Data communications enabled by wire free power transfer
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a substantially flat top surface having a plurality of electrical conductive contact points, the contact points configured to form an electrical contact with conducting contacts of a secondary device placed on the surface, wherein the conducting contacts of the secondary device form electrical contact with at least two distinct contact blocks of the surface, electrical current flowing between the surface and the at least one secondary device, the electrical contact configured to transfer power and data;
a switched mode power supply configured to provide power to the contact points;
a power line communication bypass circuit configured to send and receive data signals over an existing power line infrastructure, the data signals bypassing the power supply, and the power line communication bypass circuit configured to filter out high frequency switching noise from the switched mode power supply;
a bi-directional radio frequency repeater circuit configured to filter and amplify the data signals, the bi-directional radio frequency repeater circuit including one or more RF switches and an RF power detection circuit configured to control the one or more RF switches;
wherein the RF power detection circuit monitors the power level of the amplified data signals until the amplified data signal reaches a preset power level; and
wherein the power line communication bypass circuit uses a 1;
1 ratio high frequency transformer and a parallel RC circuit to filter out lower frequency components.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is provided for enabling data transfer over the same electrical routing network utilized by the mobile device to obtain electric power from an external power source. The system includes a contact base connected to a power supply, and mobile device adapters. The contact base is a flat surface that comprises a segmented conductive area with conductive contact pads on the surface, and a plurality of base controller modules that detect the presence of compatible mobile devices placed on the contact surface and routes the electrical power through the contact points on the surface to the compatible mobile devices accordingly, after a handshake protocol. The data communication portion of the system comprises a power line communication bypass circuit and a repeater for power line communication either within or adjunct to the power supply that powers the contact base. It further comprises, on the mobile device side, a power line communication adapter which converts the analog waveform the mobile device receives through its electrical contacts into digital data and vice versa.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a substantially flat top surface having a plurality of electrical conductive contact points, the contact points configured to form an electrical contact with conducting contacts of a secondary device placed on the surface, wherein the conducting contacts of the secondary device form electrical contact with at least two distinct contact blocks of the surface, electrical current flowing between the surface and the at least one secondary device, the electrical contact configured to transfer power and data; a switched mode power supply configured to provide power to the contact points; a power line communication bypass circuit configured to send and receive data signals over an existing power line infrastructure, the data signals bypassing the power supply, and the power line communication bypass circuit configured to filter out high frequency switching noise from the switched mode power supply; a bi-directional radio frequency repeater circuit configured to filter and amplify the data signals, the bi-directional radio frequency repeater circuit including one or more RF switches and an RF power detection circuit configured to control the one or more RF switches; wherein the RF power detection circuit monitors the power level of the amplified data signals until the amplified data signal reaches a preset power level; and wherein the power line communication bypass circuit uses a 1;
1 ratio high frequency transformer and a parallel RC circuit to filter out lower frequency components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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transferring power and data between a substantially flat top surface having a plurality of electrical conductive contact points and conducting contacts of a secondary device placed on the surface, wherein the conducting contacts of the secondary device form electrical contact with at least two distinct contact blocks of the surface, electrical current flowing between the surface and the at least one secondary device; providing, via a switched mode power supply, power to the contact points; transmitting data signals via a power line communication bypass circuit configured to send and receive data signals over an existing power line infrastructure, the data signals bypassing the power supply, and the power line communication bypass circuit configured to filter out high frequency switching noise from the switched mode power supply configured to filter out high frequency switching noise from the switched mode power supply; filtering and amplifying the data signals via a bi-directional radio frequency repeater circuit including one or more RF switches and an RF power detection circuit configured to control the one or more RF switches; wherein the RF power detection circuit monitors the power level of the amplified data signals until the amplified data signal reaches a preset power level; and wherein the power line communication bypass circuit uses a 1;
1 ratio high frequency transformer and a parallel RC circuit to filter out lower frequency components.
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Specification