Will Shimano offer wireless recharging for electric elements?

Shimano is doing work on a non-speak to technique of charging bicycle components, according to a patent application (US 2023/0021733 AI) that has just been posted.
The patent software refers to street bikes, mountain bikes and different other forms of bikes, and discusses a ‘non-call charging method’ for components with electronic shifting such as a entrance derailleur, mild, adjustable seat publish and adjustable suspension. It particularly mentions that this program isn’t intended to charge a rear derailleur or the drive unit of an electric bicycle.
Present-day electrical bicycle elements – derailleurs, adjustable seat posts, and so on – demand an onboard electricity source (a person or far more batteries) that requirements to be periodically changed or recharged.
Nonetheless, Shimano states, “Recently, some electrical devices are billed making use of a wireless charging method that employs an electromagnetic subject to transfer electrical power amongst two or much more devices based on inductive coupling.
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“The gadget to be charged receives the electromagnetic vitality as a result of resonant inductive coupling and converts the electromagnetic electrical power to electrical strength to demand a power offer of the product to be charged.”
Indeed, as common, the language is convoluted but the patent software suggests that Shimano is at least considering bringing a non-get hold of charging system to the biking earth.
“The bicycle component mainly contains an electrical element a rechargeable energy resource and a non-make contact with charging part,” Shimano states.
“The rechargeable ability source is electrically linked to the electrical portion. The non-contact charging part is configured to wirelessly get external electrical ability and to source the exterior electrical electricity to the rechargeable ability supply.
“The rechargeable ability resource of the bicycle ingredient can be conveniently billed without the need of working with an electrical cable.”
Shimano describes many other details about specifically how the method would get the job done. The non-get hold of charging unit could be held in a bike’s bottle cage, for illustration, it could be “a cell machine that is carried by the user”, or it could be the battery device of an e-bike.
As stated, the procedure could be utilized to management electrically adjustable suspension – “the stiffness and/or stroke length of the… suspension can be adjusted,” suggests Shimano – or a entrance derailleur.
As you use each part its energy will be depleted, of training course, so sensors will guarantee it is immediately recharged from the charging product.
Shimano outlines how the exterior non-call charging system “can be placed inside a handful of centimetres (about 4cm or a lot less) of the non-speak to charging coil of a bicycle component”.
It also suggests, “On the other hand, the non-make contact with charging coil can be configured to use magnetic resonance, so that the non-get in touch with charging equipment can be a person or two meters absent from the bicycle parts.”
Almost everything is controlled by using wi-fi communication and, think us, there’s a whole large amount of depth listed here – 29 pages of it, to be specific.
We have not reported on anything identical from other manufacturers here on street.cc but Biking Sector News protected the advancement of wireless electric bicycle charging from Intis in September 2021.
As we generally level out with nearly anything patent-relevant, there is no ensure that these programs will ever come to fruition. Shimano applies for – and is granted – hundreds of patents each individual calendar year, quite a few of which under no circumstances make it off the laptop screen.
It looks to us that a non-get in touch with charging technique would provide number of rewards, specially presented that virtually all wires are presently hidden internally, but what do you think? A step ahead or useless complication? Allow us know in the opinions down below.