Electric power receiving apparatus, method of controlling the same, and electric power feeding system including the same

• US 9,476,736 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Arisawa, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thienvu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baxter, Brian K
• Application Number:
  US13/790,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20130264887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 307/104
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/2006 by influencing the self-induction of one or more coils G01D5/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• 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

Abstract

An electric power receiving apparatus including: an electric power receiving coil disposed in a position where a receiving voltage is induced by a magnetic field from an electric power feeding apparatus; a measuring coil disposed in a position where a monitoring induced voltage as a voltage corresponding to the receiving voltage is induced by the magnetic field; and a foreign object detecting portion generating an amount of change in an impedance of the electric power receiving coil from the monitoring induced voltage and an induced current of the electric power receiving coil, thereby detecting a foreign object in the magnetic field based on the amount of change.

Claims

1. An electric power receiving apparatus, comprising:

an electric power receiving coil disposed in a position where a receiving voltage is induced by a magnetic field from an electric power feeding apparatus;

a measuring coil disposed in a position where a monitoring induced voltage as a voltage corresponding to the receiving voltage is induced by the magnetic field; and

a foreign object detecting portion generating an amount of change in an impedance of said electric power receiving coil from the monitoring induced voltage induced in the measuring coil and an induced current of said electric power receiving coil, thereby detecting a foreign object in the magnetic field based on the amount of change.

2. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said measuring coil is disposed in a position where a mutual induced voltage as a voltage induced in said measuring coil by the magnetic field from said electric power receiving coil becomes smaller than a predetermined value.

3. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said measuring coil is disposed in a position where said measuring coil straddles a part of said electric power receiving coil.

4. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an area of a coil surface of said measuring coil is smaller than an area of a coil surface of said electric power receiving coil, and said measuring coil is disposed at a center of said electric power receiving coil.

5. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the impedance includes at least one of a resistance and a reactance of said electric power receiving coil.

6. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said foreign object detecting portion determines that said foreign object is present in an event the amount of change exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

7. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the impedance includes a resistance of said electric power receiving coil, and said foreign object detecting portion determines that said foreign object is present when an eddy current loss of said foreign object, generated from an amount of change in the resistance and the induced current, exceeds a threshold value.

8. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control signal transmitting circuit transmitting a control signal in accordance with which a power source supplied from said electric power feeding apparatus through the magnetic field is controlled to said electric power feeding apparatus in an event said foreign object is determined to be present.

9. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said foreign object detecting portion determines an amount of control for said power source based on the amount of change, and the induced current in an event said foreign object is determined to be present;

and

said control signal transmitting circuit transmits the control signal in accordance with which said power source is controlled so as to correspond to the amount of control.

10. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a charging control circuit controlling a charging current to a load connected to said electric power receiving apparatus based on a result of the detection of said foreign object.

11. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a control result transmitting circuit transmitting a result of the control for the charging current to said electric power feeding apparatus.

12. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a ratio generating portion generating a ratio between the receiving voltage and the monitoring induced voltage,

wherein said foreign object detecting portion generates the amount of change based on the ratio thus acquired, the monitoring induced voltage, and the induced current.

13. The electric power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said foreign object detecting portion further acquires a resistance of said electric power receiving coil in an event said foreign object is absent as a secondary resistance, and generates the amount of change from the secondary resistance, the monitoring induced voltage, and the induced current.

14. A method of controlling an electric power receiving apparatus, comprising:

generating, by a foreign object detecting portion, an amount of change in an impedance of an electric power receiving coil from a monitoring induced voltage in a measuring coil disposed in a position where the monitoring induced voltage as a voltage corresponding to a receiving voltage is induced by a magnetic field, and an induced current of said electric power receiving coil disposed in a position where the receiving voltage is induced by the magnetic field from an electric power feeding apparatus; and

detecting a foreign object in the magnetic field based on the amount of change by said foreign object detecting portion.

15. An electric power feeding system, comprising:

an electric power feeding apparatus supplying a power source through a magnetic field; and

an electric power receiving apparatus including;

an electric power receiving coil disposed in a position where a receiving voltage is induced by the magnetic field,

a measuring coil disposed in a position where a monitoring induced voltage as a voltage corresponding to the receiving voltage is induced by the magnetic field, and

a foreign object detecting portion generating an amount of change in an impedance of said electric power receiving coil from the monitoring induced voltage induced in the measuring coil and an induced current of said electric power receiving coil, thereby detecting a foreign object in the magnetic field based on the amount of change.