CN117859240A

CN117859240A - Wireless power transmission device and near object detection method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN117859240A
Application number: CN202280057525.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金俊鸿; 具凡宇; 朴宰锡; 朴在贤; 吕成九; 柳荣浩
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-09-06
Filing date: 2022-08-30
Publication date: 2024-04-09

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a wireless power transmission apparatus and a near object detection method thereof. The wireless power transmission apparatus of the present disclosure includes: a power amplifier; a transmission resonator including a coil and configured to receive an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output through the power amplifier and to transmit electric power by forming a magnetic field using the received electric signal corresponding to the first frequency; and an antenna having a form corresponding to either side thereof centered on a symmetry axis of a Split Ring Resonator (SRR) antenna, and disposed proximate to the transmit resonator and configured to receive a signal corresponding to a second frequency; a sensing circuit configured to sense at least a portion of a signal corresponding to a second frequency transmitted to the antenna; and a controller configured to check whether a human body approaches based on a signal sensed by the sensing circuit, wherein a first output terminal of the sensing circuit is connected to a first portion of the antenna, and a second output terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a coil of the transmitting resonator.

Description

Wireless power transmission device and near object detection method thereof

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a wireless power transmission apparatus and a method for detecting a proximity object (external object) by the wireless power transmission apparatus.

Background

Wireless charging technology employs wireless power transmission/reception. For example, wireless charging may automatically charge a battery of a mobile phone by simply placing the mobile phone on a wireless power transmitting device (e.g., a charging pad) without connection via a separate charging connector. Wireless communication technology eliminates the need for connectors for powering electronics, thereby providing enhanced water resistance, and also eliminates the need for a wired charger, thus providing better portability.

As wireless communication technologies evolve, there are ongoing research efforts to charge various electronic devices (e.g., wireless power receiving devices) by powering them from a single electronic device (e.g., a wireless power transmitting device). Wireless charging techniques include an electromagnetic induction method using a coil, a resonance method using resonance, and an RF/microwave radiation method converting electric energy into microwaves and transmitting the microwaves.

For example, wireless charging techniques using electromagnetic induction or resonance are being widely used for electronic devices, such as smart phones. If a Power Transmitting Unit (PTU) (e.g., a wireless power transmitting device) and a Power Receiving Unit (PRU) (e.g., a smart phone or a wearable electronic device) are in contact with or close to each other within a predetermined distance, a battery of the power receiving unit may be charged by electromagnetic induction or electromagnetic resonance between a transmitting coil (or transmitting resonator) of the power transmitting unit and a receiving coil (or receiving resonator) of the power receiving unit.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The power transmission unit or wireless power transmission device may include a coil or resonator (e.g., a capacitor-connected coil) capable of generating a magnetic field when a current flows therethrough according to a resonance or induction scheme.

According to various embodiments, the wireless power transmission apparatus may detect the approaching object. For example, when a magnetic field is generated by a coil or a resonator, the wireless power transmission apparatus may use an impedance change measured in a circuit to identify whether an object is present or whether the object is in proximity. A loop coil or resonator included in the wireless power transmission apparatus may form a magnetic field and sense whether a conductor or metal is close to the coil or resonator. Since a magnetic field formed by a coil or a resonator in a wireless power transmission apparatus is related to magnetic permeability, it may be difficult to detect whether a human body having a relatively higher permittivity than a conductor or a metal is approaching through the coil or the resonator.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wireless power transmission apparatus and a method for detecting a proximity object by the wireless power transmission apparatus, which can identify whether a human body is present or is in proximity by placing an additional antenna for detecting a human body in a position adjacent to a coil or a resonator in the wireless power transmission apparatus including the coil or the resonator.

Technical proposal

According to an example embodiment, a wireless power transmission apparatus may include: a power amplifier; a transmission resonator including a coil, the transmission resonator configured to receive an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output through the power amplifier, and form a magnetic field by the received electric signal corresponding to the first frequency to transmit electric power; an antenna having a shape corresponding to either side of an axis of symmetry of a split-ring resonator (SRR) antenna disposed adjacent to the transmit resonator and configured to receive signals corresponding to a second frequency; a sensing circuit configured to sense and transmit at least a portion of a signal corresponding to a second frequency to the antenna; and a controller configured to: whether the human body is in proximity is identified based at least on the signal sensed by the sensing circuit. The first terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a first portion of the antenna and the second terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a coil of the transmit resonator.

According to an example embodiment, a method for detecting a proximity object by a wireless power transmission apparatus may include: transmitting power by forming a magnetic field by a transmitting resonator including a coil by an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output through a power amplifier; identifying, by the controller, whether the conductor is proximate based at least on a signal sensed from an electrical signal corresponding to the first frequency; transmitting a signal corresponding to the second frequency from an antenna disposed adjacent to the transmitting resonator; and identifying, by the controller, whether the human body is proximate based at least on a signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.

According to an example embodiment, a wireless power transmission apparatus may include: a power amplifier; a transmission resonator including a coil, the transmission resonator configured to receive an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output through the power amplifier, and form a magnetic field by the received electric signal corresponding to the first frequency to transmit electric power; an antenna disposed adjacent to the transmit resonator and configured to receive a signal corresponding to a second frequency; a sensing circuit configured to sense at least a portion of a signal sent to the antenna corresponding to a second frequency; and a controller configured to determine whether the human body is in proximity based at least on the signal sensed by the sensing circuit. The first output terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a first portion of the antenna, and the second output terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a coil of the transmitting resonator.

Advantageous effects

According to various example embodiments, a wireless power transmission apparatus and a method for detecting a proximity object by the wireless power transmission apparatus may identify whether a human body or a human body proximity and whether a metal or a conductor is in proximity in the wireless power transmission apparatus by placing an additional antenna for detecting a human body and a coil or a resonator for wirelessly transmitting power.

Drawings

The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmitting apparatus and a wireless power receiving apparatus according to various embodiments;

fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments;

fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an antenna of a transmit resonator in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a form of an antenna according to various embodiments;

fig. 5 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 6 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 7 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 8 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 9 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 10 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 12 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

fig. 13 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments;

FIG. 14a is a graph illustrating impedance as a function of distance according to various embodiments;

FIG. 14b is a graph illustrating impedance as a function of distance in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 15 is a graph illustrating phase as a function of distance in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the phase corresponding to frequency for each distance as the conductors approach, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 17 is a graph showing the phase of each distance corresponding to frequency when a human body approaches according to various embodiments;

FIG. 18 is a graph showing the reflection coefficient corresponding to frequency for each distance as the conductors approach, in accordance with various embodiments;

fig. 19 is a graph showing reflection coefficients corresponding to frequencies for each distance when a human body approaches according to various embodiments;

fig. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments;

Fig. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments;

fig. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments;

fig. 23 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments;

fig. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments; and is also provided with

Fig. 25 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, various example embodiments of the present disclosure are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that like element numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout the present disclosure. When the gist of the present disclosure is made unclear, a detailed description of known functions or configurations may be omitted.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmitting apparatus and a wireless power receiving apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 1, according to various embodiments, a wireless power transmitting device 160 (e.g., an electronic device) may wirelessly transmit power 161 to a wireless power receiving device (hereinafter, referred to as "electronic device 150" or "external electronic device"). The wireless power transmitting device 160 may transmit the power 161 to the electronic device 150 according to various charging schemes. For example, the wireless power transmitting device 160 may transmit the power 161 according to an inductive scheme. When the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 transmits the power 161 through an induction scheme, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may include, for example, a power source, a Direct Current (DC) -Alternating Current (AC) conversion circuit, an amplifying circuit, an impedance matching circuit, at least one capacitor, at least one coil, and a communication modulation/demodulation circuit. The at least one capacitor together with the at least one coil may comprise a resonant circuit (resonator). The wireless power transmitting apparatus 160 may operate in a scheme defined in a wireless power alliance (WPC) standard (or Qi standard).

For example, the wireless power transmitting device 160 may transmit the power 161 according to a resonance scheme. When transmitting the power 161 through a resonant scheme, the wireless power transmitting device 160 may include, for example, a power supply, a DC-AC conversion circuit, an amplification circuit, an impedance matching circuit, at least one capacitor, at least one resonator or coil, and an out-of-band communication circuit (e.g., a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication circuit). The at least one capacitor and the at least one resonator or coil may comprise a resonant circuit. The wireless power transmitting apparatus 160 may operate in a scheme defined in the wireless power alliance (A4 WP) standard (or the Air Fuel Alliance (AFA) standard). The wireless power transmission device 160 may include a resonator or coil capable of generating a magnetic field when a current is caused to flow by a resonance or induction scheme. The process in which the wireless power transmitting apparatus 160 generates the magnetic field may be expressed as the wireless power transmitting apparatus 160 wirelessly transmitting the power 161. In addition, the electronic device 150 may include a coil that generates an induced electromotive force by a magnetic field that is generated around and varies in magnitude with time. The process by which the electronic device 150 generates an induced electromotive force through a resonator or a coil may be represented as the electronic device 150 wirelessly receiving the power 161.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless power transmission device 160 may communicate with the electronic device 150. For example, the wireless power transmitting device 160 may communicate with the electronic device 150 according to an in-band scheme. The wireless power transmitting apparatus 160 or the electronic apparatus 150 may change a load (or impedance) corresponding to data to be transmitted according to, for example, an on/off-key modulation scheme. The wireless power transmission device 160 or the electronic device 150 may determine data transmitted from the corresponding device by measuring a change in load (or a change in impedance) based on a change in current, voltage, or power on the resonator or the coil.

For example, the wireless power transmitting device 160 may communicate with the electronic device 150 according to an out-of-band (or out-of-band) scheme. The wireless power transmitting device 160 or the electronic device 150 may transmit data using a short-range communication module (e.g., BLE communication module) provided separately from the resonator, coil, or patch antenna.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 2, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may include a housing 210 and a resonator body 230, but is not limited thereto. For example, according to various embodiments, the resonator body 230 or a portion of the configuration of the resonator body 230 may be included in the housing 210.

According to various embodiments, the wireless power transmission device 160 may include a controller (e.g., including processing and/or control circuitry) 211, a power amplifier 212, a matching circuit 213, a signal generator 214, and/or a sensing circuit 215 in the housing 210. For example, the controller 211, the power amplifier 212, the matching circuit 213, the signal generator 214, and the sensing circuit 215 may be included in the housing 210 or disposed outside the housing 210. The signal generator 214 may be included in the controller 211 or may be configured as a separate circuit external to the controller 211.

According to various embodiments, the resonator body 230 of the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may include at least one resonator 231 and at least one antenna 232. According to various embodiments, the at least one resonator 231 may include at least one coil and may further include at least one capacitor. Each resonator 231 may include an N-turn coil forming a loop, and may include ferrite in at least a portion thereof. According to various embodiments, the at least one resonator 231 may be included in the housing 210 or disposed outside the housing 210.

According to various embodiments, the power amplifier 212 may include an inverter. The power amplifier 212 may output a signal corresponding to the frequency set from the power input according to the control of the controller 211. For example, when the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 transmits wireless power according to the resonance scheme standard, the set frequency may be 6.78MHz, but is not limited thereto. The signal output from the power amplifier 212 may be input to the matching circuit 213. Various example embodiments of the power amplifier 212 are described in more detail below by way of non-limiting example with reference to fig. 20.

According to various embodiments, the matching circuit 213 may receive a signal from the power amplifier 212 and perform impedance matching. For example, the matching circuit 213 may provide impedance matching to match the output impedance to the impedance of the load. The matching circuit 213 may comprise, for example, at least one low pass filter and/or a band reject filter, and the low pass filter may comprise at least one capacitor.

According to various embodiments, the signal impedance-matched by the matching circuit 213 may be transmitted to the at least one resonator 231. The at least one resonator 231 may generate a magnetic field when current flows based on a resonance scheme or an induction scheme. The process of generating a magnetic field by the at least one resonator 231 may be represented as the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 wirelessly transmitting power 161.

According to various embodiments, the controller 211 may include various processing and/or control circuits and control the power amplifier 212 to output a signal corresponding to a first frequency (e.g., 6.78 MHz). For example, the power amplifier 212 may output a signal corresponding to a set first frequency (e.g., 6.78 MHz) from the power input according to the control of the controller 211. The controller 211 may identify whether a conductor or metal is proximate through the resonator 231.

According to various embodiments, the controller 211 may control the signal generator 214 to output a signal corresponding to a second frequency (e.g., 400 MHz). The second frequency may be a lower frequency than the first frequency. The signal corresponding to the first frequency output from the signal generator 214 may be received and radiated by the antenna 232.

According to various embodiments, the sensing circuit 215 may sense at least a portion of a signal corresponding to the first frequency transmitted through the antenna 232 or a signal output from the antenna 232 and identify whether a human body is present or is in proximity based at least on the sensed signal. For example, the antenna 232 may form an electric field based on a signal corresponding to the first frequency. When a human body approaches the wireless power transmission apparatus 160, an electric field formed by the antenna 232 may be affected and varied by the permittivity of the human body. The sensing circuit 215 may sense at least a portion of a signal corresponding to the first frequency transmitted through the antenna 232 or a signal output from the antenna 232 and identify whether a human body exists or whether a human body approaches based on the sensed signal or a sensed signal change. Various embodiments of sensing a human body in the sensing circuit 215 through the antenna 232 are described in more detail below by way of non-limiting example with reference to fig. 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25.

According to various embodiments, the controller 211 may identify whether a conductor is present or proximate (as identified by the resonator 231) and/or whether a human body is present or proximate (as identified by the antenna 232) and control at least one operation of the wireless power transmission device 160. For example, the controller 211 may control a charging operation or adjust impedance on the electronic device based on identifying whether a character object or human body is present or in proximity (identified by the resonator 231 and/or the antenna 232).

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an antenna of a transmit resonator in accordance with various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 3, the resonator body 230 may include at least one resonator 231 and at least one antenna 232. The resonator 231 may be configured by stacking a plurality of coils (e.g., five coils). A slit 320 may be formed in the lower end of the resonator 231. At least one capacitor (e.g., a 100pF capacitor) may be connected to the slit 320 formed in the lower end of the resonator 231. The first port 311 may be connected to a slit 320 formed in the lower end of the resonator 231. The first port 311 may be connected to the matching circuit 213 described in connection with fig. 2. According to various embodiments, resonator 231 may transmit power to electronic device 150 by forming a magnetic field from a signal corresponding to a first frequency (e.g., 6.78 MHz) transmitted through first port 311. Resonator 231 may function to wirelessly transmit power as described above and be used to sense a conductor or metal.

According to various embodiments, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have at least one antenna 232 at a position adjacent to the resonator 231. Referring to fig. 3, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the loop shape of the resonator 231, and two antennas 232a and 232b may be disposed inside the resonator 231. For example, the first antenna 232a may be disposed on a first surface inside the resonator 231, and the second antenna 232b may be disposed on a second surface inside the resonator 231. The first surface and the second surface may be surfaces facing each other. Fig. 3 shows, by way of non-limiting example, that two antennas 232a and 232b are disposed on surfaces facing each other. According to various embodiments, the number of antennas 232 disposed adjacent to the resonator 231, the location where the antennas 232 are disposed (e.g., inside or outside the resonator 231), and the orientation of the antennas 232 may be set to vary.

According to various embodiments, the first terminal of the second port 312 may be connected to a portion of the first antenna 232 a. A second terminal of the second port 312 may be connected to the resonator 231. A second terminal of the second port 312 may be connected to the resonator 231 and act as ground. The first antenna 232a may be disposed adjacent to the inside of the resonator 231 and disposed to correspond to the shape of the transmitting resonator 231. For example, the first antenna 232a may be disposed inside the resonator 231 in a shape curved along the shape of the resonator 231. The wireless power transmitting apparatus 160 may transmit a signal corresponding to a second frequency (e.g., 400 MHz) through the second port 312 through the first antenna 232 a. According to various embodiments, the first dielectric substrate 301 may be disposed between the first antenna 232a and the resonator 231. The first antenna 232a may be used to sense the presence or proximity of a human body, as described above.

According to various embodiments, the first terminal of the third port 313 may be connected to a portion of the second antenna 232 b. A second terminal of the third port 313 may be connected to the resonator 231. A second terminal of the third port 313 may be connected to the resonator 231 and act as ground. The second antenna 232b may be disposed adjacent to the inside of the resonator 231 and disposed to correspond to the shape of the transmitting resonator 231. For example, the second antenna 232b may be disposed inside the resonator 231 in a shape curved along the shape of the resonator 231. The wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may transmit a signal corresponding to the second frequency or the third frequency through the third port 313 through the second antenna 232 b. According to various embodiments, the second dielectric substrate 302 may be disposed between the second antenna 232b and the resonator 231. The second antenna 232b may be used to sense the presence or proximity of a human body, as described above.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a form of an antenna according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 4, the at least one antenna 232 may be implemented using a Split Ring Resonator (SRR) antenna or at least a partial shape of an SRR antenna. For example, the antenna 232 may be configured in a hemispherical shape corresponding to one side of the symmetry axis of the SRR antenna 410, and disposed adjacent to the resonator 231. For example, the antenna 232 may have a 'C' shape. According to various embodiments, the SRR antenna 410 may be fixedly disposed on the substrate 410a, and an end of the SRR antenna 410 may be disposed to form a space 410b with a predetermined gap from the resonator 231.

According to various embodiments, a tab may be formed on one end of the SRR antenna 410, the tab being disposed to form a space 410b with the resonator 231 through a predetermined gap, and connected with the first terminal of the above-described second port 312. A second terminal of the second port 312 may be connected to the resonator 231 and serve as ground.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 5, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the loop shape of the resonator 231, and the antenna 501 may be disposed on one side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the antenna 501 may be disposed in front of one side of the resonator 231. According to various embodiments, a human body may be sensed using a side surface of the antenna 501 by becoming a front surface of the resonator 231.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 6, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antenna 601 may be disposed on one outer side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the antenna 601 may be disposed in front of the right outer side of the resonator 231. According to various embodiments, the front surface of the antenna 601 may be used to sense a human body by becoming the front surface of the resonator 231.

According to various embodiments, antenna 601 may be implemented using a split-ring resonator (SRR) antenna or at least a partial shape of an SRR antenna. For example, the antenna 601 may be configured in a hemispherical shape corresponding to one side of the symmetry axis of the SRR antenna, and disposed adjacent to the resonator 231. According to various embodiments, the antenna 232 may have an inverted-F antenna (IFA) shape. For example, a stub 601b may be additionally formed in a half shape of the SRR antenna. A stub 601b extending from one side of the antenna 601 may be connected to the resonator 231 and used for impedance matching.

According to various embodiments, the antenna 601 may be fixedly disposed on the substrate 601a, and an end of the antenna 601 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the resonator 231 by a predetermined gap. An end of the antenna 601 may be connected with the first terminal 601b of the second port.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 7, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antenna 701 may be disposed on one outer side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the antenna 701 may be disposed in front of the left outer side of the resonator 231. According to various embodiments, the front surface of the antenna 701 may be used to sense a human body while being the front surface of the resonator 231. According to various embodiments, the antenna 701 shown in fig. 7 may be placed differently in position and orientation than the antenna 601 shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 8, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antennas 801 and/or 802 may be disposed on one inner side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the first antenna 801 may be disposed on the left inner side of the resonator 231. The second antenna 802 may be disposed on the right inner side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. According to various embodiments, the front surface of antennas 801 and/or 802 may be used to sense a human body by becoming the front surface of resonator 231. According to various embodiments, antennas 801 and/or 802 shown in fig. 8 may be placed differently in position and orientation than antennas 601 or 701 shown in fig. 6 or 7.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 9, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antennas 901 and/or 902 may be disposed on one outer side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the first antenna 901 may be disposed on the left outer side of the resonator 231. The second antenna 902 may be disposed on the right outer side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. According to various embodiments, the front surface of antennas 901 and/or 902 may be used to sense a human body by becoming the front surface of resonator 231. According to various embodiments, the antenna 901 or 902 shown in fig. 9 may be placed differently in position and orientation than the antenna 601, 701, 801, or 802 shown in fig. 6, 7, or 8.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 10, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antennas 1001 and/or 1002 may be disposed on one outer side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the first antenna 1001 may be disposed on the left outer side of the resonator 231. The second antenna 1002 may be disposed on the right outer side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. According to various embodiments, when comparing antennas 1001 and 1002 shown in fig. 10 with antennas 901 and 902 shown in fig. 9, the first antennas 901 and 1001 may have different directions, but the second antennas 902 and 1002 may have the same second direction.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 11, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antennas 1101 and/or 1102 may be disposed on one inner side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the first antenna 1101 may be provided on a side surface extending upward from the left inner side of the resonator 231. The second antenna 1102 may be disposed on a side surface extending downward from the right inner side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. According to various embodiments, the front surface of antennas 1101 and/or 1102 may be used to sense a human body by becoming the front surface of resonator 231.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 12, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antennas 1201, 1202, 1203, and/or 1204 may be disposed on one inner side of the resonator 231. For example, when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above, the first antenna 1201 may be provided on the inner upper side of the resonator 231. The second antenna 1202 may be disposed on the right inner side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. The third antenna 1203 may be disposed on the inner lower side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. The fourth antenna 1204 may be disposed on the left inner side of the resonator 231 when the annular shape of the resonator 231 is viewed from above. According to various embodiments, the front surface of antennas 1202, 1203, and/or 1204 may be used to sense a human body by becoming the front surface of resonator 231.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a form in which an antenna is provided in a transmission resonator according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 13, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may have an opening when viewed from above the annular shape of the resonator 231, and the antenna 1301 may be disposed to externally surround the resonator 231. According to various embodiments, the antenna 1301 may have an IFA shape. For example, the stub 1301a may be additionally formed in a half shape of the SRR antenna. A stub 1301a extending from one side of the antenna 1301 may be connected to the resonator 231 and used for impedance matching.

According to various embodiments, the antenna 1301 may be fixedly disposed on the substrate, and an end of the antenna 1301 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the resonator 231 by a predetermined gap. An end of the antenna 1301 may be connected to a first terminal 1301b of the second port.

Various simulation results in the case where the distance from the metal or the human body varies when a signal corresponding to a specific frequency is transmitted are described below with reference to fig. 14a, 14b, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. The simulation described below depicts whether an object (e.g., metal or human body) is approaching based on a change in impedance or phase that depends on distance, but it may also be determined whether an object is approaching by other parameters (e.g., Q factor, reflection coefficient, reflection loss, coupling coefficient, or standing wave ratio) that may be measured when a signal is transmitted through an antenna, and impedance or phase, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the parameters described below.

Fig. 14a is a graph illustrating impedance as a function of distance according to various embodiments.

Fig. 14a is a graph showing that when an object approaches the antenna 232, the impedance varies according to the distance in the case where a signal corresponding to a second frequency (e.g., 2.4 GHz) is transmitted through the antenna 232 of the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 to form an electric field.

The graph 1411 shown in solid lines in fig. 14a represents the real value of the impedance as a function of distance as a human body (e.g., a hand) approaches the antenna. Graph 1412, shown as a dashed line, represents the real value of the impedance as a function of distance as the metal approaches the antenna. Referring to fig. 14a, it can be recognized that when the distance from the antenna is 10mm or more, the hand and the metal exhibit real values of similar impedances, but in an adjacent state where the distance from the antenna is less than 10mm, the difference in real values of the impedances therebetween increases. For example, it can be recognized that the real value of the impedance is less than 20 ohms when the distance between the antenna and the metal is less than 5mm, but the real value of the impedance is 60 ohms or more when the distance between the antenna and the hand is less than 5 mm. For example, when an object approaches the antenna, it can be identified whether the object is a hand or a metal and whether the object is approaching by transmitting a signal at a second frequency through the antenna to form an electric field and measuring impedance, as shown in fig. 14 a.

Fig. 14b is a graph illustrating impedance as a function of distance according to various embodiments.

Fig. 14b is a graph showing impedance that varies according to distance when an object approaches the antenna 232 in a case where a signal corresponding to a third frequency (e.g., 0.9 GHz) different from the second frequency in fig. 14a is transmitted through the antenna 232 of the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 to form an electric field.

The graph 1421 shown in solid lines in fig. 14b represents the real value of the impedance as a function of distance when a human body (e.g., a hand) approaches the antenna. Graph 1422 shown in dashed lines represents the real value of the impedance as a function of distance as the metal approaches the antenna. Referring to fig. 14b, it can be recognized that when the distance from the antenna is 30mm or more, the hand and the metal exhibit real values of similar impedances, but in an adjacent state where the distance from the antenna is less than 30mm, the difference in real values of the impedances therebetween increases. For example, it can be recognized that in the case of metal, the real value of impedance is less than 20 ohms regardless of the distance from the antenna, but in the case of hand, the real value of impedance increases sharply when the distance between the antenna and the hand is less than 20 mm. For example, when an object approaches the antenna, whether the object is a hand or a metal and whether the object is approaching can be identified by transmitting a signal having a third frequency through the antenna to form an electric field and measuring impedance, as shown in fig. 14 b.

Fig. 15 is a graph illustrating phase as a function of distance in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 15 is a graph showing that in the case where a signal corresponding to a fourth frequency (e.g., 0.95 GHz) is transmitted through the antenna 232 of the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 to form an electric field and a signal corresponding to a fifth frequency (e.g., 0.98 GHz) is transmitted to form an electric field, when an object approaches the antenna 232, an angle or a phase of an impedance value varies according to a distance. The angle or phase of the impedance value can be calculated by the following equation 1.

[ 1]

Graphs 1501a and 1501b shown by dotted lines in fig. 15 represent angles or phases of impedances, which vary depending on a distance when a human body (e.g., a hand) approaches an antenna. Graphs 1502a and 1502b shown in solid lines in fig. 15 represent angles or phases of impedance that vary as a function of distance as a human body (e.g., a hand) approaches the antenna. For example, 1501a shows a graph when a signal of 950MHz is transmitted and a hand is close, 1502a shows a graph when a signal of 950MHz is transmitted and a metal is close. 1501b shows a graph when 980MHz signals are transmitted and hands are close, and 1502b shows a graph when 980MHz signals are transmitted and metals are close.

Referring to fig. 15, it can be recognized that when the frequency of the signal transmitted through the antenna in a distance of less than 37.5mm is 980MHz, the difference in angle or phase of the impedance between the metal and the hand is larger than when the frequency is 950 MHz.

Fig. 16 is a graph showing the phase corresponding to frequency for each distance as the conductors approach, according to various embodiments. Fig. 17 is a graph showing the phase of the frequency corresponding to each distance when a human body approaches according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 16 and 17, the respective graphs of fig. 16 and 17 are graphs having different distances. For example, the direction of the arrow indicated in fig. 16 and 17 represents a graph of the phase of the impedance value measured at each distance when the conductors are close.

According to various embodiments, referring to fig. 16, it can be recognized that if a conductor is close to an antenna, the difference between graphs corresponding to distances, respectively, is not large. Referring to fig. 17, it can be recognized that the difference between graphs respectively corresponding to distances is large as compared to the conductor when the human body approaches the antenna. As described above, a signal corresponding to a set frequency can be transmitted through an antenna to form an electric field, and whether a conductor is close or not can be identified based on the angle or phase of an impedance value.

Fig. 18 is a graph showing the reflection coefficient corresponding to frequency for each distance as the conductors approach, according to various embodiments. Fig. 19 is a graph showing reflection coefficients corresponding to frequencies for each distance when a human body approaches according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 18 and 19, the respective graphs of fig. 18 and 19 are graphs having different distances. For example, the direction of the arrow indicated in fig. 18 and 19 represents a graph of the reflection coefficient S (1, 1) measured at each distance when the conductors are close.

According to various embodiments, referring to fig. 18, it can be recognized that if the conductor is close to the antenna, the difference between graphs corresponding to distances, respectively, is not large. Referring to fig. 19, it can be recognized that the difference between graphs respectively corresponding to distances is large as compared to the conductor when the human body approaches the antenna. As described above, a signal corresponding to a set frequency can be transmitted through an antenna to form an electric field, and whether or not a conductor is close can be identified based on a reflection coefficient.

According to various embodiments, a method for identifying whether a conductor or a human body is close by comparing reflection coefficients has been described in connection with fig. 18 and 19, but whether an object is close may also be determined by other parameters (e.g., Q factor, reflection loss, coupling coefficient, or standing wave ratio) that can be measured when a signal is transmitted through an antenna, and reflection coefficients, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the above parameters.

Fig. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 20, the wireless power transmitting device 160 may include a power amplifier 212 (e.g., EF ₂ An inverter), a matching circuit 213, and a resonator 231. According to various embodiments, an EF corresponding to the power amplifier 212 ₂ The inverter may include an RF choke inductor (L _f ) 3, gate driver 5, transistor 7, shunt capacitor (C _p ) 9, a first LC resonance circuit 11 and a second LC resonance circuit 13.

The transistor 7 can receive a DC voltage V as a driving voltage from the input power source 1 _in And operate. The transistor 7 may be connected via an input terminal (e.gGate) receives a pulse (e.g., square wave) input signal from the gate driver 5 to be turned on or off. The transistor 7 may include a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET).

The RF choke inductor 3 may cut off the transmission of RF signals from the input power source 1 to the transistor 7, so that only DC current is transmitted to the transistor 7.

The shunt capacitor 9 may be connected in parallel with the transistor 7 and discharged or charged when the transistor 7 is turned on or off. The shunt capacitor 9 may be a separate capacitor connected in parallel with the transistor 7 and may be described as including the internal capacitance of the transistor 7 (e.g., drain-source capacitance C _ds ) Is a concept of (2).

The RF signal (or RF power) may be generated based on the on or off of the transistor 7 by receiving an input signal from the gate driver 5. The generated RF signal may be a signal having an operating frequency corresponding to an input signal input from the gate driver 5 to the gate of the transistor 7. For example, when the wireless power transmission apparatus transmits wireless power according to the resonance scheme standard, the operating frequency may be 6.78MHz, but is not limited thereto. The RF signal or RF power may be transmitted to the first LC resonance circuit 11 and/or the second LC resonance circuit 13 through the output terminal of the transistor 7. For example, if the transistor 7 is on (e.g., if the transistor 7 is saturated), the transistor 7 may be electrically shorted and interpreted as a short to ground connected to the source, and the voltage of the output terminal may be interpreted as 0. When the transistor 7 is turned on, the current flowing to the transistor 7 through the RF choke inductor 3 may gradually increase. Thereafter, if the transistor 7 is turned off, the current flowing through the RF choke inductor 3 may be directed to the shunt capacitor 9, and as the shunt capacitor 9 is gradually charged, the voltage at the output terminal of the transistor 7 (e.g., the voltage between the two terminals of the shunt capacitor 9) may increase as it reaches a maximum value. Thereafter, as the shunt capacitor 9 gradually discharges, a current flows from the shunt capacitor 9 to the first LC resonance circuit 11 and/or the second LC resonance circuit 13 through the output terminal of the transistor 7, so that the voltage between the two terminals of the shunt capacitor 9 can gradually decrease. The transistor 7, the shunt capacitor 9 and the input signal may be arranged such that the voltage at the output terminal of the transistor 7 (e.g. the voltage between the two terminals of the shunt capacitor 9 and the drain-source voltage of the transistor 7) may gradually decrease to 0 and the decreasing variation of the voltage at the output terminal of the transistor 7 becomes 0 before the transistor 7 is turned off and then turned back on (e.g. before the current starts to flow again through the RF choke inductor 3 to the transistor 7). Thereafter, if the transistor 7 is turned back on, the current flowing through the RF choke inductor 3 may be directed to the transistor 7, and when the transistor 7 is turned on, the voltage at the output terminal of the transistor 7 may be maintained at 0. As described above, when the transistor 7 is in the on state, the voltage at the output terminal of the transistor 7 is 0, and when the transistor 7 is in the off state, the current flowing through the RF choke inductor 3 is directed to the shunt capacitor 9 such that the current flowing through the RF choke inductor 3 to the transistor 7 is 0 (in other words, a period of time in which the voltage at the output terminal of the transistor 7 is non-zero (non-zero) does not overlap with a period of time in which the drain-source current is non-zero). Therefore, the power consumed from the transistor 7 may be desirably zero. However, in a non-ideal case, since the transistor 7 generates RF power based on being turned on or off, the generated RF power has a harmonic frequency component of a second order and higher and a desired frequency component (e.g., a fundamental component of an operating frequency). The duty cycle of the transistor 7 may be set to, for example, 50% based on the input signal.

The first LC resonance circuit 11 may be connected in parallel with the transistor 7. The first LC resonance circuit 11 may include first inductors (L _mr ) 11a (e.g. coil) and a first capacitor (C _mr ) 11b. The first inductor 11a and the first capacitor 11b may have appropriate element values such that the resonance frequency of the first LC resonance circuit 11 corresponds to the operating frequency (f of the input signal _s ) Second harmonic frequency (2 f) _s ). The first LC resonant circuit 11 can be electrically interpreted as being at the second harmonic frequency (2 f _s ) Short circuit at the location. The first LC resonant circuit 11 may operate as a second harmonic filter (e.g., a band reject filter) based on the frequency at the second harmonic frequency (2 f _s ) Power onThe second harmonic component of the RF power generated from the transistor 7 is prevented from being transmitted to the second LC resonance circuit 13 by the short circuit.

The second LC resonance circuit 13 may be connected in series to the output terminal of the transistor 7. The second LC resonance circuit 13 may include second capacitors (C _o ) 13a and a second inductor (L _o ) 13b. The second capacitor 13a and the second inductor 13b may have appropriate element values such that the resonance frequency of the second LC resonance circuit 13 corresponds to the operating frequency (f of the input signal _s ) (e.g., corresponding to the fundamental frequency (or first harmonic frequency) (f _s )). The second LC resonant circuit 13 can be electrically interpreted as being at the first harmonic frequency (f _s ) Short circuit at the location. The second LC resonant circuit 13 may operate as a band pass filter (or low pass filter) based on the frequency (f _s ) The fundamental component (or first harmonic component) (e.g., a component corresponding to an operating frequency) of the RF power generated from the transistor 7 is passed through by an electrical short.

The matching circuit 213 may be connected in series with the second LC resonance circuit 13. The matching circuit 213 may provide a circuit that matches the output impedance (e.g., the impedance to the second LC resonant circuit 13) to the load (Z _L ) 17. The matching circuit 213 may comprise, for example, at least one low pass filter and/or a band reject filter, and the low pass filter may comprise at least one capacitor.

The load 17 may include a load received by the power amplifier 10 (e.g., EF ₂ An inverter) or at least one hardware component (e.g., a circuit element) that receives and operates on RF power. For example, the load 17 may include: including EF ₂ A hardware component (e.g., a transmit coil) of a wireless power transmitting device (e.g., an electronic device) of an inverter, and/or a receiving device (e.g., a wireless power receiving device or a wireless power receiver) that receives power from a magnetically coupled electronic device.

Fig. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 21, the wireless power transmission apparatus 160 may include a controller (e.g., including processing and/or control circuitry) 211, a signal generator 214, a sensing circuit 215, and an antenna 232. The sensing circuit 215 may sense at least a portion of the signal generated by the signal generator 214 and/or the signal transmitted from the antenna 232 through the coupler 110.

According to various embodiments, the sensing circuit 215 may include a coupler 110, a first attenuator 111a, a second attenuator 111b, a first splitter 112a, a second splitter 112b, a forward power detector 113, a reflected power detector (or backward power detector) 114, a waveform converter 115, and a phase detector 116, each of which includes various circuits. According to various embodiments, as shown in fig. 23, which is described in more detail below, at least one of the first attenuator 111a, the second attenuator 111b, the first splitter 112a, the second splitter 112b, the forward power detector 113, and the reflected power detector 114 may be omitted from the impedance sensing circuit 108, and the signal coupled by the coupler 110 may be directly input to the waveform converter 115.

According to various embodiments, an input port (hereinafter referred to as a "first port" for convenience) of the coupler 110 may be connected to a positive (+) terminal of the signal generator 214, and an output port (hereinafter referred to as a "second port" for convenience) of the coupler 110 may be connected to one end of the antenna 232. The negative (-) terminal of the signal generator 214 may be connected to the other end of the antenna 232. A signal (hereinafter, referred to as a "forward signal" for convenience) input to an input port (first port) of the coupler 110 may be coupled in the coupler 110 and input to the first attenuator 111a through a first coupling port (hereinafter, referred to as a "third port" for convenience). A reflected signal (hereinafter, referred to as a "backward signal" for convenience) inputted through an output port (second port) of the coupler 110 may be coupled in the coupler 110 and inputted to the second attenuator 111b through a second coupling port (hereinafter, referred to as a "fourth port" for convenience).

According to various embodiments, the signal output through the third port of the coupler 110 may be input to the first attenuator 111a, and the first attenuator 111a may attenuate the input signal and output it to the first splitter 112a. The signal output through the fourth port of the coupler 110 may be input to the second attenuator 111b, and the second attenuator 111b may attenuate the input signal and output it to the second splitter 112b. The signal input to the first separator 112a may be output as a first forward signal and a second forward signal, and the first forward signal may be input to the waveform converter 115, and the second forward signal may be input to the forward power detector 113. The signal input to the second separator 112b may be output as a first backward signal (first reflected signal) and a second backward signal (second reflected signal), and the first backward signal may be input to the waveform converter 115, and the second backward signal may be input to the reflected power detector (or backward power detector) 114.

According to various embodiments, the waveform converter 115 may receive the first forward signal output from the first separator 112a and the first backward signal output from the second separator 112b, and output a voltage waveform signal and a current waveform signal. The voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal output from the waveform converter 115 may be input to the phase detector 116. The phase detector 116 may receive the voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal output from the waveform converter 115, and may output a voltage v_phs corresponding to a phase difference between the voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal. The voltage corresponding to the phase difference output from the phase detector 116 may be input to the controller 211.

According to various embodiments, the controller 211 may receive the voltage v_phs corresponding to the phase difference between the voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal output from the phase detector 116 and identify the change in impedance based on the voltage v_phs corresponding to the input phase difference. The controller 211 may identify whether a conductor or a human body is present or in proximity based on the identified impedance change.

According to various embodiments, the forward power detector 113 may receive the second forward signal output from the first splitter 112a and detect the magnitude of the forward power. For example, the forward power detector 113 may detect a magnitude of the power of the input second forward signal and output a voltage v_fwd of the forward signal. The voltage v_fwd of the forward signal output from the forward power detector 113 may be input to the controller 211. The reflected power detector 114 may receive the second backward signal (second reflected signal) output from the second splitter 112b to detect the magnitude of the backward power. For example, the reflected power detector 114 may detect the magnitude of the power of the input second backward signal and output the voltage v_ref of the backward signal (reflected signal). The voltage v_ref of the backward signal (reflected signal) output from the reflected power detector 114 may be input to the controller 211. According to various embodiments, the controller 211 may identify a change in impedance based on the voltage v_fwd of the forward signal output from the forward power detector 113 and the voltage v_ref of the backward signal (reflected signal) output from the reflected power detector 114. The controller 211 may identify whether a conductor or a human body is present or in proximity based on the identified impedance change.

Fig. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 22, as described above, a signal (e.g., a forward signal) coupled at the first port 2211 (P1) of the coupler 110 may be output through the third port 2213 (P3). The signal output through the third port 2213 may be input to the waveform converter 115 through the first attenuator 111a and the first splitter 112a. According to various embodiments, the first attenuator 111a and/or the first splitter 112a may be omitted. The signal (e.g., the reflected signal or the backward signal) coupled at the third port 2213 (P3) of the coupler 110 may be output through the fourth port 2214 (P4). The signal output through the fourth port 2214 may be input to the waveform converter 115 through the second attenuator 111b and the second splitter 112b. According to various embodiments, the second attenuator 111b and/or the second splitter 112b may be omitted.

According to various embodiments, the output signal of the first separator 112a and the output signal of the second separator 112b input to the waveform converter 115 may output a voltage waveform signal and a current waveform signal based on a difference or sum of the two signals (e.g., by adding or subtracting the two signals). The voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal output from the waveform converter 115 may be input to the phase detector 116. The phase detector 116 may receive the voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal output from the waveform converter 115, and may output a voltage v_phs corresponding to a phase difference between the voltage waveform signal and the current waveform signal. The voltage corresponding to the phase difference output from the phase detector 116 may be input to the controller 211.

Fig. 23 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 23, a signal (e.g., a forward signal) coupled at the first port (P1) 2211 of the coupler 110 may be output through the third port (P3) 2213 and input to the first attenuator 111a. The signal attenuated by the first attenuator 111a may be input to the adder circuit 2310 and the subtractor circuit 2320 of the waveform converter 115. A signal (e.g., a backward signal or a reflected signal) coupled at the second port (P2) 2212 of the coupler 110 may be output through the fourth port (P4) 2214 and input to the second attenuator 111b. The signal attenuated by the second attenuator 111b may be input to the adder circuit 2310 and the subtractor circuit 2320 of the waveform converter 115.

According to various embodiments, the adder circuit 2310 may output a current waveform signal based on a sum of signals output from the first attenuator 111a and the second attenuator 111b. The subtractor circuit 2320 may output a voltage waveform signal based on a difference of signals output from the first attenuator 111a and the second attenuator 111b.

Fig. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a wireless power transmission apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to fig. 24, a signal (e.g., a forward signal) coupled at the first port (P1) 2211 of the coupler 110 may be output through the third port (P3) 2213 and input to the first attenuator 111a. The signal attenuated by the first attenuator 111a may be input to the first splitter 112a. The first splitter 112a may distribute the input signal to the forward power detector 113 and the waveform converter 115. For example, the signal output from the first separator 112a may be input to the adder circuit 2310 and the subtractor circuit 2320 of the waveform converter 115. A signal (e.g., a backward signal or a reflected signal) coupled at the second port (P2) 2212 of the coupler 110 may be output through the fourth port (P4) 2214 and input to the second attenuator 111b. The signal attenuated by the second attenuator 111b may be input to the second splitter 112b. The second splitter 112b may distribute the input signal to the reflected power detector 114 and the waveform converter 115. For example, the signal output from the second separator 112b may be input to the adder circuit 2310 and the subtractor circuit 2320 of the waveform converter 115.

According to various embodiments, the adder circuit 2310 may output a current waveform signal based on a sum of signals output from the first and second splitters 112a and 112b. The subtractor circuit 2320 may subtract the signals output from the first separator 112a and the second separator 112b to output a voltage waveform signal.

Referring to fig. 25, according to various embodiments, a current waveform signal output through the waveform converter 115 may output a signal zero-crossing through the first zero-crossing detector 2510 and then input to the phase detector 116. The voltage waveform signal output through the waveform converter 115 may output a signal zero-crossed by the second zero-crossing detector 2520, which is then input to the phase detector 116.

According to various example embodiments, a wireless power transmission apparatus may include: a power amplifier; a transmission resonator including a coil and configured to receive an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output through the power amplifier and form a magnetic field by the received electric signal corresponding to the first frequency to transmit electric power; an antenna configured in a shape corresponding to either side of an axis of symmetry of a Split Ring Resonator (SRR) antenna, disposed adjacent to the transmit resonator, and configured to receive a signal corresponding to a second frequency; a sensing circuit configured to sense at least a portion of a signal sent to the antenna corresponding to the second frequency; and a controller configured to identify whether the human body is proximate based at least on the signal sensed by the sensing circuit. The first terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a first portion of the antenna and the second terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a coil of the transmit resonator.

According to various example embodiments, the controller may be configured to identify whether a human body is approaching based on an impedance change of a signal sensed by the sensing circuit.

According to various example embodiments, the controller may be configured to identify whether the human body is approaching based on the phase of the signal sensed by the sensing circuit.

According to various example embodiments, the controller may be configured to identify whether the human body is proximate based on a change in at least one of a Q factor, a reflection coefficient, a reflection loss, a coupling coefficient, or a standing wave ratio of the signal sensed by the sensing circuit.

According to various example embodiments, the controller may be configured to identify whether the conductors are proximate based on an electrical signal corresponding to the first frequency transmitted through the transmit resonator.

According to various example embodiments, the antenna may be disposed adjacent to an inner side of the transmit resonator.

According to various example embodiments, the antenna may be disposed adjacent to the inner side of the transmitting resonator in a manner corresponding to the shape of the coil of the transmitting resonator.

According to various example embodiments, the antennas may include a first antenna and a second antenna. The second antenna may be disposed opposite the first antenna.

According to various example embodiments, the antenna may be disposed adjacent to an outside of the transmit resonator.

According to various example embodiments, the first frequency may be greater than the second frequency.

According to various example embodiments, the antenna may form a stub in a second portion of the antenna to form an inverted-F antenna (IFA) shape.

According to various example embodiments, a stub may be connected to the transmit resonator to perform impedance matching.

According to various example embodiments, a method for detecting a proximity object (external object) by a wireless power transmission apparatus may include: transmitting power by forming a magnetic field by a transmitting resonator including a coil by an electric signal corresponding to a pass first frequency output through a power amplifier; identifying, by the controller, whether the conductor is proximate based at least on a signal sensed from an electrical signal corresponding to the first frequency; transmitting a signal corresponding to the second frequency from an antenna disposed adjacent to the transmitting resonator; and identifying, by the controller, whether the human body is proximate based at least on a signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.

According to various example embodiments, the method may further include identifying whether the human body is proximate based on an impedance change of the signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.

According to various example embodiments, the method may further include identifying whether the human body is proximate based on a phase of a signal sensed from a signal corresponding to the second frequency.

According to various example embodiments, the method may further include identifying whether the human body is proximate based on a change in at least one of a Q factor, a reflection coefficient, a reflection loss, a coupling coefficient, or a standing wave ratio of a signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.

According to various example embodiments, a wireless power transmission apparatus may include: a power amplifier; a transmission resonator including a coil configured to receive an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output via the power amplifier and form a magnetic field by the received electric signal corresponding to the first frequency to transmit electric power; an antenna disposed adjacent to the transmit resonator and configured to receive a signal corresponding to a second frequency; a sensing circuit configured to sense at least a portion of a signal sent to the antenna corresponding to the second frequency; and a controller configured to determine whether the human body is in proximity based at least on the signal sensed by the sensing circuit. The first output terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a first portion of the antenna, and the second output terminal of the sensing circuit may be connected to a coil of the transmitting resonator.

It should be understood that the various embodiments of the disclosure and the terminology used therein are not intended to limit the technical features set forth herein to the particular embodiments, but rather include various modifications, equivalents or alternatives to the respective embodiments. For the description of the drawings, like reference numerals may be used to refer to like or related elements. It will be understood that a noun in the singular corresponding to an item may include one or more things unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of the phrases such as "a or B", "at least one of a and B", "at least one of a or B", "A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", and "at least one of A, B or C" may include all possible combinations of items listed with a respective one of the plurality of phrases. As used herein, terms such as "1 st" and "2 nd" or "first" and "second" may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another component and not to limit the components in other respects (e.g., importance or order). It will be understood that if the term "operatively" or "communicatively" is used or the term "operatively" or "communicatively" is not used, then if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being "coupled to," "connected to," or "connected to" another element (e.g., a second element), it is meant that the element can be directly (e.g., wired) coupled to, wirelessly coupled with, or via a third element.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the above-described components (e.g., a module or program) may include a single entity or multiple entities. Some of the plurality of entities may be separately provided in different components. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more of the above components may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Alternatively or additionally, multiple components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In this case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform the one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as the corresponding one of the plurality of components performed the one or more functions prior to integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by a module, a program, or another component may be performed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or in a heuristic manner, or one or more of the operations may be performed in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

While the present disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to various exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the various exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative, and not limiting. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and full scope of the disclosure, including the appended claims and their equivalents. It should also be understood that any of the embodiments described herein may be used in combination with any of the other embodiments described herein.

Claims

1. A wireless power transmission apparatus, the wireless power transmission apparatus comprising:

a power amplifier;

a transmit resonator comprising a coil and configured to: receiving an electrical signal corresponding to a first frequency output through the power amplifier, and forming a magnetic field by the received electrical signal corresponding to the first frequency;

an antenna configured in a shape corresponding to either side of an axis of symmetry of the split-ring resonator SRR antenna, disposed adjacent to the transmit resonator, and configured to receive a signal corresponding to a second frequency;

a sensing circuit configured to sense at least a portion of the signal sent to the antenna corresponding to the second frequency; and

A controller configured to identify whether a human body is approaching based on a signal sensed through the sensing circuit,

wherein a first terminal of the sensing circuit is connected to a first portion of the antenna and a second terminal of the sensing circuit is connected to the coil of the transmit resonator.

2. The wireless power transmission apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to identify whether a human body is in proximity based on an impedance change of a signal sensed by the sensing circuit.

3. The wireless power transmission apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to identify whether a human body is approaching based on a phase of a signal sensed by the sensing circuit.

4. The wireless power transmission apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to identify whether a human body is in proximity based on a change in at least one of a Q factor, a reflection coefficient, a reflection loss, a coupling coefficient, or a standing wave ratio of a signal sensed by the sensing circuit.

5. The wireless power transmission device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to identify whether a conductor is proximate based on the electrical signal corresponding to the first frequency transmitted through the transmit resonator.

6. The wireless power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is provided adjacent to an inner side of the transmission resonator.

7. The wireless power transmission apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the antenna is provided adjacent to the inner side of the transmission resonator in a manner corresponding to a shape of the coil of the transmission resonator.

8. The wireless power transmission apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the antenna includes a first antenna and a second antenna, and

wherein the second antenna is disposed opposite the first antenna.

9. The wireless power transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is provided adjacent to an outside of the transmission resonator.

10. The wireless power transmitting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first frequency is greater than the second frequency.

11. The wireless power transmitting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the antenna comprises a stub in a second portion of the antenna to form an inverted-F antenna IFA shape.

12. The wireless power transmission apparatus of claim 11, wherein the stub is connected to the transmission resonator to perform impedance matching.

13. A method of detecting a proximity object by a wireless power transmitting apparatus, the method comprising:

transmitting power by forming a magnetic field by a transmitting resonator including a coil by an electric signal corresponding to a first frequency output through a power amplifier;

identifying, by a controller, whether a conductor is proximate based on a signal sensed from the electrical signal corresponding to the first frequency;

transmitting a signal corresponding to a second frequency from an antenna disposed adjacent to the transmitting resonator; and

identifying, by the controller, whether a human body is proximate based on a signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.

14. The method of claim 13, the method further comprising: whether a human body is in proximity is identified based on an impedance change of the signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.

15. The method of claim 13, the method further comprising: whether a human body is close is identified based on a phase of the signal sensed from the signal corresponding to the second frequency.