Vehicle control system for aligning inductive charging connection
First Claim
1. A vehicle control system configured to position a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a mobile inductive charging point, wherein the vehicle control system comprises:
- one or more parking sensors configured to determine the position of the vehicle relative to a surface upon which the vehicle is positioned, wherein the one or more parking sensors are further configured to locate a visual indicator indicating the position of a fixed inductive charging point relative to the vehicle; and
a parking assistance controller configured to automatically park the vehicle in a parking space on the surface based on data from the one or more parking sensors,wherein the parking assistance controller is further configured to use data from the one or more parking sensors to position the vehicle in an aligned position in which the fixed inductive charging point and the mobile inductive charging point are substantially aligned,wherein the parking sensors are configured to locate a visual indicator that is on the surface upon which the vehicle is positioned,wherein the visual indicator is substantially flat with respect to a plane of the surface upon which the vehicle is positioned, andwherein the parking assistance controller is configured to determine the position of the vehicle relative to the fixed charging point when the vehicle has passed over the fixed inductive charging point and the location of the fixed inductive charging point is out of view of the one or more parking sensors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle control system, a surface marking for a surface upon which a vehicle can be positioned and a method of positioning a vehicle is provided. The vehicle control system is configured to position a vehicle. The vehicle comprises a mobile inductive charging point. The vehicle control system comprises one or more parking sensors configured to determine the position of the vehicle relative to a surface upon which the vehicle is positioned and/or obstacles around the vehicle. The one or more parking sensors are further configured to locate a visual indicator indicating the position of a fixed inductive charging point relative to the vehicle, and a parking assistance controller configured to automatically park the vehicle in a parking space on the surface based on data from the one or more parking sensors.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A vehicle control system configured to position a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a mobile inductive charging point, wherein the vehicle control system comprises:
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one or more parking sensors configured to determine the position of the vehicle relative to a surface upon which the vehicle is positioned, wherein the one or more parking sensors are further configured to locate a visual indicator indicating the position of a fixed inductive charging point relative to the vehicle; and a parking assistance controller configured to automatically park the vehicle in a parking space on the surface based on data from the one or more parking sensors, wherein the parking assistance controller is further configured to use data from the one or more parking sensors to position the vehicle in an aligned position in which the fixed inductive charging point and the mobile inductive charging point are substantially aligned, wherein the parking sensors are configured to locate a visual indicator that is on the surface upon which the vehicle is positioned, wherein the visual indicator is substantially flat with respect to a plane of the surface upon which the vehicle is positioned, and wherein the parking assistance controller is configured to determine the position of the vehicle relative to the fixed charging point when the vehicle has passed over the fixed inductive charging point and the location of the fixed inductive charging point is out of view of the one or more parking sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A vehicle comprising:
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an inductive charging system; a sensor; and a controller configured to position the vehicle to align an inductive charging point of the inductive charging system with a fixed charging point associated with a parking surface based on data indicating relative position between the inductive and fixed charging points that is derived after the sensor has located and passed over an indicator flush with the surface indicating a position of the fixed charging point and after the indicator is beyond view of the sensor.
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Specification