Wireless charging for flashlight batteries, is it possible?

Nowadays, wireless battery charging is commonly found on smart phones, portable media players, tablets and wearables, which provides easy-to-use charging solutions. So would it also be possible to charge flashlight batteries with the wireless charging in the future? We may have thought about a built-in wireless charging system on the flashlights, no exposed ports, completely sealed and waterproof. With this design, it can greatly enhance reliability, reduce the mechanical damage caused by repeatedly plugging in the lights’ charging ports.

And some people also tell they’d like to see remote induction charging on flashlights, able to make lights automatically charge as moving on the inductive zone. This Induction charging seems a sound technology and more possibilities with it’s currently advancing. Besides, there are also a couple companies, such as, wi-charge charges via infrared light, energizing the operations with wireless power…

Any ideas, comment freely.

Its not a bad idea but the extra hardware and it often being proprietary is a headache.

If you run it off the standard wireless standards for cell phones (people may have them already) thats fine but make sure its not wireless charging only, it needs to have either built in plug charging or removable battery in addition to wireless.

I’ve thought about that a little and decided that the charging coil is likely to take too much space in the light, especially if it’s Qi-style (flat), which it should be. There have been plenty of sealed charging systems like the drop-in chargers for police-style lights, where there are charge contacts on the outside of the light. USB charging is popular because it’s convenient to not require yet another charging gizmo, but that’s simply a trade-off.

I used to dislike the magnetic charging system seen in some lights, but lately I’ve been appreciating it a bit more, since it is sealed and maybe uses less space in the light than a USB connector would. Some Fenix lights use it and I think it may be somewhat standardized. See here for the connector:

Wireless charging is actually a great thing for flashlights as it does away with the USB water entry point.

OLight has had that for years, an inductive base that you just sit the light on, to charge.

You said “Wireless charging for flashlight batteries” - no that would not work unless the batteries also included some kind of wireless power receiver, regulator and charge controller, on each battery.

Olight’s charging bases aren’t inductive, just a magnetic dock with contacts.

Inductive charging?

+ allows for a sealed, waterproof light

  • convenience

- slower/less efficient

- generates heat

- requires a receiver antenna, control circuitry, and the space to accommodate them

  • works best with an encasement, or portals that aren’t made of metal that will attenuate the signal

A soda can light might have an easier time with some of those things, but a typical tube light?

Sure my electric toothbrush that is charged via induction is more similar in size and shape one of those, but it’s made of plastic, has a battery that only needs to be recharged every few weeks, and when it does, does so overnight. And water resistance is a much bigger factor in its duty cycles.

Possible, sure. Beneficial, perhaps. Cost-effective and practical, doubtful.

is it possible? of course it is possible, it’s been used in toothbrushes, and shavers, for a while now.

it will be challenging, to make it work with phone chargers, cuz imo it is pointless to make a dedicated wireless charger for a light, it would defeat the purpose. might as well stay with magnetic, a user wont care what type of charging you use if you have to do it with included charger and i see 0 sense to do it with individual batteries, you already removing them from a light might as well charge with a wire.

a round flashlight has tiny area that touches flat surface, a flat shaped light has a lot more, enough for wireless charger coil.

iirc one member here build such light for one of the scratch build contests