Method of communication between a vehicle and a wayside control unit for controlling an inductive energy transfer to the vehicle, a vehicle and an arrangement

• US 10,543,751 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2015
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IPT Group BV
• Original Assignee: Bombardier Primove Gmbh
• Inventors: Schnarr, Thoralf
• Primary Examiner(s): Tra, Anh Q
• Application Number:
  US15/116,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20160347186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• 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 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• 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 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
• 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 invention relates to a method of communication between a vehicle and a wayside control unit for controlling an inductive power transfer to the vehicle, wherein the control unit controls a generation of an electromagnetic field by a primary unit with a primary winding structure of a system for inductive power transfer, wherein the vehicle includes a secondary unit with a secondary winding structure for receiving the alternating electromagnetic field, wherein charging-related data is transmitted in between the vehicle and the control unit via a first communication link, wherein the authentication-related data is transmitted from the vehicle to the control unit via a second communication link, wherein the authentication-related data is used to authenticate the charging-related data, and a vehicle and an arrangement of a vehicle and a primary unit.

Claims

1. A method of communication between a vehicle and a wayside control unit for controlling an inductive power transfer to the vehicle, comprising the steps of:

controlling with a control unit a generation of an electromagnetic field by a primary unit with a primary winding structure of a system for inductive power transfer, wherein the vehicle comprises a secondary unit with a secondary winding structure for receiving an alternating electromagnetic field, wherein charging-related data is transmitted in between the vehicle and the control unit via a first communication link;

transmitting authentication-related data from the vehicle to the control unit via a second communication link, wherein the authentication-related data encodes a key certificate which provides a public key, wherein the key certificate is used to encrypt the charging-related data; and

initiating a communication, via the first communication link, between the control unit and the vehicle if the vehicle enters an area of predetermined size around an inductive power transfer station, wherein after or simultaneously to the initiation of the communication via the first communication link, at least one vehicle-sided transmitter unit for transmitting a signal via the second communication link is activated.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication via the first communication link is a bidirectional communication and the communication via the second communication link is a unidirectional communication.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication via the first communication link is WLAN-based communication or the communication via the second communication link is a short distance communication.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the authentication-related data is transmitted as a digital certificate.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the authentication-related data is only valid during a single inductive power transfer process.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein data encoding a transmitter identity is transmitted from the vehicle to the control unit via the second communication link.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a signal transmitted via the second communication link is used to determine a correct position or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure of the primary unit.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a deactivation of the communication via the second communication link during or after an inductive power transfer process initiates the termination of the inductive power transfer process.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the communication via the second communication link is deactivated if a vehicle-sided fault-condition is detected and/or the inductive power transfer process is finished.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein after or simultaneously to the initiation of the communication via the first communication link, the signal transmitted via the second communication link is used to determine a correct position or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure of the primary unit, wherein the authentication-related data is only transmitted or decoded after the secondary winding structure has a correct position.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least two vehicle-sided transmitter units for transmitting signals via the second communication link are activated.

12. A vehicle comprising:

a secondary unit with a secondary winding structure of the system for inductive power transfer for receiving an alternating electromagnetic field;

a transmitter-receiver unit for transmitting charging-related data between the vehicle and a wayside control unit via a first communication link, wherein the wayside control unit controls a generation of the alternating electromagnetic field by a primary unit of the system for inductive power transfer; and

a transmitter unit arrangement for transmitting a signal encoding at least authentication-related data from the vehicle to the control unit via a second communication link, wherein the authentication-related data encodes a key certificate which provides a public key, wherein the transmitter unit arrangement comprises at least a first transmitter unit, wherein the key certificate is used to encrypt the charging-related data;

wherein a communication via the first communication link is initiatable between the control unit and the vehicle if the vehicle enters an area of predetermined size around an inductive power transfer station, wherein after or simultaneously to the initiation of the communication via the first communication link, at least one vehicle-sided transmitter unit for transmitting a signal via the second communication link is activatable.

13. The vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the transmitter unit arrangement comprises at least two transmitter units for transmitting signals encoding at least authentication-related data from the vehicle to the control unit via the second communication link.

14. The vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the transmitting unit arrangement is designed and/or arranged with respect to the secondary unit such that a position or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to a primary winding structure of the primary unit can be unambiguously determined depending at least on the signal transmitted by the transmitting unit configuration.

15. An arrangement of a vehicle comprising a secondary unit with a secondary winding structure of a system for inductive power transfer for receiving an alternating electromagnetic field and a primary unit of the system for inductive power transfer,

wherein an inductive power transfer station comprises at least the primary unit with a primary winding structure, wherein a wayside control unit controls a generation of the alternating electromagnetic field by the primary unit;

a primary-sided transmitter-receiver unit for transmitting charging-related data between the vehicle and the control unit via the first communication link; and

wherein the vehicle comprises a vehicle-sided transmitter-receiver unit for transmitting the charging-related data between the vehicle and the control unit via a first communication link,

a transmitter unit arrangement for transmitting a signal encoding at least authentication-related data from the vehicle to the control unit via a second communication link,

wherein the authentication-related data encodes a key certificate which provides a public key,

wherein the transmitter unit arrangement comprises at least a first transmitter unit;

wherein the primary unit comprises a receiving unit arrangement for receiving the signal transmitted by via the second communication link;

wherein the receiving unit arrangement comprises at least a first receiving unit;

wherein the key certificate is usable to encrypt the charging-related data; and

wherein a communication via the first communication link is initiatable between the control unit and the vehicle if the vehicle enters an area of predetermined size around an inductive power transfer station, wherein after or simultaneously to the initiation of the communication via the first communication link, at least one vehicle-sided transmitter unit for transmitting a signal via the second communication link is activatable.

16. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the transmitter unit arrangement and the receiving unit arrangement are designed or arranged with respect to each other such that a position or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure can be unambiguously determined depending at least on the signal(s) transmitted by the transmitter unit arrangement.