Qi standard combines with NFC communication for automotive charging
Rohm Semiconductor has developed an automotive wireless charging solution with integrated NFC communication. It combines Rohm’s automotive-grade (AEC-Q100-qualified) wireless power transmission control IC (BD57121MUF-M) with STMicroelectronics’ NFC reader IC (ST25R3914) and 8-bit microcontroller (STM8A series). It complies with the WPC’s Qi standard supporting the Extend Power Profile (EPP) that enables the charger to supply up to 15W of power. In addition, the multi-coil design enables a wide charging area that provides a 2.7x greater charging range compared with single coil configurations. As a result, users do not need to worry about exactly aligning smartphones to the charging area to ensure it charges wirelessly.
Wireless charging technology, commonly used in portable devices such as smartphones to improve the safety and resistance to water and dust of connectors, is increasingly being adopted in infrastructure applications such as vehicles, hotels, airports, cafes and other public locations. At present, Qi, the most popular standard, has already been adopted by the European Automotive Standards Group (CE4A) as the charging standard in vehicles. By 2025 it is predicted that most cars will be equipped with Qi-based wireless chargers.
NFC communication provides user-authentication to allow Bluetooth/wi-fi communication with infotainment system, lock/unlock the doors, and engine start. NFC also enables vehicle setting customisation for multiple drivers, such as seat and mirror positioning, infotainment pre-sets, and navigation destination pre-sets.
A reference board integrating this solution was exhibited at the 11th International Car Electronics Technology Show at Tokyo Big Sight (16 to 19 January 2019). A sample reference board from Rohm will allow users to easily configure a wireless charger for automotive use compatible with the latest Qi standard (EPP), when combined with the company’s Qi-certified receiver board (BD57015GWL-EVK-002) which is already on the market,.
The reference board will be available in February and BD57121MUF-M power transmission control IC will be available in April 2019.
