US 2,011,148,218 · Filed 2010-12-17
Windows That Tint Themselves—Without Any Wires
Imagine a window that darkens or lightens at the touch of a button, but without cords or batteries hidden in the frame. This patent combines smart glass that changes tint with wireless power—the window gets its energy beamed to it invisibly, like how your phone charges on a wireless pad.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The patent covers the combination of electrochromic windows (glass that electrically changes from clear to tinted) powered by wireless power transmission systems. What's protected here is the specific engineering of solid-state electrochromic glass designed to be reliable enough to receive and use wirelessly transmitted power without degrading over time, plus the networks and infrastructure that beam that power to the windows.
Why it matters
Smart windows that respond to light and temperature can cut heating and cooling costs in buildings, but they've always needed power—batteries die, wired connections are expensive and ugly to install. Wireless power removes that barrier. By combining two technologies that hadn't been reliably paired before, Soladigm created a pathway for smart glass to become standard in homes and offices without visible infrastructure or maintenance headaches.
Real-world use
Picture an office building where windows automatically darken on hot summer afternoons to keep the space cool, all powered invisibly through the wall—no solar panels, no batteries, no visible tech.
Original USPTO abstract
Electrochromic windows powered by wireless power transmission are described, particularly, the combination of low-defectivity, highly-reliable solid state electrochromic windows with wireless power transmission. Wireless power transmission networks which incorporate electrochromic windows are described.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,011,148,218
- Filing date
- 2010-12-17
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Soladigm, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- ROZBICKI ROBERT T.
- CPC class
- H02J50/10
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