Developed by LG Cable & System
LS Cable & System developed the world’s thinnest wireless charging module for smart phones, whose thickness is just 0.32mm. The product supports near-field communication (NFC) as well as magnetic induction charging and thus enables wireless charging and data communications at the same time without having to increase the thickness of a handset.
Existing wireless charging modules have a thickness of approximately 0.5mm on average. The product of LS Cable & System satisfies the Qi Standard of the Wireless Power Consortium and is compatible with the products of 138 companies around the world, too.
Working on the module, LS developed a film-type coil and replaced winding coils with it while applying pattern partitioning to it to reduce the thickness and deal with the problems of heat generation and charging efficiency loss. The new module takes a couple of hours to charge up a dead smart phone battery. The efficiency is almost the same as that of a wired charger. In addition, it limits the temperature increase caused by alternating current resistance to less than five degrees. The company has already applied for a patent on the technology.
Though covers for battery charging have to be manufactured separately for existing wireless charging modules, LS’s product is mounted on the position where the rear cover and the NFC antenna of a handset are located to serve its purpose. Therefore, manufacturers can give the wireless charging function to their phones by using the molds they already have instead of making additional components.
In the meantime, LS Cable & System has begun the development of similar products for larger-capacity power transmission, which are to be used in tablet PCs, laptops, etc. According to industry sources, it is working on magnetic resonance-type products to meet the standards of the A4WP, the international standardization organization established by Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics, and those to satisfy the standards presented by the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and the Consumer Electronic Association (CEA), which are joined by P&G and BMW, respectively.
“Wireless charging will be a common trend in the near future with smart devices being in wider use,” said Kim Hyung-won, managing director at LS Cable & System who is heading the Equipment Business Division, adding, “We’ve already come up with the world’s first wireless charging module for smart phones in as early as 2007 and will show off different related technologies down the road building on the accomplishment and our advanced technological strength.”