Wireless energy transfer

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for use in wireless energy transfer, which includes a first resonator structure configured to transfer energy non-radiatively with a second resonator structure over a distance greater than a characteristic size of the second resonator structure. The non-radiative energy transfer is mediated by a coupling of a resonant field evanescent tail of the first resonator structure and a resonant field evanescent tail of the second resonator structure.

1 - 73 . (canceled) 
     
     
         74 . A wireless charging apparatus, comprising:
 a plurality of magnetic resonator circuits spatially arranged and each including a magnetic resonator to resonate and generate a near field coupling mode region thereabout in response to a driving signal from an oscillating circuit; and   a control circuit to control the driving of the resonance of each of the plurality of magnetic resonator circuits.   
     
     
         75 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 74 , the control circuit further configured to provide driving signals for driving each of the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         76 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 75 , wherein the control circuit controls driving of each of the plurality of resonator circuits by sequencing the driving signals of the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         77 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 74 , wherein the energy transfer is controlled by information exchanged between the resonant objects. 
     
     
         78 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 74 , wherein the control circuit further drives one of the plurality of resonator circuits having a receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions and does not drive others of the plurality of resonator circuits having no receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions. 
     
     
         79 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 74 , each of the plurality of resonator circuits further comprising a tuning circuit to change the resonance of the resonator when another of the plurality of resonator circuits is driven to resonate. 
     
     
         80 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 79 , wherein the tuning circuit alters the value of a reactive element in the resonator to change the resonance of the resonator. 
     
     
         81 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 80 , wherein the tuning circuit further comprises a tunable capacitance in the resonator in order to change the resonance of the resonator. 
     
     
         82 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 74 , further comprising a source resonator substantially circumscribing the plurality of resonator circuits, the source resonator generating a source resonator near field coupling mode region and the plurality of resonator circuits are a plurality of repeater resonators that each resonate and generate the near field coupling mode region thereabout when coupled to and in response to the source resonator near field coupling mode region. 
     
     
         83 . A wireless charging method, comprising:
 providing a driving signal from a power amplifier; and   controlling tuning of the resonance of a plurality of resonator circuits spatially arranged and each including a resonator to resonate in response to the driving signal.   
     
     
         84 . The wireless charging method of  claim 83 , further comprising providing different driving signals to each of the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         85 . The wireless charging method of  claim 84 , wherein controlling the tuning of the resonance further comprises controlling the different driving signals to each of the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         86 . The wireless charging method of  claim 83 , further comprising tuning one of the plurality of resonator circuits having a receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions and not tuning others of the plurality of resonator circuits having no receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions. 
     
     
         87 . The wireless charging method of  claim 83 , further comprising tuning to change the resonance of the resonator when another of the plurality of resonator circuits is tuned to resonate. 
     
     
         88 . The wireless charging method of  claim 87 , further comprising altering the value of a reactive element in the resonator to change the resonance of the resonator. 
     
     
         89 . The wireless charging method of  claim 88 , further comprising adjusting a capacitance in the resonator in order to change the resonance of the resonator. 
     
     
         90 . The wireless charging method of  claim 83 , further comprising:
 generating a source resonator near field coupling mode region substantially circumscribing the plurality of resonator circuits; and   generating selective ones of the near field coupling mode regions from selected ones of the plurality of resonator circuits.   
     
     
         91 . A wireless charging apparatus, comprising:
 a power amplifier for generating at least one driving signal at a resonance frequency;   a plurality of resonator circuits spatially arranged and each including a resonator to resonate at the resonant frequency and generate a near field coupling mode region thereabout; and   a control circuit to control the at least one driving signal.   
     
     
         92 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 91 , wherein the control circuit controls the sequencing of the driving signals to the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         93 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 91 , wherein the control circuit further drives one of the plurality of resonator circuits having a receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions and does not drive others of the plurality of resonator circuits having no receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions. 
     
     
         94 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 91 , each of the plurality of resonator circuits further comprising a tuning circuit to change the resonance of the resonator when another of the plurality of resonator circuits is tuned to resonate. 
     
     
         95 . A method for wireless charging, comprising:
 generating a driving signal at a resonance frequency; and   providing the driving signal to one of a plurality of resonator circuits spatially arranged and each including a resonator to resonate at the resonant frequency and generate a near field coupling mode region thereabout.   
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 95 , wherein the providing further comprises providing according to a time-sequencing of the driving of the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 95 , wherein providing further comprises providing to one of the plurality of resonator circuits having a receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions and not providing to others of the plurality of resonator circuits having no receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions. 
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 95 , further comprising controlling the resonance of each of the plurality of resonators based on information exchange between the resonators 
     
     
         99 . A wireless charging apparatus, comprising:
 means for providing a driving a signal from a power amplifier; and   means for controlling the resonance of a plurality of resonator circuits spatially arranged and each including a resonator to resonate in response to the driving signal.   
     
     
         100 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 99 , further comprising means for providing the driving signal to each of the plurality of antenna circuits. 
     
     
         101 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 100 , wherein the means for controlling the resonance further comprises means for controlling the providing according to a time-domain sequencing of the drive signals of the plurality of resonator circuits. 
     
     
         102 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 99 , further comprising means for driving ones of the plurality of resonator circuits having a receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions and means for not driving others of the plurality of resonator circuits having no receiver located within their respective near field coupling mode regions. 
     
     
         103 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 99 , further comprising means for tuning to change the resonance of the resonator when another of the plurality of resonator circuits is driven to resonate. 
     
     
         104 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 103 , further comprising means for tuning the value of a reactive element in the antenna to change the resonance of the antenna. 
     
     
         105 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 104 , further comprising means for tuning the capacitance in the resonator in order to change the resonance of the resonator. 
     
     
         106 . The wireless charging apparatus of  claim 99 , further comprising:
 means for generating a source generator near field coupling mode region substantially circumscribing the plurality of resonator circuits; and   means for generating selective ones of the near field coupling mode regions from selected ones of the plurality of resonator circuits.   
     
     
         107 . An apparatus, comprising a high-Q repeater resonator comprising a loop inductor and a capacitive element for coupling with a magnetic near field generated by a high-Q source resonator when the repeater resonator is disposed in a coupling mode region of the source resonator, wherein the repeater enhances the magnetic near field about the repeater resonator with an enhanced coupling mode region stronger than the coupling mode region of the source resonator alone. 
     
     
         108 . The apparatus of  claim 107 , wherein the repeater resonator is further disposed in a substantially coaxial position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         109 . The apparatus of  claim 107 , wherein the repeater resonator is further disposed in a substantially coplanar position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         110 . The apparatus of  claim 107 , wherein the near field of the source resonator and the enhanced near field by the repeater are at substantially a same frequency. 
     
     
         111 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the same frequency is a resonant frequency of the repeater resonator. 
     
     
         112 . The apparatus of  claim 107 , wherein the repeater resonator further comprises a circuit operably coupled to the loop inductor and the capacitive element, the circuit for further enhancing the enhanced near field by driving at a resonant frequency of the repeater resonator. 
     
     
         113 . A wireless power transfer system, comprising:
 a transmit circuit including a source resonator to generate a magnetic near field at a resonant frequency within a first coupling mode region thereabout in response to a driving signal from a power amplifier;   a repeater resonator to generate an enhanced magnetic near field at the resonant frequency within a second coupling mode region thereabout when the repeater resonator is disposed within the first coupling mode region; and   a receive circuit including a receive resonator for receiving power from at least one of the near field and the enhanced near field radiation when disposed within the second coupling mode region and wherein at least two of the source resonator, the repeater resonator and the receive resonator are high-Q resonators.   
     
     
         114 . The system of  claim 113 , wherein the repeater resonator is further disposed in a substantially coaxial position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         115 . The system of  claim 113 , wherein the repeater resonator is further disposed in a substantially coplanar position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         116 . The system of  claim 115 , wherein the repeater resonator is further disposed within a perimeter of the source resonator. 
     
     
         117 . The system of  claim 113 , wherein the receive circuit further comprises a tunable circuit coupled to the receive resonator to change the resonance of the receive resonator. 
     
     
         118 . The system of  claim 117 , wherein the tunable circuit alters the value of a reactive element in the receive circuit to change the resonance of the receive resonator. 
     
     
         119 . The system of  claim 118 , wherein the receive circuit further comprises a feedback circuit to operably coupled to the receive resonator to control resonance of the receive resonator. 
     
     
         120 . The system of  claim 119 , wherein the energy transfer is controlled by information exchanged between the resonators 
     
     
         121 . A wireless charging method, comprising:
 generating a magnetic near field at a resonant frequency within a first coupling mode region with a source resonator;   enhancing the near field to generate an enhanced near field at the resonant frequency within a second coupling mode region with a repeater resonator disposed within the first coupling mode region; and   receiving power from at least one of the near field radiation and the enhanced near field radiation with a receive resonator disposed within the second coupling mode region, and wherein at least two of the source resonator, the repeater resonator and the receive resonator are high-Q resonators.   
     
     
         122 . The method of  claim 121 , further comprising disposing the repeater resonator in a substantially coaxial position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         123 . The method of  claim 121 , further comprising disposing the repeater resonator in a substantially coplanar position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         124 . The method of  claim 123 , wherein the repeater resonator is further disposed within a perimeter of the source resonator. 
     
     
         125 . The method of  claim 121 , further comprising tuning the receive resonator by selectively modifying a resonant frequency of the receive resonator. 
     
     
         126 . The method of  claim 125 , further comprising selectively tuning the receive antenna according to a control signal. 
     
     
         127 . The method of  claim 126 , wherein the energy transfer is controlled by information exchanged between the resonators. 
     
     
         128 . A wireless power transfer system, comprising:
 a transmit circuit including a source resonator to generate a magnetic near field at a resonant frequency within a first coupling mode region thereabout in response to a driving signal from a power amplifier;   a plurality of repeater resonators, each repeater resonator of the plurality to generate an enhanced near field at the resonant frequency within a corresponding coupling mode region, wherein each repeater resonator of the plurality is disposed at a different location within the first coupling mode region; and   a plurality of receive circuits, each receive circuit including a receive resonator for receiving power from at least one enhanced near field radiation from at least one of the plurality of repeater resonators, wherein at least two of the source resonator, the plurality of repeater resonators, and the receive resonator is a high-Q resonator.   
     
     
         129 . The system of  claim 128 , wherein each receive circuit disposed in one of the coupling mode regions corresponding to a repeater resonator of the plurality receives power from the magnetic near field. 
     
     
         130 . The system of  claim 128 , wherein at least one of the plurality of repeater resonators is further disposed in a substantially coplanar position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         131 . The system of  claim 128 , wherein a first repeater resonator of the plurality of repeater resonators is further disposed in a substantially coaxial position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         132 . The system of  claim 125 , wherein a second repeater resonator of the plurality of repeater resonators is further disposed in a substantially coplanar position relative to the source resonator. 
     
     
         133 . The system of  claim 131 , wherein the plurality of repeater resonators are further disposed within a perimeter of the source resonator. 
     
     
         134 . The system of  claim 128 , wherein each receive circuit of the plurality of receive circuits further comprise a tuning circuit coupled to the receive resonator to change the resonance of the receive resonator. 
     
     
         135 . The system of  claim 121 , wherein each receive circuit of the plurality of receive circuits further comprises a feedback circuit operably coupled to the tuning circuit and the receive resonator to control the tuning of the receive resonator according to a control signal. 
     
     
         136 . The system of  claim 121 , wherein the energy transfer is controlled by information exchange between the resonators.