interesting. Is not this exactly the sort of OTA transmission of electricity that Tesla was working on some 100 years ago? They said he was crazy and that it could not be done!
73,
Richard KK6MRH
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2017 9:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Wireless recharging for devices gets FCC approval
BlankA follow-up on that video I posted from Energous Corp. Looks like another viable competitor is in the Pittsburgh area.
Wireless recharging for devices gets FCC approval Mike Snider , USA TODAY
The FCC has certified Energous' WattUp transmitter, which uses radio frequency
energy to wirelessly recharge devices at a distance. Here, transmitter is
mounted below the computer display, surrounded by devices that could be
charging.
(Photo: Energous Corp.)
Your smartphone and other portable devices may soon be truly wireless. Some of
the latest smartphones from Apple , LG,' Samsung and others already let you
recharge without wires by placing them on a pad. But new technology in the works
lets you charge your devices from a distance of three feet or more without any
pad involved.
The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday approved technology from San
Jose, Calif. -based Energous
that uses radio frequency energy to recharge multiple devices such as
smartphones, tablets, smart watches, headphones, speakers, keyboards and fitness
trackers from up to three feet away. Consumers could have an Energous
transmitter embedded into their TV, sound bar speaker or mounted elsewhere in a
living room and any devices with built-in receivers could be automatically
recharged.
"Untethered, wire-free charging -- such as charging a fitness band even while
wearing it -- is exactly what consumers have been waiting for," said Energous
CEO and president Stephen Rizzone in a statement. "We are now in a position to
move our consumer electronics, IoT and smart home customers forward at an
accelerated pace. The @FCC has approved the first-ever wireless,
"power-at-a-distance" charging technology. @Energous
WattUp could allow multiple devices to be recharged up to 3 feet away,
regardless of manufacturer.
https://t.co/6zdj8hxO7R
Another company, Pittsburgh-headquartered Powercast , has gotten FCC approval
for its similar technology using a transmitter that recharges devices up to 80
feet away and plans to have products out in the third quarter of 2018. "Consumer
electronics manufacturers can now confidently build our FCC-approved technology
into their wireless charging ecosystems, and offer their customers convenient
far-field charging where devices charge over the air from a power source without
needing direct contact," said Charles Green, chief technology officer at
Powercast, in a statement.
Expect more soon from the two companies as both plan to be exhibiting at the
upcoming Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 9-12, 2018 in Las Vegas.
*****
Powercast to unveil FCC-approved consumer transmitter for power-over-distance
wireless charging at CES 2018
PowerSpot is industry’s first over-the-air, far-field (up to 80 feet) RF charger
for consumer devices to get FCC nod
Share3
December 26, 2017 18:34 ET | Source: Powercast
photo-release
PowerSpot Over-the-Air Wireless Charging Zone for Consumer Devices
The PowerSpot creates an overnight charging zone of up to 80 feet free of wires
or charging mats.
Powercast
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Powercast Corporation, the pioneer
of radio-frequency (RF)-based long-range power-over-distance wireless charging
technology, announced that it will unveil at CES (booth #40268) its FCC-approved
(Part 15, FCC ID: YESTX91503) and ISED-approved (Canada IC: 8985A-TX91503)
three-watt PowerSpot® transmitter which works in the far field (up to 80 feet)
for over-the-air charging of multiple devices - no charging mats or direct line
of sight needed. Powercast used the experience it gained powering industrial and
commercial devices with its initial Powercaster® transmitter (FCC and ISED
approved in 2010) to develop the new smaller, smarter and less expensive
PowerSpot transmitter specifically for the consumer market. The PowerSpot is the
industry’s first long-range, far-field, power-over-distance wireless recharging
transmitter for consumer devices to gain FCC and ISED approval.
How Powercast’s patented remote wireless charging technology works:
Creating a coverage area like Wi-Fi, a Powercast transmitter automatically
charges enabled devices when within range. The transmitter uses the 915-MHz ISM
band to send RF energy to a tiny Powercast receiver chip embedded in a device,
which converts it to direct current (DC) to directly power or recharge that
device’s batteries.
Powercast will begin production of its standalone PowerSpot charger now that it
is FCC approved and is also offering a PowerSpot subassembly that consumer goods
manufacturers can integrate into their own products. Consider lamps,
appliances, set-top boxes, gaming systems, computer monitors, furniture or
vehicle dashboards that become “PowerSpots†able to charge multiple enabled
devices around them. Powercast is in discussions with several manufacturers, and
has inked deals with two household names, since releasing a wireless power
development kit in early 2017 containing the PowerSpot subassembly.
“Consumer electronics manufacturers can now confidently build our FCC-approved
technology into their wireless charging ecosystems, and offer their customers
convenient far-field charging where devices charge over the air from a power
source without needing direct contact, like inductive charging requires, or near
direct contact, like magnetic resonance requires,†said Powercast’s COO/CTO
Charles Greene, Ph.D.
The company’s vision is to enable long-range, true wireless charging where
consumers simply place all Powercast-enabled devices for charging within range
of a PowerSpot in their home or a public place.
“Others might be talking RF power possibilities, but we have consistently
delivered far-field wireless power solutions that work, safely and responsibly,
under FCC and other global standards providing power up to 80 feet,†said
Greene. “Our robust technology has capabilities beyond today’s permitted
standards, so our product releases will evolve as regulations do.â€
The PowerSpot creates an overnight charging zone of up to 80 feet free of wires
or charging mats:
Enabled devices charge when in range, but don’t need direct line of sight to the
PowerSpot. Powercast expects up to 30 devices left in the zone on a countertop
or desktop overnight can charge by morning, sharing the transmitter’s three-watt
(EIRP) power output. Charging rates will vary with distance, type and power
consumption of a device. Power-hungry, heavily used devices like game
controllers, smart watches, fitness bands, hearing aids, ear buds, or headphones
charge best up to two feet away; keyboards and mice up to six feet away; TV
remotes and smart cards up to 10 feet away; and low-power devices like home
automation sensors (window breakage, temperature) up to 80 feet away. An
illuminated LED indicates devices are charging and it turns off when they’re
done. Audible alerts indicate when devices move in and out of the charge zone.
The PowerSpot transmitter uses Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) modulation
for power and Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulation for data, and includes an
integrated 6dBi directional antenna with a 70-degree beam pattern.
“We know consumers also want to charge mobile phones, so at CES, we will
showcase a technology demonstration, developed with a partner, of a PowerSpot
transmitter that adds the Qi inductive wireless charging standard adopted by
many mobile phones,†said Greene. “This combination would provide a
best-of-both-worlds solution, operating within the FCC regulations that exist
today, including RF over-the-air charging for multiple PowerSpot-enabled devices
placed near the transmitter, and Qi proximity charging for power-hungry
Qi-enabled mobile phones placed directly on the Qi charger on top of the
PowerSpot transmitter.â€
At CES:
Powercast will demonstrate prototypes of its PowerSpot, 7.3" long x 2.1" tall x
1.4" wide, as well as wirelessly-powered game controllers, headphones, smart
watches, earbuds, smart clothing, illuminated retail packaging, and
reconfigurable retail price tags.
PowerSpot production units are expected in Q3 2018 for about $100 from
distributors Arrow Electronics and Mouser Electronics. Once PowerSpot reaches
mass production, Powercast projects a $50 ASP from major electronics stores or
from consumer electronics manufacturers offering it as a charging option.
More information including a Q&A: http://www.powercastco.com/powerspot/
About Powercast
Powercast, established in 2003, is the leading provider of RF-based wireless
power technologies that provide power-over-distance, eliminate or reduce the
need for batteries, and power or charge devices without wires and connectors.
Powercast’s IP portfolio includes 45 patents worldwide (21 in the US) and 30
patents pending. www.powercastco.com.
Note: Visuals are available: http://www.powercastco.com/visuals/
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/49146158-7564-471a-be20-8b4ec322ba94
*****
PowerCast F.A.Q.:
QA-Powercast-PowerSpot-Power-over-Distance-Wireless-Charging-Transmitter.pdf
Open parent document
Q&A - Powercast PowerSpot Power-Over-Distance Wireless Charging Transmitter for
Consumer Devices
list of 1 items
1. Can you describe a far-field RF wireless power transmitter vs a near-field or
mid-field one?
list end
There are two field regions: the near-field and the far-field. The exact
boundary is debated by various types of engineers (antenna, EMC, etc.).
Powercast
defines the boundary as a distance of 2D2/λ where D is the largest dimension of
the transmitting or receiving antenna and λ is the free space wavelength.
The near-field can be divided into two sub-regions: the reactive near-field and
the radiating near-field (sometimes called the transition region). The
term Mid-Field is a marketing term and likely refers to one of the near-field
regions. Powercast transmitters are far-field transmitters but also operate
in the near-field as well so exact definitions are not that important.
list of 1 items
2. Can you expand on the FCC’s current regulations?
list end
Part 15.247 limits both the transmitter’s output power and antenna gain. In
general, transmitters operating in the 915 MHz frequency band, like a PowerSpot
transmitter, along with 2.45GHz and 5.8GHz transmitters, may output up to a watt
of power to the antenna(under certain conditions). Typically, this requires
the use of an antenna with a gain of 4 (6dBi) or less. This limits the output
power to 4W EIRP (output power times antenna gain). Powercast’s general purpose
TX91501 Powercaster® Transmitter and TX91503 PowerSpot® Transmitter are
certified under Part 15.247.
Part 18, Industrial, Scientific, and Medical equipment, is another section of
the US Federal Code of Regulations that regulates non-telecommunication devices.
Typical ISM applications are the production of physical, biological, or chemical
effects such as heating, ionization of gases, mechanical vibrations, hair
removal and acceleration of charged particles. A general requirement of Part 18
is that the transmitter generates and uses locally the RF energy. Powercast
has obtained approval under Part 18 but under a product specific approval.
list of 1 items
3. Can you tell us more about the two household consumer companies you’ve inked
deals with to integrate your technology into their wireless charging ecosystems?
list end
Unfortunately, we have confidentially agreements with the majority of our
customers. The referenced customers are household consumer names and we are
actively
working with them and others to integrate our technology and chips into their
devices. As you would expect, product announcements will not occur publically
until the product is ready to be sold on the market which we are expecting later
in 2018 or early 2019.
list of 1 items
4. Are their plans to expand the PowerSpot transmitter into other regions?
list end
Yes, the PowerSpot transmitter is currently approved in the US and Canada. We
are actively working on two other designs of the PowerSpot transmitter to
support Europe and Asia.
list of 1 items
5. You mention that Powercast’s technology has capabilities beyond today’s
permitted standards. What might Powercast have up its sleeve?
list end
Powercast continues to provide our customers viable, practical solutions that
meet governmental regulations. Our technology has been used for military
applications where a moving receiver required over 5W of continuous output power
and a recharging range of over 20 feet. That system was deployed in 2006.
However, current regulations do not allow that level of transmission power or
the high-gain beam steering antenna that was used. See FAQ #2. Powercast
will continue to align its product roadmap with current and planned regulations.
list of 1 items
6. Where are your transmitter’s FCC approval details?
list end
You can obtain our FCC details by searching our FCC ID, YESTX91503,
here.
You can obtain our ISED details by searching our IC ID, 8985A-TX91503,
here.
Sorry, the links didn't carry forward...
Steve, K8SP
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