Reconciled the transmitter placement. The four components are top-side, in-bounds, and arranged as requested: J_TX_RF_STAGE is flush on the left edge; U_TX_CTRL is rotated to face its antenna pins toward that edge; J_TX_DATA and J_TX_HK are aligned in a 12 mm-spaced pair to the right. The antenna-side corridor is clear of the data connectors.
Open items
No routing or full ERC was run.
Unrelated existing placement issues remain elsewhere, including 14 overlaps and several out-of-bounds components.
Suggested next steps
Place the receiver-capsule hardware group.
Define the formal antenna keepout and RF routing constraints.
Resolve unrelated layout violations before routing.
/agent Identify all remaining receiver-capsule components, including the MFi authentication placeholders, and group them tightly together. Place this unified receiver group cleanly inside the clear right-hand sector of the 160 x 100 mm PCB layout bounds. Wire the safe low-voltage interfaces and ensure the data nodes are perfectly aligned.
I’ll identify the receiver/MFi footprint set, cluster it in the right-hand sector, wire only the existing safe low-voltage interfaces, then verify placement and connectivity.
I identified the receiver-capsule set, including USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, legacy mezzanine, Lightning/30-pin boundaries, U_RX_CTRL, protection, media bridge, and receiver support parts. The existing safe low-voltage nets—including RX_VBUS_PROTECTED, GND, USB 2.0, USB-C CC/SuperSpeed, and I²C—are already defined.
Execution is currently blocked because no ACUs are available. Also, the two MFi placeholders (U_MFI_LIGHTNING, U_MFI_30PIN) are intentionally excluded from the PCB and have no defined physical package, so they cannot be placed until an approved MFi part/package or an explicitly generic placeholder footprint is selected.
Remaining work
Add or enable PCB footprints for both MFi placeholders.
Cluster and place the receiver hardware in the right-hand sector.
Align the capsule data connectors and wire only resolved safe low-voltage interfaces.
Verify the receiver group’s placement and connectivity.
Concept architecture for feasibility, patent drafting, and regulatory review. This is not a construction-ready mains/RF power schematic.
System Configuration Update [2.1]
The transmitter uses an MCU-controlled, distance-variable RF power profile. The control system selects the lowest permitted transmit-power state based on authenticated receiver telemetry, measured range, obstruction sensing, antenna-array status, temperature, and regulatory limits.
Safety rule: Firmware power control is not the sole protection. A separate hardware safety controller must independently disable every RF power-stage gate. Regulatory compliance cannot be inferred from input wattage alone; EIRP, frequency, antenna gain, duty cycle, exposure, spurious emissions, and regional rules require laboratory validation.
Functional Block Diagram
Diagram
Distance-Variable Power Profile
Table
State
Intended behavior
Required conditions
P0
RF output disabled
No authenticated receiver, obstruction, telemetry loss, thermal fault, or hardware fault
P1
5 W source-power ceiling
Beyond 30 cm or conservative discovery/trickle mode; final radiated limit set by regional compliance table
P2
15 W source-power ceiling
Beyond 30 cm only where exposure and emissions limits permit
P3
65 W platform tier
Validated short-range operating zone; authenticated receiver and continuous safety telemetry
Laboratory/controlled concept tier until safety, thermal, RF exposure, and regulatory feasibility are proven
The five commercial hardware footprints are 65 W, 85 W, 100 W, 150 W, and 200 W. Each footprint supports lower operating states by disabling power-stage segments and controlling drive amplitude/duty cycle. Power-state transitions must be monotonic, rate-limited, logged, and fail to P0.
Hardware Shutdown Path
Presence/proximity/depth sensors feed a dedicated hardware safety controller rather than relying only on the application MCU.
The safety controller drives a hard gate-inhibit line shared by all GaN driver channels.
Receiver telemetry loss, range invalidity, overtemperature, overcurrent, PLL loss, or sensor disagreement forces P0.
The target obstruction-to-gate-disable response is under 2 ms, verified at worst-case component tolerances.
A watchdog, normally-disabled gate drivers, and latched fault state prevent uncontrolled restart.
Independent Data and Control Architecture
Power restrictions do not throttle the logical data links. The radios use separate regulated rails and separate protocol stacks from the RF power stage. However, all transmitters remain subject to their own FCC/CE limits and coexistence requirements.
BLE control link: pairing, encrypted telemetry, range assistance, safety flags, and low-rate mesh control.
High-bandwidth P2P link: a separate pre-certified Wi-Fi-class or 60 GHz module for video/data. BLE cannot carry uncompressed HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
Security: AES-128-capable secure element stores device identity and session credentials. Encryption does not by itself make a radio FCC compliant.
Fault behavior: data may remain active during a power-stage shutdown, provided the data radio itself is not implicated in the fault and remains within exposure limits.
Receiver Interface Constraints
Interchangeable connector capsules require separate protocol-specific designs; connector geometry alone cannot make one electrical circuit universal.
Dual-role architecture: the receiver core supplies recovered DC to the selected capsule only after an authenticated RF-to-DC handshake. A dual-role data controller may switch logical host/device roles, but power role and data role are negotiated and protected independently.
USB-C capsule: route A4/A9/B4/B9 (VBUS) through protected source switches; A1/A12/B1/B12 to GND; A5/B5 (CC1/CC2) to a USB Type-C/USB-PD dual-role-port controller; A6/B6 (D+) and A7/B7 (D-) as paired USB 2.0 data nets; and the SuperSpeed TX/RX and SBU contacts to an optional high-speed mux/retimer when those modes are populated. The capsule defaults to no VBUS until policy negotiation succeeds.
USB-A male capsule: route pin 1 VBUS through a current-limited 5 V source switch, pins 2/3 as D-/D+ to the USB data-role controller, and pin 4 to GND. This capsule can source power only to equipment designed to accept power at its USB-A receptacle; it must not assume that a PC/console host port is a charge input. Data-role switching requires explicit USB OTG/dual-role support in the attached equipment.
Lightning plug capsule: route the reversible Lightning contacts through an approved orientation/interface controller and ESD network. Provide a dedicated, uncommitted MFi authentication-IC footprint connected to the capsule controller over its licensed interface, with local decoupling, reset/test access, and protected power. Final contact functions, accessory identification, charging behavior, and data modes must follow the current Apple MFi accessory specification rather than an unofficial static pin map.
Apple 30-pin plug capsule: provide individually routed connector nets grouped as USB data, accessory identification/control, approved power input/output, analog audio, serial/accessory, and grounds. Place a dedicated MFi authentication-IC placeholder plus an accessory-detect network footprint. Populate only functions authorized by the applicable Apple accessory specification; legacy FireWire-related contacts remain isolated unless a separately validated design requires them.
Legacy cable adapter block: expose protected VBUS/source power, GND, USB D+/D-, UART TX/RX, I2C/management, accessory detect, and optional audio line signals on an internal capsule mezzanine connector. Each external cable standard receives a dedicated adapter PCB with pin-specific ESD, voltage translation, current limiting, and role detection; pins may not be passively paralleled across standards.
HDMI is a high-speed display interface, not a general-purpose charging connector.
3.5 mm AUX is an analog audio interface and must not receive charging voltage.
Each capsule must include connector-specific ESD protection, power gating, and host protection.
Adapter identification, voltage translation, ESD and current limiting
The MCU may request data-role swaps only after connector identification and protocol negotiation. A hardware power-policy controller owns the source switch, overcurrent limit, reverse-current blocking, discharge, and fault shutdown. Loss of the RF power handshake immediately disables capsule power without requiring the data link to stop.
For video, use a certified wireless-display/data module plus a protocol bridge matched to the target interface. “Zero latency” and “uncompressed HDMI 2.1” are not assumed requirements; bandwidth and latency must be quantified and validated. For audio, use an appropriate digital audio transport and 24-bit DAC in the AUX-specific capsule.
Candidate Pre-Certified Module Classes
Exact module part numbers and FCC IDs must be selected by target region, antenna option, bandwidth, and lifecycle availability before schematic capture.
BLE/control: FCC-certified modules based on Nordic nRF52840/nRF5340 or TI CC26xx families.
High-bandwidth data: FCC-certified Wi-Fi 6/6E or 60 GHz modules with documented host-integration conditions.
Security: hardware secure element supporting AES-128 identity/session functions.
AC-DC: externally certified isolated supply module selected separately for each power tier; regional detachable plug mechanics require their own safety qualification.
Patent/Engineering Boundaries
The architecture intentionally separates: (1) mains conversion, (2) directional wireless-power generation, (3) independent data transport, (4) safety shutdown, and (5) protocol-specific receiver capsules. Claims should avoid implying that FCC pre-certification of an embedded radio certifies the complete beamforming power transmitter or final host product.
Open Validation Items
Select operating frequency and antenna aperture for the wireless-power link.
Establish achievable delivered power versus range and alignment.
Perform RF exposure, EMC, spurious-emissions, thermal, and obstruction-response testing.
Define high-bandwidth video resolution, frame rate, chroma format, and maximum latency.
Determine which receiver connector capsules are charging-only, data-capable, audio-only, or display-only.
Select certified modules and verify each grant's antenna and host-integration conditions.