Wireless power transfer systems include a wireless transmitting device and a wireless receiver device. The transmitting device generates a time-varying electromagnetic field that is used to transmit power wirelessly to the wireless receiver device. The wireless receiver device extracts power from the time-varying electromagnetic field and converts the power that is supplied to an electrical load. Wireless power transfer systems can eliminate the need for wires and electrical conductive contacts, which can increase mobility and convenience for users of the wireless power transfer systems. Wireless power transfer systems may be categorized as either near field (inductive) or far-field (resonant). In inductive wireless power transfer systems, power is transferred over short distances by magnetic fields using inductive coupling between a transmitting coil and a receiving coil. Inductive wireless power transfer systems are most commonly used in wireless technology.
Conventional inductive wireless power transfer systems often require a perfect alignment between the transmitter and receiver coils in order to enable power transfer (at least with sufficient power transfer) to perform desired functionality, such as charging a rechargeable battery. One problem with such a configuration is that the precision of alignment can limit the structural geometry of the wireless power transfer system, as the transmitting coil and the receiving coil must be mechanically placed at a specific position relative to one another. In other words, conventional inductive wireless power transfer systems are specifically designed for one particular device or application and may not be capable of supporting other devices or applications. As such, there is a need for a more versatile wireless power transfer system that is capable of providing power transfer to any number of devices or applications through inductive coupling.
To overcome the shortcomings of conventional inductive wireless power transfer systems, such as a cradle-shaped wireless power transfer system for recharging a barcode scanner, for example, a wireless charger adapter or wireless adapter may be utilized. The wireless charger adapter may be configured to be placed in proximate location to a wireless charging device having an inductive transmit coil. One embodiment of a wireless charging device may include a cradle for receiving and charging a barcode scanner. The wireless charger adapter may include a receiving inductor coil, which can inductively receive wireless power signals transferred by the transmit coil of the wireless charging device. The wireless charger adapter may include an electrical circuit to transform the wireless power signals to electrical signals. The wireless charger adapter may include at least one output port, adapter antenna, and/or second transmitting coil to receive and/or output wireless signals so that the wireless charger adapter can facilitate power transfer between the wireless charging device and a secondary device, even if the secondary device does not mechanically align with the wireless charging device. Because the wireless power transfer system may provide for a data communications channel, the wireless charger adapter may be configured to support data communications channel, as well.
One embodiment of a wireless adapter may include a structural member configured to be placed in proximate location with a cradle (housing) of a wireless charging device. The wireless charging device may be inclusive of a transmit inductor coil. The wireless adapter may further include a receive inductor coil supported by the structural member, and configured to inductively receive wireless power signals inductively transferred by the transmit inductor coil of the wireless charging device. The wireless adapter may further include an electrical circuit configured to convert the wireless power signals received by the receive inductor coil into electrical signals. The wireless adapter may further include an output configured to output the electrical signals from the electrical circuit to one or more external devices.
One embodiment of a system may include a barcode scanner having a first receive inductor coil and a wireless charging device provided in a housing and inclusive of a transmit inductor coil. The barcode scanner is configured to interface with the housing to inductively receive power via the first receive inductor coil from the transmit inductor coil. The system may include a wireless adapter, where the wireless adapter may include a structural member configured to be placed in proximate relation with a cradle of a wireless charging device. The wireless charging device may be inclusive of a transmit inductor coil. The wireless adapter may further include a receive inductor coil supported by the structural member, and configured to inductively receive wireless power signals inductively transferred by the transmit inductor coil of the wireless charging device. The wireless adapter may further include an electrical circuit configured to convert the wireless power signals received by the receive inductor coil into electrical signals. The wireless adapter may further include an output configured to output the electrical signals from the electrical circuit to one or more external devices
One embodiment of a method may include receiving, by a wireless adapter including a receive coil, wireless power from a wireless charging device including a transmit coil. The method further includes receiving, by the wireless adapter, a data signal from a barcode scanner. The data signal may be transmitted by the wireless adapter to the wireless charging device via a data channel between the adapter and the wireless charging device.
Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein and wherein:
The wireless charging device 102 may be configured to provide the barcode scanner wireless electrical charge to recharge a rechargeable battery, for example. The second end 106 may include one or more transmit coils (not shown, but positioned within regions defined by a housing). The transmit coils may include inductors, antennas, or any other devices or components configured to wirelessly transmit power over a distance. Similarly, the barcode scanner may include one or more receive coils. The receive coils may include inductors, antennas, or any other devices or components configured to wirelessly receive power over a distance. To transfer power from the wireless charging device 102 to the barcode scanner, the barcode scanner and/or the wireless charging device 102 may be designed or be configured such that the barcode scanner aligns with a portion of the wireless charging device 102 (e.g., such that the transmit coil aligns with a receive coil within the barcode scanner). For example, upon receiving the second portion of the barcode scanner at the second end 106 of the wireless charging device 102, a transmit coil of the wireless charging device 102 may be aligned with a receive coil of the barcode scanner, thereby causing wireless power signals to be inductively transferred to the receive coil of the barcode scanner and thereby charge the barcode scanner (e.g., charge one or more rechargeable batteries or other power sources of the barcode scanner). In some embodiments, the receive coil of the barcode scanner may be in alignment with one or more portions of the second end 106 of the wireless charging device 102 (e.g., which corresponds to a location of the transmit coil of the wireless charging device 102) when the barcode scanner is positioned on the wireless charging device 102. When the receive coil of the barcode scanner is in alignment with the transmit coil, the transmit coil may be inductively (or electrically) coupled with the receive coil to facilitate transfer of power between the wireless charging device 102 and the barcode scanner. It should be understood that the first receive coil extending within the barcode scanner may include more than one receive coil. It should also be understood that the wireless charging device 102 may include a variety of other configurations to provide an electrical charge to the barcode scanner. Still yet, if a data communications channel exists to download data, for example, data signals may be communicated therebetween.
The first wall 306 of the housing 304 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may be non-planar in some embodiments. For example, the first wall 306 may include at least one portion that is non-planar such that the non-planar portion may be configured to be positioned adjacent to and/or complementary to (e.g., interface with) the surface of the first extension 202. The second wall 308 of the housing 304 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may additionally and/or alternatively be non-planar portion. For example, the second wall 308 may include at least one portion that is non-planar such that the non-planar portion may be configured to position adjacent to and/or complementary to (e.g., interface with) the surface of the second extension 204. Various other portions of the housing 304 may include one or more non-planar portions to facilitate coupling and alignment with the wireless charging device 102.
The wireless charger adapter 302 may include one or more additional components to facilitate interfacing with the second end 106 of the wireless charging device 102. For example, the wireless charger adapter 302 may include one or more protrusions 312 that extend from a portion of the housing 304 to interface with a portion of the wireless charging device 102, such as a complementary inward-extending wall 314 of the first extension 202 and/or the second extension 204. The inward-extending wall 314 may protrude in an opposite direction as the protrusion 312 such that a bottom portion of the protrusion can interface with a top portion of the wall 314. In some embodiments, the protrusion 312 may engage with a portion of the inward-extending wall 314 of the wireless charging device 102 such that the contact between the protrusion 312 and the wall 314 facilitates maintaining the housing 304 in place within the space 206. In some embodiments, the housing 304 includes a substantially flat surface 316 at a top portion of the housing 304 as shown in
In some embodiments, the wireless charger adapter 302 may include one or more legs 502 that extend from a portion of the housing 304, as shown in
Referring to
The receive coil 604 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may position along the first wall 306 and/or the second wall 308 of the housing 304 of the wireless charger adapter 302. Accordingly, upon placing the wireless charger adapter 302 with the one or more receive coils 604 of the wireless charger adapter 302 in proximity and oriented properly with a transmit coil 602 of the wireless charging device 102, the transmit coil 602 may transfer the wireless power signal via the wireless power channel 606 to the receive coil 604 of the wireless charging device 102. It should be understood that although the wireless charging device 102 and wireless charger adapter 302 have been described as utilize inductive charging, that alternative configurations may provide for resonant wireless charging, as described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/551,025 filed on Dec. 14, 2021; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The wireless charger adapter 302 may include outputs 610 configured to output electrical signals to one or more external devices. For example, the wireless charger adapter 302 may include one or more electrical circuits 607 that are configured to convert the wireless power signals 605 received by the receive coil 604 and transmitted to the electrical circuit 607 as signal 611 into electrical output signals 613 to provide an electrical charge to a device electrically coupled to the wireless charger adapter 302. In some embodiments, the wireless power signals 605 are communicated from the receive coil 604 to the electrical circuit 607 as electrical signals 611, which may provide the output signals 613 to a load (e.g., lamp). In some embodiments, the external device includes the load. As described in greater detail below, the load may be a rechargeable battery of an electronic device, a light source or lamp, a local barcode reader or scanner, one or more electronic devices coupled to the wireless charger adapter 302 via a universal serial bus (USB) or other port, to name a few possibilities and non-limiting examples. The wireless charger adapter 302 may be integrated into a base or other portion of an electrical device, such as a lamp, antenna, etc., as well.
Referring back to
The wireless charger adapter 302 may include an adapter antenna 410, as shown in
Upon receiving the wireless charger adapter 302 in proximity to the space 206 of the wireless charging device 102, the adapter antenna 410 may be configured to receive wireless data signals 615 from another device in an environment of the wireless charger adapter 302 and transfer the wireless data signals 615 back to the wireless charging device 102 through circuits 412, 618 across data channel 608 (e.g., as the wireless signal 609). Such implementations may provide for an increase in gain of the wireless charging device 102 (e.g., gain that is greater than 2 dBi, such as 20dBi). It should be understood that the wireless charging device 102 and the adapter antenna 410 may include a significantly greater gain. This example is for illustrative purposes only. Moreover, an adapter transceiver and amplifier circuit 412 may boost power of data signals received from the wireless charging device 102 for communication by the adapter 302 with more power, thereby communicating a longer distance than possible by the wireless charging device 102.
The adapter antenna 410 may be configured to receive wireless signals from a device other than the wireless charging device 102, such as the barcode scanner that is configured to align with the wireless charging device 102. For example, the adapter antenna 410 may be configured to receive one or more wireless signals from the barcode scanner associated with the wireless charging device 102, and transmit the wireless signals 609 to the wireless charging device 102 through one or more data channels 608 between the wireless charger adapter 302 and the wireless charging device 102, as described in greater detail with reference to
The wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transfer electrical power and data to any number of external devices through the outputs 610 (
In some embodiments, the adapter transmit coil 616 may be located along a top or top-most portion of the housing 304 of the wireless charger adapter 302 such that the adapter transmit coil 616 is located proximate the top flat surface 316 of the housing 304 shown in
In some embodiments, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit electric signals through one or more wires and/or cables. For example, as described above, the wireless charger adapter 302 may include one or more output ports 310 configured to transmit signals to the external devices. The output ports 310 may be configured to transmit signals to the external device upon receiving a complementary cable communicably coupled to the external device (e.g., a USB cable electrically coupled to the output port 310 and to the device). The wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit electrical signals to one or more rechargeable power sources. For example, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit electric signals to a rechargeable battery pack or similar device through one or more cables electronically coupled to the wireless charger adapter 302 and/or the rechargeable battery pack, such as an Ethernet or USB cable. The wireless charger adapter 302 may be integrated into a multi-battery charger to recharge rechargeable battery packs.
As depicted, the wireless charging device 102 may transmit wireless power signals 605 to the wireless charger adapter 302 via a wireless power channel 606 (e.g., via an inductive electromagnetic field). In some embodiments, the wireless charging device 102 may additionally and/or alternatively transmit and/or receive data signals 609 via a data channel 608 (e.g., via one or more antennas, antenna array systems, Bluetooth, endpoints or data terminals of the wireless charging device 102 and the wireless charger adapter 302, etc.). In other words, the data channel 608 may include either or both wired (e.g., contact-based) and wireless data connections. For example, as described above, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit and/or receive the wireless data signals 609 to and/or from the wireless charging device 102 via the data channel 608 through the adapter antenna 614. In some embodiments, the wireless data signals 609 transmitted via the adapter antenna 614 may be received from the barcode scanner associated with the wireless charging device 102. In some embodiments, the adapter antenna 614 may transmit and/or receive data signals 609 via the data channel 608, convert the data signals 609 (e.g., boost or reduce power) into data signals 614, and communicate the data signals 615 to or from one or more external devices including, but not limited to, an NFC reader, a secondary barcode reader, a QR code reader, or other device (e.g., digital clock). For example, the wireless data signals 609 may include, but are not limited to, data corresponding to machine-readable indicia scanned by an imaging device of the barcode scanner.
In some embodiments, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit and/or receive the data signals 609 to and/or from the wireless charging device 102 via the data channel 608 through the output port 612. An external device may electrically couple to the output port 612 via one or more cables (e.g., a USB) that includes a data line to form the data channel 608. For example, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit the data signals 615 (e.g., information related to machine-readable indicia scanned by the barcode scanner) from the wireless charging device 102 to a mobile device electrically coupled to or in communication with the adapter antenna 614. It should be noted that the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit and/or receive the data signals 615 from various other devices.
In some embodiments, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to modify (e.g., increase or decrease voltage, convert from AC to DC, etc.) the electrical signals 611 based on a type of external device electrically coupled to the output 610. The wireless charger adapter 302 may include electrical power converter or conditioning circuity designed or implemented to step-up or step-down a voltage, amperage, or wattage based on a device type for the external device. For instance, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to receive (e.g., via a data channel or other communication channel) from the external device, a power requirement (e.g., power type, power level, etc.) for the external device. The wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to modify the output to the external device based on the power requirement of the external device. In other words, the electrical circuit 607 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to dynamically and automatically modify the output power of the electrical signals 611 to produce electrical signals 613 depending on the configuration of the external device. In some embodiments, the wireless charger adapter 302 may include one or more voltage regulators, voltage optimizers, voltage stabilizers, or voltage correctors to facilitate modifying the electrical circuit. By way of example, the electrical circuit 607 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to output a voltage of about 5V (e.g., between 3V-8V, for instance) for a mobile device electrically coupled to the output 610. As another example, the electrical circuit of the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to output a voltage of about 20V (e.g., between 10V-30V, for instance) for a larger computing device (e.g., a laptop) electrically coupled to the output 610. It should be noted that these examples are for illustrative purposes only. The electrical circuit 607 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may accommodate various other circumstances and/or devices.
At step 704, the wireless charger adapter 302 may receive a data signal from a barcode scanner. For example, the wireless charger adapter 302 may receive one or more wireless data signals from the barcode scanner via the adapter antenna 614. As described above, the adapter antenna 614 of the wireless charger adapter 302 may have a greater wireless range than the wireless range of the wireless charging device 102 such that the wireless charger adapter 302 facilitates extending the wireless range of the wireless charging device 102 to (e.g., to receive data signals from the barcode scanner associated with the wireless charging device 102, even when the wireless charging device 102 is not capable of receiving data signals).
In some embodiments, the wireless charger adapter 302 may have a wireless range that is greater than a wireless range of the wireless charging device 102. For example, if the wireless charging device 102 has a wireless range of about 100 meters (e.g., via an antenna of the wireless charging device 102), the wireless charger adapter 302 may have a wireless range greater than 100 meters (e.g., via an amplifier and the adapter antenna 614), such as 300 meters. It should be noted that this range is for illustrative purposes only. The wireless charging device 102 and wireless charger adapter 302 may have significantly greater and/or significantly lesser wireless ranges.
At step 706, the wireless charger adapter may transmit the data signal to the wireless charging device via a data channel between the wireless charger adapter and the wireless charging device. For example, as described above, the wireless charger adapter 302 may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless data signals to and/or from the wireless charging device 102 via the data channel 608 through the adapter antenna 614.
The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Although process flow diagrams may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the principles of the present invention.
The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
The previous description is of a preferred embodiment for implementing the invention, and the scope of the invention should not necessarily be limited by this description. The scope of the present invention is instead defined by the following claims.