Method and apparatus for transmitting energy via a laser beam

An apparatus for transmitting energy over a distance without a direct electrical or mechanical connection for the transmitting of the energy, comprising:

• a transmitter unit including a laser generator adapted to emit a laser beam, a deflector arrangement including at least one movable deflector mirror that is interposed in a beam path of said laser beam and adapted to deflect said laser beam, a drive arrangement coupled to said deflector arrangement and adapted to move said at least one movable deflector mirror so as to vary a direction of an emitted beam axis of said laser beam leaving said transmitter unit, and a controller that is connected for control signal transmission to said drive arrangement and is adapted to generate control signals to control said drive arrangement;
• and
• a receiver unit arranged at said distance away from said transmitter unit, and including a radiation receiver arrangement that is adapted to receive said laser beam incident thereon, and that comprises a photovoltaic cell arrangement and a ring-shaped reflector around said photovoltaic cell arrangement, wherein said reflector is adapted to reflect as reflected light at least some of said laser beam incident thereon;
• wherein said drive arrangement comprises a motor drive unit coupled to said deflector arrangement and adapted to carry out relatively slower and relatively larger gross rotational movements of at least a given mirror among said at least one movable deflector mirror, and at least one piezoelectric actuator element coupled to said given mirror and adapted to carry out relatively faster and relatively smaller fine oscillating movements of said given mirror.

An apparatus for transmitting energy over a distance without a direct electrical or mechanical connection for the transmitting of the energy, comprising:

• a transmitter unit including a laser generator adapted to emit a laser beam, a deflector arrangement including at least one movable deflector mirror that is interposed in a beam path of said laser beam and adapted to deflect said laser beam, a drive arrangement coupled to said deflector arrangement and adapted to move said at least one movable deflector mirror so as to vary a direction of an emitted beam axis of said laser beam leaving said transmitter unit, and a controller that is connected for control signal transmission to said drive arrangement and is adapted to generate control signals to control said drive arrangement;
• and
• a receiver unit arranged at said distance away from said transmitter unit, and including a radiation receiver arrangement that is adapted to receive said laser beam incident thereon, and that comprises a photovoltaic cell arrangement and a ring-shaped reflector around said photovoltaic cell arrangement, wherein said reflector is adapted to reflect as reflected light at least some of said laser beam incident thereon;
• wherein said radiation receiver arrangement is movably mounted, and said receiver unit further comprises a direction-sensitive light sensor arrangement adapted to detect an incident direction of said laser beam, a receiver drive arrangement coupled to and adapted to move said radiation receiver arrangement, and a receiver controller connected to said direction-sensitive light sensor arrangement to receive signals therefrom and connected to said receiver drive arrangement to transmit control signals thereto, so as to move and orient said radiation receiver arrangement with respect to said incident direction of said laser beam.

A method of transmitting energy over a distance between a transmitter unit and a receiver unit, wherein said transmitter unit includes a deflector arrangement, a drive arrangement coupled thereto, and a reflection detector arrangement including a light sensor, wherein said method comprises the steps:

• a) generating a laser beam in said transmitter unit;
• b) using said deflector arrangement and said drive arrangement, directing and emitting said laser beam along an emitted beam axis oriented grossly in a basic direction from said transmitter unit toward said receiver unit;
• c) receiving at least a first portion of said laser beam and extracting energy therefrom in said receiver unit;
• d) reflecting at least a second portion of said laser beam as reflected light from said receiver unit;
• e) receiving at least some of said reflected light with said reflection detector arrangement of said transmitter unit and evaluating said reflected light that is received to determine orienting information from said reflected light;
• and
• f) carrying out said directing of said laser beam with said deflector arrangement and said drive arrangement in said step b) by actuating said drive arrangement in response to and dependent on said orienting information, wherein said reflection detector arrangement is connected to said deflector arrangement and coupled to said drive arrangement so that said reflection detector arrangement undergoes at least gross movements together with said deflector arrangement and remains oriented with a sensitive axis of said reflection detector arrangement parallel to said basic direction of said emitted beam axis of said laser beam.

A method of transmitting energy over a distance between a transmitter unit and a receiver unit, wherein said transmitter unit includes a deflector arrangement including at least one movable deflector mirror, and a drive arrangement including a motor drive unit and a piezoelectric actuator element that are both respectively coupled to said deflector mirror, and wherein said method comprises the steps:

• a) generating a laser beam in said transmitter unit;
• b) using said deflector mirror and said drive arrangement, directing and emitting said laser beam from said transmitter unit toward said receiver unit;
• c) receiving at least a first portion of said laser beam and extracting energy therefrom in said receiver unit;
• d) reflecting at least a second portion of said laser beam as reflected light from said receiver unit;
• e) receiving and evaluating at least some of said reflected light in said transmitter unit to determine orienting information from said reflected light;
• and
• f) carrying out said directing of said laser beam in said step b) in response to and dependent on said orienting information, wherein said directing of said laser beam comprises moving said deflector mirror with said drive arrangement to move said laser beam with a combination of relatively slower and relatively larger gross rotational movements of said deflector mirror by said motor drive unit and relatively faster and relatively smaller fine oscillating movements of said deflector mirror by said piezoelectric actuator element.

A method of transmitting energy over a distance between a transmitter unit and a receiver unit, wherein said receiver unit includes a photovoltaic cell arrangement, a reflector, a direction-sensitive light sensor arrangement, a controller, and a receiver drive arrangement, and wherein said method comprises the steps:

• a) generating a laser beam in said transmitter unit;
• b) directing and emitting said laser beam from said transmitter unit toward said receiver unit;
• c) receiving at least a first portion of said laser beam and extracting energy therefrom using said photovoltaic cell arrangement in said receiver unit;
• d) reflecting at least a second portion of said laser beam as reflected light from said reflector of said receiver unit;
• e) receiving and evaluating at least some of said reflected light in said transmitter unit to determine orienting information from said reflected light;
• f) carrying out said directing of said laser beam in said step b) in response to and dependent on said orienting information;
• g) detecting an incident direction of said laser beam onto said photovoltaic cell using said direction-sensitive light sensor arrangement;
• and
• h) using said receiver drive arrangement under control by said controller, moving said photovoltaic cell arrangement and said reflector so as to orient said photovoltaic cell arrangement and said reflector in response to and with respect to said incident direction of said laser beam.