WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL

• US 20180351369A1
• Filed: 02/18/2016
• Published: 12/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: LEE, Seonghun, JUNG, Byungsang
• Granted Patent: US 11,108,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

A control method for an inductive power supply (IPS), according to one embodiment of the present invention, can comprise the steps of: applying a ping for sensing an object; measuring a coil current; sensing the object on the basis of the coil current measurement result; transmitting, to the object, the minimum power for waking up a communication unit of the object, wherein the communication unit performs communication by using an out-of band communication protocol; receiving, from the object, pairing information through the out-of band communication protocol so as to perform pairing with the object; and transmitting main power to the paired object.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an inductive power supply (IPS), the method comprising:

applying a ping to detect an object;

measuring a coil current;

detecting the object on the basis of a measurement result of the coil current;

transmitting minimum power for waking up a communication unit of the object to the object, the communication unit performing communication using an out-of-band (OOB) communication protocol;

receiving pairing information from the object through the OOB communication protocol and performing pairing with the object; and

transmitting main power to the paired object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the object on the basis of the measurement result of the coil current includes:

measuring a coil current generated according to application of the ping and obtaining an envelope of the measured coil current; and

when a reduction rate of the envelope is equal to or greater than a threshold, detecting the object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when performing of the pairing with the object fails, providing a selection interface for receiving an input about whether to execute an induction heating mode to heat the object.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

when a selection input instructing execution of the induction heating mode is received through the selection interface, operating in the induction heating mode to apply induction heat to the detected object, and

when a selection input instructing non-execution of the induction heating mode through the selection interface, re-applying the ping to detect the object.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

when a selection input regarding the selection interface is not received for a predetermined time after the selection interface is provided, re-applying the ping to detect the object.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

terminating a system power when entering the stage of re-applying the ping from the stage of providing the selection interface is repeated a predetermined number of times or more.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the main power is measuring the coil current in real time to detect removal of the object at the same time when the main power is transmitted.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

detecting removal of the object on the basis of the measurement result of the coil current during transmission of the main power; and

stopping transmission of the main power and re-applying the ping to detect the object.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting of the removal of the object on the basis of the measurement result of the coil current includes:

measuring a coil current generated during transmission of the main power and obtaining an envelope of the measured coil current; and

when a reduction rate of the envelope is less than a threshold, detecting the removal of the object.

10. An inductive power supply (IPS) comprising:

a coil assembly including at least one primary coil generating a magnetic field;

an inverter converting a direct current (DC) signal into an alternating current (AC) signal;

a tank circuit providing impedance matching between the inverter and the at least one primary coil;

a communication unit performing communication using an out-of-band (OBB) communication protocol; and

a control unit controlling power transmission,

wherein the control unit is configured to;

apply a ping to detect an object and measure a coil current,

detect the object on the basis of a measurement result of the coil current,

transmit minimum power for waking up the communication unit of the object to the object,

receive pairing information from the object through the 00B communication protocol and perform pairing with the object, and

transmit main power to the paired object.

11. The IPS of claim 10, wherein, when the object is detected on the basis of the measurement result of the coil current,

the control unit is further configured to measure a coil current generated according to application of the ping, obtain an envelope of the measured coil current, and detect the object when a reduction rate of the envelope is equal to or greater than a threshold.

12. The IPS of claim 10, further comprising a user interface providing various types of information to a user,

wherein, when performing of the pairing with the object fails, the control unit is further configured to provide a selection interface for receiving an input about whether to execute an induction heating mode to heat the object.

13. The IPS of claim 12, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

when a selection input instructing execution of the induction heating mode is received through the selection interface, operate in the induction heating mode to apply induction heat to the detected object, and

when a selection input instructing non-execution of the induction heating mode through the selection interface, re-apply the ping to detect the object.

14. The IPS of claim 13, wherein, when a selection input regarding the selection interface is not received for a predetermined time after the selection interface is provided, the control unit is further configured to re-apply the ping to detect the object.

15. The IPS of claim 14, wherein, when the operation of re-applying the ping after providing the selection interface is repeated a predetermined number of times or more, the control unit is further configured to terminate a system power.

16. The IPS of claim 10, wherein, when the main power is transmitted, the control unit is further configured to measure the coil current in real time to detect removal of the object at the same time when the main power is transmitted.

17. The IPS of claim 16, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

detect removal of the object on the basis of the measurement result of the coil current during transmission of the main power,

stop transmission of the main power, and

re-apply the ping to detect the object.

18. The IPS of claim 17, wherein, when the removal of the object is detected on the basis of the measurement result of the coil current, the control unit is further configured to:

measure a coil current generated during transmission of the main power, and

obtain an envelope of the measured coil current, and detect the removal of the object when a reduction rate of the envelope is less than a threshold.