JP2007089341A - Charging system, electronic equipment, charging device, and charging method for the electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To preferentially supply power to equipment with insufficient charging state, in a non-contact manner during transfer of image data from electronic equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic equipment is provided with a control part, which transmits the battery residual amount ratio of a charging battery for the electronic equipment to a charging device, in a state that the electronic equipment being installed in a range X of allowing the charging device to supply power, and a charging control part for switching between stop and start of power reception by the control executed from the charging device, on the basis of electronic equipment information. The charging device is provided with a control part which starts power supply in a non-contact manner with the electronic equipment installed in the range X, acquires the electronic equipment information from the electronic equipment, when there are a plurality of the electronic equipment; decides the highest-priority electronic equipment being electronic equipment to be charged in highest priority among the electronic equipment, on the basis of the acquired electronic equipment information; and controls the charging control part of the electronic equipment installed in the range X so as to charge only the decided highest-priority electronic equipment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging system for charging an electronic device having a rechargeable battery.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a charging device for an electronic device such as a digital camera or a mobile phone, a contactless charging system that performs contactless charging without having a contact such as a metal part is known. The power supply method of this non-contact charging system is such that a primary coil (charger) and a secondary coil (main body) are magnetically coupled and a voltage is generated in the secondary coil by an alternating magnetic field generated from the primary coil. In this method, electric power is transmitted to the secondary coil without contact by electromagnetic induction. For example, a rechargeable battery used as a power source for cordless telephones, portable devices, etc. uses an electromagnetic induction coil to transmit power from a charged part to a charged part without contact via a metal contact by electromagnetic dielectric action. Such contactless chargers are known.

  In addition, a charging method is disclosed in which a plurality of power receiving side electronic devices are charged at one time with a single non contact charging module without causing a one-to-one correspondence between the non contact charging module and the power receiving side electronic device (for example, Patent Document 1).

US Pat. No. 6,906,495

  However, in the charging method described in Patent Document 1, power is supplied by a plurality of electronic devices in order to supply power to a plurality of power receiving side electronic devices from a single power supply side charging device. It will not be said that sufficient electric power is supplied to each of the plurality of electronic devices. For example, when charging an electronic device with an extremely low battery remaining capacity ratio (ratio of the remaining battery capacity to the battery capacity of the rechargeable battery) and an electronic device with an extremely high battery remaining capacity ratio, Although it is preferable that a large amount of power can be supplied to a low electronic device, the above charging method cannot do this and efficient charging cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a charging system capable of efficiently charging an electronic device.

  A charging system according to the present invention is a charging system for charging an electronic device having a rechargeable battery that is charged by power received in a non-contact manner, wherein the power is supplied to the electronic device and a plurality of the electronic devices in a non-contact manner. A charging device that can be supplied simultaneously, and the electronic device receives power supplied from the charging device in a contactless manner, and within a predetermined range in which the charging device can supply the power. An electronic device-side communication means for communicating with the charging device in a state where the electronic device is installed, and an electronic including at least a battery remaining ratio of the rechargeable battery of the electronic device in response to a request from the charging device Electronic device information transmitting means for transmitting device information to the charging device via the electronic device side communication means, and before the electronic device side communication means is performed based on the transmitted electronic device information. Power receiving control means for switching between stop and start of power reception by the power receiving means under control from a charging device, and the charging device is connected to the power receiving means of the electronic device installed within the predetermined range. Power supply means for starting the supply of power in a non-contact manner, charging device side communication means for communicating with the electronic device installed in the predetermined range, and at least installed in the predetermined range Electronic device information acquisition means for acquiring the electronic device information from the electronic device installed in the predetermined range via the charging device side communication means when there are a plurality of the electronic devices, Based on the electronic device information, among the electronic devices installed within the predetermined range, a top-priority electronic device deciding unit that determines a top-priority electronic device that is an electronic device that should be most prioritized for charging. And control means for controlling the power reception control means of the electronic device installed within the predetermined range via the charging device side communication means so that charging is performed only in the highest priority electronic device. Is provided.

  In the charging system of the present invention, the electronic device includes image data transmitting means for transmitting image data to the charging device via the electronic device-side communication means, and the charging device is connected to the charging device-side communication means. Image data receiving means for receiving the image data from the electronic device, and the electronic device information includes information indicating whether the electronic device is transmitting the image data.

  In the charging system of the present invention, when the electronic device information acquisition unit starts transmission of the image data when any of the plurality of electronic devices installed in the predetermined range starts transmission of the image data The electronic device information is acquired even when the process is terminated.

  An electronic device of the present invention is an electronic device having a rechargeable battery that is charged by power received in a non-contact manner, and the power is supplied from a charging device that can simultaneously supply power to the plurality of the electronic devices in a non-contact manner. Power receiving means for receiving power, electronic device side communication means for communicating with the charging device in a state where the electronic device is installed within a predetermined range in which the charging device can supply the power, and from the charging device In response to the request, the electronic device information transmitting means for transmitting the electronic device information including at least the remaining battery ratio of the rechargeable battery of the electronic device to the charging device via the electronic device side communication means, and the transmission Power reception control means for switching the stop and start of the power reception by the power reception means by the control from the charging device performed via the electronic device side communication means based on the electronic device information Provided.

  The electronic device of the present invention includes image data transmitting means for transmitting image data to the charging device via the electronic device side communication means, and the electronic device information includes whether the electronic device is transmitting the image data. Information indicating whether or not is included is also included.

  The charging device of the present invention is a charging device capable of simultaneously supplying power without contact to a plurality of electronic devices having a rechargeable battery charged with power received in a contactless manner, wherein the electronic device includes the power Power supply means for starting and stopping the power supply to the electronic device installed within a predetermined range capable of supplying the power, and installed within the predetermined range The charging device side communication means for communicating with the electronic device and the electronic device installed in the predetermined range when there are a plurality of electronic devices installed in at least the predetermined range. Based on the electronic device information, electronic device information acquisition means for acquiring electronic device information including at least a remaining battery ratio of the rechargeable battery of the electronic device from the device, via the charging device side communication means, Among the electronic devices installed within a predetermined range, the highest-priority electronic device determination means for determining the highest-priority electronic device that is the electronic device that should be given the highest priority for charging, and charging is performed only by the highest-priority electronic device. As described above, control means for controlling switching of stop and start of power reception by the electronic device installed within the predetermined range via the charging device side communication means.

  The charging device of the present invention includes image data receiving means for receiving image data transmitted from the electronic device via the charging device-side communication means, and the electronic device includes the image data in the electronic device information. Information indicating whether data is being transmitted is also included.

  In the charging device of the present invention, when the electronic device information acquisition unit starts the transmission of the image data and ends the transmission of the image data, the plurality of electronic devices installed in the predetermined range In addition, the electronic device information is acquired.

  The method for charging an electronic device according to the present invention charges the electronic device with a charging device that can simultaneously supply power to a plurality of electronic devices having a rechargeable battery that is charged by power received without contact. A method of charging an electronic device, wherein the charging device starts supplying the power to the electronic device installed within a predetermined range in which the charging device can supply the power; and And a power receiving step in which the electronic device receives power supplied from the charging device, and the electronic device includes at least a remaining battery ratio of the rechargeable battery in response to a request from the charging device. The electronic device information transmitting step for transmitting the information to the charging device, and when the charging device has a plurality of electronic devices installed at least within the predetermined range, An electronic device information acquisition step of acquiring the electronic device information from the electronic device installed in the enclosure, and the charging device of the electronic device installed in the predetermined range based on the electronic device information Among these, the predetermined range is determined so that the highest-priority electronic device determination step for determining the highest-priority electronic device that is the electronic device whose charge should be given highest priority, and the charging device is charged only by the highest-priority electronic device A control step for controlling switching between stop and start of power reception by the electronic device installed in the power supply, and power reception control for switching between stop and start of power reception by the electronic device under control from the charging device Steps.

  The electronic device charging method of the present invention includes an image data transmitting step in which the electronic device transmits image data to the charging device, and an image data receiving step in which the charging device receives the image data from the electronic device. The electronic device information also includes information indicating whether the electronic device is transmitting the image data.

  In the electronic device charging method of the present invention, in the electronic device information acquisition step, when the plurality of electronic devices installed within the predetermined range start transmitting the image data and when the image data is transmitted The electronic device information is acquired even when the process is terminated.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the charging system which can charge an electronic device efficiently can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a charging system for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.
The charging system shown in FIG. 1 includes an electronic device 12 such as a digital camera or a mobile phone, and a charging device 100 for charging the electronic device 12. The electronic device 12 has a rechargeable battery that is charged by power received in a non-contact manner. The charging device 100 charges the electronic device 12 by the method described in Patent Document 1, and can supply power to the plurality of electronic devices 12 simultaneously in a non-contact manner. A range X indicated by an ellipse in FIG. 1 is a range in which the charging device 100 can supply power in a contactless manner, and the electronic device 12 installed in the range X can be charged.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a digital camera which is an example of the electronic apparatus illustrated in FIG.
2 includes a control unit 20, an imaging function unit 22, a memory 24, an operation key 26, a display control unit 28, a display device 30, a charge control unit 32, a rechargeable battery 34, a power receiving resonance coil 36, a memory. A card control unit 38, a memory card slot 40, a wireless communication control unit 42, a wireless communication device 44, and an RF tag 46 are provided.

  The imaging function unit 22 is a part that performs imaging by imaging means and generates image data.

  The wireless communication device 44 is for communicating with the charging device 100 by a wireless LAN or the like with the digital camera 12 installed in the range X. The wireless communication device 44 corresponds to the electronic device side communication means in the claims. The wireless communication control unit 42 controls the wireless communication device 44.

  The power receiving resonance coil 36 receives the power supplied from the charging device 100 in a contactless manner with the digital camera 12 installed in the range X. The power receiving resonance coil 36 corresponds to power receiving means in the claims.

  The rechargeable battery 34 is a battery that is charged by the power received by the power receiving resonance coil 36.

  The charging control unit 32 charges the rechargeable battery 34 using the power received by the power receiving resonance coil 36. The charging control unit 32 also performs switching between start and stop of power reception by the power receiving resonance coil 36 by control performed from the charging device 100 via the wireless communication device 44. The charge control unit 32 also has a function of detecting the battery remaining amount ratio of the rechargeable battery 34 and notifies the control unit 20 of the detected battery remaining amount ratio. The charge control unit 32 corresponds to a power reception control unit in the claims.

  The RF tag 46 is a non-contact IC chip, in which information such as an IP address necessary for the digital camera 12 to communicate with the charging apparatus 100 via the wireless communication device 44 is stored. The RF tag 46 is attached to a part of the casing of the digital camera 12. The RF tag 46 can be reduced in size and reduced in price, is not easily affected by dirt, dust, and the like, and can communicate data as long as an electric wave can reach even if an obstacle is present.

  The control unit 20 is connected to the imaging function unit 22, the memory 24, the operation key 26, the display control unit 28, the charge control unit 32, the memory card control unit 38, and the wireless communication control unit 42, and performs overall control thereof. It is mainly composed of a processor that operates according to a predetermined program.

  When there is a request from the charging device 100 via the wireless communication device 44, the control unit 20 instructs the charge control unit 32 to detect the battery remaining amount ratio in response to the request, and the detected battery remaining amount ratio. Is transmitted to the charging device 100 via the wireless communication device 44, and when the charging of the rechargeable battery 34 is completed, the charging device 100 is notified of the fact via the wireless communication device 44. The control unit 20 corresponds to the electronic device information transmitting unit in the claims.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the charging apparatus shown in FIG.
3 includes a power supply oscillation coil 50, a power supply control unit 52, a control unit 54, a memory 56, an operation key 58, an RF tag control unit 60, an RF tag reader 64, a wireless communication control unit 62, and wireless communication. Machine 66 is provided.

  The power feeding oscillation coil 50 starts to supply power in a non-contact manner to the power receiving resonance coil of the digital camera 12 installed in the range X. The power supply oscillation coil 50 corresponds to power supply means in the claims. The power supply control unit 52 controls the power supply oscillation coil 50.

  When the digital camera 12 is installed in the range X, the RF tag reader 64 reads information on the RF tag 46 attached to the digital camera 12. The information read here is input to the control unit 54. The RF tag control unit 60 controls the RF tag reader 64.

  The wireless communication device 66 is for communicating with the digital camera 12 installed in the range X by a wireless LAN or the like. The wireless communication device 66 corresponds to the charging device side communication means in the claims. The wireless communication control unit 62 establishes communication connection with the digital camera 12 based on the IP address read by the RF tag reader 64.

  The control unit 54 is connected to the power supply control unit 52, the memory 56, the operation key 58, the RF tag control unit 60, and the wireless communication control unit 62, and performs overall control thereof. A processor that operates according to a predetermined program It is composed mainly of.

  When at least a plurality of electronic devices 12 installed in the range X are present, the control unit 54 transmits a battery remaining from each of the plurality of electronic devices 12 installed in the range X via the wireless communication device 66. Based on the battery remaining capacity ratio function for acquiring the amount ratio and the acquired battery remaining capacity ratio, among the plurality of electronic devices 12 installed in the range X, charging is the electronic device that should be given the highest priority for charging. A plurality of electronic devices installed in the range X via the wireless communication device 66 so that charging is performed only by the charging top-priority electronic device function for determining the priority electronic device and the determined charging top-priority electronic device 12 has a power reception control function for controlling the twelve charge control units 32 and a status recording function for recording the status information of the plurality of electronic devices 12 installed in the range X in the memory 56. The control unit 54 constitutes electronic device information acquisition means, top-priority electronic device determination means, and control means in the claims.

  The status information items include an operation item indicating the operation state of the electronic device 12 and a charge necessity item indicating whether or not the electronic device 12 needs to be charged. The charge necessity item includes “charge not completed” indicating that the electronic device 12 has not been charged, and “charge completed” indicating that the charge has been completed. The operation items include “charging” indicating that the electronic device 12 is being charged and “charging stop” indicating that the electronic device 12 is being charged.

  When executing the charging top priority electronic device function, the control unit 54 determines the electronic device having the lowest battery remaining ratio as the charging top priority electronic device.

  In the charging system configured as described above, the operation when one electronic device 12 is installed within the range X of the charging apparatus 100 is as follows. When the electronic device 12 is installed within the range X, power reception is started by the power receiving resonance coil 36 of the electronic device 12 and charging of the rechargeable battery 34 is started. Furthermore, the IP address is read from the RF tag 46 of the electronic device 12 by the charging device 100, and communication between the electronic device 12 and the charging device 100 is established. In this state, an operation when one electronic device 12 is newly installed in the range X will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the electronic device 12 installed from the beginning will be described as A, and the electronic device 12 installed later will be described as B.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation flow when two electronic devices are installed in the range X of the charging device of the charging system shown in FIG.
When the electronic device B is newly installed, power is supplied from the power supply oscillation coil 50 to the power receiving resonance coil 36 of the installed electronic device B, and charging of the rechargeable battery 34 of the electronic device B is started ( S1). Then, the charging apparatus 100 reads the IP address from the RF tag 46 of the electronic device B and establishes communication with the electronic device B (S2). Next, the charging device 100 requests each of the electronic devices A and B installed in the range X to transmit the remaining battery ratio, and the remaining battery power transmitted from the electronic devices A and B in response to the request. A quantity ratio is acquired (S3). Further, the charging device 100 sets the status of the newly installed electronic device B to “charging” and “uncharged”. It is assumed that the status of the electronic device A is “charging” and “charging not completed”.

  Next, the charging device 100 determines a charging top priority electronic device based on the acquired battery remaining amount ratio (S4). For example, when the battery remaining amount ratio of the electronic device B is the smallest, the electronic device B is determined as the charge highest priority electronic device. Next, the charging apparatus 100 controls the electronic devices A and B so that the charging is performed only with the charging top priority electronic device (S5). Specifically, the control unit 54 of the charging apparatus 100 instructs the electronic device A to stop power reception. As a result, in the electronic device A, the charging control unit 32 stops the power reception by the power receiving resonance coil 36, so that the charging of the electronic device A is stopped. Further, the control unit 54 changes the operation item of the status of the electronic device A from “charging” to “charge stop”.

  Then, when the charging of the charging top priority electronic device is completed (S6), the charging top priority electronic device notifies the charging device 100 to that effect, and the charging device 100 sets the charging necessity item in the status of the electronic device B to “Charging”. Change from “Incomplete” to “Charging Complete”. Next, the charging apparatus 100 checks the status of each electronic device and determines whether there is an electronic device that has not been fully charged (S7). In this description, since the electronic device A is not fully charged, in this case (S7: YES), the process proceeds to S3. Then, after the charging of the electronic device A is completed in S6, there is no electronic device that has not been fully charged. Therefore, the determination in S7 is NO, and the charging apparatus 100 enters a standby state (S8).

  In addition, when an electronic device is newly installed at an arbitrary timing after S1 in FIG. 4, the charging apparatus 100 immediately proceeds to the process of S2. The installation of a new electronic device can be detected by detecting the RF tag 46.

  As described above, according to the charging system of the present embodiment, it is possible to preferentially charge the electronic device having the smallest battery remaining ratio, and thus efficient charging is possible.

  In this embodiment, the communication between the electronic device and the charging device is performed by a wireless LAN or the like. However, the wireless communication devices 44 and 66 are not used, and data is bidirectionally transmitted to both the electronic device and the charging device. A wireless tag capable of transmitting and receiving may be provided, and communication may be performed using the wireless tag. In such a case, there is an advantage that both the cost of the electronic device and the charging device can be reduced.

(Second embodiment)
In the charging system for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device 12 shown in FIG. 1 is changed to an electronic device 12 ′, and the charging device 100 is changed to a charging device 100 ′. The charging device 100 ′ not only charges the electronic device 12 ′ but also has a function as a printer that prints an image based on the image data transmitted from the electronic device 12 ′.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital camera which is an example of an electronic device of a charging system for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention. The digital camera 12 ′ shown in FIG. 5 is different from the digital camera 12 shown in FIG. 2 only in that the control unit 20 is changed to the control unit 20 ′. Therefore, in FIG. 5, the same components as those in FIG.

  The control unit 20 ′ has a function of transmitting image data obtained by the imaging function unit 22 and recorded in the memory 24 or the memory card to the charging device 100 ′ via the wireless communication device 44 according to an instruction from the user. When there is a request from the charging device 100 ′ via the wireless communication device 44, the charging control unit 32 is instructed to detect the remaining battery ratio in response to the request, and the detected remaining battery ratio and the image A function of transmitting image data transmission information indicating whether or not data is being transmitted to the charging device 100 ′ to the charging device 100 ′ via the wireless communication device 44, and when charging of the rechargeable battery 34 is completed, And a function of notifying the charging device 100 ′ via the wireless communication device 44. The control unit 20 'constitutes an electronic device information transmitting unit and an image data transmitting unit as claimed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a charging device of the charging system for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention.
The charging device 100 ′ shown in FIG. 6 is the same as the charging device 100 shown in FIG. 3, except that the control unit 54 is changed to the control unit 54 ′, and the hard disk 110, the hard disk drive 108, the display device 116, the display control unit 114, and the printing function unit. 117, a memory card slot 124, and a memory card control unit 122 are added. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the same components as those in FIG.

  The hard disk 110 is a storage medium that stores image data transmitted from the digital camera 12 '. The display device 116 displays an image based on the image data. The display control unit 114 controls the display device 116. The print function unit 117 executes a function of printing an image based on image data recorded on the hard disk 110 or the memory card. The memory card slot 124 is a portion into which a memory card is loaded. The memory card control unit 122 controls the memory card slot 124.

  The control unit 54 ′ includes a power supply control unit 52, a memory 56, an operation key 58, an RF tag control unit 60, a wireless communication control unit 62, a hard disk drive 108, a display control unit 114, a print function unit 117, and a memory card control unit 122. Are connected to each other to control these, and are mainly composed of a processor that operates according to a predetermined program.

When at least a plurality of electronic devices 12 ′ installed in the range X are present, the control unit 54 ′ passes through the wireless communication device 66 from each of the plurality of electronic devices 12 ′ installed in the range X. And charging the battery among a plurality of electronic devices 12 'installed in the range X based on the function of acquiring the remaining battery ratio and the image data transmission information, and the acquired remaining battery ratio and the image data transmission information. The charging top priority electronic device function that determines the top priority electronic device that is the top priority electronic device and the range X via the wireless communication device 66 so that charging is performed only by the determined top charging electronic device. Status recording that records in the memory 56 the power reception control function for controlling the charging control unit 32 of the plurality of electronic devices 12 ′ installed in the memory X and the status information of the plurality of electronic devices 12 ′ installed in the range X Function and electronic machine The image data transmitted from the 12 'is received via the wireless communication device 66, which has the function of recording on the hard disk 110. Further, the control unit 54 ′ displays “image data transmission” indicating whether or not image data is being transmitted as the status information item of the digital camera 12 ′ based on the image data transmission information transmitted from the digital camera 12 ′. “Medium” is also recorded in the memory 56.
The control unit 54 ′ constitutes electronic device information acquisition means, top-priority electronic device determination means, control means, and image data reception means in the claims.

The control unit 54 ′ determines the charging top priority electronic device according to the following two conditions.
1. When there is an electronic device that is transmitting image data, the electronic device that has the lowest remaining battery ratio among the electronic devices that are transmitting image data has the highest priority.
2. When there is no electronic device that is transmitting image data, the one with the lowest battery remaining ratio is given the highest priority.

  In the charging system configured as described above, an operation when two electronic devices 12 ′ are installed in the range X will be described with reference to FIG. 7. In the following description, it is assumed that the electronic device 12 ′ installed from the beginning is C, and the electronic device 12 ′ installed later is D.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow when two electronic devices are installed within the range X of the charging device of the charging system according to the present embodiment.
When the electronic device D is newly installed, power is supplied from the power supply oscillation coil 50 to the power receiving resonance coil 36 of the installed electronic device D, and charging of the rechargeable battery 34 of the electronic device D is started ( S11). And charging device 100 'reads an IP address from RF tag 46 of electronic equipment D, and establishes communication with electronic equipment D (S12).

  Next, the charging device 100 ′ requests each of the electronic devices C and D installed in the range X to transmit the remaining battery ratio and the image data transmission information, and from the electronic devices C and D in response to the request. The transmitted battery remaining capacity ratio and image data transmission information are acquired (S13). Further, the charging device 100 ′ sets the status of the newly installed electronic device D to “charging” and “not charged”, and if there is an electronic device that is transmitting image data, Assume that the status of the device is “sending image data”. It is assumed that the status of the electronic device C is “charging”, “charging incomplete”, and “image data transmitting”.

  Next, the charging device 100 ′ determines a charging top priority electronic device based on the acquired battery remaining amount ratio and the image data transmission information (S <b> 14). Here, since only the electronic device C is transmitting image data, the electronic device C is determined as the charging top priority electronic device. Next, the charging device 100 ′ controls the electronic devices C and D so that charging is performed only with the charging top priority electronic device (S <b> 15). Specifically, the control unit 54 ′ of the charging device 100 ′ instructs the electronic device D to stop power reception. Thereby, in the electronic device D, since the charging control unit 32 stops the power reception by the power receiving resonance coil 36, the charging of the electronic device D is stopped. Further, the control unit 54 ′ changes the operation item of the status of the electronic device D from “charging” to “charging stop”.

  Then, when the charging of the charging top-priority electronic device is completed (S16), the charging top-priority electronic device notifies the charging device 100 ′ to that effect, and the charging device 100 ′ determines the charging necessity item of the status of the electronic device C. Change from “uncharged” to “charged”. Next, the charging device 100 ′ checks the status of each electronic device and determines whether there is an electronic device that has not been charged (S <b> 17). In the description here, since the electronic device D is not yet fully charged, in this case (S17: YES), the process proceeds to S13. After the charging of the electronic device D is completed in S16, there is no electronic device that has not been fully charged. Therefore, the determination in S17 is NO, and the charging device 100 'is in a standby state (S18).

  If a new electronic device is installed at an arbitrary timing after S11 in FIG. 7, the charging device 100 'immediately proceeds to the process of S12. Further, when any of the electronic devices installed in the range X starts transmitting image data at an arbitrary timing after S11 in FIG. 7, or the electronic device that has transmitted the image data transmits the image data. When the transmission is finished, the charging device 100 ′ immediately proceeds to the process of S13. The installation of the electronic device can be detected by detecting the RF tag 46. The start and end of transmission of image data can be detected by a negotiation performed between the wireless communication device 66 and the wireless communication device 44.

  As described above, according to the charging system of the present embodiment, it is possible to preferentially charge an electronic device that is transmitting image data and has the lowest battery remaining ratio, so that the transmission of image data ends in the middle. Can prevent the situation.

The figure which shows the general view of the charging system for demonstrating 1st embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital camera which is an example of the electronic apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows schematic structure of the charging device shown in FIG. The figure which shows the operation | movement flow when two electronic devices are installed in the range X of the charging device of the charging system shown in FIG. The figure which shows schematic structure of the digital camera which is an example of the electronic device of the charging system for describing 2nd embodiment of this invention The figure which shows schematic structure of the charging device of the charging system for describing 2nd embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement flow when two electronic devices are installed in the range X of the charging device of the charging system of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Charging apparatus 12 Electronic device 20 Control part 32 Charging control part 34 Rechargeable battery 36 Receiving resonance coil 42 Wireless communication control part 44 Wireless communication device 46 RF tag 50 Power supply oscillation coil 52 Power supply control part 54 Control part 60 RF tag control part 64 RF tag reader 62 Wireless communication control unit 66 Wireless communication device

Claims (11)

A charging system for charging an electronic device having a rechargeable battery that is charged by power received in a non-contact manner,
The electronic device and a charging device capable of simultaneously supplying power to the plurality of electronic devices in a non-contact manner,
The electronic device is
Power receiving means for receiving power supplied from the charging device in a contactless manner;
Electronic device side communication means for communicating with the charging device in a state where the electronic device is installed within a predetermined range in which the charging device can supply the power;
In response to a request from the charging device, electronic device information transmitting means for transmitting electronic device information including at least a remaining battery ratio of the rechargeable battery of the electronic device to the charging device via the electronic device-side communication means. When,
Power receiving control means for switching the stop and start of the power reception by the power receiving means by the control from the charging device performed via the electronic device side communication means based on the transmitted electronic device information,
The charging device is:
Power supply means for starting the supply of the power in a non-contact manner with respect to the power reception means of the electronic device installed within the predetermined range;
Charging device side communication means for communicating with the electronic device installed in the predetermined range;
When there are a plurality of electronic devices installed in at least the predetermined range, the electronic device information is transmitted from the electronic device installed in the predetermined range via the charging device side communication means. Electronic device information acquisition means for acquiring
Based on the electronic device information, among the electronic devices installed within the predetermined range, a top-priority electronic device determination means for determining a top-priority electronic device that is an electronic device that should be most prioritized for charging,
Control means for controlling the power reception control means of the electronic device installed in the predetermined range via the charging device side communication means so that charging is performed only by the highest priority electronic device. Charging system. The charging system according to claim 1,
The electronic device includes image data transmission means for transmitting image data to the charging device via the electronic device side communication means,
The charging device comprises image data receiving means for receiving the image data from the electronic device via the charging device side communication means;
The charging system, wherein the electronic device information includes information indicating whether the electronic device is transmitting the image data. The charging system according to claim 2,
The electronic device information acquisition unit is configured to output the electronic device even when any of the plurality of electronic devices installed within the predetermined range starts transmitting the image data and ends transmitting the image data. A charging system that acquires device information. An electronic device having a rechargeable battery that is charged by power received in a non-contact manner,
Power receiving means for receiving the power from a charging device capable of simultaneously supplying power to the plurality of electronic devices in a non-contact manner;
Electronic device side communication means for communicating with the charging device in a state where the electronic device is installed within a predetermined range in which the charging device can supply the power;
In response to a request from the charging device, electronic device information transmitting means for transmitting electronic device information including at least a remaining battery ratio of the rechargeable battery of the electronic device to the charging device via the electronic device-side communication means. When,
An electronic device comprising: a power reception control unit configured to stop the power reception by the power reception unit and to switch the start based on the control from the charging device performed via the electronic device side communication unit based on the transmitted electronic device information. machine. The electronic device according to claim 4,
Image data transmitting means for transmitting image data to the charging device via the electronic device side communication means;
The electronic device information includes information indicating whether or not the electronic device is transmitting the image data. A charging device capable of simultaneously supplying power in a non-contact manner to a plurality of electronic devices having rechargeable batteries charged with power received in a non-contact manner,
The electronic device is capable of switching between stopping and starting the power reception,
Power supply means for starting supply of the power to the electronic device installed within a predetermined range capable of supplying the power;
Charging device side communication means for communicating with the electronic device installed in the predetermined range;
At least when there are a plurality of the electronic devices installed in the predetermined range, the electronic devices installed in the predetermined range are connected to the electronic device via the charging device side communication means. Electronic device information acquisition means for acquiring electronic device information including at least the battery remaining amount ratio of the rechargeable battery;
Based on the electronic device information, among the electronic devices installed within the predetermined range, a top-priority electronic device determination means for determining a top-priority electronic device that is an electronic device that should be most prioritized for charging,
Control for controlling switching of stopping and starting of the power reception by the electronic device installed within the predetermined range via the charging device side communication means so that charging is performed only by the highest priority electronic device And a charging device. The charging device according to claim 6,
Image data receiving means for receiving the image data transmitted from the electronic device via the charging device side communication means,
The charging device, wherein the electronic device information includes information indicating whether or not the electronic device is transmitting the image data. The charging device according to claim 7, wherein
The electronic device information acquisition unit is configured to store the electronic device information even when the plurality of electronic devices installed within the predetermined range starts transmitting the image data and ends transmitting the image data. Charging device that performs the acquisition. A charging method for an electronic device that charges the electronic device by a charging device capable of simultaneously supplying non-contact power to a plurality of electronic devices having a rechargeable battery that is charged by the non-contact received power,
A power supply start step in which the charging device starts supplying the power to the electronic device installed within a predetermined range in which the charging device can supply the power; and
A power receiving step in which the electronic device receives power supplied from the charging device;
In response to a request from the charging device, the electronic device transmits electronic device information that includes at least a battery remaining amount ratio of the rechargeable battery to the charging device.
Electronic device information acquisition for acquiring the electronic device information from the electronic device installed in the predetermined range when the charging device has a plurality of electronic devices installed in the predetermined range at least Steps,
Based on the electronic device information, the charging device determines the highest priority electronic device that is the highest priority electronic device that should be charged first among the electronic devices installed within the predetermined range. A decision step;
A control step for controlling switching of stopping and starting of the power reception by the electronic device installed in the predetermined range so that the charging device is charged only by the top-priority electronic device;
A method of charging an electronic device, comprising: a power reception control step in which the electronic device switches between stop and start of the power reception by control from the charging device. A method for charging an electronic device according to claim 9,
An image data transmission step in which the electronic device transmits image data to the charging device;
An image data receiving step in which the charging device receives the image data from the electronic device;
The method for charging an electronic device, wherein the electronic device information includes information indicating whether the electronic device is transmitting the image data. A method for charging an electronic device according to claim 10,
In the electronic device information acquisition step, the electronic device information is also stored when the plurality of electronic devices installed within the predetermined range start transmission of the image data and when transmission of the image data ends. A method for charging electronic devices to be acquired.

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