Multi-coil Selection in a Charging Device

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus for wireless charging are disclosed. A method for operating a wireless charging device includes determining that a rechargeable device is positioned proximate to a plurality of charging coils on a charging surface of the wireless charging device, identifying two or more charging configurations for the rechargeable device, determining a power loss during wireless transfer of power to the rechargeable device for each of the two or more charging configurations, and initiating charging of the charging device using the charging configuration associated with the lowest power loss to configure the wireless charging device. Each charging configuration includes at least one of the plurality of charging coils.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to wireless charging of batteries, including the use of a multi-coil wireless charging device to charge a battery within a mobile device regardless of the position of the mobile device on the surface of the multi-coil wireless charging device.

[0002] Claims of Priority This application claims the benefit and priority of Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 957,427, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on January 6, 2020, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth below for all applicable purposes.

Background Art

[0003] Wireless charging systems have been developed to enable a particular type of device to charge its internal battery without using a physical charging connection. Devices that can utilize wireless charging include mobile processing devices and / or mobile communication devices. Standard specifications, such as the Qi standard defined by the Wireless Power Consortium, enable a device manufactured by a first supplier to be wirelessly charged using a charger manufactured by a second supplier. The specifications for wireless charging are optimized for a relatively simple configuration of the device and tend to provide basic charging functionality.

[0004] Improvements in wireless charging functionality are necessary to support the increasingly complex mobile devices and changing form factors. For example, there is a need for improved charging technology for multi-coil, multi-device charging pads.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended to describe various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be implemented. The detailed description includes specific details for providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure such concepts.

[0007] Next, some aspects of a wireless charging system are presented with reference to various devices and methods. Those devices and methods are described in the following detailed description and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). Those elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or as software depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0008] For example, an element, any part of an element, or any combination of elements can be implemented in a "processing system" that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors of the processing system can execute software. Software is broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or hardware description language. The software may be resident on a processor-readable storage medium. The processor-readable storage medium, also referred to herein as a computer-readable medium, can include, for example, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives), near field communication (NFC) tokens, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, carrier waves, transmission lines, or any other medium suitable for storing or transmitting software. The computer-readable medium may be present within the processing system, external to the processing system, or distributed among multiple entities including the processing system. The computer-readable medium may be embodied in a computer program product.As an example, a computer program product can include a computer-readable medium within a packaging material. Those skilled in the art will recognize the best way to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0009] Summary Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems, devices, and methods applicable to a wireless charging device that provides a charging surface for a free position having a plurality of transmission coils, or a charging surface for a free position capable of simultaneously charging a plurality of receiving devices. In one aspect, a controller of the wireless charging device can locate a device to be charged and configure one or more transmission coils that are in an optimal position to supply power to the receiving device. A charging cell can comprise or be configured with one or more inductive transmission coils, and a plurality of charging cells can be arranged or configured to provide a charging surface. The position of the device to be charged can be detected by a sensing technique that associates the position of the device with a change in physical properties centered on a known position of the charging surface. In some examples, position sensing can be performed using capacitive, resistive, inductive, touch, pressure, load, strain, and / or another suitable type of sensing.

[0010] Certain aspects disclosed herein relate to improvements in wireless charging technology. Systems, devices, and methods are disclosed that accommodate freely placing a charging device on the surface of a multi-coil wireless charging device. Certain aspects can improve the efficiency and capacity of wireless power transfer to a receiving device. In one example, a wireless charging device includes a battery charging power source, a plurality of charging cells configured in a matrix, a first plurality of switches each configured to couple a row of coils in the matrix to a first terminal of the battery charging power source, and a second plurality of switches each configured to couple a column of coils in the matrix to a second terminal of the battery charging power source. Each charging cell within the plurality of charging cells can include one or more coils surrounding a power transfer region. The plurality of charging cells can be arranged adjacent to a charging surface such that the power transfer regions of the charging cells within the plurality of charging cells do not overlap.

[0011] According to certain aspects disclosed herein, power can be wirelessly transmitted to a receiving device at any position on a charging surface that can have arbitrarily defined size and / or shape, regardless of the individual placement location that can be charged. Multiple devices can be charged simultaneously on a single charging surface. The charging surface can be manufactured at low cost and / or with a compact design using printed circuit board technology.

[0012] Charging cell Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems, devices, and methods applicable to a wireless charging device that provides a charging surface for a free position having a plurality of transmission coils or a charging surface for a free position capable of simultaneously charging a plurality of receiving devices. In one aspect, a processing circuit coupled to the charging surface of the free position can be configured to identify the position of the device to be charged and select and configure one or more transmission coils in an optimal position to supply power to the receiving device. The charging cell can be configured to include one or more inductive transmission coils, and a plurality of charging cells can be arranged or configured to provide a charging surface. The position of the device to be charged can be detected by a detection technique that associates the position of the device with a change in physical characteristics centered on a known position of the charging surface. In some examples, position detection can be performed using capacitive, resistive, inductive, touch, pressure, load, strain, and / or another suitable type of detection.

[0013] According to certain aspects disclosed herein, the charging surface of a wireless charging device can be provided using charging cells arranged adjacent to the charging surface. In one example, the charging cells are arranged according to a honeycomb packaging configuration. The charging cell can be implemented using one or more coils that can each induce a magnetic field along an axis substantially orthogonal to the charging surface adjacent to the coil. In the present disclosure, a charging cell can refer to an element having one or more coils, where each coil is additive with respect to the magnetic field generated by other coils within the charging cell and is configured to generate an electromagnetic field directed along or in proximity to a common axis. In this specification, the coils within a charging cell may also be referred to as charging coils or transmission coils.

[0014] In some examples, the charging cell includes coils stacked along a common axis. One or more coils may overlap to contribute to an inductive magnetic field that is substantially orthogonal to the charging surface. In some examples, the charging cell includes a plurality of coils, which are arranged within a defined portion of the charging surface and contribute to an inductive magnetic field within the defined portion of the charging surface, and the magnetic field contributes to a magnetic flux that extends substantially orthogonal to the charging surface. In some aspects, the charging cell may be configurable by providing an excitation current to the coils included in the dynamically defined charging cell. For example, a wireless charging device can include a stack of a plurality of coils arranged across the charging surface, and the wireless charging device can detect the position of the device to be charged and select some combinations of the stack of coils to provide a charging cell adjacent to the device to be charged. In some examples, the charging cell may include a single coil or be characterized as a single coil. However, it should be understood that the charging cell can include a plurality of stacked coils and / or a plurality of adjacent coils or a stack of coils.

[0015] FIG. 1 shows an example of a charging cell 100 that can be deployed and / or configured to provide a charging surface of a wireless charging device. In one example, the charging cell 100 includes one or more coils 102 constructed using a conductor, wire, or circuit board trace that can receive a current sufficient to generate an electromagnetic field in the power transmission region 104 and has a substantially hexagonal shape. In various aspects, some of the coils 102 can have a substantially polygonal shape that includes the hexagonal charging cell 100 shown in FIG. 1. In other embodiments, coils 102 having other shapes can be included or used. The shape of the coil 102 can be at least partially determined by the capabilities or limitations of the manufacturing technology or to optimize the layout of the charging cell on a substrate 106 such as a printed circuit board. Each coil 102 can be implemented using a wire in a spiral configuration, a trace of a printed circuit board, and / or other connectors. Each charging cell 100 may span two or more layers separated by an insulator or substrate 106 such that coils 102 of different layers are arranged about a common axis 108.

[0016] FIG. 2 shows an example of an arrangement 200 of charging cells 202 provided on a single layer of a segment or portion of a charging surface that can be adapted according to certain aspects disclosed herein. The charging cells 202 are arranged according to a honeycomb package configuration. In this example, the charging cells 202 are arranged end-to-end without overlapping. This arrangement can be provided without through-hole or wire interconnects. Other arrangements are possible, including arrangements where a portion of the charging cells 202 overlap. For example, the wires of two or more coils may be arranged alternately to some extent.

[0017] FIG. 3 shows an example of the arrangement of charging cells from two viewpoints 300, 310 when multiple layers are stacked within a segment or portion of a charging surface that can be adapted according to certain aspects disclosed herein. Layers 302, 304, 306, 308 of charging cells are provided within the charging surface. The charging cells within each of the layers 302, 304, 306, 308 of charging cells are arranged according to a honeycomb package configuration. In one example, the layers 302, 304, 306, 308 of charging cells may be formed on a printed circuit board having four or more layers. The arrangement of the charging cells 100 can be selected to completely cover a designated charging area adjacent to the illustrated segment.

[0018] FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of power transmission regions provided on a charging surface 400 that employs multiple layers of charging cells configured according to certain aspects disclosed herein. The illustrated charging surface is composed of four layers 402, 404, 406, 408 of charging cells. In FIG. 4, each power transmission region provided by the charging cells in the first layer 402 of charging cells is labeled "L1", each power transmission region provided by the charging cells in the second layer 404 of charging cells is labeled "L2", each power transmission region provided by the charging cells in the third layer 406 of charging cells is labeled "L3", and each power transmission region provided by the charging cells in the fourth layer 408 of charging cells is labeled "L4".

[0019] Wireless transmitter FIG. 5 shows an example of a wireless transmitter 500 that can be provided in a base station of a wireless charging device. The base station of the wireless charging device can include one or more processing circuits used to control the operation of the wireless charging device. The controller 502 can receive a feedback signal that has been filtered or otherwise processed by the filter circuit 508. The controller can control the operation of the driver circuit 504 that supplies an alternating current to the resonant circuit 506. In some examples, the controller 502 can generate a digital frequency reference signal that is used to control the frequency of the alternating current output by the driver circuit 504. In some cases, the digital frequency reference signal can be generated using a programmable counter or the like. In some examples, the driver circuit 504 includes a power inverter circuit and one or more power amplifiers, and they can cooperate to generate an alternating current from a DC source or input. In some examples, the digital frequency reference signal may be generated by the driver circuit 504 or another circuit. The resonant circuit 506 includes a capacitor 512 and an inductor 514. The inductor 514 can represent or include one or more transmission coils in a charging cell that generate a magnetic flux in response to an alternating current. The resonant circuit 506 is also referred to herein as a tank circuit, an LC tank circuit, or an LC tank, and the voltage 516 measured at the LC node 510 of the resonant circuit 506 is also referred to as the tank voltage.

[0020] The passive ping technique can use the voltage and / or current measured or observed at the LC node 510 to identify the presence of a receiving coil in proximity to the charging pad of a device adapted according to certain aspects disclosed herein. Some conventional wireless charging devices include circuitry that measures the voltage at the LC node 510 of the resonant circuit 506 or the current in the resonant circuit 506. These voltages and currents can be monitored for power regulation purposes and / or to support communication between devices. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the voltage at the LC node 510 of the wireless transmitter 500 shown in FIG. 5 can be monitored to support a passive ping technique that can detect the presence of a chargeable device or other object based on the response of the resonant circuit 506 to a short burst (ping) of energy transmitted through the resonant circuit 506.

[0021] The passive ping detection technique can be used to provide high-speed and low-power detection. A passive ping can be generated by driving a network including the resonant circuit 506 with a high-speed pulse containing a small amount of energy. The high-speed pulse excites the resonant circuit 506 and causes the network to oscillate at its natural resonant frequency until the injected energy decays and dissipates. The response of the resonant circuit 506 to the high-speed pulse is partially determined by the resonant frequency of the resonant LC circuit. The response of the resonant circuit 506 to a passive ping with an initial voltage = V0 is the voltage V observed at the LC node 510 as follows LC which can be shown by. TIFF0007698897000001.tif12170

[0022] When the controller 502 or another processor detects the presence of an object using a digital ping, the resonant circuit 506 can be monitored. The digital ping is generated by driving the resonant circuit 506 for a certain period of time. The resonant circuit 506 is a tuned network that includes the transmission coil of the wireless charging device. The receiving device can modulate the voltage or current observed in the resonant circuit 506 by changing the impedance presented by its power receiving circuit according to the signal state of the modulation signal. Then, the controller 502 or other processor waits for a data-modulated response indicating that the receiving device is nearby.

[0023] Selectively actuated coil According to certain aspects disclosed herein, the coils within one or more charging cells can be selectively actuated to provide an electromagnetic field optimal for charging a compatible device. In some cases, multiple coils may be assigned to a charging cell, and some charging cells may overlap other charging cells. The optimal charging configuration can be selected at the charging cell level. In some examples, the charging configuration can include a charging surface or charging cells within the charging surface that are determined to be aligned with or located near the device being charged. The controller can actuate a single coil or a combination of coils based on the charging configuration, which is based on the detection of the position of the device being charged. In some aspects, the wireless charging device can include a driver circuit that can selectively actuate one or more transmission coils or one or more preset charging cells during a charging event.

[0024] FIG. 6 shows a first topology 600 that supports matrix multiplexing switching for use in a wireless charging device adapted according to certain aspects disclosed herein. The wireless charging device can select one or more charging cells 100 to charge a receiving device. Charging cells 100 that are not in use can be disconnected from the flow of current. A relatively large number of charging cells 100 can be used in the honeycomb package configurations shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 that require a corresponding number of switches. According to certain aspects disclosed herein, the charging cells 100 can be logically arranged in a matrix 608 having multiple cells connected to two or more switches that allow a particular cell to be powered. In the illustrated topology 600, a two-dimensional matrix 608 is provided, with the dimensions represented by X and Y coordinates. Each of the first set of switches 606 is configured to selectively couple the first terminal of each cell in a column of cells to the first terminal of a voltage source or current source 602 that supplies current to activate the coils of one or more charging cells during wireless charging. Each of the second set of switches 604 is configured to selectively couple the second terminal of each cell in a row of cells to the second terminal of the voltage source or current source 602. The charging cell becomes active when both of its terminals are coupled to the voltage source or current source 602.

[0025] By using the matrix 608, the number of switching components required to operate the network of the tuned LC circuit can be significantly reduced. For example, N individually connected cells require at least N switches, but a two-dimensional matrix 608 having N cells can be operated with √N switches. By using the matrix 608, the cost can be significantly reduced, and the complexity of the circuit and / or layout can be reduced. In one example, a 9-cell embodiment can be realized with a 3×3 matrix 608 using 6 switches, saving 3 switches. In another example, a 16-cell embodiment can be realized with a 4×4 matrix 608 using 8 switches, saving 8 switches.

[0026] During operation, at least two switches are closed to actively couple one coil or charging cell to the voltage source or current source 602. Multiple switches can be closed at once to easily connect multiple coils or charging cells to the voltage source or current source 602. For example, multiple switches can be closed to enable an operating mode that drives multiple transmission coils when transmitting power to a receiving device.

[0027] FIG. 7 shows a second topology 700 in which each individual coil or charging cell is driven individually and / or directly by a driver circuit 702, in accordance with certain aspects disclosed herein. The driver circuit 702 can be configured to select one or more coils or charging cells 100 from among a group 704 of coils to charge a receiving device. It will be appreciated that the concepts disclosed herein in connection with the charging cell 100 can be applied to the selective operation of individual coils or stacks of coils. Charging cells 100 that are not in use do not receive current. A relatively large number of charging cells 100 may be in use, and a switching matrix can be employed to drive individual coils or groups of coils. In one example, a first switching matrix can configure connections that define the group of charging cells or coils to be used during a charging event, and a second switching matrix can be used to operate the charging cells and / or the selected group of coils.

[0028] Flux Operation in a Multi-Coil Wireless Charger FIG. 8 shows specific examples 800, 820, 830, 840 of the arrangement of the rechargeable device 802 on a group of charging cells on the charging surface of a wireless charging device. Each charging cell includes at least one charging coil. The rechargeable device 802 can be freely arranged on the charging surface. The rechargeable device 802 has an area comparable to the area occupied by the power transmission area of each charging cell on the charging surface, or the area occupied by the power transmission area of the constituent inductive charging coils within the charging cell. In the illustrated examples 800, 820, 830, 840, the rechargeable device 802 is somewhat larger than a single charging coil 804. Based on the shape and arrangement of the charging coils 804, 806, 808, 810, the rechargeable device 802 can physically cover adjacent charging coils. In the third and fourth examples 830, 840, the rechargeable device 802 is arranged to substantially overlap a single charging coil 808 and partially cover a plurality of other charging coils 804, 806, 810. After establishing its presence, the rechargeable device 802 can receive power from one or more of the charging coils 804, 806, 808, 810.

[0029] Certain aspects of the present disclosure can correspond to charging configurations that use a plurality of adjacent charging cells or charging coils 804, 806, 808, 810. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, it is possible to utilize any number of charging coils to charge a rechargeable device. FIG. 9 shows certain aspects of charging configurations 900, 920 that can be defined for a wireless charging device when a rechargeable device 902, 922 is presented for charging or is being charged on or at a charging surface of the wireless charging device. The number and location of available charging cells or charging coils can vary based on the type of optimally placed charging coils 910, 926, the charging contract negotiated between the charging surface and the rechargeable devices 902, 922, and the topology or configuration of the charging surface. For example, the number and location of available charging cells or charging coils can be based on maximum charging power, or on the contracted charging power transmitted via the active coil 910 or potentially another charging coil 904, or on other factors.

[0030] In a first configuration 900, the rechargeable device 902 can identify charging cells that are candidates to be included in the charging configuration. Each charging cell includes at least one charging coil. In the illustrated example, the rechargeable device 902 is arranged such that its center is substantially coaxial with a first charging coil 910. For the purposes of this description, it is assumed that the center of the first receiving coil 910 within the rechargeable device 902 is located at the center of the rechargeable device 902. In this example, the wireless charging device can determine that the first charging coil 910 has the strongest coupling with the receiving coil within the rechargeable device 902 relative to the coils of the next bands 906, 908 of the charging coil 906. In one example, the wireless charging device can define the charging configuration as including at least the first charging coil 910. In some examples, the charging configuration can identify one or more charging coils of the first band 906 that are activated during the charging process.

[0031] In the second charging configuration 920, the wireless charging device can employ a detection technique capable of detecting the edge of the rechargeable device 922. For example, the contour of the rechargeable device 922 can be detected using capacitive sensing, inductive sensing, pressure, Q-value measurement, or any other suitable device positioning technique. In some cases, the contour of the rechargeable device 922 can be identified using one or more sensors provided within or on the charging surface. In the illustrated example, the rechargeable device 922 has an elongated shape. For the purposes of this description, it is assumed that the center of the first receiving coil 924 within the rechargeable device 922 is located at the center of the rechargeable device 922. The wireless charging device can determine that the first charging coil 924 has the strongest coupling with the receiving coil within the rechargeable device 922. In one example, the charging configuration can be defined with the wireless charging device including at least the first charging coil 924. The charging coils 926, 928 adjacent to the first receiving coil 924 and below and within the contour of the rechargeable device 922 can be included in some charging configurations. Other coils 930, 932 adjacent to the first receiving coil 924 and partially below and within the contour of the rechargeable device 922 may be defined by some charging configurations to be activated during a particular charging process.

[0032] In some examples, the rechargeable device can receive power from two or more active charging cells and / or charging coils. In one example, the rechargeable device can have a relatively large footprint with respect to the charging surface and can have multiple receiving coils that can participate in multiple charging coils to receive power. In another example, the receiving coils of the rechargeable device can be arranged at approximately equal distances from two or more charging coils, and a charging configuration can be defined in which two or more adjacent charging coils on the charging surface supply power to the rechargeable device.

[0033] FIG. 10 shows a charging surface 1000 of a wireless charging device in which a receiving device 1002 is disposed. The receiving device 1002 has a single receiving coil 1004 that can be electromagnetically coupled to one or more charging cells or transmission coils (LP-1 to LP-18) within the charging surface 1000. In the illustrated example, the receiving coil 1004 is adjacent to and partially covers three charging cells or transmission coils 1006, 1008, 1010. One or more drivers can be activated to supply charging current to the three charging cells or transmission coils 1006, 1008, 1010. In one example, the driver circuit can set the charging current for each of the three charging cells or transmission coils 1006, 1008, 1010. In another example, the driver circuit can set the charging current supplied to two or more of the three charging cells or transmission coils 1006, 1008, 1010.

[0034] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a multi-coil wireless charging system can be adapted or configured to select a configuration of charging coils that provides maximum efficiency for power transfer to a receiving device. In one example, the charging system can check the selected configuration using the reported power. The receiving device 1002 can be configured to measure the received power and transmit a report of the measured power in a message transmitted to the wireless charging device. In one example, the message can be transmitted by amplitude shift keying that modulates the tank voltage or current at the transmitting device. In one example, the efficiency of the selected configuration can be derived based on the total loss power (delta power) in the system that can be determined as follows. ΔP = PTx (power input) - PTx (reported power) The reported power is provided in many wireless charging systems as a way to detect foreign objects as part of a foreign object detection (FOD) function. The difference between the reported power and the transmitted power may be related to changes in the output load of the receiver. The efficiency of the selected configuration can be used as feedback in the configuration selection process. In some embodiments, the voltage measured at the node of the tank circuit, also referred to as the tank voltage (Vpk), can be used as an indicator when selecting the optimal configuration of the charging coil. For example, a decrease in the tank voltage indicates an improvement in coupling because there is less reactive energy present in the tank circuit.

[0035] Figure 11 is a flowchart 1100 showing an example of a method for selecting a configuration of a charging coil in a wireless charging device. The method can be executed by a controller provided in the wireless charging apparatus. At block 1102, the controller can determine whether a configuration of the charging coil is available. When the receiving coil 1004 in the receiving device 1002 is adjacent to or coupled to a plurality of charging coils 1006, 1008, 1010, a plurality of configurations of the charging coil can become available. Table 1 shows an example of possible configurations, with some good configurations and some bad configurations identified. The configuration of the charging coil can be re-evaluated after a change occurs in the operation of the charging system, including, for example, detection of repositioning of the receiving device 1002.

[0036] In block 1102, if the controller determines that there is no new configuration to be tested, in block 1112, the controller can select the configuration with the lowest calculated delta power. In block 1102, if the controller determines that one or more configurations remain to be tested, in block 1104, the controller can reset the charging configuration using different combinations of the charging coils.

[0037] In block 1106, the controller can determine whether the receiving device 1002 is communicating with the transmitting device via the charging surface 1000. In block 1106, if the controller determines that the receiving device 1002 is communicating, in block 1114, the controller can calculate and / or record the delta power associated with the current charging configuration and resume the configuration check in block 1102. In block 1106, if the controller determines that the receiving device 1002 is not communicating, in block 1108, the controller can restore the previous charging configuration.

[0038] After restoring the previous charging configuration, in block 1110, the controller can determine whether communication with the receiving device 1002 has been restored or re-established. In block 1110, if the controller determines that the receiving device 1002 is communicating, the controller can optionally retry the configuration that resulted in a communication failure in block 1104. In block 1110, if the controller determines that the receiving device 1002 is not communicating, the controller can resume the configuration check in block 1102.

[0039] FIG. 12 is a flowchart 1200 showing an example of a method for operating a wireless charging device that includes or implements a charging surface. This method can be executed by a controller provided in the wireless charging device. In block 1202, the controller can determine that a rechargeable device is disposed in proximity to a plurality of charging coils provided on the charging surface. In block 1204, the controller can identify two or more charging configurations for the rechargeable device, each charging configuration including at least one of the plurality of charging coils. In block 1206, the controller can determine, for each charging configuration of the two or more charging configurations, a power loss while wirelessly transmitting power to the rechargeable device. In block 1208, the controller can start charging the rechargeable device using the charging configuration associated with the lowest power loss for configuring the charging surface.

[0040] In certain aspects, determining the power loss can include configuring a plurality of charging coils based on a current charging configuration and receiving power reported from the rechargeable device while the rechargeable device is being charged using the current charging configuration. The controller can calculate the power loss as the difference between the reported power and the power consumed by the wireless charging device while charging the rechargeable device.

[0041] In one example, the controller can select a charging configuration after detecting that the rechargeable device is located on the charging surface. In one example, the controller can select a charging configuration after detecting that the rechargeable device has been repositioned on the charging surface.

[0042] Example of a processing circuit FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation of an apparatus 1300 that can be incorporated into a wireless charging device or a receiving device that enables wireless charging of a battery. In some examples, the apparatus 1300 can perform one or more functions disclosed herein. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an element, any portion of an element, or any combination of elements disclosed herein can be implemented using a processing circuit 1302. The processing circuit 1302 can include one or more processors 1304 controlled by a certain combination of hardware modules and software modules. Examples of the processor 1304 include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a SoC, an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, a sequencer, gate logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout the present disclosure. The one or more processors 1304 can include dedicated processors for performing specific functions and can be configured, enhanced, or controlled by one of the software modules 1316. The one or more processors 1304 may be configured through a combination of software modules 1316 loaded during initialization and may be further configured by loading or unloading one or more software modules 1316 during operation.

[0043] In the illustrated example, the processing circuit 1302 can be implemented in a bus architecture generally indicated by bus 1310. Bus 1310 can include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing circuit 1302 and overall design constraints. Bus 1310 links various circuits including one or more processors 1304 and storage 1306. Storage 1306 can include memory devices and mass storage devices and is also referred to herein as a computer-readable medium and / or a processor-readable medium. Storage 1306 can include a temporary storage medium and / or a non-temporary storage medium.

[0044] Bus 1310 can also link various other circuits such as a timing source, a timer, peripherals, a voltage regulator, and a power management circuit. Bus interface 1308 can provide an interface between bus 1310 and one or more transceivers 1312. In one example, transceivers 1312 can be provided so that device 1300 can communicate with a charging device or a receiving device according to a standard-specified protocol. Also, depending on the nature of device 1300, a user interface 1318 (e.g., a keypad, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a joystick) can also be provided and can be communicatively coupled directly to bus 1310 or via bus interface 1308.

[0045] Processor 1304 can be responsible for the management of bus 1310 and overall processing including the execution of software stored in a computer-readable medium including storage 1306. In this regard, the processing circuit 1302 including processor 1304 can be used to implement any of the methods, functions, and techniques disclosed herein. Storage 1306 can be used to store data to be operated on by processor 1304 during the execution of software, and the software can be configured to execute any one of the methods disclosed herein.

[0046] One or more processors 1304 of the processing circuit 1302 can execute software. Software is broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, algorithms, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or a hardware description language. The software may be present in the storage 1306 in a computer-readable form or may be present on an external computer-readable medium. The external computer-readable medium and / or the storage 1306 can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Non-transitory computer-readable media can include, for example, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., "flash drives", cards, sticks, key drives), RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM) including electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. Also, the computer-readable medium and / or the storage 1306 can include, for example, carrier waves, transmission lines, and any other suitable medium for transmitting software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable medium and / or the storage 1306 may be present within the processing circuit 1302, within the processor 1304, external to the processing circuit 1302, or distributed among multiple entities including the processing circuit 1302. The computer-readable medium and / or the storage 1306 may be embodied in a computer program product.As an example, a computer program product can include a computer-readable medium within a packaging material. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the best way to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure in light of the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0047] Storage 1306 can maintain and / or organize software in loadable code segments, modules, applications, programs, etc., some or all of which may be referred to herein as software modules 1316. Each of the software modules 1316 can include instructions and data that, when installed or loaded into the processing circuitry 1302 and executed by one or more processors 1304, contribute to a runtime image 1314 that controls the operation of the one or more processors 1304. Certain instructions, when executed, can cause the processing circuitry 1302 to perform functions in accordance with the particular methods, algorithms, and processes described herein.

[0048] Some of the software modules 1316 may be loaded during initialization of the processing circuitry 1302, and those software modules 1316 can configure the processing circuitry 1302 to enable execution of the various functions disclosed herein. For example, some of the software modules 1316 can configure internal devices and / or logic circuitry 1322 of the processor 1304 and can manage access to external devices such as transceiver 1312, bus interface 1308, user interface 1318, timer, numeric co-processor, etc. The software modules 1316 can include control programs and / or operating systems that interact with interrupt handlers and device drivers and control access to the various resources provided by the processing circuitry 1302. Resources can include memory, processing time, access to transceiver 1312, user interface 1318, etc.

[0049] One or more processors 1304 of the processing circuit 1302 are multifunctional, whereby some of the software modules 1316 are loaded and configured to execute different functions or different instances of the same function. Further, the one or more processors 1304 may be adapted to manage background tasks that are initiated, for example, in response to inputs from the user interface 1318, the transceiver 1312, and the device driver. To support the execution of multiple functions, the one or more processors 1304 may be configured to provide a multitasking environment, whereby each of the multiple functions is realized as a set of tasks provided by the one or more processors 1304 as needed. In one example, the multitasking environment may be realized using a time-sharing program 1320 that transfers control of the processor 1304 between different tasks, whereby each task returns control of the one or more processors 1304 to the time-sharing program 1320 upon completion of the outstanding operation and / or in response to an input such as an interrupt. When a task has control of the one or more processors 1304, the processing circuit is effectively specialized for the purpose addressed by the functions associated with the control task. The time-sharing program 1320 may include an operating system, a main loop that transfers control on a round-robin basis, a function that assigns control of the one or more processors 1304 according to the priority of the functions, and / or an interrupt-driven main loop that responds to external events by providing control of the one or more processors 1304 to the processing function.

[0050] In one example, the apparatus 1300 includes, or can operate as, a wireless charging device having a battery charging power supply coupled to a charging circuit, a plurality of charging cells, and a controller included in one or more processors 1304. The plurality of charging cells can be configured to provide a charging surface. At least one coil can be configured to direct an electromagnetic field through a charge transfer region of each charging cell.

[0051] The controller can be configured to determine that a chargeable device is disposed in proximity to a plurality of charging coils provided on the charging surface, identify two or more charging configurations for the chargeable device, each including at least one of the plurality of charging coils, determine a power loss during wireless power transfer to the chargeable device for each of the two or more charging configurations, and initiate charging of the chargeable device using the charging configuration associated with the minimum power loss to configure the wireless charging device.

[0052] In a particular aspect, the controller can be configured to configure a plurality of charging coils based on a current charging configuration and receive power reported from the chargeable device while the chargeable device is being charged using the current charging configuration. The controller can be configured to calculate a power loss as a difference between the reported power and the power consumed by the wireless charging device while charging the chargeable device. The controller can be configured to select a charging configuration after detecting that the chargeable device is located on the charging surface. The controller can be configured to select a charging configuration after detecting that the chargeable device has been repositioned on the charging surface.

[0053] In some embodiments, storage 1306 holds instructions and information, and the instructions cause one or more processors 1304 to determine that a chargeable device is disposed proximate to a charging coil provided by a charging surface of a wireless charging device, cause the charging coil to be provided with a charging current, and cause a plurality of adjacent coils to be excluded from operation while current is being provided to the charging coil. Each of the adjacent coils may be disposed within a charging surface adjacent to the charging coil.

[0054] In some embodiments, the instructions cause one or more processors 1304 to determine that a chargeable device is disposed proximate to a plurality of charging coils provided within or on a charging surface, identify two or more charging configurations for a chargeable device each including at least one of the plurality of charging coils, derive a power loss during wireless power transfer to the chargeable device for each of the two or more charging configurations, and initiate charging of the chargeable device using the charging configuration associated with the lowest power loss to configure the wireless charging device.

[0055] In a particular example, the instructions cause one or more processors 1304 to configure a plurality of charging coils based on a current charging configuration and receive power reported from the chargeable device while the chargeable device is being charged using the current charging configuration. The instructions may be configured to cause one or more processors 1304 to calculate a power loss as a difference between the reported power and the power consumed by the wireless charging device while charging the chargeable device. The instructions may be configured to cause one or more processors 1304 to select a charging configuration after detecting that the chargeable device is located on the charging surface. The instructions may be configured to cause one or more processors 1304 to select a charging configuration after detecting that the chargeable device has been repositioned on the charging surface.

[0056] The foregoing description has been provided to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use various aspects described herein. Various changes to these aspects will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. For this reason, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather the full scope consistent with the claim language is to be recognized, and references to singular elements are not to be construed as meaning "only" unless explicitly stated otherwise, but rather "one or more." Unless otherwise specified, the term "some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein and are intended to be included within the scope of the claims. Further, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 6 unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the phrase "step for."

Claims

1. A method for operating a wireless charging device, comprising: detecting, using a passive ping, a position of a receiving coil of a charging device with respect to a plurality of charging coils provided on a charging surface of the wireless charging device; identifying, based on the position of the receiving coil, two or more charging configurations that are the number and positions of the charging coils that can be used for the receiving coil of the charging device, each charging configuration including at least one of the plurality of charging coils that can be used; for each of the two or more charging configurations, determining a power loss while wirelessly transmitting power to the charging device; starting to charge the charging device using the charging configuration associated with the lowest power loss for configuring the wireless charging device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the power loss includes configuring the plurality of charging coils based on a current charging configuration, and receiving power reported from the charging device while the charging device is being charged using the current charging configuration.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising calculating the power loss as a difference between the reported power and the power consumed by the charging device during charging of the charging device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein after detecting a change in the position of the receiving coil, each step according to claim 1 is performed again.

5. A wireless charging device, comprising: a plurality of charging cells; and a controller, wherein the controller detects, using a passive ping, a position of a receiving coil of a charging device with respect to a plurality of charging coils provided on a charging surface of the wireless charging device; identifies, based on the position of the receiving coil, two or more charging configurations that are the number and positions of the charging coils that can be used for the receiving coil of the charging device, each charging configuration including at least one of the plurality of charging coils that can be used; For each of the charging configurations among the two or more charging configurations, a step of obtaining a power loss while wirelessly transmitting power to the rechargeable device; A wireless charging device, characterized in that it is configured to execute a step of starting charging of the rechargeable device using a charging configuration related to the lowest power loss for constructing the wireless charging device. **Claim 6** In the wireless charging device according to claim 5, The controller, Based on the current charging configuration, configure the plurality of charging coils, A wireless charging device, characterized in that it is configured to receive power reported from the rechargeable device while the rechargeable device is being charged using the current charging configuration. **Claim 7** In the wireless charging device according to claim 6, The controller, A wireless charging device, characterized in that it is configured to calculate a power loss as a difference between the reported power and the power consumed by the charging device during charging of the rechargeable device. **Claim 8** In the wireless charging device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, The controller, A wireless charging device, characterized in that after detecting a change in the position of the receiving coil, it is configured to execute each step according to claim 5. **Claim 9** A processor-readable storage medium including code, The code, Using passive ping to detect the position of the receiving coil of the rechargeable device with respect to a plurality of charging coils provided on the charging surface of the wireless charging device, Based on the position of the receiving coil, identifying two or more charging configurations that are the number and position of the charging coils available for the receiving coil of the rechargeable device, each charging configuration including at least one of the plurality of charging coils that can be used, identifying, For each of the two or more charging configurations, obtaining a power loss while wirelessly transmitting power to the rechargeable device, and A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that it is for executing starting charging of the rechargeable device using a charging configuration related to the lowest power loss for constructing the wireless charging device. **Claim 10** In the storage medium according to claim 9, Obtaining the power loss is Configuring the plurality of charging coils based on the current charging configuration, and Receiving power reported from the rechargeable device while the rechargeable device is being charged using the current charging configuration. A storage medium characterized by including the above.

11. In the storage medium according to claim 10, The storage medium further includes code for calculating power loss as the difference between the reported power and the power consumed by the charging device during charging of the rechargeable device.

12. In the storage medium according to any one of claims 9 to 11, The storage medium further includes code for performing each operation according to claim 9 after detecting a change in the position of the receiving coil.

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