COIL CONFIGURATIONS FOR INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSER
First Claim
1. An inductive power supply system comprising:
- a primary unit for transmitting wireless power, said primary unit including;
a primary circuit having a primary for producing a first field; and
a receiving unit separable from said primary unit and for receiving said wireless power from said primary unit, said receiving unit including;
two or more secondary resonating circuits configured to receive said wireless power, wherein each of said two or more secondary resonating circuits is configured to receive said wireless power at different distances between said primary unit and said receiving unit;
a secondary circuit for receiving said wireless power by inductively coupling with at least one of (i) said primary circuit and (ii) one of said two or more secondary resonating circuits.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An inductive power supply system in which the receiving unit includes a secondary coil and a plurality of resonating circuits with different characteristics. Each of the resonating circuits may include a resonating coil and a resonating capacitor. The resonating coils may be inductively coupled to the secondary coil so that energy may be transferred from one or more of the resonating coils to said receiving unit. The plurality of resonating circuits are configured to provide improved power transfer efficiency or performance at different distances between the primary coil and secondary coil. The present invention may also provide a method for tuning the wireless power system including the general steps of measuring an operating characteristic in the primary unit, measuring an operating characteristic in the receiver unit and tuning one or more of the components in the primary unit and the secondary unit based on a comparison of the two measurements.
351 Citations
55 Claims
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1. An inductive power supply system comprising:
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a primary unit for transmitting wireless power, said primary unit including; a primary circuit having a primary for producing a first field; and a receiving unit separable from said primary unit and for receiving said wireless power from said primary unit, said receiving unit including; two or more secondary resonating circuits configured to receive said wireless power, wherein each of said two or more secondary resonating circuits is configured to receive said wireless power at different distances between said primary unit and said receiving unit; a secondary circuit for receiving said wireless power by inductively coupling with at least one of (i) said primary circuit and (ii) one of said two or more secondary resonating circuits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A remote device for receiving power from an inductive power supply, said remote device comprising:
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two or more resonating circuits configured to inductively couple with said inductive power supply, each of said two or more resonating circuits receives power efficiently at different distances between said remote device and said inductive power supply; and a secondary circuit configured for inductively coupling with at least one of said two or more resonating circuits and said inductive power supply for receiving power wirelessly, said secondary circuit receives power efficiently at a first distance other than said different distances at which each of said two or more resonating circuits receive power efficiently. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A receiving unit for receiving power wirelessly from an inductive primary unit, said receiving unit comprising:
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a secondary circuit configured to inductively couple with said inductive primary unit for receiving power wirelessly at a first range of distances between said receiving unit and said inductive primary unit; a resonating circuit configured to inductively couple with said inductive primary for receiving power wirelessly at a second range of distances between said receiving unit and said inductive primary unit, said resonating circuit including an adjustable element, wherein said resonating circuit is configured to inductively couple with said secondary circuit to transfer power from said inductive primary unit to said receiving unit, wherein said first range is different from said second range; and a controller electrically coupled to said adjustable element, said controller for selectively adjusting said adjustable element. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. An inductive power supply for transferring power wirelessly to a remote device at different distances between said inductive power supply and said remote device, said inductive power supply comprising:
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a primary circuit for producing a first field; a primary resonating circuit configured to receive power via said first field and configured to produce a second field; a switch electrically coupled to said primary resonating circuit, said switch for selectively activating said primary resonating circuit for transferring power to said remote device via said second field; a sensor electrically coupled to said primary circuit, said sensor configured to measure characteristics of power in said primary circuit; and a controller electrically coupled to said primary tank circuit, said sensor, and said switch, said controller configured to control said switch as a function of said measured characteristics of power such that (a) said primary resonating circuit transfers power wirelessly to said remote device via said second field in response to said primary resonating circuit being activated and (b) said primary circuit transfers power wirelessly to said remote device via said first field in response to said primary resonating circuit being deactivated. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of operating a primary unit to supply wireless power to a receiving unit via an inductive coupling, the primary unit having a primary circuit, the primary unit configured to drive the primary circuit at a rail voltage, a duty cycle, and an operating frequency, the method comprising:
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providing the receiving unit in proximity to the primary unit; identifying one or more primary resonant frequencies of the primary unit and one or more secondary resonant frequencies of the receiving unit; based on said identifying, actively adjusting at least one of the one or more primary resonant frequencies of the primary unit and actively adjusting at least one of the one or more secondary resonant frequencies of the receiving unit; and adjusting at least one of rail voltage, duty cycle, and operating frequency to provide power to the receiving unit via the inductive coupling. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. An inductive power supply system comprising:
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a primary unit for transmitting wireless power; a portable device being separable from said primary unit, said portable device having a receiving unit capable of receiving said wireless power and providing power to said portable device; and a resonating circuit configured to wirelessly receive power from said primary unit and to wirelessly transmit power to said receiving unit, said resonating circuit being physically separate from said primary unit and said portable device, whereby said resonating circuit can be placed in proximity to said primary unit and said receiving unit such that said receiving unit receives said wireless power indirectly via said resonating circuit and said resonating circuit can be moved out of proximity to said primary unit and said receiving unit such that said receiving unit receives said wireless power directly from said primary unit. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A resonating circuit system comprising:
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a resonating circuit to wirelessly receive power via a field and to wirelessly transmit said received power; and an enable/disable circuit having an actuator for selectively enabling and disabling said resonating circuit, said enable/disable circuit operating said actuator to enable and disable said resonating circuit depending on whether said field is within a range of operating characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A resonating circuit system comprising:
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a resonating circuit to wirelessly receive power from a field, said resonating circuit including an inductor; and a power indicator circuit having an indicator, said power indicator circuit being electrically isolated from said resonating circuit and having an inductor for generating power to operate said indicator, said inductor of said power indicator circuit being disposed in sufficient proximity to said inductor of said resonating circuit that power induced in said inductor of said power indicator circuit is indicative of power induced in said inductor of said resonating circuit. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
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Specification