BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to wireless power transfer.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002] Wireless power transfer between fixed and portable devices eliminates power
connectors and concomitant issues of contact cleanliness, dirty and wet environments and
shock hazard. Often connectors are the least reliable component in electronic systems.
[0003] Wireless power transfer has been adopted for charging portable battery-powered
devices such as cell phones and motorized toothbrushes. The portable device may be a
wireless integrated circuit card and the fixed device may be a card coupling device.
Alternatively, the portable device may be a mobile telephone, smart phone or computer tablet
and the fixed device may be a battery charger. In the present disclosure, chargers are
representative of a wider class of fixed devices.
[0004] For example, the Qi standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium has been
adopted by many companies for inductive wireless power transfer. One disadvantage of
inductive power transfer is the need to contain a relatively strong magnetic field by means of
shielding in both the charger and portable device, increasing costs. With people in close
proximity to the charger, such shielding is required to limit the magnetic field strength to a
permissible level.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0005] There is provided a system that includes a charger and a portable device. The portable
device is coupled to the charger via a coupling capacitance. The charger provides a relatively
constant current to the portable device, even for a relatively large variation in the coupling
capacitance.
[0006] The charger includes a source, a first reactive component, and a second reactive
component. The source provides alternating current at a source frequency (fs), and has a first
terminal and a second terminal, and a source impedance. The first reactive component is
connected between the first terminal and an interim point. The second reactive component is
connected between the interim point and the second terminal. One of the first reactive
component and the second reactive component is a capacitor, and the other of the first
reactive component and the second reactive component is a first inductor. The first reactive
component, the second reactive component, and the source impedance, in combination, have a
Thevenin equivalent impedance. The first inductor and the capacitor have a resonant
frequency that is different from the source frequency. The charger also includes a first plate,
a second inductor, and a second plate. The first plate is electrically conductive. The second
inductor is connected between the interim point and the first plate. The second plate is
electrically conductive and is connected to the second terminal.
[0007] The portable device has a third plate, a fourth plate, and an electrical load resistance.
The third plate faces the first plate, and is electrically conductive and thus forms a first
capacitance between the third plate and the first plate. The fourth plate faces the second plate,
and is electrically conductive and thus forms a second capacitance between the second plate
and the fourth plate. The electrical load resistance is connected between the third plate and
fourth plate.
[0008] The first and second capacitances, together, have an equivalent series capacitance.
The equivalent series capacitance has a value in a range between an initial value and 60% of
the initial value. The Thevenin equivalent impedance has a positive imaginary component,
and a magnitude that is at least three times greater than the load resistance. The second
inductor has a reactance approximately equal to a reactance of the initial value of the
equivalent series capacitance.
[0009] The charger provides a current to the electrical load resistance that varies less than
about 10% over the range of the equivalent series capacitance.
[0010] Communicated data may include information concerning a presence of a portable
device and initiation of charging. Other data may include a charge state of a battery in a
portable device, an indication to the charger as to when to decrease or turn off the charging
current.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit that employs wireless power transfer via a
variable coupling capacitance.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit in a particular embodiment of the circuit of
FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a sub-circuit of FIG. 2.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a circuit that is a Thevenin equivalent of the subcircuit
of FIG. 3.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a circuit that is a Thevenin equivalent of the circuit
of FIG. 2.
[0016] FIGS. 6A, 6B and 7 are phasor representations of various impedances of the circuit of
FIG. 5.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a graph of output current IL vs. coupling capacitance Cs for the circuit of
FIG. 3.
[0018] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a system that includes a charger and a portable
device having corresponding metal plates that form a capacitive coupling.
[0019] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another system that includes a charger and a
portable device having corresponding metal plates that form a capacitive coupling.
[0020] FIG. 11 is an illustration of a physical representation of an embodiment of a system
that includes a charger and a portable device having corresponding metal plates that form a
capacitive coupling.
[0021] FIG. 12 is a table that lists values for an exemplary design of a circuit in accordance
with the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0022] The present disclosure proposes a capacitive charging interface, whereby a charger has
a pair of insulated conductive plates, also referred to herein as charger plates. A portable
device with a pair of insulated conductive plates of a layout that corresponds to that of the
charger plates is placed opposite the charger plates, forming two coupling capacitors that
connect the charger to the portable device. The capacitance of these coupling capacitors may
vary due to surface contamination and inaccurate placement of the portable device on the
charger. The present disclosure describes a charging interface that provides power transfer
that is relatively unaffected by coupling capacitance variations.
[0023] When each of the pair of charger plates is driven by equal amplitude, opposite phase
voltages, substantial cancellation of external fields is affected. By surrounding the pairs of
plates with a grounded ring, an electric field is further shielded and attenuated. It is shown
herein that with a relatively small capacitance in each of the two capacitors thus formed, a
substantial flow of power may be attained.
[0024] One challenge for capacitive coupling is maintaining power flow, even when the
surface of the charger and/or portable device has a layer of dirt. Such a layer would widen a
gap between the plates and reduce the capacitance. The present disclosure proposes a circuit
that provides a substantially constant current, despite wide variations in coupling capacitance.
[0025] Bi-directional communications could be implemented between fixed and portable
devices, using amplitude modulation in the charger and load modulation in the portable
device. Similarly, other modulation schemes may be implemented. Communicated data may
include information concerning a presence of a portable device and initiation of charging.
Other data may include a charge state of a battery in a portable device, an indication to the
charger as to when to decrease or turn off the charging current.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit 100 that employs wireless power transfer via
a variable coupling capacitance. Electrical power is transferred from a charger 101 to a
portable device 102. Portable device 102 may be, for example, a cellphone or portable
computing device, and charger 101 may be a battery charger.
[0027] Direct current (DC) power is available to portable device 102 and its load, as
represented by a load resistance R L 135, from an AC power source 105 of a source frequency
fs having an internal resistance Rsi 110, a first terminal C and a second terminal D.
[0028] In a typical embodiment, RL 135 represents a load resistance of a rectifier, a voltage or
current regulator, and an energy storage device, e.g., a battery, that is capable of being
recharged. A current IL 140 is supplied to RL 135.
[0029] A source voltage Vs is applied to a series resonant circuit comprising a series reactive
component 107 connected between first terminal C and an interim point A. A parallel
reactive component 108 is connected between interim point A and terminal D. In one
embodiment, reactive component 107 is a capacitor, and reactive component 108 is an
inductor. In an alternative embodiment, reactive component 107 is an inductor, and reactive
component 108 is a capacitor. The capacitor and the inductor form a series resonant circuit
having a resonant frequency that is intentionally offset from source frequency fs by up to 5%,
resulting in a voltage between terminals A and B that is in a range of approximately three to
ten times the amplitude of Vs.
[0030] Source voltage Vs is illustrated as a sine wave generator, but it may also represent the
fundamental frequency component of an output of a non-sinusoidal source, such as a square
wave.
[0031] Reactive components may have losses. Reactive component 107 has a reactance Xs
115 and a resistance Rs2 111. Reactive component 108 has a reactance p 120 and a
resistance Rp 125.
[0032] Charger 101 has a plate 131, and a plate 136 that are electrically conductive. An
inductor Lcc 150 is connected between interim point A and plate 131. Plate 136 is connected
to points B and D.
[0033] Portable device 102 has a plate 132 that faces plate 131. Plate 132 is electrically
conductive and thus forms a capacitance 2Cc 130 between plate 132 and plate 131. Portable
device 102 also has a plate 137 that faces plate 136. Plate 137 is electrically conductive and
thus forms a capacitance 2Cc 138 between plate 136 and plate 137.
[0034] Ideally, plate 131 and plate 132 are perfectly aligned opposite each other, and
similarly plate 136 and plate 137 are perfectly aligned. In practice, a degree of misalignment
may occur. A gap 133 having a width "w" between plates 131 and 132 may include varying
combinations of insulating packaging materials, air and contamination. A similar gap exists
between plates 136 and 137.
[0035] Charger 101 is thus capacitively coupled to portable device 102 via capacitance 2Cc
130 and capacitance 2Cc 138. Capacitances 130 and 138 together have an equivalent series
capacitance Cc. For the case of perfect alignment of plates 131 and 132 opposite plates 136
and 137, and no contamination increasing the width of gap 133, Cc has a maximal initial
value, for example 10 pF. In practice, misalignment and surface contaminants may decrease
Cc to a lower value, for example 60% of its initial value, for example 6 pF.
[0036] Capacitive reactance is given by the formula X = l/(2niC).
[0037] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit 200 in a particular embodiment of the circuit
of FIG. 1, where capacitances 130 and 138 are represented by a single variable capacitance Cc
237. In this embodiment, reactive component 107 is a capacitor Cs 215, and reactive
component 108 is an inductor 250.
[0038] Loss resistance Rs2 11 1 of component 107 has been lumped together with source
resistance Rsi 110, and are together represented by their sum, resistance Rs 212. Inductor 250
has a inductance Lp 220 and a resistance Rp 125.
[0039] In general, Cc 237 has a small capacitance, in the range of several picofarads, and
therefore has a large negative imaginary impedance. Inductor Lcc 150 is in series with Cc
237. Inductor Lcc 150 has a positive imaginary impedance similar in magnitude to the
impedance of Cc 237. The series combination of Cc 237 and Lcc 150 has an impedance
magnitude that is much lower than that of Cc 237 alone. A value of Lcc 150 is selected to
provide a reactance that is approximately equal to an initial value of the reactance of Cc 237,
which is in turn equal to an initial value of the reactance of the equivalent series capacitance
of capacitances 130 and 138.
[0040] For a given frequency fs, Rs 2 12, RP 125 and RL 135, there exists a certain
combination of Cs 2 15 and Lp 220 for which a relatively constant current will be provided to
load RL 135 despite changes of Cc 237 over a wide range of values.
[0041] For an electrical circuit in general, Thevenin' s Theorem holds that any contiguous
subsection of a circuit that connects to a remainder of that circuit by exactly two terminals can
be represented by a Thevenin equivalent circuit. The Thevenin equivalent circuit comprises a
voltage source in series with a Thevenin equivalent impedance. A Thevenin equivalent
voltage is determined by isolating the circuit subsection from the remainder circuit, and
measuring or calculating an open circuit voltage, for example, in circuit 200, between
terminals A and B. The Thevenin equivalent impedance is determined by zeroing the values
of all voltage and currents sources, shorting the voltage sources and opening the current
sources, and measuring or calculating the impedance between the abovementioned two
terminals.
[0042] FIG. 3 is a schematic of a sub-circuit 300 comprising all of the components to the left
of terminals A and B in FIG. 2.
[0043] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a circuit 400 that is a Thevenin equivalent of subcircuit
300. VTH 405 represents the open circuit voltage between terminals A and B. A
network 410 is configured with Rs 2 12, Cs 2 15, Rp 125 and Lp 220, and represents the
impedance seen between terminals A and B in sub-circuit 300 when AC power source 105 is
replaced by a short circuit.
[0044] Circuit analysis calculations are now provided. The value of Thevenin equivalent
voltage source VTH 405 is calculated from the voltage divider equation. The Thevenin
equivalent impedance is the combined impedance of Rs 2 12, Cs 2 15, Rp 125 and Lp 220 as
connected in circuit 400, and the Thevenin equivalent voltage, i.e., the voltage between
terminals A and B, is taken across inductor 250 comprising, Lp 220 and Rp 125, in sub-circuit
300.
VTH =VS (RP+jXP)/[(RP+Rs) + j(X P- Xs)] (EQU 1)
[0045] Multiplying by the complex conjugate of the denominator,
V T = V P (RP + R + X P X P- XS + i p Rp + R - RP(XP- X l (EQU 2)
(Rp+ Rs)2 + (Xp-X s)2
[0046] For a typical case where source resistance and loss resistances have much lower values
than the reactances, such that Rs«Xs and Rp«Xp, VTH is approximately
VTH ~ Vg Xp Xp- X + i XP RP + R - RP(XP - X 1 (EQU 3)
(Rp + Rs) + (Xp- Xs)2
[0047] The Thevenin equivalent source impedance ZTH is given by
= RsRp + XsXp +i(RsXp - RpXs) (EQU 4A)
= RSRPCRP + Rs + RsXp2 + RpXs2 + ifRs Xp - Rp2Xs - XsXp2 + Xs Xp1 (EQU 4B)
(Rp + Rs) + (Xp -Xs) 2
[0048] Employing the above approximations, namely Rs«Xs and Rp«Xp, the real part of
ZTH is approximately
Re[ZTH] ~ RsXp2 + RpXs2
(Rp + Rs) + (Xp -Xs) 2
[0049] In comparison, the imaginary part of ZTH is approximately
I I[ZTH] ~ XsXp Xs - Xp (EQU 6)
(Rp + Rs) + (Xp -Xs) 2
[0050] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a circuit 500 that is a Tΐ έneh h equivalent of circuit
200. To form circuit 500, the portion of circuit 200 to the left of terminals A and B has been
replaced by a Thevenin equivalent voltage source VTH 505 from EQU 3, and components in
network 410 have been replaced by complex impedance ZTH 510, whose real and imaginary
components are given by EQU 5 and EQU 6, respectively. Lcc 150, Cc 237 and RL 135 have
been restored in circuit 500, and Thevenin's Theorem posits that II 140 is the same as in
circuits 100 and 200.
[0051] Between VTH 505 and RL 135 we define a total system impedance Zsys comprising the
sum of ZTH, the impedance of Lcc 150 and the impedance of Cc 237. Zsys is given by
Zsys = VTH/ [Re[ZTH] + j {Im[ZTH] + 2p fs Lcc - 1/(2p fs Cc)}] (EQU 7)
[0052] FIG. 6A is a phasor diagram of all impedances in circuit 500 except for RL 135, for a
case that Cc 237 is set to a maximum 10 picofarads (pF). Total impedance Zsys, represented
by a phasor Zsys 600, is a sum of a phasor ZTH610, a phasor ZLcc 630 and a phasor ZCc 620
where ZTH610 is a phasor representation of the Thevenin equivalent source impedance, ZLcc
630 is a phasor representation of the impedance of Lcc 150, and Zcc 620 is the phasor
representation of the impedance of Cc 237. By selecting a value for the impedance of Lcc
150 to be similar in magnitude to that of a maximum coupling capacitance for Cc 237, ZLCC
630 cancels ZCc 620. As a result, Zsys 600 is very similar in length to ZTH610.
[0053] FIG. 6B is a phasor diagram, similar to that of FIG. 6A, but for a minimal coupling
capacitance for Cc 237 of 5.5 pF. ZCc 620 has correspondingly increased length, and Zsys, as
represented by a phasor Zsys 605, is thereby rotated clockwise past the real axis and has a
negative imaginary component. However, the length |Zsys | of Zsys 605 has remained about
the same as that of Zsys 600, and both are similar in length to |ZTH|· This illustrates that the
magnitude of system impedance Zsys has not increased, despite the reduction of the
capacitance of Cc 237 from 10 pF to 5.5 pF, and that length |Zsys | ~ |ZTH|-
[0054] In a preferred embodiment, Thevenin equivalent impedance ZTHhas a positive
imaginary component, and a magnitude that is at least three times greater than load resistance
RL 135.
[0055] FIG 7 is a phasor diagram that shows a locus 740 of termination points of Zsys as it
rotates clockwise from Zsys 600 as a result of decreasing values of Cc 237 until Cc 237
reaches a design minimum at position of Zsys 605.
[0056] A Thevenin current source value ITH may be calculated by dividing EQU 1 by EQU 4,
ITH = VTH / ZTH = Vs/(Rs-jXs) (EQU 8 )
[0057] Typically Rs«Xs. So the magnitude of |ITH| is approximately
|ITH| ~ Vs/Xs = Ys(2n fs Cs) (EQU 9)
[0058] Current |ITH| approximates the load current IL 140 for the conditions RL«|Z TH| and the
reactances of Lcc 150 and Cc 237 approximately cancel each other.
[0059] For a design goal of a particular load current IL and source frequency fs, components
Cs 215, Lp 220 and Lcc 150 can be chosen according to the formulae
Cs ~ 1.1 IL / (2n fs Vs), (EQU 10)
[0060] where a factor of 1.1 somewhat compensates for the reduction of load current due to
the non-negligible value of load resistance RL, and
Lp 0.94/ (4 p2 fs
2 Cs), (EQU 11)
[0061] where a factor of 0.94 increases the resonant frequency of Cs and Lp 220 by about 3%
relative to source frequency fs, to achieve a positive imaginary component of ZTHand to
achieve a range of Cc providing relatively constant load current, as shown in FIG. 7. For all
load currents and initial value Cc(initiai) of the equivalent series capacitance Cc, Lcc will cancel
most of the reactance of Cc when set to approximately
Lcc ~ 1/ (4 p2 fs
2 Cc(imti ai)), (EQU 12)
but adjusting Lcc to slightly higher or lower values may be advantageous, to skew a range of
capacitances that meet or exceed the desired load current.
[0062] A feature of the technique disclosed herein is the increase in voltage afforded by the
series resonant LC circuit of reactive components 107 and 108, allowing relatively small
coupling capacitances represented by Cc 237 to conduct a relatively large load current. To
illustrate, for a source frequency fs of 13.56 MHz, a reduced equivalent series equivalent
capacitance of 5.5 pF has a 2.1 k ohm reactance. A 5 volt root-mean-square (rms) voltage
source would drive less than 2.5 mA through a 200 ohm load, or about 1.25 milliwatts. The
currently proposed circuit drives about 50 mA through the load, or about 500 milliwatts.
[0063] FIG. 12 is a table, i.e., Table 1, that lists values for an exemplary design of a circuit in
accordance with the present disclosure.
[0064] Table 1 shows a design example, for a source voltage Vs of 5 volts rms with source
resistance of 5 ohms, a load resistance RL of 200 ohms, a source frequency fs of 13.56 MHz, a
nominal series equivalent capacitance Cc 237 of 10 pF and a desired load current II of 50 mA.
Capacitor Cs 215 is selected according to EQU 10 as 130 pF, and the inductance Lp 220 of
inductor 250 is selected according to EQU 11 as 1.0 microhenries (mH) . Commercially
available inductors such as the TDK MLF1005G1R0KT show a Q of 70 in the region of 13
MHz, so Table 1 specifies a conservative Q of 50.
[0065] Inductor Lcc 150 is set to 12 uH, about 10% less than would be calculated from EQU
12. Its Q is not critical, as its small loss resistance is in series with the load. An example of a
suitable commercially available inductor is a Delevan 5022R-123J.
[0066] The right column of Table 1 tabulates calculated values for parameters calculated
above. Calculations show that coupling capacitance can be decreased to as low as 5.8 pF, a
42% reduction below the nominal series equivalent capacitance of 10 pF, yet load current is
maintained and does not decrease below 50 mA. The right column of Table 1 also shows a
Thevenin equivalent source voltage VTH of 49.8 volts rms, or about ten times higher than the
5 volt rms source voltage Vs. The Thevenin equivalent impedance magnitude |ZTH| is 882
ohms, more than four times higher than the load impedance RL of 200 ohms, helping to
explain why current remains relatively constant over a range of load resistances and series
equivalent capacitances.
[0067] The series equivalent capacitance Cc 237 may be considered a coupling capacitance.
FIG. 8 is a graph of output current IL vs. coupling capacitance Cs for the circuit of FIG. 3, and
shows the constancy of load current II over a wide range of coupling capacitances. A solid
curve 800 shows load current varying between 50 mA and 56 mA for a variation of coupling
capacitance over a range indicated by a line 830 between 5.8 pF and 10.4 pF. A curve 8 10
shows that load current I I varies relatively little for a load resistance of 150 ohms, and a curve
820 shows that load current II varies relatively little for a load resistance of 300 ohms.
[0068] In review, charger 101 includes AC power source 105, a reactive component 107, and
reactive component 108. AC power source 105 provides alternating current at a source
frequency (fs), and has a terminal (C) and a terminal (D), and a source impedance Rsi 110.
Reactive component 107 is connected between terminal (C) and an interim point (A).
Reactive component 108 is connected between interim point (A) and terminal (D). One of
reactive component 107 and reactive component 108 is a capacitor, and the other of reactive
component 107 and reactive component 108 is a first inductor. Reactive component 107,
reactive component 108, and source impedance Rsi 110, in combination, have a Thevenin
equivalent impedance. The first inductor and the capacitor have a resonant frequency that is
different from the source frequency. Charger 101 also includes a plate 13 1, a second inductor
150, and a plate 136. Plate 13 1 is electrically conductive. Inductor 150 is connected between
interim point (A) and plate 13 1. Plate 136 is electrically conductive and is connected to
terminal (D).
[0069] The portable device 102 has a plate 132, a plate 137, and an electrical load resistance
RL 135. Plate 132 faces plate 13 1, and is electrically conductive and thus forms a capacitance
130 between plate 132 and plate 13 1. Plate 137 faces said plate 136, and is electrically
conductive and thus forms a capacitance 13 8 between plate 136 and plate 137. The electrical
load resistance RL 135 is connected between plate 132 and fourth plate 137.
[0070] Capacitances 130 and 138, together, have an equivalent series capacitance Cc 237,
which may vary over a range between an initial value and 60% of the initial value. The
Thevenin equivalent impedance has a positive imaginary component, and a magnitude that is
at least three times greater than electrical load resistance RL 135. Inductor 150 has a
reactance approximately equal to a reactance of the initial value of Cc 237.
[0071] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a system 900 that includes a wireless charger 901 and
a portable device 910 having corresponding metal plates that form a capacitive coupling.
Charger 901 is a balanced push-pull embodiment of the single-ended circuit of FIG. 2,
achieving galvanic isolation between charger 901 and portable device 910, for wireless
coupling of electric power to a load RL 920.
[0072] In charger 901, AC power source 105 of FIG. 2 is implemented by a 5 volt DC power
source 930, an oscillator 940, i.e., a crystal controlled square wave oscillator, and push-pull
buffers 950 and 954. Buffer 954 inverts the phase of the output of oscillator 940, and both
buffers 950 and 954 feature low output impedances Rs 951 and Rs 955, for example 5 ohms.
[0073] Series capacitor Cs 215 is implemented by capacitors 960 and 962, each having
doubled capacitance 2Cc. Inductance Lp 220 and loss resistance Rp 125 are implemented in
charger 901 as in circuit 200. Inductor Lcc 150 is implemented in charger 901 by inductors
980 and 984, each with a value of ½Lcc.
[0074] Series equivalent capacitance Cc 23 is implemented by two coupling capacitances
905 and 906, each with doubled capacitance 2Cc. A bridge rectifier 915 in portable device
910 rectifies alternating current supplied via capacitances 905 and 906.
[0075] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a system 1000 that includes a charger 1001 and
portable device 910 having corresponding metal plates that form a capacitive coupling.
Charger 1001 is similar to charger 901, but with a capacitive parallel reactance Cp 1005 and
loss resistance Rp 1006. Series reactive component 107 is implemented with inductive
reactances ½Ls 1010 and 1011, and loss resistances ½Rs2 1020 and 1021.
[0076] FIG. 11 is an illustration of a physical representation of an embodiment of a system
1100 that includes a charger 1101 and a portable device 1 1 10 having corresponding metal
plates that form a capacitive coupling. Charger 1101 is powered from electrical mains via a
cable 1120 and a plug 1121 plugged into a power outlet (not shown). Charger 1101 has
electrically conducting metallic plates 1131 and 1141 on an electrically insulating surface
1105. Portable device 1110 has electrically conducting metallic plates 1130 and 1140 on an
external insulating surface 1115. The remainder of portable device 1110 is not shown.
Metallic plate 1130 is placed in close proximity and alignment with metallic plate 1131,
forming capacitor 905 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
[0077] Similarly, metallic plate 1140 is placed in close proximity and alignment with metallic
plate 1141, forming capacitor 906. One or both of plate pairs 1130-1 140 and 1131-1 141
is/are covered with an insulation coating, preventing galvanic connection between the circuits
of charger 1101 and portable device 1110. An optional conductive and grounded ring 1150 or
1151 shields the abovementioned plate pairs, and decreases the magnitude of electric field
emissions in the vicinity of charger 1101 and portable device 1110.
[0078] The techniques described herein are exemplary, and should not be construed as
implying any particular limitation on the present disclosure. It should be understood that
various alternatives, combinations and modifications could be devised by those skilled in the
art. The present disclosure is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and
variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims.
[0079] The terms "comprises" or "comprising" are to be interpreted as specifying the presence
of the stated features, integers, steps or components, but not precluding the presence of one or
more other features, integers, steps or components or groups thereof. The terms "a" and "an"
are indefinite articles, and as such, do not preclude embodiments having pluralities of articles.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A system comprising:
a charger having:
a source that provides alternating current at a source frequency (fs), and has a first
terminal and a second terminal, and a source impedance;
a first reactive component connected between said first terminal and an interim
point;
a second reactive component connected between said interim point and said
second terminal,
wherein one of said first reactive component and said second reactive
component is a capacitor, and the other of said first reactive
component and said second reactive component is a first inductor,
wherein said first reactive component, said second reactive component, and
said source impedance, in combination, have a Thevenin equivalent
impedance,
wherein said first inductor and said capacitor have a resonant frequency that
is different from said source frequency;
a first plate that is electrically conductive;
a second inductor connected between said interim point and said first plate; and
a second plate that is electrically conductive and is connected to said second
terminal; and
a portable device having:
a third plate that faces said first plate, wherein said third plate is electrically
conductive and thus forms a first capacitance between said third plate and
said first plate;
a fourth plate that faces said second plate, wherein said fourth plate is electrically
conductive and thus forms a second capacitance between said second plate
and said fourth plate; and
an electrical load resistance connected between said third plate and fourth plate,
wherein said first and second capacitances, together, have an equivalent series
capacitance,
wherein said equivalent series capacitance has a value in a range between an initial
value and 60% of said initial value,
wherein said Thevenin equivalent impedance has a positive imaginary component, and a
magnitude that is at least three times greater than said load resistance,
wherein said second inductor has a reactance approximately equal to a reactance of said
initial value of said equivalent series capacitance.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said resonant frequency is within about 5% of said
source frequency.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said charger provides a current to said electrical load
resistance that varies less than about 10% over said range of said equivalent series
capacitance.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said portable device contains an energy storage
device.
5. The system of claim 1,
wherein said charger provides a current (IL) to said electrical load resistance,
wherein said source has a source voltage (Vs),
wherein said capacitor has a capacitance (Cs) of about 1.1 Ii/(2nfsVs), and
wherein said first inductor has inductance (Lp) of about 0.94/(½ fs Cs).