Patent ID: 8626461

Claim:
An efficiency monitor for monitoring power transmission by an inductive power outlet, the inductive power outlet comprising at least one primary coil wired to a power supply, for inductively coupling with a secondary coil wired to an electric load, the efficiency monitor comprising: at least one input power monitor for measuring input power received by the primary coil from the power supply; at least one output power monitor for measuring output power received inductively by the secondary coil from the primary coil; at least one processor for determining an index of power-loss indicative of the efficiency of an inductive coupling between the primary coil and the secondary coil; and at least one communication channel for communicating the input power and the output power to the processor wherein the index of power-loss comprises at least one of: an efficiency quotient Q, defined as the ratio of the output power to the input power, and an efficiency differential Δ, defined as the difference between the output power and the input power.