Eyewear with wireless charging means
Eyewear ( 100 ) comprising at least one lens ( 110,120 ), a lens frame ( 111,121 ), a battery ( 170 ) and means for wireless charging of said battery ( 170 ), which wireless charging means comprises a receiver coil ( 181 ) arranged to be remotely powered by a corresponding transmitter coil ( 340 ) in a separate charging device ( 300 ). The invention is characterised in that the receiver coil ( 181 ) is arranged so that it encircles at least one of said one or several lenses ( 110,120 ), forming part of or being enclosed in said lens frame ( 111,121 ), whereby light passing through the at least one lens ( 110,120 ) will also pass through a coil hole.
1. Eyewear comprising:
a lens,
a non-flat lens frame that encircles a perimeter of the lens and is curved about an axis of curvature,
a battery, and
a wireless charger for the battery, the wireless charger comprising a receiver coil arranged to be remotely powered by a corresponding transmitter coil located in a separate charging device, and
wherein the receiver coil comprises conductors forming turns of the receiver coil that are printed on a multilayer flexible printed circuit (FPC), each layer of the FPC comprising plural turns of the receiver coil;
wherein the turns of the receiver coil encircle the lens and forms part of or is enclosed in the non-flat lens frame so that light passing through the lens also passes through a coil hole formed by the turns and so that the receiver coil is non-flat and curved with the non-flat lens frame about the axis of curvature.
2. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the receiver coil comprises no more than 20 turns, and wherein a total cross-sectional area of each turn is no more than 0.02 mm 2 .
3. The eyewear according to claim 2 , wherein the receiver coil comprises at least 10 turns, and wherein the total cross-sectional area of each turn is at least 0.01 mm 2 .
4. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the conductors forming the turns of the receiver coil are metal wires that receive inductively transferred electric energy from said transmitter coil and form a structural stability element of the eyewear.
5. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit comprises at least four layers.
6. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein each individual conductor, in cross-section, is between 0.02 and 0.05 mm thick, and between 0.1 and 2 mm wide.
7. The eyewear according to claim 6 , wherein the eyewear further comprises circuitry for providing a desired voltage to the battery and/or for performing a predetermined task, the circuitry is arranged in a temple of the eyewear, and the flexible printed circuit extends past a hinge of the eyewear connecting the non-flat lens frame to the temple.
8. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless charger further comprises a digital controller that controls a power, a current and/or a voltage of electricity developed in the receiver coil, and further transmits information regarding a state of the eyewear to the transmitter coil via modulation of the power, the current, the voltage and/or a frequency of the electricity developed in the receiver coil.
9. The eyewear according to claim 1 , the eyewear is a pair of glasses.
10. The eyewear according to claim 9 , wherein the lens is a first lens and the eyewear comprises a separate second lens and the receiver coil comprises one of:
two separate coils around the two different lenses of the eyewear;
a single coil enclosing both lenses in a non-overlapping manner; or
a single coil enclosing both lenses in a figure-eight shape with coil overlap between the two lenses.
11. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the eyewear further comprises a detachable protector that encloses the lens and provides electrical shielding to the receiver coil.
12. The eyewear according to claim 11 , wherein the detachable protector does not cover a temple of the eyewear.
13. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the receiver coil comprises between 5 and 30 turns, and wherein a total cross-sectional area of each turn is between 0.005 mm 2 and 0.03 mm 2 .
14. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein the receiver coil comprises no more than 18 turns, and wherein a total cross-sectional area of each turn is no more than 0.02 mm 2 .
15. The eyewear according to claim 14 , wherein the receiver coil comprises at least 14 turns, and wherein the total cross-sectional area of each turn is at least 0.01 mm 2 .
16. The eyewear according to claim 1 , wherein each individual conductor, in cross-section, is between 0.02 and 0.05 mm thick, and between 0.1 and 0.6 mm wide.
17. The eyewear according to claim 1 , further comprising charging circuitry that communicates via the receiver coil with the transmitter coil using a communications standard for wireless charging.