WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER FOR A SEAT-VEST-HELMET SYSTEM

• US 20150115733A1
• Filed: 12/31/2014
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Sealy, Kylee D., Efe, Volkan, Kesler, Morris P., Patterson, Susan M., Bohm, Ryan J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,948,145 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/104
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/0406 Accessories for helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/50 using additional energy repeaters between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0068 Battery or charger load switching, e.g. concurrent charging and load supply H02J7/0013 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034

Abstract

Wireless power transfer system include: a seat configured to support a human and including a first resonator featuring a conductive coil formed by a plurality of loops that each encircle a common first axis, a layer of magnetic material, and a conductive shield; an article of clothing featuring a second resonator having a conductive coil formed by a plurality of loops that each encircle a common second axis, so that when the article of clothing is worn by the human and the human is seated in the seat, the first and second axes are aligned; and a first electronic apparatus positioned in the seat and coupled to the first resonator, and configured to deliver electrical power to the first resonator so that during operation of the system, power is transferred wirelessly from the first resonator to the second resonator.

Claims

1. A wireless power transfer system, comprising:

a seat configured to support a human, the seat comprising;

a first resonator comprising a conductive coil formed by a plurality of loops that each encircle a common first axis;

a layer of magnetic material positioned adjacent the conductive coil and intersecting the first axis; and

a conductive shield positioned adjacent the layer of magnetic material, wherein the layer of magnetic material is sandwiched between the conductive coil and the conductive shield;

an article of clothing for the human, the article of clothing comprising;

a second resonator comprising a conductive coil formed by a plurality of loops that each encircle a common second axis,

wherein the second resonator is positioned in the article of clothing so that, when the article of clothing is worn by the human and the human is seated in the seat, the first and second axes are aligned; and

a first electronic apparatus positioned in the seat and coupled to the first resonator, and configured to deliver electrical power to the first resonator so that during operation of the system, power is transferred wirelessly from the first resonator to the second resonator.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic material comprises a ferrite material, and the conductive shield comprises a metal material.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first electronic apparatus is configured to deliver electrical power to the first resonator in an oscillating electrical signal having a frequency of between 150 kHz and 300 kHz.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first electronic apparatus comprises power and control circuitry comprising one or more switches, and wherein the first electronic apparatus is configured so that during operation of the system, the first electronic apparatus:

monitors a power transfer rate between the first and second resonators relative to a lower power transfer rate threshold and an upper power transfer rate threshold;

increases a phase angle of the one or more switches if the power transfer rate is above the upper power transfer rate threshold; and

decreases the phase angle if the power transfer rate is below the lower power transfer rate threshold,

wherein the one or more switches are part of a switching amplifier in the first electronic apparatus, and wherein the phase angle is defined between the one or more switches in the switching amplifier.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the article of clothing is configured to be worn on an upper torso of the human;

the article of clothing further comprises;

a battery coupled to the second resonator;

a third resonator coupled to the battery; and

a second electronic apparatus coupled to the second and third resonators;

the system further comprises a helmet configured to be worn by the human and comprising a fourth resonator;

the second electronic apparatus is configured so that during operation of the system, the second electronic apparatus stores energy in the battery in response to electrical power wirelessly received by the second resonator; and

the third resonator is configured to transmit electrical power to the fourth resonator by generating an oscillating magnetic field using power from the battery.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the third resonator and the fourth resonator comprises a curved magnetic material and a conductive wire wrapped around the curved magnetic material.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the curved magnetic material comprises grooves into which the conductive wire is wound.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the curved magnetic material comprises two or more pieces of magnetic material.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a coil-to-coil efficiency of power transfer between the first resonator and the second resonator is 20% or greater.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the coil-to-coil efficiency of power transfer between the first resonator and the second resonator is 98% or less.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein a quality factor of each of the first and second resonators is greater than 100.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein during operation, the system is configured to sustain a transfer of at least 10 W of power between the first and second resonators when the second resonator is displaced laterally in a direction orthogonal to the first axis by up to 5 cm from an initial position.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein during operation, the system is configured to sustain a transfer of at least 12 W of power between the first and second resonators when the second resonator is displaced laterally in a direction orthogonal to the first axis by up to 4 cm from an initial position.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first resonator, measured in a direction along the first axis, is 5 cm or less.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the thickness of the first resonator is 1 cm or less.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the conductive shield comprises a metallic material attached directly to a surface of the magnetic material.

17. An article of clothing, comprising:

a first resonator comprising a conductive coil formed by a plurality of loops each extending in a common first plane to define a dipole moment for the first resonator that is aligned orthogonal to the common first plane, and wherein the first resonator is configured to wirelessly receive electrical power from an oscillating magnetic field;

a battery;

an electrical apparatus coupled to the first resonator and configured to store energy in the battery in response to the electrical power wirelessly received by the first resonator; and

a second resonator comprising a conductive coil coupled to the battery, wherein the second resonator is configured to transmit electrical power by generating an oscillating magnetic field using power from the battery.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein the second resonator comprises a curved magnetic material and a conductive wire wrapped around the curved magnetic material.

19. The article of claim 18, wherein the curved magnetic material comprises two or more pieces of magnetic material.

20. The article of claim 17, wherein the second resonator is configured to transmit electrical power to a third resonator disposed in an additional article of clothing.

21. The article of claim 20, wherein a coil-to-coil efficiency of power transfer between the second and third resonators is 40% or greater.

22. The article of claim 20, wherein a quality factor of each of the second and third resonators is greater than 100.

23. The article of claim 20, wherein the third resonator comprises a curved magnetic material and a conductive wire wrapped around the curved magnetic material.

24. The article of claim 23, wherein the second and third resonators have a substantially similar radius of curvature.