CONTROL OF WIRELESS BATTERY CHARGING

• US 20150084583A1
• Filed: 09/24/2013
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Jung, David Hann, Toorians, Arman, Collins, Robert R., Tao, Xiaohui
• Application Number:
  US14/035,609
• Publication Number:
  US 20150084583A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• 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 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction

Abstract

One embodiment provides a method to store electrical energy in an electronic device, which has a central processing unit (CPU) to provide operating-system and application processing in the device. The method includes controlling, from the CPU of the electronic device, communication sent from the device and received at a wireless charger within communication range of the device. The method further includes computing, in the CPU of the electronic device, a set-point condition for wireless energy flow from the wireless charger to an energy-storage component of the device, and regulating the wireless energy flow based on the set-point condition.

Claims

1. Enacted in an electronic device having a central processing unit (CPU), a method to store electrical energy in the device, the CPU providing operating-system and application processing in the device, the method comprising:

from the CPU of the electronic device, controlling communication sent from the device and received at a wireless charger within communication range of the device;

in the CPU of the electronic device, computing a set-point condition for wireless energy flow from the wireless charger to an energy-storage component of the device; and

regulating the wireless energy flow based on the set-point condition.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein regulating the wireless energy flow includes controlling an impedance between a receiver coil of the electronic device and the energy-storage component.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein regulating the wireless energy flow includes sending the wireless charger a request to adjust the wireless energy flow.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising downloading a resource that enables the electronic device to be charged at the wireless charger.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the energy-storage component is a replacement component, the method further comprising downloading a resource that enables the energy-storage component to be charged in the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising enacting one or more algorithms to enable the wireless charger to distinguish whether conductive material is inadvertently placed between the wireless charger and the device being charged.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating with the wireless charger to secure payment in exchange for the wireless energy flow.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the controlling, computing, and regulating are controlled by software, the method further comprising updating the software.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying an operational aspect of the wireless charger, wherein one or more of the controlling, computing, and regulating are adjusted in dependence on the operational aspect.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the one or more of the controlling, computing, and regulating conforms to an applied standard, and wherein the applied standard is selected from among a plurality of extant standards depending on the operational aspect identified.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising modeling a charge state of the energy-storage component.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein modeling the charge state is based on a history of charge and discharge activity in the electronic device.

13. An electronic device comprising:

an energy-storage component;

a receiver coil configured to receive electrical energy through inductive coupling to a transmitter coil of a wireless charger;

a central processing unit (CPU) providing operating-system and application processing in the electronic device, the CPU configured to compute a set-point condition for wireless energy flow from the wireless charger to the energy-storage component and to regulate the wireless energy flow based on the set-point condition.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 further comprising a communication module operatively coupled to the CPU and configured to send communication to the wireless charger, wherein the CPU is further configured to control the communication sent by the communication module.

15. The electronic device of claim 14 wherein the communication module is configured to send the communication by modulating an inductive load sensed at the wireless charger.

16. The electronic device of claim 14 wherein the communication sent by the communication module is a first communication, and wherein the communication module is further configured to receive a second communication from the wireless charger in a form of an induced voltage in the receiver coil.

17. A central processing unit (CPU) for a mobile electronic device, the CPU comprising:

a processor core configured to provide at least some operating-system and application processing in the electronic device, the processor core operatively coupled to a communication module configured to send communication to a wireless charger within communication range of the electronic device; and

machine-readable memory associatively coupled to the processor core, the memory holding instructions that direct the processor core to provide the at least some operating-system and application processing in the electronic device, to compute a set-point condition for wireless energy flow from the wireless charger to the energy-storage component, to regulate the wireless energy flow based on the set-point condition, and to control the communication from the communication module.

18. The CPU of claim 17 wherein the processor core is a low-power processor core, and wherein the CPU further comprises one or more higher-power, higher-performance processor cores.

19. The CPU of claim 18 wherein the one or more higher-power, higher-performance processor cores are not configured to participate in computing the set-point condition or in regulating the wireless energy flow.

20. The CPU of claim 17 wherein the CPU is integrated into a system-on-a-chip that further includes a northbridge, southbridge, and memory controller.