Patent Description:
The problem of providing power inductively to moving vehicles along a roadway has been discussed for many years, to overcome the range anxiety associated with pure electric vehicles (EVs) i.e. electric vehicles which rely solely on electric energy. The ability to provide power continuously, or at least sufficiently often, while the vehicle is travelling has many benefits. These include: minimisation of on-board energy storage and vehicle weight; and elimination of the long charging times required when available power sources are dispersed and only used when an EV's power supply is low.

Charging or powering electric vehicles inductively from a roadway has been proposed previously in paper publications. The solutions proposed for providing a roadway powered electric vehicle (RPEV) system discuss means by which small sections of roadway include embedded inductive loops which may be energised when a vehicle requiring charge is determined to be in the proximity. This eliminates the need to power large sections of highway and increases the efficiency of the system. In all cases a number of inductive loops are spaced along a highway but they are directly connected to a power supply typically operating at frequencies between <NUM>-<NUM>. Each inductive loop is selectively energised by direct switching means when a vehicle is detected to be in the proximity. Inductive receivers on-board the vehicle are elongated in the direction of the highway and normally controlled to be in close proximity with the roadway when the vehicle is moving.

For example, <CIT> and <CIT> describe means by which an electrochemical battery may be charged as a vehicle travels along an inductive highway.

In <CIT> controllable relays are used to switch on and off sections of highway transmitter modules of around <NUM> in length to deliver power to a vehicle as it moves along the roadway surface. The inductive roadway modules are elongate, being oriented longitudinally in the direction of the roadway, and placed end to end along the centre of the roadway. Power control to the vehicle is enacted from the roadway side simply by temporarily switching off the roadway power modules as required. <CIT> by the same author describes means by which the desired vehicle receiver is lowered to ensure the air-gap between the vehicle pick-up receiver and the roadway inductive track is as small as possible during operation, while capacitor switching means is also employed to modify the pick-up tuning to compensate (and thereby regulate the output voltage of the compensated receiving coil) for any reluctance variations during driving.

In <CIT>, Lechner describes improvements to the magnetic structure of both the roadway transmitter coils and the receiver on board the vehicle. U and W shaped magnetic cores are suggested. Variable switchable compensation capacitors are described to enable power control and regulation to a battery.

In <CIT>, Tseng describes the addition of radio communications to control the switching of the primary coils and sensors to help guide the vehicle along the inductive loops. Further information relating to means by which specific vehicle recognition and billing is also described.

<CIT> describes a system that combines many of the above elements from earlier patent publications. Again the system requires the pick-up receiver on the vehicle to be lowered to take power from a roadway with inductive coupling strips along the centreline of the road.

In <CIT> a fast charging system is proposed that relies on a rapid charge energy storage device such as an electromechanical battery (EMB). As a result clusters of inductive transmitter modules (each with a single elongated flat pancake coil of roughly <NUM> by <NUM>) placed longitudinally along the roadway centre are proposed that only need to be installed in less than <NUM>% of the highway. To be effective these power transmitters require relatively high charging rates (a minimum power transfer of 100kW -140kW delivered continuously to an EV while it is in motion above the transmitter modules). In order to improve coupling between the roadway transmitter modules and the receiver coils while the EV is in motion along the highway an adjustable ride-height suspension and alignment is suggested. For garaging and/or stops along the roadside/at lights or other convenient places, the high charging rates require the pick-up to be lowered to near zero air-gap. Parking is assumed to be within <NUM> laterally but a mechanism for adjusting the receiving coil to within <NUM>-<NUM> in the lateral direction is proposed. Under such stationary charging there are suggested means for heating the road to ensure a build up of snow or ice does not stop the pick-up lowering mechanism from operating correctly. The scheme requires heating elements embedded in the road which each can take as much as <NUM>% of the delivered power. Communications means for data and billing are also described.

<CIT> is directed to an electric vehicle comprising a secondary self-resonant coil, a secondary coil, a rectifier and an electric storage device. The secondary self-resonant coil is configured to be magnetically coupled with a primary self-resonant coil of a power feeding apparatus through resonance of magnetic field so that it can receive a high frequency power from the primary self-resonant coil. The secondary coil is so configured that it can receive the power from the secondary self-resonant coil through electromagnetic induction. The rectifier rectifies the power received by the secondary coil. The electric storage device stores the power rectified by the rectifier.

<CIT> is directed to inductive power transfer across an extended gap from a primary conductor that is provided by means of a resonant intermediate loop comprised of capacitor with inductor carrying a larger resonating current, that can in turn generate an inductive field to be collected by a pickup coil. This process and device find application in an electroluminescent advertising panel.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved roadway powered electric vehicle system, or a vehicle or roadway for use with such a system. Alternatively it is an object to provide a useful alternative to previous roadway powered electric vehicle proposals.

An invention is set out in the claims. In the following, the terms aspect, example or embodiment do not necessarily indicate that the disclosed subject-matter is part of the invention. The invention is defined by the attached claims. To the extent that examples described herein do not fall within the scope of the claims, they are not part of the invention.

In the present specification solutions are described for an RPEV system in which power is inductively coupled from the roadway to moving vehicles using either single phase transmitter modules spaced along the highway, or small sections of multi-phase tracks. The described systems overcome or at least ameliorate many of the aforementioned problems while offering improved safety features. They also allow controllable charging to the battery provided on-board the vehicle without relying on communications between the vehicle and a roadside power controller. There is no need to lower the pick-up power receiver on-board the vehicle while the EV is moving along the roadway or when it is stationary, for example at traffic lights or parked in a garage. Furthermore, the problem of efficient power transfer without significantly compromising driving performance and freedom of lateral movement along a roadway driving lane is also addressed. System efficiency is maximised using sensors to detect the presence and general type or category of vehicle, and roadway sections are only energised underneath a vehicle as required. The power delivered to each vehicle can be varied to suit each vehicle's need, by active control embedded in the roadway.

Therefore in one example the disclosure provides an electric vehicle inductive power system
comprising:.

The vehicle surface may comprise a roadway.

Therefore in one example the disclosure provides an electric vehicle inductive power system comprising:.

In one example the primary conductive path is energised at a first frequency and the power transmission modules are energised at a second frequency. The second frequency may be greater than the first frequency.

A controller may be provided for each power transmission module to selectively allow each module to make inductive power available to a vehicle when the vehicle is sufficiently near the module to receive power therefrom. In one example the controller controls the quantity of power available to the vehicle.

The power available may be determined based on a power demand category of a vehicle to which power is being supplied or on the type of vehicle to which power is being supplied, or dependent on the number of vehicles on a section of vehicle surface.

One or more coils are preferably provided in each power transmission module to provide a magnetic field for inductive power transfer to a vehicle.

In one example the power transmission modules are tuned so that the section of the primary conductive path adjacent to each module has its reactance substantially compensated.

The primary conductive path may be buried in or adjacent to the vehicle surface.

In another aspect the disclosure provides an electric vehicle inductive power system comprising:.

In yet another aspect the disclosure provides an electric vehicle inductive power system comprising:.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a power transmission module for an electric vehicle inductive power system comprising a plurality of coils adapted to be energised in a phase relationship to provide a magnetic field.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway unit for a electric vehicle inductive power system, the unit comprising an upper surface, at least one coil of electrically conductive material beneath the upper surface and configured in use to provide a magnetic field extending above the upper surface, and a connection means for receiving power to energise the coil.

In one aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
a roadway controller for receiving an indication of one of a plurality of vehicle categories of a vehicle on a roadway and selectively providing a magnetic field at a location on the roadway corresponding to the location of the vehicle, the presence or strength of the magnetic field being dependent on the vehicle category.

In one example the vehicle category may comprise a non-electric vehicle in which case the controller does not provide a magnetic field for the vehicle.

In some examples vehicles are categorised according to inherent electric power demand. Accordingly, a non-electric vehicle has a zero power demand, a small electric vehicle has a low power demand and a large electric vehicle has a high power demand.

In one example a sensor is provided in or adjacent to the roadway to detect the vehicle category. The sensor may be provided at a predetermined location so that the controller may use the sensor to also detect the location of the vehicle to thereby make power available at the vehicle location. The sensor may comprise a power transmission module.

In one example the sensor comprises a receiver, such as an RFID receiver.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: an inductive power receiver module capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway,
a vehicle category identifier capable of providing an indication of a power demand category of vehicle to a power supply controller associated with the roadway.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:.

In one example the coils also extend longitudinally along the roadway.

In one example the coils may extend substantially across the width of the roadway (i.e. in the transverse direction). The coils may extend further in the longitudinal direction than the transverse direction, or may extend in the longitudinal direction to an extent that is less than or equal to their extent in the transverse direction.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: an inductive power receiver module capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway, the receiver module having a module width which extends across at least a part of the width of the vehicle and a module length which extends in the direction of the longitudinal dimension of the vehicle, the module width being greater than or equal to the module length.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: an inductive power receiver module capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway, the receiver module comprising at least two substantially planar coils arranged side by side and extending away from each other towards opposite sides of the vehicle.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: an inductive power receiver module capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway, the receiver module having a module width which extends across at least a part of the width of the vehicle and a module length which extends in the direction of the longitudinal dimension of the vehicle, the module width being less than or equal to the module length.

In one example the coils also extend towards opposite ends of the vehicle.

In one example the coils may extend substantially across the width of the vehicle (i.e. in the transverse direction). The coils may extend further in the longitudinal direction than the transverse direction, or may extend in the longitudinal direction to an extent that is less than or equal to their extent in the transverse direction.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: an inductive power receiver module capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway, the receiver module comprising at least two substantially planar coils arranged side by side and a third coil overlapping the other coils.

In one example the third coil is connected in quadrature with the other coils.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: an inductive power receiver module capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway, the receiver module comprising two coils connected in parallel and in opposite phase, and a quadrature coil.

In another aspect the disclosed subject matter provides an inductive power transmission module for a roadway powered electric vehicle system, the module comprising:.

In one example the module includes a receiver coil to receive power from another magnetic field.

In another aspect the disclosed subject matter provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:.

In one example a controller is provided for each power transmission module to selectively allow each module to make inductive power available to a vehicle when the vehicle is sufficiently near the module to receive power therefrom.

In one example the controller controls the quantity of power available to the vehicle. The power available may be determined based on the power demand category or type of vehicle to which power is being supplied.

In one example the controller controls the quantity of power available to each vehicle dependent on the number of vehicles on a section of roadway, or dependent on a combination or vehicle power demand category and the number of vehicles on the section of roadway.

In one example one or more coils are provided in each power transmission module to provide a magnetic field for inductive power transfer to a vehicle.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway unit for a roadway powered electric vehicle system, the unit comprising an upper surface, at least one coil of electrically conductive material beneath the upper surface and configured in use to provide a magnetic field extending above the upper surface, side walls adapted for location adjacent to side walls of a trench in a roadway, and end walls adapted to locate adjacent corresponding end walls of further units.

In one example the unit includes at least two substantially planar coils arranged side by side.

In one example the unit is connected to a power supply.

In one example the unit includes a receiver coil to receive power from another magnetic field. The receiver coil may be provided on an asymmetric core. Alternatively, the receiver coil may be provided on a symmetric core. In one example the unit includes two apertures therein, each aperture being adapted to receive one side of an elongate primary conductive loop, and the receiver coil and core are arranged in the unit so that the receiver coil may receive power inductively from the primary conductive loop.

In one example the conductive path is provided beneath the coils.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
a roadway having a plurality of inductive power transmission modules arranged so that a roadway powered electric vehicle receives power from a plurality of the transmission modules at any instant while travelling on the roadway.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle comprising: a plurality of inductive power receiver coils capable of receiving power from a magnetic field provided above the surface of a roadway.

In one example the coils are arranged in a receiver module, with two or more coils being provided in the module. In one example a plurality of receiver modules are provided.

In one example the roadway controller includes a transmission controller associated with each power transmission module to selectively allow each module to make inductive power available to a vehicle when the vehicle is sufficiently near the module to receive power therefrom.

In one example the transmission controller controls the quantity of power available to the vehicle. The power available may be determined based on a power demand category or type of vehicle to which power is being supplied.

In one example the transmission controller makes power available from the or each power transmission module upon detection of the presence of a vehicle in the region of the or each power transmission module.

In one example the transmission controller makes power available from the or each power transmission module for a predetermined maximum time period after detection of the presence of a vehicle in the region of the or each power transmission module.

In one example the transmission controller ceases to make power available from the or each power transmission module upon detection of the absence of a vehicle in the region of the or each power transmission module.

In one example the vehicle power controller limits the power received by the vehicle. In one example the limit on the power received by the vehicle is dependent on a type or power requirement category of the vehicle.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
a roadway having a plurality of multiphase inductive power transmission modules, and a power supply for supplying power to one or more of the multiphase inductive power transmission modules so that each multiphase transmission module produces a time varying rotating magnetic field above the roadway.

In one example the or each multiphase power transmission module comprises two or more substantially planar coils and each coils has a current out of phase with the other coils, the coils being arranged to provide the time varying rotating magnetic field above the roadway.

In one example the or each multiphase power transmission module includes two substantially planar coils which are overlapped to provide conductive paths that are spaced <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> electrical degrees.

In one example the conductive paths extend in a direction substantially across the roadway. In another example the conductive paths extend in a direction substantially longitudinally along the roadway.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
a roadway having a plurality of inductive power transmission modules, and magnetic shielding provided in or on the roadway to curtail stray magnetic fields.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
a roadway having a plurality of inductive power transmission modules, and magnetic shielding provided in or on each module to curtail stray magnetic fields.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
one or more roadway powered electric vehicles, the or each vehicle having at least one power receiving module to receive power inductively from the a roadway, and magnetic shielding provided in or on the vehicle to curtail stray magnetic fields.

In another aspect the disclosure provides a roadway powered electric vehicle system comprising:
one or more roadway powered electric vehicles, the or each vehicle having at least one power receiving module to receive power inductively from the a roadway, and magnetic shielding provided in or on the power receiving module to curtail stray magnetic fields.

Another example provides a magnetic flux pad for generating or receiving magnetic flux, the pad comprising a magnetically permeable core, two substantially flat overlapping coils magnetically associated with the core whereby there is substantially no mutual coupling between the coils.

A further example provides primary power supply apparatus for an inductive power transfer system, the power supply apparatus including:.

A further example provides a method for providing an IPT magnetic flux pad having a plurality of coils in which there is no mutual magnetic coupling between the coils, the method including the steps of:.

Preferably the absence of mutual coupling is detected by detecting when the open circuit voltage induced in one of the coils by energisation of the other coil is minimised.

Examples will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:.

The magnetic and electronics technology described below consists of four general parts - power supplies, inductive power transmission or transmitter modules, inductive power reception or receiver modules, and controllers. These general parts are described in turn below. Headings are used where possible for clarity. Although the description below predominantly refers to roadway and electric vehicle applications, those skilled in the art to which the invention relates will appreciate that the subject matter also has application to IPT systems in general and could be used in applications such as materials handling for example.

In one embodiment (shown in <FIG> by way of example) at the edge of a vehicle surface such as a roadway, a regular succession of power supplies <NUM> are provided in groups of two, and are spaced around <NUM> apart. Each power supply <NUM> is connected to a three phase utility supply at <NUM>/<NUM> <NUM>/<NUM> V line to line and feeds a <NUM> section of roadway. Although this document primarily uses the term roadway to refer to a road, it is intended to include vehicle surfaces in general, including vehicle surfaces where vehicles may be stationary such as garage floors, carparks, bus stops etc. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, each power supply <NUM> is rated at <NUM> kW but actually produces a single phase output that drives a current of nominally <NUM> A at a frequency of <NUM> in an unbroken elongate primary conductive loop <NUM>. This current may vary from approximately 100A to 250A depending on the application. As shown in <FIG>, each loop <NUM> is approximately <NUM> long to thus extend along one <NUM> section of roadway.

Each power supply <NUM> drives a succession of power transmission modules <NUM> in the roadway by inductive coupling. This inductive coupling is achieved (as shown in both <FIG> and <FIG>) using a two wire transmission system for the <NUM> A feed from the power supply <NUM> with pick-up coils <NUM> placed wherever a power module is required. The pick-up coils <NUM> may take a variety of forms. In the embodiment described the form of pick-up <NUM> is one such as that described in International Patent Publication <CIT>. This form of pick-up has an asymmetric core and is referred to in this document for purposes of convenience as an S-pick-up. However, other forms of inductive power pick-up may be used. For example, a pick-up having a symmetric "E" shaped core, or "H" core, or other known shapes or arrangements may be used.

The output from pick-up <NUM> is partially series tuned using series capacitor 104to ensure the correct short circuit current from the coil (as required to drive the power module inductance of <NUM>). The combination of <NUM> and <NUM> is parallel tuned using capacitor <NUM> at the operating frequency of <NUM> for this embodiment. The reflected impedance of this tuned LC combination back onto the primary supply track <NUM> is such that the reactance of the section of the 125A feed in the roadway (to which the pick-up <NUM> is coupled) is substantially compensated on short circuit. This characteristic is selected since, under normal operating conditions (as described further below), only around <NUM>% of the power transmission modules are supplying power at any one time. The remainder are inactive, being on short circuit. In consequence, the reactance of loop <NUM> can be designed or controlled to a nominal value independent of exact length and does not need to be broken with additional series compensation capacitors to limit the supply voltage, as is normally the case in industrial applications feeding <NUM>-<NUM> lengths. The unbroken nature of the loop removes the problem of having additional and problematic terminations present in the main roadway feed to add capacitive correction. Such terminations add loss (both from the joint termination and the losses in any added capacitance) and add to the risk of failure from aging capacitance, failure of joint terminations due to both ground movement or poor construction and aging. Terminations also add problems due to the difficultly in preventing moisture being transported between the cabling and protective sheaths into areas of capacitive correction under thermal cycling, which if present can cause failure.

The parallel LC pick-up (of <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>) is used in one embodiment as shown in <FIG> to drive a fully series compensated power module (comprising <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>) embedded in the roadway. In this embodiment the reactance looking into the combination of components <NUM> and <NUM> is essentially zero. Thus there is the lowest possible voltage stress on components, for example switches.

An alternative embodiment is shown in <FIG> where the reactance of the module <NUM> together with series compensation <NUM> and <NUM> combine to give an identical reactance to that of capacitance <NUM> and the combination of <NUM> and <NUM> at <NUM> (creating a tuned LCL topology at the resonant frequency of the supply).

In both embodiments (shown in <FIG>) the controller <NUM> controls switch <NUM> and enables the module resonance to be controlled such that the magnetic field strength of module <NUM> can be completely turned off or turned on or varied as required by regulating the current through capacitor <NUM> or <NUM>. Adjacent modules are controlled to energise sequentially in time and synchronously phase to prevent unwanted power transfer between adjacent modules. The operation of controller <NUM> is described further below. In an alternative embodiment module <NUM> may be directly connected to a power supply i.e. not be inductively coupled to the power supply.

The correct field strength required to charge a motor vehicle, bus or truck may simply be determined by limiting the current in capacitor <NUM> or <NUM> to predetermined levels corresponding to power requirements or demands for different types or categories of vehicle that may use the roadway. In one embodiment the field strength may be controlled to three or more levels, each level corresponding to power demand category of vehicles travelling along the roadway. For example, in one embodiment vehicles are categorised according to inherent electric power demand. Accordingly, a non-electric vehicle has a zero power demand, a small electric vehicle such as a car has a low power demand and a large electric vehicle such as a truck or bus has a high power demand. In another embodiment, the categorisation may be based on what a vehicle user demands rather than inherent vehicle power requirements.

The control information for determining the level of power supplied to each vehicle could in one embodiment be embedded in an RFID tag associated with each vehicle's on-board power receiver and read using additional sensors placed in advance of, or next to, each power transmission module in the roadway that are monitored by controller <NUM>. In another embodiment control information may be sent via communications to the controller <NUM> based on response from the driver as to the rate of charge the driver is prepared to pay. In other embodiments the presence of a vehicle may be detected in other ways such as by using a sensor to sense the change in inductance of the coils in the power transmission modules as a vehicle passes over each module.

For protection purposes saturable inductor <NUM> is used to limit the voltage across <NUM> and thereby protect the controller switch <NUM> from overvoltage failure particularly during any large starting or switching transients.

Thus the controller <NUM> allows power to be selectively made available at selective levels. For example, vehicles may be categorised into non-electric, light electric and heavy electric types. A sensor may then sense the vehicle category (as described further below), and the controller <NUM> can then control the field available to that vehicle. So if the vehicle is non-electric, no field is made available. If the vehicle is an electric bus for example (i.e. a heavy electric vehicle), then a high field strength is provided.

In one embodiment controller <NUM> allows control of power transferred inductively from the elongate loop <NUM> to one or more power transmission modules so that an AC supply is provided directly to the transmission module(s) without a rectification step being required. The operation of a controller such as controller <NUM> above will now be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a well-known diagram in Power Systems and is used to describe how power is transferred from a generator to another generator or load. The first generator has an output voltage V<NUM> and is connected to the second voltage V<NUM> through an inductor L<NUM>. If the phase angle between V<NUM> and V<NUM> is α then the power transferred is given by the generic formula <MAT>.

Where X is the reactance of inductor L<NUM> at the frequency of operation.

In an inductive power transfer (IPT) system this same diagram may be interpreted slightly differently as shown in <FIG>. In this case V<NUM> is the voltage induced in the pick-up coil L<NUM> by a current flowing through an IPT track i.e. the primary coil or loop. Thus V<NUM> = jωMI where I is the track current. V<NUM> is now the voltage across the tuning capacitor and is the resonant voltage in the IPT system. In all usual circumstances the phase angle is determined naturally by the operation of the circuit of <FIG> under the loading conditions, represented by load resistor R, that obtain from time to time in the circuit. Such analysis is possible as all of the circuit components are linear.

However in one exampletwo new circuit elements are added to the circuit - switches S<NUM>, and S<NUM>, which are in series with diodes D<NUM> and D<NUM> as shown in <FIG>. These switches are operated to disrupt the action of the circuit such that the phase angle may be forced to be a different value to that which would naturally occur. The technique for achieving this is to clamp voltage V<NUM> so that it cannot cross zero until the switches so allow. Switch S<NUM> prevents a rise in the positive voltage across the tuning capacitor C and switch S<NUM> prevents the voltage across the tuning capacitor from going negative. In operation these switches are switched on or off for <NUM> degrees but are delayed in phase relative to the normal voltage in the circuit as shown in <FIG>. The overlap between the normally resonant voltage and the switching waveform is θ. This normally resonant voltage is not observable when the circuit is operating with a real load but the current in the track has the same phase and it is easy to observe. Switch S<NUM> is on for most of the negative half cycle of the waveform - where it has no effect - and for a small portion of the normal positive half cycle where it prevents any voltage rise until it turns off. Switch S<NUM> operates in the other half cycle. Both switches are on for <NUM> degrees but there is no overlap at all. The actual output voltage can have small flat periods in it but for high Q conditions these become very small. But the waveform is still displaced and therefore the power transferred is reduced in a controllable fashion.

In one embodiment the phase of the track current is captured by a separate sensor on the track. Then using a phase locked loop precise <NUM> degree conduction square wave voltage references may be generated. These reference voltages may then be delayed as required with a microprocessor to give waveforms suitable for driving the switches to control the output voltage. The switches themselves are unidirectional and power MOSFETs provide a low cost choice. These are particularly easy to drive as with <NUM> degree conduction simple transformer isolation is suitable. Observed and simulated waveforms in the circuit are shown in <FIG> for a range of conditions corresponding to high Q through to low Q. Note that while the switches are nominally on for an angle θ in a practical high Q circuit the actual conduction times are very much smaller as the resonant phase of the circuit changes to accommodate the switching waveforms. Nonetheless the resonant waveform is not correctly phased for unity power factor as the phase has been altered to adjust the power transfer and the circuit therefore has a small leading power factor load reflected back to the track.

Analytical analysis of the circuit is intractable however an expression for the resonant voltage V<NUM> that gives good correlation with both computer simulations and with practical measurements is: <MAT>.

A computer simulation of this expression is plotted in <FIG> which may be compared with the mathematical expression above and is reasonably accurate over the full range of operation <NUM> < Q < <NUM>. [(Note <MAT>.

The circuits described above are described with reference to the use of a reference voltage to give phase information to the circuit so that the firing angle can be determined. However we have found that the correct firing angle may be determined by observing the angle at which the resonant voltage in the circuit changes sign. As shown in <FIG> for a firing angle of θ there is an angle θ' which has a unique relationship to the Q of the circuit and to θ but is measured with respect to the voltage induced in the pick-up coil which voltage can only be observed if the pick-up coil is unloaded. A diagram showing the difference between these angles is given at <FIG>. It is easy to observe this angle and to operate the circuit at angle θ such that the required output is obtained. There needs to be considerable care here as the difference between θ and (θ'-<NUM>) may be very small at the frequency of <NUM>-<NUM> so that the angles must be carefully measured but this task is relatively simple for one skilled in the art and using modern electronics components including microprocessors. The care is important since if θ (a switch on point for one of the switches) occurs too soon the switch will short circuit the resonating capacitor and may be destroyed.

A person skilled in the art to which the invention relates will appreciate that the angle at which the resonant voltage in the circuit changes sign can be determined in a number of different ways. For example, one approach is to use a comparator with a reference to the ground rail to detect the <NUM>. 6V to 1V forward bias voltage that leads to conduction of each of the diodes connected in series with the switches (S1 and S2 in <FIG>). Another possible approach is to use a current transformer on the drain lead of each of the FETs (used in practice to implement switches S1 and S2) in order to detect the onset of current in each switch.

In the operation of the circuit described, both the short-circuit current and the induced voltage are affected as the firing angle is changed and the circuit operates as though L the pick-up coil inductance, C the tuning capacitor, and M the mutual inductance between the track and the pick-up coil are all altered. The variation in M has already been used to vary the output power and control it. But apparent variations in L and C can be used to tune the circuit as shown in <FIG>. Here the output power of the circuit is measured as the firing angle θ varies from essentially zero to <NUM> degrees. As expected if the tuning capacitor is exactly correct then the maximum power occurs at a firing angle of zero. But if the tuning capacitor is too small then the maximum power occurs at an increased firing angle and the circuit can be tuned by varying this firing angle. For capacitor values <NUM>% below the design value the system can be tuned to have a power loss of about <NUM>% compared with perfect tuning - but now with a component error of <NUM>%. Capacitors that are too large cannot be tuned as firing in advance causes the switches to short circuit the resonating capacitor.

Referring again to <FIG>, controller <NUM> is known to act as a standard parallel tuned receiver with full decoupling when the AC switches are fully on or off. As such the reflected VARS to track <NUM> can be determined and are essentially constant. However, when controller <NUM> is operated with variable clamp-time (in order to adjust the current in power pad <NUM>), this results in variations to the reflected VARS to the track in addition to the expected change in load. If these reflected VARS are left uncompensated, the addition of all VARs reflected from all active pads coupled to track <NUM> could severely detune power supply <NUM>. The clamp time of each pad is however known and is preferably held constant by each pad's controller <NUM> during operation so as to keep the current in each pad at approximately the desired level. This information can be communicated to an additional circuit which is transformer coupled to track <NUM> in close proximity to each pad, whose sole purpose is to adjust a reactive circuit in order to approximately cancel the operational VAR loading introduced by the action of controller <NUM>. This can be achieved using a variety of variable or switched tuning circuits that can adjust a variable capacitor or inductor according to each known clamp time.

In practice there may be a need to add one additional variable tuning circuit at the output of supply <NUM>. There will be a number of small variations in VARS whose cumulative may still cause track inductance <NUM> to vary beyond a desirable amount and could cause supply <NUM> to operate inefficiently or to trip. These cumulative VARS will arise from imperfect compensation, imperfect tuning or variations in tuning over time due to ageing and temperature, and variations in magnetic coupling from vehicles coupling power along the roadway using a different number of receivers, at varying heights and offsets. Such variation from ideal operation can be detected in a number of ways such as using measurements of the bridge currents within power supply <NUM> and this information can then be used to adjust the effective inductance of <NUM> within safe and efficient operating bounds of supply <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, an alternative circuit for power supply from the elongate loop <NUM> to one or more modules is shown. This circuit provides a frequency change as part of the double IPT conversion form the primary power supply <NUM> to the vehicle. Although the frequency change is discussed below as being from <NUM> to <NUM>, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other frquencies may be used, and that the frequency may stay the same, or even decrease. A frequency increase to <NUM> has the advantage that the field at the modules is more likely to satisfy ICNIRP requirements, and that high efficiencies can be obtained over the short transmission distance from the inverter to the transmission module or pad. In the first conversion a power supply <NUM> takes power from a <NUM>-phase utility and produces an output current of <NUM> A that propagates in a wire buried under the road in the form of extended loop <NUM>. This single wire loop is coupled by <NUM> turn to a pick-up/transformer <NUM> that is tuned by parallel tuning capacitor <NUM> to a resonant voltage less than 700V rms. The pick-up transformer <NUM> has a <NUM>-turn secondary to give a secondary short circuit current of <NUM> A. This current passes through diode rectifier <NUM> to give a DC current of <NUM> A in DC inductor <NUM> which current is switched by <NUM>-switch commutator /inverter <NUM> to produce an output AC current of approximately <NUM> A rms which feeds the CLC filter <NUM>. This filter is an impedance converter with a characteristic impedance of <NUM> Ohms and produces an AC output voltage across C2 of <NUM> V at <NUM>. This voltage drives the pad or module <NUM> or <NUM> with some compensation capacitors C3 and C4. In particular C4 increases the pad or module voltage to <NUM> V while C3 tunes the pad to present unity power factor at its rated load. As discussed elsewhere herein, pad or module <NUM>/<NUM> is on or buried under the roadway and couples inductively to a similar pad under a vehicle parked over the pad or module. This is the second IPT conversion for the circuit.

Under fault conditions an open-circuit across C2 presents a short circuit to the commutator <NUM> which presents a short circuit to rectifier <NUM> and shuts down the resonant circuit formed by pick-up transformer <NUM> and capacitor C3 so that no power is drawn from power supply <NUM>. Conversely a short circuit across C2 presents an open circuit to the commutator which must be protected by turning all the switches on. The switches are normally-on devices so the circuit is started in a normally on condition and is easily switched to this under fault conditions.

The circuit has an input at <NUM> which is rectified to DC by the diode bridge <NUM> and inverted back to AC at <NUM> by commutator <NUM> to drive a power pad or module in an IPT system at <NUM>. At this frequency the voltage drop per metre is very high so it is impractical to use along the roadway but here <NUM> is used along the roadway and the <NUM> is a very short connection from the impedance converter <NUM> to the pad <NUM>/<NUM> of only a few millimetres. This use of a higher frequency at the final stage can have advantages of incresed efficiency.

A further advantage of this frequency change circuit, is that track <NUM> operating at <NUM> does not see any VAR variations present in the <NUM> circuit, as the rectifier effectively blocks reactive VAR flow. In consequence track <NUM> can ideally be tuned and where required compensated using static rather than active tuning components.

In one embodiment (such as that shown in <FIG>) the power transmission modules are around <NUM> long, but they may be as large as <NUM>, around <NUM> wide and <NUM>-<NUM> thick. The modules may be arranged in use so that magnetic flux travels in a pattern that is longitudinally or transversely aligned relative to the vehicle surface. Each transmission module encloses a coil of copper wire and some ferrite pieces such that when it is positioned on the roadway and driven from its power supply (as shown in <FIG>) it can generate a magnetic field that is predominantly above the roadway surface with minimal field below the module such that wires pipes, cables etc under the roadway do not have voltages or currents induced in them. Thus the 125A feeder and the power transmission module do not interfere with each other at all. In <FIG> the magnetic field provided by the module is seen as extending across the roadway i.e. from one side to another. In another, less preferred, embodiment the field provided by a transmission module may extend longitudinally along the roadway. The power transmission module may be provided in a roadway unit by being encased in a suitable material such as concrete for example. In one embodiment the unit includes two apertures, each aperture being adapted to receive one side of the elongate primary conductive loop, and the receiver coil and core <NUM> are arranged in the unit so that the receiver coil may receive power inductively from the primary conductive loop. In this manner roadway units may be provided that include side walls adapted for location adjacent to side walls of a trench in a roadway, and end walls adapted to locate adjacent corresponding end walls of further units, so a modular solution is provided.

The general construction of the power transmission and reception modules according to one or more embodiments will now be described below in further detail by way of example with reference to Figures 15A to <FIG>.

The power transfer modules described below allow magnetic flux generation or linkage to be achieved for the purpose of inductive power transfer and have particular advantages for electric vehicle applications. The modules described are commonly (although not necessarily) provided in the form of a discrete unit which may if necessary be portable, and which typically have a greater extent in two dimensions relative to a third dimension so that they may be used in applications such as electric vehicle charging where one pad is provided on or in a ground surface and another in the vehicle.

Referring to the arrangement of <FIG>, a module is shown which combines three leakage flux control techniques to produce a much enhanced performance. In this regard it uses a novel "flux pipe", generally referenced <NUM>, to connect two separated flux transmitter/receiver regions <NUM> and <NUM>. The flux pipe provides an elongate region of high flux concentration from which ideally no flux escapes. The flux pipe <NUM> in this embodiment has a core <NUM> of ferrite to attract flux to stay in the core and a back-plate <NUM> of aluminium to 'frighten' or repel flux from leaking from the core; above the core there may be a separate aluminium plate <NUM> to complete the same 'frightening' task. Magnetic flux is attracted to the ferrite, and it is repulsed by the aluminium. With electric circuits there is a large difference between the conductivity of conductors - typically <NUM> x <NUM><NUM> for copper; and air - in the order of <NUM>-<NUM> - but this situation does not pertain with magnetic fields where the difference in permeability between ferrite and air is only the order of <NUM>,<NUM> : <NUM> or less. Thus in magnetic circuits leakage flux in air is always present and this has to be controlled to get the best outcome.

The ends of the core <NUM> comprise the transmitter/receiver regions <NUM> and <NUM>. The top plate <NUM> does not cover the regions <NUM> and <NUM>, so the flux is directed generally upwardly from the regions as will be seen further below.

Plate <NUM> cannot be electrically connected to the backing plate <NUM> or the combination would constitute a short circuited turn. There is a winding electromagnetically associated with the core <NUM> to electrically connect to the pick-up and the third flux control technique concerns this winding. It is well known that long toroidal windings have but small or very small leakage flux outside them. In the situation here a toroidal winding covering the full length of the flux pipe would have too much inductance but the winding can be partitioned into several windings <NUM> that are magnetically in series but electrically in parallel, as shown in <FIG>. In practice two windings in magnetic series-electrical parallel placed with one at or toward each end of the flux pipe is a good approximation to a continuous winding and in some circumstances may outperform a single winding.

The provision of a winding arrangement that covers substantially the full length of the core <NUM> means that little flux escapes from the core. For example, in the embodiment having two windings connected electrically in parallel (magnetically in series), the flux linkages in each winding must be the same so essentially no flux can escape from the core. Thus, plate <NUM> is not essential.

The flux paths from a module as in <FIG> are shown in <FIG> by flux lines <NUM>. As before they are approximately semi-elliptical but they are from a much larger base than the ferrites of known circular module arrangements and therefore can operate over much larger separations. At the centre of the pick-up the flux paths are horizontal as required. A practical power transfer module embodiment is shown in <FIG> and measured self inductance and mutual inductance for this module is shown in <FIG>. A performance comparison of a known circular module and the new module of <FIG> is shown in <FIG>. The module design of <FIG> and <FIG> is polarised so that the ends <NUM> and <NUM> must be aligned, but that is relatively easy to implement.

A useful feature of the new module design disclosed herein is that the number of turns of the primary and secondary coil may in some embodiments be kept the same. This is radically different than the conventional IPT system setup, which normally has an elongated loop of one turn on the primary side and has winding with multiple turns on the secondary side. This setup has two significant features, <NUM>) the magnetic structure of both primary and secondary (i.e. transmitter and receiver) modules are the same or similar i.e. substantially the same, and <NUM>) the induced voltage and uncompensated power at the secondary output (i.e. the receiver module) are independent of the operating frequency by varying the number of turns in relation to the frequency change.

In one embodiment which we now describe by way of example, the uncompensated power (Su) and induced voltage (Voc) of an IPT receiver are commonly known and are expressed in equation <NUM> and <NUM>, where I<NUM> is the primary track current, L<NUM> is the primary track inductance and N<NUM> and N<NUM> are the number of turns in the primary and secondary (i.e. transmitter module and receiver module) respectively. N<NUM> is equal to N<NUM> is equal to N, in this example.

Under these conditions the rated uncompensated power for the receiver module Su, the mutually coupled voltage Voc and the terminal voltage on the transmitter module V<NUM> are given by <MAT> <MAT>.

Note that the short circuit current is proportional to M/L and is independent of the number of turns <MAT> where k is the magnetic coupling factor between the primary and the secondary (i.e. transmitter and receiver). As mentioned earlier, the receiver induced voltage and the uncompensated power are to be the same for a different operating frequency. This also means that the terminal voltage and the short circuit current are also equal. Equations <NUM> and <NUM> can be rewritten as shown in equations <NUM> and <NUM> respectively for the same uncompensated power and induced voltage but different operating frequency. Here Na is the number of turns for a first frequency of operation and Nb is the number of turns for a second frequency of operation, and Ia and Ib are the respective currents. <MAT> <MAT>.

Equation <NUM> to <NUM> indicate that the pick-up uncompensated power and Voc will be the same for different frequency while the primary current (i.e. current in the transmitter coil(s)) is kept the same and the winding turns are varied according to equation <NUM>. For example, an arrangement of two modules with <NUM> turns on both the transmitter and receiver, designed to operate at <NUM>, would need to have the number of turns increased to <NUM> at <NUM> in order to keep the receiver Voc and uncompensated power the same. In other words, this feature enables modules with the same magnetic design to be used at a different frequency, and the receiver module output characteristic can be maintained the same simply by scaling the turns number accordingly. However, as shown in equation <NUM>, the core flux is proportional to the number of turns and current, thus keeping the current constant and varying the number of turns will vary the core flux, and hence the flux density. By substituting equation <NUM> into equation <NUM>, it can be shown that the flux in the core is varying proportional to √(fa/fb), which is equivalent to equation <NUM>. Thus, if the operating frequency is scaled down, the cross sectional area of the ferrite core may need to be increased to avoid ferrite saturation. An increase of cross sectional area is preferably done by increasing the thickness of the ferrite core so the magnetic reluctance path of the module remains nearly identical. <MAT> where Rm is the magnetic reluctance of the flux path.

The eddy current loss (Pe) and hysteresis loss (Ph) equations for the core are shown in equation <NUM> and <NUM> in units of W/m<NUM>. If the ferrite core cross sectional area are kept the same, the ratio of the eddy current loss and hysteresis loss for two different operating frequencies are given by equations <NUM> and <NUM>. <MAT> <MAT> where n is the Steinmetz coefficient for the material and is normally in the range of <NUM> - <NUM>. <MAT> <MAT>.

The above expressions suggest that for the same cross sectional area and volume, the hysteresis loss of the core will remain constant regardless of the frequency but the eddy current loss in the core will decrease proportionally to the decrease of operating frequency. As the overall power loss in a ferrite core is dominated by its hysteresis loss, most of the attributes, apart from the core flux density, of the charger pad will remain approximately the same with the operating frequency scaling process.

However, as discussed earlier the trade off of operating at a lower frequency is the increase of flux density in the core by √(fa/fb). Thus to accommodate the higher flux density the ferrite cross sectional area should be increased in order to keep the flux density the same. With this increased volume of ferrite and keeping the flux density constant, the power loss density in the ferrite core is expected to be lower as shown below. Equation <NUM> and <NUM> express the eddy current loss and hysteresis loss in terms of watt per m<NUM>, thus the total eddy current and hysteresis loss should take into account the ferrite volume (A*L) shown in equation <NUM> and <NUM> respectively. <MAT> where L is the length of the charger pad ferrite core length and is kept constant.

Referring to the example discussed earlier where a charger pad operating frequency was scaled from <NUM> to <NUM>, the ferrite area will need to be increased by a factor of <NUM> √(<NUM>/<NUM>) in order to keep the flux density the same. Thus the eddy current and hysteresis loss of the charger pad, operating at <NUM>, will be reduced by <NUM>% and <NUM>% respectively, compared with operating at <NUM> at the same core flux density.

Referring now to <FIG> a simulation of coupled power transfer modules will be described to provide an example of a possible exampleand its use. In this example a coupled system of power transfer modules is simulated with the receiver winding open circuited. <FIG> shows the arrangement of the ferrite core which is essentially <NUM> x <NUM> x <NUM> blocks of ferrite ground to give very close fitting, and then glued together. The ferrite is surrounded by an aluminium wall with an <NUM> gap between the ferrite and the aluminium, and is <NUM> above an aluminium backing plate. A flux plot for the driven pad (i.e. the pad connected to a power supply) is shown in <FIG> for the situation where there are two coils driven magnetically in series, electrically in parallel with a current of <NUM> A. In these circumstances the flux density midway through the ferrite is shown in <FIG>. As shown the "flux pipe" is very effective in carrying the flux from one end of the pad to the other. In particular, it can be seen from <FIG> that there is essentially no leakage flux beyond the region between the pads.

For coupled modules a cut-plane is shown in <FIG> and the other Figures use measurements along this cut-plane to illustrate the performance of the system. The flux lines at <NUM> spacing between pads are given in <FIG> and for <NUM> spacing in <FIG>. The flux density in the ferrite is shown in <FIG>. As the simulations show, the flux pipe efficiently carries flux from one end of the pad to the other and provides good magnetic coupling between the two pads. The flux density in the coupled pads is shown in <FIG>. The maximum flux density in the driven pad is approximately <NUM> T which is safely below the saturation for this ferrite. The flux density in the pick-up pad is lower but will increase substantially to about the same as the transmitter pad when the pick-up is resonated.

As with the module arrangement above, the modules of this embodiment use a high permeability core through which magnetic flux is conveyed in order to provide a desired flux path for use with a further arrangement of the same design. Coils which are substantially planar, i.e. flat, sit on top of the flux core. Thus there is no straight path through the core that passes through the coils. Ideally there should be two coils in close proximity to each other. The complete arrangement is shown in <FIG>. Referring to those Figures, in this arrangement the two coils <NUM> are essentailly touching along the centre line 17A, and may overlap slightly. The flux pipe <NUM>, comprising core <NUM>, extends to the ends of the coils <NUM>. The coils or windings <NUM> are flat, being substantially planar, and are arranged in substantially the same plane (i.e. are co-planar) on one side of the core <NUM>. In one example the core <NUM> is provided along the centre line of the coils <NUM> and should extend past the hole in the centre of each coil to at least the position indicated by A. The core <NUM> may extend under the coil <NUM> to position B or even further. The holes in the coils <NUM> act as pole areas which are the receiver/transmitters <NUM> and <NUM> for the primary or pick-up modules. In one example the core <NUM> is made of ferrite bars in strips (not shown in <FIG>), and air-gaps are acceptable between the strips to simplify manufacture. The ideal flux paths <NUM> are shown in <FIG> and are only on one side of the core <NUM> - the ideal situation. In principle there is ideally no flux out the back of the arrangement (i.e. on the side of the core <NUM> opposite to the side on which coils <NUM> are mounted) and therefore no aluminium screen is required. However, in practice a light screen may be used in some examples as errors and imperfections in the ferrite bars comprising the core <NUM> can cause small leakage fluxes that should be contained.

Inductive power transfer modules according to the arrangement described immediately above are very easy to use as the leakage flux from them is very small. They can be placed quite close to metallic objects without loss in performance, and they are largely unaffected by connecting wires etc..

In a further example it may be noted that the arrangement of the coils in a receiver or transmitter module mounted horizontally on a vehicle makes the pick-up, i.e. the receiver, sensitive to a first direction of the flux which is longitudinally directed (i.e. having a direction parallel to the core <NUM>, and being in the X-axis direction with reference to the drawings) with respect to the flux generator (the horizontally oriented transmitter module). To improve the magnetic coupling of the receiver with respect to misalignment, a "second" coil can be arranged that is sensitive to a second component of the flux that is substantially vertical with respect to the stationary transmitter.

<FIG> shows a further example of a receiver with a "horizontal" flux sensitive coil <NUM> now positioned in the centre and the outer two coils <NUM> connected out of phase to produce a second coil sensitive to the vertical component. This electrical connection is not shown clearly in <FIG> but is shown explicitly in <FIG>.

For the receiver of <FIG> a second flat coil <NUM> can also be placed above the core with one suitable arrangement shown in <FIG>, sensitive to the vertical component of the field. As in the original pick-up structure, this additional coil exists only on one side of the core <NUM> and therefore ideally maintains all of the flux lines on the side of the receiver directed towards the transmitter.

As shown in <FIG>, only the receiver is modified with a centre, or quadrature, coil <NUM>. This second coil is particularly sensitive to misalignment in the X-direction (i.e. the horizontal longitudinal direction), but not in the Y-direction (being the horizontal transverse direction perpendicular to the core <NUM>). This complements the original receiver which is sensitive to misalignment in the Y-direction, but which because of its structure is less sensitive to movement in the X-direction. The combined output of both receiver coils enhances the sensitivity of the receiver enabling the receiver to be positioned nominally in the ideal position and still couple the required power. <FIG> also show an arrangement of spaced ferrite rods or bars <NUM> that comprise core <NUM>.

As an example, the flux lines using the module design as shown in <FIG> without any form of compensation are shown in <FIG> with and without some misalignment. Here the transmitter and receiver are identical except for the addition of the second "vertical flux" coil (i.e. coil <NUM> of <FIG>) in the receiver. The transmitter and receiver both have length <NUM> and width <NUM> and are separated vertically by <NUM>. The current in the transmitting coil is <NUM> A at <NUM>. Notably the majority of the flux exists between the transmitter and receiver while a very small leakage flux is shown to exist outside this area. In <FIG> these flux lines couple the first receiver coil, while in <FIG> the majority of the flux lines couple the second receiving coil thereby enhancing the output power capability of the receiver.

In <FIG> the VA generated from the output of a receiver coils with and without misalignment is also shown. In <FIG> the total and separate VA contribution of receiver coils from a magnetic simulation of the modules shown in <FIG> is shown when the receiver is misaligned (relative to its ideal position centred above the transmitter) in the X direction. In <FIG> curve <NUM> represents the VA contribution of coil <NUM>, curve <NUM> represents the combined VA contribution of coils <NUM>, and the remaining curve represents the total form coils <NUM> and <NUM>. As noted the second coil <NUM> substantially enhances the output so that if a 2kW output were required at <NUM> X-offset the required electronic tuning must boost the VA output by around <NUM>. At <NUM> X-offset the required electronic boost (Q) without coil <NUM> is more than <NUM> times (which is practically difficult due to the sensitivity of the tuning required) whereas with coil <NUM> an effective boost of around <NUM> is required and that is easily achieved.

Coil <NUM> is not expected to be sensitive in the Y direction when the receiver is positioned with <NUM> offset in the X direction. This is verified in the magnetic simulations shown in <FIG> where there is shown to be no contribution to the total power from the coil <NUM>. This is however not required as the combined output of coils <NUM> is naturally sensitive in this direction. At <NUM> offset in the Y direction, a 2kW output is possible with an electronic tuning (Q) of around <NUM>.

In practice it is prudent to ensure that the voltage at the terminals of the module does not reach unsafe levels. Therefore in some examples, capacitance may be added in series with the windings inside the module to lower the inductance seen at the module terminals and therefore control the voltage at these terminals to be within suitable limits (say <NUM>-400V). Without this the terminal voltage could be several kV which is undesirable and potentially unsafe. The capacitance can be placed in series with the windings at any convenient place within the apparatus. Thus in some examples one or more capacitors can be placed in series with the windings at the terminal points inside the module housing, and in other examples capacitors can be distributed along the windings by breaking the winding into suitable sections with series capacitances in case the internal voltages on a single coil are ever too high.

There is also the practical issue of possible stray fields around the apparatus in use. Therefore, in some examples, steel or other absorbent material can be added to absorb stray fields. In the example of a power transfer module provided on a floor for transferring power to a receiver on a vehicle, a sheet of steel can be provided between the floor and the aluminium at the base of the module. In this way the steel (or other lossy metallic material or carbon fibre) absorbs stray fields to contain the peripheral unwanted magnetic fields to ensure that the apparatus is within ICNIRP standards (<NUM>. 25uT) - it absorbs a few watts but ensures that fields are not radiated outside the design area. Essentially the size of the aluminium plate and the dimensions of the steel or other lossy material can be adjusted to suit, and in areas where there are several modules, a single lossy sheet could be used and modules placed on it as required. Similarly, a module mounted on the underside of a vehicle for receiving power inductively may be mounted in such a way that steel in the vehicle body is used to absorb stray fields, or steel can be added as required to meet the ICNIRP standards.

Magnetic shielding may also be provided in or on the roadway or in or on the vehicle to absorb and thus curtail stray magnetic fields. Shielding may also be provided around the transmission and/or reception modules. Examples of appropriate shielding include lossy magnetic paint or materials loaded with appropriate metals, and in the roadway may include reinforcing steel.

In one example of the roadway powered electric vehicle system one or more power transmission modules are provided in a roadway unit that lies in a slot in the middle of a vehicle lane and is covered with a strong cover that allows the passage of magnetic fields through it but is easily able to take the weight and impact of large trucks and buses running over it. It will be appreciated that the cover may be an integral part of the unit or module. The cover or unit may be a ceramic material, or concrete.

In normal operation vehicles straddle these power transmission modules and power is transferred to appropriate receivers on the vehicles using the magnetic fields generated in each roadway power module. All the power from the power supplies to the power modules is conveyed by a fully insulated distribution line at 125A, at <NUM>. In the interests of safety the <NUM>-phase utility does not come on to the road. The <NUM> power output that does come on to the road has a relatively low fault current and is at a frequency where electric shocks to people are not possible. The system has several levels of insulation and three levels of isolation making it very safe.

Multiphase construction for wide lateral tolerance using a time varying rotating field.

In an alternative example for the roadway and in order to given wider lateral tolerance when driving along a highway, two or more power supplies can be used each rated between <NUM>-<NUM> kW and preferentially spaced at regular intervals <NUM> apart. Each supply is connected to a three phase utility supply at <NUM>/<NUM> <NUM>/<NUM> V per phase and drives approximately <NUM> meters. Here again each supply is designed to drive a current of approximately <NUM> A at a frequency of <NUM> in an unbroken track loop. In this second example however, the output of each power supply is synchronised (with the other supplies at each defined location), and controlled to ensure the phase of the output current has a predefined separation. In one example only a two phase system is desired to minimise the number of supplies/ tracks and controllers, and would then require the current in each transmission line to be controlled to be <NUM> degrees out of phase. If in some examples a three phase system were found to be desirable, then three power supplies and three transmission lines may be provided with the output currents of each synchronised in both frequency and phase where the phase of each current is controlled to be separated by <NUM> degrees.

As in the previous example, power modules <NUM> are inductively coupled to each transmission system <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. In the case of a two phase system (as preferred here) the coil and ferrite arrangement <NUM> of the power module <NUM> comprises two phase winding inductances (<NUM>) each having identical N turns made of Litz wire which are spaced and overlapped in bipolar fashion effectively resulting in four groups of wires spaced <NUM>, +<NUM>, +<NUM> and +<NUM> degrees electrically. In the example illustrated the four groups of wires are aligned transversely across the roadway i.e. in a direction from one side to the other. However, the groups of wires may in another, less preferred, example be directed longitudinally along the roadway i.e. parallel to the direction of travel along the roadway. Ferrite strips <NUM>, made by using pieces of ferrite placed end on end, are placed across the back of the power module upon which coils <NUM> are laid. The ferrite acts to both short circuit any other potential flux paths in the roadway while also enhancing the flux above the road, in a similar manner to that described above in relation to <FIG> and for the single phase power transfer module <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

Each phase winding <NUM> within module part <NUM> is driven from its own control circuit comprising an appropriate pick-up (inductively coupled and driven from one of the transmission wires), tuning and AC controller as described above for the single phase example. The module <NUM> may in some examples simply comprise part <NUM>, the control and tuning elements being provided separately. Also, in an alternative example, part <NUM> may be directly connected to a power supply i.e. not be inductively coupled to the phase separated power supplies.

In operation of the example shown in <FIG> the AC controllers drive identical tuned voltages across each circuit's parallel tuned capacitors <NUM>. In one example the multiphase module can be constructed to be nominally <NUM> to <NUM> wide, and have a length between <NUM> to <NUM> (although <NUM> long sections or larger may be suitable for some applications) the depth of such a module is also expected to be <NUM>-<NUM> depending on whether it is included in a roadway unit as described above in relation to the single phase example. Such a roadway module or unit would preferably be positioned along the highway centre, but in some applications could be placed across a complete lane.

Further examples of multiphase bipolar power pad constructions will now be described with reference to <FIG>. Although the general pad construction is similar to that described in <FIG>, different reference numerals are used for clarity of description.

Referring to <FIG>, a magnetic flux pad construction is shown. For convenience, this general construction is referred to herein as a DDP pad, and is generally referenced DDP where appropriate in connection with the drawing <FIG>.

The DDP pad shown in <FIG> generally comprises two substantially coplanar coils referenced <NUM> and <NUM> which are magnetically associated with and sit on top of, a core <NUM>. As can be seen from the drawing figure, the core <NUM> may consist of a plurality of individual lengths of permeable material such as ferrite strips or bars <NUM> which are arranged parallel to each other but spaced apart. The pad construction may include a plate <NUM> on which the core is located, and a lower spacer <NUM> below the plate. In some examples a cover <NUM> may be provided on the other surface of the flat coils <NUM> and <NUM>. Padding <NUM> may be provided about the periphery of the pad. As can be seen, the coils <NUM> and <NUM> each define a pole area <NUM> and <NUM> respectively. We found that this DDP pad construction as shown in <FIG> shows very good characteristics suitable for IPT power transfer applications such as vehicle charging. The coils <NUM>, <NUM> may be connected out of phase and driven by a single inverter to produce a stationary time varying magnetic field to couple to a receiver (which may for example be of substantially the same magnetic design) at distances suitable for electric vehicle power transfer with good coupling.

Turning now to <FIG>, the DDP construction of <FIG> is shown but further including a quadrature coil <NUM> which is referred to as appropriate in connection with <FIG> as a DDPQ pad. As described above, a quadrature coil extends the power transfer profile when there is lateral movement of the construction shown in <FIG> with respect to a flux generator such as the DDP pad of <FIG> when energised by an appropriate inverter. The quadrature coil allows power to be extracted from the "vertical" component of the magnetic field that the receiver pad intercepts while the other coils <NUM>, <NUM> facilitate power extraction from the "horizontal" component of the flux intercepted. Therefore, the construction of <FIG> is suited as a flux receiver.

Turning now to <FIG>, another construction is shown which is referred to in this document as a bi-polar pad or, alternatively, as a BPP pad. The BPP pad has a similar construction to the DDP pad discussed with respect to <FIG> and <FIG> above as it enables excellent coupling to secondary receivers at distances suitable for charging and powering of electric vehicles.

The pad BPP consists, from bottom up, of an aluminium plate <NUM>, a dielectric spacer <NUM>, a core <NUM> comprising four rows of ferrite bars <NUM> (referred to herein as ferrites), two flat substantially coplanar, yet overlapping and ideally "rectangular" shaped coils <NUM>, <NUM> (although in practice these are more oval due to the ease in winding Litz wire) spread out in the lateral direction, and a dielectric cover <NUM>. The BPP is shown in <FIG>, and Table A1 defines the actual dimensions investigated in simulation and for one experimental prototype.

The magnetic structure of the BPP is designed so that there is substantially no mutual coupling between either of the coils <NUM>, <NUM> in the primary, as described later. This allows the coils to be driven independently at any magnitude or phase without coupling voltage into each other which if present would oppose the power output of such a coil.

In one mode of operation, the two coils within the BPP can be driven using two separate but synchronised inverters operating with known current magnitude and phase difference. If the coils are completely magnetically decoupled ideally there will be no power transfer between the primary inverters to limit power transfer to the secondary receiver.

In one example the two inverters are synchronised but operated so as to produce currents with the same RMS magnitude, but operating <NUM> degrees out of phase in each of the coils <NUM>, <NUM>. (In a stationary application this would likely be two H bridge inverters with LCL structures tuned to resonance at the desired operating frequency the last L in each case being partially constructed using the pad inductance, where the primary inverters preferably have a common DC bus to simplify the input electronics from the mains. By having a <NUM>° phase separation between the currents in the coils <NUM>, <NUM>, a spatially varying and time varying magnetic field is created rather than the stationary time varying magnetic field of the DDP. This is shown in <FIG> in which the left column represents a DDP pad and the right column represents a BPP pad. The spatial variation in the field of the BPP and appears as a sliding movement in alternate directions between the poles of the coils <NUM>, <NUM>.

It should be noted that other phase and magnitudes variations could be used to shape the field if there is a need to reduce the field emissions on one side of the transmitter to avoid leakage during operation due to offset nature of the coupled receiver, for example to meet ICNIRP regulations. Thus the field may be directed in response to the output of a sensor for example. Also, the field strength may be time varying but spatially stationary dependent on where across the pad the field is required.

In a further example it is also possible to operate the coils <NUM>, <NUM><NUM> degrees out of phase so that they can be simply connected to one inverter (as in the DDP operation). This particular single phase operating mode is a second possible mode of operation to simplify the electronic control and power conversion that will produce a stationary time varying field as for the DDP.

As a means of comparison, the power transfer profile of a BPP with a sliding time varying magnetic field is evaluated against the power transfer profile of a DDP magnetic structure driven from a single phase primary supply at identical current and frequency (the dimensions of which are defined in Table A2. Both systems are evaluated under identical conditions being coupled to an identical DDQP receiver (i.e. a DDP pad including a quadrative coil such as that of <FIG> used as a flux receiver) at identical height and offsets (the dimensions of which are defined in Table A3).

Given the BPP creates what may be termed a sliding time varying magnetic field it is desirable to determine the preferred length of the four ferrite strips <NUM> used in its base above which the coils <NUM>, <NUM> are placed. As in the known DDP these ferrite strips <NUM> are used to enhance the power transfer and ensure that a predominately single sided flux field is created to best couple to the secondary power receiver, while ensuring that a minimal amount of ferrite is used to keep weight to a minimum and restrict the inductance of the pad. In such a sliding field it is shown that the ferrite strips should preferably extend under the winding coils otherwise the field may not be forced upwards towards the receiver.

In this evaluation the ferrite strips <NUM> were constructed using readily available slabs that are each a standard length of <NUM>. Each strip was conveniently chosen to be multiples of this length. Configurations with six (<NUM>), eight (<NUM>) and ten (<NUM>) slabs lumped together were investigated. In all designs (apart from the <NUM> slab ferrite configuration) the external dimensions of the pad size of the BPP are identical to the DDP enabling a fair comparison. The ten piece ferrite configuration however forces the overall length (in the x direction) of the transmitter ( or generator) pad to be increased beyond the standard length by <NUM> (compared to all other pads including the DDP configurations compared) and therefore is only included in evaluations to consider the impact of extensions to the ferrite beyond the coil dimensions. As indicated in Table A1 the distance between the ends of the two coils in all three BPP setups is identical although the overlap between the coils is set to that required to avoid mutual coupling arising between the primary coils.

When the two primary coils <NUM>, <NUM> of the BPP are placed with an arbitrary overlap with respect to each other, there will be a mutual coupling between the coils. However for a certain ratio of overlap to coil width, denoted ro, this mutual coupling is almost zero. The ideal overlap required to ensure no mutual coupling exists between each primary coil is not simple due the presence of the ferrite but can be determined by simply fixing one coil and energising this with a predetermined current at fixed frequency (either via a suitable 3D simulator or using a suitable experimental setup, for example). The open circuit voltage induced in the second primary coil can then be measured. If the second coil is moved so as to change the overlap there will be a change in coupled voltage. When this is minimised (ideally zero) the ideal configuration can be set. As shown in <FIG>, the optimal overlap is dependent on the length of the ferrite strips underneath the coils. For the six, eight and ten piece ferrite pad the overlapping ratio, r<NUM> was found to be <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> respectively.

The finite element solver JMAG Studio™ version <NUM> was used to simulate all proposed magnetic structures. Validation of the simulator outputs was confirmed by constructing a prototype BPP in the laboratory using ferrite strips comprised of six ferrite slabs in the base and compared against simulations. This scaled model used the external dimensions of table A1 for the BPP but simplified coils with only ten turns each to simplify the construction. The receiver was a DDQP as described in table A3. The comparison between measurement and simulation of <FIG> shows excellent correlation.

The power profiles given here are the total uncompensated VA power output which is determined using separate measurements of the receiver open circuit voltage (Voc) and short circuit current (Isc). The uncompensated VA is a well known measure of the power performance of a pad given by Su=Voc*Isc. The DDQP receiver has two sets of coils, the coils <NUM>, <NUM> (assuming they are in series) and the quadrature (Q) coil <NUM>. In this case the uncompensated power is found for both sets of coils separately and the total uncompensated power available from the pickup is referred to as the total power which is simply calculated as the sum of the power from the two sets of coils. It is this total power which underlies the power transfer profile.

The power transfer profile of each BPP design can therefore be confidently determined using 3D simulation and is shown in <FIG>. Here the BPP is excited with a <NUM> current with 23A rms while the receiver is the DDQP. The parameters governing their relative position are referred to as the offset distances, in Cartesian coordinates, that is: xos (lateral), yos (longitudinal) and zos (vertical). The configuration of the two pads lying on top of each other with their dielectric covers <NUM> touching is (<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>). The vertical offset zos is <NUM>.

Notably there is a significant increase in power when the ferrite under the coils is extended, and it is clear that the ferrite should extend at least under the entire coil <NUM>, <NUM> (BPP with eight ferrite slabs). The reason for the drastic increase in uncompensated power from the BPP as ferrite is added to its base, lies in the non-stationary nature of its magnetic field. The field close to the BPP pad can best be described as a sliding wave across the surface, unlike the DDP which pulsates up and down due to its single phase nature. This sliding nature, and fundamental difference, between the BPP and the single phased DDP, is clearly evident in <FIG>, where the magnetic flux density is compared phase by phase for half a period. In <FIG> field plots of both the BPP8 and DDP coupling to a DDQP receiver are shown, at various instances in time over a full cycle of the primary resonant current. From top to bottom shows <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> degrees (where in the bipolar the other phase is operated with <NUM> degree separation). The plots in the left column are for a BPP pad with <NUM> ferrite slabs. The plots in the right column are for a DDP pad. The flux from the single phase DDP pad pulsates up and down, having a very strong and confined flux centred over the pad, whereas the BPP has a more constant flux pattern-wise, but this pattern shifts over the surface of the pad like a sliding wave as the phase advances.

The sliding wave of the BPP gives rise to very localised high flux on the edge of pad, whereas the DDP pad keeps the strong flux in the centre of the pad. In the six piece version there is no ferrite under the ends of the coils, and the flux is not contained well enough by the dielectric filling material <NUM> (wood). It is therefore not radiated upwards, but rather inducing eddy currents in the aluminium base plate <NUM> of the pad. In <FIG> the three setups are compared for the same phase. <FIG> shows field plots for a BPP pad with six (top), eight (middle) and ten (bottom) slabs making up each ferrite strip in the base, in the presence of a vertical offset DDQP receiver at <NUM> degrees. The flux density appears qualitatively different, especially around the right edge where the flux density is high for the eight and ten ferrite setups, but not for the six ferrite setup. In the ten ferrite version, the flux is even better confined, with less of the field "wrapping around" the side of the track pad, again a factor responsible for decreasing the power transfer, since the field will not be pushed towards the pickup (i.e. the receiver pad) as desired.

The BPP with the eight ferrite slabs in each ferrite base strip (BPP8) is compared to the DDP in <FIG>. The power transfer profile of the BPP8 compared against the profile of the DDP reveals the very evident differences in shape and maximum. As configured, the BPP8 yields around <NUM>% of the DDP's maximum power and has similar power profile shapes. The power levels shown and coupling achieved is however sufficient to deliver suitable levels of power to an electric vehicle for example, at distances required for practical application and furthermore do not exhibit as significant a rate of change of variation of power around the peak with offset as that seen in the DDP power profile. This limited rate of charge of power is an advantage when considering power highway applications given there will not be severe fluctuations in power with lateral movement.

In an alternative and preferred example, bipolar pad <NUM> or other similar multiphase construction can be driven at higher frequency using one or more high frequency power supplies coupled to a single track <NUM> operating at <NUM>. <FIG> shows one possible example for a bipolar pad <NUM> where power is coupled at <NUM> from track <NUM> using receiver <NUM> and tuned using capacitors <NUM> and <NUM>. This parallel resonant circuit is then input to a rectifier which controls the voltage across capacitor <NUM> using DC inductor <NUM>, diode <NUM> and decoupling switch <NUM>. The DC voltage across capacitor <NUM> is then switched using two standard resonant inverters <NUM> operating at <NUM>, each driving an LCL converter resonant at <NUM> comprising elements <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and inductor <NUM> within the bipolar pad. Each inverter <NUM> would preferably be synchronized to drive current in the separate bipolar pad windings with <NUM> degrees phase shift as described earlier, although if required can vary the magnitude and or phase to suit.

If the windings of the bipolar pad are connected in series then it is also possible to operate this using a single inverter of the form shown in <FIG> to produce a single phase time varying field suitable for power coupling.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that using the topology shown in <FIG> allows a multiphase flux transmission pad or module to be provided without the expense of laying (and powering) more than one primary loop <NUM> along the roadway. Thus the topology is beneficial even if no frequency change is adopted.

On the vehicle (as shown in <FIG>) in one example one or more oval shaped power modules <NUM>, with their major dimension, being their width, across the road, are bolted or otherwise attached to the underside of the vehicle and pick up power inductively from the magnetic field generated by the single phase power modules <NUM> or multiphase power modules <NUM> (<FIG>). The module <NUM> may be provided as an integral part of the vehicle. In another example the module <NUM> may be provided such that its major dimension extends in the direction of travel of the vehicle, i.e. longitudinally aligned with the roadway.

The power received by power reception module <NUM> is then processed by an on-board controller <NUM> whose power demand is regulated by a master power controller <NUM> and used to maintain the batteries <NUM> on board the vehicle at a high state of charge. One or more electric motors on the vehicle take power from the battery to drive the vehicle. While the vehicle straddles the power modules the battery or batteries are easily maintained at essentially full charge, but the vehicle can go to other lanes to pass slower traffic or it can go off the inductive power roadway to a minor road where it is powered completely from the battery for as long as the battery can deliver the required power. Some battery management is required but in essence if the vehicle can make it back to the powered roadway then it can drive as required and over time its batteries will be fully recharged.

In the operation of the complete system the power modules only produce magnetic fields when a vehicle is over them at a field strength (power level) appropriate to the particular vehicle or vehicle category - at other times they are shut down by controller <NUM> (<FIG> and <FIG>) or by having their power supply (<NUM>) turned off, and there is no magnetic field present. For example, as a vehicle nears a power module an RFID tag (<NUM>) or other communication means can be used to tell the module controller in the roadway to turn on at the desired power level. A sensor <NUM> or communications receiver can be added within power module (<NUM>) to receive the required information and inform the controller. The power modules will either be turned off using a similar RFID tag or communications device (<NUM>) at the rear of the vehicle or after a certain elapsed time.

In this example each vehicle picks up power in proportion to the number of receiver modules that are situated underneath it, and the strength of the field from each roadway power module that each receiver is coupled to. If for example a receiver module that is capable of taking between <NUM>-8kW depending on the field from the transmitter module is placed under a vehicle then small vehicles with two such receiver modules may receive power between <NUM>-16kW while moving, whereas larger vehicles with four power modules may receive power at <NUM>-<NUM> kW while moving. Very large buses may receive power at in excess of <NUM> kW. At a speed of <NUM> mph (<NUM>/h) the power demand from a typical passenger car is approximately <NUM> WH / mile so that to maintain the battery charge requires a power of <NUM> kW. In these circumstances a vehicle equipped with two receiver modules will be able to drive and still charge at a <NUM> kW rate if the maximum power is demanded from each roadway power module. In consequence a vehicle battery's charge can be replaced while it is moving along the roadway. Smaller vehicles may require less power on average, and therefore demand a lower power rate from the transmitter modules while still coupling sufficient to charge the batteries on board. As noted, in one example the power modules are approximately <NUM> long (in the direction along the highway) and can be positioned relatively closely together so that four power modules enabling up to <NUM> kW output can easily fit under a <NUM> long vehicle. Thus the invention can provide high roadway power densities. The coils in the modules (both transmission and/or reception modules) may extend over greater (or lesser) distances than the <NUM> referred to above in the longitudinal direction. The transverse (width dimension) of the modules will typically be determined, at least in part, by the width of the vehicles that use the roadway. Coils that are longer in the longitudinal direction tend to increase coupling, but shorter longitudinal coil dimensions mean that there is more flexibility in terms of excitation of the coils for vehicles (especially different sizes of vehicle).

In one example, as a vehicle moves along the road, transmitter power modules keep switching on and off in synchronism with its movement, so that there is always power available for the vehicle, but the system losses are minimised. The transmission efficiency from the utility to the battery terminals is expected to exceed <NUM>%. Note that in one example the complete system is completely modular - all the transmission power modules and receiver power modules are respectively identical and a larger system simply uses more of the same. In practice the receiver power modules under the vehicle can be used with either a multiphase or single phase transmission power module array in the roadway.

At any point in time any particular power supply <NUM> may have a number of vehicles that it is driving. Under normal operation vehicles will normally drive with sufficient spacing (approximately <NUM> apart at 55mph (<NUM>/hr) assuming vehicles are separated with two seconds between vehicles). In consequence during such normal operation clusters of power transmission modules will be activated under each vehicle but no more than two vehicles would be on a <NUM> stretch of highway at one time. At slower speeds the level of traffic will increase so that in the case of severe traffic congestion where for example vehicles may be parked end to end, there could be as many as <NUM> vehicles on a <NUM> length of road each requesting charge and power for auxiliaries but not requiring any significant power for the drive motor. Under such conditions the RFID tag or similar device at the front of each vehicle will activate only a single power module and all other modules will be inactive because they will have either been turned off using the RFID tag at the rear of the vehicle or automatically after a certain elapsed time. In consequence under such worst case traffic congestion only every <NUM>th power transmission module along a roadway section will be activated (assuming power modules are stacked along the highway <NUM> per <NUM>) and power can be controlled to supply around 5kW to each vehicle (enabling power to on-board auxiliaries plus suitable charge rates as required by the batteries). In longer vehicles such as trucks/buses, more than one RFID tag could be used to enable two (or more) modules to be activated as required for higher charge rates.

If the number of vehicles powered by each supply is known then an optimisation program may be run to distribute the <NUM> kW of power available in the best possible way. For example if <NUM> trucks all demanding <NUM> kW are on the <NUM> they cannot all be charged but they could all be partially charged by reducing the charging rate to each vehicle to <NUM> kW or by charging any two at full power depending on which vehicles have the least charge in their batteries. This optimisation is very sophisticated and allows the IPT losses to be minimised while charging the load mix in the best possible way. Thus in one example the controllers <NUM> form part of a larger control arrangement (not shown). For example, a controller may be associated with each power supply (i.e. each <NUM> loop), receiving information as to the number of vehicles, and category of each vehicle, on the roadway section. That controller can then implement a control strategy to instruct controllers <NUM> to activate in a manner such that the available power is effectively distributed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the controller (and/or controllers <NUM>) may communicate or at least receive information from the vehicles on the roadway as to their power requirements. For example the controller could supply more power to a vehicle that indicates it has a very low battery charge condition, or to an emergency services vehicle.

The power control on the vehicle side is achieved as shown in <FIG> and uses an AC controller <NUM>. This form of controller may be of substatially the same topology or operating principle as the controller described earlier in this document as controller <NUM>.

In one example the structure of the receiver module is as described above in relation to the power transfer modules. The two coupled windings (110A and 110B) of <FIG> preferably are added in series (but may alternatively be connected in parallel) to produce an output that is compensated using one or more capacitors to be resonant at the frequency of the power supply. A suitable decoupling controller which can be controlled to provide the required power to charge a battery on board a vehicle is used, such as that described in <CIT> the contents of which are included herein by reference. While in some applications it may be possible to use any of the decoupling controllers for power control, in a preferred example AC controller <NUM> is used for this purpose as this circuit has minimal switching loss during operation and it also enables the voltage across the resonant tuning capacitor <NUM> to be directly controlled. Controller <NUM> is equivalent to controller <NUM> referred to with respect to <FIG>. Thus power control to the battery can be accurately and safely regulated despite variations in mutual coupling between the transmitter module in the roadway and the receiver module in the vehicle as a result of misalignment with respect to the centre line of a lane due to movement while driving, and also due to variations in separation between the roadway surface and the underside of the vehicle due to on fluctuations in board weight, height of the vehicle or imperfections in the roadway surface. Such a controller is shown in <FIG>. Capacitors <NUM> and <NUM> are used together with coil 110A and 110B to design the output current and voltage of the tuned system. Switch <NUM> is controlled using controller <NUM> to vary the voltage across <NUM>. Saturable inductor <NUM> is used for over-voltage protection in case of transient surges above the normal operating range. The controlled AC voltages are rectified using <NUM> and filtered using inductor <NUM> before being output to the battery. As described earlier the battery management system can communicate with the controller <NUM> to request variation in the current and voltage to the battery terminals using standard communications protocols such as CAN bus. Thus the vehicle power controller controls the quantity of power received by the vehicle dependent on the power available to the vehicle, the instantaneous power requirements of the vehicle, and the state of charge of a battery associated with the vehicle.

In a second example a third coil may be added to the vehicle module in quadrature with the other coils, the structure of which is described above with reference to <FIG>. The purpose of this third coil is to provide additional lateral tolerance to vehicle movement during driving or for stationary alignment at known charging points. As shown in <FIG> a separate controller <NUM> can be used to separately regulate the power output from this quadrature coil 101C. The combination of both circuits significantly enhances the lateral tolerance of the vehicle module to any movement from the centre line as indicated from the uncompensated power profile of the horizontal field coils 101A and 101B (blue) and vertical field coil 101C (green) shown in <FIG>.

During operation the controller <NUM> on the quadrature coil is kept in a short circuit (decoupled) condition and remains unused until the short circuit current is shown to be sufficiently high (above a predefined threshold) that it will provide power. In consequence any losses that might otherwise occur from resonant currents circulating in the tuned AC resonant circuit are essentially eliminated until power is available to be drawn from the circuit. In regions where the horizontal coils (101A and 101B) are found to contribute little or no power, this controller can also be decoupled from the circuit thereby ensuring that the efficiency of the power control is maintained high. This power control is shown in concept in <FIG>.

Referring again to <FIG>, it may also be desirable to operate a decoupling switch at the output of DC inductor <NUM> and to diode connect the output to the battery. Under such operation, AC switch <NUM> is only required to decouple the horizontal or vertical flux receiver if the coupled power of the vehicle pad is too low to be able to couple power efficiently from that coil.

The selection of the receiver module on the vehicle side does not limit the choice of the roadway configuration. Either option as described above can be used with either the single phase roadway module as described in <FIG> or the multiphase system as described in <FIG>. For multiphase roadway module systems the lateral tolerance of the receiving coil is already improved due to the nature of the rotating time varying fields produced above the roadway surface, however the addition of the quadrature coil on the vehicle module can also improve the power profile with misalignment. Here the combined power output of the receiver with both horizontal and quadrature coils is always superior to that of a receiver with just the horizontal coils, particularly if the quadrature coil diameter is chosen to be similar to the diameter of the phase coils in the roadway and in consequence if such a system is chosen it may be desirable to operate both outputs continuously independent of misalignment. In practice the best system option will need to be chosen based on a number of factors including cost, efficiency, complexity and weight, amongst others.

As mentioned above, the AC power transfer and control methods disclosed earlier in this document with reference to controller <NUM> may also be used to provide a DC output. The operation and advantages of this approach are now discussed further with reference to <FIG>. Most simply as shown in <FIG> a bridge rectifier and DC inductor may be added to give a DC output voltage while retaining the same characteristics as the AC output circuit. In these circumstances four extra diodes are needed for the bridge rectifier. In many applications this circuit has little or no advantage compared with a conventional IPT circuit with a decoupling controller on the DC side of the circuit but there is one particular application where this circuit is highly beneficial. In the charging of electric vehicles across a large air gap a design objective might be to achieve an output power of perhaps <NUM> kW across a large air gap. A problem now arises if the air gap is significantly reduced so that the coupled voltage may be much larger than when operating under normal conditions. Such variations must be expected - for example the vehicle might have a flat tyre or it may be under repair with the receiving module (i.e. the pick-up coil arrangement) parked on top of the floor module (the primary coil arrangement connected to a power supply) to charge the battery. Here the induced open circuit voltage may be <NUM>-<NUM> times larger than the normal value and the short-circuit current of the pick-up coil will likewise be <NUM>-<NUM> times larger. The disclosed circuit can be turned down by changing the angle θ to a value approaching <NUM> degrees to control the power flow to one that can be sustained by the power supply of the system. The current in the pick-up coil, the voltage across the tuning capacitors, and the current in the rectifier and the DC inductor all remain essentially at their rated values and there is no damage incurred. However with a conventional controller (such as that disclosed in <CIT>) the short circuit current would be <NUM>-<NUM> times larger and this current would flow through the rectifier, DC inductor, and the switch and would significantly stress these components. To increase the current ratings of these devices by four times may not be a practical proposition as the physical size of the DC inductor in the circuit will be greatly increased.

The circuit of <FIG> may also be redrawn as in <FIG> where the rectifier now works in conjunction with the switches and only two extra diodes are needed instead of a diode bridge. This circuit allows the use of the inverse parallel diodes in the MOSFETS so that the diode count can be reduced to be the same as in the original AC circuit. Note that the diodes in the MOSFETs switch the resonating current which may be quite large while the other diodes switch the DC output current which is a lot smaller so that the two extra diodes are much smaller than the diodes in the conceptual circuit of <FIG>. As shown this circuit can have a DC and an AC output at the same time but these are not independently controllable. They do however provide a reference that may be grounded (as shown) so that both switches can be driven from a common low voltage power supply.

The system as described is not limited to powering a vehicle while moving along a highway. Suitable power modules can be placed alongside a roadway in any parking location such as a garage at home or at work, or any open parking location. In such applications only one power module may be required which can be powered from a smaller resonant supply connected to either single or three phase mains depending on the power demand required. For such stationary charging systems, a double coupled system as described in <FIG> may be unnecessary. Instead a small power supply may be used to directly energise and control the field from a single power module on the ground.

In home based charging systems a low cost charging system is likely preferred and with the potential deployment of many thousands of vehicles around a city charging systems between <NUM>-5kW is likely to be preferred by energy providers, and will meet the charging needs of most consumers when combined with the highway charge system described.

Thus in practice, most households will utilise a single phase mains charging system to provide around 2kW to a stationary vehicle and this can be used to deliver charge as soon as a vehicle parks above the module with suitable alignment. In areas where three phase mains is available, 5kW or higher charging stations can be created, simply by using a larger power supply and a ground based transmitter module designed to provide this power level. The electronics and receiver modules on board the vehicle are compatible with either system and can (using suitable communications means) request a lower power level from the roadway stationary charging system based on pricing or demand where higher power is available than required. Independent of the available power the on-board power controller will regulate the power delivered so that only that power which can be accepted by the battery will be provided for charging.

Claim 1:
An electric vehicle inductive power system for use with a primary conductive path (<NUM>) associated with a roadway over which vehicles may travel, the inductive power system comprising:
a plurality of power transmission modules (<NUM>) adapted to be placed in or on the roadway relative to the primary conductive path (<NUM>) so as to be inductively coupled to the primary conductive path (<NUM>), each power transmission module (<NUM>) being arranged to wirelessly receive power from the primary conductive path (<NUM>); and
each power transmission module (<NUM>) comprising a first coil (<NUM>) for receiving power wirelessly at a first frequency from the primary conductive path (<NUM>), and a second coil (<NUM>) operable to supply power wirelessly at a second frequency which is different to the first frequency to at least one electric vehicle when the at least one electric vehicle is on the roadway and near the power transmission module to receive power therefrom.