"We'll be using it in toys on sale for the 2010 Christmas season," says a source at Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Japan.
Murata Manufacturing will put wireless power supplies into commercial use. While details have not been released yet, it seems the application will be to power toy-mounted lights, rather than charging. The firm plans to begin volume production of wireless power supply modules at about 10,000 units/month in fall 2010.
The modules will use electric field coupling technology, transferring electric power via an electric field generated between electrodes mounted on transmitting and receiving sides. The approach offers a high degree of freedom in horizontal positioning. At the press conference, the company shows a charging sheet covered with copper foil (Fig.1). The sheet is divided internally into three parts, each connected to its own power transmission module.
The electric field coupling design used can use electrodes made of any conducting material, increasing design freedom. The company says it also plans to release a charger for iPhone and iPad terminals, using electrodes made of indium tin oxide (ITO), already in widespread use as a transparent electrode material (photo).
With the new application, Murata Manufacturing is also announcing a switch in wireless power supply technology. The firm began developing the electromagnetic induction method† jointly with Seiko Epson Corp. of Japan in 2007, and the technology was just about ready for use in mobile phones, including assuring reliability, safety, and compliance with laws and regulations in various countries.
† Electromagnetic induction method: This scheme makes use of the fact that when two coils are brought into close proximity to each other and current passed through one, the resulting magnetic flux generates electromotive force in the other. This technology is already used in electric toothbrushes, for example. The technology must, however, prevent efficiency drops due to relative position and heating when foreign materials are present, as well as suppress electromagnetic radiation.
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