WIRELESS ENERGY TRANSFER USING REPEATER RESONATORS

• US 20100259108A1
• Filed: 03/10/2010
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Kesler, Morris P., Li, Qiang, Karalis, Aristeidis, Hall, Katherine L., Soljacic, Marin, Kurs, Andre B., Giler, Eric R., Ganem, Steven J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,587,155 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/104
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/12 Bikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/22 Microcars, e.g. golf cars
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/28 Four wheel or all wheel drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/52 Wind-driven generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/63 in response to network capacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/64 Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/28 : The renewable source being wind energy wind motors F03D
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 : of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/50 : using additional energy repeaters between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 : responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 : involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 : involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 : involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 : Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/34 : Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other dc sources, e.g. providing buffering H02J7/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 : with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/40 : Automatic matching of load impedance to source impedance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 : Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 : the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Described herein are improved configurations for a lighting system with wireless power transfer that includes a source high-Q magnetic resonator coupled to a power source and generating an oscillating magnetic field, at least one device high-Q magnetic resonator configured to convert said oscillating magnetic field to electrical energy used to power a light coupled to the at least one device resonator, and at least one repeater resonator, larger than the device resonator, wherein the repeater resonator is positioned further from the source resonator than the device resonator and improves the power transfer efficiency between the source resonator and the device resonator.

Claims

1. A lighting system with wireless power transfer comprising:

a source high-Q magnetic resonator coupled to a power source and generating an oscillating magnetic field;

at least one device high-Q magnetic resonator configured to convert said oscillating magnetic field to electrical energy used to power a light coupled to the at least one device resonator; and

at least one repeater resonator, larger than the device resonator;

wherein the repeater resonator is positioned further from the source resonator than the device resonator and improves the power transfer efficiency between the source resonator and the device resonator.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the source resonator is mounted on a wall below a cabinet and the device is mounted substantially above the source under a cabinet.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the repeater resonator is positioned inside a cabinet above the device resonators.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the source resonator and the device resonators are separated by more than 10 cm.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the source resonator and the device resonators are separated by more than 20 cm.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the source resonator and the device resonators are tuned to a substantially same resonant frequency.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the source has a quality factor Q>

100.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the source resonator is integrated into a cover of an electrical outlet.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the source resonator plugs into a household electrical outlet.

10. The system of claim 1, comprising multiple lighting fixtures.

11. The system of claim 1, comprising multiple repeater resonators.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein a characteristic size of the repeater resonator is larger than the smallest of the characteristic sizes of the at least one device resonator.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the repeater resonator has a quality factor Q>

100.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the repeater resonator has a quality factor Q<

100.

15. The system of claim 6, further comprising power and control circuitry coupled to the repeater resonator and configured to detune the resonator from said resonant frequency.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said repeater resonator is detuned when voltage levels in the repeater resonator exceed a predetermined threshold.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein a characteristic size of the source resonator is approximately 10 cm.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein a characteristic size of the source resonator is approximately 15 cm.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the source resonator is a capacitively loaded loop resonator.

20. The system of claim 1, where a characteristic size of the repeater resonator is approximately 20 cm.

21. The system of claim 1, where a characteristic size of the repeater resonator is approximately 40 cm.

22. The system of claim 1, where the repeater resonator is sized to fit inside a cabinet.

23. The system of claim 1, where the repeater resonator is sized to fit inside a drawer.

24. The system of claim 1, where the repeater resonator is a capacitively loaded loop resonator.

25. A wireless power transfer system comprising:

a high-Q source resonator coupled to a power source and generating an oscillating magnetic field,

a high-Q device resonator coupled to an energy drain and configured to convert said oscillating magnetic field to electrical energy, and

a repeater resonator;

wherein the repeater resonator is positioned to improve the coupling between the source resonator and the device resonator and the repeater resonator is positioned further away from the source resonator than the device resonator.

26. The wireless power transfer system of claim 25, wherein the repeater resonator is larger than the device resonator.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the repeater resonator has a quality factor Q>

100.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the repeater resonator has a quality factor Q<

100.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the resonators of the system have a quality factor Q>

100.