Air cooled wireless charging pad

• US 10,245,963 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2016
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Ansari, Ajmal Imran, Hampo, Richard J., Hein, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pacheco, Alexis B
• Application Number:
  US15/368,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20180154781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 320107, 320108, 320109, 320162
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• 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 53/302 Cooling of charging equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/02 Casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/025 Constructional details relating to cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/26 Fastening parts of the core together; Fastening or mounting the core on casing or support on coil H01F27/30
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• 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 charging pad includes a housing, an interface layer, a magnetics assembly, and an electronics assembly. The housing has a magnetics assembly housing part and an electronics assembly housing part. The interface layer is within the housing. The magnetics assembly is arranged below the interface layer within the magnetics assembly housing part and the electronics assembly is arranged above the interface layer within the electronics assembly housing part.

Claims

1. A charging pad comprising:

a housing having a magnetics assembly housing part and an electronics assembly housing part;

an interface layer within the housing, the interface layer having a top side and a bottom side, wherein the interface layer includes a thermal insulator sub-layer and an electromagnetic shielding sub-layer, the thermal insulator sub-layer forms one of the top side and the bottom side of the interface layer and the electromagnetic shielding sub-layer forms an other one of the top side and bottom side of the interface layer;

wherein the magnetics assembly housing part includes a floor portion spaced apart from the bottom side of the interface layer;

wherein the electronics assembly housing part includes a ceiling portion spaced apart from the top side of the interface layer;

a magnetics assembly arranged below the bottom side of the interface layer within the magnetics assembly housing part and attached to the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part; and

an electronics assembly spaced apart from and arranged above the top side of the interface layer within the electronics assembly housing part and attached to the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part, the electronics assembly including a printed circuit board having electric and electronic components arranged thereon, the printed circuit board being attached to the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part.

2. The charging pad of claim 1 wherein:

the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part is a thermal path for the magnetics assembly as heat generated by the magnetics assembly thermally conducts through the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part into an external environment of the charging pad.

3. The charging pad of claim 1 wherein:

the magnetics assembly includes an induction coil arrangement and ferrite tiles, the ferrite tiles placed over coil windings of the induction coil arrangement; and

the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part includes tracks for receiving the coil windings of the induction coil arrangement, wherein the tracks extend in a step-like fashion away from the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part.

4. The charging pad of claim 1 further comprising:

a potting material filling in space between components of the magnetics assembly and the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part, the potting material mechanically holding the components of the magnetics assembly, electrically isolating the components of the magnetics assembly, and thermally conducting heat generated by the components of the magnetics assembly to the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part.

5. The charging pad of claim 1 wherein:

the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part is a thermal path for the electronics assembly as heat generated by the electronics assembly thermally conducts through the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part into an external environment of the charging pad.

6. The charging pad of claim 1 wherein:

the electronics assembly further includes a thermal interface layer, the thermal interface layer being arranged between the printed circuit board and the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part.

7. The charging pad of claim 1 wherein:

the magnetics assembly housing part is of a thermally conductive plastic.

8. The charging pad of claim 7 wherein:

the electronics assembly housing part is of at least one of thermally conductive plastic and metal.

9. The charging pad of claim 1 wherein:

the magnetics assembly is configured to wirelessly receive power from a charging source and the electronics assembly is configured to convert the power wirelessly received by the magnetics assembly into electrical power.

10. A charging pad for an electric vehicle, comprising:

a magnetics assembly to wirelessly receive power from a charging source;

an electronics assembly to convert the power wirelessly received by the magnetics assembly into electrical power for charging the electric vehicle;

an interface layer separating the magnetics assembly and the electronics assembly, the interface layer includes a thermal insulator sub-layer and an electromagnetic shielding sub-layer;

a magnetics assembly housing part having a floor portion spaced apart from the interface layer;

an electronics assembly housing part having a ceiling portion spaced apart from the interface layer;

wherein the magnetics assembly is arranged below the bottom side of the interface layer within the magnetics assembly housing part and is attached to the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part whereby heat generated by the magnetic assembly thermally conducts from the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part into an external environment; and

wherein the electronics assembly is spaced apart from and arranged above the top side of the interface layer within the electronics assembly housing part and is attached to the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part whereby heat generated by the electronics assembly thermally conducts from the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part into the external environment, the electronics assembly including a printed circuit board having electric and electronic components arranged thereon, the printed circuit board being attached to the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part.

11. The charging pad of claim 10 wherein:

the magnetics assembly includes an induction coil arrangement and ferrite tiles, the ferrite tiles placed over coil windings of the induction coil arrangement; and

the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part includes tracks for receiving the coil windings of the induction coil arrangement.

12. The charging pad of claim 10 further comprising:

a potting material filling in space between components of the magnetics assembly and the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part, the potting material mechanically holding the components of the magnetics assembly, electrically isolating the components of the magnetics assembly, and thermally conducting heat generated by the components of the magnetics assembly to the floor portion of the magnetics assembly housing part.

13. The charging pad of claim 10 wherein:

the electronics assembly includes a printed circuit board having electric and electronic components arranged thereon and a thermal interface layer, the thermal interface layer being arranged between the printed circuit board and the ceiling portion of the electronics assembly housing part.

14. The charging pad of claim 10 wherein:

the magnetics assembly housing part is of a thermally conductive plastic.

15. The charging pad of claim 10 wherein:

the electronics assembly housing part is of at least one of thermally conductive plastic and metal.