WIRELESS POWER RECEPTION APPARATUS AND METHOD BASED ON SWITCHING

• US 20150340873A1
• Filed: 11/05/2014
• Published: 11/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jaechun, Kwon, Ui Kun, Kim, Sang Joon, Yoon, Seungkeun
• Granted Patent: US 9,960,606 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type

Abstract

A wireless power reception apparatus includes a reception (RX) resonator configured to form a resonance coupling with a first resonance period associated with an envelope of a power to receive the power from a transmission (TX) resonator; a switch controller configured to generate, at intervals of the first resonance period, a control signal to deactivate the RX resonator at an off timing corresponding to a time instant at which a maximum energy is stored in an inductor of the RX resonator; and a switch configured to deactivate the RX resonator in response to the control signal.

Claims

1. A wireless power reception apparatus comprising:

a reception (RX) resonator configured to form a resonance coupling with a first resonance period associated with an envelope of a power to receive the power from a transmission (TX) resonator;

a switch controller configured to generate, at intervals of the first resonance period, a control signal to deactivate the RX resonator at an off timing corresponding to a time instant at which a maximum energy is stored in an inductor of the RX resonator; and

a switch configured to deactivate the RX resonator in response to the control signal.

2. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch controller comprises:

a voltage sensor configured to sense a first voltage signal corresponding to the power received by the RX resonator;

a timing setter configured to set the off timing based on the first voltage signal; and

a control signal generator configured to generate the control signal at the set off timing at the intervals of the first resonance period.

3. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 2, wherein the timing setter is further configured to detect at least one voltage peak from the sensed first voltage signal during the first resonance period, and set the off timing based on the detected at least one voltage peak.

4. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 3, wherein the timing setter is further configured to detect at least one maximum peak from the detected at least one voltage peak, select a last maximum peak from the detected at least one maximum peak during the first resonance period, and set, as the off timing, a time instant that corresponds to a minimum absolute value of the first voltage signal and that precedes a time instant at which the selected last maximum peak is detected.

5. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 4, wherein the timing setter is further configured to set, as the off timing, a time instant that precedes the time instant at which the selected last maximum peak is detected by a quarter of a second resonance period associated with a peak of the first voltage signal.

6. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 3, wherein the timing setter is further configured to detect at least one maximum peak from the detected at least one voltage peak, select at least one maximum peak corresponding to a predetermined criterion from the detected at least one maximum peak during the first resonance period, and set at least one off timing corresponding to a time instant that corresponds to a minimum absolute value of the first voltage signal and that precedes at least one time instant at which the selected at least one maximum peak is detected.

7. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control signal generator comprises a delay line configured to delay a reference clock signal having a clock frequency by a predetermined delay, and generate the control signal.

8. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch controller is further configured to observe a second voltage signal applied to a load by deactivating the switch at intervals of at least one predetermined time instant in the first resonance period, and set, as an off timing, a time instant at which the observed second voltage signal has a maximum magnitude.

9. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 8, wherein the switch controller is further configured to detect N₁ second voltage signals by deactivating the switch at each of N₁ time instants in the first resonance period, select a first time instant at which a maximum second voltage signal among the N₁ second voltage signals is detected, detect 2N₂+1 second voltage signals by deactivating the switch at each of 2N₂+1 time instants in a predetermined interval comprising the first time instant, and set, as the off timing, a second time instant at which a maximum second voltage signal among the 2N₂+1 second voltage signals is detected.

10. The wireless power reception apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch is further configured to deactivate the RX resonator by turning off a capacitor of the RX resonator.

11. A wireless power reception method comprising:

forming a resonance coupling with a first resonance period associated with an envelope of a power to receive the power from a transmission (TX) resonator;

generating, at intervals of the first resonance period, a control signal to deactivate a reception (RX) resonator at an off timing corresponding to a time instant at which a maximum energy is stored in an inductor of the RX resonator; and

deactivating the RX resonator in response to the control signal.

12. The wireless power reception method of claim 11, wherein the generating comprises:

sensing a first voltage signal corresponding to the power;

setting the off timing based on the first voltage signal; and

generating the control signal at the set off timing at intervals of the first resonance period.

13. The wireless power reception method of claim 12, wherein the setting comprises:

detecting at least one voltage peak from the sensed first voltage signal during the first resonance period; and

setting the off timing based on the detected at least one voltage peak.

14. The wireless power reception method of claim 13, wherein the detecting comprises detecting at least one maximum peak from the detected at least one voltage peak;

and

the setting of the off timing based on the detected at least one voltage peak comprises;

selecting a last maximum peak from the detected at least one maximum peak during the first resonance period; and

setting, as the off timing, a time instant that corresponds to a minimum absolute value of the first voltage signal and that precedes a time instant at which the selected last maximum peak is detected.

15. The wireless power reception method of claim 14, wherein the setting, as the off timing, of the time instant that corresponds to the minimum absolute value of the first voltage signal and that precedes the time instant at which the selected last maximum peak is detected comprises setting, as the off timing, a time instant that precedes the time instant at which the selected last maximum peak is detected by a quarter of a second resonance period associated with a peak of the first voltage signal.

16. The wireless power reception method of claim 13, wherein the detecting comprises detecting at least one maximum peak from the detected at least one voltage peak;

and

the setting of the off timing based on the detected at least one voltage peak comprises;

selecting at least one maximum peak corresponding to a predetermined criterion from the detected at least one maximum peak during the first resonance period; and

setting at least one off timing corresponding to a time instant that corresponds to a minimum absolute value of the first voltage signal and that precedes at least one time instant at which the selected at least one maximum peak is detected.

17. The wireless power reception method of claim 12, wherein the generating comprises delaying a reference clock signal having a clock frequency by a predetermined delay, and generating the control signal.

18. The wireless power reception method of claim 11, wherein the generating comprises:

observing a second voltage signal applied to a load by deactivating the switch at intervals of at least one predetermined time instant in the first resonance period; and

setting, as an off timing, a time instant at which the observed second voltage signal has a maximum magnitude.

19. The wireless power reception method of claim 18, wherein the observing comprises:

detecting N₁ second voltage signals by deactivating the switch at each of N₁ time instants in the first resonance period;

selecting a first time instant at which a maximum second voltage signal among the N₁ second voltage signals is detected; and

detecting 2N₂+1 second voltage signals by deactivating the switch at each of 2N₂+1 time instants in a predetermined interval comprising the first time instant; and

the setting, as an off timing, of the time instant at which the observed second voltage signal has the maximum magnitude comprises setting, as the off timing, a second time instant at which a maximum second voltage signal among the 2N₂+1 second voltage signals is detected.

20. The wireless power reception method of claim 11, wherein the deactivating comprises deactivating the RX resonator by turning off a capacitor of the RX resonator.