METHOD, SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR ALTERNATIVE POWER WIRELESS CHARGING

• US 20170085115A1
• Filed: 09/23/2015
• Published: 03/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Huang, Lilly, Proefrock, Wayne L., Raaf, Bernhard, Ravichandran, Krishnan, Yang, Songnan
• Application Number:
  US14/862,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20170085115A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/40 adapted for charging from various sources, e.g. AC, DC or multivoltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/001 Energy harvesting or scavenging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007 Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage

Abstract

The disclosure generally relates to methods, system and apparatus to wirelessly charge a mobile device using one of conventional or alternative power sources. In an exemplary embodiment, the disclosure provides a method and apparatus to detect power source as a function of its power profile linearity. Once determination is made as to whether the incoming power is harvested from natural resources or is provided from conventional AC/DC adapter/DC source, the incoming power is conditioned and impedance-matched to wirelessly energize an external load. The external load may be a device configured for wireless charging.

Claims

1. A wireless Power Transmission Unit (PTU), comprising:

a controller to receive an input power from one of a plurality of sources, the controller identifying the source of the input power;

a matching circuit to receive the input power from the controller, the matching circuit to at least one of condition the input power to a substantially constant voltage or to impedance-match the input power to an impedance-matched output power; and

a resonator to receive the impedance-matched power output and to generate a magnetic field to energize an external load.

2. The PTU of claim 1, further comprising a power sensor to receive the input power to detect one or more of voltage or current characteristics of the input power.

3. The PTU of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter tuning circuitry to receive power output form MPPT and adjust the output power level to provide tuned output power.

4. The PTU of claim 3, further comprising an inverter driver controller to receive the tuned output power from the transmitter tuning circuitry and to drive a resonator to energize the external load.

5. The PTU of claim 1, wherein the controller determines a power source as a function of one or more of input power characteristics.

6. The PTU of claim 1, wherein the matching circuit conditions the input power to a substantially constant voltage and impedance-matches the input power the impedance of the external load.

7. A method to wirelessly energize a Power Receiving Unit (PRU), comprising:

receiving an input power from one of a plurality of power sources;

identifying the power source as one of substantially linear power profile or a non-linear power profile;

conditioning the input power to a substantially constant voltage if the power profile is non-linear;

impedance-matching the input power to provide an impedance-matched output power; and

generating a magnetic field as a function of the substantially constant voltage and the impedance-matched output power.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising identifying the power source as one of a DC power source or an alternatively harvested power source.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the power source further comprises detecting variation in the input power voltage or current.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising tuning the impedance-matched output power to provide a tuned output power.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving the tuned output power and driving a resonator to energize an external load.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating the magnetic field to charge an external load across a transparent physical barrier.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising repeating the steps of conditioning and impedance matching to provide an optimal output power before generating the magnetic field.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the optimal output power is determined in communication with the external device.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processor circuitry to perform steps to wirelessly charge an external device, the instructions cause the processor circuitry to drive operations comprising:

receiving an input power from one of a plurality of power sources;

identifying the power source as one of substantially linear power profile or a non-linear power profile;

conditioning the input power to a substantially constant voltage if the power profile is non-linear;

impedance-matching the input power to provide an impedance-matched output power; and

generating a magnetic field as a function of the substantially constant voltage and the impedance-matched output power.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise identifying the power source as one of a DC power source or an alternatively harvested power source.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise detecting variation in the input power voltage or current.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise causing tuning the impedance-matched output power to provide a tuned output power.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise energizing the external load as a function of the tuned output power.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving communication from the external load through a communication platform, the communication including impedance requirement of the external load.