Method for charging a depleted battery of a wireless charging device and a wireless charging device therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12562598-B2
Application number	US-202318164935-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 6, 2023
Priority date	Feb 6, 2023
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A method for charging a fully depleted battery of a wireless charging (WLC) device is provided. An RF controller and a read-only non-volatile memory of the WLC device is powered with the RF field of a WLC charger device. The RF controller controls charging of the battery by the RF field using a first charging program stored in the read-only non-volatile memory. A microcontroller of the WLC device is booted up after the battery has reached a predetermined voltage level. The microcontroller loads a second more complex dynamic charging program into a volatile random-access memory (RAM) of the WLC device for execution by the RF controller. The RF controller transitions code execution from the first charging program in the read-only non-volatile memory to the second charging program in the RAM. In another embodiment, the WLC device is provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for charging a fully depleted battery of a wireless charging (WLC) device, the method comprising:
exposing the WLC device to a radio frequency (RF) field generated by a WLC charger device; powering an RF controller and a read-only non-volatile memory of the WLC device with the RF field; controlling, by the RF controller using a first charging program stored in the read-only non-volatile memory, charging of the battery by the RF field; enabling a microcontroller of the WLC device after the battery has reached a predetermined voltage level; loading, by the microcontroller, a second charging program into a volatile random-access memory (RAM) of the WLC device for execution by the RF controller; and transitioning, by the RF controller, code execution from the first charging program to the second charging program.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first charging program controls a static power transfer of the WLC device.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second charging program controls a negotiated wireless power transfer for dynamically controlling a wireless charging power transfer.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the read-only non-volatile memory is one of either a one-time programmable (OTP) memory or a read only memory (ROM).

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the RF field is provided according to a near field communication (NFC) protocol.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an RF communication link is used identify the WLC device as a wirelessly chargeable device to enable the charging of the battery by the RF field.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein transitioning code execution from the first charging algorithm to the second charging algorithm further comprises receiving an indication that the second charging program is available in the RAM and transitioning the RF controller from executing the first charging program to executing the second charging program while charging the battery.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein receiving the indication that the second charging program is available in the RAM further comprises the microcontroller sending a communication to the RF controller indicating that the second charging program was successfully loaded in the RAM.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein receiving the indication that the second charging program is available in the RAM further comprises the RF controller scanning RAM contents for a specific bit pattern at a predetermined memory address, and in response to detecting the specific bit pattern, transitioning program execution to the second charging program.

10 . A method for wirelessly charging a fully depleted battery of a wireless charging (WLC) device, the method comprising:
exposing the WLC device to a radio frequency (RF) field generated by a WLC charger device; powering a RF controller and a read-only non-volatile memory of the WLC device with the RF field; determining, by the RF controller that the battery is fully depleted of charge; detecting, by the RF controller, an RF communication link with the WLC charger device that identifies the WLC device to the charging device as a device that can be wirelessly charged; controlling, by the RF controller, charging of the battery by the RF field using a first charging program stored in the read-only non-volatile memory; booting a microcontroller of the WLC device after a battery voltage is at a predetermined voltage level; loading, by the microcontroller, a second charging program into a volatile random access memory (RAM) of the WLC device for execution by the RF controller; and transitioning, by the RF controller, code execution from the first charging program to the second charging program in response to receiving an indication that the second charging program has been successfully loaded in the RAM, wherein the transitioning occurs without interrupting charging of the battery.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the device is implemented on one or more integrated circuits.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the RF field is provided according to a near field communication (NFC) protocol.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein receiving the indication that the second charging program has been successfully loaded in the RAM further comprises the microcontroller sending a communication to the RF controller indicating that the second charging program was successfully loaded in the RAM.

14 . The WLC listener method of claim 10 , wherein receiving the indication that the second charging program has been successfully loaded in the RAM further comprises the RF controller scanning RAM contents for a specific bit pattern at a predetermined memory address, and in response to detecting the specific bit pattern, transitioning program execution to the second charging program.

15 . A wireless charging (WLC) device comprising:
a power receiver coupled to an antenna of the WLC device to receive an RF field from a WLC charging device, and configured to convert the RF field to a DC voltage for charging a battery; a radio frequency (RF) controller coupled to control charging of the battery, wherein in response to the RF controller determining that the battery is fully depleted, executing a first charging program stored in a read-only non-volatile memory using only power generated from the RF field; and a microcontroller configured to upload a second charging program to a random access memory (RAM) in response to the battery being charged to a predetermined voltage level, wherein the RF controller switches program execution from the first charging program to the second charging program in response to an indication that the second charging program is available in RAM.

16 . The WLC device of claim 15 , wherein the first charging algorithm controls a static power transfer of the WLC device, and wherein the second charging algorithm controls a negotiated wireless power transfer for dynamically controlling a wireless charging power transfer.

17 . The WLC device of claim 15 , wherein the read-only non-volatile memory is one of a one-time programmable (OTP) memory or a read only memory (ROM).

18 . The WLC device of claim 15 , wherein the RF field is provided according to a near field communication (NFC) protocol.

19 . The WLC device of claim 15 , wherein the RF controller receives the indication that the second charging program is available in the RAM when the microcontroller sends a communication to the RF controller indicating that the second charging program was successfully loaded in the RAM.

20 . The WLC device of claim 15 , wherein the RF controller receives the indication that the second charging program is available in the RAM in response to the RF controller detecting a specific bit pattern in the RAM.

Assignees

• Nxp Bv

Inventors

• Wobak Markus
• Neffe Ulrich

Classifications

• H02J7/47

  Arrangements for checking compatibility or authentication between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• H02J50/12

  of the resonant type · CPC title

• H02J50/80

  involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices · CPC title

• H02J50/20 Primary

  using microwaves or radio frequency waves · CPC title