PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11050307-B1
Application Number: US-202016798167-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Wireless power system with device movement detection

Abstract:
A wireless power system has a wireless power transmitting device such as a charging mat with a charging surface and a wireless power receiving device that receives wireless power from coils overlapped by the charging surface. The wireless power transmitting device receives load current and load voltage measurements from the wireless power receiving device and uses this information to produce one or more load lines. The load lines may form a family of load lines each associated with a different respective duty cycle used by inverter circuitry in the wireless power transmitting device in transmitting wireless power signals using the coils. The control circuitry can determine whether the wireless power receiving device has moved by comparing current and voltage information from the wireless power receiving device to the family of load lines and can take appropriate action such as measuring coil inductances for use in subsequent coil selection operations.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A wireless power transmitting device configured to wirelessly transmit power to a wireless power receiving device, comprising:
 one or more coils overlapped by a charging surface; 
 inverter circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit power using the coils; and 
 control circuitry configured to use current and voltage information received from the wireless power receiving device to control the inverter circuitry, wherein:
 in response to the wireless power receiving device being lifted away from the one or more coils, the control circuitry causes the inverter circuitry to halt wireless power transmission; and 
 in response to at least one movement of the wireless power receiving device along the charging surface, the control circuitry does not cause the inverter circuitry to halt wireless power transmission. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 1  further comprising measurement circuitry configured to measure one or more coil inductances associated respectively with the one or more coils, wherein the control circuitry is configured to use the measurement circuitry to measure the one or more coil inductances in response to detecting the lifting of the wireless power receiving device away from the charging surface using the current and voltage information. 
     
     
       3. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 2  further comprising wireless communications circuitry configured to use the one or more coils to receive the current and voltage information from the wireless power receiving device. 
     
     
       4. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 3  wherein the control circuitry is configured to use the current and voltage information received from the wireless power receiving device to produce a load line associated with a load of the wireless power receiving device. 
     
     
       5. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 4  wherein the control circuitry is configured to detect the lifting of the wireless power receiving device away from the charging surface by comparing a measured load current and a measured load voltage from the wireless power receiving device to the load line. 
     
     
       6. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 5  wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 maintain wireless power transmission to the wireless power receiving device in response to a first movement of the wireless power receiving device along the charging surface; and 
 halt wireless power transmission in response to a second movement of the wireless power receiving device along the charging surface. 
 
     
     
       7. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 6  wherein the first movement is associated with a deviation of the measured load current and the measured load voltage from the load line by less than a threshold and wherein the second movement is associated with a deviation of the measured load current and the measured load voltage from the load line by more than the threshold. 
     
     
       8. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 6  wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 in response to the first movement, cause the wireless power receiving device to display a user interface affordance indicating reduced wireless charging capabilities. 
 
     
     
       9. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 6  wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 in response to the second movement, cause the wireless power receiving device to display a user interface affordance indicating halting of the wireless power transmission and cause the wireless power receiving device to remove a displayed charging status indicator. 
 
     
     
       10. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 1  further comprising wireless communications circuitry configured to use the one or more coils to receive the current and voltage information from the wireless power receiving device, wherein the control circuitry is configured to use the current and voltage information received from the wireless power receiving device to produce a family of load lines associated with a load in the wireless power receiving device, and wherein each load line in the family of load lines is associated with use by the inverter circuitry of a different respective duty cycle when supplying signals to the one or more coils. 
     
     
       11. A wireless power transmitting device configured to wirelessly transmit power to a wireless power receiving device, comprising:
 one or more coils overlapped by a charging surface; 
 measurement circuitry configured to measure one or more coil inductances respectively associated with the one or more coils; 
 inverter circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit power using the one or more coils; and 
 control circuitry configured to use current and voltage information received from the wireless power receiving device to detect movement of the wireless power receiving device relative to the charging surface and to control the inverter circuitry, wherein:
 in response to movement of the wireless power receiving device along the charging surface detected by the control circuitry using the current and voltage information, the control circuitry uses the measurement circuitry to measure the one or more coil inductances. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 11  wherein the control circuitry is configured to use the current and voltage information received from the wireless power receiving device to produce a family of load lines associated with a load in the wireless power receiving device, wherein each load line in the family of load lines is associated with use by the inverter circuitry of a different respective duty cycle when supplying signals to the one or more coils. 
     
     
       13. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 12  wherein the control circuitry is configured to detect the movement of the wireless power receiving device using the family of load lines. 
     
     
       14. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 13  wherein the control circuitry is configured to use the family of load lines to detect the movement by comparing a load current and a load voltage received from the wireless power receiving device to a load line in the family of load lines that is associated with a duty cycle being used by the inverter circuitry to wirelessly transmit the power. 
     
     
       15. A wireless power transmitting device configured to wirelessly transmit power to a wireless power receiving device, comprising:
 at least one coil; 
 inverter circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit power using the at least one coil; and 
 control circuitry configured to:
 receive current and voltage measurements from the wireless power receiving device using the at least one coil; 
 produce a load line associated with a load in the wireless power receiving device using the received current and voltage measurements from the wireless power receiving device; and 
 at least partly based on the load line, cause the wireless power receiving device to display a user interface affordance. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 15  wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 detect a first movement of the wireless power receiving device by identifying from a first deviation between the load line and measured load current and measured load voltages from the wireless power receiving device; and 
 detect a second movement of the wireless power receiving device by identifying a second deviation between the load line and measured load current and measured load voltages from the wireless power receiving device. 
 
     
     
       17. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 16  wherein the control circuitry is configured to cause the wireless power receiving device to display a user interface affordance indicating reduced wireless charging capabilities in response to detecting the first movement. 
     
     
       18. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 16  wherein the control circuitry is configured to cause the wireless power receiving device to display a user interface affordance indicating halting of wireless charging capabilities in response to detecting the second movement. 
     
     
       19. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 16  wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 compare a received current and voltage measurement to the load line; and 
 cause the wireless power receiving device to display the user interface affordance based on the comparison. 
 
     
     
       20. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 19  wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 in response to determining that a current and voltage measurement deviates from the load line by less than a threshold amount during the comparison, wirelessly transmit power to the wireless power receiving device by using the inverter circuitry to supply a signal to the at least one coil. 
 
     
     
       21. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 19  further comprising measurement circuitry configured to measure inductance associated with the at least one coil, wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 in response to determining that a current and voltage measurement deviates from the load line by more than a threshold amount during the comparison, halt wirelessly transmitting power to the wireless power receiving device and use the measurement circuitry to measure the inductance information associated with the at least one coil. 
 
     
     
       22. The wireless power transmitting device of  claim 15  wherein the control circuitry is configured to produce a family of load lines including the load line, wherein the family of load lines is associated with the load in the wireless power receiving device, and wherein each load line in the family of load lines is associated with use by the inverter circuitry of a different respective duty cycle when supplying signals to the at least one coil.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/844,657, filed May 7, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to power systems, and, more particularly, to wireless power systems for charging electronic devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In a wireless charging system, a wireless power transmitting device such as a charging mat transmits power to a wireless power receiving device such as a portable electronic device. The portable electronic device has a coil and rectifier circuitry. The coil of the portable electronic device receives alternating-current wireless power signals from the wireless power transmitting device. The rectifier circuitry converts the received signals into direct-current power. 
     SUMMARY 
     A wireless power system has a wireless power transmitting device such as a charging mat with a charging surface and a wireless power receiving device that receives wireless power from coils in the wireless power transmitting device that are overlapped by the charging surface. 
     During operation, the wireless power receiving device uses a current measurement circuit to measure load current and uses a voltage measurement circuit to measure load voltage. Information on load current and voltage is transmitted to the wireless power transmitting device using in-band communications or other wireless communications. 
     The wireless power transmitting device receives load current and load voltage measurements from the wireless power receiving device and uses this information to produce load lines associated with powering the load of the wireless power receiving device. The load lines are each associated with a different respective duty cycle used by inverter circuitry in the wireless power transmitting device in transmitting wireless power signals using the coils. 
     The control circuitry can compare current and voltage measurements made in the wireless power receiving device to the load lines. Device movement can be detected when the comparison indicates that the current and voltage measurements deviate from the expected load line by more than a threshold amount. When movement is detected, appropriate action can be taken. For example, the control circuitry may use coil inductance measurement circuitry to gather updated coil inductance measurements. By analyzing the coil inductance measurements, the control circuitry can determine which coils to switch into use in transmitting the wireless power to the wireless power receiving device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative wireless charging system that includes a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power receiving device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a circuit diagram of wireless power transmitting and receiving circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a graph of an illustrative load line associated with powering a load in a wireless power receiving device in a wireless power system in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a graph of an illustrative load current in a wireless power receiving device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a graph of an illustrative load voltage in a wireless power receiving device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is graph of a set of illustrative load lines associated with a wireless power system in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating a wireless power system in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A wireless power system includes a wireless power transmitting device such as a wireless charging mat. The wireless power transmitting device wirelessly transmits power to a wireless power receiving device such as a cellular telephone, wristwatch, or other electronic equipment. The wireless power receiving device uses power from the wireless power transmitting device for powering the device and for charging an internal battery. 
     The wireless power transmitting device interacts with the wireless power receiving device and obtains information on the characteristics of the wireless power receiving device. In some embodiments, the wireless power transmitting device has multiple power transmitting coils overlapped by a charging surface on which a wireless power receiving device may be placed. In such embodiments, the wireless power transmitting device uses information from the wireless power receiving device and/or measurements made in the wireless power transmitting device to determine which coil or coils in the transmitting device are magnetically coupled to wireless power receiving devices. Coil selection is then performed in the wireless power transmitting device. Wireless power is transmitted from the wireless power transmitting device to the wireless power receiving device using selected coil(s) to charge a battery in the wireless power receiving device and/or to power other load circuitry. 
     The process of making coil measurements such as coil impedance measurements to determine which coils should be used in transmitting power to a wireless power receiving device is sometimes referred to as coil scanning. The coil scanning process consumes time during which wireless power for battery charging and other operations is not generally being transmitted. To help avoid excessive periods of time during which wireless power transmission is interrupted for coil scanning, the wireless power system monitors load current and load voltage in the wireless power receiving device. When the load current and voltage deviates from an expected load line by more than a threshold amount, wireless power transmission may be momentarily halted and coil scanning may be performed or other actions may be taken. In the absence of deviations from the load line, wireless power transfer operations can continue uninterrupted. As a result of this system behavior, small shifts in the location of a wireless power receiving device on the surface of a wireless charging mat that lead to only minor load line deviations will not result in wireless power transmission interruptions. Large changes in the location of a wireless power receiving device such as changes when a user lifts a wireless power receiving device off of a wireless charging mat will result in large deviations of load current and load voltage from the load line and will result in the halting of wireless power transmission and a rescan of the coils. If the coil rescan indicates that a new coil or set of coils should be used in transmitting wireless power, wireless power transmission is resumed using the updated coils. Because the interruption of wireless power transfer in this type of scenario may be relatively brief, wireless charging status information (e.g., an icon or text on a display in the wireless power receiving device, etc.) may be retained on the display of the wireless power receiving device until rescanning of the coils indicates that the wireless power receiving device has been lifted off of the wireless power transmitting device. 
     An illustrative wireless power system (wireless charging system) is shown in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , wireless power system  8  includes a wireless power transmitting device such as wireless power transmitting device  12  and includes a wireless power receiving device such as wireless power receiving device  24 . Wireless power transmitting device  12  includes control circuitry  16 . Wireless power receiving device  24  includes control circuitry  30 . Control circuitry in system  8  such as control circuitry  16  and control circuitry  30  is used in controlling the operation of system  8 . This control circuitry may include processing circuitry associated with microprocessors, power management units, baseband processors, digital signal processors, microcontrollers, and/or application-specific integrated circuits with processing circuits. The processing circuitry implements desired control and communications features in devices  12  and  24 . For example, the processing circuitry may be used in selecting coils, determining power transmission levels, processing sensor data and other data, processing current and voltage measurements, processing user input, handling negotiations between devices  12  and  24 , using in-band and/or out-of-band wireless communications circuitry in sending and receiving in-band and out-of-band data, making measurements, and otherwise controlling the operation of system  8 . 
     Control circuitry in system  8  may be configured to perform operations in system  8  using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware and/or software. Software code for performing operations in system  8  is stored on non-transitory computer readable storage media (e.g., tangible computer readable storage media) in control circuitry  8 . The software code may sometimes be referred to as software, data, program instructions, instructions, or code. The non-transitory computer readable storage media may include non-volatile memory such as non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), one or more hard drives (e.g., magnetic drives or solid state drives), one or more removable flash drives or other removable media, or the like. Software stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage media may be executed on the processing circuitry of control circuitry  16  and/or  30 . The processing circuitry may include application-specific integrated circuits with processing circuitry, one or more microprocessors, a central processing unit (CPU) or other processing circuitry. 
     Power transmitting device  12  may be a stand-alone power adapter (e.g., a wireless power transmitting device that includes power adapter circuitry), may be a wireless charging puck or other device that is coupled to a power adapter or other equipment by a cable, may be a portable device, may be equipment that has been incorporated into furniture, a vehicle, or other system, may be a removable battery case, or may be other wireless power transfer equipment. Illustrative configurations in which wireless power transmitting device  12  is a wireless charging mat having a planar wireless charging surface on which a wireless power receiving device is placed to receive wireless power are sometimes described herein as an example. 
     Power receiving device  24  may be a portable electronic device such as a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, a wristwatch, a battery case, a wireless accessory (e.g., headphones, a computer stylus, etc.), or other electronic equipment. Power transmitting device  12  may be coupled to a wall outlet (e.g., an alternating current power source) and may use AC-DC converter  14  to produce direct-current (DC) power and/or may have a battery for supplying power. In some embodiments, which are described herein as an example, AC-DC converter  14  is a stand-alone power converter. With this type of arrangement, device  12  is separate from the equipment that includes converter  14  and is connected to converter  14  by a cable. 
     DC power from converter  14  may be used to power control circuitry  16 . During operation, a controller in control circuitry  16  uses power transmitting circuitry  52  to transmit wireless power to power receiving circuitry  54  of device  24 . Power transmitting circuitry  52  may have switching circuitry (e.g., inverter circuitry  61  formed from switches such as transistors) that is turned on and off based on control signals provided by control circuitry  16  to create AC current signals with a desired duty cycle that flow through one or more wireless power transmitting coils such as wireless power transmitting coils  36 . 
     In some arrangements, device  12  may have only a single coil. In other arrangements, device  12  may have multiple coils (e.g., two or more coils, four or more coils, six or more coils, 2-6 coils, fewer than 10 coils, 5-30 coils, fewer than 40 coils, etc.). Coils  36  may be arranged in a planar coil array under a charging surface that overlaps the coils (e.g., in configurations in which device  12  is a wireless charging mat) or may be mounted in the housing of device  10  in other configurations. Coil arrays may be formed from coils that are arranged in multiple overlapping and offset layers. For example, coils  36  may include two, three, or more than three separate layers of coils each having a coil array that is offset from the other. By using multiple layers of coils each of which is shifted laterally with respect to the other, coils  36  can be arranged to provide magnetic field coverage over the charging surface with a desired uniformity. A power transmitting device in which an array of coils  36  is used in providing wireless power through a charging surface may sometimes be referred to as a charging mat. 
     As the AC currents pass through one or more coils  36 , alternating-current electromagnetic (e.g., magnetic) fields (wireless power signals  44 ) are produced that are received by one or more corresponding receiver coils such as coil(s)  48  in power receiving device  24 . When the alternating-current electromagnetic fields are received by coils  48 , corresponding alternating-current currents are induced in coils  48 . Rectifier circuitry such as rectifier circuitry  50 , which contains rectifying components such as synchronous rectification metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors arranged in a bridge network, converts received AC signals (received alternating-current signals associated with electromagnetic signals  44 ) from one or more coils  48  into DC voltage signals for powering device  24 . 
     The DC voltage produced by rectifier circuitry  50 , which is sometime referred to as rectifier output voltage Vrect or load voltage Vo, and accompanying load current Io can be used in powering load circuitry in device  10 . For example, the load voltage and load current may be used in charging a battery such as battery  58  and can be used in powering other components in device  24 . Device  24  may, as an example, include input-output devices  56  such as a display, touch sensor, communications circuits, audio components, sensors, light-emitting diode status indicators, other light-emitting and light detecting components, and other components and these components (which form a load for device  24 ) can be powered by the DC voltage produced by rectifier circuitry  50  (and/or DC voltage produced by battery  58 ). 
     Device  12  and/or device  24  may communicate wirelessly using in-band or out-of-band communications. Device  12  may, for example, have wireless communications circuitry such as wireless transceiver circuitry  40  that wirelessly transmits out-of-band signals to device  24  using an antenna. Wireless transceiver circuitry  40  may be used to wirelessly receive out-of-band signals from device  24  using the antenna. Device  24  may have wireless communications circuitry such as wireless transceiver circuitry  46  that transmits out-of-band signals to device  12 . Receiver circuitry in wireless transceiver  46  may use an antenna to receive out-of-band signals from device  12 . In-band transmissions between devices  12  and  24  may be performed using coils  36  and  48 . With one illustrative configuration, frequency-shift keying (FSK) is used to convey in-band data from device  12  to device  24  and amplitude-shift keying (ASK) is used to convey in-band data from device  24  to device  12 . Power may be conveyed wirelessly from device  12  to device  24  during these FSK and ASK transmissions. During FSK communications, wireless communications circuitry in control circuitry  16  (e.g., transceiver  40 ) and/or other wireless communications circuitry may transmit data to device  24  by modulating the frequency of the control signal supplied to inverter  61  (and thereby modulating the frequency of the transmitted wireless power signals). During ASK communications, wireless communications circuitry in control circuitry  16  (e.g., a receiver in transceiver circuitry  40 ) or other wireless communications circuitry in device  12  may receive data that is transmitted from receiving device  24  to device  12  using a transmitter in device  24  (e.g., a transmitter in transceiver circuitry  46  may modulate the impedance of coil  48 , resulting in a corresponding detectable change in the current through coil(s)  36 ). 
     It is desirable for power transmitting device  12  and power receiving device  24  to be able to communicate information such as received power, states of charge, and so forth, to control wireless power transfer. However, the above-described technology need not involve the transmission of personally identifiable information in order to function. Out of an abundance of caution, it is noted that to the extent that any implementation of this charging technology involves the use of personally identifiable information, implementers should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. 
     Control circuitry  16  has external object measurement circuitry  41  that may be used to detect external objects adjacent to device  12  (e.g., on the top of a charging mat or, if desired, to detect objects adjacent to the coupling surface of a charging puck). Circuitry  41  can detect foreign objects such as coils, paper clips, and other metallic objects and can detect the presence of wireless power receiving devices  24  (e.g., circuitry  41  can detect the presence of one or more coils  48 ). During object detection and characterization operations, external object measurement circuitry  41  can be used to make measurements on coils  36  to determine whether any devices  24  are present on device  12 . 
     In an illustrative arrangement, measurement circuitry  41  of control circuitry  16  contains signal generator circuitry (e.g., oscillator circuitry for generating AC probe signals at one or more probe frequencies, a pulse generator that can create impulses so that impulse responses can be measured to gather coil inductance information, Q-factor information, etc.) and signal detection circuitry (e.g., filters, analog-to-digital converters, impulse response measurement circuits, etc.). During measurement operations, switching circuitry in device  12  may be adjusted by control circuitry  16  to switch each of coils  36  into use. As each coil  36  is selectively switched into use, control circuitry  16  uses the signal generator circuitry of signal measurement circuitry  41  to apply a probe signal to that coil while using the signal detection circuitry of signal measurement circuitry  41  to measure a corresponding response. Control circuitry  16  also uses measurement circuitry  41  to measure the inductance of each coil  36 . Measurement circuitry  43  in control circuitry  30  and/or in control circuitry  16  may also be used in making current and voltage measurements (e.g., so that this information can be used by device  24  and/or device  12 ). For example, measurement circuitry  43  may include a load current sensor for monitoring a load current in device  24  and may include a load voltage sensor for monitoring a load voltage in device  24 . By scanning through all of coils  36  (e.g., by making impedance measurements on each coil  36  in sequence and/or by performing other measurements), device  12  may determine which coils  36  are overlapped by device  24  and are electromagnetically coupled to device  24  so that these coils can be selected and switched into use in transmitting wireless power signals to device  24 . 
       FIG. 2  is a circuit diagram of illustrative wireless charging circuitry for system  8 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , circuitry  52  may include inverter circuitry such as one or more inverters  61  or other drive circuitry that produces wireless power signals that are transmitted through an output circuit that includes one or more coils  36  and capacitors such as capacitor  70 . In some embodiments, device  12  may include multiple individually controlled inverters  61 , each of which supplies drive signals to a respective coil  36 . In other embodiments, an inverter  61  is shared between multiple coils  36  using switching circuitry. 
     During operation, control signals for inverter(s)  61  are provided by control circuitry  16  at control input  74 . A single inverter  61  and single coil  36  is shown in the example of  FIG. 2 , but multiple inverters  61  and multiple coils  36  may be used, if desired. In a multiple coil configuration, switching circuitry (e.g., multiplexer circuitry) can be used to couple a single inverter  61  to multiple coils  36  and/or each coil  36  may be coupled to a respective inverter  61 . During wireless power transmission operations, transistors in one or more selected inverters  61  are driven by AC control signals from control circuitry  16  having a desired duty cycle. In some embodiments, the relative phase between the inverters can be adjusted dynamically (e.g., a pair of inverters  61  may produce output signals in phase or out of phase (e.g., 180° out of phase). Duty cycle can be adjusted dynamically to help adjust power transmission levels. 
     The application of alternating-current drive signals using inverter(s)  61  (e.g., transistors or other switches in circuitry  52 ) causes the output circuits formed from selected coils  36  and capacitors  70  to produce electromagnetic fields (signals  44 ) that are received by wireless power receiving circuitry  54  using a wireless power receiving circuit formed from one or more coils  48  and one or more capacitors  72  in device  24 . 
     During startup operations, device  24  can monitor the output voltage Vo of rectifier  50  and can monitor the output current Io. Output voltage Vo (e.g., Vrect in  FIG. 2 ) is sometimes referred to as a load voltage, because this voltage is applied to load circuitry in device  24  such as battery charging circuitry, display circuitry, control circuitry, and other electrical components in device  24 . Output current Io, which flows through the load components coupled between terminals  76 , is sometimes referred to as a load current. 
     When wireless power transfer is being initiated in system  8  (e.g., during startup operations), wireless power system  8  can be represented by an equivalent circuit having a power source with one internal impedance. When the power source and the internal impedance are constant, the output voltage Vo can be calculated using the load line equation of equation (1).
 
 Vo=AVin+BIo   (1)
 
     In equation 1, Vin is the voltage associated with the AC signals produced by inverter  61  ( FIG. 2 ) and A and B are unknown constants. During startup operations, multiple samples of Io and Vo values may be obtained by control circuitry  30 . For example, a first current Io1 and a first associated voltage Vo1 (sometimes collectively referred to as first operating point P1) may be gathered and a second current Io2 and a second associated voltage Vo2 (sometimes collectively referred to as second operating point P2) may be gathered. These points fall on a load line associated with the equivalent circuitry of the wireless power system, as shown by load line  80  of  FIG. 3 . 
     From the two operating points P1 and P2, equations (2) and (3) may be obtained, respectively. Equation (4) shows how the voltage Vin that is produced at the output of inverter  16  is a function of the duty cycle of the drive signal applied to coil(s)  36 .
 
 Vo 1= AVin 1+ BIo 1  (2)
 
 Vo 2= AVin 2+ BIo 2  (3)
 
 Vin=Vdc *sine( DC /π)  (4)
 
     In equation (4), Vin is a function of the magnitude (direct-current voltage Vdc) of the signal produced by inverter  61  and DC is the duty cycle of the signal produced by inverter  61 . Using equations (2) and (3), the values of constants A and B may obtained and substituted into equation (1). This produces load line  80  of  FIG. 3 . 
     After the load line data is obtained, this information may be provided to wireless power transmitting device  12 . For example, device  24  may transmit load line data to device  12  with ASK in-band communications using coil  48  and coil(s)  36  or with other suitable data communications. Device  24  may then use the load line that is received from device  24  to determine whether device  24  has been moved relative to device  12 . 
     In particular, control circuitry  16  may periodically obtain load current and load voltage measurements (Io and Vo measurements made by measurement circuitry in device  24 ) from device  24  and may compare these measurements to the load line to determine whether device  24  is operating in its original position or has been moved. Device  24  may make these measurements continually and may send the measurements to device  24  continually via ASK. 
     During normal operation, while power is being transmitted from device  12  to device  24 , device  24  may be characterized by an Io and Vo values corresponding to a normal operating point that falls on load line  80  (e.g., normal operating point PN in the example of  FIG. 3 ). If device  24  experiences a load change due to a change in operation in the load circuitry receiving current Io and voltage Vo, a subsequent measurement of Io and Vo by device  24  will produce a point such as point PLC of  FIG. 3 , which still lies on load line  80 . Accordingly, as device  24  periodically experience changes in load during normal operation, these load changes will result in operating points that remain on the load line established during the initial start operations (e.g., when points P1 and P2 of  FIG. 3  were sampled). No action need be taken in system  8  so long as normal operation is detected and movement of device  24  is not detected. 
     If, however, device  24  is moved relative to device  12 , the operating point indicated by current Io and Vo may no longer lie on line  80 . As an example, current Io may remain relatively unchanged while voltage Vo drops, causing the operating point to move off of line  80  as indicated by illustrative operating point PM in  FIG. 3 . When this condition is detected by control circuitry  16 , control circuitry  16  can take appropriate action. For example, when PM (e.g., the measured load current and load voltage) is off of load line  80  by more than a threshold amount, which may occur, as an example, in response to a user lifting device  24  away from device  12 , device  12  can stop wireless power transmission (e.g., the transmission of wireless power signals from device  12  to device  24  can be halted). When transmission is halted in this way, device  12  can rescan coils  36  (e.g., to determine whether a new coil or new set of coils should be selected to transmit wireless power). In some embodiments, device  12  detects that device  24  has been moved due to a shift in the operating point of device  24  off of load line  80 , control circuitry  16  in device  12  may use measurement circuitry  41  to measure the inductance of each of coils  36  so that appropriate coil(s)  36  can be switched into use in transmitting power to device  12  (if device  12  is still present on the charging surface of device  24 ). If the rescan does not identify any coil(s)  36  that are overlapped by coil  48 , wireless power transmission may remain halted. If the rescan identifies updated overlapped coil(s)  36 , the updated coil information may be used in switching selected coils into use so that wireless power transmission can be resumed. In some embodiments, if operation of device  24  has shifted off of load line  80 , system  8  may inform a user that device  24  has been moved and that the wireless power transfer capabilities of system  8  have been affected. For example, device  12  may, in response to detecting movement of device  24 , send a wireless instruction to device  24  or otherwise cause device  12  to present a user interface affordance informing the user of reduce wireless power transfer capabilities (e.g., the display of device  24  may display a message such as “wireless charging rate has been impacted due to device movement”). In some embodiments, device  24  may present a user interface affordance indicating that shifting of device  24  has impacted wireless charging power levels. For example, if Vo drops but remains within a useful value for supplying power to the electronics of device  24 , the user interface affordance(s) can indicate that the device is operating at a lower wireless charging power level. In some embodiments, the user interface affordance indicating shifting of device  24  has impacted wireless charging power levels is displayed responsive to movement exceeding a first threshold. Optionally, responsive to movement exceeding a second threshold, device  24  may display a user interface affordance, other than the charging status indicator, that indicates that wireless charging has halted. If a charging status indicator is being displayed by device  24  and movement of device  24  is sufficient to cause device  12  to halt wireless power transmission, device  12  can cause device  24  to display a user interface affordance indicating that wireless power transmission have been halted (e.g., due to movement) and can cause device  24  to remove the previously displayed charging status indicator. Device  24  may, in some embodiments, detect that wireless power transmission has been interrupted and can remove the displayed charging status indicator in response to detection of interruption of the wireless power transmission. 
     Small deviations from the load line (e.g., deviations less than the threshold which may result from small shifts of the position of device  24  across the surface of device  24 ) need not trigger rescanning operations (e.g., power transmission may be maintained at its current level without readjusting which coil(s)  36  to use to transmit the wireless power). 
     The graphs of  FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate operation at a normal operating point PN on load line  80  (e.g., between times t1 and t2 where Io is equal to IH and Vo is equal to VA). At time t2, the load in device  24  changes (e.g., a component in the load circuitry of device  24  is switched off in this example). This causes current Io to drop to IL and causes voltage Vo to rise to VB, corresponding to a new operating point on load line  80  (e.g., point PLC of  FIG. 3 ). At time t3, a user moves device  24  relative to device  12 , causing Vo to drop to VC while Io remains at IL. This new condition corresponds to illustrative operating point PM of  FIG. 3 , which is not on load line  80 . In response to determining that the operating point of device  24  deviates from the expected load line behavior of device  24  by more than a threshold amount (as illustrated by point PM), device  12  can halt power transmission, perform a coil rescan (e.g., to select new coil(s) to use in transmitting power), and/or can take other suitable action. 
     During operation of system  8 , power transfer may be regulated by adjusting the duty cycle (DC) of the alternating-current drive signals supplied to coil(s)  36  by inverter  61 . The duty cycle of inverter  61  is controlled by the duty cycle of the control signals applied to control input  74  of inverter  61  by control circuitry  16 . Control circuitry  16  can adjust the duty cycle of the control signals supplied to input  74  to control the duty cycle of the AC drive signal output from inverter  61 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 3 , the duty cycle (DC) of the alternating-current drive signal supplied to coil(s)  36  by inverter  61  is fixed (e.g., 20%). In some embodiments, the duty cycle of the output of inverter  61  varies. As a result, system  8  may collect multiple sets of operating points P1 and P2 corresponding to multiple different duty cycle settings. For example, at a first duty cycle setting (e.g., 5%), a first set of current and voltage measurements Io1 and Vo1 may be collected and at a second duty cycle setting (e.g., 10%), a second set of current and voltage measurements Io2 and Vo2 may be collected. In equations (5) and (6), Vin1 is computed for a 5% duty cycle and Vin2 is computed for a 10% duty cycle. Additional measurements of output current and voltage in device  24  can be collected at additional duty cycles. The collected operating point data can be provided to device  12  to allow device  12  to produce a family of load lines to use in evaluating whether device  24  is moved relative to device  12  during operation.
 
 Vo 1= AVin 1+ BIo 1  (5)
 
 Vo 2= AVin 2+ BIo 2  (6)
 
In particular, from points such as the operating point of equation (5) and the operating point of equation (6) (and, if desired, additional operating points at different duty cycles) and using equations (1) and (4), the family of load lines at different respective duty cycles may be produced by device  12  (e.g., control circuitry  16 ). An illustrative load line family with load lines at 5%, 10%, and 15% is shown in the example of  FIG. 6 . Other numbers of load lines may be gathered, if desired.
 
     The load line families that are produced are used in conjunction with information on the present duty cycle of inverter  61  (which is known to control circuitry  16 ) to determine when device  24  is operating normally. Consider, as an example, operating points PTX and PTY in the example of  FIG. 6 . Initially, device  24  may be operating at point PTX while device  12  is operating with a 5% duty cycle. The load current and voltage readings of device  24  while operating at operating point PTX are passed to device  12  using ASK in-band communications or other communications. Device  12 , knowing the current duty cycle of inverter  61 , determines that point PTX lies on the 5% duty cycle load line in the family of load lines as expected for normal operation at a 5% duty cycle. The duty cycle of inverter  61  is subsequently changed to 10% and the operating point of device  24  changes to that of operating point PTY. The measured output current and voltage of device  24  for operating point PTY while device  24  is operating at the 10% duty cycle are passed to device  12  and compared to the 10% duty cycle load line. So long as the measured operating point of device  24  lies on the load line for the current duty cycle (within a predetermined threshold amount), device  12  can conclude that device  24  has not been moved and is operating normally, even in the event that the operating point changes due to changes in the load in device  24 . If, however, the measured operating point of device  24  (e.g., output current Io and output voltage Vo) deviates from the load line for the current duty cycle being used by inverter  61  by more than the threshold amount, device  12  can conclude that device  24  has been moved and can take appropriate action. 
     Illustrative operations involved in using system  8  are shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     During the operations of block  82 , device  12  (control circuitry  16 ) uses measurement circuitry  41  to measure the coil impedance of each of coils  36 . The measurement process, which may sometimes be referred to as a coil scan, reveals which coil(s) have enlarged inductance values due to the overlap of coil  48  of device  24 . After identifying which coil(s)  36  are overlapped by coil  48  (and which are therefore electromagnetically coupled to coil  48 ), control circuitry  16  can adjust switching and/or inverter circuitry in device  12  to select the overlapped coils. The coil(s)  36  that are switched into use begin transmitting wireless power signals  44  to device  24 . 
     During the operations of block  84 , startup operations may be performed (e.g., the output power of device  12  can be ramped up so the normal wireless power operations can be performed). Control circuitry  16  may, if desired, vary the duty cycle DC of inverter  16  to help control output voltage Vo in device  24 . Device  24  can send load current and load voltage measurements (e.g., Io and Vo) to device  12  using in-band communications such as ASK communications and/or other wired communications. During startup operations, multiple load line operating points may be gathered and the family of load line curves of  FIG. 6  calculated (e.g., by control circuitry  16  or other control circuitry in system  8 ). 
     Once normal wireless power transfer conditions are reached, system  8  may transfer wireless power normally. The duty cycle DC of inverter  61  may be varied during operation to control voltage Vo in device  24  under a variety of operating conditions. The known duty cycle of inverter  61  is used to identify the load line of  FIG. 6  that corresponds to the current operating state of system  8 . Each operating point (e.g., each current Io and voltage Vo pair) that is received by device  12  can be compared by device  12  to the identified load line for the current duty cycle. So long as the operating points lie on the load line (within a threshold amount), normal operations can continue at block  86 , even if the load in device  24  changes, as indicated by line  90 . As a result of this behavior, it is possible that some movements (e.g., slight movements) of device  24  across the surface of device  12  will result in uninterrupted normal wireless power transmission. 
     If device  12  determines during a comparison of an operating point to the identified load line that the operating point (load current and voltage) deviates from the identified load line by more than the threshold amount (as may occur, for example, if a larger movement of device  24  is detected such as when a user lifts device  24  off of the charging surface of device  12  or when a user moves device  24  substantially along the charging surface), device  12  (control circuitry  16 ) may respond by taking suitable action during the operations of block  88 . 
     As an example, device  12  may halt wireless power transmission during the operations of block  88 . Device  12  may then perform a coil scan on coils  36  (measuring the inductance of each coil  36 ). If the coil scan reveals that device  24  has been moved away from device  12  (e.g., device  24  has been lifted from the charging surface of device  12 ), wireless power transmission may remain halted. If the coil scan reveals that device  24  was moved to a different location on the charging surface of device  12  and is now overlapping different coil(s)  36  or is overlapping some or all of the same coil(s)  36  but with differing amounts of overlap, appropriately updated coil(s)  36  can be switched into use and used in transmitting wireless power from device  12  to device  24  (e.g., an updated set of coils  36  may be selected based on the result of the new coil scan and wireless power transmission may be resumed). 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200221
Publication Date: 20210629
Grant Date: 20210629
Priority Date: 20190507
Inventors: QIU, WEIHONG
BERDNIKOV, DMITRY
MOUSSAOUI, ZAKI
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H02J50/90", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/80", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/10", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J7/0042", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/402", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J2310/22", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/90", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/12", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J50/90", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 76548342