Protective shield for an electric vehicle inductive charging pad

• US 9,707,852 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2014
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kautz, Richard William
• Primary Examiner(s): Siek, Vuthe
• Application Number:
  US14/574,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20160176299A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/60 responsive to the presence of foreign objects, e.g. detection of living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• 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

A vehicle includes a vehicle coil assembly configured to couple with a ground coil assembly in a presence of a magnetic field therebetween for wireless power transfer to the vehicle. The vehicle coil assembly includes an inflatable shield configured to extend from the vehicle and form a barrier around a portion of the magnetic field.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle coil assembly configured to couple with a ground coil assembly in a presence of a magnetic field therebetween for wireless power transfer to the vehicle, and including an inflatable shield configured to extend from the vehicle and form a barrier around a portion of the magnetic field.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the shield comprises a flexible non-metallic and flame retardant material.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the shield includes a conductive loop configured to constrain leakage of the magnetic field.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the shield includes a plurality of ferrite panels configured to constrain leakage of the magnetic field.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle coil assembly includes at least one sensor configured to sense data indicative of a state of expansion of the shield.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the sensor is an air pressure sensor or an air flow sensor.

7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the sensor is a camera and the data includes images of the shield.

8. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the sensor is an acoustic sensor and the data includes an acoustic frequency within the shield.

9. The vehicle of claim 5 further comprising a controller programmed to, in response to the data falling within a predetermined range, request wireless power transfer from the ground coil assembly.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the controller is further programmed to, in response to the data falling outside of the predetermined range, discontinue the wireless power transfer.

11. A primary coil assembly comprising:

a primary coil configured to couple with a secondary coil within a vehicle for wireless power transfer to the vehicle;

a shield assembly extending around the primary coil, and including a sensor configured to provide sensor data and an expandable shield configured to extend from the primary coil to the secondary coil to form a barrier around a portion of a magnetic field between the coils; and

a controller programmed to activate the primary coil based on the sensor data.

12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the shield comprises a flexible non-metallic material.

13. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the sensor data represents expansion of the shield.

14. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the sensor data includes air pressure data indicative of air pressure within an interior of the shield and air flow data indicative of air supplied to the shield by an air inlet.

15. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the controller is further programmed to, in response to the sensor data falling outside a predetermined range, deactivate the primary coil.

16. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the shield assembly includes a conductive loop associated with a perimeter of the shield and configured to constrain leakage of the magnetic field.

17. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the shield assembly includes a plurality of ferrite panels associated with the shield and configured to constrain leakage of the magnetic field.

18. A wireless power transfer method comprising:

in response to data indicative of alignment between a primary inductive coil and a vehicle mounted secondary inductive coil, commanding a flexible shield surrounding one of the coils to expand towards the other of the coils; and

in response to data indicative of a pressure within the shield falling within a predefined range, commanding the primary inductive coil to initiate wireless power transfer to the secondary inductive coil.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising, in response to the data indicative of the pressure within the shield falling outside of the predefined range, commanding the primary inductive coil to terminate the wireless power transfer.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising, in response to data indicative of a temperature associated with the shield exceeding a threshold, commanding the primary inductive coil to terminate the wireless power transfer.