Patent ID: 9478991
Filing Date: 2016-10-25
CPC Classification: H01F,H02J

Claim Text:
1. An inductive power transfer system comprising at least one of an inductive power transmitter and an inductive power receiver, said inductive power transmitter comprising at least one primary inductor configured to couple inductively with at least one secondary inductor and at least one driver configured to provide an oscillating electric potential at a driving frequency across said primary inductor; and said inductive power receiver comprising at least one secondary inductor connectable to a receiving circuit and an electric load, said secondary inductor configured to couple inductively with said at least one primary inductor such that power is transferred to said electric load; wherein said inductive power transfer system is selectively operable in a tightly coupled mode, for allowing efficient inductive power transfer over a short range, and a loosely coupled mode for allowing efficient inductive power transfer over longer ranges, and wherein said inductive power transfer system further comprises a mode selector configured to switch said inductive power transfer system between at least said tightly coupled mode and said loosely coupled mode; said inductive power transfer system further comprising a plurality of features selected from: an alignment mechanism configured to align said at least one secondary inductor to said at least one primary inductor when said inductive power transfer system is operating in said tightly coupled mode; a resonance tuner operable to match said driving frequency to a resonant frequency of said reception circuit when said inductive power transfer system is operating in said loosely coupled mode; an auxiliary coil arrangement comprising a plurality of auxiliary coils operable in at least one of: conductor mode, repeater mode and transmission mode; a resonance seeking arrangement operable to determine the natural frequencies of the inductive power transfer system; and wherein: said driver is configured to drive said primary inductor at a non-resonant frequency when operating in said tightly coupled mode, and said driver is configured to drive said primary inductor at said resonant frequency of said reception circuit when said inductive power transfer system is operating in said loosely coupled mode.