METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING, DISTRIBUTING AND MANAGING ELECTRICAL ENERGY BY REMOTE LONGITUDINAL COUPLING IN NEAR FIELD BETWEEN ELECTRIC DIPOLES

• US 20110234019A1
• Filed: 08/14/2008
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Original Assignee: Tmms Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Camurati, Patrick, Bondar, Henri
• Granted Patent: US 8,847,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/149
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 4/00 Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as ac or dc
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/05 using capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/40 using two or more transmitting or receiving devices H02J50/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems

Abstract

The apparatus according to the invention is composed of one or plural generator devices (2) connected to an energy source and of one or plural loads (3) (which may be mobile). Each load is powered by the intermediary of a limited spatial zone (4) where an electric field that is intense and rapidly varying is present, and this is achieved without wires or electrical contact or use of an earth connection. The intense field is created locally between certain sub-electrodes (5) located on the surface of the generator and an electrode (6) or several sub-electrodes on the load side and located opposite. The active sub-electrodes (5) on the generator side are selected by switches (7), for example magnetic switches activated by a permanent magnet (8) located at the load (3). On the load side, a passive electrode (9) is used which can be considered as mainly coupled to the surrounding dielectric medium. The invention targets, in particular, the tele-supply of energy to low and medium power fixed or mobile electric devices.

Claims

1. The method of transporting electrical energy at a distance, comprising the steps of:

providing a generator device comprising a first pair of electrodes, one being an active electrode and the other being a passive electrode, the first pair of electrodes being connected to the terminals of a generator of electric energy at high frequency and high voltage, the active electrode being segmented into a plurality of sub-electrodes which are connected, selectively, to the generator via a switching means;

providing at least one device serving as a load, this load device comprising a second pair of electrodes one being an active electrode and the other being a passive electrode, the second pair of electrodes being connected to a load;

positioning the active electrode of at least one of the load devices in the vicinity of at least one of the sub-electrodes of the generator device;

transporting electrical energy to said at least one load device by activating the switching means to connect said at least one sub-electrode to the generator, while the other sub-electrodes are not connected to the generator, creating a region of intense electric field localised in the vicinity of said at least one sub-electrode, this region being located in the vicinity of said at least one load device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein information is optionally transmitted mono- or bi-directionally according to the same method and using additional modulation and demodulation means integrated in the generator device and the load device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein electrical energy is optionally transmitted to the at least one load device according to a communication protocol enabling each load device to itself trigger the energy transfer, this protocol being implemented by a device using detection, control and switching means situated preferentially at each active sub-electrode of the generator device and/or optionally of the load device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said communication protocol optionally comprises protection-type or standby-type modes when the transport of energy between said generator device and the load devices that may be present is no longer necessary or can no longer be implemented correctly.

5. A system for transporting electrical energy at a distance by near-field longitudinal electric coupling between at least two oscillating electric dipoles, one, designated “

generator device”

, supplying energy and the second, designated “

load device”

, receiving it, the system comprising;

at least one generator device, said generator device being provided with a first pair of electrodes, one being an active electrode and the other being a passive electrode, the first pair of electrodes being connected to the terminals of a generator of electric energy at high frequency and high voltage, the active electrode being segmented into a plurality of sub-electrodes which are connected, selectively, to the generator via a switching means;

at least one load device comprising a second pair of electrodes one being an active electrode and the other being a passive electrode, the second pair of electrodes being connected to a load; and

control means for selectively activating the switching means to connect at least one of the sub-electrodes to the generator, while the other sub-electrodes are not connected to the generator, said at least one activated sub-electrode thus constituting one of the ends of an electric dipole while the other end is constituted by the passive electrode of the generator device;

said control means being adapted to activate at least one sub-electrode located facing an active electrode of one of the load devices, said active electrode of the load device constituting one of the ends of an electric dipole while the other end is constituted by the passive electrode of the load device.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said generator is a high voltage high frequency generator.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the passive electrode of at least one of the generator device and the load device is replaced by a connection to the primary ground or to the earth.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the HVHF generator is constituted by an electronic device associated with at least one voltage step-up transformer such as:

an induction transformer preferably of resonant type, a piezoelectric transformer, or any technology capable of providing high voltages at high frequencies.

9. The system according to claim 5, wherein the load devices operate directly at high voltage or are optionally constituted by a voltage step-down device associated with a conventional low-voltage load.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the role of passive electrode of the load device is played by metallic shielding of the low-voltage load or by low-impedance circuits of the latter.

11. The system according to claim 6, wherein the connections between, on the one hand, the HVHF generators and the electrodes associated therewith and, on the other hand, the HVHF loads comprised in the load devices and their associated electrodes are implemented using, optionally very thin, conductor wires, the latter, like the electrodes and the HV switches, are optionally constituted by small quantities of conductive materials deposited or included in dielectric materials, which may be flexible, such as sheets, bands or ribbons.

12. The system according to claim 5, wherein the size of the sub-electrodes on the generator side is sufficiently small and their number, their shapes, and their dispositions are adapted so as to ensure at each moment a good coverage of the load-side active electrode, which may be mobile, located opposite.

13. The system according to claim 5, wherein the switching means, supplementary means for detection at a distance and control circuits of these elements are preferably positioned close to the sub-electrodes, the switching means being optionally positioned upstream of the transformers or of the generators when one of the latter two elements is situated at each sub-electrode.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein electronic means integrated into a switch forming part of the switching means, or in close vicinity thereof, is optionally powered by the potential difference existing between the terminals of said switch.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein electronic control means controlling the switching means are optionally partly or totally grouped within specialized integrated circuits and are optionally associated with electronic communication means using the same link as that permitting the transport of energy.

16. The system according to claim 5, further comprising supplementary circuits, optionally integrated into said control means, enabling it to adopt protection or standby modes when the transport of energy between said at least one generator device and the load devices that may be present is no longer necessary or can no longer be achieved correctly.

17. The system according to claim 7, wherein the HVHF generator is constituted by an electronic device associated with at least one voltage step-up transformer such as:

an induction transformer preferably of resonant type, a piezoelectric transformer, or any technology capable of providing high voltages at high frequencies.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the role of passive electrode of the load device is played by metallic shielding of the low-voltage load or by low-impedance circuits of the latter.