The Qi Product Certification System

Menno Treffers

Product Certification

• Why should I certify my product?

• How can I recognize a Qi Certified product?

• Can everyone certify a product?

• What is the procedure?

• Special cases: phone covers and subsystems

• Updates of the Qi Specification: Grace Periods

• Searching for products

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Why should I certify my product?

• Qi Certified products have been tested for compatibility and safety

• The Qi logo is the sign of compatibility & safety

• This presentation explains product certification:

– How, who, and special cases

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Wireless chargers are power supplies

Bad power supplies

– Can hurt people

– Can damage equipment

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The Qi test specification

Test!• Don’t make coins hot

• Don’t damage the phone

• Don’t damage NFC cards

• Verify that the charger is compatible with all phones

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How to recognize a Qi Certified product

1. By the Qi logo on the product

– Easy to recognize

– But also easy to fake

2. By the Qi Certificate of Registration

– Certificate is valid when the URL shows a picture of the same product

3. By searching in the Qi Certified Product Database

https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/products/

– Not found? Not Certified!

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Can everyone certify a product?

• Only companies that are a member of the WPC

– Product is removed from the Qi Certified Product Database when the owner withdraws from the WPC

• Only companies that signed the Qi Logo License Agreement

– The Qi logo is a registered trademark.

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The Product Certification Procedure

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• Step 1 & 2: administration

• Step 3: Test by an Authorized Test Lab– Using the test procedures described in

Part 3 of the Qi Specification.

• Step 4: Test by an Interoperability Test Lab– Verifies that the new product is

compatible with all previously certified products.

– By Eurofins in Belgium or by TTA in Korea

• Step 5 & 6: administration

Special Case: Similar Products

• Testing is not necessary when the new product is identical with a previously certified product, for example

– Other color

– Other brand

• Simplified registration procedure

– Administration only

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Qi Certified LuminaireQi-ID 1822

Luminaire withdifferent colorQi-ID 903

substantially similar

When are products not similar?

• Any change of magnetic properties:

– Different coil

– Different shielding

– Change in coil-surface distance

– Change in ‘friendly metals’

• Change in firmware that influences control protocol and communication between Rx and Tx

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Rx Surface

Rx Coil

Tx Coil

Shielding

Shielding

Tx Surface

Distance

Not Substantial similar

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Special Case: phone covers

• A phone cover must be tested in combination with a mobile phone

– For example the iPhone 6

• Another phone has a different distribution of metals

– Foreign Object Detection will not work correctly when an iPhone 6 cover is used with an iPhone 7

• Partial re-testing is needed

– Simplified certification procedure

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Metal not shielded

Special case: Tx subsystems

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Tx subsystem

System with embedded

Tx subsystem

Testing furniture and cars?

• It is not necessary to test a system with an embedded Tx subsystem

– Simplified procedure applies

• Only when the embedded Tx is a Qi Certified Tx Subsystem

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Tx subsystem

• Rules for Tx subsystem

– Includes the means to attach the Tx into the complete system.

– The minimum and maximum distance between the top of the sub-system and the surface of the complete system must be specified.

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Attachment points

Not a Tx subsystem:

Tx subsystem:

Tx Coil

Tx subsystem surface

Max distance

System (table) surface

Another example

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Tx subsystem System with embeddedTx subsystem

Grace Periods

• Manufacturers must make their products compliant with new versions of the Qi specification.

• Not for ‘editorial updates’– 1.2.1 => 1.2.2

• Only for ‘minor updates’– 1.1.3 => 1.2.0

• Not immediately: grace period

• Registration Grace Period– At the end of the registration grace period

it is no longer possible to register products that were tested against the previous version of the specification.

• Manufacturing Grace Period– At the end of the manufacturing grace

period it is no longer allowed to manufacture and sell products that were not tested against the latest version of the Qi specification.

• Time limit on substantial similar claims– Registration of substantially similar

product is possible for a limited time after the original product was registered

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https://members.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/members/members-info/product_registration_services/grace-periods.html

REGISTRATION GRACE PERIOD

Spec version Receiver TransmitterAutomotive charger for inline assemby

1.0 2013-05-24 2013-05-24 2013-09-30

1.0.1 2013-05-24 2013-05-24 2013-09-30

1.0.2 2013-05-24 2013-05-24 2013-09-30

1.0.3 2013-05-24 2013-05-24 2013-09-30

1.1.1 2016-12-10 2016-02-16 2016-02-16

1.1.2 2016-12-10 2016-02-16 2016-02-16

1.2.0

1.2.1

1.2.2

1.2.3

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MANUFACTURING GRACE PERIODS

Spec version Receiver TransmitterAutomotive charger for inline assemby

1.0 2014-05-24 2014-05-24 2014-09-30

1.0.1 2014-05-24 2014-05-24 2014-09-30

1.0.2 2014-05-24 2014-05-24 2014-09-30

1.0.3 2014-05-24 2014-05-24 2014-09-23

1.1.1 2017-12-10 2017-02-16 2017-02-16

1.1.2 2017-02-16 2017-02-16

1.2.0

1.2.1

1.2.2

1.2.3

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Time limit on substantial similar claims

731 Maximum days allowed for substantial similarity claims (transmitters)

365 Maximum days allowed for substantial similarity claims (receivers)

1095 Maximum days allowed for substantial similarity claims for automotive chargers for inline assembly

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Searching for certified products

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Type:• Brand name, or• Type number, or• Qi-ID

Advanced Search

https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/products/search

Advanced Search

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Select “Power Class 0 Transmitter”to search for chargers

Select “yes” to include older products

Not found? Not certified

• Brand name, product name, type number, and picture must match.

• Each product variant must be registered separately

– Different part number? Different Qi-ID!

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