Inductive energization system and method for vehicles
First Claim
1. A power pickup system for an electrically powered vehicle, comprising:
- a pickup inductor connected to first and second nodes;
a power receiving circuit coupled to said first and second nodes;
a multiplicity of tuning capacitors;
branch selection means for selecting ones of said multiplicity of tuning capacitors to be coupled to said first and second nodes and for generating a selected signal for each selected tuning capacitor; and
a multiplicity of switching circuits, each switching circuit selectively coupling a corresponding tuning capacitor to said first and second nodes;
each switching circuit includinga solid state switch, anda trigger circuit coupled to said branch selection means and said solid state switch, said trigger circuit sensing the voltage across said solid state switch and, after receiving one said selection signal from said branch selection means that corresponds to said switching circuit, triggering closure of said solid state switch when said sensed voltage across said solid state switch is approximately zero.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inductive energization system for moving vehicles includes wayside inductors under the roadway and pickup inductor circuits in electrically powered vehicles. A pickup power controller has a switching circuit, including a zero-crossing trigger circuit, a current limiting inductor, and a bleed resistor. The controller provides for fast switching, desirable for closed loop control of the inductive energy transfer system, as well as low harmonic distortion of waveforms, low acoustic noise, and low maintenance requirements. The pickup inductor of the preferred embodiment has rigid metal conductors bonded together into a single member, allowing this element to serve as both a current carrying element as well as a primary structural member of the pickup inductor. The roadway inductor is split into many segments. Sensors in the roadway detect when vehicles requiring power are present, and a wayside inductor segment controller responds to the sensory signals by energizing only those wayside inductor segments needed to transfer power to such vehicles. This control methodology improves the energy efficiency of the system. In addition, the roadway sensors can be designed to detect identification signals broadcast by vehicle identification transmitters, thereby enabling the system to charge for energy usage by each vehicle.
73 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A power pickup system for an electrically powered vehicle, comprising:
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a pickup inductor connected to first and second nodes; a power receiving circuit coupled to said first and second nodes; a multiplicity of tuning capacitors; branch selection means for selecting ones of said multiplicity of tuning capacitors to be coupled to said first and second nodes and for generating a selected signal for each selected tuning capacitor; and a multiplicity of switching circuits, each switching circuit selectively coupling a corresponding tuning capacitor to said first and second nodes; each switching circuit including a solid state switch, and a trigger circuit coupled to said branch selection means and said solid state switch, said trigger circuit sensing the voltage across said solid state switch and, after receiving one said selection signal from said branch selection means that corresponds to said switching circuit, triggering closure of said solid state switch when said sensed voltage across said solid state switch is approximately zero. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification