Arrangement for providing vehicles with energy comprising magnetizable material

• US 9,793,040 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2013
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ENRX IPT GmbH
• Original Assignee: Bombardier Transportation GmbH (Bombardier Incorporated)
• Inventors: Czainski, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Lian, Mangtin
• Application Number:
  US14/400,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20150137933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• Field of Search: 336 84 R, 336178, 336221, 336232, 336212, 296021, 307104, 320108, 320109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/18 Buses
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/39 with position-responsive activation of primary coils
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/00 Electric propulsion with power supply external to the vehicle electric propulsion for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways B60L13/00; in combination with batteries or fuel cells within the vehicle B60L50/53
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/24 Magnetic cores
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/28 Coils; Windings; Conductive connections
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/361 made of combinations of electrically conductive material and ferromagnetic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 41/06 Coil winding
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4902 Electromagnet, transformer or inductor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49071 by winding or coiling

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for providing vehicles with energy by magnetic induction. The apparatus has a primary side electric conductor and a field shaping layer. The invention also relates to a composite layer for shaping magnetic field lines of an electromagnetic field generated by an electric conductor. The composite layer includes a continuous supporting layer and a plurality of elements made of magnetizable material. Finally, the invention relates to a method of generating an apparatus for providing vehicles with energy by magnetic induction.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing vehicles with energy by magnetic induction, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a primary side electric conductor configured to generate an electromagnetic field while an alternating electric current flows through the conductor; and

a field shaping layer comprising magnetizable material configured to shape magnetic field lines of the electromagnetic field, wherein;

the field shaping layer comprises a plurality of elements made of the magnetizable material fixed to a continuous supporting layer made of electrically conducting material that is non-magnetic;

the plurality of the elements made of the magnetizable material is arranged in rows and columns with a gap in between each pair of neighbouring elements in the rows and in the columns;

the neighbouring elements are positioned at a distance to each other;

the primary side electric conductor is positioned at a distance to the plurality of elements; and

the field shaping layer is folded or coiled with respect to one of two possible directions of the rows and columns of the magnetizable material.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distance between two neighbouring elements is smaller than an extension of the neighbouring elements in a direction across the distance.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a ratio of an area within the field shaping layer occupied by the elements to a total area of the field shaping layer, including regions within the field shaping layer free of the elements, is at least 70% and is not greater than 97%.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elements are in the shape of tiles.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elements are evenly distributed over an extension of the field shaping layer in a longitudinal direction of the layer or in a lateral direction of the layer.

6. A method of generating energy by magnetic induction, comprising:

providing a primary side electric conductor adapted to generate an electromagnetic field while an alternating electric current flows through the conductor; and

providing a field shaping layer, comprising magnetizable material adapted to shape magnetic field lines of the electromagnetic field, arranged in an ambience of the conductor, wherein;

the field shaping layer comprises a plurality of elements made of the magnetizable material fixed to a continuous supporting layer made of electrically conducting material that is non-magnetic;

the plurality of the elements made of the magnetizable material is arranged in rows and columns with a gap in between each pair of neighbouring elements in the rows and in the columns;

the neighbouring elements are positioned at a distance to each other;

the primary side electric conductor is positioned at a distance to the plurality of elements; and

folding or coiling the field shaping layer with respect to one of two possible directions of the rows and columns of the magnetizable material.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a ratio of an area within the field shaping layer occupied by the elements to a total area of the field shaping layer, including regions within the field shaping layer free of the elements, is at least 70% and is not greater than 97%.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the field shaping layer is constituted as a composite layer.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein neighbouring elements are positioned at a distance to each other which is smaller than an extension of the neighbouring elements in a direction across the distance.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the elements are evenly distributed over an extension of the field shaping layer in a longitudinal direction of the layer or in a lateral direction of the layer.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

providing the composite layer wound in the form of a coil or folded in sections on top of each other to a part of a target area on site; and

unwinding or unfolding the composite layer so that it occupies the target area.