Wireless charging device

• US 10,367,366 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2016
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo (Beijing) Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wang, Tingting
• Primary Examiner(s): Rossoshek, Helen
• Application Number:
  US15/082,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20170155270A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• 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 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

The present disclosure describes embodiments of a wireless charging device including a first charging unit that charges a first electronic device according to a first wireless charging protocol, a second charging unit that charges a second electronic device according to a second wireless charging protocol. The wireless charging device further includes a shield arranged between the first and second charging units, wherein the shield absorbs a magnetic field generated by at least one of the first charging unit and the second charging unit.

Claims

1. A wireless charging device, comprising:

a first charging unit configured to charge a first electronic device using a first wireless charging protocol, the first charging unit located on a first plane within the charging device;

a second charging unit configured to charge a second electronic device using a second wireless charging protocol, the second charging unit located on a second plane parallel to the first plane;

a shield arranged between the first and second charging units, the shield located on a third plane parallel to the first and second planes, wherein the first charging unit is located on an opposite side of the shield from the second charging unit, wherein the shield absorbs a magnetic field generated by at least one of the first charging unit and the second charging unit; and

a controller that disables power supply to the first charging unit in response to the second charging unit being positioned above the first charging unit and disables power supply to the second charging unit in response to the first charging unit being positioned above the second charging unit.

2. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein the shield comprises a ferrite material.

3. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein the first charging unit comprises a first output coil, the second charging unit comprises a second output coil, and first output coil and the second output coil wind around in a same axial direction.

4. The wireless charging device of claim 3, wherein the first output coil, the shield, and the second output coil are arranged in an overlapping manner along the axial direction.

5. The wireless charging device of claim 3, wherein a size of the shield on a plane perpendicular to the axial direction is larger than a size of the first output coil first on the perpendicular plane and larger than a size of the second output coil on the perpendicular plane.

6. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein the second wireless charging protocol is different from the first wireless charging protocol.

7. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein the first charging protocol is the A4WP protocol and the second charging protocol is the Qi protocol.

8. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein a distance between a first output coil of the first charging unit and a housing of the wireless charging device is greater than a preset value along an axial direction of the first output coil.

9. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises:

a power supply input interface connected to the first charging unit and the second charging unit, wherein the controller selectively provides power for the first charging unit and the second charging unit via the power supply input interface.

10. The wireless charging device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises:

a sensor, configured to detect a status of the wireless charging device to generate detection information;

wherein the controller disables power supply to the first charging unit or the second charging unit based on the detection information generated by the sensor.

11. The wireless charging device of claim 10, wherein the device further comprises:

a power supply input interface connected to the first charging unit and the second charging unit, wherein the controller selectively provides power for the first charging unit and the second charging unit via the power supply input interface,

wherein the controller controls the power supply input interface to supply power to the first charging unit in response to the detection information indicating that an output coil of the first charging unit is above output coil of the second charging unit; and

wherein the controller controls the power supply input interface to supply power to the second charging unit in response to the detection information indicating that the output coil of the second charging unit is above the output coil of the first charging unit.

12. The wireless charging device of claim 10, wherein the sensor is composed of an acceleration transducer.

13. The wireless charging device of claim 1, further comprising a housing having a first support member that supports the first electronic device, and a second support member that supports the second electronic device.

14. A program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that stores code executable by a processor, the executable code comprising code to perform:

detecting, via a sensor, an arrangement of a first output coil and a second output coil of a wireless charging device, the first output coil being located in a first plane within the wireless charging device and the second output coil being located on a second plane parallel to the first plane;

providing power to the first output coil and disabling power supply to the second output coil in response to the detected arrangement indicating the first output coil is positioned above the second charging coil; and

providing power to the second output coil and disabling power supply to the first output coil in response to the detected arrangement indicating the second charging coil is positioned above the first output coil,

wherein the first output coil charges a first electronic device using a first wireless charging protocol and the second output coil charges a second electronic device using a second wireless charging protocol,

wherein the wireless charging device comprises a shield arranged between the first and second output coils, the shield located on a third plane parallel to the first and second planes, wherein the first output coil is located on an opposite side of the shield from the second output coil, wherein the shield absorbs a magnetic field generated by at least one of the first output coil and the second output coil.

15. The program product of claim 14, wherein detecting, via a sensor, the arrangement of the first output coil and the second output coil comprises receiving detection information from an accelerometer, the detection information indicating whether the first output coil is above the second output coil.

16. The program product of claim 14, wherein providing power to the first output coil and disabling power supply to the second output coil comprises controlling a power supply input interface to supply power to a first charging unit containing the first output coil in response to the first output coil being above the second output coil.

17. The program product of claim 14, wherein providing power to the second output coil and disabling power supply to the first output coil comprises controlling the power supply input interface to supply power to a second charging unit containing the second output coil in response to the second output coil being above the first output coil.

18. A wireless charging device comprising:

a first charging unit that charges a first electronic device using a first wireless charging protocol, the first charging unit located on a first plane within the charging device;

a second charging unit that charges a second electronic device using a second wireless charging protocol, the second charging unit located on a second plane parallel to the first plane;

a controller that controls the first charging unit and the second charging unit to generate a magnetic field based on an arrangement of the first charging unit with respect to the second charging unit, wherein the controller disables power supply to the first charging unit in response to the second charging unit being positioned above the first charging unit and disables power supply to the second charging unit in response to the first charging unit being positioned above the second charging unit; and

a shield arranged between the first and second charging units, the shield located on a third plane parallel to the first and second planes, wherein the first charging unit is located on an opposite side of the shield from the second charging unit, wherein the shield absorbs a magnetic field generated by at least one of the first charging unit and the second charging unit.

19. The wireless charging device of claim 18, wherein the first charging unit comprises a first output coil, the second charging unit comprises a second output coil, and first output coil and the second output coil wind around in a same axial direction, and wherein the first output coil, the shield, and the second output coil are arranged in an overlapping manner along the axial direction.

20. The wireless charging device of claim 19, further comprising:

a power supply input interface connected to the first charging unit and the second charging unit,

wherein the controller controls the power supply input interface to supply power to the first charging unit in response to the first output coil being above the second output coil; and

wherein the controller controls the power supply input interface to supply power to the second charging unit in response to the second output coil being above the first output coil.