WO2023033737A1 - Chargeur, dispositif portatif rechargeable et ensemble de dispositifs - Google Patents

Chargeur, dispositif portatif rechargeable et ensemble de dispositifs Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023033737A1
WO2023033737A1 PCT/SG2022/050627 SG2022050627W WO2023033737A1 WO 2023033737 A1 WO2023033737 A1 WO 2023033737A1 SG 2022050627 W SG2022050627 W SG 2022050627W WO 2023033737 A1 WO2023033737 A1 WO 2023033737A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
power
module
channel
charger
charging
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/SG2022/050627
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Nishshanka Bandara NARAMPANAWE
Heng Goh YAP
Sooriya Bandara Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage
Chuan En Andrew ONG
Koen J. Weijand
Original Assignee
Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
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Application filed by Sivantos Pte. Ltd. filed Critical Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
Publication of WO2023033737A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023033737A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J50/00—Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power
    • H02J50/40—Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using two or more transmitting or receiving devices
    • H02J50/402—Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using two or more transmitting or receiving devices the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J50/00—Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power
    • H02J50/40—Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using two or more transmitting or receiving devices

Definitions

  • the invention concerns a charger for wireless charging.
  • the invention also concerns a chargeable device and a device set comprising such a charger and two or more such chargeable devices.
  • the power source is a chargeable or rechargeable power source, for example a secondary battery.
  • the portable devices are then further configured to enable wireless charging. These portable devices are then chargeable devices that can be charged wirelessly using a charger for wireless charging.
  • Wireless charging is typically preferred in current and future portable device applications. Apart from being more convenient than cable-based charging, wireless charging has the benefit of complete galvanic separation between the charger and the chargeable device, thereby enabling a corrosion-proof operation of the chargeable device.
  • corrosion-proof is understood to mean that the chargeable device can be used and charged in a harsh environment due to it being completely sealed.
  • Wireless charging also has aesthetic benefits, since no contact pins are exposed to the outside. Wireless charging also allows the chargeable device to be charged with a somewhat higher degree of freedom of alignment relative to a charger as compared to contact-based charging as said contacts must be correctly aligned for successful charging. This provides a larger design freedom with respect to the mechanical design of the chargeable device and the corresponding charger.
  • Further objectives may be derived from the following description.
  • the object is achieved according to the invention by a charger with the features according to claim 1 , by a chargeable device with the features according to claim 12 and by a device set with the features according to claim 14.
  • Advantageous configurations, developments and variants are subject of the dependent claims.
  • the statements in connection with the charger also apply mutatis mutandis to the chargeable device and the device set and vice versa.
  • the object is in particular also achieved by a method which comprises one or more of these steps.
  • Advantageous configurations for the charger, the chargeable device and the device set result from that these are configured to carry out one or more of these method steps, for example by means of a control unit, which is part of the charger, the chargeable device or the device set.
  • the device set comprises a charger described in more detail further below and at least two chargeable devices.
  • Each of the chargeable devices is thereby designed as a chargeable device described below, namely as a mobile or portable device that has its own chargeable power source.
  • the chargeable device is designed as a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, a smartwatch.
  • the chargeable device is designed as a hearing device.
  • the at least two chargeable devices of the device set are a pair of hearing devices, i.e., two complementary hearing devices.
  • Such a hearing device is generally used to output sound signals to a user of the hearing device.
  • a particular example of such a hearing device is a hearing aid, which aids a user who has a hearing deficit by compensating said deficit.
  • a hearing aid is in general designed to record sound signals from the environment, to process them and finally to output them in a modified (i.e., typically amplified) manner in such a way that the hearing deficit is at least partially compensated for.
  • Other examples of such hearing devices are headphones.
  • the chargeable device comprises the previously mentioned chargeable power source which is typically a secondary battery.
  • the chargeable device is thereby designed to be compatible with the charger described in more detail further below and therefore comprises, for charging the chargeable power source, a receiver module which is equipped to receive power from a transmission module of the charger in such a way that the power is transmitted by means of a transmission signal wirelessly via one of the transmission channels of the charger.
  • the chargeable device typically comprises at least one electrical consumer load for realizing a main function, i.e., for processing recorded sound signals in case of a hearing aid.
  • the chargeable power source is for supplying the least one electrical consumer load.
  • the charger is suitably designed for wireless charging.
  • a suitable wireless charging approach for many chargeable devices and generally also for hearing devices is inductive charging, i.e., an inductive power transfer via a pair of coils (a transmitter coil and receiver coil).
  • the inductive charging is a non-tuned or mistuned charging concept between the charger and the chargeable device, wherein both are operated far off from resonance.
  • Inductive charging is a type of wireless charging and features a good coupling factor, so that the dimensions of the transmitter coil and the receiver coil are usually about the same size.
  • An example of inductive charging is the so called “Qi” charging.
  • inductive charging may suffer from a low power transfer efficiency and/or a limited to non-existent capability to charge the chargeable device when the receiver coil and transmitter coil are far apart from each other.
  • the receiver coil is preferably placed as close as possible to the transmitter coil and also in the same orientation to achieve an optimum coupling factor. This poses various constraints on the mechanical design of the chargeable device and the charger and limits the freedom of alignment.
  • the respective quality factor of the transmitter coil and the receiver coil is getting larger when the resonance frequency is higher. Since both the transmitter coil and receiver coil are about the same size, the quality factor value of the transmitter coil and receiver coil are close to each other.
  • the quality factor of the receiver coil can also be slightly higher than the quality factor of the transmitter coil.
  • a degree of freedom of alignment as large as possible is preferred for a hearing device since hearing devices encompass a wide range of products with different form factors.
  • the form factor depends on the type of hearing device and how it is worn by a user, e.g., BTE (behind the ear), ITE (in the ear), CIC (completely in the ear canal), as well as on a possible customization, e.g., an ITE hearing device may comprise a shell which is customized to fit a particular user’s ear.
  • the charger may have to be adapted accordingly to ensure proper charging.
  • a high degree of freedom of alignment also: freedom of placement
  • a higher degree of freedom of alignment usually results in a lower coupling factor between the transmitter coil and the receiver coil.
  • a low coupling factor can cause a low charging efficiency and a strong heat generation during charging due to a stronger magnetic field required to support the charging.
  • Magnetic Resonance (MR) charging is a wireless charging solution in which both the transmitter module and the receiver module are tuned to the same resonance frequency, at least within a certain threshold range, e.g., 5 % of the resonance frequency. Magnetic Resonance charging is also contactless and features the corresponding benefits. Magnetic Resonance charging may be inductive or capacitive, wherein inductive resonance charging is preferred here. A power transfer based on Magnetic Resonance charging has the benefits of a still high efficiency when the transmitter module and the receiver module are only loosely coupled.
  • the choice of Magnetic Resonance charging has the following benefits: 1 ) a different form factor between transmitter module and receiver module is possible, 2) a large wireless charging distance (or gap) compared to the radius of the coils of the transmitter module and the receiver module is possible, 3) a large tilt angle of the transmitter module relative to the receiver module is possible, and 4) a low heat dissipation at the receiver module during charging is achieved.
  • the Magnetic Resonance charging is particularly suitable for a hearing device application, i.e., for use in a hearing device, to cater to a wide range of hearing device products, potentially with different form factors.
  • the charger is designed for Magnetic Resonance charging or Magnetic Resonance power transfer.
  • Such a Magnetic Resonance power transfer will hereinafter be referred to as MR power transfer for short.
  • the charger is set up for simultaneous operation of two or more transmission channels, wherein power is wirelessly transmittable over each of the transmission channels to a chargeable device compatible with the charger, namely a chargeable device described above.
  • the charger comprises for each transmission channel a transmission module for transmitting a transmission signal and thus for transmitting power.
  • each transmission module is supplied with power by an associated channel module and all channel modules are supplied with power from a base module.
  • the charger can therefore be used to charge two or more chargeable devices simultaneously, depending on how many transmission channels the charger is designed for.
  • each channel module is equipped to individually control the power transmitted over the associated transmission channel. Preferably, this then enables different amounts of power to be transmitted via different transmission channels, with the power transmitted via each transmission channel being further preferably adapted to a demand of the chargeable device to be charged via the respective transmission channel.
  • each channel module is preferably equipped to receive a modulation signal from a chargeable device receiving power over the transmission channel associated with the respective channel module and each channel module is equipped to manage the power transmitted over the associated transmission channel based on the received modulation signal.
  • the base module preferably comprises an oscillator.
  • the channel modules preferably do not comprise any oscillator. It is also advantageous if each channel module comprises a channel sensor module for measuring a current intensity and for measuring a voltage. Furthermore, the base module preferably comprises a base sensor module for measuring a current intensity and for measuring a voltage.
  • each channel module comprises a channel power amplifier.
  • Each channel power amplifier is preferably configured as a Class E power amplifier. It is also advantageous if each channel module comprises a channel power converter which is preferably configured as a buck converter. And it is advantageous if each channel module comprises a channel power amplifier configured as a Class E power amplifier, if each channel module comprises a buck converter and if in each channel module the buck converter is connected upstream of the channel power amplifier. It is also expedient if the base module comprises a microcontroller.
  • the charger is moreover designed as a portable charger and for this purpose has a power storage which is integrated in the base module.
  • the power storage has a capacity, the value of which is in the range of 40 mAh to 2000 mAh.
  • the chargeable device comprises a power management module for converting the power received from the receiver module into a charging current for charging the chargeable power source and in which the power management module is equipped to generate a modulation signal containing information on the charging process and to modulate the transmission signal by means of the modulation signal.
  • Fig. 1 a charger together with several chargeable devices
  • Fig. 2 a base module of the charger
  • Fig. 3 a channel module of the charger
  • Fig. 4 a power source module of the base module
  • Fig. 5 a base sensor module of the base module
  • Fig. 6 a system power converter of the base module
  • Fig. 7 a microcontroller of the base module
  • Fig. 8 a channel power converter of the channel module
  • Fig. 9 a channel driver of the channel module
  • Fig. 10 a channel power amplifier of the channel module
  • Fig. 1 1 a channel load demodulator of the channel module
  • Fig. 12 a second embodiment of the system power converter
  • Fig. 13 a second embodiment of the channel power converter
  • Fig. 14 a third embodiment of the channel power converter
  • Fig. 15 a second embodiment of the channel power amplifier
  • Fig. 16 a second embodiment of the charger together with two hearing aids.
  • Fig. 1 - Fig. 5, Fig. 7, Fig. 9 and Fig. 1 1 show block diagrams. In these diagrams full lines indicate power links and dotted lines or dotted arrow lines indicate signal links.
  • An exemplary charger 2 described below with reference to Fig. 1 - Fig. 16 comprises a charging system which is configured for wireless charging two or more chargeable devices 4 simultaneously.
  • each chargeable device 4 is supplied with power via a transmission channel of the charging system during charging.
  • the charger 2 can therefore be used to charge two or more chargeable devices 4 simultaneously, depending on how many transmission channels the charger 2 is designed for.
  • Such a chargeable device 4 is hereinafter also referred to as a device 4 for short.
  • Each of the devices 4 is typically designed as a mobile or portable device that has its own chargeable power source.
  • the device 4 is designed as a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, a smartwatch.
  • the device 4 is designed as a hearing device.
  • the charger 2 is designed for wireless charging exactly two devices 4 simultaneously and each of the two devices 4 is designed as a hearing aid. Thereby the two devices 4 and the charger 2 are part of a device set 6.
  • the number of realized transmission channels determines the maximum number of chargeable devices 4 that can be charged simultaneously by the charger 2.
  • the charger 2 is typically set up in such a way that not all transmission channels have to be used. Instead, any number of the available transmission channels can preferably be used, depending on how many devices 4 are to be charged simultaneously.
  • the charger 2 Regardless of how many transmission channels the charger 2 is designed for, it is set up for Magnetic Resonance charging. So, the charging system is a Magnetic Resonance charging system which enables Magnetic Resonance power transfer. This Magnetic Resonance charging system is hereinafter also referred to as MR charging system for short, or simply as charging system or charger system.
  • the charger 2 described here as an example has a transmission module 8 for each transmission channel. It therefore has two or more transmission modules 8. Each device 4 compatible with the charger 2 in turn has a receiver module 10, so that energy can then be transferred between a transmission module 8 and a receiver module 10 coupled to it during charging.
  • the charger 2 has a channel module 12 for each transmission module 8 and all channel modules 12 are supplied with power from a base module 14. This is shown in Fig. 1 .
  • the base module 14 is hereinafter also referred to as common circuit and such a channel module 12 is hereinafter also referred to as a duplicated circuit.
  • the base module 14 typically has a power source module 16. It preferably has a system power converter 18. In some embodiments the base module 14 has a base sensor module 20. In some embodiments the base module 14 has a microcontroller 22. In some embodiments the base module 14 has an oscillator 24. In the special embodiment example according to Fig. 2 the base module 14 has such a power source module 16, such a system power converter 18, such a base sensor module 20, such a microcontroller 22 and such an oscillator 24.
  • Each channel module 12 typically has a channel power converter 26. It preferably has a channel power amplifier 28. In some embodiments each channel module 12 has a channel sensor module 30. In some embodiments each channel module 12 has a channel driver 32. In some embodiments each channel module 12 has a channel load demodulator 34. In the special embodiment example according to Fig. 3 each channel module 12 has such a channel power converter 26, such a channel power amplifier 28, such a channel sensor module 30, such a channel driver 32 and such a channel load demodulator 34.
  • each of the devices 4 is typically designed as a mobile or portable device that has its own chargeable power source.
  • the chargeable power source of each device 4 is formed by a secondary battery 36. So, the energy which is transferred during charging between a transmission module 8 of the charger 2 and the receiver module 10 of a device 4 is preferably used for charging the secondary battery 36 of the device 4.
  • each device comprises furthermore a power management module 38.
  • each device 4 has a receiver module 10, a power management module 38 and a secondary battery 36.
  • transmission modules 8 are function blocks. Which of these function blocks are realized in individual cases depends on the specific application. Irrespective of this, preferred embodiments of these function blocks are described in more detail below.
  • Transmission module 8 is described in more detail below.
  • a previously mentioned transmission module 8 is preferably designed as a tuned resonance frequency transmitter antenna that is especially in the shape of a loop antenna.
  • This loop antenna can be in the shape of helical, spiral, helical-spiral (multilayer spiral).
  • the transmission module 8 typically comprises a resonance circuit.
  • the resonance circuit can be a series resonance circuit, a parallel resonance circuit, or a parallel series resonance circuit.
  • a previously mentioned receiver module 10 is preferably a turned resonance frequency receiver coil.
  • the receiver module 10 can receive magnetic energy generated from a transmission module 8 with a similar resonance frequency and convert it to electrical energy.
  • the receiver module 10 preferably has the feature of converting the received AC energy to the DC energy before supply power to a power management module 38.
  • a previously mentioned power management module 38 preferably has the feature of regulating the voltage and provide a constant current to charge a secondary battery 36. Further, such a management module 38 preferably generates a modulation signal that contains charging data and is used to modulate the power signal at the receiver module 10.
  • a previously mentioned power source module 16 especially has the role of getting power externally and supplying power to the whole charging system.
  • the power source module 16 typically has an input power module 40. In some embodiments it has an internal power storage module 42. Such an internal power storage module 42 is hereinafter also referred to as power storage 42 for short. In some embodiments it has a read-write module 44 which preferably comprises a microcontroller or is built of a microcontroller. In the embodiment example according to figure 4 the power source module 16 has an input power module 40, a power storage 42 and a read-write module 44. The supplied power from the input power module 40 can go to the power storage 42 to charge the power storage 42 or bypass it to directly supply power to the downstream charging system over the power link p1 .
  • a previously mentioned input power module 40 typically has a connector port 46 that allows an external port 48 of an external power source (not shown) to be plugin and supply power to the charger 2.
  • the connector port 46 must be the first block function of the input power module 40 that is used as connecting to the external power source. There is no restriction of sequence arrangement for the rest of the block function of the input power module 40.
  • the connector port 46 is for example a female socket of a Universal Serial Bus (USB).
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the USB is an industry-standard cable and connector protocol for many electronic devices.
  • the connector port 46 has an output of 5V direct current (DC) voltage to the succeeding block function.
  • the 5V DC voltage comes from a 5V DC adapter output converted from a 1 10V/230V AC power socket, or a 5V DC USB output from an external battery bank or any USB port power source device.
  • a previously mentioned input power module 40 typically also has the protection functionality to overcome a sudden high surge voltage and high surge current.
  • the input power module 40 has one or more of the following elements: a ESD circuit 50, a fuse 52, a common mode filter 54, an overvoltage protection module 56.
  • the input power module 40 has such a ESD circuit 50, such a fuse 52, such a common-mode filter 54 and such an overvoltage protection module 56.
  • a previously mentioned ESD circuit 50 has the feature of preventing an electrical shock or a dielectric breakdown caused by electrostatic induction when any different charged objects are brought close to the charger 2.
  • a previously mentioned fuse 52 is a protection component to interrupt and cut off the power when there is a power surge or the charger's 2 internal short circuit.
  • a previously mentioned common-mode filter 54 is used as filtering the current noise generated from other external devices.
  • a previously mentioned overvoltage protection module 56 cuts off the power when the input voltage is more than the rated voltage.
  • the power source module 16 preferably has an internal power storage module 42. Adding such a power storage 42 to the charger 2 is to realize a portable charger 2 which users can carry the charger 2 and charging the devices 4 at the same time.
  • the power storage 42 has a battery management circuit 58 and a chargeable power source, i.e., a secondary battery 60.
  • a previously mentioned battery management circuit 58 is required to regulate a constant charging current to the output to charge the chargeable power source.
  • the battery management circuit 58 also monitors the voltage of the chargeable power source at the charging state. In discharging state, the power storage 42 draws the power from the chargeable power source and step up or step down the voltage before supply power to the downstream charging circuit.
  • the step-up or step-down function can be integrated into the battery management circuit 58 or a discrete component such as buck converter (step-down), boost converter (step-up) or sepic (buck-boost) converter.
  • the selection of discharging topology is based on the selected chargeable power source.
  • the commonly seen chargeable power source is a lithium-based battery such as lithium-ion battery and lithium polymer battery with a nominal voltage 3.7V, or a nickel-based battery such as nickelcadmium battery and nickel-metal hydride battery with a nominal voltage 1 .2V.
  • a previously mentioned read-write module 44 allows communication between the external power source and a previously mentioned microcontroller 22 in a low noise condition.
  • the read-write module 44 has a signal link s1 which is connected to the microcontroller 22 of figure 2.
  • the readwrite module 44 has a ESD circuit 62 similar to the input power module. Such a ESD circuit 62 is applied to the MCU read-write module to prevent distortion program/data when the external power source has an electrical shock or a dielectric breakdown.
  • the read-write module 44 has a common-mode filter 64.
  • the read-write module 44 has an EMI filter 66.
  • a previously mentioned base sensor module 20 typically comprises a voltage measurement sensor 68 or a current measurement sensor 70.
  • the base sensor module 20 comprises a voltage measurement sensor 68 and a current measurement sensor 70.
  • Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of an exemplary base sensor module 20 with such a voltage measurement sensor 68 and such a current measurement sensor 70.
  • the base sensor module 20 is applied just after the power source module 16 to calculate the input power of the whole charging system. Therefor the base sensor module 20 is connected to the power link p1 . So, power link p1 is the input power link and a power link p2 is the output power link.
  • the voltage measurement is typically taken from the voltage across the power link p1 and the system ground.
  • the voltage measurement sensor 68 is usually realized by a voltage divider circuit 72.
  • the current measurement is usually taken from the current flow through the power link p1 .
  • the current measurement sensor 70 can be done by using the voltage across a small resistance through the power link p1 and amplify its signal. As such, the current measurement sensor 70 is typically a current to voltage conversion circuit 74. Both the voltage sensor and current sensor signals are then preferably output to the microcontroller 22 via a signal link s2.
  • a previously mentioned system power converter 18 typically has the task of providing a supply voltage for at least one function block of the charging system. In particular, it is to provide a supply voltage for one or more of the following function blocks: a previously mentioned microcontroller 22, an operational amplifier, a previously mentioned oscillator 24, a previously mentioned channel driver 32, a previously mentioned channel load demodulator 34. In the example according to Fig. 2, this supply voltage is provided via power link p3. According to Fig. 2 the microcontroller 22, the oscillator 24, all channel drivers 32 and all channel load demodulators 34 are connected with this power link p3. Also in this example, the system power converter 18 is supplied by power link p2.
  • Such a supply voltage usually requires a lower fixed voltage for it to power up and function.
  • a fixed output voltage buck converter 76 preferably is used. So, the system power converter 18 preferably comprises a buck converter 76 or is built of a buck converter 76.
  • Such a buck converter 76 is a DC-DC power converter and it has the step-down voltage feature with a regulated output voltage.
  • Fig. 6 shows a circuit diagram of an exemplary fixed output voltage buck converter 76.
  • the input power of the buck converter 76 is from the power link p2.
  • the output power of the buck converter 76 is connected to all the channel load demodulators 34, all the channel drivers 32, the microcontroller 22 and the oscillator 24.
  • the buck converter 76 has an active switch in series to input the power link p2 and a capacitor in parallel to the output power link p3. There is a passive diode and an inductor at the intermediate circuitry of the buck converter 76.
  • the operation of the buck converter 76 starts with charging the inductor when the switch is turned on. The charging current flow through the switch and inductor, then the inductor current ramping up linearly when the switch is turned on. When the switch is turned off, the current flows through the diode and inductor. The inductor is then discharged and declining down linearly.
  • the capacitor in parallel to the output is used as smoothing the output ripple voltage that generated from the switch and external noise.
  • a voltage divider at the output of the buck converter 76 is pulled to the feedback control 78 to form a closed loop system and stabilize the buck converter system. The closed loop system can regulate the output of the buck converter 76 to a fixed desired voltage.
  • the system power converter 18 comprises a low dropout regulator 106 or is built of a low dropout regulator 106.
  • a low dropout regulator 106 has the function of regulating the output to a fixed voltage.
  • a block diagram of an exemplary common low dropout regulator 106 circuit is shown in Fig. 12. Therein, a block 108 supplies a reference voltage to an operational amplifier 1 10.
  • the low dropout regulator 106 has the benefit of no additional passive component required to regulate the output voltage. As such, the low dropout regulator 106 as the system power converter 18 has a lower overall cost than the buck converter 76. However, the buck converter 76 generally has the benefit of higher conversion efficiency compared to the low dropout regulator 106. The buck converter 76 normally has a higher power rating than the low dropout regulator 106.
  • a previously mentioned microcontroller 22 typically is designed as a single unit microcontroller (MCU).
  • MCU single unit microcontroller
  • Such a single unit microcontroller (MCU) contains multiple input pins and multiple output pins and is preferably used in the charging system to control multiple channels in order to charge multiple devices 4 at the same time.
  • the microcontroller 22 is a processing component to manipulate the transmitted power. It is used as processing the retrieve information from the devices 4 and provide the next action to control the charging circuit.
  • Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of an exemplary microcontroller 22 with the basic functionality needed in the MR charging system.
  • the input power of the microcontroller 22 is from the power link p3 with a fixed voltage.
  • the input signals are a voltage measurement signal from the base sensor module 20 via signal link s2, a current measurement signal from the base sensor module 20 via signal link s2, voltage measurement signals from the channel sensor modules 30 via signal link s3, current measurement signals from the channel sensor modules 30 via signal link s3, demodulator signals from the channel load demodulators 34 via signal link s4 and read-write data from the read-write module 44 via signal link s1 .
  • the output signals are signals that are given to the channel power converters 26 via signal link s5. According to Fig.
  • the voltage and current measurement signals are in analog and converted into a digital signal via an analog to digital converter 80 in the microcontroller 22.
  • the demodulation signals generated from the channel load demodulators 34 are also an input to the microcontroller 22. Each demodulation signal is detected using a pin of GPIO 82 of the microcontroller 22 via the rising edge or falling edge of the signals. All the input signals are conveyed to the processing unit 84 and convert to a data format. Then, the data are processed and provide to the next instruction.
  • the microcontroller 22 controls the transmitted power of each channel power converter 26 via a digital-analog converter 86.
  • the firmware 88 is an algorithm flow that determines the processing sequences of the retrieve signal and the output signal.
  • the memory 90 is used to store all the processed data. The firmware algorithm can be written from the external device via the input port. The stored data in the memory 90 can also be read and write from an external device via the input port.
  • the output power of the channel power amplifier 28 preferably is controlled via the output voltage of the channel power converter 26.
  • the microcontroller 22 regulates the output voltage of the channel power converter 26 via the digital-analog converter 86 direct input to the feedback input of the channel power converter 26.
  • the microcontroller 22 regulates the output voltage of the channel power converter 26 via pulse width modulation with a low pass filter which has a much lower cut-off frequency to the feedback input of the channel power converter 26.
  • a low pass filter which has a much lower cut-off frequency to the feedback input of the channel power converter 26.
  • the utilization of resistor and capacitor value in the low pass filter circuit as shown in Fig. 8 for the microcontroller 22 output signal require a larger value than the microcontroller 22 output signal.
  • the pulse width modulation requires a filter to get the average signal but the microcontroller 22 does not need it.
  • a previously mentioned oscillator 24 has the feature of oscillating a DC signal to an AC signal in a constant frequency.
  • the oscillated AC signal frequency is usually in the range of ten of kHz up to hundreds of MHz.
  • the oscillator 24 typically is a crystal oscillator 24 that has the output of an electronic oscillated signal with a fixed frequency generated via the mechanical vibration of piezoelectric material.
  • the input power of the oscillator 24 is from the system power converter 18.
  • the output of the oscillator 24 is an oscillated signal with a fixed frequency that is direct a signal link s9.
  • each channel driver 32 is connected to s9. And uses the oscillated signal as an input signal.
  • the selection of oscillators 24 is preferred not to drift too much from the desired frequency.
  • the measurement index of the frequency drift stability is based on the Part Per Million (ppm) which means the output frequency variation from the desired frequency.
  • a 50 ppm is the usual specification of the oscillator frequency drift stability.
  • the 50 ppm frequency drift stability has an output frequency bandwidth of about +/- 7 kHz.
  • the frequency 13.56 MHz +/- 7 kHz complies with the bandwidth of industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) standards.
  • the oscillated power at the output of the channel power amplifier 28 can be generated via a fixed frequency-fixed duty ratio pulse width modulation (PWM) signal from the microcontroller 22 to the channel driver 32 to drive the channel power amplifier 28.
  • PWM pulse width modulation
  • the input of the channel power amplifier 28 is normally the channel power converter 26 and control via the microcontroller 22.
  • the utilization of microcontroller 22 PWM to the channel driver 32 to drive the channel power amplifier 28 has the advantage of eliminating the oscillator circuit.
  • the high- frequency PWM signal is generated via a phase-locked loop (PLL) control feature of microcontroller 22.
  • the microcontroller 22 that has a PLL feature is generally a digital signal processor or digital signal microcontroller 22. The digital signal is normally higher cost than a normal microcontroller 22.
  • a previously mentioned channel power converter 26 typically requires a feature of regulating the output voltage.
  • the channel power converter 26 is connected upstream of a channel power amplifier 28 mentioned before. So, in this embodiment example the output voltage of such a channel power converter 26 must have varying features to generate different output power levels for such a channel power amplifier 28.
  • the varying output power at the channel power converter 26 typically is to cater to the different possible charging orientations of a receiver module 10.
  • a buck converter 92 is the preferred topology as the channel power converter 26 due to the channel power amplifier 28 has the feature of boost up the voltage at the output of the channel power amplifier 28.
  • Such a buck converter 92 is a DC- DC power converter and regulate output voltage. It has the feature of step-down the input voltage which results in a lower voltage at the output.
  • the difference between the channel power converter 26 according to Fig. 8 and the system power converter 18 according to Fig. 6 is the channel power converter 26 has a varying output buck converter 92 and the system power converter 18 has a fixed output buck converter 76.
  • Fig. 8 shows a circuit diagram of an exemplary varying output voltage buck converter 92 as a previously mentioned channel power converter 26.
  • the input power of the channel power converter 26 is from the power link p2 and the output power is to the power link p4.
  • the available input signal pins are signal link s5 as a feedback input and signal link s7 as an interrupt signal.
  • the output voltage of the buck converter 92 according to Fig. 8 is manipulated by setting a voltage to a feedback control 94.
  • the voltage at the feedback control 94 is controlled by the signal via signal link s5 from the microcontroller 22 to the feedback input.
  • the feedback input then passes through a high cut-off frequency ( ⁇ 1 kHz) low pass filter to eliminate the high-frequency noise that generated along the trace.
  • the filtered feedback input signal is then going to the feedback control 94 pin via a resistor.
  • the feedback input circuitry and the voltage divider circuitry forming voltage source circuit loops.
  • the relationship between the feedback input and the feedback control 94 can be derived using the Kirchhoff current law or the superposition theorem. As a result, a higher voltage given to the feedback input generates a lower output voltage at the buck converter 92.
  • the interrupt signal is generated by a previously mentioned channel sensor module 30 and fed to the channel power converter 26 via the signal link s7.
  • the interrupt signal is used to provide a protection signal to cut off the buck converter 92 when there is any short circuit happening or overcurrent drawn at the downstream circuit.
  • the interrupt signal is given to the feedback control 94 pin via a resistor.
  • the resistor of interrupt signal circuitry is at least 2 times larger than the resistor of the feedback input circuitry.
  • the resistor with the interrupt signal circuitry, the feedback input circuitry, and the voltage divider forming few voltage source circuit loops.
  • the topology of the channel power converter 26 can also be a boost converter or sepic converter which depends on the required output voltage.
  • a boost converter has the feature of step up the input voltage and provides a higher voltage to the output.
  • Such a sepic converter is a kind of converter that can perform step up and step down the voltage to the output.
  • the sepic converter is recommended as the selected converter compares to the normal buck-boost converter and Cuk converter. The reason is that 1 ) the output of buck-boost converter and Cuk converter is in reverse polarity and 2) sepic converter has a common ground between the output and input.
  • Fig. 13 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary boost converter
  • Fig. 14 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary sepic converter.
  • the boost converter has the same amount of components as the buck converter whereas the sepic converter has an additional capacitor and an additional inductor.
  • a previously mentioned channel sensor module 30 typically comprises a voltage measurement sensor or a current measurement sensor.
  • the channel sensor module 30 comprises a voltage measurement sensor and a current measurement sensor.
  • the channel sensor module 30 typically has a similar function as the base sensor module 20 according to Fig. 2.
  • the voltage measurement of this channel sensor module 30 is the output DC voltage of the channel power converter 26 and also the input DC voltage of the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the current measurement of this channel sensor module 30 is a DC flow of the channel power amplifier 28 input.
  • the only difference between the channel sensor module 30 according to Fig. 3 and the base sensor module 20 according to Fig. 2 is an additional current protection feature which is to monitor the current drawn to the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the input power is from the channel power converter 26 and the output power is to the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the voltage measurement signal and the current measurement signal are input to the microcontroller 22.
  • the current protection signal is given to the interrupt signal input of the channel power converter 26.
  • a previously mentioned channel driver 32 typically is a buffer circuit.
  • the channel driver 32 can charge the input capacitance of a transistor 96 of the channel power amplifier 28 according to Fig. 10 and giving a sufficiently high voltage to turn on the transistor 96.
  • Fig. 9 shows a block diagram of an exemplary channel driver 32.
  • the input power of the channel driver 32 is from the power link p3.
  • the input signal via the signal link s9 is from the oscillator 24 and the output signal via the signal link s8 is a driver signal to the transistor 96 of the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the driver signal is a level-up voltage to charge the input capacitance of the transistor 96 and to turn the transistor 96 on-off.
  • the transistor 96 of the channel power amplifier 28 is turned on when the driver signal is in the high state and turned off when the voltage signal is in the low state.
  • a previously mentioned channel power amplifier 28 is preferably designed as a class E power amplifier. Irrespective of this, the channel power amplifier 28 typically has the functionality of converting an input DC power to an output AC power.
  • the channel power amplifier 28 takes the driver signal from the channel driver 32 as a reference and converts the input DC from the power link p5 to the respective power form.
  • the driver signal is then magnified to a larger power form at the output p6 of the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the output power of the channel power amplifier 28 has the same waveform as the oscillator signal from the oscillator 24 but with a much higher power level.
  • the AC power output is then input to the transmission module 8 via the power link p6.
  • Fig. 10 shows a schematic circuit of a resistive class E power amplifier as an embodiment example for the channel power amplifier 28.
  • This channel power amplifier 28 operates in a resonance principle allowing a small DC input to be amplified to a large AC output.
  • the DC input power is from the power link p5 and the AC output power is to the power link p6.
  • the input signal is a driver signal to drive the transistor 96 of channel power amplifier 28 according to Fig. 10.
  • the input of the resistive class E power amplifier has a filter circuit to reduce the noise in the power link.
  • the output of the resistive class E amplifier has a low pass filter with a big inductor to reduce output harmonic.
  • Such a resistive class E power amplifier is the preferred topology of the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the resistive class E power amplifier has the benefit of less effect from transmitter line length due to a large nominal impedance dominate the resistance of the transmitter line.
  • the resistive class E amplifier also has the feature of a low pass filter that can lower the output power harmonic amplitude.
  • the resistive class E amplifier has a high output resistance which facilitates the load tunning such as the input resistance of the transmission module 8.
  • an inductive class E amplifier can also be used as oscillating a DC input power to an AC output power. Compare with the resistive class E amplifier, the inductive class E amplifier has the benefit of smaller form factor and less component count. As such, the inductive class E amplifier is cheaper in overall cost compare with the resistive class E amplifier. Furthermore, the inductive class E amplifier has a feature of lower output resistance than the resistive class E amplifier.
  • Fig. 15 shows a schematic circuit of an exemplary inductive class E amplifier.
  • the inductive class E amplifier has similar input lower pass filter circuit as the resistive class E amplifier. Compare with the resistive class E amplifier, the inductive class E amplifier does not have a series capacitor to the output inductor and an output capacitor. The output inductor of the inductive class E amplifier is smaller value than the output inductor of resistive class E amplifier. Overall, the efficiency of inductive class E amplifier is better than the resistive class E amplifier due to less component and smaller inductor with a lower resistance at the output.
  • a previously mentioned channel load demodulator 34 typically has the feature of 1 ) capture a communication signal from a device 4 and 2) demodulate the communication signal into a readable format.
  • Fig. 11 shows a block diagram of an exemplary channel load demodulator 34.
  • the input power of the channel load demodulator 34 is from the power link p3.
  • the input signal is a voltage form or current form signal that comes from the transmission module 8 via a signal link s10 containing charging data.
  • the input voltage or current is conveyed to a detector 98 to determine the existence of the device 4 and communication signal.
  • the signal goes to the DC blocker or high pass filter 100 to remove out the unknown DC bias voltage.
  • the DC bias removed signal is magnified via an amplifier 102 and input to the comparator 104 to generate the square waveform output signal.
  • the output signal of the channel load demodulator 34 then goes to the microcontroller 22 to process the received communication signal.
  • One important aspect of the charging system invention is the architecture and the capability to supply sufficient power to a device 4.
  • the combination of Class E power amplifier and buck converter in each channel module 12 has the benefit of making the system immune to input voltage ripple, such as a light load voltage ripple.
  • the architecture of the MR charging system with a base module 14 and multiple channels modules 12 allow a single charging system to charge multiple devices 4 at the same time.
  • the charging system input source preferably is a 5V DC source come from an external adapter socket or power bank.
  • the transmitted power preferably is manipulated by the output power of a previously mentioned channel power converter 26 via a feedback input signal from a previously mentioned microcontroller 22.
  • the power source draws the power externally or the internal power storage, then supply to the whole charger-device-system.
  • the base sensor module 20 measure the voltage and current from the power source module 16 and calculate the input power of overall charger-device-system.
  • the power from the base sensor module 20 is converted to an appropriate voltage level via the system power converter 18.
  • the system power converter 18 commonly steps down the voltage and supplies a fixed regulated voltage to the microcontroller 22, the oscillator 24, all channel drivers 32, and all channel load demodulators 34.
  • each channel module 12 the channel power converter 26 varying the output voltage and supply a varying regulated voltage to the downstream channel sensor module 30 and the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the channel sensor module 30 is used as measuring the output power drawn at the individual channel and monitor the current flow through the input of the channel power amplifier 28.
  • the regulated output from the channel sensor module 30 then input to the channel power amplifier 28 to generate an oscillated power at the resonant frequency.
  • the oscillated current flows in and out from the transmission module 8 to generate a magnetic power with the respective resonance frequency.
  • the receiver module 10 of a device 4 with the same tuned resonance frequency as the transmission module 8 exposed to the generated magnetic field then captured the magnetic energy and convert it to electrical energy.
  • the electrical energy is then regulated by the power management module 38 in the device 4 and charge to the secondary battery 36.
  • the transmitted power is preferably controllable at the charging system of the charger 2 and must not set to pump a maximum transmitted power to charge the device 4.
  • a maximum transmitted power to charge the device 4 can cause excessive heat generation to both the charger 2 and the device 4.
  • the maximum charging power at the transmit power at the charging system will cause the temperature of both the charger 2 and the device 4 rise to a higher degree. A high temperature could cause damage to the internal component for both sides and probably shorten the life span of the charger 2 and device 4.
  • the charging system preferably always starts with the initial state which is the state when the device 4 is first placed into the charger 2.
  • the initial state is usually an initial magnetic field strength that is sufficient to detect the device 4.
  • the initial state of the charging system starts with setting the microcontroller with an initial value and output to the channel power converter 26 feedback input.
  • the feedback input from the microcontroller 22 then regulates the output voltage of the channel power converter 26 to an initial voltage.
  • an initial oscillated power is generated at the output of the channel power amplifier 28 and flows into the transmission module 8.
  • the transmission module 8 produces an initial strength of the magnetic field that is sufficient for the receiver module 10 to capture.
  • the receiver module 10 exposed to the generated magnetic field induces a power at the receiver module 10.
  • the induced power then transforms to the DC voltage at the receiver module 10 and regulates the voltage at the power management module 38.
  • the regulated voltage then generates a constant current to charge the secondary battery 36 of the device 4.
  • the modulation signal that contains the device 4 charging information is generated at the power management module 38 to the receiver module 10.
  • the modulation signal is reflected to the transmission module 8 via the magnetic field and demodulated at the charging system via the channel load demodulator 34.
  • the microcontroller 22 detects the demodulated signal and generates an interrupt signal to allow the microcontroller 22 to go into the state of decode and process the demodulated signal.
  • the processed signal then sets a new microcontroller 22 value to the channel power converter 26 feedback input and varies the output of the channel power converter 26 to a new DC voltage.
  • a new DC voltage input to the channel power amplifier 28 generates a new oscillated power at the output.
  • the new oscillated power to the transmission module 8 generates a new magnetic field strength.
  • the receiver module 10 placed at the same position will capture the new magnetic field and induced a new power at the receiver module 10.
  • a further exemplary charging operational flow of the charger-device-system is described below. This charging operational flow forming a loop to ensure sufficient power is output from the charging system to charge the device wirelessly.
  • the charging system has to pump more power to the transmission module 8 to compensate for a bad coupling when the device 4 is placed far apart from the transmission module 8 or the receiver module 10 has a high tilt angle with respect to the transmission module 8. In contrast, the charger 2 pumps less power to the transmission module 8 when the receiver module 10 and the transmission module 8 have a good coupling.
  • the power control at the charging system is manipulated via the microcontroller 22 output.
  • the charging system outputs a high power when the microcontroller 22 value is low and it pumps a low power when the microcontroller 22 value is high.
  • the charging system can automatically vary power to generate the respective magnetic field strength that is needed to charge the device 4. Overall, the introduced operational flow can ensure sufficient delivered power to charge the device 4, and control not to deliver excessive power to the device 4.
  • the charger 2 is designed for wireless charging exactly two devices 4 simultaneously and each of the two devices 4 is designed as a hearing aid.
  • the charging current typically is preset to charge a secondary battery 36 with a constant current of about 10 mA as the fast-charging state when the battery voltage of the secondary battery 36 is below 3.85 V.
  • the charging current is pre-set to charge the secondary battery 36 with a constant 5 mA as the common charging state when the battery voltage is above 3.85 V.
  • CV constant voltage
  • the charging current will slowly ramp down and stop charging.
  • the MR charging system has to vary the transmit power to ensure sufficient power to charge at different charging states.
  • the combination of the invented MR charging system and the introduced operation flow can simply achieve sufficient power delivery to charge the device 4.
  • the secondary battery 36 charging current is 10 mA.
  • the input power of the channel power amplifier 28 is about 330 mW to 340 mW at 3.3 V to 3.7 V, and the secondary battery 36 charging power is about 33 mW to 38 mW.
  • the secondary battery 36 voltage above 3.8 V to 3.85 V, the battery voltage having a different charging slope. The changes in battery voltage charging slope are due to internal battery structure or battery chemical composition. As such, the input power of the channel power amplifier 28 is reduced to cater to different battery voltage charging slopes.
  • the secondary battery 36 charging current is about 5 mA.
  • the channel power amplifier 28 output power is about 170 mW to 180 mW, and the charging power at the device 4 is about 20 mW.
  • the charging current slowly ramps down and stops charging when it hits a preset 2 mA.
  • the charging result shown implies the invented charging system and the invented operation flow can successfully vary transmitted power at different charging states.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Charge And Discharge Circuits For Batteries Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un chargeur (2) pour une charge sans fil, le chargeur (2) étant établi pour un fonctionnement simultané d'au moins deux canaux de transmission, l'énergie étant transmissible sans fil sur chacun des canaux de transmission à un dispositif rechargeable (4) compatible avec le chargeur (2), le chargeur (2) comprenant, pour chaque canal de transmission, un module de transmission (8) pour transmettre un signal de transmission et pour transmettre ainsi de l'énergie, chaque module de transmission (8) étant alimenté en énergie par un module à canaux associés (12), tous les modules à canaux (12) étant alimentés en énergie à partir d'un module de base (14). De plus, l'invention concerne un dispositif rechargeable (4), le dispositif rechargeable (4) étant conçu pour être compatible avec un chargeur correspondant (2), et un ensemble de dispositifs (6) comprenant un chargeur correspondant (2) et comprenant deux dispositifs rechargeables correspondants (4).
PCT/SG2022/050627 2021-08-30 2022-08-30 Chargeur, dispositif portatif rechargeable et ensemble de dispositifs WO2023033737A1 (fr)

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SG10202109496P 2021-08-30
SG10202109496P 2021-08-30

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Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130020988A1 (en) * 2011-07-21 2013-01-24 Samsung Electro-Mechanics Company, Ltd. Multi-Frequency Wireless Systems and Methods
US20200076203A1 (en) * 2018-08-29 2020-03-05 Oticon A/S Wireless charging of multiple rechargeable devices

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130020988A1 (en) * 2011-07-21 2013-01-24 Samsung Electro-Mechanics Company, Ltd. Multi-Frequency Wireless Systems and Methods
US20200076203A1 (en) * 2018-08-29 2020-03-05 Oticon A/S Wireless charging of multiple rechargeable devices

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