TW201724689A - Wireless charging system and the method of manufacturing its components - Google Patents

Abstract

A wireless charging system includes a charging device and an electronic device. The charging device includes a charging seat, a power supply unit disposed in the charging seat to provide electricity, and two first electrodes respectively formed in the charging seat by plating and electrically connected to the power supply unit. The electronic device includes a housing, a charging circuit disposed in the housing, and two second electrodes respectively formed in the housing by plating and electrically connected to the charging circuit. When the electronic device is charged, the electronic device is placed in a position corresponding to the charging device. With the second electrodes of the electronic device and the first electrodes of the charging device are respectively formed two equivalent capacitance, the power supply unit of the charging device can transfer electrical power to the charging circuit of the electronic device by the electric field coupling between the first electrodes and the second electrodes.

Description

Wireless charging system and method of manufacturing the same

The present invention relates to a wireless charging system, and more particularly to a wireless charging system that is charged in an electric field coupling manner and a method of manufacturing the same.

At present, electronic devices such as smart phones, notebook computers and tablet computers are becoming more and more popular, and have become an indispensable mobile device for modern people. Typically, these electronic devices have a built-in battery that is charged to the mains connection via a charger or cradle when charging is required.

For example, one of the charging methods commonly used by mobile devices is to use a wired power adapter to charge the mobile device. However, the wired power adapter and the mobile device need to be connected through a power line, and the user often Annoying for a lengthy power cord.

In addition, another common charging method for mobile devices is to use a portable power source for charging. Generally, a USB cable is used to transmit power to the mobile device. Similarly, users often bother with a lengthy USB cable.

In view of this, how to develop a wireless charging system capable of charging between an electronic device and a charger without connecting through a power cord, in particular, the wearable electronic device usually has a curved shape, and how to make the electronic device having a curved shape Wireless charging is currently a topic worth studying.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless charging system that is charged by electric field coupling and a method of manufacturing the same, which enables charging between the electronic device and the charger without being connected through a power line.

Thus, in some embodiments, the wireless charging system of the present invention comprises: a charging device, and an electronic device. The charging device comprises a charging base, a power supply unit disposed in the charging base for supplying electric power, and two first electrodes respectively formed on the charging base and electrically connected to the power supply unit. The electronic device includes a casing, a charging circuit disposed in the casing, and two second electrodes respectively formed in the casing and electrically connected to the charging circuit. Wherein, when the electronic device and the charging device are located at a specific corresponding position, the two second electrodes of the electronic device respectively form two equivalent capacitances with the two first electrodes of the charging device, so that the charging The power supply unit of the device transmits power to the charging circuit of the electronic device through electric field coupling between the two first electrodes and the two second electrodes.

Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the charging device includes a charging stand having a first curved surface, The method comprises the steps of: forming activating layer comprising an active metal on a first curved surface of the charging stand; and forming a metal layer as a first electrode on a surface of the active layer of the charging stand by an electroless plating process.

Therefore, in some implementations of the electronic device of the present invention, the electronic device includes a casing having a second curved surface, the method comprising the steps of: forming, by printing, a second curved surface of the casing An active layer of the active metal; and a metal layer as a second electrode formed on the surface of the active layer of the casing by an electroless plating process.

Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the wireless charging system includes a charging device and an electronic device, the charging device includes a charging stand having a first curved surface, and the electronic device includes a a second curved casing, the method comprising the steps of: forming activating layer comprising an active metal in a printed manner on a first curved surface of the charging stand and a second curved surface of the casing; and performing the electroless plating process on the second curved surface of the charging case The surface of the active layer of the charging stand forms a metal layer as a first electrode and a metal layer as a second electrode on the surface of the active layer of the casing.

The effect of the present invention is that the two second electrodes passing through the electronic device respectively form two equivalent capacitances with the two first electrodes of the charging device, and the power supply unit of the charging device transmits the two first electrodes and the The electric field coupling between the two second electrodes transmits power to the charging circuit of the electronic device, so that the electronic device and the charging device can be charged without being connected through a power line.

1‧‧‧Charging device

11‧‧‧ charging stand

111‧‧‧First surface

12‧‧‧Power supply unit

13‧‧‧First electrode

131‧‧‧Active layer

132‧‧‧First metal layer

133‧‧‧Second metal layer

4‧‧‧Electrode pattern area

5‧‧‧Non-electrode pattern area

6‧‧‧ gap

2‧‧‧Electronic devices

21‧‧‧Chassis

211‧‧‧Second surface

22‧‧‧Charging circuit

221‧‧‧Rechargeable battery

222‧‧‧Rectifier

23‧‧‧second electrode

D‧‧‧ diode

Other features and effects of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a wireless charging system of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an electronic device of the embodiment and a charging device FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a charging circuit of the electronic device of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the method of forming the first electrodes of the charging device of the embodiment in a charging stand; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the charging device of the embodiment in a first curved surface of the charging stand to form an active layer containing active metal in a printed manner; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the embodiment The charging device forms a first metal layer on the surface of the active layer of the charging stand by a non-electroplating process; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the charging device of the embodiment removing a portion of the first metal layer along a predetermined path and corresponding activation a layer to form a gap penetrating through the first metal layer and the active layer and separating an electrode pattern region and a non-electrode pattern region spaced apart from each other by the gap region; FIG. 8 is a cross section The charging device of the embodiment is formed with a second metal layer only on the surface of the first metal layer of the electrode pattern region by an electroplating process; and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the charging device of the embodiment removing the non-electrode pattern region. The first metal layer and the corresponding activation layer.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that in the following description, similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an embodiment of the wireless charging system of the present invention comprises: a charging device 1, and an electronic device 2.

The charging device 1 includes a charging stand 11, a power supply unit 12, and two first electrodes 13. The charging base 11 is a semi-circular long piece, which may be made of an insulating material such as PC (Polychloroprene), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PA (Polyamide), LSR (Liquid Silicone Rubber), etc. A first curved surface 111 on the radially outer side of the sheet. The power supply unit 12 is disposed in the charging base 11 for providing power. In this embodiment, the power supply unit 12 can be electrically connected to a mobile power device or another through a connector 121 disposed at one end of the charging base 11 . A connector socket (not shown) corresponding to an electronic device (such as a notebook computer), such as a USB-related specification socket, is stored in a rechargeable battery 122 through an external device with input DC power, and then passed through a rectifier when needed. The DC power is converted to the AC power. The power supply unit 12 can also be a power supply device similar to the mobile power supply, and is not limited to the embodiment disclosed in this embodiment. The first electrodes 13 are spaced apart from each other and are respectively formed on the first curved surface 111 of the charging base 11 at one end of the power supply unit 12 in a plating manner, and the two first electrodes 13 are electrically connected through a pair of wires 14 respectively. The power supply unit 12 is provided.

Referring to FIG. 3, the electronic device 2 includes a casing 21, a charging circuit 22, and two second electrodes 23. In some embodiments, the electronic device 2 can be a watch, a cell phone, or other electronic product. In this example, the configuration of the casing 21 corresponding to the charging base 11 is also a semi-circular long piece, and has a second curved surface 211 located radially inward of the long piece, and the material thereof may be, for example, an LSR. , TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane), PU (Polyurethane), TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers), TPR (Thermoplastic Rubber). The charging circuit 22 is disposed in the casing 21 and has a rechargeable battery 221 and a rectifier 222 electrically connected to the rechargeable battery 221. In this embodiment, the rectifier 222 is a bridge having four diodes D connected. Rectifiers, since this is a conventional component, it will not be described here. The second electrodes 23 are spaced apart from each other and are respectively formed on the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 closer to the end of the charging circuit 22, and the two second electrodes 23 are electrically connected to each other through a pair of wires 24. The rectifier 222 of the charging circuit 22.

When the user wants to charge the electronic device 2, the second curved surface 211 of the electronic device 2 is placed at a position corresponding to the curved surface of the first curved surface 111 of the charging device 1, that is, the two second electrodes 23 of the electronic device 2 Corresponding to the two first electrodes 13 of the charging device 1 and the two second electrodes 23 are respectively spaced apart from the two first electrodes 13 by a distance of less than 5 mm, so that the two second electrodes 23 of the electronic device 2 Forming two equivalent capacitances with the two first electrodes 13 of the charging device 1, respectively, and then causing the power supply unit 12 of the charging device 1 to transmit the alternating current through the electric field coupling between the two first electrodes 13 and the two second electrodes 23 To the rectifier 222 of the electronic device 2, the rectifier 222 converts the alternating current into direct current and stores it in the rechargeable battery 221 to provide power for operating the electronic device 2.

In particular, referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the curvature of the first curved surface 111 of the charging stand 11 of the charging device 1 corresponds to the curvature of the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 of the electronic device 2, such that Come, the first The two first electrodes 13 on a curved surface 111 and the two second electrodes 23 on the second curved surface 211 can achieve a better electric field coupling effect during charging to help the power supply unit 12 transfer power to the charging circuit. twenty two. Of course, the two first electrodes 13 and the two second electrodes 23 may be respectively formed on the first curved surface 111 and the second curved surface 211 having different curvatures, and even the two first electrodes 13 and the two second electrodes 23 are respectively formed on In the two planes where the curvature is zero, the same can be used for charging, and is not limited to the above embodiment. In addition, the wireless charging system that is charged by the electric field coupling method can not only achieve higher transmission efficiency than the inductive coupling method, but also generates less heat energy in the process, which is more helpful for improving the charging performance.

In addition, in some embodiments, the first curved surface 111 of the charging base 11 of the charging device 1 may have a fixed curvature, and the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 of the electronic device 2 is flexible, for example, a wearable device. When the electronic device 2 is to be charged, the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 is bent to the same curvature as the first curved surface 111 of the charging base 11, so that the two second electrodes 23 are fitted to the two An electrode 13 is used to achieve a good charging effect. Conversely, the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 of the electronic device 2 can also have a fixed curvature, and the first curved surface 111 of the charging base 11 of the charging device 1 is flexible. When the electronic device 2 is to be charged, The first curved surface 111 of the charging stand 11 is bent to the same curvature as the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21, which can also achieve a good charging effect.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of forming the two first electrodes 13 of the charging device 1 on the first curved surface 111 of the charging base 11 is described below. The method includes the following main steps: Step 101, forming activating layer containing an active metal in a printed manner on a first curved surface of the charging stand; and forming a first metal layer on the surface of the active layer of the charging stand by an electroless plating process; Step 103, along a preset The first metal layer and the corresponding active layer are removed from the path to form a gap through the first metal layer and the active layer, and an electrode pattern region and a non-electrode pattern region are separated from each other by the gap region; Forming a second metal layer only on the surface of the first metal layer of the electrode pattern region by an electroplating process; and step 105, removing the first metal layer and the corresponding active layer of the non-electrode pattern region.

The implementation steps are described in detail below with other drawings.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step 101, an active layer 131 containing an active metal is formed in a printed manner on the first curved surface 111 of the non-metal charging stand 11. In detail, this step is to form the active layer 131 on the first curved surface 111 by printing the active ink, and the material of the active layer 131 comprises a catalytic metal selected from the group consisting of palladium, rhodium, platinum, silver, or a combination thereof. For catalyzing metal deposition in the process of forming the first metal layer 132 (see FIG. 6). In this embodiment, the active layer 131 is composed of a non-conductive metal oxide.

It should be emphasized that the step of forming the active layer 131 by the above printing method can eliminate the conventional pre-roughening process by laser, since the activation layer 131 is conventionally formed by immersing the substrate in a metal ion-containing activity. a metal solution is adsorbed to the surface of the substrate for a predetermined period of time, The step of roughening the surface of the substrate contributes to the adhesion of the metal ions. However, in the step of forming the active layer 131 by the printing method of the present embodiment, the constituent material of the active ink has a chemical medium which can slightly corrode the epoxy resin, and the chemical medium is N-methylpyrrolidone (N-methyl-2- Pyrrolidone, NMP), therefore, the first curved surface 111 can be slightly etched by N-methylpyrrolidone, and the roughness of the first curved surface 111 is improved, and the solute in the active ink and the first curved surface 111 are transmitted through chemical bonding. In combination, the adhesion between the first curved surface 111 and the active ink can be increased, thus ensuring that the active ink adheres to the first curved surface 111.

Referring to FIG. 6, step 102, a first metal layer 132 is formed on the surface of the active layer 131 of the charging stand 11 by an electroless plating process. The electroless plating process described in this embodiment is, for example, an electroless plating process. Specifically, the step is to take out the charging pad 11 from the plating solution after being placed in a plating solution for a predetermined time, and in the charging stand 11 The first metal layer 132 is formed on the surface of the active layer 131. In the embodiment, the first metal layer 132 has a thickness of about 0.1 to 0.25 μm and is made of nickel. However, the material may be copper. Exposure is limited.

Referring to FIG. 7, step 103, a portion of the first metal layer 132 and the corresponding active layer 131 are removed along a predetermined path to form a gap 6 extending through the first metal layer 132 and the active layer 131, and separated by the gap 6. An electrode pattern region 4 and a non-electrode pattern region 5 spaced apart from each other are formed. In other words, this step is to ablate the first metal layer 132 and the corresponding active layer 131 with a laser beam along the periphery of the predetermined electrode pattern region 4, so that the ablated position forms a groove-like gap 6 Defining and isolating the electrode pattern region 4 by the gap 6 and Non-electrode pattern area 5. In addition, by controlling the appropriate power of the laser to ablate the first metal layer 132 and the active layer 131 with the laser beam to form the gap 6, the laser ablation depth can be limited to the first metal layer 132 and the active layer 131. Without destroying the lower charging stand 11, that is, in the overall process of forming the two first electrodes 13 (see FIG. 8) in this embodiment, the integrity of the charging stand 11 is not damaged or affected.

Referring to FIG. 8, step 104, a second metal layer 133 is formed only on the surface of the first metal layer 132 of the electrode pattern region 4 by an electroplating process. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the second metal layer 133 is between 0.2 μm and 0.5 μm and the material thereof is copper. The first metal layer 132 and the active layer 131 are both due to both the electrode pattern region 4 and the non-electrode pattern region 5. The second metal layer 133 may be plated only on the surface of the first metal layer 132 of the electrode pattern region 4, and the second metal layer 133 after plating is thicker than the first metal layer of the non-electrode pattern region 5. The thickness of 132 causes the electrode pattern region 4 to be significantly protruded from the non-electrode pattern region 5. In particular, the material of the electroplated positive electrode member (not shown) is copper, and the first metal layer 132 of the electrode pattern region 4 of the charging base 11 is electrically connected to the negative electrode member (not shown), and the positive electrode member and the positive electrode member are The charging base 11 is immersed in an electrolyte solution containing copper ions, and after passing through a DC power source, the copper of the positive electrode member releases electrons and becomes copper ions, and the copper ions in the solution are in the electrode pattern region 4 electrically connected to the negative electrode member. The first metal layer 132 is reduced to copper atoms and deposited on the surface thereof to form a second metal layer 133. The first metal layer 132 and the second metal layer 133 are the conductive layers of the first electrode 13 .

Referring to FIG. 9, step 105, the first metal layer 132 and the corresponding active layer 131 of the non-electrode pattern region 5 are removed. This step is first through wet etching In a manner, the first metal layer 132 of the non-electrode pattern region 5 is removed, that is, the first metal layer 132 of the non-electrode pattern region 5 is removed by a cleaning method using an etching solution. Moreover, the above steps can also be performed by laser etching or the like, which can also achieve the purpose of removing the first metal layer 132 of the non-electrode pattern region 5, and is not limited to the wet etching method disclosed in the embodiment. Next, the active layer 131 of the non-electrode pattern region 5 is removed. This step removes the active layer 131 of the non-electrode pattern region 5 in a stripping manner. It should be noted that the activation layer 131 of the non-electrode pattern region 5 can be removed by immersion or spraying. The stripping solution can increase the volume of the active layer 131 to generate internal stress, and the internal stress is sufficient to destroy the activation. When the adhesion of the layer 131 to the first curved surface 111, the stripping liquid softens or swells the active layer 131, so that the active layer 131 is detached from the first curved surface 111 by swelling. In other words, the spatial structure of the active layer 131 or the bonding force of the active layer 131 and the first curved surface 111 is broken to disengage the active layer 131 from the first curved surface 111. Since the use of the stripping solution is a technique familiar to those skilled in the art, it will not be described here. Of course, the above steps can also be performed by laser etching or the like, which can also achieve the purpose of removing the active layer 131 of the non-electrode pattern region 5, and is not limited to the stripping method disclosed in the embodiment.

In addition, since the active layer 131 formed by printing in this embodiment is a non-conductive layer, the step of removing the active layer 131 other than the electrode pattern region 4 may be omitted in the present embodiment, and is not in this embodiment. The steps disclosed are limited.

The method of establishing the first electrodes 13 on the first curved surface 111 of the charging stand 11 can be completed by the above-described manufacturing process. See Figure 1, the same For example, the method of establishing the two second electrodes 23 on the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 of the electronic device 2 can also pass through the above-mentioned manufacturing process, and details are not described herein. Further, since this method ablate the electrode pattern region 4 (see Fig. 7) with a laser beam, the electrodes 13, 23 of any shape and size can be fabricated.

In addition to the above-described fabrication process, the present embodiment can also be used to establish the electrodes 13 and 23 respectively in the first stage of the charging stand 11 by using other Molded Interconnect Device Technology (MID technology). The curved surface 111 and the second curved surface 211 of the casing 21 are not described herein because the use of the MID technology is familiar to those skilled in the art. In addition, in the present embodiment, the pair of wires 14 of the charging device 1 and the pair of wires 24 of the electronic device 2 are also mainly formed by the manner in which the electrodes 13 and 23 are fabricated.

In summary, the two second electrodes 23 of the electronic device 2 form two equivalent capacitances with the two first electrodes 13 of the charging device 1, and the power supply unit 12 of the charging device 1 transmits the two capacitors. The electric field coupling between the first electrode 13 and the two second electrodes 23 transmits power to the charging circuit 22 of the electronic device 2, so that the electronic device 2 and the charging device 1 can be charged without being connected through a power line. The method of charging by electric field coupling can not only achieve higher transmission efficiency, but also generate less heat energy in the process, which is more helpful for improving charging performance. In addition, the manufacturing method of the embodiment can directly establish the electrodes 13 and 23 on the curved surfaces 111 and 211 to facilitate manufacturing and save time and cost of assembly, so that the embodiment can be achieved. purpose.

However, the above is only an embodiment of the present invention, when The scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and all equivalent changes and modifications made in the scope of the invention and the patent specification are still within the scope of the invention.

1‧‧‧Charging device

11‧‧‧ charging stand

111‧‧‧First surface

12‧‧‧Power supply unit

13‧‧‧First electrode

2‧‧‧Electronic devices

21‧‧‧Chassis

211‧‧‧Second surface

22‧‧‧Charging circuit

23‧‧‧second electrode

Claims (10)

A wireless charging system comprising: a charging device comprising a charging base, a power supply unit disposed in the charging base for supplying electric power, and two wires respectively formed on the charging base and electrically connected to the power supply a first electrode of the supply unit; and an electronic device comprising a casing, a charging circuit disposed in the casing, and two second electrodes respectively formed in the casing and electrically connected to the charging circuit An electrode, wherein when the electronic device and the charging device are in a specific corresponding position, the two second electrodes of the electronic device respectively form two equivalent capacitances with the two first electrodes of the charging device, so that The power supply unit of the charging device transmits electric power to the charging circuit of the electronic device through the electric field coupling between the two first electrodes and the two second electrodes. The wireless charging system of claim 1, wherein the charging stand of the charging device has a first curved surface, and the two first electrodes are respectively formed on the first curved surface. The wireless charging system of claim 2, wherein the casing of the electronic device has a pair of second curved surfaces that should be the first curved surface, and the two second electrodes are respectively formed on the second curved surface. The wireless charging system of claim 3, wherein a curvature of a first curved surface of the charging stand of the charging device corresponds to a curvature of a second curved surface of the casing of the electronic device. The wireless charging system of claim 3, wherein the electronic device is At least one of the second curved surface of the shell and the first curved surface of the charging stand of the charging device is flexible. The wireless charging system of claim 1, wherein the charging base of the charging device has an insulating surface, each of the first electrodes has a first active layer and a first conductive layer, and the first active layer is formed on the The insulating surface of the charging stand, the first conductive layer is formed on the first active layer. The wireless charging system of claim 1, wherein the casing of the electronic device has an insulating surface, each of the second electrodes has a second active layer and a second conductive layer, and the second active layer is formed on the The insulating surface of the casing, the second conductive layer is formed on the second active layer. A charging device includes a charging stand having a first curved surface, the method comprising the steps of: forming activating layer comprising an active metal in a printed manner on a first curved surface of the charging stand; The electroplating process forms a metal layer as a first electrode on the surface of the active layer of the charging stand. A manufacturing method of an electronic device, comprising: a casing having a second curved surface, the method comprising the steps of: forming activating layer containing an active metal in a printing manner on a second curved surface of the casing; The electroplating process forms a metal layer as a second electrode on the surface of the active layer of the casing. A method of manufacturing a wireless charging system, the wireless charging system comprising a charging device and an electronic device, the charging device comprising a first a charging base of a curved surface, the electronic device comprising a casing having a second curved surface, the method comprising the steps of: forming a living metal by printing on a first curved surface of the charging stand and a second curved surface of the casing And a metal layer as a first electrode and a metal layer as a second electrode on the surface of the active layer of the casing by an electroless plating process on the surface of the active layer of the charging stand.