# US 11,909,228 B2 · Foreign object detection method and apparatus, and wireless charging system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,909,228 B2 - Document ID: US11909228B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/850,325 - Filed: 2022-06-27 - Published: 2022-12-29 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2021-06-28 - Assignees: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Chunsen Tang; Zhihui Wang; Yaoyi Wang; Pengfei Bai; Zhenzhen Wang; Jiakai Cao; Wei Kuang; Zhixian Wu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11909228B2 ## CPC - G01V 3/104: {using several coupled or uncoupled coils (G01V3/101 takes precedence)} - H02J 50/60: responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings - B60L 53/124: Detection or removal of foreign bodies - B60L 53/665: {Methods related to measuring, billing or payment} - H02J 50/005: {Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices} - H02J 50/10: using inductive coupling - H02J 50/12: of the resonant type - H02J 50/402: {the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas} - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles - Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles - G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02) - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract This application provides a foreign object detection method and apparatus, and a wireless charging system. The foreign object detection apparatus includes a coil array and a foreign object detection circuit. The coil array includes at least one coil group, and each coil group includes four detection coils whose locations are symmetrical to each other. The foreign object detection circuit determine an abnormal-value threshold of each coil group based on induction signals of each coil group and that are obtained in a first time period, and detect, based on the abnormal-value threshold and the induction signals of each coil group, whether there is a foreign object; when it is determined that there is no foreign object, detect, based on the signal threshold of each coil group and induction signals that are of each coil group and that are obtained in a second time period, whether there is a foreign object. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A foreign object detection method performed by a wireless charging system, comprising: obtaining an induction signal generated by each detection coil in each of at least one coil group of a coil array of a foreign object detection circuit of a foreign object detection apparatus, wherein each coil group comprises four detection coils separately wound into a rectangle shape, wherein the detection coils in the coil array are arranged in a matrix with even quantities of rows and columns, wherein four detection coils in the coil array symmetrical to each other are located in one coil group, wherein the coil array is divided into four quadrants based on a row center line and a column center line of the coil array, wherein detection coils in a same quadrant have a same wiring structure wound clockwise or counterclockwise, and wiring structures of the detection coils in adjacent quadrants are symmetrical to each other relative to a center line between the adjacent quadrants; determining an abnormal-value threshold of each coil group based on induction signals of each coil group and obtained in a first time period which is a preset time period after the induction signals start to be obtained; and detecting, based on the abnormal-value threshold and the induction signals of each coil group, whether there is a foreign object in a detection region corresponding to the coil array. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the abnormal-value threshold of each coil group based on the induction signals of each coil group and obtained in the first time period comprises: determining the abnormal-value threshold of each coil group by using an interquartile range method based on signal values of the induction signals of each coil group obtained in the first time period. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of coil groups, and the detecting whether there is the foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array comprises: determining, for each coil group based on the abnormal-value threshold of the coil group, whether the induction signals of the coil group have an abnormal value; and if the induction signals of each coil group each has an abnormal value or each has no abnormal value, determining that there is no foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array; or if induction signals of at least one of the coil groups have an abnormal value, and induction signals of at least one of the coil groups have no abnormal value, determining that there is a foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method according to claim 3, wherein the abnormal-value threshold comprises a first threshold and a second threshold greater than the first threshold, and the determining whether the induction signals of the coil group have an abnormal value comprises: determining whether the induction signals of the coil group have a signal value less than the first threshold or greater than the second threshold; and if the induction signals of the coil group have a signal value less than the first threshold or greater than the second threshold, determining that the induction signals of the coil group have an abnormal value; or if the induction signals of the coil group have no signal value less than the first threshold or greater than the second threshold, determining that the induction signals of the coil group have no abnormal value. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: if there is no foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array, determining, for each coil group, a signal threshold of the coil group based on the induction signals of the coil group obtained in the first time period; and detecting, for at least one second time period after the first time period based on the signal threshold of each coil group and induction signals of each coil group obtained in the second time period, whether there is a foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, further comprising: if there is no foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array in the second time period, determining a signal threshold of each coil group based on the induction signals of each coil group obtained in the second time period. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein if there is no foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array, and the induction signals of each coil group each has no abnormal value, a signal threshold of each coil group is determined based on the induction signals of each coil group obtained in the first time period. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein there are a plurality of types of signal values for the obtained induction signals of the coil group, and wherein each type of signal value has a corresponding signal threshold. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method according to claim 8, wherein the signal values of the obtained induction signals of the coil group comprise: an amplitude of each detection coil in the coil group and a phase difference between the detection coils in the coil group, and wherein the signal threshold of the coil group comprises an amplitude threshold and a phase difference threshold. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein the determining the signal threshold of the coil group based on the induction signals of the coil group obtained in the first time period comprises: determining the signal threshold of the coil group by using an averaging method based on the induction signals of the coil group obtained in the first time period. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein there are a plurality of coil groups, and the detecting whether there is a foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array comprises: determining, for each coil group based on the signal threshold of the coil group and the induction signals of the coil group obtained in the second time period, whether the induction signals of the coil group have an abnormal value; and if the induction signals of each coil group each has no abnormal value or each has an abnormal value, determining that there is no foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array; or if induction signals of at least one of the coil groups have an abnormal value, and induction signals of at least one of the coil groups have no abnormal value, determining that there is a foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11, wherein the determining whether the induction signals of the coil group have an abnormal value comprises: determining, for each detection coil in the coil group, an absolute value of a difference between an average value of signal values of the induction signal of the detection coil obtained in the second time period and the signal threshold of the coil group; and if the absolute value corresponding to each detection coil in the coil group is less than or equal to a preset value, determining that the induction signals of the coil group have no abnormal value; or if an absolute value corresponding to at least one detection coil in the coil group is greater than the preset value, determining that the induction signals of the coil group have an abnormal value. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein after the wireless charging system starts to transmit power, the method further comprises: outputting an alternating current excitation signal to each detection coil. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method according to claim 13, wherein the alternating current excitation signal is successively output to all the coil groups; and/or the alternating current excitation signal is successively output to all the detection coils in each coil group. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: before the wireless charging system starts to transmit power, detecting whether there is a foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array; and when there is no foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array, controlling the wireless charging system to start to transmit power. ### Claim 16 A foreign object detection apparatus, applied to a wireless charging system, wherein the foreign object detection apparatus comprises: a coil array comprising at least one coil group, each coil group comprises four detection coils separately wound into a rectangle shape, the detection coils in the coil array are arranged in a matrix with even quantities of rows and columns, four detection coils in the coil array whose locations are symmetrical to each other are located in one coil group, and each detection coil is electrically connected to a foreign object detection circuit, wherein the coil array is divided into four quadrants based on a row center line and a column center line of the coil array, wherein detection coils in a same quadrant have a same wiring structure wound clockwise or counterclockwise, and wiring structures of the detection coils in adjacent quadrants are symmetrical to each other relative to a center line between the adjacent quadrants, and the foreign object detection circuit configured to detect, based on an induction signal generated by each detection coil, whether there is a foreign object in a detection region corresponding to the coil array. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein there are a plurality of coil groups. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the foreign object detection circuit comprises an excitation source configured to provide an alternating current excitation signal for the detection coils, and wherein the detection coils are correspondingly connected to the excitation source one by one. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein turn spacings between the detection coils gradually increase in a direction from an outside to an inner center. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the foreign object detection circuit is configured to perform a method comprising: obtaining the induction signal generated by each detection coil in each coil group; determining an abnormal-value threshold of each coil group based on induction signals of each coil group and obtained in a first time period which is a preset time period after the induction signals start to be obtained; and detecting, based on the abnormal-value threshold and the induction signals of each coil group, whether there is a foreign object in the detection region corresponding to the coil array. ### Claim 21 A wireless charging system, comprising: a power transmitting apparatus, and a foreign object detection apparatus comprising: a coil array comprising at least one coil group, each coil group comprises four detection coils separately wound into a rectangle shape, the detection coils in the coil array are arranged in a matrix with even quantities of rows and columns, four detection coils in the coil array whose locations are symmetrical to each other are located in one coil group, and each detection coil is electrically connected to a foreign object detection circuit, wherein the coil array is divided into four quadrants based on a row center line and a column center line of the coil array, wherein detection coils in a same quadrant have a same wiring structure wound clockwise or counterclockwise, and wiring structures of the detection coils in adjacent quadrants are symmetrical to each other relative to a center line between the adjacent quadrants, and the foreign object detection circuit comprising a signal obtaining unit and a signal processing unit, and the signal processing unit is electrically connected to the signal obtaining unit, wherein the signal obtaining unit is configured to obtain, under control by the signal processing unit, an induction signal generated by each detection coil in each coil group, and wherein the signal processing unit is configured to: determine an abnormal-value threshold of each coil group based on induction signals of each coil group obtained in a first time period, and detect, based on the abnormal-value threshold and the induction signals of each coil group, whether there is a foreign object in a detection region corresponding to the coil array, wherein the first time period is a preset time period after the induction signals start to be obtained. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The wireless charging system according to claim 21, wherein the foreign object detection circuit further comprises an excitation source, wherein the excitation source is electrically connected to the signal processing unit, and wherein the excitation source is configured to output, under control by the signal processing unit, an alternating current excitation signal to each detection coil in each coil group.