US-12627173-B2 - Wireless power transmitting device and wireless power transmitting system including amplifier having controlled power voltage

US12627173B2US 12627173 B2US12627173 B2US 12627173B2US-12627173-B2

Abstract

Provided is a wireless power transmitting system and device, the wireless power transmitting device including: a signal generator configured to generate an initial signal; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate a power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal; and an antenna configured to externally output the power signal.

Inventors

Dohyung Kim
Jaesup LEE
Solhee IN
Byungwook JUNG

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240604
Priority Date: 20230906

Claims (19)

1 . A wireless power transmitting device comprising: a signal generator configured to generate an initial signal; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate a power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal; and an antenna configured to externally output the power signal, wherein the power amplifier is further configured to control an amplitude of the power signal based on the magnitude of the power voltage and a separately settable gain of the power amplifier, and wherein the controller is further configured to output the amplitude control signal to adjust the magnitude of the power voltage such that a power efficiency of the power amplifier is maximized with respect to a target amplitude of the power signal.
2 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to output the amplitude control signal so that the target amplitude of the power signal is equal to a maximum amplitude of an output signal of the power amplifier.
3 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , wherein the amplitude control signal has a direct current voltage, and wherein the voltage converter is further configured to control the magnitude of the power voltage to be proportional to the amplitude control signal.
4 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , wherein the voltage converter comprises at least one of a variable direct current-to-direct current converter, an analog low-dropout (LDO) regulator, and a digital LDO regulator.
5 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , wherein the phase control signal comprises an analog signal or a digital signal, and wherein the phase modulator is further configured to determine a phase offset based on the phase control signal and to modulate the phase of the initial signal based on the phase offset.
6 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , further comprising: a driving amplifier connected between an output terminal of the signal generator and an input terminal of the power amplifier.
7 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , further comprising: a filter connected between an output terminal of the power amplifier and an input terminal of the antenna.
8 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 1 , wherein the initial signal is a radio frequency signal.
9 . A wireless power transmitting device comprising: a signal generator for generating an initial signal; a sensor configured to sense a phase and an amplitude of a beacon signal from a wireless power receiving device; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal based on the phase and the amplitude of the beacon signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate a power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal; and one or more antennas configured to receive the beacon signal and to transmit the power signal to the wireless power receiving device, wherein the power amplifier is further configured to control an amplitude of the power signal based on the magnitude of the power voltage and a separately settable gain of the power amplifier, and wherein the controller is further configured to output the amplitude control signal to adjust the magnitude of the power voltage such that a power efficiency of the power amplifier is maximized with respect to a target amplitude of the power signal.
10 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to, based on the phase of the beacon signal, output the phase control signal so that the power signal has a time-reversed phase relative to the phase of the beacon signal.
11 . The wireless power transmitting device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more antennas comprise: a first antenna configured to receive the beacon signal; and a second antenna configured to transmit the power signal.
12 . A wireless power transmitting system comprising: an antenna array comprising a plurality of antenna elements each respectively configured to output a power signal; and a plurality of wireless power transmitting devices connected to each of the plurality of antenna elements, wherein each of the plurality of wireless power transmitting devices comprises: a signal generator configured to generate an initial signal; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate the power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; and a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal, wherein, for each of the plurality of wireless power transmitting devices, the power amplifier is further configured to control an amplitude of the power signal based on the magnitude of the power voltage and a separately settable gain of the power amplifier, and wherein, for each of the plurality of wireless power transmitting devices, the controller is further configured to output the amplitude control signal to adjust the magnitude of the power voltage such that a power efficiency of the power amplifier is maximized with respect to a target amplitude of the power signal.
13 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 12 , wherein the wireless power transmitting system further comprises: a sensor configured to sense a phase and an amplitude of a beacon signal from a wireless power receiving device.
14 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of antenna elements is further configured to receive the beacon signal.
15 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 13 , wherein the antenna array further comprises a receiving antenna configured to receive the beacon signal.
16 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements comprises one or more central antenna elements and one or more peripheral antenna elements, and wherein the sensor is further configured to cause the one or more central antenna elements to output a power signal having a larger amplitude than a power signal output by the one or more peripheral antenna elements.
17 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 13 , wherein the sensor is further configured to transmit a control signal according to a sensing result to each of the plurality of wireless power transmitting devices.
18 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements comprise at least one of a patch antenna, a dipole antenna, and a chip antenna.
19 . The wireless power transmitting system of claim 12 , further comprising a substrate, the substrate comprising: a front portion on which the plurality of antenna elements are arranged, and a rear portion on which the plurality of wireless power transmitting devices are arranged.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0118162 filed on Sep. 6, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates to a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power transmitting system including the wireless power transmitting device. 2. Description of Related Art A wireless power transmission technology which wirelessly transfers power to a receiving device, a method of transmitting power using an electric motor or a transformer using the principle of electromagnetic induction, and a method of transmitting power using electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and lasers, have been developed. Currently known wireless power transmission technologies include magnetic induction, magnetic resonance, and a long-distance transmission technology using short-wavelength radio frequencies. In order to transfer power to the receiving device using the long-distance transmission technology using short-wavelength radio frequencies, a transmitting device for wireless communication may be used. However, the transmitting device for wireless communication may include complex circuits to transmit data streams at high speed, and accordingly, when the power is transferred to a transmitting device for wireless communication, power efficiency may decrease. SUMMARY An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power transmitting system that may reduce a size and reduce production costs by reducing circuit complexity. Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power transmitting system that may increase power efficiency for power signal transmission. According to an aspect of the disclosure, a wireless power transmitting device includes: a signal generator configured to generate an initial signal; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate a power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal; and an antenna configured to externally output the power signal. According to an aspect of the disclosure, a wireless power transmitting device includes: a signal generator for generating an initial signal; a sensor configured to sense a phase and an amplitude of a beacon signal from a wireless power receiving device; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal based on the phase and the amplitude of the beacon signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate a power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal; and one or more antennas configured to receive the beacon signal and to transmit the power signal to the wireless power receiving device. According to an aspect of the disclosure, a wireless power transmitting system includes: an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements each respectively configured to output a power signal; and a plurality of wireless power transmitting devices connected to each of the plurality of antenna elements, wherein each of the plurality of wireless power transmitting devices includes: a signal generator configured to generate an initial signal; a controller configured to output an amplitude control signal and a phase control signal; a phase modulator configured to generate a phase-modulated signal by modulating a phase of the initial signal based on the phase control signal; a power amplifier configured to generate the power signal by amplifying the phase-modulated signal; and a voltage converter configured to control a magnitude of a power voltage of the power amplifier based on the amplitude control signal. In a wireless power transmitting device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, since the complexity of a circuit controlling a phase and an amplitude of an initial signal can be reduced, a size of the wireless power transmitting device may be reduced and production costs may be reduced. A wireless power transmitting device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure may modulate a phase of a power signal by controlling a magnitude of a power voltage of a power amplifier, thereby increasing power efficiency. The present disclosur