Charging method, charging device, electronic device and charging system

Abstract

The invention provides a charging method, charging equipment, electronic equipment and a charging system, and is applied to the technical field of wireless charging. The charging method can be applied to a first charging device in a charging system provided with a plurality of charging devices. When the method is executed, the first charging device can obtain the electric quantity information of the electronic device. And then, in response to the electric quantity information, outputting a first charging signal to the electronic equipment. Wherein the phase where the first charging signal is transmitted to the electronic equipment is the same as the phase where the at least one second charging signal is transmitted to the electronic equipment. The at least one second charging signal is output by the at least one second charging device. Because the first charging signal and the at least one second charging signal are transmitted to the same phase of the electronic equipment, the first charging signal and the at least one second charging signal can achieve the optimal coherence superposition effect, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless charging technology, and in particular to a charging method, a charging device, an electronic device and a charging system. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, wireless sensor technology has been widely used in various fields. For example, wireless sensor technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), Internet of Things and environmental sensing have been widely used in logistics and warehouse management, industrial control, environmental and building monitoring, medical monitoring and smart home. Usually, the wireless terminal devices used in wireless sensor technology are powered by batteries. However, due to size limitations, the battery capacity of wireless terminal devices is very limited, which cannot continuously support the smooth operation of the device. Frequent manual replacement of batteries or intermittent power charging are required to maintain normal operation. This method increases operating costs and affects the stability of services. In order to solve this problem, many wireless terminal devices are currently charged using wireless radio frequency charging technology. Among them, considering the fast energy decay rate of radio frequency signals, the performance improvement of using a single charging device to charge wireless terminal devices is very limited. Therefore, it is usually chosen to use multiple charging devices to charge wireless terminal devices in a coordinated manner. However, there is currently a problem of low efficiency when multiple charging devices charge wireless terminal devices in a coordinated manner. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present application provide a charging method, a charging device, an electronic device and a charging system to solve the problem of low efficiency when multiple charging devices are used to collaboratively charge a wireless terminal device.

[0004] In order to achieve the above purpose, the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:

[0005] In the first aspect, a charging method is provided, which can be performed by a first charging device. The execution process is as follows: First, the first charging device obtains the power information of the electronic device. Then, the first charging device outputs a first charging signal to the electronic device in response to the power information. Among them, the phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. At least one second charging signal is output by at least one second charging device. In this way, when there are multiple charging devices in a certain scene, the phase of the signal output by the first charging device and at least one second charging device can be adjusted so that the first charging signal output by the first charging device is the same as the phase of at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device transmitted to the electronic device, so that the electronic device can be coherently superimposed and charged. At the same time, because the first charging signal and at least one second charging signal are transmitted to the electronic device in the same phase, the first charging signal and at least one second charging signal can achieve the best coherent superposition effect, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

[0006] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: obtaining channel state information between the electronic device and the first charging device. The channel state information includes a transmission phase difference between the transmission channel of the electronic device and the first charging device. Then, in response to the channel state information, a third charging signal is output to the electronic device according to the transmission phase difference. The phase of the third charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one fourth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. At least one fourth charging signal is output by at least one second charging device. In this way, while ensuring the charging efficiency, the first charging device can adjust the charging signal to the optimal phase more quickly in combination with the transmission phase difference between the transmission channel of the electronic device and the first charging device, thereby further improving the charging efficiency of the electronic device. The above process can be performed in another charging time slot before the charging time slot where the first charging signal is located. Alternatively, it can be performed in another charging time slot after the charging time slot where the first charging signal is located. Alternatively, the output mode of the first charging signal and the output mode of the third charging signal can be selected according to the actual scenario requirements.

[0007] In a possible implementation, the first charging device includes a phase shifter and an antenna coupled to the phase shifter. The step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device in response to the power information includes: sending a first indication signal to the phase shifter according to the phase shift amount of the phase shifter. The phase shift amount is determined according to the power information. The first indication signal is used to instruct the phase shifter to perform phase shift processing on the input RF signal and output the first charging signal. By controlling the phase shifter to perform phase shift processing on the input RF signal according to the phase shift amount determined by the relationship between the power information of the electronic device and the phase of the charging signal, the charging signal output by the first charging device can be controlled more conveniently.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. When the first charging device outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device, the first charging signal may be output after the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, and the output of the first charging signal may be stopped when the first charging device switches the uplink communication time slot. In this way, the time period between the downlink communication time slot and the uplink communication time slot switched by the first charging device may be fully utilized to charge the electronic device, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device can transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. When the first charging device outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device, it can also synchronously output the first charging signal at the beginning of the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, and stop outputting the first charging signal when the first charging device switches the uplink communication time slot. In this way, the first charging device can also charge the electronic device in the downlink communication time slot, further improving the charging efficiency.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals in a frequency division duplex manner. When the first charging device outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device, the first charging signal may be continuously output between two communication time slots between the first charging device and the electronic device. In this way, when the first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a frequency division duplex manner, the first charging device may make full use of the time period between the two communication time slots to continuously charge the electronic device, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals in a frequency division duplex manner. When the first charging device outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device, the first charging signal may also be continuously output during the entire transmission cycle between the first charging device and the electronic device. In this way, when the first charging device communicates with the electronic device, the electronic device may also be charged by the first charging device, further improving the charging efficiency.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device can transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. Based on this, after the uplink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, a fifth charging signal can also be output to the electronic device. Among them, the phase of the fifth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one sixth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. The at least one sixth charging signal is output by at least one second charging device. In this way, the first charging device can also charge the electronic device after the uplink communication time slot, so as to better guarantee the power demand of the electronic device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, before the first charging device obtains the power information of the electronic device, the method further includes: receiving a charging instruction from the electronic device. In the above manner, the first charging device can output a charging signal to the electronic device after receiving the charging instruction from the electronic device, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first charging device.

[0014] In a possible implementation, when the first charging device outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device, the charging priority of the electronic device can be determined according to the power information. Then, the first charging signal is output to the electronic device according to the charging priority. In this way, when there are multiple electronic devices to be charged within the charging range of the first charging device, each electronic device can be charged in turn according to the charging priority of the electronic device, and the electronic devices that need charging more can be charged more timely while ensuring that the electronic devices can operate normally.

[0015] In a second aspect, a charging method is provided, which can be applied to an electronic device to be charged. The execution process of the method includes: first, the electronic device receives a first charging signal output by a first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device. The phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of the at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. Then, the energy storage unit in the electronic device is charged by the first charging signal and the at least one second charging signal.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. When receiving the first charging signal output by the first charging device, the electronic device may receive the first charging signal after the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, and stop receiving the first charging signal when the first charging device switches the uplink communication time slot.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. When receiving the first charging signal output by the first charging device, the electronic device may also synchronously receive the first charging signal at the beginning of the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, and stop receiving the first charging signal when the first charging device switches the uplink communication time slot.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. The electronic device may also receive a fifth charging signal output by the first charging device after the uplink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device. The phase of the fifth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one sixth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. The at least one sixth charging signal is output by at least one second charging device.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals via frequency division duplex, wherein when the electronic device receives the first charging signal output by the first charging device, it may continuously receive the first charging signal between two communication time slots between the first charging device and the electronic device.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first charging device and the electronic device may transmit signals via frequency division duplex, wherein when the electronic device receives the first charging signal output by the first charging device, it may also continue to receive the first charging signal during the entire transmission cycle between the first charging device and the electronic device.

[0021] In a third aspect, a charging device is provided, which includes a processor and an antenna. The processor can obtain power information of the electronic device. Then, in response to the power information, a first charging signal is output to the antenna. The antenna is used to output the first charging signal to the electronic device. The phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. At least one second charging signal is output by at least one second charging device.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes an antenna, a charging circuit and an energy storage unit. The charging circuit is coupled to the antenna, and the energy storage unit is coupled to the charging circuit. The antenna can receive a first charging signal output by a first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device. The phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of the at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device. The charging circuit can charge the energy storage unit through the first charging signal and the at least one second charging signal.

[0023] In a fifth aspect, a charging system is provided. The charging system includes a first charging device and an electronic device. The first charging device can execute the charging method in any possible implementation of the first aspect. The electronic device is connected to the first charging device and can execute the charging method in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0024] The technical effects that can be brought about by the second to fifth aspects mentioned above can be referred to the relevant description of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wireless radio frequency communication system;

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another wireless radio frequency communication system;

[0027] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a charging system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of another charging system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a collaborative charging structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 A flowchart of a charging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 A flowchart of another charging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 8 A flowchart of another charging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Fig. 9 A charging timing diagram provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Fig.10 Another charging timing diagram provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of another charging sequence provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of another charging sequence provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Fig.13 A charging efficiency comparison result diagram provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0039] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a kind of association relationship describing the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or its similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, in the embodiment of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit the difference. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0040] The present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments:

[0041] At present, sensors in the field of Internet of Things technology are generally divided into passive sensors and active sensors. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , many passive sensors 110 in the wireless radio frequency communication system 100 using the passive sensor 110 use RFID technology for communication. When the host 120 needs to communicate with the passive sensor 110, the passive sensor 110 needs to be activated by the RFID reader 121. However, the activation level of the passive sensor 110 is high, the communication distance is short, and the reliability is poor. In order to improve the communication distance and reliability, as Figure 2As shown, in many application scenarios, the wireless RF communication system 200 using the active sensor 210 is selected. When the active sensor 210 is used, the host 220 can communicate directly with the active sensor 210 through the wireless communication module 221. However, many existing active sensors 210 are powered by batteries. In actual use, it is necessary to frequently replace the battery manually, or intermittently charge the power supply to maintain normal operation. This method increases the operating cost and affects the stability of the service.

[0042] To solve this problem, Figure 3 As shown, some schemes propose a charging system 300 for charging electronic devices using wireless radio frequency charging technology. The above-mentioned charging system 300 includes a charging device 310 and an electronic device 320 that can be wirelessly charged. Among them, the charging device 310 includes a processor 311 and an antenna 312. When the electronic device 320 needs to be charged, the processor 311 can output a charging signal to the antenna 312, and the charging signal can be output to the electronic device 320 through the antenna 312. The above-mentioned electronic device 320 includes a terminal antenna 321, a charging circuit 322 and an energy storage unit 323. Among them, the energy storage unit 323 is coupled to the terminal antenna 321 through the charging circuit 322. When the terminal antenna 321 receives the charging signal, the charging circuit 322 can convert the charging signal into a DC power signal to charge the energy storage unit 323. In the above-mentioned implementation process, the above-mentioned energy storage unit 323 can be a capacitor, a battery, etc. The processor 311 may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chips.

[0043] In some examples, such as Figure 4As shown, the charging device 310 may also include a radio frequency energy transmission circuit 313. The radio frequency energy transmission circuit 313 is coupled to the processor 311 and the antenna 312 respectively. Among them, the radio frequency energy transmission circuit 313 may include a digital intermediate frequency processing unit, a digital-to-analog converter, a frequency converter, a power amplifier and a filter connected in sequence. Among them, the charging signal output by the processor 311 is converted into a digital signal by the digital intermediate frequency processing unit. The digital signal can be converted into a radio frequency signal by a digital-to-analog converter. The radio frequency signal is then processed by the frequency converter, the power amplifier and the filter in sequence to obtain the charging signal to be output. The charging signal can be sent to the antenna for output. In the above manner, the frequency and power of the charging signal can be adjusted according to actual needs. Of course, the above-mentioned radio frequency energy transmission circuit is only an example given in the embodiment of the present application. In actual manufacturing or use, the above-mentioned radio frequency energy transmission circuit 313 may also include other devices, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific restrictions on this.

[0044] In some examples, such as Figure 4 As shown, the charging device 310 may further include a first wireless communication module 314. The first wireless communication module 314 is coupled to the processor 311 and the antenna 312 respectively. When the charging device 310 needs to communicate with the electronic device 320, the processor 311 may transmit and receive wireless communication signals for communicating with the electronic device 320 through the first wireless communication module 314 and the antenna 312.

[0045] In some examples, Figure 4 As shown, a phase shifter 315 may be further provided between the RF energy transmission circuit 313 and the first wireless communication module 314 and the antenna 312. The phase shifter 315 may also be coupled to the processor 311. When a charging signal needs to be output, the processor 311 may control the phase shifter 315 to perform phase shift processing on the input RF signal through the sent indication signal, so as to output a charging signal of a specific phase from the antenna 312.

[0046] In some examples, such as Figure 4 As shown, the electronic device 320 may further include a second wireless communication module 324 and a DC voltage conversion chip 325. The energy storage unit 323 is coupled to the second wireless communication module 324 via the DC voltage conversion chip 325. The electric energy stored in the energy storage unit 323 may be converted to a suitable voltage via the DC voltage conversion chip 325 to power the second wireless communication module 324.

[0047] Optional, still as Figure 4As shown, the electronic device 320 may further include other loads 326. The energy storage unit 323 is further coupled to the other loads 326 via a DC voltage conversion chip 325. The electric energy stored in the energy storage unit 323 may be converted to a suitable voltage by the DC voltage conversion chip 325 to power the other loads 326. The other loads 326 include sensors and various devices provided in the electronic device.

[0048] Although the electronic device 320 can be charged by the above-mentioned charging device 310, the receiving power of the RF charging signal sent by a single charging device 310 to the electronic device 10 meters away is only tens of microwatts. This power may not be able to meet the energy consumption requirements of future high-performance wireless sensors. Although some solutions have proposed some physical layer technologies to improve transmission efficiency, such as using multi-antenna systems and more efficient charging circuits. However, due to the rapid energy attenuation rate of the RF signal, the overall improvement effect on the transmission performance of a single charging device 310 is very limited. When facing power supply problems in larger-scale wireless networks, it is particularly necessary to use multiple charging devices for collaborative charging. In order to achieve collaborative powering of the electronic device 320, such as Figure 5 As shown, the embodiment of the present application provides a charging system 500. The charging system 500 includes: Figure 3 or Figure 4 The multiple charging devices 310 shown, and Figure 3 or Figure 4 At least one electronic device 320 shown. In the charging system 500, each charging device 310 can output a charging signal to the electronic device 320 to be charged. However, when multiple charging devices are used for joint transmission, the above-mentioned charging system 500 usually adopts a point-to-point transmission method to charge the electronic device 320, does not fully exploit the broadcast characteristics of the radio frequency signal, and ignores the superposition effect of the charging signals of multiple charging devices on one electronic device. Therefore, a lot of transmission energy is wasted. Although some wireless RF charging schemes have proposed real-time resource allocation schemes based on channel state information, such as using energy beamforming and frequency domain power allocation methods to improve energy efficiency. However, these schemes still have the problem of low charging efficiency.

[0049] In order to solve the above problems, Figure 6 As shown, the present application embodiment provides a charging method. The charging method can be applied to Figure 5The charging system 500 shown. For the convenience of distinction, the embodiment of the present application divides the multiple charging devices 310 in the charging system 500 into a first charging device 611 and at least one second charging device 612. The first charging device 611 can be any charging device in the charging system 500, and the embodiment of the present application does not impose any specific restrictions on this. The following embodiment of the present application takes the perspective of the first charging device 611 as an example to illustrate the charging method. The execution process of the charging method includes:

[0050] S601: A first charging device receives a charging instruction from an electronic device.

[0051] Among them, the step of obtaining the power information of the electronic device 320 is performed after the first charging device 611 receives the charging instruction from the electronic device 320, which can reduce the standby time of the first charging device 611 and thus reduce the power consumption of the first charging device 611.

[0052] S602: The first charging device obtains power information of the electronic device.

[0053] In one example, after the first charging device 611 establishes a communication connection with the electronic device 320, the first charging device 611 may first send a first communication signal to the electronic device 320. After receiving the first communication signal, the electronic device 320 may send its own power information to the first charging device 611 through a feedback second communication signal.

[0054] In another example, after the first charging device 611 establishes a communication connection with the electronic device 320, the electronic device 320 may actively send a communication signal to the first charging device 611. The communication signal may carry the power information of the electronic device 320.

[0055] S603: The first charging device outputs a first charging signal to the electronic device in response to the power information.

[0056] Among them, the phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device 320 is the same as the phase of at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device 320. At least one second charging signal is output by at least one second charging device 612. In this way, the first charging signal output by the first charging device 611 and the at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device 612 are transmitted to the electronic device 320 at the same phase. Therefore, the electronic device 320 can be coherently superimposed and charged by the first charging signal and at least one second charging signal. At the same time, because the first charging signal and at least one second charging signal are transmitted to the electronic device 320 at the same phase, the first charging signal and at least one second charging signal can achieve the best coherent superposition effect, thereby improving the charging efficiency.

[0057] In the above implementation process, the first charging device 611 may be the first charging device in the charging system that establishes a communication connection with the electronic device 320. The at least one second charging device 612 may be another charging device other than the first charging device 611 in the charging system.

[0058] In some embodiments, when the first charging device 611 outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device 320 in response to the above power information, it can send a first indication signal to the phase shifter according to the phase shift amount of the phase shifter. The first indication signal is used to instruct the phase shifter to perform phase shift processing on the input RF signal, thereby adjusting the phase of the input RF signal to output the first charging signal from the antenna. The above phase shift amount can be determined according to the power information.

[0059] Exemplarily, after the first charging device 611 and at least one second charging device 612 are arranged in a certain application scenario, the electronic device 320 can be paired with the first charging device 611 and each second charging device 612 respectively. Among them, when pairing, reference can be made to the pairing methods of various wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, WiFi, and near link, which will not be described in detail in the embodiments of the present application. Then, the corresponding relationship between the power of the electronic device 320 to be charged and the phase of the charging signal output by the first charging device 611 is tested. Finally, a lookup table between the phase shift amount of the phase shifter in the first charging device 611 and the power information of the electronic device 320 is constructed according to the corresponding relationship; or, the calculation method between the phase shift amount of the phase shifter in the first charging device 611 and the power information of the electronic device 320 is confirmed according to the corresponding relationship. When the first charging device 611 is officially put into use, if the electronic device 320 enters the coverage range of the first charging device 611, the electronic device 320 can establish a communication connection with the first charging device 611. Then, the first charging device 611 can obtain the power information of the electronic device 320 regularly or periodically. Then, the phase shift amount of the phase shifter is determined from the lookup table according to the power information. Alternatively, the phase shift amount of the phase shifter is calculated according to the confirmed calculation method. Finally, a first indication signal is sent to the phase shifter according to the phase shift amount. Among them, in order to ensure that the charging signals output by the first charging device 611 and at least one second charging device 612 are in the same phase when transmitted to the electronic device 320, a lookup table between the phase shift amount of the phase shifter and the power information of the electronic device 320 can be constructed for each second charging device 612 according to the positional relationship between each second charging device 612 and the first charging device 611. Alternatively, the calculation method between the phase shift amount of the phase shifter in each second charging device 612 and the power information of the electronic device 320 is confirmed according to the positional relationship. Then, when each second charging device 612 is officially put into use, if the electronic device 320 enters the coverage range of a second charging device 612, the electronic device 320 can establish a communication connection with the second charging device 612. Then, the second charging device 612 can regularly or periodically obtain the power information of the electronic device 320. Then, the phase shift amount of the phase shifter is determined from the lookup table according to the power information. Alternatively, the phase shift amount of the phase shifter is calculated according to the confirmed calculation method.

[0060] In some application scenarios (such as smart home scenarios, industrial scenarios, etc.), considering that the electronic device 320 to be charged may be in a mobile state, and the first charging device 611 is the first charging device in the charging system to establish a communication connection with the electronic device 320. Therefore, each charging device in the charging system can store multiple lookup tables or store multiple calculation methods between the phase shift amount of its own phase shifter and the power information of the electronic device 320. At the same time, the first charging device 611 and each second charging device 612 in the charging system can also communicate with each other. Before the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 output the first charging signal to the electronic device 320 in response to the acquired power information, each second charging device 612 can be notified. If the electronic device 320 is also in the coverage range of a second charging device 612, after the second charging device 612 obtains the power information of the electronic device 320, it can determine the phase shift amount of the phase shifter from the corresponding lookup table according to the positional relationship between itself and the first charging device 611. Alternatively, the phase shift amount of the phase shifter is determined according to the corresponding calculation method.

[0061] Of course, the above implementation is only an exemplary implementation provided by the embodiment of the present application, and the phase shift amount of the phase shifter can also be determined by other methods.

[0062] In one embodiment, considering that the transmission distance between the charging device and the electronic device 320 to be charged will reduce the amplitude of the charging signal, thereby affecting the charging effect. Therefore, the first charging device 611 and each second charging device 612 can obtain the power information of the electronic device 320 multiple times. Then, the amplitude and phase of the output charging signal are adjusted according to the power information of the previous and next two times until the best charging effect of the electronic device 320 is achieved. Among them, if the power of the latter time is lower than the power of the previous time, the amplitude of the charging signal output by the first charging device 611 and the second charging device 612 can be increased. If the power of the latter time is higher than the power of the previous time for multiple times, and the power increased each time is greater than the power increased in the previous time, but the maximum charging rate is not reached. Then the amplitude of the charging signal output by the first charging device 611 and the second charging device 612 can continue to be increased. If the power of the latter time is higher than the power of the previous time, but the charging rate is reduced, the phase of the charging signal output by the first charging device 611 and each second charging device 612 can be adjusted.

[0063] S604: The electronic device receives a first charging signal output by a first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device.

[0064] The electronic device 320 may receive a first charging signal output by a first charging device 611 and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device 612 through an antenna.

[0065] S605: The electronic device charges the energy storage unit in the electronic device through the first charging signal and at least one second charging signal.

[0066] Among them, after the first charging signal received by the antenna and the at least one second charging signal output by the at least one second charging device 612 are coherently superimposed, the energy storage unit can be charged through the charging circuit in the electronic device 320.

[0067] In one example, the charging circuit may include a rectifier circuit, through which the charging signal can be converted into a DC signal to charge the energy storage unit.

[0068] In another example, the charging circuit may further include a filter circuit, wherein the filter circuit may be selectively provided at both the input and output ends of the rectifier circuit, so that the energy storage unit can be charged more stably.

[0069] In some embodiments, such as Figure 7 As shown, when there are multiple electronic devices 320 within the coverage range of the first charging device 611, S603 can be performed in the following manner:

[0070] S6031: Determine the charging priority of the electronic device according to the power information.

[0071] In one example, when determining the charging priority of the electronic device 320 according to the above power information, the priority can be sorted in descending order according to the remaining power of the electronic device 320. Among them, the electronic device 320 with a smaller remaining power has a higher charging priority. When charging, the electronic device 320 with the highest charging priority is charged first.

[0072] The above-mentioned method for determining the charging priority is only an example provided in the embodiment of the present application. In actual implementation, other factors that may affect the charging priority may be added in combination with the actual usage scenario. For example, ambient temperature, transmission distance, etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0073] S6032: Output a first charging signal according to the charging priority.

[0074] Among them, the first charging device 611 can charge the electronic device 320 with the highest priority according to the determined charging priority. At this time, in order to ensure the normal operation of other electronic devices 320, each second charging device 612 can also be allocated according to the charging priority of each electronic device 320. The specific allocation method can be adjusted according to actual needs, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific restrictions on this.

[0075] In some embodiments, such as Figure 8 As shown, the above charging method can also be performed in the following manner:

[0076] S801: The first charging device obtains channel status information between the electronic device and the first charging device.

[0077] The channel state information includes a transmission phase difference between the transmission channels of the electronic device 320 and the first charging device 611 .

[0078] In one example, after the first charging device 611 establishes a communication connection with the electronic device 320, the first charging device 611 may first send a test signal to the electronic device 320. Then, after receiving the test signal, the electronic device 320 sends a feedback signal to the first charging device 611. Finally, the first charging device 611 compares the feedback signal with a preset reference signal to confirm the channel state information between the electronic device 320 and the first charging device 611. Among them, the above-mentioned reference signal is the original signal output by the antenna of the electronic device 320. Because the transmission channel between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 is affected by the transmission distance, there is a phase difference between the feedback signal actually received by the first charging device 611 and the original signal output by the antenna of the electronic device 320. Therefore, by comparing the two signals, the phase difference between the two signals can be obtained, thereby determining the channel state information between the electronic device 320 and the first charging device 611.

[0079] In another example, after the first charging device 611 establishes a communication connection with the electronic device 320, a test signal may be actively sent to the first charging device 611. The first charging device 611 may compare the received test signal with a preset reference signal to obtain a phase difference between the two signals, thereby determining the channel state information between the electronic device 320 and the first charging device 611.

[0080] S802: In response to the channel state information, output a third charging signal to the electronic device according to the transmission phase difference.

[0081] The phase of the third charging signal transmitted to the electronic device 320 is the same as the phase of the at least one fourth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device 320. The at least one fourth charging signal is output by the at least one second charging device 612.

[0082] In some embodiments, considering that the transmission distance between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 will reduce the amplitude of the charging signal, the above-mentioned channel state information may also include the signal amplitude loss existing in the transmission channel between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320. When outputting the third charging signal, the amplitude of the third charging signal may also be increased according to the signal amplitude loss.

[0083] In the above implementation process, Figure 8 S801~S802 and Figure 5 or Figure 6 S602 to S603 are parallel solutions, and one of them can be selected for execution in actual use. However, in some scenarios, S801 to S802 can also be selected to be executed before S602, or after S603. In this way, the charging signal can be adjusted to the optimal phase more accurately.

[0084] Furthermore, in order to better improve the charging efficiency of the electronic device 320, the present application embodiment uses Figure 6-Figure 8 Based on any one of the charging methods, the output timing of the charging signal is also designed specifically, and the specific contents include the following examples of the embodiments:

[0085] Embodiment 1

[0086] In one embodiment, the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 can transmit signals in a time division duplex manner. When the first charging device 611 outputs the first charging signal to the electronic device 320, it can output the first charging signal after the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320, and stop outputting the first charging signal when the first charging device 611 switches the uplink communication time slot. In addition, the first charging device 611 can output a fifth charging signal to the electronic device 320 after the uplink communication time slot between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320. The phase of the fifth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device 320 is the same as the phase of at least one sixth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device 320. At least one sixth charging signal is output by at least one second charging device 612.

[0087] For example, Fig. 9As shown, when the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 transmit signals in a time division duplex mode, the first charging device 611 can transmit a downlink communication signal to the electronic device 320 in the downlink communication time slot (t1 to t2). The downlink communication signal can be a broadcast signal or a control signal, such as the first communication signal mentioned above. Then, the first charging signal is output in the time period (i.e., t2 to t3) after the downlink communication time slot (i.e., after t2) to when the first charging device 611 switches the uplink communication time slot (t3). Then, the first charging device 611 switches from the downlink communication time slot to the uplink communication time slot at t3 to t4. Then, the first charging device 611 receives the uplink communication signal sent by the electronic device 320 in the uplink communication time slot (t4 to t5). The communication signal includes the identity information of the electronic device 320, the information detected by the sensor, the power information of the electronic device 320, etc. Then, the first charging device 611 outputs the fifth charging signal at t5 to t6. Next, the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 switch time slots from time t6 to time t7. Finally, another uplink communication signal is sent from the electronic device 320 to the first charging device 611 from time t7 to time t8.

[0088] Embodiment 2

[0089] In one embodiment, when the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 can transmit signals in a time division duplex manner, the first charging device 611 can also synchronously output the first charging signal at the beginning of the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320, and stop outputting the first charging signal when the first charging device 611 switches the uplink communication time slot. For example, Fig.10 As shown, the first charging device 611 can transmit a downlink communication signal to the electronic device 320 in the downlink communication time slot (time t1 to time t2). At the same time, the first charging device 611 outputs a first charging signal at time t1 to time t3. The subsequent process is the same as Fig. 9 Similar, I will not go into details here.

[0090] Embodiment 3

[0091] In one embodiment, the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 may transmit signals via frequency division duplex, wherein the first charging device 611 may continuously output the first charging signal between two communication time slots between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 .

[0092] For example, Fig.11As shown, the first charging device 611 can transmit uplink and downlink communication signals with the electronic device 320 in the first uplink and downlink communication time slot (t1 to t2), that is, the first charging device 611 can send a downlink communication signal to the electronic device 320, and the electronic device 320 can also send an uplink communication signal to the first charging device 611. Then, the first charging device 611 can continuously output the first charging signal to the electronic device 320 in the time period between the first uplink and downlink communication time slot and the second uplink and downlink communication time slot (t2 to t3). Then, the first charging device 611 can transmit uplink and downlink communication signals with the electronic device 320 in the second uplink and downlink communication time slot (t3 to t4). Finally, the first charging device 611 can continuously output another charging signal (nth charging signal) to the electronic device 320 in the time period (t4 to t5) between the second uplink and downlink communication time slot and the third uplink and downlink communication time slot (t5 to t6).

[0093] Embodiment 4

[0094] In one embodiment, when the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320 transmit signals in a frequency division duplex manner, the first charging device 611 may also continuously output the first charging signal during the entire transmission cycle between the first charging device 611 and the electronic device 320. For example, Fig.12 As shown, the first charging device 611 can transmit uplink and downlink communication signals with the electronic device 320 in the first uplink and downlink communication time slot (t1 to t2), the second uplink and downlink communication time slot (t3 to t4), and the third uplink and downlink communication time slot (t5 to t6). At the same time, the first charging device 611 can output the first charging signal in the entire transmission period (t1 to t6).

[0095] In the above implementation process, the third uplink and downlink communication time slot (time t5 to time t6) can be selectively set according to actual needs.

[0096] Furthermore, in order to verify the reliability of the charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also compares multiple charging methods through a charging system with four charging devices 310 and one electronic device 320. Among them, the charging methods used include: charging with a single charging device ( Fig.13 a) Four charging devices are charged incoherently ( Fig.13 b) and four charging devices adopt the charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application ( Fig.13 c) in the figure for coherent charging. The final verification result is as follows Fig.13 As shown. Fig.13It can be seen that the charging efficiency and charging energy of the four charging devices incoherently charging are higher than those of a single charging device. The charging efficiency and charging energy of the charging method provided in this application are higher than those of the four charging devices incoherently charging. Therefore, the charging method provided in the embodiment of this application has a very obvious improvement in charging efficiency.

[0097] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0098] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the modules and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0099] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and modules described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0100] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of modules is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple modules or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0101] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one device or distributed on multiple devices. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0102] In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one device, or each module may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into one device.

[0103] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A charging method, characterized in that: Applied to a first charging device, the method includes: Get the power information of electronic devices; In response to the power information, a first charging signal is output to the electronic device; wherein a phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as a phase of at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; and the at least one second charging signal is output by at least one second charging device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Acquire channel status information between the electronic device and the first charging device; the channel status information includes a transmission phase difference between the transmission channels of the electronic device and the first charging device; In response to the channel state information, a third charging signal is output to the electronic device according to the transmission phase difference; wherein the phase of the third charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one fourth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; and the at least one fourth charging signal is output by the at least one second charging device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first charging device includes a phase shifter and an antenna coupled to the phase shifter; In response to the power information, the step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device includes: A first indication signal is sent to the phase shifter according to the phase shift amount of the phase shifter; wherein the phase shift amount is determined according to the power information; and the first indication signal is used to instruct the phase shifter to perform phase shift processing on the input RF signal and output the first charging signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first charging device transmits signals to the electronic device in a time division duplex manner; and in response to the power information, the step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device comprises: The first charging signal is output after the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, and the output of the first charging signal is stopped when the first charging device switches to the uplink communication time slot.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first charging device communicates with the electronic device via time division duplex; and in response to the power information, the step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device comprises: The first charging signal is synchronously output when the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device starts, and the output of the first charging signal is stopped when the first charging device switches to the uplink communication time slot.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first charging device transmits signals to the electronic device in a frequency division duplex manner; and in response to the power information, the step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device comprises: The first charging signal is continuously outputted between two communication time slots between the first charging device and the electronic device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first charging device transmits signals to the electronic device in a frequency division duplex manner; and in response to the power information, the step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device comprises: The first charging signal is continuously outputted during the entire transmission cycle between the first charging device and the electronic device.

8. The method according to claims 1-5, characterized in that: The first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a time division duplex manner; the method further includes: After the uplink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, a fifth charging signal is output to the electronic device; wherein the phase of the fifth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one sixth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; and the at least one sixth charging signal is output by the at least one second charging device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: Before acquiring the power information of the electronic device, the method further includes: receiving a charging instruction from the electronic device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: In response to the power information, the step of outputting a first charging signal to the electronic device further includes: Determining a charging priority of the electronic device according to the power information; The first charging signal is output according to the charging priority.

11. A charging method, characterized in that: Applied to electronic equipment, the method comprises: Receiving a first charging signal output by a first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device; wherein a phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as a phase of the at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; The energy storage unit in the electronic device is charged by the first charging signal and the at least one second charging signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a time division duplex manner; the step of receiving a first charging signal output by the first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device comprises: The first charging signal is received after the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, and the reception of the first charging signal is stopped when the first charging device switches to the uplink communication time slot.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a time division duplex manner; the step of receiving a first charging signal output by the first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device comprises: The first charging signal is synchronously received when the downlink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device starts, and the reception of the first charging signal is stopped when the first charging device switches to the uplink communication time slot.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: The first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a time division duplex manner; the method further includes: After the uplink communication time slot between the first charging device and the electronic device, a fifth charging signal output by the first charging device is received; wherein the phase of the fifth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one sixth charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; and the at least one sixth charging signal is output by the at least one second charging device.

15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a frequency division duplex manner; the step of receiving a first charging signal output by the first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device comprises: The first charging signal is continuously received between two communication time slots between the first charging device and the electronic device.

16. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first charging device and the electronic device transmit signals in a frequency division duplex manner; the step of receiving a first charging signal output by the first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device comprises: The first charging signal is continuously received during the entire transmission cycle between the first charging device and the electronic device.

17. A charging device, characterized in that: include: processor and antenna; The processor is configured to obtain power information of the electronic device and output a first charging signal to the antenna in response to the power information; The antenna is used to output the first charging signal to the electronic device; wherein the phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as the phase of at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; and the at least one second charging signal is output by at least one second charging device.

18. An electronic device, characterized in that: It includes an antenna; a charging circuit coupled to the antenna; and an energy storage unit coupled to the charging circuit; The antenna is used to receive a first charging signal output by a first charging device and at least one second charging signal output by at least one second charging device; wherein a phase of the first charging signal transmitted to the electronic device is the same as a phase of the at least one second charging signal transmitted to the electronic device; The charging circuit is used to charge the energy storage unit through the first charging signal and the at least one second charging signal.

19. A charging system, characterized in that: including a first charging device and an electronic device; The first charging device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10; The electronic device is connected to the first charging device and is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 11-16.

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