Apparatus and Method for Identifying Foreign Bodies in an Inductive Charging System
First Claim
1. An apparatus for identifying a foreign body in an inductive charging system, the inductive charging system comprising a charging unit having a primary coil and a vehicle having a secondary coil, wherein electrical power is transmitted from the primary coil to the secondary coil during a charging operation, the apparatus comprising:
- a camera system of the vehicle;
a camera control unit coupled to the camera system, wherein the camera system is configured to capture at least one image of the charging unit when at least one of;
(i) a vehicle approaches the charging unit, (ii) at a beginning of the charging operation, or (iii) during the charging operation, andthe camera control unit digitally processes the at least one captured image in order to detect the foreign body located on the charging unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for identifying foreign objects in an inductive charging system having a charging unit and a vehicle for inductive charging, in which the charging unit includes a primary coil and the vehicle has a secondary coil in order to transmit electrical power from the primary coil to the secondary coil during a charging operation. The vehicle includes a camera system, and a camera control unit. The camera system captures at least one image of the charging unit when the vehicle approaches the charging unit, at the beginning of a charging operation and/or during a charging operation. The camera control unit digitally processes the at least one captured image in order to detect a foreign body located on the charging unit.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. An apparatus for identifying a foreign body in an inductive charging system, the inductive charging system comprising a charging unit having a primary coil and a vehicle having a secondary coil, wherein electrical power is transmitted from the primary coil to the secondary coil during a charging operation, the apparatus comprising:
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a camera system of the vehicle; a camera control unit coupled to the camera system, wherein the camera system is configured to capture at least one image of the charging unit when at least one of;
(i) a vehicle approaches the charging unit, (ii) at a beginning of the charging operation, or (iii) during the charging operation, andthe camera control unit digitally processes the at least one captured image in order to detect the foreign body located on the charging unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of identifying a foreign body in an inductive charging system comprising a charging unit having a primary coil and a vehicle having a secondary coil, electrical power being inductively transmitted from the primary coil to the secondary coil during a charging operation, the method comprising the acts of:
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obtaining, via a camera system arranged on the vehicle, at least one image of the charging unit when at least one of;
(i) the vehicle approaches the charging unit, (ii) at a beginning of a charging operation or (iii) during the charging operation;digitally processing the obtained at least one image of the charging unit in order to determine whether a foreign body is located on the charging unit. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification