Wireless power transfer system and vehicle electric power supply device

• US 10,044,235 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2016
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IHI Corporation
• Original Assignee: IHI Corporation
• Inventors: Takatsu, Yuji, Hashizume, Sho, Tokura, Susumu, Ueda, Akio, Akune, Kei, Hayashi, Tooru, Shibata, Shohei
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mourad, Rasem
• Application Number:
  US15/267,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20170001531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60M 7/003 for vehicles using stored power (e.g. charging stations)
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/24 characterised by use of dollies for horizontal transport , i.e. cars being permanently parked on wheeled platforms
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/42 Devices or arrangements peculiar to garages, not covered elsewhere, e.g. securing devices, safety devices , monitoring and operating schemes; centering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/40 using two or more transmitting or receiving devices H02J50/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/50 using additional energy repeaters between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

The wireless power transfer system obtains, by means of data transfer, specific coil position information that is coil position information corresponding to information related to a position of the electric power supply secondary coil in a specific object that is an object that has made an electric power supply request, and electric power is supplied in a wireless manner from the electric power supply primary coil to the electric power supply secondary coil after the posture/position adjustment mechanism adjusts the relative posture or position between the electric power supply primary coil and the electric power supply secondary coil incorporated in the specific object based on the information related to the position of the electric power supply secondary coil in the specific object corresponding to the specific coil position information.

Claims

1. A wireless power transfer system that supplies electric power to an object in which an electric power supply secondary coil capable of receiving wireless power transfer is incorporated, the wireless power transfer system comprising:

an electric power supply apparatus having an electric power supply primary coil capable of supplying electric power to the electric power supply secondary coil in a wireless manner, and a drive circuit that drives the electric power supply primary coil; and

a posture/position adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting a relative posture or position between the electric power supply primary coil and the electric power supply secondary coil, wherein

the wireless power transfer system obtains, by means of data transfer, specific coil position information that is coil position information corresponding to information related to a position of the electric power supply secondary coil in a specific object that is an object that has made an electric power supply request,

electric power is supplied in a wireless manner from the electric power supply primary coil to the electric power supply secondary coil after the posture/position adjustment mechanism adjusts the relative posture or position between the electric power supply primary coil and the electric power supply secondary coil incorporated in the specific object based on the information related to the position of the electric power supply secondary coil in the specific object corresponding to the specific coil position information,

the posture/position adjustment mechanism is a mechanism capable of expanding and contracting a six-axis linear motion actuator to set a spatial six-degree-of-freedom of the electric power supply primary coil to a predetermined spatial six-degree-of-freedom,

the wireless power transfer system further comprises a position change mechanism provided at a specific position and supporting the posture/position adjustment mechanism, the position change mechanism being capable of changing a position of the posture/position adjustment mechanism between an approach position that is a position to approach the object and a separate position that is a position to be separated from the object,

when the specific object is located at the specific position, electric power is supplied in a wireless manner from the electric power supply primary coil to the electric power supply secondary coil after the specific coil position information corresponding to the information related to the position of the electric power supply secondary coil incorporated in the specific object is obtained, the position change mechanism changes the position of the posture/position adjustment mechanism from the separate position to the approach position, and the posture/position adjustment mechanism expands and contracts the six-axis linear motion actuator based on the specific coil position information to set the spatial six-degree-of-freedom of the electric power supply primary coil to the predetermined spatial six-degree-of-freedom and adjust the relative posture or position between the electric power supply primary coil and the electric power supply secondary coil incorporated in the specific object, and

the spatial six-degree-of-freedom is a back and forth swing, a left and right swing, an up and down swing, a horizontal swing, a vertical swing, and a bow swing.

2. The wireless power transfer system according to claim 1, wherein

the wireless power transfer system preliminarily records, in a database, a plurality of items of kind information, which correspond to a kind of a plurality of the objects, and a plurality of items of coil position information, which correspond to a plurality of items of coil position information related to a position of the electric power supply secondary coil in the plurality of objects, by associating each of the plurality of items of kind information with each of the plurality of items of coil position information,

the wireless power transfer system obtains specific kind information that is kind information of the specific object that is the object that has made the electric power supply request, and

the wireless power transfer system obtains, as the specific coil position information, the coil position information related to the specific kind information extracted from the database.

3. A vehicle electric power supply device capable of allowing a vehicle that is an object to be parked, the vehicle electric power supply device comprising:

a main structure forming a parking space in which the vehicle is parked; and

the wireless power transfer system according to claim 1.