Temperature sensors and applications in wireless charging
AssigneeTesla, Inc.
InventorsXuan Zhang, Suzanne O'Meara, Xiaotian Fan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods that utilize bimetallic thermocouples embedded in a printed circuit board (PCB) for sensing temperature. In some embodiments, a PCB includes a thermocouple embedded in the PCB. The thermocouple comprises a first metallic trace and a second metallic trace. The thermocouple is configured to generate a voltage indicative of temperature associated with the PCB. In some embodiments, thermocouples or thermistors are utilized by a wireless charging pad to sense temperature.
Claims26
A printed circuit board (PCB), comprising:
- a thermocouple embedded in the PCB, the thermocouple comprising a first metallic trace and a second metallic trace, and
- a dielectric layer positioned between the first metallic trace and the second metallic trace,
- wherein the thermocouple is configured to generate a voltage indicative of temperature.
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A charging pad comprising:
- a coil configured to generate an electromagnetic field for wireless charging;
- one or more sensors configured to generate one or more sensing signals for thermally detect an object positioned over the coil;
- and
- a processing circuit in communication with the one or more sensors, the processing circuit configured to control operation of the charging pad based at least on the one or more sensing signals.
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A method of thermal object detection, the method comprising:
- thermally detecting, using a thermocouple embedded in a printed circuit board, an object positioned on a surface of a wireless charging pad, wherein the object has a maximum dimension of 50 millimeters or less.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.