New Wireless Charging Standard for Kitchen Appliances Coming, With Philips Backing
The Wireless Power Consortium revealed its wireless charging standard for small kitchen appliances, Ki Cordless Kitchen. Philips will demonstrate at IFA this week a blender/food processor, juicer and air fryer, emailed Hans Kablau, chairman-WPC Kitchen Work Group. The Ki logo…
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indicates safety and interoperability for wireless power for cordless kitchen devices up to 2,200 watts, said WPC. The standard allows Ki transmitters to be placed beneath countertops and in new induction cooktops, it said. The Ki standard draft specification is available to Wireless Power Consortium members; they'll determine their commercialization timetable, a WPC spokesperson emailed. Communication between the appliance and transmitter is handled by near-field communication, said Kablau. NFC controls the amount of power transferred and enables smart features. It prevents a smartphone from inadvertently overheating when placed on a coil, the spokesperson said. Ki's “essentially the same technology” as the magnetic induction wireless charging method used by Qi, she said, though Ki coils are much larger. Another difference is that Ki only transmits energy that’s consumed as power vs. Qi technology, which transmits energy that’s stored by the receiver so it can power a phone on the go. Since a Ki receiver doesn’t store power, when appliances are removed from the transmitter, power transfer ceases and the appliance shuts off, she said.