Automobile Desk – Finding the cable in the car while traveling, connecting it to the phone and then handling the tangled wires has always been a hassle. But the 'wireless charging' feature available in today's modern vehicles has made this entire process very easy. Charging starts as soon as the phone is placed on the pad near the dashboard or gear console of the car. At first glance it seems like magic, but a very precise scientific law of electromagnetism works behind it.
On which technology does this charging work?
The wireless charger found in the car works on the principle of Electromagnetic Induction. In simple words, it is a means of sending electricity from one place to another without any physical wire. 'Qi' (Chi) global standard technology is commonly used in vehicles and smartphones.
To carry out this entire process, two main things are required—the first is the 'transmitter coil', which is hidden in the charging pad of the car and the second is the 'receiver coil', which is installed in the back panel of your smartphone. Both these coils are made of thin copper wires.
How does electricity reach the phone without wires?
When the car starts and you turn on the charging pad, the current from the car's battery starts flowing into the copper coil present in the car's charging pad.
Formation of magnetic field: As soon as alternating current (AC) flows in the coil, it creates an invisible and rapidly changing magnetic field around itself.
Energy Transfer: When you place your phone on this pad, the copper coil inside the phone comes in contact with this magnetic field.
Change in current: Due to the effect of the magnetic field, a small electric current starts generating in the coil of the phone.
Battery charging: The power management circuit inside the phone converts this mixed current into direct current (DC) and this energy starts getting stored in the phone's battery.
Why is it important to take care of alignment and warmth?
To take full advantage of wireless charging, it is very important that the phone is placed correctly on the pad. The transfer of electricity occurs best when the car charger and the phone coil are exactly opposite each other. If the phone is even slightly shifted or kept at an angle, the energy starts getting wasted in the form of heat instead of reaching the phone's battery. This is the reason why car manufacturing companies provide a special grip or rubber surface on the pad so that the phone does not move from its place even when the vehicle shakes.
This technology is completely safe because modern cars have features like overheating and foreign object detection (FOD). If a key or coin is left on the pad instead of the phone, the charger automatically switches off to prevent any accidents.