Signal analysis method and circuit

• US 10,312,748 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fu Da Tong Technology Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Fu Da Tong Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tsai, Ming-Chiu, Chan, Chi-Che
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ly, Xuan
• Application Number:
  US15/197,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20160308404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,069 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/04 Measuring peak values or amplitude or envelope of ac or of pulses
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/17 giving an indication of the number of times this occurs , i.e. multi-channel analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/42 AC power supplies
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/01 Resonant DC/DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33571 Half-bridge at primary side of an isolation transformer
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33573 Full-bridge at primary side of an isolation transformer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

A signal analysis method for determining whether a supplying-end module of an induction type power supply system receives a modulation signal from a receiving-end module of the induction type power supply system includes obtaining a coil signal on a supplying-end coil of the supplying-end module; retrieving parts of the coil signal higher than a reference voltage to generate a peak signal; tracking the peak signal to obtain a peak voltage level; configuring a high voltage level higher than the peak voltage level and a low voltage level lower than the peak voltage level; and determining whether a plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and determining whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the low voltage level during a determination cycle, and determining whether the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal accordingly.

Claims

1. A signal analysis method used in a supplying-end module of an induction type power supply system, for determining whether the supplying-end module receives a modulation signal from a receiving-end module of the induction type power supply system, the signal analysis method comprising:

obtaining a coil signal on a supplying-end coil of the supplying-end module;

retrieving parts of the coil signal higher than a reference voltage to generate a peak signal;

tracking the peak signal to obtain a peak voltage level;

configuring a high voltage level higher than the peak voltage level with a preconfigured distance between the high voltage level and the peak voltage level and configuring a low voltage level lower than the peak voltage level with a preconfigured distance between the peak voltage level and the low voltage level; and

determining whether a plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and determining whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the low voltage level during a determination cycle, and determining whether the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal accordingly.

2. The signal analysis method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and determining whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle, and determining whether the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal accordingly comprises:

determining a first number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and a second number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal fail to reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle.

3. The signal analysis method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and determining whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle, and determining whether the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal accordingly further comprises:

determining that the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal when a sum of the first number of times and the second number of times is greater than or equal to a first threshold value and a difference of the first number of times and the second number of times is smaller than or equal to a second threshold value.

4. The signal analysis method of claim 1, wherein the step of tracking the peak signal to obtain the peak voltage level comprises:

determining whether a peak value of the peak signal reaches the peak voltage level in each coil driving cycle; and

increasing a value of the peak voltage level when the peak value reaches the peak voltage level, or decreasing the value of the peak voltage level when the peak value fails to reach the peak voltage level.

5. The signal analysis method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a maximum continuous trigger count and a maximum continuous non-trigger count during a first determination cycle, wherein the maximum continuous trigger count is a maximum number of continuous peak values of the peak signal reaching the peak voltage level and the maximum continuous non-trigger count is a maximum number of continuous peak values of the peak signal failing to reach the peak voltage level; and

storing a value of the peak voltage level in a buffer when both of the maximum continuous trigger count and the maximum continuous non-trigger count are smaller than a threshold value.

6. The signal analysis method of claim 5, further comprising:

applying the value of the peak voltage level stored in the buffer to replace the peak voltage level obtained by tracking the peak signal as a basis for configuring the high voltage level and the low voltage level, when a peak value of the peak signal reaching the high voltage level and another peak value of the peak signal failing to reach the low voltage level are detected during a second determination cycle after the first determination cycle.

7. The signal analysis method of claim 1, wherein a distance between the peak voltage level and the high voltage level is equal to a distance between the peak voltage level and the low voltage level, and the signal analysis method further comprising:

adjusting the distance according to a stability of the coil signal.

8. The signal analysis method of claim 7, wherein the step of adjusting the distance according to the stability of the coil signal comprises:

decreasing the distance when the stability of the coil signal indicates that the coil signal is stable; and

increasing the distance when the stability of the coil signal indicates that the coil signal is unstable.

9. The signal analysis method of claim 7, wherein the stability is indicated by a non-stability status counter, wherein a larger value of the non-stability status counter indicates that the coil signal is more unstable, and the signal analysis method further comprises:

increasing the value of the non-stability status counter when a difference of a first number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and a second number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal fail to reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle is greater than a specific value; and

decreasing the value of the non-stability status counter when both of the first number of times and the second number of times during the determination cycle are equal to zero.

10. The signal analysis method of claim 9, further comprising:

increasing the distance when the value of the non-stability status counter is greater than a first threshold value; and

decreasing the distance when the value of the non-stability status counter is smaller than a second threshold value.

11. A signal analysis circuit used in a supplying-end module of an induction type power supply system, for determining whether the supplying-end module receives a modulation signal from a receiving-end module of the induction type power supply system, the signal analysis circuit comprising:

a voltage measurement circuit, for obtaining a coil signal on a supplying-end coil of the supplying-end module;

an operational amplifier, for retrieving parts of the coil signal higher than a reference voltage to generate a peak signal;

a first comparator module, coupled to the operational amplifier, for tracking the peak signal to obtain a peak voltage level;

a processor, coupled to the first comparator module, for receiving the peak voltage level and configuring a high voltage level higher than the peak voltage level and a low voltage level lower than the peak voltage level;

a second comparator module, coupled to the processor and the operational amplifier, for comparing the peak signal with the high voltage level to determine whether a plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level during a determination cycle, to obtain a first comparison result; and

a third comparator module, coupled to the processor and the operational amplifier, for comparing the peak signal with the low voltage level to determine whether the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle, to obtain a second comparison result;

wherein the processor determines whether the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal according to the first comparison result of the second comparator module and the second comparison result of the third comparator module.

12. The signal analysis circuit of claim 11, wherein the processor determines a first number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level during the determination cycle according to the first comparison result of the second comparator module and determines a second number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal fail to reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle according to the second comparison result of the third comparator module, and the processor determines whether the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal according to the first number of times and the second number of times.

13. The signal analysis circuit of claim 12, wherein the processor determines that the supplying-end module receives the modulation signal when a sum of the first number of times and the second number of times is greater than or equal to a first threshold value and a difference of the first number of times and the second number of times is smaller than or equal to a second threshold value.

14. The signal analysis circuit of claim 11, wherein the second comparator module comprises:

a digital to analog converter (DAC), for converting a value of the high voltage level outputted by the processor into an analog voltage; and

a comparator, coupled to the DAC, for comparing the peak signal with the analog voltage.

15. The signal analysis circuit of claim 11, wherein the third comparator module comprises:

a DAC, for converting a value of the low voltage level outputted by the processor into an analog voltage; and

a comparator, coupled to the DAC, for comparing the peak signal with the analog voltage.

16. The signal analysis circuit of claim 11, wherein the first comparator module comprises:

a DAC, for converting a value of the peak voltage level outputted by the processor into an analog voltage; and

a comparator, coupled to the DAC, for comparing the peak signal with the analog voltage to output a third comparison result;

wherein the processor determines whether a peak value of the peak signal reaches the peak voltage level in each coil driving cycle according to the third comparison result, and increasing the value of the peak voltage level when the peak value reaches the peak voltage level or decreasing the value of the peak voltage level when the peak value fails to reach the peak voltage level, to track the peak signal.

17. The signal analysis circuit of claim 16, wherein the processor further performs the following steps:

obtaining a maximum continuous trigger count and a maximum continuous non-trigger count during a first determination cycle according to the third comparison result, wherein the maximum continuous trigger count is a maximum number of continuous peak values of the peak signal reaching the peak voltage level and the maximum continuous non-trigger count is a maximum number of continuous peak values of the peak signal failing to reach the peak voltage level; and

storing the value of the peak voltage level in a buffer when both of the maximum continuous trigger count and the maximum continuous non-trigger count are smaller than a threshold value.

18. The signal analysis circuit of claim 17, wherein the processor applies the value of the peak voltage level stored in the buffer to replace the peak voltage level obtained by tracking the peak signal as a basis for configuring the high voltage level and the low voltage level, when the second comparator module detects a peak value of the peak signal reaching the high voltage level and the third comparator module detects another peak value of the peak signal failing to reach the low voltage level during a second determination cycle after the first determination cycle.

19. The signal analysis circuit of claim 11, wherein a distance between the peak voltage level and the high voltage level is equal to a distance between the peak voltage level and the low voltage level, and the processor adjusts the distance according to a stability of the coil signal.

20. The signal analysis circuit of claim 19, wherein the processor decreases the distance when the stability of the coil signal indicates that the coil signal is stable, and increases the distance when the stability of the coil signal indicates that the coil signal is unstable.

21. The signal analysis circuit of claim 19, wherein the processor comprises a non-stability status counter for indicating the stability, wherein a larger value of the non-stability status counter indicates that the coil signal is more unstable, and the processor further performs the following steps:

increasing the value of the non-stability status counter when a difference of a first number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal reach the high voltage level and a second number of times the plurality of peak values of the peak signal fail to reach the low voltage level during the determination cycle is greater than a specific value; and

decreasing the value of the non-stability status counter when both of the first number of times and the second number of times during the determination cycle are equal to zero.

22. The signal analysis circuit of claim 21, wherein the processor increases the distance when the value of the non-stability status counter is greater than a first threshold value, and decreases the distance when the value of the non-stability status counter is smaller than a second threshold value.