Wireless charging station

• US 9,941,730 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2015
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kim, Daejoung (Dave), Napoles, Adrian
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Mohammed
• Application Number:
  US14/839,218
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• Field of Search: 320108
• 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 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]

Abstract

Described herein are example charging stations for wirelessly recharging a variety of mobile devices. In some cases, the charging station is configured to receive a location indication of an antenna within the device, to determine a position of the device within the charging station, and to select an antenna from an array of antennas to provide a recharge signal to the device based on the location indication and the position of the device.

Claims

1. A charging station comprising:

a set of antennas arranged in a predefined arrangement, individual antennas of the set of antennas configured to transmit a power signal;

an image sensor configured to capture an image of a device;

one or more processors; and

computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

determine a position of an antenna of the device relative to the set of antennas based at least in part on the image of the device;

select a first antenna of the set of antennas to provide the power signal to the device; and

transmit the power signal to the device via the first antenna.

2. The charging station as recited in claim 1, further comprising an additional set of antennas arranged in an additional predefined arrangement.

3. The charging station as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a communication interface to communicate with the device; and

wherein the position of the antenna of the device is determined by identifying, using the image, a location on the device of a receiving antenna, the location provided by the device via the communication interface.

4. The charging station as recited in claim 1, further comprising a cantilever extending over a housing of the charging station, the cantilever including electromagnetic shielding.

5. The charging station as recited in claim 1, wherein at least the first antenna of the set of antennas is configured to operate at a first antenna operating frequency and at least a second antenna of the set of antennas is configured to operate at a second antenna operating frequency.

6. The charging station as recited in claim 1, wherein the set of antennas are of a first type and the charging station includes an additional set of antennas arranged in an additional predefined arrangement, the additional set of antennas are of a second type.

7. The charging station as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive information about an antenna operating frequency from the device; and

wherein the first antenna is configured to operate at the antenna operating frequency.

8. The charging station as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive a first value from the device, the first value indicative of a first effective rate of power transfer associated with an original frequency of the power signal;

adjust a frequency at which the first antenna transmits the power signal to the device to produce an adjusted frequency;

receive a second value from the device, the second value indicative of a second effective rate of power transfer, the second effective rate of power transfer associated with the adjusted frequency of the power signal;

determine that the second effective rate of power transfer is greater than the first effective rate of power transfer; and

continue transmitting the power signal at the adjusted frequency.

9. A charging station comprising:

a housing including a charging bed to receive a device;

an array of antennas, individual antennas of the array of antennas configured to transmit a power signal;

one or more sensors for capturing data associated with the device;

one or more processors; and

computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

determine a location of a first antenna of the device relative to the array of antennas based at least in part on the data associated with the device;

select a second antenna of the array of antennas to provide the power signal to the device based at least in part on the location of the first antenna;

transmit the power signal to the device via the second antenna; and

monitor a rate of power transfer associated with the second antenna.

10. The charging station as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

a communication interface to communicate with the device; and

wherein the location of the first antenna is further determined at least in part by identifying a location on the device of a receiving antenna, the location of the receiving antenna provided by the device via the communication interface.

11. The charging station as recited in claim 9, wherein at least the second antenna is configured to operate at an antenna operating frequency.

12. The charging station as recited in claim 9, further comprising a cantilever extending over the housing, the cantilever including electromagnetic shielding.

13. The charging station as recited in claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more image sensors configured to capture an image of the device.

14. A charging station comprising:

a charging bed to receive a device;

a first set of antennas, the first set of antennas located within the charging bed;

a cover located proximate to the charging bed;

a second set of antennas, the second set of antennas located within the cover, and wherein individual antennas of the first set of antennas and the second set of antennas are configured to transmit a power signal;

one or more sensors for capturing data associated with the device;

one or more processors; and

computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

determine a location of the device relative to the first set of antennas and the second set of antennas based at least in part on the data associated with the device; and

select an antenna from at least one of the first set of antennas or the second set of antennas to provide the power signal to the device.

15. The charging station as recited in claim 14, wherein the cover includes one or more conductive portions.

16. The charging station as recited in claim 15, wherein the one or more conductive portions are formed from a conductive optically clear material.

17. The charging station as recited in claim 14, further comprising an external antenna exposed to the environment.

18. The charging station as recited in claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more cameras configured to capture an image of the device.

19. The charging station as recited in claim 14, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to identify a type of the device.

20. The charging station as recited in claim 19, wherein the antenna is selected from at least one of the first set of antennas or the second set of antennas to provide the power signal to the device is based at least in part on the location of the device and the type of the device.