Method of Communication Between a Vehicle and a Wayside Control Unit for Controlling an Inductive Energy Transfer to the Vehicle, A Vehicle, A Wayside Control Unit and an Arrangement of a Vehicle and a Wayside Control Unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016347187-A1
Application number	US-201515116972-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 4, 2015
Priority date	Feb 5, 2014
Publication date	Dec 1, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of detecting a correct position and/or orientation of a secondary winding structure of a secondary unit relative to a primary winding structure of a primary unit of a system for inductive power transfer to a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes the secondary unit for receiving an alternating electromagnetic field which is generated by the primary unit, wherein the vehicle includes at least a first transmitter for transmitting a first signal and a second transmitter for transmitting a second signal, wherein a wayside control unit includes at least one receiving means for receiving the first and the second signal, and wherein the correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure of the secondary unit relative to the primary winding structure of the primary unit is detected depending on the first and the second signal.

First claim

1 . A method of detecting a correct position and/or orientation of a secondary winding structure of a secondary unit relative to a primary winding structure of a primary unit of a system for inductive power transfer to a vehicle, the method comprising: providing a vehicle comprising primary unit, a secondary unit, at least a first transmitter and a second transmitter; generating, by the primary unit, an alternating electromagnetic field; receiving, by the secondary unit, the alternating electromagnetic field; transmitting, by the at least a first transmitter, a first signal; transmitting, by the second transmitter, a second signal; providing a wayside control unit comprising at least one receiving means for receiving the first and the second signal;
detecting, depending on the first and second signal, the correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure of the secondary unit relative to the primary winding structure of the primary unit; determining, depending on the carrier signal level of the received signal, a correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure of the secondary unit relative to the primary winding structure of the primary unit; and determining a signal level of the received signal.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising transmitting power of the first and the second signal which is constant.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the wayside control unit comprises only one receiving means.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the first signal and the second signal in an alternating sequence.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising terminating, at a switching point, the signal which has been received last and receiving, after the switching point, the other signal only after a time gap with a predetermined duration.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising detecting, in response to a time course of the carrier signal level of the received signal matching an expected time course for a time duration which equals to or is greater than a transmission time interval assigned to the first transmitter or a transmission time interval assigned to the second transmitter, a correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising detecting, immediately or after a predetermined timeout interval and in response to the time course of the carrier signal level of the received signal not matching an expected time course, an incorrect position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising transmitting, by the first signal and/or the second signal authentication-related data from the vehicle to the wayside control unit, and determining, based on the authentication-related data, an authorization for power transfer to the vehicle.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , the method further comprising transmitting by the first signal, an identifier of the first transmitter and/or transmitting, by the second signal, an identifier of the second transmitter.

10 . The method according to claim 9 , the method further comprising approving the authorization for power transfer in response to detecting an expected number of correct identifiers of the first transmitter within a time duration which equals to or is greater than the transmission time interval assigned to the first transmitter and detecting an expected number of correct identifiers of the second transmitter within a time duration which equals to or is greater than the transmission time interval assigned to the second transmitter.

11 . The method according to claim 9 , the method further comprising disapproving, immediately or after the predetermined timeout interval, the authorization for power transfer in response to a number of correct identifiers different from an expected number of correct identifiers of the first transmitter or in response to detecting the second transmitter within an expected time duration.

12 . The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising performing an analysis of the received signal on two channels.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising enabling an inductive power transfer only in response to detecting a correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure and approving an authorization for power transfer of the vehicle.

14 . A vehicle comprising a secondary unit of a system for inductive power transfer for receiving an alternating electromagnetic field, wherein the vehicle comprises at least a first transmitter for transmitting a first signal and a second transmitter for transmitting a second signal,
wherein the at least first and second transmitter are designed and/or arranged with respect to a secondary winding structure of the secondary unit and with respect to at least one receiving means of a wayside control unit such that a correct or an incorrect position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to a primary winding structure is unambiguously determinable depending at least on the first and the second signal, wherein a signal level of the received signal is determinable, wherein a correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure of the secondary unit relative to the primary winding structure of a primary unit is determinable depending on the carrier signal level of the received signal.

15 . A wayside control unit of a system for inductive power transfer to a vehicle,
wherein the control unit comprises at least one receiving means for receiving at least a first and a second signal, wherein the first signal is transmitted by a first transmitter the vehicle and the second signal is transmitted by a second transmitter of the vehicle, wherein the at least one receiving means is designed and/or arranged with respect to a primary winding structured of a primary unit and with respect to the at least first and second transmitter such that a correct or an incorrect position and/or orientation of a secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure is unambiguously determinable depending at least on the first and the second signal, wherein a signal level of the received signal determinable, wherein a correct position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure of a secondary unit relative to the primary winding structure of the primary unit is determinable depending on the carrier signal level of the received signal.

16 . The wayside control unit according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit comprises at least one means for generating an analogue level-dependent signal, wherein the level-dependent signal represents the carrier signal level of the received signal.

17 . The wayside control unit according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit comprises at least one A/D converter for generating a digital signal from the received signal and/or the analogue level-dependent signal.

18 . The wayside control unit according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit comprises at least one evaluation unit for detecting a correct or incorrect position and/or orientation of the secondary winding structure relative to the primary winding structure based on the received signal and/or for determining an authorization for power transfer to

Assignees

• Bombardier Primove Gmbh

Inventors

• Wierse Ralf
• Quintern Tobias
• Schnarr Thoralf

Classifications

• H02J50/90

  involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment · CPC title

• H02J50/10

  using inductive coupling · CPC title

• H02J50/80

  involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices · CPC title

• H02J2105/37

  exchanging power with electric vehicles [EV] or with hybrid electric vehicles [HEV] · CPC title

• H02J7/47

  Arrangements for checking compatibility or authentication between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source · CPC title