Wireless recharging just got better

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Original article by Greg Crowe

Texas Instruments recently announced that it has produced its first single-chip wireless power receiver.

This technology is integrated into a battery charger with a “free-position” transmitter circuit, which extends the charge area by 400 percent. The bqTESLA receiver is the industry’s first Wireless Power Consortium 1.1 Qi (pronounced chee)-compliant wireless power receiver with integrated direct battery charger.

This could definitely make a difference in how precisely mobile devices have to be put on their charging pads. With this technology, the charging surface area of mobile devices will jump from a tiny 18 mm by 18 mm to a relatively spacious 70 mm by 20 mm.

Gone will be the days of when users thought their phone was charging on a pad, but actually wasn’t charging because of its imprecise placement. The charger’s expanded range also opens up more possibilities for wireless charging in vehicles, furniture and other settings, the company said. TI expects that this new chip assembly will show up in mobile devices as early as the end of the year.

TI’s charger may be the first WPC 1.1-compliant charger of its kind, but it’s not the first wireless charger. Other companies have produced wireless charging products  and some others are planning to release products in 2013. The idea of wireless power has been around since Nicola Tesla but appears ready to finally catch on.

 

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