Adaptive Wireless Power Transfer via Feedback Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless power transfer systems using magnetically coupled resonators (MCRs) face inefficiencies due to their inability to adapt to changes in environment, such as distance and orientation between coils, leading to disrupted power transfer efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a transmitter controller with a transmitter-side impedance matching module and a receiver controller with a receiver-side impedance matching module, using feedback to adjust power transmission and maintain a target rectified voltage, eliminating the need for DC-DC converters and enabling adaptive impedance matching to optimize power transfer efficiency across varying ranges and loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional inductively coupled wireless power transfer is used, then power transfer efficiency is high at very close distances, but the range and geometric freedom are severely limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses magnetically coupled resonators operating at specific resonant frequencies to enable wireless power transfer over extended distances. By tuning the resonant parameters of both transmitter and receiver coils, the system achieves efficient power transfer beyond the very close proximity required by traditional inductive coupling, directly addressing the distance-efficiency tradeoff
2Adaptability or versatility
If far-field RF broadcast methods are used, then power can be transferred anywhere in the coverage area with mobility maintained, but end-to-end efficiency is lost due to power density decreasing with distance
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs resonant frequency tuning to concentrate electromagnetic energy in specific spatial regions, creating high power density zones at the receiver location. This resonant coupling approach maintains high efficiency while providing flexible positioning within the coverage area, unlike omnidirectional RF broadcast which suffers from efficiency loss
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetically coupled resonator system provides both the coverage flexibility of far-field methods and the efficiency of near-field coupling. The resonant coupling mechanism can adapt to various distances and orientations, offering a universal solution that combines the advantages of both approaches
3Loss of energy
If MCR systems are used, then power can be delivered with more efficiency than far-field broadcast at longer ranges than traditional inductive coupling, but the system cannot efficiently adapt to changes in environment such as distance and orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback control mechanisms that monitor the power transfer conditions and dynamically adjust system parameters. This enables the MCR system to adapt to environmental changes such as distance and orientation variations, maintaining optimal efficiency by real-time parameter adjustment based on detected coupling conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic parameter adjustment capabilities, allowing the resonant frequency and impedance matching parameters to be modified in real-time. This dynamic adaptation enables the system to maintain high efficiency despite changes in distance, orientation, or load conditions, overcoming the static nature of traditional MCR systems
4Loss of energy
If high gain antennas are used in microwave systems, then power can be transferred over several kilometers at efficiencies of over 90%, but sophisticated tracking and alignment equipment is needed to maintain line of sight connection
Solution Approach 1:
The magnetically coupled resonator system operates in the near-field regime where electromagnetic coupling is less sensitive to alignment requirements compared to far-field microwave systems. By utilizing resonant coupling at optimized frequencies, the system achieves high efficiency without requiring sophisticated tracking and alignment equipment, significantly reducing system complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures efficient wireless power transfer by dynamically adjusting power transmission based on feedback, maintaining optimal efficiency and safety by preventing overvoltage damage to receiver electronics, even as distance and load conditions change.
Implementation Method 1
Wireless power transfer using inductive coupling is becoming increasingly popular for consumer electronic devices
Implementation Method 2
These techniques use high quality factor ('high-Q') coupled resonators that transfer energy via magnetic fields that do not strongly interact with the human body
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless power transfer system includes a transmitter configured to transmit power to a receiver, for example, through coupled resonators. The transmitter receives feedback from the receiver, and uses the feedback to control the power transmission, to control a parameter at the receiver, for example, a rectified voltage output by the receiver. The feedback to the transmitter may be provided, for example, by an out-of-band radio system between the transmitter and receiver, by a reflection coefficient at the transmitter, and/or by an encoded modulation of power in the receiver, for example, in an impedance matching module. The transmitter may control the transmitted power, for example, by controlling a transmitter signal generator voltage (VSIG), a transmitter gate driver voltage (VGD), a transmitter amplifier voltage (VPA), and/or an impedance setting in a transmitter impedance matching module.