JP3735869B2 - Charger - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a charging device, for example, a charging device suitable for charging a plurality of types of secondary batteries having different charging capacities corresponding to the same electronic device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in various portable electronic devices such as a camcorder, a portable cassette player, and a disc player, a rechargeable secondary battery can generally be used as a power source for driving the device.
[0003]
As such a secondary battery, for example, a battery pack in which a plurality of rechargeable single cells such as nickel cadmium batteries (nickel cadmium batteries) are connected in series is housed in a single housing and configured as a power pack. Are known.
In addition, a power pack having a charge capacity larger than that of a normal power pack is prepared so that the electronic device can be driven for a long time. Such a power pack with a large charge capacity is, for example, a plurality of sets of secondary batteries that are configured to obtain a required DC power supply voltage corresponding to the electronic device are connected in parallel and housed in one casing. Can be obtained.
[0004]
Therefore, in a charging device for charging a plurality of types of secondary batteries having different capacities as described above, usually, by attaching the power pack of the secondary battery to a specified mounting position and turning on the power, A predetermined level of constant current is supplied to the secondary battery as a charging current for the secondary battery side, and charging is performed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when charging the secondary batteries having different capacities as described above, the charging capacities are also different.
However, on the charging device side, in order to supply the secondary battery with a predetermined charging current regardless of the charging capacity of the secondary battery, the secondary battery with a small capacity and the secondary battery with a large capacity are almost the same. Depending on the capacity ratio, the time until full charge is different.
In this way, it is possible to charge a plurality of types of secondary batteries having different capacities with one charging device, but there is a disadvantage that the charging time varies due to the capacity difference of each secondary battery, which is preferable for convenience. It wasn't.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention obtains the same DC power supply voltage in which a set of secondary batteries are connected in series, or a plurality of sets of battery packs are connected in parallel vertically. A variable charge current output unit that outputs a variable charge current level for a secondary battery with a positive electrode and a negative electrode with the same structure on the lower surface, and the charge capacity of the secondary battery can be detected based on the number of batteries And a charging current variable output unit configured to output a charging current with a current amount corresponding to the charging capacity of the secondary battery based on the number of assembled batteries detected by the charging capacity detection unit. It was decided.
In addition, the charging current variable output section is provided with two or more constant current output sections corresponding to the number of assembled batteries of the secondary batteries each having a predetermined current level, and any one of the two or more constant current output sections is provided. The charging current can be varied by outputting the charging current alone or in combination.
Further, the charge capacity detection unit is configured as a detection mechanism capable of detecting the presence or absence of a charge capacity identification unit formed according to a difference in charge capacity based on the number of assembled batteries of secondary batteries.
[0007]
[Action]
According to the above configuration, when charging the secondary battery based on the number of assembled batteries, it is possible to change the amount of current according to the charge capacity of the secondary battery and supply it as a charging current.
[0008]
【Example】
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the charging device of the present invention will be described. In this case, a case where two types of secondary batteries having different charging capacities that can be charged by the charging device of the present embodiment are described. To do.
[0009]
3 and 4 show specific examples of secondary batteries that can be charged by the charging device of this embodiment.
In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 10 denotes a power pack as a secondary battery. As shown in the figure, for example, five power packs 10 are housed in a housing 11 in a state where rechargeable secondary batteries E such as a nickel cadmium battery are connected in series. Therefore, for example, if one voltage of the secondary battery E is 1.2V, the power supply pack 10 has a DC power supply voltage of 1.2V × 5 = 6V.
The perspective view of FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the 6V power pack 10 as seen from the front. As shown in the figure, the bottom face 12 is provided with a plus electrode 13a and a minus electrode 13b. .
The power supply pack 10 is actually provided with a mounting mechanism for the electronic device, a mounting mechanism for the charging device of the present embodiment, which will be described later, and the like, but these are not shown here. .
[0010]
Next, in the power supply pack 20 shown in FIG. 4A, ten secondary batteries E are accommodated in the housing 21 in the state shown in the figure. However, in this case, for example, an assembled secondary battery in which the upper five secondary batteries E are connected in series and an assembled secondary battery in which the lower five secondary batteries E are connected in series are connected in parallel. It is supposed to be.
Therefore, in the case of this power supply pack 20, a DC power supply voltage of 1.2V × 5 = 6V is obtained, and the capacity is almost twice that of the power supply pack 10 shown in FIG. That is, the power pack 20 can drive the electronic device for a long time corresponding to approximately twice that of the power pack 10.
Further, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 4B, a positive electrode 23a and a negative electrode 23b having the same structure as that of FIG. In the case of the power pack 20, an identification hole 24 is formed for identifying that the capacity of the power pack 20 is twice that of the power pack 10 shown in FIG. That is, based on the presence / absence of the identification hole 24, it becomes possible to identify the type of each power pack by the detection mechanism on the charging apparatus side, which will be described later. This identifies the charging capacity of the power pack on the charging apparatus side. There is nothing else.
[0011]
The perspective view of FIG. 2 has shown the external appearance of the charging device of a present Example. In the charging device 1 shown in this figure, 2 formed as a recess on the upper surface portion indicates a power pack mounting portion, for example, the lower surface portion 12 shown in FIGS. 3A and 4B, The power supply packs 10 and 20 are mounted so that 22 faces. As shown in the figure, the positive electrode 3a and the negative electrode 3b on the charging side are provided at positions corresponding to the positive electrodes (13a, 13b) and the negative electrodes (23a, 23b) of the power supply packs 10, 20.
In the power pack mounting portion 2, reference numeral 4 denotes a detection switch for detecting the type of the power pack. At the position corresponding to the identification hole 24 when the power pack is mounted on the power pack mounting portion 2, the power switch It is provided as a pressing pin so as to protrude outside from the hole 5 formed in the pack mounting portion 2, and is turned on with respect to the charging circuit by being pressed and released in the vertical direction as shown by the arrows in the figure. / Off is done. In this case, the state in which the detection switch 4 is not pressed in the state shown in the drawing is turned on, and conversely, the state in which the detection switch 4 is pressed is turned off.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a power indicator for indicating on / off of the power supply, 7 denotes a charge indicator for indicating that charging is being performed during the charging operation, and 8 denotes a power outlet.
[0012]
FIG. 1 conceptually shows the internal configuration of the charging apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. In this figure, reference numerals 31 and 32 denote constant current circuits which can output the output of a rectifier circuit (not shown) as a direct current of a constant level. In this embodiment, the constant current circuits 31 and 32 both output constant currents at the same current level. Reference numeral 33 denotes a synthesizer which is supplied with current outputs of the constant current circuits 31 and 32 and can synthesize them and output them as a charging current. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, for example, the detection switch 4 shown in FIG. 2 is provided so as to be interposed between the constant current circuit 32 and the combiner 33.
[0013]
Therefore, when charging the small-capacity power pack 10 shown in FIG. 3 by the charging apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, first, the small-capacity power pack 10 is charged to the power pack mounting portion 2 of the charging apparatus 1. Wear. As a result, the positive electrode 13a and the negative electrode 13b of the small-capacity power supply pack 10 come into contact with the positive electrode 3a and the negative electrode 3b of the power supply pack mounting portion 2 and can be charged. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3B, since the identification hole is not formed in the lower surface portion 12 of the small-capacity power supply pack 10, the detection switch 4 is pressed and turned off. Therefore, the current output of one constant current circuit 32 is not supplied to the combiner 33, and the current output of only the constant current circuit 31 is supplied to the combiner 33.
For example, if the constant current circuits 31 and 32 can each supply a current of 2 A (Max), the charging current is supplied only from the constant current circuit 31 in this case, so that the power pack 10 has 2 A. (Max) charging current is supplied.
[0014]
On the other hand, in the case where charging is performed on the large-capacity power supply pack 20 shown in FIG. 4, the identification hole 24 is formed on the lower surface portion 22 of the large-capacity power supply pack 20 as shown in FIG. Therefore, when this is mounted on the charging device 1, the detection switch 4 is positioned in the identification hole 24 and is not pressed, and is turned on.
Therefore, in this case, since the current output of the constant current circuit 32 is also supplied to the combiner 33, the current output of the constant current circuits 31 and 32 is synthesized as the charging current output at this time. . For example, when the constant current circuits 31 and 32 each output a constant current of 2 A (Max), a charging current of 2 A × 2 = 4 A (Max) is obtained, and when charging the small capacity power pack 10 Twice as much.
[0015]
As described above, the charging capacity of the large-capacity power pack 20 is almost doubled with respect to the small-capacity power pack 10, but in this embodiment, the charging of the large-capacity power pack 20 is performed as described above. In some cases, the amount of charging current is twice that of charging the small-capacity power supply pack 10.
By the way, the charging time is substantially proportional to the amount of charging current. Therefore, if the large-capacity power pack 20 is charged with 2A in the same manner as the charging of the small-capacity power pack 10, and the case where the large-capacity power pack 20 is charged with 4A as in the present embodiment, In this case, the charging time is reduced to almost ½. As a result, in this embodiment, the time required to fully charge the small-capacity power pack 10 and the large-capacity power pack 20 can be made substantially equal.
[0016]
In the above embodiment, two constant current circuits are provided and the charging apparatus corresponding to two types of power packs has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a constant current circuit is further added and the power packs are added. It is also possible to further provide an identification mechanism for the charging capacity, and to configure a charging device corresponding to three or more types of power packs. At this time, the current levels of the constant current circuits do not necessarily have to be the same, and various changes can be made according to the capacity difference of the power pack to be charged.
Further, the type (capacity) detection mechanism of the power pack is not limited to the configuration shown in the above embodiment, and can be changed as long as it can be identified according to the charge capacity of the power pack. .
Furthermore, although the charging device of the above-described embodiment has been described as a single device, it is also conceivable that the charging device of the present invention is provided inside an electronic device that can use the power pack.
Further, in order to control the change in the constant current output, one variable constant current circuit is provided, and this variable constant current circuit is controlled by the detection switch 4 according to the capacity of the secondary battery to be charged. It may be configured.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the charging device of the present invention is configured so that the charging current increases as the capacity of the secondary battery increases, so that charging is performed regardless of the difference in the charging capacity of the secondary battery. It is possible to make the time almost constant, which has the effect of improving the feeling of use.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing an internal configuration of a charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the charging device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a power supply pack (small capacity) as a secondary battery.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a power pack (large capacity) as a secondary battery.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Charger 2 Power supply pack mounting part 3a Positive electrode 3b Negative electrode 4 Detection switch 5 Hole part 24 Identification holes 31, 32 Constant current circuit 33 Synthesizer

Claims (3)

One set of secondary batteries connected in series, or multiple sets of assembled batteries connected in parallel up and down to obtain the same DC power supply voltage. A charging current variable output unit that outputs a variable charging current level for the secondary battery;
A charge capacity detector capable of detecting a charge capacity of a secondary battery based on the number of the assembled batteries ;
The variable charging current output unit is configured to output a charging current according to a current amount corresponding to a charging capacity of a secondary battery based on the number of assembled batteries detected by the charging capacity detection unit. Charging device. The charging current variable output unit includes two or more constant current output units each corresponding to the number of assembled batteries of the secondary battery in which a predetermined current amount is set, and all the outputs of the two or more constant current output units Alternatively, the charging device according to claim 1, wherein the charging current can be varied by outputting the charging current either alone or in combination.   The charge capacity detection unit is a detection mechanism configured to be able to detect a charge capacity identification unit formed according to the charge capacity depending on the number of assembled batteries of the secondary battery. The charging device according to claim 1 or claim 2.

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