Thermal management using a hybrid spiral/helical winding geometry

• US 5,600,222 A
• Filed: 12/02/1994
• Issued: 02/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Delco Electronics Corporation (General Motors Company), General Motors Corporation (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: Delco Electronics Corporation (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Woody, George R., Hall, John T., Radys, Ray G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHIN, KYUNG E
• Application Number:
  US08/348,665
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 320/2, 320/39, 336/DIG. 2, 336/225-232
• US Class Current: 320/108
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• 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: B60L 53/34 Plug-like or socket-like devices specially adapted for contactless inductive charging of electric vehicles positioning means for charging devices using inductive energy transfer B60L53/38
• 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 5/00 Circuit arrangements for transfer of electric power between ac networks and dc networks H02J3/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 336/02 Separable

Abstract

An inductive battery charging system comprising a charge probe and a charge port that employs multi-turn spiral and helical windings in the charge probe to provide improved thermal management of the power produced by the charging system. The thermal management provided by the multi-turn windings of the present invention improves the power handling capacity of the system and reduces AC proximity losses. Numerous flat helical coil and spiral transformer windings are disclosed that provide for differing thermal management schemes. The present invention may be used to increase the inductive charging capacity of electric vehicle propulsion batteries to on the order of 120 KW. The present invention may be used with almost any transformer or inductor that uses foil windings.

Claims

1. An inductive charging system for use in charging batteries of an electric vehicle, wherein said inductive charging system comprises a power source, a charge station coupled to the power source, a charge probe that comprises a primary core and a primary winding of a transformer coupled to the charge station by means of an extendable charging cable, a charge port disposed in the electric vehicle that comprises a secondary core and secondary windings of the transformer, and a charge controller coupled between the charge port and the batteries of the electric vehicle, wherein the improvement comprises:

a primary winding comprising a predetermined number of turns stacked in a predetermined number of layers and wherein at least one of the turns comprises a spiral multi-turn winding such that the number of layers is less than the number of turns.

2. The system 10 of claim 1 wherein the primary winding comprises a first layer comprising two spiral turns that form the multi-turn winding and second and third layers each comprising helical turns.

3. An inductive charging system for use in charging batteries of an electric vehicle, wherein said inductive charging system comprises a power source, a charge station coupled to the power source, a charge probe that comprises a primary core and a primary winding of a transformer coupled to the charge cable by means of an extendable charging cable, a charge port disposed in the electric vehicle that comprises a secondary core and secondary windings of the transformer, and a charge controller coupled between the charge port and the batteries of the electric vehicle, wherein the improvement comprises:

a charge probe that comprises a primary core and a primary winding of a transformer, and a heat sink, and wherein the primary winding comprises a predetermined number of turns stacked in a predetermined number of layers and wherein at least one of the turns comprises a spiral multi-turn winding such that the number of layers is less than the number of turns.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the primary winding comprises a first layer comprising two spiral turns that form the multi-turn winding and second and third layers each comprising helical turns.