Wireless charging coil placement for reduced field exposure

• US 10,516,304 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2015
• Issued: 12/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sindia, Suraj, Yang, Songnan, Yao, Zhen, Kwasnick, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hiltunen, Thomas J.
• Application Number:
  US14/978,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20170179731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields

Abstract

An apparatus is described herein. The apparatus includes a power transmit unit coil and an active shielding coil. The power transmit unit coil includes a set of main windings, positioned at a first location on a structure, to carry a first current in a first direction, wherein the first current is to cause an electromagnetic field to emanate from the power transmit unit coil. The active shielding coil is positioned at a second location on the structure and is to carry a second current in a direction substantially opposite the first direction wherein the second current is to cause a reduction of the size of the electromagnetic field.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of power transmit unit coils, wherein a power transmit unit coil includes a set of main windings, positioned at a first location on a structure, to carry a first current in a first direction, wherein the first current is to cause an electromagnetic field to emanate from the power transmit unit coil, wherein the first location enables a maximum inter-coil magnetic field between the power transmit unit coil and another power transmit unit coil that is less than a magnetic field limit; and

an active shielding coil, positioned at a second location on the structure, to carry a second current in a direction substantially opposite the first direction wherein the second current is to cause a reduction of the size of the electromagnetic field in a region between the power transmit unit coil and another power transmit unit coil of the plurality of power transmit unit coils, wherein the first location and the second location are dictated by an exponential decay model of the electromagnetic field.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power transmit unit coil and the active shielding coil are placed in circular patterns and positioned in substantially the same plane with substantially the same center.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein an average radius of the active shielding coil is greater than an average radius of the power transmit unit coil.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the active shielding coil is to reduce a magnetic field leakage through cancellation of a magnetic field from the set of main windings.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a feedback mechanism is to control, at least partially, an active charging current that is to result from the electromagnetic field.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the active charging current is modified via adjustments to the first current and the second current.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the active charging current is modified in response to a power level of a receiving device, a magnetic field leakage as the receiving device is powered, another source of magnetic field interference, or any combination thereof.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second current is to cancel a leaked magnetic field at a pre-defined distance.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second location is selected to mitigate interference between the set of main windings and a second power transmit unit.

10. A system, comprising:

a power transmit unit coil comprising a set of main windings, positioned at a first location on a structure, to carry a first current in a first direction, wherein the first location enables a maximum inter-coil magnetic field between all the power transmit unit coil and another power transmit unit coil that is less than a magnetic field limit;

an active shielding coil, positioned at a second location on the structure, to carry a second current in a direction substantially opposite, the first direction, wherein the second current is to cause a reduction of the size of the electromagnetic field in a region between the power transmit unit coil and the another power transmit unit coil of a plurality of power transmit unit coils, wherein the first location and the second location are dictated by an exponential decay model of the electromagnetic field; and

electronic circuitry that is to drive current into the power transmit unit coil, the another power transmit unit coil, and the active shielding coil to create a resonant inductive coupling with a power receive unit.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a magnetic field leakage is reduced to a level lower than a predefined limit.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the active shielding turn is to reduce magnetic field leakage through cancellation of magnetic fields.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of main windings is placed in a circular pattern, and the active shielding coil is placed outside at least a portion of an outermost winding of the set of main windings in substantially the same plane with substantially the same center.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the power transmit unit coil is positioned in an area substantially encompassed by the active shielding coil.

15. A method for coil placement, comprising:

positioning a power transmit unit coil of a plurality of power transmit unit coils in a structure to minimize exposure to magnetic fields at a first position that is determined via an exponential decay model of a potential magnetic field;

determining a maximum inter-coil magnetic field of each coil of the plurality of power transmit unit coils;

calculating an error based on the potential magnetic, field of the power transmit unit coil and the maximum inter-coil magnetic field of the power transmit unit coil and another power transmit unit coil; and

re-positioning the power transmit unit in response to the error being greater than a pre-defined threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the power transmit unit coil is positioned iteratively until the error is less than the pre-defined threshold.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the power transmit unit coil is encompassed by an active shielding coil that is to reduce magnetic field leakage through cancellation of magnetic fields.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the active shielding coil is to reduce magnetic field leakage in a region between multiple power transmit units through cancellation of magnetic fields.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the exponential decay model is constructed by curve-fitting a measured leakage magnetic field decay radiated from the power transmit unit in a peripheral direction.