Abstract: Provided is coordinated control and use of a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit for wireless battery charging, with emphasis on using power switches in the receiver circuit not only for handshaking with the transmitter circuit for compatibility check and communication of information but also for charging mode control of the battery. It utilizes extra switching operations of power switches in the receiver circuit (such as those commonly used in the Qi standard for handshaking with the transmitter circuit) to charge the battery directly from the output of the rectifier with the constant-current mode or constant-voltage mode according to a threshold battery voltage without using an extra battery management circuit between the rectifier of the receiver circuit and the battery. Coordinated operations of the transmitter and receiver circuits can be achieved without using any extra wireless communication system for signal synchronization between the two circuits.

Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and systems for wireless power transfer (WPT) in ball-and-socket type structures are provided. A ball and ball-socket structure can include conductive windings and conductive plates having a variety of shapes to optimize WPT over different angles as the ball moves or rotates within the ball-socket. One or both of capacitive coupling and inductive coupling can be incorporated.

Abstract: A battery charging system determines a current condition of a battery in real time and dynamically determine a threshold voltage for controlling a charging mode of the battery based on the current battery condition. The battery charging system charges the battery using a constant current (CC) mode or constant voltage (CV) mode based on the battery voltage and the dynamically determined threshold voltage. The battery charging system can determine the voltage and current of the battery in real time without receiving information on the battery from the power receiving side of the battery charging system.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for charging an electric vehicle. The method includes two steps. The first step is to move at least one of a transmitter coil of a charger and a receiver coil arranged at an upper end of a chassis of an electric vehicle relative to the other. The second step is to align the transmitter coil with the receiver coil such that the transmitter coil is arranged above and proximal to the receiver coil. The present invention also provides an electric vehicle arranged to be charged by the above method, a method for manufacturing such electric vehicle, and a charger or charging station that is arranged to charge electric vehicles using the above method.

Abstract: A power converter comprising one or more switch blocks. Each switch block has: a plurality of switch-pairs each having two switches connected in series to each other; a plurality of primary nodes each interconnecting the switches in a respective switch-pair; and a plurality of secondary nodes, each switch-pair being connected in series to an adjacent switch-pair through a said secondary node to form a serial chain of switch-pairs, the secondary nodes including a secondary node at one end of said serial chain and a secondary node at another end of said serial chain. Each adjacent pair of said primary nodes is connectable to a flying capacitor. Each pair of said secondary nodes is connectable to one or more of the following: one or more bypass capacitors, and one or more other said switch blocks.

Abstract: A consumer product electric power supply is provided and includes a grid power converter that is coupled to a power grid; an energy storage element that is coupled to the grid power converter, which provides an intermediate voltage to the energy storage element; a load power converter that is coupled to the energy storage element and provides constant power to a load; and a power controller that measures a state variable of the grid, wherein the power controller controls the grid power converter based on the state variable of the grid to help stabilize the grid.

Abstract: Devices and systems of inductive-capacitive (LC) coil-resonators that can be embedded easily inside high-voltage insulation discs are provided. Each LC coil-resonator comprises spiral conductive tracks fabricated or printed in the form of at least two layers of planar spiral windings on electrically non-conductive materials. The planar conductive windings on at least two parallel layers may be connected to form a closed winding. The distributed inductance associated with the planar spiral windings and the distributed capacitance between the layers of the conductive tracks form an equivalent LC coil-resonator. When these LC coil-resonators are embedded in some or all of the insulation discs in a high-voltage insulation rod, they form the relay coil-resonators for wireless power transfer.

Abstract: A system and a control method for generating multiple independent alternating current (AC) voltages from a direct current (DC) voltage source in a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) inverter are disclosed. The system comprising: a DC voltage source (101) for providing electrical energy; a front-stage DC-DC power converter (105) comprising exactly one inductor as an energy storage element for power conversion and a main switching element; a plurality of selectable output branches (106), wherein each output branch comprises an output selection switch (107), a resonant tank (110), and a transmitter coil (109), wherein the resonant tank converts output power of the DC-DC power converter into AC power for feeding the transmitter coil; and a controller (104) for determining ON/OFF states of the main switching element and the output selection switch of each of the output branches.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards methods and systems for omni-directional wireless power transfer. The method comprises generating magnetic field in all directions, detecting the loads based on the magnetic field shape and focusing the power flow towards the detected loads, so as to maximize the energy efficiency of the wireless power transfer.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for determining the misalignment and mutual coupling between the transmitter coil and receiver coil, with or without an intermediate relay resonator coil, of a wireless power charging system are provided. The determination can be made without using any direct measurement from the receiver circuit. The technic involves exciting the transmitter coil of the wireless power charging system at several frequencies with equal or different input voltage/current, such that the number of equivalent circuit equations is at least equal to the number of unknown terms in the equations. The methods use the knowledge of only the input voltage and the input current of the transmitter coil. This means that the mutual inductance or magnetic coupling coefficient between the transmitter and receiver coils can be determined based on the information obtained from the transmitter circuit and there is no need for any wireless communication from or direct measurements of the receiver circuit.

Abstract: A power compensator for compensating voltage at a location along a power transmission line, the compensator having a controller for controlling a voltage generated across the compensator, wherein the voltage is controlled to maintain a power transmission line voltage at a value dependent on the power transmission line location.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus of estimating power using a plurality of branch load circuits associated with a mains three phase power supply, comprises: a voltage sensor (303) coupled to a mains power supply; a non-intrusive magnetic flux sensor array (304) coupled to a plurality of branch load circuits (305), the branch load circuits (305) coupled to the main power supply; and a computing device coupled to the voltage sensor (303) and the non-intrusive magnetic flux sensor array (304), in which a set of current-flux conversion values are to be stored in memory of the computing device.

Abstract: Switched capacitor (SC) converters with excellent voltage regulation, high conversion efficiency, and good suitability fora wide range of applications are provided. An SC converter can include at least two SC sub-circuits, and at least one of these SC sub-circuits can be of variable gain. One SC sub-circuit can convert the input voltage of the SC converter to an output voltage close to the desired output voltage value for the SC converter, and another SC sub-circuit having variable gain can convert the input voltage to an output voltage with a high resolution of small discrete voltage steps.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for charging an electric vehicle. The method includes two steps. The first step is to move at least one of a transmitter coil of a charger and a receiver coil arranged at an upper end of a chassis of an electric vehicle relative to the other. The second step is to align the transmitter coil with the receiver coil such that the transmitter coil is arranged above and proximal to the receiver coil. The present invention also provides an electric vehicle arranged to be charged by the above method, a method for manufacturing such electric vehicle, and a charger or charging station that is arranged to charge electric vehicles using the above method.

Abstract: A system and a control method for generating multiple independent alternating current (AC) voltages from a direct current (DC) voltage source in a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) inverter are disclosed. The system comprising: a DC voltage source (101) for providing electrical energy; a front-stage DC-DC power converter (105) comprising exactly one inductor as an energy storage element for power conversion and a main switching element; a plurality of selectable output branches (106), wherein each output branch comprises an output selection switch (107), a resonant tank (110), and a transmitter coil (109), wherein the resonant tank converts output power of the DC-DC power converter into AC power for feeding the transmitter coil; and a controller (104) for determining ON/OFF states of the main switching element and the output selection switch of each of the output branches.

Abstract: In many power electronics systems, there is an intermediate DC-link stage for facilitating the power processing of different sources to their loads. A device called a plug-and-play ripple pacifier (RP) directly plugged into the DC-link, and actively removes undesired DC-link ripple, thereby eliminating the reliance on electrolytes capacitors for stabilizing the system and remove ripple. Importantly, the use of this device is non-invasive to the operation of its host systems, and requires no modification of existing hardware. It is suitable for the protection of DC utilities/systems and can also be used as a direct replacement of ripple-canceling E-Caps in power converters device.

Abstract: Novel and advantageous insulator discs with embedded resonator coils are provided. By linking the insulator discs in a series using an appropriate mechanical mechanism, the insulator discs form an insulator or insulator string for a high power transmission line system. The resonator coils embedded inside the insulator discs therefore form a series of relay resonators that can be used for wireless power transfer through the principle of near-field magnetic coupling and resonance. The insulator string can provide the simultaneous functions of voltage insulation and wireless power transfer over the length of the string. Applications include, but not limited to, wireless power transfer in a high-voltage environment such as that encountered in high-voltage power transmission line systems.

Abstract: A power controller for an AC power converter connected in series with a load and receiving power from or delivering power to a power source, the power controller comprising: a radial control block controlling a radial component of an electrical parameter of the AC power converter; and a chordal control block controlling a chordal component of the electrical parameter of the AC power converter. Also provided is a power system comprising one or more loads each connected in series to a power converter each controlled by a power controller as described above. There is also provided a method of controlling an AC power converter connected in series with a load and receiving power from a power source, the method comprising: controlling a radial component of an electrical parameter of the AC power converter; and controlling a chordal component of the electrical parameter of the AC power converter.

Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and systems for wireless power transfer (WPT) in ball-and-socket type structures are provided. A ball and ball-socket structure can include conductive windings and conductive plates having a variety of shapes to optimize WPT over different angles as the ball moves or rotates within the ball-socket. One or both of capacitive coupling and inductive coupling can be incorporated.

Abstract: In many power electronics systems, there is an intermediate DC-link stage for facilitating the power processing of different sources to their loads. A device called a plug-and-play ripple pacifier (RP) directly plugged into the DC-link, and actively removes undesired DC-link ripple, thereby eliminating the reliance on electrolytes capacitors for stabilizing the system and remove ripple. Importantly, the use of this device is non-invasive to the operation of its host systems, and requires no modification of existing hardware. It is suitable for the protection of DC utilities/systems and can also be used as a direct replacement of ripple-canceling E-Caps in power converters device.