Apparatus for inductively transmitting electrical energy

• US 9,543,781 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2012
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ENRX IPT GmbH
• Original Assignee: Conductix-Wampfler GmbH (Delachaux Group SA)
• Inventors: Asselin, Pascal, Green, Andrew, Wechlin, Mathias
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pacheco, Rafael
• Application Number:
  US14/351,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20140327394A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/147 electro magnetic [EMI]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 2003/106 Magnetic circuits using combinations of different magnetic materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 3/10 Composite arrangements of magnetic circuits
• 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 50/10 using inductive coupling
• 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 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

An apparatus for inductively transmitting electrical energy from a stationary unit to a mobile unit which is located adjacent to the stationary unit. The apparatus has a coil and a flux guide unit for guiding a magnetic flux occurring during operation of the apparatus with at least one ferromagnetic body, which consists of a multiplicity of individual elements. The flux guide unit has the basic shape of a plate and is arranged on one side of the coil perpendicular to the winding axis thereof in such a way that it covers the cross-sectional area of the coil at least partially. The ferromagnetic body includes individual elements with anisotropic magnetic permeability and has, overall, anisotropic magnetic permeability. In a viewing plane perpendicular to the winding axis of the coil, the individual elements of the ferromagnetic body are aligned with respect to the coil in those regions in which a ferromagnetic body with anisotropic permeability covers winding sections of the coil, in such a way that the preferred direction of magnetic permeability, in which the magnetic permeability has its greatest magnitude in the viewing plane, is at least approximately perpendicular to the winding sections of the coil.

Claims

1. Apparatus for inductively transmitting electrical energy from a stationary unit to a mobile unit adjacent to the stationary unit, wherein the apparatus has a coil and a flux guide unit for guiding of a magnetic flux that appears during the operation of the apparatus with at least one ferromagnetic body having a multiplicity of individual elements, wherein the flux guide unit has the basic form of a plate and is situated on one side of the coil, perpendicular to its winding axis, in such a way that it, at least partially, covers the cross-sectional area of the coil, in that the ferromagnetic body is composed of individual elements with an anisotropic magnetic permeability, and, as a whole, has an anisotropic magnetic permeability, and in that in a viewing plane that lies perpendicular to the winding axis of the coil and in those areas in which a ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability covers winding sections of the coil, the individual elements of the ferromagnetic body are aligned, relative to the coil, in such a manner that the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability in which it has the greatest magnitude in the viewing plane is, at least approximately, perpendicular to the winding sections of the coil.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flux guide unit has at least one ferromagnetic body with an isotropic magnetic permeability, which is situated adjacent to the body with an anisotropic permeability, in such a way that in a viewing plane that lies perpendicular to the winding axis of the coil, it covers winding sections of the coil, which no ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability covers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coil has an, at least approximately, symmetrical shape, and in that the flux guide unit has a multiplicity of ferromagnetic bodies with an anisotropic permeability, which are arranged symmetrically, relative to a symmetry center, and/or at least one symmetrical axis of the coil.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein all ferromagnetic bodies have, at least approximately, the shape of plates and are arranged next to one another on a plane that lies perpendicular to the winding axis of the coil.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elements that a ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability are individual strips of an anisotropic ferromagnetic material, whose longitudinal direction is the preferred direction of the permeability, and which are situated next to one another and are joined with one another to form a closed body.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the bonding of the individual strips of the anisotropic ferromagnetic material is brought about by a layer of an electrically nonconducting material, with the layer located between two strips adjacent to one another and the material includes, at least in part, of a nonmagnetic adhesive.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein at least one ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability, the individual strips of the anisotropic ferromagnetic material are arranged in the shape of a fan.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the fan shape is brought about by a layer, which is located between two strips of the anisotropic ferromagnetic material adjacent to one another;

the layer is composed of a nonmagnetic and electrically nonconducting material, which includes, at least in part, of an adhesive;

the thickness of the material increases continuously from one end of the adjacent strips to the other end.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the windings of the coil are situated in a planar manner and run in the shape of a spiral.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coil has sections in which their windings run in a straight line and parallel to one another, and in that in at least one such section, at least one body with an anisotropic magnetic permeability is located, wherein the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability lies perpendicular to the windings.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic elements from which a body with an anisotropic magnetic permeability is composed are made of a nanocrystalline, soft-magnetic material.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elements with an isotropic magnetic permeability are made of soft-magnetic ferrite.

13. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coil includes two similar windings connected to one another in series with winding axes parallel to one another and opposite winding directions, which are situated adjacent to one another in a viewing plane that lies perpendicular to the winding axes, in that the two windings have straight-line winding sections parallel to one another, at least in those areas in which they face one another, and in that a single ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability covers these winding sections of both windings and at least a part of the areas of their individual cross-sectional areas surrounded by the windings.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein adjacent on both sides, relative to the ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability and opposite this, perpendicular to the connecting line of the two winding axes, there is a staggered arrangement of two bodies with an isotropic permeability, each of which covers other parts of the cross-sectional areas of both windings.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coil is either a primary coil connected to a current supply or a secondary coil connected to a charging electronic unit of an energy storage device of a mobile unit.