My sister got a new Samsung Galaxy Edge the other day and today we were talking about the ability to charge the phone wirelessly which she never heard of before. Anyway, it got me thinking about using this relatively new technology for our robots.
Has anyone implemented this into any of your projects, and what are your thoughts on the possible pitfalls of using this tech on high powered battery packs? Could they take a very long time to charge, is it safe to charge high amp batteries this way, is it even possible with the kinds of battery we use or is this for mobile/cell phone size batteries at the moment.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as I'm starting to see more and more wireless charging kits available online, and they are not that expensive. Also thinking this would be a good idea for auto docking.
(Moved to another thread.)
Ron
(Moved to another thread.)
Ron
@Mathsprof.
This thread is really about discussing wireless charging specifically, so a new tread would have been best, but I'll try to answer your question.
On a computer, a USB 1.0 and 2.0 port will give you 5V at 500mah, and a on USB 3.0 this goes up to 900mAh, so the USB bus can charge small single cell Li-ion battery packs, but there is a danger of overloading the USB port when connecting too many devices. Charging a device that will draw 500mA together with other loads connected will exceed the port’s current limit, leading to a voltage drop and a possible system failure. To prevent overload, some hosts include current-limiting circuits that shut down the supply when overdrawn. I don't think that connecting a boost converter will help as it will only be receiving the current from the USB port.
So if the heads you intend to use servos ect, then I wouldn't advise connecting it to a USB port. Maybe a high amp mains adapter would be better, but again, it all depends what kind of electronics the heads have and what current each of these electrical component needs.
I hope that helps a little.
Steve,
Thanks for your info. Yes, I see now it would be best to start another thread, and so I'll delete my two postings above and start anew.
Ron
@Ron.
No problem buddy. It just best that way incase if someone is looking for similar information as yourself, they might not find it under this thread title when they do a forum search. Anyway I hope you find the information I provided useful.
Steve.