Methods and apparatus for providing a sufficiently stable power to a load in an energy transfer system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use in a transcutaneous energy transfer system that includes a power supply, a primary winding and a secondary winding, the apparatus comprising:
- a control circuit, coupled to the power supply and the primary winding, to monitor a primary amplitude of a primary voltage across the primary winding and to control the primary amplitude based only on the monitored primary amplitude and a reference voltage.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for providing a sufficiently stable power to a load in an energy transfer system that transfers energy from one side of a physical boundary to another side of he boundary. In one example, a power supply and a primary winding are located on a first side of a physical boundary (e.g., external to a body), and a secondary winding and the load are located on a second side of the physical boundary (e.g., internal to the body). A primary voltage across the primary winding is regulated so as to provide a sufficiently stable output power to the load notwithstanding changes in the load and/or changes in a relative position of the primary winding and the secondary winding. One aspect of the invention relates to energy transfer methods and apparatus for use in connection with the human body. In particular, one example of the invention includes a transcutaneous energy transfer (TET) system for transferring power from a power supply external to the body to a device implanted in the body.
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Citations
138 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use in a transcutaneous energy transfer system that includes a power supply, a primary winding and a secondary winding, the apparatus comprising:
a control circuit, coupled to the power supply and the primary winding, to monitor a primary amplitude of a primary voltage across the primary winding and to control the primary amplitude based only on the monitored primary amplitude and a reference voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. In a transcutaneous energy transfer system including a power supply, a primary winding and a secondary winding, a method comprising acts of:
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monitoring a primary amplitude of a primary voltage across the primary winding; and
regulating the primary amplitude based only on the monitored primary amplitude and a reference voltage. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An energy transfer system for transferting power from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the energy transfer system comprising:
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a primary winding electrically coupled to the power supply to generate a magnetic field based on input power provided by the power supply, the magnetic field permeating the physical boundary;
a secondary winding, magnetically coupled to the primary winding via the magnetic field, to receive at least a portion of the magnetic field, the secondary winding electrically coupled to the variable load to provide output power to the variable load based on the received magnetic field; and
at least one control circuit, electrically coupled to at least the primary winding, to regulate a primary voltage across the primary winding such that a sufficiently stable output power is provided to the variable-load notwithstanding at least one of changes in the load and changes in a relative position of the primary winding and the secondary winding. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. In an energy transfer system that includes a primary winding electrically coupled to a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary, the energy transfer system further including a secondary winding electrically coupled to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, a method of transferring power from the power supply to the variable load comprising an act of:
regulating a primary voltage across the primary winding so as to provide a sufficiently stable output power to the variable load notwithstanding at least one of changes in the variable load and changes in a relative position of the primary winding and the secondary winding. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
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93. An apparatus for use in an energy transfer system, the energy transfer system including a power supply electrically coupled to a primary winding, and a secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding, the primary and secondary windings for transferring power from the power supply to a load that is electrically coupled to the secondary winding, the primary winding and the secondary winding not having a fixed spatial relationship to each other, the apparatus comprising:
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a secondary circuit, electrically coupled to the secondary winding, to monitor a measurable quantity associated with the load and to provide a detectable indication based on the monitored measurable quantity; and
a primary circuit, electrically coupled to the primary winding, to monitor the detectable indication provided by the secondary circuit and to regulate a primary voltage across the primary winding based on the detectable indication so as to regulate a load voltage across the load. - View Dependent Claims (94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138)
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112. In a transcutaneous energy transfer system that includes a power supply electrically coupled to a primary winding and a secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding, the primary and secondary windings for transferring power from the power supply to a load that is electrically coupled to the secondary winding, the primary winding and the secondary winding not having a fixed spatial relationship to each other, a method comprising acts of:
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making a comparison of a measurable quantity associated with the load and a predetermined threshold level;
activating a secondary circuit to provide a detectable indication based on the comparison; and
regulating a primary voltage across the primary winding based on the detectable indication.
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116. The method of claim 413, wherein the act of regulating the primary voltage includes an act of regulating the primary voltage such that the secondary circuit has an activation duty cycle of less than approximately 0.5%.
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127. An energy transfer system for transferring power from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the energy transfer system comprising:
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a primary winding electrically coupled to the power supply to generate a magnetic field based on input power provided by the power supply;
a secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding to receive at least a portion of the magnetic field generated by the primary winding, the secondary winding providing output power to the variable load based on the received magnetic field, the magnetic field forming a portion of a power channel between the primary winding and the secondary winding to transfer at least some of the power from the power supply to the variable load; and
a first control circuit, electrically coupled to the primary winding, to regulate a load voltage across the variable load based on information related to the variable load that is obtained via the power channel.
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133. In an energy transfer system for transferring power from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the energy transfer system including a primary winding electrically coupled to the power supply to generate a magnetic field based on input power provided by the power supply, the energy transfer system further including a secondary winding magnetically coupled to the primary winding to receive at least a portion of the magnetic field generated by the primary winding, the secondary winding providing output power to the variable load based on the received magnetic field, the magnetic field forming a portion of a power channel between the primary winding and the secondary winding to transfer at least some of the power from the power supply to the variable load, a method comprising acts of:
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monitoring the power channel to obtain information related to the variable load; and
regulating a load voltage across the variable load based on the information obtained via the power channel.
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Specification