Wireless radio power adapter device
AssigneeThe Government of tha United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsJohn T. Logan, Rick W. Kindt
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for enabling ambient radio frequency (RF) energy to be harvested with a device. In an embodiment, wideband phased array antennas in the device efficiently harvest ambient RF energy over a broad electromagnetic spectrum, and circuitry adapts this RF energy into DC power for battery charging or energy storage. In an embodiment, the device is a modularly connected/disconnected, passive, wireless RF-to-DC adapter accessory that can ultimately be used to supply power to an electric apparatus and/or transporter.
Claims20
A wireless radio power adapter device, comprising:
- a receiver element comprising a plurality of antenna subarrays, wherein the receiver element is configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal and to generate a harvested signal, wherein the receiver element includes a wideband antenna configured to receive signals having greater than a 3:1 bandwidth ratio;
- a signal regulator, coupled to the receiver element, configured to filter the harvested RF signal and to generate a filtered signal;
- and
- a power converter, coupled to the signal regulator, configured to convert the filtered signal into a power format useable by a powered device, wherein each antenna subarray in the plurality of antenna subarrays is configured to be modularly tiled in the receiver element based on power requirements of the powered device without disrupting performance of the receiver element.
A system, comprising:
- a wireless radio power adapter device, comprising:
- a receiver element comprising a plurality of antenna subarrays, wherein the receiver element is configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal and to generate a harvested signal, wherein the receiver element includes a wideband antenna configured to receive signals having greater than a 3:1 bandwidth ratio,
- a signal regulator, coupled to the receiver element, configured to filter the harvested RF signal and to generate a filtered signal, and
- a power converter, coupled to the signal regulator, configured to convert the filtered signal into a power format useable by a device to be powered by the wireless radio power adapter device, wherein each antenna subarray in the plurality of antenna subarrays is configured to be modularly tiled in the receiver element based on power requirements of the device without disrupting performance of the receiver element;
- and
- an electric apparatus configured to receive power from the wireless radio power adapter device.
A wireless radio power adapter device, comprising:
- a receiver element comprising a plurality of antenna subarrays, wherein the receiver element is configured to:
- scan out to +/−45 degrees from boresight in all scan planes,
- receive signals having greater than a 3:1 bandwidth ratio, and
- generate harvested power from the received signals;
- and
- a power converter, coupled to the receiver element, configured to convert the harvester power into a format useable by a powered device, wherein each antenna subarray in the plurality of antenna subarrays is configured to be modularly tiled in the receiver element based on power requirements of the powered device without disrupting performance of the receiver element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.