KR20110103395A - Retrofitting wireless power and near-field communication in electronic devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments relate to retrofitting existing electronic devices for wireless power delivery and near field communication. The retrofit circuit includes an antenna for receiving the signal from an external source, and a conversion circuit for converting this signal for use by the electronic device. The antenna and the conversion circuit are configured to be retrofitted into the electronic device, ie the electronic device originally did not include the antenna or the conversion circuit. Antenna and conversion circuitry may be configured to receive and convert signals to generate wireless power for an electronic device. The antenna and the conversion circuit may also be configured to enable the electronic device to transmit and receive near field communication data.

Description

Wireless Power Supply and Near Field Communication Retrofit for Electronic Devices {RETROFITTING WIRELESS POWER AND NEAR-FIELD COMMUNICATION IN ELECTRONIC DEVICES}

35 U.S.C. Priority claim under §119

This application claims 35 U.S.C. Under §119 (e):

Priority is claimed on US Provisional Application No. 61 / 150,257, filed February 5, 2009 and assigned to the assignee of the present application, entitled "WIRELESS POWER BATTERY PACK." All of the applications are incorporated herein by reference;

United States Patent Provisional Application No. 61 / 163,387, filed March 25, 2009 and assigned to the assignee of the present application, entitled "BATTERY ASSEMBLY WITH BUILT IN WIRELESS POWER ANTENNA" Claim priority, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference;

Priority is claimed on US Provisional Application No. 61 / 116,608, filed November 20, 2008 and assigned to the assignee of the present application, entitled "WIRELESS POWER BATTERY REPLACEMENT." All of the applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to wireless charging, and more particularly to devices, systems, and methods related to wireless power chargers.

Typically, each device powered by a battery, such as a wireless communication device (eg, cell phone), requires its own charger and a power source, typically an AC power outlet. This can be cumbersome when it is necessary to charge multiple devices, each requiring a charger separately.

Approaches are being developed that use over-the-air or wireless power transmission between a transmitter and a receiver coupled to an electronic device to be charged. These approaches generally fall into two classes. One is based on the coupling of plane wave radiation (or far field radiation) between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna on the device to be charged. The receive antenna collects the radiated power and rectifies the radiated power to charge the battery. Antennas generally have a resonant length to improve coupling efficiency. The drawback with this approach is the fact that the power coupling drops quickly depending on the distance between the antennas, making it difficult to charge between reasonable distances (eg less than 1 to 2 meters). In addition, since the transmission system emits plane waves, unintended radiation may interfere with other systems if not properly controlled through filtering.

Other approaches to wireless energy transmission techniques are, for example, induction between a "charging" device, a mat, or a transmit antenna built into the surface and a receive antenna (and rectifier circuit) built into the host electronic device to be charged. Based on coupling. This approach has the disadvantage that the spacing between the transmit and receive antennas must be very close (eg, in thousandths of meters). This approach has the ability to simultaneously charge multiple devices in the same area, but this area is typically very small and requires the user to place the devices precisely in a particular area.

In addition to the increased convenience of simultaneous charging, environmental and cost issues associated with wireless charging may also be considered. Currently, a number of electronic devices powered by standard size batteries of the type AA, AAA, D, C cells, 9-Volt, etc. are used. Such batteries may be primary cells or rechargeable secondary cells. Primary batteries cause environmental problems for disposal. Rechargeable secondary cells may help in responding to environmental concerns, but secondary cells may still need to be removed from the device to be charged, which has limited space for batteries, typically only four spaces. Disposing rechargeable secondary batteries in a charger. Given the advantages of wireless power charging, a device capable of wirelessly powering existing devices powered from primary or secondary cells to recharge or operate batteries in a wireless charging field. May need to be converted (ie, retrofit) to

1 is a block diagram illustrating a simplified wireless power delivery system.
2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a simplified diagram of a wireless power delivery system.
3A is a schematic diagram of a loop antenna for use in exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
3B is a diagram of an alternative embodiment of a differential antenna used in exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
4 is a diagram of an electronic device having a retrofit circuit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram of an electronic device having a retrofit circuit for wireless power supply according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
6A is a cross-sectional view of an integrated storage device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
6B is a cross-sectional view of an integrated storage device according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
6C is a perspective view of an integrated storage device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram of an integrated storage device, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "as an example, example, example." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

The following detailed description presented in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments of the invention and is not intended to mean that the invention may be practiced only with the embodiments. The word "exemplary" as used throughout this description means "as an example, example, example" and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that exemplary embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the novelty of the example embodiments presented herein.

The words "wireless power" as used herein are used to mean any form of energy associated with being transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver without the use of an electric field, magnetic field, electromagnetic field, or other physical electromagnetic conductors.

1 illustrates a wireless transmission or charging system 100 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Transmitter 104 is provided with input power 102 to generate a radiated field 106 to provide energy transfer. The receiver 108 couples to the radiation field 106 and generates output power 110 for storage or consumption by a device (not shown) coupled to the output power 110. Both transmitter 104 and receiver 108 are spaced apart by distance 112. In one exemplary embodiment, the transmitter 104 and receiver 108 are configured according to a mutual resonance relationship, and if the resonant frequency of the receiver 108 and the resonant frequency of the transmitter 104 match exactly, the receiver 108 is Transmission losses between transmitter 104 and receiver 108 are minimized when located in the "near-field" of radiation field 106.

The transmitter 104 further includes a transmit antenna 114 that provides a means of energy transmission, and the receiver 108 further includes a receive antenna 118 that provides a means of energy reception. The transmit and receive antennas are sized according to the applications and devices to which they are associated. As mentioned above, efficient energy transfer occurs by coupling a large portion of the energy to the receiving antenna within the near field of the transmitting antenna, rather than propagating most of the energy to the far field as electromagnetic waves. When in the near field, a coupling mode may be established between the transmit antenna 114 and the receive antenna 118. The area around antennas 114 and 118 where near-field coupling can occur is referred to herein as a coupling mode region.

2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a simplified diagram of a wireless power delivery system. Transmitter 104 includes an oscillator 122, a power amplifier 124, and a filter and matching circuit 126. The oscillator is configured to generate an oscillator signal of the desired frequency, which can be adjusted in response to the adjustment signal 123. The oscillator signal may be amplified by the power amplifier 124 with an amplification amount corresponding to the control signal 125. A filter and matching circuit 126 may be included to filter out harmonics or other unwanted frequencies and match the impedance of the transmitter 104 to the transmitting antenna 114.

Receiver 108 includes matching circuitry 132 and rectification and switching circuitry 134 to charge a battery 136 as shown in FIG. 2 or to power a device coupled to a receiver (not shown). It can generate a DC power output. Matching circuit 132 may be included to match the impedance of receiver 108 to receive antenna 118. The term "battery" herein may include additional objects, such as overvoltage protection circuits, in addition to the storage cells themselves.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the antennas used in the exemplary embodiments may be configured as a “loop” antenna 150, which may be referred to herein as a “magnetic” antenna. Loop antennas may be configured to include an air core or include a physical core such as a ferromagnetic core. Air core loop antennas may be more inclusive of heterogeneous physical devices being placed near the core. Furthermore, the air core loop antenna allows the placement of other components in the core region. In addition, the air core loop makes it easier to place the receive antenna 118 (FIG. 2) in the plane of the transmit antenna 114 (FIG. 2), where the coupled mode region of the transmit antenna 114 (FIG. 2) may be stronger. It can be done.

As discussed above, efficient energy transfer occurs between the transmitter 104 and the receiver 108 when the resonance between the transmitter 104 and the receiver 108 is matched or nearly matched. However, even when the resonance does not match between the transmitter 104 and the receiver 108, energy can be delivered at a lower efficiency. Rather than propagating energy from the transmitting antenna to free space, energy transfer occurs by coupling energy from the near field of the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna located near the established near field.

The resonant frequency of the loop or magnetic antennas is based on inductance and capacitance. The inductance in the loop antenna is generally the inductance generated by the loop, and the capacitance is generally added to the inductance of the loop antenna to create a resonant structure of the desired resonant frequency. By way of non-limiting example, capacitor 152 and capacitor 154 may be added to the antenna to create a resonant circuit that generates resonant signal 156. Thus, in large diameter loop antennas, the magnitude of the capacitance required to induce resonance decreases as the diameter or inductance of the loop increases. Furthermore, as the diameter of the loop or magnetic antenna increases, the effective energy transfer area of the near field increases. Of course, other resonant circuits are possible. As another non-limiting example, a capacitor may be disposed in parallel between two terminals of the loop antenna. Also, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the resonant signal 156 at the transmit antennas may be input to the loop antenna 150.

3B shows an alternative embodiment of the differential antenna 250 used in exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Antenna 250 may be configured as a differential coil antenna. In a differential antenna configuration, the center of antenna 250 is connected to ground. The antenna 250 is connected at both ends to a receiver / transmitter unit (not shown), instead of one end being connected to ground as in FIG. 3A. Capacitors 252, 253, 254 may be added to antenna 250 to create a resonant circuit that generates a differential resonant signal. Differential antenna configurations may be useful in situations where communication is bidirectional and transmission to the coil is required. One such situation is the case of near field communication (NFC) systems.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include coupling power between two antennas in each of near fields. As mentioned above, the near field is the area around the antenna where electromagnetic fields exist but cannot propagate or radiate away from the antenna. The near field is typically limited to a volume near the physical volume of the antenna. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, magnetic antennas, such as single- and multi-turn loop antennas, are used in both transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) antenna systems, with near field amplitudes in magnetic antennas. This is because they tend to be high compared to the near field of electric antennas (eg small dipoles), potentially allowing for higher coupling between the two systems. However, it is contemplated that "electrical" antennas (eg, dipoles and monopoles) or combinations of magnetic and electrical antennas are within the scope of the present invention.

The Tx antenna is at a sufficiently low frequency and large enough to achieve good coupling (eg,> -4 dB) for a small Rx antenna at significantly greater distances than the far field and inductive approaches described above allow. Can be operated with antenna size If the size of the Tx antenna is correctly determined, high coupling levels (e.g., -1 to -4 dB) when the Rx antenna on the host device is placed within the coupling mode region (i.e. near field) of the driven Tx loop antenna. Can be obtained.

In the future, electronic devices may be manufactured with wireless power and / or NFC embedded. However, a number of electronic devices are currently being used that use conventional disposable or rechargeable batteries without wireless power supply and without NFC capability. Embodiments of the present invention include embodiments that retrofit electronic devices that were not originally equipped with wireless power supply technology or NFC, and users still have such outdated electronic devices. Such embodiments include custom battery packs, custom replacement housings, retrofit of standard battery packs, and the like.

As used herein, "remodeling" means an existing electronic device having an existing battery and a battery cavity and having a form factor for carrying the existing battery in the electronic device, within the electronic devices as a charge for or replacement of an existing battery. That means modifying it to include additional functionality to charge a new installed battery.

4 illustrates an electronic device 400 having a retrofit circuit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 400 can include a back housing 410 having a wireless power receive antenna 420 and a conversion circuit 430. The electronic device 400 can include a battery 450 and a front housing 440 that includes internal electronic circuitry (not shown) for the electronic device 400. As shown in FIG. 4, the bag housing 410 may be removed from the front housing 440. Once the bag housing 410 is removed and separated from the front housing 440, the battery 450, antenna 420, and conversion circuit 430 may be exposed. The antenna 420 may be disposed in the bag housing 410 or formed integrally. The antenna 420 and the conversion circuit 430 can be manufactured together with the bag housing 410 separately from the front housing 440. Accordingly, the back housing 410 may be configured to fit existing electronic devices and to replace corresponding original housing portions of electronic devices that originally did not have a wireless powering function.

Antenna 420 and conversion circuit 430 may be configured to receive and convert signals from external devices and to retrofit electronic devices that did not originally include antenna 420 or conversion circuit 430. The external source may be a wireless power transmitter, and the antenna 420 and the conversion circuit 430 may be further configured to receive and convert signals to generate wireless power for the electronic device 400. Accordingly, the conversion circuit 430 may include a wireless power receiver circuit such as the matching circuit 132 and the rectifier circuit 134 (FIG. 2). Antenna 420 and conversion circuit 430 may be configured to enable the electronic device to send and receive NFC data.

Details of exemplary communication mechanisms and protocols for NFC are filed on October 10, 2008 and are entitled US Patent Application No. 12 entitled " SIGNALING CHARGING IN WIRELESS POWER ENVIRONMENT. &Quot; / 249,866, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

To enable magnetic field generation around the antenna 420 and improve its performance, the antenna 420 is routed to have clearance around metal obstacles (such as other antennas or ground planes). Can be In one embodiment, the conversion circuit 430 may be comprised of discrete components, such as an ASIC. In operation, the electronic device 400 can be disposed within the range of a transmitting antenna (not shown), and the battery (without the need for the battery 450 to be removed from the electronic device 400 or the electronic device 400 to be connected to an AC outlet). 450) can be charged.

In operation, the back housing 410 may be configured to be connected to the front housing 440 in such a way that an electrical connection is made between the conversion circuit 430 and the battery 450. The electrical connection between the conversion circuit 430 and the battery 450 can be made by the contacts of the conversion circuit 430 contacting the contacts of the battery 450 to establish an electrical connection. An alternative example embodiment (such as shown in FIG. 5) may include a connector (such as a cable) extending from the conversion circuit 430 to establish an electrical connection with the contacts of the battery 450. The battery 450 may be a battery originally intended to operate the electronic device 400, but the battery 450 fits into a form factor for an existing battery of the electronic device 400, and is connected to the conversion circuit 430. It may be customized to allow room for the antenna 420 and the conversion circuit 430, if necessary.

In another exemplary embodiment, the antenna 420 and the conversion circuit 430 may be manufactured separately from the bag housing 410, for example in the form of a kit. Such a kit may soon be retrofitted into an electronic device 400 originally made without wireless power charging or NFC capabilities. The kit including the antenna 420 and the conversion circuit 430 can be configured to be attached or included in the electronic device 400, for example in the original bag housing 410. Such attachment actions may be performed by the user, the provider of the electronic device 400, or other entities involved.

To determine if the batteries are rechargeable, the charging device (ie, the retrofitted antenna 420 and the conversion circuit 430) is connected to the electronic device 400 via wireless charging NFC or other short range communications (eg, Zigbee, Bluetooth, etc.). Can be communicated with to determine if the storage cells are suitable for recharging (ie, not primary cells). The charging device may also communicate with the electronic device 400 to apply a suitable charging protocol to determine the battery technology (eg, nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, etc.).

For purposes of illustration, the electronic device 400 may be a cell phone as shown in FIG. 4. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not limited to such electronic devices. Other electronic devices include personal digital assistants (PDAs), audio / video devices, cameras, battery powered power tools, remote controls, computer mice, laptop computers, and other batteries powered electronics. Devices are included.

5 illustrates an electronic device 500 having a retrofit circuit for wireless power supply in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 500 can include a back housing 510 having a wireless power receiver antenna 520 and a wireless power receiver circuit 530. The electronic device 500 can include a front housing 540, a battery (not shown), and a shield 550 that include internal electronic circuitry (not shown) for operation of the electronic device 500. As shown in FIG. 5, the shield 550 covers the battery. The shield 550 can be configured to isolate the antenna from a metal casing that can wrap the battery, which will be described in more detail later.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bag housing 510 can be removed from the front housing 540. Once the bag housing 510 is removed and separated from the front housing 540, the shield 550, the wireless power receiver antenna 520, and the wireless power receiver circuit 530 can be exposed. The wireless power receiver antenna 520 may be disposed in the back housing 510 or integrally formed. The wireless power receiver antenna 520 and the wireless power receiver circuit 530 may be manufactured together with the back housing 510 separately from the front housing 540. Accordingly, the back housing 510 may be configured to fit existing electronic devices and to replace corresponding original back housings of electronic devices that originally did not have a wireless powering function.

In operation, the back housing 510 may be configured to be connected to the front housing 540 in such a way that an electrical connection is made between the wireless power receiver circuit 520 and the battery. The electrical connection between the wireless power receiver circuit 520 and the battery can be made by the contacts of the wireless power receiver circuit 520 electrically connected to the contacts of the battery to establish an electrical connection. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the electronic device 500 extends from the wireless power receiver circuit 520 and passes through a shield 550 to contact the batteries in order to charge the battery during wireless power charging. And a connector 560 (such as a cable) to establish an electrical connection with the.

6A is a cross-sectional view of an integrated storage device 600 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Integrated storage device 600 includes storage cells 620, antenna 630, shield 640, and other circuitry 650 in common housing enclosure 610.

The common housing enclosure 610 may be shaped and dimensioned in the same form factor as a typical battery used in an electronic device. Integrated storage device 600 will then provide the electronic device with a battery (ie, storage cells 620) that can be inserted into the electronic device in place of the original battery and can be charged wirelessly from a transmitting antenna (not shown). Can be. The integrated storage device may include NFC capabilities as described above.

Connector 660 may be configured to make electrical connections with the electronic device in a manner similar to the original battery of the electronic device to provide power to the electronic device. The connector 660 may be a cable such as that shown in FIGS. 6A-6C, or alternatively may be a set of contacts that establish an electrical connection with the contacts that a normal battery will connect to power the electronic device. Can be.

Antenna 630 may be configured to receive wireless power and NFC, such as a coil antenna. In other words, the antenna may be configured to receive wireless power transmissions or NFC transmissions or a combination of both. When configured to receive both, the antenna 630 may be shared by both the wireless power supply system and the original electromagnetic field of the electronic device, which is capable of wireless power supply and NFC in existing electronic devices that do not currently have such capabilities. It can be an economical way to integrate.

Storage cells 620 can be composed of any type of battery storage cells, for example lithium ion batteries. Since the common housing enclosure 610 of the integrated storage device 620 can be configured to replace an existing battery of the electronic device while having additional circuitry, the physical area of the storage cells 620 is defined within the electronic storage device. 600) may be physically smaller than corresponding storage cells in an existing battery to be replaced. However, storage cells 620 may be electrically the same or larger than storage cells of previous batteries.

The shield 640 can be a protective material that forms a magnetic field, located between the storage cells 620 and the antenna 630. The shield 640 can be configured to isolate the antenna from a metal casing that can wrap the storage cells 620. In other words, the shield 640 may have the effect of localizing the magnetic field to reduce the disturbing effects that the storage cells 620 may have on the performance of the antenna 630. The shield may be made of a ferrite material, such as FLEXIELD available from TDK Corporation of Tokyo, Japan.

The other circuit 650 may provide the integrated storage device 600 with the ability to transform the electronic device to have a wireless power supply function, or to have an NFC function, or to have both a wireless power supply function and an NFC function. have. Examples of such circuits include the matching circuit and the rectifier circuit described above with respect to FIG. The other circuit 650 may also include an overvoltage protection circuit if no overprotection circuitry is incorporated in the storage cells 620.

In addition, the integrated storage device 600 can include an indicator (eg, visual or audio), which is activated when the associated electronic device is within range of the wireless power transmission charging field (eg, light blinks from the light emitting diode or May be via any audio signal). Integrated storage device 600 may also include a magnetically transparent packaging material that surrounds the components for additional robustness to the magnetic field.

In operation, the integrated storage device 600 may be configured to receive wireless power when in the radiation field generated by the transmitter of the wireless power charger. Wireless power may be stored in storage cells 620, such as a battery. The stored charge from storage cells 620 can then be used to power the associated electronic device. Alternatively, the power received by the integrated wireless storage device 600 may power the electronic device directly, instead of being stored in the storage cells 620. In other words, one usage may be to charge the storage batteries 620 for powering the electronic device, and another usage may be to power the electronic device directly when the electronic device is within the radiation field range of the transmitting antenna. It may be to supply. As mentioned above, wireless charging includes powering a receiving antenna in an electronic device to which the transmitting antenna is to be charged, and then powering a rectifying circuit that converts the received power into DC power. The DC power may charge the battery of the electronic device or provide power for simultaneous operation. In general, integrated storage device 600 sends signals to receive antenna 630, storage cells 620 (e.g., battery), and other circuits 650 (e.g., rectifier circuitry and also transmit antennas that charge). Circuits) can be combined into a common housing enclosure 610 that replaces an existing battery pack of an electronic device.

Alternatively, or in addition, the integrated storage device 600 can be configured to enable the electronic device to transmit and receive NFC via the antenna 630. By using the integrated storage device 600 to replace an existing battery pack, the electronic device may not require software modification. The use of integrated storage device 600 may be advantageous because many electronic devices have custom software that allows the electronic device to be charged only by a custom AC adapter for a particular electronic device. Charging directly from an existing battery terminal can alleviate these software compatibility issues, as the power in the electronic device will appear to be provided by a conventional battery. In addition, since the integrated storage device 600 can be configured to match the size and shape of the existing battery of the electronic device, the original industrial design of the electronic device can be maintained. In addition, the integrated storage device 600 can enable a user to upgrade the current electronic device in a simple manner by replacing the existing battery pack with the integrated storage device 600.

Integrated storage device 600 with a common housing enclosure 610 may enable to maintain a more constant resonance across different integrated storage devices 600. The relative positions and spacing of the antenna 630, the shield 640, and the storage cells 620 can significantly contribute to correct tuning of the antenna 630. If the components are loose (eg, storage cells 620, antenna 630, shielder 640, etc.), the various spacings between these components can result in different resonant frequencies. In other words, providing an integrated storage device 600 may make the performance of wireless powering or NFC communication more reliable and repeatable.

6B is a cross-sectional view of an integrated storage device 600 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Integrated storage device 600 includes storage cells 620, antenna 630, shield 640, and other circuitry 650 in a common housing enclosure 610 with connector 660, each of It is comprised as in FIG. 6A. Integrated storage device 600 additionally includes a receiving circuit 670, which may be in a different module than the other circuit 650. Receive circuitry 670 may include circuitry related to wireless powering and / or NFC conversion. Examples of such circuits may include rectifiers, filters, and regulators that convert power received by antenna 630 into DC power.

6C is a perspective view of an integrated storage device 600 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Integrated storage device 600 includes storage cells 620, antenna 630, shield 640, and other circuitry 650 in a common housing enclosure 610 with connector 660, each of It is comprised as in FIG. 6A. Circuitry for wireless power conversion, NFC, or a combination thereof may be included in other circuit 650 or in another module 670 such as shown in FIG. 6B. Alternatively, circuitry for NFC and / or wireless power conversion may be housed outside of the integrated storage device 600, in which antenna 630 connections exist outside the integrated storage device 600. May be required.

7 illustrates an integrated storage device 700 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Integrated storage device 700 may be configured with the shape and size of an existing battery (ie, to fit the same form factor) and may be configured with the same electrode connections as an existing battery. For example, the electronic device can be powered by disposable batteries, such as AA batteries 701 and 702. These battery types are often used in battery compartments of portable electronic objects such as flashlights or toys. In this example embodiment, the retrofit batteries 701 and 702 include a coil antenna 705, which may be disposed around the edge of one or both of the outer circumferential surfaces of the batteries 701, 702. In addition, some of the retrofit batteries 701 and 702 are electronic circuit 710 that includes a rectifier, a filter, a regulator, and other circuitry needed to enable the device to receive wireless power, NFC, or a combination thereof. Can be formed. By placing the associated electronic device, or the retrofit batteries 701, 702 separately in the coupling mode region of the transmit antenna, the storage cells of the remainder of the battery 702 (generally indicated as 712, 714, 716) are Can be charged wirelessly.

Thus integrated storage device 700 includes both storage cells 712, 714, 716, coil antenna 705, and associated electronic circuit 710 in a common housing. The integrated storage device 700 can be used to retrofit the electronic device to enable wireless charging of the replacement battery by the new wireless charging battery assembly, thereby enabling the electronic device to operate upon wireless power reception or to enable NFC functionality. . The physical space used by storage cells in a battery can be reduced because some areas of the battery can be reserved for additional electronic circuits. However, the electrical performance of the battery can be substantially similar to existing batteries that are replaced. Although AA batteries are shown in FIG. 7, these exemplary battery shapes and sizes are not to be considered as limiting. Integrated storage devices, such as AA, AAA, C cell, D cell, 9-Volt, lithium ion, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride batteries, may be shaped or sized with any type of battery, for example. Can be configured.

In another exemplary embodiment, the housings of certain existing electronic devices may provide too thick or too much internal shielding, which may prevent the wireless charging field from penetrating the housing of the existing electronic device. In this other exemplary embodiment, batteries with a wireless powering function as in FIGS. 4-7 may be removed from the electronic device and placed in a wireless power field, for example on a charging pad. Removing such a battery may enable the wireless coupling to occur by removing the battery from the shielded area. When charged via wireless power reception, batteries with wireless powering may be placed back into the electronic device.

In another example embodiment, the wireless power conversion hardware may be configured as a device connected externally to the electronic device, such as at a DC input to the electronic device.

The approach described herein is applicable to various communication standards such as CDMA, WCDMA, OFDM, 802.11, GPS, Bluetooth, LGE, and the like. Those skilled in the art will recognize that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of techniques and techniques. For example, data, directives, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips referred to throughout this specification may include voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic or magnetic particles, optical or optical particles, or any combination thereof. Can be expressed.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. I will understand. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality will be implemented in hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation choices should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be used in general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits designed to perform the functions described herein. ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, eg, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. have.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the example embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may comprise random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or It may be present in other forms of storage media known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more example embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer readable media may be RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM that may be accessed by a computer and used to receive or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures. Or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage device, or other media. Also, it is correct to refer to any connection as a computer readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wireless technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or infrared, radio, and microwave, such coaxial cable Wireless technologies such as fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or infrared, wireless, and microwave are included within the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks and disks include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks, where disks Is typically a magnetic reproduction of data, and a disc is an optical reproduction of data using a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the disclosed principles and novel features.

Claims (28)

A power circuit for an electronic device,
An antenna for receiving a signal from a coupling mode region of near field radiation produced by the transmitting antenna; And
Conversion circuitry for converting the signal into DC power for use by an electronic device,
The antenna and the conversion circuit are configured to electrically and mechanically couple to the electronic device using an existing connection and existing form factor of a battery compartment of the electronic device. The method of claim 1,
And a battery operatively coupled to the conversion circuit and configured to be charged with the DC power from the conversion circuit. The method of claim 1,
The antenna and the conversion circuitry are further configured to transmit and receive near field communication data. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a replacement housing portion configured to replace a corresponding housing portion of the electronic device,
The antenna and the conversion circuit are integrally formed with the replacement housing part,
The conversion circuit is electrically coupled to an existing battery of the electronic device. The method of claim 1,
The antenna and the conversion circuit are configured to attach to an existing housing portion of the electronic device and to be operatively coupled to an existing battery of the electronic device. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising rechargeable storage cells for storing electric charges for powering the electronic device,
The rechargeable storage cells are configured to be charged with the DC power,
The storage cells are housed in a common assembly with the antenna and the conversion circuit, the common assembly configured to be attached to the electronic device. The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a shield located within said common assembly between said rechargeable storage cells and said antenna,
And the shield is configured to electromagnetically isolate the antenna from the rechargeable storage cells. The method of claim 7, wherein
And the shielding device comprises a ferrite material. The method according to claim 6,
The common assembly is configured to replace an existing battery of the electronic device. The method of claim 9,
The common assembly has a substantially same form factor and substantially the same electrical contact location as the existing battery. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the shape of the common assembly is configured to fit within a battery enclosure configured according to at least one of a custom battery, AA, AAA, C cell, D cell, and 9-Volt cell. The method of claim 9,
The rechargeable storage cells comprise a chemical composition of at least one of lithium ions, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride. The method of claim 1,
The electronic device is configured as at least one of a cell phone, an audio player, a video player, a personal digital assistant, a computer, a camera, a toy, a tool, a remote control, and a computer mouse. The method of claim 1,
The antenna and the conversion circuit are housed in a common assembly, the common assembly configured to externally attach to the electronic device to electrically connect the conversion circuit to the existing connection. As a method of retrofitting an electronic device,
Coupling the antenna and the conversion circuit to mechanical and electrical coupling with an electronic device that was not originally equipped with an antenna and conversion circuit;
Receiving a signal from a coupling mode region of near field radiation produced by a transmitting antenna; And
Converting the signal to DC power for use by the electronic device. The method of claim 15,
Receiving and converting the signal used by the electronic device further comprises receiving and converting near field communication transmissions to the electronic device. The method of claim 15,
Coupling rechargeable storage cells to the conversion circuit for storing charge during wireless power coupling of the antenna; And
Receiving the rechargeable storage cells, the conversion circuit, and the antenna in a common assembly to replace an existing battery of the electronic device. The method of claim 15,
Coupling the antenna and the conversion circuit to fit the electronic device comprises receiving the antenna and the conversion circuit in a common assembly to fit within the electronic device. The method of claim 18,
Receiving the antenna and the conversion circuit in a common assembly to fit the electronic device includes forming the antenna and the conversion circuit in an integrated manner with an alternative housing portion configured to replace a corresponding housing portion of the electronic device. , Electronic device retrofit method. Means for connecting the antenna and the conversion circuit to mechanically and electrically couple to an electronic device that is not originally equipped with an antenna and a conversion circuit;
Means for receiving a signal from a coupling mode region of near field radiation produced by a transmitting antenna; And
Means for converting the signal into DC power for use by the electronic device. The method of claim 20,
And means for converting the signal into near field communication transmissions for the electronic device. The method of claim 20,
Means for connecting rechargeable storage cells to the conversion circuit for storing charge during wireless power coupling of the antenna; And
And means for receiving the rechargeable storage cells, the conversion circuit, and the antenna in a common assembly to replace an existing battery of the electronic device. The method of claim 20,
Means for coupling the antenna and the conversion circuit to fit the electronic device comprises means for receiving the antenna and the conversion circuit in a common assembly to fit within the electronic device. The method of claim 23,
The means for receiving the antenna and the conversion circuit in a common assembly to fit the electronic device includes means for integrally forming the antenna and the conversion circuit with a replacement housing portion configured to replace a corresponding housing portion of the electronic device. , Wireless power receiver. As an electronic device,
Retrofit circuitry for adding functionality that was not originally part of the electronic device,
The retrofit circuit is:
An antenna for receiving a signal from a coupling mode region of near field radiation produced by an external source; And
Conversion circuitry for converting the signal for use by an electronic device,
The antenna and the conversion circuitry are configured to retrofit the electronic device that was not originally equipped with a wireless power reception function. The method of claim 25,
The external source comprises a wireless power transmitter. The method of claim 26,
And a retrofit rechargeable battery operably coupled to the conversion circuit and the electronic device, wherein the retrofit rechargeable battery is configured to be charged by the conversion circuit and provide DC power to the electronic device. The method of claim 25,
The antenna and the conversion circuitry are configured to enable the electronic device to transmit and receive near field communication data.

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