Wireless power supply system and wireless power supply method

Abstract

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a wireless power supply system which comprises a power transmitter and a plurality of power receivers, and in which one or more electronic devices are connected to each of the plurality of power receivers. The power transmitter sequentially transmits power to each of the plurality of power receivers on the basis of schedule information including information indicating the power transmission order of the plurality of power receivers and the power transmission period for each of the power receivers, and each of the plurality of power receivers actuates the electronic devices connected thereto in a period in which power is transmitted by the power transmitter.

Description

Wireless power feeding system and wireless power feeding method

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless power feeding system and a wireless power feeding method. The present application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-028738 filed with Japan on February 26, 2025, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Conventionally, a technology for supplying power from a wireless power transmitter to a power receiver via wireless power feeding is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a wireless rechargeable battery, and discloses a configuration in which an antenna is provided on a housing of the wireless rechargeable battery. This enables the power receiver to be charged wirelessly. When a device to be charged is connected to a charging unit, the charging device described in Patent Document 2 acquires charging target information including at least identification information of the device to be charged, and generates charging information including a charging priority for charging the device to be charged based on information of a remaining power value of a battery provided in the electronic device, electronic device information, and the identification information included in the charging target information.

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 7516443 International Publication No. 2024 / 171853

[0004] When power is supplied to a plurality of electronic devices whose installation positions are dispersed, it is necessary for one power transmitter to supply power to a plurality of power receivers. For example, when a large amount of processing is performed by each UHF reader / writer, such as when reading information from a plurality of UHF tags with a plurality of UHF readers / writers, the load for supplying power to operate the plurality of UHF readers / writers with a single power transmitter increases. Note that although the reader / writer is a UHF reader / writer for example, it may be another reader / writer such as an RFID reader / writer. For example, if the technology for continuously transmitting beacon signals as in Patent Document 1 is applied and a power transmitter continuously transmits power to a plurality of receivers, the load on the power transmitter increases.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wireless power feeding system and a wireless power feeding method capable of suppressing the load on a power transmitter when operating a plurality of electronic devices.

[0006] Herein, the general features of this disclosure will be described, for example, by reference to possible embodiments of this disclosure.

[0007] A wireless power supply system includes, for example, one power transmitter. The power transmitter may be, for example, a stationary device.

[0008] A wireless power supply system includes, for example, an access point.

[0009] The wireless power supply system further comprises multiple power receivers. One or more electronic devices are connected to each of the multiple power receivers. One or more electronic devices may be, for example, items stored in a stock shelf. The multiple power receivers may be, for example, stationary devices. The power transmitter and power receivers are installed within the power transmission range of the power transmitter. Each of the multiple power receivers is associated one-to-one with each of the multiple stock shelves. Each of the multiple power receivers is positioned at a distance from each stock shelf that allows it to transmit radio waves to and receive radio waves from the stock shelves. However, this is not limited to this, and one power receiver may be capable of transmitting radio waves to multiple stock shelves. In the wireless power supply system, one power transmitter supplies power to the multiple power receivers, each of the multiple power receivers supplies power to a reader / writer as an electronic device to operate each of the electronic devices, and each of the multiple reader / writers reads the tag information of the stock items stored in the stock shelf corresponding to each of the multiple power receivers.

[0010] A wireless power supply system, for example, includes multiple storage shelves.

[0011] The power receiver may, for example, comprise a power receiving unit and a reader / writer wired to the power receiving unit. An antenna unit is connected to the reader / writer.

[0012] The wireless power supply system may further include, for example, an edge processing unit.

[0013] The wireless power supply system may further include, for example, a power transmission control system.

[0014] The wireless power supply system may, for example, further include an inventory management system.

[0015] The power transmission unit sequentially transmits power to each of the multiple power receivers based on schedule information that includes information indicating the power transmission order and the power transmission period for each of the multiple power receivers. The power transmission unit sequentially transmits power to each of the multiple power receivers based on schedule information. The schedule information includes information indicating the power transmission order and the power transmission period for each of the multiple power receivers.

[0016] The power transmission period for each power receiver may include the period required for the operation of multiple electronic devices corresponding to the power receiver to be completed, and the period required to transmit the operation information of the multiple electronic devices to the power transmission management device. The power transmission control system includes, for example, a server device for controlling the operation of access points and power transmitters, and functions as a power transmission management device that manages power transmission from power transmitters. The power transmission period with power receivers may include the period required for the operation of multiple reader / writers and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) tags corresponding to the power receiver to be completed, and the period required to transmit the operation information of the multiple reader / writers and UHF tags to the power transmission control system.

[0017] Schedule information may be transmitted, for example, from a power transmission control system or a power transmission control system. Schedule information may also be created by a terminal of a user managing a wireless power supply system.

[0018] Furthermore, the schedule information may be set automatically by the power transmission control system or by the power transmission control system. For example, the schedule information may be created for each power transmission unit so that the power transmission unit sequentially supplies power to the power receivers based on the correspondence between the power transmission unit, multiple power receivers, and inventory shelves.

[0019] The receiver receives power via radio waves transmitted from the transmitter and supplies the received power to electronic devices. The transmitter and receiver transmit power using existing wireless communication methods, such as microwaves. The receiver and electronic devices may exchange information with each other using existing wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi®, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), and LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), and the transmitter and receiver may exchange information with each other using existing wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi®.

[0020] Each of the multiple power receivers operates the electronic devices connected to it during the period when power is being transmitted by the power transmitter.

[0021] According to the wireless power supply system described above, the transmitter sequentially supplies power to multiple receivers based on schedule information that includes information indicating the power supply order and the power supply period for each receiver. Each of the multiple receivers can then operate the electronic devices connected to it during the period in which power is being supplied by the transmitter. This wireless power supply system can reduce the load on the transmitter when operating multiple electronic devices. In other words, by using schedule information, the transmitter and receivers can automatically and unattended read the tag information, thereby reducing the processing load compared to supplying power to multiple receivers simultaneously.

[0022] According to the wireless power supply system, the power transmission period for each power receiver may include the time required for the operation of multiple electronic devices connected to the power receiver to be completed, and the time required to transmit the operation information of the multiple electronic devices to the power transmission management device. This allows the wireless power supply system to allocate the necessary power transmission time to each power receiver, even if the number of electronic devices connected to the power receivers differs.

[0023] The power receiving unit receives radio waves from the power transmitter and supplies power to the reader / writer. The reader / writer performs processing for wireless communication, for example, in the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band. The reader / writer transmits UHF band radio waves from the antenna unit and receives UHF band radio waves returned from the UHF tag via the antenna unit.

[0024] The edge processing unit is, for example, a communication device that is wired to multiple receivers and also communicates with an access point. The edge processing unit transmits information acquired from the reader / writer to the access point via wireless communication.

[0025] A storage shelf is a shelf that stores items whose inventory is managed by an inventory management system. Each item is fitted with a UHF tag. When a UHF tag receives radio waves from its antenna, it returns radio waves containing tag information, including the tag ID and information about the storage shelf or the item in question. Although this explanation uses an example of a UHF tag being attached to an item, it is not limited to this; any RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag will suffice, such as an NFC tag or an LF band tag.

[0026] An access point is a communication device that is wirelessly connected to the power transmitter and edge processing unit, and communicates with the power transmission control system and inventory management system via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0027] The power transmission control system includes, for example, a server device for controlling the operation of access points and power transmitters, and functions as a power transmission management device that manages power transmission by power transmitters. The power transmission control system communicates with the power transmitters and the server device via access points and controls power transmission by power transmitters. In this embodiment, the access points and the power transmission control system function as a power transmission system that controls power transmission by power transmitters.

[0028] The inventory management system is a server device that manages the inventory of target items on the inventory shelves. The inventory management system acquires tag information returned via UHF tags through the power transmission control system and performs management processing such as registering, updating, or deleting the tag information. In addition, the inventory management system, upon acquiring tag information for target items based on schedule information, compares the registered tag information with the acquired tag information and performs a reconciliation process for the registered tag information. The inventory management system transmits inventory information based on the tag information to, for example, the terminal device of a user who manages the inventory shelves.

[0029] According to the wireless power supply system, the power transmission control system and inventory management system can acquire operational information based on the operation of electronic devices, perform a clearing process for the electronic device information included in the list information based on the acquisition of operational information, and store the processing results of the clearing process. As a result, the power transmission control system and inventory management system can manage electronic devices by sequentially acquiring and clearing electronic device information as power is transmitted sequentially from the transmitter to the receiver.

[0030] A power transmitter includes, for example, a power transmission unit. The power transmission unit is, for example, a communication circuit that includes a power transmission antenna and an analog circuit that supplies power to the power transmission antenna. The power transmission unit uses power from the commercial power source to transmit radio waves for power supply.

[0031] The power transmission unit 100 includes, for example, an acquisition unit. The acquisition unit acquires schedule information from the access point. The acquired schedule information is stored in a storage unit.

[0032] A power transmitter includes, for example, a control unit. The control unit is an integrated circuit that operates according to a pre-set program or the like. The control unit transmits power from the power transmitter to the power receiver based on schedule information stored in the memory unit.

[0033] The control unit may control at least one of the following: the transmission direction θ, transmission distance D, transmission power, and transmission frequency of the transmission radio waves to be sent to the power receiver. For example, the control unit may select the frequency bands that the power receiver can handle and have the power transmission unit transmit radio waves in the selected frequency bands.

[0034] Furthermore, the control unit may transmit radio waves in the transmission direction θ relative to the receiver by performing beamforming processing.

[0035] Schedule information may include list information. List information is information that associates transmitter information, which indicates one or more transmitters, receiver information, which indicates each of multiple receivers, electronic device information, which indicates the UHF tags (electronic devices) connected to each of the multiple receivers, and information indicating the power transmission order of the multiple receivers and the power transmission period for each receiver. Transmitter information may be an equipment ID that uniquely identifies the transmitter. Receiver information may be an equipment ID that uniquely identifies the receiver. Electronic device information may be a tag ID that uniquely identifies the UHF tag.

[0036] The wireless power supply system includes a power transmission control system and an inventory management system connected to one or more power transmitters, and transmits schedule information to one or more power transmitters. The schedule information is a list information that associates power transmitter information, which represents each of the one or more power transmitters; receiver information, which represents each of the multiple power receivers; electronic equipment information, which represents the electronic equipment connected to each of the multiple power receivers; and information indicating the power transmission order of the multiple power receivers and the power transmission period for each power receiver. With this, the wireless power supply system allows the power transmitters to sequentially supply power to the power receivers according to the list information.

[0037] The power transmitter 100 supplies power to the power receiver during the power transmission period. The power transmission period includes the reader / writer startup period, the tag reading period, the tag information transmission period, and the reader / writer shutdown period. The reader / writer startup period is the period from when the power transmitter starts transmitting power until the power receiver supplies the power received to the reader / writer and the reader / writer transmits UHF band radio waves. The tag reading period is the period from when the reader / writer and antenna transmit UHF band radio waves to the UHF tag and when the radio waves from the UHF tag are received to obtain tag information. The tag information transmission period is the period required to transmit tag information from the reader / writer. The reader / writer shutdown period is the period from when the reader / writer has finished transmitting tag information until the reader / writer stops operating.

[0038] When the power transmission time to the first power receiver expires, the power transmitter transmits power to the second power receiver during the power transmission time allocated to the second power receiver. When the power transmission time to the second power receiver expires, the power transmitter transmits power to the third power receiver during the power transmission time allocated to the third power receiver. Accordingly, the power transmitter sequentially transmits power to each of the plurality of power receivers based on the schedule information.

[0039] An example of the operation of a wireless power feeding system will be described. First, the power transmission control system and the inventory management system transmit schedule information to an access point, and the access point transmits the schedule information to the power transmitter. Upon receiving the schedule information, the power transmitter stores the schedule information in a storage unit.

[0040] When the power transmitter 100 determines that the power transmission timing to a power receiver has arrived based on the schedule information, it starts transmitting power transmission radio waves to the power receiver.

[0041] The power receiver receives the power transmission radio waves and supplies transmission power to the reader / writer.

[0042] The reader / writer is activated using the transmission power, reads tag information from a UHF tag, and transmits the read tag information to the access point via an edge processing unit.

[0043] After transmitting the tag information, the reader / writer stops operating. The power transmitter stops transmitting the power transmission radio waves after the power transmission period set by the schedule information elapses.

[0044] The access point receives the tag information and relays it to the power transmission control system and the inventory management system. The inventory management system acquires the tag information as operation information based on the operation of the reader / writer, performs a matching-off processing that deletes the tag information (electronic device information) included in list information from the list information based on the acquisition of the tag information, and stores the processing result of the matching-off processing.

[0045] Thereafter, when the power transmitter determines that the power transmission timing to another power receiver has come based on the schedule information, it starts transmitting power transmission radio waves to this power receiver. This power receiver receives the power transmission radio waves and supplies power to the reader / writer. In this way, the power transmitter, the power receiver, the reader / writer, the access point, the power transmission control system, and the inventory management system sequentially perform processing for each power receiver.

[0046] The inventory management system transmits a completion notification in response to receiving all tag information included in the schedule information by operating all power transmitters and power receivers included in the schedule information, and the access point may transmit the completion notification to the power transmitter.

[0047] The inventory management system and the power transmission control system transmit a completion notification including a stop request to the power transmitter based on the processing result of the reconciliation processing, and the power transmitter may stop power transmission to the power receiver in response to the stop request included in the completion notification, and start power transmission to another power receiver based on the information indicating the power transmission order in the schedule information.

[0048] According to the wireless power feeding system, the power transmission control system and the inventory management system transmit a stop request to the power transmitter based on the processing result of the reconciliation processing, and the power transmitter can stop power transmission to the power receiver in response to the stop request, start power transmission to another power receiver based on the information indicating the power transmission order in the schedule information, and sequentially perform power transmission to the power receivers while confirming that the reconciliation processing is completed.

[0049] The power transmitter may include a beacon unit, and the power receiver may include a beacon unit. The beacon unit outputs a beacon signal, and the beacon unit returns a beacon signal in response to receiving the beacon signal. The control unit acquires position information of the power receiver based on the beacon signal received from the power receiver by the beacon unit. The power transmitter transmits power to each of the power receivers using the respective position information of the power receivers.

[0050] The transmitter transmits power to each receiver using the location information of each receiver. The schedule information may include the transmission order, which is to transmit power to the first receiver followed by the second receiver; the period for acquiring the location information of the first receiver before the start of the first receiver's transmission period; the transmission period for the first receiver and the transmission period for the second receiver; and the period for acquiring the location information of the second receiver during the first receiver's transmission period. The schedule information may also include list information containing this information. This allows the wireless power supply system to authenticate the location information of the receivers and transmit power to them.

[0051] Before transmitting power to the receiver during the power transmission period, the transmitter transmits a beacon signal from the beacon unit during the position acquisition period and acquires the receiver's position information based on the beacon signal returned from the receiver. The control unit compares the receiver's position information included in the schedule information with the position information acquired during the position acquisition period, and starts transmitting power to the receiver if both position information points within a matching range. Before the power transmission time to the first receiver expires, the transmitter transmits a beacon signal to the second receiver and acquires the second receiver's position information based on the beacon signal returned from the second receiver. The control unit compares the receiver's position information included in the schedule information with the position information acquired during the position acquisition period, and if both position information points within a matching range, starts transmitting power to the second receiver after the power transmission time to the first receiver expires. Similarly, the transmitter sends a beacon signal to the third receiver before the power transmission time to the second receiver expires, and obtains the location information of the third receiver based on the beacon signal returned from the third receiver. The control unit compares the location information of the third receiver included in the schedule information with the location information obtained during the location acquisition period, and if the two location information matches within a certain range, it starts transmitting power to the third receiver after the power transmission time of the second receiver has expired.

[0052] The functions of the power transmitter described above may be implemented using a computer. In that case, the program for implementing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as the OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. In addition, "computer-readable recording medium" may also include recording media that dynamically hold programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or communication lines such as telephone lines, and recording media that hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside a computer system that acts as a server or client in such a case. Furthermore, the above program may be a program for implementing a part of the functions described above, or it may be a program that can implement the above functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, and it may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0053] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a wireless power supply method for a wireless power supply system comprising a power transmitter and a plurality of power receivers, each of which has one or more electronic devices connected, the wireless power supply method comprising: the steps of: the power transmitter sequentially supplying power to each of the plurality of power receivers based on schedule information including information indicating the power supply order of the plurality of power receivers and the power supply period for each of the power receivers; and each of the plurality of power receivers operating the electronic devices connected to its device during the period in which power is being supplied by the power transmitter.

[0054] According to one aspect of the present invention, the load on the power transmitter can be suppressed when operating multiple electronic devices.

[0055] This is a top view showing an example of the arrangement of each part in the wireless power supply system in the embodiment. This is a top view showing an example of the arrangement of each part in the wireless power supply system in the embodiment. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing of the wireless power supply system in the embodiment. This is a diagram showing an example of list information in the embodiment. This is a diagram for explaining the power transmission operation by the power transmitter in the embodiment. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the wireless power supply system in the embodiment. This is a block diagram showing another example of the power transmitter in the embodiment. This is a diagram showing another example of list information in the embodiment. This is a diagram for explaining other power transmission operations by the power transmitter in the embodiment.

[0056] Hereinafter, a wireless power supply system and a wireless power supply method to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0057] Figure 1 is a top view showing an example of the arrangement of each part in a wireless power supply system 1 according to an embodiment. The wireless power supply system 1 comprises, for example, one transmitter 100, an access point 200, a plurality of receivers 300, and a plurality of storage shelves 500. The wireless power supply system 1 comprises a transmitter 100 and a plurality of receivers 300, and one or more electronic devices are connected to each of the plurality of receivers 300. One or more electronic devices are, for example, target items stored in the storage shelves 500. The transmitter 100 and the plurality of receivers 300 are, for example, stationary equipment. The transmitter 100 and the receivers 300 are installed within the power transmission range of the transmitter 100. Each of the plurality of receivers 300 is associated one-to-one with each of the plurality of storage shelves 500. Each of the plurality of receivers 300 is positioned at a distance from each of the storage shelves 500 that allows it to transmit radio waves and receive radio waves from the storage shelves 500. However, the system is not limited to this, and one power receiver 300 may transmit radio waves to multiple inventory shelves 500. In the wireless power supply system 1, one power transmitter 100 supplies power to multiple power receivers 300, each of the multiple power receivers 300 supplies power to a reader / writer (not shown in Figure 1) as an electronic device to operate each of the electronic devices, and each of the multiple reader / writers reads the tag information of the inventory items stored in the inventory shelves 500 corresponding to each of the multiple power receivers 300.

[0058] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless power supply system 1 in an embodiment. The wireless power supply system 1 includes, for example, a power transmitter 100, an access point 200, a plurality of power receivers 300A, 300B, an edge processing unit 310, a plurality of antenna units 420A, 420B, a plurality of inventory shelves 500A, 500B, a power transmission control system 600, and an inventory management system 700. Power receiver 300A includes, for example, a power receiving unit 302A and a reader / writer 410A wired to the power receiving unit 302A. The antenna unit 420A is connected to the reader / writer 410A. Power receiver 300B includes, for example, a power receiving unit 302B and a reader / writer 410B wired to the power receiving unit 302B. The antenna unit 420B is connected to the reader / writer 410B. In the following explanation, when referring to the power receiver 300A and power receiver 300B collectively, they will simply be referred to as "power receiver 300"; when referring to the antenna unit 420A and antenna unit 420B collectively, they will simply be referred to as "antenna unit 420"; when referring to the inventory shelf 500A and inventory shelf 500B collectively, they will simply be referred to as "inventory shelf 500"; when referring to the power receiver units 302A and 302B collectively, they will simply be referred to as "power receiver unit 302"; when referring to the reader / writer 410A and 410B collectively, they will simply be referred to as "reader / writer 410"; and when referring to the antenna unit 420A and 420B collectively, they will simply be referred to as "antenna unit 420".

[0059] The power transmitter 100 sequentially transmits power to each of the multiple power receivers based on schedule information. The schedule information includes information indicating the power transmission order of the multiple power receivers 300 and the power transmission period for each power receiver 300. The power transmission period with each power receiver 300 may include the period required for the operation of the multiple reader / writers 410 and UHF tags corresponding to the power receivers 300 to be completed, and the period required to transmit the operation information of the multiple reader / writers 410 and UHF tags to the power transmission control system 600. The schedule information is transmitted, for example, from the power transmission control system 600 or from the power transmission control system 600. The schedule information may be created by a terminal of a user managing the wireless power supply system 1. Alternatively, the schedule information may be set automatically by the power transmission control system 600 or from the power transmission control system 600. The schedule information should be created such that, for each power transmission unit 100, the power transmission unit 100 sequentially supplies power to the power receivers 300 based on the correspondence between the power transmission unit 100, multiple power receivers 300, and inventory shelves 500.

[0060] The power receiver 300 receives power via radio waves transmitted from the power transmitter 100 and supplies the received power to electronic devices. In this embodiment, the power transmitter 100 and the power receiver 300 transmit power using existing wireless communication methods, such as microwaves. The power receiver 300 and the electronic devices may exchange information with each other using existing wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi®, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), and LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), and the power transmitter 100 and the power receiver 300 may exchange information with each other using existing wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi®.

[0061] Each of the multiple power receivers 300 operates electronic devices connected to it during the period when power is being transmitted by the power transmitter 100. The electronic devices in this embodiment are, but are not limited to, a reader / writer 410 and an antenna unit 420. The power receiving unit 302 receives radio waves from the power transmitter 100 and supplies power to the reader / writer 410. The reader / writer 410 performs processing for wireless communication, for example, in the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band. The reader / writer 410 transmits radio waves in the UHF band from the antenna unit 420 and receives UHF band radio waves returned from the UHF tag 502 via the antenna unit 420.

[0062] The edge processing unit 310 is a communication device that is, for example, wired to multiple power receivers 300 and also communicates with the access point 200. The edge processing unit 310 transmits information acquired from the reader / writer 410 to the access point 200 via wireless communication.

[0063] The inventory shelf 500 is a shelf that stores items whose inventory is managed by the inventory management system 700. A UHF tag 502 is attached to each of the items. In response to receiving radio waves from the antenna unit 420, the UHF tag 502 returns radio waves containing tag information, including the tag ID and information about the inventory shelf 500 or the item in question.

[0064] The access point 200 is a communication device that is wirelessly connected to the power transmitter 100 and the edge processing unit 310, and communicates with the power transmission control system 600 and the inventory management system 700 via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0065] The power transmission period for each power receiver 300 may include the period necessary for the operation of multiple electronic devices corresponding to the power receiver 300 to be completed, and the period necessary to transmit the operation information of the multiple electronic devices to the power transmission management device. The power transmission control system 600 includes, for example, an access point 200 and a server device for controlling the operation of the power transmitter 100, and functions as a power transmission management device that manages the power transmission of the power transmitter 100. The power transmission control system 600 communicates with the power transmitter 100 and the server device via the access point 200 and controls the power transmission of the power transmitter 100. In this embodiment, the access point 200 and the power transmission control system 600 function as a power transmission system that controls the power transmission of the power transmitter 100.

[0066] The inventory management system 700 is a server device that manages the inventory of target items in the inventory shelves 500. The inventory management system 700 acquires tag information returned by the UHF tag 502 via the power transmission control system 600 and performs management processing such as registering, updating, or deleting the tag information. In addition, the inventory management system 700, upon acquiring tag information for target items based on schedule information, compares the registered tag information with the acquired tag information and performs a clearing process for the registered tag information. The inventory management system 700 transmits inventory information based on the tag information to, for example, a terminal device of a user who manages the inventory shelves 500.

[0067] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a power transmitter 100 in an embodiment. The power transmitter 100 includes, for example, a power transmission unit 102, an acquisition unit 104, a control unit 106, and a storage unit 108. The power transmission unit 102 is, for example, a communication circuit equipped with a power transmission antenna and an analog circuit that supplies power to the power transmission antenna. The power transmission unit 102 transmits radio waves for power supply using power from a commercial power source. The acquisition unit 104 acquires schedule information from the access point 200. The acquired schedule information is stored in the storage unit 108. The control unit 106 is an integrated circuit that operates according to a preset program or the like.

[0068] The control unit 106 transmits power from the power transmission unit 102 to the power receiver 300 based on the schedule information stored in the memory unit 120. The control unit 106 may control at least one of the following: the transmission direction θ, transmission distance D, transmission power, and transmission frequency of the transmission radio waves to be transmitted to the power receiver 300. For example, the control unit 106 may select the frequency bands that the power receivers 300A and 300B can handle, and transmit radio waves in the selected frequency bands from the power transmission unit 102, respectively. Alternatively, the control unit 106 may transmit radio waves in the transmission direction θ toward the power receivers 300A and 300B by performing beamforming processing.

[0069] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of list information in the embodiment, and Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining the power transmission operation by the power transmitter 100 in the embodiment. The schedule information may include the list information shown in Figure 4. The list information is information that associates power transmitter information indicating each of one or more power transmitters 100, power receiver information indicating each of the multiple power receivers 300, electronic equipment information indicating the UHF tags (electronic equipment) connected to each of the multiple power receivers 300, and information indicating the power transmission order of the multiple power receivers 300 and the power transmission period of each power receiver 300. The power transmitter information may be an equipment ID that uniquely identifies the power transmitter 100. The power receiver information may be an equipment ID that uniquely identifies the power receiver 300. The electronic equipment information may be a tag ID that uniquely identifies the UHF tag.

[0070] As shown in Figure 5(a), the power transmitter 100 supplies power to the power receiver 1 (300) during the power transmission period. The power transmission period includes the startup period of the reader / writer 410, the tag reading period, the tag information transmission period, and the shutdown period of the reader / writer 410. The startup period of the reader / writer 410 is the period from when the power transmitter 100 starts transmitting power until the power receiver 300 supplies the power it has received to the reader / writer 410 and the reader / writer 410 transmits UHF band radio waves. The tag reading period is the period from when the reader / writer 410 and antenna unit 420 transmit UHF band radio waves to the UHF tag, and when radio waves from the UHF tag are received to obtain tag information. The tag information transmission period is the period required for the reader / writer 410 to transmit tag information. The stop period for the reader / writer 410 is the period from when the reader / writer 410 has finished transmitting the tag information until the reader / writer 410 stops operating.

[0071] When the power transmission time T1 to the power receiver 1 shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b) has expired, the power transmission unit 100 transmits power to the power receiver 2 (300) during the power transmission time T2 as shown in Figure 5(c). When the power transmission time T2 to the power receiver 2 shown in Figure 5(c) has expired, the power transmission unit 100 transmits power to the power receiver 3 (300) during the power transmission time T3 as shown in Figure 5(d). In this way, the power transmission unit 100 sequentially transmits power to each of the multiple power receivers 300 based on the schedule information.

[0072] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the wireless power supply system 1 in the embodiment. First, the power transmission control system 600 and the inventory management system 700 transmit schedule information S100 to the access point 200, and the access point 200 transmits the schedule information S100 to the power transmitter 100. When the power transmitter 100 receives the schedule information S100, it stores the schedule information in the storage unit 108 (step ST100). When the power transmitter 100 determines that the timing for transmitting power to the power receiver 300A has arrived based on the schedule information, it starts transmitting a power transmission radio wave S102A to the power receiver 300A (step S102).

[0073] The power receiver 300 receives the transmission radio wave S102A and supplies the transmission power S104A to the reader / writer 410A. The reader / writer 410A starts up using the transmission power S104A (step ST104), reads the tag information of the UHF tag 502 (step ST106), and transmits the read tag information S106 to the access point 200 via the edge processing unit 310 (step S108). After transmitting the tag information S106, the reader / writer 410 stops operating (step ST110). The power transmitter 100 stops transmitting the transmission radio wave S102A after the power transmission period set by the schedule information.

[0074] The access point 200 receives the tag information S106 and relays it to the power transmission control system 600 and the inventory management system 700. The inventory management system 700 acquires the tag information S106 as operation information based on the operation of the reader / writer 410, and based on the acquisition of the tag information S106, performs a deleting process to delete the tag information (electronic device information) included in the list information from the list information, and stores the processing result of the deleting process (step ST120).

[0075] Subsequently, when the power transmitter 100 determines, based on the schedule information, that the timing for transmitting power to the power receiver 300B has arrived, it starts transmitting a power transmission radio wave S102B to the power receiver 300B (step S130). The power receiver 300B receives the power transmission radio wave S102B and supplies power transmission S104B to the reader / writer 410B. In this way, the power transmitter 100, power receiver 300, reader / writer 410, access point 200, power transmission control system 600, and inventory management system 700 process each power receiver 300 sequentially.

[0076] The inventory management system 700, upon receiving all the tag information included in the schedule information by operating all the transmitters 100 and receivers 300 included in the schedule information, sends a completion notification S200, and the access point 200 may send a completion notification S202 to the transmitter 100.

[0077] The inventory management system 700 and the power transmission control system 600 send a completion notification including a stop request to the power transmitter 100 based on the processing result of the clearing process. The power transmitter 100 may stop supplying power to the power receiver 300 in response to the stop request included in the completion notification and start supplying power to other power receivers 300 based on the information indicating the power transmission order in the schedule information.

[0078] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing another example of the power transmitter 100 in the embodiment. The power transmitter 100 is equipped with a beacon unit 110, and the power receivers 300A and 300B may be equipped with a beacon unit 304. The beacon unit 110 outputs a beacon signal, and the beacon unit 304 sends back a beacon signal upon receiving a beacon signal. The control unit 106 acquires the position information of the power receivers 300 based on the beacon signals received from the power receivers 300 by the beacon unit 110. The power transmitter 100 transmits power to each of the power receivers 300 using the respective position information of the power receivers 300.

[0079] Figure 8 shows another example of list information in the embodiment. The schedule information may include a power transmission sequence in which power is transmitted to the first power receiver (receiving unit 1, 300A) and the second power receiver (receiving unit 2, 300B), a period for acquiring the location information A of the first power receiver before the start of the power transmission period of the first power receiver, the power transmission period of the first power receiver and the power transmission period of the second power receiver, and a period for acquiring the location information B of the second power receiver during the power transmission period of the first power receiver. The schedule information may also include list information containing this information.

[0080] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating another power transmission operation by the power transmitter 100 in the embodiment. As shown in Figure 9(a), before transmitting power to the power receiver 1 (300) during the power transmission period, the power transmitter 100 transmits a beacon signal from the beacon unit 110 during the position acquisition period shown in Figure 9(b), and acquires the position information of the power receiver 1 based on the beacon signal returned from the power receiver 1. The control unit 106 compares the position information of the power receiver 1 included in the schedule information with the position information acquired during the position acquisition period, and starts transmitting power to the power receiver 1 if the two position information are within the range where they match. As shown in Figure 9(c), before the power transmission time T1 to the power receiver 1 expires, the power transmitter 100 transmits a beacon signal to the power receiver 2 (300), and acquires the position information of the power receiver 2 based on the beacon signal returned from the power receiver 2. The control unit 106 compares the location information of the power receiver 2 included in the schedule information with the location information acquired during the location acquisition period. If the two location information matches within a certain range, it starts supplying power to the power receiver 2 after the power transmission time T1 of the power receiver 1 has expired. Similarly, as shown in Figure 9(d), the power transmitter 100 transmits a beacon signal to the power receiver 3 (300) before the power transmission time T2 to the power receiver 2 has expired, and acquires the location information of the power receiver 3 based on the beacon signal returned from the power receiver 3. The control unit 106 compares the location information of the power receiver 3 included in the schedule information with the location information acquired during the location acquisition period. If the two location information matches within a certain range, it starts supplying power to the power receiver 3 after the power transmission time T2 of the power receiver 2 has expired.

[0081] According to the wireless power supply system 1 described above, the transmitter 100 sequentially supplies power to each of the multiple power receivers 300 based on schedule information that includes information indicating the power supply order of the multiple power receivers 300 and the power supply period for each power receiver 300. Each of the multiple power receivers 300 can operate the electronic equipment connected to its device during the period in which power is being supplied by the transmitter 100. This wireless power supply system 1 can suppress the load on the transmitter 100 when operating multiple electronic devices. In other words, by using schedule information, the transmitter 100 and power receivers 300 can automatically and unattended read tag information, thereby reducing the processing load compared to simultaneously supplying power to multiple power receivers 300.

[0082] According to the wireless power supply system 1, the power transmission period for each power receiver 300 may include the period necessary for the operation of multiple electronic devices corresponding to the power receiver 300 to be completed, and the period necessary to transmit the operation information of the multiple electronic devices to the power transmission management device. As a result, the wireless power supply system 1 can allocate the necessary power transmission time to each power receiver 300 even if the number of electronic devices connected to the power receiver 300 differs.

[0083] According to the wireless power supply system 1, the transmitter 100 transmits power to each of the receivers 300 using the location information of each receiver. The schedule information includes a power transmission sequence in which power is transmitted to the first receiver and then to the second receiver, a period for acquiring the location information of the first receiver before the start of the first receiver's power transmission period, the power transmission period for the first receiver and the power transmission period for the second receiver, and a period for acquiring the location information of the second receiver during the first receiver's power transmission period. Thus, according to the wireless power supply system 1, the transmitter 100 can authenticate the location information of the receivers 300 and transmit power to them.

[0084] The wireless power supply system 1 includes a power transmission control system 600 and an inventory management system 700 connected to one or more power transmitters 100. The system transmits schedule information to one or more power transmitters 100, and the schedule information is a list information that associates power transmitter information indicating each of the one or more power transmitters 100, power receiver information indicating each of the multiple power receivers 300, electronic equipment information indicating the electronic equipment connected to each of the multiple power receivers 300, and information indicating the power transmission order of the multiple power receivers 300 and the power transmission period for each of the power receivers 300. As a result, the wireless power supply system 1 allows the power transmitters 100 to sequentially transmit power to the power receivers 300 according to the list information.

[0085] According to the wireless power supply system 1, the power transmission control system 600 and the inventory management system 700 can acquire operation information based on the operation of electronic devices, perform a clearing process for the electronic device information included in the list information based on the acquisition of operation information, and store the processing result of the clearing process. As a result, the power transmission control system 600 and the inventory management system 700 can manage electronic devices by sequentially acquiring and clearing electronic device information as power is sequentially transmitted from the power transmitter 100 to the power receiver 300.

[0086] According to the wireless power supply system 1, the power transmission control system 600 and the inventory management system 700 transmit a stop request to the power transmitter 100 based on the processing result of the clearing process, and the power transmitter 100 can stop supplying power to the power receiver 300 in response to the stop request and start supplying power to the other power receivers 300 based on the information indicating the power supply order in the schedule information, and sequentially supply power to the power receivers 300 while confirming that the clearing process has been completed.

[0087] The functions of the power transmitter 100 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented using a computer. In that case, the functions may be implemented by recording a program for implementing these functions on a computer-readable recording medium, loading the program recorded on this recording medium into a computer system, and executing it. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Moreover, "computer-readable recording medium" may also include recording media that dynamically hold programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or communication lines such as telephone lines, and recording media that hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside a computer system that acts as a server or client in that case. Furthermore, the above-mentioned program may be a program for implementing a part of the functions described above, or it may be a program that can implement the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, and it may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0088] Although various embodiments and variations have been described, these are merely examples and are not limited to these. For example, one embodiment or variation, or a part of one embodiment or variation, may be combined with one or more other embodiments or variations to realize one aspect of the present invention.

[0089] According to one aspect of the present invention, the load on the power transmitter can be suppressed when operating multiple electronic devices.

[0090] 1 Wireless power supply system 100 Transmitter 102 Power transmission unit 104 Power acquisition unit 106 Control unit 108 Memory unit 110 Beacon unit 120 Memory unit 200 Access point 300 Power receiver 302 Power receiving unit 304 Beacon unit 310 Edge processing unit 410 Reader / writer 420 Antenna unit 500 Inventory shelf 502 UHF tag 600 Power transmission control system 700 Inventory management system

Claims

1. A wireless power supply system comprising a power transmitter and a plurality of power receivers, wherein one or more electronic devices are connected to each of the plurality of power receivers, wherein the power transmitter sequentially supplies power to each of the plurality of power receivers based on schedule information including information indicating the power supply order of the plurality of power receivers and the power supply period for each of the plurality of power receivers, and each of the plurality of power receivers operates the electronic devices connected to its device during the period in which power is supplied by the power transmitter.

2. The wireless power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply period for each power receiving device includes the period necessary for the operation of the plurality of electronic devices corresponding to the power receiving device to be completed, and the period necessary for transmitting the operation information of the plurality of electronic devices to the power supply management device.

3. The wireless power supply system according to claim 2, wherein the power transmitter transmits power to each of the power receivers using the respective location information of the power receivers, and the schedule information includes a power transmission order in which power is transmitted to the first power receiver and then to the second power receiver, a period for acquiring the location information of the first power receiver before the start of the power transmission period of the first power receiver, the power transmission period of the first power receiver and the power transmission period of the second power receiver, and a period for acquiring the location information of the second power receiver during the power transmission period of the first power receiver.

4. A wireless power supply system according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a power transmission management device connected to one or more of the power transmitters, wherein the power transmission management device transmits the schedule information to the one or more power transmitters, and the schedule information is a list information relating to power transmitter information indicating each of the one or more power transmitters, power receiver information indicating each of the plurality of power receivers, electronic equipment information indicating the electronic equipment connected to each of the plurality of power receivers, and information indicating the power transmission order of the plurality of power receivers and the power transmission period of each of the power receivers.

5. The wireless power supply system according to claim 4, wherein the power transmission management device acquires operation information based on the operation of the electronic device, performs a deleting process to delete the electronic device information included in the list information from the list information based on the acquisition of the operation information, and stores the processing result of the deleting process.

6. The wireless power supply system according to claim 5, wherein the power transmission management device transmits a stop request to the power transmission unit based on the processing result of the extinguishing process, the power transmission unit stops supplying power to the power receiving unit in response to the stop request, and starts supplying power to other power receiving units based on the information indicating the power transmission order in the schedule information.

7. A wireless power supply method for a wireless power supply system comprising a power transmitter and a plurality of power receivers, wherein one or more electronic devices are connected to each of the plurality of power receivers, the wireless power supply method comprising: a step in which the power transmitter sequentially supplies power to each of the plurality of power receivers based on schedule information including information indicating the power supply order of the plurality of power receivers and the power supply period for each of the plurality of power receivers; and a step in which each of the plurality of power receivers operates the electronic devices connected to its device during the period in which power is supplied by the power transmitter.

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