SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COUPLING POWER TO DEVICES

• US 20160072298A1
• Filed: 09/08/2014
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: FINE, Kevin S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,069,324 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge

Abstract

Systems and methods to wirelessly transmit power are provided. A power delivery system may include a central controller assembly and a transmit assembly. The central controller assembly can form transmit coils in the transmit assembly. The central controller assembly can also receive information from devices coupled to the transmit assembly and optimize the transmit coils based on the received information and on information about the transmit assembly.

Claims

1. A system for delivering power to a device wirelessly, the system comprising:

a central controller assembly; and

a transmit assembly that includes;

a plurality of conductive segments; and

a plurality of junction boxes, wherein each junction box of the plurality of junction boxes is configured to selectively connect one of the plurality of conductive segments to at least one other conductive segment of the plurality of conductive segments, and wherein the plurality of junction boxes are configured to selectively couple at least some of the plurality of conductive segments to form a transmit coil in the transmit assembly in response to a control signal from the central controller assembly.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of conductive segments includes at least one of a group of conductive segments that includes ductwork, electrical conduit, or electrical wiring.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of junction boxes each include a box controller and a switch, wherein the box controller is responsive to the control signal from the central controller assembly to operate the switch to connect a first conductive segment to a second conductive segment or to disconnect the first conductive segment from the second conductive segment.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each junction box includes a variable capacitor and wherein the junction box is configured to be responsive to the control signal received from the central controller assembly to change a capacitance of the variable capacitor, wherein a change in the capacitance of the variable capacitor changes a resonant frequency of the transmit coil.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to dynamically adjust a configuration of the transmit coil.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly includes:

a central controller; and

a memory configured to store at least one database.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one database includes;

a first database configured to store data related to multiple configurations of the transmit coil;

a second database configured to store data related to a plurality of devices including the devices that are configured to receive power wirelessly from the transmit coil; and

a third database configured to store information related to multiple receive coils.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first database stores information that includes switch settings for each transmit coil configuration stored in the first database, capacitance values for each transmit coil configuration, a status of each transmit coil that identifies whether the transmit coil is active, and a cost of each transmit coil.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the first database identifies adjacent transmit coils to the transmit coil.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly includes:

a first module configured to register the device with the system and deregister the device; and

a second module that identifies a configuration for the transmit coil and that changes the configuration of the conductive segments to form the identified configuration.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to selectively couple at least some of the conductive segments to form a plurality of transmit coils that includes the transmit coil, where the plurality of transmit coils operate independently of each other.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to register the device so that the device can receive power from the transmit coil wirelessly.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to collect information from the device, wherein the information collected includes one or more of a start time, a payment method, and parameters of the device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to scan for the device, determine whether the device is receiving power, and optimize the transmit coil to deliver power to the device wirelessly.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to receive coil information from the device, wherein the receive coil information includes one or more of a voltage, a current, or a frequency associated with a receive coil of the device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the central controller assembly is configured to adjust characteristics of the transmit coil based on the receive coil information received from the device.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the central controller assembly adjusts a configuration of the transmit coil based on a location of the device, wherein transmit coil is configured such that the transmit coil transmits to the location of the device.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmit assembly is configured to include a plurality of transmit coils including the transmit coil, wherein the plurality of transmit coils is configured to simultaneously deliver power wirelessly to a plurality of devices, the plurality of devices including the device.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising an oscillator configured to convert a frequency of a power supply to a higher frequency and generate a high frequency signal, wherein the high frequency signal is provided to the transmit coil.

20. A method for delivering power to a device, the method comprising:

scanning to detect the device;

receiving information from the device, wherein the information includes a voltage a receive coil of the device to determine whether the device receives power wirelessly from a transmit coil; and

adjusting a configuration of the transmit coil based on the information to improve the power delivered to the device wirelessly.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising registering the device by storing information about a user of the device in a first database and storing parameters of the device in the first database.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein scanning to detect the device comprises forming one or more transmit coils and determining which of the one or more transmit coils the device receives power from.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein adjusting a configuration of the transmit coil includes comparing a frequency of the transmit coil to the frequency received from the device and adjusting a variable capacitor to change a frequency of the transmit coil to match the frequency of the device.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein adjusting a configuration of the transmit coil includes evaluating adjacent configurations for the transmit coil based on predetermined configurations stored in a first database.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving information from multiple devices and determining whether each of the devices is receiving power wirelessly from the transmit coil.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising recording voltages from each of the multiple devices.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein adjusting a configuration of the transmit coil includes selecting a best configuration of the transmit coil for the multiple devices, wherein the configuration is updated dynamically over time.

28. The method of claim 20, further comprising dynamically updating a configuration of the transmit coil in response to changes in a location of the device.