Electronic devices with wireless charging antenna arrays

• US 10,651,670 B1
• Filed: 04/19/2017
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jiang, Bing, Sen, Indranil S., Narang, Mohit, Bae, Mun Soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Muralidar, Richard V
• Application Number:
  US15/491,899
• Time in Patent Office: 1,119 Days
• Field of Search: 320108
• 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 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/23 characterised by the type of transmitting antennas, e.g. directional array antennas or Yagi antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• 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: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

An electronic device may transfer power wirelessly to an external device. The electronic device may include a housing having a cavity. A cover layer may be formed over the cavity. An array of antennas may be formed within the cavity. Antennas in the array may transfer wireless charging signals to the external device through the cover layer to charge the external device while the external device is in contact with the cover layer. Impedance detection circuitry may gather impedance matching information from each antenna in the array. Control circuitry may select an antenna having a best impedance match with the external device for transmitting the wireless charging signals. One or more antennas in the array may form a block filter for the selected antenna. Multiple near-field coupled antennas in the array may be selected for transmitting the charging signals to focus the charging signals on the external device.

Claims

1. A wireless charging mat for transmitting wireless power to an electronic device while the electronic device is placed on the wireless charging mat, the wireless charging mat comprising:

a plurality of antennas that includes a selected transmit antenna configured to transmit wireless charging signals to the electronic device and that includes a set of antennas that surrounds the selected transmit antenna;

wireless charging circuitry operatively coupled to the plurality of antennas; and

control circuitry coupled to the wireless charging circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless charging circuitry to transmit the wireless charging signals over the selected transmit antenna and wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the set of antennas to form a guard ring structure for the selected transmit antenna.

2. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to disable the set of antennas to prevent the set of antennas from transmitting any wireless charging signals while the selected transmit antenna transmits the wireless charging signals.

3. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 2, wherein a given antenna in the set of antennas comprises first and second antenna feed terminals, the wireless charging mat further comprising:

a transmission line having a positive signal line coupled between the wireless charging circuitry and the first antenna feed terminal and a ground signal line coupled between the wireless charging circuitry and the second antenna feed terminal; and

a switch interposed on the ground signal line, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the given antenna to form a portion of the guard ring structure by closing the switch.

4. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 3, further comprising:

an additional switch interposed on the positive signal line, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the given antenna to transmit additional wireless charging signals by opening the switch and closing the additional switch.

5. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, wherein the set of antennas is configured to reflect at least some of the wireless charging signals transmitted by the selected transmit antenna back towards the selected transmit antenna.

6. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, wherein the set of antennas surrounds at least four sides of the selected transmit antenna.

7. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 6, wherein the plurality of antennas are formed in an array having consecutive first, second, and third rows, the selected transmit antenna is formed in the second row, and the guard ring structure includes antennas in the first, second, and third rows.

8. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas comprises an additional selected transmit antenna that is configured to transmit the wireless charging signals, the additional selected transmit antenna is near field coupled to the selected transmit antenna, the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless charging circuitry to transmit the wireless charging signals over the additional selected transmit antenna, and the set of antennas surrounds both the selected transmit antenna and the additional selected transmit antenna.

9. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, wherein the selected transmit antenna and each antenna in the set of antennas comprise a respective patch antenna resonating element located in a common plane.

10. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a housing, wherein the plurality of antennas is formed within a cavity in the housing; and

a cover layer positioned over the cavity and the plurality of antennas, wherein each antenna in the plurality of antennas comprises a respective antenna resonating element that is formed at a first distance with respect to a rear wall of the cavity and at a second distance with respect to the cover layer, the first distance being different from the second distance.

11. The wireless charging mat defined in claim 1, wherein the selected transmit antenna comprises a patch antenna, the wireless charging mat further comprising:

a first transmission line coupled to the patch antenna at a first signal feed terminal; and

a second transmission line coupled to the patch antenna at a second signal feed terminal that is different from the first signal feed terminal, wherein the wireless charging circuitry is configured to transmit the wireless charging signals over the patch antenna via the first and second signal feed terminals, and the wireless charging signals transmitted by the patch antenna exhibit first and second different radio-frequency polarizations.

12. An electronic device configured to wirelessly transfer power to an external device, the electronic device comprising:

a housing;

wireless power transfer circuitry in the housing;

a cavity formed in the housing;

a cover layer positioned over the cavity;

a plurality of antennas within the cavity, wherein at least one antenna in the plurality of antennas is configured to transmit wireless charging signals at a transmit frequency from the wireless power transfer circuitry to the external device through the cover layer while the external device is on the cover layer, the transmit frequency being greater than 1 GHz, wherein the plurality of antennas in the cavity comprises an array of patch antennas; and

control circuitry coupled to the wireless power transfer circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to;

select a patch antenna in the array to transmit the wireless charging signals to the external device, and

disable a ring of patch antennas around the selected patch antenna in the array to form a guard ring structure for the selected patch antenna, wherein the guard ring structure is configured to block at least some of the wireless charging signals at the transmit frequency.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12, further comprising:

a dielectric support structure formed on a rear surface of the cavity that opposes the cover layer, wherein each of the patch antennas in the array comprises a respective patch antenna resonating element formed on a surface of the dielectric support structure, the surface of the dielectric support structure is located at a first distance that is between 0.5 and 10 mm from the rear surface of the cavity, and the surface of the dielectric support structure is located at a second distance that is between 2 and 20 mm from the cover layer.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 12, wherein the control circuitry is configured to gather impedance measurements using the plurality of antennas and to select the patch antenna in the array to transmit the wireless charging signals to the external device based on the gathered impedance measurements.

15. An electronic device configured to provide wireless power to an external device that is placed on the electronic device, the electronic device comprising:

wireless power transfer circuitry that is configured to generate wireless charging signals;

a plurality of antennas operatively coupled to the wireless power transfer circuitry; and

control circuitry coupled to the wireless power transfer circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless power transfer circuitry to transmit the wireless charging signals over a selected antenna of the plurality of antennas, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control a set of antennas in the plurality of antennas that is adjacent to the selected antenna to form a filter, and wherein the filter is configured to block at least some of the transmitted wireless charging signals from being transmitted past the set of antennas.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15, wherein each antenna in the set of antennas is coupled to the wireless power transfer circuitry by a respective transmission line having a corresponding positive signal line and a corresponding ground signal line, wherein a respective switch is interposed on each of the ground signal lines, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to short the wireless charging signals transmitted by the selected antenna to ground at the location of each antenna in the set of antennas by closing each of the respective switches.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16, wherein the wireless power transfer circuitry is configured to generate the wireless charging signals at a transmit frequency that is greater than 1 GHz.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 15, wherein the set of antennas that forms the filter comprises a ring of antennas that surrounds the selected antenna.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 15, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the wireless power transfer circuitry to transmit the wireless charging signals over an additional selected antenna in the plurality of antennas, the additional selected antenna being near field coupled to the selected antenna, and the set of antennas that forms the filter comprising a ring of antennas that surrounds the selected antenna and the additional selected antenna.