Wireless energy transfer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus comprising a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from a feeding device comprising a supply source, the receiving device comprising:
- monitoring circuitry configured to monitor a resonant frequency of a supply source, the monitoring circuitry comprising a measurement coil;
a receiving component comprising at least one inductor; and
a phase locked loop circuit configured to output a control signal based upon signals induced at the inductor and the measurement coil; and
a control unit configured to vary a resonant frequency of said receiving component in dependence upon the control signal,wherein the apparatus is configured to match the resonant frequency of said receiving component with the resonant frequency of said supply source.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (200) comprising monitoring circuitry (230) configured to monitor a resonant frequency of a supply source (100), a receiving component (211a), and a control unit (220) configured to vary a resonant frequency of said receiving component (211a), wherein the apparatus (200) is configured to vary the resonant frequency of said receiving component (211a) in dependence upon the resonant frequency of said supply source (100).
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from a feeding device comprising a supply source, the receiving device comprising:
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monitoring circuitry configured to monitor a resonant frequency of a supply source, the monitoring circuitry comprising a measurement coil; a receiving component comprising at least one inductor; and a phase locked loop circuit configured to output a control signal based upon signals induced at the inductor and the measurement coil; and a control unit configured to vary a resonant frequency of said receiving component in dependence upon the control signal, wherein the apparatus is configured to match the resonant frequency of said receiving component with the resonant frequency of said supply source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus comprising a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from a feeding device comprising a supply source, the receiving device comprising:
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means for detecting a presence of the supply source; means for monitoring a resonant frequency of said supply source, the means for monitoring the resonant frequency comprising a measurement coil; a phase locked loop circuit configured to output a control signal based upon signals induced at the measurement coil and at at least one inductor of a receiving component; and means for varying a resonant frequency of the receiving component in dependence upon the control signal, wherein the receiving component comprises an adaptive receiving component having variable resonance characteristics and the apparatus further comprises; a control unit configured to automatically vary the resonance characteristics of the adaptive receiving component to match the resonance characteristics of the supply source.
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13. An apparatus comprising a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from a feeding device comprising a supply source, the receiving device comprising:
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a receiving component having variable resonance characteristics for receiving energy wirelessly from the supply source, the receiving component comprising at least one inductor; monitoring circuitry for detecting and monitoring the resonance characteristics of the supply source, the monitoring circuit comprising a measurement coil; and a phase locked loop circuit configured to output a control signal based upon signals induced at the inductor and the measurement coil, wherein; the resonance characteristics of the receiving component is varied in dependence on the control signal to match resonance characteristics of the supply source to increase the efficiency at which energy is received from the supply source; the receiving component comprises an adaptive receiving component having variable resonance characteristics; and wherein the apparatus further comprises a control unit configured to automatically vary the resonance characteristics of the adaptive receiving component to match the resonance characteristics of the supply source. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system comprising:
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a supply source configured to induce a voltage in the adaptive receiving component using a magnetic field generated by the supply source, and an apparatus comprising a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from the supply source, the receiving device comprising; monitoring circuitry configured to monitor a resonant frequency of the supply source, the monitoring circuitry comprising a measurement coil; a receiving component comprising at least one inductor; a phase locked loop circuit configured to output a control signal based upon signals induced at the inductor and the measurement coil; and a control unit configured to vary a resonant frequency of said receiving component in dependence upon the control signal, wherein said receiving component comprises an adaptive receiving component having a variable resonant frequency, wherein the apparatus is configured to vary the resonant frequency of the adaptive receiving component to match the resonant frequency of the supply source.
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22. A method comprising:
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detecting a presence of a supply source of a feeding device; monitoring a resonant frequency of said supply source using monitoring circuitry of a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from the supply source, the monitoring circuitry comprising a measurement coil; outputting, from a phase locked loop circuit of the receiving device, a control signal based upon signals induced at the measurement coil and at at least one inductor of a receiving component of the receiving device, said receiving component comprising an adaptive receiving component having a variable resonant frequency; and varying a resonant frequency of the receiving component in dependence upon the control signal, said method further comprising; inducing a voltage in the adaptive receiving component using a magnetic field generated by the supply source; and varying the resonant frequency of the adaptive receiving component to match the resonant frequency of the supply source. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage-medium having computer executable program code stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, causes an apparatus to perform:
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detecting a presence of a supply source; monitoring a resonant frequency of said supply source using monitoring circuitry of a receiving device adapted to receive energy wirelessly by resonant inductive coupling from the supply source, the monitoring circuitry comprising a measurement coil; outputting, from a phase locked loop circuit of the receiving device, a control signal based upon signals induced at the measurement coil and at at least one inductor of a receiving component of the receiving device; varying a resonant frequency of the receiving component in dependence upon the control signal; and matching the resonant frequency of said receiving component with the resonant frequency of said supply source.
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Specification