Alignment structure for a wireless charging station

• US 9,869,105 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2015
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Vernon, Leann, Hartl, Derek, Siciak, Raymond C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pacheco, Alexis
• Application Number:
  US14/793,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20170009476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 320108, 320109, 320107
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• 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 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/35 Means for automatic or assisted adjustment of the relative position of charging devices and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/60 Monitoring or controlling charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/426 Parking guides
• 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 wheel guide for a vehicle charging station includes front and back sides, and a top extending between the front and back sides. The top defines an aperture sized to circumscribe a wireless transmitter of the charging station. The wheel guide further includes a pair of spaced apart wheel slots recessed into the top. Each wheel slot includes an entrance defined in the front side and a pair of longitudinal walls extending from the entrance toward the back side. At least a portion of each of the walls is configured such that a slope of the wall is shallowest at the entrance and becomes increasingly vertical in a direction towards the back side to guide a wheel of a vehicle towards a centerline of the slot.

Claims

1. A wheel guide for a vehicle charging station comprising:

front and back sides;

a top extending between the front and back sides and defining an aperture sized to circumscribe a wireless transmitter of the charging station; and

a pair of spaced apart wheel slots recessed into the top and each including an entrance defined in the front side and a pair of longitudinal walls extending from the entrance toward the back side, wherein at least a portion of each of the walls is sloped such that a slope of the wall becomes increasingly vertical in a direction towards the back side to guide a wheel of a vehicle towards a centerline of the slot.

2. The wheel guide of claim 1 wherein each of the wheel slots includes a tapered portion, near the front side, in which the longitudinal walls are offset at a variable horizontal width and a uniform portion, near the backside, in which the longitudinal walls are offset at a substantially constant horizontal width.

3. The wheel guide of claim 2 wherein the slope of the wall is variable in the tapered portion and substantially constant and vertical in the uniform portion.

4. The wheel guide of claim 1 wherein each of the wheel slots further includes an end wall extending between the longitudinal walls.

5. The wheel guide of claim 1 wherein the longitudinal walls vertically extend between the top and a bottom of the wheel guide.

6. A charging station for a vehicle comprising:

a fork-shaped wheel alignment structure defining a pair of wheel slots each having a pair of guide walls extending from an entrance towards a terminal end, wherein a portion of each of the walls is configured such that a slope of the wall is shallowest at the entrance and becomes increasingly vertical in a direction towards the terminal end; and

a charging transmitter disposed below the alignment structure.

7. The charging station of claim 6 wherein each of the wheel slots includes a tapered portion, near the entrance, in which the guide walls are offset at a variable horizontal width and a uniform portion, near a backside, of the alignment structure in which the guide walls are offset at a substantially constant horizontal width.

8. The charging station of claim 7 wherein the slope of the wall is variable in the tapered portion and substantially constant and vertical in the uniform portion.

9. The charging station of claim 6 wherein the alignment structure defines an aperture and wherein the charging transmitter is disposed below and circumscribed by the aperture.

10. The charging station of claim 6 wherein each of the guide walls vertically extends between a top and a bottom of the alignment structure.

11. The charging station of claim 6 wherein the alignment structure defines an aperture positioned to permit an inductive charging signal of the charging transmitter to pass therethrough.

12. The charging station of claim 6 wherein the charging transmitter is disposed in the alignment structure.

13. The charging station of claim 12 wherein the alignment structure defines an aperture positioned above the charging transmitter and configured to permit an inductive charging signal to pass therethrough.

14. The charging station of claim 12 further comprising a charger electrically connected to a power grid and configured to send power to the charging transmitter.

15. An alignment structure for a vehicle charging station comprising:

a front and back, and a top extending therebetween; and

a wheel guide recessed into the top and including a pair of spaced apart longitudinal walls that each extend from the front towards the back, wherein a portion of each of the walls is sloped such that a slope of the wall is shallowest at the front and becomes increasingly vertical towards the back.

16. The alignment structure of claim 15 wherein each of the wheel guides includes a tapered portion, near the front, in which the longitudinal walls extend towards each other in a forward direction and a uniform portion, near the back, in which the longitudinal walls have a constant lateral spacing relative to each other.

17. The alignment structure of claim 16 wherein the slope of the wall is variable in the tapered portion and constant and vertical in the uniform portion.

18. The alignment structure of claim 15 wherein the top defines an aperture sized to circumscribe a wireless transmitter of the charging station.

19. The alignment structure of claim 15 further comprising a wireless charging transmitter disposed between the top and a bottom of the alignment structure.