Wireless power transmission in electric vehicles

• US 10,493,853 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2017
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Widmer, Hanspeter, Cook, Nigel P., Sieber, Lukas
• Primary Examiner(s): Amrany, Adi
• Application Number:
  US15/424,640
• Publication Number:
  US 20170267110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/20 AC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• 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: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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 7/00714 in response to battery charging or discharging current
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/00 Line transmission systems combined with near-field transmission systems H04B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments are directed to bidirectional wireless power transfer using magnetic resonance in a coupling mode region between a charging base (CB) and a battery electric vehicle (BEV). For different configurations, the wireless power transfer can occur from the CB to the BEV and from the BEV to the CB.

Claims

1. A system for wireless power transfer, comprising:

a first power converter circuit arranged in a full bridge topology comprising four conversion elements and configured to convert a power input signal to an alternating current (AC) power output signal at an operating frequency;

a first inductor electrically connected to a first terminal of the first power converter circuit;

a second inductor electrically connected to a second terminal of the first power converter circuit, the second terminal different from the first terminal;

a first capacitor electrically connected to the first inductor and to the second inductor, the first capacitor, the second inductor, and the first inductor together forming a portion of a filter circuit;

a first wireless power circuit comprising a third inductor electrically connected to a second capacitor in series, the first wireless power circuit electrically coupled to the first inductor and the second inductor in series, the first wireless power circuit electrically connected to the first capacitor in parallel, the third inductor configured to generate a magnetic field in a region for wireless power transfer at the operating frequency based on the AC power output signal filtered at least in part by the first inductor, second inductor, and first capacitor;

a second wireless power circuit comprising a fourth inductor electrically connected to a third capacitor in series, the fourth inductor configured to generate a received power AC signal at the operating frequency from the magnetic field while in the region for wireless power transfer;

a second power converter circuit arranged in the full bridge topology comprising four other conversion elements and having a third terminal and a fourth terminal different from the third terminal and configured to convert the received power AC signal to a direct current (DC) power output signal based on the received power AC signal;

a fifth inductor electrically coupled to the third terminal of the second power converter circuit and in series with the second wireless power circuit;

a sixth inductor electrically coupled to the fourth terminal of the second power converter circuit and in series with the second wireless power circuit;

a fourth capacitor electrically connected to the fifth inductor, to the sixth inductor, and to the second wireless power circuit in parallel, the fourth capacitor, the fifth inductor, and the sixth inductor together forming a portion of a second filter circuit.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first inductor, second inductor, and first capacitor are configured to reduce harmonics in the AC power output signal generated when the first power converter circuit operates at very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), or high frequency (HF) frequencies.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first inductor, second inductor, and first capacitor are configured to filter high frequency signals in the AC power output signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first inductor has a first inductance and the second inductor has a second inductance that is substantially equal to the first inductance.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the fifth inductor, sixth inductor, and fourth capacitor are configured to reduce harmonics in the received power AC signal generated when the first power converter circuit operates at very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), or high frequency (HF) frequencies.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the fifth inductor, sixth inductor, and fourth capacitor are configured to filter high frequency signals in the received power AC signal.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the fifth inductor has a third inductance and the sixth inductor has a fourth inductance that is substantially equal to the third inductance.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the second power converter circuit comprises a bidirectional power converter.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first power converter circuit comprises a bidirectional power converter circuit that is configured to operate in a transmit mode and a receive mode.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first power converter circuit is configured to operate in two modes, in a transmit mode when the first power converter circuit converts the power input signal to the AC power output signal to generate the magnetic field in the region via the third inductor and in a receive mode when the first power converter circuit converts another received power AC signal to another DC power output signal when exposed to another magnetic field generated by another wireless power circuit in another region.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first power converter circuit is configured to convert the power input signal to the AC power output signal in a transmit mode and convert another received power AC signal at the operating frequency to another direct current (DC) power output signal filtered at least in part by the first inductor, second inductor, and first capacitor in a receive mode.

12. Wireless power transfer, comprising:

converting a power input signal to an alternating current (AC) power output signal at an operating frequency via a first power converter circuit;

filtering the AC power output signal at the operating frequency at least in part by a filter circuit, the filter circuit comprising a first inductor electrically connected to a first terminal of the first power converter circuit, a second inductor electrically connected to a second terminal of the power circuit, the second terminal different from the first terminal, and a first capacitor electrically connected to the first inductor and the second inductor;

generating a magnetic field by a third inductor in a region for wireless power transfer at the operating frequency based on the filtered AC power output signal, the third inductor electrically connected to a second capacitor in series forming a first wireless power circuit, the first wireless power circuit electrically coupled to the first inductor and the second inductor in series and the first wireless power circuit electrically connected to the first capacitor in parallel;

generating a received power AC signal at the operating frequency from the magnetic field by a fourth inductor while in the region for wireless power transfer, the fourth inductor electrically connected to a third capacitor in series forming a second wireless power circuit;

filtering the received power AC signal at the operating frequency at least in part by a second filter circuit, the second filter circuit comprising a fifth inductor electrically connected to a first terminal of the second wireless power circuit, a sixth inductor electrically connected to a second terminal of the second wireless power circuit, the second terminal different from the first terminal, and a fourth capacitor electrically connected to the fifth inductor, to the sixth inductor, and to the second wireless power circuit in parallel; and

converting the received AC power signal filtered at least in part by the fifth inductor, sixth inductor, and fourth capacitor to a direct current DC power output signal by a second power converter circuit connected to the fifth inductor at a third terminal and the sixth inductor at a fourth terminal different from the third terminal,

wherein the first power converter circuit is arranged in a full bridge topology comprising four conversion elements and wherein the second power converter circuit is also arranged in a full bridge topology and comprises four other conversion elements.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising reducing harmonics in the AC power output signal by the filter circuit.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising filtering high frequency signals in the AC power output signal by the first inductor, second inductor, and first capacitor of the filter circuit.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating the magnetic field by the third inductor in a transmit mode and generating, by the third inductor, a received power AC signal from the magnetic field while in the region for wireless power transfer at the operating frequency in a receive mode.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising converting the power input signal to the AC power output signal by the first power converter circuit while operating in a transmit mode and converting, by the first power converter circuit, a received power AC signal at the operating frequency to a direct current (DC) power output signal filtered at least in part by the first inductor, second inductor, and first capacitor in a receive mode.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first inductor has a first inductance and the second inductor has a second inductance that is substantially equal to the first inductance.