is power reception equipment
and placed on the top plate of the table in which the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded.
The power transmission apparatus 1 is fed with a commercial power
supply (AC 100 V) from a socket or the like provided on a wall
surface of the shop, and the AC 100 V thus supplied is fed to a
primary side circuit 10. The AC 100 V is rectified and smoothed by
a power supply circuit 17 in the primary side circuit 10 and
converted to a DC voltage. The DC voltage is subjected to switching
by a power supply control circuit (power adjusting section) 18 and
converted into a pulse voltage. The pulse voltage is supplied to
the primary side coil 11, and thereby, power is supplied to the
portable telephone 2 by the non-contact transmission method through
a secondary side circuit 13 provided the portable telephone 2.
Charging is performed on the portable telephone 2 with the help of
a secondary side circuit 13 and a charge control circuit 14.
Furthermore, by the non-contact transmission method, not only power
but also various information signals are transmitted or received
between the power transmission apparatus 1 and the portable
telephone 2. The power transmission apparatus 1 recognizes power of
the portable telephone 2 based on the information signal
transmitted from the portable telephone 2 placed on the power
transmission apparatus 1 and has a function of supplying power
necessary for the portable telephone 2. Therefore, a single power
transmission apparatus 1 can charge, without specifically limiting
to the portable telephone 2, any types of other electronic
equipment having different power requirements for charging.
The power transmission apparatus 1 is, as shown in FIG. 21,
connected to a server (external apparatus) 5 of a shop through a
network 6 provided therein, and guest order information or the like
is transmitted to the server 5 from POS terminals 4 carried by shop
persons. Note that the network 6 may be wireless. When a payment
processing request button 20 of the power transmission apparatus 1
is pushed down, a payment information signal used in a process of
paying for eating and drinking charges incurred by a guest in the
shop at a table in which a power transmission apparatus 1 having
the payment processing request button which is pushed by the guest
is embedded, prices of goods purchased in a store by a guest,
and/or for charges of service received from a shop by a guest is
transmitted or received between the server 5 and the portable
telephone 2 through the power transmission apparatus 1 by means of
a signal transmission control circuit 19 of the power transmission
apparatus 1. The payment can be performed by a mobile banking
function of the portable telephone 2 based on the payment
information signal transmitted or received between the server 5 and
the portable telephone 2.
FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of the
power transmission apparatus and the power reception equipment
shown in FIG. 21. For convenience's sake in the description, the
same constituents as in the power supply system shown in FIG. 3 are
attached with the same symbols. In FIG. 22, a commercial power
supply (AC 100 V) is externally fed to the power transmission
apparatus 1 through a cord 1b from an AC plug 1a. The supplied AC
100 V is full-wave rectified in a rectification circuit 21 in a
primary side circuit 10, thereafter, smoothed by a smoothing
circuit constituted of a coil L1 and a capacitor C1, and converted
to a DC voltage. The DC voltage is subjected to switching by a
switching circuit 22 to obtain a pulse voltage, and the pulse
voltage is supplied to a primary side coil 11 through transistors
TR11, TR12, and TR13. Note that the rectification circuit 21, the
coil L1, the capacitor C1, and the switching circuit 22 correspond
to the power supply circuit 17 shown in FIG. 21.
All of the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 are NPN-type
transistors. Collectors of all of the transistors are connected to
an output terminal of the switching circuit 22. An emitter of the
transistor TR11 is connected to one end of the primary side coil
11, and other end of the primary side coil is grounded. The primary
side coil 11 has taps a, b, and c thereon in the descending order
of a distance from the grounded coil end, i.e., the number of
turns. An emitter of the transistor TR12 is connected to the tap a.
An emitter of the transistor TR13 is connected to tap b. The tap c
is connected to a first demodulation circuit 36a, a carrier wave
oscillation circuit 37, and a first modulation circuit 38a in a
power transmission control IC 24 which adjusts the level of power
to be transmitted from the power transmission apparatus 1, and
transmits and receives the information signal. Note that the first
demodulation circuit 36a, the carrier wave oscillation circuit 37,
and the first modulation circuit 38b correspond to the signal
transmission control circuit 19 shown in FIG. 1.
Bases of the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 are connected to a
power change-over circuit 32 in the power transmission control IC
24. The power transmission control IC 24 is an IC constituted of an
LED display circuit 31, the power change-over circuit 32, a power
transmission enable/disable determination circuit 33, a power
amount determination circuit 34, a full-charge determination
circuit 35, the first demodulation circuit 36a, the carrier wave
oscillation circuit 37, and the first modulation circuit 38a, and
assumes the shape of an IC chip so that a compact and lower-profile
shape is achieved. Description will be given of functions and
operations of each of the circuits later. Note that the LED display
circuit 31, the power change-over circuit 32, the power
transmission enable/disable determination circuit 33, the power
amount determination circuit 34, the full-charge determination
circuit 35, and the transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 correspond to
the power supply control circuit 18 shown in FIG. 21. The
transistors TR11, TR12, and TR13 may be other switching elements
such as MOSFETs, selector switches, or the like.
The pulse voltage obtained by switching in the switching circuit 22
is supplied to a transformer 23 as well, converted to a
predetermined voltage by the transformer 23, thereafter rectified
by a rectification circuit 25, smoothed by a smoothing circuit
consisted of a coil L2 and a capacitor C2, and converted to a DC
voltage. The DC voltage is supplied to control circuits in the
primary side circuit 10 as a control power supply Vcc in the
primary side circuit 10.
The collectors of NPN-type transistors TR1, TR2, and TR3 are
connected to the power supply Vcc; the emitter of the transistor
TR1 is connected to an anode of an LED1 through a current limiting
resistor R1; and a cathode of the LED1 is grounded. On the other
hand, the emitter of the transistor TR2 is connected to an anode of
an LED2 through a current limiting resistor 2, and a cathode of the
LED2 is grounded. The bases of the transistors TR1 and TR2 are
connected to the LED display circuit 31 in the power transmission
circuit IC 24.
By this configuration, when the LED display circuit 31 turns on the
transistor TR1, the LED1 emits light; and when the LED display
circuit 31 turns on the transistor TR2, the LED2 emits light. The
LED1 has a function of emitting light in red, yellow, green,
purple, or orange according to a signal from the LED display
circuit 31, and the LED2 has a function of emitting light in red or
green in a similar manner by the action of an unillustrated light
control circuit. Note that the transistors TR1 and TR2 may be other
switching elements such as MOSFETs.
Next, description will be given of the portable telephone 2 side. A
smoothing capacitor C4 and a rectification circuit 41 are connected
to both ends of a secondary side coil 12. An induced voltage across
the secondary side coil 12 is rectified by the rectification
circuit 41, thereafter smoothed by a smoothing circuit constituted
of a coil 3 and a capacitor 3, and converted into a DC voltage. The
DC voltage is supplied to a power-on reset circuit 44, a voltage
clamp circuit 46, and a regulator circuit 47 in a power receiving
control IC 42 that performs power receiving control in a secondary
side circuit 13.
The power-on reset circuit 44 detects a DC voltage obtained by
converting a carrier wave transmitted from a primary side circuit
10 described later, thereby determines that a request for an
information signal has been made from the power transmission
apparatus 1, resets the power receiving control IC 42, and starts a
transmission of the information signal. The voltage clamp circuit
46 clamps the DC voltage obtained by the conversion at a
predetermined voltage and thereby prevents the circuits from being
subjected to voltage breakdown. The regulator 47 converts the DC
voltage obtained by the conversion to a predetermined voltage used
for charging, and supplies the predetermined voltage to a charge
control circuit 14. The power receiving control IC 42 further
including a clock extraction circuit 43, a second demodulation
circuit 45a, and a second demodulation circuit 48a, all of which
are connected to the secondary side coil 12, performs signal
processing for the information signal transmitted or received
through the primary side coil 11 and the secondary side coil 12.
Note that the power receiving control IC 42 assumes the shape of an
IC chip so that a compact and lower-profile shape is achieved.
Since power supply operations by means of the non-contact
transmission from the power transmission apparatus 1 to the
portable telephone 2, both of which are configured as described,
are similar to those from the power transmission apparatus 1 to the
portable telephone 2 shown in FIG. 3 that has been described with
reference to FIG. 4, description thereof is omitted. In the power
supply operations from the power transmission apparatus 1 to the
portable telephone 2 shown in FIG. 22, the operations performed by
the demodulation circuit 36 and the modulation circuit 45 shown in
FIG. 3 are performed by the first demodulation circuit 36a and the
second modulation circuit 45a shown in FIG. 22.
Transmitted or received between the power transmission apparatus 1
and the portable telephone 2 having such a configuration are an
information signal on power ("code indicating power reception
equipment", "information regarding consumed power" and "information
regarding full charge") related to power of the portable telephone
2 for the power supply operations and, in addition, a payment
information signal related to payment and transmitted between the
power transmission apparatus 1 and the server 5. Description will
be given of transmission/receiving operations for the payment
information signal in the power supply system shown in FIG. 22
below.
When the payment information signal is, at first, transmitted to
the first modulation circuit 38a from the server 5 through a
network 6 provided in a shop, the first modulation circuit 38a
modulates a carrier wave fed from the carrier wave oscillation
circuit 37 with the payment information signal and transmits the
modulated wave through the primary side coil 11. The modulated wave
having been modulated with the payment information signal and fed
from the first modulation circuit 38a is transmitted to the
secondary side coil 12 by means of the non-contact transmission and
demodulated in the second demodulation circuit 48a.
The payment information signal required for processing payment is
also transmitted back from the portable telephone 2 in response to
the payment information signal demodulated in the second
demodulation circuit 48a, or in response to an operation on the
portable telephone 2 or the like. The payment information signal to
be transmitted from the portable telephone 2 is modulated in the
second modulation circuit 45a and transmitted through the secondary
side coil 12 in a similar manner to that in transmission of the
information signal or power described above. The modulated wave
modulated with the payment information signal and fed from the
second modulation circuit 45a is transmitted to the primary side
coil 11 by means of the non-contact transmission and demodulated in
the first demodulation circuit 36a. Thereafter, the demodulated
signal is transmitted to the server 5 through the network 6
established in the shop.
In this way, the payment information signal can be transmitted or
received between the server 5 and the portable telephone 2 through
the power transmission apparatus 1. Therefore, the payment
information signal required for processing payment for charges of
eating and drinking incurred in the shop, charges of goods
purchased in the store, and/or charges of service received from a
shop, is transmitted or received between the server 5 and the
portable telephone 2, thereby enabling payment using a mobile
banking function of the portable telephone 2 to be performed. Next,
description will be given of an example of the payment performed
using such a function.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the payment procedure using the
power supply system shown in FIG. 21. The flowchart shown in FIG.
23 shows a payment procedure in an eating house such as a coffee
shop, a restaurant, a fast food shop, or the like. At first, a shop
person transmits the contents of an oral order placed by a guest to
the server 5 of a shop from a POS terminal 4 (step S51). The
contents of the order of the guest transmitted from the POS
terminal 4 reach the server 5 of the shop (step S52). Then, the
server 5 transmits the order information (payment information
signal) based on the contents of the reached order of the guest to
the power transmission apparatus 1 embedded in the corresponding
table through the network 6 established in the shop (step S53).
Thus, the order information reaches the power transmission
apparatus 1 (step S54). The power transmission apparatus 1
transmits the order information to the portable telephone 2 through
transmission/receiving operations for the payment information
signal, and the order information reaches the portable telephone 2
(step S55). Then, payment is performed through the mobile banking
function using the portable telephone 2 (step S56).
Next, description will be given of the mobile banking procedure
using the portable telephone 2 with the reference to FIG. 24. FIG.
24 is a flowchart showing a procedure of mobile banking using the
power supply system shown in FIG. 21. The mobile banking using the
portable telephone 2 enables payment in a way such that when a
payment processing request button 20 provided on the power
transmission apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 21 is pushed down, the
following message is displayed on a screen of the portable
telephone 2. Inputting is done following the message to thereby
enable the payment to be completed. First, the payment processing
request button 20 is pushed down (step S61), then a message "Is
payment performed [Y/N]?" is displayed in order to request
confirmation on whether or not payment will be performed (step
S62). In this situation, if [N] meaning "No" is selected, the
mobile banking using the portable telephone 2 is terminated, and
the payment will be transacted in cash or the like at a
cashier.
On the other hand, if [Y] meaning "Yes" is selected, a message,
"The price for drinking and eating today is 650. Do you select an
electronic payment [Y/N]?" is displayed (step S63). In this
situation, if [N] meaning "No" is selected, the mobile banking
using the portable telephone 2 is terminated and payment will be
transacted in cash or the like at a cashier. On the other hand, if
[Y] meaning "Yes" is selected, payment in the mobile banking is
performed and a message, "Payment has been completed" is displayed
(step S64). In addition, in order to prove the completion of the
payment with mobile banking, a message, "Please show this screen
image to a shop person when leaving this shop. [Paid on DD day of
MM month]" is displayed (step S65). The guest can leave the shop by
simply showing the message to a shop person. That is, since the
guest can perform payment processing at his or her own table, there
will be no possibility of many guests paying at a time at a busy
casher and being kept waiting. Moreover, since no necessity arises
for a shop person to standby at the cashier, both the guests and
the shop are benefited.
While, in the embodiment, description is given of the payment at a
shop such as an eating house, the power supply system shown in FIG.
21 can also be used in payment for a room charge of accommodations
such as a hotel or an inn. For example, the power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded in utensils, such as a top plate of a table
in a room of the accommodation, a top or a side of a refrigerator,
or the like, and when the portable telephone 2 is placed on a
predetermined portion of the utensils in which the power
transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, charging of the portable
telephone 2 starts. The server 5 of the accommodation and the power
transmission apparatus 1 in each room are connected through the
network 6, and thereby information on the room charge and the
number of guests is transmitted from the server 5 to the power
transmission apparatus 1.
The cost of food and drink supplied in a refrigerator and consumed
by a guest in a room, when the refrigerator and the server 5 are
connected to each other, can be transmitted to the power
transmission apparatus 1 of the room through the server 5. When the
guest checks out the hotel, the guest places the portable telephone
2 on a utensil at a portion thereof where the power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded and pushes down the payment processing
request button 20, thereby enabling payment therefor to be
performed in a similar manner to that in the shop. This method has
the advantage that, since the guests can perform payment in their
own respective rooms, the front desk will not be crowded with
check-out guests and it is unnecessary for the hotel employees to
stand by for facilitating smooth check-out at the front desk.
FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing another payment procedure using the
power supply system shown in FIG. 21. The flowchart shown in FIG.
25 shows a payment procedure for a railway fare or the like. In
this case, the power transmission apparatus 1 in FIG. 21 is
embedded in an automatic ticket examining machine installed at a
(dedicated) ticket gate. The power transmission apparatus 1 is
connected to a server 5 of a station through a network 6.
First, when a portable telephone 2 is placed at a predetermined
portion of the automatic ticket examining machine in which the
power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded, rapid charging of the
portable telephone 2 starts (step S71). Then, not only is departing
station information recorded in the portable telephone 2, but
personal information (ID information of the portable telephone 2)
and the departing station information are recorded in a computer of
a railway company connected to the server 5 of the station (step
S72). Then, a user carrying the portable telephone 2 takes a train
to travel (step S73).
Next, the user who has reached the arrival station at the
destination places the portable telephone 2 on a power transmission
apparatus 1 embedded in an automatic ticket examining machine
installed at ticket gate of the arrival station (step S74). Then,
the fare is paid by means of the mobile banking according to the
departing station information and the personal information
(equipment ID of the portable telephone 2) recorded in the portable
telephone 2. Here, the departing station information and the
personal information recorded in the computer of the railway
company are also accessed through a server 5 of the arrival station
(step S75). In this way, the user is relieved from troublesome work
that includes finding a fare to the destination and buying a
ticket. This method has the advantage that, since no cash is paid,
the user does not need to have cash in hand, or the user can use
the railway service even in case the user happens to have no cash
in hand. Furthermore, the user does not need to carry a plurality
of prepaid cards of different railway companies, which the user
should otherwise carry.
FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing still another payment procedure
using the power supply system shown in FIG. 21. The flowchart shown
in FIG. 26 shows a payment procedure for paying for a ticket or the
like. In this example, it is assumed, by referring to FIG. 21, that
the power transmission apparatus 1 is embedded in a ticket
dispenser installed at a ticket vending corner in the station. The
ticket dispenser is connected to the server 5 of the station, and
the power transmission apparatus 1 is connected to the server 5 of
the station through the network 6 of the station.
First, when the portable telephone 2 is placed at a predetermined
potion of the ticket dispenser in which the power transmission
apparatus 1 is embedded, rapid charging of the portable telephone 2
starts (step S81). Then, when a money amount button of the ticket
dispenser on which a fare to a destination is displayed is pushed
down (step S82), personal information (equipment ID of the portable
telephone 2) and ticket purchasing price information are recorded
into the computer of the railway company connected to the server 5,
and the purchasing price is paid by means of mobile banking (step
S83). Then, a ticket is issued from the ticket dispenser (step
S84). This method has the advantage that decrease in power of the
battery of the portable telephone 2 can be prevented because a
supplementary battery charge is performed when the ticket is
purchased, and the user does not need to have cash in hand or can
use the railway service even in case the user happens to have no
cash in hand because no cash is paid. Furthermore, the user does
not need to carry a plurality of prepaid cards of different railway
companies, which the user should otherwise carry.
Note that while the description has been given by using a portable
telephone or a notebook PC as power reception equipment equipped
with a power supply system of the embodiments as examples, the
power supply system can be applied to other electronic equipment
without specifically limiting the application thereof to the
portable telephone or the notebook PC.
Although described hereto are the examples in which a power
transmission apparatus or apparatuses are embedded in the top plate
of a desk, the shelves of a rack, the bottom plates of a lockable
locker, the holder for holding a power reception equipment, the
dashboard and/or the console box of an automobile, the top mat, the
floor, the floor covering fabrics, and the wall, the power
transmission apparatus or apparatuses may be embedded in other
utensils, other structural members, and the like.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to
the embodiments as described above and that within the scope of the
appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as
specifically described.
Since the power transmission apparatus of the power supply system
related to the present invention can select from among three levels
of power to be transmitted, large, medium, and small according to
power required by the power reception equipment and transmit the
selected power thereto, a single power transmission apparatus can
supply power to different types of electronic equipment.
Since a protrusion or a mark is provided on the power transmission
apparatus and a depression or another mark is provided on the power
reception equipment, even when different types of power reception
equipment are used, it is possible to position the power reception
equipment at the location for optimum power reception.
Since LEDs indicating operating states are provided on the power
transmission apparatus, the user can easily recognize the operating
states of the power transmission apparatus.
Since a pair of power transmission electrodes for supplying power
to the power transmission apparatus in a contact manner, and a
current detection circuit monitoring current flowing between the
power transmission electrodes of the pair, and a power route
change-over circuit are added to the configuration, power can be
also supplied to the conventional power reception equipment that
performs charging by receiving power through power receiving
electrodes of contact type.
Since the power transmission apparatus is embedded in the top plate
of a desk, the shelves of a rack, the bottom plates of a lockable
locker, the holder for holding a power reception equipment, the
dashboard and/or the console box of an automobile, the top mat, the
wall, the side surface of a utensil, the floor, and the floor
covering fabric, space saving can be realized.
An information signal can be transmitted or received between a
portable telephone and a server connected to the power transmission
apparatus. Therefore, charges can be paid for by using the mobile
banking function of the portable telephone in a place where there
are provided a utensil or utensils having the power transmission
apparatus or apparatuses embedded therein, thereby making it
unnecessary to pay at a cashier of an eating house or a front desk
of a hotel.
In a railway station, paying the fare by using the mobile banking
function of the portable telephone makes it possible to buy a
ticket without inputting money into a ticket dispenser.
Furthermore, in a case where the power transmission apparatus is
embedded in an automatic ticket examining machine, paying the fare
is carried out by means of the portable telephone. Consequently,
the user can use transportation service provided by different
railway companies without actually buying tickets and without
carrying a plurality of prepaid cards.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to
realize a power supply system capable of supplying power to
different types of electronic equipment from a single power
transmission apparatus, thereby achieving space saving, and
performing payment for public service and charges.
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