CONTACTLESS POWER AND DATA TRANSFER SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20090159677A1
• Filed: 12/20/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Heller, Christian Maria, Erlat, Ahmet Gun, Glaser, John Stanley, Litz, Kyle Erik, Yakimov, Aharon
• Application Number:
  US11/960,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20090159677A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/439
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/36 Electric or magnetic shields or screens movable for varying inductance H01F21/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/366 made of ferromagnetic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/60 Circuit arrangements for operating LEDs comprising organic material, e.g. for operating organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] or polymer light-emitting diodes [PLED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

A contactless power and data transfer system is disclosed. The system includes an encapsulated optoelectronic semiconductor device at least partly disposed within a barrier encapsulation, and a contactless power transfer system configured to transfer at least one of power and data across the barrier encapsulation. A method for manufacturing a contactless power and data transfer system is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an encapsulated optoelectronic semiconductor device at least partly disposed within a barrier encapsulation; and

a contactless power transfer system configured to transfer at least one of power and data across the barrier encapsulation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a first part of the contactless power transfer system is disposed internal to the encapsulation and a second part of the contactless power transfer system is disposed external to the encapsulation, wherein the first part is not in wired contact with the second part and wherein the first part and second part are configured to transfer energy across the barrier encapsulation.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the contactless power transfer system is an inductive power transfer system.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the barrier encapsulation is substantially transparent to magnetic field.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the inductive power transfer system comprises at least one transformer comprising at least one first inductor coil disposed external to the barrier encapsulation and at least one second inductor coil disposed internal to the encapsulation, wherein the at least one first and the at least one second inductor coils are configured to transfer energy across the barrier encapsulation.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the inductive power transfer system further comprising at least one magnetic layer adjacent to the at least one first or second inductor coil.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one first or second inductor coil is positioned between the at least one magnetic layer and the barrier encapsulation.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one magnetic layer is a divided layer.

9. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one transformer is a step up or a step down transformer.

10. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one transformer is a variable transformer, and the energy transfer across the barrier encapsulation is variable.

11. The system of claim 3, wherein the inductive power transfer system comprises a plurality of transformers configured to transfer energy across the barrier encapsulation.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein the contactless power transfer system is a capacitive power transfer system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the capacitive power transfer system comprises at least one pair of power transfer capacitors, each capacitor of the at least one pair of capacitors comprising a first plate and a second plate, wherein the first plates of each of the pair of capacitors are disposed external to the barrier encapsulation and the second plates of each of the pair of capacitors are disposed external to the barrier encapsulation, wherein the barrier encapsulation is positioned to act as a dielectric spacer between the first plate and the second plate of each capacitor of the at least one pair of capacitors.

14. The system of claim 12, comprising a plurality of power transfer capacitors.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising an inverter to convert a DC power to AC power input to the contactless power transfer system.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a high frequency generator to provide high frequency power input to the contactless power transfer system.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising a rectifier to convert AC power output from the contactless power transfer system to DC power.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising at least one filter capacitor configured to reduce AC component of the rectifier.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one blocking capacitor configured as a DC blocking filter.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier encapsulation comprises a material comprising an organic material, an inorganic material or combinations thereof.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier encapsulation comprises a material comprising glass, metal, polymer or combinations thereof.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is a photovoltaic device and wherein power is coupled out of the device across the encapsulation.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the optoelectronic semiconductor device is a lighting device and power is coupled into the lighting device across the encapsulation to power the lighting device

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the lighting device is an organic light emitting device.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the organic light emitting device functions as a rectifier element.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the light emitting optoelectronic semiconductor device is a display device.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is a thin film device.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is a detector array.

29. The system of claim 1, wherein the barrier encapsulation comprises a barrier against oxygen and water vapor.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured for both power and data transfer through a single contactless power transfer link.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured for power and data transfer through different contactless power transfer links.

32. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprising:

a modulator to encode data for data transfer by modulating an input power to the contactless power transfer system; and

a demodulator to decode transferred data by demodulating the output power from the contactless power transfer system.

33. A system comprising:

an encapsulated planar optoelectronic semiconductor device at least partly disposed within a barrier encapsulation; and

a contactless power transfer system configured to transfer at least one of power and data across the barrier encapsulation.

34. A method of manufacturing an integrated contactless power transfer optoelectronic semiconductor device system comprising:

providing an optoelectronic semiconductor device over a substrate;

providing a first contactless power transfer element operably electrically coupled to the optoelectronic semiconductor device;

providing a dielectric barrier encapsulation surrounding the optoelectronic semiconductor device and the first contactless power transfer element; and

providing a second contactless power transfer element operably electrically coupled to a power source, external to the barrier encapsulation, and across from the first contactless power transfer element to form an integrated device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the first and second contactless power transfer elements are thin film inductors.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the first and second contactless power transfer elements are plates of a thin film capacitor.

37. A method of manufacturing a contactless power transfer optoelectronic semiconductor device system comprising:

providing a first contactless power transfer element integrated with the optoelectronic semiconductor device and disposed internal to a barrier encapsulation; and

providing a second contactless power transfer element disposed on a substrate and positioned external to the barrier encapsulation and disposed separately from the optoelectronic semiconductor device.