Miniature Wireless Charging via Composite Coil Merging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Miniature IoT devices, such as robotic devices, face inefficient wireless charging due to size differences between power transmitting and receiving coils, leading to low power transfer efficiency and long charging times, with existing protocols only supporting a few devices to charge in parallel.
Innovation Solution
The technique involves chaining multiple miniature power receiving units together to form a composite receiving coil that approximates the size of the power transmitting coil, allowing for improved power transfer efficiency through conductive links and coordinated movement, enabling multiple devices to charge simultaneously without altering their shape or adding expensive components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If miniature devices use standard wireless charging coils, then device size remains small, but power transfer efficiency deteriorates due to size mismatch with transmitting coil
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple miniature power receiving units are combined to form a composite receiving coil structure. The coils are arranged in a specific pattern (e.g., 2x2 grid) and electrically connected through conductive links, creating a larger effective receiving area that matches the transmitting coil size, thereby improving power transfer efficiency while maintaining small individual device dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving coil is segmented into multiple identical miniature units, each with its own battery and electronics. These segmented units work together as a unified receiving system, allowing each unit to remain small while collectively achieving the required power transfer efficiency through their combined electromagnetic coupling with the transmitting coil
2Productivity
If multiple devices charge in parallel using existing protocols, then charging capacity increases, but device complexity increases due to coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
Each power receiving unit is designed as a universal module that can independently function as a complete charging unit or combine with other identical units. The standardized interface and communication protocol allow any number of these universal modules to charge in parallel without increasing individual device complexity, as each unit follows the same charging procedure autonomously
Solution Approach 2:
Each miniature power receiving unit autonomously manages its own charging process, including wireless communication with the transmitter, power reception, and battery management. This self-service capability eliminates the need for complex external coordination, allowing multiple units to charge in parallel independently while maintaining simple individual device design
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 method enhances wireless charging efficiency for miniature IoT devices, allowing them to charge more quickly and supporting multiple devices to charge in parallel, while maintaining their compact size and functionality.
Implementation Method 1
a power transmitting coil configured to wirelessly transmit power to the composite receiving coil
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for wirelessly charging small power receiving units are disclosed. An example power receiving unit includes a transportation mechanism to enable the power receiving unit to move and a wireless communication system that enables the power receiving unit to communicate with a plurality of other power receiving units. The power receiving unit is a master unit and the other power receiving units are nodes that take commands from the master unit. The power receiving unit also includes a controller to command the nodes to form a composite receive coil over a power transmitting unit and communicate with the power transmitting unit to start a charging session.