It's the end of a long, cold day on the job and you are hungry. There is a nice hot pot of stew simmering at home in the crock pot but you are still cleaning up after a rough day. Imagine this: Instead of having to make sure all your power tool chargers are out and plugged in, you just place your cordless drill and circular saw onto the workbench in your garage or charging pocket in your truck. No removing the battery. No finding the specific charger, just toss the whole lot of tools onto the charging station and go get yourself a bowl of hot stew. Bosch Tools is definitely ahead of the curve in this game folks. They have partnered with Fulton Innovation, creator and exclusive licensor of eCoupled intelligent wireless power, to bring power tool users wireless charging for cordless tools.
But how does wireless eCoupled technology charge your power tools, you wonder?
Makita Power Tool
The type of battery charging that we are used to is called direct wire charging or conductive charging. Conductive charging requires direct electrical contact between the batteries and the charger. You either plug the batteries to a charger that's plugged into an electrical outlet or you plug the device into a power source (that is plugged into an outlet).
Wireless charging uses induction charging. Induction coils, one placed in the device (power tool) and one placed in the charging base station, work similarly to magnets in so far as they can attract (send messages to) each other without touching. Basically, the induction coil creates an alternating electromagnetic field from within a charging base station, and a second induction coil in the portable device (power tool) takes power from that field and converts it back into electrical current to charge the battery, in essence creating an electric transformer.
The manufacturer states that: Intelligent, two-way communication keeps these devices running at peak efficiency without compromising the life of the battery or the life of the device. That's where the eCoupled Technology comes into play - it is wireless but with an intelligent control system that monitors the power flow to ensure efficiency and safety.
The benefits of wireless charging are that it is safe, efficient and convenient. There are no exposed cords or contacts between the charging surface and product. eCoupled Technology, or wireless charging, transfers power with a rate greater than 90% efficiency. And, no more plethora of corded chargers and adaptors, tools can be charged by simply placing them on an eCoupled-enabled tool shelf or work surface.
eCoupled Technology can be either adaptive or integrated. This means that different devices from different brands requiring different power needs can share a single power source. Imagine that, all your cordless tools, and cell phone, and computer, being charged from the same charging surface, no matter what brand you have purchased. Of course, we have yet to see if the manufacturers will put limits on this.
eCoupled Technology has been validated by standards organizations in 36 countries for safety, electromagnetic compatibility (noise) and other international performance criteria.