Deployable safety shield for charging

• US 10,166,875 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2016
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NIO Technology Company Limited (Shanghai Anbin Technology Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nio Usa Inc.
• Inventors: Ricci, Christopher P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Application Number:
  US15/289,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20170136896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 815 Days
• Field of Search: 320107, 320104, 320108, 361816, 361818
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/147 electro magnetic [EMI]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• 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 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems are provided to shield a passenger compartment of an electric vehicle from electromagnetic fields present during a wireless charging process. A charging system may include a shield portion between the charging plate and a passenger compartment of the electric vehicle. The shield portion may include at least two states, a first state being a non-deployed state and a second state being a deployed state and the shield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagnetic field provided by the charging system when in the second state.

Claims

1. A system for charging an electric vehicle, the system comprising:

a charging system including a power source and a charging plate wirelessly coupled to the power source, wherein the power source wirelessly transfers power to the charging plate; and

at least one shield portion between the charging plate and a passenger compartment of the electric vehicle,

wherein,

the at least one shield portion includes at least two states, a first state being a non-deployed state and a second state being a deployed state, and

the at least one shield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagnetic field provided by the charging system when in the second state.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one shield portion includes a mu-metal.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein a surface area of the at least one shield portion in the first state is less than the surface area of the at least one shield portion in the second state.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one shield portion surrounds at least a portion of the charging plate.

5. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

a second shielding portion, wherein the second shield portion surrounds the at least one shielding portion when in a deployed state.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a grounding rod configured to deploy during a charging operation such that the grounding rod and the at least one shield portion are electrically coupled to an Earth ground during the charging operation.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one shielding portion at least one of pivots or slides when going from the first state to the second state.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one detector configured to detect at least one of an electric field and a magnetic field within the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one shield portion is configurable to attenuate the electromagnetic field provided by the charging system when in a third state, wherein when in a third state, the at least one shield portion is partially deployed.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one shielding portion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receive a signal provided by an active cancellation management unit, the signal causing an electromagnetic field to be generated which at least partially opposes the electromagnetic field provided by the charging system and received within the passenger compartment when the signal flows through the plurality of wirings.

11. A method of shielding a passenger compartment from electromagnetic fields generated during a charging process of an electric vehicle, the method comprising:

providing a charging system including a power source and a charging plate wirelessly coupled to the power source;

providing at least one deployable shield portion between the charging plate and the passenger compartment of the electric vehicle, wherein the at least one deployable shield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagnetic field provided by the charging system; and

wirelessly transferring power from the power source to the charging plate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one shield portion includes a mu-metal.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one deployable shield portion includes at least two states, a first state being a non-deployed sate and a second state being a deployed state, and wherein the at least one shield portion is configured to attenuate the electromagnetic field provided by the charging system when in the second state.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

deploying the at least one deployable shield portion such that a surface area of the at least one shield portion in the second state is greater than the surface area of the at least one shield portion in the first state.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

surrounding the charging plate with the at least one deployable shield portion.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one shield portion at least one of pivots or slides when going from the first state to the second state.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating an electromagnetic field based on a strength of at least one of an electric field or magnetic field within the passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein the at least one shield portion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receive a signal provided by an active cancellation management unit, the signal causing an electromagnetic field to be generated which at least partially opposes the at least one of the electric field or magnetic field.

18. A deployable shield portion configured to attenuate an electromagnetic field, the deployable shield portion comprising:

at least one configurable panel portion configured to move between a non-deployed state and a deployed state, wherein when in a deployed state, a surface area of the at least one configurable panel portion that is between a passenger compartment of a vehicle and a charging plate of a wireless inductive charging system is greater than the surface area of the of the at least one configurable panel portion when in the non-deployed state.

19. The deployable shield portion of claim 18, wherein when in the non-deployed state, the at least one configurable panel portion is not between the charging plate of the wireless inductive charging system and the passenger compartment, and wherein when in the deployed state, the at least one configurable panel portion is between the charging plate of the wireless inductive charging system and the passenger compartment.

20. The deployable shield portion of claim 18, wherein when in the deployed and non-deployed state, the at least one configurable panel portion is between the charging plate of the wireless inductive charging system and the passenger compartment.