Wireless power supply apparatus

• US 10,404,104 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2015
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Denso Wave Inc (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Denso Wave Inc (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeda, Shigeru, Sugino, Masayoshi, Kondo, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gannon, Levi
• Application Number:
  US14/671,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20150280451A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,621 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type

Abstract

In a wireless power supply apparatus, a first unit electrically connected to a power supply and a second unit electrically connected to an electric load. Power transmission is performed wirelessly between the first and second units using a magnetic resonance phenomenon. Each of the units has a resonant amplifier circuit provided with switching means driven by a drive signal, a resonant coil to which a high-frequency signal generated by the resonant amplifier circuit is supplied such that the resonant coil functions as a resonant inductor on the resonant amplifier circuit, and electric storage means electrically connected to the resonant amplifier circuit so as to be capable of charging and discharging power. The second unit includes current detecting means for detecting a current flowing through the storage means, and phase control means for controlling a phase of the drive signal for the switching means based on the detected current.

Claims

1. A wireless power supply apparatus comprising:

a first unit electrically connected to a power supply; and

a second unit electrically connected to an electric load and configured to instruct power transmission wirelessly between the first and second units based on a magnetic resonance phenomenon caused between the first and second units, wherein

the first unit and the second unit each comprise i) a resonant amplifier circuit provided with a switching element driven by a carrier clock, ii) a resonant coil to which a high-frequency signal generated by the resonant amplifier circuit is supplied such that the resonant coil functions as a resonant inductor in the resonant amplifier circuit, and iii) an electric storage electrically connected to the resonant amplifier circuit so as to be capable of charging and discharging power; and

the second unit includes;

a first current detector that detects a current flowing through an electric path electrically connecting the resonant amplifier circuit and the electric storage,

a second current detector that detects a current through the resonant coil in the second unit,

a phase adjusting device that adjusts a phase of the carrier clock applied to the switching element of the second unit on the basis of fluctuations in the current detected by the first current detector, such that the phase of the carrier clock falls within a preset controllable range of the phase, the preset controllable range including a phase which prevents fluctuation in a characteristic of the high-frequency signal caused by a difference between electronic characteristics of the first and second units,

an initial phase setting device that sets an initial phase on the basis of the current detected by the first current detector when the phase of the carrier clock in the second unit has fallen within the controllable range, the initial phase being based on an initial target current (Is) which is an initial target value of current transmitted between the first unit and the second unit, and

a phase control device that controls the phase of the carrier clock applied to the switching element of the second unit on the basis of the current detected by the second current detector after the initial phase has been set by the initial phase setting device, wherein during control of the phase of the clock carrier, the phase of the high-frequency signal is fixed at a given value.

2. The wireless power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the phase control device is configured to control an efficiency of the power transmission as well as the phase of the carrier clock applied to the switching element such that the power is transmitted bi-directionally from the first unit to the second unit and from the second unit to the first unit.

3. The wireless power supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second unit comprises two second units electrically connected in parallel to the first unit, in which the two second units have the same structure in terms of the resonant amplifier circuit, the resonant coil, the first and second current detectors, the phase adjusting device, the initial phase setting device, and the phase control device.