Patent Publication Number: US-2023135257-A1

Title: Smart wireless charging control system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwanese application no. 110140698, filed on Nov. 2, 2021. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to a charging control system. Particularly, the disclosure relates to a smart wireless charging control system. 
     Description of Related Art 
     Currently, wireless charging is passive in nature, where a transmitting end and a receiving end are both fixedly disposed. In addition, the transmitting end transmits fixed energy, and cannot make dynamic adjustment to the energy, angle of transmission, time of sending, and the like in response to requirements of the receiving end. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure provides a smart wireless charging control system, in which a transmitter can arrange schedule, adjust energy, and adjust a transmission angle according to requirements of the receiver. 
     A smart wireless charging control system of the disclosure includes at least one receiver and a transmitter. The receiver is configured to receive a charging signal to be charged and to start operating. The transmitter is configured to transmit the charging signal to scan the receiver and to charge the receiver during an initialization period. During the initialization period, the transmitter rotates an angle for transmitting the charging signal and records a time of transmitting the charging signal and the angle for transmitting the charging signal. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the charging signal is configured to charge the receiver, such that the receiver has sufficient energy to start operating. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the smart wireless charging control system further includes a cloud server. When the receiver starts operating, the receiver outputs a first notification signal to the cloud server, such that the cloud server records a respective time during which the receiver is charged. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, when scanning by the transmitter is completed, the respective time during which the receiver is charged is obtained from the cloud server. The transmitter determines the corresponding angle for transmitting the charging signal to the receiver according to the respective time during which the receiver is charged and the time of transmitting the charging signal by the transmitter. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, during an information update period, when a host system updates information of the receiver in the cloud server, the cloud server outputs a second notification signal to the transmitter to notify the transmitter to transmit the charging signal to charge the receiver. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, during the information update period, the cloud server is configured to update information stored in the receiver. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the information stored in the receiver is updated, the receiver outputs a third notification signal to the cloud server, such that the cloud server notifies the transmitter to stop outputting the charging signal to the receiver. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the smart wireless charging control system further includes a motor. The motor is configured to drive the transmitter to rotate to adjust the angle for transmitting the charging signal by the transmitter. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the receiver includes an electronic paper label. The electronic paper label is configured to display information stored in the receiver. 
     In an embodiment of the disclosure, the transmitter includes an electronic paper display panel. The electronic paper display panel is configured to display operation information of the transmitter. 
     To make the aforementioned more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail as follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram showing a smart wireless charging control system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram showing a smart wireless charging control system according to another embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 A  is a schematic diagram showing a receiver according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3 B  is a schematic diagram showing a transmitter according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram showing a transmitter and a motor thereof according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram showing a smart wireless charging control system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to  FIG.  1   , a smart wireless charging control system  100  of this embodiment includes receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  and a transmitter  120 . In  FIG.  1   , one transmitter  120  and three receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  are taken as an example for description, but the numbers thereof are not intended to limit the disclosure. The smart wireless charging control system  100  may include one or more transmitters or receivers. 
     In this embodiment, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  receive a charging signal S4 in wireless transmission to be charged and to start operating. The operation of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  includes, for example, updating stored or displayed information or outputting signals. In an application example of electronic papers, even if they are not operating, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  may still display information. The transmitter  120  transmits the charging signal S4 in wireless transmission during an initialization period to scan the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  and to charge the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3 . During the initialization period, the transmitter  120  rotates an angle for transmitting the charging signal S4 the transmitter  120  and records a time of transmitting the charging signal S4. The charging signal S4 is configured to charge the receivers  110 _ 1 , 110 _ 2 , 110 _ 3 , so that the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  have sufficient energy to start operating. 
     In this embodiment, by scanning the presence of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  during the initialization period, the transmitter  120  can automatically search for locations of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3 . The receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  may be devices with or without batteries. 
     In the convention since charging control system, an angle for transmitting signals by the transmitter is fixed, the charging control system cannot dynamically adjust transmission parameters, such as the output energy, angle for transmitting the signals, and transmission time, of the transmitter according to the requirements of the receiver. Comparatively, since the transmitter  120  of this embodiment may rotate to dynamically adjust the angle for transmitting the signal, the transmitter  120  can automatically search for the locations of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  to realize smart wireless charging. 
       FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram showing a smart wireless charging control system according to another embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to  FIG.  2   , a smart wireless charging control system  200  of this embodiment includes the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3 , the transmitter  120 , and a cloud server  130 . The smart wireless charging control system  200  may operate during an initialization period or an information update period. 
     During the initialization period, the cloud server  130  is configured to record respective times during which the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  are charged. During the information update period, the cloud server  130  is configured to notify the transmitter  120  to transmit the charging signal S4 to charge at least one of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3 . Moreover, during the information update period, the cloud server  130  is configured to update the information stored in the receiver. 
     Specifically, during the initialization period, the transmitter  120  may perform a first search (also referred to as scan). During the search, the transmitter  120  records the time and the rotation angle or the movement trajectory. For example, with a reference line R as a reference, the transmitter  120  rotates upward by an angle θ1 to find the location of the receiver  110 _ 1 , the transmitter  120  rotates downward by an angle θ2 to find the location of the receiver  110 _ 3 , and when the rotation angle of the transmitter  120  is 0 (no rotation required), the location of the receiver  110 _ 2  can be found. When any one of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  (the receiver  110 _ 1 , for example) starts operating with sufficient energy sent by the transmitter  120 , the receiver  110 _ 1  sends a first notification signal S1 to the cloud server  130 . The cloud server  130  records a time when the first notification signal S1 is received. This time indicates that the transmitter  120  may similarly charge the next receiver in sequence, such as the receiver  110 _ 2  or  110 _ 3 . In other words, when the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  start operating, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  outputs the first notification signal S1 to the cloud server  130 , so that the cloud server  130  records the respective times during which the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  are charged. 
     When scanning by the transmitter  120  is completed, the transmitter  120  obtains the respective times during which the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  are charged from the cloud server  130 . Then, according to the respective times during which the receivers are charged, the transmitter  120  obtains the recorded angles for transmitting the charging signal S4 corresponding to the times. In other words, the transmitter  120  determines the corresponding angles for transmitting the charging signal S4 to the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  according to the respective times during which the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  are charged and the time of transmitting the charging signal S4 by the transmitter  120 . For example, the transmitter  120  may determine that the transmission angle corresponding to the receiver  110 _ 1  is θ1, the transmission angle corresponding to the receiver  110 _ 2  is 0, and the transmission angle corresponding to the receiver  110 _ 3  is -θ2. With the reference line R as a reference, an upward rotation angle of the transmitter  120  is positive, and a downward rotation angle is negative. In addition, θ1 and θ2 are positive values, and may be equal or unequal. Therefore, according to the above-mentioned operation, the smart wireless charging control system  200  may complete the initialization operation. When information of a certain receiver is required to be updated at the next time, the transmitter  120  may then quickly move to that angle to charge the receiver to update the receiver. 
     In this embodiment, updating the data of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  includes the following. After the energy transmitted by the transmitter  120  is obtained, the cloud server  130  is connected for the update information required by the receiver to be obtained. Specifically, during the information update period, when a user uses a host system (a computer, a mobile phone, or the like) to update the information of any one of the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  in the cloud server  130 , the cloud server  130  outputs a second notification signal S2 to the transmitter  120  to notify the transmitter  120  to transmit the charging signal S4 to charge any receiver whose information is required to be updated. After having sufficient energy, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  may download the update information from the cloud server  130 . 
     When the information stored in the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  is updated, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  output a third notification signal S3 to the cloud server  130 , so that the cloud server  130  notifies the transmitter  120  to stop outputting the charging signal S4 to the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3 . In other words, when the information update ends, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  send an end message to the cloud server  130 , and the cloud server  130  then notifies the transmitter  120  to stop providing energy. 
     In this embodiment,  FIG.  2    shows the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  and the transmitter  120  on the same plane, but the disclosure is not limited to this. In an embodiment, the receivers  110 _ 1 ,  110 _ 2 ,  110 _ 3  may be distributed in a three-dimensional space instead of being on the same plane. For example, the transmitter  120  and the receiver  110 _ 1  may be on a first plane, the transmitter  120  and the receiver  110 _ 2  may be on a second plane, and the transmitter  120  and the receiver  110 _ 3  may be on the third plane. Two of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane may the same. Alternatively, the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane may be all different. 
       FIG.  3 A  is a schematic diagram showing a receiver according to an embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to  FIG.  3 A , a receiver  110  includes a wireless charging receiver element  112 , a wireless communication element  114 , and an electronic paper display element  116 . The electronic paper display element  116  is, for example, an electronic paper label. The electronic paper label is configured to display information stored in the receiver  110 . The wireless communication element  114  is configured to perform wireless communication operation, for example, transmitting the first notification signal S1 and the third notification signal S3, with the cloud server  130 . The wireless communication element  114  includes, for example, a Wi-Fi module or a Bluetooth module. The wireless charging receiver element  112  is configured to receive the charging signal S4 as the energy required for the overall operation of the receiver  110  from the transmitter  120 . The operation of the receiver  110  includes, for example, signal transmission performed by the communication element and updating the information displayed by the electronic paper label. 
     In an embodiment, the wireless charging receiver element  112  may be a wireless charging element of a type of, for example, radio frequency, infrared, and laser. The wireless communication element  114  may be a wireless communication element such as a wireless network or a Bluetooth module. 
       FIG.  3 B  is a schematic diagram showing a transmitter according to an embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to  FIG.  3 B , the transmitter  120  includes a wireless charging transmitter element  122  and a wireless communication element  124 . The wireless communication element  124  is configured to perform wireless communication operation, for example, transmitting the second notification signal S2, with the cloud server  130 . The wireless communication element  124  includes, for example, a Wi-Fi module or a Bluetooth module. The wireless charging transmitter element  122  is configured to output the charging signal S4 as the energy required for the overall operation of the receiver  110  to be transmitted to the receiver  110 . 
     In an embodiment, the transmitter  120  may further include an electronic paper display panel (not shown). The electronic paper display panel is configured to display operation information of the transmitter  120 , including transmission parameters, such as the output energy, angle for transmitting the signals, and transmission time, of the transmitter, or including information to be updated to the receiver  110 , for example. In an embodiment, the transmitter  120  may be connected to a stable power supply, so that the transmitter  120  provides sufficient and stable energy to the receiver  110 . 
     In  FIG.  3 A  and  FIG.  3 B , sufficient teaching, suggestion, and implementation description of the hardware structure of each element may be obtained from the common general knowledge in the related technical field. 
       FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram showing a transmitter and a motor thereof according to an embodiment of the disclosure. With reference to  FIG.  4   , the smart wireless charging control system  200  further includes a motor  140 . The motor  140  is presented in a form of a movable shaft, such as a movable base. The transmitter  120  is mounted on a wall  300  or the like through the movable shaft. The motor  140  is configured to drive the transmitter  120  to rotate to adjust the angle for transmitting the charging signal S4 by the transmitter  120 . 
     Specifically, the motor  140  is connected to a processor of the transmitter  120 . The processor of the transmitter  120  may control the movable base to adjust the angle required by the transmitter  120 . This operation may be adjusted according to the data transmitted from the receiver  110  to the cloud server  130 . For example, if it is required to charge a certain receiver  110 , the transmitter  120  may perform an initialization scan, using the movable base to perform a multi-angle scan. When the receiver  110  receives sufficient energy, the receiver  110  continuously transmits an energy status to the cloud server  130 . According to the information of the cloud server  130 , the transmitter  120  records the amount of energy of the receiver corresponding to each angle. According to the scan results, the angle at which the receiver  110  obtains the maximum energy may be obtained. The transmitter  120  automatically adjusts to that angle to charge the receiver  110  and does not stop supplying energy until the receiver  110  sends an instruction to end the charging. 
     In the embodiments of the disclosure, a possible application scenario is described as follows. The receiver  110  may include one or more receivers. The receiver  110  serves as an electronic label which can be attached on commodities or shelves in a shopping mall, and is configured to display, for example, the name, price, and other information, of the commodities. After the electronic label is set up, the transmitter  120  may perform an initialization operation to obtain a location of the electronic label, so as to obtain a transmission angle. After that, when the user needs to update the commodity information, the commodity information stored in the cloud server  130  may be updated through a computer, a mobile phone, or a similar host system. Then, the cloud server  130  notifies the transmitter  120  to provide sufficient energy to charge the electronic label. When having sufficient energy, the electronic label may download the update information from the cloud server  130  during the information update period. Subsequently, when the location of the electronic label is reset, the transmitter  120  may perform the initialization operation again to obtain the newly set location of the electronic label. The application scenarios of the disclosure may include but are not limited to the scenario described above. 
     In summary of the foregoing, in the embodiment of the disclosure, during the initialization period, the transmitter rotates the angle for transmitting the charging signal by the transmitter and records the time of transmitting the charging signal and the angle for transmitting the charging signal. During the information update period, the transmitter transmits the charging signal according to the location of the receiver to charge the receiver to be updated, so that the receiver has sufficient energy to download the information to be updated from the cloud server. Therefore, the transmitter can arrange the schedule, adjust the energy, and adjust the transmission angle according to the requirements of the receiver. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure covers modifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.