The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 21, 1997
Filed:
Aug. 07, 1995
Ling-Yuan Tseng, Saratoga, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
In an electrically powered vehicle having an inductive pick-up configured to couple electrical power from a series of aligned and spaced-apart charging pads associated with a road surface, methods and apparatus are disclosed for controlling the lateral positioning of the pick-up as well as the gap between the pick-up and the charging pads as the vehicle moves along a road surface. Control of the lateral positioning and gap may be provided either separately or in combination. In the preferred embodiment, the pick-up is pivotally connected to the vehicle through an extension arm, the pivotal connection including a first position wherein vertical positioning of the pick-up is power controlled toward and away from the road surface, and a second position wherein airflow past the pick-up maintains the positioning of the pick-up relative to the road surface. In terms of lateral positioning, the apparatus further includes a camera capable of sensing the charging pads as the vehicle moves, and apparatus in operative communication with the camera for moving the pick-up side-to-side as the vehicle moves in response to the position of the charging pads as sensed by the camera.