Wireless power transmission system
The wireless power transmission is a system for providing wireless charging and/or primary power to electronic/electrical devices via microwave energy. The microwave energy is focused to a location by a power transmitter having one or more adaptively-phased microwave array emitters. Rectennas within the device to be charged receive and rectify the microwave energy and use it for battery charging and/or for primary power.
1. A wireless microwave power transmitter comprising:
a controller and a phased array antenna having a plurality of microwave array transceivers each for transmitting a microwave power transmission signal, the transceivers being adaptively-phased by the controller to transmit their respective power transmission signals at a respective selected phase;
each transceiver further operable to receive multipath calibration signals from a plurality of devices to be charged by the microwave power transmission signals and detect a phase at which each of the multipath calibration signals is received by the respective transceiver;
the controller further configured to adjust the respective selected phase for use in transmitting the respective power transmission signal to a respective determined phase, the respective determined phase based on the respective detected phase wherein the respective determined phase indicates an optimal phase for the power transmission signal to be transmitted to each device of the plurality of devices to be charged; and
wherein each power transmission signal is transmitted without utilizing a location signal, if any, from the plurality of devices to be charged that indicates the location of each device to be charged of the plurality of devices to be charged, and
wherein the microwave transmitter and the plurality of devices to be charged are not required to be in line of sight of each other, and
wherein the controller is further configured to prioritize transmission of the power transmission signals to a first device to be charged of the plurality of devices to be charged prior to transmitting the power transmission signals to a second device of the plurality of devices to be charged based upon a predefined criteria.
2. The wireless power transmitter of claim 1 wherein the determined phase is the complex conjugate of the detected phase.
3. The wireless power transmitter of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to compare each of the multipath calibration signals to an internal signal to detect the received phase of each of the multipath calibration signals.
4. The wireless power transmitter of claim 1 wherein the predefined criteria includes any of the following: the first device to be charged is paired with the wireless power transmitter, the first device to be charged has a greater need for power than the second device to be charged, or the first device to be charged includes a higher rank than the second device to be charged.
5. The wireless power transmitter of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to pre-register each device of the plurality of devices and to establish a prioritization order for charging each device of the plurality of devices.
6. A wireless microwave power receiver, comprising:
one or more rectennas configured to receive power transmission signals from a wireless microwave power transmitter to charge the wireless microwave power receiver;
wherein the wireless microwave power transmitter comprising:
a controller and a phased array antenna having a plurality of microwave array transceivers for transmitting the microwave power transmission signals, the transceiver being adaptively-phased by the controller to transmit the power transmission signals at a respective selected phase;
each transceiver further operable to receive multipath calibration signals from the microwave power receiver and detect a phase at which each of the multipath calibration signals is received by the transceiver;
a transmitter configured to transmit said multipath calibration signals to said microwave power transmitter; and,
wherein each rectenna is further configured to receive a power transmission signal having a determined phase, the determined phase of the power transmission signal generated under the control of the controller at the microwave power transmitter being substantially a complex conjugate of a detected phase of the calibration signal; and
wherein the microwave power transmitter and wireless microwave power receiver are not required to be in line of sight of each other; and
wherein the controller is further configured to determine a prioritization order for transmission of the power transmission signals to the wireless microwave power receiver based upon a predefined criteria.
7. The wireless microwave power receiver of claim 6 wherein the determined phase is a phase angle within a margin of deviation from the complex conjugate of the detected phase of the calibration signal.
8. The wireless microwave power receiver of claim 7 wherein the determined phase is a phase angle within plus or minus 36 degrees of the complex conjugate of the detected phase of the calibration signal.
9. The wireless microwave power receiver of claim 6 wherein the predefined criteria includes any of the following: the wireless microwave power receiver is paired with the wireless power transmitter, the wireless microwave power receiver has a greater need for power than another wireless microwave power receiver, or the wireless microwave power receiver includes a higher rank than another wireless microwave power receiver.