Methods of selectively activating antenna zones of a near-field charging pad to maximize wireless power delivered to a receiver

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by a near-field charging pad with a wireless communication component, a plurality of antenna zones that each respectively include at least one antenna element, and one or more processors, cause the near-field charging pad to:

• detect, via the wireless communication component, that a wireless power receiver is within a threshold distance of the near-field charging pad;
• in response to detecting that the wireless power receiver is within the threshold distance of the near-field charging pad, determine whether the wireless power receiver has been placed on the near-field charging pad;
• in accordance with determining that the wireless power receiver has been placed on the near-field charging pad, selectively transmit, by respective antenna elements included in the plurality of antenna zones, respective test power transmission signals with a first set of transmission characteristics until a determination is made that a particular power-delivery parameter associated with transmission of a respective test power transmission signal by at least one particular antenna zone of the plurality of antenna zones satisfies power-delivery criteria;
• and
• upon determining, by the one or more processors, that the particular power-delivery parameter satisfies the power-delivery criteria, transmit a plurality of additional power transmission signals to the wireless power receiver using the at least one particular antenna zone, wherein each additional power transmission signal of the plurality of additional power transmission signals is transmitted with a second set of transmission characteristics, distinct from the first set of transmission characteristics.

A near-field charging pad, comprising:

• a wireless communication component;
• a plurality of antenna zones that each respectively includes at least one antenna element;
• one or more processors;
• and
• memory storing one or more programs that are configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
• detecting, via the wireless communication component, that a wireless power receiver is within a threshold distance of the near-field charging pad;
• in response to detecting that the wireless power receiver is within the threshold distance of the near-field charging pad, determining whether the wireless power receiver has been placed on the near-field charging pad;
• in accordance with determining that the wireless power receiver has been placed on the near-field charging pad, selectively transmitting, by respective antenna elements included in the plurality of antenna zones, respective test power transmission signals with a first set of transmission characteristics until a determination is made that a particular power-delivery parameter associated with transmission of a respective test power transmission signal by at least one particular antenna zone of the plurality of antenna zones satisfies power-delivery criteria;
• and
• upon determining, by the one or more processors, that the particular power-delivery parameter satisfies the power-delivery criteria, transmitting a plurality of additional power transmission signals to the wireless power receiver using the at least one particular antenna zone, wherein each additional power transmission signal of the plurality of additional power transmission signals is transmitted with a second set of transmission characteristics, distinct from the first set of transmission characteristics.