JP4718207B2 - Charger for portable electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a charging device for portable electronic devices, and more particularly to a charging device that is connected to a mobile terminal to generate power and charge the mobile terminal.

  In recent years, mobile terminals typified by mobile phones have become widespread. Needless to say, one of the most significant features of such mobile terminals is the convenience of being able to communicate outdoors regardless of time and place.

  On the other hand, since it is usually not possible to use a commercial power supply outdoors, driving power must be relied on batteries. However, there is a limit to the power that can be supplied by the battery. For example, when going out for a long period of time, communication is no longer possible when the power stored in the battery is exhausted. Even if you carry a charging stand, you cannot use it without a power outlet.

  On the other hand, there has been proposed a device that not only consumes the accumulated power but also generates power by power generation while being carried and can supply power to the mobile terminal (see the following patent document).

Utility Model Registration No. 3076481 JP 10-313933 A JP 2003-333895 A JP 2001-24758 A

  However, the charging device described in the above-mentioned document performs power generation naturally by swinging or rotating a pendulum or a rotating body by carrying it, and neither of them is based on the assumption that charging is performed consciously. For this reason, when charging is performed intentionally, such as when rapid charging is required, it is not always sufficient in terms of time required for charging, power generation efficiency, and operability of the apparatus.

  In particular, the amount of power used by a mobile terminal tends to increase year by year as the display becomes larger and multi-functional, and it is desired to provide a charging device with higher charging efficiency and excellent operability.

  In addition, there are similar problems in various portable electronic devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), electronic notebooks, portable game machines, portable music players, and portable image playback devices.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a more convenient charging device in such a device configuration on the premise that power generation is consciously and positively contrary to the conventional charging device described in the above document. In the point.

  In order to achieve the object and solve the problem, a charging device for a portable electronic device according to the present invention is provided in the portable device by connecting to a charging terminal provided in the portable electronic device (hereinafter referred to as a portable device). A charging device for charging the rechargeable battery, the rotating main shaft rotatably supported, a long member capable of rotating the rotating main shaft by swinging, and the rotational force of the rotating main shaft. A generator capable of generating electricity; and a connection portion that can be electrically connected to the charging terminal and that can supply power generated by the generator to the rechargeable battery through the charging terminal.

  The charging device of the present invention is a device for charging a rechargeable battery provided in the portable device by connecting to a charging terminal provided in the portable device. The charging device includes a generator and is generated by the generator. Electric power is supplied to the rechargeable battery of the portable device through a connection portion connectable to the charging terminal.

  In use, the connecting portion is connected to a charging terminal of a portable device, and the long member is swung around. The rotating spindle rotates with the rotation of the long member, and the generator receives the rotational force to generate power. The generated electric power is supplied to the rechargeable battery of the portable device through the connection part. It is preferable to provide a weight portion at the tip of the long member. This is to facilitate the rotation of the long member.

  The weight portion may be provided with a light emitting portion that emits light intermittently at a constant period. The reason for providing such a light emitting part is as follows.

  In order to obtain a predetermined amount of generated power, it is necessary to rotate a predetermined number of times according to the power generation capacity of the generator, the gear ratio between the rotating main shaft and the rotating shaft of the generator, etc., and charging is performed in a shorter time. For this, it is necessary to rotate the rotating shaft (long member) of the generator at a high speed. However, when the long member is swung around and rotated at a particularly high speed, it is troublesome to count the number of rotations and it is difficult to follow it with the eyes. Therefore, a light emitting portion that emits light intermittently is provided at the tip (weight) of the long member. By providing such a light emitting part, it is possible to make the light (light emitting part) appear to rotate slowly due to a shift (an optical illusion) between the rotation period of the long member and the light emission period of the light emitting part. A person who performs the charging operation can easily know the number of rotations of the long member rotating at high speed by counting the slow rotation of light with his eyes.

  The charging device may be provided with, for example, means for detecting and notifying the amount of charge (for example, detecting the voltage level of the rechargeable battery and turning on the LED according to the result to notify the completion of charging). However, there is a difficulty in increasing the manufacturing cost due to the complexity of the apparatus configuration. On the other hand, in the present invention, the rotational speed can be easily visually checked by using intermittent light emission.

  The weight portion may include a battery that supplies power to the light emitting portion, and a switch that opens and closes a power feeding path from the battery to the light emitting portion, and the switch swings the long member. The feeding path is closed by the generated centrifugal force.

  According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to perform a switch operation again in charging, and charging can be performed while immediately recognizing the number of rotations by simply swinging the long member.

  As a specific configuration of the switch using the centrifugal force, for example, at least two electrical contacts provided to face each other so as to be able to open and close the power feeding path are provided, and these electrical contacts are provided on the long member. What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may mutually be contact | abutted with the said centrifugal force and the said electric power feeding path may be closed, when the said elongate member is swung around, while being spaced apart in the extending direction and urged | biased in the direction away from each other.

  It is desirable that the rotation main shaft and the rotation shaft of the generator are connected via a transmission gear so as to be able to transmit a rotational force. This is because charging is performed by rotating the rotating shaft of the generator at a higher speed and generating electric power in a shorter time.

  Moreover, it is preferable that at least a part of the transmission gear including the surface of the meshing portion is formed of an elastic material. This is to reduce noise generated by the rotation operation.

  For the same reason, and in order to more smoothly transmit the rotational force to the generator, at least a part (more preferably all) of the rotating main shaft, the rotating shaft of the generator, and the support shaft of the transmission gear is used. It is preferable to support the ball through a ball bearing.

  Furthermore, a plurality of gears may be provided as the transmission gear, and the rotation speed ratio between the rotation main shaft and the rotation shaft of the generator may be changeable.

  According to such a configuration, the operability can be changed according to the strength and preference of the arm possessed by the user, the necessity of charging (whether charging is required quickly), or the like. For example, by increasing the gear ratio, the number of rotations of the generator rotation shaft per one rotation of the long member can be increased, and charging can be performed in a shorter time. By reducing the gear ratio, It is also possible to reduce the number of rotations of the generator rotating shaft per one rotation of the long member and generate power with a smaller force.

  The long member can be, for example, a string-like member connected to the rotation main shaft.

  In this case, the string member may include a loop portion. According to such a configuration, it is possible to carry the charging device or a portable device connected thereto by grasping the loop portion in the same manner as a so-called portable strap.

  Moreover, you may provide the reel part which can wind up the said string-like member. According to this, when the charging operation is not performed, it is possible to prevent the string-like member from getting in the way by winding the string-like member around the reel portion.

  Moreover, you may comprise the said elongate member by the rod-shaped member connected to the rotating main shaft.

  In this case, the rod-like member can have a telescopic nesting structure. According to such a structure, when the charging operation is not performed, the long member can be shrunk so as not to get in the way.

  Moreover, the charging device according to the present invention may include a housing that houses the generator, and the connecting portion may be provided so as to protrude from the housing.

  This is to improve the detachability operability with respect to the portable device (charging terminal). In particular, the connection portion of the present invention can be provided with a latch mechanism that locks it in a state where it is inserted into the charging terminal. When such a latch mechanism is provided, an operation button for releasing the latch is provided on the connection portion. It is possible to improve the operability by providing it on the side wall surface.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, two or more generators may be provided. This is because power generation efficiency is increased and charging can be performed in a shorter time. In this case, each generator is connected to the rotating spindle so that it can receive the rotational force of the rotating spindle and generate electric power at the same time.

  Moreover, you may make it further provide the storage battery which stores the electric power generated with the said generator. In this case, power is supplied to the portable device from the storage battery via the connection portion.

  The portable electronic device (portable device) referred to in the present invention is typically a mobile phone, but is not limited to this. For example, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), an electronic notebook, a portable game machine, a portable type, etc. Various portable electronic devices such as a music player and a portable image playback device are included. Moreover, the kind of generator used in the present invention is not particularly limited. A rectifier circuit, a converter, or the like may be provided as appropriate depending on the type of generator to be used. Since these are not essential matters of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of a portable device charging apparatus that generates power consciously and actively.

  Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention based on the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol shows the same or an equivalent part.

  FIG. 1 shows a portable device charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the charging device 11 is connected to the charging terminal 2 of the mobile phone 1 and generates power by rotating a string member 12 (long member / string member). The battery pack (rechargeable battery) is charged.

  FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the charging device 11. As shown in this figure, the charging device 11 includes two generators 21a and 21b inside the housing 13, and a rotating spindle that rotates when the cord material 12 is connected to the tip and the cord material 12 is swung around. 15, a storage battery 14 that stores the power generated by the generators 21 a and 21 b, and a connection connector 31 (connection unit) that sends the power stored in the storage battery 14 to the mobile phone 1. The string member 12 includes a weight portion 41 at the tip thereof, and has a light emitting body (LED) 42 that emits light at a constant cycle at the tip of the weight portion 41. The rotation main shaft 15 and the rotation shafts 22 of the generators 21 a and 21 b are both supported by the housing 13 through a ball bearing 23 so as to be rotatable.

  The rotation main shaft 15 includes a gear 16, which meshes with gears 24a and 24b provided on the rotation shafts 22 of the two generators 21a and 21b, respectively, and the string member 12 and the rotation main shaft 15 are rotated by the gear 16, It is transmitted to the generators 21a and 21b via 24a and 24b. As shown also in FIG. 3 (the gear teeth are not shown), the gear 16 of the rotary main shaft 15 has a larger diameter than the gears 24a and 24b on the generator side, so that the rotational motion of the rotary main shaft 15 (string material 12) is more increased. The power can be generated by transmitting to the generators 21a and 21b at high speed. Each gear 16, 24a, 24b is formed of an elastic material at least on the surface including the meshing portion (for example, the elastic material may be coated, or the gear itself may be formed of an elastic member).

  When the string member 12 is rotated so as to swing around the weight portion 41, the rotation main shaft 15 is rotated, and this rotation is transmitted to the rotation shafts 22 of the two generators 21a and 21b to generate power by both the generators 21a and 21b. . The electric power generated by both the generators 21 a and 21 b is stored in the storage battery 14 and sent to the mobile phone 1 through the connector 31. One generator may be provided, or three generators 21a, 21b, and 21c may be provided as shown in FIG. 4 (in this case, the gears 24a, 24b, and 24c of each generator are connected to the rotating main shaft 15). It is also possible to provide four or more generators.

  Further, the gear ratio between the rotating main shaft 15 and the generator rotating shaft 22 can be changed. FIG. 5 shows an example of such a configuration. In this example, the rotation main shaft 15 includes three gears 16 a, 16 b, and 16 c having different diameters, and these gears 16 a to 16 c are moved upward along the rotation main shaft 15. The gear diameters are arranged so as to decrease in order from the position toward the lower position. The rotary main shaft 15 and the generators 21a and 21b are movably installed so that the distance between the two generators 21a and 21b is widened in the left-right direction. The rotary main shaft 15 and the generators 21a and 21b When the rotary spindle 15 is moved upward (arrow Y1), the generators 21a and 21b move in the left-right direction (arrow X1) along the guide (not shown) so as to approach each other. When the motor 15 is moved downward (arrow Y2), the generators 21a and 21b move in the left-right direction (arrow X2) along the guide (not shown) so as to move away from each other. The gears 16a, 16b, and 16c are configured to mesh with the generator-side gears 24a and 24b. Thereby, the gear ratio between the rotation main shaft 15 and the generators 21a and 21b can be changed.

  Note that the number of gears with different diameters provided on the rotation main shaft 15 may be two, or four or more. The same applies to the example shown in FIG. 2, but between the gears 16, 16a, 16b, 16c provided on the rotary main shaft 15 and the gears 24a, 24b provided on the rotary shaft 22 of the generators 21a, 21b. Further, the rotation may be adjusted by interposing one or more gears.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the connector 31 includes locking pieces 33 protruding from both side walls of the plug portion 35 to be inserted into the charging terminal 2 (see FIG. 1) of the mobile phone 1, and the plug portion 35 is charged. When inserted into the terminal 2, these locking pieces 33 are locked to the charging terminal 2 to prevent the charging device 11 from being inadvertently detached from the mobile phone 1 during charging. When the charging device 11 is detached from the telephone 1, the locking piece 33 is pulled into the plug portion 35 by pushing the operation buttons 32 provided on both side walls of the connector main body portion 34, whereby the plug portion 35 is connected to the charging terminal 2. It becomes possible to pull it out from.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing the internal structure of the weight portion 41 provided at the tip of the string member 12. As shown in this figure, the weight portion 41 includes an LED (light emitting diode) 42, a battery 43 that supplies power to the LED 42, and a switch 44 that opens and closes a power supply path (not shown) that supplies power from the battery 43 to the LED 42. With.

  The switch 44 includes a rod 45 connected to the distal end of the string member 12 and a switch plate 46 fixed to the distal end of the rod 45 and slidably accommodated in the housing 47 of the weight portion 41. Electrical contacts 48a and 48b are provided on the switch plate 46 and the inner side of the bottom surface of the housing of the weight portion 41 so as to face each other. When the rod 45 is pulled out and the switch plate 46 advances to the housing bottom surface 47a. (The left side of the figure), the electrical contacts 48a and 48b come into contact with each other, and the switch 44 is closed. The switch plate 46 is urged toward the tip of the weight portion 41 (to the right in the figure) by a spring 49 provided between the casing bottom surface 47a. The contacts 48a and 48b are separated from each other, and the switch 44 is opened (turned off).

  On the other hand, when the string member 12 (the weight part 41) is swung, a centrifugal force acts on the weight part 41 due to the weight of the weight part 41, and the centrifugal force causes the casing 47 of the weight part 41 to move outward (in the direction of the arrow X5). The switch plate 46 moves and moves relatively toward the bottom surface 47a of the housing against the urging force of the spring 47, the electrical contacts 48a and 48b come into contact with each other, and the switch 44 is turned on. Thereby, electric power is supplied from the battery 43 to the LED 42, and the LED 42 emits light.

  The LED emits light at a constant period by a circuit (not shown). This is due to the following reason.

  In order to allow charging in a shorter time, it is desirable that the string member 12 is provided with a weight 41 at the tip so that the string member 12 can be rotated at a high speed. It is difficult or troublesome to count the number of rotations. For example, when the charging device 11 is configured such that a necessary amount of power generation can be obtained by rotating it a predetermined number of times (for example, 100 times), the user can easily lose track of how many times the cord member 12 is turned during operation. . Therefore, in the present embodiment, the LED 42 is caused to emit light intermittently at a constant period so that the user can easily grasp the number of rotations visually by using the optical illusion.

  That is, FIG. 7 shows the number of rotations (upper diagram) of the string material 12 (LED 42) and the light emission timing (lower diagram) of the LED 42, but the LED 42 is deviated from the rotation cycle of the LED 42. If light is emitted (reference symbol S indicates the timing of light emission), it appears that the illuminated LED 42 is slowly rotating, although the string material 12 is actually rotating at high speed. In the example shown in the figure, the light emission period t0 of the LED 42 is delayed from the rotation period of the string member 12, and the LED 42 seems to rotate once in the rotation direction of the string member 12 every time the string member 12 rotates ten times. Become. Therefore, the user only has to count the number of rotations of the light (LED 42) that rotates slowly (at about one-tenth the speed of the string material 12) (for example, the string material 12 / rotation main shaft 15 is rotated 100 times). If necessary, the LED 42 can be counted by counting it 10 times).

  The rotational speed (rotation cycle) varies depending on how the user applies rotational force, but the approximate rotation cycle is determined if the length of the string member 12 and the weight of the weight portion 41 are determined. What is necessary is just to set the light emission period t0 of LED42 so that it may remove | deviate from this rotation period. Further, in order to shift the light emission period of the LED 42, contrary to the above example, the light emission period t 0 of the LED 42 may be made faster than the rotation period of the string material 12. The LED 42 will appear to rotate slowly in the direction.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the string member 12 may be provided with a loop portion 12a. According to this, the charging device 11 and the mobile phone 1 connected thereto are lowered and carried with the hand in the loop portion 12a. Is possible.

  9A and 9B show another configuration example of the long member. In this example, a long member that rotates the rotation main shaft 15 by a rod-shaped rod material (bar-shaped member) 62 is configured instead of the flexible string-shaped member 12 as described above. The rod material 62 extends so as to be substantially orthogonal to the rotation main shaft 15 and allows the rotation main shaft 15 to rotate by swinging the rod material 62. The rod material 62 has a nested structure and can be expanded and contracted. At the time of use, as shown in FIG. 9A, it is stretched and rotated so that the weight portion 41 is swung. When not in use, as shown in FIG. 9B, if the rod member 62 is pressed and contracted, it does not get in the way when being carried.

The advantages of the charging device according to the embodiment will be summarized as follows.
(1) Since the rotating main shaft and the rotating shaft of the generator are supported via ball bearings and the surfaces of the gears are made of an elastic material, charging can be performed quietly with little noise during the charging operation.
(2) Since two generators are provided, the power generation capacity is large and charging can be performed in a short time.
(3) The number of rotations can be easily observed with the LED that emits light intermittently, and it is possible to know whether charging is sufficient. In this case, the LED switch is automatically turned on only by turning the string member, and when the rotation is stopped, the LED switch is automatically turned off, and the switch operation for turning the LED on and off is unnecessary.
(4) Since the connection with the mobile phone is not based on a cable or the like but by a connection connector protruding from the device housing, the mobile phone and the charging device are integrated, and the operability of the rotation (charging) of the string material is good. Moreover, it is excellent in detachable operability.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. . For example, the transmission mechanism of the rotational force from the long member to the generator can be variously changed in addition to the illustrated example.

It is an external view which shows the charging device for portable devices which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the internal structure of the charging device which concerns on the said embodiment. It is a top view which shows typically the transmission mechanism of the rotational force in the charging device of the said embodiment. It is a top view which shows typically the transmission mechanism of the rotational force which concerns on the modification of the said embodiment. It is a side view which shows the transmission mechanism of the rotational force which concerns on the modification of the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the internal structure of the weight part with which the charging device of the said embodiment is provided. It is a diagram which illustrates the relationship between the frequency | count of rotation of the string material in the charging device of the said embodiment, and the light emission timing of LED. The another example of a structure of the string material in the said embodiment is shown. The another structural example (at the time of charge operation) of the elongate member in the said embodiment is shown. The another structural example (at the time of non-operation) of the elongate member in the said embodiment is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile telephone 2 ... Charging terminal 11 ... Charger for portable devices 12 ... String material (long member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Charger housing 14 ... Storage battery 15 ... Rotation main shaft 16, 16a, 16b, 16c, 24a, 24b ... Gear 21a, 21b ... Generator 22 ... Generator rotating shaft 23 ... Ball bearing 31 ... Connection connector 41 ... Weight Part 42: Light emitter (LED)
43 ... Battery 44 ... Switch 48a, 48b ... Electrical contact 62 ... Rod material (long member)

Claims (2)

A charging device for charging a rechargeable battery provided in the portable electronic device by connecting to a charging terminal provided in the portable electronic device,
A rotating spindle supported rotatably;
A long member capable of rotating the rotation main shaft by swinging;
A generator capable of generating power by receiving the rotational force of the rotating spindle;
A connection part that can be electrically connected to the charging terminal and can supply the power generated by the generator to the rechargeable battery through the charging terminal;
Equipped with a,
The long member is provided with a weight portion at a tip portion thereof,
The weight portion includes a light emitting portion that emits light intermittently at a constant period,
The weight portion includes a battery that supplies power to the light emitting portion, and a switch that opens and closes a power feeding path from the battery to the light emitting portion,
The said switch closes the said electric power feeding path with the centrifugal force produced by swinging the said elongate member, The charging device for portable electronic devices characterized by the above-mentioned . The switch has at least two electrical contacts provided opposite to each other so as to open and close the power supply path,
These electrical contacts are separated in the extending direction of the long member and urged in a direction away from each other, and when the long member is swung, they are brought into contact with each other by the centrifugal force so as to pass the power feeding path. The portable electronic device charging device according to claim 1 , wherein the charging device is closed.

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