Wireless Charging of Mobile Devices in Vehicles

• US 20180145532A1
• Filed: 01/19/2018
• Published: 05/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Causey, Mark, Luu, Adrianne Binh, Williams, J. Michael
• Granted Patent: US 10,418,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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: H02J 7/0071 with a programmable schedule

Abstract

Methods, systems, and products describe a car, truck, or other vehicle that charges a battery in a mobile device. The vehicle wirelessly inductively charges the battery based on historical usage.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

establishing, by a vehicle, a wireless communication with a mobile device;

retrieving, by the vehicle, data representing a historical consumption of a battery power associated with a battery powering the mobile device;

determining, by the vehicle, a charging strategy for the battery based on the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power;

receiving, by a battery charger operating in the vehicle, electrical power; and

inductively coupling, by the battery charger operating in the vehicle, the electrical power to charge the battery powering the mobile device according to the charging strategy based on the data representing the historical consumption.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising predicting future consumption of the battery power from the battery powering the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the battery powering the mobile device is fully charged.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a number of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a duration of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory device, the memory device storing code, the code when executed causing the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

establishing a wireless communication between a transceiver and a mobile device;

retrieving data from the mobile device, the data representing a historical consumption of a battery power associated with a battery powering the mobile device;

determining a charging strategy for the battery based on the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power;

receiving electrical power; and

inductively coupling a battery charger to charge the battery powering the mobile device according to the charging strategy based on the data representing the historical consumption.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise predicting future consumption of the battery power from the battery.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise inductively coupling a primary coil to a secondary coil.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a number of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a duration of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.

15. A memory device storing code which when executed causes a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

establishing wireless communication between a vehicle and a mobile device;

wirelessly receiving data representing a historical consumption of a battery power from a battery powering the mobile device;

determining a charging strategy for the battery based on the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power;

receiving electrical power; and

inductively coupling a battery charger in the vehicle to charge the battery powering the mobile device according to the charging strategy based on the data representing the historical consumption.

16. The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise predicting a future consumption of the battery power from the battery.

17. The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise determining a start time associated with the inductive coupling.

18. The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise determining a stop time associated with the inductive coupling.

19. The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a duration of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.

20. The memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.