Wireless charging base and operation method thereof
Patent Information
- Application Number
- TW114106486
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TW · TW
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-09-01
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-02-20
AI Technical Summary
Existing wireless charging pads are designed to fit specific devices and fail when the coil centers are significantly offset, leading to inefficient charging due to misalignment.
A wireless charging dock with a rotatable central track and peripheral tracks, equipped with sensors and motors, adjusts the position of the wireless coil to optimize alignment and charging efficiency for devices of varying sizes.
The dock automatically adjusts the wireless coil's position to maximize charging efficiency and minimize power loss by ensuring proper alignment, accommodating devices of different sizes and orientations.
Smart Images
Figure TWG2TA001073839_001 
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to a charging dock and its operating method, and more particularly to a wireless charging dock and its operating method. Prior Technology
[0002] Currently, wireless charging is booming, with conversion efficiency increasing from 50-60% to over 80% in recent years. This has led to a surge in the use of wireless charging in electronic devices such as wearables, Bluetooth headsets, and mobile phones. However, wireless charging pads on the market are typically designed to fit the coil placement of their own products. These specially designed pads are difficult to use with other electronic devices. This is because if the center of the coil (e.g., Rx) in the electronic device is significantly offset from the center of the coil (e.g., Tx) in the wireless charging pad, wireless charging will fail. Summary of the Invention
[0003] This invention provides a wireless charging dock and its operating method, comprising a dock body, a controller, a drive assembly, a central track, multiple peripheral tracks, a wireless coil, and multiple sensors. The dock body includes a central region. The controller is disposed within the dock body. The drive assembly is disposed within the dock body and electrically connected to the controller. The central track is disposed within the dock body and linked to the drive assembly, rotatably positioned within the central region of the dock body. The peripheral tracks are disposed within the dock body and radially arranged around the periphery of the central region; the central track is driven by the drive assembly to engage with one of the peripheral tracks. The wireless coil is disposed within the dock body, electrically connected to the controller, and linked to the drive assembly, moving along either the central track or one of the peripheral tracks. The sensors are evenly spaced on the dock body and electrically connected to the controller.
[0004] This application also provides a method for operating a wireless charging dock suitable for powering an electronic device, comprising: providing a wireless charging dock, including a body, a plurality of sensors located on the body, and a wireless coil movably disposed within the body, wherein the body includes a central region and a plurality of peripheral regions located outside the central region; when the electronic device is placed on the body of the wireless charging dock, at least one of the sensors detects being blocked, wherein at least one of the sensors detecting being blocked corresponds to at least one of the peripheral regions; positioning the wireless coil in the central region, and performing a charging test on the electronic device, so as to... Confirm whether the output wattage of the wireless coil exceeds a preset value; if the output wattage does not exceed the preset value when the wireless coil is located in the central area, the wireless coil starts charging the electronic device in the central area; if the output wattage exceeds the preset value when the wireless coil is located in the central area, move the wireless coil to at least one of these peripheral areas to perform a charging test on the electronic device to find out which of these peripheral areas the output wattage of the wireless coil does not exceed the preset value; and in the peripheral area where the output wattage of the wireless coil does not exceed the preset value, make the wireless coil charge the electronic device.
[0005] Based on the above, the central track of the wireless charging dock of the present invention is disposed within the dock body and connected to the drive component, so as to be rotatably disposed within the central area of the dock body. These peripheral tracks are disposed within the dock body and radially disposed around the periphery of the central area. The central track can be driven by the drive component to dock with one of these peripheral tracks. The wireless coil is disposed within the dock body, electrically connected to the controller and connected to the drive component, so as to move along one of the central track or these peripheral tracks. These sensors are equally spaced disposed on the dock body and electrically connected to the controller. Therefore, when an electronic device is placed on the dock body of the wireless charging dock, the wireless coil can first perform a charging test on the electronic device in the central area to confirm whether the output wattage of the wireless coil exceeds a preset value. If not, it means that the wireless coil can be directly charged in the central area. If so, it means that the electronic device is not properly aligned with the wireless coil, so the wireless coil needs to output a higher wattage. Then, the controller moves the central track to dock with the corresponding peripheral area based on the position of the peripheral area detected by the sensor when it is blocked, so that the wireless coil can move to the corresponding peripheral area to perform a charging test on the electronic device. Therefore, the wireless charging dock of the present invention can be used for electronic products of different sizes. Simple Explanation of the Diagram
[0006] Figure 1 is a top view of a wireless charging stand according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the area of the base and the sensor in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of an operation method of a wireless charging dock according to an embodiment of the present invention. Implementation
[0007] Figure 1 is a top view of a wireless charging stand according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the area of the stand body and the sensors in Figure 1. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the wireless charging stand 100 of this embodiment includes a body 110, a controller 120, a drive assembly 130, a central track 140, a plurality of peripheral tracks 141-148, a wireless coil 150, and a plurality of sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158.
[0008] The base 110 includes a central area 111 and a plurality of peripheral areas 112-119 located outside the central area 111 (Figure 2). In this embodiment, the number of peripheral areas 112-119 is eight, and the shape of peripheral areas 112-119 is rectangular, but the number and shape of peripheral areas are not limited thereto.
[0009] The controller 120 is disposed within the housing 110, and the controller 120 is, for example, a control chip and / or control circuit. The drive assembly 130 is disposed within the housing 110 and is electrically connected to the controller 120.
[0010] A central track 140 is disposed within the base 110 and connected to the drive assembly 130, and is rotatably disposed within the central region 111 of the base 110. Specifically, in this embodiment, the drive assembly 130 includes a first motor 132 and a gear set 134. The gear set 134 is connected to the first motor 132, and the central track 140 is connected to the gear set 134, rotating through the gear set 134. In this embodiment, the first motor 132 is located, for example, below the gear set 134, but the relative position is not limited thereto.
[0011] These peripheral tracks 141-148 are disposed within the seat 110 and radially arranged around the central area 111. The central track 140 is driven by the first motor 132 and gear set 134 of the drive assembly 130 and is connected to one of these peripheral tracks 141-148.
[0012] In this embodiment, the seat 110 is rectangular, and the number of these outer areas 112-119 corresponds to the number of these outer tracks 141-148, for example, there are eight of them. These outer tracks 141-148 extend toward the four corners and the four midpoints of the four sides of the rectangle. Of course, in other embodiments, the number of outer areas 112-119 may not correspond to the number of outer tracks 141-148.
[0013] The wireless coil 150 is disposed in the base 110, electrically connected to the controller 120 and linked to the drive assembly 130, so as to move along the central track 140 or one of the peripheral tracks 141-148.
[0014] In this embodiment, the drive assembly 130 further includes a second motor 136, connected to the wireless coil 150, to drive the wireless coil 150 to move along the central track 140 or one of the peripheral tracks 141-148, so that the wireless coil 150 moves from the central track 140 into one of the peripheral tracks 141-148, or moves the wireless coil 150 back from one of the peripheral tracks 141-148 to the central track 140. Of course, the type of drive assembly 130 is not limited to the above.
[0015] Sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158 are evenly spaced on the base 110 and electrically connected to the controller 120. In this embodiment, each of the sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158 is a light sensor, and these sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158 are located on the four sides of a rectangle. In other embodiments, these sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158 may also be located at the four corners of the rectangle. Of course, the positions of the sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158 are not limited thereto.
[0016] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the operation method of a wireless charging dock according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the operation method 200 of the wireless charging dock in this embodiment is suitable for powering various electronic devices of different sizes (electronic device 10 is used as an example below, but is not a limitation). The operation method 200 of the wireless charging dock includes the following steps.
[0017] First, as shown in step 210 of Figure 3, a wireless charging stand 100 is provided, including a body 110, a plurality of sensors 152, 154, 156, 158 located on the body 110, and a wireless coil 150 movably disposed within the body 110. The body 110 includes a central area 111 and a plurality of peripheral areas 112-119 located outside the central area 111 (Figure 2).
[0018] Next, as shown in step 220 of FIG3, when the electronic device 10 is placed on the base 110 of the wireless charging dock 100, at least one of the sensors 152, 154, 156, 158 detects that it is blocked, wherein at least one of the sensors 152, 154, 156, 158 that detects that it is blocked corresponds to at least one of the peripheral areas 112-119.
[0019] Next, as shown in step 230 of Figure 3, the wireless coil 150 is positioned in the central area 111, and a charging test is performed on the electronic device 10 to confirm whether the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 exceeds a preset value. In this embodiment, the preset value is the rated output wattage of the wireless coil 150 + 0.35 to 0.5 watts, for example, 0.35 watts.
[0020] As shown in step 240 of Figure 3, if the wireless coil 150 is located in the central region 111 and the output wattage does not exceed a preset value, the wireless coil 150 begins charging the electronic device 10 in the central region 111. For example, if the rated output wattage of the wireless coil 150 is 10 watts, and the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 is 10.2 watts, it means that the electronic device 10 is properly connected to the wireless coil 150, so the wireless coil 150 does not need to output excessively high wattage. Therefore, the wireless coil 150 can continue charging the electronic device 10 in the central region 111.
[0021] As shown in step 250 of Figure 3, if the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 exceeds the preset value when it is located in the central area 111, the wireless coil 150 is moved to at least one of these peripheral areas 112 to 119, and a charging test is performed on the electronic device 10 to find out which of these peripheral areas 112 to 119 the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 does not exceed the preset value.
[0022] In other words, when the wireless coil 150 is located in the central area 111, if the output wattage exceeds a preset value, it means that the electronic device 10 is not properly aligned with the wireless coil 150, and therefore the wireless coil 150 needs to output a higher wattage. Therefore, the controller 120, based on the positions of at least one peripheral area 112-119 detected by sensors 152, 154, 156, and 158 when the device is blocked, moves the central track 140 one by one to align with the corresponding peripheral area 112-119, allowing the wireless coil 150 to move to the corresponding peripheral area 112-119 to perform a charging test on the electronic device 10. Once it is found that the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 in one of the peripheral areas 112-119 does not exceed the preset value, the search stops.
[0023] Next, as shown in step 260 of Figure 3, in the outer area 112~119 where the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 does not exceed the preset value, the wireless coil 150 charges the electronic device 10.
[0024] Therefore, the wireless charging stand 100 of this embodiment can automatically adjust the position of the wireless coil 150. Whether the user places the electronic device 10 upright or horizontally on the wireless charging stand 100, the wireless charging stand 100 can automatically adjust the wireless coil 150 to find the best charging position so that the wireless charging efficiency can be maximized and the heat loss generated during charging can be reduced.
[0025] More specifically, as shown in Figure 1, if the electronic device 10 is placed in the lower left corner of the base 110, the sensors 152 and 158 will be obscured by the electronic device 10. The controller 120 will first charge the electronic device 10 with the wireless coil 150 in the central area 111. The controller 120 will determine whether the wireless coil 150 can properly charge the electronic device 10 in the central area 111 based on whether the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 exceeds a preset value.
[0026] If the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 exceeds the preset value, it means that the wireless coil 150 cannot properly charge the electronic device 10 in the central area 111. The controller 120 will control the first motor 132 to rotate the gear set 134, which in turn rotates the central track 140 and bridges it to one of the outer tracks 141, 148, and 147. Taking the outer track 141 as an example, the controller 120 controls the second motor 136 to move the wireless coil 150 from the central track 140 to the outer track 141, where it is located in the outer area 112 (Figure 2), and charges the electronic device 10 in the outer area 112.
[0027] Next, the controller 120 determines whether the wireless coil 150 can properly charge the electronic device 10 in the peripheral area 112 based on whether the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 exceeds a preset value. If the output wattage of the wireless coil 150 does not exceed the preset value, it means that the wireless coil 150 can properly charge the electronic device 10 in this peripheral area 112, and charging will continue.
[0028] Otherwise, controller 120 controls the second motor 136 to move the wireless coil 150 from the outer track 141 back to the center track 140, and then controls the first motor 132 to rotate the gear set 134, causing the center track 140 to rotate and bridge to the outer track 148. Next, controller 120 controls the second motor 136 to move the wireless coil 150 from the center track 140 to the outer track 148, where it is located in the outer area 119, and charges the electronic device 10 in the outer area 119.
[0029] Next, the controller 120 determines whether the wireless coil 150 can properly charge the electronic device 10 in the peripheral area 119. If not, it will move the wireless coil 150 to the peripheral area 118 in the same way and charge the electronic device 10 in the peripheral area 118. Through the above method, the wireless charging dock 100 can find the optimal charging position for the wireless coil 150.
[0030] Compared to conventional charging pads where the coil position is fixed and charging compatibility is poor, and users cannot know whether the electronic device 10 is placed in the correct position, the wireless charging pad 100 of this embodiment can automatically move the wireless coil 150 to adapt to the position of the electronic device 10. Since the wireless coil 150 will automatically move to a low power position, it can also solve the conventional situation of power loss caused by inaccurate placement of the electronic device 10.
[0031] In summary, the central track of the wireless charging dock of the present invention is disposed within the dock body and connected to the drive assembly, so as to be rotatably disposed within the central area of the dock body. These peripheral tracks are disposed within the dock body and radially arranged around the central area. The central track can be driven by the drive assembly to dock with one of these peripheral tracks. The wireless coil is disposed within the dock body, electrically connected to the controller, and connected to the drive assembly, so as to move along either the central track or one of these peripheral tracks. These sensors are equally spaced on the dock body and electrically connected to the controller. Therefore, when an electronic device is placed on the dock body of the wireless charging dock, the wireless coil can first perform a charging test on the electronic device in the central area to confirm whether the output wattage of the wireless coil exceeds a preset value. If not, it means that the wireless coil can directly charge in the central area. If so, it means that the electronic device is not properly aligned with the wireless coil, so the wireless coil needs to output a higher wattage. The controller, based on the position of the corresponding peripheral area detected by the sensors when it is blocked, moves the central track to dock with the corresponding peripheral area, so that the wireless coil can move to the corresponding peripheral area to perform a charging test on the electronic device. Therefore, the wireless charging dock of the present invention can be used for electronic products of different sizes.
[0032] 10: Electronic devices 100: Wireless charging dock 110: base body 111: Central Area 112~119: Outer Zone 120: Controller 130: Driver Components 132: First Motor 134: Gear Set 136: Second Motor 140: Center Track 141~148: Outer track 150: Wireless Coil 152, 154, 156, 158: Sensors 200: How the wireless charging dock works 210~260: Steps
Claims
1. A wireless charging dock, comprising: A single entity, including a central area; A controller is disposed within the base; a drive assembly is disposed within the base and electrically connected to the controller; a central track is disposed within the base and connected to the drive assembly, rotatably disposed within the central region of the base; a plurality of peripheral tracks are disposed within the base and radially disposed around the periphery of the central region, the central track being driven by the drive assembly to engage with one of the peripheral tracks; a wireless coil is disposed within the base, electrically connected to the controller and connected to the drive assembly, for movement along either the central track or one of the peripheral tracks; and a plurality of sensors are equally spaced disposed on the base and electrically connected to the controller.
2. The wireless charging stand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stand body is rectangular and the peripheral tracks extend toward the four corners and the four midpoints of the four sides of the rectangle.
3. The wireless charging dock as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the sensors is a light sensor, and the sensors are disposed on the four sides or four corners of the rectangle.
4. The wireless charging dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving assembly includes a first motor and a gear set, the gear set being driven by the first motor, the central track being driven by the gear set, and the central track rotating through the gear set.
5. The wireless charging dock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive assembly includes a second motor coupled to the wireless coil to drive the wireless coil to move along one of the central track or the peripheral tracks.
6. A method of operating a wireless charging dock, suitable for supplying power to an electronic device, comprising: A wireless charging dock is provided, including a body, a plurality of sensors located on the body, and a wireless coil movably disposed within the body. The body includes a central region and a plurality of peripheral regions located outside the central region. When an electronic device is placed on the body of the wireless charging dock, at least one of the sensors detects that it is blocked, wherein the at least one of the sensors that detects that it is blocked corresponds to at least one of the peripheral regions. The wireless coil is positioned in the central region, and a charging test is performed on the electronic device to confirm whether the output wattage of the wireless coil exceeds a preset value. If the output wattage does not exceed the preset value when the wireless coil is in the central region, the wireless coil begins charging the electronic device in the central region. If the output wattage exceeds the preset value when the wireless coil is located in the central area, the wireless coil is moved to at least one of the peripheral areas to perform a charging test on the electronic device, in order to determine which of the at least one peripheral area the wireless coil is located in when the output wattage of the wireless coil does not exceed the preset value; and in the peripheral area where the output wattage of the wireless coil does not exceed the preset value, the wireless coil charges the electronic device.
7. The method of operating the wireless charging dock as described in claim 6, wherein the preset value is between the rated output wattage of the wireless coil and 0.35 to 0.5 watts.
8. The method of operating a wireless charging dock as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the step of determining which of the at least one of the peripheral areas the output wattage of the wireless coil does not exceed the preset value, the search is stopped once it is found that the output wattage of the wireless coil in one of the peripheral areas does not exceed the preset value.
9. A method of operating a wireless charging dock as described in claim 6, wherein the wireless charging dock comprises: A drive assembly is disposed within the base body; a central track is disposed within the base body and connected to the drive assembly, and is rotatably disposed within the central region of the base body; and a plurality of peripheral tracks are disposed within the base body and radially disposed around the periphery of the central region, the central track being driven by the drive assembly to engage with one of the peripheral tracks, and the wireless coil being connected to the drive assembly to move along either the central track or one of the peripheral tracks.
10. The method of operating a wireless charging pad as claimed in claim 9, wherein the number of the peripheral areas corresponds to the number of the peripheral tracks.