Contactless inductive energy transmission apparatus and method

• US 10,505,399 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2016
• Issued: 12/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Weidmã¼Ller Interface GmbH & Company KG (WEIDMÜLLER Holding AG & Co. KG)
• Original Assignee: Weidmã¼Ller Interface GmbH & Company KG (WEIDMÜLLER Holding AG & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Steinmetz, Andreas, Grunberg, Olaf
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thienvu V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baxter, Brian K
• Application Number:
  US15/557,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20180062444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• 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 53/34 Plug-like or socket-like devices specially adapted for contactless inductive charging of electric vehicles positioning means for charging devices using inductive energy transfer B60L53/38
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/28 Coils; Windings; Conductive connections
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• 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

Abstract

An apparatus for the contactless, inductive transmission of energy from a primary portion a secondary portion includes at least one coil in each portion which are inductively coupled to each other. The primary portion and the secondary portion include at least one magnetic field sensor and are arranged to determine a position of the secondary portion relative to the primary portion using a magnetic field generated by the coils and measured with the aid of the magnetic field sensor.

Claims

1. An operating method for an apparatus for the contactless, inductive transmission of energy from a coil of a primary portion to a coil of a secondary portion, comprising the steps of

(a) determining a lateral offset of the secondary portion to the primary portion using a magnetic field generated by the coil of the primary portion and the coil of the secondary portion and measured with at least two auxiliary coils arranged opposite one another in pairs are used as at least two magnetic field sensors for measuring voltage amplitude signals induced in said at least two auxiliary coils;

and

(b) calculating said voltage amplitude signals with one another to determine a lateral offset of the secondary portion relative to the primary portion to determine a distance along an axis of the coil of the primary portion from the secondary portion to the primary portion using the magnetic field measured by the at least one magnetic field sensor.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least two auxiliary coils are arranged in at least one of said primary and said secondary portions, said at least two auxiliary coils being are arranged symmetrically around a longitudinal axis of a respective one of a coil of the primary portion and a coil of the secondary portion.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein four auxiliary coils are arranged in at least one of the primary and secondary portions around a respective one of a coil of the primary portion and a coil of the secondary portion.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the lateral Offset and the distance are determined using measurements from four magnetic field sensors which are arranged in the primary portion around the coil of the primary portion.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, in which the lateral offset is defined by a radial distance between axes of the coil of the primary portion and the coil of the secondary portion and an angle between an interval vector which extends from the axis of the coil of the primary portion to the axis of the coil of the secondary portion and between a defined spatial direction.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, in which transmission of energy from the primary portion to the secondary portion is suppressed when at least one of the lateral offset of the secondary portion relative to the primary portion and the distance from the secondary portion to the primary portion exceeds a given boundary value.