INDUCTIVE COUPLING FOR BATTERY SHARING AND MULTI-FUNCTION INDUCTIVE ANTENNA

• US 20160127011A1
• Filed: 10/30/2014
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: Phillips, Simon, Johnson, Alan, Collins, Simon
• Granted Patent: US 9,407,333 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3883 Arrangements for mounting batteries or battery chargers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/266 One coil at each side, e.g. with primary and secondary coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A mobile device includes a housing and an antenna. The mobile device further includes a power-receiving circuit, and power-transmitting circuit, and a short-range communications circuit. The antenna performs multiple functions in that it is shared by the power-receiving circuit, the power-transmitting circuit and the short-range communications circuit. Each of the three circuits is selectively connectable to the antenna. The mobile device is configured to participate in a mobile-to-mobile battery-charge-sharing operation via inductive coupling from mobile device to mobile device.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

a housing;

an antenna contained and/or supported by the housing and including a plurality of loops;

a power-receiving circuit contained by the housing, said power-receiving circuit selectively connectable to the antenna;

a power-transmitting circuit contained in the housing, said power-transmitting circuit selectively connectable to the antenna;

a short-range communications circuit contained in the housing and selectively connectable to the antenna, the short-range communications circuit for sending and/or receiving data communications signals via the antenna; and

switching circuitry coupled to the antenna, the power-receiving circuit, the power-transmitting circuit and the short-range communications circuit such that;

when the power-receiving circuit is connected to the antenna, the power-receiving circuit is effectively coupled to a first number of said loops of the antenna;

when the power-transmitting circuit is connected to the antenna, the power-transmitting circuit is effectively coupled to a second number of said loops of the antenna; and

when the short-range communications circuit is connected to the antenna, the short-range communications circuit is effectively coupled to a third number of said loops of the antenna;

said first, second and third numbers of antenna loops not all being equal to each other.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the short-range communications circuit is configured to engage in data communications in accordance with the NFC (near field communications) standard.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the antenna is a first antenna;

the mobile device further comprising;

a second antenna contained and/or supported by the housing; and

a voice communications transceiver circuit contained in the housing and coupled to the second antenna.

4-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A method comprising:

providing a charging device that includes a battery;

providing a target device that contains a battery to be charged;

charging the battery of the target device by inductive coupling from the charging device to the target device;

and at a time when the charging device is not connected to any source of electric power exterior to the charging device setting a limit as to how much charge is to be drawn from the battery of the charging device, said charging step being governed by said limit, said limit defined relative to a capacity of the battery of the charging device.

21. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

displaying a user interface by at least one of the charging device and the target device;

wherein said limit is set in response to input provided by a user via the displayed user interface.

22. The method of claim 9, wherein said limit is a first limit;

the method further comprising;

setting a second limit, said second limit indicative as to how much charge is to be supplied to a battery of the target device, said charging step being governed by said second limit, said second limit defined relative to a capacity of the battery of the target device.

23. The method of claim 9, wherein the charging device and the target device are both mobile devices.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the charging device is a tablet computer and the target device is a smartphone.

10-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A method comprising:

providing a first device that includes a first battery, a first housing, a first antenna, a power-transmitting circuit and a first switch, said first housing including a marked region on an outer surface of the first housing, the marked region adjacent the first antenna;

providing a second device that includes a second battery, a second housing, a second antenna, a power-receiving circuit and a second switch;

setting the first device to a power-transmitting mode of operation by setting the first switch to a state in which the first switch operatively couples the power-transmitting circuit to the first antenna;

setting the second device to a power-receiving mode of operation by setting the second switch to a state in which the second switch operatively couples the power-receiving circuit to the second antenna; and

inductively coupling the second device to the first device to charge the second battery while drawing charge from the first battery;

said coupling step including placing the second device on the marked region on the outer surface of the first housing.

20. (canceled)