Patents Examined by Joseph N Inge
  • Patent number: 11901764
    Abstract: A power supply circuit includes a charge system circuit and a discharge system circuit. The charge system circuit charges a battery based on power received by a power receiving unit. The discharge system circuit supplies power to a power supply target device based on a battery voltage from the battery. The discharge system circuit includes a power supply circuit and a power-off setting circuit. The power supply circuit supplies power to the power supply target device based on the battery voltage. The power-off setting circuit sets the power supply circuit to a power-off state when it is detected that a non-input state of the battery voltage to the discharge system circuit is changed to an input state of the battery voltage to the discharge system circuit, and releases the power-off state after the power receiving unit starts receiving power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Inventor: Kinya Matsuda
  • Patent number: 11894203
    Abstract: A remote-controlled switch cover assembly is described for converting an existing rocker switch into a remote-controlled switch. The remote-controlled switch cover assembly receives a wireless signal to actuate the existing rocker switch and, in response, activates an electric motor that causes a gear train to turn in a first direction. This causes a wiper to engage an under-surface of a tilt plate located above the existing rocker switch and, in response, an opposing end of the tit plate depresses the existing rocker switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: ECOLINK INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Morgan Scruggs
  • Patent number: 11894691
    Abstract: A contactless power feeding system includes: a power converter which converts DC power from a DC power supply, to AC power; a power transmission electrode to which AC power converted by the power converter is applied; a power reception device having a power reception electrode, receiving power through capacitive coupling between the power transmission and reception electrodes, and feeding power to a load; a voltage detection unit which detects voltage of the power transmission electrode; and a control unit which controls the DC power supply or the power converter using voltage detected by the voltage detection unit. The voltage detection unit has a voltage detection electrode and detects voltage of the power transmission electrode through capacitive coupling between the power transmission electrode and the voltage detection electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shunji Hata
  • Patent number: 11888328
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems for controlling an active rectifier of a wireless power receiver. The exemplary methods can include determining a reference value of a current into the rectifier, the reference value being based on a load requirement; determining a required value change in a present input current into the rectifier based on the reference value; transmitting, to a wireless power transmitter, a signal representative of the required value change in the present input current; determining a new value of the present input current after transmitting the signal; and, when the new value is within a predetermined range of the required value change, driving at least one transistor in the rectifier with a PWM signal based on the new value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: WITRICITY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Milisav Danilovic, Conor Rochford
  • Patent number: 11888324
    Abstract: A power management apparatus 20 comprises: a plurality of energy harvesting input channels 21-24; a first energy storage element connection for connecting to an energy storage element 32; an inductor connection 27; and a switching circuit 28. A controller 30 operates the switching circuit to transfer energy between the energy harvesting input channels 21-24 and the first energy storage element connection 25 by a sequence of energy transfer cycles. Each energy harvesting input channel 21-24 is allocated a plurality of the energy transfer cycles. The controller 30 determines operating parameters for operating the switching circuit 28 which transfer a maximum power from the electrical energy harvesting source connected to the energy harvesting input channel and a maximum power inductor utilisation factor. The controller 30 determines a set of adjusted operating parameters for sharing use of the inductor between the plurality of energy harvesting input channels 21-24.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Trameto Limited
    Inventors: Mark Ross, Laurence Alan Strong, Robert Robertson
  • Patent number: 11888383
    Abstract: A method for controlling an electric load is described herein. In accordance with one embodiment the method includes collecting ambient energy using an energy harvesting circuit and using the collected ambient energy to charge a buffer capacitor. The method further includes alternatingly connecting and disconnecting an electrical load and the buffer capacitor, wherein a capacitor voltage provided by the buffer capacitor is applied to the electrical load in a discharging phase, in which the electrical load is connected to the buffer capacitor and the capacitor voltage decreases, and wherein the buffer capacitor is recharged in a charging phase, in which the electrical load is disconnected from the buffer capacitor in a charging phase in which the capacitor voltage again increases. The durations of the charging phase and the discharging phase are designed such that the capacitor voltage stays above a minimum supply voltage of the electrical load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Qi Zhu, Doris Keitel-Schulz, Natasha Novik, Helmut Sochor
  • Patent number: 11888327
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides wireless power transfer systems and methods. One such system includes a transmitter comprising a transmitter coil coupled to a power source and a transmitter metasurface slab positioned on a front side of the transmitter coil that is configured to amplify and focus a magnetic field generated by the transmitter coil towards a receiver in a non-contact manner. In such a system, the receiver comprises a receiver coil coupled to a load and a receiver metasurface slab positioned on a front side of the receiver coil configured to amplify and focus a magnetic field generated by the transmitter coil towards the receiver coil in a non-contact manner. Other systems and methods are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Yong Kyu Yoon, Woosol Lee
  • Patent number: 11870277
    Abstract: Provided is a back-data transmission circuit generating a sensing signal using an arbitrary sensor, generating an input signal by digitally converting the sensing signal, generating a modulation signal by performing a modulation operation when there is a change in the input signal, inducing the modulation signal and transmitting the modulation signal to the transmitting terminal, measuring an induction signal induced from a receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal, and generating an output signal by calculating a slope of a voltage change represented by the induction signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Korea University Research and Business Foundation
    Inventors: Hyung-Min Lee, Hyun-Su Lee
  • Patent number: 11865926
    Abstract: An apparatus in which electric power is generated for an electrical load from differentials in electric field strengths within a vicinity of powerlines includes: a plurality of electrodes separated and electrically insulated from one another for enabling differentials in voltage resulting from differentials in electric field strength experienced there at; and electrical components electrically connected therewith and configurable to establish one or more electric circuits whereby voltage differentials cause a current to flow through the established electric circuit for powering the electrical load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: NXP Aeronautics Research, LLC
    Inventors: Steven J. Syracuse, Chad D. Tillman
  • Patent number: 11870273
    Abstract: A wireless charging device includes a casing, a circuit board and at least one wireless charging module. The casing includes a bottom plate and a plurality of mounting pillars protruding from the bottom plate. The circuit board includes a substrate and at least one support assembly, and the substrate is stacked on the plurality of mounting pillars. The support assembly includes a plurality of support pillars protruding from the substrate. The wireless charging module includes a mounting frame and a charging coil. The mounting frame has a plurality of first assembling parts. The plurality of first assembling parts are respectively mounted on the plurality of support pillars. The charging coil is disposed on the mounting frame. Projections of the plurality of mounting pillars on the bottom plate at least partially overlap projections of the plurality of support pillars on the bottom plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignees: INVENTEC (PUDONG) TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, INVENTEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Chi-Cheng Hsiao
  • Patent number: 11848564
    Abstract: A converter and a circuit device including the converter are disclosed. The converter includes an inductor including a first end and a second end, and a switching circuit connected to the inductor. The switching circuit includes a first switch to control a connection between the first end and a battery connected to the converter, a second switch to control a connection between the second end and a current output end configured to output a current generated through the inductor from the battery, a third switch to control a connection between the second end and a voltage output end configured to output a voltage generated from the battery, and a fourth switch to control a connection between the second end and a voltage input end configured to receive a voltage to charge the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seungchul Jung, Sang Joon Kim, Hankyu Lee, Hyungwoo Lee
  • Patent number: 11843257
    Abstract: A power transmission apparatus includes a first switching element having a first and a second terminal, a first capacitor connected between the first terminal and the second terminal of the first switching element, and a power transmission inductor connected to the first switching element on a direct-current (DC) basis and configured to wirelessly transmit alternating-current (AC) power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuki Shoji
  • Patent number: 11843268
    Abstract: A system includes at least one antenna and a controller. The controller is configured to identify a phase of a first signal received by the at least one antenna from a wireless device. The controller is configured to determine transmission settings for the at least one antenna based on the identified phase. The controller is configured to generate, according to the transmission settings, a second signal for focusing on a wireless device. A method includes identifying a phase of a first signal received by a first transceiver from a second transceiver. The method includes determining transmission settings for the first transceiver based on the identified phase. The method includes generating, according to the transmission settings, a second signal for focusing on the second transceiver. Embodiments improve the power efficiency of wireless signal transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Ossia Inc.
    Inventors: Hatem Zeine, Siamak Ebadi
  • Patent number: 11813941
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a primary power supply (PPS) configured to supply primary power, a PPS sensor configured to measure the power supplied by the PPS and provide a PPS measurement signal indicating an amount of the power supplied by the PPS, a backup power supply (BPS) configured to be provided in an emergency data system and further configured to supply backup power to a modem, and an integrated circuit configured to maintain a clock using the power supplied by the PPS. The integrated circuit is configured to receive the PPS measurement signal from the PPS sensor, determine whether the PPS measurement signal falls below a threshold, and maintain the clock using the power supplied by the BPS in response to a determination that the PPS measurement signal has fallen below the threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Alex Jong, Ralph Akram Gholmieh, Ravikumar Palakodety
  • Patent number: 11799684
    Abstract: Systems and methods for backup power sources and controls for Power over Ethernet light sources are provided. In one example embodiment, a lighting system includes one or more light sources configured to receive power over one or more Ethernet cables. The lighting system also includes a battery pack comprising an energy storage medium. The battery pack can be configured to provide power to the one or more light sources over one or more Ethernet cables. The lighting system can also include an output control circuit configured to manage delivery of power from the battery pack to the one or more light sources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Hubbell Incorporated
    Inventors: Pritam Yadav, Douglas Matthew Hamilton
  • Patent number: 11791666
    Abstract: The disclosure includes a foreign object detection circuit and a foreign object detection method. The method comprises: step a) establishing a communication link between a transmitter and a receiver in a wireless power transmission system; step b) performing, by the transmitter and the receiver, wireless power transmission based on the magnetic coupling; and step c) measuring a quality factor of a receiver terminal, and determining whether a foreign object exists in the wireless power transmission system or not based on the quality factor. In accordance with a foreign object detection circuit and a foreign object detection method provided by the present invention, the problem that the foreign object cannot be detected effectively in the prior art is solved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: NuVolta Technologies (Hefei) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Min Yang, Bingtao Yu
  • Patent number: 11791658
    Abstract: An IoT wireless power transfer sensor is provided, which includes a sensor circuit, a group of retrodirective searching antennas, a group of energy harvesting antennas and a communication antenna. The sensor circuit includes a switching unit, an energy converting unit, a power management unit and an energy converting and storage unit. The searching antennas are connected to the switching unit. When the switching unit is on, the searching antennas don't harvest the energy of an external device's scanning signal; they reflect the incident energy to the external device. The energy harvesting antenna is connected to the energy converting unit and receives the incident energy to charge the energy converting and storage unit. When the power storage level of the energy converting and storage unit reaches a first threshold value, the switching unit is consecutively switched between on and off to transmit a device information in back-scattered way to the external device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: TAMKANG UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Ching-Lieh Li, Yu-Jen Chi, Hsiu-Ping Lin
  • Patent number: 11784495
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for generating and conserving power for illuminating a space including obtaining energy producing equipment further including a racking system, a direct current to alternating current inverter, a solar module, a light source and connecting the solar module to the racking system, connecting the direct current to alternating current inverter to the solar module, connecting the light source to the solar module through the direct current to alternating current inverter, receiving from the solar module by the inverter a direct current and converting it to alternating current, and causing by the alternating current the light source to visually illuminate the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Inventor: Christopher Pawlik
  • Patent number: 11784496
    Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for operating an inverter based distributed power generation source with energy storage system, as a Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) deviceā€”a STATCOM. The inverter based distributed power generation source can provide reactive power compensation, voltage regulation, damping enhancement, stability improvement and other benefits provided by FACTS devices. These STATCOM functions are provided when the said energy storage based distributed power generation source is doing at least one of: i) not exchanging active power with said power grid system, or ii) exchanging active power less than a maximum inverter capacity with said power grid system. The present invention thus provides a technological improvement that opens up a new set of applications and potential revenue earning opportunities for energy storage based distributed power generation sources other than simply from exchanging (injecting or absorbing) active power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Inventor: Rajiv Kumar Varma
  • Patent number: 11770025
    Abstract: Provided are a wireless power transmission apparatus and a control method thereof. The apparatus includes a transmitting unit which includes an inverter circuit, a first compensation circuit, and a transmitting coil; a receiving unit which includes a receiving coil, a second compensation circuit, and a rectifier circuit; a power regulation unit configured to regulate an output signal of the wireless power transmission apparatus; and a control unit configured to: acquire a voltage-and-current phase difference of the transmitting unit, a detection signal, and a power detection value of the wireless power transmission apparatus; control an operating frequency of the inverter circuit according to the voltage-and-current phase difference and a preset phase difference, and generate a power derating signal according to the detection signal, and control, according to the power derating signal, the power detection value and a power reference signal, the power regulation unit to regulate the output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Delta Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Qing Jiang, Yongkai Liao, Min Xu, Shunyang Ji