Method and apparatus for controlling wireless induction power supply

• US 10,298,074 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2018
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yang, Ta-Yung
• Primary Examiner(s): Kessie, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/956,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20180241256A1
• Time in Patent Office: 398 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/102 by measuring amplitude
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/12 operating with electromagnetic waves operating with millimetre waves G01V8/005
• 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

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for controlling the wireless induction power supply. The apparatus comprises a transmitter control circuit and a receiver control circuit. The method comprises generating a plurality of switching signals for switching a transmitter winding and generating a power; detecting a level of a transmitter signal from the transmitter winding; and controlling a switch to deliver the power from a receiver winding to a load. The receiver winding is coupled to receive the power from the transmitter winding. The switching signals will be disabled if the level of the transmitter signal is not higher than a threshold over a first period or the level of the transmitter signal is higher than a high-threshold over a second period. Accordingly, the method and the apparatus according to the present invention have the foreign object detection (FOD) function for the safety.

Claims

1. An circuit for a wireless induction power supply, comprising:

a transmitter circuit for generating a plurality of switching signals for switching a transmitter winding of the wireless power supply for generating a power for delivery to a load of a receiver side of the wireless power supply;

a first input of the transmitter circuit for receiving a signal that is representative of an input voltage to the wireless power supply;

a second input of the transmitter circuit for receiving a signal that is representative of a level of a transmitter signal from the transmitter winding wherein the transmitter signal is representative of an impedance of the transmitter winding;

the transmitter circuit configured to detect a foreign object wherein the foreign object is detected and the switching signals are disabled in response to detecting the level being less than a threshold while the load is decoupled from receiving the power and while the switching signals are enabled, and the transmitter circuit configured to detect a no-load condition and disable the switching signals in response to detecting the level being higher than the threshold over a first period while the power is coupled to the load and the switching signals are enabled.

2. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the load is decoupled from receiving the power in response to disabling a switch in a receiver circuit on the receiver side of the wireless induction power supply.

3. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the switch is coupled in series between the load and a receiver winding on the receive side.

4. The circuit of claim 2 wherein a heavy load is detected and the switching signals are disabled in response to detecting the level being less than a low-threshold over a first period while the power is coupled to the load and while the switching signals are enabled, wherein the low-threshold is less than the threshold.

5. A method for a transmitter circuit of a wireless induction power supply, comprising:

configuring a transmitter control circuit to form one or more switching signals for switching a transmitter winding of the wireless induction power supply for generating a power for delivery to a load by a receiver circuit of the wireless induction power supply;

configuring an input of the transmitter control circuit to receive a transmitter signal formed by the transmitter winding in response to switching of the one or more switching signals wherein the transmitter signal is representative of an impedance of the transmitter winding; and

configuring the transmitter control circuit to detect a foreign object and disable the one or more switching signals in response to detecting the transmitter signal having a first level that is representative of the impedance being less than a threshold value while the one or more switching signals are enabled and the load is decoupled from receiving the power,

configuring the transmitter control circuit to continue enabling the one or more switching signals in response to detecting the transmitter signal having a second level that is representative of the impedance being greater than the threshold while the load is decoupled from receiving the power and the one or more switching signals are enabled, and

configuring the transmitter control circuit to detect a no-load condition and disable the one or more switching signals in response to detecting the transmitter signal having a third level representative of the impedance being greater than the threshold over a first period of time while the load is coupled for receiving the power and the one or more switching signals are enabled.

6. The method of claim 5 further including periodically re-enabling the one or more switching signals while the one or more switching signals are disabled in response to detecting the impedance being higher than the threshold over the first period.

7. The method of claim 6 including continuing to enable the one or more switching signals in response to detecting the impedance higher than the threshold during the step of re-enabling the one or more switching signals.

8. The method of claim 5 further including controlling a switch of the receiver control circuit to couple the power to the load and to periodically decouple the load from receiving the power.

9. The method of claim 8 including periodically turning-off the switch to decouple the load from receiving the power wherein the switch is coupled in series between a receiver winding and the load.

10. The method of claim 8 including turning-off the switch in response to detecting the no-load condition.

11. The method of claim 5 further including coupling another input of the transmitter control circuit to receive a signal representative of an input voltage of the wireless induction power supply for detecting a level of the input voltage.

12. The method of claim 5 including configuring the transmitter control circuit to control the transmitter winding without receiving a signal from another controller coupled to control the receiver winding.

13. A method for a wireless induction power supply, comprising:

configuring a transmitter circuit to generate a plurality of switching signals for switching a transmitter winding for generating a power for delivery to a load; and

configuring the transmitter circuit to detect a foreign object and disable the plurality of switching signals in response to detecting an impedance of the transmitter winding being less than a threshold while power is not delivered to a load and while the plurality of switching signal are enabled; and

configuring the transmitter circuit to detect a no-load condition and disable the plurality of switching signals in response to the detecting the impedance greater than the threshold over a period of time while the plurality of switching signal are enabled and while power is coupled to deliver to the load.

14. The method of claim 13 further including periodically re-enabling the plurality of switching signals to detect a level of the impedance.

15. The method of claim 13 further including detecting a level of an input voltage of the wireless induction power supply.

16. The method of claim 13 further including controlling a switch by a receiver circuit that periodically turns-off the switch to decouple the load from receiving the power.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the switch is coupled in series between a receiver winding of the wireless induction power supply and the load.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the switch is turned off in response to the no-load condition.

19. The method of claim 16 further including configuring the transmitter circuit to detect the no-load condition while the plurality of switching signals are enabled and while the switch is enabled to couple the power from a receiver winding to the load.

20. The method of claim 13 further including configuring the transmitter circuit to continue to enable the plurality of switching signals in response to detecting the impedance between greater than a low-threshold and less than the threshold wherein the low-threshold is less than the threshold.