Wireless power transmission apparatus and wireless power transfer system

• US 9,997,930 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2017
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanno, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Htun, Win
• Application Number:
  US15/613,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20170271884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 372 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/23 characterised by the type of transmitting antennas, e.g. directional array antennas or Yagi antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices

Abstract

A wireless power transmission apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a power transmission antenna, receiver circuits, and a control circuit. The power transmission antenna transmits high-frequency power at each of frequencies to wireless power reception apparatuses. Each of the receiver circuits obtains, from a corresponding one of the wireless power reception apparatuses, the value of a required voltage of the wireless power reception apparatus and the value of a power reception voltage received by the wireless power reception apparatus from the wireless power transmission apparatus. The control circuit obtains the required voltage value and the power reception voltage value from each of the receiver circuits, and controls the frequency of the high-frequency power. The control circuit changes the frequency of the high-frequency power so that the sum total of errors between the required voltage and the power reception voltage is minimized.

Claims

1. A wireless power transmission method, comprising:

transmitting to each of a plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses, using a power transmission antenna, each of a plurality of high-frequency power corresponding to a first frequency and each of a plurality of high-frequency power corresponding to a second frequency;

obtaining from each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses, using a plurality of receiver circuits, i) a required voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses, ii) a first power reception voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses and that corresponds to the first frequency, and iii) a second power reception voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses and that corresponds to the second frequency; and

summing, using a control circuit, first errors to obtain a first sum total, each of the first errors occurring between i) the required voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the receiver circuits and ii) the first power reception voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the receiver circuits,

wherein, in the summing by the control circuit, the control circuit sums second errors to obtain a second sum total, each of the second errors occurring between i) the required voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the receiver circuits and ii) the second power reception voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the receiver circuits,

wherein, in the transmitting to each of the plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses, the control circuit controls the power transmission antenna to transmit, to each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses, each of a plurality of high-frequency power corresponding to a third frequency that is close to a smaller one of the first sum total and the second sum total, to converge each of third errors occurring between i) the required voltage value and ii) a third power reception voltage value that corresponds to each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses and that corresponds to the third frequency, to be within a predetermined criterion error.

2. The wireless power transmission method according to claim 1, further comprising:

comparing, using the control circuit, a smaller sum total out of the first sum total and the second sum total with a third sum total obtained by summing errors, each of which occurs between the required voltage and the power reception voltage of the corresponding one of the plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses in the case where the high-frequency power of the third frequency is transmitted, setting a fourth frequency closer to a frequency corresponding to a further smaller sum total out of among the smaller sum total and the third sum total, and controlling the power transmission antenna to transmit the high-frequency power of the fourth frequency of the corresponding one to each of the plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses, and

using the control circuit, determining the frequency at which a sum total of the errors is minimized by setting the fourth frequency repeatedly, and controlling the power transmission antenna to transmit each of a plurality of the high-frequency power corresponding to the frequency at which the sum total of the errors is minimized to each of the plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses.

3. The wireless power transmission method according to claim 2, further comprising:

changing, using a voltage adjustment circuit, a voltage received from a power-supply unit to output the voltage to the power transmission antenna, so as to output the voltage to the power transmission antenna, and

after the sum total of the errors is minimized, when an error between the required voltage and the power reception voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold value in at least one of the plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses, decreasing, using the control circuit, the voltage which is outputted from the voltage adjustment circuit to the power transmission antenna, and setting the value of the error between the required voltage and the power reception voltage of each of the plurality of the wireless power reception apparatuses to become equal to or smaller than the threshold value.

4. The wireless power transmission method according to claim 1, further comprising

when at least one of the power transmission antenna and a power reception antenna of each of the plurality of wireless power reception apparatuses includes a variable circuit element having a variable circuit constant, changing, using the control circuit, at least one of the variable circuit constant of the power transmission antenna and the variable circuit constant of the power reception antenna.