Wireless power for vehicular passenger seats

• US 10,135,285 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2015
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Ayotte, Loren Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nha
• Application Number:
  US14/954,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20170155268A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

An electrical system for low-power charging of personal electronic devices is made available at each passenger seat in a vehicle using wireless power technology. Alternating current is delivered by conductors behind the sidewall panels or under the floor of the vehicle body to the passenger area. Electrical power is transferred from these conductors using transmit coils attached outboard of the sidewall panels or below the floor to receive coils attached to passenger seats near the transmit coils. The electrical current induced in the receive coils is made available via electrical power charging circuits at a convenient location for each seat via conventional charging ports. Transmit and receive coils are designed and configured to permit different seating configurations without the need for rewiring by placement and design of larger transmit and receive coils or by using track-mounted transmit and receive coils or a combination of these.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle having a body defining an interior;

a power supply carried by said vehicle and producing an electric current;

a first conductor connected to said power supply and carried by said body;

a seat positioned in said body;

a transmit coil in electrical connection with said first conductor and receiving said first electric current, said transmit coil producing a magnetic field in response to said electrical current from said power supply carried by said first conductor;

a receive coil in said interior of said body, said receive coil carried by said seat, said receive coil responsive to said magnetic field produced by said transmit coil and producing a second electrical current related to said first electrical current;

an electrical power charging circuit in electrical connection with said receive coil and carried by said seat, said electrical power charging circuit providing a charging electrical current from said second electrical current; and

a charging port;

wherein, when said receive coil is arranged in a plane substantially parallel to a plane of said transmit coil, either said transmit coil is longer in a horizontal direction than said receive coil, or one of the transmit and receive coils are slideably mounted in a horizontal direction, such that after said seat is moved forward or backward within the interior of said vehicle, the receive coil remains within said magnetic field produced by said transmit coil.

2. The vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein said body includes a floor, and wherein said transmit coil is attached to said floor under said seat.

3. The vehicle as directed in claim 2, wherein said seat has a bottom and wherein said receive coil is attached to said bottom of said seat.

4. The vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein said body includes a wall panel and said seat has a side, and wherein said transmit coil is attached to said wall panel between said body and said wall panel and said receive coil is located between said wall panel and said side of said seat.

5. The vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein said seat has a side and said receive coil is attached to said side of said seat.

6. The vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrical power charging circuit produces low voltage direct current.

7. The vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrical power charging circuit includes a charging port for receiving a charging plug.

8. The vehicle as recited in claim 7, wherein said charging port is a universal serial bus port.

9. The vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein said vehicle is an aircraft, an automobile, a truck, a bus, or a watercraft.

10. An aircraft, comprising:

a body defining an interior;

a power supply producing a first electrical current;

at least one electrical conductor connected to said power supply and carried by said body;

a plurality of rows of seats positioned in said interior of said body, a row of seats of said plurality of rows of seats including a plurality of seats;

a plurality of transmit coils in electrical connection with said at least one electrical conductor, a transmit coil of said plurality of transmit coils producing a magnetic field in response to said first electrical current;

a plurality of receive coils in said interior of said body, a receive coil of said plurality of receive coils attached to a row of said plurality of rows of seats, said receive coil being responsive to said magnetic field produced by said transmit coil and producing a second electrical current related to said first electrical current;

a plurality of electrical power charging circuits, an electrical power charging circuit of said plurality of electrical power charging circuits being in electrical connection with said receive coil, said electrical power charging circuit providing a charging electrical current from said second electrical current; and

a plurality of charging ports, a charging port of said plurality of charging ports being in electrical connection with said electrical power charging circuit and carried by a seat of said plurality of seats, wherein said charging electrical current is conducted to said charging port;

wherein, when said receive coil is arranged in a plane substantially parallel to a plane of said transmit coil, either said transmit coil producing a magnetic field is longer in a horizontal direction than said receive coil producing a second electrical current, or one of the transmit coil producing a magnetic field and receive coil producing a second electrical current are slideably mounted in a horizontal direction, such that after said row to which said receive coil producing a second electrical current is moved forward or backward within the interior of said vehicle, the receive coil producing a second electrical current remains within said magnetic field produced by said transmit coil.

11. The aircraft as recited in claim 10, wherein said body includes a floor, and wherein said transmit coil is attached to said floor.

12. The aircraft as recited in claim 10, wherein said seat of said plurality of seats has a bottom and wherein said receive coil is attached to said bottom of said seat.

13. The aircraft as recited in claim 10, wherein said body includes at least one wall panel and said seat has a side, and wherein said transmit coil is attached to a wall panel of said at least one wall panel and said receive coil is attached to said side of said seat.

14. The aircraft as recited in claim 10, wherein said transmit coil is movably attached to said body so that said transmit coil may move between a first position and a second position.

15. The aircraft as recited in claim 10, wherein said seat has a side and said receive coil is attached to said side of said seat.

16. The aircraft as recited in claim 10, wherein said transmit coil has an area and said receive coil has an area and said area of said receive coil is less than said area of said transmit coil.

17. A method for providing electrical power to a seat in a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

attaching a transmit coil to a wall panel of a vehicle;

attaching a receive coil between said transmit coil and a seat in said vehicle, whereby a plane of said receive coil is substantially parallel to a plane of said transmit coil said;

attaching an electrical power charging circuit to said seat in said vehicle, said electrical power charging circuit being in electrical connection with said receive coil and a charging port;

energizing said transmit coil with a first electrical current from a source of electrical current thereby inducing a second electrical current in said receive coil, and providing said second electrical current to said electrical power charging circuit and said port;

moving said seat forward or backward within the interior of said vehicle; and

if said transmit coil is not sufficiently longer in a horizontal direction than said receive coil, sliding one of said transmit or receive coil in a horizontal direction so as to position said receive coil within a magnetic field produced by said transmit coil.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said vehicle has a body and said wall panel and a floor are in said body, said panel and said floor defining an interior of said body, and wherein said transmit coil is not in said interior but is accessible from said interior.