For years Apple has been filing patents for wireless charging mats and pucks as our patent archives prove out. Today is iPhone 12 day and a MacRumors report shows that 3rd party device makers are about to release a new puck-styled wireless charger as noted below.

Coincidentally Apple was granted another wireless charging device patent today that covers a wide range of future products covering a charging mat, wireless charging station, wireless charging puck, wireless charging stand, wireless charging table, or other wireless power transmitting equipment.

Apple notes that during operation, the wireless power transmitting equipment may supply alternating-current signals to one or more wireless power transmitting coils. This causes the coils to transmit alternating-current electromagnetic signals (sometimes referred to as wireless power signals) to the wireless power receiving equipment. The wireless power receiving equipment may have one or more coils for receiving the transmitted wireless power signals.

Foreign object detection equipment may be used to monitor for the intrusion of coins, paper clips, soda cans, and other undesired conductive objects in the vicinity of the wireless power system. If these foreign objects are detected, power transfer operations can be suspended and a may be issued an alert such as an alert instructing the user to clear the objects away from the wireless power system.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below illustrates a schematic diagram of an illustrative wireless charging system; FIG. 4 is a top view of an illustrative foreign object detection coil array; and FIG. 8 is a flow chart of illustrative operations associated with monitoring for foreign objects in a wireless power transfer system.

Whether Apple will be revealing a wireless charging system of their own today is unknown.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 10,804,748 that was published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Our cover graphic is from EverythingApplePro illustrating the new Apple charging coil configuration built into the iPhone 12 supporting wireless charging.