ENERGY TRANSFER SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MOBILE VEHICLES
First Claim
1. A system for transmitting electrical power to vehicles, the system comprising:
- a transmitter array having a plurality of coils, the plurality of coils being arranged laterally across a roadway, each of the plurality of coils selectively operable and tunable;
an energy transfer controller coupled to the transmitter array and having a coil power management module and a trajectory predictor module, the trajectory predictor module determining a trajectory for a mobile vehicle and the coil power management module selectively activating one or more of the plurality of coils when a mobile vehicle is in resonance coupling with the one or more of the plurality of coils, the trajectory predictor module coupled to provide trajectory information to the coil power management module, and the coil power management module coupled to the plurality of coils.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An energy transfer system comprises a transmitter array, an energy transfer controller, a receiver array, a charging module. The transmitter array is embedded in a roadway and the energy transfer controller is coupled to the transmitter array. The receiver array and the charging module are part of a mobile vehicle. The transmitter array and the receiver array each include a plurality of coils. The energy transfer controller estimates a likely trajectory of the mobile vehicle and energizes individual coils of the transmitter array using this position estimate. The energy transfer controller varies the resonant circuit component values of the transmitter during the transfer cycle such as resonant coupling capacitance values. The charging module also varies the resonant circuit component values of the coils in the receiver array to match the transfer array for transfer of energy from the transmitter array to the receiver array. The present invention also includes a method for energy transfer.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for transmitting electrical power to vehicles, the system comprising:
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a transmitter array having a plurality of coils, the plurality of coils being arranged laterally across a roadway, each of the plurality of coils selectively operable and tunable; an energy transfer controller coupled to the transmitter array and having a coil power management module and a trajectory predictor module, the trajectory predictor module determining a trajectory for a mobile vehicle and the coil power management module selectively activating one or more of the plurality of coils when a mobile vehicle is in resonance coupling with the one or more of the plurality of coils, the trajectory predictor module coupled to provide trajectory information to the coil power management module, and the coil power management module coupled to the plurality of coils. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for transferring electrical power to vehicles, the method comprising:
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receiving at an energy transfer controller an access request from a mobile vehicle; predicting a trajectory for the mobile vehicle; determining a coil of a transmitter array to activate based on the trajectory for the mobile vehicle; adjusting coil parameters based on a location of the mobile vehicle; and activating the coil as the mobile vehicle moves over the coil. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification