STATIC POWER DERATING FOR DYNAMIC CHARGING

• US 20180312080A1
• Filed: 04/26/2017
• Published: 11/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: BEAVER, Jonathan, KISSIN, Michael Le Gallais, HUANG, Chang-Yu
• Granted Patent: US 10,421,368 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2045 for optimising the use of energy
• 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: B60Y 2200/91 Electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• 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 7/007 Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/04 Regulation of charging current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure are generally directed to apparatus and techniques for apparatus for wireless charging. The apparatus generally includes a first wireless charging element, and transmit circuitry coupled to the first wireless charging element and configured to supply power to the first wireless charging element to transmit a wireless charging field to a vehicle. In certain aspects, the apparatus also includes a controller coupled to the transmit circuitry and configured to determine a charging condition indicative of a speed of the vehicle, and adjust the power supplied to the first wireless charging element via the transmit circuitry based on the determination.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless charging, comprising:

a first wireless charging element;

transmit circuitry coupled to the first wireless charging element and configured to supply power to the first wireless charging element to transmit a wireless charging field to a vehicle; and

a controller coupled to the transmit circuitry and configured to;

determine a charging condition indicative of a speed of the vehicle; and

adjust the power supplied to the first wireless charging element via the transmit circuitry based on the determination.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the charging condition based on an amount of power transferred to the vehicle via a second wireless charging element.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the speed of the vehicle based on the charging condition.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to determine the speed by determining an amount of time the vehicle receives charge from a second wireless charging element.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to determine the speed of the vehicle by determining an amount of time between the vehicle receiving charge from a second wireless charging element and the vehicle receiving charge from a third wireless charging element.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first wireless charging element is different from the third wireless charging element.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to determine the speed of the vehicle by receiving an indication of the speed from the vehicle.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the transmit circuitry is configured to adjust the power by decreasing the power if the speed decreases.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmit circuitry is configured to adjust the power supplied to the first wireless charging element by adjusting a duty cycle of pulses of power provided to the first wireless charging element.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmit circuitry is configured to adjust the power supplied to the first wireless charging element by adjusting an amount of current provided to the first wireless charging element.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to determine at least one of a temperature of a component used to charge the vehicle or an ambient temperature, wherein the power is further adjusted based on the temperature determination.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein determining the at least one of the temperature of the component or the ambient temperature comprises estimating the at least one of the temperature of the component or the ambient temperature.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to determine a power demand of the vehicle based on the charging condition; and

the transmit circuitry is configured to decrease the power supplied to the first wireless charging element if the power demand of the vehicle decreases.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to determine an amount of the power to be supplied to the first wireless charging element to maintain a charging rate of a battery of the vehicle; and

the transmit circuitry is configured to adjust the power based on the determined amount of the power.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to determine a power restriction of a plurality of wireless charging elements; and

the transmit circuitry is configured to adjust the power based on the power restriction.

16. An apparatus for wireless charging a vehicle having a battery, comprising:

a wireless power receiving element;

receive circuitry coupled to the wireless power receiving element; and

a controller coupled to the receive circuitry and configured to;

determine an indication of a speed of the vehicle; and

adjust a power transferred to the battery from the wireless power receiving element based on the determination.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine the indication of the speed by determining a charging condition of the vehicle.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine the indication of the speed of the vehicle by receiving the indication of the speed from the vehicle.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the receive circuitry is configured to decrease power transferred to at least one of the battery or one or more electronic components of the vehicle if the speed decreases.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to determine at least one of a temperature of a component used to charge the battery or an ambient temperature, wherein the power is further adjusted based on the temperature determination.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein determining the at least one of the temperature of the component or the ambient temperature comprises measuring the at least one of the temperature of the component or the ambient temperature.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the controller is further configured to determine an amount of the power to be transferred to the battery to maintain a charging rate for the battery; and

the receive circuitry is configured to adjust the power transferred to the battery from the wireless power receiving element based on the determined amount of power.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the controller is further configured to determine a power restriction of a plurality of wireless charging elements; and

the receive circuitry is configured to adjust the power based on the power restriction.

24. A method for wireless charging, comprising:

supplying power to a first wireless charging element to transmit a wireless charging field to a vehicle; and

determining a charging condition indicative of a speed of the vehicle, wherein an amount of the power supplied to the first wireless charging element is adjusted based on the determination.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising determining an amount of power transferred to the vehicle via a second wireless charging element, wherein the charging condition is determined based on the amount of power transferred.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising determining the speed of the vehicle based on the charging condition.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the speed comprises determining an amount of time the vehicle receives charge from a second wireless charging element.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the speed of the vehicle comprises determining an amount of time between the vehicle receiving charge from a second wireless charging element and the vehicle receiving charge from a third charging element.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein determining the speed of the vehicle comprises receiving an indication of the speed from the vehicle.

30. A method for wireless charging a vehicle having a battery, comprising:

transferring power to the battery from a wireless power receiving element; and

determining an indication of a speed of the vehicle, wherein an amount of the power transferred to the battery is adjusted based on the determination.