Patent Publication Number: US-2021188214-A1

Title: Wireless charging device and warning signal generating method thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Chinese applications serial No. 201911326821.3, filed on Dec. 20, 2019. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a wireless charging device and, more particularly, to a wireless charging device of a vehicle and a warning signal generating method thereof. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     With the development of Internet of Vehicles (IoV), wireless charging technology has also been applied to the vehicle. The driver or passengers can charge an electronic device through the wireless charging device on board, which further extends the endurance of the electronic device. However, the drivers or passengers sometimes forget to bring alone the electronic device that was put on the wireless charging device when leaving the vehicle. The driver or passengers have to return to the vehicle to get the electronic device, which is quite inconvenient. Furthermore, when someone who have interests to the electronic device that has been left inside the vehicle, he/she may break into the vehicle and steal the electronic device, which causing serious property damage. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the first aspect, a wireless charging device adapted for a vehicle with a controller and a smart key configured to communicate with the vehicle is provided. The wireless charging device includes a wireless charging base and a control circuit. The wireless charging base is located in the vehicle to generate a wireless power. The control circuit is coupled to the wireless charging base. The control circuit determines whether the smart key is in an operating mode according to a wireless unlock signal from the controller when the vehicle is turned off, determines whether a portable electronic device is on the wireless charging base when the smart key is not in the operating mode while a door of the vehicle is opened, and generates a warning signal when a portable electronic device is determined on the wireless charging base. 
     According to the second aspect, a warning signal generating method adapted for a wireless charging device for vehicles is provided. The warning signal generating method includes the steps of: determining whether the smart key of the vehicle is in an operating mode according to a wireless unlock signal when a vehicle is turned off; determining whether a door of the vehicle is opened when the smart key is not in the operating mode; determining whether a portable electronic device is on a wireless charging base of the wireless charging device when the door is opened; and generating a warning signal when the portable electronic device is on the wireless charging base. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a smart key suitable for the vehicle according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a vehicle wireless charging system suitable for the vehicle of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a wireless charging base of  FIG. 2  according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of the wireless charging base of  FIG. 2  according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a warning signal generating method suitable for a wireless charging device according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of a warning signal generating method suitable for a wireless charging device according to another embodiment; and 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a vehicle wireless charging system suitable for a vehicle of  FIG. 1  according to another embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of a smart key suitable for the vehicle according to an embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a vehicle wireless charging system suitable for the vehicle of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment. Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  together. The car wireless charging system includes a controller  11  and a wireless charging device  12 . The controller  11  is coupled to the wireless charging device  12 . 
     In an embodiment, the controller  11  integrates a Passive Entry/Passive Start (PEPS) system. The controller  11  communicates with the smart key  10  through radio frequency (RF) technology. The driver of the vehicle controls the controller  11  to lock and unlock the vehicle through the smart key  10 , and the driver starts the vehicle through the smart key  10  and then drives the vehicle. 
     The wireless charging device  12  includes a wireless charging base  121  and a control circuit  122 , and the wireless charging base  121  is coupled to the control circuit  122 . The wireless charging base  121  is disposed in the vehicle, the wireless charging base  121  includes a coil, and the wireless charging base  121  transmits the wireless power through its coil. Please refer to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  together. When the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121 , the wireless charging base  121  transmits the wireless power to the portable electronic device  2 . Furthermore, the wireless charging device  12  has a warning function. When the driver or passenger places the portable electronic device  2  on the wireless charging device  12  and is going to leave the vehicle, the wireless charging device  12  generates a warning to remind the driver or passenger that the portable electronic device  2  is left on the wireless charging base  121 . In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the portable electronic device  2  is a smart phone, a tablet computer, or a wireless headset, which is not limited herein. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the wireless charging base  121  is a smart phone wireless charger or a wireless earphone charging case, which is not limited herein. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 5  together. In detail, when the vehicle is turned off (step S 01 ), the control circuit  122  determines whether the smart key  10  is in the operating mode (step S 02 ) according to a wireless unlock signal S 1  from the controller  11 . When the smart key  10  is not in the operating mode (for example, the smart key  10  is in the sleep mode), it means that there is no radio frequency signal transmission between the smart key  10  and the controller  11 , and therefore the wireless charging device  12  does not interfere by radio frequency signals. Meanwhile, the control circuit  122  determines whether the vehicle door is opened (step S 03 ). When it is determined that the vehicle door of the vehicle is opened, the control circuit  122  determines whether the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121  (step S 04 ). When the control circuit  122  determines that the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121  (it means that the determination result is “Yes”), the control circuit  122  generates a warning signal S 2 . 
     Based on the above, when the driver or passenger is going to leave the vehicle, the wireless charging device  12  generates the warning signal S 2  to remind the driver or passengers that the portable electronic device  2  is left in the vehicle. Therefore, the driver or passenger will not forget to bring alone the portable electronic device  2 , and the vehicle will not be break into by a person who intent to steal the portable electronic device  2  that has been left in the vehicle. Moreover, the wireless charging device  12  avoids the operating frequency of the smart key  10  and the controller  11 . That is, the wireless charging device  12  is not interfered by the radio frequency signals generated by the smart key  10  and the controller  11  to misjudge whether the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121 . Therefore, the wireless charging device  12  generates the warning signal S 2  accurately. 
     In one embodiment, the controller  11  detects whether the vehicle is turned off. In step S 01 , the control circuit  122  determines that the vehicle is turned off according to the detection result generated by the controller  11 . When the vehicle is turned off, the wireless charging device  12  stops charging the portable electronic device  2 . Furthermore, in step S 04 , the control circuit  122  determines whether the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121  according to the standard in wireless charging technology, such as Qi protocol. 
     In one embodiment, when the smart key  10  is in the operating mode, the controller  11  generates the wireless unlock signal S 1  with a high potential. When the smart key  10  is not in the operating mode (For example, the smart key  10  is in the sleep mode) the controller  11  generates the wireless unlock signal S 1  with a low potential. Based on this, in step S 02 , the control circuit  122  determines whether the wireless unlock signal S 1  has a high potential to determine whether the smart key  10  is in the operating mode. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in one embodiment, the controller  11  detects whether any door of the vehicle is opened. When the door (such as a driver door) is opened, the controller  11  generates and sends a door open signal S 3 . Based on this, as shown in  FIG. 5 , when the control circuit  122  determines that the smart key  10  is not in the operating mode (it means that the determination result is “No”) in step S 02 , the control circuit  122  further determines whether the door is opened (step S 03 ). In step S 03 , when the controller  11  generates the door open signal S 3 , the wireless charging device  12  receives the door open signal S 3  from the body controller  11 , and the control circuit  122  of the wireless charging device  12  determines that the door is opened according to the door open signal S 3  (it means that the determination result is “Yes” in step S 03 ). And then executes step S 04 , to determine whether the portable electronic device is on the wireless charging base  121  when the driver is going to leave the car. 
     In an embodiment, when the smart key  10  is in the operating mode, it means that the smart key  10  can transmit and receive radio frequency signals and communicate with the controller  11 . The operating frequency of the smart key  10  is similar to the operating frequency of the wireless charging device  12 . In order to prevent the control circuit of the wireless charging device  12  from being interfered by the radio frequency signal generated by the smart key  10  or the controller  11 , when the control circuit  122  determines that the smart key  10  is in the operating mode according to the wireless unlock signal S 1  (it means that the determination result is “Yes”) in step S 02 , the control circuit  122  does not perform the determination steps S 03  and S 04  and does not generate the warning signal S 2  (step S 06 ). Furthermore, when the control circuit  122  determines that the door is not opened (it means that the determination result is “No”) in step S 03  (it means that the driver does not intend to leave the vehicle), the control circuit  122  does not perform the determination step S 04  and does not generate the warning signal S 2  (step S 06 ). Moreover, in step S 04 , when the control circuit  122  determines no portable electronic device on the wireless charging base  121  (it means that the determination result is “No”), the control circuit  122  also does not generate the warning signal S 2  (step S 06 ). 
     In one embodiment, the vehicle further includes a gage panel  13 , the warning signal S 2  is presented as text or image. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the wireless charging device  12  is coupled to the gage panel  13 , and the wireless charging device  12  sends the warning signal S 2  to the gage panel  13 , and the gage panel  13  displays the image or the text corresponding to the warning signal S 2  to remind the driver or passengers of the vehicle that the portable electronic device  2  has been left on the wireless charging base  121 . In an embodiment, the warning signal S 2  is a horn sound of the vehicle. 
     In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the vehicle wireless charging system further includes a central gateway  14  and an IoV (Internet of Vehicles) host  15 , the central gateway  14  is coupled between the IoV host  15  and the wireless charging device  12 . The IoV host  15  has a wireless charging control function that controls the wireless charging device  12  to work. The IoV host  15  generates a status signal S 4  indicating that the wireless charging control function is enabled or disabled. Moreover, the IoV host  15  controls the warning function to be enabled or disabled, and the IoV host  15  generates the status signal S 4  indicating that the warning function is enabled or disabled. The driver of the vehicle sets the wireless charging control function to be on or off according to his needs, and the IoV host  15  generates the corresponding status signal S 4  and then sends the status signal S 4  to the wireless charging device  12  via the central gateway  14 . In addition, the driver of the vehicle is also free to enable or disable the warning function according to his needs, to set the IoV host  15  generates a corresponding status signal S 5 , and then the status signal S 5  is sent to the wireless charging device  12  through the central gateway  14 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6 . When the vehicle is turned off, the control circuit  122  determines whether the wireless charging control function is set to enable according to the status signal S 4  (step S 07 ) before the control circuit  122  determines whether the smart key  10  is in the operating mode (step S 02 ). When the wireless charging control function is set to enable (it means that the determination result is “Yes”), it means that the portable electronic device  2  is possible on the wireless charging base  121 . The control circuit  122  further determines whether the warning function is set to enable according to the status signal S 5  (step S 08 ). When the warning function is set to enable (it means that the determination result is “Yes”), the control circuit  122  starts to determine whether the smart key  10  is in an operating mode (step S 02 ). 
     On the other hand, when the wireless charging control function is set to disable, it means that the wireless charging base  121  cannot supply power to the portable electronic device  2  or the portable electronic device  2  is not on the wireless charging base  121 . When the control circuit  122  determines that the wireless charging control function is set to be off according to the status signal S 4  (it means that the determination result is “No”) in step S 07 , the control circuit  122  does not execute the step S 08  and steps S 02  to S 04  and does not generate the warning signal S 2  (step S 06 ). When the warning function is set to be off, it means that the driver and passengers do not need the warning function. When the control circuit  122  determines that the warning function is set to be off according to the status signal S 5  in step S 08  (it means that the determination result is “No”), the control circuit  122  does not execute the subsequent steps S 02  to S 04  and does not generate the warning signal S 2  (step S 06 ). 
     In an embodiment, the duty cycle time of the smart key  10  is 30 seconds. After the vehicle is turned off, when the determination result in step S 07  is “No”, the determination result in step S 08  is “No”, the determination result in step S 02  is “Yes”, the determination result in step S 03  is “No” or the determination result in step S 04  is “No”, the control circuit  122  does not generate the warning signal S 2 . The control circuit  122  repeatedly executes step S 07 , step S 08 , step S 02 , step S 03  and step S 04  in sequence within a preset time (such as 1 minute), and the preset time is greater than the duty cycle time. After the preset time, the control circuit  122  stops performing any determination step. In an embodiment, after the vehicle is turned off and the smart key  10  is in the operating mode, the control circuit  122  generates a “Yes” determination result in step S 02  and does not generate the warning signal S 2  (step S 06 ). Then, within 1 minute—the preset time that mentioned above, the control circuit  122  repeatedly executes step S 08 , step S 02 , step S 03  and step S 04  in sequence. When the smart key  10  has been switched to the sleep mode for 30 seconds, the control circuit  122  executes the subsequent steps S 03  and S 04  when the determination result of “No” is generated in the step S 02 , to determine whether the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121  when the smart key  10  is not in the operating mode. 
     In an embodiment, the controller  11  has a general purpose input output (GPIO) pin connected to the wireless charging device  12 . When the smart key  10  is in the operating mode, the controller  11  generates the wireless unlock signal S 1  and transmits the wireless unlock signal S 1  to the wireless charging device  12  through GPIO pin. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 7 . In one embodiment, the wireless charging system for vehicles further includes a controller local area network (CAN)  16 . The controller  11 , the wireless charging device  12 , the gage panel  13  and the central gateway  14  are coupled to the controller local area network  16 . The controller  11  and the central gateway  14  communicate with the wireless charging device  12  through the controller local area network  16 , and the wireless charging device  12  communicates with the gage panel  13  through the controller local area network  16 . In an embodiment, when the door is opened, the controller  11  generates and transmits the door open signal S 3  to the controller local area network  16 , and the controller local area network  16  transmits the door open signal S 3  to the wireless charging device  12 . Next, when the control circuit  122  determines that the portable electronic device  2  is on the wireless charging base  121 , the wireless charging device  12  generates and transmits the warning signal S 2  to the controller local area network  16 , and then the controller local area network  16  transmits the warning signal S 2  to the gage panel  13 . Then, the IoV host  15  generates the status signal S 4  and the status signal S 5  according to the wireless charging control function setting and the warning function setting, and transmits the status signal S 4 , S 5  to the central gateway  14 . The central gateway  14  transmits the status signals S 4 , S 5  to the controller local area network  16 , and the controller local area network  16  transmits the status signal S 4 , S 5  to the wireless charging device  12 . 
     In summary, according to the disclosure, the wireless charging device reminds the driver and passengers who intend to leave the vehicle that the portable electronic device is left inside the vehicle through the warning signal. Therefore, the driver or passengers can retrieve the portable electronic device in time, and avoid car break in by thieves to steal the portable electronic device inside the vehicle. Furthermore, the wireless charging device will not be interfered by the radio frequency signals generated by the smart key and the controller, and misjudges whether the portable electronic device is left in the wireless charging base, thereby accurately generating the warning signal. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.