Wireless energy transfer converters

• US 9,711,991 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2013
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Kulikowski, Konrad J., Hall, Katherine L., Kesler, Morris P., Campanella, Andrew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEBERADINIS, ROBERT L
• Application Number:
  US13/946,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20140159652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• 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: H01F 38/14 : Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 : Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• 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: H04B 5/24 : Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 : for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• 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 wireless power converter that includes at least one receiving magnetic resonator configured to capture electrical energy received wirelessly through a first oscillating magnetic field characterized by a first plurality of parameters, and at least one transferring magnetic resonator configured to generate a second oscillating magnetic field characterized by a second plurality of parameters different from the first plurality of parameters, wherein the electrical energy from the at least one receiving magnetic resonator is used to energize the at least one transferring magnetic resonator to generate the second oscillating magnetic field.

Claims

1. A wireless power converter comprising:

at least one receiving magnetic resonator configured to capture electrical energy received wirelessly through a first oscillating magnetic field characterized by a first plurality of parameters;

at least one transferring magnetic resonator configured to generate a second oscillating magnetic field characterized by a second plurality of parameters different from the first plurality of parameters;

wherein the electrical energy from the at least one receiving magnetic resonator is used to energize the at least one transferring magnetic resonator to generate the second oscillating magnetic field; and

wherein the at least one receiving magnetic resonator and the at least one transferring magnetic resonator is tunable.

2. The converter of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of parameters includes a first frequency hopping sequence different from a second frequency hopping sequence of the second plurality of parameters.

3. The converter of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of parameters includes a first on/off sequence different from a second on/off sequence of the second plurality of parameters.

4. The converter of claim 1, further comprising a first converter circuit configured to convert the electrical energy captured by the at least one receiving magnetic resonator into a direct current signal.

5. The converter of claim 4, further comprising a second converter circuit configured to convert the direct current signal from the first converter circuit into an alternating current signal, wherein the alternating current signal is used to energize the at least one transferring magnetic resonator.

6. The converter of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one receiving magnetic resonator and the at least one transferring magnetic resonator has a quality factor Q>

100.

7. The converter of claim 1, wherein the at least one receiving magnetic resonator is reconfigurable to capture energy from magnetic fields with different parameters.

8. The converter of claim 1, wherein the at least one transferring magnetic resonator is reconfigurable to generate magnetic fields with different parameters.

9. The converter of claim 1, wherein the at least one receiving magnetic resonator and the at least one transferring resonator share a loop inductor.

10. The converter of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of parameters includes a power level different from a second power level of the second plurality of parameters.

11. A system comprising:

a source resonator configured to generate a first oscillating magnetic field characterized by a first plurality of parameters;

a device resonator configured to capture electrical energy received wirelessly through a second oscillating magnetic field characterized by a second plurality of parameters different from the first plurality of parameters;

a wireless power converter including conversion circuitry configured to capture energy from the second oscillating magnetic field and to energize the source resonator to generate the first oscillating magnetic field; and

wherein the source resonator and the device resonator is tunable.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the wireless power converter is powered by electrical energy captured by the device resonator.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the source resonator and the device resonator has a quality factor Q>

100.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the source resonator and the device resonator include a shared loop inductor.

15. The converter of claim 13, where tuning the source resonator and the device resonator achieves frequency conversion in a wireless power system.

16. The converter of claim 13, where tuning the source resonator and the device resonator achieves power level conversion in a wireless power system.

17. The converter of claim 13, where tuning the source resonator and the device resonator achieves energy multiplexing conversion in a wireless power system.

18. A method of wireless power conversion comprising:

providing a configurable magnetic resonator;

tuning the configurable magnetic resonator to capture a first oscillating magnetic field characterized by a first plurality of parameters;

converting the oscillating magnetic field into electrical energy;

storing the electrical energy as stored energy in an energy storage element;

tuning the configurable magnetic resonator to generate a second oscillating magnetic field characterized by a second plurality of parameters;

energizing the configurable magnetic resonator using the stored energy to produce the second oscillating magnetic field; and

enabling efficient energy transfer between other magnetic resonators with different operating parameters.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the configurable magnetic resonator has a quality factor Q>

100.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising converting the electrical energy into a direct current signal prior to storing the electrical energy in the energy storage element.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the different operating parameters comprise operating frequencies.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the different operating parameters comprise resonant frequencies.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the different operating parameters comprise power levels.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the different operating parameters comprise energy multiplexing schemes