Solar Cell with Inductive Coil for Portable Device Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices face challenges in battery life due to increased energy requirements from additional components, necessitating innovative solutions for efficient power management and charging.
Innovation Solution
A portable electronic device design incorporating a solar cell with a semiconductor material, positive and negative contacts, and a coil geometry for wireless charging, near-field communication, and an anti-reflection layer to optimize energy harvesting and storage, allowing automatic switching between solar charging and wireless charging modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If more components are packaged into portable electronic devices to increase functionality, then device functionality is improved, but space requirements and energy consumption increase leading to decreased battery life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into the single solar cell structure: the semiconductor material absorbs light to generate current, the coil geometry enables wireless charging, and the negative contact serves both as an electrical conductor and an inductive charging element. This merging reduces the number of separate components needed, saving space and potentially reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining or enhancing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The solar cell structure is designed to perform multiple functions: it acts as a photovoltaic cell for light-to-electricity conversion, contains a coil geometry for wireless/inductive charging, and provides near-field communication capability through the negative contact. This multi-functionality allows the device to harvest energy from multiple sources (sunlight and wireless charging) without requiring separate dedicated components for each function.
2Reliability
If separate solar cell and wireless charging coil components are used, then each function can be optimized independently, but device space requirements and component count increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the solar cell structure with the wireless charging coil by forming the coil geometry directly within the solar cell layers. The negative contact serves dual purposes as both the rear electrical contact for photovoltaic current collection and the inductive element for wireless charging. This integration reduces component count and simplifies device structure while maintaining the functional capabilities of both solar energy harvesting and wireless charging.
3Power
If the negative contact is made opaque to collect current efficiently, then electrical conduction is improved, but light transmission to semiconductor material is blocked reducing energy harvesting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the negative contact semi-transparent rather than fully opaque. The negative contact is designed with specific optical properties that allow it to transmit a portion of incident light to the semiconductor material while still maintaining sufficient electrical conductivity for current collection. This localized optimization of the negative contact's optical and electrical properties resolves the contradiction between light transmission and electrical conduction.
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 design extends battery life by maximizing energy harvesting from both environmental light and wireless charging, reducing component count for a more compact form factor and efficient power management.
Implementation Method 1
a semiconductor material configured to absorb light for generating a current
Implementation Method 2
The second circuit may be configured to provide wireless charging... configured for generating current via induction
Implementation Method 3
The solar cell may additionally include an anti-reflection layer disposed on the negative side. The anti-reflection layer may be for decreasing reflective loss of light
Data Source
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AI summary
A solar cell (50) and a portable electronic device (66) are provided. The solar cell (50) includes a semiconductor material (54) configured to absorb light for generating a current. The solar cell further includes a positive contact (58) and a negative contact (62). In addition, the negative contact (62) is configured to couple with an external interface. The portable electronic device (66) includes an energy storage unit (154). The portable electronic device (66) also includes a semiconductor material (54) configured to absorb light for generating a current, a positive contact (58), and a negative contact (62). The negative contact (54) of the portable electronic device (66) is configured to couple with an external interface.