Non-contact rotary power transfer system
First Claim
1. A power delivery system, comprising:
- a. a rotary transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the rotary transformer operative to transfer power between one or more stationary coupling elements disposed on a stationary side of the rotary transformer and one or more rotational coupling elements disposed on a rotating side of the rotary transformer, the rotational coupling elements sharing a central axis with the stationary coupling elements and being operative to rotate with respect to the stationary coupling elements;
b. an isolation transformer operative to drive the primary winding of the rotary transformer;
c. one or more power inverter stages operative to provide input power to the primary winding of the rotary transformer, the power inverter stages having outputs that are operative to be summed and coupled to the isolation transformer;
d. one or more output power converters operative to receive transmitted power from the rotary transformer and to convert the received power to a desired range for the rotational coupling elements; and
e. one or more control elements disposed on the rotating side of the rotary transformer, the control elements operative to close a feedback loop on desired and actual performance of the output power converters, and further operative to provide to the stationary side of the rotary transformer one or more timing signals to control the power inverter stages; and
f. an electrostatic discharger operative to substantially prevent static charge from accumulating on one or more of the rotational coupling elements;
wherein the electrostatic charge comprises at least one of;
a galvanic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side; and
an ionic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A power delivery system includes a rotary transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding and configured to transfer power between stationary coupling elements on a stationary side and rotational coupling elements on a rotational side. The rotational coupling elements share a central axis with the stationary coupling elements, and are adapted to rotate with respect to the stationary coupling elements. The power delivery system includes an isolation transformer that drives the primary winding of the rotary transformer, and a plurality of power inverter stages whose outputs are adapted to be summed and coupled to the rotary transformer. A plurality of output power converters receive transmitted power from the rotary transformer. A plurality of control elements, disposed on the rotating side, are configured to close a feedback loop on desired and actual performance of the output power converters, and to control the power inverter stages.
28 Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A power delivery system, comprising:
-
a. a rotary transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the rotary transformer operative to transfer power between one or more stationary coupling elements disposed on a stationary side of the rotary transformer and one or more rotational coupling elements disposed on a rotating side of the rotary transformer, the rotational coupling elements sharing a central axis with the stationary coupling elements and being operative to rotate with respect to the stationary coupling elements; b. an isolation transformer operative to drive the primary winding of the rotary transformer; c. one or more power inverter stages operative to provide input power to the primary winding of the rotary transformer, the power inverter stages having outputs that are operative to be summed and coupled to the isolation transformer; d. one or more output power converters operative to receive transmitted power from the rotary transformer and to convert the received power to a desired range for the rotational coupling elements; and e. one or more control elements disposed on the rotating side of the rotary transformer, the control elements operative to close a feedback loop on desired and actual performance of the output power converters, and further operative to provide to the stationary side of the rotary transformer one or more timing signals to control the power inverter stages; and f. an electrostatic discharger operative to substantially prevent static charge from accumulating on one or more of the rotational coupling elements; wherein the electrostatic charge comprises at least one of; a galvanic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side; and an ionic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A device for isolating one or more outputs of a power inverter system from a primary winding of a rotary transformer operative to couple power between at least one stationary element and at least one rotational element, wherein the power inverter system is operative to provide input power to the primary winding of the rotary transformer, the device comprising:
-
an isolation transformer operative to receive a sum of the one or more outputs of the power inverter system and to drive the primary winding of the rotary transformer; wherein the isolation transformer includes, a primary winding, wherein the primary winding is connected to the one or more outputs of the power inverter system; a secondary winding, wherein the secondary winding is connected to the primary winding of the rotary transformer; a primary shield, wherein during operation the primary shield is operative to provide a return path for primary parasitic capacitance to a main power input connected to the power inverter system; a secondary shield, wherein during operation the secondary shield is coupled to ground and operative to remove current of a desired frequency present on the primary shield; and an electrostatic discharger operative to substantially prevent static charge from accumulating on one or more of the rotational coupling elements; wherein the electrostatic charge comprises at least one of; a galvanic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side; and an ionic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side.
-
-
18. A method of coupling power between at least one stationary element disposed on a stationary frame and at least one rotational element disposed on a rotational frame and operative to rotate about the stationary element, the method comprising:
-
summing the outputs of each of a plurality of power inverter stages disposed on the stationary frame; isolating and shielding the summed output from the primary winding of a rotary transformer; coupling the isolation transformer to a primary winding of a rotary transformer; operating the isolation transformer so that the isolation transformer drives a primary winding of a split rotary transformer operative to receive power from the power inverter stages and to transmit induced power to the rotational elements; and with an electrostatic discharger, preventing static charge from accumulating on one or more of the at least one rotational coupling elements, wherein the electrostatic charge comprises at least one of; a galvanic connection between the stationary frame and the rotational frame; and an ionic connection between the stationary frame and the rotational frame.
-
-
19. A power delivery system, comprising:
-
a. a rotary transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the rotary transformer operative to transfer power between one or more stationary coupling elements disposed on a stationary side of the rotary transformer and one or more rotational coupling elements disposed on a rotating side of the rotary transformer, the rotational coupling elements sharing a central axis with the stationary coupling elements and being operative to rotate with respect to the stationary coupling elements; b. an isolation transformer operative to drive the primary winding of the rotary transformer; c. one or more power inverter stages operative to provide input power to the primary winding of the rotary transformer, the plurality of power inverter stages having outputs that are operative to be summed and coupled to the isolation transformer; wherein the plurality of power inverter stages comprise a plurality of AC/AC conversion modules operative to independently provide high frequency drive and rectification of the input power to the rotary transformer; and wherein the plurality of AC/AC modules are operative to sum their respective outputs onto a magnetic element, and wherein the magnetic element is operative to provide a voltage centered and voltage isolated output to the primary winding of the rotary transformer; d. one or more output power converters operative to receive transmitted power from the rotary transformer and to convert the received power to a desired range for the rotational coupling elements; and e. an electrostatic discharger operative to substantially prevent static charge from accumulating on the one or more of the rotational coupling elements; wherein the electrostatic charge comprises at least one of; a galvanic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side; and an ionic connection between the stationary side and the rotational side.
-
Specification