VEHI CLES

TECHNI CAL Fl ELD The present disclosure relates to inductive charging arrangements for vehicles, for example inductive charging arrangements for pure electrical vehicles. Moreover, the present disclosure concerns methods of using aforesaid inductive charging arrangements.

BACKGROUND In recent times, with improvements in technology, use of battery- powered devices has increased significantly. One such example includes using batteries in electrical and hybrid vehicles, such as electrical automobiles, electrical cars, electrical bikes, and the like. Generally, such batteries are rechargeable in nature and need to be recharged based upon a usage thereof.

With an increase in numbers of electrical vehicles being used in recent years, it has become conventional to provide plug-in recharging stations for electrical vehicles with associated parking spaces, garages and the like. However, a significant amount of electric current needs to be delivered to the electrical vehicles for recharging purposes. Therefore, cables employed at the recharging stations tend to be bulky and are difficult to manoeuvre, especially for physically impaired and elderly vehicle drivers. Moreover, the cables for recharging of electrical vehicles pose a risk of electric shock in rainy weather conditions. With advancements in charging technologies for electrical vehicles, resonant inductive charging for charging stationary electrical vehicles wirelessly has been developed. However, the electrical vehicles are required to be parked at specific charging locations, such as a garage, for charging batteries of the electrical vehicles. In an example, if a battery of a given electrical vehicle is extremely depleted in respect of its state- of-charge, the electrical vehicle may not have sufficient energy remaining stored in its battery be able to travel to a nearby charging location. Consequently, it is inconvenient for the driver to charge the electrical vehicle in such instances. Furthermore, resonant inductive charging arrangements do not generally provide different charging outputs (for example, if a charging source is operable provide a 32A charging output to the resonant inductive charging arrangement but the required output for charging the electrical vehicle is 63A). Subsequently, to obtain increased or decreased charging output, re-installation of the whole resonant inductive charging arrangements needs to be performed on an associated electrical infrastructure, which is expensive and is a time- consuming task.

Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exist problems associated with conventional recharging arrangements for electrical vehicles.

SUMMARY The present disclosure seeks to provide an improved inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle.

The present disclosure also seeks to provide an improved method of using an inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle.

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle, characterized in that the inductive charging arrangement includes:

a magnetic coupling coil arrangement that is operable to charge a battery unit of the electrical vehicle, wherein the magnetic coupling coil arrangement is mounted on a side region of the electrical vehicle; and

an external coil arrangement configured to operatively couple to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement for coupling power inductively therebetween for charging the battery unit of the electrical vehicle, wherein the external coil arrangement is mounted on a curb along a roadway.

The present disclosure seeks to provide an efficient and reliable inductive charging arrangement for electrical vehicles; moreover, the inductive charging arrangement is operable to wirelessly recharge battery units of electrical vehicles in a convenient and safe manner.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of using an inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle, characterized in that the method includes:

(i) arranging for the inductive charging arrangement to include a magnetic coupling coil arrangement that is operable to charge a battery unit of the electrical vehicle, wherein the magnetic coupling coil arrangement is mounted on a side region of the electrical vehicle; and

(ii) manoeuvring the electrical vehicle to couple the magnetic coupling coil arrangement to an external coil arrangement, wherein the external coil arrangement is operatively coupled to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement for coupling power inductively therebetween for charging the battery unit of the electrical vehicle, wherein the external coil arrangement is mounted on a curb along a roadway.

It will be appreciated that features of the present disclosure are susceptible to being combined in various combinations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The present invention is included in the general business context, which aims to substitute vehicles powered by traditional fuels, for example gasoline or diesel, by electric vehicles. In particular, the present invention is intended for use in electric vehicles used within cities, which can be highly beneficial to the local environment due to significant reduction of gaseous emissions as well as significant reduction of noise. Overall environmental benefits can also be significant when electric vehicles are charged from renewable energy sources.

DESCRI PTI ON OF THE DRAWI NGS

The summary above, as well as the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present disclosure, exemplary constructions of the disclosure are shown in the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed herein. Moreover, those in the art will understand that the drawings are not to scale. Wherever possible, like elements have been indicated by identical numbers.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrams wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an architecture of an inductive charging arrangement of an electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an architecture of an external coil arrangement of the electrical vehicle in communication with a power source, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.3 is a circuit diagram of the magnetic coupling coil arrangement and the external coil arrangement in an event of recharging a battery unit of an electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG.4 is an illustration of steps of a method of using an inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the accompanying drawings, an underlined number is employed to represent an item over which the underlined number is positioned or an item to which the underlined number is adjacent. A non-underlined number relates to an item identified by a line linking the non-underlined number to the item. When a number is non-underlined and accompanied by an associated arrow, the non-underlined number is used to identify a general item at which the arrow is pointing. DESCRI PTI ON OF EMBODI MENTS

In overview, embodiments of the present disclosure are concerned with an inductive charging arrangement that is operable to wirelessly recharge a battery unit of an electrical vehicle. Moreover, embodiments of the present disclosure are concerned with methods of using an inductive charging arrangement that is operable to wirelessly recharge battery units of electrical vehicles.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of an architecture of an inductive charging arrangement 100 in an electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The inductive charging arrangement 100 includes a magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102. Specifically, the magnetic coil coupling arrangement 102 is operable to charge a battery unit 106 of the electrical vehicle. Optionally, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is provided with a paramagnetic core arrangement and/or a stray magnetic field screening arrangement (not shown). More optionally, the paramagnetic core arrangement is supported on a supporting frame. Moreover, optionally, the supporting frame may be manufactured from iron, aluminium and so forth. Furthermore, optionally, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is provided with a magnetic core. More optionally, the magnetic core confines and concentrates magnetic fields towards an external coil arrangement 104. Examples of material of the magnetic core include, but are not limited to, ferromagnetic metals such as iron, ferromagnetic compounds such as ferrites or ceramic ferrites, surface-insulated silicon steel sheet laminates, surface insulated iron wire bundles and such like.

Furthermore, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 arrangement is mounted on a side region of the electrical vehicle. In an embodiment, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the external surface of the side region of the electrical vehicle. Optionally, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted upon one or more of: a right side door of the electrical vehicle, a left side door of the electrical vehicle, an elongate member adjacent to the right side door and/or the left side door of the electrical vehicle. In an example, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the external surface of the right side door of the electrical vehicle. In another example, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the external surface of the left side door of the electrical vehicle. In yet another example, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the external surface of the elongate member adjacent to the right side door and/or the left side door of the electrical vehicle. In one embodiment, the term "elongate member" used herein relates to a member located at the side region of the electrical vehicle, below the right side door or the left side door of the electrical vehicle. In another embodiment, the term "elongate member" used herein relates to a member located at the side region of the electrical vehicle, between doors of same side. For example, the electrical vehicle generally have two doors on each side, the elongate member in such embodiment may be the region between the two door at the same side such as the region between the two right side doors. In such examples, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is included as a part of carbon-fibre or fibre-glass epoxy panels of the electrical vehicle. Furthermore, optionally, a metal shield is mounted over the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 to act as a shielding device. I n an example, the metal shield protects the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 in an event of accident. In an alternate embodiment, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on an internal surface of the side region of the electrical vehicle. For example, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the internal surface of the right side door of the electrical vehicle. Optionally, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is adhered to the side region of the electrical vehicle. Alternatively, optionally, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the side region of the electrical vehicle via nuts and screw. Furthermore, optionally, the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is mounted on the side region of the electrical vehicle using a bolt arrangement.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the inductive charging arrangement 100 includes the external coil arrangement 104 configured to operatively couple to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 for coupling power inductively therebetween for charging the battery unit 106 of the electrical vehicle. Optionally, the external coil arrangement 104 is arranged to be positioned vertically or horizontally proximate to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102; by "proximate" is meant a distance of not more than 50 cm, more optionally not more than 25 cm, and yet more optionally not more than 10 cm. Thereafter, the magnetic coil coupling arrangement 102 provides charge to the battery unit 106 when the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is positioned proximate to the external coil arrangement 104. Consequently, the electrical vehicle is operable to provide wireless charging to the battery unit 104 of the electrical vehicle. Optionally, the external coil arrangement 104 comprises one or more electrical coil arrangements. More optionally, one or more electrical coil arrangements provide an increased possibility of coupling between the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 of the electrical vehicle and the one or more electrical coil arrangements. More optionally, the external coil arrangement 104 is provided with one or more magnetic cores. More optionally, the one or more magnetic cores confines and concentrates magnetic fields towards the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 and allows faster inductive charging.

Furthermore, the external coil arrangement 104 is mounted on a curb along a roadway. Throughout the present disclosure, the term "curb along a roadway" relates to an edge where a raised sidewalk meets the roadway. Optionally, the external coil arrangement 104 is secured to the curb along the roadway, via an attachment means. In an example, the external coil arrangement 104 is secured to the curb along the roadway using one or more bolts, for example a single bolt. In such an example, a hole may be drilled at a predetermined location of the external coil arrangement 104. The hole allows the bolt to pass through therefrom. Thereafter, the bolt, along with the external coil arrangement 104 is secured to the curb of along the roadway. In another example, external coil arrangement 104 is adhered to the curb along the roadway, for example by using a hydrocarbon-based adhesive material exhibiting strong Van de Waals forces at its external surfaces.

Optionally, the inductive charging arrangement 100 includes an optical charging-indicating arrangement (not shown) of the electrical vehicle that is operable to provide manoeuvring guidance when the electrical vehicle is being moved into a coupling position to interface wirelessly with the external coil arrangement 104. Specifically, the optical charging- indicating arrangement assists a driver of the electrical vehicle when aligning the electrical vehicle over the external coil arrangement 104. More specifically, the optical charging-indicating arrangement may provide information, associated with alignment of the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102, to the driver through a graphical user interface of a software application management and infotainment system. Additionally, or alternatively, the optical charging-indicating arrangement may comprise a lighting arrangement in front region of the electrical vehicle. Subsequently, the lighting arrangement is operable to illuminate when the external coil arrangement 104 is operatively coupled to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 for coupling power inductively therebetween for battery recharging purposes. Optionally, the optical charging-indicating arrangement may comprise a sensor for detecting a position of the external coil arrangement 104 to assist coupling with the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram of an architecture of the external coil arrangement 104 of the electrical vehicle in communication with a power supply source 208, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Optionally, the external coil arrangement 104 includes: an adapter 202 configured to receive a power supply cable 210 from one or more power supply sources 208; and at least one charging module, herein depicted as charging modules 204 and 206, associated with at least one charging output, wherein the at least one charging module, such as charging module 204 and 206, is operatively and detachably coupled to the adapter 202. In an embodiment, the adapter 202 of is configured to receive the power supply cable 210. Specifically, the adapter 202 comprises a housing and a duct configured on the housing for receiving the power supply cable 210 therethrough. I n an embodiment, the housing may be configured to have a cuboidal structure. In an alternate embodiment, the housing may be configured to have a cylindrical structure. I n yet another embodiment, the housing may be a rectangular box like structure having top and bottom walls, front and rear walls and side walls. In such an embodiment, the front wall of the housing may be detachable, whereas the remaining walls may be integral to form a single structure.

In an embodiment, the duct of the adapter 202 may be configured on the bottom wall of the housing. For example, the duct may be configured by a hollow cylindrical structure having an opening for receiving the power supply cable 210 from one or more power supply source 208. In an example, the hollow cylindrical structure may be a bolt or a bush arranged on the bottom wall of the housing.

Optionally, the one or more power supply sources 208 include one or more of: a lamp post, a street electrical enclosure. It will be appreciated that the term "street electrical enclosure" relates to an electrical cabinet configured to provide electric power to electrical equipment. More optionally, the power supply cable 210 may be associated with a power station. Furthermore, optionally, the power supply cable 210 may be associated with cables originating from a transformer station connected to the power station (with transmission cables). Optionally, the power supply cable may include a cross-section of about 25 mm ² . More optionally, the power supply cable may carry a current of 30 A or more.

According to an embodiment, the adapter 202 further includes a connector coupled to the power supply cable. In an example, the adapter 202 comprises a first connector adapted to be connected to the power supply cable and a second connector adapted to be connected (engaged electrically) with the at least one charging module 204 and 206. Specifically, the first connector may be arranged inside the housing and connected to an end of the power supply cable 210, whereas the second connector may be arranged on (or extending from) the top wall of the housing and electrically coupled to the first connector. Furthermore, as aforementioned, the front wall of the housing may be detachable. This allows the power supply cable to be suitably connected to the first and second connectors.

As mentioned previously, the at least one charging module 204 and 206 is associated with the at least one charging output, wherein the at least one charging module 204 and 206 is operatively and detachably coupled to the adapter 202. Throughout the present disclosure, the term "charging output" used herein relates to the at least one charging module 204 and 206; the charging output may have a particularly given amperage rating associated therewith. Therefore, at least one charging module 204 and 206 constituting the at least one charging module 204 of the inductive charging arrangement (for example, such as inductive charging arrangement 100 shown in FIG.1 ) may include various charging output. In an example, the at least one charging modules may include charging output, such as 16A, 32A, 63A, 120A and the like. Optionally, the at least one charging output is based upon a charging requirement or charging performance of the battery unit 106 of the electrical vehicle; for example, some types of battery can be recharged at a 3C rate (wherein "C" is an Amp-hour capacity of the battery when fully charged), whereas other types of battery can only be recharged at a 0.5C rate. The at least one charging module 204 and 206 is operatively and detachably coupled to the adapter. In an embodiment, one charging module, such as the charging module 204, at a time is adapted to be operatively and detachably coupled to the adapter 202. In an example, the charging module 204 is associated with the charging output, such as 16A and 32A, and the charging module 206 is associated with the charging output, such as 63A and 120A. In such examples, if the battery unit of the electrical vehicle requires charging output of 32A, the charging module 204 is coupled to the adapter 202. Furthermore, if the battery unit of the electrical vehicle requires charging output of 120A, the charging module 206 is coupled to the adapter 202. In operation, the adapter 202 is configured to be detachably coupled to the different charging module of the least one charging module 204 and 206 having different charging outputs. This allows the same adapter 202 to be operable in conjunction with at least one charging module 204 and 206 of different charging outputs. Beneficially, the inductive charging arrangement (for example, such as inductive charging arrangement 100 shown in FIG.1) provides flexibility to simply change the at least one charging module 204 and 206 to yield different charging output rather replacing the entire inductive charging arrangement for yielding different charging output.

In an example, the external coil arrangement 104 is mounted on the curb along the roadway and magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 mounted on the side region of the electrical vehicle, such that the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 is in proximity of the external coil arrangement 104; "proximity" is defined in the foregoing, and is generally less than 1 metre for inductive charging apparatus. Furthermore, the electrical vehicle is positioned such that the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102, mounted on the side region of the electrical vehicle, is aligned near the external coil arrangement 104. For example, if magnetic coupling coil arrangement is mounted on the left side region of the electrical vehicle. In such a case, a driver of the electrical vehicle may have to park the electrical vehicle such that the curb having the external coil arrangement 104 is also located on the left side. Optionally, the inductive charging arrangement (for example, such as the inductive charging arrangement 100, shown in FIG. 1 ) further comprises an identification tag (not shown) carried by the each of the at least one charging module 204 and 206, and a tag reader carried by the adapter for reading the identification tag for identifying the charging output of the each of the at least one charging module 204 and 206. In an example, the identification tag is a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device and the tag reader is a RFID tag reader. Alternatively, other tags like a NFC (Near Field Communication) tag and tag readers like a NFC tag reader can also be used. The identification tag of the inductive charging arrangement makes the inductive charging arrangement an intelligent unit. Specifically, the identification tag carries information for the adapter in respect of how much power should be delivered to the at least one charging module 204 and 206. This allows a charging module having a 32A charging output to receive 32A or less, and essentially not more than 32A. Furthermore, if the tag reader fails to identify the information of the identification tag, then no power will be delivered from the adapter to the at least one charging module 204 and 206.

Referring to FIG. 3, illustrated is a circuit diagram of the magnetic coupling coil arrangement (for example, such as the magnetic coupling coil arrangement 102 of FIG. 1) and the external coil arrangement (for example, such as the external coil arrangement 104 of FIG. 1); such elements are employed in an event of recharging a battery unit (for example, such as the battery unit 106, shown in FIG. 1) of an electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, a circuit 302 illustrates a configuration of inductive and capacitive components in the external coil arrangement. Beneficially, a plurality of series-inductive resonant circuits, each comprising a series connection of an inductor and a capacitor as illustrated in FIG. 3, are employed to generate a resonant inductive magnetic field that is operable to couple power to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement of the electrical vehicle; the inductors of the series-inductive resonant circuits are beneficially manufactured from Litz wire (i.e. a bundles if individually-insulated wires to reduce "skin effect" when conducting high-frequency electrical signals) to reduce electrical winding loses when excited with high-frequency signals in a frequency range of 50 kHz to 500 kHz Furthermore, the circuit 302 is connected to the adapter 202 and at least one charging module, such as the charging module 204. The adapter 202 and the at least one charging module 204 are connected through the one or more power supply sources 208 through circuit terminals 304 and 306 to provide electrical power thereto. Optionally, the plurality of series- inductive resonant circuits is operable to couple power inductively to the magnetic couple coil arrangement of the electrical vehicle, for example with assistance of magnetic core components, so as implement a partially air-cored transformer 308 for transferring electrical energy from the circuit 302 to a circuit 310. The circuit 310 is, in practice, implemented in the electrical vehicle.

Optionally, the circuit 310 illustrates a configuration of components in the magnetic coupling coil arrangement. More optionally, the circuit 310 is provided with a bridge rectifier 312 to convert an alternating current (AC) received from the power supply source 208 to direct current (DC). Subsequently, the direct current from the bridge rectifier 312 is provided to the battery unit 106 of the electrical vehicle for recharging purposes. More optionally, the direct current is provided to the battery unit 106 through circuit terminals depicted as circuit terminals 314 and 316. Optionally, the battery unit 106 includes a battery management system (BMS) (not shown) that ensures that the battery unit 106 does not become overcharged, or battery cells of the battery unit do not become differentially recharged (i.e. some battery cells fully recharged whereas other battery cells are only partially recharged).

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown steps of a method 400 of using an inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The inductive charging arrangement includes a magnetic coupling coil arrangement and an external coil arrangement. At a step 402, the inductive charging arrangement is arranged to include a magnetic coupling coil arrangement that is operable to charge a battery unit of the electrical vehicle, wherein the magnetic coupling coil arrangement is mounted on a side region of the electrical vehicle. Furthermore, at a step 404, the electrical vehicle is manoeuvred to couple the magnetic coupling coil arrangement into proximity of an external coil arrangement, wherein the external coil arrangement is operatively coupled to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement for allowing inductive charging therebetween, namely for coupling power inductively therebetween, for charging the battery unit of the electrical vehicle, wherein the external coil arrangement is mounted on a curb along a roadway. The steps 402 to 404 are only illustrative and other alternatives can also be provided where one or more steps are added, one or more steps are removed, or one or more steps are provided in a different sequence without departing from the scope of the claims herein. For example, the method 400 includes arranging for the external coil arrangement to include an adapter configured to receive a power supply cable from one or more power supply sources; and at least one charging module associated with at least one charging output, wherein the at least one charging module is operatively and detachably coupled to the adapter. Additionally, optionally, the method 400 includes arranging for the one or more power supply sources to include one or more of: a lamp post, a street electrical enclosure. Optionally, in the method 400, the at least one charging output is based upon a charging requirement of the battery unit of the electrical vehicle. Optionally, the method 400 includes arranging for the magnetic coupling coil arrangement to be mounted upon one or more of: a right side door of the electrical vehicle, a left side door of the electrical vehicle, an elongate member adjacent to the right side door and/or the left side door of the electrical vehicle. Furthermore, optionally, the method 400 includes arranging for the external coil arrangement to be positioned vertically or horizontally proximate to the magnetic coupling coil arrangement. The inductive charging arrangement for an electrical vehicle enables efficient wireless recharging of the battery unit of the electrical vehicle. Furthermore, the inductive charging arrangement allows for charging the electrical vehicle in a convenient non-contact manner. Moreover, the inductive charging arrangement of the present disclosure eliminates the use of heavy and difficult to manoeuvre recharging cables. Beneficially, the risk of electric shock from the recharging cables is effectively eliminated. Furthermore, the inductive charging arrangement allows for a flexibility to simply change the charging module to yield different charging output rather replacing the entire inductive charging arrangement for yielding different charging output. The inductive charging arrangement is designed so that it is easy to retrofit to existing street and roadside equipment, thereby enabling an electrical vehicle recharging infrastructure to be deployed very quickly, conveniently and inexpensively. Moreover, coupling power inductively to one or more sides of an electrical vehicle is very convenient when the electrical vehicle is parked in a conventional manner along a street curb.

Modifications to embodiments of the invention described in the foregoing are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims. Expressions such as "including", "comprising", "incorporating", "consisting of", "have", "is" used to describe and claim the present invention are intended to be construed in a non-exclusive manner, namely allowing for items, components or elements not explicitly described also to be present. Reference to the singular is also to be construed to relate to the plural. Numerals included within parentheses in the accompanying claims are intended to assist understanding of the claims and should not be construed in any way to limit subject matter claimed by these claims.