Wireless power transfer system

1. A wireless power transfer system comprising:

one or more primary coils for generating an oscillating electromagnetic field for wirelessly transferring power to one or more secondary coils;

one or more emitting coils arranged to generate an electromagnetic field for exciting a nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal exposed to the electromagnetic field generated by the one or more emitting coils; and

one or more detecting coils for detecting the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation by and/or from the excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance; or

one or more emitting and detecting coils arranged to generate an electromagnetic field for exciting a nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal exposed to the electromagnetic field and to detect the emission and/or absorption of electromagnetic radiation from and/or by the nuclear quadrupole resonance;

wherein the system is arranged, when the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils detect the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation by and/or from the excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal, to prevent the one or more primary coils from generating, or to cause the one or more primary coils to reduce the amplitude of, the oscillating electromagnetic field.

2. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more primary coils are arranged to generate an oscillating electromagnetic field for transferring power wirelessly to an electrically powered device comprises the one or more secondary coils.

3. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the electrically powered device is an electrically powered automotive vehicle.

4. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to generate an oscillatory magnetic field.

5. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to generate the electromagnetic field at a plurality of different frequencies.

6. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to generate an electromagnetic field having a frequency between 1 MHz and 100 MHz.

7. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic field generated by the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils comprises a continuous wave and/or a pulsed electromagnetic field.

8. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils comprise one or more induction coils arranged to detect a change in the impedance of the one or more induction coils caused by the absorption of electromagnetic radiation during excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance and/or wherein the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils comprise one or more induction coils arranged to detect an induced current in the one or more induction coils caused by the emission of electromagnetic radiation from the excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance.

9. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the wireless power transfer system is arranged to perform time or frequency domain reflectometry using the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the nuclear quadrupole resonance.

10. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the biological material comprises one or more amino acids and/or wherein the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to generate an electromagnetic field for exciting a nuclear quadrupole resonance in nitrogen-14 in the biological material.

11. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to generate an electromagnetic field and the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to detect the nuclear quadrupole resonance in a zone, such that nuclear quadrupole resonance is excited and detected in biological material of an animal that enters or passes through the zone.

12. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the wireless power transfer system comprises an array of emitting coils and an array of detecting coils or an array of emitting and detecting coils surrounding the primary coil and/or wherein the wireless power transfer system comprises one or more tiles comprising the one or more emitting coils and/or the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils.

13. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the wireless power transfer system comprises an array of detecting coils or an array of emitting and detecting coils, and wherein the wireless power transfer system is arranged to:

determine, using the array of detecting coils or the array of emitting and detecting coils, position information from the electromagnetic radiation detected by the array of detecting coils or the array of emitting and detecting coils;

determine, using the determined position information, when the position information exhibits a particular characteristic; and

preventing the primary coil from generating or causing the primary coil to reduce the amplitude of the oscillating electromagnetic field when it is determined that the position information exhibits the particular characteristic.

14. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more detection coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to detect when there is no longer electromagnetic radiation being emitted from and/or absorbed by the biological material of an animal, and the wireless power transfer system is arranged to cause the primary coil to restore the oscillating electromagnetic field when the one or more detection coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils have determined there is no longer electromagnetic radiation being emitted from and/or absorbed by the biological material of an animal.

15. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the wireless power transfer system comprises a control system arranged to prevent the primary coil from generating or to cause the primary coil to reduce the amplitude of the oscillating electromagnetic field when the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils detect the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation by and/or from the nuclear quadrupole resonance excited in the biological material of an animal.

16. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the control system is arranged to receive a control signal from the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils, when the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils detect the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation by and/or from the nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal, that triggers the control system to prevent the primary coil from generating or to cause the primary coil to reduce the amplitude of the oscillating electromagnetic field.

17. The wireless power transfer system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more emitting coils and the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils are arranged to detect conductive material.

18. A method of operating a wireless power transfer system, the wireless power transfer system comprising:

one or more primary coils for generating an oscillating electromagnetic field for wirelessly transferring power to one or more secondary coils;

one or more emitting coils for generating an electromagnetic field for exciting a nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal exposed to the electromagnetic field generated by the one or more emitting coils; and

one or more detecting coils for detecting the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation by and/or from the excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance, or one or more emitting and detecting coils arranged to generate an electromagnetic field for exciting a nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal exposed to the electromagnetic field and to detect the emission and/or absorption of electromagnetic radiation from and/or by the nuclear quadrupole resonance;

wherein the method comprises:

generating an electromagnetic field, using the one or more emitting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils, for exciting a nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal exposed to the electromagnetic field;

detecting the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation, using the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils, by and/or from the excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance; and

preventing the one or more primary coils from generating, or causing the one or more primary coils to reduce the amplitude of, the oscillating electromagnetic field when the one or more detecting coils or the one or more emitting and detecting coils detect the absorption and/or emission of electromagnetic radiation by and/or from the excitation of the nuclear quadrupole resonance in the biological material of an animal.