Multiphase Direct AC Wireless Power Transfer System: Comparative Proposals Using Frequency and Amplitude Modulations

Using multiload wireless power transfer (WPT) systems to supply power to multiple receivers with a single transmitter is an interesting topic. However, previous studies are all based on a dc-dc WPT system. If the loads demand ac power, additional dc-ac inverters need to be implemented, which increases the system complexity and cost. This article addresses two direct ac WPT systems that can regulate the ac power of multiple phases or loads independently, using frequency modulation and amplitude modulation (AM), respectively. The proposed WPT systems can directly control the ac power of multiple loads through the transmitter side, without any power converter at the receiver side. A typical application of the proposed system is for powering a three-phase load in a rotational object, e.g., three-phase motors in articulated robots or in-wheel motors. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed WPT systems, simulation and experiment studies of a wireless three-phase power transfer are presented. The results suggest that AM is a more advantageous solution to a direct ac WPT system. A power-loss breakdown analysis is presented to suggest future steps of efficiency improvement.