Wireless energy transfer using alignment of electromagnetic waves

• US 10,256,678 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2017
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Teslonix Inc.
• Original Assignee: Teslonix Inc.
• Inventors: Wight, James Stuart, Amaya, Rony Everildo, Slaby, Cezary Paul, Spokoinyi, Boris
• Primary Examiner(s): Cavallari-See, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/424,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20170149294A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/40 using two or more transmitting or receiving devices H02J50/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength

Abstract

A method for improved wireless energy transfer includes steering a first energy beam, having a fundamental frequency, towards an energizable device. The first energy beam is formed by a plurality of polarizers of a first power access point (PAP). A first polarity of the first energy beam is aligned at the energizable device to a second polarity of a second energy beam formed by a second PAP, physically separate from, and having a wireless connection to, the first PAP, by combining at each of the polarizers of the first PAP a respective first polarized signal with a respective second polarized signal. The respective second polarized signal is formed by rotating the respective first polarized signal. The second PAP receives a PAP signal via the wireless connection and locally generates the fundamental frequency from the PAP signal.

Claims

1. A system for improved wireless energy transfer comprising:

a first power access point (PAP) configured to direct a first energy beam to an energizable device, the first energy beam having a fundamental frequency and a first polarity; and

a second PAP physically separate from, and having a wireless connection to, the first PAP, and configured to direct a second energy beam to the energizable device, the second energy beam having the fundamental frequency and a second polarity, a plurality of polarizers of the first PAP configured to form the first energy beam directed to the energizable device, and to align the first polarity with the second polarity at the energizable device, and

wherein the second PAP is enabled to receive a PAP signal via the wireless connection and is further enabled to locally generate the fundamental frequency from the PAP signal.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the polarizers include:

a patch antenna including a dielectric substrate interposed between a resonant plate and a ground plate, the patch antenna including a first feed-point and a second feed-point,

a first variable gain amplifier (VGA) connected to the first feed-point and configured to adjust a first amplitude of a signal,

a first phase shifter between the signal and the first VGA and configured to adjust a phase of the signal, and

a second VGA connected to the second feed-point and configured to adjust a second amplitude of the signal, the patch antenna controlling a polarization of the signal.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the first phase shifter is configured to shift the phase of the signal over a range from minus 90 degrees to plus 90 degrees.

4. The system of claim 2 further comprising a second phase shifter between the signal and the second VGA, wherein the first phase shifter and the second phase shifter both produce a combined shift of the phase of the signal over a range from minus 90 degrees to plus 90 degrees.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein a number of the plurality of polarizers is divisible by two, and each polarizer is connected to an antenna signal with a Wight Crossover structure.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the number of polarizers is four and includes:

a first cross-over device coupled to a first pair of polarizers,

a first pair of hybrid couplers coupled to the first cross-over device and a second pair of polarizers,

a second cross-over device coupled to the first pair of hybrid couplers,

a second pair of hybrid couplers coupled to the second cross-over device and the first pair of hybrid couplers,

a switch coupled to the second pair of hybrid couplers, and

a master phase shifter coupled between the antenna signal and the switch.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the first polarity is one of vertical, slant, horizontal, circular, elliptical and slant elliptical.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein a received signal strength indicator received from the energizable device by the first PAP is used to optimize the alignment of the first polarity with the second polarity.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein optimizing the alignment uses a phasor decomposition method.

10. A method for improved wireless energy transfer comprising:

steering a first energy beam, having a fundamental frequency, towards an energizable device, the first energy beam formed by a plurality of polarizers of a first power access point (PAP); and

aligning at the energizable device, a first polarity of the first energy beam to a second polarity of a second energy beam, having the fundamental frequency and formed by a second PAP, physically separate from, and having a wireless connection to, the first PAP, by combining at each of the polarizers of the first PAP a respective first polarized signal with a respective second polarized signal, the respective second polarized signal formed by rotating the respective first polarized signal, and the second PAP receiving a PAP signal via the wireless connection and locally generating the fundamental frequency from the PAP signal.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein each of the polarizers of the first PAP combines a rotated first polarized signal with the respective second polarized signal, the second polarized signal having a different rotation than the rotated first polarized signal.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the aligning of the first polarity to the second polarity is optimized based on a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) received by the energizable device.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the aligning uses a phasor decomposition method.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the first energy beam and the second energy beam are both sequentially moved from the energizable device to another energizable device, and the alignment is optimized by another RSSI received by the another energizable device.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the alignment is optimized concurrently for the energizable device and another energizable device by maximizing the minimum RSSI from each of the energizable device and the another energizable device.

16. A method for improved wireless energy transfer comprising:

steering a plurality of energy beams to an energizable device, each energy beam having a fundamental frequency and formed by a respective power access point (PAP) having a plurality of polarizers, each PAP being physically separate from, and having a wireless connection to, another PAP, one of the PAPs receiving a PAP signal via the wireless connection and locally generating the fundamental frequency from the PAP signal;

aligning at the energizable device, a polarity of each of the energy beams by combining at each of the polarizers of each respective PAP, a respective first polarized signal with a respective second polarized signal, the respective second polarized signal formed by rotating the respective first polarized signal;

dividing a planar region including a plurality of energizable devices into a plurality of subspaces, each subspace defined by an energy beam position from a respective one of the plurality of energy beams;

scanning the respective one of the energy beams along a scan path within the subspace to detect a presence of at least some of the plurality of energizable devices by detecting a change in a received energy at each of the at least some of the plurality of energizable devices, the at least some of the plurality of devices including a receiving device, and one or more of a neighbor device and a reference device, the reference device having a predetermined location within the planar region;

determining a connectivity map by finding a respective position for each neighbor device relative to a position of the receiving device; and

interpolating a physical location of the receiving device and the neighbor device relative to the reference device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the location of the receiving device is determined within one wavelength of the respective one of the energy beams.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein each subspace is dividing into smaller spaces by sequentially deactivating one energy beam and detecting the presence of a receiving device by a reduction in the received energy at the receiving device.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein each subspace is dividing into smaller spaces by sequentially deactivating two physically adjacent energy beams and detecting the presence of a receiving device between the two physically adjacent energy beams by a reduction in the received energy at the receiving device.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein each subspace is dividing into smaller spaces by rotating a polarity of all of the energy beams and detecting the presence of a receiving device by a reduction in the received energy at the receiving device.