Methods and apparatus for providing a sufficiently stable power to a load in an energy transfer system
First Claim
1. An energy receiving system for receiving power transferred from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary and delivering the power to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the energy receiving system comprising:
- a secondary winding electrically coupled to the variable load to provide power to the variable load based on a magnetic field received by the secondary winding, the secondary winding adapted to be disposed on the second side of the physical boundary and for magnetic coupling with a primary winding disposed on the first side of the physical boundary to form a power channel between the windings through which the magnetic field is received by the secondary winding;
a secondary control circuit electrically coupled to the secondary winding to provide a detectable indication on the power channel that indicates at least one of changes in the variable load and changes in the relative position of the primary winding and the secondary winding, wherein the detectable indication includes at least one surge on the power channel.
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for providing a sufficiently stable power to a load in an energy transfer system that transfers energy from one side of a physical boundary to another side of the boundary. In one example, a power supply and a primary winding are located on a first side of a physical boundary (e.g., external to a body), and a secondary winding and the load are located on a second side of the physical boundary (e.g., internal to the body). A primary voltage across the primary winding is regulated so as to provide a sufficiently stable output power to the load notwithstanding changes in the load and/or changes in a relative position of the primary winding and the secondary winding. One aspect of the invention relates to energy transfer methods and apparatus for use in connection with the human body. In particular, one example of the invention includes a transcutaneous energy transfer (TET) system for transferring power from a power supply external to the body to a device implanted in the body.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An energy receiving system for receiving power transferred from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary and delivering the power to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the energy receiving system comprising:
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a secondary winding electrically coupled to the variable load to provide power to the variable load based on a magnetic field received by the secondary winding, the secondary winding adapted to be disposed on the second side of the physical boundary and for magnetic coupling with a primary winding disposed on the first side of the physical boundary to form a power channel between the windings through which the magnetic field is received by the secondary winding; a secondary control circuit electrically coupled to the secondary winding to provide a detectable indication on the power channel that indicates at least one of changes in the variable load and changes in the relative position of the primary winding and the secondary winding, wherein the detectable indication includes at least one surge on the power channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. In an energy transfer system for transferring power from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the system having a primary winding on the first side for generating a magnetic field based on input power provided by the power supply, the magnetic field permeating the physical boundary for magnetically coupling the primary winding to a secondary winding on the second side, thereby forming a power channel between the windings through which at least a portion of the magnetic field is received by the secondary winding to provide power to the variable load based on the received magnetic field, a system for the second side comprising:
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a secondary winding electrically coupled to the variable load; a secondary control circuit electrically coupled to the secondary winding to provide a detectable indication on the power channel that indicates a characteristic of the variable load compared to a predetermined threshold for that characteristic, wherein the detectable indication includes at least one surge on the power channel. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. In an energy transfer system for transferring power from a power supply located on a first side of a physical boundary to a variable load located on a second side of the physical boundary, the energy receiving system having a primary winding disposed on the first side and electrically coupled to the power supply to generate a magnetic field based on input power provided by the power supply, the magnetic field permeating the physical boundary for magnetically coupling a secondary winding disposed on the second side to the primary winding, thereby forming a power channel between the windings through which at least a portion of the magnetic field is received by the secondary winding, the secondary winding electrically coupled to the variable load to provide power to the variable load based on the received magnetic field, a method of providing power to the variable load comprising:
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providing power to the variable load based on a magnetic field received by the secondary winding from the primary winding; comparing a characteristic of the variable load to a predetermined threshold for that characteristic on the second side of the physical boundary; and generating a detectable indication on the power channel based on the comparison for transmission across the physical boundary, wherein the generating a detectable indication on the power channel includes generating at least one surge on the power channel based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification