KR102614714B1 - Near-field antenna for wireless power transmission with four coplanar antenna elements - Google Patents

Abstract

A near-field antenna is provided comprising a reflector and four individual coplanar antenna elements offset from the reflector. Each of the four individual coplanar antenna elements follows a respective meandering pattern. Two of the four coplanar antenna elements form a first dipole antenna along a first axis, and the other two antenna elements of the four coplanar antenna elements form a second dipole along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. Forms an antenna. The near-field antenna includes (i) a power amplifier configured to feed electromagnetic signals to one of the dipole antennas, (ii) an impedance-adjusting component configured to adjust the impedance of one of the dipole antennas, and (iii) a power amplifier, It further includes an impedance-adjusting component and a switch circuit coupled to the dipole antennas. The switch circuit is configured to switchably couple the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier and switchably couple the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjustment component, and vice versa.

Description

Near-field antenna for wireless power transmission with four coplanar antenna elements

Embodiments herein relate to near-field wireless power transfer systems (e.g., antennas, software, and devices used in such systems), and more specifically, to 4 devices that follow a respective meandering pattern. It relates to a near-field antenna for wireless power transmission with coplanar antenna elements.

Conventional charging pads use inductive coils to generate a magnetic field that is used to charge the device. Users typically must install the device in a specific location on the charging pad and cannot move the device to another location on the pad without disconnecting or terminating charging of the device. This creates a frustrating experience for many users, as they may not be able to place their device in the correct position on the pad to start charging their device. Users may think their devices are properly positioned, but often find, to their disappointment, only a very small amount of energy (or no energy at all) being delivered several hours later.

Conventional charging pads also utilize components distributed across multiple different integrated circuits. Such a configuration results in processing delays that cause these charging pads to operate more slowly than desired by users of such pads (eg, wireless charging and adjustments made during wireless charging take longer).

Accordingly, there is a need for wireless charging systems (eg, RF charging pads) that address the problems described above. To this end, an RF charging pad is described herein comprising components efficiently arranged on a single integrated circuit that is capable of transmitting wireless power to a receiver device disposed on the surface of the RF charging pad. Antennas of the RF charging pad (e.g., one or more antennas or unit cell antennas of the RF charging pad grouped together) by selectively or sequentially activating antenna zones to determine an efficient antenna zone to use In this specification, this is referred to as an antenna group) is managed. Such a system and its method of use help eliminate user frustration with conventional charging pads. For example, by monitoring delivered energy while selectively activating antenna zones, such systems and methods of use thereof can ensure that energy delivery is maximized at any location and at any time on an RF charging pad where a device may be installed. By eliminating wasted RF power transmission by ensuring that the

In the following description, reference is made to an RF charging pad containing various antenna zones. For this description, the antenna zones include one or more transmitting antennas on an RF charging pad, each antenna zone having selective activation of each antenna zone to determine which antenna zone can most efficiently deliver wireless power to the receiver. may be individually processed by a control integrated circuit (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, FIGS. 1A-1B) so that . RF charging pads are referred to interchangeably herein by the terms near-field charging pads or, more simply, charging pads.

(A1) In some embodiments, a wireless communication component (e.g., communication component 204, FIG. 1A), each comprising at least one antenna element, a plurality of antenna zones (e.g., illustrated in FIG. 1B) The method is implemented in a near-field charging pad that includes multiple processors (e.g., CPU 202, FIGS. 1B and 2A), and one or more processors (e.g., CPU 202, FIGS. 1B and 2A). The method includes detecting, through a wireless communication component, a wireless power receiver within a threshold distance of a near-field charging pad, and in response to detecting that the wireless power receiver is within a threshold distance of the near-field charging pad, the wireless power receiver on the near-field charging pad. This includes determining whether it has been installed. The method may further include, in accordance with a determination that a wireless power receiver is installed on a near-field charging pad, a specific power-transfer parameter associated with the transmission of each test power transmission signal by at least one specific antenna zone of the plurality of antenna zones is a power - each antenna element included in the plurality of antenna zones selectively transmitting respective test power transmission signals having a first set of transmission characteristics until a determination is made that the transport criteria are met. If the one or more processors determine that the particular power-transfer parameter meets the power-transfer criteria, the method further includes transmitting a plurality of additional power transfer signals to the wireless power receiver using at least one specific antenna zone. and each of the plurality of additional power transmission signals is transmitted with a second set of transmission characteristics, separate from the first set.

(A2) In some embodiments of method A1, determining whether a wireless power receiver is installed on the surface of a near-field charging pad includes (i) transmitting test power transmission signals using each of the multiple antenna zones; , (ii) monitoring the amount of power reflected from the near-field charging pad while transmitting test power transmission signals, and (iii) determining that the wireless power receiver is installed on the near-field charging pad if the amount of reflected power meets the device detection threshold. It includes

(A3) In some embodiments of method A2, the amount of reflected power is measured in each antenna zone of multiple antenna zones.

(A4) In some embodiments of any of A2-A3, a device detection threshold is established during a calibration process for a near-field charging pad.

(A5) In some embodiments of method A4, the device detection threshold is specific to the type of device coupled with the wireless power receiver, and the device detection threshold is configured to determine the device detection threshold to be activated by one or more processors after a wireless power receiver adjacent to the near-field charging pad is detected. (e.g., a wireless power receiver transmits a packet of information to a near-field charging pad, the packet of information including information identifying the type of device associated with the wireless power receiver).

(A6) In some embodiments of any of the methods A1-A5, selectively transmitting each test power transmission signal is performed using each antenna zone of a plurality of antenna zones. Additionally, the method further includes, before a determination is made that the specific power-transfer parameters associated with the transmission of each test power-transfer signal by at least one particular antenna zone among the plurality of antenna zones meet the power-transport criteria: (i) Based on the transmission by each antenna zone, update the respective power-transport parameters associated with the transmission of each test power transmission signal by each antenna zone, (ii) based on the respective power-transport parameters associated, at least It further includes selecting two or more antenna zones including one specific antenna zone and transmitting wireless power to the wireless power receiver.

(A7) In some embodiments of method A6, the method further includes using each of the two or more antenna zones to transmit additional test power transmission signals with a first set of transmission characteristics. Additionally, the determination that a specific power-transport parameter satisfies the power-transport criteria indicates that the specific antenna zone is transmitting wireless power to the wireless power receiver more efficiently than another antenna zone among two or more antenna zones. It further includes determining that the transport parameters are representative.

(A8) In some embodiments of any of methods A6-A7, the determination that the specific power-transport parameter satisfies the power-transport criterion further includes: the first threshold power amount by at least one specific antenna zone is determined by the wireless power receiver and determining that the specific power-transport parameters indicate that the first threshold amount of power is delivered to the wireless power receiver, wherein the at least one specific antenna zone is the only one of the two or more antenna zones with respective power-transport parameters indicating that the first threshold amount of power is delivered to the wireless power receiver. This is the antenna zone.

(A9) In some embodiments of any of A6-A8, the determination that a particular power-transport parameter satisfies the power-transport criteria may include (i) the antenna zone delivering the first threshold amount of power to the wireless power receiver; and (ii) determining that additional power-transport parameters associated with additional antenna zones among two or more antenna zones meet the power-transport criteria. Additionally, the specific power-transport parameter indicates that the first amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver by the specific antenna zone is greater than the second threshold amount of power and is less than the first threshold amount of power, and the additional power-transport parameter indicates that the additional antenna zone This indicates that the second amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver is higher than the second threshold amount of power and lower than the first threshold amount of power.

(A10) In some embodiments of method A9, both a specific antenna group and an additional antenna group are used to simultaneously transmit an additional plurality of power transmission signals to provide power to a wireless power receiver.

(A11) In some embodiments of any of methods A1-A10, the information used to determine the power-transport parameter is provided by the wireless power receiver to the near-field charging pad via a wireless communication component of the near-field charging pad.

(A12) In some embodiments of any of A1-A11, the second set of transmission characteristics comprises a variable in the first set of transmission characteristics to increase the amount of power delivered by a particular antenna group to the wireless power receiver. It is determined by adjusting at least one characteristic.

(A13) In some embodiments of method A12, the at least one adjusted characteristic is a frequency or an impedance value.

(A14) In some embodiments of any of the methods A1-A13, the method is used to determine the power level wirelessly delivered by the near-field charging pad to the wireless power receiver while transmitting an additional plurality of power transmission signals. and adjusting at least one characteristic in a second set of transmission characteristics based on information received from the wireless power receiver.

(A15) In some embodiments of any of methods A1-A14, the one or more processors are components of a single integrated circuit used to control operation of the near-field charging pad. For example, any of the methods described herein are managed by a single integrated circuit, such as Radio Frequency (RF) power transmitter integrated circuit 160 shown in FIG. 1B.

(A16) In some embodiments of any of the methods A1-A15, each power-delivery metric is based on transmission of each test power transmission signal by each antenna group of the plurality of antenna groups. Corresponds to the amount of power received by the wireless power receiver.

(A17) In some embodiments of any of A1-A16, the method further includes determining that the wireless power receiver is authorized to receive wirelessly delivered power from a near-field charging pad prior to transmitting the test power transmission signals. Includes.

(A18) In another aspect, a near-field charging pad is provided. In some embodiments, the near-field charging pad comprises a wireless communication component, a plurality of antenna zones each including at least one antenna element, one or more processors, and when executed by one or more processors, the near-field charging pad is A1. -Contains a memory storing one or more programs that execute the methods described in any one of A17.

(A19) In another aspect, a near-field charging pad is provided, the near-field charging pad comprising means for performing the method described in any one of A1-A17.

(A20) In another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, when implemented by a near-field charging pad (a wireless communication component, comprising multiple antenna zones each comprising at least one antenna element) having one or more processors/cores. Store executable instructions that cause the charging pad to perform a method described in any one of A1-A17.

As discussed above, there is a need for an integrated circuit containing components that manage the transfer of wireless power, all integrated on a single integrated circuit. Such integrated circuits and methods of using them help eliminate user frustration with conventional charging pads by including all components on a single chip (as described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B). Thereby, such integrated circuits can manage operations in the integrated circuits more efficiently and at higher speeds, thereby helping to ameliorate user dissatisfaction with charging pads managed by these integrated circuits.

(B1) In some embodiments, an integrated circuit includes (i) a processing unit configured to control operation of the integrated circuit, (ii) a power processor operably coupled to the processing unit and configured to convert input current to radio frequency energy. a transducer, (iii) a waveform generator operably coupled to the processing unit and configured to generate a plurality of power transmission signals using radio frequency energy, (iv) a plurality of power amplifiers external to the integrated circuit coupled to the integrated circuit. a first interface, (v) a second interface, separate from the first interface, coupling the wireless communication component to the integrated circuit. The processing unit is configured to: (i) receive, via a second interface, an indication that there is a wireless power receiver within transmission range of the near-field charging pad controlled by the integrated circuit, and (ii) in response to receiving the indication, send a first and configured to provide, via the interface, at least some of the plurality of power transmission signals to at least one of the plurality of power amplifiers.

(B2) In some embodiments of the integrated circuit of B1, the processing unit includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and an encryptor (e.g., CPU subsystem 170, FIG. 1B).

(B3) In some embodiments of the integrated circuit any of B1-B2, the input current is direct current. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the input current is alternating current. In these embodiments, the power converter is a radio frequency DC-DC converter or a radio frequency AC-AC converter, respectively.

(B4) In some embodiments of the integrated circuit of any of B1-B3, the wireless communication component may be a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi radio configured to receive communication signals from a device installed on the surface of the near-field charging pad. radio).

To help address the above-described problems and thereby provide a charging pad that satisfies user needs, the above-described antenna zones have energy transfer characteristics such that the charging pad can charge devices installed at any location on the pad. may include adaptive antenna elements (e.g., antenna zones 290 of the RF charging pad 100 (e.g., antenna zones 290 of the RF charging pad 100 (e.g., 1b) may each include one or more of the antennas 120, which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3A-6E and 8).

According to some embodiments, the antenna zones of the RF charging pad described herein may include one or more antenna elements in communication with one or more processors to transmit RF signals to an RF receiver of the electronic device. In some embodiments, each antenna element includes: (i) a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern; (ii) a first terminal at a first end of the conductive line that receives a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors; (iii) a second terminal, separate from the first terminal, at the second end of the conductive line, the second terminal being controlled by at least one processor, comprising a component that allows modifying the impedance value at the second terminal; Combined - includes. In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to adaptively adjust the frequency and/or impedance value to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the one or more antenna elements to the RF receiver of the electronic device.

Wireless charging comprising adaptive antenna elements capable of adjusting energy transfer characteristics (e.g., impedance and frequency for each antenna element's conductive line) such that the charging pad can charge devices installed anywhere on the pad. A system (eg, RF charging pads) is required. In some embodiments, these charging pads include one or more processors that monitor energy transferred from a transmitting antenna element (referred to herein as an RF antenna element or antenna elements) to a receiver of the electronic device to be charged, and one or more Processors optimize energy transfer characteristics to maximize energy transfer at any location on the charging pad. Some embodiments may include a feedback loop to report power received at the receiver to one or more processors.

(C1) According to some embodiments, an RF charging pad is provided. The RF charging pad includes at least one processor that monitors the amount of energy transferred from the RF charging pad to the RF receiver of the electronic device. The RF charging pad also includes one or more antenna elements in communication with one or more processors to transmit RF signals to an RF receiver of the electronic device. In some embodiments, each antenna element includes: (i) a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern; (ii) a first terminal at a first end of the conductive line that receives a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors; (iii) a second terminal at the second end of the conductive line, separate from the first terminal, the second terminal being controlled by at least one processor and coupled to a component that allows modifying the impedance at the second terminal. - Includes. In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to adaptively adjust the frequency and/or impedance value to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the one or more antenna elements to the RF receiver of the electronic device.

(C2) According to some embodiments, a method used to charge an electronic device through RF power transmission is provided. The method includes providing a transmitter having at least one RF antenna. The method also includes transmitting one or more RF signals, via at least one RF antenna, and monitoring the amount of energy transferred via the one or more RF signals from the at least one RF antenna to the RF receiver. The method additionally includes adaptively adjusting the characteristics of the transmitter to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the at least one RF antenna to the RF receiver. In some embodiments, the characteristic is selected from the group consisting of (i) the frequency of one or more RF signals, (ii) the impedance of the transmitter, and (iii) a combination of (i) and (ii). In some embodiments, the at least one RF antenna is part of an array of RF antennas.

(C3) According to some embodiments, an RF charging pad is provided. The RF charging pad includes one or more processors that monitor the amount of energy transferred from the RF charging pad to the RF receiver of the electronic device. The RF charging pad also includes one or more transmitting antenna elements configured to communicate with one or more processors for transmitting RF signals to an RF receiver of the electronic device. In some embodiments, each antenna element includes: (i) a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern; (ii) an input terminal at a first end of the conductive line that receives a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors; (iii) multiple adaptive load terminals separate from the input terminal, distinct from each other, and at multiple locations in the conductive line—each adaptive load terminal of the multiple adaptive load terminals is operated by one or more processors. and coupled with respective components configured to be controlled and configured to enable modification of the respective impedance values at each adaptive load terminal. In some embodiments, the one or more processors configure at least one of a frequency and a respective impedance value at one or more terminals of the plurality of adaptive load terminals to optimize the amount of energy delivered from the one or more transmit antenna elements to the RF receiver of the electronic device. It has a configuration that adaptively adjusts.

(C4) According to some embodiments, a method used to charge an electronic device through RF power transmission is provided. The method includes providing a charging pad containing a transmitter with one or more RF antennas. In some embodiments, each RF antenna includes: (i) a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern; (ii) an input terminal at a first end of the conductive line that receives a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors; (iii) multiple adaptive load terminals separate from the input terminal, distinct from each other, and at multiple locations on the conductive line - each adaptive load terminal of the multiple adaptive load terminals controlled by one or more processors. and combined with respective components that allow modifying the respective impedance values at each adaptive load terminal. The method also includes transmitting one or more RF signals, via one or more RF antennas, and monitoring the amount of energy transferred via the one or more RF signals from the one or more RF antennas to the RF receiver. The method additionally includes adaptively adjusting characteristics of the transmitter, using one or more processors of the transmitter, to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the one or more RF antennas to the RF receiver. In some embodiments, the characteristic is selected from the group consisting of (i) the frequency of one or more RF signals, (ii) the impedance of the transmitter, and (iii) a combination of (i) and (ii). In some embodiments, the impedance of the transmitter is adaptively adjusted at each one or more terminals of a plurality of adaptive load terminals of one or more RF antennas using one or more processors of the transmitter.

(C5) According to some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that, when executed by one or more processors coupled with an RF charging pad that includes one or more transmitting antenna elements, causes the one or more processors to transmit data from the RF charging pad to an RF receiver of an electronic device. and executable instructions for monitoring energy amounts and communicating with one or more transmitting antenna elements that transmit RF signals to an RF receiver of the electronic device. In some embodiments, each transmit antenna element includes: a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern; an input terminal at a first end of the conductive line that receives a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors; a plurality of adaptive load terminals separate from the input terminal, distinct from each other, and at multiple locations in the conductive line, each adaptive load terminal of the plurality of adaptive load terminals being configured to be controlled by one or more processors; Combined with each component in a configuration that allows modification of the respective impedance value at each adaptive load terminal. One or more processors adaptively adjust at least one of the frequency and impedance values at one or more of the plurality of adaptive load terminals to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the one or more transmit antenna elements to the RF receiver of the electronic device. do.

(C6) In any of some embodiments of C1-C5, the frequency is within a first frequency band, and at least one of the one or more transmit antenna elements is one of the plurality of adaptive load terminals of the at least one transmit antenna element. and configured to operate in a second frequency band based on adaptive adjustment by one or more processors for each impedance value in one or more terminals.

(C7) The RF charging pad of any of some embodiments of C1-C6, wherein the RF charging pad includes an input circuit coupled to one or more processors and configured to provide current to an input terminal at a first end of the conductive line, one The above processors are configured to adaptively adjust frequency by instructing an input circuit to generate a current with a new frequency that is independent of the frequency.

(C8) In some embodiments of any of C1-C7, the one or more processors are configured to adaptively adjust the frequency, such adjustment to generate a current having a plurality of different frequencies determined using predetermined increments. This is done by commanding the feeding element to generate.

(C9) In some embodiments of any of C1-C8, each conductive line for at least one of the one or more transmitting antenna elements is configured to cause the at least one transmitting antenna element to transmit an RF signal having that frequency and/or a new frequency. each conductive line having a respective meandering line pattern that allows efficient transmission of the elements, and at least two adjacent segments of each conductive line having each meandering line pattern have different geometric dimensions, each conductive line comprising at least one transmitting antenna. When the device is configured to transmit RF signals with that frequency and/or a new frequency, it has an unchanged length.

(C10) In some embodiments of any of C1-C9, at least one of the one or more transmit antenna elements has a first segment and a second segment, and the first segment includes an input terminal, and at least One transmitting antenna element is configured to operate at a frequency while the first segment is not coupled to the second segment and to operate at the new frequency while the first segment is coupled to the second segment, and the one or more processors are configured to operate at that frequency. and to couple the first segment with the second segment, along with instructing the feeding element to generate a current with a new frequency that is distinct from the current.

(C11) In any of some embodiments of any of C1-C10, the one or more processors are configured to configure a frequency associated with a first transmit antenna element of the one or more transmit antenna elements such that the first transmit antenna element operates in the first frequency band and /or adaptively adjust each impedance value, and adaptively adjust each impedance value and/or the frequency associated with the second transmit antenna element of the one or more transmit antenna elements, such that the second transmit antenna element operates in the second frequency band. and the first frequency band is separate from the second frequency band.

(C12) In some embodiments of any of C1-C11, the electronic device is installed in contact with or adjacent to the top surface of the RF charging pad.

(C13) In any of some embodiments of C1-C12, each component is a mechanical relay coupled to a respective adaptive load terminal to switch each adaptive load terminal between an open state and a short state, and the impedance value is: An adaptive adjustment is made at each adaptive load terminal of each transmitting antenna element by opening or closing a mechanical relay to switch to an open or short circuit.

(C14) In some embodiments of any of C1-C13, each component is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and each impedance value is adaptively adjusted by the ASIC within a range of predetermined values.

(C15) The method of any of some embodiments of C1-C14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the relative maximum amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver of the electronic device to determine the frequency at one or more terminals of the plurality of adaptive load terminals. and configured to adaptively adjust the frequency and/or each impedance value, by adaptively adjusting each impedance value, further resulting in a maximum amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver, once the maximum amount of energy is determined. It has a configuration that causes each antenna element of the one or more transmit antenna elements to transmit RF signals, respectively, using respective impedance values and at respective frequencies.

(C16) In some embodiments of any of C1-C16, the one or more processors monitor the amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver based at least in part on information received from the electronic device, wherein the information includes RF signals. Identifies the energy received at the RF receiver from

(C17) In some embodiments of any of C1-C16, information identifying the received energy received from the electronic device is transmitted using a wireless communication protocol.

(C18) In some embodiments of any of C1-C17, the wireless communication protocol is bluetooth low energy (BLE).

(C19) In some embodiments of any of C1-C18, the one or more processors monitor the amount of delivered energy based at least in part on the amount of energy detected at each adaptive load terminal.

Accordingly, wireless charging systems constructed according to the principles described herein can avoid energy waste by charging electronic devices installed at arbitrary locations on an RF charging pad and ensuring that energy transfer is consistently optimized.

Additionally, a wireless charging system constructed according to the principles described herein can charge other electronic devices tuned to different frequencies or frequency bands on the same charging transmitter. In some embodiments, a transmitter with a single antenna element may operate at multiple frequencies or frequency bands simultaneously or at different times. In some embodiments, a transmitter with multiple antenna elements may operate at multiple frequencies or frequency bands simultaneously. It allows for more flexibility in the types and sizes of antennas included in receiving devices.

In another aspect, dramatically adjustable transmit antennas are provided. In designing a charging pad that allows receiving devices to be installed anywhere on the pad, radio-frequency-based solutions offer more possibilities. Since the receiving antennas used in radio-frequency-based solutions may have different polarizations, to ensure efficient power transfer from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna, transmitting antennas capable of transmitting at different polarizations are designed. It has to be. In that case, there is a need for a transmitting antenna that can be dramatically adjusted to transmit energy using different polarizations, and the embodiments described herein address this need (e.g., the description and figures associated with the near-field antenna 2500 reference).

(D1) According to some embodiments, a near-field antenna is provided. A near-field antenna (e.g., near-field antenna 2500, FIG. 25A) includes a reflector and four individual coplanar antenna elements offset from the reflector, each of the four individual antenna elements following a respective meandering pattern. Additionally, two of the four coplanar antenna elements form a first dipole antenna along a first axis, and the other two antenna elements of the four coplanar antenna elements form a first dipole antenna along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. 2 Form a dipole antenna. The near-field antenna includes (i) a power amplifier configured to feed electromagnetic signals to at least one of the first and second dipole antennas, (ii) an impedance configured to adjust the impedance of at least one of the first and second dipole antennas- a tuning component, and (iii) a switch circuit coupled to the power amplifier, the impedance-tuning component, the first dipole antenna, and the second dipole antenna. The switch circuit (A) switchably couples a first dipole antenna to a power amplifier and switchably couples a second dipole antenna to an impedance-adjusting component, or (B) switchably couples a second dipole antenna to a power amplifier. and configured to switchably couple the first dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component.

(D2) According to some embodiments, a method used to charge an electronic device through RF power transmission using a near-field antenna is provided. The method includes providing a near-field antenna of D1. For example, a near-field antenna consists of (i) a reflector, (ii) four individual coplanar antenna elements offset from the reflector, each following a meandering pattern - (A) two of the four coplanar antenna elements are forming a first dipole antenna aligned with one axis, and (B) the other two antenna elements of the four coplanar antenna elements form a second dipole antenna aligned with a second axis perpendicular to the first axis - (iii) a switch circuit coupled to at least two of the four coplanar antenna elements, (iv) a power amplifier coupled to the switch circuit, and (v) an impedance-adjustment component coupled to the switch circuit. The method further includes instructing the switch circuit to (i) couple the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier, and (ii) couple the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component. The method further includes instructing the power amplifier to feed an electromagnetic signal to the first dipole antenna through the switch circuit. In doing so, the electromagnetic signals, when fed to the first dipole antenna, cause the first dipole antenna to radiate electromagnetic signals to be received by a wirelessly powered device positioned within a critical distance from the near-field antenna. Additionally, the impedance of the second dipole antenna is adjusted by an impedance-adjusting component such that the impedance of the second dipole antenna is different from the impedance of the first dipole antenna.

(D3) According to some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when executed by one or more processors coupled with a near-field antenna of D1, the near-field antenna of D1 instructs the switch circuit to (A) (i) connect the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier; (ii) couple the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component, and (B) instruct the power amplifier to feed electromagnetic signals to the first dipole antenna through the switch circuit. Includes. In doing so, the electromagnetic signals, when fed to the first dipole antenna, cause the first dipole antenna to radiate electromagnetic signals to be received by a wirelessly powered device positioned within a critical distance from the near-field antenna. Additionally, the impedance of the second dipole antenna is adjusted by an impedance-adjusting component such that the impedance of the second dipole antenna is different from the impedance of the first dipole antenna.

(D4) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D3, wherein in a first mode of operation for the near-field antenna, the switch circuit: (i) couples the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier, and (ii) controls the second dipole antenna. is coupled to the impedance-adjusting component. Additionally, in a second mode of operation for the near-field antenna, the switch circuit (i) couples the second dipole antenna to the power amplifier and (ii) couples the first dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component.

(D5) The method of any of some embodiments of any of D1-D4, wherein in a first mode of operation of the near-field antenna, the first dipole antenna receives electromagnetic waves from the power amplifier, radiates the received electromagnetic wave with a first polarization, and radiates the near-field antenna. In the second mode of operation of the antenna, the second dipole antenna receives electromagnetic waves from the power amplifier and radiates the received electromagnetic waves with a second polarization different from the first polarization.

(D6) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D5, wherein the wirelessly powered device disposed within a critical distance from the near-field antenna harvests the radiated electromagnetic waves and uses the harvested electromagnetic waves to form a device coupled to the wirelessly powered device. It is configured to supply power to or charge an electronic device.

(D7) In any of some embodiments of D1-D6, the near-field antenna further includes a controller configured to control the operation of the switch circuit and the power amplifier.

(D8) The method in any of some embodiments of D1-D7, wherein the controller controls (i) the location of the wirelessly powered device, (ii) the polarization of the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device, and (iii) the position of the wirelessly powered device. and configured to control the operation of the switch circuit and the power amplifier based on at least one of spatial orientation.

(D9) In any of some embodiments of D1-D8, the near-field antenna includes a first feed and a second feed. The first feed is connected to the first of the two antenna elements of the first dipole antenna and the switch circuit, and the first feed is connected to the first dipole antenna when the power amplifier is switchably coupled to the first dipole antenna by the switch circuit (e.g. , when the near-field antenna is in the first operating mode) and configured to supply electromagnetic signals originating from the power amplifier to the first antenna element of the first dipole antenna. The second feed is connected to the second dipole antenna and the first of the other two antenna elements of the switch circuit, and the second feed is connected to the second dipole antenna when the power amplifier is coupled to the second dipole antenna by the switch circuit (e.g. (when the near-field antenna is in the second mode of operation), it is configured to supply electromagnetic signals originating from the power amplifier to the first antenna element of the second dipole antenna.

(D10) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D9, wherein the first of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is a first pole of a first dipole antenna and the first of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is a first pole of a first dipole antenna. The second antenna element is the second pole of the first dipole antenna. Additionally, the third of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is the first pole of the second dipole antenna, and the fourth of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is the second pole of the second dipole antenna.

(D11) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D10, wherein each of the two antenna elements forming a first dipole antenna includes two segments perpendicular to the first axis and forming a second dipole antenna. Each of the other two antenna elements includes two segments parallel to the first axis. In other words, each of the two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna includes two segments parallel to the second axis, and each of the other two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna is perpendicular to the second axis. Contains two segments.

(D11.1) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D11, wherein each of the four individual antenna elements is disposed between (i) a plurality of first segments, and (ii) each of the plurality of first segments. It includes a plurality of second segments.

(D12) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D11, wherein the first lengths of the segments in the plurality of first segments increase from a first end portion of the antenna element to a second end portion of the antenna element; , the second lengths of the segments in the plurality of second segments increase from the first end portion of the antenna elements to the second end portion of the antenna elements.

(D13) In any of some embodiments of D1-S12, the first lengths of the segments in the first number of segments are different from the second lengths of the segments in the second number of segments.

(D14) In any of some embodiments of any of D1-D13, first lengths of the segments in the first number of segments are different from second lengths of the segments in the second number of segments.

(D15) The method of any of some embodiments of D1-D14, wherein first lengths of the segments in the plurality of first segments are directed to the second terminal portion of the antenna element, greater than the second lengths of the segments in the second number of segments.

(D16) In any of some embodiments of D1-D15, the reflector is a solid metal sheet of copper or a copper alloy.

(D17) In any of some embodiments of D1-D16, the reflector is configured to reflect at least a portion of the electromagnetic signals radiated by the first or second dipole antenna.

(D18) In some embodiments of any of D1-D17, four individual coplanar antenna elements are formed on or within the substrate.

(D19) In some embodiments of D18, the substrate includes a metamaterial of predetermined magnetic permeability or electrical permittivity.

(D20) In some embodiments of D1-D19, each meander pattern is all the same.

(D21) In any of some embodiments of D1-D20, the two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna are configured such that each meander pattern followed by each of the two antenna elements is a mirror image of each other. , aligned along the first axis.

(D22) In any of some embodiments of D1-D21, the other two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna are configured to form a second dipole antenna such that each meander pattern followed by each of the other two antenna elements is a mirror image of one another. Aligned along 2 axes.

(D23) Any of some embodiments of D1-D22, wherein a first longitudinal portion of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements borders a co-center portion of the near-field antenna, and The second terminal portion of each meander pattern it follows borders a distinct edge of the near-field antenna. Additionally, the longest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements is closer to the individual edge of the near-field antenna than to the co-center portion of the near-field antenna.

(D24) In any of some embodiments of D1-D23, the shortest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements is closer to a co-center portion of the near-field antenna than to an individual edge of the near-field antenna.

(E1) According to some embodiments, a near-field antenna is provided. A near-field antenna (e.g., near-field antenna 2500, FIG. 25A) includes four individual coplanar antenna elements, each antenna element representing a distinct quadrant of the near-field antenna (e.g., quadrants 2570- A to 2570-D). Additionally, the width of each of the four individual antenna elements increases from the center portion of the near-field antenna to each edge of the near-field antenna, in a meandering manner. In other words, the longest dimension of each of the four individual antenna elements is close to (i.e. adjacent to/bounded by) each edge of the near-field antenna, and conversely, the shortest dimension of each of the four individual antenna elements is close to the respective edge of the near-field antenna. Close to the central part (i.e. adjacent/bounded).

(E2) In some embodiments of E1, two of the four coplanar antenna elements form a first dipole antenna along the first axis and the other two of the four coplanar antenna elements form a first dipole antenna. A second dipole antenna is formed along a second axis perpendicular to the axis.

(E3) In any of some embodiments of E1-E2, the two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna are arranged along the first axis such that each meander pattern followed by each of the two antenna elements is a mirror image of one another. Sorted.

(E4) In any of some embodiments of E1-E3, the other two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna are configured to form a second dipole antenna such that each meander pattern followed by each of the other two antenna elements is a mirror image of each other. aligned along the axis.

It should be noted that the various embodiments described above may be combined with any other embodiments described herein. The features and advantages described in the specification are not exclusive, and in particular many additional features and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the drawings, specification, and claims. In addition, it should be noted that the terms used in the specification are, in principle, selected for readability and educational purposes and are not intended to limit or limit the new subject matter.

To enable a more detailed understanding of the present disclosure, a more specific description has been made with reference to the features of various embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, the attached drawings are merely illustrative of relevant features of the present disclosure and should not be considered limiting to the description, but may permit other valid features.
1A is a block diagram of an RF wireless power transmission system according to some embodiments.
FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating components of an example RF charging pad including an RF power transmitter integrated circuit and antenna zones, according to some embodiments.
1C is a block diagram illustrating components of an example RF charging pad including an RF power transmitter integrated circuit coupled to a switch, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example RF charging pad, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example receiver device, according to some embodiments.
3A is a high-level block diagram of an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments.
3B-3C are high-level block diagrams illustrating a portion of an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments.
3D is a simplified circuit block diagram showing energy flow within sections of an antenna element transmitting RF signals, according to some embodiments.
4 is a schematic diagram of a transmit antenna element with two terminals, according to some embodiments.
Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method for charging an electronic device through RF power transmission.
Figures 6A-6E are schematic diagrams showing various configurations for individual antenna elements within an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments.
7A-7D are schematic diagrams of antenna elements for an RF receiver, according to some embodiments.
8 is a schematic diagram of an RF charging pad with multiple transmitting antenna elements (unit cells), according to some embodiments.
9A-9B are flow diagrams illustrating a method 900 of selectively activating one or more antenna zones in a near-field charging pad, according to some embodiments.
Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for selectively activating one or more antenna zones in a near-field charging pad, according to some embodiments.
Figures 11A-11E are flow diagrams illustrating various aspects of selectively activating one or more antenna zones in a near-field charging pad, according to some embodiments.
12 is a schematic diagram of a transmitting antenna element with multiple adaptive loads of an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a method of charging an electronic device through RF power transfer using at least one RF antenna with multiple adaptive loads, according to some embodiments.
Figures 14A-14D are schematic diagrams showing various configurations for individual antenna elements capable of operating at multiple frequencies or frequency bands within an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for an individual antenna element that can operate at multiple frequencies or frequency bands by adjusting the length of the antenna element, according to some embodiments.
16A and 16B are schematic diagrams of example systems, according to embodiments.
17A-17D are schematic diagrams of example systems, according to embodiments.
18 is a schematic diagram of an example system, according to an embodiment.
19 is a schematic diagram of an example system, according to an embodiment.
20 is a schematic diagram of an example system, according to an embodiment.
21 is a schematic diagram of an example system, according to an embodiment.
22 is a schematic diagram of an example system, according to an embodiment.
23 is a schematic diagram of an example system, according to an embodiment.
24A and 24B are schematic diagrams of example systems, according to embodiments.
Figure 25A is an isometric view of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
Figure 25B is another isometric view of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
25C-25D are other side views of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
Figure 25E is another side view of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 25F is a diagram illustrating a representative radiating element following a meandering pattern, according to some embodiments.
Figure 25G is a top view of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
Figure 25H is another top view of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
Figure 26 is a block diagram of a control system used to control the operation of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating the radiation pattern generated by the near-field antenna with the reflector of FIG. 25A.
FIGS. 28A to 28C are diagrams illustrating additional radiation patterns generated by the near-field antenna of FIG. 25A.
29A and 29B are diagrams showing the concentration of energy radiated and absorbed by dipole antennas of a near-field antenna, according to some embodiments.
FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless power transmission method according to some embodiments.
In accordance with common practice, various features shown in the figures are not drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Additionally, some of the drawings may not represent all components of a given system, method or device. Finally, like reference numbers are used throughout the specification and drawings to indicate like features.

Reference may be made in more detail to the embodiments, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

1A shows a block diagram of an RF wireless power transfer system, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the RF wireless power transfer system 150 includes an RF charging pad 100 (referred to herein as near-field (NF) charging pad 100 or RF charging pad 100). In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 includes an RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 (described in more detail below). In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 may support one or more communication components 204 (e.g., wireless communication such as WI-FI or BLUETOOTH radios), as described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2A. parts). In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 is connected to one or more power amplifier units 108-1,...108-n so that when they drive the external TX antenna array 210, one Controls the operation of the above power amplifier units. In some embodiments, RF power is controlled and modulated at the RF charging pad through a switch circuit to enable the RF wireless power transfer system to transmit RF power to one or more wireless receiving devices via TX antenna array 210. . Exemplary power amplifier units are described in further detail below with reference to FIG. 3A.

In some embodiments, communication component(s) 204 enable communication between RF charging pad 100 and one or more communication networks. In some embodiments, communications component(s) 204 may support various custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100 .11a, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.), custom or standard wired protocols (e.g., Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.), and/or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. This allows data communication.

1B, a block diagram of an RF power transmitter integrated circuit (“integrated circuit”) is shown, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, integrated circuit 160 includes a CPU subsystem 170, an external device control interface, an RF subsection for DC-RF power conversion, and a bus or interconnection fabric block. It includes analog and digital control interfaces interconnected through interconnection components such as 171. In some embodiments, CPU subsystem 170 includes CPU executable code to be loaded into CPU subsystem random access memory (RAM) 174 (e.g., memory 206, FIG. 2A) or executed directly from FLASH. A microprocessor unit (CPU) 202 with an associated Read Only Memory (ROM) 172 for device program booting, for example via a digital control interface, such as an I ² C port, to an external FLASH comprising: Includes. In some embodiments, CPU subsystem 170 may be configured to authenticate or secure communication exchanges with external devices, such as wireless power receivers attempting to receive wirelessly delivered power from RF charging pad 100. Includes an encryption module or block 176.

In some embodiments, executable instructions running on a CPU (e.g., such as those shown in memory 206 in Figure 2A and described below) manage the operation of the RF charging pad 100, It is used to control external devices through control interfaces such as SPI control interface 175 and other analog and digital interfaces included within RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160. In some embodiments, the CPU subsystem manages the operation of the RF subsection of the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, including the RF local oscillator (LO) 177 and the RF transmitter (TX) 178. . In some embodiments, RF LO 177 is adjusted based on instructions from CPU subsystem 170, thereby being set to different desired operating frequencies, while RF TX is adjusted to adjust the RF output as desired. Converts, amplifies and modulates to produce viable RF power levels.

In some embodiments, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 provides viable RF power levels to selective beamforming integrated circuit (IC) 109, which then provides one or more Phase shift signals are provided to the power amplifier 108. In some embodiments, beamforming IC 109 may support two or more antennas 210 (e.g., each antenna 210 may be connected to a different antenna) to ensure that the power transmitted to a particular wireless power receiver is maximized. The power transmission signals transmitted to a specific wireless power receiver (which may be associated with zones 290 or may each belong to a single antenna zone 290) are used to ensure that power transmission signals are transmitted with appropriate characteristics (e.g., Power transmission signals arrive in phase at a particular wireless power receiver). In some embodiments, beamforming IC 109 forms part of RF power transmitter IC 160.

In some embodiments, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 directly provides actionable RF power levels (e.g., via RF TX 178) to one or more power amplifiers 108 and beamforming IC. Do not use 109 (or use a beamforming IC if phase-shifting is not required, for example, when only a single antenna 210 is used to transmit power transfer signals to a wireless power receiver). Bypassing)

In some embodiments, one or more power amplifiers 108 direct RF signals to antenna zones 290 for transmission to wireless power receivers authorized to receive wirelessly delivered power from the RF charging pad 100. provided to. In some embodiments, each antenna zone 290 is coupled with a respective PA 108 (e.g., antenna zone 290-1 is coupled with PA 108-1, antenna zone 290-N ) is combined with PA(108-N)). In some embodiments, multiple antenna zones are each associated with the same set of PAs 108 (e.g., all PAs 108 are associated with each antenna zone 290). The various arrangements and combinations of PAs 108 to antenna zones 290 allow the RF charging pad 100 to sequentially or selectively activate different antenna zones for use in transmitting wireless power to a wireless power receiver. The most efficient antenna zone 290 is determined (as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 9A-9B, 10, and 11A-11E). In some embodiments, one or more power amplifiers 108 also communicate with CPU subsystem 170 to provide output power provided by PAs 108 to the antenna zone of RF charging pad 100. Let the CPU 202 make the measurements.

FIG. 1B shows that, in some embodiments, antenna zone 290 of RF charging pad 100 includes one or more antennas 210A-N. In some embodiments, each antenna zone of the multiple antenna zones includes one or more antennas 210 (e.g., antenna zone 290-1 includes one antenna 210-A, Antenna zone 290-N includes multiple antennas 210). In some embodiments, the number of antennas included in each of the antenna zones is dramatically defined based on various parameters, such as the location of the wireless power receiver on the RF charging pad 100. For example, the antenna zones include one or more of the meandering line antennas, which will be described in detail below. In some embodiments, each antenna zone 290 may include different types of antennas (e.g., meandering line antennas and loop antennas), and in other embodiments, each antenna zone 290 may be identical. may include a single antenna of a type (e.g., all antenna zones 290 include one meandering line antenna), and in another embodiment, the antenna zones may include a single antenna of the same type. It may include some antenna zones and some antenna zones containing different types of antennas. Additionally, antenna zones will be described in additional detail below.

In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 may include temperature monitoring circuitry in communication with CPU subsystem 170 to ensure that RF charging pad 100 is within an acceptable temperature range. For example, if it is determined that the RF charging pad 100 has reached the critical temperature, operation of the RF charging pad 100 may be temporarily suspended until the RF charging pad 100 falls below the critical temperature. You can.

Such an integrated circuit, by including the components shown for RF power transmitter circuit 160 on a single chip (FIG. 1B), makes operation of the integrated circuit more efficient and faster (and with lower latency). ) can be managed, thereby helping to improve user complaints about charging pads managed by these integrated circuits. For example, RF power transmitter circuit 160 can be built more inexpensively, has a smaller physical footprint, and is simpler to install. Additionally, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2A, the RF power transmitter circuit 160 is configured to ensure that only authorized receivers can receive power delivered wirelessly from the RF charging pad 100, may include a secure element module 282 (FIG. 2B) or a secure element module 234 (e.g., included in encryption block 176 shown in FIG. 1B) used with receiver 104 ( Figure 1b).

1C, a block diagram of a charging pad 294 according to some embodiments is shown. Charging pad 294 is an example of charging pad 100 (FIG. 1A), but one or more components included in charging pad 100 are not included in charging pad 294 for ease of description and illustration.

Charging pad 294 includes an RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, one or more power amplifiers 108, and a transmitter antenna array 290 with multiple antenna zones. Each of these components has been described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. Additionally, the charging pad 294 is disposed between the power amplifiers 108 and the antenna array 290 and has a switch 295 having a plurality of switches 297A, 297-B,...297-N. Includes. Switch 295 is configured to switchably connect one or more antenna zones of antenna array 290 and one or more power amplifiers 108 in response to control signals provided by RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160. It is composed of:

To achieve this, each switch 297 is coupled to a different antenna zone of the antenna array 290 (e.g., provides a signal path to a different antenna zone). For example, switch 297-A may be coupled to the first antenna zone 290-1 (FIG. 1B) of the antenna array 290, and switch 297-B may be coupled to the first antenna zone 290-1 of the antenna array 290. 2 It can be combined with the antenna zone 290-2, and the rest can also be combined in the same way. Each of the plurality of switches 297-A, 297-B, ...297-N, once closed, each power amplifier 108 (or multiple power amplifiers 108) and the antenna array 290 ) creates a unique path between each antenna zone. Each unique path through switch 295 is used to selectively provide RF signals to specific antenna zones of antenna array 290. Two or more of the multiple switches 297-A, 297-B,...297-N can be closed simultaneously, thereby creating multiple unique paths to the antenna array 290 that can be utilized simultaneously. do.

In some embodiments, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 is coupled to switch 29 and configured to control the operation of a number of switches 297-A, 297-B,...297-N. (shown as “Control Out” signal in Figures 1A and 1C). For example, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 may close first switch 297-A while leaving other switches open. In another example, the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 may close first switch 297-A and second switch 297-B and keep the other switches open (in various other combinations and configuration is possible). Additionally, the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 is coupled to one or more power amplifiers 108 and generates an appropriate RF signal (e.g., an “RF out” signal) and transmits RF output to the one or more power amplifiers 108. It is configured to provide a signal. One or more power amplifiers 108 are then configured to provide an RF signal to one or more antenna zones of antenna array 290 via switch 295, thereby switching switches 297 within switch 295. ) is closed by the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160.

For further explanation, as will be described in some embodiments below, the charging pad may use different antenna zones to produce test power transmission signals and/or regular power transmission signals, e.g., based on the location of the receiver on the charging pad. It is configured to transmit. Accordingly, once a particular antenna zone is selected for transmitting test signals or regular power signals, a control signal is transmitted from RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 to switch 295, thereby causing at least one switch 297 to close. do. In doing so, the RF signal from at least one power amplifier 108 may be provided to a particular antenna zone using a unique path created by at least one switch 297 that is currently closed.

In some embodiments, switch 297 may be part of (e.g., part of) antenna array 290. Alternatively, in some embodiments, switch 295 may be separate from antenna array 290 (e.g., switch 295 may be a separate component, or, like power amplifier(s) 108, may be part of another component). It should be noted that any switch design capable of accomplishing the above may be used, and that the switch 295 design shown in Figure 1C is merely one example.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating specific components of the RF charging pad 100, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 includes RF power transmitter IC 160 (and components included therein, such as those described above with reference to FIGS. 1A-1B), (CPU subsystem ( memory 206 (which may be included as part of the RF power transmitter IC 160), such as non-volatile memory 206 which is part of 170), and one or more components interconnecting these components (sometimes referred to as a chipset). Includes communication buses 208. In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 includes one or more sensor(s) 212 (as will be described below). In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 includes one or more output devices, such as one or more indicator lights, a sound card, a speaker, a small display displaying text information, and error codecs. In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 uses a location detection device, such as a global positioning satellite (GPS) or other geo-location receiver, to determine the location of RF charging pad 100. Includes.

In some embodiments, one or more sensor(s) 212 may include one or more thermal radiation sensors, ambient temperature sensors, humidity sensors, IR sensors, occupancy sensors (e.g., RFID sensors), and ambient light sensors. Includes sensors, motion detectors, accelerometers and/or gyroscopes.

Memory 206 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR SRAM, or other random access solid state memory devices, and optionally, for example, one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices. devices, including non-volatile memory, such as one or more flash memory devices or one or more other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 206, or alternatively non-volatile memory within memory 206, includes non-transitory computer-readable storage media. In some embodiments, memory 206 or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 206 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof: do.

· Operational logic 216, which includes procedures for processing various basic system services and executing hardware-dependent tasks;

Coupled to and/or connected to remote devices (e.g., remote sensors, transmitters, receivers, servers, mapping memories, etc.) with wireless communication component(s) 204 a communication module 218 that communicates;

A sensor module 220 that acquires and processes sensor data (together with sensor(s) 212), for example, to determine the presence, speed, and/or position of an object adjacent to the RF charging pad 100. ;

ㆍ Power to generate and transmit power transmission signals (together with the antenna zones 290 and the antennas 210 each included therein), including but not limited to forming energy pocket(s) at a given location. Wave generation module 222 - The power wave generation module 222 may be used to modify the transmission characteristics used to transmit power transmission signals by individual antenna zones;

ㆍDatabase (224);

· A secure element module 234 that determines whether the wireless power receiver is authorized to receive power delivered wirelessly from the RF charging pad; and

· Antenna zone selection and tuning, which coordinates the various antenna zones with the process of transmitting test power transmission signals to determine which antenna zone or antenna zones should be used to wirelessly transport power to various wireless power receivers. Module 237 (described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 9A-9B, 100 and 11A-11E).

The database 224 is,

o Sensor information 226, which stores and manages data received, detected and/or transmitted by one or more sensors (e.g., sensors 212 and/or one or more remote sensors);

o Device settings 228, which stores operating settings for the RF charging pad 100 and/or one or more remote devices;

ㅇ Communication protocol information (230) that stores and manages protocol information for one or more protocols (e.g., custom or standard wireless protocols such as ZigBEE, Z-Wave, etc. and/or custom or standard wired protocols such as Ethernet) ); and

ㅇ Mapping data 232, which stores and manages mapping data (e.g., mapping one or more transmission fields)

Including, but not limited to.

Each of the above-described elements (e.g., modules stored in memory 206 of RF charging pad 100) is optionally stored in one or more of the previously described memory devices and performs the above-described function(s). ) corresponds to the instruction set that executes. The above-described modules or programs (e.g., instruction sets) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be selectively combined, or otherwise: Rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 206 optionally stores a subset of the data structures and modules described above.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating a representative receiver device 104 (also referred to as a receiver, power receiver, or wireless power receiver), according to some embodiments. According to some embodiments, receiver device 104 includes one or more processing units (e.g., CPU, ASIC, FPGA, microprocessor, etc.) 252, one or more communication components 254, and memory 256. ), antenna(s) 260, power harvesting circuitry 259, and one or more communication buses 258 interconnecting these components (also referred to as a chip set). In some embodiments, receiver device 104 includes one or more sensor(s) 262, such as one or more sensors 212 described above with reference to FIG. 2A. In some embodiments, receiver device 104 includes an energy storage device 261 that stores energy harvested through power harvesting circuitry 259. In various embodiments, energy storage device 261 includes one or more batteries, one or more capacitors, one or more inductors, etc.

In some embodiments, power harvesting circuit 259 includes one or more rectifier circuits and/or one or more power converters. In some embodiments, power harvesting circuit 259 may include one or more components (e.g., a power converter) configured to convert energy from power waves and/or energy pockets into electrical energy (e.g., electricity). Includes. In some embodiments, power harvesting circuit 259 is configured to power an coupled electronic device, such as a laptop or telephone. In some embodiments, powering the coupled electronic device includes transforming electrical energy from an AC form to a DC form (eg, that can be utilized by the electronic device).

In some embodiments, antenna(s) 260 includes one or more of the serpentine line antennas, described in further detail below.

In some embodiments, receiver device 104 includes one or more output devices, such as one or more indicator lights, a sound card, a speaker, a small display displaying text information, and error codecs. In some embodiments, receiver device 104 includes a location detection device, such as a global positioning satellite (GPS) or other geo-location receiver, that determines the location of receiver device 104. .

In various embodiments, one or more sensor(s) 262 may include one or more thermal radiation sensors, ambient temperature sensors, humidity sensors, IR sensors, occupancy sensors (e.g., RFID sensors), and ambient light sensors. Includes sensors, motion detectors, accelerometers and/or gyroscopes.

Communication component(s) 254 enable communication to occur between receiver 104 and one or more communication networks. In some embodiments, communication component(s) 254 may support various custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100 .11a, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.), custom or standard wired protocols (e.g., Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.), and/or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. This allows data communication.

Communication component(s) 254 may support, for example, various custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100. 11a, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.) and/or any of a variety of custom or standard wired protocols (e.g., Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.) or any communication protocols that have not yet been developed as of the filing date of this document. Includes hardware capable of data communication using other suitable communication protocols.

Memory 256 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR SRAM or other random access solid state memory devices, and optionally, for example, one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disks. storage devices, including non-volatile memory, such as one or more flash memory devices or one or more other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 256, or alternatively non-volatile memory within memory 256, includes non-transitory computer-readable storage media. In some embodiments, memory 256 or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of memory 256 stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof: do.

· Operational logic 266, which includes procedures for processing various basic system services and executing hardware-dependent tasks;

coupled to and/or with remote devices (e.g., remote sensors, transmitters, receivers, servers, mapping memories, etc.) with communication component(s) 254 a communication module 268 that communicates;

Sensor data (in conjunction with sensor(s) 262), for example, to determine the presence, speed and/or position of the receiver 103, the RF charging pad 100 or an object adjacent to the receiver 103 A sensor module 270 that acquires and processes;

• Receive energy (e.g., with antenna(s) 260 and/or power harvesting circuitry 259) from power waves and/or energy pockets; Optionally, convert energy (e.g., to direct current) (e.g., with power harvesting circuitry 259); transfer energy to coupled electronic devices; a wireless power-receiving module 272 (together with an energy storage device 261) to selectively store energy;

ㆍDatabase (274); and

A secure element module 282 that provides identification information to the RF charging pad 100 (e.g., the RF charging pad 100 determines whether the wireless power receiver 104 is authorized to receive wirelessly delivered power). identification information is used to make the decision).

The database 274 is,

o Sensor information 276, which stores and manages data received, detected and/or transmitted by one or more sensors (e.g., sensors 262 and/or one or more remote sensors);

o Device settings 278, which stores operating settings for the receiver 103, the coupled electronic device, and/or one or more remote devices; and

ㅇ Communication protocol information (280) that stores and manages protocol information for one or more protocols (e.g., custom or standard wireless protocols such as ZigBEE, Z-Wave, etc. and/or custom or standard wired protocols such as Ethernet) )cast

Including, but not limited to.

Each of the above-described elements (e.g., modules stored in memory 256 of receiver 104) is optionally stored in one or more of the previously described memory devices and performs the above-described function(s). Corresponds to the set of instructions being executed. The above-described modules or programs (e.g., instruction sets) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be selectively combined, or otherwise , are rearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 256 optionally stores a subset of the data structures and modules described above. Additionally, memory 256 may optionally include additional devices not described above, such as an identification module that identifies the device type of the connected device (e.g., a device type for an electronic device coupled with receiver 104). Stores modules and data structures.

3A to 8, an embodiment of the RF charging pad 100 including a component (e.g., a load pick) that modifies impedance values at various antennas of the RF charging pad 100. are shown, and a description of the antenna comprising conductive lines forming a meandering line pattern is provided with reference to these figures.

As shown in FIG. 3A , some embodiments include an RF charging pad 100 that includes load picks 106 to modify impedance values at various antennas of the RF charging pad 100. In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 includes one or more antenna elements, each of the one or more antenna elements being connected to each power amplifier switch circuit 103 at a first end and each adaptive switch circuit 103 at a second end. Powered or fed by a load terminal 102 (additional details and descriptions of one or more antenna elements are provided below with reference to FIGS. 3B-3C).

In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 includes (or is in communication with) central processing unit 110 (also referred to herein as processor 110). In some embodiments, processor 110 manages the operation of RF charging pad 100 and is included as a single integrated circuit, such as CPU 202 shown in FIG. 2B, as a component of RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160. It is a part of a circuit. In some embodiments, processor 110 controls RF signal frequencies and selects a load (e.g., an ASIC or variable resistor, to generate various impedance values) or adaptive load 106. ) is configured to control the impedance value at each of the adaptive load terminals 102) by communicating with ). In some embodiments, load pick 106 is an electromechanical switch installed in an open or shorted state.

In some embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., internally or externally, such as a remote installed on top of the charging pad 100, which may be integrated within the housing of a streaming media device or projector). A device (including a receiver as an attached component) receives energy transferred from one or more RF antenna elements of the charging pad 100 to the receiver 104 for charging a battery and/or directly powering an electronic device. Use it.

In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 is configured to have two or more input terminals that receive power (from a power amplifier (PA)) and two or more output or adaptive load terminals 102. In some embodiments, a specific zone of the RF charging pad 100 (e.g., below where the electronic device to be charged (with an RF receiver 104 internally or externally connected) is installed on the charging pad) Adaptive load terminals 102 (zones containing deployed antenna elements) are optimized to maximize the power received by receiver 104. For example, if CPU 110 receives an indication that an electronic device with an internally or externally connected RF receiver 104 has been installed on pad 100 within a particular zone 105, CPU 110 may ) Adapt the antenna element set to maximize the power delivered to the antenna. Adapting a set of antenna elements may include the CPU 110 instructing the load pick 106 to test various impedance values for the adaptive load terminals 102 associated with the antenna element set. For example, the impedance value for a particular conductive line in a given antenna element is the complex value Z = A+jB (A is the real part of the impedance value and B is the imaginary part, e.g. 0+j0, 1000+ j0, 0+j50, or 25+j75, etc.), and the load pick adjusts the impedance value so that the amount of energy transferred from the antenna element set to the RF receiver 104 is maximized. In some embodiments, adapting the set of antenna elements may also or alternatively cause the CPU 110 to adjust the set of antenna elements to various settings until the frequency at which the maximum amount of energy is delivered to the RF receiver 104 is found. It involves transmitting RF signals at frequencies. In some embodiments, adjusting the impedance value and/or frequencies at which a set of antenna elements transmit causes a change in the amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver 104. In this manner, the amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver 104 is maximized (e.g., to deliver at least 75% of the energy transmitted to the receiver 104 by the antenna elements of the pad 100) (in some embodiments). In examples, adjusting the impedance values and/or frequencies allows up to 98% of the transmitted energy to be received by receiver 104) at any particular point on pad 100 where RF receiver 104 is installed. can be received.

In some embodiments, the input circuit including power amplifier 108 may further include a device capable of changing the frequencies of the input signal, or a device capable of operating at multiple frequencies simultaneously, such as an oscillator or frequency modulator. It can be included.

In some embodiments, CPU 110 determines whether the amount of energy delivered to RF receiver 104 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., receiving more than 75% of the transmitted energy, up to 98%), or The maximum amount of energy being delivered to the RF receiver 104 by testing the transmission with impedance and/or frequency values and selecting the combination of impedance and frequency that results in the maximum energy being delivered to the RF receiver 104. Make a decision (this will be explained below with reference to adaptive techniques)

In some embodiments, RF signal(s) radiating from RF antenna(s) 120 of charging pad 100 are used to determine which combination of frequency and impedance results in maximum energy transfer to RF receiver 104. An adaptive technique is employed to adaptively adjust the impedance values and/or frequencies of . For example, the processor 110 connected to the charging pad 100 may be connected to an RF charging pad (e.g., zone 105 in FIG. 3A) that includes one or more RF antenna elements that transmit RF signals. By testing different frequencies (within the allowed operating frequency range or ranges) at a given location of the RF charging pad 100 (such as a zone or zone of 100), adaptive optimization for better performance is attempted. For example, a simple optimization could be to open/disconnect or close/short-circuit each load terminal and ground (in some embodiments relays are used to switch these states) and have the RF antennas in the zone transmit at various frequencies. will be. In some embodiments, for each combination of relay state (open or short) and frequency, the energy delivered to receiver 104 is monitored and compared to the energy delivered when using other combinations. The combination that results in maximum energy transfer to receiver 104 is selected and used to continue transmission of one or more RF signals to receiver 104. In some embodiments, the adaptive techniques described above may be used to help maximize the amount of energy delivered by the RF charging pad 100 to the receiver 104, see FIGS. 9A-9B, 10, and 11A-11E. This is performed as part of the methods described below.

As another example, if five frequencies within the ISM band are used by the pad 100 to transmit radio frequency waves and the load pick 106 is an electromechanical relay that switches between open and short states, the adaptive technique Employing is to test combinations of frequencies and impedance values for each antenna element 120 or for a zone of antenna elements 120 and determine the combination that results in the best performance (i.e., the maximum power at receiver 104). This involves selecting (10) a combination that results in the maximum power being received or delivered from the pad (100) to the RF receiver (104).

The ISM bands (industrial, scientific and medical radio bands) refer to a portion of the wireless spectrum or group of radio bands designated internationally for the use of RF energy for scientific, medical and industrial requirements rather than for communications. In some embodiments, all ISM bands (e.g., 40 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, 24 GHz, 60 GHz, 122 GHz, and 245 GHz) may be employed as part of the adaptive technique. . As one specific example, if charging pad 100 is operating in the 5.8 GHz band, employing an adaptive technique could involve transmitting RF signals and adjusting their frequency in predetermined increments (e.g., 50 MHz increments, So, it includes frequencies such as 5.75GHz, 5.755GHz, 5.76GHz, etc. In some embodiments, the predetermined increments may be 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 MHz increments or any other suitable increments.

In some embodiments, the antenna element 120 of pad 100 has two frequency bands, for example, a first frequency band with a center frequency of 915 MHz and a second frequency band with a center frequency of 5.8 GHz. It can be configured to operate within individual frequency bands. In these embodiments, employing an adaptive technique involves transmitting RF signals, adjusting the frequency in a first preset increment until a first threshold for a first frequency band is reached, and adjusting the frequency in a first preset increment until a first threshold for a first frequency band is reached. and adjusting the frequency in a predetermined second increment (which may or may not be the same as the predetermined first increment) until a second threshold for the band is reached. For example, antenna elements 120 may be configured to transmit at 902 MHz, 915 MHz, and 928 MHz (in the first frequency band) and then at 5.795 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 5.805 GHz (in the second frequency band). It is composed. Additional details regarding antenna elements capable of operating at multiple frequencies will be provided below with reference to FIGS. 14A, 14B and 15.

3B-3C, high-level block diagrams showing a portion of an RF charging pad are shown, according to some embodiments.

3B shows a single TX antenna 120, which may be part of an antenna zone containing either one of such antennas 120 or an array of such antennas 120, all of which may be connected to the charging pad 100 shown in FIG. 3A. ) is a schematic diagram of ). In some embodiments, TX antenna 120 is also referred to as TX antenna element 120. In some situations, the RF receiving unit/antenna (RX) (or a device comprising the receiving unit 104 as an internally or externally connected component) may be configured to form a meandering line arrangement (as shown in FIG. 3B). It is installed on the uppermost part of the part of the pad 100 containing the TX antenna 120 (including the conductive line).

In some embodiments, the receiver 104 has no direct contact with the metal conductive line of a single TX antenna 120 (i.e., in the near-field zone) coupled to the TX antenna 120.

In some embodiments, the TX antenna 120 is labeled 121 in FIG. 3B (which may be one of the terminals 102 in FIG. 3A) and 121 (which may be one of the PA switch circuits 103 in FIG. 3B). It has two or more terminals (or ports) labeled as 123. In some embodiments, a source of power (from a power amplifier or PA) is connected to terminal 123 and an adaptive load (e.g., an electromechanical switch or ASIC) is connected to terminal 121. In some embodiments, the adaptive load is generally formed as a complex impedance that can have real and imaginary parts (i.e., the complex adaptive load is an active device (e.g., integrated circuits or chips made of transistors) or can be formed using passive devices formed by inductors/capacitors and resistors). In some embodiments, the complex impedance is given by the equation Z = A+jB (eg, 0+j0, 100+j0, 0+50j, etc.), as described above.

In some embodiments, receiver 104 may be considered a third terminal. In order to eliminate wasted energy, the receiver 104 must be configured to absorb the maximum amount (e.g., 75% or more, up to 98%) of the induced power traveling from the terminal 104 toward the terminal 121. In some embodiments, processor 110 operates through a feedback loop (e.g., by exchanging messages using a short-range communication protocol for message exchange, such as BLE (BLUETOOTH low energy)). It is connected to the receiver 104. In some alternative embodiments, the feedback loop from the receiver back to the CPU in the transmitter is at the same frequency as the power transmission signals transmitted by pad 100, rather than using a separate communication protocol and/or a different frequency band. Band is available.

In some embodiments, the messages exchanged with the feedback loop may be used to indicate the amount of energy received and, alternatively or additionally, may indicate an increase or decrease in the amount of energy received relative to a previous measurement. In some embodiments, the processor 110 monitors the amount of energy received by the receiver 104 at a specific point in time and controls/optimizes the adaptive load to maximize the power delivered from the terminal 123 to the terminal 121. do. In some embodiments, monitoring the amount of delivered energy may include (i) measuring the amount of energy of the receiver 104 (or the electronic device on which the receiver 104 is placed), which indicates the amount of energy received by the receiver 104 at any particular point in time; (ii) monitoring the amount of energy retained in the conductive line at terminal 121 (instead of absorbed by receiver 104); . In some embodiments both of these monitoring techniques are used, while in other embodiments one or the other of these monitoring techniques may be used.

In some embodiments, the receiver 104 (i.e., an electronic device that includes the receiver 104 as an internally or externally connected component) may have a conductive line forming a meandering pattern on each antenna element 120. may be placed anywhere on the top of the charging pad 100 (covering the entire area), and the processor 110 continuously monitors the amount of energy delivered (e.g., to maximize the energy delivered to the receiver 104). Continue making any necessary adjustments (e.g. to impedance and/or frequency).

To assist in explaining the operation of the charging pad 100 and the antenna element 120 included therein, the transmit antenna element 120 shown in FIG. 3B is divided into two sections. That is, 1) section 125 starts from the terminal 123 of the antenna element 120 and extends to the edge of the receiver 104, and 2) section 127 extends to the remainder of the transmit antenna element 120 and the terminal ( 121). The blocks will be described in more detail below with respect to Figure 3C. It should be noted that sections 125 and 127 are functional descriptions used for illustrative purposes and are not intended to specify a particular implementation of dividing the antenna element into separate sections.

Referring to Figure 3C, a block diagram of the TX antenna 120 is shown. In some embodiments, an effective signal starting at the point dividing sections 125 and 127 and ending at the connection of the TX antenna 120 to the adaptive load 106 (e.g., terminal 121) The impedance value (Z _effective ) will change based on the location of the receiver 104 on the TX antenna 120 and based on the selected load provided by the adaptive load 106 at the terminal 121. In some embodiments, the energy transmitted between the terminal 123 and the receiver 104 reaches a maximum (e.g., more than 70% of the energy transmitted by the antenna element of the pad 100, e.g. , 98% is received by RF receiver 104), in a manner such that energy transfer from terminal 123 to terminal 121 is kept to a minimum (e.g., antenna elements of pad 100). Less than 25% of the energy transmitted by is not received by the RF receiver 104, and about 2% of the energy only reaches the terminal 121 or is reflected back) to tune the Z _effective (With processor 110, FIG. 3A) the load selected by adaptive load 106 is optimized.

In embodiments where an electro-mechanical switch (e.g., a mechanical relay) is used to switch between the open and short states, the switch is switched from the open state to the short state (e.g., ground plane) for a particular antenna element 120. (short-circuited), the impedance value (Z _effective ) in each terminal 121 for a specific antenna element 120 drops to a value close to 0 (alternatively, when switching from the short-circuit state to the open state, The impedance value jumps to a value close to infinity). In some embodiments, see FIG. 3A to test various combinations of impedance values and RF signal frequencies to maximize energy delivered to the RF receiver (e.g., receiver 104, FIGS. 3A-3C). The frequency adaptive technique described in is employed. In some embodiments, an integrated circuit (IC or chip) may be used as the adaptive load 106 instead of an electromechanical switch. In such an embodiment, adaptive load 106 is configured to adjust the impedance value along a range of values, such as between 0 and infinity. In some embodiments, the IC may include adaptive/reconfigurable RF active and/or passive elements (e.g., , transistors and transmission lines). In some embodiments, the impedance generated by the IC (as described above with reference to Figure 3A) and controlled via firmware and based on information from the feedback loop may be adjusted to a random load value selected from the Smith Chart. (or the IC can be designed to generate specific loads that cover some of the values that form the Smith chart). In some embodiments, this IC is separate from the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 (FIG. 1B) used to manage the overall operation of pad 100, and this other IC is separate from the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160. Communicating allows the circuit 160 to control adjustments to the impedance value. The Smith chart may be sampled and stored in memory (e.g., as a lookup table) where it can be accessed by processor 110, which may use the stored Smith chart to determine various impedance values for testing. You can use lookup. For example, the integrated circuit may be used to test combinations of various RF transmission frequencies to determine the combination of values that maximizes the energy delivered to the receiver 104 (examples of maximum energy transfer are described above). , may be configured to select a predetermined number of complex values (e.g., 5j to 10j, 100+0j, or 0+50j, etc.) for the impedance value.

In some embodiments, a transmitter or charging pad with two or more antenna elements 120 of FIG. 1B with one adaptive load 106, each configured to operate in two or more distinct frequency bands simultaneously. It can be. For example, a first antenna element operates at a first frequency or frequency band, a second antenna element operates at a second frequency or frequency band, a third antenna element operates at a third frequency or frequency band, and The four antenna elements operate at a fourth frequency or frequency band, and these four frequency bands are separate from each other. Therefore, a transmitter with two or more antenna elements 120 can be used as a multi-band transmitter.

FIG. 3D is a simplified circuit block diagram showing energy flow within sections of an antenna element transmitting an RF signal, according to some embodiments. References to part 1 and part 2 in Figure 3d refer to the sections shown in Figures 3b and 3c, in particular, part 1 corresponds to section 125 and part 2 corresponds to section 127.

As shown in Figure 3D, the effective impedance (Z _effective ) for the transmit antenna element 120 is that of the receiver 104 (which, in some embodiments, forms a meandering line pattern, described in more detail below). It is formed by a portion of the conductive line behind and an adaptive load (labeled as section 127 in FIGS. 3B and 3C). In some embodiments, by optimizing, the load (Z _effective ) will be tuned so that the energy transferred from the PA to the receiver 104 is maximized and the energy remaining in the conductive line by the time it reaches the adaptive load is maximized. Energy is minimized (described above).

4 is a schematic diagram of an antenna element with two terminals, according to some embodiments. As shown in Figure 4, the input or first terminal of antenna element 120 (illustrated as terminal 123 with reference to Figures 3B-3D) is connected to a power amplifier 108 (see Figure 3B-above). The output or second terminal (described as terminal 121 with reference to 3d) is connected to the load pick 106, which allows configuring an adaptive load. In other words, in some embodiments, the antenna element 120 is fed by the power amplifier 108 from the first terminal, and the antenna element 120 is configured to use a mechanical device (e.g., to switch between a short state and an open state). and terminates at a second terminal in an adaptive load (such as a relay).

In some embodiments, charging pad 100 (FIG. 3A) is made of single-layer or multi-layer copper antenna elements 120, with conductive lines forming a meandering line pattern. In some embodiments, each of these layers has a solid ground plane (e.g., bottom layer) as one of its layers. As one example, the solid ground plane for the transmitting antenna element shown in Figure 4 is shown and labeled.

In some embodiments, RF charging pad 100 (and individual antenna elements 120 included therein) may be used to display a projector, laptop, or networked streaming media player (e.g., streaming television shows). and other content embedded in home electronic devices, such as digital media players (such as ROKU devices connected to a television). For example, by embedding the RF charging pad 100 within a consumer electronic device, a user can simply install a peripheral device, such as a projector or streaming media player on top of the projector (e.g., a projector or streaming media player). A remote for the player (including each receiver 104, such as the example structure for the receiver 104 shown in FIGS. 7A-7D), a streaming media player, and a charging pad 100 included therewith, Energy may be transmitted to a receiver 104 connected internally or externally to the remote, and the energy is harvested by the receiver 104 for charging the remote.

In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 may be included in a USB dongle as a stand-alone charging device on which the device to be charged is installed. In some embodiments, the antenna elements 120 may be installed near the top surface, side surface, and/or bottom surface of the USB dongle, such that the device to be charged may be installed at various locations in contact with the USB dongle. (e.g., headphones being charged can be positioned on top of the USB dongle, beneath the USB dongle, or hanging above the USB dongle and still receive RF transmission from the built-in RF charging pad 100). can receive).

In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 is integrated into furniture, such as a desk, chair, or countertop, such that a user places them on top of a surface containing the integrated RF charging pad 100. A simple installation makes it easy to charge their devices (e.g., devices containing the respective receivers 104 as internally or externally connected components).

Referring to Figure 5, a flow diagram of a method 500 of charging an electronic device via RF power transmission is provided. Initially, it includes at least one antenna that transmits one or more RF signals or waves (e.g., antenna element 120, FIGS. 3B-3D and 4), i.e., an antenna designed to transmit RF electromagnetic waves. A transmitter is provided (502). In some embodiments, an array of RF antenna elements 120 are arranged adjacent to one another, either in a single plane, in a stack, or in a combination thereof, to form the RF charging pad 100. In some embodiments, each of the RF antenna elements 120 includes an antenna input terminal (e.g., the first terminal 123 described above with reference to FIG. 4) and an antenna output terminal (e.g., FIG. It includes the second terminal 121 described above with reference to 4.

In some embodiments, a receiver (e.g., receiver 104, FIGS. 3A-3D) is provided. The receiver also includes (510) one or more RF antennas for receiving RF signals. In some embodiments, the receiver may include at least one antenna that converts 518 one or more RF signals into usable power to charge a device containing the receiver 104, either internally or externally connected. Includes. In use, receiver 104 is positioned 506 within near-field radio frequency range of at least one antenna. For example, the receiver may be installed on top of at least one RF antenna or on top of a surface adjacent to the at least one RF antenna, such as the surface of charging pad 100.

Then, one or more RF signals are transmitted through at least one RF antenna. The system is monitored 512/514 (described above) to determine the amount of energy transferred via one or more RF signals from the at least one antenna to the RF receiver. In some embodiments, this monitoring 512 occurs at the transmitter, and in other embodiments the monitoring 514 occurs via a back channel (e.g., via a wireless data connection using WIFI or BLUETOOTH). This takes place at the receiver, which sends data back to the transmitter. In some embodiments, the transmitter and receiver exchange messages over a back channel, these messages indicating transmitted and/or received energy to inform the adjustments made in step 516.

In some embodiments, the characteristics of the transmitter are adaptively adjusted in step 516 to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the at least one RF antenna to the receiver. In some embodiments, this characteristic is the frequency of one or more RF signals and/or the impedance of the transmitter. In some embodiments, the impedance of the transmitter is the impedance of the adjustable load. Additionally, in some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to control the impedance of the adaptive load. Additional details and examples regarding impedance and frequency adjustment are provided above.

In some embodiments, the transmitter has a power input configured to be electrically coupled to a power source and at least one processor (e.g., processor 110, FIG. 3A-) configured to control at least one electrical signal transmitted to the antenna. Includes 3b). In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to control the frequency of at least one signal transmitted to the antenna.

In some embodiments, the transmitter further includes a power amplifier electrically coupled between the power input and the antenna input terminal (e.g., PA 108, FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 4). Some embodiments include an adaptive load electrically coupled to the antenna output terminal (e.g., terminal 121, FIGS. 3A-3C and 4). In some embodiments, the at least one processor dynamically adjusts the impedance of the adaptive load based on the monitored amount of energy delivered from the at least one antenna to the RF receiver. In some embodiments, at least one processor simultaneously controls the frequency of at least one signal transmitted to the antenna.

In some embodiments, each RF antenna of the transmitter has a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern, a first end of the conductive line for receiving a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors. It includes a first terminal (e.g., terminal 123) and a second terminal (e.g., terminal 121) that is separate from the first terminal and is located at a second end of the conductive line. The terminal is coupled to one or more processor-controlled components (e.g., adaptive load 106) and allows the impedance value of the conductive line to be modified. In some embodiments, the conductive line is disposed on or within the first antenna layer of the multilayered substrate. Additionally, in some embodiments, the second antenna is disposed on or within the second antenna layer of the multilayered substrate. Finally, some embodiments provide a ground plane disposed on or within a ground plane layer of a multilayered substrate.

In some embodiments, the method described above with reference to Figure 5 is implemented in conjunction with the method described below with reference to Figures 9A-9B, 10, and 11A-11E. For example, operations to modify/adjust impedance values are performed after determining antenna zones (“determined antenna zones”) to use to transmit wireless power to the receiver, and then connecting antennas within the determined antenna zones. Impedance values in the determined antenna zones are adjusted to ensure that the maximum amount of power is transmitted wirelessly to the receiver.

6A-6E are schematic diagrams showing various configurations for individual antenna elements within an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIGS. 6A-6E, the RF charging pad 100 (FIG. 3A) may include an antenna element 120 made using different structures.

For example, Figures 6A-6B illustrate example structures for an antenna element 120 that includes multiple layers each containing conductive lines formed in a meandering line pattern. The conductive lines in each layer have the same (FIG. 6B) or different (FIG. 6A) width (or length, or trace gauge, or pattern) relative to the other conductive lines in the multilayer antenna element 120. Each trace space between them, etc.). In some embodiments, the meandering line pattern may be designed to have various lengths and/or widths at different locations on the pad 100 (or individual antenna element 120), and the meandering line pattern may be designed to have various lengths and/or widths on the pad 100 (or individual antenna element 120). ) of or individual antenna elements 120 may be printed on two or more substrates. This configuration of meandering line patterns allows for more degrees of freedom and therefore wider operating bandwidths and/or combination ranges of the individual antenna elements 120 and RF charging pad 100. More complex antenna structures can be built.

Additional example structures are provided in Figures 6C-6E. 6C shows an example structure of an antenna element 120 that includes multiple layers of conductive lines forming a meandering line pattern with sliding coverage (in some embodiments, each meandering line pattern has , are placed on different substrates such that a portion of the first meandering line pattern on each substrate overlaps the second meandering line pattern on the other substrate (i.e., sliding coverage), and this configuration provides coverage over the entire width of the antenna structure. 6D shows an example structure for antenna element 120 that includes conductive lines of different lengths at each turn in a meandering line pattern (in some embodiments, Using different lengths at each turn helps extend the coupling range of the antenna elements and/or increases the operating bandwidth of the RF charging pad 100), Figure 6e shows two adjacent meandering line patterns. Shows an example structure for antenna element 120 that includes a conductive line forming (in some embodiments, having a conductive line forming two adjacent meandering line patterns expands the width of antenna element 120 helps to do so). All of these examples are non-limiting, and any number of combinations and layered structures can be made using the example structures described above.

7A-7D, schematic diagrams of antenna elements for an RF receiver are shown, according to some embodiments. In particular, FIGS. 7A-7D show (i) a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern (behind the conductive line is a solid ground plane or Examples of structures for RF receivers (e.g., receiver 104, FIGS. 3A-3D and 4) are shown, including a reflector (which may or may not be present). 7C-7D, additional examples of structures for an RF receiver with dual-polarity and conductive lines forming a meandering line pattern are shown. Each of the structures shown in FIGS. 7A-7D can be used to provide a different coupling range, coupling orientation and/or bandwidth for each RF reception. As a non-limiting example, if the antenna element shown in FIG. 7A is used in a receiver, a miniature receiver coupled to the pad 100 in only one direction can be designed/built. As another non-limiting example, if the antenna element shown in FIGS. 7B-7D is used in a receiver, the receiver may be coupled to pad 100 in either orientation.

Below, other examples and descriptions of meandering line patterns for antenna elements are provided. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an RF charging pad with multiple transmitting antenna elements (unit cells) forming a large RF charging/transmitting pad, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 100 is formed as an array of adjacent antenna elements 120 (the distance between cells can be optimized for best coverage). In some embodiments, if the receiver is installed in a zone/gap between adjacent antenna elements 120, it may be used to optimize energy transfer (e.g., according to the adaptive technique described above with reference to FIG. 3A). The attempt results in an increase in energy transfer above an acceptable threshold level (e.g., 75% or more). In that case, in this situation, adjacent antenna elements are configured to transmit RF waves at full power simultaneously to deliver additional energy to receivers installed at locations between adjacent antenna elements 120 and on the surface of the RF charging pad. do.

In one possible configuration according to some embodiments, port (or terminal) group #1 (FIG. 8) supplies power, and port (or terminal) groups #2 and #3 provide adaptive load (e.g., short circuit). Provides electromechanical relays that move between -circuit and open-circuit. As another example of a suitable configuration, port (or terminal) groups #1, #2, and #3 are connected to the charging pad 100 via a power amplifier (simultaneously or with one group switched at a time, as needed). It can be used to supply power.

In some embodiments, each transmit antenna element 120 of the RF charging pad 100 includes a feeding (PA) terminal and one or more terminals to support adaptive load(s), as described in detail above. Forms individual antenna zones controlled by . In some embodiments, feedback from the receiver helps determine the antenna zone over which the receiver is mounted, and this determination activates that zone (Figure 1C, using switch 295). In situations where the receiver is installed between two or more zones (eg, in a zone/gap between adjacent antenna elements 120), additional adjacent zones may be activated to ensure sufficient energy transfer to the receiver. Additional details regarding determining zones for use in transmitting wireless power to the receiver are provided below with reference to FIGS. 9A-9B, 10 and 11A-11E.

9A-9B are flow diagrams illustrating a method 900 of selectively activating one or more antenna zones (e.g., activating antennas associated therewith) within a near-field charging pad, according to some embodiments. The operations of method 900 include a near-field charging pad (e.g., RF charging pad 100, FIGS. 1B and 2A) or one or more components thereof (e.g., see FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A). It is executed by those described above). In some embodiments, the method 900 corresponds to instructions stored in a computer memory or computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 206 of RF charging pad 100, FIG. 2A).

The near-field charging pad may include one or more processors (e.g., CPU 202, FIG. 1B), wireless communication components (e.g., communication component(s) 204, FIGS. 1A and 2A), and (FIG. 3A- A plurality of antenna zones (e.g., antenna zones 290-1 and 290-N), Figure 1b). In some embodiments, the near-field charging pad includes individual antennas (or unit cells containing antennas, referred to herein as antenna elements) each included in each antenna zone. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the antenna zone 290-1 includes an antenna 210-A. In another example, as shown in FIG. 1B, antenna zone 290-N includes multiple antennas. Antenna zones may be referred to as an antenna group such that a near-field charging pad includes multiple antenna zones or groups, each zone/group comprising at least one of the individual antenna elements (e.g., at least one antenna 210 ) includes. It should be noted that an antenna zone may include any number of antennas, and the number of antennas associated with a particular antenna zone may be modified or adjusted (e.g., RF antennas responsible for managing the operations of near-field charging pad 100). The CPU subsystem of the power transmitter integrated circuit 160 dramatically defines each antenna zone at various times, which will be described in more detail below). In some embodiments, each antenna zone includes the same number of antennas.

In some embodiments, one or more processors are components of a single integrated circuit (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, FIG. 1B) that is used to control the operation of the near-field charging pad. In some embodiments, the wireless communication component and/or one or more processors of the near-field charging pad are external to the near-field charging pad, such as one or more processors of a device incorporating the near-field charging pad. In some embodiments, the wireless communication component is a wireless transceiver (a BLUETOOTH radio, WI-FI radio, etc.) that exchanges communication signals with wireless power receivers.

In some embodiments, the method includes establishing 904 one or more device detection thresholds during a calibration process for a near-field charging pad. In some examples, the calibration process is performed after manufacturing the near-field charging pad and installing various types of devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, connected devices, etc.) on the near-field charging pad. and then measuring the minimum amount of reflected power detected in the antenna zone while transmitting test power transmission signals to various types of devices. In some examples, the first device-specific threshold is established at a value corresponding to a minimum amount of reflected power of 5% or less. In some embodiments, if no antenna zone is capable of meeting the first threshold (because the wireless power receiver is located at the boundary between antenna zones), 2 is used to transmit power to the wireless power receiver. A second device specific threshold is established (as will be described in more detail below) so that a higher second threshold can be used to place the antenna zones. In some embodiments, a plurality of first and second device specific detection thresholds are established for each type of various types of devices and are stored in a memory (e.g., memory 206) associated with the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160. , Figure 2a) these multiple first and second device specific detection thresholds may be stored.

The method 900 includes detecting 906, via a wireless communication component, that a wireless power receiver is within a threshold distance of a near-field charging pad. In some examples, the detection may occur after the near-field charging pad is turned on (eg, powered on). In these examples, the near-field charging pad is configured to determine whether any power receivers are within a threshold distance of the NF charging pad 100 (e.g., within a threshold distance from the NF charging pad 100, e.g., Scans the area around the near-field charging pad (to scan for wireless power receivers placed within 1-1.5 meters). The near-field charging pad uses wireless communication components (e.g., communication component(s) 204, such as a Bluetooth radio, FIG. 2A) to connect wireless communication components (e.g., communication component(s) 204, FIG. 2A) associated with wireless power receivers. 254), scanning is performed on the signals broadcast by FIG. 2b). In some embodiments, the device detection threshold is selected by one or more processors (from the first and second plurality of device detection thresholds described above) after detecting a wireless power receiver within a threshold distance of the near-field charging pad. . For example, the wireless communication component of the wireless power receiver is used to provide information identifying the type of device, e.g., a BLUETOOTH or BLUETOOTH low energy advertising signal containing such information, to a near-field charging pad. In some embodiments, to save energy and extend the life of the near-field charging pad and its components, wireless power is not transmitted until a wireless power receiver within a threshold distance of the near-field charging pad is detected (and, herein The device detection and antenna selection algorithms described in do not start).

In some embodiments, the detection 906 is used to ensure that the wireless power receiver is authorized to receive wirelessly delivered power from a near-field charging pad (e.g., using a secure element module 234, 282). 2A and 2B), and if it is determined that the wireless power receiver is authorized, the method proceeds to operation 908. In this way, the near-field charging pad ensures that only authorized wireless power receivers can receive the wirelessly delivered power and that no device leeches the power transmitted by the near-field charging pad.

The method 900 further includes determining 912 whether a wireless power receiver is installed on a near-field charging pad in response to detecting that the wireless power receiver is within a threshold distance of the near-field charging pad. In some embodiments, this includes transmitting (908) test power transmission signals using each of the multiple antenna zones and monitoring (910) the amount of power reflected from the near-field charging pad while transmitting the test power transmission signals. is achieved by

In some embodiments, if the amount of reflected power does not meet the device detection threshold (e.g., if the amount of reflected power exceeds 20% of the power transmitted with the test power transmission signals), the wireless power receiver may It is determined that it is not installed on the surface (912, no). Based on this determination, the near-field charging pad continues to transmit test power transmission signals using each of the multiple antenna zones in step 914 (i.e., proceeds to step 908). In some embodiments, the operations at 908 and 910 are executed until it is determined that a device detection threshold has been met.

In some embodiments, the amount of reflected power is measured in each antenna zone of multiple antenna zones (e.g., each antenna zone may be associated with a respective ADC/DAC/power detector, such as that shown in FIG. 1B). ) Meanwhile, in other embodiments, the amount of reflected power may be measured using a single component of the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 (e.g., ADC/DAC/power detector). If the amount of reflected power meets the device detection threshold (912, yes), it is determined that the wireless power receiver is installed on the near-field charging pad. For example, if the amount of reflected power is less than or equal to 20% of the amount of power transmitted with the test power transmission signals, the amount of reflected power may meet the device detection threshold. Such results indicate that a sufficient amount of power along with the test power transmission signals were absorbed/captured by the wireless power receiver.

In some embodiments, other types of sensors (e.g., sensor 212, FIG. 2A) may be included within or in communication with the near-field charging pad, thereby allowing the wireless power receiver to be installed on the near-field charging pad. Helps determine the time. For example, in some embodiments, one or more optical sensors (e.g., when light is blocked from a portion of the pad, this may provide an indication that a wireless power receiver has been installed on the pad), one One or more vibration sensors (e.g., if vibration is detected in the pad, this may provide an indication that a wireless power receiver has been installed on the pad), one or more strain gauges (e.g., the pad If the level of strain at the surface of the pad increases, which may provide an indication that a wireless power receiver has been installed on the surface, one or more thermal sensors (e.g., if the temperature at the surface of the pad increases, this may provide an indication that a wireless power receiver has been installed on the surface). , which may provide an indication that a wireless power receiver has been installed on the surface), and/or one or more weighing sensors (e.g., if the weight measured on the surface of the pad increases, this may (which may provide an indication that the receiver is installed on the surface) may be used to assist in making this determination.

In some embodiments, prior to transmitting test power transfer signals, the method includes determining that the power transfer receiver is authorized to receive wirelessly delivered power from a near-field charging pad. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B, wireless power receiver 104 and near-field charging pad 100 include secure element modules 282 and 234, respectively, that are used to perform this authentication process. The inclusion ensures that only authorized receivers can receive wirelessly delivered power from the near-field charging pad.

The method 900 includes, in accordance with a determination that a wireless power receiver is installed on a near-field charging pad, each test power transmission signal having a first set of transmission characteristics by each antenna element included in the plurality of antenna zones. It further includes selectively transmitting (916). In some embodiments, selective or sequential transmission is performed using each antenna zone of multiple antenna zones (918). Selective or sequential transmission refers to the process of selectively activating one antenna zone at a time such that one or more antennas associated with the individual antenna zones transmit test power transmission signals (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 ) provides one or more control signals to the switch 295 to selectively activate different antenna zones).

Referring to FIG. 9B, the method 900 includes transmission of each test power transmission signal (during sequential or selective transmission operations at 916 and/or 918) by at least one specific antenna zone among a plurality of antenna zones. Determine whether the specific power transport parameters associated with meet a specific power-transport criterion (e.g., whether the specific power transport parameters indicate that more than a threshold amount of power has been delivered to the wireless power receiver by at least one specific antenna zone) ( 920). In some embodiments, each power transfer parameter corresponds to an amount of power received by the wireless power receiver based on transmission of each test power transmission signal by each antenna group of the multiple antenna groups.

If it is determined by the one or more processors that the particular power transfer parameter meets the power transfer criteria (920-Yes), the method may further comprise sending a plurality of additional power transfer signals to the wireless power receiver using at least one specific antenna zone. and transmitting, wherein each of the plurality of additional power transmission signals is transmitted with a second set of transmission characteristics separate from the first set. In some embodiments, the second set of power transfer characteristics are determined by adjusting at least one characteristic in the first set of transfer characteristics to increase the amount of power delivered by a particular group of antennas to the wireless power receiver. do. Additionally, in some embodiments, the at least one adjusted characteristic is a frequency or an impedance value (and the frequency and impedance values may be adjusted using the adaptive techniques described above).

The test power transmission signal described above is used to help determine the antenna zone for use in transporting wireless power to the wireless power receiver. In some embodiments, these test power transfer signals are not used by the wireless power receiver to provide power or charging to the wireless power receiver or its associated device. Instead, a number of additional power transmission signals are used to provide power or charging to the wireless power receiver. In this way, the near-field charging pad can maintain resources during the device detection phase (e.g., while transmitting test power transfer signals) until a suitable antenna zone is located for transmission of multiple additional power transfer signals. In that case, method 900 uses test signals (i.e., test power transmission signals having a first set of transmission characteristics) to determine the location of the wireless power receiver and determines the location of the wireless power receiver on the near-field charging pad. Given , power transmission signals can be transmitted using an antenna from the antenna zone most suitable for transmitting. As will be described in more detail below with reference to Figure 10, this process may include a coarse search for antenna zones (e.g., a coarse search may include operations 908-918) and a fine search for antenna zones. (The micro-search may include operations 920-934).

In some embodiments, a power control process (FIG. 11E) is used to help optimize the level of power delivered to the wireless power receiver using selected antenna zones (e.g., power control may be performed using method 900) may be executed after operations 922, 930, or 934 to synchronize the transmission of wireless power using the antenna zones selected during. As part of the power control process, the near-field charging pad receives a power signal received from the wireless power receiver, which is used to determine the level of power wirelessly delivered to the wireless power receiver by the near-field charging pad during transmission of an additional plurality of power transmission signals. , may adjust at least one characteristic in the second set of transmission characteristics based on the information.

Returning to operation 920, it is determined that none of the power transfer parameters associated with the transmission of the test power transfer signals during the sequential or selective transfer operation at 916 (and optionally at 918) meet the power transfer criteria. In response to the decision 920-No, the method 900 selects two or more antenna zones (sometimes referred to herein as 2+ antenna zones) based on their respective power transport parameters. It includes more things to do. This may occur when the wireless power receiver is not in the center of any particular antenna zone (eg, when the receiver is over two or more antenna zones). For example, two or more antenna zones that delivered the highest amount of power to the wireless power receiver during the sequential or selective transmission operation at 916 (and optionally 918) based on their respective power transfer parameters are selected in operation 924. . In this manner, in some embodiments, most efficiently transmit power to the wireless power receiver during operation at 916/918 based on their respective correlation with power transport parameters that are higher than the power transport parameters for other antenna zones. By selecting two or more antenna zones, a fine search for the most efficient antenna zone begins. In these embodiments, each power transfer parameter may be monitored for each antenna zone (with operations 916/918) and then select which of the multiple antenna zones to use for wireless power transfer. To determine which of the above antenna zones to select, these power transfer parameters are compared.

After selecting two or more antenna zones, the method: (i) based on previous transmissions (e.g., based on the amount of reflected power measured from each group of transmitting antennas or based on the level of power received by the wireless power receiver); updating the test power transmission signals by modifying at least one characteristic (e.g., frequency, impedance, amplitude, phase, gain, etc.) of the test power transmission signals (based on feedback received from the wireless power receiver); (ii) transmitting updated test power transmission signals using each of the two or more antenna zones (e.g., the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 may activate the switch 295 to activate the two or more antenna zones ), which provides one or more control signals).

The method 900 further includes determining 928 whether a particular power transfer parameter associated with the transmission of each test power transfer signal updated by a given one of the two or more antenna zones meets a power transfer criterion. In response to a determination (928-Yes) that the specific power transfer parameters associated with the transmission of each test power transfer signal updated by a given one of the two or more antenna zones meet the power transfer criteria, the method 900 may be configured to: and transmitting (930) a plurality of additional power transmission signals to the wireless power receiver using the one of the zones, wherein each of the plurality of additional antenna transmission signals is a second set, separate from the first set. (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 may provide a control signal to switch 295). A number of additional power transfer signals are used to wirelessly transfer power to a wireless power receiver (or an electronic device coupled to a wireless power receiver).

In some embodiments, in operations 920 and 928, determining that a particular power delivery parameter meets a power delivery criterion may determine that a first threshold amount of power is delivered to the wireless power receiver (that zone of two or more antenna zones and/or at least one It includes determining that each power transport parameter (associated with a specific zone of) represents. If such a determination is made in operation 928, this indicates that the zone has two or more antenna zones with each power transfer parameter indicating that the zone, with operation 926, has a first threshold amount of power delivered by the zone to the wireless power receiver. It is the only antenna zone in the area.

In some embodiments, the first threshold amount of power corresponds to an amount of power received by the wireless power receiver (in some situations, alternatively, the first threshold amount of power may correspond to an amount of reflected power detected at the near-field charging pad). . As described above, in some embodiments, the calibration process is performed after fabrication of the near-field charging pad and allows various types of devices (e.g., smartphones each connected to wireless power receivers) to be placed on the near-field charging pad. , tablets, laptops, connected devices, etc.) and then transmitting test signals to various types of devices by a group of antennas, then measuring the maximum reflection received by the receiver (or device coupled to it). Includes measuring power. In some examples, the first threshold is established as a value corresponding to a percentage of the maximum amount of power received (e.g., approximately 85% or more of the power transmitted by a particular antenna zone is received by the receiver).

As described above, during embodiments of the calibration process, if no antenna zone can satisfy the first threshold (because the wireless power receiver is located at the boundary between antenna zones), then power is applied to the wireless power receiver. A second threshold is established such that the second threshold can be used to locate two or more antenna zones for transmission (as will be described below). This second threshold may be another percentage (eg, 65%) of the maximum amount of reflected power measured during the calibration process. In some embodiments, the first and second thresholds are determined as device specific first and second thresholds for each of the devices that have undergone the calibration process.

In some embodiments, the method 900 includes (i) no antenna zone among the two or more antenna zones that is delivering the first threshold amount of power to the wireless power receiver, and (ii) an additional antenna zone among the two or more antenna zones. and determining that the additional power transfer parameters associated with meet the power transfer criteria (928-No). For example, each power transfer parameter indicates that a first amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver by that one of the two or more antenna zones is above a second threshold power amount and below a first threshold power amount, and the additional power transfer parameters are: It indicates that the second amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver by the additional antenna zone is higher than the second threshold power amount and below the first threshold power amount. In other words, if there is no antenna zone among two or more antenna zones that can deliver enough power to satisfy the first threshold power amount to the wireless power receiver, the method provides power sufficient to satisfy the second lower threshold power amount. We proceed by determining whether two of the antenna groups have delivered power to the wireless power receiver. For example, a wireless power receiver may be placed at the boundary between two antenna groups, such that no antenna group can meet the first threshold, but these two antenna groups can meet the first threshold power amount. Each can be satisfied individually.

If it is determined by the one or more processors of the near-field charging pad that the power transfer parameters associated with the transmission of the updated test power transfer signals by the two antenna zones meet the power transfer criteria (932-Yes), the method: 2 It further includes transmitting (934) a plurality of additional power transmission signals to the wireless power receiver using one or more antenna zones. Such a situation occurs when a wireless power receiver is placed between two adjacent antenna zones. In some embodiments, each of the two or more antenna zones simultaneously transmits an additional plurality of power transmission signals to provide power to the wireless power receiver.

As shown in FIG. 9B, if two or more antenna zones do not have power transport parameters that meet the power transport criteria (932-No), antenna zones that can efficiently transfer wireless power to the receiver have not been located. Accordingly, the method 900 returns to operation 906 and begins searching for the receiver (or again for another receiver). In some embodiments, the method 900 may alternatively measure other characteristics of the two or more antennas to determine whether they enable the two or more antennas to deliver sufficient wireless power to the receiver to meet the power delivery criteria. Operation 924 may be returned to begin transmission of test power transmission signals with . In some embodiments, the method 900 returns to operation 924 a predetermined number of times (e.g., twice), and if two or more zones still do not have power delivery parameters that meet the power delivery criteria: At that point the method returns to operation 906 and begins searching for new receivers.

In some embodiments, after the method 900 has successfully located antenna zones for use in wirelessly delivering power to a receiver (e.g., in operations 922, 930, and 934), the method ( 900 returns to operation 906 to search for a new receiver. In some embodiments, a near-field charging pad may simultaneously deliver wireless power to multiple receivers at any given time, and therefore, iterating through the method 900 may allow the near-field charging pad to deliver wireless power to multiple receivers at any given time. It is possible to appropriately determine the antenna zone to be used to transmit wireless power to each.

In some embodiments, the information used to determine the respective power delivery parameters for each antenna zone of the near-field charging pad is provided to the near-field charging pad by a wireless power receiver via a wireless communication component of the near-field charging pad (e.g. For example, the receiver transmits information used to determine the amount of power received by the receiver from the test power transmission signals described above). In some embodiments, this information is transmitted via a connection between the wireless power receiver and the wireless communication component of the near-field charging pad, the connection being established upon determining that the wireless power receiver is installed on the near-field charging pad.

Additionally, in some embodiments, a near-field charging pad dramatically creates or defines antenna zones. For example, referring to FIG. 1B, the near-field charging pad may define a first antenna zone 290-1 to include a single antenna 210-A, and another antenna zone 290-1 to include two or more antennas 210. An antenna zone (290-N) can be defined. In some embodiments, antenna zones may be redefined at various stages of method 900 described above. For example, upon a determination (932-No) that two or more antenna zones do not have power transfer parameters that meet the power transfer criteria, a near-field charging pad may be configured to (instead of each antenna zone containing a single antenna) ) Antenna zones can be redefined so that each includes multiple antennas. In this way, the method 900 can dramatically redefine antenna zones to help locate an appropriate antenna zone that can be used to transmit wireless power to a receiver that has been installed on a near-field charging pad.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a process 1000 for selectively activating one or more groups of antennas within a near-field charging pad, according to some embodiments. Some of the operations of process 1000 correspond to or supplement the operations described above with reference to the method of FIGS. 9A-9B. As shown in FIG. 10, the process 1000 begins with a near-field charging pad (e.g., RF charging pad 100, FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A), within range and subsequently the near-field charging pad. Detect 1002 a wireless power receiver (e.g., wireless power receiver 104, FIG. 12B) on the wireless power receiver (act 1002 corresponds to operations 906 to 912-example in FIG. 9A). Process 1000 includes executing a coarse search (1004), executing a fine search (1006), and executing a power control routine (1008). Each step in process 1000 will be described in additional detail below with reference to Figures 11A-11E. In some embodiments, the process 1000 begins with a near-field charging pad and detects a wireless power receiver on and subsequently within range of the near-field charging pad (1002).

11A illustrates a process for detecting a wireless power receiver within range of and subsequently on a near-field charging pad (or, in some embodiments, on and subsequently within range of a near-field charging pad) ( A flow chart explaining 1002) in detail is shown. Process 1002 includes enabling the near-field charging pad, i.e., powering on the near-field charging pad (1102). The near-field charging pad then scans 1104 for wireless power receivers and detects 1106 a wireless power receiver within range based at least in part on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI). To obtain RSSI, the near-field charging pad utilizes a wireless communication component (e.g., a Bluetooth radio, such as communication component(s) 204, FIG. 2A) to transmit data to the wireless communication component associated with the wireless power receiver. Signals (for example, Bluetooth advertising signals) can be scanned. Detecting a wireless power receiver within range of a near-field charging pad is described in detail above with reference to operation 906 of method 900.

Next, the near-field charging pad detects the wireless power receiver on the near-field charging pad (1108). In some embodiments, the near-field charging pad is configured to power the wireless power on the near-field charging pad using the processes described above with reference to operations 908-914 until it is determined that a wireless power receiver is installed on the near-field charging pad. Establish the presence of a receiver. In some embodiments, operation 1108 occurs before operation 1102.

Subsequently, the near-field charging pad establishes a communication channel with the wireless power receiver in response to detection of a wireless power receiver on the near-field charging pad (1110).

Referring to Figure 11B, the method proceeds to process 1004 where the near-field charging pad performs a rough search 1004. In performing a coarse search 1004, the near-field charging pad begins by enabling 1122 power to an antenna zone (e.g., antenna zone 290-1, FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, enabling power for an antenna zone may mean that an antenna element included in the antenna zone (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160) turns on switch 295 to activate the antenna zone. and transmitting test power transmission signals having a first set of transmission characteristics (e.g., phase, gain, direction, amplitude, polarization and/or frequency) after providing one or more control signals. Transmitting test power transmission signals was described in detail above with reference to steps 916-918 of method 900.

Continuing the rough search (1004), the near-field charging pad records the amount of power received by the wireless power receiver (“reported power”) (1124). In some embodiments, the reported power is communicated 1110 by the wireless power receiver to the near-field charging pad via an operationally established communication channel.

The near-field charging pad repeats steps 1122 and 1124 for all antenna zones that have been defined for the near-field charging pad (1126) (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 switches to selectively activate all antenna zones. (295) to provide one or more control signals). Then, in some embodiments, the near-field charging pad is configured to configure a set of antenna zones (e.g., 2 or 3 zones, or Depending on the situation, more or fewer zones) are selected (1128). For ease of explanation, each antenna zone within the set includes a single antenna 210 (e.g., antenna zone 290-1, Figure 1B). However, it should be noted that instead of selecting a set of antenna zones, a near-field charging pad may select a single antenna zone containing multiple antennas 210. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the antenna zone 290-N includes multiple antennas 210. Additionally, each antenna zone within the set may include multiple antennas depending on the situation.

Referring to Figure 11C, after selecting a set of antenna zones based on the reported power, the near-field charging pad executes a fine search process 1006. In some embodiments, fine search 1006 determines which antenna zone(s) are best suited to wirelessly deliver power to the wireless power receiver, based on the location of the wireless power receiver on the near-field charging pad. It is used. In performing a fine search (1006), the near-field charging pad selects (1132) at least one antenna zone from the set of selected antenna zones using a coarse search, and for the at least one antenna zone, the near-field charging pad: Sweep 1134 available frequencies and/or impedance (i.e., tune the transmission of power transmission signals by at least one antenna zone). The near-field charging pad then records these characteristics to maximize the amount of received power reported by the wireless power receiver (1136). In some embodiments, operations 1134 and 1136 are repeated for each antenna zone in the set of antenna zones (1138), and the near-field charging pad selects the antenna zone (Z1) that delivers the maximum amount of power to the wireless power receiver. Do (1140). Additionally, the near-field charging pad records the frequency (and other transmission characteristics) and relay location by antenna zone Z1 to achieve delivery of the maximum amount of power to the wireless power receiver.

In some environments or situations, the amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver by antenna zone Z1 does not meet the threshold power amount. In this environment or situation, the near-field charging pad performs a proximity zone search 1007, shown in FIG. 11D. In some embodiments, adjacent zone discovery 1007 is used to identify one or more adjacent zones for a selected antenna zone Z1 that can be activated to increase the amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver (e.g. , RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 provides one or more control signals to switch 295). For example, this may be the boundary between adjacent antenna zones of a near-field charging pad where the wireless power receiver is positioned (e.g., at the intersection of two antenna zones, the intersection of three antenna zones, or the intersection of four antenna zones). Occurs when placed in . In performing the adjacent zone search (1007), the near-field charging pad identifies adjacent antenna zones (ZAs) for the selected antenna zone (Z1) (1142). In some embodiments, identifying adjacent zones (ZAs) includes identifying up to five adjacent zones.

Next, the near-field charging pad pairs 1144 the selected antenna zone Z1 with each identified adjacent zone, sweeps 1146 all antenna tuning combinations, and sweeps 1146 all available frequencies (and possibly other transmissions). characteristics) (1148). Thereafter, the near-field charging pad selects a combination of antenna zones from adjacent zones (ZAs) (1150). For example, the near-field charging pad determines that the selected antenna zone Z1 delivers a higher amount of power to the wireless power receiver than either of these antenna zones can individually deliver to the wireless power receiver. As another example, the near-field charging pad may determine that the selected antenna zone Z1 and two (or three) other adjacent zones deliver the maximum amount of power to the wireless power receiver. When selecting the desired combination of antenna zones, the near-field charging pad records the transmission characteristics used to produce the maximum amount of power delivered to the wireless power receiver. Performing fine search and adjacent zone search was described in detail above with reference to steps 924-932 of method 900.

After performing a fine search (1006) (and a neighborhood zone search (1007) if necessary), the near-field charging pad executes a power control routine (1008), an example of which is shown in FIG. 11E. In some embodiments, the power control routine allows the wireless power receiver and the near-field charging pad to continuously monitor the amount of power being delivered to the wireless power receiver. In this manner, adjustments to wireless power transfer can be made based on feedback received from the wireless power receiver. For example, if the delivered power is below a configuration threshold, the wireless power receiver can request a power increase from a near-field charging pad. 11E, several operations are shown that enable a receiver to request an increase or decrease in the amount of wireless power delivered to the receiver, and the wireless transmitted to the receiver in response to the receiver's request to increase or decrease the amount of wireless power delivered. The process carried out by a near-field charging pad to determine when to increase or decrease the amount of power is shown.

The antenna element 120 described above (e.g., with reference to FIG. 1B) includes a plurality of adaptive load terminals (e.g., multiple adaptive load terminals) coupled at different locations along each antenna element 120. It may be configured to have load terminals 121). An example of an antenna element 120 with multiple adaptive load terminals is provided below with reference to FIG. 12 . 12 is a schematic diagram showing a transmitting antenna element (which may be part of an array of such antennas, as described above with reference to FIGS. 3-8) of an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments. . In some embodiments, the RF charging pad 1200 includes one or more antenna elements (which may be an array of antenna elements shown in FIGS. 3B, 4, 6A-6E, 7A-7D, and 8). 1201). Each antenna element 1201 may be connected to a power source at the first end of the antenna element 1201 or to a respective power amplifier 1208 (which may be one of the PA switch circuits 103 in FIG. 3A). Powered/fed by a power amplifier (PA) switch circuit 1208.

In some embodiments, the input circuit including power amplifier 1208 may further include a device capable of changing the frequencies of the input signal, or a device capable of operating at multiple frequencies simultaneously, such as an oscillator or frequency modulator. It can be included.

In some embodiments, each antenna element 1201 of the RF charging pad 1200 has multiple adaptive load terminals 1202 at multiple locations within each antenna element 1201, e.g., 1202a, 1202b. , 1202c,...1202n. In some embodiments, antenna element 120 includes conductive lines that form a meandering line pattern (as described above with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 6-8). In some embodiments, each adaptive load terminal of the plurality of adaptive load terminals 1202 for the antenna element 1201 is located at a different position on the conductive meandering line of the antenna element 1201, as shown in FIG. is placed in

In some embodiments, the meandering line antenna element 1201 includes a conductive line with multiple turns in one plane. In some embodiments, the multiple turns may be square turns as shown for antenna element 1201 in FIG. 12 . In some embodiments, the plurality of turns may be round-edged turns. The conductive line may have segments with varying widths, for example, a segment 1206 having a first width and a short length segment 1207 having a second width less than the first width. In some embodiments, at least one of the adaptive load terminals 1202a is disposed in one of the short length segments (e.g., short length segment 1207), and the other adaptive load terminal has the first width. It is placed at a random position in one of the segments 1206. In some embodiments, at least one of the adaptive load terminals 1202 is disposed or connected to any location on the width segment, e.g., in the middle of the width segment of the meandering line antenna element 1201. . In some embodiments, the last adaptive load terminal 1202n is conductive (as opposed to the first end at the input terminal 1203 of the antenna element 1201 described above with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5). It is placed at the second end of the line. In some embodiments, in certain designs or optimizations, the adaptive load terminal is not necessarily placed at the second end of the meandering line antenna element 1201, but may be placed at any location on the antenna element 1201. .

In some embodiments, RF charging pad 1200 includes (or is in communication with) central processing unit 1210 (also referred to herein as processor 1210). In some embodiments, processor 1210 may, for each of adaptive load terminals 1202 (described above with reference to load pick or adaptive load 106 of FIGS. 3A and 3B), e.g. By communicating with multiple load picks or adaptive loads 1212, such as 1212a, 1212b, 1212c,...1212n, the impedance values at each of the adaptive load terminals 1201 are controlled and the RF frequencies are controlled. It is configured to control.

In some embodiments, an electronic device (e.g., a streaming media device or a receiver as an internally or externally connected component, such as a remote mounted on top of a charging pad 1200 that may be integrated within the housing of a projector) The device (including 1204) receives energy transferred from one or more RF antenna elements 1201 of the charging pad 1200 to the receiver 1204 to directly provide power to an electronic device and/or charge a battery. Use it.

In some embodiments, a specific zone or selected location of the antenna element 1201 (e.g., where the electronic device to be charged (with an internally or externally connected RF receiver 1204) is installed on a charging pad. Adaptive load terminals 1202 in the zones below the positioned antenna elements 1201 are optimized to maximize the power received by receiver 1204. For example, upon receiving an indication that an electronic device with an internally or externally connected RF receiver 1204 has been installed on pad 1200 in a particular zone on antenna element 1201, CPU 1210 may: , such as adaptive loads 1212a, 1212b, 1212c,...1212n, respectively coupled to adaptive terminals 1202 to maximize the power delivered to the RF receiver 1204. Adapt a number of adaptive loads (1212). Adapting the set of adaptive loads 1212 may cause the CPU 1210 to assign one or more of the adaptive loads to adaptive load terminals coupled to different locations of the antenna element 1201 ( 1202) includes commanding one or more terminals to test various impedance values. Additional details regarding adapting adaptive loads were provided above and, for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated here.

The effective impedance value (Z _effective ) at a specific location/portion of the conductive line of the antenna element 1201 can be determined by adjusting the configurations of the adaptive load terminals 1212 coupled to various locations on the antenna element 1201. It is influenced by a number of variables that can be manipulated. In some embodiments, section 1225 (starting at terminal 1203 of antenna element 1201 and extending to the edge of receiver 1204) and the remainder of transmit antenna element 1201 and terminal 1202n an effective impedance value (Z _effective ) starting at the point where it is divided into sections 1227 (formed by ) will change based on the location of the receiver 1204 on the TX antenna 1202 and the selected set of loads provided by the adaptive loads 1212 at various locations within the section 1227. In some embodiments, the selected loads are such that the energy transferred between the terminal 1203 and the receiver 1204 is at most (e.g., 75% or more of the energy transmitted by the antenna elements of the pad 1200, e.g. For example, 98% is received by RF receiver 1204), and energy transfer from terminal 1203 to terminal 1202n is minimal (e.g., energy transmitted by the antenna element of pad 1200). Z _effective in such a way that less than 25% of the is optimized by adaptive loads 1212 (together with processor 1210) to tune .

In some embodiments, a plurality of adaptive loads 1212 selected from among the plurality of adaptive loads 1212 are configured to operate on the antenna element 1201 (processor) to adjust the impedance and/or frequency of the antenna element 1201. (1210)) is used. As one example, referring to Figure 12, only adaptive load terminals 1202a and 1202c are connected to adaptive load terminals 1212a and 1212c at any given time, while adaptive load terminals 1202b and 1202n are The connection is disconnected at a certain point. In another example, referring to FIG. 12 , only adaptive load terminals 1202a and 1202n are connected to adaptive loads 1212a and 1212n at any given time, while adaptive load terminals 1202b and 1202c is disconnected at a certain point in time. In some embodiments, all of the adaptive load terminals 1202 are connected to their respective adaptive loads 1212 at any given time. In some embodiments, at any given time, none of the adaptive load terminals 1202 are connected to their respective adaptive loads 1212. In some embodiments, the impedance value of each of the adaptive loads 1212 connected to the selected adaptive load terminal 1212 is individually adjusted to optimize energy transfer.

In embodiments where a meandering line antenna is optimized for multi-band operation, the configuration of multiple adaptive loads within a single antenna element is more efficient than the configuration of a single adaptive load within a single antenna element, as described above in FIG. 3B. Enables wide frequency band adjustment. Configuration of multiple adaptive loads within a single antenna element improves multiple frequency band operation on a single antenna element. For example, a single antenna element 1201 with multiple adaptive load terminals may operate in a wider frequency band than a corresponding antenna element configured with one adaptive load terminal.

In some embodiments, adapting the set of adaptive loads 1212 may also or alternatively cause the CPU 1210 to adjust the antenna until the frequency at which the maximum amount of energy is delivered to the RF receiver 1202 is found. It involves causing a set of elements to transmit RF signals at various frequencies. In some embodiments, for example, one of the antenna elements transmits RF signals at a first frequency and another of the antenna elements transmits RF signals at a second frequency that is different from the first frequency. In some embodiments, adjusting the impedance value and/or frequencies at which a set of antenna elements transmit changes the amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver 1204. In this manner, the amount of energy delivered to the RF receiver 1204 is maximized (e.g., to deliver at least 75% of the energy transmitted to the receiver 120 by the antenna elements of the pad 1200). 1204) may be received at any specific point on the installed pad 1200 (in some embodiments, by adjusting the impedance values and/or frequencies, up to 98% of the transmitted energy may be received by receiver 1204). possible).

In some embodiments, CPU 1210 determines whether the amount of energy delivered to RF receiver 1204 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., more than 75% of the transmitted energy, e.g., up to 98% of the energy received). ), testing the transmission at multiple impedance and/or frequency values, and selecting the combination of impedance and frequency that results in the maximum amount of energy being delivered to the RF receiver 104. ) (described with reference to the adaptive technique in FIGS. 3A-3D above). In some embodiments, the processor 1210 may be configured to exchange messages (e.g., wirelessly, such as BLUETOOTH low energy (BLE), WIFI, ZIGBEE, infrared beam, near field transmission, etc.) through a feedback loop. connected to the receiver 1204 (by exchanging messages using a communication protocol). In some embodiments, adaptive techniques are employed to test various combinations of RF frequencies and impedance values of adaptive impedance loads 1212 to maximize energy delivered to RF receiver 1204. In such embodiments, each of the adaptive loads 1212 is configured to adjust the impedance value along a range of values between 0 and infinity. In some embodiments, adaptive techniques are employed when one or more RF receivers are installed on top of one of the antenna elements 1201.

In some embodiments, the RF signal(s) emitted from the RF antenna(s) 1201 of the charging pad 1200 are monitored to determine which combination of frequency and impedance results in maximum energy transfer to the RF receiver 1204. ) An adaptive technique is employed to adaptively adjust the impedance values and/or frequencies. For example, the processor 1210 connected to the charging pad 1200 operates the adaptive loads 1212 at different positions of the antenna element 1201 in order to attempt adaptive optimization for better performance. Using different selected sets, different frequencies (within the allowed operating frequency range or ranges) are tested, for example, by enabling or disabling certain adaptive loads 1212. For example, a simple optimization could open/disconnect or close/short each load terminal to ground (in some embodiments a relay is used to switch these states) and cause the RF antenna element 1201 to transmit at various frequencies. do. In some embodiments, for each combination of relay state (open or short) and frequency, the energy delivered to receiver 1204 is monitored and compared to the energy delivered when using other combinations. The combination that results in maximum energy transfer to receiver 1204 is selected and used to continue transmitting one or more RF signals to receiver 1204 using one or more antenna elements 1201.

In some embodiments, a single antenna element 1201 with multiple adaptive loads 1212 on pad 1200 may have a first frequency band with a center frequency of 5.8 GHz, for example, 915 MHz. may be configured to operate within two or more separate frequency bands (e.g., the ISM bands described above), such as a second frequency band with . In these embodiments, employing an adaptive technique involves transmitting RF signals, adjusting the frequency in a first predetermined increment until a first threshold is reached for a first frequency band, and adjusting the frequency for a first frequency band in a first predetermined increment until a first threshold is reached. and adjusting the frequency in a predetermined second increment (which may or may not be the same as the first predetermined increment) until a second threshold for the band is reached. In some embodiments, a single antenna element may operate at multiple different frequencies within one or more frequency bands. For example, a single antenna element 1201 can be configured to transmit at 902 MHz, 912 MHz, and 928 MHz (within the first frequency band) and 5.795 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 5.805 GHz (within the second frequency band). . A single antenna element 1201 can operate in two or more frequency bands like a multi-band antenna. A transmitter with at least one antenna element 1201 can be used as a multi-band transmitter.

In some embodiments, multiple antenna elements 1201, each with multiple adaptive loads 1212, are configured within a specific transmission pad, and the specific transmission pad operates within two or more separate frequency bands each simultaneously. Let's do it. For example, the first antenna element 1201 of a specific transmission pad operates at a first frequency or frequency band, the second antenna element 1201 of a specific transmission pad operates at a first frequency or frequency band, and the specific transmission pad operates at a first frequency or frequency band. The third antenna element 1201 of a pad operates at a third frequency or frequency band, and the fourth antenna element 1201 of a specific transmission pad operates at a fourth frequency or frequency band, and these four frequency bands are separate from each other. am. In this scheme, a particular transmission pad is configured to operate in multiple different frequency bands.

In some embodiments, the transmitter described herein may transmit wireless power within one frequency or frequency band, transmit data at another frequency or frequency band, and exchange data with a receiver.

Different antenna elements operating at different frequencies can maximize energy transfer efficiency when smaller devices are charged at higher frequencies and larger devices are charged at lower frequencies on the same charging pad. For example, devices that require larger amounts of power, such as mobile phones, have additional space to include larger antennas, making the lower frequencies of 900 MHz an appropriate frequency band. In comparison, smaller devices, such as tiny headphones (earbuds), require less power and have less space available for longer antennas, making higher frequencies of 2.4 or 5.8 GHz suitable frequency bands. . This configuration allows for more flexibility in the types and sizes of antennas included in receiving devices.

13, a flow diagram is provided of a method 1300 of charging an electronic device via RF power transfer by using at least one RF antenna with multiple adaptive loads, according to some embodiments. Initially, at least one RF antenna (e.g., antenna element 1201 described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 3 to 8 above) transmits one or more RF signals or waves, i.e., capable of transmitting RF electromagnetic waves. A charging pad is provided in step 1302, including a transmitter including an antenna designed to In some embodiments, an array of RF antenna elements 1201 are arranged adjacent to each other in a single plane, in a stack, or in a combination thereof, forming an RF charging pad 1200 (FIGS. 6A-6B, 7A- explained with reference to 7d and 8). In some embodiments, each of the RF antenna elements 1201 includes an antenna input terminal (e.g., the first terminal 1203 described above with reference to FIG. 12) and a plurality of antenna output terminals (e.g. For example, it includes a plurality of adaptive load terminals 1202) described above with reference to FIG. 12. In some embodiments, antenna element 1201 includes conductive lines that form a meandering line arrangement (as shown in FIGS. 3-4 and 6-12). A plurality of adaptive load terminals 1202 are disposed at different positions of the conductive line of the antenna element 1201.

In some embodiments, the transmitter further includes a power amplifier (e.g., PA 1208 in FIG. 12) electrically coupled between the power input and the antenna input terminal. In some embodiments, each of the adaptive loads 1212a, 1211b, 1212c,...1212n is electrically coupled to a plurality of antenna output terminals (e.g., adaptive load terminals 1202 in FIG. 12). ) includes. In some embodiments, the transmitter has a power input configured to be electrically coupled to a power source and at least one processor configured to control at least one electrical signal transmitted to the antenna (e.g., processor 1210 in FIG. 12). and processor 110 in FIGS. 3A-3B). In some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to control the frequency and/or amplitude of at least one signal transmitted to the antenna.

In some embodiments, each RF antenna of the transmitter includes a conductive line forming a meandering line pattern, a first end at a first end of the conductive line that receives a current flowing through the conductive line at a frequency controlled by one or more processors. Includes one terminal (e.g., terminal 1203) and a number of adaptive load terminals (e.g., terminals 1202) that are separate from the first terminal and are at multiple locations on the conductive line. and a plurality of adaptive load terminals, which allow modifying the impedance value of the conductive line, are coupled to each component (e.g., adaptive loads 1212 in FIG. 12) controlled by one or more processors. . In some embodiments, the conductive line is disposed on or within the first antenna layer of the multilayered substrate. Additionally, in some embodiments, the second antenna is disposed on or within the second antenna layer of the multilayered substrate. Finally, some embodiments provide a ground plane disposed on or within a ground plane layer of a multilayered substrate.

In some embodiments, a receiver (e.g., receiver 1204, with reference to FIG. 12) is provided (which is also described with reference to FIG. 3). The receiver includes one or more RF antennas that receive RF signals. In some embodiments, the receiver includes at least one antenna that converts one or more RF signals into usable power for charging a device that includes receiver 1204 as an internally or externally connected component. (See steps 504, 506, 510, 514 and 518 in FIG. 5). In use, receiver 1204 is installed within near-field radio frequency range of at least one antenna of a transmitter or charging pad. For example, the receiver may be installed on top of at least one RF antenna 1201 or on top of a surface adjacent to the at least one RF antenna 1201, such as the surface of the charging pad 1200.

In step 1304, one or more RF signals are transmitted through at least one RF antenna 1201.

The system is monitored at step 1306 to determine the amount of energy transferred via one or more RF signals from at least one antenna 1201 to one or more RF receivers (described above). In some embodiments, this monitoring 1306 occurs at the transmitter, while in other embodiments the monitoring 1306 transmits data to the transmitter over a back channel (e.g., via a wireless data connection using WIFI or BLUETOOTH). It takes place in the receiver that transmits back. In some embodiments, the transmitter and receiver exchange messages over a back channel, which messages may indicate energy transmitted and/or received to inform the adjustments made in step 1308.

In some embodiments, the characteristics of the transmitter are adaptively adjusted to attempt to optimize the amount of energy transferred from the at least one RF antenna 1201 to the receiver. In some embodiments, this characteristic is the frequency of one or more RF signals and/or the impedance of the transmitter. In some embodiments, the impedance of the transmitter is the impedance of the adjustable load. Additionally, in some embodiments, the at least one processor is configured to control the impedance of a selected set of multiple adaptive loads 1212. Additional details and examples regarding impedance and frequency tuning are provided above.

In some embodiments, at least one processor (e.g., CPU 1210 in FIG. 12) determines the impedance of the adaptive load based on the monitored amount of energy delivered from the at least one antenna 1201 to the RF receiver. adjust dramatically. In some embodiments, at least one processor simultaneously controls the frequency of at least one signal transmitted to the antenna.

In some embodiments, a single antenna element 1201 with multiple adaptive loads 1212 on pad 1200 can support two or more separate frequency bands (e.g., the ISM band described above) simultaneously or at different times; For example, it can be dramatically adjusted by one or more processors to operate in a first frequency band with a center frequency of 915 MHz and a second frequency band with a center frequency of 5.8 GHz. In these embodiments, employing an adaptive technique involves transmitting RF signals, adjusting the frequency in a first predetermined increment until a first threshold is reached for a first frequency band, and adjusting the frequency for a first frequency band in a first predetermined increment until a first threshold is reached. and adjusting the frequency in a predetermined second increment (which may or may not be the same as the first predetermined increment) until a second threshold for the band is reached. For example, a single antenna element 1201 can be configured to transmit at 902 MHz, 912 MHz, and 928 MHz (within the first frequency band) and 5.795 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 5.805 GHz (within the second frequency band). . A single antenna element 1201 can operate in two or more frequency bands like a multi-band antenna. A transmitter with at least one antenna element 1201 can be used as a multi-band transmitter.

In some embodiments, the charging pad or transmitter may have one or more of the antenna elements 1201 with multiple adaptive loads as shown in FIG. 12 and one adaptive load as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3D. It may include one or more antenna elements 120 with.

14A-14D are schematic diagrams showing various configurations for individual antenna elements capable of operating at multiple frequencies or frequency bands within an RF charging pad, according to some embodiments. As shown in FIGS. 14A-14D, RF charging pad 100 (FIGS. 3A-3B) or RF charging pad 1200 (FIG. 12) includes antenna elements configured to have conductive line elements of varying physical dimensions. It may include (120, FIG. 3B; or 1202, FIG. 12).

For example, Figures 14A-14D show examples of structures for antenna elements each including conductive lines formed with different meandering line patterns in different portions of the element. Conductive lines in different parts or locations of the device may have different geometric dimensions (e.g., width, length, trace gauge, pattern, or spacing between each trace) relative to other conductive lines within the antenna device. . In some embodiments, the meandering line pattern may be designed to have various lengths and/or widths at different locations on the pad (or individual antenna element). This configuration of meandering line patterns allows for more degrees of freedom and therefore more complex antenna structures that allow for wider operating bandwidths and/or combination ranges of the individual antenna elements and the RF charging pad. It can be.

In some embodiments, antenna elements 120 and 1201 described herein may have any of the shapes shown in FIGS. 14A-14D. In some embodiments, each of the antenna elements shown in FIGS. 14A-14D has an input terminal (123 in FIG. 1B or 1203 in FIG. 12) at one end of the conductive line, and another end or multiple terminals of the conductive line. At least one adaptive load terminal (121 in FIG. 1B or 1202a-n in FIG. 12) with the above-described adaptive loads (106 in FIG. 1B or 1212a-n in FIG. 12) at locations of ) has.

In some embodiments, each of the antenna elements shown in FIGS. 14A-14D may operate at two or more different frequencies or two or more different frequency bands. For example, a single antenna element may operate in a first frequency band with a center frequency of 915 MHz at a first time and at a second time, depending on which frequency is provided at the input terminal of each of the antenna elements. It can operate in a second frequency band with a center frequency of 5.8GHz. Additionally, the shapes of the meandering line patterns shown in FIGS. 14A-14D are optimized so that the antenna elements can operate efficiently at multiple different frequencies.

In some embodiments, each of the antenna elements shown in FIGS. 14A-14D simultaneously operates on two or more different frequencies or two or more different frequency bands when the input terminal is supplied with three or more individual frequencies that may overlap. It can operate in the field. For example, a single antenna element may operate in a first frequency band with a center frequency of 915 MHz and a second frequency band with a center frequency of 5.8 GHz; When two frequency bands with a second center frequency are supplied to the input terminal of the conductive line, they are simultaneous. In another example, a single antenna element can operate at multiple different frequencies within one or more frequency bands.

In some embodiments, the operating frequencies of the antenna elements may be modified by one or more processors (see Figures 3A-3B), as described above, depending on adaptive loads on the charging pad and receiver loads, receiver antenna dimensions or frequency. It can be adaptively adjusted by 110 or 1210 in FIG. 12).

In some embodiments, each of the antenna elements shown in FIGS. 14A-14D, with different meandering patterns at different portions of the conductive line, may have a more symmetrical meandering line structure (e.g., FIGS. 3B, 4, Compared to 6a-6b, 8), it can operate more efficiently at multiple frequencies. For example, the energy transfer efficiency at different operating frequencies of the antenna elements shown in Figures 14a-14d with different meandering patterns in different portions of the conductive line is greater than that of elements with a more symmetrical meandering line structure. Improvements can be on the order of at least 5% and in some examples by at least 60%. For example, an antenna element with a more symmetrical meandering line structure may deliver less than 60% of the transmitted energy to the receiving device while operating at a new frequency that is different from the frequency for which the more symmetrical meandering line structure antenna element was designed. (For example, if an antenna element with a more symmetrical meandering line structure is designed to operate at 900 MHz, and then transmits a signal with a frequency of 5.8 GHz, it can only achieve an energy transfer efficiency of 60%. do). In contrast, antenna elements with different meandering patterns (e.g., those shown in FIGS. 14A-14D) can achieve energy transfer efficiencies of over 80% while operating at various frequencies. In this way, the design of the antenna element shown in FIGS. 14A-14D allows a single antenna element to achieve more efficient operation at a variety of different frequencies.

15 is a schematic diagram showing an example configuration for an individual antenna element that can operate at multiple frequencies or frequency bands by adjusting the length of the antenna element, according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments shown in FIG. 15, at least one transmit antenna element 1502 (shown in FIGS. 3-8 and 13-14) among the one or more transmit antenna elements of the RF charging pad 1500 is One conductive segment 1504 (a first portion of a meandering conductive line, such as any of those described above for antenna elements 120 and 1201), and a second conductive segment 1506 (antenna elements 120 and 1201). and a second portion of a meandering conductive line, such as any of those described above for 1201). In some embodiments, the first conductive segment includes an input terminal (123 in FIG. 3B or 1203 in FIG. 12). In some embodiments, while first conductive segment 1504 is not coupled to second conductive segment 1506, at least one transmitting antenna element 1502 operates at a first frequency (e.g., 2.4 GHz). It is configured to do so. In some embodiments, while the first conductive segment is coupled to the second segment, at least one transmit antenna element 1502 is configured to operate at a second frequency that is different from the first frequency (e.g., 900 MHz).

In some embodiments, one or more processors (110 in FIGS. 3A-3B or 1210 in FIG. 12) may operate at a second frequency (e.g., 900 MHz), separate from the first frequency (e.g., 2.4 GHz). ), together with instructing the feeding element (illustrated as 108 in FIGS. 3A-3B and 1208 in FIG. 12) to generate a current with , thereby allowing the antenna element 1502 to operate more efficiently at the second frequency. The one or more processors are configured to uncouple the second conductive segment from the first conductive segment along with instructing the feeding element to generate a current having a first frequency instead of the second frequency, thereby disconnecting the antenna element 1502 ) can again operate more efficiently at the first frequency. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may operate at a frequency at which the receiver is configured to operate (e.g., for larger devices with longer receive antennas, this frequency is 900 MHz, whereas for smaller devices with smaller receive antennas this frequency is 900 MHz). configured to determine whether to cause coupling (or uncoupling) of these conductive segments based on information received from a receiver (e.g., RX 104 or 1204) that identifies the frequency is 2.4 GHz. do.

In some embodiments, the combination shown in FIG. 15 connects two different segments of a single antenna element 1502 while bypassing a conductive line placed between two connection points or between two different segments. It can be implemented by direct connection. In some embodiments, the coupling may be implemented between three or more different segments of antenna element 1502. Combining different portions or segments of a single meandering line antenna element 1502 can effectively change the size or length of the conductive line of the antenna element 1502, thereby allowing the single antenna element 1502 to operate at different frequencies. It allows them to operate. A single antenna element 1502 can operate in two or more frequency bands, such as a multi-band antenna.

FIG. 16A is a top perspective view of a schematic diagram of an example near-field power transfer system 1600. FIG. 16B is a bottom perspective view of a schematic diagram of an example near-field power transfer system 1600. Power delivery system 1600 can have a top surface 1601, a bottom surface 1602, and side walls 1603. In some embodiments, the housing containing the components of the power delivery system 1600 may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance or dielectric constant. For example, top surface 1601 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while sidewall 1603 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art.

Power delivery system 1600 may radiate RF energy and thus transfer power when power delivery system 1600 is adjacent to a second power delivery system (not shown). In that case, the power delivery system 1600 may be on the “transmitting side” to function as a power transmitter, or the power delivery system 1600 may be on the “receiving side” to function as a power receiver. In some embodiments, when power delivery system 1600 is associated with a transmitter, power delivery system 1600 (or subcomponents of power delivery system 1600) may be integrated into a transmitter device, or can be connected externally by wire. Similarly, in some embodiments, when power delivery system 1600 is associated with a receiver, power delivery system 1600 (or sub-components of power delivery system 1600) may be integrated within the receiver, or may be external to the receiver. Can be connected by wire.

Substrate 1607 is disposed within a space defined between top surface 1601, side walls 1603, and bottom surface 1602. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1600 may not include a housing and substrate 1607 may include a top surface 1601, sidewalls 1603, and bottom surface 1602. The substrate 1607 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 1604 may be configured on or below top surface 1601. If the power delivery system 1600 is associated with a power transmitter, the antenna 1604 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 1600 is associated with a power receiver, antenna 1604 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1600 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 1604 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. The antenna 1604 may be made of materials such as metals, alloys, metamaterials, and composites. For example, antenna 1604 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 1604 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 1600 shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the antenna 1604 is configured in a spiral shape comprising antenna segments 1610 closely spaced together. Currents flowing through antenna segments 1610 may be in opposite directions. For example, if the current in antenna segment 1610b is flowing from left to right in FIG. 16A, the current in each of antenna segments 1610a and 1610c may be flowing from right to left. The opposing flows of current result in mutual cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field of the power delivery system 1600. In other words, the far-field electromagnetic radiation generated by one or more antenna segments 1610 to the left of imaginary line 1615 is the far-field electromagnetic radiation generated by one or more antenna segments 1610 to the right of line 1615. is erased by Therefore, there may be no power leakage in remote areas of the power delivery system 1600. Such cancellation, however, may not occur in the near-field active zone of power delivery system 1600, where power transfer occurs.

Power delivery system 1600 may include a ground plane 1606 at or on bottom surface 1602. Ground plane 1606 may be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, ground plane 1606 may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, ground plane 1606 may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane 1606 may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. A via 1605 carrying a power feed line (not shown) to the antenna may pass through ground plane 1606. A power feed line may supply current to antenna 1604. In some embodiments, ground plane 1606 may be electrically connected to antenna 1604. In some embodiments, ground plane 1606 may not be electrically connected to antenna 1604. For such an implementation, an isolation region 1608 may be constructed between via 1605 and ground plane 1606 to isolate via 1605 from ground plane 1606. In some embodiments, ground plane 1606 may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 1604. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 1600 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of electromagnetic waves by the ground plane can enhance electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward top surface 1601 by antenna 1604. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface 1602.

Therefore, as a result of antenna 1604 and ground plane 1606, electromagnetic waves transmitted or received by power delivery system 1600 accumulate in the near field of system 1600. Leakage of system 1600 to remote fields is minimized.

17A schematically shows a top perspective view of an example near-field power transfer system 1700, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1700 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 1700 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 1700 can have a housing defined by a top surface 1701, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 1703. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 1701 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 1703 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 1707 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 1701, side walls 1703, and bottom surface 1702. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1700 may not include a housing and substrate 1707 may include a top surface 1701, sidewalls 1703, and bottom surface 1702. The substrate 1707 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 1704 may be configured on or below top surface 1701. If the power delivery system 1700 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 1704 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 1700 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 1704 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1700 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 1704 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. The antenna 1704 may be made of materials such as metals, alloys, metamaterials, and composites. For example, antenna 1704 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 1704 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 1700 shown in Figure 17A, the antenna 1704 is configured in a spiral shape containing antenna segments closely spaced together. A feed signal line (not shown) may be connected to antenna 1704 via via 1705.

FIG. 17B schematically shows a side view of an example power transmission system 1700. As shown, the top metal layer forms the antenna 1704 and the bottom metal layer forms the ground plane 1706. Substrate 1707 may be disposed between the upper metal layer and the lower metal layer. Substrate 1707 may include materials, such as FR4, metamaterials, or any material known in the art. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

17C schematically shows a top perspective view of the antenna 1704. Antenna 1704 has a connection point 1709 for a feed line (not shown) coming through via 1705. Figure 17d schematically shows a side perspective view of the ground plane. In one embodiment, ground plane 1706 includes a solid metal layer. In other embodiments, ground plane 1706 includes structures such as stripes, meshes, grids, and may not be completely solid. Ground plane 1706 may have a socket 1709 for passing via 1705. Around socket 1709 , ground plane 1706 includes an insulating region 1701 to insulate socket 1709 from the remainder of ground plane 1706 . In some embodiments, the ground plane may have an electrical connection to the line coming through a via, and the isolation region 1710 may not be needed.

18 schematically shows a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1800 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 1800 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 1800 can have a housing defined by a top surface 1801, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 1803. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 1801 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 1803 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 1807 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 1801, side walls 1803, and bottom surface 1802. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1800 may not include a housing and substrate 1807 may include a top surface 1801, sidewalls 1803, and bottom surface 1802. The substrate 1807 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 1804 may be configured on or below the top surface. If the power delivery system 1800 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 1804 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 1800 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 1804 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1800 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 1804 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Antenna 1804 may be made of materials such as metals, alloys, metamaterials, and composites. For example, antenna 1804 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 1804 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 1800 shown in Figure 18, the antenna 1804 is configured in a dipole shape including a first meandering pole 1809a and a second meandering pole 1809b. A first power feed line (not shown) to the first meandering pole 1809a may be carried by a first via 1805a and a second power feed line (not shown) to the second meandering pole 1809b. ) may be carried by the second via 1805b. The first power feed line may supply current to the first meandering pole 1809a, and the second power feed line may supply current to the second meandering pole 1809b. The first meandering pole 1809a includes antenna segments 1810 placed closely together, and the second meandering pole 1809b includes antenna segments 1811 placed closely together. Currents flowing through neighboring antenna segments 1810 and 1811 may be in opposite directions. For example, if the current in antenna segment 1810b is flowing from left to right in FIG. 18, the current in each of the antenna segments 1810a and 1810c may be flowing from right to left. Opposite flows of current through any number of antenna segments 1810 of power delivery system 1800 result in mutual cancellation of far field electromagnetic radiation generated by power delivery system 1800. ) results in Additionally or alternatively, the far-field electromagnetic radiation generated by the antenna segments 1810 of the first pole 1809a may be related to the far-field electromagnetic radiation generated by the antenna segments 1811 of the second pole 1809b. is erased by Remote field erasure may occur over any number of segments 1810, 1800 and/or over any number of poles 1809. Therefore, there may be no power leakage in remote areas of the power delivery system 1800. Such cancellation, however, may not occur in the near-field active zone of the power delivery system 1800, where power transfer occurs.

Power delivery system 1800 may include a ground plane (not shown) at or on the bottom surface. The ground plane can be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, the ground plane may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, the ground plane may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. A via 1805 carrying the power feed line to the antenna may pass through the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane can be electrically connected to the antenna. In some embodiments, the ground plane may not be electrically connected to the antenna. For such implementations, an isolation zone may be constructed between the vias and the ground plane to isolate the via from the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 1804. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 1800 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of electromagnetic waves by the ground plane can enhance electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward top surface 1801 by antenna 1804. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface.

19 schematically shows a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system 1900, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1900 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 1900 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 1900 can have a housing defined by a top surface 1901, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 1903. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 1901 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 1903 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 1907 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 1901, side walls 1903, and bottom surface 1902. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1900 may not include a housing and substrate 1907 may include a top surface 1901, sidewalls 1903, and bottom surface 1902. The substrate 1907 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 1904 may be configured on or below top surface 1901. If the power delivery system 1900 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 1904 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 1900 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 1904 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 1900 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 1904 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Antenna 1904 may be composed of materials such as metals, alloys, and composites. For example, antenna 1904 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 1904 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 1900 shown in FIG. 19, the antenna 1904 can be loop-shaped including loop segments spaced closely together. Currents flowing through neighboring loop segments 1910 may be in opposite directions. For example, if the current in loop segment 1910b flows from left to right in FIG. 19, the current in loop segment 1910b may flow from right to left. The opposing flows of current result in mutual cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field of the power delivery system 1900. Therefore, there may be no power leakage in the remote field of the power delivery system 1900. Such cancellation, however, may not occur in the near-field active zone of the power delivery system 1900, where power transfer occurs.

Power delivery system 1900 may include a ground plane (not shown) at or on the bottom surface. The ground plane can be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, metamaterials, and composites. In one embodiment, the ground plane may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, the ground plane may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. Vias 1905 carrying power feed lines (not shown) to the antenna may pass through the ground plane. A power feed line may provide current to antenna 1904. In some embodiments, ground plane 106 may be electrically connected to an antenna. In some embodiments, the ground plane may not be electrically connected to antenna 1904. For such an implementation, an isolation zone may be constructed between the vias 1905 and the ground plane to insulate the via 1905 from the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 1904. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 300 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of the electromagnetic waves by the ground plane may enhance the electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward the top surface 1901 by the antenna 1904. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface.

20 schematically shows a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system 2000, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2000 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 2000 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. In another embodiment, power delivery system 200 may be associated with or part of a transceiver. Power delivery system 2000 can have a housing defined by a top surface 2001, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 2003. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 2001 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 2003 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 2007 may be disposed within a space defined between the top surface 2001, side walls 2003, and bottom surface 2002. In some embodiments, the power delivery system 2000 may not include a housing, and the substrate 2007 may include a top surface 2001, sidewalls 2003, and a bottom surface 2002. The substrate 2007 may be provided with any material that houses electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 2004 may be configured on or below top surface 2001. If the power delivery system 2000 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, the antenna 2004 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 2000 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 2004 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, the power delivery system 2000 can operate as a transceiver and the antenna 2004 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Power feed lines (not shown) to antenna 2004 may be carried through vias 2005. Power feed lines may provide current to antenna 2004. Antenna 2004 may be composed of materials such as metals, alloys, metamaterials, and composites. For example, antenna 2004 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 2004 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 2000 shown in FIG. 20, the antenna 2004 may be in the shape of a concentric loop containing antenna segments 2010 closely spaced together. As shown in FIG. 20, a single concentric loop may include two of the antenna segments 2010. For example, the innermost loop includes a first antenna segment 2010c to the right of imaginary line 2012 that roughly divides the loops into two halves, and imaginary line 2012 ) may include a second antenna segment 2010c' corresponding to the left side. Currents flowing through neighboring antenna segments 2010 may be in opposite directions. For example, if the current in antenna segments 2010a', 2010b', and 2010c' flows from left to right in Figure 20, then the current in each of antenna segments 2010a, 2010b, and 2010c flows to the right. It may be flowing to the left. The opposing flows of current result in mutual cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field of the power delivery system 2000. Therefore, there may be no power leakage in the remote field of the power delivery system 2000. Such cancellation, however, may not occur in the near-field active zone of power delivery system 2000, where power transfer occurs. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field, and the absence of such cancellation in the near field is explained by Maxwell's equations for the time-varying electric and magnetic fields produced by currents flowing in opposite directions. is determined by one or more solutions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the near-field active zone is defined by the presence of electromagnetic power in the immediate vicinity of power delivery system 2000.

Power delivery system 2000 may include a ground plane (not shown) at or on the bottom surface. The ground plane can be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, the ground plane may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, the ground plane may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. Vias 2005 carrying power feed lines (not shown) to the antenna may pass through the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane can be electrically connected to the antenna. In some embodiments, the ground plane may not be electrically connected to antenna 2004. For such an implementation, an isolation zone may be constructed between the vias 2005 and the ground plane to insulate the via 2005 from the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 2004. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 2000 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of the electromagnetic waves by the ground plane may enhance the electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward the top surface 2001 by the antenna 2004. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface.

21 schematically shows a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system 2100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2100 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 2100 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 2100 can have a housing defined by a top surface 2101, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 2103. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 2101 allows electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 2103 can block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 2107 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 2101, side walls 2103, and bottom surface 2102. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2100 may not include a housing and substrate 2107 may include a top surface 2101, sidewalls 2103, and bottom surface 2102. The substrate 2107 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 2104 may be configured on or below top surface 2101. If the power delivery system 2100 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 2104 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 2100 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 2104 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2100 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 2104 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Antenna 2104 may be composed of materials such as metals, alloys, and composites. For example, antenna 2104 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 2104 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 2100 shown in FIG. 21, the antenna 2104 may be configured in a monopole shape. Via 2105 may carry a power feed line (not shown) to antenna 2104. A power feed line may provide current to antenna 2104.

Power delivery system 2100 may include a ground plane (not shown) at or on the bottom surface. The ground plane can be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, the ground plane may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, the ground plane may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. Vias 2105 carrying power feed lines (not shown) to antenna 2104 may pass through the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane can be electrically connected to the antenna. In some embodiments, the ground plane may not be electrically connected to antenna 2104. For such an implementation, an isolation zone may be constructed between vias 2105 and the ground plane to insulate via 2105 from the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 2104. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 2100 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of electromagnetic waves by the ground plane can enhance electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward top surface 2101 by antenna 2104. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface.

22 schematically shows a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system 2200, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2200 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 2200 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 2200 can have a housing defined by a top surface 2201, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 2203. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 2201 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 2203 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 2207 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 2201, side walls 2203, and bottom surface 2202. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2200 may not include a housing, and substrate 2207 may include a top surface 2201, sidewalls 2203, and bottom surface 2202. The substrate 2207 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 2204 may be configured on or below top surface 2201. If the power delivery system 2200 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 2204 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 2200 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 2204 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2200 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 2204 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Antenna 2204 may be composed of materials such as metals, alloys, and composites. For example, antenna 2204 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Via 2205 may carry a power feed line (not shown) to antenna 2104. A power feed line may provide current to antenna 2204. Antenna 2204 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 2200 shown in Figure 22, the antenna 2204 is configured in a monopole shape comprising antenna segments 2210 placed closely together. Currents flowing through neighboring antenna segments 2210 may be in opposite directions. For example, if the current in antenna segment 2210b is flowing from left to right in FIG. 22, the current in each of the antenna segments 2210a and 2210c may be flowing from right to left. The opposing flows of current result in mutual cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field of the power delivery system 2200. Therefore, there may be no power leakage in the remote field of the power delivery system 2200. Such cancellation, however, may not occur in the near-field active zone of power delivery system 2200, where power transfer occurs. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field, and the absence of such cancellation in the near field is explained by Maxwell's equations for the time-varying electric and magnetic fields produced by currents flowing in opposite directions. is determined by one or more solutions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the near-field active zone is defined by the presence of electromagnetic power in the immediate vicinity of power delivery system 2200. Power delivery system 2200 may include a ground plane (not shown) at or on the bottom surface. The ground plane can be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, the ground plane may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, the ground plane may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. Vias 2205 carrying power feed lines (not shown) to antenna 2204 may pass through the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane can be electrically connected to the antenna. In some embodiments, the ground plane may not be electrically connected to antenna 2204. For such an implementation, an isolation region may be constructed between vias 2205 and the ground plane to insulate via 2205 from the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 2204. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 2200 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of electromagnetic waves by the ground plane can enhance electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward top surface 2201 by antenna 2204. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface.

23 schematically shows a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system 2300, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2300 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 2300 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 2300 can have a housing defined by a top surface 2301, a bottom surface (not shown), and side walls 2303. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 2301 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 2303 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 2307 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 2301, side walls 2303, and bottom surface 2302. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2300 may not include a housing and substrate 2307 may include a top surface 2301, sidewalls 2303, and bottom surface 2302. The substrate 2307 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

Antenna 2304 may be configured on or below top surface 2301. If the power delivery system 2300 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 2304 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 2300 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 2304 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2300 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 2304 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Antenna 2304 may be composed of materials such as metals, alloys, and composites. For example, antenna 2304 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 2304 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 2300 shown in FIG. 23, the antenna 2304 is configured as hybrid dipoles with a first spiral pole 2320a and a second spiral pole 2320b. do. A first power feed line supplying current to the first helical pole 2320a may be provided through the first via 2305a, and a second power feed line supplying current to the second helical pole 2320b may be provided through the first via 2305a. 2 may be provided through via 2305b. The antenna segments in each of the spiral poles 2320 can mutually cancel electromagnetic radiation in the remote field generated by the spiral dipoles 2320, thereby reducing power transfer to the remote field. For example, the antenna segments in the first helical pole 2320a can cancel each other's generated far-field electromagnetic radiation. Additionally or alternatively, the far-field radiation produced by one or more antenna segments of the first helical pole 2320a is canceled by the far-field radiation produced by the one or more antenna segments of the second helical pole 2320b. It can be. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the cancellation of electromagnetic radiation in the far field, and the absence of such cancellation in the near field is explained by Maxwell's equations for the time-varying electric and magnetic fields produced by currents flowing in opposite directions. is determined by one or more solutions.

Power delivery system 2300 may include a ground plane (not shown) at or on the bottom surface. The ground plane can be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, the ground plane may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, the ground plane may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. Vias 2305 carrying power feed lines (not shown) to the antenna may pass through the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane can be electrically connected to the antenna. In some embodiments, the ground plane may not be electrically connected to antenna 2304. For such an implementation, an isolation zone may be constructed between vias 2305 and the ground plane to insulate via 2305 from the ground plane. In some embodiments, the ground plane may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 2304. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 2300 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of electromagnetic waves by the ground plane can enhance electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward top surface 2301 by antenna 2304. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface.

Hybrid antenna 2304 may be required for wideband and/or multiband designs. For example, a non-hybrid structure may be efficient at a first frequency and a first distance between the transmitter and receiver, but inefficient at other frequencies or distances. Incorporating a more complex structure such as hybrid antenna 2304 allows for greater efficiency over a range of frequencies and distances.

24A and 24B schematically show a top perspective view of an exemplary near-field power transfer system 2400, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2400 may be associated with or part of a power transmitter. In other embodiments, power delivery system 2400 may be associated with or part of a power receiver. Power delivery system 2400 can have a housing defined by a top surface 2401, a bottom surface 2402, and side walls 2403. In some embodiments, the housing may be constructed of a material that creates a minimal barrier to the passage of electromagnetic waves. In other embodiments, different portions of the housing may be composed of materials with different electromagnetic properties, such as transmittance and dielectric constant. For example, top surface 2401 may allow electromagnetic waves to pass through with minimal blocking, while side walls 2403 may block electromagnetic waves by attenuating, absorbing, reflecting, or other techniques known in the art. .

A substrate 2407 may be disposed within a space defined between top surface 2401, side walls 2403, and bottom surface 2402. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2400 may not include a housing and substrate 2407 may include a top surface 2401, sidewalls 2403, and bottom surface 2402. The substrate 2407 may house electrical lines that conduct current, such as a metamaterial, or may be provided with any material that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. The metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or produce radiation and can act as thin reflectors.

The power delivery system may include hierarchical antennas 2404 that may be configured on or below the top surface 2401. If the power delivery system 2400 is associated with or part of a power transmitter, its antenna 2404 may be used to transmit electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, if power delivery system 2400 is associated with or part of a power receiver, antenna 2404 may be used to receive electromagnetic waves. In some embodiments, power delivery system 2300 can operate as a transceiver and antenna 2404 can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. Antenna 2404 may be composed of materials such as metals, alloys, and composites. For example, antenna 2404 may be made of copper or a copper alloy. Antenna 2404 can be configured to have different shapes based on power transfer requirements. In the example system 2400 shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, the antenna 2404 is configured in a hierarchical spiral structure with a level 0 hierarchical antenna 2404a and a level 1 hierarchical antenna 2404b. Each of the hierarchical antennas 2404 includes antenna segments with currents flowing in opposite directions, thereby canceling out far-field radiations. For example, the antenna segments in level_0 hierarchical antenna 2404a can cancel each other's generated far-field electromagnetic radiation. Additionally, or alternatively, the far-field radiation generated by one or more antenna segments of Level_0 hierarchical antenna 2404a may be the remote field radiation generated by one or more antenna segments of Level_1 hierarchical antenna 2404b. It can be eliminated by field radiation. A power feed line (not shown) to the antenna is carried through via 2405. A power feed line may supply current to antenna 2404.

Power delivery system 2400 may include a ground plane 2406 at or on bottom surface 2402. Ground plane 2406 may be formed by materials, such as metals, alloys, and composites. In one embodiment, ground plane 2406 may be comprised of copper or a copper alloy. In some embodiments, ground plane 2406 may be comprised of a solid sheet of material. In other embodiments, the ground plane 2406 may be constructed using material strips arranged in shapes such as loops, spirals, and meshes. Vias 2405 carrying power feed lines to the antenna may pass through ground plane 2406. In some embodiments, ground plane 2406 may be electrically connected to one or more of antennas 2404. In some embodiments, ground plane 2406 may not be electrically connected to antenna 2404. For such an implementation, an isolation region 2408 may be constructed between the vias 2405 and the ground plane 2406 to isolate the via 2405 from the ground plane 2406. In some embodiments, ground plane 2406 may act as a reflector of electromagnetic waves generated by antenna 2404. In other words, the ground plane may not allow electromagnetic transmission out of the lower surface of the power delivery system 2400 by canceling and/or reflecting the transmitted image formed beyond the lower surface. Reflection of electromagnetic waves by the ground plane can enhance electromagnetic waves transmitted from or toward top surface 2401 by antenna 2404. Therefore, there can be no leakage of electromagnetic power from the lower surface. In some embodiments, there may be multiple ground planes, with each ground plane present for each of the hierarchical antennas 2404. In some embodiments, hierarchical antennas have different power feed lines carried through multiple vias.

Hierarchical antennas 2404 may be required for wideband and/or multiband designs. For example, a non-hierarchical structure may be efficient at a first frequency and a first distance between the transmitter and receiver, but inefficient at other frequencies or distances. Including more complex structures, such as hierarchical antennas 2404, allows for greater efficiency over a range of frequencies and distances.

25A-25H are various diagrams of a representative near-field antenna 2500, according to some embodiments. The representative near-field antenna 2500 and its various components are not drawn to scale. Additionally, while some example features are shown, various other features are not shown for the sake of simplicity and to avoid obscuring relevant aspects of the example implementations disclosed herein. In some examples, near-field antenna 2500 is referred to as a “quad-pol antenna element.” In some embodiments, the near-field antenna 2500 is part of the charging pad 100, for example, one or more of the near-field antennas 2500 are included in each of the antenna zones 290 (FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, near-field antennas 2500 may be the only antennas included in each of the antenna zones, but in other embodiments, near-field antennas 2500 may be included in each antenna zone along with other antennas described herein. may be included. In still other embodiments, near-field antennas 2500 may be included as the only antennas in a particular antenna zone, while other antenna zones may contain only other types of antennas described herein.

FIG. 25A shows an isometric view of a near-field antenna 2500 according to some embodiments. As shown, near-field antenna 2500 includes a substrate 2506 that is offset from reflector 2504 (e.g., offset along the z-axis), thus between reflector 2504 and substrate 2506. A gap is formed in In such an arrangement, reflector 2504 defines a first plane (e.g., a first horizontal plane; bottom surface) and substrate 2506 defines a second plane (e.g., a second plane) offset from the first plane. 2 horizontal plane; upper surface). In some embodiments, the substrate 2506 is made of a dielectric, but in other embodiments, the substrate 2506 is made of other materials, such as metamaterials, that house electrical lines that conduct current, or that can insulate, reflect, or absorb. It can be done. Metamaterials can be a broad class of synthetic materials engineered to yield desirable permeability and electrical permittivity. At least one of permeability and electrical permittivity may be based on power transmission requirements and/or compliance constraints with government regulations. In various embodiments, the metamaterials disclosed herein can receive radiation or generate radiation and act as thin reflectors.

In some embodiments, reflector 2504 is a metal sheet (e.g., copper, copper alloy, etc.), while in other embodiments reflector 2504 is a metamaterial. Reflector 2504 is configured to reflect some electromagnetic signals radiated by near-field antenna 2500. In other words, reflector 2504 reflects electromagnetic signals radiated by near-field antenna 2500, thereby preventing electromagnetic transmissions from escaping the lower surface of near-field antenna 2500. Additionally, reflecting electromagnetic signals by reflector 2504 redirects some of the electromagnetic signals transmitted from or toward substrate 2506 by the antenna elements of near-field antenna 2500. In some examples, reflector 2504 reduces the far-field gain of near-field antenna 2500. In some embodiments, reflector 2504 cancels some electromagnetic signals radiated by near-field antenna 2500.

Substrate 2506 further includes four individual coplanar antenna elements (sometimes referred to as “radiating elements”), each of the four individual coplanar antenna elements following a respective meandering pattern. Four individual coplanar antenna elements each occupy a separate quadrant of the substrate. Each of the first surfaces of the coplanar antenna elements is coplanar with the top surface of the substrate 2506, and each of the second surfaces, opposite the first surface, of the coplanar antenna elements is coplanar with the bottom surface of the substrate 2506. To achieve this, coplanar antenna elements are embedded within substrate 2506. Each of the meandering patterns is used to increase the effective length of the four individual coplanar antenna elements, thereby lowering the resonant frequency of antenna 2500 and reducing the overall size of antenna 2500.

In some embodiments, each of the meander patterns are all the same, while in other embodiments, one or more of each meander pattern is different. Each of the four individual coplanar antenna elements includes a number of consecutive (and/or adjacent) segments, as will be described below with reference to FIG. 25F. In some embodiments (not shown), the shape of each segment of the multiple segments is substantially the same (eg, each may be rectangular or some other shape). Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the shape of at least one segment of the plurality of segments is different from the shape of other segments of the plurality of segments. It will be appreciated that various combinations of shapes may be used to form the segments of each antenna element, and that the shapes shown in FIG. 25A are exemplary only. Additionally, in some embodiments, the substrate 2506 is not included and the four individual coplanar antenna elements are made of stamped metal (i.e., the radiating elements lie in the open space above the reflector 2504). .

The four individual coplanar antenna elements are, in FIG. 25A, first radiating element 2502-A, second radiating element 2503-B, third radiating element 2502-C, and fourth radiating element 2502-D. ) is shown as. The first radiating element 2502-A and the second radiating element 2502-B are, together, disposed along a first axis (e.g., the X-axis) (e.g., centered on the first axis). Construct (form) the first dipole antenna (2501-A). In other words, the first radiating element 2502-A is the first pole of the first dipole antenna 2501-A, and the second radiating element 2502-B is the second pole of the first dipole antenna 2501-A. It's Paul. The first dipole antenna 2501-A is indicated by a dashed line.

Additionally, the third radiating element 2502-C and the fourth radiating element 2502-D together form a second dipole disposed along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis (e.g., Y-axis). Construct (form) an antenna (2501-B). In other words, the third radiating element 2502-C is the first pole of the second dipole antenna 2501-B, and the fourth radiating element 2502-D is the second pole of the second dipole antenna 2501-B. It's Paul. The second dipole antenna 2501-B is indicated by a dashed-dotted line.

25B, another isometric view (e.g., isometric bottom view) of a near-field antenna 2500 according to some embodiments is shown. For ease of explanation, reflector 2504 is not shown in FIG. 25B.

As shown, the near-field antenna 2500 further includes a first feed 2508-A and a second feed 2508-B attached to a central region of the substrate 2504. The first feed 2508-A is connected to first and second radiating elements 2502-A and 2502-B, forming a first dipole antenna 2501-A. More specifically, the first feed 2508-A is connected to the second radiating element 2502-B through a connector 2512-A (FIG. 25C) and an intra-dipole connector ( It is connected to the first radiating element 2502-A through 2510-A). The first feed 2508-A supplies electromagnetic signals originating from a power amplifier (e.g., power amplifier 108, FIG. 26) to the first and second radiating elements 2502-A and 2502-B. It is configured to do so.

The second feed 2508-B is connected to the third and fourth radiating elements 2502-C and 2502-D, forming a second dipole antenna 2501-B. More specifically, the first feed 2508-B is connected to the fourth radiating element 2502-D through a connector 2512-B (FIG. 25C) and an intra-dipole connector ( It is connected to the third radiating element 2502-C through 2510-B). The second feed 2508-B is configured to supply electromagnetic signals originating from the power amplifier to the third and fourth radiating elements 2502-C and 2502-D. The four radiating elements are configured to radiate provided electromagnetic signals (eg, radio frequency power waves) that are used to power or charge a wirelessly powered device.

In some embodiments, as will be described in detail below, the four radiating elements do not radiate simultaneously. Instead, the first dipole antenna 2501-A is supplied with electromagnetic signals or the second dipole antenna 2501-B is supplied with electromagnetic signals, based on information about the wirelessly powered device.

Electromagnetic signals radiated by the first dipole antenna 2501-A have a first polarization, and electromagnetic signals radiated by the second dipole antenna 2501-B have a second polarization perpendicular to the first polarization. The difference in polarization may be at least partially due to the orientation of the first and second dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B. For example, the first dipole antenna 2501-A is disposed along a first axis (e.g., X-axis), and the second dipole antenna 2501-B is positioned along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. arranged along an axis (e.g. Y-axis). Accordingly, in some examples, electromagnetic signals are fed to a dipole antenna with a polarization that matches the polarization of the powered antenna of the wireless powered device. The process of selectively coupling one of the dipole antennas to a feeding source of electromagnetic signals is described in method 3000 (FIG. 30) below.

To facilitate the following description, when appropriate, the substrate 2506 and the radiating elements 2502-A through 2502-D will be collectively referred to as “radiator 2507.”

25C and 25D show different side views of the near-field antenna 2500, with the side view of FIG. 25D rotated 90 degrees relative to the side view of FIG. 25C. In certain embodiments or situations, first feed 2508-A is connected to second radiating element 2502-B by connector 2512-A and first feed 2508-A by intra-dipole antenna 2510-A. 1 is connected to radiating element 2502-A (intra-dipole connector 2510-A is shown in FIG. 25B). In certain embodiments or situations, the second feed 2508-B is connected to the fourth radiating element 2502-D by a connector 2512-B, and the second feed 2508-B is connected to the fourth radiating element 2502-D by an intra-dipole antenna 2510-B. 3 is connected to radiating element 2502-C (intra-dipole connector 2510-B is shown in FIG. 25B).

25E, another side view of a near-field antenna 2500 is shown, according to some embodiments. As shown, first and second feeds 2508-A, 2508-B are substantially perpendicular to radiator 2570. For example, each of feeds 2508-A, 2508-B is arranged along a respective vertical axis, and antenna 2507 is arranged along a horizontal axis/plane. Additionally, the first and second feeds 2508-A, 2508-B are connected at a first end to an antenna 2507 and at a second end opposite the first end to a printed circuit board 2514 and ground. Connected to plane 1516. In some embodiments, printed circuit board 2514 and ground plane 2516 constitute reflector 2504. Alternatively, in some embodiments, reflector 2504 is offset from printed circuit board 2514 (e.g., disposed between antenna 2507 and printed circuit board 2514) and ground plane 1516. It is an individual part. In this arrangement, reflector 2504 may define openings (not shown) through which first and second feeds 2508-A, 2508-B may pass.

As shown in enlarged view 2520, first feed 2508-A is connected to feed line 2524-A, which is housed (i.e., surrounded) by shield 2522-A (e.g., conductive metal lines). Feed line 2524-A is connected to metal traces of printed circuit board 2514 (e.g., communication buses 208, FIG. 26) by metal deposit 2526-A. is connected to Shield 2522-A also contacts ground plane 2516, thereby grounding first dipole 2501-A.

Similarly, second feed 2508-B includes a feed line 2524-B that is housed by shield 2522-B. Feed line 2524-B is connected to metal traces (not shown) of printed circuit board 2514 by metal coating 2526-B. Shield 2522-B also contacts ground plane 2516, thereby grounding second dipole 2501-B. As described below with reference to FIG. 26, the metal traces of printed circuit board 2514 support one or more power amplifiers 108, impedance-adjustment component 2620, and switch 2630 (herein referred to as a “switch”). One or more additional components (not shown in FIGS. 25A-25H) of near-field antenna 2500 may be connected, including "circuitry").

Although not shown in FIG. 25E, a dielectric can separate the feed lines from the shielding in each feed (e.g., electrically isolating the two components). Additionally, another dielectric may surround the shield in each feed to protect the shield (i.e., first and second feeds 2508-A, 2508-B may be coaxial cables). It should be noted that the specific shape of the metal coatings 2526-A and 2526-B may vary in particular embodiments, and that the shapes shown in FIG. 25E are merely examples used to facilitate explanation.

25F, a representative radiating element 2550 is shown following a meandering pattern, according to some embodiments. As shown, a representative radiating element 2550 includes (i) a plurality of first segments 2560-A to 2560-D, and (ii) a plurality of first segments (separated by dashed lines) and a plurality of second segments 2562-A to 2562-C interspersed between 2560-A to 2560-D). In some embodiments, the first number of segments 2560-A through 2560-D and the second number of segments 2562-A through 2562-C are consecutive segments. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the first segments 2560-A through 2560-D and the second plurality of segments 2562-A through 2562-C are adjacent segments (e.g., neighboring segments). The ends of the segments are adjacent to each other). The boundaries shown (e.g., dashed lines) separating segments in Figure 25F are merely one example of a set of boundaries and are used for illustrative purposes only, and those skilled in the art will recognize other boundaries (e.g., dashed lines). and segment descriptions) are within the scope of this disclosure.

As shown, the length of the segments for the plurality of first segments 2560-A through 2560-D ranges from the first end portion 2564 of the radiating element 2550 to the second end of the radiating element 2550. It increases towards the part (2566). In some embodiments, although not shown, the length of the segments in the plurality of second segments 2562-A through 2562-C is equal to or greater than the radiating element (2564) at the first end portion 2564 of the radiating element 2550. It increases toward the second terminal portion 2566 of 2550). Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the length of the segments in the second plurality of segments 2562-A through 2652-C is such that the length of the segments in the first terminal portion 2564 of the radiating element 2550 is It remains substantially the same up to the second terminal portion 2566 of 2550). In the illustrated embodiments, the length of the first plurality of segments 2560-A to 2560-D is different from the length of the second plurality of segments 2562-A to 2562-C. Additionally, the length of the plurality of first segments 2560-A to 2560-D, which are directed toward the second terminal portion 2566 of the radiating element 2550, extends from the second terminal portion 1566 of the radiating element 2550. is greater than the length of the segments in the second plurality of segments 2562-A through 2562-C.

In some embodiments, the shape of the radiating element provides certain important advantages. For example, the specific shape of the representative radiating element 2550 shown in FIG. 25F has the following advantages: (i) the shape allows two vertically disposed dipoles to fit into a small area, and the substrate 2506 (each pair of quadrants is perpendicular to each other), and (ii) the width and gaps (i.e., the space between quadrants) between the segments of neighboring radiating elements are adjusted to a near-field antenna (i.e., the space between quadrants) at the desired frequency. 2500), while still maintaining the miniaturized form-factor of the radiating elements. To illustrate reference numeral (i), with reference to FIG. 25A, the first and second radiating elements 2502-A, 2502-B are located in a first pair of quadrants comprising the sides of the near-field antenna along the Y-axis. occupies Additionally, the third and fourth radiating elements 2502-C, 2502-D occupy a second pair of quadrants containing the sides of the near-field antenna along the X-axis. Accordingly, the first and second pairs of quadrants of the substrate 2506 include sides of the NF antenna that are perpendicular to each other (e.g., this characteristic may be associated with a central portion of the near-field antenna 2500 This is made possible in part by the width of each radiating element, which increases towards each side).

25G, a top view of a representative near-field antenna 2500 is shown, according to some embodiments. The dimensions of the near-field antenna 2500 determine, among other characteristics of the NF antenna 2500, the operating frequency of the near-field antenna 2500, the radiation efficiency of the near-field antenna 2500, and the resulting radiation produced by the near-field antenna 2500. patterns (e.g., radiation pattern 2800, FIG. 28A). As an example, the near-field antenna 2500, when operating at approximately 918 MHz, has the following dimensions (approximately): D1=9.3mm, D2=12.7mm, D3=23.7mm, D4=27mm, D5=32mm. , D6=37.5mm, D7=10.6mm, D8=5.1mm, D9=10.6mm, D10=5.5mm, D11=2.1mm and D12=28mm. Additionally, reflector 2504 may have a width of 65 mm, a height of 65 mm, and a thickness of 0.25 mm.

25H, another top view of a representative near-field antenna 2500 is shown, according to some embodiments. As shown, each of the four individual coplanar antennas occupies a separate quadrant of substrate 2506 (e.g., one of quadrants 2570-A through 2570-D, as shown by the dashed lines) occupies). Additionally, (i) the first longitudinal portion 2564 of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements borders the central portion 2574 (dashed line) of the near-field antenna 2500, and (ii) 4 The second terminal portion 2566 of each meander pattern followed by each of the individual antenna elements borders one of the edges 2572-A through 2572-D of the near-field antenna 2500. In such an arrangement, the longest length of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements (e.g., segment 2560-D) is greater than the central portion 2574 of the near-field antenna 2500. Closer to the edge (2572). Additionally, the shortest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements is closer to the center portion 2574 of the near-field antenna 2500 than to the individual edges 2572 of the near-field antenna 2500. Accordingly, in the meandering method, the width of each of the four individual antenna elements increases from the center portion 2574 of the near-field antenna 2500 to each edge 2572 of the near-field antenna 2500. Additionally, in some embodiments, the longest dimension of each meander pattern is parallel to the individual edge 2572.

As shown in FIG. 27, near-field antenna 2500 (when it includes a reflector) produces a substantially uniform radiation pattern 2700 with minimal far-field gain. The dimensions provided above are by way of example only, and those skilled in the art (having read this disclosure) will appreciate that, depending on the circumstances, various other dimensions may be used to achieve acceptable radiation properties.

FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of a control system 2600 used to control the operation of specific components of the near-field antenna 2500, according to some embodiments. Control system 2600 may be, for example, charging pad 100 (FIG. 1A), although one or more components included in charging pad 100 may be included within control system 2600 for ease of description and illustration. not included.

Control system 2600 includes an RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, one or more power amplifiers 108, an impedance-adjustment component 2620, and first and second dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B. It includes a near-field antenna 2500 that includes. Each of these components has been described in detail above, and impedance-adjusting component 2620 will be described in more detail below.

Impedance-adjusting component 2620, which may be an RF termination or load, is configured to adjust the impedance of at least one of the first and second dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B. In other words, impedance-adjusting component 2620 is configured to change the impedance of one of the dipole antennas, thereby creating an impedance mismatch between the two dipole antennas. By creating an impedance mismatch between the two dipole antennas, the mutual coupling between the two dipole antennas is substantially reduced. It should be noted that impedance-adjustment component 2620 is an example of an antenna-adjustment component. To ensure that one of the two dipoles is not tuned to the transmission frequency of the other dipole, various other characteristics of the antenna (e.g. the length of each dipole's antenna elements) are adjusted (e.g. A variety of other antenna-steering components may be used (to change the effective length of any of the elements).

Control system 2600 includes switch 2630 (also referred to herein as a “switch circuit”) with one or more switches (not shown). Switch 2630, in response to receiving one or more commands in the form of an electrical signal (e.g., a “control out” signal) from RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, controls first and second dipole antennas 2501 -A, 2501-B) are switchably coupled to the impedance-adjusting component 2620 and at least one power amplifier 108, respectively. For example, switch 2630 couples first dipole antenna 2501-A to impedance-adjusting component 2620 and couples second dipole antenna 2501-B to at least one Coupled to the power amplifier 108 or vice versa.

To achieve the above-described switching, switch 2630 provides separate signal paths (e.g., via one or more switches therein) to first and second dipole antennas 2501-A, 2501-B. to provide. Each of the switches, once closed, provides (i) a unique path between each power amplifier 108 (or multiple power amplifiers 108) and each dipole antenna, or (ii) an impedance-adjustment component 1620 and each Creates a unique path between dipole antennas. In other words, some of the unique paths through switch 2630 are used to selectively provide RF signals to one of the dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B, while some of the unique paths through switch 2630 Some of them are used to adjust the impedance of one of the dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B (i.e., are used to detune the dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B). Two or more switches in a switch circuit can be closed simultaneously, thereby creating multiple unique paths to the near-field antenna 2500 that can be utilized simultaneously.

As shown, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 is coupled to switch 2630 via busing 208. Integrated circuit 160 is configured to control the operation of one or more switches thereon (shown as a “control out” signal in FIGS. 1A, 1C and 26). For example, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 closes the first switch in switch 2630, connecting each power amplifier 108 with first dipole antenna 2501-A, and impedance- The second switch in switch 2630, which connects the adjustment component 2620 to the second dipole antenna 2501-B, may be closed, or vice versa. Additionally, the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 is coupled to one or more power amplifiers 108 and causes generation of an appropriate RF signal (e.g., an “RF out” signal), the one or more power amplifiers 108 causes the provision of an RF signal to the One or more power amplifiers 108 then connect one of the dipole antennas (e.g., and configured to provide an RF signal (based on commands received from the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160).

In some embodiments, the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 controller controls (i) the location of the wirelessly powered device near (or above) the near-field antenna 2500, (ii) the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device. and (iii) the spatial orientation of the wirelessly powered device. In some embodiments, RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 may be configured to: (i) the location of the wirelessly powered device, (ii) the polarization of the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device, and (iii) ) Receive information that allows determining the spatial orientation of the wirelessly powered device. For example, a wirelessly powered device may transmit one or more communication signals representative of each of the above to a communication radio of near-field antenna 2500 (e.g., data in the one or more communication signals may be indicates the position, polarization and/or orientation of the receiving device). As shown in FIG. 1A , wireless communications component 204 (i.e., communications radio of near field antenna 2500) is connected to RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160. Accordingly, data received by wireless communication component 204 may be delivered to RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160.

In some embodiments, the first dipole antenna 2501-A is configured to radiate electromagnetic signals with a first polarization (e.g., horizontally polarized electromagnetic signals), and the second dipole antenna 2501-B may be configured to radiate electromagnetic signals with a second polarization (eg, vertically polarized electromagnetic signals) (or vice versa). Additionally, when the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device is configured to receive electromagnetic signals having a first polarization, the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, through switch 2630, connects first dipole antenna 2501-A will connect to one or more power amplifiers 108 and connect the impedance-adjusting component 2620 to the second dipole antenna 2501-B. In this manner, the electromagnetic signals radiated by the near-field antenna 2500 will have a polarization that matches the polarization of the target device, thereby increasing the efficiency of energy delivered to the wirelessly powered device.

In some embodiments, switch 2630 may be part of (or within) near-field antenna 2500. Alternatively, in some embodiments, switch 2630 is separate from near-field antenna 2500 (e.g., switch 2630 is a separate component or another component, such as power amplifier(s) 108. may be part of a part). It should be noted that any switch design capable of achieving the above may be used.

27, a radiation pattern 2700 produced by a near-field antenna 2500 is shown when including a back reflector 2504 (i.e., behind the radiating antenna elements, there is a metal reflector). The illustrated radiation pattern 2700 occurs when (i) the first dipole antenna 2501-A is fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108, and (ii) the near-field antenna 2500 is a reflector. When including (2504), it is generated by the near-field antenna (2500). As shown, radiation pattern 2700 produces a high concentration of EM energy along the X- and Y-axes (also has a radiation null along the Z-axis) and has an overall torus shape. forms. In that case, the electromagnetic field concentration is kept closer to the NF antenna 2500 and the far-field gain is minimized (e.g., the EM field concentration is kept closer to the emitter 2507 and reflector 2504 , Figure 25e). Although not shown, radiation pattern 2700 is polarized in a direction aligned with the Z-axis.

Accordingly, by including reflector 2504, radiation pattern 2700 is rotated 90 degrees about the X axis relative to radiation pattern 2800 (FIG. 28A, discussed below). Additionally, by including the reflector 2504, a radiation null is created that substantially reduces the far-field gain along the Z-axis, such that the energy radiated by the near-field antenna 2500 varies with the near-field distance from the near-field antenna 2500. concentrated within. Again, the second dipole antenna 2501-B can be connected to the impedance-adjusting component 2620 when the first dipole antenna 2501-A is fed electromagnetic signals.

28A to 28C, various radiation patterns generated by an embodiment of the near-field antenna 2500 that does not include a reflector 2504 are shown. The radiation pattern shown in FIG. 28A is generated by the near-field antenna 2500 when the first dipole antenna 21501-A is fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108. As shown, radiation pattern 2800 produces a higher concentration of EM energy along the Z- and X-axes (and has a radiation null along the Y-axis), forming an overall torus shape. This pattern 2800 shows that the antenna element, without the reflector, radiates out of/perpendicular to the near-field antenna 2500. Although not shown, radiation pattern 2800 is polarized in a first direction (eg, aligned with the X-axis). Additionally, the second dipole antenna 2501-B may be connected to the impedance-adjusting component 2620 when the first dipole antenna 2501-A is fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108. You can.

The radiation pattern 2810 shown in FIG. 28B is generated by the near-field antenna 2500 when the second dipole antenna 2501-B is fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108 (i.e. , the first dipole antenna 2501-A is not fed electromagnetic signals, but is instead connected to the impedance-adjusting component 2620). In FIG. 28B , a radiation pattern 2810 is shown that produces higher concentrations of EM energy along the Z- and Y-axes (and also has a radiation null along the X-axis), forming an overall torus shape. Although not shown, radiation pattern 2810 is polarized in a second direction (eg, aligned to the Y-axis). Accordingly, the first dipole antenna 2501-A is configured to generate a radiation pattern 2800 polarized in a first direction, and the second dipole antenna 2501-B is polarized in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. It is configured to generate a radiation pattern 2810. In this manner, the first dipole antenna 2501-A is fed when the polarization of the electromagnetic signals generated by the first dipole antenna 2501-A matches the polarization of the power-receiving antenna of the wireless power receiver. Alternatively, the second dipole antenna 2501-D may feed when the polarization of the electromagnetic signals generated by the second dipole antenna 2501-B matches the polarization of the powered antenna of the wireless powered device. Receive.

28C shows the radiation pattern 2820 generated when the first and second dipole antennas are fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108 and no dipole antenna is connected to the impedance-adjusting component 2620. This is shown. As shown, radiation pattern 2820 produces high concentrations of EM energy along the Z-, X-, and Y-axes (and a radiation null is formed between the Forms a torus shape.

29A and 29B show the concentration of energy radiated and absorbed by the dipole antenna of the near-field antenna 2500, according to some embodiments.

In particular, in Figure 29a, when the impedance of the first dipole antenna 2501-A is substantially matched to the impedance of the second dipole antenna 2501-B, the dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B The resulting concentrations of radiated and absorbed energy are shown. In Figure 29b, when the impedance of the first dipole antenna (2501-A) is different from the impedance of the second dipole antenna (2501-B), the dipole antennas (2501-A, 2501-B) of the near-field antenna (2500) The resulting concentrations of energy radiated and absorbed by the antenna are shown, which is achieved by connecting one of the dipole antennas to an impedance-matching component 2620. In other words, the first and second dipole antennas 2501-A, 2501-B are intentionally detuned as a result of one of the dipole antennas being connected to the impedance-adjusting component 2620.

The absence of impedance mismatch between neighboring antenna elements leads to substantial mutual coupling between neighboring antenna elements. “Mutual coupling” refers to the absorption of energy by one antenna element (or one antenna dipole) while another nearby antenna element (or antenna dipole) is radiating. Antennas (or antenna arrays) with closely spaced antenna elements typically suffer from unwanted mutual coupling between neighboring antenna elements, which limits the antenna's functionality to radiated efficiency (this problem is , especially when the antenna elements are installed close to each other and when the antenna elements are miniaturized).

For example, referring to FIG. 29A, the second dipole antenna 2501-B is fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108, and the color along the second dipole antenna 2501-B is the second dipole antenna 2501-B. 2 It represents different concentrations of energy radiated by the dipole antenna (2501-B), with red corresponding to high concentration, green corresponding to medium concentration, and blue corresponding to low concentration. The first dipole antenna 2501-A in FIG. 29A does not radiate independently, and a certain amount of energy radiated by the second dipole antenna 2501-B is radiated from the first dipole antenna 2501-A. absorption, which is a result of the mutual coupling of these two dipole antennas. Because of this mutual coupling, the radiation efficiency of near-field antenna 2500 is not optimal (e.g., NF antenna 2500 is only able to transmit less than 50% of the energy it attempted to transmit).

In contrast, referring to FIG. 29B, the second dipole antenna 2501-B is fed electromagnetic signals by one or more power amplifiers 108. Additionally, the first dipole antenna 2501-A is coupled to the impedance-adjusting component 2620, thereby creating an intentional impedance mismatch between the two dipole antennas. In such a configuration, the first dipole antenna 2501-A in FIG. 29B absorbs energy by the second dipole antenna 2501-B compared to the amount of energy absorbed by the first dipole antenna 2501-A in FIG. 29A. Absorbs much less radiated energy. Accordingly, the radiation efficiency of near-field antenna 2500 in Figure 29B is higher than that of near-field antenna 2500 in Figure 29A (i.e., NF antenna 2500 has 90% of the energy it attempted to transmit). % or more can be radiated).

How it works

FIG. 30 shows a flowchart of a wireless power transmission method 3000 according to some embodiments. The operations (e.g., steps) of the method 3000 may include a controller (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160) associated with a near-field antenna (e.g., near-field antenna 2500, FIG. 25A). It can be implemented by FIGS. 1A and 26). At least some of the operations depicted in FIG. 30 correspond to instructions stored in computer memory or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 206 of charging pad 100, FIG. 2A).

The method 300 includes a reflector (e.g., reflector 2504, FIG. 25A) and four individual coplanar antenna elements offset from the reflector (e.g., radiating elements 2502-A through 2502-D). ), FIG. 25A ), and providing a near-field antenna (3002). The four individual antenna elements each follow meandering patterns, such as the meandering pattern shown in Figure 25F. Additionally, (i) two of the four coplanar antenna elements have a first dipole antenna (e.g., dipole antenna 2501-) aligned with the first axis (e.g., A), Figure 25a), and (ii) another two of the four coplanar antenna elements (e.g., dipole antenna 2501-B, Figure 25a) are perpendicular to the first axis. Forming a second dipole antenna aligned with a second axis (e.g., Y-axis, Figure 25A). In some embodiments, each meander pattern is all identical.

In some embodiments, a first of the four individual coplanar antenna elements (e.g., first radiating element 2502-A) is the first pole of a first dipole antenna, and the four individual coplanar antenna elements The second antenna element (e.g., the second radiating element 2502-B) is the second pole of the first dipole antenna. Additionally, the third of the four individual coplanar antenna elements (e.g., third radiating element 2502-C) is the first pole of the second dipole antenna, and the fourth of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is the first pole of the second dipole antenna. The antenna element (e.g., fourth radiating element 2502-D) is the second pole of a second dipole antenna. The two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna may each include two segments perpendicular to the first axis, and the other two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna may each include two segments perpendicular to the first axis. It contains two parallel segments. For example, referring to Figure 25A, each of the first and second radiating elements 2502-A, 2502-B has two segments perpendicular to the X-axis (e.g., segments 2560 -C and 2560-D), FIG. 25F), each of the third and fourth radiating elements 2502-C, 2502-D comprising two segments parallel to the X-axis (e.g. , segments 2560-C and 2560-D, Figure 25f). In such an arrangement, the two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna are configured to radiate electromagnetic signals with a first polarization, and the two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna are configured to radiate electromagnetic signals with a second polarization perpendicular to the first polarization. It is configured to emit electromagnetic signals with polarization.

In some embodiments, each of the four individual antenna elements includes (i) a plurality of first segments and (ii) a plurality of second segments interspersed between each of the first plurality of segments. For example, referring to FIG. 25G, a plurality of second segments 2562-A through 2562-C are interspersed between a plurality of first segments 2560-A through 2560-D. In such embodiments, the first length of the segments within the plurality of first segments increases from the first end portion of the antenna element to the second end portion of the antenna element, as shown in FIGS. 25F and 25G. . The “first termination portion” of each antenna element corresponds to the first termination portion shown in FIG. 25F, where the first termination portion of each antenna element is near the center portion 2574 (FIG. 25H) of the near-field antenna 2500. It is in Additionally, the “second termination portion” of each antenna element corresponds to the second termination portion 2566 shown in FIG. 25F, where the second termination portion of each antenna element corresponds to the edge 2572 of the near-field antenna 2500. (Figure 25h). Therefore, simply put, the width of each of the four individual antenna elements increases from the center portion of the near-field antenna 2500 to each edge of the near-field antenna 2500, in a meandering manner.

In some embodiments, the second length of the segments in the plurality of second segments increases from the first end portion of the antenna element to the second end portion of the antenna element, and in other embodiments, the second length of the segments in the plurality of second segments increases from the first end portion of the antenna element to the second end portion of the antenna element. The second lengths of the two segments are substantially equal, as shown in FIG. 25F. Additionally, a first length of one or more segments in the first number of segments is different from a second length of the segments in the second number of segments. In some embodiments, the first length of the first number of segments facing the second termination portion of the antenna element is greater than the second length of the second number of segments facing the second termination portion of the antenna element. For example, the length of segments 2560-C and 2560-D is substantially longer than the length of segments 2562-B and 2562-C. Segments of radiating elements have been described in detail above with reference to FIGS. 25F and 25G.

In some embodiments, the first longitudinal portion of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements borders the same central portion of the near-field antenna (e.g., central portion 2574, FIG. 25H), and The second terminal portion of each meander pattern followed by each of the individual antenna elements borders an individual edge of the near-field antenna (e.g., one of the edges 2572, FIG. 25H). Additionally, the longest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements may be closer to an individual edge of the near-field antenna than to the same central portion of the near-field antenna. Additionally, the shortest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements may be closer to the co-center portion of the near-field antenna than to the individual edges of the near-field antenna.

In some embodiments, four individual coplanar antenna elements are formed on or within the substrate. For example, as shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the opposing first and second surfaces of the four individual coplanar antenna elements are exposed coplanar with the opposing first and second surfaces of the substrate 2506. do. A dielectric (e.g., a thermoplastic or thermoset polymer) may be deposited on the four individual coplanar antenna elements to protect them (which may or may not be visible depending on the nature of the dielectric). In some embodiments, the substrate may include a metamaterial of predetermined magnetic permeability or electrical permittivity. Metamaterial substrates can increase the overall performance of near-field antennas (e.g., increase radiation efficiency compared to substrates made of common dielectrics).

The near-field antenna further includes a switch circuit (e.g., switch 2630, FIG. 26) coupled to at least two of the four coplanar antenna elements. For example, a near-field antenna may include a first feed (e.g., feed 2508-A) having opposing first and second ends, the first end of the first feed being the first feed 2508-A. It is connected to the first of the two antenna elements constituting the dipole antenna, and the second end of the first feed is connected to the switch circuit, for example, through metal traces deposited on the printed circuit board 25e. Connected. Additionally, the near-field antenna may include a second feed (e.g., feed 2508-B) having opposing first and second ends, the first end of the second feed comprising a second dipole antenna. It is connected to a first antenna element of the two antenna elements, and the second end of the second feed is connected to metal traces (e.g., bussing 208) deposited on, for example, a printed circuit board 2541. )), it is connected to the switch circuit. The feeds and printed circuit board were described in detail above with reference to Figure 25E.

The near-field antenna has a power amplifier (e.g., power amplifier(s) 108, FIG. 26) coupled to the switch circuit (e.g., via a metal trace) and the switch (e.g., via a metal trace). and an impedance-adjusting component (e.g., component 2520, FIG. 26) coupled to the circuit. The near-field antenna may include a controller configured to control the operation of the switch circuit and power amplifier (e.g., RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160, FIGS. 1A and 26). The controller may be connected to the switch circuit and power amplifier via metal traces. The power amplifier, impedance-adjustment components and controller were described in detail above with reference to FIG. 26.

The method 3000 includes (i) coupling a first dipole antenna to a power amplifier, and (ii) instructing a switch circuit to couple a second dipole antenna to an impedance-adjusting component (or vice versa). It further includes (3004). For example, referring to Figure 26, integrated circuit 160 may transmit a “control out” signal to switch circuit 2630, thereby causing one or more first switches in switch circuit 2630 to close. Each power amplifier 108 and the first dipole antenna 2501-A are connected. The “control out” signal causes one or more second switches in switch circuit 2630 to close, thereby connecting impedance-adjusting component 2620 and second dipole antenna 2501-B. It should be noted that in some embodiments, switch circuit 2630 includes first and second switch circuits. In such embodiments, the first switch circuit is closed such that the dipole antenna is connected to the power amplifier and the second dipole antenna is connected to the impedance-adjusting component. Additionally, the second switch circuit is closed such that the first dipole antenna is connected to the impedance-adjusting component and the second dipole antenna is connected to the power amplifier. Controlling the operation of the switch circuit 2630 has been described in detail above with reference to FIG. 26.

One or more signals generated and provided by the controller may be based on information received from a wirelessly powered device (e.g., receiver 104, FIG. 2B). For example, the controller may provide (i) location information for the wirelessly powered device, (ii) polarization information for the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device, and/or (iii) orientation information for the wirelessly powered device. Each of these pieces of information can be received from a wirelessly powered device. Additionally, one or more electrical signals may be based on information thus received. In other words, the controller may determine (i) the location of the wirelessly powered device (indicated as location information), (ii) the polarization for the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device (indicated as polarization information), and/or (iii) ( and configured to control the operation of the switch circuit and the power amplifier based on one or more of the orientation with respect to the wireless power receiving device (indicated as orientation information).

As described above with reference to FIG. 26, the switch circuit is responsive to receiving one or more electrical signals (e.g., “control out” signals) from the RF power transmitter integrated circuit 160 to provide an impedance-adjustment component. It is configured to switchably couple the first and second dipole antennas 2501-A and 2501-B to (2620) and the power amplifier 108 (or vice versa). Additionally, in some embodiments, the switch circuit switchably couples the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier and the second dipole antenna to the impedance adjustment component when the near-field antenna is in the first mode of operation. It can be configured to do so. Additionally, the switch circuit can switchably couple the second dipole antenna to the power amplifier and switch the first dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component when the near-field antenna is in a second mode of operation that is distinct from the first mode of operation. It can be configured to be combined.

The method 3000 further includes instructing the power amplifier to feed electromagnetic signals to the first dipole antenna through the switch circuit (3006). For example, referring to Figure 26, integrated circuit 160 transmits an “RF out” signal to the power amplifier. The power amplifier then amplifies the received “RF out” signal (if necessary) and provides the amplified RF signal through the switch circuit to the first dipole antenna. The electromagnetic signals, when fed to the first dipole antenna, cause the first dipole antenna to radiate electromagnetic signals to be received by a wirelessly powered device positioned within a critical distance from the near-field antenna. The wirelessly powered device uses energy from the radiated electromagnetic signals, once received, to power or charge an electronic device coupled with the wirelessly powered device. Additionally, because the second dipole antenna, and not the first dipole antenna, is connected to the impedance-adjusting component, the impedance of the second dipole antenna is adjusted so that the impedance of the second dipole antenna is different from the impedance of the first dipole antenna. . In such an arrangement, the first dipole antenna and the second dipole antenna are detuned (eg, the operating frequency of the first dipole antenna is made different from the operating frequency of the second dipole antenna).

In some embodiments, the method 3000 further includes the reflector reflecting at least a portion of the electromagnetic signals radiated by the first dipole antenna. Additionally, in some embodiments, the method 3000 further includes the reflector canceling at least a portion of the electromagnetic signals radiated by the first dipole antenna.

All of these examples are non-limiting, and any number of combinations and layered structures will be possible using the example structures described above.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure, additional embodiments include various subsets of the above-described embodiments, including the embodiments of FIGS. 1-30 combined or rearranged into various embodiments.

Terms used in the detailed description of the present invention are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used in the description of the invention and in the appended claims, the singular forms also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated and listed items. The terms “comprising” and/or “comprising”, when used herein, specify described features, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but may also include one or more other features, steps, It should be noted that this does not exclude the presence or addition of operations, component parts and/or groups thereof.

Although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are used to describe various elements, these elements are not limited by such terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one device from another. For example, if the “first region” is consistently renamed and the “second region” is consistently renamed, the first region may be referred to as the second region without changing the meaning of the description; Similarly the second region may be referred to as the first region. The first area and the second area are two areas, but are not the same area.

The above description has been made with reference to specific embodiments. However, the foregoing illustrative description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments have been selected and described so as to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications, whereby those skilled in the art will recognize the invention and the various embodiments with various modifications as suited to the particular use contemplated. It will be used to its best advantage.

Claims (22)

As a near-field antenna,
reflector;
Four individual coplanar antenna elements offset from the reflector - each of the four individual coplanar antenna elements follows a respective meander pattern, and two of the four coplanar antenna elements form a first dipole antenna along the first axis. and the other two antenna elements of the four coplanar antenna elements form a second dipole antenna along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis.
a power amplifier configured to feed electromagnetic signals to at least one of the first dipole antenna and the second dipole antenna;
an impedance-adjusting component configured to adjust the impedance of at least one of the first dipole antenna and the second dipole antenna; and
Coupled to the power amplifier, the impedance-adjusting component, and the first and second dipole antennas, the device is configured to (i) switchably couple the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier and switch the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component; (ii) switchably couple the second dipole antenna to the power amplifier and switchably couple the first dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component;
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
In a first mode of operation for the near-field antenna, the switch circuit (i) couples the first dipole antenna to a power amplifier, (ii) couples the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component,
In a second mode for a near-field antenna, the switch circuit (i) couples the second dipole antenna to a power amplifier, and (ii) couples the first dipole antenna to an impedance-adjusting component.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 2,
In a first mode of operation for the near-field antenna, the first dipole antenna receives an electromagnetic wave from the power amplifier and radiates the received electromagnetic wave with a first polarization,
In a second mode of operation for the near-field antenna, the second dipole antenna receives an electromagnetic wave from the power amplifier and radiates the received electromagnetic wave having a second polarization different from the first polarization.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 3,
A wireless power receiving device disposed within a critical distance from the near-field antenna is configured to harvest radiated electromagnetic waves and use the harvested electromagnetic waves to power an electronic device coupled to the wireless power receiving device or to charge the electronic device.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
Further comprising a controller configured to control the operation of the switch circuit and the power amplifier.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 5,
The controller controls the switch circuit and the power amplifier based on one or more of (i) the position of the wirelessly powered device, (ii) the polarization of the powered antenna of the wirelessly powered device, and (iii) the spatial orientation of the wirelessly powered device. configured to control motion
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
a first feed connected to a first element of the two antenna elements of the first dipole antenna and a switch circuit;
The second dipole antenna further includes a second feed connected to a first element of the other two antenna elements and a switch circuit,
The first feed is configured to supply electromagnetic signals originating from the power amplifier to the first antenna element of the first dipole antenna when the power amplifier is switchably coupled to the first dipole antenna by a switch circuit,
The second feed is configured to supply electromagnetic signals originating from the power amplifier to the first antenna element of the second dipole antenna when the power amplifier is switchably coupled to the second dipole antenna by a switch circuit.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
The first antenna element of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is the first pole of the first dipole antenna,
The second antenna element of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is the second pole of the first dipole antenna,
The third antenna element of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is the first pole of the second dipole antenna,
a fourth antenna element of the four individual coplanar antenna elements is a second pole of a second dipole antenna,
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
Each of the two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna includes two segments perpendicular to the first axis,
Each of the other two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna comprises two segments parallel to the first axis.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
A first longitudinal portion of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements is bounded by a co-centric portion of the near-field antenna,
A second terminal portion of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements borders an individual edge of the near-field antenna,
The longest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements is closer to the individual edge portion of the near-field antenna than to the co-center portion of the near-field antenna.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 10,
The shortest dimension of each meander pattern followed by each of the four individual antenna elements is closer to the co-center part of the near-field antenna than to the individual edge parts of the near-field antenna.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
The reflector is a solid metal sheet of copper or copper alloy.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
The reflector is configured to reflect at least a portion of the electromagnetic signals radiated by the first or second dipole antenna.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
Four individual coplanar antenna elements are formed on or within a substrate.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 14,
The substrate includes a metamaterial of predetermined magnetic permeability or electrical permittivity.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 1,
All of the meander patterns are the same
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 16,
The two antenna elements forming the first dipole antenna are aligned along a first axis such that each meander pattern followed by each of the two antenna elements is a mirror image of one another.
Near-field antenna.
According to claim 17,
The other two antenna elements forming the second dipole antenna are aligned along the second axis such that each meander pattern followed by each of the other two antenna elements is a mirror image of one another.
Near-field antenna.
A method of wirelessly charging a receiver device, comprising:
reflector;
Four individual coplanar antenna elements offset from the reflector - each of the four individual coplanar antenna elements follows a respective meander pattern, and two of the four coplanar antenna elements have a first dipole aligned with the first axis. forming an antenna, the other two of the four coplanar antenna elements forming a second dipole antenna aligned with a second axis perpendicular to the first axis;
a switch circuit coupled to at least two of the four coplanar antenna elements;
A power amplifier coupled to a switch circuit; and
Providing a near-field antenna having an impedance-adjusting component coupled to a switch circuit,
instructing the switch circuit to couple the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier and the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjusting component;
and instructing the power amplifier to feed electromagnetic signals to the first dipole antenna through a switch circuit,
The electromagnetic signals, when fed to the first dipole antenna, cause the first dipole antenna to radiate electromagnetic signals to be received by a wirelessly powered device positioned within a critical distance from the near-field antenna,
The impedance of the second dipole antenna is adjusted by an impedance adjustment component such that the impedance of the second dipole antenna is different from the impedance of the first dipole antenna.
method.
delete A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, comprising:
having a reflector, four individual coplanar antenna elements, a switch circuit coupled to at least two of the four coplanar antenna elements, a power amplifier coupled to the switch circuit, and an impedance-adjustment component coupled to the switch circuit. When the executable instructions are executed by one or more processors of the near-field antenna,
The executable instructions are:
The near-field antenna instructs the switch circuit to (i) couple the first dipole antenna to the power amplifier, (ii) couple the second dipole antenna to the impedance-adjustment component, and
The near-field antenna commands the power amplifier to feed an electromagnetic signal to the first dipole antenna through the switch circuit,
The electromagnetic signals, when fed to the first dipole antenna, cause the first dipole antenna to radiate electromagnetic signals to be received by a wirelessly powered device positioned within a critical distance from the near-field antenna,
The impedance of the second dipole antenna is adjusted by an impedance adjustment component such that the impedance of the second dipole antenna is different from the impedance of the first dipole antenna.
Non-transitory computer-readable storage media.
delete