A study on inductive power transfer with wireless tuning

This paper presents the analysis of two loosely coupled coils used to transfer energy to charge a battery. This battery is used to power an electronic device designed to monitor variables such as impact strength, range of temperature and humidity associated with the transport of fruits. The device is inside a sealed enclosure that cannot be opened for recharging the battery. The study shows the loosely coupled coils need to work with a resonance capacitor, at least on the secondary coil. However the resonance frequency also depends on the coupling factor k and the power delivered to the load. Therefore, this work proposes a monitoring system with closed loop for fine-tuning the resonance frequency of the secondary coil circuit. Before starting charging the battery the system scans the resonance frequency on the primary coil and measures the output power on the secondary coil looking for the optimal point. This procedure reduces problems of variation of coupling factor with positioning of the coils.