Vehicle charger positioning method and charger assembly
First Claim
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1. A charger positioning method, comprising:
- positioning a charging plug of a conductive charger relative to a charge port of a vehicle based on an intensity of a magnetic field that is transmitted from a plurality of coils distributed about the charge port or about the charging plug, the positioning including moving the charging plug from a non-charging position to a charging position, wherein the plurality of coils are noncharging coils, wherein the plurality of coils are configured to be turned on when inductive charging using the inductive charger.
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Abstract
An exemplary charger positioning method includes, among other things, positioning a charging plug of a conductive charger relative to a charge port of a vehicle based on a wireless transmission between the conductive charger and the vehicle. An exemplary charger assembly includes a transmitter system associated with one of a vehicle or a conductive charger, a receiver system associated with the other of the vehicle or the conductive charger, and an actuator that moves a charging plug of the conductive charger to a charging position in response to a transmission from the transmitter system.
29 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A charger positioning method, comprising:
positioning a charging plug of a conductive charger relative to a charge port of a vehicle based on an intensity of a magnetic field that is transmitted from a plurality of coils distributed about the charge port or about the charging plug, the positioning including moving the charging plug from a non-charging position to a charging position, wherein the plurality of coils are noncharging coils, wherein the plurality of coils are configured to be turned on when inductive charging using the inductive charger. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A charger assembly, comprising:
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a transmitter system associated with one of a vehicle or a conductive charger, the transmitter system including a plurality of coils distributed about a charge port of the vehicle or distributed about a charge plug of the conductive charger, wherein each of the coils in the plurality of coils is configured to emit a magnetic field having an intensity that is substantially less than an intensity of a magnetic field generated by a coil used in an inductive charge of the vehicle; a receiver system associated with the other of the vehicle or the conductive charger; and an actuator that moves the charging plug of the conductive charger to a charging position in response to an intensity of a magnetic field, the magnetic field emanating from the plurality of coils of the transmitter system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A charger positioning method, comprising:
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turning on a plurality of coils that are distributed about a conductive charge port so that the plurality of coils transmit a magnetic field, each coil within the plurality of coils a rectangular or square coil that is less than 12.7 millimeters by 12.7 millimeters, the magnetic field having an intensity that is substantially less than magnetic fields generated by coils used in inductive charges; positioning a charging plug of a conductive charger relative to the conductive charge port of a vehicle based on an intensity of the magnetic field, the positioning including moving the charging plug from a non-charging position to a charging position; and charging the vehicle through the conductive charge port after moving the charging plug to the charging position, and keeping the plurality of coils turned on during the charging.
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Specification