Selecting a configuration of coils in response to a multi-coil wireless charging system initiating charging

• US 9,537,337 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies Incorporated (Visteon Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies Incorporated (Visteon Corporation)
• Inventors: Madau, Dinu Petre, Zack, Gary Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, ARUN C
• Application Number:
  US14/339,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20160028266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 320/108
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction

Abstract

A system and method for selecting a configuration of coils in response to a multi-coil wireless charging system initiating charging are provided. The system includes a ping generator to measure a reference coil peak voltage for each of the coils of the multi-coil wireless charging system; an object detector to detect that an object is placed on a surface associated with the wireless charging system; a charge detector to detect that the object is chargeable; and in response to the object being chargeable, a switch transmitter determines which of the coils of the multi-coil wireless charging system to connect to a power source.

Claims

1. A system for selecting a configuration of coils in response to a multi-coil wireless charging system initiating charging, comprising:

a data store comprising a computer readable medium storing a program of instructions for the selecting of the configuration;

a processor that executes the program of instructions;

a ping generator to measure a reference coil peak voltage and a coil peak voltage for each of the coils of the multi-coil wireless charging system;

an object detector to detect that an object is placed on a surface associated with the wireless charging system, by cycling via the ping generator, to measure each coil of the multi-coil wireless charging system individually and storing an individual reading of the coil peak voltage for each coil, and correlating a position of the object based on the individual reading of the coil peak voltage,

a charge detector to detect that the object is chargeable by comparing the stored coil peak voltage and the reference coil peak voltage, and

in response to the object being chargeable, a switch transmitter determines which of the coils of the multi-coil wireless charging system to connect to a power source, the determination being based on a determined position based on the individual reading of the coil peak voltage for each coil.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the object detector detects that an object is placed on the surface by detecting a change in coil peak voltage from the reference coil peak voltage for each of the coils.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the charge detector determines that the object is chargeable by detecting a decrease in coil peak voltage from the reference coil peak voltage and a coil peak voltage measured when the object is placed on the surface.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the charge detector determines that the object is chargeable by detecting a decrease in the coil peak voltage.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the decrease is over a predetermined threshold.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the ping generator scans each of the coils and individually measures each of the coils when a respective coil is being scanned.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the selecting is periodically performed, with the switch transmitter being configured to update which of the multi-coils are powered based on the selecting being periodically performed.