Method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device, and associated apparatus

A method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device and an associated apparatus are provided, where the method includes the steps of: performing at least one detection operation according to at least one signal of the electronic device to generate at least one detection result; and selecting a rectifier size of a plurality of rectifier sizes of a configurable rectifier within the electronic device according to the at least one detection result, to control the configurable rectifier to operate with the rectifier size, wherein the configurable rectifier is arranged for performing rectification operations, and the configurable rectifier is configurable to operate with at least one portion of the configurable rectifier being activated.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to power loss control of a power transfer system, and more particularly, to a method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device, and an associated apparatus.

According to the related art, a conventional wireless power transfer system may comprise a conventional wireless power transmitter that is arranged to charge a conventional electronic device wirelessly. As various electronic products that are useful may be available on the market, the user may own a plurality of conventional electronic devices respectively corresponding to different wireless charging standards. As a result, some problems may occur. For example, the user typically needs to prepare a plurality of conventional wireless power transmitters respectively corresponding to the aforementioned different wireless charging standards, for use of wirelessly charging the plurality of conventional electronic devices, respectively, and therefore the related costs may be increased. In another example, in a situation where the user owns a plurality of conventional wireless power transmitters respectively corresponding to the aforementioned different wireless charging standards, for use of wirelessly charging the plurality of conventional electronic devices, respectively, the user may feel confused since two or more conventional wireless power transmitters within the plurality of conventional wireless power transmitters may look very much alike. In another example, in a situation where the user owns a plurality of conventional wireless power transmitters respectively corresponding to the aforementioned different wireless charging standards, for use of wirelessly charging the plurality of conventional electronic devices, respectively, the user may need more space for storage of the plurality of conventional wireless power transmitters. Thus, a novel method and associated architecture are required to enhance the compatibility of a wireless power transfer system without degrading the overall performance.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the claimed invention to provide a method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device, and an associated apparatus, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

It is another objective of the claimed invention to provide a method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device, and an associated apparatus, in order to enhance the compatibility of a wireless power transfer system without degrading the overall performance.

It is another objective of the claimed invention to provide a method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device, and an associated apparatus, in order to enhance the overall performance of a system comprising the electronic device, no matter whether this system is a wireless power transfer system or not.

According to at least one preferred embodiment, a method for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device is provided, where the method comprises the steps of: performing at least one detection operation according to at least one signal of the electronic device to generate at least one detection result; and selecting a rectifier size of a plurality of rectifier sizes of a configurable rectifier within the electronic device according to the at least one detection result, to control the configurable rectifier to operate with the rectifier size. More particularly, the configurable rectifier is arranged for performing rectification operations, and the configurable rectifier is configurable to operate with at least one portion of the configurable rectifier being activated.

According to at least one preferred embodiment, an apparatus for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device is provided, where the apparatus comprises at least one portion of the electronic device. The apparatus may comprise a detection module and a configurable rectifier that are positioned within the electronic device, and may further comprise a controller that is coupled to the detection module and the configurable rectifier. The detection module is arranged for performing at least one detection operation according to at least one signal of the electronic device to generate at least one detection result. In addition, the configurable rectifier is arranged for performing rectification operations, wherein the configurable rectifier is configurable to operate with at least one portion of the configurable rectifier being activated. Additionally, the controller is arranged for selecting a rectifier size of a plurality of rectifier sizes of the configurable rectifier according to the at least one detection result, to control the configurable rectifier to operate with the rectifier size.

It is an advantage of the present invention that the present invention method and the associated apparatus can enhance the overall performance of a system comprising the electronic device, no matter whether this system is a wireless power transfer system or not. In addition, in a situation where this system is a wireless power transfer system, the present invention method and the associated apparatus can enhance the overall performance of the wireless power transfer system and are helpful on solving the related art problems. For example, when the wireless power transfer system is designed to be equipped with the capability of supporting various wireless charging standards, the present invention method and the associated apparatus can optimize the efficiency of a synchronous rectifier in a wireless power receiver within the wireless power transfer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1illustrates a diagram of an apparatus100for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where the apparatus100may comprise at least one portion (e.g. a portion or all) of the electronic device. For example, the apparatus100may comprise a portion of the electronic device mentioned above, and more particularly, can be at least one hardware circuit such as at least one integrated circuit (IC) within the electronic device and associated circuits thereof. In another example, the apparatus100can be the whole of the electronic device mentioned above. In another example, the apparatus100may comprise a system comprising the electronic device mentioned above (e.g. a wireless power transfer system comprising the electronic device). Examples of the electronic device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone (e.g. a multifunctional mobile phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a personal computer such as a laptop computer.

As shown inFIG. 1, the apparatus100may comprise a non-volatile (NV) memory105(e.g. an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or a Flash memory), a controller110(e.g. a microprocessor), a detection module120, and a configurable rectifier150, where the controller110is coupled to the NV memory105, the detection module120, and the configurable rectifier150. For example, the electronic device may comprise, or may be equipped with, a power input coil (not shown inFIG. 1), and the apparatus100may further comprise a communications module (not shown inFIG. 1) that is coupled to each of the power input coil of the electronic device and the controller110, and more particularly, the detection module120may be coupled to the power input coil of the electronic device. This is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. According to some embodiments of the present invention, it is unnecessary that the electronic device comprises (or is equipped with) the power input coil mentioned above and that the apparatus100comprises the communications module mentioned above. For example, the apparatus100of one of these embodiments may be positioned within an alternating current (AC) -direct current (DC) synchronous rectifier system, the apparatus100of another of these embodiments may be positioned within a charger system, the apparatus100of yet another of these embodiments may be positioned within a power switch system. In some embodiments, the apparatus100may be positioned within a resonant coupling system, an inductive coupling system, an in-band communications system, or an out-band communications system.

According to the embodiment shown inFIG. 1, the NV memory105is arranged to store information for the electronic device, such as configuration information of the configurable rectifier150, and the controller110is capable of configuring the configurable rectifier150, and more particularly, is capable of performing efficiency optimization of the electronic device with aid of the detection module120and the configurable rectifier150. For example, in the aforementioned situation where the electronic device comprises (or is equipped with) the power input coil, the information stored in the NV memory105may comprise predetermined information regarding wireless charging, and the controller110may be arranged to perform wireless charging control of the electronic device. In addition, the detection module120is arranged to perform detection operations for the controller110. More particularly, the detection module120may be arranged to perform charging-detection operations according to one or more induced signals of the power input coil of the electronic device, and the communications module may be arranged to wirelessly communicate with an external device (which is positioned outside the electronic device) for the controller110by utilizing the power input coil of the electronic device. Further, the configurable rectifier150is configurable to allow at least one portion (e.g. a portion or all) of the configurable rectifier to be selectively activated. For example, the configurable rectifier150is configurable to allow a plurality of rectifier sub-circuits (not shown inFIG. 1) within the configurable rectifier150to be selectively activated or inactivated, respectively. Therefore, the configurable rectifier150may be set to operate (e.g. perform rectification operations) with one of a plurality of rectifier sizes (which are typically different from each other) when needed.

For example, according to at least one detection result of the detection operations (e.g. frequency detection operations) that is obtained from the detection module120, the controller110may correctly determine and select a candidate operation mode of a plurality of candidate operation modes for a wireless charging receiver (not shown inFIG. 1) of the electronic device, where the plurality of candidate operation modes may corresponding to different wireless charging standards (or specifications), respectively, such as the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi V1.1 standard, the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) standard, the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) standard, etc. Therefore, the controller110is capable of determining a set of program codes within multiple sets of program codes (which may be stored in the NV memory105in advance) to be an active set of program codes, and loading this set of program codes from the NV memory105, to control wireless charging operations of the electronic device. Thus, by providing the plurality of candidate operation modes in which any operation mode may be selectively applied, the wireless power transfer system may be equipped with the capability of supporting various wireless charging standards. Regarding some implementation details of designing the wireless power transfer system to be equipped with the capability of supporting various wireless charging standards, please refer to some previously filed U.S. provisional/non-provisional applications of MEDIATEK INC.

As a result of running the active set of program codes, the controller110may correctly perform input power estimation in a situation where the electronic device is charged wirelessly, and more particularly, to generate accurate information regarding the power that is received through wireless charging, and to perform wireless charging foreign object detection (FOD). Regarding implementation details of the wireless charging FOD mentioned above, please refer to, for example, the WPC Qi V1.1 standard for more information.

Please note that, based on the aforementioned at least one detection result of the detection operations, the controller110may correctly configure the configurable rectifier150according to at least one portion (e.g. a portion or all) of a plurality of predetermined relationships between the plurality of rectifier sizes and a plurality of predetermined modes. For example, the plurality of predetermined modes may represent the plurality of candidate operation modes of the wireless charging receiver. As a result, the controller110may activate at least one portion (e.g. a portion or all) of the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits to control the configurable rectifier150to operate with the specific rectifier size. This is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention.

In practice, the plurality of predetermined relationships may be obtained from theoretical calculations and/or experimental results, to allow the power loss of the wireless charging receiver (e.g. switching loss and/or conduction loss within the configurable rectifier150) to be always minimized, no matter whether the wireless charger complies with which of the aforementioned different wireless charging standards. Therefore, in a situation where the wireless power transfer system is designed to be equipped with the capability of supporting various wireless charging standards, the apparatus100can optimize the efficiency of the wireless power receiver, and more particularly, can optimize the efficiency of the configurable rectifier150(e.g. a synchronous rectifier) in the wireless power receiver.

FIG. 2is a diagram of a wireless power transfer system200according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 2, the wireless power transfer system200may comprise a wireless power transmitter220equipped with a power output coil228, and may further comprise a wireless charging receiver200R, where the wireless charging receiver200R can be taken as an example of the wireless charging receiver mentioned in the embodiment shown inFIG. 1. For better comprehension, the power output coil228can be illustrated outside the wireless power transmitter220. This is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. According to some variations of this embodiment, the power output coil228can be integrated into the wireless power transmitter220.

According to this embodiment, the wireless charging receiver200R may comprise the NV memory105, the controller110, the detection module120(labeled “DM” inFIG. 2, for brevity), and the configurable rectifier150in the architecture shown inFIG. 1, and may comprise the aforementioned communications module such as a communications module230(labeled “Comm. module” inFIG. 2, for brevity) and the aforementioned power input coil such as a power input coil238, and may further comprise a matching circuit240and a DC-DC regulator260. The configurable rectifier150can be regarded as an AC-DC convertor, where the configurable rectifier150may comprise a plurality of AC input terminals T11and T12arranged for receiving the AC input thereof, and may comprise some other terminals T21and T22arranged for providing the DC output thereof. As shown inFIG. 2, the DC-DC regulator260is coupled to the DC output terminal T21of the configurable rectifier150, and the two AC input terminals T11and T12of the configurable rectifier150are coupled to the two terminals of the power input coil238. In this embodiment, the terminal T22of the configurable rectifier150can be regarded as a ground terminal, and the two terminals T21and T22can be utilized for coupling the next stage such as the DC-DC regulator260. More particularly, the configurable rectifier150may obtain the AC input from the power input coil238through the two AC input terminals T11and T12, and rectifies the AC input to provide the DC output at the DC output terminal T21, such as a DC voltage level with respect to a ground voltage level at the terminal T22(i.e. the ground terminal thereof). For example, the AC input can be obtained from the power input coil238when the electronic device is wirelessly charged through the power input coil238by the wireless power transmitter220.

In practice, the matching circuit240may comprise some impedance components such as some capacitors. This is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. In some examples, the DC-DC regulator260mentioned above can be a buck regulator. This is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. Please note that the implementation of the DC-DC regulator260mentioned above may vary when needed. More particularly, in some other examples, the DC-DC regulator260mentioned above can be a low dropout (LDO) regulator.

According to this embodiment, the DC-DC regulator260can be utilized as the next stage of the configurable rectifier150. This is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. According to some variations of this embodiment, the DC-DC regulator260can be omitted, and some circuits of the electronic device mentioned above may directly utilize the aforementioned DC output such as the DC voltage level mentioned above.

Please note that, in the embodiment shown inFIG. 2, the apparatus100may comprise at least one portion (e.g. a portion or all) of the wireless power transfer system200. For example, the apparatus100may comprise a portion of the wireless power transfer system200, and more particularly, can be the wireless charging receiver200R within the electronic device mentioned above, which means the apparatus100may comprise all components within the wireless charging receiver200R shown inFIG. 2. In another example, the apparatus100may comprise a portion of the wireless power transfer system200, and more particularly, can be the whole of the electronic device mentioned above, which means the apparatus100may comprise all components within the electronic device. In another example, the apparatus100can be the whole of the wireless power transfer system200.

Based on the architecture shown inFIG. 2, electric power may be transferred from the left side (e.g. the input labeled “DC Power In” in the leftmost ofFIG. 2) to the right side (e.g. the input labeled “DC Power Out” in the rightmost ofFIG. 2) stage by stage. Suppose that the configurable rectifier150may be temporarily replaced by a conventional rectifier corresponding to a single rectifier size (e.g. the conventional rectifier is not configurable, and therefore can only operate with this single rectifier size thereof), and the wireless power transmitter220maybe selected from multiple wireless power transmitter products respectively corresponding to different wireless charging standards. In this situation, when the conventional rectifier is designed to minimize the power loss for one of the multiple wireless power transmitter products that corresponds to a first wireless charging specification, this single rectifier size of the conventional rectifier is determined (and manufactured) to correspond to a first transmitter frequency of the first wireless charging specification, rather than being determined (and manufactured) to correspond to a second transmitter frequency of the second wireless charging specification. As a result, when another of the multiple wireless power transmitter products that corresponds to the second wireless charging specification, rather than the one that corresponds to the first wireless charging specification, is selected as the wireless power transmitter220, the power loss may increase, since this single rectifier size of the conventional rectifier cannot be changed once it is manufactured. Thus, the efficiency of the conventional rectifier can hardly be balanced between megahertz (MHz) and kilohertz (kHz) operations (i.e. the wireless charging operations at the frequencies of the order of Mhz and kHz, respectively), where the former is limited to switching loss, while the later is dominated by conduction loss. However, in the architecture shown inFIG. 2, the configurable rectifier150is equipped with the function of being configured to operate with one of the plurality of rectifier sizes. As a result of utilizing the architecture shown inFIG. 2, the power loss of the wireless charging receiver200R may be always minimized, no matter whether the wireless charger complies with which of the aforementioned different wireless charging standards. Therefore, in a situation where the wireless power transfer system200is designed to be equipped with the capability of supporting various wireless charging standards, the apparatus100can optimize the efficiency of the wireless power receiver200R, and more particularly, can optimize the efficiency of the configurable rectifier150in the wireless power receiver200R.

FIG. 3illustrates a flowchart of a method300for performing efficiency optimization of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method300shown inFIG. 3can be applied to the apparatus100shown inFIG. 1(more particularly, the wireless power transfer system200of the embodiment shown inFIG. 2), and can be applied to the controller110thereof. The method can be described as follows.

In Step310, the detection module120performs at least one detection operation according to at least one signal of the electronic device to generate at least one detection result. For example, the aforementioned at least one detection operation, the aforementioned at least one signal, and the aforementioned at least one detection result within any of the previously described embodiments (e.g. any of the embodiments respectively shown inFIG. 1andFIG. 2) can be taken as examples of that mentioned in Step310, respectively.

In Step320, the controller110selects a rectifier size of the plurality of rectifier sizes of the configurable rectifier150within the electronic device according to the aforementioned at least one detection result (more particularly, the detection result mentioned in Step310), to control the configurable rectifier150to operate with the rectifier size (e.g. the rectifier size selected in Step320), where the configurable rectifier150is arranged for performing rectification operations, and the configurable rectifier150is configurable to operate with at least one portion (e.g. a portion or all) of the configurable rectifier150being activated.

In practice, the configurable rectifier150may comprises the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits mentioned in the embodiment shown inFIG. 1, and the configurable rectifier150may be configurable to allow the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits being selectively activated or inactivated, respectively. In addition, the controller110may selectively activate or inactivate at least one rectifier sub-circuit of the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits according to the aforementioned at least one detection result, to control the configurable rectifier150to operate with the rectifier size (e.g. the rectifier size selected in Step320).

According to some embodiments, the detection module120may perform one or a combination of a clock reconstruction operation, an in-band communications operation, an out-band communications operation, a wired communications operation, and a power line communications operation (e.g. one or more operations within the clock reconstruction operation, the in-band communications operation, the out-band communications operation, the wired communications operation, and the power line communications operation), to obtain the aforementioned at least one signal of the electronic device. According to some embodiments, the aforementioned at least one detection result may indicate the frequency of the wireless signals received by the power input coil238of the electronic device.

According to some embodiments, the aforementioned at least one signal of the electronic device may comprise at least one induced signal of the power input coil238of the electronic device or at least one derivative of the aforementioned at least one induced signal. In addition, in a situation where the configurable rectifier150is coupled to the power input coil238through the matching circuit240of the electronic device, the aforementioned at least one signal of the electronic device maybe obtained from two terminals between the matching circuit240and the configurable rectifier150, such as the two AC input terminals T11and T12of the configurable rectifier150.

According to some embodiments, based on the aforementioned at least one detection result, the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150according to at least one predetermined relationship of the plurality of predetermined relationships between the plurality of rectifier sizes and the plurality of predetermined modes, where the plurality of predetermined modes may correspond to a plurality of operation modes of the electronic device. In practice, the plurality of predetermined relationships maybe implemented with at least one look up table (LUT) stored in the NV memory105.

According to some embodiments, based on the aforementioned at least one detection result, the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150according to at least one predetermined relationship of a plurality of predetermined size-frequency relationships between the plurality of rectifier sizes and a plurality of predetermined frequencies, where the aforementioned at least one detection result may indicate a frequency of the wireless signals received by the power input coil230of the electronic device, such as any of the transmitter frequencies respectively corresponding to different wireless charging standards, and therefore the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150according to a predetermined relationship between a specific rectifier size of the plurality of rectifier sizes and a specific predetermined frequency of the plurality of predetermined frequencies. In practice, the plurality of predetermined size-frequency relationships may be implemented with at least one LUT (e.g. one or more LUTs) stored in the NV memory105.

FIG. 4illustrates a mode selection control scheme involved with the method300shown inFIG. 3according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 4, in addition to the wireless power transmitter220and the wireless charging receiver200R, the wireless power transfer system400may comprise a battery charger410. The wireless power transmitter220of this embodiment may comprise a transmitter control circuit222(labeled “TX CNTL” inFIG. 4, for brevity) and a signal amplifier224, and the signal amplifier224may comprise a switching and control circuit224C (labeled “SW & CNTL” inFIG. 4, for brevity), where the wireless power transmitter220maybe implemented with a single semiconductor chip. In addition, the wireless charging receiver200R of this embodiment may comprise a wireless power receiver400WPR and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) circuit270, and the DC-DC regulator260may comprise a switching and control circuit260C (labeled “SW & CNTL” inFIG. 4, for brevity), where each of the wireless power receiver400WPR and the BLE circuit270may be implemented with a single semiconductor chip. As shown inFIG. 4, the wireless charging receiver200R may comprise some resistor-capacitor (RC) networks272and274, and may further comprise associated circuits276. Additionally, the battery charger410may comprise a main circuit412(labeled “Main CKT” inFIG. 4, for brevity), and the main circuit412may comprise a switching and control circuit412C (labeled “SW & CNTL” inFIG. 4, for brevity), where the main circuit412maybe implemented with a single semiconductor chip. Please note that the notation “I2C” stands for Inter-Integrated Circuit, and each of the buses labeled “I2C” inFIG. 4may comply with the I2C specifications.

According to this embodiment, in a situation where the aforementioned at least one detection result in Step310indicates the frequency of the wireless signals received by the power input coil230of the electronic device and this frequency is equal to the specific predetermined frequency of the plurality of predetermined frequencies, the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150according to the predetermined relationship between the specific rectifier size and the specific predetermined frequency, to operate with the specific rectifier size. For example, when this frequency falls within the predetermined frequency range of the WPC Qi V1.1 standard (e.g. from 100 kHz to 200 kHz), the controller110may determine the specific rectifier size to be a first size of the configurable rectifier150according to the aforementioned at least one LUT, and may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the first size, where the first size is optimized for the predetermined frequency range of the WPC Qi V1.1 standard. In another example, when this frequency falls within the predetermined frequency range of the PMA standard (e.g. from 200 kHz to 300 kHz), the controller110may determine the specific rectifier size to be a second size of the configurable rectifier150according to the aforementioned at least one LUT, and may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the second size, where the second size is optimized for the predetermined frequency range of the PMA standard. In another example, when this frequency is equivalent to the predetermined frequency of the A4WP standard (e.g. 6.78 MHz), the controller110may determine the specific rectifier size to be a third size of the configurable rectifier150according to the aforementioned at least one LUT, and may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the third size, where the third size is optimized for the predetermined frequency of the A4WP standard. In another example, when this frequency is equivalent to the predetermined frequency of the Near Field Communication (NFC)-like architecture (e.g. 13.56 MHz), the controller110may determine the specific rectifier size to be a fourth size of the configurable rectifier150according to the aforementioned at least one LUT, and may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the fourth size, where the fourth size is optimized for the predetermined frequency of the NFC-like architecture. Thus, no matter which of the multiple wireless power transmitter products respectively corresponding to the aforementioned different wireless charging standards is selected as the wireless power transmitter220, the apparatus100can optimize the efficiency of the wireless power receiver200R, and more particularly, can optimize the efficiency of the configurable rectifier150in the wireless power receiver200R.

FIG. 5illustrates a working flow500involved with the method300shown inFIG. 3according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the working flow500may start in response to the reset operation of the wireless power transfer system400.

In Step510, the controller110may determine the operating state of the wireless power transfer system400from some state variables of the wireless power transfer system400. In a situation where the operating state is a wireless charging state for wireless charging, Step512is entered. In a situation where the operating state is an off state, Step522is entered. In a situation where the operating state is a wired charging state for wired charging, Step532is entered.

In Step512, the controller110may determine the protocol (e.g. the protocol of wireless charging) by using clock recovery. In a situation where the protocol corresponds to the WPC Qi V1.1 standard, Step514-1is entered for WPC charging. In a situation where the protocol corresponds to the PMA standard, Step514-2is entered for PMA charging. In a situation where the protocol corresponds to the A4WP standard, Step514-3is entered for Resonant Wireless Power (RWP) charging (or A4WP charging).

In Step514-1, the controller110may operate the rectifier such as the configurable rectifier150in a WPC mode, enable the main circuit412such as a buck regulator (labeled “Buck enabled” inFIG. 5, for brevity), perform WPC transmitting operations (labeled “WPC Tx” inFIG. 5, for brevity), monitor OT/OV parameters, and perform current limit operations. For example, the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the first size, where the first size is optimized for the predetermined frequency range of the WPC Qi V1.1 standard.

In Step516-1, in response to the change of one or more state variables (labeled “State var. change” inFIG. 5, for brevity), the controller110may bring down the power path.

In Step514-2, the controller110may operate the rectifier such as the configurable rectifier150in a PMA mode, enable the main circuit412such as the buck regulator (labeled “Buck enabled” inFIG. 5, for brevity), perform PMA transmitting operations (labeled “PMA Tx” inFIG. 5, for brevity), monitor OT/OV parameters, and perform current limit operations. For example, the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the second size, where the second size is optimized for the predetermined frequency range of the PMA standard.

In Step516-2, in response to the change of one or more state variables (labeled “State var. change” inFIG. 5, for brevity), the controller110may bring down the power path.

In Step514-3, the controller110may operate the rectifier such as the configurable rectifier150in a RWP mode with power monitoring, enable the main circuit412such as the buck regulator (labeled “Buck enabled” inFIG. 5, for brevity), perform RWP transmitting/receiving operations (labeled “RWP Tx/Rx” inFIG. 5, for brevity), monitor OT/OV parameters, and perform current limit operations. For example, the controller110may configure the configurable rectifier150to operate with the third size, where the third size is optimized for the predetermined frequency range of the A4WP standard.

In Step516-3, in response to change(s) of one or more state variables (labeled “State var. change” inFIG. 5, for brevity), the controller110may bring down the power path.

In Step522, the controller110may turn on the rectifier such as the configurable rectifier150(labeled “Rectifier on” inFIG. 5, for brevity), and monitor state variables. As a result, change(s) of one or more state variables (labeled “State var. change” inFIG. 5, for brevity) may occur. Afterward, Step510may be re-entered.

In Step532, the controller110may control the apparatus100to pass through wired power, and monitor OT/OV parameters and state variables. As a result, change(s) of one or more state variables (labeled “State var. change” inFIG. 5, for brevity) may occur. Afterward, Step510may be re-entered.

FIG. 6illustrates a rectifier size control scheme involved with the method300shown inFIG. 3according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the controller110may control the apparatus100to perform mode detection via one or a combination of the clock reconstruction operation, the in-band communications operation, the out-band communications operation, the wired communications operation, and the power line communications operation, to obtain the aforementioned at least one signal of the electronic device. Then, the controller110may perform size selection of the configurable rectifier150such as a synchronous (Sync.) rectifier, to activate a certain percentage (labeled “?%” inFIG. 6, for brevity) of all of the configurable rectifier150. For example, the controller110may activate60% of the configurable rectifier150(labeled “Active 60%” inFIG. 6, for brevity) by using one or more of a plurality of rectifier switches in the configurable rectifier150, where the plurality of rectifier switches may be arranged for selectively activating or inactivating the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits, respectively, under control of the controller110. Examples of the plurality of rectifier switches may include, but not limited to, Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET).

In practice, the controller110may dynamically perform size selection according to one or a combination of load current information, an analog command, an analog reference, a digital command, and a set of digital bits, for example, from analog circuits or digital circuits or a micro control unit (MCU). In some embodiments, the MCU can be taken as an example of the controller110. As shown inFIG. 6, the horizontal axis may represent the percentage (%) of size, such as the percentage obtained from dividing one of the plurality of rectifier sizes by the maximum rectifier size within the plurality of rectifier sizes, and the vertical axis may represent the current load (labeled “Load” inFIG. 6, for brevity) in units of Ampere (A), such as the amount of electrical current passing from the configurable rectifier150to the device receiving the power (e.g. the current that is output through the DC output terminal T21of the configurable rectifier150). For example, the notation “Imax” may indicate the current corresponding to the size percentage of 60%.

FIG. 7illustrates some implementation details of the configurable rectifier150involved with the method300shown in FIG. according to an embodiment of the present invention. The architecture700shown inFIG. 7may comprise a synchronous (Sync.) rectifier710, which can be taken as an example of the configurable rectifier150, and may further comprise the power input coil238and at least one component of the matching circuit240(e.g. a capacitor coupled to the power input coil238). In addition, the synchronous rectifier710may comprise a configurable main circuit712(labeled “CMC” inFIG. 7, for brevity), which may comprise a plurality of input terminals AC1, AC2, BST1, and BST2and may further comprise a plurality of configurable modules720-1,720-2,720-3, and720-4.

As shown in the lower half ofFIG. 7, each configurable module720-i of the plurality of configurable modules720-1,720-2,720-3, and720-4(e.g. the index i may represent a positive integer that falls within the range of the interval [1,4]), such as configurable module720-1, may comprise a set of multiple sets of rectifier sub-circuits within the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits. For example, the configurable module720-1may comprise a first set of rectifier sub-circuits within the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits, the configurable module720-2may comprise a second set of rectifier sub-circuits within the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits, the configurable module720-3may comprise a third set of rectifier sub-circuits within the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits, and the configurable module720-4may comprise a fourth set of rectifier sub-circuits within the plurality of rectifier sub-circuits. As the rectifier sub-circuits in each set of the multiple sets of rectifier sub-circuits (e.g. any set within the first set of rectifier sub-circuits, the second set of rectifier sub-circuits, the third set of rectifier sub-circuits, and the fourth set of rectifier sub-circuits) may be selectively activated or inactivated, respectively, the configurable rectifier150may be set to operate (e.g. perform rectification operations) with one of the plurality of rectifier sizes (which are typically different from each other) when needed. For brevity, similar descriptions for this embodiment are not repeated in detail here.

FIG. 8illustrates at least one efficiency optimization point involved with the method300shown inFIG. 3according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 8, the horizontal axis may represent the DC output current Io of the configurable rectifier150in units of A, and the vertical axis may represent the power loss Ploss of the configurable rectifier150in units of Watt (W). The curve labeled “Conduction loss” indicates that the conduction loss of the configurable rectifier150may increase as the DC output current Io increases. In addition, the curve labeled “Switching loss” indicates that the switching loss of the configurable rectifier150may increase rapidly as the DC output current Io increases within the Pulse-Frequency Modulation (PFM) phase, and that the switching loss of the configurable rectifier150may increase in a linear manner (with an offset) within the Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) phase, where the notations PFM and PWM shown inFIG. 8may represent the PFM phase and the PWM phase, respectively. Additionally, the curve labeled “Quiescent power” indicates that the quiescent power of the configurable rectifier150may be equivalent to different fixed values in the PFM phase and the PWM phase, respectively, where the quiescent power may represent the power consumed by the configurable rectifier150without any loading coupled to the DC output terminal T21of the configurable rectifier150. For example, regarding the quiescent power, a first fixed value corresponding to the PFM phase is less than a second fixed value corresponding to the PWM phase.