Patent Description:
This patent application describes a wireless power transfer coil assembly as it pertains to wireless charging through use of magnetic resonant induction. The wireless power transfer coil assembly described herein can be used as part of the sending or as part of the receiving wireless power transfer apparatus.

Resonant induction wireless charging makes use of an air core transformer consisting of two concentric coils displaced along a common coil axis. Electrical power is sent from the sending apparatus to the receiving apparatus by means of magnetic flux linkage between the two transfer coils. A high frequency alternating current flowing in the primary coil induces an alternating current into the secondary coil.

As the wireless power transfer operating frequency is significantly higher than line frequency, typically <NUM> and higher, solid wire has significantly elevated AC losses with respect to direct current due to the skin effect. In order to limit AC resistance, wireless power transfer coil conductors are typically implemented as multiple, independently insulated small diameter conductors connected in parallel, generally gathered together into a rope lay configuration. Wire of this type is referred to as Litz wire. Litz wire has a number of disadvantages in this application. Litz wire has poor utilization of cross-sectional area due to void space between the individual wires and also due to the significant portion of the cross-section occupied by individual wire insulation. The insulation and void space volumes make heat removal from the Litz bundle interior difficult. Finally, Litz wire is costly and assembly operations involving Litz wire especially wire forming and connector attachment are labor intensive.

A method of designing and constructing resonant induction transfer coils that avoids the disadvantageous use of Litz wire is desired.

<CIT> concerns a coil component that includes: an insulating resin layer provided between a first planar spiral conductor formed on a back surface of a first substrate and a second planar spiral conductor formed on a back surface of a second substrate; an upper core covering a third planar spiral conductor formed on a front surface of the first substrate on which the insulating resin layer is formed; and a lower core covering a fourth planar spiral conductor formed on a front surface of the second substrate on which the insulating resin layer is formed. Similarly, <CIT> describes a power transmission device having a surface a part of which defines a power transmission plane. The device is suitable for the wireless charging of mobile devices within vehicles. The device includes: a power transmission coil structure including 2N planar coils laminated in a perpendicular direction to the power transmission plane and wirelessly transmitting AC power to a power receiving device via the power transmission plane and being disposed on a side toward the power transmission plane; and a magnetic substance disposed on a side of the power transmission coil opposite from the power transmission plane, wherein the 2N planar coils constitute coil groups including a coil group in which an i'th closest planar coil to the power transmission plane out of the 2N planar coils and the i'th-closest planar coil to the magnetic substance out of the 2N planar coils are connected in series, and the coil groups are connected in parallel to each other. <CIT> describes a parallel-trace spiral coil comprising a plurality of electrically-isolated, parallel connected metal traces with high Q factor for use in bio-medical implants.

The invention is a resonant induction wireless power transfer coil as defined in the appended claims.

A resonant induction, wireless power transfer coil includes a printed circuit board backed by a layer of flux guiding ferrite magnetic material inside a weatherproof enclosure. Additional components include resonating capacitors, rectifiers and post-rectification ripple filters that are included in the weatherproof enclosure. The multiple, independent individual printed circuit board traces correspond to the multiple independent Litz wire conductors present in conventional transfer coils. Trace width is selected to minimize conductor eddy currents and proximity effects. The overall trace pattern insures current sharing among multiple traces. The resulting planar spiral inductor described herein has low AC resistance and can be easily and inexpensively manufactured as a conventional printed circuit board.

Sample embodiments include a resonant induction wireless power transfer coil including a 2n-layer coil stack, where n is a positive integer. The 2n-layer coil stack includes a dielectric connected to operate in a differential mode and having a first side and a second side, a first conductor pattern including a first plurality of conductors wound in a spiral on the first side of the dielectric to provide a forward current path conductor, and a second conductor pattern comprising a second plurality of conductors wound in a spiral on the second side of the dielectric to provide a return current path conductor. The second conductor pattern is aligned with the first conductor pattern whereby the second conductor pattern reinforces magnetic flux generated by the first conductor pattern. The first and second conductor patterns are placed relative to one another so as to provide flux transmission in a same direction, and a capacitance between each layer of the coil stack is selected such that the 2n-layer coil stack is self-resonating at a designed self-resonating frequency fr = <NUM>÷(2π√(LC)) that is being used for wireless power transfer with another wireless power coil of a wireless power transfer apparatus, where L= equivalent coil inductance of the 2n-layer coil stack and C = equivalent capacitance of the 2n-layer coil stack. The 2n-layer coil stack is characterised in that the first and second conductor patterns are not directly electrically connected.

The dielectric may comprise a printed circuit board having a first side and a second side, the first conductor pattern comprising a first plurality of conductors wound in a spiral on the first side of the printed circuit board, and the second conductor pattern comprising a second plurality of conductors wound in a spiral on the second side of the printed circuit board. At least one electrical connection may be provided to electrically connect respective conductors of the first and second conductor patterns. The electrical connections may comprise at least one throughhole through the printed circuit board or at least one or more of a clamp, a lug, and a terminal. The throughholes may also be plated offset throughholes.

The first and second conductor patterns may comprise at least <NUM> turns of conductor configured as a square, flat planar spiral and the first and second plurality of conductors may each comprise at least two independent conductors.

The trace thickness is limited by the skin depth at the operating frequency as it contributes to AC resistance. Skin depth δ at a resonant induction wireless power operating frequency is given by <MAT> where σ is a conductor resistivity in Ohm-Meters, ω is the operating frequency in radians per second, and µ is a magnetic permeability of the conductor.

The trace width is limited by the allowable conductor eddy currents. Eddy current losses for a conductive element in a uniform magnetic field are <MAT>; where B is the peak magnetic field, d is the smallest dimension of the conductive element perpendicular to the magnetic field vector, f is the operating frequency in Hz, ρ is the resistivity of the conductive element and P is power dissipation per unit volume. Trace-to-trace spacing is minimized to manufacturing capability as voltage between traces are close to zero. Turn-to-turn proximity effects minimize trace-to-trace proximity effects. Turn-to-turn spacing is minimized to the limits allowed by turn-to-turn voltage.

The wireless power transfer coil may further include coil terminals and associated throughholes in the center of the first and second conductor patterns or at an outer edge of the first and second conductor patterns and an outer edge of the printed circuit board.

The wireless power transfer coil also may comprise a multi-layer coil stack comprising 2n layers having the first and second conductor patterns, where n is a positive integer. In a first configuration, where n=<NUM>, the multi-layer coil stack comprises a first conductor pattern providing a forward current path conductor, a second conductor pattern providing a return current path conductor, and a dielectric connected to operate in a differential mode that is provided between the first conductor pattern and the second conductor pattern.

In an embodiment, where n=<NUM>, the multi-layer coil stack respectively comprises a first conductor pattern providing a forward current path conductor, a second conductor pattern providing a return current path conductor, a third conductor pattern providing a forward current path conductor, a fourth conductor pattern providing a return current path conductor, a first dielectric provided between the first conductor pattern and the second conductor pattern connected to operate in a differential mode, a second differential mode dielectric provided between the third conductor pattern and the fourth conductor pattern connected to operate in a differential mode, and a third differential mode dielectric provided between the second conductor pattern and the third conductor pattern connected to operate in a differential mode.

In an alternate embodiment, where n=<NUM>, the multi-layer coil stack respectively comprises a first conductor pattern providing a forward current path conductor, a second conductor pattern providing a return current path conductor, a third conductor pattern providing a return current path conductor, a fourth conductor pattern providing a forward current path conductor, a first dielectric provided between the first conductor pattern and the second conductor pattern connected to operate in a differential mode, a second dielectric provided between the third conductor pattern and the fourth conductor pattern connected to operate in a differential mode, and a third dielectric provided between the second conductor pattern and the third conductor pattern connected to operate in a common mode.

In still another embodiment, where n=<NUM>, the multi-layer coil stack respectively comprises a first conductor pattern providing a first forward current path conductor, a second conductor pattern providing a second forward current path conductor, a third conductor pattern providing a first return current path conductor, a fourth conductor pattern providing a second return current path conductor, a first dielectric provided between the first conductor pattern and the second conductor pattern connected to operate in a common mode, a second dielectric provided between the third conductor pattern and the fourth conductor pattern connected to operate in a common mode, and a third dielectric provided between the second conductor pattern and the third conductor pattern connected to operate in a differential mode.

The multi-layer coil stack may further include terminals implemented as independent tabs offset along an edge of each printed circuit board to facilitate connection to independent terminal pairs of respective conductor patterns of each printed circuit board. Vias or terminals may also be provided to connect respective conductor patterns through a middle of the respective boards. Second terminals may also be implemented as independent tabs offset along a center of each printed circuit board to facilitate connection to independent terminal pairs of respective conductor patterns of each printed circuit board.

The terminals may be implemented as independent tabs offset along a center of each printed circuit board to facilitate connection to independent terminal pairs of respective conductor patterns of each printed circuit board. The vias or terminals may connect respective conductor patterns through an outer edge of the respective circuit boards.

The dielectrics connected to operate in a differential mode should be able to withstand the maximum voltage difference between conductors. In sample embodiments, the dielectrics connected to operate in a common mode may be minimized to manufacturing tolerances because voltages across the dielectrics connected to operate in a common mode are close to zero.

The wireless power transfer coil may be incorporated into a wireless power transfer coil assembly further including an enclosure, a ferrite layer, and an eddy current shield. The wireless power transfer coil, ferrite layer, and eddy current shield may be disposed in parallel within the enclosure.

The ferrite layer may comprise a ferrite backing layer bonded to ferrite bars, tiles, or plates of constant thickness so as to hold the ferrite bars together as a single assembly wherein a tiling density of the ferrite is continuous or near continuous near a center of the wireless power transfer coil and the tiling density is reduced progressively as a perimeter of the wireless power transfer coil is approached. Alternatively, the ferrite layer may comprise a composite magnetic structure including ferrite powder combined with a binding material and injection molded to form a composite ferrite layer that is thicker at a center thereof and thinner at a perimeter thereof. On the other hand, the eddy current shield may comprise an electrically conductive sheet or a conductive film deposited on a dielectric substrate that is adapted to intercept and dissipate residual magnetic flux not diverted by the ferrite layer. The assembly may also include mechanically conformal, electrically non-conductive layers disposed between the enclosure and the wireless power transfer coil, between the wireless power transfer coil and the ferrite layer, and between the ferrite layer and the eddy current shield. These electrically non-conductive layers are adapted to provide mechanical support, heat removal, and physical spacing for the wireless power transfer coil and the ferrite layer.

The enclosure may further include an enclosed volume containing power control, communication, and/or sensor electronics. The circuitry may include resonating capacitors, power control circuitry, communications circuitry, and circuitry adapted to provide object detection functions. The resonating capacitors may be in the form of a thin, multi-layer, metalized dielectric sheet implemented as an additional layer located between the ferrite layer and the enclosure. Alternatively, the resonating capacitors may be in the form of thin, large area metalized dielectric films located on a low field intensity side of the ferrite layer.

At least two of the wireless power transfer coils may be stacked and connected in parallel to increase winding ampacity or stacked and connected in series to increase winding inductance.

A sensor aperture may be located at a center of the wireless power transfer coil and includes sensor electronics while allowing for bi-directional passage of sensor or communications signals to/from respective sides of the wireless power transfer coil assembly. The sensor electronics may include a light pipe, acoustic waveguide, electromagnetic waveguide, or dielectric waveguide for sensing and communications. Also, the electromagnetic waveguide may have high-pass or bandpass frequency selective surfaces adapted to avoid the generation of eddy currents. In addition, the dielectric waveguide may be implemented as a single wire Goubau transmission line that is adapted to avoid eddy current generation.

In certain embodiments, the first conductor pattern may be a flat spiral of conductive tape having a thickness that is no thicker than four times a skin depth of the first conductor pattern at an operating frequency, where skin depth δ at a resonant induction wireless power operating frequency is given by <MAT> where σ is a conductor resistivity in Ohm-Meters, ω is the operating frequency in radians per second, and µ is a magnetic permeability of the conductor.

The wireless power transfer coil assembly and associated method described herein may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying figures and examples, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this description is not limited to the specific products, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of any claimed subject matter. Similarly, any description as to a possible mechanism or mode of action or reason for improvement is meant to be illustrative only, and the subject matter described herein is not to be constrained by the correctness or incorrectness of any such suggested mechanism or mode of action or reason for improvement. Throughout this text, it is recognized that the descriptions refer both to methods and systems/software for implementing such methods.

A detailed description of embodiments of the invention, and arrangements that are not embodiments, will now be described with reference to <FIG>. Although this description provides a detailed example of possible implementations, it should be noted that these details are intended to be exemplary and in no way delimit the scope of the inventive subject matter.

<FIG> is a representation of a non-self-resonating coil structure including a center-fed double sided, printed circuit board resonant induction wireless power transfer coil having <NUM>¼ turns configured as a square, flat, planar spiral. The wireless power transfer coil may have at least <NUM> turns. <FIG> shows the top side conductor pattern <NUM> comprised of four independent conductors, although two or more independent conductors may be used. <FIG> shows the bottom side conductor pattern <NUM> as seen looking through the printed circuit board. The bottom side conductor pattern <NUM> is the same as the top side conductor pattern flipped left to right along the vertical centerline and rotated <NUM> degrees clockwise. It will be appreciated that the conductor patterns <NUM>, <NUM> do not need to be identical and flipped. However, the top side conductor pattern <NUM> and bottom side conductor pattern <NUM> should sufficiently align to maximize magnetic flux generation by reinforcing the flux generated by each pattern by the other. <FIG> shows the superimposed top side and bottom side patterns <NUM>. Plated through holes <NUM> (also commonly known as vias) may electrically connect the top <NUM> and bottom <NUM> trace patterns. Coil terminals and associated plated through holes <NUM> are shown at the center of the coil <NUM>. Connection to off board components such as coil resonating capacitors may be accomplished by means of multiple, parallel but independent conductors thereby extending the advantageous planar multiple independent conductor structure. For a self-resonating coil, terminals <NUM> are connected directly to power, where in the non-self-resonating coil, the terminals connect to the resonating capacitors. Also, in alternate arrangements, connection between the top and bottom layers <NUM>, <NUM> may be implemented as electrical structures such as a clamp, lug, or terminal instead of the plated through holes <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, top side conductors are placed directly over the corresponding bottom side conductors where possible as such placement allows uniform flux transmission and the top and bottom windings intercept the same flux distribution. The result is a symmetrical flat spiral inductor <NUM> having two layers and a total of <NUM>½ turns. Because current flows in the same direction in the top <NUM> and the bottom <NUM> sections, magnetic flux generated by the top and bottom layers is reinforced. In this example, if current is fed into the top conductor layer terminals <NUM>, the current flow is in the clockwise direction when looking through the board from the top. Current fed into the bottom conductor layer terminals <NUM> results in a counter-clockwise current flow. Connecting the top and bottom spirals doubles the number of turns and increases the total inductance by a factor of four.

<FIG> is an example of a non-self-resonating coil structure including an outer-edge fed, double-sided, printed circuit board, resonant induction wireless power transfer coil having <NUM>¼ turns configured as a square, flat, planar spiral. the wireless power transfer coil may have at least <NUM> turns. <FIG> shows the top side conductor pattern <NUM> comprised of four independent conductors, although two or more independent conductors may be used. <FIG> shows the bottom side conductor pattern <NUM> as seen looking through the printed circuit board. The bottom side conductor pattern <NUM> is the same as the top side conductor pattern flipped left to right along the vertical centerline and rotated <NUM> degrees clockwise. It will be appreciated that the conductor patterns <NUM>, <NUM> do not need to be identical and flipped. <FIG> shows the superimposed top side and bottom side patterns <NUM>. Plated through holes <NUM> (also commonly known as vias) may electrically connect the top <NUM> and bottom <NUM> trace patterns. Coil terminals and associated plated through holes <NUM> are shown at the outer corner of the coil <NUM>. Connection to off board components such as coil resonating capacitors may be accomplished by means of multiple, parallel but independent conductors <NUM> thereby extending the advantageous planar multiple independent conductor structure. For a self-resonating coil, terminals <NUM> are connected directly to power, where in the non-self-resonating coil, the terminals connect to the resonating capacitors. Also, the connection between the top and bottom layers may be implemented as an electrical structure such as a clamp, lug, or terminal instead of the plated through holes <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, top side conductors <NUM> are placed directly over the corresponding bottom side conductors <NUM> where possible as such placement allows uniform flux transmission and the top and bottom windings intercept the same flux distribution. The result is a symmetrical flat spiral inductor <NUM> having two layers and a total of <NUM>½ turns. Because current flows in the same direction in the top <NUM> and the bottom <NUM> sections, magnetic flux generated by the top and bottom layers is reinforced. In this example, if current is fed into the top conductor layer terminals <NUM>, the current flow is in the counter-clockwise direction when looking through the board from the top. Current fed into the bottom conductor layer terminals <NUM> results in a clockwise current flow. Connecting the top and bottom spirals doubles the number of turns and increases the total inductance by a factor of four.

In the arrangements of <FIG> and <FIG>, the number of traces operated in parallel to constitute a single winding conductor is determined by the operating frequency, the trace material conductivity, and the operating current. Narrow trace widths limit conductor eddy currents in the trace width dimensions and also maintain uniform current density across the individual trace cross-sections. Eddy current losses for a conductive element in a uniform magnetic field are <MAT>; where B is the peak magnetic field, d is the smallest dimension of the conductive element perpendicular to the magnetic field vector, f is the operating frequency in Hz, ρ is the resistivity of the conductive element, and P is power dissipation per unit volume.

Trace thickness is limited by the skin depth at the operating frequency as it contributes to AC resistance. Skin depth δ at typical resonant induction wireless power frequencies is given by δ= √(2σ/ωµ) where σ is the conductor resistivity in Ohm-Meters, ω is the operating frequency in radians per second and µ is the magnetic permeability of the trace material.

The number of parallel traces is determined by the operating current and the ampacity of the trace for the specified trace cross-sectional area and environmental conditions. <FIG> and <FIG> show arrangements using <NUM> parallel conductors but any number may be used. Adjacent trace-to-trace separation distance within a turn ensemble can be small, limited only by printed circuit board manufacturing design rules as trace-to-adjacent-trace voltages within the same ensemble are near zero. Turn-to-turn spacing between conductor ensembles must be sufficient to provide adequate voltage isolation between adjacent turns. Turn-to-turn voltage is proportional to the ratio of the turn diameters. The printed circuit board dielectric layer thickness should be sufficient to prohibit dielectric breakdown.

The longer outer conductors of the top side conductor pattern <NUM> are connected to the shorter inside conductors of the bottom side conductor pattern <NUM>. Swapping conductors from inside to outside in this fashion equalizes conductor length and inductance. Equalized length and inductance equalizes resistance and reactance, which equalizes current distribution between conductors. Top side and bottom side conductors are superimposed. Magnetic flux flows through the inter-conductor gaps. In certain arrangements, all conductor traces are of equal length.

As will be discussed below, the two-layer structure depicted in <FIG> and <FIG> can be extended to 2n-layers, where n is any positive integer value. The 2n-layer coil structure can be made to be self-resonating by designing the capacitance between coil layers, such that self-resonating frequency, <MAT>, where L= equivalent coil inductance and C= equivalent capacitance of coil structure. For a self-resonating coil structure, coil terminals and plated through holes <NUM> are connected directly to power.

<FIG> is a representation of a multi-layer, multi-conductor pair, edge terminated coil. <FIG> depicts an eight-layer stack up of individual coils that are roughly <NUM>¼ to <NUM>½ turns each. Conductor pattern <NUM> is the top layer (layer <NUM>), <NUM> is layer <NUM>, <NUM> is layer <NUM>, <NUM> is layer <NUM>, <NUM> is layer <NUM>, <NUM> is layer <NUM>, <NUM> is layer <NUM>, and <NUM> is the bottom layer (layer <NUM>). Conductor pairs <NUM> and <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> follow the same criteria as depicted in <FIG>. Coil terminals <NUM> of <FIG> receive input signals and coil terminals <NUM> of <FIG> provide output signals for a clockwise current configuration. Plated through holes <NUM> may comprise blind and/or buried vias that connect certain layers while isolating other layers, depending on coil configuration. It will be appreciated that the plated through holes <NUM> need not all fall directly on top of one another. Individual paired connections may be offset with independent plated through hole <NUM> patterns. An arrangement showing offset plated through holes <NUM> is depicted in <FIG>.

<FIG> is the composite eight-layer stack up looking through the printed circuit board or laminate assembly from the top side. Conductor pattern <NUM> is the superposition of patterns <NUM>-<NUM>. In this arrangement, plated through holes <NUM> pass current between layers. Coil terminals <NUM> all lie on the outer edge of the coil assembly. In an alternative arrangement, an opening in the center of the coil structure may be provided that would allow current to be passed between layer pairs by means of an electrically conductive clamping mechanism.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the coil stack of <FIG> may be provided within a multi-laminated assembly that could be implemented as a printed circuit board (PCB).

<FIG> shows a cross-sectional view of four sample multi-layer coil stacks comprising 2n layers, where "n" can be any positive integer. The conductor patterns depicted in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> can apply to the cross-sections depicted in <FIG>.

<FIG> shows a basic two-layer case (n=<NUM>), where <NUM> is the forward current path conductor, <NUM> is the return current path conductor, and <NUM> is the differential mode dielectric.

<FIG> shows the basic four-layer case (n=<NUM>), where again <NUM> is the forward current path conductor, <NUM> is the return current path conductor, and <NUM> is the differential mode dielectric. The arrangement of <FIG> is essentially a stack-up of two, two-layer panels depicted in <FIG> with an additional differential mode dielectric layer <NUM> in between. This implementation includes alternating forward and return current path conductors. To extend <FIG> to six layers or more (n=<NUM>+), the pattern <NUM> which includes a differential mode dielectric <NUM>, forward current path conductor <NUM>, a differential mode dielectric <NUM>, and return current path conductor <NUM> is repeated.

<FIG> shows a basic four-layer case (n=<NUM>), where again <NUM> is the forward current path conductor, <NUM> is the return current path conductor, <NUM> is the differential mode dielectric, and <NUM> is a common mode dielectric layer. This configuration is similar to <FIG> except that the bottom two layers are inverted, such that the forward currents travel on the top and bottom layers <NUM> and the return currents travel on the inner layers <NUM>. This results in a common mode dielectric <NUM> since the return current path conductors <NUM> are electrically in parallel with one another. To extend <FIG> to six-layers or more (n=<NUM>+), the pattern <NUM> which includes a common mode dielectric <NUM>, either a forward current path conductor <NUM> for n=odd or a reverse current path conductor <NUM> for n=even, a differential mode dielectric <NUM>, and either a reverse current path conductor <NUM> for n=odd or a forward current path conductor <NUM> for n=even is repeated.

<FIG> shows the basic four-layer case (n=<NUM>), where again <NUM> is the forward current path conductor, <NUM> is the return current path conductor, <NUM> is the differential mode dielectric, and <NUM> is a common mode dielectric layer. This configuration is similar to <FIG>, except that the top and bottom layers each have an additional layer added in parallel for carrying the forward and reverse currents. This results in common mode dielectrics <NUM> between the top two conductors <NUM> and bottom two conductors <NUM> and one differential mode dielectric <NUM> in the center of the four-layer stack-up. To extend <FIG> to six-layers or more (n=<NUM>+), the pattern <NUM> on the top side, which includes a common mode dielectric <NUM>, and a forward current path conductor <NUM> is repeated. Also, the pattern <NUM> on the bottom side, which includes a common mode dielectric <NUM>, and a reverse current path conductor <NUM>, is repeated.

It will be appreciated that the coil configurations of <FIG> may be used in the creation of other arrangements of more coil layers. For example, six differential pairs of coil assemblies may be implemented as multiple instances and combinations of <NUM>-layer stack-ups as depicted in <FIG> to provide a <NUM>-layer coil design.

<FIG> depicts perspective views for coil stacks that may be constructed of multiple, independent, multi-layer coil implementations as shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a physical representation of an edge-terminated coil stack that may be constructed of multiple, independent, multi-layer coil implementations as depicted in <FIG>. In the edge-terminated coil stack of <FIG>, four independent planar coils are provided that implement the conductor patterns of <FIG>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>, where n is a positive integer. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Coil terminals <NUM> may be implemented as independent "tabs" of planar coils <NUM>-<NUM> that are offset along the edge to facilitate connection to independent terminal pairs as illustrated. The signals may pass between layers using vias or terminals connecting the boards through the middle as in the arrangements illustrated in <FIG>. In the edge-terminated coil stack of <FIG>, an edge pattern, spiraling from the edge inward, is provided and the boards pass signals through vias or terminals (not shown) connecting through the middle of the respective boards.

<FIG> is a physical representation of a center-fed coil stack that may be constructed of multiple, independent, multi-layer coil implementations as depicted in <FIG>. In the center-fed coil stack of <FIG>, four independent planar coils are provided that implement the conductor patterns of <FIG>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>, wherein n is a positive integer. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Coil terminals <NUM> may be implemented as independent "tabs" of planar coils <NUM>-<NUM> that are offset along the center core to facilitate connection to independent terminal pairs as illustrated. The signals may pass between layers using vias or terminals connecting the boards through the middle as in the arrangements illustrated in <FIG>. In the center-fed coil stack of <FIG>, a center-fed pattern, spiraling from the center outward, is provided and the boards pass signals through vias or terminals (not shown) connecting through an outer corner of the respective boards.

<FIG> is a physical representation of a coil stack that has both edge-terminations and center-terminations. Each coil stack may be constructed of multiple, independent, multi-layer coil implementations as depicted in <FIG>. In the coil stack of <FIG>, are four independent planar coils are provided that implement the conductor patterns of <FIG>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>, where n is a positive integer. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Item <NUM> is a planar coil that includes n layers of conductor patterns <NUM> and <NUM>. Coil terminals <NUM> may be implemented as independent "tabs" of planar coils <NUM>-<NUM> that are offset along the edge and along the center core to facilitate connection to independent terminal pairs as illustrated. The signals may pass between layers using vias or terminals connecting the boards through the middle as in the arrangements illustrated in <FIG>. In the coil stack of <FIG>, having both edge terminals and center terminals, the coil stack can be configured to be either an edge-fed or center-fed coil stack.

Utilizing multiple, independent, multi-layer coil stacks as illustrated in <FIG> may provide cost benefits in manufacturing where the total number of coil conductor layers is large. Rather than producing one printed circuit board of <NUM> to <NUM> layers, for example, four to six <NUM>-layer coil stacks may be integrated into one assembly. Additional arrangements could include "m" coil stacks, wherein "m" is any positive integer greater than one (e.g., two coil stacks with two tabs or ten coil stacks with ten tabs).

<FIG> is the electrical form for the multi-layer, planar coil stack-ups that are depicted in <FIG>. <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> are unterminated and thus do not have direct electrical connections between layers in accordance with embodiments of the invention, while <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> are terminated and have serial and/or parallel connections between layers, depending on the configuration and, as such, do not fall within the scope of the invention.

<FIG> is the distributed element representation of a two-layer coil with a cross-section that is depicted in <FIG>. The forward current path inductive elements <NUM> and return current path inductive elements <NUM> correspond to the forward current path conductor <NUM> and return path conductor <NUM>, respectively. The differential mode dielectric capacitive elements <NUM> correlate with the differential mode dielectric <NUM>. The coil electrical terminals are noted as <NUM>.

<FIG> is the distributed element representation of a four-layer coil scenario with a cross-section that is depicted in <FIG>. The forward current path inductive elements <NUM>, return current path inductive elements <NUM>, and differential mode dielectric capacitive elements <NUM> correlate with <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The coil electrical terminals are noted as <NUM>.

<FIG> is the distributed element representation of a four-layer coil scenario with a cross-section that is depicted in <FIG>. The forward current path inductive elements <NUM>, return current path inductive elements <NUM>, and differential mode dielectric capacitive elements <NUM> correlate with <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The coil electrical terminals are noted as <NUM>. This configuration is similar to <FIG>, except that the bottom two layers are inverted, such that the forward currents travel on the top and bottom layers <NUM> and the return currents travel on the inner layers <NUM>. This results in the common mode dielectric capacitive elements <NUM> that correlate with the common mode dielectric <NUM>.

<FIG> is the distributed element representation of a four-layer coil scenario with a cross-section that is depicted in <FIG>. This configuration is similar to <FIG>, except that the top and bottom layers each have an additional layer added in parallel for carrying the forward and reverse currents. The forward current path inductive elements <NUM>, return current path inductive elements <NUM>, and differential mode dielectric capacitive elements <NUM> correlate with <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The coil electrical terminals are noted as <NUM>. The common mode dielectric capacitive elements are noted as <NUM>.

<FIG>, <FIG> are identical to <FIG>, and <FIG>, respectively, with the exception that the planar coil layers are connected to one another with a series connection of forward current path and return current path inductive elements <NUM>, and as such do not fall within the scope of the invention. Optionally, the middle two layers in <FIG> and <FIG> may be connected as shown by the connector <NUM> in dashed line. Electrically, connections <NUM> are not required, but they may provide benefit in manufacturing.

<FIG> is a distributed element representation of a four-layer interleaved coil structure that is fully series resonant and only has two terminals. This embodiment of the invention does not require plated through holes between planar coil layers as the inductive and capacitive elements create a series LC resonance.

<FIG> is a distributed element representation of a four-layer interleaved coil structure that is fully parallel resonant and only has two terminals. This arrangement does incorporate plated through holes that serially connect the inductive elements from layer <NUM> to layer <NUM> to layer <NUM> and then to layer <NUM> and as such does not fall within the scope of the invention. This structure results in a parallel resonance from the series inductive elements and the parallel capacitance between coil windings.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional representation of a vehicle side transfer coil assembly <NUM>. The transfer coil assembly <NUM> is contained within an environmentally sealed enclosure including the coil assembly cover <NUM> and the coil assembly enclosure <NUM>. The printed circuit board containing the coil conductors of <FIG> is indicated by <NUM>. Directly above coil conductors <NUM> is the ferrite backing layer <NUM>, a non-conductive adhesive sheet, tape, film or cloth bonded to the ferrite which holds the ferrite bars or tiles together as a single assembly. Flux density is strongest at the center of the coil assembly. Ferrite layer spatial density as well as ferrite thickness must be adequate to avoid saturation. Because flux intensity decreases towards the coil perimeter, ferrite layer spatial density and/or thickness can be thinned while still avoiding saturation. Ferrite layer thinning is desirable as a means of reducing transfer coil weight and cost. The ferrite layer <NUM> is implemented as an array of ferrite bars or plates having constant thickness. The array tiling is continuous or near continuous at the center of the coil. Tiling density is reduced progressively as the perimeter is approached. The ferrite layer tiling has gaps as required to allow protrusion of the coil terminal conductors and other protrusions or penetrations as required.

The ferrite bar tiling <NUM> and ferrite backing layer <NUM> are replaced with a single composite magnetic structure including ferrite powder combined with a binding material such as a thermoplastic or resin and possibly additional substances such as thermally conductive, electrically insulating powder to improve thermal conductivity, injection molded or otherwise shaped to final or near final form. Magnetic flux is most intense in the center of the transfer coil <NUM> diminishing towards the perimeter. This means the composite ferrite layer <NUM> can be thicker at the center where the flux is the most intense to avoid ferrite material saturation and thinner at the perimeter to reduce weight and material cost. Material composition can vary spatially to tailor thermal and magnetic properties as a function of location. Passages for cooling fluid can be included where and as required.

An eddy current shield <NUM> is implemented as an electrically conductive sheet or layer that intercepts and dissipates the residual magnetic flux not diverted by the ferrite layer <NUM>. Eddy current shield <NUM> can be a metallic plate providing structural strength to the transfer coil assembly <NUM>. Non-ferrous metals with relative permeability near one are preferred in this use on order to avoid disturbance of the flux steering action of the ferrite layer <NUM>. Alternatively, the eddy current shield <NUM> can be a conductive film deposited on a dielectric substrate. The eddy current shield <NUM> can also be integrated into the coil assembly enclosure by attaching the eddy current shield <NUM> to the inside surface of the enclosure <NUM> or by making the enclosure from aluminum.

Layers <NUM> are mechanically conformal, electrically non-conductive layers providing mechanical support, heat removal by means of thermal conductivity and physical spacing for the conductor printed circuit board <NUM> and the ferrite flux steering layer <NUM>. The ferrite flux steering layer <NUM> should not be in contact or in near contact of the conductor printed circuit board <NUM> or the eddy current shield <NUM> in order to avoid excessive proximity effect resistive losses in the former and excessive eddy current losses in the latter. The spacing layers <NUM> can be made of conventional elastomeric compression pads used as gap fillers between heat generating circuitry and heat removal surfaces. Alternatively, spacing layers <NUM> can be implemented as open cell foam material infused with a heat conductive liquid such as mineral oil. Improved cooling fluid flow is obtained by placing holes or slots as needed in the spacing layers <NUM>. On the conductor printed circuit board <NUM>, slots are placed between conductor traces or between turns to preserve conductor continuity. The coil assembly enclosure <NUM> also may include a separate enclosed volume <NUM> containing other system components such as resonating capacitors, rectifiers, post-rectification ripple filter components, control, communications, foreign object and living object detection circuity, and interface electronics.

In <FIG>, the printed circuit board <NUM> is double-sided with conductive traces on the top and bottom sides but having no inter-layers. Multiple printed circuit boards or a multi-layer printed circuit board can be used with the turns connected in parallel to increase ampacity or in series to increase inductance.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional representation of a vehicle side transfer coil assembly <NUM>. Additional printed circuit boards or layers can be included as needed to implement transfer coil alignment, near field communications, foreign object/living object detection, or E-field faraday shielding functions. The resonating capacitor can be implemented as a printed circuit board containing an array of surface mount capacitors, the multiple capacitors allowing increased capacitance, and voltage rating. Alternatively, the resonating capacitors can be physically realized as a thin, multi-layer, metalized dielectric sheet implemented as an additional layer located between the ferrite layer <NUM> and the coil assembly enclosure <NUM>. In <FIG>, an object detection PCB <NUM>, ferrite isolation layer <NUM>, and communication PCB <NUM> are shown between the conductor printed circuit board <NUM> and the coil assembly cover <NUM>. The coil assembly enclosure <NUM> may include a separate enclosed volume <NUM> containing other system components such as resonating capacitors, rectifiers, post-rectification ripple filter components, control, communications, foreign object and living object detection circuity, and interface electronics. The resonating capacitors may be realized as thin, large area metalized dielectric films located in the transfer coil assembly <NUM> on the low field intensity side of the ferrite layer <NUM>.

In an alternative embodiment, a flat spiral of conductive tape or strip replaces the printed circuit board <NUM>. The tape or strip is placed with the width dimension parallel to the incident magnetic flux in order to minimize eddy currents across the face of the conductor. In order to minimize eddy currents in the thickness dimension, the thickness of the conductive tape or strip is limited to be no thicker than four times the skin depth in the trace conductor at the operating frequency. Non-conductive spacers maintain separation between adjacent spiral turns. The conductive tape or strip conductors are otherwise uninsulated in order to not hinder heat removal. Increased tape or strip width increases conductor ampacity. Tape or strip spirals can be stacked vertically for printed circuit conductors to increase ampacity when wired in parallel, or to increase inductance when wired in series.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the ground side transfer coil layers can be identical to the vehicle side coil to improve manufacturing efficiencies. <FIG> is a sample arrangement of a vehicle transfer coil assembly with a sensor aperture <NUM> added. Sensor electronics <NUM> look into aperture conduit <NUM>, which terminates with sensor conduit endcap <NUM>.

Commercial resonant induction wireless power equipment typically requires ancillary systems to meet current and expected regulatory requirements. These ancillary systems include coil alignment error detection, communications, foreign object detection, and living object detection all of which are best located at the geometry center of the transfer coil active face. However, the center of the active face has high magnetic flux amplitude prohibiting placement of wiring and electronic circuity at that location.

<FIG> shows the transfer coil assembly <NUM> previously shown in <FIG> with a centrally located sensor aperture <NUM>. This aperture <NUM> running through the thickness dimension of the transfer coil assembly allows the bi-directional passage of sensor or communications signals from the high magnetic flux intensity front face of the transfer coil assembly through to the low magnetic flux intensity region inside the enclosure volume <NUM>. The sensor electronics <NUM> inside the enclosure volume <NUM> can be optical, optical image, optical video, ultrasonic, as well as microwave, millimeter wave or terahertz wave electromagnetic energy. Components designated as <NUM> and <NUM> are the aperture conduit and aperture endcap, respectively. Implantation of the aperture conduit and endcap depends upon the sensor modality. For optical sensors and communications, the conduit can be a non-conductive empty tube, a transparent light pipe, or a spatially coherent or non-coherent fiber optics bundle. The endcap <NUM> provides an environmental seal with the transfer coil cover <NUM> but can also include an optical lens such as a wide angle or fisheye lens. The conduit <NUM> can include optical components such as lens as well. Non-electrically conductive materials are preferred to avoid eddy current generation. For ultrasonic sensor or communications modality, the sensor conduit is an acoustic waveguide. The endcap <NUM> provides an environmental seal as before and can include an acoustic lens or diffuser.

For electromagnetic sensor modality, the sensor conductor is an electromagnetic waveguide or transmission line structure. Conventional metallic waveguide or transmission line structures such as stripline transmission line are not suitable due to eddy current generation in the intense magnetic field. Such structures can be made suitable by substituting high-pass or bandpass frequency selective surfaces for the continuous metallic surfaces present in conventional waveguide or transmission line structures. Alternatively, the conduit transmission line can be implemented as a Goubau single wire transmission line with the launcher located on the low magnetic intensity side of the ferrite layer, or with the launcher constructed from frequency selective instead of continuous metallic surfaces. In a sample arrangement, the electromagnetic waveguide is implemented as a conventional dielectric waveguide including a high dielectric constant core surrounded by a low dielectric constant medium. The endcap <NUM> provides an environmental seal that can include a dielectric or artificial dielectric lens. Through use of a flexible printed circuit board for the winding layer <NUM> and small ferrite tile size or the use of a flexible or non-planar composite ferrite layer <NUM> the transfer coil assembly can be made conformal to a non-planar surface such as a cylinder for ease of mechanical fit, for reduced aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag or for placement on a vehicle or object having cylindrical or other non-planar form such as underwater autonomous vehicles, artillery shells or similar obj ects.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional representation of a vehicle side transfer coil assembly <NUM> with a sensor aperture added in accordance with an alternative arrangement. As in the arrangement of <FIG>, additional printed circuit boards or layers can be included as needed to implement transfer coil alignment, near-field communications, foreign object/living object detection, or E-field faraday shielding functions. In <FIG>, as in the arrangement of <FIG>, an object detection PCB <NUM>, ferrite isolation layer <NUM>, and communication PCB <NUM> are provided between the conductor printed circuit board <NUM> and the coil assembly cover <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A resonant induction wireless power transfer coil (<NUM>) comprising:
a 2n-layer coil stack, where n is a positive integer, comprising:
a dielectric (<NUM>) connected to operate in a differential mode and having a first side and a second side,
a first conductor pattern (<NUM>) comprising a first plurality of conductors (<NUM>) wound in a spiral on the first side of the dielectric to provide a forward current path conductor, and
a second conductor pattern (<NUM>) comprising a second plurality of conductors (<NUM>) wound in a spiral on the second side of the dielectric to provide a return current path conductor, the second conductor pattern being aligned with the first conductor pattern whereby the second conductor pattern reinforces magnetic flux generated by the first conductor pattern,
wherein the first and second conductor patterns are placed relative to one another so as to provide flux transmission in a same direction; and
a capacitance between each layer of the coil stack selected such that the 2n-layer coil stack is self-resonating at a designed self-resonating frequency <MAT> that is being used for wireless power transfer with another wireless power coil of a wireless power transfer apparatus, where L= equivalent coil inductance of the 2n-layer coil stack and C = equivalent capacitance of the 2n-layer coil stack, and
characterised in that the first and second conductor patterns are not directly electrically connected.