Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110215762 | RECHARGEABLE POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM ARRANGED BETWEEN EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY AND LOAD - A power supply system includes a power storage module including first and second power storage units spaced by a predetermined distance from each other, and a power generating unit being capable of contacting with both of the first and second power storage units concurrently, and formed of a thermoelectric converting element; and a control unit for controlling charging and discharging of said first and second power storage units. In the first and second power storage units, different thermal reactions occur depending on whether charging or discharging operations is performed. The thermal reactions are a heat absorbing reaction and a heat generating reaction. The control unit renders one of the first and second power storage units dischargeable, and renders the other power storage unit chargeable. | 09-08-2011 |
20130073879 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a functional unit, a first power supply circuit supplying electric power to the functional unit from a commercial power supply, a second power supply circuit including a self-generation power supply, and a third power supply circuit including a power storage unit storing electric power and a charging circuit charging the power storage unit upon receipt of supply of electric power from at least one of the commercial power supply and the self-generation power supply. In accordance with the amount of power supply from the self-generation power supply, higher priority is given to supply of electric power to the functional unit from at least one of the second and third power supply circuits than to supply of electric power from the first power supply circuit. | 03-21-2013 |
20130145184 | ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An electronic apparatus comprising: a main body including a reception unit and a processing unit; and a power supply device switches between an operation state for supplying power from an external power source to the main body and a standby state for supplying power from a secondary battery to the reception unit without supplying power from the power source to the main body. Charging of the battery with power from the power source is performed during the operation state and is terminated when a value indicating power level of the battery reaches a threshold value Vt satisfying (discharge lower limit VL+Vs)≦Vt06-06-2013 | |
20130214606 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND POWER-SOURCE DEVICE - Electronic device comprising: processing unit including accepting part accepting processing request from external device and executing process specified by request; secondary battery connected with external power source; and power-source device transitioning to operating state when request is accepted in waiting state, and transitioning to waiting state when processing unit completes executing process, wherein, in waiting state, power supply from external power source to processing unit is stopped and secondary battery supplies power to accepting part, and in operating state, power is supplied from external power source to processing unit. Power-source device includes controller executing first charge control operation to cause external power source to charge secondary battery when, in operating state, voltage of secondary battery is not higher than threshold, and end executing first charge control operation when transitioning to waiting state, controller updating threshold in response to increase in number of times first charge control operation is executed. | 08-22-2013 |
20140147157 | IMAGE FORMING DEVICE AND CHARGING METHOD FOR SECONDARY BATTERY - The image forming device includes a reception unit, an image forming unit, a switching unit, a detection unit, and a charging unit. The switching unit switches the image forming device between a first mode in which the reception unit is not supplied a voltage from a power source, is supplied power from a secondary battery, and receives image forming requests, and a second mode in which the image forming unit is supplied the voltage and performs image forming. The detection unit detects a value of an amount of energy of the secondary battery. In the second mode, the charging unit charges the secondary battery by supplying the voltage to the secondary battery when the value is equal to or less than a threshold value, and the charging unit boosts the voltage and supplies the boosted voltage to the secondary battery when the value is greater than the threshold value. | 05-29-2014 |
20140370359 | MAGNESIUM CELL AND MAGNESIUM CELL SYSTEM - A magnesium cell includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode including a magnesium alloy, and a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode to hold an electrolytic solution, in which a contact area between the negative electrode and the separator is variable. | 12-18-2014 |
20150071689 | FIXING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING DEVICE, AND INDUCTION HEATING DEVICE - A fixing device thermally fixes an unfixed image onto a sheet through heat of a heating body that is heated through electromagnetic induction, the fixing device including an excitation coil generating flux for heating the heating body; one or more core members disposed opposite the heating body with respect to the excitation coil; a thermo-electric conversion element disposed farther from the excitation coil than the core members; and a thermally conductive member connected to the excitation coil and to a heat-absorbing face of the thermo-electric conversion element, transferring heat from the excitation coil to the thermo-electric conversion element. | 03-12-2015 |
20150286174 | FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A fixing device includes: a plurality of heating units which individually heat a plurality of areas of a fixing member; an acquisition unit which acquires information on an image forming range and a non-image forming range of the recording sheet for each of the plurality of divided heating areas; and a control unit which performs first control for controlling the corresponding heating unit such that a contact portion of the image forming range of the recording sheet has a target fixing temperature when the image forming range contacts the fixing member at the contact portion of the image forming range, and second control for controlling the corresponding heating unit such that a contact portion of the non-image forming range of the recording sheet has a temperature lower than the fixing temperature when the non-image forming range contacts the fixing member at the contact portion of the non-image forming range. | 10-08-2015 |