A system and method for variable power transfer in an inductive charging or power system. In accordance with an embodiment the system comprises a pad or similar base unit that contains a primary, which creates an alternating magnetic field. A receiver comprises a means for receiving the energy from the alternating magnetic field from the pad and transferring it to a mobile device, battery, or other device. In accordance with various embodiments, additional features can be incorporated into the system to provide greater power transfer efficiency, and to allow the system to be easily modified for applications that have different power requirements. These include variations in the material used to manufacture the primary and/or the receiver coils; modified circuit designs to be used on the primary and/or receiver side; and additional circuits and components that perform specialized tasks, such as mobile device or battery identification, and automatic voltage or power-setting for different devices or batteries.

System and method for inductive charging of portable devices

A system and a method for providing content, management and interactivity for client devices are provided. Digital data based on user specified preferences is automatically obtained and transferred from a wide area network to a computer. The digital data is then automatically sent from the computer to a client device using a wireless data transceiver. In one embodiment, the client device is a television.

System and method for providing content, management, and interactivity for client devices

There is disclosed a system and method for transferring power without requiring direct electrical conductive contacts. There is provided a primary unit having a power supply and a substantially laminar charging surface having at least one conductor that generates an electromagnetic field when a current flows therethrough and having an charging area defined within a perimeter of the surface, the at least one conductor being arranged such that electromagnetic field lines generated by the at least one conductor are substantially parallel to the plane of the surface or at least subtend an angle of 45° or less to the surface within the charging area; and at least one secondary device including at least one conductor that may be wound about a core. Because the electromagnetic field is spread over the charging area and is generally parallel or near-parallel thereto, coupling with flat secondary devices such as mobile telephones and the like is significantly improved in various orientations thereof.

Contact-less power transfer

A portable inductive power source, power device, or unit, for use in powering or charging electrical, electronic, battery-operated, mobile, and other devices is disclosed herein. In accordance with an embodiment the system comprises a pad or similar base unit that contains a primary, which creates an alternating magnetic field by means of applying an alternating current to a winding, coil, or any type of current carrying wire. A receiver comprises a means for receiving the energy from the alternating magnetic field from the pad and transferring it to a mobile or other device. In some embodiments the receiver can also comprise electronic components or logic to set the voltage and current to the appropriate levels required by the mobile device, or to communicate information or data to and from the pad. Embodiments may also incorporate efficiency measures that improve the efficiency of power transfer between the charger and receiver.

Inductive power source and charging system

A power source, charging system, and inductive receiver for mobile devices. A pad or similar base unit comprises a primary, which creates a magnetic field by applying an alternating current to a winding, coil, or any type of current carrying wire. A receiver comprises a means for receiving the energy from the alternating magnetic field and transferring it to a mobile or other device. The receiver can also comprise electronic components or logic to set the voltage and current to the appropriate levels required by the mobile device, or to communicate information or data to and from the pad. The system may also incorporate efficiency measures that improve the efficiency of power transfer between the charger and receiver.

Power source, charging system, and inductive receiver for mobile devices

A battery pack, adapter and integrated charging system for charging a battery pack of the type used in a portable electronic device such as a notebook computer, a cellular telephone, etc. The battery pack includes a battery coupled through a power converter to a secondary transformer winding. A communication link is provided to the adapter which includes control logic and a power selector. The adapter may be configured to provide DC or AC power to charge a portable electronic device and the processor of a portable electronic device may be used to control charging of an external battery pack.

Battery pack and charging system for a portable electronic device

The cell type of a battery is determined by characterizing the series resistance behavior of various cell types to determine ranges of series resistance values exhibited by batteries of a particular cell type The series resistance of a battery of unknown cell type is then measured If the series resistance measurement is determined to be within a range of series resistance values exhibited exclusively by a cell type, the battery is identified as having that cell type However, for batteries whose series resistance measurements are within a non-exclusive range of series resistance values, a second cell type discharge characteristic such as battery voltage is also characterized to differentiate between the cell types The second discharge characteristic of these batteries is also measured and used to identify the cell type

Method and apparatus for differentiating battery types

A docking station for a portable computer includes a wireless transceiver for wireless communication with the portable computer. The docking station also includes a plurality of ports. Each port includes a physical connector for connection to, for example, one or more peripheral devices, a network or a monitor. A translation manager within the docking station manages translation of information transferred between the wireless transceiver and the plurality of ports.

Docking station for docking a portable computer with a wireless interface

Portable battery charger with integrally attached output cable

A common dictionary definition of a "diode" is "any electronic device that restricts current flow chiefly to one direction." This definition covers not only the conventional two lead PN junction semiconductor device presently known in the prior art (referred to herein as a "conventional diode") but also the electronic device of this invention (referred to herein as a "low power diode"). A low power diode has a comparator for comparing the voltage present at the anode and cathode of the diode. When the comparator determines that the voltage present at the anode of the low power diode equals or exceeds the voltage present at the cathode of the low power diode by a predetermined forward voltage, a signal is generated. This signal turns on a transistor acting as a switch, which in turn electronically connects the anode and the cathode of the low power diode together. Unlike conventional diodes that have a forward voltage (dependent on the physical silicon junction property of the diode) of approximately 0.7 Volts, this low power diode has a very small forward voltage (dependent on the drain to source resistance of the switch when on and the offset of the comparator) as low as 0.25 milliVolts.

Charles S. Stephens

Papers

Battery pack and charging system for a portable electronic device

Method and apparatus for differentiating battery types

Docking station for docking a portable computer with a wireless interface

Portable battery charger with integrally attached output cable

Low power diode