This application is a partial continuation of the U.S. patent application serial No. 10/357,932 entitled "inductive power applied apparatus" filed on day 4/2/2003 and 6,436,299 entitled "Water Treatment system with an inductive Coupled balloon" filed on day 12/7/2000. Application Ser. No. 10/357,932 is also part of a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/357,932 entitled "INDUCTIVELY POWER LAMP ASSEMBLY" filed on 26.4.2002.
This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application serial No. 10/246,155 entitled "inductive coupling System Circuit" filed on 18.9.2002 and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent No. 10/175,095 entitled "radio frequency identification System for Treatment System" filed on 18.6.2002, which continuation-in-part is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent No.6,643,299 filed on 12.6.2000. U.S. patent 6,436,299 claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/140,159 entitled "Water Treatment System with an inductively coupled Ballast" filed on 21.6.1999 as 35u.s.c. 119(e) and U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/140,090 entitled "Point-of-Use Water Treatment System" filed 21.6.1999.
This application incorporates by reference the following applications: "Adaptive index Power Supply" with serial number 10/689,499; "Inductive Coil Assembly" with sequence number 10/689,224; "Electrostatic Charge Storage Assembly" with serial number 10/689,154 and "Adapter" with serial number 10/689,375.
Detailed Description
Fig. 1 shows two parallel data networks within a vehicle. The first network is the vehicle data bus 10. The vehicle data bus 10 may be a CAN (controller automobile network) or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) vehicle bus. The vehicle data bus is typically a low speed data bus that is used to enable communication between the various controllers within the vehicle. The second network is an ADB (automotive data network) 12. The ADB12 allows one or more portable data devices to communicate with the vehicle. For example, the ADB12 may be connected to a PDA14, a cell phone 16, a portable entertainment device 18. Gateway controller 20 manages any communications between vehicle data bus 10 and ADB 12. The data may be specific to the bus and/or contain encoded speech signals as well as audio information.
Fig. 2 shows the inductive vehicle adapter 20 installed in a console 22 of a vehicle. The cell phone 24 and PDA26 may be placed within the induction vehicle adapter 20 for recharging and interfacing with the ADB 12.
Fig. 3 shows a side view of the induction vehicle adapter 20. The induction vehicle adapter 20 has a bracket 28, which may be a reflective enclosure. Items placed in the brackets 28 tend to remain within the reflector due to weight. The stent 28 has a circumference 30. Within perimeter 30 is a primary coil. The primary coil within the perimeter 30 is coupled to an induction system 32, which in turn is coupled to a DC power source 34. The induction system 32 is also coupled to an ADB 12. Thus, the electronics disposed within the cradle 28 may be charged by the adaptive inductive power supply 32. The communication link may be provided by circuitry that works in conjunction with the adaptive inductive power supply 32.
Fig. 4 is a top view of the induction vehicle adapter 20. A remote device, which may be any portable electronic device, may be placed within the cradle 28. When placed in the cradle 28, the remote devices may all be charged by the vehicle interface 20, and they also communicate with the ADB 36.
Fig. 5 shows a windscreen visor 35 as a support for a remote device. The primary coil 38 is contained within the windshield visor 35. The remote device may be placed in the bag 37. Remote devices placed within mesh bag 37 may be charged by the inductive vehicle interface and communicate with ADB 36. Any mechanism may be used to secure the remote device within proximity to the primary coil 38, such as velcro or a clip.
The location of the primary coil 38 may be any convenient location. For example, the primary coil 38 may be included within a reflective enclosure located in a passenger compartment, overhead console, seat back, instrument panel glove compartment, or side door storage area.
Fig. 6 shows a basic block diagram of the inductive vehicle adapter 20. The remote device 40 has been placed within the cradle 28 and is therefore inductively coupled to the adaptive inductive power supply 39 by means of a primary coil within the rim of the cradle 28. The remote device 40 may thus be charged by the adaptive inductive power supply 39. Meanwhile, remote device 40 is coupled to transceiver 68. Transceiver 68 communicates directly with remote device 40.
The communication interface 70 manages communications between the remote device 40 and the ADB 36. For example, the communication interface 70 may assign I P (internet protocol) addresses to the remote device 40 or may assign some other address to the remote device 40 as required by the protocol of the ADB 68. Communication interface 70 may control, establish, or monitor the rate of communication between ADB68 and remote device 40 and the various protocols and communication layers.
The controller 60 is optional. If present, it may manage communications between remote device 40 and ADB 36. Alternatively, controller 60 may manage power to remote device 40 through adaptive inductive power supply 39. The power regulator 50 regulates the power received from the DC power supply 34. The DC power supply 34 is powered by the vehicle's power system.
The adaptive inductive power supply 39 may be digital or analog. One type of adaptive inductive power supply is described in U.S. patent No.6,436,299, which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the adaptive inductive power supply 39 may be of the type previously described.
Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of the inductive vehicle interface 20. The inductive vehicle interface 20 is shown coupled to three remote devices 40, 42, 44.
The power regulator 46 is coupled to an external DC (direct current) power source 48. The dc power supply 48 powers the inductive vehicle interface 20. The DC power supply 48 is provided by the vehicle and is typically around 12 VDC.
The power regulator 50 controls the voltage and current supplied by the DC power source 48 to the inverter 52. Inverter 52 converts the DC power to AC (alternating current) power. Inverter 52 acts as an AC power source to provide AC power to tank circuit 54. Tank circuit 54 is a resonant circuit. The tank circuit 54 is inductively coupled to secondary windings within the remote devices 40, 42, 44 by means of primary windings 56. The primary winding 56 and the secondary windings of the remote devices 40, 42, 44 are coreless windings. Dashed line 58 represents the air gap between remote devices 40, 42, 44 and primary winding 56. The primary winding 56 is contained within the perimeter 30.
A circuit sensor 58 is coupled to an output of the tank circuit 54. The circuit sensor 58 is also coupled to a controller 60. Circuit sensors 58 provide information related to the operating parameters of inverter 52 and tank circuit 54. For example, the circuit sensor 58 may be a current sensor and provide information regarding the phase, frequency, and magnitude of the current in the tank circuit 54.
Controller 60 may be any of a number of commonly available microcontrollers such as Intel 8051 or Motorola 6811, or many variations of any of those microcontrollers, programmed to perform the functions described hereinafter. The controller 60 may have a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory) on a chip. The controller 60 may have a series of analog and digital outputs for controlling various functions of the adaptive inductive power supply. The functions of the controller 60 may also be implemented with a microprocessor and memory chip.
The controller 60 is connected to a memory 62. The controller 60 is also coupled to a drive circuit 64. Drive circuit 64 regulates the operation of inverter 52. Drive circuit 64 adjusts the frequency and trimming of inverter 52. The controller 60 is also coupled to the power regulator 50. The controller 60 may manipulate the output voltage of the power regulator 50. As is known, by varying the rail voltage of the power regulator 50, the amplitude of the output of the inverter 52 can also be varied.
Finally, the controller 60 is coupled to a variable inductor 66 and a variable capacitor 68 of the tank circuit 54. The controller 60 may modify the inductance of the variable inductor 66 or the capacitance of the variable capacitor 68. By modifying the inductance of variable inductor 66 and the capacitance of variable capacitor 68, the resonant frequency of tank circuit 54 may be changed.
Tank circuit 54 may have a first resonant frequency and a second resonant frequency. Tank circuit 54 may also have multiple resonant frequencies. As used herein, the term "resonant frequency" refers to the frequency band at which tank circuit 54 will resonate. As is known, the tank circuit will have a resonant frequency, but will continue to resonate in a frequency range around the resonant frequency. The circuit 55 has at least one variable impedance element having a variable impedance. By varying the variable impedance, the resonant frequency of the tank circuit will vary. The variable impedance element may be a variable inductor 66, a variable capacitor 68, or both.
Variable inductor 66 may be a semiconductor switching element controlled variable inductor, a compressible variable inductor, a parallel laminated core variable inductor, a string of inductors and switches capable of placing a selected fixed inductor into tank circuit 54, or other controllable variable inductor. Variable capacitor 68 may be a switched capacitor array, a series of fixed capacitors and switches capable of placing a selected fixed capacitor into tank circuit 54, or any other controllable variable capacitor.
The tank circuit 54 includes a primary winding 56. The primary winding 56 and variable inductor 66 are shown separate. Alternatively, primary winding 56 and variable inductor 66 may be combined into a single element. Tank circuit 54 is shown as a series resonant tank circuit. Parallel resonant tank circuits may also be used.
A power transceiver 68 is also coupled to the controller. The power transceiver 68 may simply be a receiver for receiving information rather than a device capable of two-way communication. The power transceiver 68 communicates with various remote devices 40, 42, 44. Clearly, more or less than three devices may be used with the system.
The inductive vehicle interface 20 also has a communication interface 70 connected to the ADB 36. The communication interface 70 manages communications between the remote devices 40, 42, 44 and the ADB 36. Communication interface 70 may need to perform functions such as translating communications from one protocol to the next and assigning network addresses to remote devices 40, 42, 44.
The inductive vehicle interface 20 also has a communication controller 72. The communication controller 72 manages data input and output through the communication interface 70 and the interface transceiver 74. The communication controller 72 performs required control functions such as transcoding, protocol conversion, caching, data compression, error checking, synchronization and routing, and gathering management information. The communication controller 72 establishes a communication session between the remote devices 40, 42, 44 and the ADB36 or any other device coupled to the ADB 36. The communication controller 72 may be a front-end communication processor. Depending on the capabilities of the controller 60, the communication controller 72 may be a software module running within the controller 60.
Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of the remote device 100. Remote device 100 is an example of a remote device 40, 42, 44. Remote device 100 includes a rechargeable battery 102. The rechargeable battery 102 receives power from the variable secondary coil 104. Depending on the type of rechargeable battery, circuitry may also be included to support recharging of the rechargeable battery 102. For example, if a Li-ion (lithium ion) LiPoly (lithium-polymer) battery is used, an integrated circuit that controls battery charging, such as texas instruments bq240001 or texas instruments UCC3890, may be incorporated in remote device 100. If a NIMh (nickel metal hydride) battery is used, a microchip technology PS402 battery management integrated circuit may be used.
The variable secondary coil 104 is centerless, allowing the variable secondary coil 104 to operate over a wider frequency range. Variable secondary 104 is shown as a variable inductor, although other types of devices may be used in place of the variable inductor.
The variable secondary Coil 104 comprises a multi-dimensional secondary Coil such as that shown in U.S. patent serial No. 10/689,224 entitled "Coil Assembly" and assigned to the assignee of the present application. If the variable secondary coil includes such a multi-dimensional winding, the remote device 40 is able to receive energy from the primary winding 56 regardless of the actual orientation of the remote device 40 relative to the primary winding 56, so long as the remote device 40 is adjacent to the primary winding 56. Accordingly, the user may avoid the inconvenience of positioning the remote device 40 in a particular orientation in order to charge the remote device 40.
The remote device controller 106 controls the inductance of the variable secondary winding 104 and the operation of the load 108. The remote device controller 106 may change the inductance of the variable secondary 104 or turn the load 108 on or off. Similar to the controller 60, the remote device controller 106 may be any one of a number of commonly available microcontrollers programmed to perform the functions described below, such as Intel 8051 or Motorola 6811, or many variations of any of those microcontrollers. The controller 106 may have a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory) on a chip. The controller 106 may have a series of analog and digital outputs for controlling various functions of the adaptive inductive power supply.
Memory 110 contains, among other things, a device ID (identification) number and power information with remote device 100. The power information will include voltage, current, and power consumption information for remote device 100. The memory 110 may include the discharge rate and charge rate of the battery 102.
Remote device 100 also includes a remote transceiver 112. The remote transceiver 112 receives information from the power transceiver 68 and transmits information to the power transceiver 68. Remote transceiver 112 and power transceiver 68 may be linked in a number of different ways, such as WIFI, infrared, bluetooth, Radio Frequency (RF), or cellular. Additionally, the transceiver may communicate via additional coils on the primary or secondary coils. Alternatively, any of a number of different power line communication systems may be used, as the power supply 20 delivers energy to the remote device 100.
Alternatively, the remote transceiver 112 may simply be a wireless transmitter for transmitting information to the power transceiver 68. For example, the remote transceiver 112 may be an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag.
Load 108 represents a functional component of remote device 338. For example, if remote device 100 is a digital camera, load 108 may be a microprocessor within the digital camera. If the remote device 100 is an MP3 player, the load 108 may be a digital signal processor or microprocessor and associated circuitry for converting an MP3 file into sound. If remote device 100 is a PDA, load 108 may be a microprocessor and associated circuitry that provides PDA functionality. The load 108 may access a memory 110.
Load 108 is also coupled to a secondary device transceiver 112. Thus, the load 108 is able to communicate with the inductive vehicle interface 20, and thus with any other devices connected with the ADB36, via the secondary device transceiver 112.
Fig. 9 illustrates the operation of one embodiment of an adaptive contactless energy transfer system with communication functionality.
Upon activation of the inductive vehicle interface 20 (step 400), it polls the remote device via the transceiver 68. Step 402. Step 402 may be continuous, wherein step 404 is only advanced when a remote device is present. Alternatively, subsequent steps may be performed before polling repeats, although these operations may be performed with reference to the empty set. If the remote device is present, it receives power usage information from the remote device. Step 404.
The power usage information may include actual information related to the voltage, current, and power requirements of remote device 40. Alternatively, the power usage information may simply be the ID number of the remote device 40. If so, the controller 60 may receive the ID number and look up the power requirements of the remote device 40 from a table contained in memory 62.
After all devices have been polled and power information for each device has been received, the inductive vehicle interface 20 then determines whether the device is no longer present. If so, the remote device list is updated. Step 408.
One embodiment of a list of remote devices maintained by the controller 60 is shown in fig. 10. The remote device list includes the voltage, current, and status of each remote device 40, 42, 44 for the device ID. The device number may be assigned by the controller 60. The device ID is received from the remote device 40, 42, 44. The device ID may be the same if the two remote devices are of the same type. The voltage and current are the amount of voltage or current required to power the device, or they may be obtained by using the device ID as a key to a remote device database maintained in memory 62. The state is the current state of the device. For example, the device status may be "on", "off", "charging", and so on.
The inductive vehicle interface 20 then determines whether the status of any of the devices has changed. Step 410. For example, remote device 40 may have a rechargeable battery or other charge storage device. When the rechargeable battery is fully charged, the remote device 40 is not requiring power. Thus, its state may transition from "charging" to "disconnecting". If the status of the device changes, the remote device list is updated. Step 412.
The inductive vehicle interface 20 then determines if any devices are present. Step 414. If so, the remote device list is updated. Step 416. The list of remote devices is then checked. Step 418. If the list is not updated, the system then polls the device again and the process begins anew. Step 402.
If the list is updated, the power usage of the remote device has changed, and therefore the power provided by the inductive vehicle interface 20 must change. The controller 60 uses the remote device list to determine the power requirements of all remote devices. It is then determined whether the system can be reconfigured to adequately power all devices. Step 420.
If the inductive vehicle interface 20 is capable of supplying power to all remote devices, the controller 60 calculates the settings for the inverter frequency, duty cycle, resonant frequency, and mains voltage. In addition, controller 60 determines an optimal setting for the variable impedance of secondary winding 104 of remote device 40. Step 422. It then sets the inverter frequency, duty cycle, resonant frequency, and rail voltage settings. Step 424. It also commands the remote device 40 to set the variable impedance of the secondary winding 104 to a desired level. Step 424.
On the other hand, if the inductive vehicle interface 20 is not capable of powering all remote devices, the controller 60 determines the best possible power setting for the overall system. Step 426. It then commands one or more of the remote devices 40, 42, 44 to turn off or change its power consumption. The controller 60 determines the optimum setting of the variable impedance of the secondary winding 104 of the remote device 40, 42, 44. Step 428. It then sets the inverter frequency, duty cycle, resonant frequency, and rail voltage of the system. Step 430. The controller commands the remote device 40, 42, 44 to set the variable impedance of the secondary winding 104 at a desired level. The system then returns to the polling device and the process repeats. Step 402.
The above description is of the preferred embodiment. Various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. Reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said," is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.
Embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: