BATTERY LIFE OF PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20140368161A1
• Filed: 06/17/2013
• Published: 12/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Energous Corporation
• Original Assignee: DvineWave, Inc.
• Inventors: Leabman, Michael A., Brewer, Gregory Scott
• Application Number:
  US13/919,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20140368161A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/05 using capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method for improving battery life of electronic devices such as Bluetooth headsets, smart-watches among others running on small batteries, for example coin batteries. The method may include wireless power transmission through suitable techniques such as pocket-forming, while including receivers and capacitors in the aforementioned devices. Wirelessly charged capacitors may provide sufficient power on which devices may run, and thus, battery life of such electronic devices may be enhanced.

Claims

1. A method for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device, comprising:

transmitting pockets of energy consisting of RF waves from a transmitter with at least two RF antennas and a transmitter communication device;

receiving the pockets of energy through a RF antenna in a receiver with a receiver communication device and a controller connected to the portable electronic device; and

converting the pockets of energy for charging an auxiliary power supply of the electronic device responsive to communication signals between the transmitter and receiver communication devices related to the power requirements of the portable electronic device.

2. The method for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 1, further including rectifying the RF waves from the pockets of energy and converting the rectified RF waves into a constant DC voltage for charging the auxiliary power supply.

3. The method for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary power supply is a capacitor.

4. The method for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 1, further including communicating between transmitter and receiver communication devices with short RF waves or pilot signals through the respective RF antennas and utilizing communication protocols of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Zigbee to carry information related to the power requirements of the portable electronic device.

5. A system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device, comprising:

a transmitter having at least two RF antennas in an array for generating pockets of energy;

a receiver with an RF antenna embedded in a portable electronic device for receiving the pockets of energy and for converting the pockets of energy into a constant DC voltage;

an auxiliary power supply for storing the constant DC voltage to fully or partially power the portable electronic device.

6. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 5, wherein the transmitter and receiver include micro-controllers for communicating therebetween with short RF waves or pilot signals through the respective RF antennas utilizing communication protocols of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Zigbee to carry information related to the power requirements of the portable electronic device.

7. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 5, wherein the auxiliary power supply is a capacitor for storing the constant DC voltage.

8. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 5, wherein the portable electronic device is a wristwatch, a headset or other portable electronic device running on small or coin size batteries for a main power supply.

9. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the portable electronic device includes a battery main power supply connected in parallel to the auxiliary power supply and wherein the micro-controller regulates the use of the auxiliary power supply to extend the battery life of the main power supply.

10. A system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device, comprising:

a transmitter for generating RF waves having at least two RF antennas to transmit the generated RF waves through the antennas in constructive interference patterns;

a micro-controller within the transmitter controlling the constructive interference patterns of generated RF waves to form pockets of energy in predetermined areas or regions in space;

a receiver embedded within the portable electronic device with at least one antenna to receive the pockets of energy in the predetermined regions in space;

a micro-controller within the receiver for communicating the power requirements of the portable electronic device to the micro-controller in the transmitter; and

an auxiliary power supply within the receiver having a parallel connection to a main power supply in the portable electronic device wherein the auxiliary power supply is charged by the pockets of energy.

11. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the micro-controller of the receiver verifies the power status requirements of the portable electronic device and determines if the auxiliary power supply is fully charged in order to fully or partially power the electronic device to decrease the power demand on the main power supply.

12. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the auxiliary power supply is a capacitor.

13. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the micro-controller on the receiver verifies status of the auxiliary and main power supplies and switches the auxiliary power supply between the states or rim and sleep modes depending on the state of charge on the auxiliary power supply.

14. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the micro-controllers communicate on standard wireless communication protocols of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Zigbee.

15. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the antennas operate in frequency bands of 900 MHz, 2.5 GHz or 5.8 GHz hands.

16. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 10, wherein the receiver includes a rectifier connected to the antenna for receiving the RF waves in the pockets of energy, a power converter connected to the rectifier to create a constant DC voltage for charging the auxiliary power supply connected to the power converter, the receiver micro-controller connected to the auxiliary and main power supplies which are connected in parallel to each other and wherein the status of each power supply is verified by the micro-controller and switched to supply power to the portable electronic device in order to extend the life of the main power supply.

17. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the micro-controllers are microprocessors or ASICs.

18. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the receiver micro-controller does a voltage verification to predefine time intervals for either the auxiliary power supply or the main power supply to power the portable electronic device.

19. The system for wireless power transmission to improve battery life in a portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the auxiliary power is a capacitor and the main power supply is a battery and wherein the micro-controller verifies the power delivery status to minimize the power load on the battery.

20. A receiver for wireless power transmission to a portable electronic device, comprising:

an antenna for sending and receiving RF signals;

a rectifier connected to the antenna for rectifying alternating current from the RF waves received by the antenna to provide direct current;

a power converter connected to the rectifier for regulating the DC voltage for charging an auxiliary power supply or a battery associated with the portable electronic device;

a communication device for generating a communication RF signal identifying the auxiliary power supply and battery level of the electronic device; and

a micro-controller connected to the communication device and to the auxiliary and the battery power supplies to regulate predefined intervals of the auxiliary power supply or battery powering the portable electronic device.