WIRELESSLY POWERED AUDIO DEVICES

• US 20170118549A1
• Filed: 01/09/2017
• Published: 04/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Ganem, Steven J., Mendoza, Hiroshi A., Kesler, Morris P., Kulikowski, Konrad J., Kurs, Andre B., McCauley, Alexander P., Giler, Eric R., Hall, Katherine L., Guckaya, Gozde
• Granted Patent: US 10,264,352 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/18 Buses
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/145 Structure borne vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/32 of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/52 Wind-driven generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 : Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• 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 50/80 : involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 : Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 : Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1025 : Accumulators or arrangements for charging secondary cells per se H01M10/00; charging in general H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/33 : Aspects relating to adaptation of the battery voltage, e.g. its regulation, increase or decrease
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 : using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 : Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 : the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Techniques herein provide wireless energy transfer to audio devices such as headphones, headsets, hearing aids, and the like. Audio devices are integrated with a device resonator. The device resonator may be positioned and oriented to reduce interaction with lossy or sensitive components of the audio device. A repeater resonator and/or a source resonator is integrated into a headrest of a seat or a chair providing continuous power to the headphones while in use. The audio devices may be recharged wirelessly when positioned near source resonators that may be embedded in pads, tables, carrying cases, cups, and the like.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A wirelessly powered audio device comprising:

a resonator configured to wirelessly receive energy from oscillating magnetic fields and to provide power to the audio device or a battery of the audio device using the received energy;

noise monitoring circuitry configured to detect a noise component in an audio signal of the audio device, the noise component resulting from receiving energy wirelessly; and

a filter configured to attenuate the noise component in the audio signal of the audio device.

22. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the filter comprises a bandpass filter tuned to a frequency to attenuate the noise component.

23. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the filter comprises active noise cancelation circuitry.

24. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 23, wherein the active noise cancelation circuitry is configured to create a signal with a phase and an amplitude to cancel the noise component.

25. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, further comprising power demand monitoring circuitry configured to adjust energy transfer to a minimum level that satisfies a power demand of the audio device.

26. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, further comprising magnetic material positioned to shield at least one component of an audio speaker of the audio device from magnetic fields near the resonator.

27. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the resonator comprises capacitively loaded conducting loops printed on a substrate.

28. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the audio device is a headphone.

29. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the audio device is a headset.

30. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the audio device is a smart phone.

31. The wirelessly powered audio device of claim 21, wherein the audio device is a hearing aid.

32. A method comprising:

receiving, by an audio device, energy wirelessly from a wireless energy source;

detecting, by the audio device, noise caused by wireless energy transfer in an audio signal; and

filtering, by the audio device, the noise from the audio signal.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein filtering the noise comprises bandpass filtering the noise.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein filtering the noise comprises performing active noise cancellation on the noise.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein filtering the noise comprises creating and applying a signal with a phase and an amplitude designed to cancel the noise.

36. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

monitoring a power demand of the audio device; and

adjusting the wireless energy transfer to a minimum level that satisfies the power demand of the audio device.

37. The method of claim 32, comprising generating audio output, in accordance with the filtered audio signal, by the audio device comprising a headphone.

38. The method of claim 32, comprising generating audio output, in accordance with the filtered audio signal, by the audio device comprising a headset.

39. The method of claim 32, comprising generating audio output, in accordance with the filtered audio signal, by the audio device comprising a smart phone.

40. The method of claim 32, comprising generating audio output, in accordance with the filtered audio signal, by the audio device comprising a hearing aid.