Impedance matching apparatus and method, and computer program

1. An impedance matching apparatus configured to perform impedance matching between input impedance of a transmitting antenna and output impedance of a power supply configured to supply electric power to the transmitting antenna, said impedance matching apparatus comprising:

a matching circuit electrically disposed between the power supply and the transmitting antenna and having a plurality of variable reactance elements;

an incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit electrically disposed between the power supply and said matching circuit, and configured to extract an incident signal, which is electric power transmitted from the power supply to the transmitting antenna, and a reflected signal, which is electric power transmitted from the transmitting antenna to the power supply;

an estimating device configured to estimate the input impedance on the basis of the extracted incident signal and the extracted reflected signal; and

a setting device configured to perform (i) a first step of calculating a theoretical value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements such that the output impedance theoretically matches the input impedance on the basis of the estimated input impedance, and of setting a value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements such that the value becomes the calculated theoretical value, and (ii) a second step of changing a value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements in a condition that an absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit after the first step is greater than a first threshold value, of comparing the absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit after changing the value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements, and of setting a current value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements as an official value if the compared absolute value is less than or equal to the first threshold value.

2. The impedance matching apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said matching circuit has, as the plurality of variable reactance elements, a variable inductor, a first variable capacitor electrically connected to one end of the variable inductor and a second variable capacitor electrically connected to the other end of the variable inductor, and

said setting device, in the first step, calculates, as the value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements, a theoretical value of each of a value associated with the variable inductor, and a value associated with the first variable capacitor or the second variable capacitor such that the output impedance theoretically matches the input impedance, on the basis of the estimated input impedance, and sets the value associated with the variable inductor, and the value associated with the first variable capacitor or the second variable capacitor such that each of values becomes the calculated theoretical value.

3. The impedance matching apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said setting device stores the absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit in relation to the value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements each time said setting device changes the value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements in the second step, and sets the value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements in relation to the absolute value of the reflected signal, which is a minimum absolute value of stored absolute values, as the official value if in the second step, the compared absolute value is greater than the first threshold value though the absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit is compared the first threshold value predetermined number of times.

4. The impedance matching apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein said setting device performs the second step again if the absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit is greater than the first threshold value after setting the official value in the second step.

5. The impedance matching apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said estimating device sequentially estimates a reflection coefficient on the basis of the extracted incident signal and the extracted reflected signal, and

said setting device adjusts the value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements until a magnitude of the estimated reflection coefficient becomes less than or equal to a second threshold value, instead of the extracted reflected signal after the first step instead of the second step.

6. The impedance matching apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein if the magnitude of the extracted reflection coefficient becomes less than or equal to the second threshold value and then becomes greater than the second threshold value, said setting device adjusts the value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements until the magnitude of the extracted reflection coefficient becomes less than or equal to the second threshold value again.

7. The impedance matching apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said impedance matching apparatus is comprised in the transmission circuit which is a circuit configured to transmit electric power in a wireless manner to a reception circuit which comprises a receiving antenna, and

said setting device performs the first step and the second step when the electric power, which is weaker than performing electric power transmission at normal rated power, is transmitted from the transmission antenna to the reception antenna.

8. An impedance matching method of performing impedance matching between input impedance of a transmitting antenna and output impedance of a power supply, on an impedance matching apparatus comprising: the transmitting antenna; the power supply configured to supply electric power to the transmitting antenna; a matching circuit electrically disposed between the power supply and the transmitting antenna and having a plurality of variable reactance elements; and an incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit electrically disposed between the power supply and said matching circuit, and configured to extract an incident signal, which is electric power transmitted from the power supply to the transmitting antenna, and a reflected signal, which is electric power transmitted from the transmitting antenna to the power supply,

said impedance matching method comprising:

an estimating process of estimating the input impedance on the basis of the extracted incident signal and the extracted reflected signal; and

a setting process of performing (i) a first step of calculating a theoretical value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements such that the output impedance theoretically matches the input impedance on the basis of the estimated input impedance, and of setting a value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements such that the value becomes the calculated theoretical value, and (ii) a second step of changing a value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements in a condition that an absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit after the first step is greater than a first threshold value, of comparing the absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit after changing the value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements, and of setting a current value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements as an official value if the compared absolute value is less than or equal to the first threshold value.

9. A non-transitory tangible computer readable medium containing a computer program configured to make a computer provided in an impedance matching apparatus function as an estimating device and a setting device, said impedance matching apparatus comprising: a transmitting antenna; a power supply configured to supply electric power to the transmitting antenna; a matching circuit electrically disposed between the power supply and the transmitting antenna and having a plurality of variable reactance elements; and an incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit electrically disposed between the power supply and said matching circuit, and configured to extract an incident signal, which is electric power transmitted from the power supply to the transmitting antenna, and a reflected signal, which is electric power transmitted from the transmitting antenna to the power supply,

said estimating device being configured to estimate the input impedance on the basis of the extracted incident signal and the extracted reflected signal, and

said setting device being configured to perform (i) a first step of calculating a theoretical value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements such that the output impedance theoretically matches the input impedance on the basis of the estimated input impedance, and of setting a value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements such that the value becomes the calculated theoretical value, and (ii) a second step of changing a value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements in a condition that an absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit after the first step is greater than a first threshold value, of comparing the absolute value of the reflected signal extracted by said incident signal/reflected signal extracting circuit after changing the value associated with at least one of the plurality of variable reactance elements, and of setting a current value associated with one part of the plurality of variable reactance elements as an official value if the compared absolute value is less than or equal to the first threshold value.