Systems and methods of object detection in wireless power charging systems
Systems and methods for wireless power transmission based on object identification are provided. A radio frequency wireless power transmitter is in communication with a video camera for capturing image data (e.g., a visual pattern) of at least a portion of a transmission field of the radio frequency wireless power transmitter. A processor of the radio frequency wireless power transmitter is configured to identify an object when the visual pattern matches a pre-stored visual pattern representing the object, and control transmission of one or more radio frequency power transmission waves to a receiving electronic device based on a location of the identified object, wherein the receiving electronic device uses the one or more radio frequency power transmission waves to power or to charge the receiving electronic device.
1. A device for wireless-power transmission, comprising:
a radio frequency (RF) wireless power transmitter, configured to transmit power waves into at least one transmission field;
at least one processor in communication with the RF wireless-power transmitter configured to:
determine, based in part on data from at least one sensor configured to detect respective location coordinates of a plurality of objects within the at least one transmission field, a first plurality of location coordinates of an object within the at least one transmission field and a second plurality of location coordinates of a wireless-power receiver within the at least one transmission field;
in accordance with a determination that an unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver, select a first set of waveform characteristics to use for transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver based on both (i) the first plurality of location coordinates of the object and (ii) the second plurality of location coordinates of the wireless-power receiver; and
in accordance with a determination that the unsafe or prohibited condition would not exist near the object due to transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver, select a second set of waveform characteristics, distinct from the first set of waveform characteristics, to use for RF wireless power transmission to the wireless-power receiver based on the second plurality of location coordinates of the wireless-power receiver and not based on the first plurality of location coordinates of the object.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
the at least one sensor is a first sensor, and
the determination that the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is further based on data from a second sensor of a sensing type distinct from the first sensor, the data from the second sensor indicating whether or not the object is a living being or sensitive object.
3. The device of claim 2 , wherein:
the first sensor is an ultrasound-based sensor, and
the second sensor is a thermal camera.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
respective location coordinates for a respective object of the plurality of objects comprise an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, and a Z coordinate;
each of a first sensor and a second sensor of the at least one sensor is a camera, and the X coordinate and the Y coordinate of the respective location coordinates for the respective object are captured by each of the first sensor and the second sensor; and
a computer vision (CV) software program is configured to compare data from each of the first sensor and the second sensor to determine a respective Z coordinate of each of the plurality of objects.
5. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
image data used to determine the respective location coordinates are stored as “Binary Large Object” (BLOB) data, and
the image data represents a region of the at least one transmission field having one or more shared thermal characteristics.
6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the determination of whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on whether the object is within a threshold distance of a pocket of energy that would be formed by RF wireless power waves transmitted using the second set of waveform characteristics.
7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the threshold distance is a distance of five feet or less.
8. The device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first set of waveform characteristics is selected such that transmission of RF wireless power waves using the first set of waveform characteristics would produce a diminished amount of energy within the at least one transmission field as compared to transmission of RF wireless power waves using the second set of waveform characteristics.
9. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
transmission of RF wireless power waves using the second set of waveform characteristics is configured to produce a first pocket of energy and a second pocket of energy at separate locations within the at least one transmission field; and
the determination of whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on whether a side lobe is likely to form between the first pocket of energy and the second pocket of energy, wherein the side lobe is an undesired additional pocket of energy.
10. The device of claim 9 , wherein selection of at least one waveform characteristic of the first set of wave characteristics is made to prevent formation of the side lobe.
11. The device of claim 1 , wherein:
the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on whether the object is in a low-sensitivity region of the at least one transmission field to be excluded from receipt of wireless power, and
the low-sensitivity region of space is a region of space where the at least one sensor has a limited ability to detect location coordinates for respective objects.
12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would result additionally depends in part on respective tagging information associated with the respective location coordinates of the plurality of objects within the at least one transmission field.
13. The device of claim 12 , comprising mapping memory, configured to store the respective tagging information about the plurality of objects.
14. The device of claim 13 , wherein tagging information is communicated to the wireless-power transmitter to be stored in the mapping memory by at least one of the plurality of objects.
15. The device of claim 14 , wherein:
the at least one processor is further configured to store heat-map data associated with the respective location coordinates of the plurality of objects within the at least one transmission field in the mapping memory; and
the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on geometric data determined by comparing more than one successive image frame of the heat-map data stored in the mapping memory.
16. The device of claim 12 , wherein:
the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on the respective tagging information indicating that the object is tagged for exclusion from receipt of wireless power because the object is associated with presence of a living being; and
the respective tagging information indicating that the object is tagged for exclusion from receipt of wireless power is provided to the wireless power transmitter by the at least one sensor.
17. The device of claim 16 , wherein the respective tagging information also indicates that the object is a living being.
18. The device of claim 1 , wherein the respective location coordinates of the plurality of objects within the at least one transmission field are three-dimensional location coordinates.
19. A method for wireless power transmission at a radio frequency (RF) wireless power transmitter, configured to transmit power waves into at least one transmission field in communication with at least one processor and memory, the memory comprising instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the wireless power transmitter to:
determine, according to data from at least one sensor configured to detect respective location coordinates of a plurality of objects within the at least one transmission field, a first plurality of location coordinates of an object within the at least one transmission field and a second plurality of location coordinates of a wireless-power receiver within the at least one transmission field;
in accordance with a determination that an unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver, select a first set of waveform characteristics to use for transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver based on both (i) the first plurality of location coordinates of the object and (ii) the second plurality of location coordinates of the wireless-power receiver; and
in accordance with a determination that the unsafe or prohibited condition would not exist near the object due to transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver, select a second set of waveform characteristics, distinct from the first set of waveform characteristics, to use for transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver based on the second plurality of location coordinates of the receiver and not based on the first plurality of location coordinates of the object.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein at least one of the first set of waveform characteristics is selected such that transmission of RF wireless power waves using the first set of waveform characteristics would produce a diminished amount of energy within the at least one transmission field as compared to transmission of RF wireless power waves using the second set of waveform characteristics.
21. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
configuring the transmission of RF wireless power waves using the second set of waveform characteristics to produce a first pocket of energy and a second pocket of energy at separate locations within the at least one transmission field, and wherein
the determination of whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on whether a side lobe is likely to form between the first pocket of energy and the second pocket of energy, wherein the side lobe is an undesired additional pocket of energy.
22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising selecting at least one waveform characteristic of the first set of wave characteristics is made to prevent formation of the side lobe.
23. The method of claim 19 , wherein:
the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is based in part on whether the object is in a low-sensitivity region of the at least one transmission field to be excluded from receipt of wireless power; and
the low-sensitivity region of space is a region of space where the at least one sensor has a limited ability to detect location coordinates for respective objects.
24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed at a wireless-transmitting device having at least one processor and memory, cause the wireless-transmitting device to:
determine, according to data from at least one sensor configured to detect respective location coordinates of a plurality of objects within at least one transmission field, a first plurality of location coordinates of an object within the at least one transmission field and a second plurality of location coordinates of a wireless-power receiver within the at least one transmission field;
in accordance with a determination that an unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver, select a first set of waveform characteristics to use for transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver based on both (i) the first plurality of location coordinates of the object and (ii) the second plurality of location coordinates of the wireless-power receiver; and
in accordance with a determination that the unsafe or prohibited condition would not exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver, select a second set of waveform characteristics, distinct from the first set of waveform characteristics, to use for transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver based on the second plurality of location coordinates of the receiver and not based on the first plurality of location coordinates of the object.
25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein:
the at least one sensor is a first sensor; and
the determination that the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is caused to be made at the wireless-transmitting device further based on data from a second sensor of a sensing type distinct from the first sensor, the data from the second sensor indicating whether or not the object is a living being or sensitive object.
26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein:
the first sensor is an ultrasound-based sensor; and
the second sensor is a thermal camera.
27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein:
respective location coordinates for a respective object of the plurality of objects comprise an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, and a Z coordinate;
each of a first sensor and a second sensor of the at least one sensor is a camera, and the X coordinate and the Y coordinate of the respective location coordinates for the respective object are captured by each of the first sensor and the second sensor; and
a computer vision (CV) software program is configured to compare data from each of the first sensor and the second sensor to determine a respective Z coordinate of each of the plurality of objects.
28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the wireless-transmitting device to select at least one of the first set of waveform characteristics such that transmission of RF wireless power waves using the first set of waveform characteristics would produce a diminished amount of energy within the at least one transmission field as compared to transmission of RF wireless power waves using the second set of waveform characteristics.
29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein:
transmission of RF wireless power waves using the second set of waveform characteristics is configured to produce a first pocket of energy and a second pocket of energy at separate locations within the at least one transmission field; and
the determination of whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is caused to be made at the wireless-transmitting device based in part on whether a side lobe is likely to form between the first pocket of energy and the second pocket of energy, wherein the side lobe is an undesired additional pocket of energy.
30. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 29 , wherein the selection of at least one waveform characteristic of the first set of wave characteristics is caused to be made at the wireless-transmitting device to prevent formation of the side lobe.
31. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein:
the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is caused to be made at the wireless-transmitting device based in part on whether the object is in a low-sensitivity region of the at least one transmission field to be excluded from receipt of wireless power, and
the low-sensitivity region of space is a region of space where the at least one sensor has a limited ability to detect location coordinates for respective objects.
32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 , wherein the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would result is caused to be made at the wireless-transmitting device additionally depending in part on respective tagging information associated with the respective location coordinates of the plurality of objects within the at least one transmission field.
33. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 32 , wherein:
the determination whether the unsafe or prohibited condition would exist near the object in conjunction with transmitting RF wireless power to the wireless-power receiver is caused to be made at the wireless-transmitting device based in part on the respective tagging information indicating that the object is tagged for exclusion from receipt of wireless power because the object is associated with presence of a living being; and
the respective tagging information indicating that the object is tagged for exclusion from receipt of wireless power is provided to the wireless power transmitter by the at least one sensor.