Appliance mounted power outlets
View Patent ↗An electrical appliance comprising a connection to a power source and a principle electrical load, wherein the appliance additionally comprises at least one inductive power outlet, the inductive power outlet comprising: at least one driver, connectable to the power source, the driver for providing an oscillating voltage supply; and at least one primary inductive coil connected to the driver, the primary inductive coil for inductively coupling with an external secondary inductive coil wired to a second electrical load.
1. An inductive power distribution system incorporated into a generally stationary host appliance, wherein the generally stationary host appliance comprises a principal electrical load connected to a power source, said system comprising at least one inductive power outlet mounted upon the generally stationary host appliance.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said inductive power outlet is incorporated into a substantially flat portion of said host appliance.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein said power source is selected from at least one of a mains electricity line or an electrochemical power cell.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein said power source is integral to said host appliance.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein said host appliance comprises an inductive power receiver and said power source comprises an external inductive power outlet.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein said host appliance is selected from a group consisting of: refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ovens, microwaves, washing machines, dryers, photocopiers, computers, printers, scanners, televisions, home entertainment centers, audio players and video players.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein said principal load is selected from a group consisting of: electrical heaters, electrical motors, refrigeration units, compressors, display units, loudspeakers, electrical clocks, electromagnetic transducers and computers.
8. The system of claim 1 further comprising an attachment means for mechanically attaching an inductive power receiver to said inductive power outlet.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein said inductive power outlets additionally comprise data channels for allowing data exchange between said inductive power outlets and inductive power receivers.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein said inductive power outlet comprises:
at least one driver configured to connect to the power source and operable to provide an oscillating voltage supply, and at least one primary inductive coil connected to the driver and configured to couple inductively with an external secondary inductive coil wired to a second electrical load.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein said inductive power outlet further comprises: at least a first ferromagnetic core for providing flux guidance between said primary inductive coil and said secondary inductive coil.
12. The system of claim 10 wherein said driver is connected to a plurality of said primary inductive coils.
13. The system of claim 1 comprising an array of said inductive power outlets.
14. A method for distributing power inductively comprising:
providing a generally stationary host appliance comprising a principal load and having at least one inductive power outlet mounted thereupon;
connecting said generally stationary host appliance to a power source;
providing an inductive power receiver;
inductively coupling said inductive power receiver to at least one said inductive power outlet; and
providing an oscillating voltage to a primary inductive coil of said inductive power outlet such that a voltage is induced in a secondary inductive coil of said inductive power receiver.