Inductive energization system and method for vehicles

Abstract

An inductive energization system for moving vehicles includes wayside inductors under the roadway and pickup inductor circuits in electrically powered vehicles. A pickup power controller has a switching circuit, including a zero-crossing trigger circuit, a current limiting inductor, and a bleed resistor. The controller provides for fast switching, desirable for closed loop control of the inductive energy transfer system, as well as low harmonic distortion of waveforms, low acoustic noise, and low maintenance requirements. The pickup inductor of the preferred embodiment has rigid metal conductors bonded together into a single member, allowing this element to serve as both a current carrying element as well as a primary structural member of the pickup inductor. The roadway inductor is split into many segments. Sensors in the roadway detect when vehicles requiring power are present, and a wayside inductor segment controller responds to the sensory signals by energizing only those wayside inductor segments needed to transfer power to such vehicles. This control methodology improves the energy efficiency of the system. In addition, the roadway sensors can be designed to detect identification signals broadcast by vehicle identification transmitters, thereby enabling the system to charge for energy usage by each vehicle.