Wireless power transmission system and wireless power relay apparatus

• US 10,432,028 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Ahn, Chi Hyung, Kwon, Sang Wook, Kim, Ki Young, Kim, Nam Yun, Kim, Dong Zo, Kim, Bong Chul, Park, Yun Kwon, Park, Jae Hyun, Song, Keum Su, Ryu, Young Ho, Lee, Byoung Hee
• Primary Examiner(s): Wartalowicz, Paul A
• Application Number:
  US15/438,524
• Publication Number:
  US 20170163098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/302 Cooling of charging equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 6/06 Coils, e.g. winding, insulating, terminating or casing arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/00 Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/04 by static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/06 using discharge tubes without control electrode or semiconductor devices without control electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A wireless power relay apparatus includes a relay resonator configured to relay power from a source resonator configured to wirelessly transmit the power, to a target resonator configured to wirelessly receive the power through a mutual resonance, the relay resonator having a higher quality factor than the source resonator and the target resonator.

Claims

1. A wireless power relay apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of relay resonators, each relay resonator of the plurality of relay resonators configured to relay power from a source resonator configured to wirelessly transmit the power to a target resonator configured to wirelessly receive the power through a mutual resonance, and at least one relay resonator among the plurality of relay resonators having a higher quality factor than the target resonator.

2. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one relay resonator is configured to form a parasitic coupling to either one or both of the source resonator and the target resonator.

3. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one relay resonator is disposed on the same plane as either one or both of the source resonator and the target resonator.

4. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one relay resonator comprises a multi-array resonator comprising resonators; and

the resonators are electrically connected to each other based on a magnetic field formed between the resonators.

5. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein a size of the at least one relay resonator is larger than a size of each of the source resonator and the target resonator.

6. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein a coil included in the at least one relay resonator is thicker than a coil included in each of the source resonator and the target resonator.

7. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein a number of turns of a coil included in the at least one relay resonator is greater than a number of turns of a coil included in each of the source resonator and the target resonator.

8. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 1, wherein the quality factor comprises a value enabling the at least one relay resonator to mutually resonate with the source resonator and the target resonator at an efficiency level that is greater than or equal to a predetermined efficiency level, in response to a quality factor of either one or both of the source resonator and the target resonator being lower than a predetermined threshold.

9. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 8, wherein the predetermined threshold is “

100”

.

10. A wireless power relay apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of relay resonators, each relay resonator of the plurality of relay resonators configured to mutually resonate with a source resonator and a target resonator, to wirelessly transfer power from the source resonator to the target resonator, and at least one relay resonator among the plurality of relay resonators having a higher quality factor than the target resonator.

11. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one relay resonator comprises:

a parasitic resonator disposed on the same plane as either one or both of the source resonator and the target resonator, and configured to form a parasitic coupling.

12. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one relay resonator is disposed either one or both of inside and outside at least one of the source resonator and the target resonator.

13. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 10, wherein any one or any combination of a material, a structure, and a size of the at least one relay resonator has a higher quality factor than each of the source resonator and the target resonator.

14. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the at least one relay resonator comprises a multi-array resonator comprising resonators; and

the resonators are electrically connected to each other based on a magnetic field formed between the resonators.

15. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one relay resonator is enclosed by a magnetic material.

16. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 10, wherein the quality factor comprises a value enabling the at least one relay resonator to mutually resonate with the source resonator and the target resonator at an efficiency level that is greater than or equal to a predetermined efficiency level, in response to a quality factor of either one or both of the source resonator and the target resonator being lower than a predetermined threshold.

17. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 16, wherein the predetermined threshold is set to “

100”

.

18. A wireless power relay apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of first resonators, each first resonator of the plurality of first resonators configured to transfer power from a second resonator to a third resonator, and at least one first resonator among the plurality of relay resonators having a higher quality factor than the third resonator.

19. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 18, wherein a number of turns of a coil included in the at least one first resonator is greater than a number of turns of a coil included in each of the second and third resonators.

20. The wireless power relay apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the at least one first resonator comprises resonators in an array; and

the resonators are connected to each other based on a magnetic field formed between the resonators.