阅读说明：本技术 可穿戴装置和其使用的电池与供电系统 (Wearable device and battery and power supply system used by same ) 是由 矢作保夫 城杉孝敏 秋山仁 川前治 于 2019-01-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种HMD(100),包括：能够安装第一电池、第二电池(200a、b)并通过无线传输来从该第一电池、第二电池接受电力的多个受电部(102a、b)；监视第一电池、第二电池的状态的电源管理部(106)；与第一电池、第二电池进行无线通信的通信部(108)；和对通过多个受电部接受的电力进行限制的多个限制部(104a、b)。控制部(101)按照装置内的负载的电力使用状况,通过限制部限制对负载供给的电力,电源管理部通过通信部取得第一电池、第二电池的剩余电量的信息,将所取得的信息显示在显示器(119)上。由此,能够在佩戴着HMD的状态下供给装置驱动所需的电力,使得HMD能够持续使用。(The invention provides an HMD (100) comprising: a plurality of power receiving units (102a, b) to which first and second batteries (200a, b) can be attached and which can receive electric power from the first and second batteries by wireless transmission; a power supply management unit (106) that monitors the states of the first battery and the second battery; a communication unit (108) that wirelessly communicates with the first battery and the second battery; and a plurality of restricting units (104a, b) that restrict the electric power received by the plurality of power receiving units. A control unit (101) limits the power supplied to the load by a limiting unit according to the power usage state of the load in the device, and a power supply management unit acquires information on the remaining power of the first battery and the second battery by a communication unit and displays the acquired information on a display (119). Thus, the electric power required for driving the device can be supplied while the HMD is worn, and the HMD can be continuously used.)

1. A wearable device that can be worn by a user for use, comprising:

a plurality of power receiving units to which at least a first battery and a second battery can be attached and which receive electric power from the first battery and the second battery by wireless transmission;

a power management unit for monitoring the states of the first and second batteries;

a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the first battery and the second battery;

a display to provide information to a user;

a plurality of power receiving units that receive electric power from the power supply unit; and

a control section that controls the power receiving section, the power management section, the communication section, the display, and the restriction section,

the control unit limits the power supplied to the load by the limiting unit in accordance with the power usage status of the load in the wearable device,

the power management unit acquires information on remaining power of the first battery and the second battery mounted via the communication unit, and displays the acquired information on the remaining power on the display.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of restrictions have a function of preventing reverse current flowing to the first and second batteries,

the control unit controls the reverse current prevention function of the limiting unit to switch the power receiving system from the first battery in use to the second battery in standby when the power management unit determines that the remaining capacity of the first battery in use is less than a threshold value,

displaying a warning on the display reminding a user to replace the first battery in use.

3. The wearable device of claim 1 or 2, wherein:

the power management section has a frequency counter that monitors a resonance frequency between the power receiving section and the coil of the first battery in use,

the control unit determines that the first battery in use is detached from the power receiving unit when the resonance frequency monitored by the frequency counter varies, and displays a warning on the display to notify a user that the first battery in use is detached.

4. The wearable device of claim 2 or 3, wherein:

the control portion transmits a control command to the first battery in use through the communication portion to stop power transmission to the wearable device when it is determined that the remaining capacity of the first battery in use is less than a threshold value or when it is determined that the first battery in use has detached from the power receiving portion.

5. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein:

the communication unit is also capable of performing wireless communication with a charger that is performing a charging operation of the third battery,

acquiring the state of charge information of the third battery being charged from the charger, displaying the acquired state of charge information on the display,

the control unit transmits a control command for a charging operation of the third battery during charging to the charger via the communication unit.

6. A battery mountable on a wearable device to supply power and chargeable by a charger, comprising:

a battery unit that stores electric power;

a power transmission/reception unit that can transmit power from the battery unit to the wearable device by wireless transmission and can receive power from the charger to charge the battery unit;

a converter that converts a direct current into an alternating current between the battery unit and the power transmission/reception unit;

a storage state recognition unit that detects and stores a remaining amount of electricity or storage state information of the storage battery unit;

a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wearable device and the charger; and

a control unit that controls the power transmission/reception unit, the power storage state recognition unit, and the communication unit,

the charge state identification section is capable of transmitting information of a remaining amount of the battery section to the wearable device through the communication section and transmitting charge state information of the battery section to the charger,

the control unit stops transmission of power from the battery unit to the wearable device when a control command is received from the wearable device via the communication unit.

7. A power supply system comprising a wearable device, a battery for powering the wearable device, and a charger for charging the battery, characterized in that:

the wearable device includes:

a plurality of power receiving units to which at least a first battery and a second battery can be attached and which receive electric power from the first battery and the second battery by wireless transmission;

a power supply management section that monitors states of the first battery, the second battery, and the third battery being charged by the charger, which are mounted;

a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the first battery, the second battery, and the charger; and

a display for providing information to a user,

the first to third batteries include:

a first battery unit that stores electric power;

a power transmission/reception unit that can transmit power from the first battery unit to the wearable device by wireless transmission and can receive power from the charger to charge the first battery unit;

a charge state identification unit that detects and stores a remaining amount of electricity of the first battery unit or charge state information during charging; and

a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wearable device and the charger,

the charger includes:

a second battery unit that stores electric power;

a power transmission section that transmits electric power from the second battery section to the third battery in charge by wireless transmission;

a charging battery monitoring unit that acquires information on a state of charge of the third battery during charging; and

a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wearable device and the third battery,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the wearable device displays information on the remaining power amount obtained from the first and second batteries mounted and information on the state of charge of the third battery obtained from the charger on the display, and when it is determined that the remaining power amount of the first battery in use is less than a threshold value, switches the power receiving system from the first battery in use to the second battery in standby, and displays a warning on the display prompting the user to replace the first battery in use.

8. The power supply system of claim 7, wherein:

the power receiving section of the wearable device, the power transmitting and receiving section of the battery, and the coil used in the power transmitting section of the charger are disposed on a ferrite plate, and when the battery is mounted on the wearable device and the charger, the coils are aligned by an attractive force between the ferrite plate and a magnet disposed at a position opposite to a mounting surface.

9. The power supply system of claim 8, wherein:

the coil used in the power transmission/reception unit of the battery is disposed on 2 opposing surfaces of the case of the battery, and in a state where one surface of the case of the battery is attached to the wearable device, the other surface of the case of the battery is attached to the charger, and the charging operation of the battery can be performed.

10. The power supply system of claim 7, wherein:

the wearable device includes a second power receiving portion capable of receiving power from a second charger different from the charger without via the battery,

and performing a charging operation of the first and second batteries mounted thereon using the received electric power.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a non-contact power supply technique for supplying power to a wearable device such as a head mounted display (hereinafter referred to as HMD).

Background

As a non-contact power supply technique for supplying power to a wearable device used by a user wearing the wearable device, the following technique is known.

Patent document 1 discloses a configuration of an electronic eyeglass having a zoom lens and a charging device thereof, in which the charging device is fitted to a leg-fitting portion of the electronic eyeglass, and power is supplied from a power transmission coil of the charging device to a power reception coil of the electronic eyeglass by electromagnetic induction to charge a battery for driving the electronic eyeglass.

Patent document 2 discloses a wearable device having a heating unit for heating an anterior ocular segment disposed in front of an eye of a user, the anterior ocular segment being heated by heat generated by an electric wire wound around the anterior ocular segment, and a power receiving coil to which the electric wire is contactlessly supplied with electric power from an external power transmission coil.

Patent document 3 discloses a configuration relating to a power supply system for supplying power from a secondary battery module to an electronic device (for example, a glasses-type device), in which a flexible secondary battery, a power transmission unit for performing non-contact power transmission, and a flexible thermoelectric power generation device are housed in a band-shaped portion of the secondary battery module, and power is transmitted from the power transmission unit of the secondary battery module to a power reception unit of the electronic device through non-contact power transmission.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

Recent HMDs have been able to implement functions such as wearable computers, smart phones, and tablet computers. In addition, a glasses-type transmissive HMD is gaining attention as a core device of an Augmented Reality (AR) technology, and an immersive HMD is a core device of a Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Also, there are cases where movies are viewed and games are played using the HMD.

However, as HMDs have become multifunctional, power consumption has increased, and the available time is too short for the mounted capacity of the conventional battery, and thus, the HMD cannot be used continuously while being worn. To cope with such a problem, there is no choice but to adopt a method of charging by connecting the HMD to an external power supply through a cable or charging a battery by interrupting the use of the HMD, which is troublesome for the user. In order to enable continuous use of the HMD while wearing it, the capacity of the battery mounted thereon may be increased, but the weight is increased accordingly. In particular, in the eyeglass-type HMD, as in ordinary eyeglasses, the weight of the device is borne by the ears and nose of the user, and therefore the weight increase must be suppressed as much as possible so as not to affect the wearing feeling. In addition, although the HMD is also miniaturized and thinned as in the mobile terminal, it is troublesome to connect a cable during charging or use, and users have increasingly demanded a simple charging method. Thus, it is a very important problem for wearable devices that are frequently worn for use, that the wearable devices are continuously used, and that troubles of connecting cables are eliminated.

In the above-mentioned patent document 1, in order to charge the driving battery of the electronic eyeglasses, the user needs to perform an operation of fitting the portable charging device to the leg cap portion of the electronic eyeglasses, and when the portable charging device is attached or detached, the electronic eyeglasses move or the electronic eyeglasses have to be temporarily removed from the head, and the use of the electronic eyeglasses is temporarily interrupted. That is, it is considered that it is difficult to continuously use the electronic glasses while the user is wearing the electronic glasses. Patent document 1 also describes a method of attaching a portable charger to a leg-covering portion of electronic eyeglasses and connecting the portable charger to an external power supply in this state to perform charging, but the problem still remains that it is troublesome to connect a cable. In addition, the portable charging device has a terminal exposed to the outside by connecting the external terminal to the charger, and may cause short-circuiting, terminal corrosion, and the like due to sweat when worn on the head.

Patent document 2 describes that a power receiving coil is formed of a wire wound around the eye front portion of the wearable device, and receives power supply from an external power transmission coil in a non-contact manner. In this case, the power transmission coil and the power reception coil must be located close to each other in order to receive desired power supply from the external power transmission coil. This is to suppress the electric wave leaking to the surroundings during power transmission to within an allowable value. As described in patent document 2, when the electronic eyeglasses are placed on a charging stand or the like so that the power transmission coil and the power receiving coil are close to each other, desired power transmission can be performed. However, in a state where the user wears and uses the wearable device, the external power transmission coil must be brought close to the front of the eye (the position of the power reception coil), which may obstruct the field of view of the user using the wearable device. That is, it is expected that sufficient power cannot be supplied in a state where the user wears the wearable device.

In patent document 3, an electronic device (a glasses-type device) receives electric power from a belt-shaped secondary battery module worn around the waist in a non-contact manner. In this case, it is also expected that it is difficult to supply power consumption of a glasses-type device such as an HMD in consideration of the distance from the waist to the head of the user. Further, patent document 3 describes that the secondary battery can be charged from the terminal portion via a cable, but as described above, charging via a cable is troublesome for the user.

In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a wearable device that can supply electric power necessary for driving the device while the wearable device is worn and used, and that is less troublesome for a user to use.

Means for solving the problems

An example of the present invention is as follows. A wearable device, comprising: a plurality of power receiving units to which at least a first battery and a second battery can be attached and which receive electric power from the first battery and the second battery by wireless transmission; a power management unit for monitoring the states of the first and second batteries; a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the first battery and the second battery; a display to provide information to a user; a plurality of power receiving units that receive electric power from the power supply unit; and a control unit that controls the power receiving unit, the power management unit, the communication unit, the display, and the restriction unit. The control unit restricts the power supplied to the load by the restriction unit in accordance with the power usage state of the load in the wearable device, and the power supply management unit acquires information on the remaining power of the first and second batteries mounted on the wearable device by the communication unit and displays the acquired information on the remaining power on the display.

Further, the plurality of restricting portions have a function of preventing a reverse current flowing to the first battery and the second battery, and when the power supply management portion determines that the remaining capacity of the first battery in use is less than a threshold value, the control portion controls the function of preventing a reverse current of the restricting portion, switches the power receiving system from the first battery in use to the second battery in standby, and displays a warning for warning a user to replace the first battery in use on the display.

The battery of the present invention is a battery that can be mounted on a wearable device to supply power and can be charged by a charger, the battery including: a battery unit that stores electric power; a power transmission/reception unit that can transmit power from the battery unit to the wearable device by wireless transmission and can receive power from the charger to charge the battery unit; a converter that converts a direct current into an alternating current between the battery unit and the power transmission/reception unit; a storage state recognition unit that detects and stores a remaining amount of electricity or storage state information of the storage battery unit; a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wearable device and the charger; and a control unit that controls the power transmission/reception unit, the electrical storage state recognition unit, and the communication unit, wherein the electrical storage state recognition unit is capable of transmitting information of a remaining amount of power of the electrical storage unit to the wearable device via the communication unit and transmitting information of the electrical storage state of the electrical storage unit to the charger, and the control unit stops transmission of power from the electrical storage unit to the wearable device when receiving a control command from the wearable device via the communication unit.

Further, the power supply system of the present invention includes a wearable device, a battery that supplies power to the wearable device, and a charger that charges the battery. Characterized in that, the wearable device comprises: a plurality of power receiving units to which at least a first battery and a second battery can be attached and which receive electric power from the first battery and the second battery by wireless transmission; a power supply management section that monitors states of the first battery, the second battery, and the third battery being charged by the charger, which are mounted; a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the first battery, the second battery, and the charger; and a display to provide information to a user. The first to third batteries include: a first battery unit that stores electric power; a power transmission/reception unit that can transmit power from the first battery unit to the wearable device by wireless transmission and can receive power from the charger to charge the first battery unit; a charge state identification unit that detects and stores a remaining amount of electricity of the first battery unit or charge state information during charging; and a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wearable device and the charger. The charger includes: a second battery unit that stores electric power; a power transmission section that transmits electric power from the second battery section to the third battery in charge by wireless transmission; a charging battery monitoring unit that acquires information on a state of charge of the third battery during charging; and a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wearable device and the third battery. The wearable device displays information on the remaining power amount obtained from the first and second batteries mounted and information on the state of charge of the third battery obtained from the charger on the display, and when it is determined that the remaining power amount of the first battery in use is less than a threshold value, switches the power receiving system from the first battery in use to the second battery in standby, and displays a warning on the display prompting the user to replace the first battery in use.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to supply required power in a state where a user wears a wearable device, so that the device can be continuously used. For example, even when a user views a movie for a long period of time, the user does not have a problem that the wearing feeling is impaired by the increase of the mounted battery, and the user can use the wearable device with a high convenience without having to connect a power supply cable from the terminal of the wearable device to an external power supply.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a power supply system including an HMD, a battery, and a charger (embodiment 1).

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the HMD 100.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the battery 200.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the charger 300.

Fig. 5A is a diagram showing power transmission between the HMD100 and the batteries 200a and b in use.

Fig. 5B is a diagram showing power transmission between battery 200c and charger 300 during charging.

Fig. 6A is a diagram showing communication among the HMD, the battery in use, and the charger.

Fig. 6B is a diagram showing communication between the HMD, the battery being charged, and the charger.

Fig. 7A is a diagram showing an example in which various function menus of the HMD are displayed on the display.

Fig. 7B is a diagram showing an example of displaying the status of the battery on the display.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing data transmission between a power supply system and a cloud.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing control of power transmission between the HMD and the battery (embodiment 2).

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a process of detaching a battery in use from an HMD.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing a process of switching from a battery in use to a battery in standby.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing a process when the battery is detached from the HMD.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an operation of attaching a battery to an HMD and a charger (example 3).

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a power system circuit in the battery.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the battery.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which the battery is mounted on the HMD.

Fig. 17 is a diagram showing another example of the internal structure of the battery.

Fig. 18 is a view showing a modification of fig. 17.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration of a charger 400 for charging a battery in a state of being attached to an HMD.

Fig. 20A is a diagram showing a configuration of a power supply system for supplying power to the HMD not only from the battery but also from the charger 500 (embodiment 4).

Fig. 20B is a diagram showing a specific application example of the power supply system of fig. 20A.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description of the embodiments described below. It is to be understood that those skilled in the art can change the specific structure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In the structure of the invention described below, the same reference numerals are used in common for the same portions or portions having the same functions in different drawings, and redundant description may be omitted.