SELF-RESONANT COIL, NON-CONTACT ELECTRIC POWER TRANSFER DEVICE AND VEHICLE

• US 20110049978A1
• Filed: 10/02/2008
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Masaru, Ishikawa, Tetsuhiro
• Application Number:
  US12/989,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20110049978A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/9.1
• 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: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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

There is provided a self-resonant coil used in a contactless power transferring apparatus capable of at least one of transferring and receiving electric power by magnetic field resonance. A coil is defined as a virtual coil, wherein the coil has a circular cross-sectional shape of a cross-section perpendicular to the extending direction and, when viewed with a cross-section perpendicular to the extending direction of the self-resonant coil, the length of the circumference defining the circular cross-section is equal to the length of the segment defining the outer circumference edge of the cross-section of the self-resonant coil. At least one of the radial direction width and the axis direction length of the self-resonant coil in the cross-section perpendicular to the extending direction of the self-resonant coil is less than the diameter of the cross-section of the virtual coil.

Claims

1. A self-resonant coil to be used in a non-contact electric power transfer device capable of at least one of electric power transmission and electric power reception by using magnetic field resonance, wherein

a coil having a circular shape in a cross section thereof perpendicular to a direction where the coil extends, a circumferential length of the coil that defines the cross section being equal to a length of a line segment that defines a cross-sectional outer peripheral edge of said self-resonant coil when the self-resonant coil is observed in a cross section thereof perpendicular to a direction where said self-resonant coil extends is used as a virtual coil, and

at least one of said radial width and said axial length of the self-resonant coil in the cross section thereof perpendicular to the direction where said self-resonant coil extends is smaller than a diameter of the cross section of said virtual coil.

2. A self-resonant coil to be used in a non-contact electric power transfer device capable of at least one of electric power transmission and electric power reception by using magnetic field resonance, wherein

said self-resonant coil comprises first and second main surfaces facing each other, and

at least a part of a center line passing through between said first main surface and said second main surface extends so as to intersect with a virtual axis line extending in a radial direction of said self-resonant coil.

3. A self-resonant coil to be used in a non-contact electric power transfer device capable of at least one of electric power transmission and electric power reception by using magnetic field resonance, wherein

a cross section of said self-resonant coil perpendicular to a direction where said self-resonant coil extends has a shape obtained by bending or curving a plate-shape member having main surfaces disposed in an axial direction of said self-resonant coil in the axial direction of said self-resonant coil.

4. A self-resonant coil to be used in a non-contact electric power transfer device capable of at least one of electric power transmission and electric power reception by using magnetic field resonance, wherein

a cross section of said self-resonant coil perpendicular to a direction where said self-resonant coil extends has a substantially U shape or a substantially V shape.

5. The self-resonant coil according to claim 4, wherein

the cross section of said self-resonant coil having the substantially U shape or the substantially V shape forms a channel portion open in an axial direction of said self-resonant coil, and said channel portion accommodates at least a part of said self-resonant coil adjacent to a position of said channel portion in said axial direction.

6. The self-resonant coil according to claim 5, wherein

a curvature of a bottom section of said channel portion is progressively smaller from an end side of said self-resonant coil in said axial direction toward an end side thereof in another axial direction.

7. The self-resonant coil according to claim 4, further comprising a dielectric member disposed between said first main surface and said second main surface.

8. A non-contact electric power transfer device comprising said self-resonant coil according to claim 4, and a primary coil for transferring electric power to and from said self-resonant coil by using electromagnetic induction.

9. A vehicle comprising the non-contact electric power transfer device according to claim 8.