ADAPTIVE INDUCTIVE POWER SUPPLY
First Claim
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7. A contactless power supply system comprising:
- an inductive power supply having at least one operating parameter, said inductive power supply having a resonant frequency, an operating frequency, a rail voltage and a duty cycle;
a remote device capable of inductively receiving power from said power supply via an inductive coupling when placed within sufficient proximity to said inductive power supply, said remote device capable of affecting said operating parameters when placed within sufficient proximity to said inductive power supply; and
wherein said power supply includes;
a tank circuit having a primary for inductively transferring power to said remote device; and
a controller continually monitoring said operating parameter of said power supply, said controller reconfiguring the power supply when said operating parameters fall outside a nominal range, said controller programmed to reconfigure the power supply by adjusting at least two of said resonant frequency, said operating frequency, said rail voltage and said duty cycle.
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Abstract
A contactless power supply has a dynamically configurable tank circuit powered by an inverter. The contactless power supply is inductively coupled to one or more loads. The inverter is connected to a DC power source. When loads are added or removed from the system, the contactless power supply is capable of modifying the resonant frequency of the tank circuit, the inverter frequency, the inverter duty cycle or the rail voltage of the DC power source.
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Citations
27 Claims
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7. A contactless power supply system comprising:
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an inductive power supply having at least one operating parameter, said inductive power supply having a resonant frequency, an operating frequency, a rail voltage and a duty cycle; a remote device capable of inductively receiving power from said power supply via an inductive coupling when placed within sufficient proximity to said inductive power supply, said remote device capable of affecting said operating parameters when placed within sufficient proximity to said inductive power supply; and wherein said power supply includes; a tank circuit having a primary for inductively transferring power to said remote device; and a controller continually monitoring said operating parameter of said power supply, said controller reconfiguring the power supply when said operating parameters fall outside a nominal range, said controller programmed to reconfigure the power supply by adjusting at least two of said resonant frequency, said operating frequency, said rail voltage and said duty cycle. - View Dependent Claims (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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8-1. The contactless power supply system of claim 7 wherein said controller is configured to vary at least three of a rail voltage of said resonant frequency, said operating frequency, said duty cycle and said rail voltage.
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14. A method of operating an inductive power supply for a remote device, the method including the steps of:
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applying power to a tank circuit within the inductive power supply; establishing an inductive coupling between the inductive power supply to the remote device; monitoring at least one operating parameter of the inductive power supply after establishing the inductive coupling; based upon said monitoring step, reconfiguring the inductive power supply by; adjusting a first characteristic of the power supply, the first characteristic being one of a resonant frequency of a tank circuit, an operating frequency of the power applied to the tank circuit, a rail voltage of the power applied to the tank circuit, or a duty cycle of the power applied to the tank circuit; and adjusting a second characteristic of the power supply, the second characteristic being one of a resonant frequency of the tank circuit, an operating frequency of the power applied to the tank circuit, a rail voltage of the power applied to the tank circuit, or a duty cycle of the power applied to the tank circuit and being different from the first characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for controlling operation of an inductive power supply system, comprising the steps of:
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establishing an inductive coupling between an inductive power supply and a remote device, the inductive power supply having a controller and a tank circuit; adjusting a resonant frequency of the inductive power supply when the remote device is inductively coupled with the inductive power supply, said adjusting a resonant frequency including adjusting with the controller at least one of a variable capacitance or a variable inductance of the tank circuit; adjusting at least one of an operating frequency of the inductive power supply, a duty cycle of the inductive power supply and a rail voltage of the inductive power supply, wherein adjusting the operating frequency of the inductive power supply and adjusting the duty cycle of the inductive power supply each include adjusting a drive circuit with the controller; and repeating said step of adjusting at least one of an operating frequency of the inductive power supply, a duty cycle of the inductive power supply and a rail voltage of the inductive power supply during operation of the inductive power supply.
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24. An inductive power supply for supplying power to a remote device that can be selectively placed in proximity to the inductive power supply to wirelessly receive power from the inductive power supply comprising:
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a tank circuit having a primary for wirelessly transferring power to the remote device by an inductive coupling, said tank circuit having a resonant frequency; an inverter for applying power to said tank circuit, said inverter applying power to said tank circuit at an operating frequency and a duty cycle; a DC power source coupled to said inverter to supply DC power to said inverter, said DC power source having a rail voltage; a drive circuit coupled to said inverter, said drive circuit dictating said operating frequency and said duty cycle; and a controller for dynamically reconfiguring the inductive power supply, said controller configured to vary one of said resonant frequency of said tank circuit, said operating frequency of said inverter, said duty cycle of said inverter and said rail voltage of said DC power source, said controller configured to vary a second of said resonant frequency of said tank circuit, said operating frequency of said inverter, said duty cycle of said inverter and said rail voltage of said DC power source. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification