Piece of furniture suitable for simultaneously charging a plurality of battery-powered electrical devices by electromagnetic induction

Abstract

The present invention relates to a piece of furniture, preferably an island for home automation kitchens, provided with a plurality of transmission coils for simultaneously charging, by means of electromagnetic induction, electrical devices when conveniently placed on a rest surface of the piece of furniture. The piece of furniture, for each transmission coil, is preferably provided with an active cooling system and circuits for automatic regulation of the transmission frequency. The piece of furniture preferably also includes a light signalling system for highlighting, in the aforesaid rest surface, where a device can be rested in order to allow it to be charged by electromagnetic induction.

Description

" PIECE OF FURNITURE SUITABLE FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CHARGING A PLURALITY OF BATTERY-POWERED ELECTRICAL DEVICES BY ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION"Scope of the invention

[0001] The present invention finds application in the furniture sector and concerns, in particular, furniture intended to be placed in environments generally frequented by people who, in those environments, use, or may need to use, so-called "battery-powered" electrical devices, i. e. devices provided with an electric charge accumulator for powering them.A brief outline of the prior art

[0002] Among the electrical devices usually used by a person in the course of a day, there is an increasing number of devices which, by integrating an electric charge accumulator, can be used even in the absence of a direct connection between the device and the mains.

[0003] However, the electrical devices of this type, i. e. "battery-powered", must be periodically "charged" in order to restore the charge level of the accumulator. The charging of a battery-powered electric device (i. e. the charging of the accumulator included in it) can take place, as is known, by cable or by electromagnetic induction, i. e. in "wireless" mode.

[0004] The electromagnetic induction chargers, however, substantially consist of a base to be connected by cable to the mains and on which a single electrical device can be rested for charging it.

[0005] The way in which the charging by electromagnetic induction of an electrical device takes place today is therefore only apparently wireless since, for each device to be charged, a charger is required to be connected to themains.

[0006] This results in a drawback whenever there is a need to charge a plurality of devices simultaneously by electromagnetic induction.

[0007] For each device to be charged, it is in fact necessary to have an electromagnetic induction charger to be connected to the mains.

[0008] Various publications describing electromagnetic induction recharging solutions are known, such as for example publication EP4170864.Summary of the invention

[0009] Aim of the present invention is therefore to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks.

[0010] In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a piece of furniture that allows simultaneous charging by electromagnetic induction of a plurality of battery electric devices, such as for example mobile telephony devices such as mobile phones or any other device with rechargeable battery in general.

[0011] These and other objects are therefore achieved with the present piece of furniture in accordance with claim 1.

[0012] This piece of furniture comprises:

[0013] a rest surface;

[0014] Said piece of furniture also comprises a plurality of transmission coils each of which is made, at least partially, of one or more electrically conductive materials;

[0015] Power supply means connected to each transmission coil of said plurality of transmission coils are then included;

[0016] Still in accordance with the invention, for each transmission coil of said plurality, said power supply means are suitable for making electric current (generally an alternating current) flow in said transmission coil in sucha way that, by means of said transmission coil and upon a flowing of electric current ( for example alternating) therein by means of said power supply means, an electromagnetic field suitable for allowing an electric charge by electromagnetic induction of an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil is generated.

[0017] Advantageously, therefore, each transmission coil of said plurality must be sufficiently close to said rest surface so that an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil can be rested on said rest surface, in order to be recharged once a connection has been established.

[0018] In this way, advantageously, it follows that upon a flowing of electric current ( for example alternating) in said transmission coil by means of said power supply means, said receiving coil of said electric device is coupled to said transmission coil so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of the electric device.

[0019] Advantageously, the transmission coils of said plurality can be placed side by side.

[0020] Advantageously, given a plurality of electrical devices, one has that:

[0021] each of said electrical devices includes a receiving coil couplable to at least one transmission coil of said plurality;

[0022] said electrical devices may be in number equal to or less than the number of transmission coils of said plurality of transmission coils;

[0023] all the receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of said plurality are therefore couplable simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils of said plurality;

[0024] the electrical devices of said plurality can berested simultaneously on said rest surface;

[0025] It is therefore obtained that, upon a flowing of electric current in the transmission coils of said plurality by means of said power supply means, all said receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of said plurality are coupled simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils of said plurality.

[0026] It therefore follows that it is possible to recharge multiple devices simultaneously, all resting on said rest surface.

[0027] Advantageously, therefore, this solution allows to have a simultaneous electric charge by electromagnetic induction of all the electrical devices of said plurality, thus solving the problems of the mentioned prior art.

[0028] Advantageously, in light of the characteristics listed above, the piece of furniture subject-matter of the present invention allows a simultaneous charging by electromagnetic induction of a plurality of battery electric devices, without having to have an electromagnetic induction charger to be connected to the mains for each device to be charged.

[0029] This allows a fast recharging, with a device that is apparently also very tidy and therefore without multiple electric wires in sight.

[0030] For example, advantageously, the piece of furniture can be provided with a single power supply cable to be connected to the mains and with such a cable which, through branches, is previously already connected to the plurality of transmission coils present in the piece of furniture below the rest surface.

[0031] In this way, advantageously, the wires are not visible and are already connected, such that it is sufficient to connect the single electrical socket to power all the coils of the plurality simultaneously.

[0032] At this point, it is sufficient to place one or more obj ects to be recharged on the surface which, by coupling to the coils, are recharged simultaneously with an extremely simple, clean and tidy solution.

[0033] The electromagnetic induction charging mode of the piece of furniture subject-matter of the invention advantageously allows to reduce the risks of fire and overheating associated with the electrical cables. Thanks to the piece of furniture subj ect-matter of the invention, the production of electrical cables, electrical plugs and electrical sockets also decreases, contributing to environmental sustainability.

[0034] Other innovative features are illustrated in the following description.

[0035] Advantageously, according to one aspect of the invention, one or more transmission coils of said plurality are made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite, with high relative permeability (μr > 1000) and low hysteresis losses.

[0036] According to another aspect of the invention, said transmission coil of said plurality can be made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite.

[0037] Advantageously, at least one of said transmission coils of said plurality made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite, can advantageously be wound, at least partially, on a core at least partially made of a ferromagnetic material coated with a layer of electrically insulating material.

[0038] In this way, advantageously, it is possible to prevent short circuits and improve the efficiency of the magnetic field.

[0039] According to another aspect of the invention, said core or each of said cores may for example be substantially toroidal in shape in order to minimise magnetic fieldlosses.

[0040] According to another aspect of the invention, one or more transmission coils of said plurality may for example be made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper.

[0041] According to another aspect of the invention, said transmission coil of said plurality can be made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper or at least one of said transmission coils of said plurality can be made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper.

[0042] Such a coil may be coated with a silver layer in order to reduce resistive losses at high frequencies.

[0043] According to another aspect of the invention, said piece of furniture, for each transmission coil of said plurality, may comprise:

[0044] f irst detection means suitable for detecting the temperature of said transmission coil;

[0045] cooling means suitable for subtracting heat from said transmission coil and for dispersing in an environment outside said piece of furniture the heat subtracted from said transmission coil, said piece of furniture further comprising a processing unit connected to said first detection means and to said cooling means of each transmission coil of said plurality.

[0046] In this way, advantageously, said processing unit, whenever the temperature of a transmission coil of said plurality detected by said first detection means (associated with said coil) is equal to or higher than a predetermined limit value, being suitable for:

[0047] Operating said cooling means of said transmission coil, so as to subtract heat from the latter, and to keep said cooling means of said transmission coil operating as long as the temperature of said transmission coil detectedby said first detection means (associated with said coil) falls below said predetermined limit value.

[0048] The aforesaid first detection means preferably comprise thermistor or infrared temperature sensors.

[0049] The aforesaid cooling means may preferably comprise heat sinks connected to the transmission coils and / or to the power circuits thereof, and fans for cooling the heat sinks by convection.

[0050] The heat sinks are preferably made of aluminium or a thermal paste based on aluminium oxide or graphene.

[0051] According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, said rest surface can be at least partially made of one or more thermally conductive materials in order to improve the dissipation of the heat generated by the transmission coils.

[0052] According to another aspect of the invention, in order to communicate to a person where he / she can rest his / her own electrical device to be charged on the rest surface of the piece of furniture, said piece of furniture may advantageously comprise signalling means suitable for emitting light signals at portions of said rest surface where the electrical devices of said plurality can be rested so that the receiving coils respectively of said electrical devices can be coupled respectively to transmission coils of said plurality to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of the electrical devices of said plurality.

[0053] According to another aspect of the invention, said piece of furniture may comprise second detection means suitable for detecting the presence of a person near said piece of furniture whenever said person approaches said piece of furniture moving to a distance from the latter that is lower than a predetermined limit value.

[0054] Advantageously, said second detection means, whenevera person approaches said piece of furniture moving to a distance from the latter that is lower than said predetermined limit value, being also suitable to operate said signalling means.

[0055] In this way, advantageously, the latter emit light signals at said portions of said rest surface where the electrical devices of said plurality can be rested so that the receiving coils respectively of said electrical devices can be coupled respectively to transmission coils of said plurality to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction.

[0056] According to another aspect of the invention, said piece of furniture, for each transmission coil of said plurality, may comprise third detection means suitable for detecting the presence of a device near said rest surface whenever said device is approached to said rest surface.

[0057] In this way, advantageously, when a distance is reached from said transmission coil suitable for recharging, said receiving coil of said electrical device is coupled to said transmission coil so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said electrical device.

[0058] Advantageously, therefore, for each transmission coil of said plurality, said third detection means, whenever a device is approached to said rest surface until reaching said distance from said transmission coil are suitable to operate said power supply means so as to make alternating electric current flow in said transmission coil so that, through said transmission coil, an electromagnetic field suitable to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said device is generated if the latter is an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil.

[0059] According to another aspect of the invention, said piece of furniture may comprise an electric chargeaccumulator (i. e. a "battery" ) to which the power supply means, the first detection means and the cooling means, if present, the signalling means, if present, the second detection means, if present, and the third detection means, if present, are connected.

[0060] According to another aspect of the invention, the transmission coils of said plurality are present in such a number that they are distributed.

[0061] In this way, given an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to each transmission coil of said plurality, to a rest of said device on said rest surface in any zone of said rest surface and upon a flowing of alternating electric current in the transmission coils of said plurality by means of said power supply means, said receiving coil of said electrical device is coupled to at least one transmission coil of said plurality so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said electrical device.

[0062] According to this aspect, advantageously, the entire rest surface can be with electromagnetic induction, thus allowing an electrically chargeable electrical device to be rested in any zone of the rest surface of the piece of furniture.

[0063] According to another aspect said piece of furniture, for each transmission coil of said plurality, it may comprise said third detection means, the latter, whenever a device is rested on said rest surface and is moved while remaining rested on said rest surface, are suitable for monitoring the movement of said device on said rest surface.Brief description of the drawings

[0064] Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following detaileddescription of an embodiment thereof and from the attached drawing (figure 1), given purely by way of non-limiting explanation, and in which:

[0065] Figure 1 shows, in schematic perspective view, a piece of furniture in accordance with the invention.Description of some preferred embodiments

[0066] The object of the invention is a piece of furniture ( 1 ) comprising:

[0067] rest surface (2 ),

[0068] said piece of furniture ( 1 ) being characterised by the fact of further comprising:

[0069] a plurality of transmission coils (3) each of which made, at least partially, of one or more electrically conductive materials;

[0070] power supply means connected to each transmission coil (3) of said plurality,

[0071] for each transmission coil (3) of said plurality, said power supply means being suitable for making alternating electric current flow in said transmission coil (3) in such a way that, by means of said transmission coil (3) and upon a flowing of alternating electric current therein by means of said power supply means, an electromagnetic field suitable for allowing an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil (3) is generated,

[0072] each transmission coil (3) of said plurality being sufficiently close to said rest surface (2 ) so that an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil (3) can be rested on said rest surface (2 ) in such a way that, upon a flowing of alternating electric current in said transmission coil (3) by means of said power supply means, said receiving coil ofsaid electrical device is coupled to said transmission coil (3) so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said electrical device,

[0073] the transmission coils (3) of said plurality being placed side by side so that, given a plurality of electrical devices:

[0074] each of which including a receiving coil couplable to at least one transmission coil (3) of said plurality,

[0075] in number equal to or less than the number of transmission coils (3) of said plurality

[0076] and

[0077] such that all the receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of said plurality are couplable simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils (3) of said plurality,

[0078] the electrical devices of said plurality can be rested simultaneously on said rest surface (2) in such a way that, upon a flowing of alternating electrical current in the transmission coils (3) of said plurality by means of said power supply means, all said receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of said plurality are coupled simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils (3) of said plurality so as to allow a simultaneous electrical charging by electromagnetic induction of all the electrical devices of said plurality.

[0079] In short, the obj ect of the invention is said piece of furniture ( 1) comprising a rest surface (2 ) and a plurality of transmission coils (3) each of which is made, at least partially, of one or more electrically conductive materials in such a way that upon the passage of current an electromagnetic field is generated which allows that a plurality of electrical devices can be inductively recharged, each comprising a receiving coil adapted to couple with one of said transmission coils.

[0080] Bel ow the rest surface, these transmission coils are arranged and the rest surface then forms a surface on which several electrical devices (e. g. mobile phones, telephones, etc. ) can be arranged simultaneously, each arranged in a portion of the surface, for example at or near a coil, in order to be able to generate a field connection between said transmission coil and the receiving coil, which then causes wireless recharging.

[0081] All said transmission coils can be connected to a single cable that connects to the home network.

[0082] In this way, simply by connecting a cable to the network, an inductive surface is obtained in which multiple compatible electronic / electrical products can be recharged simultaneously.

[0083] Going into more detail of the present invention, in the present description, for convenience of exposure, reference is made only to a preferred example of implementation in which the piece of furniture is an "island" that can be placed in a kitchen. However, the piece of furniture subj ect-matter of the present invention is not limited to the aforesaid example. In fact, it can be placed in any environment generally frequented by people who, in that environment, use, or may need to use, battery electric devices that can be charged by electromagnetic induction.

[0084] Figure 1 shows a piece of furniture 1 comprising a rest surface 2 preferably at least partially made of one or more thermally conductive materials. The piece of furniture 1 further comprises a plurality of transmission coils 3 each of which is made, at least partially, of one or more electrically conductive materials.

[0085] More precisely, one or more transmission coils 3 are preferably made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite and are preferably wound, at least partially, on respective cores (i. e. components, elements)preferably substantially toroidal in shape and at least partially made of a ferromagnetic material coated with a layer of electrically insulating material.

[0086] As an alternative to the above, one or more transmission coils 3 are preferably made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper and are coated with a silver layer.

[0087] The transmission coils 3 are shown by way of example in number equal to nine and are preferably housed in the piece of furniture 1 below the rest surface 2.

[0088] Obviously any number of transmission coils 3 can be made and arranged below the surface. It follows that the number of where is just by way of example.

[0089] The transmission coils 3 are preferably coplanar, are preferably parallel to the rest surface 2 and are arranged side by side preferably as the nine elements of a square matrix of order three.

[0090] The piece of furniture 1 comprises the electronics necessary to make electric current (generally alternating) flow in each transmission coil 3 in such a way that, by means of said transmission coil 3, an electromagnetic field is generated suitable to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of an electric device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil 3.

[0091] Each transmission coil 3 is sufficiently close to the rest surface 2 so that an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil 3 can be rested on the surface 2 substantially above said transmission coil 3 in such a way that, upon a flowing of alternating electric current in said transmission coil 3, the receiving coil of the aforesaid electrical device is coupled to said transmission coil 3 so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of the electrical device.

[0092] Since, as mentioned above, the transmission coils 3 are placed side by side, given a plurality of electrical devices:

[0093] each of which including a receiving coil couplable to at least one transmission coil 3,

[0094] in number equal to or less than the number of transmission coils 3 and such that all the receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of the aforesaid plurality are couplable simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils 3;

[0095] the electrical devices of the aforesaid plurality can be rested simultaneously on the surface 2 in such a way that, upon a flowing of electrical current in the transmission coils 3, all the receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of the aforesaid plurality are coupled simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils 3 so as to allow a simultaneous electrical charging by electromagnetic induction of all the electrical devices of the aforesaid plurality.

[0096] The transmission coils 3 are preferably arranged so as to ensure a substantially uniform coverage of the surface of the rest surface 2, with an area dedicated to each electrical device to be charged (e. g. a compatible kitchen appliance). The piece of furniture 1, for each transmission coil 3, preferably comprises at least one sensor, falling within the aforesaid "third detection means" and preferably capacitive or infrared ray one, suitable for detecting the presence of a device whenever the latter is placed sufficiently close to said transmission coil 3 (and therefore sufficiently close to the surface 2 ) ( for example when it is resting on the surface 2 above said transmission coil 3 ).

[0097] In this way, an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said device by means of said transmission coil3 is possible if said device is an electric device that can be charged by electromagnetic induction, i. e. if it includes a receiving coil that is couplable to said transmission coil 3.

[0098] Preferably, only if the aforesaid sensor associated with one of the transmission coils 3 detects the presence of a device placed sufficiently close to said transmission coil 3 to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction thereof by means of said transmission coil 3 if said device is an electric device chargeable by electromagnetic induction, alternating electric current is made to flow in said transmission coil 3.

[0099] In the piece of furniture 1, preferably and unlike known electromagnetic induction chargers, the transmission frequency of the coils 3 is not fixed.

[0100] By means of frequency modulation circuits and microcontrollers for dynamic adaptation, the transmission frequency of each coil 3 is preferably adjusted as a function of the distance and orientation of an electrical device to be charged (i. e. the receiving coil included therein) detected (the aforesaid distance and the aforesaid orientation) by the aforesaid sensor, preferably capacitive or infrared ray one, combined with said transmission coil 3.

[0101] This allows an electrical device to be efficiently charged even in conditions of non-perfect alignment.

[0102] The piece of furniture 1 preferably has a power of 2.5 kW, sufficient to simultaneously charge multiple compatible kitchen appliances by electromagnetic induction.

[0103] The piece of furniture 1, for each transmission coil 3, preferably comprises a sensor ( falling within the aforesaid "first detection means" ) suitable for detecting the temperature of said transmission coil 3, and a cooling system suitable for subtracting heat from said transmission coil 3 and for dispersing the heat subtracted from saidtransmission coil 3 to an environment outside the piece of furniture 1.

[0104] The temperature sensors are preferably of the thermistor or infrared type.

[0105] The cooling systems preferably comprise heat sinks connected to the transmission coils 3 and / or the power circuits thereof, and fans for cooling the heat sinks by convection.

[0106] The heat sinks are preferably made of aluminium or a thermal paste based on aluminium oxide or graphene.

[0107] The piece of furniture 1 further comprises a processing unit connected to the temperature sensor and to the cooling system of each transmission coil 3, and suitable (said processing unit) to operate the cooling system of a transmission coil 3 whenever the temperature of said transmission coil 3 is equal to or higher than a predetermined limit value, and to keep the cooling system of said transmission coil 3 operating as long as the temperature of the latter falls below the aforesaid predetermined limit value.

[0108] In order to communicate to a person where he / she can rest his / her own electrical device to be charged on the surface 2 of the piece of furniture 1, the piece of furniture 1 comprises a signalling system suitable for emitting light signals at portions of the rest surface 2 where electrical devices to be charged can be rested so that the receiving coils thereof can be respectively coupled to the transmission coils 3 to allow an electrical charging by electromagnetic induction of said electrical devices.

[0109] The aforesaid signalling system may comprise arrays of LEDs emitting light signals visible at the rest surface 2.

[0110] The piece of furniture 1 could also comprise a sensor ( falling within the aforesaid "second detectionmeans" ) suitable for detecting the presence of a person near the piece of furniture 1 whenever a person approaches it, moving to a distance from the latter that is lower than a predetermined limit value. Whenever a person approaches the piece of furniture 1 by moving to a distance from the latter that is lower than said predetermined limit value, the presence sensor activates the aforesaid signalling system so that light signals are emitted at the aforesaid portions of the rest surface 2 where electrical devices can be rested for an electromagnetic charging thereof (that is, so that the receiving coils of said electrical devices can be respectively coupled to transmission coils 3).

[0111] According to a variant of the piece of furniture 1, the entire rest surface 2 is with electromagnetic induction; therefore, by resting an electrically chargeable electrical device in any zone of the rest surface 2, and not only at the aforesaid portions thereof, the device is electrically chargeable.

[0112] To this end, the transmission coils 3 are present in such a number that and are distributed in such a way that, given an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to each transmission coil 3, to a rest of said device on the surface 2 in any zone of the latter and upon a flowing of alternating electric current in the transmission coils 3, said receiving coil of said electrical device is coupled to at least one transmission coil 3, so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said electrical device.

[0113] According to this variant of the piece of furniture 1, the aforesaid sensors associated with the transmission coils 3 and suitable for detecting the presence of a device in the vicinity thereof, whenever a device is rested on the surface 2 and is moved remaining rested on the surface 2,are preferably suitable for monitoring the movement of said device on the rest surface 2.

[0114] The piece of furniture 1, in addition to being connectable to the mains for the power supply of the components mentioned above, could include an electrical charge accumulator that can be charged when the piece of furniture 1 is connected to the mains and sufficiently "large" to allow operation of the piece of furniture 1 (i. e. a charge by electromagnetic induction of electrical devices through the transmission coils 3) even when the piece of furniture 1 is not connected to the mains.

[0115] In any case, a single electrical cable that can be connected to the network branches therein to connect to the coils and possibly also to the battery to recharge it.

[0116] In this way, the connection of a single socket activates the entire piece of furniture.

[0117] Finally, the piece of furniture 1 could be provided with the necessary components to connect to a Wi-Fi network in order to allow monitoring, for example through an App. installed on a smartphone, of an electrical charging process by electromagnetic induction while the latter is implemented through one of the transmission coils 3.

[0118] According to a further form of invention, applicable to all the configurations described herein, the inductive coupling, with the consequent transmission of power, occurs only if a specific sequence of variations in the inductive absorption is recognized. In short, the recognition of the device takes place through this "energy code" and not through radio protocols, NFC, RFID or other standards implemented in KI Cordless, Qi or similar systems.

[0119] More specifically, the way the device absorbs energy is exploited as a recognition language. In practice, the device intentionally varies its inductive absorption according to a precise time sequence (a series of variationssimilar to an energy Morse code). The recharging station detects these variations and, only if the sequence corresponds to the preset one, authorizes the transmission of power.

[0120] In this way, authentication takes place without using radio, NFC or standard protocols, but simply "listening” to how the power consumption of the device changes.

[0121] This structurally simplifies the solution.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) comprising:rest surface (2 ),said piece of furniture ( 1 ) being characterised by the fact of further comprising:a plurality of transmission coils (3) each of which made, at least partially, of one or more electrically conductive materials;power supply means connected to each transmission coil (3) of said plurality,for each transmission coil (3) of said plurality, said power supply means being suitable for making alternating electric current flow in said transmission coil (3) in such a way that, by means of said transmission coil (3) and upon a flowing of alternating electric current therein by means of said power supply means, an electromagnetic field suitable for allowing an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil (3) is generated,each transmission coil (3) of said plurality being sufficiently close to said rest surface (2 ) so that an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil (3) can be rested on said rest surface (2 ) in such a way that, upon a flowing of alternating electrical current in said transmission coil (3) by means of said power supply means, said receiving coil of said electrical device is coupled to said transmission coil (3) so as to allow an electrical charge by electromagnetic induction of said electricaldevice, the transmission coils (3) of said plurality being placed side by side in such a way as to create on said rest surface (2 ) a plurality of portions of recharging area so as to be able to simultaneously recharge a plurality of electrical devices in use resting on said rest surface (2 ) at, each one, of one said portion.

2. Piece of furniture ( 1 ), according to claim 1, wherein, given a plurality of electrical devices in which each electrical device includes a receiving coil couplable to at least one transmission coil (3) of said plurality of transmission coils (3), in the event that said electrical devices are in number equal to or less than the number of transmission coils (3) of said plurality and such that all the receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of said plurality are couplable simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils (3) of said plurality, the electrical devices of said plurality can be rested simultaneously on said rest surface (2 ) in such a way that, upon a flowing of alternating electrical current in the transmission coils (3) of said plurality by means of said power supply means, all said receiving coils respectively of all the electrical devices of said plurality are coupled simultaneously and respectively to an equal number of transmission coils (3) of said plurality so as to allow a simultaneous electric charge by electromagnetic induction of all the electrical devices of said plurality.

3. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one or more transmission coils (3)of said plurality are made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite.

4. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to claim 3, characterized in that said transmission coil (3) of said plurality made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite or at least one of said transmission coils (3) of said plurality made, at least partially, of an iron-silicon alloy and / or zinc ferrite, if more than one, is wound, at least partially, on a core at least partially made of a ferromagnetic material coated with a layer of electrically insulating material.

5. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to claim 4, characterized in that said core or each of said cores, if more than one, is substantially toroidal in shape.

6. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one or more transmission coils (3) of said plurality are made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper.

7. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to claim 6, characterized in that said transmission coil (3) of said plurality made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper or at least one of said transmission coils (3) of said plurality made, at least partially, of copper and / or an alloy including copper, if more than one, is coated with a silver layer.

8. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, for each transmission coil (3) of said plurality:first detection means suitable for detecting the temperature of said transmission coil (3);cooling means suitable for subtracting heat from said transmission coil (3) and for dispersing the heat subtracted from said transmission coil (3) to an environment outside said piece of furniture ( 1 ),said piece of furniture ( 1 ) further comprising a processing unit connected to said first detection means and to said cooling means of each transmission coil (3) of said plurality,said processing unit, whenever the temperature of a transmission coil (3) of said plurality detected by said first detection means is equal to or higher than a predetermined limit value, being suitable for:operating said cooling means of said transmission coil (3), so as to subtract heat from the latter, and to keep said cooling means of said transmission coil (3) operating as long as the temperature of said transmission coil (3) detected by said first detection means falls below said predetermined limit value.

9. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said rest surface (2) is at least partially made of one or more thermally conductive materials.

10. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises signallingmeans suitable for emitting light signals at portions of said rest surface (2) where the electrical devices of said plurality can be rested so that the receiving coils respectively of said electrical devices can be coupled respectively to transmission coils (3) of said plurality to allow an electrical charge by electromagnetic induction of the electrical devices of said plurality.

11. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises second detection means suitable for detecting the presence of a person near said piece of furniture ( 1 ) whenever said person approaches said piece of furniture ( 1 ) moving to a distance from the latter that is lower than a predetermined limit value.

12. Piece of furniture according to claim 11, wherein said second detection means, whenever a person approaches said piece of furniture ( 1 ) moving to a distance from the latter that is lower than said predetermined limit value, being also suitable to operate said signalling means so that the latter emit light signals at said portions of said rest surface (2) where the electrical devices of said plurality can be rested so that the receiving coils respectively of said electrical devices can be coupled respectively to transmission coils (3) of said plurality to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of the electrical devices of said plurality.

13. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmissioncoils (3) of said plurality are present in such number and are distributed in such a way that, given an electrical device including a receiving coil couplable to each transmission coil (3) of said plurality, to a rest of said device on said rest surface (2 ) at any zone of said rest surface (2 ) and upon a flowing of alternating electric current in the transmission coils (3) of said plurality by means of said power supply means, said receiving coil of said electrical device is coupled to at least one transmission coil (3) of said plurality so as to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said electrical device.

14. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, for each transmission coil (3) of said plurality, third detection means suitable for detecting the presence of a device near said rest surface (2 ) whenever said device is approached to said rest surface until reaching a certain distance from said transmission coil (3).

15. Piece of furniture according to claim 14, wherein, for each transmission coil (3) of said plurality, said third detection means, whenever a device is approached to said rest surface (2 ) until reaching said distance from said transmission coil (3), being also suitable to operate said power supply means so as to make alternating electric current flow in said transmission coil (3) so that, through said transmission coil (3), an electromagnetic field suitable to allow an electric charging by electromagnetic induction of said device is generated if the latter is an electric device includinga receiving coil couplable to said transmission coil (3).

16. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one or more of the preceding claims 14 or 15, characterized in that said third detection means, whenever a device is rested on said rest surface (2 ) and is moved while remaining rested on said rest surface (2 ), are suitable for monitoring the movement of said device on said rest surface ( 2 ).

17. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an electric charge accumulator to which said power supply means, said first detection means and said cooling means, if present, said signalling means, if present, said second detection means, if present, and said third detection means, if present, are connected.

18. Piece of furniture ( 1 ) according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein inductive recognition means suitable for detecting a specific time sequence of inductive power absorption variations generated by a compatible device resting on said rest surface (2 ) are included, said sequence constituting a coupling code.

19. The piece of furniture according to claim 18, wherein said recognition means are programmed to enable power transmission only when the aforesaid sequence corresponds to at least one stored sequence associated with authorized devices, in such a way that the electric charge by electromagnetic induction is enabled only inthe presence of compatible devices.

20. An assembly comprising a plurality of rechargeable devices by electromagnetic induction and a piece of furniture according to one or more of the preceding claims configured to recharge said devices.

21. A method for inductively recharging a plurality of electrical devices simultaneously and comprising the step of preparing said piece of furniture according to one or more of the preceding claims from 1 to 19 and the preparation of said devices on the support surface (2 ).

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