Patents by Inventor Stephen C. Terry

Stephen C. Terry has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12230980
    Abstract: A wireless power system can include a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver. The transmitter can include a transmit coil, an inverter, and inverter control circuitry that can operate one or more switching devices of the inverter to communicate information to the receiver by controlling a delay between receipt of the burst request pulse and initiating operation of the inverter and/or controlling a polarity of a first pulse of the inverter. The receiver can include a receive coil magnetically coupled to the transmit coil, a rectifier, and rectifier control circuitry that initiates a burst request pulse to initiate operation of a transmitter. The rectifier control circuitry can operate one or more switching devices of the rectifier to communicate information to the transmitter by at least one of short circuiting an LC tank including the receive coil or controlling a polarity of the burst request pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2025
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ye Li, Gianpaolo Lisi, Bingyao Sun, Liang Chen, Gaurav Kalra, Rohan Dayal, Stephen C. Terry
  • Patent number: 12184111
    Abstract: A wireless power transmitter can include a coil, an inverter coupled to the coil, and control circuitry coupled to the inverter that, responsive to receiving a burst request pulse from a wireless power receiver, initiates inverter operation, driving the coil and powering the receiver. The control circuitry can operate inverter switches so bandwidth of the wireless power transfer signal falls within a specified range by: (a) extending a minimum on time of the switches, (b) modifying pulse width modulation (PWM) drive signals supplied to the switches to shape a coil current burst envelope, and/or (c) modifying PWM signal amplitude supplied to the switches. Modifying the PWM drive signals can include using a symmetrical PWM scheme in which the positive and negative pulses are symmetrical in width on a cycle-by-cycle basis or using a complementary PWM scheme in which the positive and negative pulse widths are complementary on a cycle-by-cycle basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ye Li, Antoin J. Russell, Stephen C. Terry, Adam L. Schwartz, Sumant Ranganathan, Gianpaolo Lisi
  • Publication number: 20240283303
    Abstract: A wireless charging mat and method of operating the same. The wireless charging mat includes a detection system configured to determine a location and an orientation of an electronic device on the wireless charging mat. The location and orientation are determined based on detected locations of one or more structural features of the electronic device. The wireless charging mat is operated according to the detected location and orientation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2024
    Publication date: August 22, 2024
    Inventors: Chad A. Bossetti, Christopher S. Graham, David W. Ritter, Todd K. Moyer, Steven G. Herbst, Shimon Elkayam, Nileshbhai J. Shah, Stephen C. Terry, Zaki Moussaoui
  • Publication number: 20240266886
    Abstract: A wireless charging system having a power transmitter may wirelessly transfer power to a power receiver. Shield saturation, such as saturation of a ferrite structure, in the wireless power receiver may occur under some operating conditions. Saturation can lead to disruptive oscillations in power transfer. The power transmitting may include control circuitry for detecting and mitigating saturation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2024
    Publication date: August 8, 2024
    Inventors: Adam L. Schwartz, Alireza Safaee, Stephen C. Terry, Zhiyuan Hu
  • Publication number: 20240250561
    Abstract: A wireless charging system having a power transmitter may wirelessly transfer power to a power receiver. Shield saturation, such as saturation of a ferrite structure, in the wireless power receiver may occur under some operating conditions. Saturation can lead to disruptive oscillations in power transfer. The power transmitting may include control circuitry for detecting and mitigating saturation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2024
    Publication date: July 25, 2024
    Inventors: Adam L. Schwartz, Alireza Safaee, Stephen C. Terry, Zhiyuan Hu
  • Patent number: 12003121
    Abstract: A wireless charging mat and method of operating the same. The wireless charging mat includes a detection system configured to determine a location and an orientation of an electronic device on the wireless charging mat. The location and orientation are determined based on detected locations of one or more structural features of the electronic device. The wireless charging mat is operated according to the detected location and orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Chad A. Bossetti, Christopher S. Graham, David W. Ritter, Todd K. Moyer, Steven G. Herbst, Shimon Elkayam, Nileshbhai J. Shah, Stephen C. Terry, Zaki Moussaoui
  • Patent number: 11984737
    Abstract: A wireless charging system having a power transmitter may wirelessly transfer power to a power receiver. Shield saturation, such as saturation of a ferrite structure, in the wireless power receiver may occur under some operating conditions. Saturation can lead to disruptive oscillations in power transfer. The power transmitting may include control circuitry for detecting and mitigating saturation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Adam L. Schwartz, Alireza Safaee, Stephen C. Terry, Zhiyuan Hu
  • Publication number: 20230420998
    Abstract: A wireless power system has a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power receiving device. The devices in the wireless power system may communicate using in-band communication. The wireless power transmitting device may transmit data to the wireless power receiving device using frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation. The receiving device may not be aware of the transmission rate of the FSK data. The FSK decoder may identify an actual transmission rate of the incoming bits and decode the wireless power signals into subsequent bits using the actual transmission rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2022
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Inventors: Stephen C. Terry, Zaid A. AbuKhalaf
  • Patent number: 11837906
    Abstract: A device includes a charge controller to regulate a battery output voltage based on an input voltage and an input current received from a charging circuit. A loop controller monitors the input voltage and the input current to generate a feedback signal to adjust the input voltage to the charge controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Stephen C. Terry, Paul Brohlin
  • Publication number: 20230327495
    Abstract: A wireless charging system having a power transmitter may wirelessly transfer power to a power receiver. Shield saturation, such as saturation of a ferrite structure, in the wireless power receiver may occur under some operating conditions. Saturation can lead to disruptive oscillations in power transfer. The power transmitting may include control circuitry for detecting and mitigating saturation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2023
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Inventors: Adam L. Schwartz, Alireza Safaee, Stephen C. Terry, Zhiyuan Hu
  • Patent number: 11764621
    Abstract: A wireless power transmitter can include an inverter that receives a DC input and generates an AC output to drive a wireless power transmit coil coupled to an output of the inverter as well as voltage and current sensors that measure the DC input. The wireless power transmitter can further include a power management accumulator including hardware that receives voltage and current samples from the voltage and current sensors and multiplies corresponding voltage and current samples to produce power samples and memory locations that store corresponding voltage, current, and power samples. The wireless power transmitter can still further include a programmable controller that controls switching devices of the inverter responsive at least in part to the voltage, current and power samples stored in the memory locations of the power management accumulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yongxuan Hu, Nileshbhai J. Shah, José V. Santos Martinez, Stephen C. Terry
  • Patent number: 11756719
    Abstract: A battery case has first and second coils on opposing sides of a battery and has switching circuitry that is coupled between the first and second coils. The battery case has a battery that provides supplemental battery power wirelessly to a wireless power receiving device via the second coil when the switching circuitry is in an open state. The case can also receive power wirelessly with the first coil from a wireless charging mat when the switching circuitry is in the open state. In a closed state, the switching circuitry shorts the first and second coils together so that current flowing through the first coil flows through the second coil in series and so that wireless power from the wireless charging mat that is received with the first coil is transmitted wirelessly to the wireless power receiving device using the second coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Narendra S. Mehta, Stephen C. Terry, Rohan Dayal
  • Patent number: 11735962
    Abstract: A wireless charging system having a power transmitter may wirelessly transfer power to a power receiver. Shield saturation, such as saturation of a ferrite structure, in the wireless power receiver may occur under some operating conditions. Saturation can lead to disruptive oscillations in power transfer. The power transmitting may include control circuitry for detecting and mitigating saturation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Adam L. Schwartz, Alireza Safaee, Stephen C. Terry, Zhiyuan Hu
  • Patent number: 11677255
    Abstract: A wireless power transmitter can include a coil, an inverter coupled to the coil, and control circuitry coupled to the inverter that, responsive to receiving a burst request pulse from a wireless power receiver, initiates inverter operation, driving the coil and powering the receiver. The control circuitry can operate inverter switches so bandwidth of the wireless power transfer signal falls within a specified range by: (a) extending a minimum on time of the switches, (b) modifying pulse width modulation (PWM) drive signals supplied to the switches to shape a coil current burst envelope, and/or (c) modifying PWM signal amplitude supplied to the switches. Modifying the PWM drive signals can include using a symmetrical PWM scheme in which the positive and negative pulses are symmetrical in width on a cycle-by-cycle basis or using a complementary PWM scheme in which the positive and negative pulse widths are complementary on a cycle-by-cycle basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ye Li, Antoin J. Russell, Stephen C. Terry, Adam L. Schwartz, Sumant Ranganathan, Gianpaolo Lisi
  • Publication number: 20230170717
    Abstract: A wireless power transmitter can include a coil, an inverter coupled to the coil, and control circuitry coupled to the inverter that, responsive to receiving a burst request pulse from a wireless power receiver, initiates inverter operation, driving the coil and powering the receiver. The control circuitry can operate inverter switches so bandwidth of the wireless power transfer signal falls within a specified range by: (a) extending a minimum on time of the switches, (b) modifying pulse width modulation (PWM) drive signals supplied to the switches to shape a coil current burst envelope, and/or (c) modifying PWM signal amplitude supplied to the switches. Modifying the PWM drive signals can include using a symmetrical PWM scheme in which the positive and negative pulses are symmetrical in width on a cycle-by-cycle basis or using a complementary PWM scheme in which the positive and negative pulse widths are complementary on a cycle-by-cycle basis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Ye Li, Antoin J. Russell, Stephen C. Terry, Adam L. Schwartz, Sumant Ranganathan, Gianpaolo Lisi
  • Publication number: 20220247232
    Abstract: A wireless charging system having a power transmitter may wirelessly transfer power to a power receiver. Shield saturation, such as saturation of a ferrite structure, in the wireless power receiver may occur under some operating conditions. Saturation can lead to disruptive oscillations in power transfer. The power transmitting may include control circuitry for detecting and mitigating saturation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventors: Adam L. Schwartz, Alireza Safaee, Stephen C. Terry, Zhiyuan Hu
  • Patent number: 11316383
    Abstract: A wireless power system has a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power receiving device. The wireless power transmitting device uses a wireless power transmitting coil to transmit wireless power signals to the wireless power receiving device during wireless power transmission periods. During alternating foreign object detection periods, the wireless power transmitting device gathers signals from the wireless power transmitting coil to detect foreign objects. Another wireless power transmitting device may transmit signals that can cause interference. To help reduce interference, the wireless power transmitting device gathers signals with a sensing coil that is separate from the wireless power transmitting coil and subtracts these signals from signals gathered with the wireless power transmitting coil. A signal quality metric may be used in adjusting the timing of the foreign object detection periods to help avoid interference from the other wireless power transmitting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen C. Terry
  • Publication number: 20220014046
    Abstract: A battery case has first and second coils on opposing sides of a battery and has switching circuitry that is coupled between the first and second coils. The battery case has a battery that provides supplemental battery power wirelessly to a wireless power receiving device via the second coil when the switching circuitry is in an open state. The case can also receive power wirelessly with the first coil from a wireless charging mat when the switching circuitry is in the open state. In a closed state, the switching circuitry shorts the first and second coils together so that current flowing through the first coil flows through the second coil in series and so that wireless power from the wireless charging mat that is received with the first coil is transmitted wirelessly to the wireless power receiving device using the second coil.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Publication date: January 13, 2022
    Inventors: Narendra S. Mehta, Stephen C. Terry, Rohan Dayal
  • Patent number: 11183864
    Abstract: An electronic device may receive or provide power using bidirectional wired and wireless power converters. A bypass path may be included to bypass the battery charger and to allow direct power transfers from a connector of the electronic device to the wireless power converter or from the wireless power converter to the connector of the electronic device. Current limiting and regulation circuitry may also be included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Bin Gu, Yongxuan Hu, Stephen C. Terry, Di Zhao, Ruchi J. Parikh, Michael D. Black, Weiyun Chen
  • Publication number: 20210359556
    Abstract: A wireless charging mat and method of operating the same. The wireless charging mat includes a detection system configured to determine a location and an orientation of an electronic device on the wireless charging mat. The location and orientation are determined based on detected locations of one or more structural features of the electronic device. The wireless charging mat is operated according to the detected location and orientation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Publication date: November 18, 2021
    Inventors: Chad A. Bossetti, Christopher S. Graham, David W. Ritter, Todd K. Moyer, Steven G. Herbst, Shimon Elkayam, Nileshbhai J. Shah, Stephen C. Terry, Zaki Moussaoui