Horology: time measuring systems or devices – Power supply details – Electrical
Patent
1995-11-28
1997-12-23
Roskoski, Bernard
Horology: time measuring systems or devices
Power supply details
Electrical
368204, 320 1, 320 16, G04B 100, H02J 700
Patent
active
057012784
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a power supply unit having a power generation portion and a power storage portion, and , more particularly, to a power supply unit for electronic appliances which can accumulate electricity up to the minimum actuation voltage at the initial operation or the like in a short period of time without reducing the storage capacity.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Replacement of cells is unavoidable for electronic appliances powered by cells when the cells are dead. This is an important subject in the operation of electronic appliances, because cells may not be available when the replacement is needed, and cell replacement is a time-consuming job and involves disadvantage in terms of cost.
A method which has been proposed to solve this subject is to provide a power generation portion and a power storage portion (a second battery) in an electronic appliance to accumulate electric charge generated by the power generation portion in the power storage portion and to drive the electronic appliance by the electric charge accumulated in the power storage portion. By means of this method the electronic appliance can operate while the electric charge is being accumulated in the power storage portion, and when the electric charge has been consumed the electricity is generated by the power generation section and accumulated in the power storage portion, thereby bringing the electronic appliance to the operating conditions again. Electronic appliances can be operated semi-permanently without replacing cells by means of this method.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a conventional power supply unit equipped with a power generation portion and a power storage portion. In this Figure, 1 indicates a power generation portion; 2, a diode; 3, an electronic appliance; and 4, a power storage portion. The electric charge generated in the power generation portion 1 is accumulated in the power storage portion 4 by means of the diode 2. The electronic appliance 3 is driven by the electric charge accumulated in the power storage portion 4. The diode 2 has a function of preventing a reverse flow of electricity, whereby the electric charge accumulated in the power storage portion 4 is prevented from being discharged to the power generation portion 1 side when the power supply from the power generation portion 1 is halted and the power voltage is zero or when the power voltage is lower than the terminal voltage of the power storage portion 4 even while the power is being generated.
In the power supply unit shown in FIG. 15, a large capacity condenser which can accumulate a large amount of electric charge is advantageous as the power storage portion 4 in order to keep the electronic appliance to operate for a long period of time while electricity is not generated by the power generation portion 1. However, in the case where no electric charge is accumulated in the power storage portion 4, such as the case where the electronic appliance is in the initial conditions or the electronic appliance has not been used for a long period of time, it takes a long time after electric generation is started in the power generation portion 1 for the both-side voltage of the capacity of power storage portion 4 to reach a minimum actuation voltage which is the minimum voltage required for he electronic appliance to be operated because of the large capacity of the power storage portion 4. This means a long initial actuation time which is the time required for the electronic appliance 3 to be operated after the commencement of power generation, and is not desirable for the users.
A small capacity for the power storage portion 4 is advantageous from the aspect of improving the actuation time. However, the period for which the electronic appliance is operated becomes short under the conditions where the power generation portion 1 does not generate electric power if the condenser capacity is small. Therefore, the power supply unit which has only one power storage portion 4 as shown in FIG. 15 is not practical.
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REFERENCES:
patent: 4667142 (1987-05-01), Butler
patent: 4709200 (1987-11-01), Ochiai
patent: 4785435 (1988-11-01), Inoue et al.
patent: 5001685 (1991-03-01), Hayakawa
Higuchi Haruhiko
Miyasaka Kenji
Miyauchi Norio
Citizen Watch Co. Ltd.
Roskoski Bernard
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