Wireless charging systems with in-band communications

• US 10,608,468 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2017
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Dayal, Rohan, Qiu, Weihong, Moussaoui, Zaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dominique, Emmanuel
• Application Number:
  US15/611,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20170373537A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3827 Portable transceivers

Abstract

A wireless power transmitting device may have control circuitry that supplies drive signals to a coil to produce wireless power signals. The wireless power receiving device may have a coil that receives the transmitted wireless power signals from the wireless power transmitting device. The wireless power receiving device may have a rectifier that rectifies signals received by the coil in the wireless power receiving device and that provides a rectified voltage to a capacitor. A charger in the wireless power receiving device may charge a battery in the device using the rectified voltage. When it is desired to convey information to the wireless power transmitting device, the wireless power transmitting device may cease the transmission of wireless power and the wireless power receiving device may modulate transistors in the rectifier to transmit data to the wireless power transmitting device.

Claims

1. An electronic device configured to receive wirelessly transmitted power signals from a power transmitting device, comprising:

a coil configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted power signals;

a rectifier coupled to the coil, wherein the rectifier has transistors configured to rectify the power signals and produce a corresponding rectified direct-current voltage;

a capacitor configured to be charged by the rectified direct-current voltage; and

control circuitry having a data transmitter configured to transmit data to the power transmitting device by applying a series of current pulses to the coil using the transistors in the rectifier while the coil is not receiving the wirelessly transmitted power signals.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the transistors of the rectifier comprise first and second transistors coupled in series across the capacitor.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 further comprising an additional capacitor, wherein the first and second transistors are coupled at a node, wherein the additional capacitor is coupled to the node, and wherein the coil has a terminal coupled to the additional capacitor.

4. The electronic device of claim 2 further comprising first and second additional capacitors, wherein the first and second transistors are coupled at a node and wherein the first additional capacitor is coupled to the node and wherein the second additional capacitor is coupled to ground by a switch in the data transmitter.

5. The electronic device of claim 2 further comprising:

a charger that is configured to receive the rectified direct-current voltage and that is configured to recharge a battery using the rectified direct-current voltage.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the control circuitry comprises a data receiver circuit configured to receive data through the coil that has been transmitted wirelessly from the power transmitting device while the coil is receiving the wirelessly transmitted power signals.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the data transmitter is configured to transmit data bits that are each represented by at least two of the pulses.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising a display that is configured to display images without interruption while the data transmitter transmits data to the power transmitting device.

9. A method for communicating between a wireless power receiving device and a wireless power transmitting device, comprising:

with the wireless power receiving device, receiving transmitted wireless power from the wireless power transmitting device with a receiving device coil and a rectifier that has at least a pair of transistors coupled in series across a capacitor in the wireless power receiving device;

with the wireless power receiving device, charging the capacitor in the wireless power receiving device using the received transmitted wireless power; and

transmitting data to the wireless power transmitting device with a control circuit in the wireless power receiving device by applying signal pulses to the receiving device coil while wireless power transmission from the wireless power transmitting device is paused and while the capacitor is supplying power to the control circuit.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting data to the wireless power transmitting device by applying current pulses to the receiving device coil that have a duration of 0.1 microseconds to 10 microseconds.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein transmitting the data to the wireless power transmitting device with the control circuit comprises transmitting the data to the wireless power transmitting device with the control circuit containing data bits that are each represented by at least two of the pulses.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

with the wireless power transmitting device, transmitting the wireless power from a transmitting device coil.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

with a data receiver in the wireless power transmitting device, receiving the transmitted data.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein each of the pulses induces a ringing signal in the transmitted device coil and wherein receiving the transmitted data comprises detecting the ringing signals.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein the wireless power receiving device comprises a display configured to display images, the method further comprising:

displaying the images uninterruptedly on the display while the wireless power transmission from the wireless power transmitting device is paused.

16. An electronic device that is configured to operate in a system with a wireless power transmitting device, comprising:

a coil that is configured to receive wireless power from the wireless power transmitting device;

a rectifier coupled to the coil;

a capacitor that is configured to be charged with wireless power received from the coil using the rectifier; and

a data transmitter configured to transmit data bits to the wireless power transmitting device while wireless power transmission by the wireless power transmitting device is paused by applying signal pulses to the coil that induce signal ringing in the wireless power transmitting device.

17. The electronic device of claim 16 wherein the transmitted data bits include data bits that are each represented by at least two of the signal pulses.

18. The electronic device of claim 17 wherein the data transmitter is configured to transmit the data bits by applying signal pulses to the coil that each have a duration of 0.1 to 10 microseconds.

19. The electronic device of claim 16 further comprising:

a battery; and

a charger that is configured to charge the battery with wireless power received from the wireless power transmitting device.

20. The electronic device of claim 16 further comprising an additional capacitor, wherein the additional capacitor is coupled between the coil and a node and wherein the data transmitter is configured to apply the signal pulses to the node.

21. The electronic device of claim 16 wherein the rectifier is configured to produce a direct-current rectified voltage in response to receipt of the wireless power and is configured to supply the direct-current rectified voltage to the capacitor.

22. The electronic device of claim 16 further comprising a display, wherein the display is configured to display images uninterruptedly while the wireless power transmission by the wireless power transmitting device is paused.

23. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the signal ringing induced at the wireless power transmitting device is demodulated by the wireless power transmitting device to obtain a code corresponding to the data bits transmitted by the data transmitter.