Lateral positioning for wireless electric vehicle charging
First Claim
1. A wireless electric vehicle charging system comprising:
- an electric load;
an inductive power coupler communicatively coupled to the electric load and configured to couple wirelessly and inductively to a magnetic field to receive sufficient energy from an inductive power transmit element to at least one of charge the electric load or to operate the electric load;
a receiver; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver and to the electric load and configured to;
determine an alignment value associated with a first signal received by the receiver and a second signal received by the receiver, wherein the alignment value is a magnitude of the first signal relative to a magnitude of the second signal or is a difference between a time of arrival of the first signal and a time of arrival of the second signal; and
determine, based on the alignment value, an indication of a lateral offset of the inductive power coupler relative to the inductive power transmit element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of determining alignment of an inductive power coupler of an electric vehicle relative to an inductive power transmit element includes: receiving, at the electric vehicle, a first wireless signal and a second wireless signal; analyzing the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal to determine an alignment value, the alignment value being a magnitude of the first wireless signal relative to a magnitude of the second wireless signal or being a difference between a time of arrival of the first wireless signal and a time of arrival of the second wireless signal; and determining, based on the alignment value, an indication of a lateral offset of the inductive power coupler of the electric vehicle relative to the inductive power transmit element.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A wireless electric vehicle charging system comprising:
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an electric load; an inductive power coupler communicatively coupled to the electric load and configured to couple wirelessly and inductively to a magnetic field to receive sufficient energy from an inductive power transmit element to at least one of charge the electric load or to operate the electric load; a receiver; and a processor communicatively coupled to the receiver and to the electric load and configured to; determine an alignment value associated with a first signal received by the receiver and a second signal received by the receiver, wherein the alignment value is a magnitude of the first signal relative to a magnitude of the second signal or is a difference between a time of arrival of the first signal and a time of arrival of the second signal; and determine, based on the alignment value, an indication of a lateral offset of the inductive power coupler relative to the inductive power transmit element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of determining alignment of an inductive power coupler of an electric vehicle relative to an inductive power transmit element, the method comprising:
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receiving, at the electric vehicle, a first wireless signal and a second wireless signal; analyzing the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal to determine an alignment value, the alignment value being a magnitude of the first wireless signal relative to a magnitude of the second wireless signal or being a difference between a time of arrival of the first wireless signal and a time of arrival of the second wireless signal; and determining, based on the alignment value, an indication of a lateral offset of the inductive power coupler of the electric vehicle relative to the inductive power transmit element. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A wireless electric vehicle charging system comprising:
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an electric load; coupling means, communicatively coupled to the electric load, for receiving energy wirelessly from a power transmit element to at least one of charge the electric load or to operate the electric load; receiving means for receiving a first alignment signal and a second alignment signal; and first determining means for determining an alignment value associated with a first signal received by the receiving means and a second signal received by the receiving means, wherein the alignment value is a magnitude of the first signal relative to a magnitude of the second signal or is a difference between a time of arrival of the first signal and a time of arrival of the second signal; and second determining means for determining, based on the alignment value, an indication of a lateral offset of the coupling means relative to the power transmit element. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium comprising instructions configured to cause a processor to:
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analyze a first wireless signal and a second wireless signal to determine an alignment value, the alignment value being a magnitude of the first wireless signal relative to a magnitude of the second wireless signal or being a difference between a time of arrival of the first wireless signal and a time of arrival of the second wireless signal; and determine, based on the alignment value, an indication of a lateral offset of an inductive power coupler of a vehicle relative to an inductive power transmit element of a wireless charger. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification