SIGNALING CHARGING IN WIRELESS POWER ENVIRONMENT

摘要

Exemplary embodiments are directed to wireless power transfer including generating an electromagnetic field at a resonant frequency of a transmitter to create a coupling-mode region within a near field of the transmitter during a synchronization portion of a time-multiplexed recurring period. During a power transmission portion of the recurring period, the electromagnetic field will continue to be generated when there is a receiver within the coupling-mode region, or the electromagnetic field will be disabled when there are no receivers within the coupling-mode region. Different segments of the power transmission portion are allocated to different receivers. The transmitter issues serial commands to the receivers by on/off keying the electromagnetic field. The receivers issue serial replies by changing the amount of power consumed from the electromagnetic field between two different states. The serial commands and serial replies are used to determine the number of receivers, their power requirements, and the allocation of segments.

主权项

1. An apparatus for transferring wireless power to one or more receivers, comprising:
a resonant transmit antenna circuit configured to generate a magnetic field at a resonant frequency for coupling power to the one or more receivers; and a transmit controller operably coupled to the resonant transmit antenna circuit, the transmit controller configured to adjust a power of the magnetic field between at least a first-power mode and a second-power mode, a power level corresponding to the second-power mode being greater than the power level corresponding to the first-power mode, and the power of the magnetic field in the second-power mode capable of charging the one or more receivers; the transmit controller further configured to:
receive one or more control signals from a receiver of the one or more receivers during the first-power mode via a wireless communication channel different than the magnetic field,switch to the second-power mode at least in part in response to detecting the one or more control signals from the receiver,determine, during the second-power mode, whether one or more messages expected to be received from the receiver, via the wireless communication channel, were not received by the transmit controller,remove, based at least in part on determining that the one or more messages expected to be received were not received, the receiver from a list of one or more receivers registered with the transmit controller, andswitch to the first-power mode in response to removing the receiver from the list and determining that there are no other receivers configured to actively receive power via the magnetic field.