KR102091256B1 - Apparatus for repeater function of receiver in wireless power transfer system and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an apparatus and method for controlling a relay function of a receiver in a wireless power transmission system. The relay function control device is a controller for determining any one of a charging state, a relay state, a composite state, and a standby state as the state of the receiver based on the requested power of the receiver, and the request of the receiver based on the determined state of the receiver An impedance matching unit that performs impedance matching according to power and a switching unit that delivers the power signal to the battery or the load or blocks the transmission of the power signal based on the determined state of the receiver.

Description

Control device and method for relay function of receiver in wireless power transmission system {APPARATUS FOR REPEATER FUNCTION OF RECEIVER IN WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF}

Embodiments of the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for acting as a repeater for smooth power supply of other receivers in the vicinity when a receiver receiving wireless power is not powered.

Currently, the resonant magnetic resonance wireless power transmission technology generally uses a resonant relay coil to increase the power transmission distance. The resonant relay coil is a resonator having the same resonant frequency as the transmitting and receiving resonator, and has a simple form in which a coil that provides inductance and a variable capacitor that changes the resonant frequency are combined. The resonant relay coil can help to efficiently transmit the power of the transmitter to the receiver when the power transmission distance is long.

For example, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0026075 (Publication Date March 10, 2010) "Wireless Power Transmission Device" includes wireless power including a relay coil for transmitting power from an all-optical display panel to electronic devices. A transmission device is disclosed.

As described above, it is essential to use a relay coil in order to increase the efficiency of remote wireless power transmission. Therefore, the existing wireless power transmission system has a problem that a resonant relay coil must be additionally prepared for smooth wireless power transmission.

On the other hand, if the number of repeaters increases in proportion to the distance between the transmitter and the receiver in the existing wireless power transmission system, there is also a problem that it is difficult to realistically provide a repeater in advance. For example, when a wireless power transmission system is used in a living room of a general family house to wirelessly transmit power to a TV, mobile phone, laptop, etc. in the living room, when a transmitter for transmitting wireless power is built in a picture frame on the wall of the living room, electronic devices in the living room In order to transmit power to the living room, a repeater must be built in the living room table, furniture, etc. When the repeater is inserted into the fixed furniture as described above, this acts as a limiting factor in the design and size of the furniture, and has a disadvantage that the production price of the furniture is significantly increased. That is, in the existing wireless power transmission system, a repeater that performs only a relay function is often required to be inserted into existing furniture, and once the repeater is inserted into the furniture, it is almost impossible to change the position or direction of the repeater.

The technical problem of the present invention is that in the wireless power transmission system, not only the repeater performs the relay function in the wireless power transmission system, but also the receiver performs the relay function, thereby increasing the spatial freedom of the repeater and improving the efficiency of long-distance power transmission. It is to provide an apparatus and method for controlling a relay function of a receiver.

Another technical problem of the present invention is to control the relay function of the receiver in the wireless power transmission system that can increase the power transmission distance and efficiency of the wireless power transmission system by allowing the receiver to act as a repeater when the load does not require power. It provides an apparatus and method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a relay function control device that controls a relay function of a receiver that wirelessly receives a power signal from a transmitter uses a power signal received from the transmitter to power the battery based on the required power of the receiver. A charging state for charging or supplying power to a load, a relaying state for relaying the power signal to other receivers, a complex state for some of the power signals used to charge or supply the battery and the other relaying to other receivers, and Adjuster for determining any one of the standby state not receiving the power signal as the state of the receiver, the impedance matching unit for performing impedance matching according to the required power of the receiver based on the determined state of the receiver and the determined receiver Based on the condition, the power signal is transmitted to the battery Transmission or may include a switch for blocking the transmission of the power signal.

As an embodiment, the impedance matching unit performs impedance matching so that a maximum power signal is transmitted to the switching unit when the receiver is in a charged state, and when the receiver is in a complex state, a impedance matching is performed by changing the impedance according to the required power. Can do it.

In another embodiment, the switching unit transmits the power signal to the battery or the load when the state of the receiver is a charged state or a complex state, and delivers the power signal when the state of the receiver is a relay state or a standby state. Can be blocked.

As another embodiment, a tuning unit for tuning the frequency of the resonator so that the transmitter and the receiver have a resonance frequency, and in-band communication using the resonance frequency or out-band communication using a frequency band different from the resonance frequency It may further include a communication unit for receiving a communication signal from the transmitter.

As another embodiment, the controller may determine the state of the receiver based on the communication signal.

In another embodiment, the tuning unit may tune the frequency so that the resonator does not resonate when the communication unit performs out-band communication and the receiver is in a standby state.

As another embodiment, the rectifying unit for rectifying the power signal transmitted through the switching unit and the rectified power signal are converted to power of a predetermined level so that the rectified power signal is used as the power of the battery or the load of the battery. It may further include a conversion unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for a relay function control apparatus to control a relay function of a receiver that wirelessly receives a power signal from a transmitter uses power signals received from the transmitter based on the required power of the receiver. A charging state for charging a battery or supplying power to a load, a relaying state for relaying the power signal to another receiver, a complex state for some of the power signals used to charge or supply a battery and the rest relaying to another receiver And determining one of the standby states not receiving the power signal as the state of the receiver, performing impedance matching according to the required power of the receiver based on the determined state of the receiver, and determining the state of the receiver. Based on the power signal to the battery or load Or it may comprise the step of blocking the transmission of the power signal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a receiver that wirelessly receives a power signal from a transmitter charges a battery using a power signal received from the transmitter or supplies power to a load based on the required power of the receiver. State, a relay state in which the power signal is relayed to another receiver, a complex state in which some of the power signals are used to charge the battery or supply it to a load, and the rest is in a standby state in which the power signal is not transmitted Adjuster for determining which one is the state of the receiver, tuning unit for tuning the frequency of the resonator so that the transmitter and the receiver have a resonant frequency, impedance matching according to the required power of the receiver based on the determined state of the receiver Impedance matching unit that performs the phase of the determined receiver Based on the switching unit for transmitting or blocking the power signal, the rectifying unit for rectifying the transmitted power signal and the rectified power signal to set the rectified power signal to be used as the power of the charging or the load of the battery It may include a conversion unit for converting power to the level.

In a wireless power transmission system, by using a resonator and a tuner included in the receiver, the receiver performs a power relay function, thereby increasing spatial freedom of the wireless power transmission system and improving long-distance power transmission efficiency.

Since the receiver can act as a repeater when the battery is sufficiently charged or not receiving power, power transmission distance and efficiency of the wireless power transmission system may increase.

1 is a view showing a wireless power transmission system.
2 is a view showing each state of the receiver in an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exemplary view for explaining a process of relaying a wireless power transmission to a receiver according to the present invention over a long distance.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a relay function of a receiver in an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may easily practice. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in order to clearly describe the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals are assigned to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part “includes” a certain component, this means that other components may be further included rather than excluding other components unless otherwise specified. In addition, terms such as “?? quot” described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.

1 is a view showing a wireless power transmission system. Hereinafter, a process in which the transmitter 100 transmits wireless power from the wireless power transmission system 100 to the receiver 120a will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The wireless power transmission system 100 is largely composed of a transmitter 110 and receivers 120a and 120b. The repeater 130 may be used to increase power transmission efficiency when the distance between the transmitter 100 and the receivers 120a and 120b is long.

Hereinafter, a case where the wireless power transmission system 100 includes one or more receivers 120a and 120b and at least one repeater 130 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 as an example.

In the transmitter 110, when the input power is provided from the power source 112 to the transmission driver 114, the transmission driver 114 transmits power wirelessly to a non-radiative field in the transmission coil 116 ( 150) to perform power amplification, impedance matching, and resonant frequency adjustment (tuning).

In the receiver 120a, the receiving coil 122a combines with the non-radiative field 150 generated in the transmitting coil 116 to receive the power signal transmitted from the transmitter 100. The received power signal is converted into a direct current (DC) form through the receiving driver 124a, and the converted power is charged in the battery 126a or consumed in a load.

At this time, power transmission between the transmitter 110 and the receiver 120a is established when a resonance frequency between the transmitter 110 and the receiver 120a is the same and a mutual resonance relationship is established. Therefore, when the repeater 130 is used, the repeater 130 must also have a repeater resonant frequency equal to the transmit / receive resonant frequency.

In the repeater 130, the tuning unit 134 adjusts the capacitor to change the frequency to the same resonance frequency as that of the transmitter 110 and the receiver 120a. At this time, if the transmission coil 116, the relay coil 132, and the receiving coil 122a are aligned in a row so as to face each other accurately, the highest power transmission efficiency can be achieved. Power transmission is possible by the relay coil 132. In the wireless power transmission system 100, the relay coil 132 and the tuning unit 134 of the repeater 130 perform the same function as the reception coil 122a and the reception driver 124a of the receiver 120a.

Accordingly, the relay function control device according to the present invention controls the receivers 120a and 120b to perform the function of the relay 130 when separate charging or power consumption is not required, thereby improving the efficiency of the entire wireless power transmission system. In addition to increasing, the desired amount of power received by the receivers 120a and 120b is charged or consumed, and the rest is reflected again using a resonator to simultaneously perform a reception function and a relay function, thereby efficiently using power. As possible.

2 is a view showing each state of the receiver in an embodiment of the present invention.

The relay function control apparatus according to the present invention may allow the receiver to operate in four states as shown in FIG. 2.

The charging state 210 refers to a state in which wireless power received by the receiver is wirelessly received and used by the transmitter in order to be used for charging the battery or consumed in the load.

The standby state 220 means a state in which the power of the receiver is no longer required to be wirelessly transmitted, such as when the battery of the receiver is fully charged or power consumption does not occur in the load.

The relay state 230 refers to a state that performs a role as a repeater when a relay function is requested from a transmitter or another receiver in a situation in which it is no longer necessary to receive power wirelessly as in the standby state.

The complex state 240 means a state in which a small amount of power is consumed wirelessly from the transmitter when the receiver needs only a small amount of power, and the remaining power is transferred to another receiver through a relay function.

3 is a block diagram showing a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The receiver 300 according to the present invention may include a resonator 310, a relay function control device 320 and a battery 330 as shown in FIG.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, the resonator 310 may include a coil that provides inductance to the resonator 310 and a variable capacitor that changes the resonant frequency. The resonator 310 may receive a power signal through a non-radiation field generated from a transmitter.

The relay function control device 320 charges the battery 330 using the power signal received by the receiver 300 from the transmitter, or relays a relay function to relay the power signal received from the transmitter to be transmitted to another receiver 300 ) To perform.

To this end, the relay function control device 320, for example, as shown in Figure 3, the tuning unit 321, the impedance matching unit 322, the switching unit 323, the rectifying unit 324, the conversion unit 325, It may include a communication unit 326, the antenna 327 and the control unit 328.

The tuning unit 321 tunes the frequencies of the resonator 310 so that the transmitter and the receiver 300 have a resonance frequency. At this time, the tuning unit 321 may tune the frequency so that the resonator 310 does not resonate so that the receiver 300 does not receive any signal from the transmitter when performing the outband communication and in the standby state.

The impedance matching unit 322 performs impedance matching according to the required power of the receiver 300 based on the state of the receiver 300 (charge state, standby state, relay state, complex state). For example, the impedance matching unit 322 performs impedance matching so that the maximum power signal is transmitted to the switching unit 324 when the receiver 300 is in a charged state. However, when the receiver 300 is in a complex state, the impedance matching unit 322 allows some of the power signals received from the transmitting unit to be transmitted to the switching unit 324 according to the required power of the receiver 300 and the rest of the resonator ( It is possible to intentionally mismatch by changing the impedance to be transmitted to another receiver through 310).

The switching unit 323 transmits the power signal received from the transmitter to the battery 330 or the load based on the state of the receiver 300, or blocks the transmission of the power signal to the battery 330 or the load. For example, the switching unit 323 may transmit the power signal received from the transmitter to the battery 330 or the load when the state of the receiver 300 is a charged state or a complex state. However, the switching unit 323 may block transmission of the power signal received from the transmitter to the battery 330 when the state of the receiver 300 is a relay state or a standby state.

The rectifying unit 324 rectifies the power signal transmitted through the switching unit 323. For example, the rectifying unit 324 may rectify an AC power signal into a DC power signal.

The converter 325 converts the rectified power signal to a predetermined level of power through DC-DC conversion so that the power signal rectified through the rectifier 324 is used as the power of charging or load of the battery 330. .

The communication unit 326 receives a communication signal from the transmitter through in-band communication using a resonance frequency or out-band communication using a frequency band different from the resonance frequency. For example, when the communication unit 326 performs out-band communication, the out-band communication uses a frequency other than the resonance frequency, so the communication unit 326 may include an additional communication antenna 327 for out-band communication.

The controller 328 determines one of the charging state, the relay state, the complex state, and the standby state as the state of the receiver 310 based on the required power of the receiver 310.

Hereinafter, the operation of the relay function control device 320 according to the state of the receiver 300 will be described in more detail.

When the state of the receiver 300 is determined as the charging state, the tuning unit 321 changes the value of the capacitor included in the resonator 310 to tune the frequency so that the receiver 300 has the same resonant frequency as the transmitter. .

  The impedance matching unit 322 performs impedance matching for maximizing signal transmission to the switching unit 323 and the communication unit 326 to amplify the power signal received through the tuning unit 321.

The power signal amplified through the impedance matching unit 322 is converted into DC power through the switching unit 323, the rectifying unit 324, and the conversion unit 325, and then charges the battery 300 or is supplied to the load. .

The communication unit 326 performs data communication with the transmitter through in-band communication using the same frequency as the resonance frequency of the resonator 310 or out-band communication using a different frequency band.

The control unit 328 may determine a charging state, a standby state, a relay state, a complex state, and the like of the receiver 300 based on the output of the communication unit 326.

Hereinafter, a case in which the state of the receiver 300 is determined to be a complex state will be described.

When the receiver 300 determines that the receiver 300 needs a small amount of power but does not need a lot of power, the control unit 328 serves as a relay for transmitting the extra power among the power received from the transmitter 300 to another receiver. Controls to perform.

In the above-described charging state, the impedance matching unit 322 performs impedance matching so as to deliver the maximum power to the switching unit 323, but in the complex state, the impedance matching unit 322 intentionally changes the impedance according to the desired amount of power to achieve impedance. It is not an exact match, but a mismatch. Accordingly, some of the power signals are transmitted to the switching unit 323 by the miss-matched circuit, and some of them go out through the resonator 310 again. In this way, the power signal going out through the resonator 310 may be charged or consumed by another receiver.

The standby state is a state in which a power signal is not received from the transmitter but a communication signal is received. In this case, the switching unit 323 blocks the power signal and switches the power signal to the rectifying unit 324 so as not to pass. At this time, when the communication unit 326 performs in-band communication, since the communication unit 326 needs to receive a communication signal from the resonator 310, the tuning unit 321 sets the frequency of the resonator 310 to be equal to the resonance frequency of the transmitter. The impedance matching unit 322 performs impedance matching so that a communication signal is transmitted to the communication unit 326.

On the other hand, when the communication unit 326 performs out-band communication, since the communication signal is received from the communication antenna 327, the tuning unit 321 has a resonance frequency different from the resonance frequency of the transmitter or frequency so as not to resonate. To tune. Therefore, the resonator 320 does not receive any signal from the transmitter.

Unlike the standby state, the relay state tunes the frequency so that the frequency of the resonator 310 is the same as that of the transmitter regardless of the communication method of the communication unit 326. At this time, the switching unit 323 cuts off the power signal, and the communication unit 326 receives the communication signal transmitted from the transmitter.

4 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a process of relaying a wireless power transmission to a receiver according to the present invention over a long distance.

In a situation in which the non-radiation field from the transmitter 410 of the wireless power transmission system embedded in the wall frame forms a near field and from which the receivers 420, 430a, 430b, 430c of the living room are supplied with power, The receiver 420 embedded in the TV receives power when the TV power is on and shows a broadcast screen, but when the TV power is off, there is no need to receive power. Accordingly, in this case, the receiver 420 embedded in the TV may enter a relay state and perform a relay function so that power is transmitted to other receivers 430a, 430b, and 430c in the living room.

On the other hand, there is a case where a small amount of power is required due to firmware upgrade and data reception in the background, although the TV does not send out a broadcast screen. In this case, the receiver 420 embedded in the TV may enter a complex state and consume only the minimum power required, and at the same time, may perform a relay function that delivers the remaining power to other receivers 430a, 430b, and 430c in the living room.

As such, the receiver 420 that does not need to receive power performs a relay function, or other receivers as the receiver 420, which is a situation in which a small amount of power is required, reflects power outside the desired amount again to perform the relay function ( The power reception efficiency of 430a, 430b, 430c) may be improved.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a relay function of a receiver in an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a method of controlling a relay function of a receiver by a relay function control apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

First, the relay function control apparatus determines one of the charging state, the relay state, the complex state, and the standby state as the state of the receiver based on the required power of the receiver (510). Here, the charging state means a state in which the receiver charges the battery or supplies power to the load using the power signal received from the transmitter, and the relay state refers to a state in which the receiver relays the power signal received from the transmitter to another receiver. Can mean The complex state means a state in which some of the power signals received by the receiver are used to charge the battery or supply it to the load, and the other states are relayed to other receivers, and the standby state means a state in which no power signal is transmitted from the transmitter. can do.

When the state of the receiver is determined, the relay function control device performs impedance matching according to the required power of the receiver (520). For example, the relay function control device may perform impedance matching so that a maximum power signal is transmitted to a battery or a load when the receiver is in a charged state. However, when the receiver is in a complex state, the relay function controller may change the impedance according to the required power of the receiver and mismatch to use some of the power received from the transmitter and transmit the rest to the other receiver.

Thereafter, the relay function control device blocks the power signal from being transmitted to the battery or the load or the power signal received from the transmitter using the switching unit based on the state of the receiver (530).

As an example, the relay function control device receives the power signal from the transmitter by changing the value of the capacitor included in the resonator so that the power signal received from the transmitter can be transmitted to the battery or the load when the state of the receiver is determined to be in a charged state or a complex state. It is possible to receive and amplify the received power signal through impedance matching. Thereafter, the relay function control device may rectify the amplified power signal so that it can be used as the power of the battery or the load, and convert the rectified power signal to power of a predetermined level.

However, if the state of the receiver is determined as a relay state or a standby state, the relay function control device may block the power signal received from the transmitter through the switching unit so that the power signal received from the transmitter is transmitted to another receiver.

Meanwhile, the relay function control device may receive a communication signal with a transmitter or another receiver through in-band communication or out-band communication. For example, the relay function control device may tune or resonate so that the resonator has a resonant frequency different from that of the transmitter when the state of the receiver is in a standby state when performing out-band communication.

In addition, the relay function control device may determine the state of the receiver according to the required power of the receiver when receiving a communication signal requesting the relay function from the transmitter or another receiver. For example, when the relay function control device receives a communication signal requesting a relay function from a transmitter or another receiver, when the receiver does not need to receive power, it determines the state of the receiver as a relay state, and the receiver uses a small amount of power. If this is a necessary state, the state of the receiver can be determined as a complex state.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

300: receiver
310: resonator
320: relay function control device
321: Tuning
322: impedance matching unit
323: switching unit
324: rectifier
325: conversion unit
326: communication department
327: antenna
328: adjustment
330: battery

Claims (20)

In the apparatus for controlling a relay function of a receiver for receiving a power signal wirelessly from the transmitter,
Based on the required power of the receiver and the output of the communication unit, a charging state for charging a battery or supplying power to a load using the power signal received from the transmitter, a relay state for relaying the power signal to another receiver, the power A control unit for determining a state of the receiver as one of a combined state in which some of the signals are used to charge a battery or supply to a load, and the other is relayed to another receiver and a standby state in which the power signal is not transmitted;
An impedance matching unit performing impedance matching according to the required power of the receiver based on the determined state of the receiver;
A switching unit transferring the power signal to the battery or a load or blocking the transmission of the power signal based on the determined state of the receiver; And
It includes a tuning unit for tuning the frequency of the resonator,
When the communication unit performs in-band communication in the standby state, the tuning unit tunes the frequency of the resonator to be the same as the resonance frequency of the transmitter, and the impedance matching unit performs impedance matching so that a communication signal is transmitted to the communication unit. ,
When the communication unit performs out-band communication, the tuning unit tunes a frequency so as to have a resonance frequency different from or resonant with the resonance frequency of the transmitter.
Phosphorus relay function control device. According to claim 1,
The impedance matching unit,
When the receiver is in a charged state, impedance matching is performed so that the maximum power signal is transmitted to the switching unit, and when the receiver is in a complex state, a relay function control device characterized in that the receiver is mismatched by changing impedance according to the required power. . According to claim 1,
The switching unit,
When the state of the receiver is in a charged state or a complex state, the relay function is characterized in that it transmits the power signal to the battery or a load, and blocks the transmission of the power signal when the state of the receiver is a relay state or a standby state. controller. delete According to claim 1,
The adjustment unit,
The relay function control apparatus, characterized in that for determining the state of the receiver based on the communication signal. delete According to claim 1,
A rectifying unit rectifying a power signal transmitted through the switching unit; And
A conversion unit converting the rectified power signal to a predetermined level of power so that the rectified power signal is used for charging the battery or power of the load.
Relay function control device further comprising a. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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