METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NETWORK COMMUNICATION IN WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

• US 20150022011A1
• Filed: 04/08/2014
• Published: 01/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Nam Yun, Kwon, Hyuk Choon, Kwon, Sang Wook, Jung, Soo Yeon, Jung, Hee Won, An, Chi Hyung
• Granted Patent: US 9,813,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/104
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00 Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• 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 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

A method of configuring a network of a power transmitting unit (PTU) includes determining whether a neighboring PTU is operating in a master mode; determining an operation mode of a PTU based on a result of the determining; and setting a network between the PTU and the neighboring PTU based on the operation mode of the PTU.

Claims

1. A method of configuring a network of a power transmitting unit (PTU), the method comprising:

determining whether a neighboring PTU is operating in a master mode;

determining an operation mode of a PTU based on a result of the determining; and

setting a network between the PTU and the neighboring PTU based on the operation mode of the PTU.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode comprises:

transmitting a search signal to the neighboring PTU; and

determining that the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode in response to receiving a response signal responding to the search signal from the neighboring PTU.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode comprises:

determining whether a search signal is received from the neighboring PTU; and

determining that the neighboring PTU is not operating in the master mode in response to not receiving the search signal from the neighboring PTU.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the operation mode of the PTU based on the result of the determining comprises:

setting an operation mode of the PTU to a slave mode in response to a result of the determining being that the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode; and

setting an operation mode of the PTU to a master mode in response to a result of the determining being that the neighboring PTU is not operating in the master mode.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a result of the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode is that the neighboring PTU is operating in a slave mode;

and

the setting of the network between the PTU and the neighboring PTU based on the operation mode of the PTU comprises;

transmitting a connection request signal to the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode when in response to the operation mode of the PTU being a master mode; and

network-connecting the PTU to the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode when in response to receiving a response signal responding to the connection request signal from the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a result of the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode is that the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode;

and

the setting of the network between the PTU and the neighboring PTU based on the operation mode of the PTU comprises;

receiving a connection request signal from the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode in response to the operation mode of the PTU being a slave mode; and

transmitting a response signal responding to the connection request signal to the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting an index for either one or both of the PTU and the neighboring PTU.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a result of the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode is that the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode;

and

the setting of the index for the either one or both of the PTU and the neighboring PTU comprises;

receiving information on an index from the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode in response to the operation mode of the PTU being a slave mode; and

setting the index of the PTU based on the information on the index.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein a result of the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode is that the neighboring PTU is operating in a slave mode;

and

the setting of the index for the either one or both of the PTU and the neighboring PTU comprises transmitting information on an index to the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode in response to an operation mode of the PTU being a master mode.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the neighboring PTU is one of a plurality of neighboring PTUs that are network-connected to the PTU;

and

the transmitting of the information on the index to the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode comprises generating the information on the index based on a sequential order in which the plurality of neighboring PTUs were network-connected to the PTU.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein a result of the determining of whether the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode is that the neighboring PTU is operating in the master mode;

there is also a neighboring node operating in a slave mode; and

the method further comprises;

comparing an index of the PTU to an index of the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode in response to the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode being is removed; and

setting the operation mode of the PTU to the master mode in response to the index of the PTU being higher than the index of the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

searching for a host in response to an operation mode of the PTU being a master mode; and

network-connecting the PTU to a host found in the searching.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the network-connecting of the PTU to the host found in the searching comprises network-connecting the PTU to the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode by setting the operation mode of the PTU to a slave mode when the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode that is network-connected to the host is present.

14. A method of configuring a network of a power transmitting unit (PTU), the method comprising:

searching for a host operating in a master mode; and

network-connecting a PTU to a host operating in the master mode found in the searching by setting an operation mode of the PTU to a slave mode.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

searching for a neighboring PTU operating in the master mode; and

setting the PTU to operate as a relay between the host and a neighboring PTU operating in the master mode found in the searching to enable the neighboring PTU operating in the master mode found in the searching to operate in the slave mode with respect to the host.

16. A method of configuring a network of a power transmitting unit (PTU), the method comprising:

searching for a neighboring PTU operating in a slave mode;

receiving a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) from a neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode found in the searching; and

determining whether the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode found in the searching is approved to be network-connected to a PTU based on a result of comparing the RSSI to a predetermined reference value.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining of whether the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode found in the searching is approved to be network-connected to the PTU comprises:

approving a network-connection between the PTU and the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode found in the searching in response to the RSSI being greater than the predetermined reference value; and

disapproving a network-connection between the PTU and the neighboring PTU operating in the slave mode found in the searching in response to the RSSI being less than the predetermined reference value.

18. A method of configuring a network of a power transmitting unit (PTU), the method comprising:

receiving wake-up power from a neighboring PTU; and

network-connecting a PTU to the neighboring PTU by setting an operation mode of the PTU to a slave mode in response to the received wake-up power satisfying a predetermined condition.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined condition comprises either one or both of a predetermined size of the received wake-up power and a predetermined period of the received wake-up power.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting information on a change of wake-up power to the neighboring PTU;

wherein the network-connecting of the PTU to the neighboring PTU by setting the operation mode of the PTU to the slave mode comprises network-connecting the PTU to the neighboring PTU by setting the operation mode of the PTU to the slave mode in response to receiving, from the neighboring PTU, wake-up power corresponding to the information on the change of the wake-up power.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information on the change of the wake-up power comprises either one or both of information on a period of the wake-up power and information on a size of the wake-up power.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the neighboring PTU comprises a resonator, and is configured to adjust power supplied to the resonator to generate wake-up power corresponding to the information on the change of the wake-up power.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising recognizing the neighboring PTU as operating in a master mode in response to the received wake-up power satisfying the predetermined condition.

24. A method of configuring a network of a power transmitting unit (PTU), the method comprising:

detecting an operation mode of a neighboring PTU;

setting an operation mode of a PTU based on the operation mode of the neighboring PTU; and

setting a network between the PTU and the neighboring PTU based on the operation mode of the PTU.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the setting of the operation mode of the PTU comprises setting the operation mode of the PTU to a slave mode in response to the operation mode of the neighboring PTU being a master mode, and setting the operation mode of the PTU to the master mode in response to the operation mode of the neighboring PTU being the slave mode;

and

the setting of the network comprises setting the network in response to a connection request signal received from the neighboring node operating in the master mode, or in response to a response signal received from the neighboring node operating in the slave mode responding to a connection request signal transmitted to the neighboring node operating in the slave mode.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the detecting of the operation mode of the neighboring node comprises detecting the operation mode of the neighboring node based on whether a search signal is received from the neighboring node.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the setting of the network comprises determining whether to set the network based on whether a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) received from the neighboring node is greater than a predetermined reference value, or whether wake-up power received from the neighboring node satisfies a predetermined reference value.