Patent Publication Number: US-2007095816-A1

Title: Portable heating device with portable power source

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 94137707, filed Oct. 27, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
     BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of Invention  
      The present invention relates to a portable heating device powered by battery, fuel cell or solar cell such kind of portable power source, and especially relates to a portable heating device that can control heating power level and display the remaining capacity of the portable power source.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      Heating devices, such as electric blankets and heaters, are used in everyday life to stay warm and comfortable. People working in a cold environment need heating devices that are convenient and efficient.  
      Although there are many heating devices available, they are either cumbersome or only work with non-portable power supplies. Even those heating devices having portable power supplies cannot effectively control power level or heating duration. Therefore, a portable heating controller offering convenience and efficiency is needed to solve this problem.  
     SUMMARY  
      It is an objective of the present invention to provide a heating device.  
      It is another objective of the present invention to provide a heating device that can control heating power level or heating duration.  
      It is another objective of the present invention to provide a portable heating controller with a portable power source.  
      It is another objective of the present invention to provide a heating device that can display the remaining capacity of the portable power source.  
      In accordance with the foregoing objectives, an embodiment of this invention provides a portable heating device with a portable power source, which has a portable power source, a capacity detection circuit, a discharging controller, and a processor. The portable power source is used to supply the power to the portable heating device, and the capacity detection circuit is coupled to the portable power source to detect the remaining capacity of the portable power source. The discharging controller is connected between the portable power source and the heating apparatus to connect or disconnect the discharging path therebetween. The processor is coupled to the capacity detection circuit to receive the detecting result and is coupled to the discharging controller to control a conductive frequency to adjust a heating power level of the portable heating device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:  
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a portable heating device with a portable power source according to one preferred embodiment.  
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of the portable heating device with a portable power source according to another preferred embodiment.  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of one preferred embodiment of this invention applied to a coat. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
      The present invention can resolve the shortcomings of the available heating devices on the market, such as the heating devices not being able to work outdoors without a power source and not being able to control heating power level. Therefore, the present invention has a portable power source to be used outdoors conveniently. Furthermore, the present invention uses a simple processor to control the heating power level by a single keystroke. The present invention can also express the heating power level of the portable heating controller and the remaining capacity of the portable power source by light emitting diodes (LED) or a liquid crystal display (LCD). The present invention can be used together with a heating apparatus put in a coat or gloves to provide warmth and comfort.  
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of the portable heating device with a portable power source according to one preferred embodiment. According to this embodiment, this portable heating device with portable power source  100  has a regulator  101 , a charging circuit  105 , a portable power source  110 , a capacity detection circuit  115 , a discharging controller  130 , a processor  120 , and a display interface  125 .  
      The function of each block in  FIG. 1  is described as follows. The regulator  101  is used to transform and rectify an input current to be a charging source for the portable heating device with portable power source  100 . The regulator  101  couples to the portable power source  110  by the charging circuit  105  for charging the portable power source  110 , and the quantity or capacity of the portable power source  110  is adjustable according to the user (not shown). The portable power source  110  also couples to the capacity detection circuit  115  and the discharging controller  130 . The capacity detection circuit  115  is used to detect an remaining capacity of the portable power source  110 , and the discharging controller  130  is used to connect or disconnect the discharging path of the portable power source  110 . The discharging controller  130  can be implemented by ordinary pulse width modulator (PWM) circuits. Furthermore, the discharging controller  130  couples to a heating apparatus  135  heated by the discharging of the portable power source  110 , and the quantity or capacity of the heating apparatus  135  is adjustable according to the user (not shown). The processor  120  coupled to the capacity detection circuit  115  is used to receive the detecting result from the capacity detection circuit  115  and expresses the result on the display interface  125 . The processor  120  can control a conductive frequency of the discharging controller  130  to adjust power level of the portable power source  110 . The portable power source  110  can be a battery pack, a fuel cell or a solar cell such kind of portable power source and the heating apparatus  135  can be an electric heating pad.  
      The processor  120  in  FIG. 1  can be implemented by a basic microprocessor. The conductive frequency of the discharging controller  130  can adjust the power level of the portable power source  110 , wherein when the conductive frequency increases, the temperature of the heating apparatus increases; and when the conductive frequency is zero, the portable heating controller does not heat the heating apparatus. Furthermore, certain sequential pressing of a single key can be used to control the conductive frequency, and the duration of the keystroke can be used to turn the portable heating controller on or off.  
      The display interface  125  can be implemented by two groups of LEDs, wherein one group expresses the remaining capacity of the portable power source  110 , and the other group expresses the power level of the portable power source  110 . For example, the LEDs of the group expressing the remaining capacity of the portable power source  110  generate a first colored light (such as green light) when the remaining capacity of the portable power source is about full, generate a second colored light (such as orange light) when the remaining capacity of the portable power source is about half, generate a third colored light (such as red light) when the remaining capacity of the portable power source is about empty, and generate a flashing colored light (such as red flashing light) when the remaining capacity of the portable power source is fully empty. The LEDs of the group expressing the power level of the portable power source  110  generate a fourth colored light (such as red light) when the power level is high, generate a fifth colored light (such as orange light) when the power level is medium, and generate a sixth colored light (such as green light) when the power level is low. By the expression on the display interface  125 , the portable heating controller with portable power source  100  can show the remaining capacity and the power level of the portable power source  110  easily and clearly.  
      The display interface  125  can also be implemented by an LCD to express the remaining capacity and the power level of the portable power source  110 . Otherwise, the capacity detection circuit  115 , the discharging controller  130  and the processor  120  can be integrated as a module (not shown).  
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of the portable heating controller with a portable power source according to another preferred embodiment. The difference between  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  is that the embodiment of  FIG. 2  has an extra timer  240  coupling to the processor  120  and the discharging controller  130 . The timer  240  is used to control the heating duration of the heating apparatus  135 .  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of one preferred embodiment of this invention applied to a coat. There are two heating apparatuses  135  in the pockets of coat  300 , and the portable heating controller with portable power source  100  can display the remaining capacity and the power level. The portable heating controller with portable power source  100  with these heating apparatuses  135  can also be applied to gloves or earflaps to stay warm and comfortable.  
      Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.  
      It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.