Charging / Docking Station

[Roberto]

Hey,

  I was using my Sonicare toothbrush the other day, and when I put it in the charger, I noticed how there is no connection to the battery, and somehow charges the battery through the case. I started thinking of a charging station that the robot goes to and is charged by backing up into the station. If anyone knows if I could use a charging technique similar to the toothbrush, please respond.
 
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Thanks,

Anton (a.k.a Roberto)

[AndrewM]

If I had to guess without taking one apart, the charging station on the sonic care uses a transformer based charging unit.  The base is one big loop of wire with current running through it, the handle has another loop of wire.  The current passing through the base loop generates an EMF field.  The handle loop picks up the EMF field which gets turned back into current, and viola touchless charging.

[Rebelgium]

If I had to guess without taking one apart, the charging station on the sonic care uses a transformer based charging unit.  The base is one big loop of wire with current running through it, the handle has another loop of wire.  The current passing through the base loop generates an EMF field.  The handle loop picks up the EMF field which gets turned back into current, and viola touchless charging.

If there is no electrical contact, like the TS said, this is indeed the only way this is possible.
But this is not applicable to robots...
weighs to much, and the robot would have to be very close to the charger or else the efficience will be ridicoulous.

[Roberto]

Thanks anyway. Hopefully someday I will figure out a way it can work for robots.

Thanks again,

Roberto

[paulstreats]

That is indeed how they work, the base unit has the primary coil with an iron core, the iron core protudes from the base unit but is covered with plastic, the toothbrush usually slots over the iron core where there is the secondary coil. Because they us the iron core (regardless of the plastic coating) they get a much more efficient power transfer

[Admin]

This site is both informative and amusing for wireless recharging:
http://www.afrotechmods.com/cheap/arnoldpad/arnoldpad.htm

[pomprocker]

hahahaha

[pomprocker]

I took apart my sonicare advantage tonight following the instructable.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Repairing-your-Sonicare/

I guess the batteries are dead. says expired 04 02

They are two AA NiCD cells, I assume they can be replaced with AA NiMH cells?