Coupling manager for managing a multimodal electrical coupling and method of operation

Abstract

A multimodal electrical coupling, which may be comprised of any pair of conductive regions in a surface, is selectively coupled to a coupling communications interface in response to the detection of an article connected across the terminals of the coupling. The coupling communications interface obtains data characterising the article, and determines whether this information is consistent with the supply of power to the article, or communication with the article, in particular in terms of the power requirements of the article, and / or the identity, and corresponding authorisation status of the article. Where interaction is determined to be allowable, a transducer module is brought into connection with the multimodal electrical coupling, at which time the coupling communications interface may be decoupled. A corresponding reporting interface for integration in articles is also presented.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to establishing electrical connections, for example in environments supporting any device setup such as a planar recharging surface with multiple contact areas. Background technique [0002] In recent years, portable electronic devices (telephones, media players, tablet and laptop computers, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, etc.) have become more common, and portable speaker units are now commonplace. With the trend towards miniaturization on the one hand, and the expected increase in the size and brightness of displays and wireless connectivity on the other hand, the demands on the energy storage capacity of the batteries of these devices are becoming more and more challenging. Given these considerations, users are increasingly plagued by "low battery anxiety," where the charge levels of their various devices and the time until the next opportunity to recharge them are a constant source of concern. Attempts to...

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Problems solved by technology

[0014] These methods are not entirely satisfactory as they represent constraints on the layout of the contacts of the charging surface and / or the charging terminals of the device, but still do not rule out inadvertently created short circuits

Additionally, prior art approaches tend to require complex electronics in the device itself for effective detection and differentiation of

Furthermore, they tend to treat all and any connected devices as equal and interchangeable in terms of their coupling characteristics and connection rights, which can lead to problems with overvoltage supply, overcurrent supply, overheating, etc. difficulty

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