Autonomous vehicle with wireless charging

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12522089-B2
Application number	US-202318100051-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 23, 2023
Priority date	Jan 24, 2022
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

A method of operating a vehicle fleet includes identifying, by a fleet controller, a first vehicle within a vehicle fleet as a charger vehicle, and identifying, by the fleet controller, a second vehicle within the vehicle fleet as a vehicle to be charged. The method further includes navigating, by a controller of the charger vehicle, the charger vehicle to the second vehicle, and transferring, through a first wireless charging coil of the charger vehicle and a second wireless charging coil of the second vehicle, electrical energy to charge a battery of the second vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of operating a vehicle fleet, comprising:
identifying, by a fleet controller, a first vehicle within a vehicle fleet as a charger vehicle; identifying, by the fleet controller, a second vehicle within the vehicle fleet as a vehicle to be charged; navigating, by a controller of the charger vehicle, the charger vehicle to the second vehicle; sensing, via a coil sensor, a relative position between a first wireless charging coil of the charger vehicle and a second wireless charging coil of the second vehicle; in response to sensing that the first wireless charging coil is out of alignment with the second wireless charging coil, adjusting a position of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil by:
actuating a first coil actuator coupled to the first wireless charging coil to adjust the position of the first wireless charging coil along a first axis;
actuating a second coil actuator coupled to the first wireless charging coil to adjust the position of the first wireless charging coil along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; and
actuating a third coil actuator coupled to the first wireless charging coil to adjust the position of the first wireless charging coil along a third axis that is perpendicular to a plane that intersects both the first axis and the second axis; and
transferring, through the first wireless charging coil of the charger vehicle and the second wireless charging coil of the second vehicle, electrical energy to charge a battery of the second vehicle.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
sensing, via a camera on the charger vehicle, an alignment of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil; displaying, on a user interface of the charger vehicle, the alignment of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil; and providing, on the user interface, an instruction that represents a suggested action that aligns the first wireless charging coil with the second wireless charging coil.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the battery of the second vehicle is charged until a state of charge of the battery reaches a predetermined operating threshold or a state of charge of a charger battery of the charger vehicle drops below a predetermined charging threshold.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the charger vehicle and the second vehicle are both one of a refuse vehicle, a mixer truck, or a fire fighting vehicle.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first wireless charging coil is arranged within a front bumper of the charger vehicle, and the second wireless charging coil is arranged within a rear bumper of the second vehicle.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first wireless charging coil is arranged on a right side of the charger vehicle, and the second wireless charging coil is on a left side of the second vehicle.

7 . A method of operating a vehicle fleet, comprising:
determining that an energy storage device of a vehicle within a vehicle fleet defines a state of charge that is below a predetermined charging threshold; autonomously navigating, via a charger vehicle controller, a charger vehicle within the vehicle fleet to the vehicle; aligning a first wireless charging coil of the charger vehicle with a second wireless charging coil of the vehicle by adjusting a position of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil by:
actuating a first coil actuator coupled to the first wireless charging coil to adjust the first wireless charging coil along a first axis;
actuating a second coil actuator coupled to the first wireless charging coil to adjust the first wireless charging coil along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; and
actuating a third coil actuator coupled to the first wireless charging coil to adjust the first wireless charging coil along a third axis that is perpendicular to a plane that intersects both the first axis and the second axis; and
transferring, through the first wireless charging coil and the second wireless charging coil, electrical energy stored within a charger energy storage device of the charger vehicle to the energy storage device of the vehicle until the state of charge of the energy storage device reaches a predetermined operating threshold or a state of charge of the charger energy storage device drops below the predetermined charging threshold.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein aligning the first wireless charging coil of the charger vehicle with the second wireless charging coil of the vehicle comprises:
adjusting a position of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil by:
actuating a suspension actuator coupled to an axle of the charger vehicle; or
driving, via a drive motor, the charger vehicle in a forward or rearward direction.

9 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
sensing, via a coil sensor, a relative position between the first wireless charging coil and the second wireless charging coil.

10 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
sensing, via a camera of the charger vehicle, an alignment of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil; displaying, on a user interface of the charger vehicle, the alignment of the first wireless charging coil relative to the second wireless charging coil; and providing, on the user interface, an instruction that represents a suggested action that aligns the first wireless charging coil with the second wireless charging coil.

11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the charger vehicle and the vehicle are both one of a refuse vehicle, a mixer truck, or a fire fighting vehicle.

12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first wireless charging coil is arranged within a front bumper of the charger vehicle, and the second wireless charging coil is arranged within a rear bumper of the vehicle.

13 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first wireless charging coil is arranged on a right side of the charger vehicle, and the second wireless charging coil is on a left side of the vehicle.

14 . A vehicle fleet, comprising:
a vehicle, including:
a first chassis;
a first cab supported on the first chassis;
a first energy storage device; and
a first wireless charging coil;
a charger vehicle, including:
a second chassis;
a second cab supported on the second chassis;
a second energy storage device; and
a second wireless charging coil;
a first coil actuator coupled to the second wireless charging coil configured to adjust a relative position of the second wireless charging coil relative to the first wireless charging coil along a first axis; a second coil actuator coupled to the second wireless charging coil configured to adjust the relative position of the second wireless charging coil relative to the first wireless charging coil along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; a third coil actuator coupled to the second wireless charging coil configured to adjust the relative position of the second wireless charging coil relative to the first wireless charging coil along a third axis that is perpendicular to a plane that intersects both the first axis and the second axis; and a fleet controller in communication with the vehicle and the charger vehicle, the fleet controller including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores one or more instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
determine that a state of charge of the first energy storag

Assignees

• Oshkosh Corp

Inventors

• Nasr Nader
• Smith Chad
• Bolton Mike J
• Wheeler Colin
• Nordahl Mitchel
• Yakes Christopher

Classifications

• B60L53/62

  in response to charging parameters, e.g. current, voltage or electrical charge · CPC title

• B60L53/65

  involving identification of vehicles or their battery types · CPC title

• B60L2200/40

  Working vehicles · CPC title

• B60L53/38

  specially adapted for charging by inductive energy transfer · CPC title

• B60L53/36

  by positioning the vehicle · CPC title