Delta Electronics (thailand) Public Company Limited

Trumpf Huettinger Gmbh + Co. Kg

Delta Electronics (thailand) Pcl.

Trumpf Huttinger Gmbh + Co. Kg

Ulrich Richter

Jonas Enderlin

Luca König

Peter Wiedemuth

Gerhard Zaehringer

Thomas Lueth

Michael Mentele

Gerhard Zähringer

Daniel Leypold

Yibo Wang

Ansgar Schuler

Fabian Wunn

Hugues D Njiende T

A foreign object detection device for a wireless power transfer system for inductive power transfer from a primary part to a secondary part across an airgap, includes a sensor module with a multitude of detection cells. In order detect a foreign object near a detection cell, a stimulation signal is applied to a detection cell by means of a stimulation unit and the time response of the detection cell is measured with a measurement unit and compared to a reference time response of that detection cell that has been previously sensed by a control and signal processing unit.

Foreign object detection

Provided are a sensor arrangement for a foreign object detection device for a wireless power transfer system, a foreign object detection and a primary part for a wireless power transfer system. The sensor arrangement includes multiple detection cells, each including a sense coil including a winding spirally wound in a plane and having multiple turns. Multiple input leads and one or more output leads are provided such that each detection cell may be connected to a current input and a current output. The sense coil of at least one detection cell includes an outer coil section and an inner coil section arranged inside the outer coil section, where a first distance between an outermost turn of the inner coil section and an innermost turn of the outer coil section is at least twice a largest distance between two turns of the outer coil section.

Sensor arrangement for a foreign object detection device

A wireless power transfer arrangement () for a wireless power transfer across an airgap () by inductive coupling, for example for charging the battery () of an electric vehicle, includes a primary side () with a primary pad () for generating a magnetic field () into the airgap () and a secondary side () arranged on the other side of the airgap () that picks up the magnetic field () and provides the energy received through the magnetic field () to the battery (). The primary side () is for example installed at a charging station and the secondary side () is comprised by the electric vehicle. In order to control the charging process during the power transfer, a wireless communication channel () is provided between the primary () and the secondary () by means of two wireless transceivers (). According to the invention, the wireless transceivers () are adapted such that their communication range is less than twice a largest spatial extent of the primary pad. In this way, the communication between the charging station and the vehicle may not be received by other charging stations or vehicles located at the same charging area. And if the other vehicles and other charging stations of the same charging area are adapted according to the invention as well, their communication does not interfere with each other or otherwise disturb each other such that a complex and laborious pairing process may be avoided.

Wireless power transfer arrangement

The invention relates to a sensor arrangement () for a foreign object detection device which includes a current input () and a current output (), a multitude of detection cells (-), each comprising a sense coil and a capacitive element, forming a resonant tank. The sensor arrangement () further has a multitude of inputs leads (-) and a multitude of output leads (-), the total number of input and output leads being equal or smaller than the number of detection cells (-). Each detection cell is connected between one of the input leads (-) and one of the output leads (-), in a way that each of the detection cells (-) is connected to a different pair of input and output leads (--). An input selection circuit () allows to selectively establish an electrical connection between the current input () and one or more of the input leads (-) and an output selection circuit to () selectively establish an electrical connection between one or more of the output leads (-) and the current output (). According to the invention at least one detection cell (-) includes a decoupling element (D-D) connected in series to its resonant tank. The invention further relates to foreign object detection device for a wireless power transfer system, a primary part of a wireless power transfer system, a wireless power transfer system and a method for detecting a foreign object.

In a wireless power transfer arrangement () power is wirelessly transferred from a primary side () to a secondary side () across an airgap () by means of a primary resonator () that generates a magnetic field () and a secondary resonator () that receives the power by picking up the magnetic field (). The secondary side () includes an output stage () that receives the AC power provided by the secondary resonator () and generates a DC output () to be provided to a load. A current sensing arrangement () senses the AC current flowing from the secondary resonator () to the output stage () and provides a current sense signal () to a power transfer controller () that controls the power transfer of the wireless power transfer arrangement () based on the current sense signal (). And the current sense signal () is provided to a switching controller () that controls the switching of a synchronous rectifier of the output stage () that converts the AC power () provided by the secondary resonator () to the DC output ().

The invention concerns a wireless power transfer arrangement () including a primary side () and a secondary side () where the primary side includes an input stage () for converting an input power to an AC primary output and a primary resonator () for receiving the AC primary output and inducing a magnetic field () for wireless power transfer through an air gap (). The secondary side () includes a secondary resonator () for converting the power received through the magnetic field () to an AC secondary output and an output stage () for converting the AC secondary output to a DC secondary output. A controller () is adapted to control independently of each other a frequency of the AC primary output to be at a resonance frequency of the resonators and the power transferred from the primary side () to the secondary side () by controlling the voltage or the current of the AC primary output. By locking the frequency of the system to the resonance frequency enables any easy power control simply by controlling the current or the voltage of the primary resonator ().

Wireless power transfer control

In a system for wirelessly transferring power from a primary side across an airgap to a secondary side, the secondary side includes two parallel resonating circuits () each including two parallel resonating paths with a series connection of a resonating inductor (), and a resonating capacitor. A rectifier () is connected to the output of each resonating path for converting the AC output (') of the resonating paths to a DC output (&#x2032;). The outputs of the rectifiers () are connected in parallel to provide the AC output power () to a load such as a battery or the like. Each resonating path further includes a symmetry inductance connected in series to improve current sharing among the resonating paths and to reduce the higher harmonic portion in the resonating paths. For balancing the flux each resonating circuitincludes in a preferred embodiment of the invention a symmetry winding () wound on the same core as the resonating inductorof that resonating path where all symmetry windings () are connected in parallel to ensure optimal flux sharing.

Wireless high power transfer

An overvoltage limitation device, for an alternating current (AC) voltage generating system having an inverter circuit unit configured to supply power to a load with dynamic load impedance, includes: input connections for connection to the inverter circuit unit, output connections for connection to an intermediate circuit voltage unit connected to the inverter circuit unit, a rectifier including an alternating current connection and a direct current connection connected to the output connections, and an AC voltage converter including a primary side connected to the input connections and a secondary side connected to the alternating current connection. The overvoltage limitation device is configured such that, when peak values of an AC voltage exceed a first predetermined value at the input connections, power is transported from the input connections via the AC voltage converter and the rectifier to the output connections, and thus the AC voltage is limited to a second predetermined value.

Overvoltage limiting of AC voltage generation

An energy storage system including an energy store with a plurality of flow batteries, a first voltage converter, an intermediate circuit connected to the first voltage converter, a second voltage converter connected to the intermediate circuit and a first of the batteries, a third voltage converter connected to the intermediate circuit and a second of the batteries, and a controller connected to the first, second, and third voltage converters. The controller is configured to simultaneously control a power flow direction of the second voltage converter and a power flow direction of the third voltage converter such that the power flow direction of the second voltage controller is in an opposite direction of the power flow direction of the third voltage controller, to control a power flow direction of the first voltage controller, and to charge and discharge the batteries.

Energy storage system and method for increasing the efficiency of an energy storage system

Devices and methods for monitoring a discharge in a plasma process are provided. An example method includes detecting at least a first signal path of at least one plasma supply signal within at least a first time range within at least one period of the plasma supply signal, detecting at least a second signal path of the at least one plasma supply signal within at least a second time range which is at the point corresponding to the first time range in at least one other period of the plasma supply signal, and generating an identification signal if the second signal path deviates by at least a distance from the first signal path. The distance has a minimum time difference and a minimum signal amplitude difference. The method enables to identify arcs in a very reliable and very rapid manner.

Monitoring a discharge in a plasma process

In a method for extinguishing an arc in a gas discharge chamber in which power is supplied to a gas discharge chamber and in which both with a current flow in a first direction and with a current flow in a second inverse direction there is produced a gas discharge, when an arc is identified, the power supply to the gas discharge chamber is interrupted, and residual energy which is in a supply line to the gas discharge chamber and/or in the gas discharge chamber is supplied to an energy store.

Arc extinction arrangement and method for extinguishing arcs

In an ignition circuit for igniting a plasma fed with alternating power in a gas discharge chamber, having two line sections for connection to an alternating power source and at least one line section for connection to a housing earth of the gas discharge chamber, at least one series connection of a non-linear element and an energy store is connected between the line sections for connection to an alternating power source, and the line section for connection to a housing earth of the gas discharge chamber is connected to a connection node between an energy store and a non-linear element.

Growing community of inventors

Freiburg, Germany

Ulrich Richter