Concurrent wireless power transfer and data communication

• US 10,158,969 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2017
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Cronie, Harm, Ma, Xudong
• Primary Examiner(s): HUANG, WEN WU
• Application Number:
  US15/461,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20170195831A1
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2614 Peak power aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2636 with FFT or DFT modulators, e.g. standard single-carrier frequency-division multiple access [SC-FDMA] transmitter or DFT spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing [DFT-SOFDM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Systems and methods for concurrent wireless power transfer and data transmission are provided. A constraint encoder receives data bits for communication to a mobile device and encodes the data bits onto a transmit signal. The constraint encoder specifies signal constraints that cause the transmit signal to have a peak-to-power-average ratio (PAPR) during a given time interval sufficient to provide wireless power transfer to the mobile device. The system also includes a signal generator coupled to the constraint encoder. The signal generator generates the transmit signal according to the signal constraints. The system further includes a transmitter coil that is coupled to the signal generator. The transmitter coil is configured to transmit the transmit signal that has been encoded with the data bits to receiver coils of the mobile device. The encoded transmit signal is able to provide wireless power transfer and the encoded data bits to the mobile device.

Claims

1. A system to enable both wireless power transfer and data communication by use of a same transmit signal to a mobile device, wherein the system comprises:

a constraint encoder configured to;

receive data bits for communication to the mobile device;

specify, based on the received data bits, one or more signal constraints that change at least one of;

frequency, phase, or amplitude components of a transmit signal to cause the transmit signal to maintain at least a specified peak-to-power-average ratio (PAPR) during a particular time interval; and

generate a vector based on the received data bits and the one or more specified signal constraints; and

a signal generator communicatively coupled to the constraint encoder and configured to generate the transmit signal based on the generated vector.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an inductor communicatively coupled to the signal generator and configured to transmit the transmit signal to an inductor of the mobile device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmit signal has the specified PAPR sufficient to provide the power to the mobile device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the transmit signal has the specified PAPR sufficient to provide the power at a beginning of the particular time interval.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmit signal generated by the signal generator comprises a superposition of n sinusoidal signals, wherein n is an integer.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmit signal generated by the signal generator comprises consecutive blocks of signals.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the consecutive blocks of signals comprise a superposition of n sinusoidal signals, wherein n is an integer.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a duration of each block of signal is the particular time interval.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more signal constraints include one or more of frequency, phase, and amplitude.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the constraint encoder is configured to receive the data bits from a data source, wherein the data source includes one of an application and a sensor.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the constraint encoder is configured to map the received data bits to the vector, wherein the vector specifies at least an amplitude for n sinusoidal signals, and wherein the signal generator is configured to generate the transmit signal as a superposition of at least some of the n sinusoidal signals, wherein n is an integer, based on the amplitude specified in the vector.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the signal generator is configured to generate the transmit signal as a subset m of the n sinusoidal signals, wherein the subset m includes sinusoidal signals with an amplitude of 1.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein to generate the transmit signal, the signal generator is configured to:

generate a discrete-time signal based on the generated vector;

convert the discrete-time signal to a continuous-time signal; and

up-convert the continuous-time signal into the transmit signal.

14. A method to enable both wireless power transfer and data communication using a same transmit signal to a mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving data bits for communication to the mobile device;

specifying, based on the received data bits, one or more signal constraints that change at least one of;

frequency, phase, or amplitude components of a transmit signal to cause the transmit signal to maintain at least a specified peak-to-power-average ratio (PAPR) during a particular time interval;

generating a vector based on the received data bits and the one or more specified signal constraints;

generating the transmit signal based on generated vector; and

transmitting the generated transmit signal to the mobile device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the transmit signal based on the generated vector comprises:

generating a discrete-time signal based on the generated vector;

converting the discrete-time signal to a continuous-time signal; and

up-converting the continuous-time signal into the transmit signal.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the discrete-time signal based on the generated vector comprises performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) of the generated vector.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising filtering the transmit signal prior to transmission of the transmit signal to the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the transmit signal includes generating the transmit signal to maintain the specified PAPR sufficient to provide the power at a beginning of the particular time interval.

19. A system to enable a mobile device to receive both wireless power transfer and data communication from a same received transmit signal, the system comprising:

an inductor, implemented in the mobile device, that is configured to communicatively couple with another inductor to receive a transmit signal generated by the another inductor;

a down-converter communicatively coupled to the inductor and configured to down-convert the received transmit signal;

an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter communicatively coupled to the down-converter and configured to convert the down-converted signal to a digital signal;

a discrete Fourier transform unit communicatively coupled to the ADC to perform fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the digital signal to generate a vector; and

a constraint decoder coupled to the discrete Fourier transform unit and configured to decode one or more data bits, encoded in the vector, based on one or more signal constraints that change at least one of;

frequency, phase, or amplitude components of the transmit signal, so as to cause the transmit signal to maintain at least a specified peak-to-power-average ratio (PAPR) during a particular time interval.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a radio frequency-direct current (RF-DC) converter communicatively coupled to the inductor and configured to recover power from the received transmit signal and generate a DC output signal.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the RF-DC converter has an efficiency that is related to the PAPR of the received transmit signal.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the RF-DC converter comprises a rectifier that is configured to store power in a rechargeable battery of the mobile device.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the RF-DC converter is further configured to provide the power to the mobile device for consumption in real-time.