Sony Patent Could Let You Wirelessly Charge Your Phone From Another Device

One of the biggest downsides to wireless charging is the wire necessary to actually charge your device. You generally need to place your wireless charging-enabled device on a compatible charger, which needs to be plugged into a wall. Well, Sony hopes to make the process of wireless charging a bit easier as it has applied for a patent that will allow you to wirelessly charge your phone straight from someone else's phone. Digital Trends reports: The feature could be very useful. Sure, an ideal situation would be if you had access to a power outlet whenever you needed it, but the fact is we've all experienced being out and about and running out of battery. With Sony's new tech, you could essentially just "steal" power from a friend who might have a slightly more charged up device than you. The patent filling itself was discovered by What Future, and the report notes that the tech may not be limited to phones. Instead, Sony could apply it to things like fridges, microwaves, TVs, computers, and really any kind of electronic device. The idea here is that all of you home devices could eventually become sources of wireless energy -- so your phone will almost always be charging if you're at home, without the need for wires.

A.B.C

[Anonymous Coward]

Always Be Charging

Re:A.B.C

[msauve]

Welcome to Patents 3.0.

Now, instead of patenting "X, but with a computer", they can take all those old patents and create new "X, but with a phone" ones. Hurray!

Re:

[Z00L00K]

And I wonder how this is really worth getting a patent for, it's a pretty normal procedure that many with a laptop has been using for years now.

Re:

[msauve]

I'm pretty sure the transfer of Coulombs was the basis for the very first work with electricity. Describing the source and destination isn't a legitimate subject for patent.

No, it wouldn't...

[Anonymous Coward]

It would allow Sony to charge one of their phones with another sony device....

Beamforming?

[omnichad]

If they mean using beamforming to wirelessly charge from a distance, that's one thing.

Applying a "new" inductive charger patent to "devices around the home" would just be Qi. For that matter, putting that on a phone isn't novel enough to patent, just stupid.

Re:Beamforming?

[GrumpySteen]

You're underestimating how stupid our patent examiners are and how eager they are to approve anything that crosses their desk.

Aren't lawyers amazing?

[hey!]

The patent allows you to charge your device from another device... and I'd have sworn you'd need some kind of actual hardware to do something like that.

Re: Aren't lawyers amazing?

[bill_mcgonigle]

There you go challenging the Newspeak again. Your adherence to reality is a threat to our society.

Such a waste

[110010001000]

Just plug it in and stop wasting energy.

Re: Republicans love wireless charging...

[Anonymous Coward]

My charger was about 50% efficient so I understand their ban. I just miss being able to use it since it was safe to use on the rain which is important here in Seattle. I now have a plugin car that some days doesn't charge since it flips its breaker. That never happened with the illegal Mange Charger.

Re:

[110010001000]

In Seattle I use a 300baud modem and I got fired from my QA position when they laid off their entire QA department. Now I work as a maintenance man. I also don't like the Charter.

so now you can have a node 7 blowup with X2

[Joe_Dragon]

so now you can have a node 7 blowup with X2 the power!

Siphoning

[mentil]

Now instead of siphoning gasoline for your car, you can siphon electricity for your smartphone, and then hail an Uber. Progress!

First we have to repeal a law ...

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

So just bring the phone home and it will wirelessly charge from the fridge! Yay! great technology, but we need to first repeal the inverse square law.

120 years ago Tesla tried wireless power delivery. If only we had acted together and repealed the inverse square law ...

Re: First we have to repeal a law ...

[aussie_a]

Elon Musk wasn't even alive 120 years ago. I know it's fashionable to hate on Elon Musk but Tesla can't be blamed for everything.

Re:

[GrumpySteen]

You've confused "inefficient" with "impossible."

Wireless charging at a distance can be done without violating any of the laws of physics. It just wastes a huge amount of energy.

Re:

[Highdude702]

Same people saying conserve energy are the ones wanting the most energy wasting products because they don't know how the stuff actually works and have no idea what efficiency means.

And this will get a patent?

[buss_error]

Full disclosure - I absolutely loathe Sony and all their works. That is my personal opinion which others may or may not share according to their own experiences and thoughts. It is my personal wish that Sony would go bankrupt and their executives go unemployed.

Ok, I did RTFA, and it says Sony applied for a patent, not that it was granted. That being said:

1. We used to call this "getting a jump start" for our cars. No bigge here dude.
2. We used to have electric tooth brushes that used uncoupled transformers

The patent would ALLOW me to wirelessly charge?

[piojo]

More like PREVENT. There are patents that push the state of the art forward, saving readers thousands of hours of R&D. I doubt this is one of them. The only result will be to dissuade manufacturers from pursuing this type of wireless charging.

I know what it will happen....

[ctrl-alt-canc]

User1: Hi, my phone is low on battery, can I charge it from your ?

User2: Sure, you are welcome!

User1: Thanks, it is full charged now.

User2: Uhm, now my phone is low on charge. Can I charge it from yours ?

User1: Sure, you are welcome!
......

User1: Uhm, now my phone is dead low on battery. Can I charge it from yours ?

User2: Nope, also mine is dead.