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Maximum energy efficiency in wireless power transfer (WPT) systems can be achieved through the use of magnetic resonance technique at a certain load resistance value. However, practical load resistance is not constant. Previously, a switched mode dc–dc converter was used in the receiver circuit to emulate an equivalent load resistance for maximum energy efficiency. In this paper, a new approach based on the On–Off Keying is proposed to achieve the high energy efficiency operation over a wide range of load power without using an impedance-matching dc–dc power converter. This simple and effective method has reduced average switching frequency and switching losses. It can be applied to any series-series resonant WPT system designed to operate at a constant output voltage. Practical measurements have confirmed the validity of the proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A charging time control method for wireless power transfer systems with a secondary-side hysteresis output power control is presented. It is a primary-side control method that adopts the combined use of three concepts, namely 1) an intermediate capacitor in the receiver circuit as a power flow indicator, 2) hysteresis switching actions of a shunt decoupling power switch in the receiver circuit to regulate the dc voltage of such intermediate capacitor, and 3) the turn-on and turn-off times of the decoupling switch detected on the primary side for closed-loop control. This method has the advantage of eliminating the need for 1) precise information of the mutual inductance between the transmitter and the receiver coils and 2) wireless communication system for feedback purpose. Practical results obtained from a hardware prototype are included. They confirm the proposed operating principles and indicate that the method can automatically lead to optimal energy efficiency operation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a technique for multifrequency wireless power transfer systems in which the wireless power can be transmitted through the wireless power transfer channel or channels from the transmitter to the targeted loads with receiver coils specifically tuned for energy reception. Auxiliary circuits comprising bandpass and/or bandstop circuits are proposed for incorporation into the receiver circuits and optional relay circuits so as to facilitate the selection and enhancement of the wireless power transfer to the designated load without causing significant cross interference due to the use of multifrequency wireless power flow control. A unique feature of this technique is that the nontargeted receiver will automatically act as a relay resonator to enhance 1) magnetic coupling, and thus, 2) the power transfer between the power transmitter and the targeted receiver. A second novel feature is that the chosen operating frequencies for the tuned receivers need not be widely apart because the auxiliary circuits consist of bandpass and/or bandstop filters to reduce any cross interference from the nontargeted frequency. The proposed technique has been practically verified in experimental prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from Tesla's principles of wireless power transfer a century ago, this critical review outlines recent magneto-inductive research activities on wireless power transfer with the transmission distance greater than the transmitter coil dimension. It summarizes the operating principles of a range of wireless power research into 1) the maximum power transfer and 2) the maximum energy efficiency principles. The differences and the implications of these two approaches are explained in terms of their energy efficiency and transmission distance capabilities. The differences between the system energy efficiency and the transmission efficiency are also highlighted. The review covers the two-coil systems, the four-coil systems, the systems with relay resonators and the wireless domino-resonator systems. Related issues including human exposure issues and reduction of winding resistance are also addressed. The review suggests that the use of the maximum energy efficiency principle in the two-coil systems is suitable for short-range rather than mid-range applications, the use of the maximum power transfer principle in the four-coil systems is good for maximizing the transmission distance, but is under a restricted system energy efficiency (<;50%); the use of the maximum energy efficiency principle in relay or domino systems may offer a good compromise for good system energy efficiency and transmission distance on the condition that relay resonators can be placed between the power source and the load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part-II of this paper focuses on the mathematical analysis of the 3-D omnidirectional wireless power transfer (WPT) and also addresses the general principle of load detection. It provides the mathematical forms of distributions of the input power vector and output power vector, and demonstrates that the geometry of such 3-D distributed space follows the revolution of the Lemniscate of Bernoulli along its longitudinal axis. It provides the mathematical proof that the direction of energy transfer for the maximum energy efficiency is always in line with that of the maximum load power path in the 3-D space. Experimental verification is included to confirm the 3-D omnidirectional WPT theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the basic control principles of omnidirectional wireless power transfer (WPT) based on the current amplitude control. The principles involve 1) an “omnidirectional” scanning process for detecting the power requirements in a 3-D space and 2) a “directional” power flow control for focusing the wireless power toward the targeted areas. Such principles apply to any WPT system comprising three orthogonal transmitter coils and multiple receivers with coil resonators. A current amplitude control method capable of generating a magnetic vector at a set of points evenly distributed on a spherical surface is explained. Based on the voltage and the current information in the transmitter circuit, the power involved in each vector over the spherical surface can be obtained. By scanning the vector over the spherical surface, the collective power flow requirements for the targeted loads can be determined. Based on the power requirements for the vectors over the spherical surface, a weighted time-sharing scheme is adopted to focus the wireless power toward the targeted areas. This method has been successfully applied to a hardware prototype. Both theoretical and experimental results are included to confirm these principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a brief overview of historical developments of wireless power and an analysis on the use of Tesla's resonators in domino forms for wireless power transfer. Relay resonators are spaced between the transmitter and receiver coils with the objectives of maximizing energy efficiency and increasing the overall transmission distance between the power source and the load. Analytical expressions for the optimal load and maximum efficiency at resonance frequency are derived. These equations are verified with practical measurements obtained from both coaxial and noncoaxial domino resonator systems. To avoid the use of high operating frequency for wireless power transfer in previous related research, the technique presented here can be used at submegahertz operation so as to minimize the power loss in both the power supply and the output stage. We demonstrated both theoretically and practically that unequal spacing for the coaxial straight domino systems has better efficiency performance than the equal-spacing method. Also, the flexibility of using resonators in various domino forms is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The planar contactless battery charging system is an emerging technology that can be applied to a wide range of portable consumer electronic products. Beginning with a brief historical background, this paper presents a new single-layer winding array and receiver coil structure with cylindrical ferrite cores for planar contactless battery charging systems. Complying with the “Qi” standard, this design enables multiple devices to be placed and charged simultaneously on the wireless charging pad in a free-positioning manner. The charging flux is totally localized within the covered area between the selected primary winding and the secondary winding inside the load. The electromagnetic characteristics of such winding design are studied in finite-element analysis and confirmed by practical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While detection of foreign or unintended metallic objects is an important topic for wireless power transfer (WPT), operation of WPT systems with intended metallic objects is largely an unchartered territory. This article presents a methodology for analyzing the effects of intended metallic object on a WPT system through the study of the magnetic field distribution and the use of a reduced-order equivalent model of the systems for comparing the WPT system with and without the metallic object. The methodology is applied to a metallic corona ring of low resistance used with a WPT system. The analysis quantifies how an intended metallic object could change the magnetic coupling between the transmitter and receiver coils, and alter the equivalent resonant tank parameters of the WPT system. Recompensation of the resonant tank can only enhance the power transfer capability but not the energy efficiency. The theory and practical verification of a new performance-enhancement method based on a combination of recompensating the resonant tanks and maximizing the equivalent mutual inductance of the Tx and Rx coils is presented. Such methodology provides a general approach to analyze WPT systems with or without relay resonators in the presence of intended metallic objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a nonisolated buck-boost single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) dc–ac inverter for driving multiple independent high-frequency ac outputs of medium power is proposed. Compared with traditional bridge-type inverters, the proposed buck-boost SIMO inverter achieves 1) a smaller component count, 2) fully independent power control of its outputs, 3) better scalability in increasing the number of ac output channels, and 4) higher power efficiency. Operating in pseudo-continuous conduction mode, the rated power of each output channel of this inverter can be high while attaining zero cross regulation. The scalability factor of the proposed inverter is formally investigated and the theoretical maximum number of ac outputs is analytically derived. The targeted application of this SIMO-based inverter is for driving multiple transmitter coils to realize versatile multidevice medium-power wireless power transfer. A hardware prototype of a single-inductor three-output buck-boost inverter delivering a medium power of 8.4 W per output channel has been constructed. It is experimentally verified that precise and independent current regulation of individual transmitter coil is achievable with the proposed inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a nonisolated dc−ac inverter topology, which enables a true single-stage direct conversion from a single dc input supply to multiple ac output power sources by using only one inductor in the power stage, is proposed. Compared with the conventional multiple-output parallel half-bridge or full-bridge inverters, the proposed single-stage single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) inverter topology achieves a smaller number of inductors and power switches, high power density, scalability to multiple ac outputs, and independent power controllability for each ac output. A useful application of the proposed SIMO inverter is to drive an array of transmitting coils simultaneously for wireless power transfer applications. An experimental prototype has been developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of a single-inductor three-output boost-derived inverter without cross regulation. Experimental results show that precise and independent peak voltage regulation of each individual sinusoidal ac output is attainable with the proposed SIMO inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-voltage insulation (HVI) strings are commonly used to hold high-voltage electric cables and electrically isolate them from the grounded transmission tower. In this paper, a novel concept of an electric insulation string with HVI and wireless power transfer (WPT) capabilities is presented. Based on the concept of the domino-resonator WPT system, this new structure consists of coil resonators embedded inside totally sealed insulation discs, which are then connected in series to form the new insulation string structure with the simultaneous HVI and WPT functions. This structure allows energy harvested from the ac magnetic field around the high-voltage cable to be transmitted wirelessly to power an online monitoring system in high-voltage transmission tower continuously, thereby reducing the storage requirements of the battery. The design and analysis of this new WPT structure based on the dimensions of commercially available HVI rod are included. Practical measurements obtained from a hardware prototype of about 25 W have been obtained to confirm the WPT capability of the proposal. An energy efficiency of more than 60% has been achieved for a transmission distance of 1.1 m over a wide range of load. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new method to estimate the mutual inductance and load resistance in a series–series compensated wireless power transfer system is presented. Reasonably accurate estimations can be obtained from measurements of the input voltage and current obtained at one operating frequency only. The proposal can be used to dynamically monitor both the coupling relationship between the transmitter and receiver coils and the load conditions without any direct measurement on the receiver side. It can also be used as a simple method to measure the mutual inductance of any pair of coupled coils. A novel impedance spectrum analysis method is further presented to show that series–series compensation has special characteristics in its input impedance spectrum. Experimental results with acceptable tolerance are included to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic method is presented in this paper to show that, based only on the measurements of the input voltage and current, the load impedance of a wireless power transfer system can be instantaneously monitored and load power controlled without using any direct measurement from the load. A new mathematic procedure for deriving the output load information based on input voltage and current is explained. This systematic method, which can be applied to wireless power systems with two or more coils, eliminates the need for sensors and communication devices on the load side, thereby greatly simplifying the power control circuitry. The principle of the load estimation method, the power loss optimization and control scheme are described and favorably verified with measurements obtained from an eight-coil wireless power transfer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visualizing the magnetic flux paths for wireless power transfer systems enables researchers and engineers to understand the operations and design the geometrical dimensions of the practical systems. However, time-domain transient simulations of 3-D electromagnetic fields of complex wireless power transfer systems with multiple coil-resonators are extremely time-consuming. This paper describes a fast hybrid approach that combines the time-domain coupled circuit modeling and the magnetostatic analysis to form a fast time-domain analytical tool for studying complex wireless power transfer systems. The proposed methodology has been successfully applied to several wireless domino-resonator systems. For the first time, the time-varying magnetic flux variations of wireless power domino-resonator systems can be visualized in computer simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new methodology for ensuring that a three-coil wireless power transfer system is more energy efficient than a two-coil counterpart is presented in this paper. The theoretical proof and the conditions for meeting the objective are derived and practically verified in a practical prototype. The key features of the magnetic design are to: 1) shift the current stress from the primary driving circuit to the relay resonator; and 2) generate a large relay current for maximizing magnetic coupling with the receiver coil for efficient power transfer. Consequently, the current rating and cost of the driving circuit can be reduced and the overall quality factor and system energy efficiency are improved. This approach utilizes the combined advantages of the maximum efficiency principle and the use of relay resonator to overcome the energy efficiency problem for applications with extended energy transfer distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonidentical current control methods for 2- and 3-D omnidirectional wireless power systems are described. The omnidirectional power transmitter enables ac magnetic flux to flow in all directions and coil receivers to pick up energy in any position in the proximity of the transmitter. It can be applied to wireless charging systems for low-power devices such as radio-frequency identification devices and sensors. Practical results on 2-D and 3-D systems have confirmed the omnidirectional power transfer capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]