Shielding in vehicle wireless power systems

• US 10,300,800 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2017
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Inventors: Kurs, Andre B., Karalis, Aristeidis, Kesler, Morris P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kaplan, Hal
• Application Number:
  US15/475,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20170201129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 307104
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/122 Circuits or methods for driving the primary coil, e.g. supplying electric power to the coil
• 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 53/38 specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/16 Constructional details or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 2003/005 Magnetic cores for receiving several windings with perpendicular axes, e.g. for antennae or inductive power transfer
• 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 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/90 involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3278 using physically unclonable functions [PUF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/64 Constructional details of receivers, e.g. cabinets or dust covers furniture aspects of television cabinets A47B81/06
• 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 wireless power system for powering a television includes a source resonator, configured to generate an oscillating magnetic field, and at least one television component attached to at least one device resonator, wherein the at least one device resonator is configured to wirelessly receive power from the source resonator via the oscillating magnetic field when the distance between the source resonator and the at least one device resonator is more than 5 cm, and wherein at least one television component draws at least 10 Watts of power.

Claims

1. A system for wirelessly charging a battery in a vehicle, the system comprising:

a source electromagnetic resonator capable of generating an electromagnetic field, the source electromagnetic resonator having an intrinsic quality factor Q_s greater than 100 and a perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) when a lossy object is located within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator;

a device electromagnetic resonator configured to be mounted to the vehicle and positionable within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator to receive energy wirelessly from the source electromagnetic resonator and charge the battery in the vehicle; and

a shield having at least one layer of a conducting material and at least one layer of a magnetic material, the shield configured to be positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object during the wireless charging,

wherein the presence of the shield increases the perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) of the source electromagnetic resonator relative to that in the absence of the shield when the shield is positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object; and

wherein wireless energy transfer between the source electromagnetic resonator and the device electromagnetic resonator has a perturbed coupling factor k_(p) in the presence of the lossy object and wherein the presence of the shield decreases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that in the absence of the shield.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic material in the shield increases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that without the magnetic material.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the source electromagnetic resonator is a capacitively-loaded inductor loop resonator.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the device electromagnetic resonator is a capacitively-loaded inductor loop resonator.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the device electromagnetic resonator has an intrinsic quality factor Q_d greater than 100.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the shield and the source electromagnetic resonator share a common housing.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic material is ferrite.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the conducting material is aluminum.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic material is ferrite and the conducting material is aluminum.

10. A power supply system for wirelessly charging a battery in a vehicle, the system comprising:

a source electromagnetic resonator capable of generating an electromagnetic field, the source electromagnetic resonator having an intrinsic quality factor Q_s greater than 100 and a perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) when a lossy object is located within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator; and

a shield having at least one layer of a conducting material and at least one layer of a magnetic material, the shield configured to be positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object during the wireless charging,

wherein during operation a device electromagnetic resonator mounted to the vehicle and positioned within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator receives energy wirelessly from the source electromagnetic resonator to charge the battery in the vehicle;

wherein the presence of the shield increases the perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) of the source electromagnetic resonator relative to that in the absence of the shield when the shield is positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object; and

wherein wireless energy transfer between the source electromagnetic resonator and the device electromagnetic resonator has a perturbed coupling factor k_(p) in the presence of the lossy object and wherein the presence of the shield decreases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that in the absence of the shield.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic material in the shield increases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that without the magnetic material.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the source electromagnetic resonator is a capacitively-loaded inductor loop resonator.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the shield and the source electromagnetic resonator share a common housing.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic material is ferrite and the conducting material is aluminum.

15. A method to improve wireless charging of a battery in a vehicle, the method comprising:

providing a shield having at least one layer of a conducting material and at least one layer of a magnetic material; and

positioning the shield between a source electromagnetic resonator and a lossy object during the wireless charging,

wherein the source electromagnetic resonator is capable of generating an electromagnetic field, the source electromagnetic resonator having an intrinsic quality factor Q_s and a perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) when the lossy object is located within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator;

wherein a device electromagnetic resonator mounted to the vehicle and positioned within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator receives energy wirelessly from the source electromagnetic resonator to charge the battery in the vehicle;

wherein the presence of the shield increases the perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) of the source electromagnetic resonator relative to that in the absence of the shield when the shield is positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object; and

wherein wireless energy transfer between the source electromagnetic resonator and the device electromagnetic resonator has a perturbed coupling factor k_(p) in the presence of the lossy object and wherein the presence of the shield decreases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that in the absence of the shield.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the magnetic material in the shield increases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that without the magnetic material.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing the source electromagnetic resonator, wherein the intrinsic quality factor Q_s of the source electromagnetic resonator is greater than 100, and the source electromagnetic resonator is a capacitively-loaded inductor loop resonator.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the magnetic material is ferrite and the conducting material is aluminum.

19. A system for wirelessly charging a battery in a vehicle, the system comprising:

a source electromagnetic resonator capable of generating an electromagnetic field, the source electromagnetic resonator having an intrinsic quality factor Q_s greater than 100 and a perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) when a lossy object is located within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator;

a device electromagnetic resonator configured to be mounted to the vehicle and positionable within the electromagnetic field of the source electromagnetic resonator to receive energy wirelessly from the source electromagnetic resonator and charge the battery in the vehicle; and

a shield having at least one layer of a conducting material and at least one layer of a magnetic material, the shield configured to be positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object during the wireless charging.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the presence of the shield increases the perturbed quality factor Q_s(p) of the source electromagnetic resonator relative to that in the absence of the shield when the shield is positioned between the source electromagnetic resonator and the lossy object.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein wireless energy transfer between the source electromagnetic resonator and the device electromagnetic resonator has a perturbed coupling factor k_(p) in the presence of the lossy object and wherein the presence of the shield decreases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that in the absence of the shield.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the magnetic material in the shield increases the perturbed coupling factor k_(p) relative to that without the magnetic material.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the source electromagnetic resonator is a capacitively-loaded inductor loop resonator.