DC Fast Charger Wireless Charging Adapter

Abstract

The wireless charging adapter is connectable to a direct current (DC) fast charger and includes an induction coil for wirelessly charging a second induction coil on the vehicle. In some examples, the adapter can include an electrical connector for connecting with the DC fast charger. Additionally, the adapter can include hardware and / or software for receiving DC from the DC fast charger and providing alternating current (AC) to the induction coil. The induction coil of the adapter can be positioned (e.g., on the ground) to be aligned with the induction coil on the vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross-Reference to Related Applications This PCT International Application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 334,275, filed May 28, 2021, entitled "DC Fast Charger Wireless Charging Adapter", the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0002] Electric vehicles often rely on rechargeable batteries to supply power to various components such as electric motors. Recharging batteries can present several technical considerations. For example, convenience, duration and safety associated with the charging process can be important factors. In some conventional charging configurations, wired charging using physical contact (e.g., pin-type connectors) may be used. However, wired connections can rely on proper manual and / or automatic alignment and contact. In addition, physical contact can wear and degrade over time through repeated use (e.g., at public charging stations, vehicle charging, plugging and unplugging for each charging session, etc.), and may require additional measures (e.g., for safety, equipment protection, etc.) to account for potential power surges, operator risks, and other hazards. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the leftmost digit of a reference numeral identifies the figure in which the reference numeral first appears. The same reference numeral in different drawings indicates similar or equivalent items.

[0004] [Figure 1A] It is an exemplary environment including a vehicle having a rechargeable battery and a wireless charging adapter coupled to a direct current (DC) fast charger. [Figure 1B] It is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless charging adapter. [Figure 2A]This illustrates a series of actions that may occur when recharging a vehicle battery using a wireless charging adapter. [Figure 2B] This illustrates a series of actions that may occur when recharging a vehicle battery using a wireless charging adapter. [Figure 2C] This illustrates a series of actions that may occur when recharging a vehicle battery using a wireless charging adapter. [Figure 2D] This illustrates a series of actions that may occur when recharging a vehicle battery using a wireless charging adapter. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for charging one or more batteries in an autonomous vehicle. [Figure 4] This block diagram shows an exemplary system, including a vehicle, for performing some of the techniques described herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0005] As described above, various considerations must be taken into account when charging electric vehicle batteries, including convenience, maintenance, infrastructure, and safety. This disclosure relates to a technology for wirelessly charging one or more batteries of a vehicle having one or more electric propulsion units. For example, this disclosure includes a wireless charging adapter which may be connectable to a direct current (DC) fast charger. As used in this disclosure, a DC fast charger is a contact-based charger (e.g., a charging station) that transmits or conducts DC to a mating component using a plug or other type of physical contact connector. In the example, the wireless charging adapter is connectable to the DC fast charger by a physical contact connector and includes a first induction coil (e.g., a primary coil, an off-board coil, or a transmitter coil) for wirelessly transmitting energy (e.g., contactless power) to a second induction coil on the vehicle (e.g., a secondary coil, an onboard coil, or a receiver coil). For example, the adapter may include an electrical connector for mating with the electrical connector of the DC fast charger. Furthermore, the adapter may include hardware and software for sending a signal to the DC fast charger when the vehicle is close to the adapter and ready to charge. Furthermore, the adapter may be configured to receive DC from a DC fast charger and provide alternating current (AC) to a first induction coil to charge the vehicle. The first induction coil may be positioned (for example, on the ground) to align with a second induction coil on the vehicle.

[0006] In some examples, the wireless charging sequence may start automatically when the vehicle is close to the adapter. For example, the adapter may be connected to a DC fast charger, and the first induction coil may be set in a predetermined position (e.g., on a ground surface). That is, in some examples, the adapter may remain connected to the DC fast charger (e.g., plugged in) before, during, and after repeated wireless charging sessions, and in other examples, the adapter may be mated to the DC fast charger before each charging session (e.g., plugged in) and disconnected after each charging session (e.g., unplugged). Before the vehicle is close to the DC fast charger, the adapter may be in a low-power state (e.g., low power or no power). That is, even if the adapter is connected to the DC fast charger before the vehicle is in a position to wirelessly charge, the DC fast charger may not supply DC to the adapter (e.g., for safety precautions) so that the first induction coil is not receiving AC. DC fast chargers or other charging stations may include various safety precautions, including determining whether a valid device is connected to receive power, whether the system or receiver is faulty or damaged, and whether the connection between the charger and receiver is obstructed. In some examples, the adapter may determine that a vehicle is in proximity to a DC fast charger or adapter and supply power to the adapter. For example, one or more signals indicating that a vehicle is in proximity to a DC fast charger or adapter may be exchanged between the vehicle and the DC fast charger and / or between the vehicle and the adapter. Based on one or more signals, power may be supplied from the DC fast charger to the adapter, thereby supplying power to the first induction coil. In some examples, wireless charging is more convenient than conventional physical contact charging systems and may reduce maintenance associated with wear on the vehicle's physical electrical contacts that come into contact with the adapter's physical electrical contacts. Also, if the adapter remains connected to the DC fast charger during a charging session, maintenance and wear on the adapter's connection to the DC fast charger can be avoided. In addition, the low-power state described above helps conserve energy and may reduce safety concerns associated with a charged first induction coil when a second induction coil is not present.

[0007] Some examples of this disclosure relate to hardware and / or software components of an adapter. For example, an adapter may include an inverter (e.g., a bidirectional AC-to-DC converter) that receives DC provided by a DC fast charger and outputs AC to a first induction coil. Additionally or alternatively, an adapter may include a microcontroller that can be used to facilitate requesting DC power from a DC fast charger to facilitate wireless charging when a vehicle is close to the adapter. In some examples, when the adapter is in a low-power state (e.g., when it is not receiving DC from a DC fast charger), the components of the adapter can still support and perform the adapter functions. For example, an adapter may include a power supply unit (e.g., a housekeeping power supply) to power the components of the adapter, such as the microcontroller and inverter components (e.g., a gate driver), and in some examples, power may be provided by a second induction coil on the vehicle. In additional examples, an adapter may include a communication unit that exchanges information with the vehicle and a remote computing device (e.g., a backend server) and / or a charging station.

[0008] The power supply unit can support adapter operation in various ways. In certain examples, the power supply unit may receive AC and output DC (e.g., low-voltage DC) to a microcontroller and converter components. The power supply unit may receive AC from various sources, and in some examples, the power supply unit may receive AC from a first induction coil. For example, when the adapter is in a low-power state (e.g., no power), a second induction coil may be moved to a position close to the first induction coil (e.g., by a vehicle directly operating and / or overlapping at least a portion of the first induction coil) so that it can induce a relatively small amount of AC power (e.g., 100 watts) into the first induction coil. The small amount of AC power may be transmitted to the power supply unit, which receives AC and outputs DC (e.g., a relatively low voltage) to a microcontroller (e.g., converts and / or rectifies it).

[0009] Upon receiving power from the power supply unit, the microcontroller can perform various operations. For example, the microcontroller may exchange charge-related information with the vehicle, such as the vehicle identifier, the capacity of the vehicle's power system, the current charge status of the vehicle's energy storage unit, and vehicle-specific charge parameters or information. In an additional example, upon receiving power, the microcontroller may send a message to a DC fast charger (e.g., via a contact-based coupling that mimics a conventional wired connection to the DC fast charger) requesting that DC be used to charge the vehicle's battery. The message to the DC fast charger may indicate that the vehicle is directly connected to the DC fast charger and may contain various information used to release interlocks. In this sense, the AC induced in the first induction coil is a signal (or triggered) indicating the vehicle's proximity to the DC fast charger (e.g., because the second induction coil is in a predetermined position relative to the first induction coil). In some examples, the adapter may be powered from an additional or alternative source, such as a battery or solar power, before it is determined that the vehicle is in proximity to the adapter.

[0010] The adapter can be used in a variety of ways. For example, in some cases, the adapter may be stored with the vehicle, and when wireless charging is desired, the adapter may be attached to a DC fast charger (e.g., at a charging station). In other cases, one or more DC fast chargers (e.g., at a charging station) may be leased (e.g., by an entity with a fleet of electric vehicles), and each leased DC fast charger may be coupled to an adapter (may or may not remain coupled to the adapter during a charging session), in which case the lessor's fleet vehicles may be wirelessly charged using the leased DC fast chargers. Alternatively, an entity may have access to DC fast chargers and wish to implement wireless charging without incurring the potentially significant infrastructure costs associated with wireless-only charging terminals. Thus, an adapter, which may be relatively inexpensive compared to a wireless-only charging terminal, can be coupled to a DC fast charger to implement wireless charging. In other examples, the adapter may be interoperable with various types of DC fast chargers (e.g., SAE J1772, IEC 61851-3, ChAdeMO, China GB / T, etc.) (for example, it may be configured to connect and communicate).

[0011] The technology described herein can be implemented in several ways for wirelessly charging a vehicle battery using a contact-based DC fast charger. Examples are presented below with reference to the figures. While the exemplary implementations are described in the context of autonomous vehicles, the methods, apparatus, and components described herein can be applied to a variety of components (e.g., charging batteries in robotic systems) and are not limited to autonomous vehicles. For example, the technology described herein may be used in electric vehicles with driver control. Additionally or alternatively, the technology may be used in connection with rechargeable batteries in land vehicles, ships, aircraft, robots, computing devices, or any other battery-powered devices.

[0012] Figure 1A is an exemplary environment 100 in which an exemplary vehicle 102 can be moved to a predetermined position during an exemplary recharge event. The exemplary vehicle 102 may be a vehicle of any configuration, such as a van, a sports utility vehicle, a crossover vehicle, a truck, a bus, an agricultural vehicle, and a construction vehicle. The vehicle 102 may be powered by one or more electric motors, one or more internal combustion engines, any combination thereof (e.g., a hybrid powertrain), and / or any other suitable power source. For illustrative purposes, the exemplary vehicle 102 is a at least partially electric vehicle having two electric propulsion units configured to give the vehicle 102 the ability to steer, each including a motor / inverter electrically coupled to one or more batteries configured to be recharged as described herein. For example, the vehicle 102 may be a bidirectional vehicle having a first drive module located at the front end and a second drive module located at the rear end. As used herein, a bidirectional vehicle is a vehicle configured to switch between traveling in a first direction of the vehicle and traveling in a second opposite direction of the vehicle. In other words, there is no fixed “front” or “rear” of vehicle 102. In other examples, the technology described herein may be applied to vehicles other than bidirectional vehicles.

[0013] Vehicle 102 may also include sensors 134a-134c, which may include perception sensors (e.g., LiDAR, cameras, time-of-flight, sonar, radar, etc.) that capture data of the environment around Vehicle 102. Furthermore, Vehicle 102 may also include one or more communication units 136 that enable communication between Vehicle 102 and one or more other local or remote computing devices via one or more protocols. For example, Vehicle 102 may exchange communications with other devices in the environment 100 (e.g., DC fast charger 104 or adapter 108) and / or remote devices (e.g., remotely operated computing devices). The communications may be exchanged via physical and / or logical interfaces. For example, the communication unit 136 can enable Wi-Fi-based communication via frequencies defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard, short-range radio frequencies (e.g., Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.), cellular communication (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, etc.), satellite communication, DSRC (dedicated short-range communications), or any suitable wired or wireless communication protocol that enables each computing device to interface with other computing devices.

[0014] Environment 100 also includes a contact-based direct current (DC) fast charger 104 (e.g., a charging station) including a DC fast charger plug 106. The DC fast charger plug 106 may include one of various connector types, including SAE J1772, IEC 61851-3, ChAdeMO, China GB / T, etc. According to examples of this disclosure, a wireless charging adapter 108 may be coupled to a DC fast charger (e.g., mated with plug 106 via a contact-based coupling) to facilitate wireless charging. The adapter 108 may be plugged into the DC fast charger and may remain connected between charging sessions. In other examples, the adapter 108 may be plugged in or unplugged between charging sessions. For example, in some examples, the adapter 108 may be unplugged with the vehicle 102 and transported between charging sessions. At a high level, the adapter 108 includes an electrical connector 110 for mating with a plug 106, a current adjuster 112 including hardware and software for managing and facilitating the operation of the adapter 108, a communication unit 113, and a first inductive coil 114. In the examples of this disclosure, an exemplary vehicle 102 may be configured to use the adapter 108 to charge one or more batteries coupled to the vehicle 102. For example, the vehicle 102 may include a second inductive coil 116 (e.g., mounted under the vehicle) for wirelessly receiving charge from the first inductive coil 114, a converter 118 (e.g., a power converter) for converting AC from the first inductive coil to DC, and a storage unit 120 for storing DC from the converter 118. The converter 118 may include various components such as an inverter, a rectifier, and / or a bidirectional AC-to-DC converter. In some examples, the second inductive coil 116, the converter 118, and the storage unit 120 may be part of the central body of the vehicle 102. In other examples, the second induction coil 116, the converter 118, and the energy storage unit 120 may be part of one or more removable drive assemblies.In an alternative example, each drive assembly may have a battery storage unit, while the second induction coil 116 and converter 118 are mounted on the vehicle body and connectable to the battery storage unit 120. In another example, the second induction coil 116, converter 118 and battery storage unit 120 may include modules that can be connected to and disconnected from other vehicle components (e.g., drive assemblies) for modification and / or modularization purposes.

[0015] Referring to Figure 1B, the schematic block diagram shows an adapter 108 coupled to a DC fast charger plug 106 (via connector 110), and additional components of the adapter 108 are shown. In some examples of this disclosure, the adapter 108 includes a current regulator 112 with various hardware and software for controlling and performing the operation of the adapter 108. In some examples, the adapter 108 may include a disconnection device (not shown in Figure 1B), such as a contactor, which can establish and interrupt power from the DC fast charger 104 to the adapter 108 as needed.

[0016] In an additional example, the current regulator 112 may include a converter 122 (e.g., a full-bridge DC-to-AC high-frequency inverter, a bidirectional converter, a power converter, etc.) for converting the DC provided by the DC fast charger 104 to AC provided to the first induction coil 114. Furthermore, the current regulator 112 may include a gate driver 124 for controlling switches within the converter 122 and a controller 126, such as a microcontroller and / or a control board. In particular, the controller 126 may control the operation of the current regulator 112 (e.g., gate driver operation, switch position, disconnection device, etc.) and may communicate with one or more other components to facilitate wireless charging. In addition, the controller 126 may include one or more processors and one or more computer-readable storage media that store instructions executable by one or more processors, which, when executed, cause the controller 126 to perform an operation. For example, and not an limitation, a processor may include one or more central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), composite programmable logic devices (CPLDs), integrated circuits, or any other device or part of a device that processes electronic data and converts that electronic data into other electronic data that can be stored in registers and / or memory. In addition, computer-readable storage media may include volatile and non-volatile media implemented in any way or technique for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and / or other data types, and / or both removable and non-removable media. For example, memory may store computer-readable instructions. Computer storage media may include, but are not limited to, non-temporary media such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, or any other media used to store desired information and accessible by the controller 126.

[0017] Furthermore, the current regulator 112 may include a power supply 128 (e.g., a power supply unit) for supplying power to components of the current regulator 112, such as the gate driver 124 and the controller 126. The power supply 128 may include various types of power supply units (e.g., isolated power supply units), and in some examples, the power supply 128 may convert current to low voltage DC. The power supply 128 may also (or alternatively) include one or more batteries, one or more other DC sources such as a solar power source. In some examples of this disclosure, the power supply 128 may include a housekeeping power supply. That is, in some examples, the adapter 108 may be in a low-power (e.g., unpowered) state, such as when the second induction coil is not present, and therefore the housekeeping power supply may provide or receive low levels of power to maintain basic or startup functions. The current regulator 112 may include other components. For example, the current regulator 112 may include an input filter cap (e.g., 238 in Figure 2D) for filtering high-frequency voltage ripple (e.g., from DC provided by a DC fast charger). In addition, the current regulator 112 may include a compensating capacitor (e.g., 240 in Figure 2D) or a primary capacitor (e.g., to facilitate series-to-series compensation), which may help align the component resonances.

[0018] In an additional example, the wireless charging adapter 108 may include one or more communication units 113 that enable communication between the adapter 108 and one or more other local or remote computing devices via a wireless communication link or channel over one or more protocols. For example, the adapter 108 may exchange communications with other devices in the environment 100 (e.g., a DC fast charger 104 or a vehicle 102) and / or remote devices (e.g., a remotely operated computing device). The communications may be exchanged over physical and / or logical interfaces. For example, the communication unit 113 may enable Wi-Fi-based communications such as those over frequencies defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard, short-range radio frequencies (e.g., Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.), cellular communications (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, etc.), millimeter-wave communications, satellite communications, DSRC (dedicated short-range communications), or any suitable wired or wireless communication protocol that enables each computing device to interface with other computing devices. Therefore, in some examples, the adapter 108 (for example, using the communication unit 113) may communicate directly with the vehicle (for example, using the communication unit 136), or it may communicate indirectly with the vehicle via a backend server (for example, both the adapter 108 and the vehicle 102 may communicate via cellular communication with a backend server that facilitates message exchange).

[0019] In one or more examples of this disclosure, the adapter 108 is connected to the DC fast charger 104 by mating the electrical connector 110 to the plug 106. The DC supplied by the DC fast charger 104 is received by the adapter 108. In some examples, the DC from the DC fast charger may be a high-voltage DC in the range of about 200V to about 1000V. The converter 122 converts the DC to AC based on an input from the gate driver 124 (e.g., a control signal), and the AC is supplied to a first inductive coil 114 (and possibly to the power supply 128 as well). The first inductive coil 114 may supply wireless charging (e.g., contactless power) to a second inductive coil (e.g., via a series resonant inductive power transfer (SS-RIPT) link) as a result of the AC flow from the converter 122. In additional examples, the adapter 108 monitors the supply of power to the second inductive coil and may terminate the DC signal from the DC fast charger 104 based on various events. For example, the adapter 108 may detect a change in impedance (for example, when a vehicle 102 having a second induction coil moves away from the adapter 108) and, based on that change, terminate the DC (for example, via a disconnection device or via signaling). In another example, the adapter 108 may receive a signal from the vehicle 102 that reduces the contactless power (for example, to reduce additional power, such as when the energy storage unit is charged well above a threshold).

[0020] As described above, before the vehicle approaches the adapter 108, the adapter 108 may be in a low power state (e.g., low power or no power). That is, even though the adapter 108 may be connected to the DC fast charger 104 (via the connection between the plug 106 and the connector 110) before the vehicle is positioned for wireless charging, the DC fast charger 104 may not provide DC power to the adapter 108, such that the first induction coil 114 does not receive any alternating current (e.g., from the current regulator 112). Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure describe subject matter for determining that the vehicle is proximate to the DC fast charger 104 and / or proximate to the adapter 108, and / or for determining that the second induction coil 116 is proximate to the first induction coil. In addition, some aspects may, based on the determination, request DC power from the DC fast charger 104, or otherwise trigger transfer of DC power from the DC fast charger 104 to the adapter 108.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2D, a series of operations that may be performed in accordance with examples of the present disclosure and facilitate wireless charging of a vehicle power storage unit 120 is illustrated. In general, FIG. 2A shows a de-energized wireless charging adapter 208a connected to the DC fast charger 104 via the plug 106. As used in the present disclosure, a de-energized wireless charging adapter 208a includes a wireless charging adapter (e.g., adapter 108) that is coupled (via the plug 106) to the DC fast charger 104 and is not receiving DC power from the DC fast charger 104 to charge a corresponding vehicle. Power from the DC fast charger 104 may be withheld from distribution to the plug 106 for one or more various reasons. For example, as a safety precaution, the DC fast charger 104 may be configured to supply power only when safety conditions related to communication, circuit check, isolation, etc. are satisfied.

[0022] Furthermore, Figure 2A shows a vehicle 102 having a second induction coil 116 positioned at a distance (e.g., not adjacent) from the first induction coil 114. In the examples of this disclosure, the second induction coil 116 (e.g., a portion of the second induction coil including its edges and / or center) is located beyond a threshold distance from the first induction coil 114 (e.g., a portion of the first induction coil including its edges and / or center). For example, the threshold distance may be at least about 200 millimeters in each of the X, Y, and Z directions, with the XY plane extending substantially parallel to the ground surface on which the first induction coil 114 is located and on which the vehicle 102 is driven, and the Z direction extending perpendicular to the XY plane. This 200-millimeter threshold is merely an example, and the threshold may be less than 200 millimeters (e.g., 150 millimeters) or greater than 2 meters (e.g., 250 millimeters). In addition, each threshold in each direction may be consistent across all directions (for example, the thresholds in the X, Y, and Z directions may be similar), or alternatively, the threshold in one direction may differ from the threshold in another direction (for example, the threshold in the X direction may differ from the threshold in the X direction). In addition, Figure 2A shows the converter 118 and the energy storage unit 120. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the second induction coil 116 and the converter 118 may include at least a portion of a vehicle battery charging assembly 119 for charging the energy storage unit 120. In addition to the illustrated components, the vehicle battery charging assembly 119 may include one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media.

[0023] In some examples, in Figure 2A, the vehicle 102 may be in a pre-charge mode that can occur or be triggered by various conditions. For example, the vehicle 102 may detect that the charge level of the energy storage unit 120 is below a threshold, and / or the vehicle 102 may determine (e.g., based on mapping and location tracking) that the vehicle is in a charging station depot (e.g., a lot with one or more charging stations). When entering pre-charge mode, the vehicle 102 may initiate various actions to maneuver to a position close to a wireless charging adapter. For example, the vehicle 102 may determine a trajectory that, when performed, positions the vehicle at a designated charging spot and positions it relative to a wireless charging adapter that will assist in charging. In other examples, the vehicle battery charging assembly 119 may be used to perturb the AC (in a second induction coil) to assist in the detection of the first induction coil 114 of the unpowered adapter 208a.

[0024] Referring to Figure 2B, the second induction coil 116 is positioned close to the first induction coil 114, such as after the vehicle 102 has moved forward (as indicated by arrow 200 in Figure 2A). For example, the second induction coil 116 may be positioned at a distance of less than a threshold distance (e.g., less than 200 millimeters in each of the X, Y, and Z directions) from the first induction coil 114. In addition, the second induction coil 116 can receive a signal 202 indicating that the second induction coil 116 and the first induction coil 114 are in close proximity to each other (e.g., separated by a distance less than a threshold). The signal 202 can take many forms. For example, in some examples of the present disclosure, before and after being positioned in close proximity to the first inductor coil 114, the second inductor coil 116 may receive AC (e.g., DC-to-AC converted from the energy storage unit 120 and perturbed as described above) such that the first inductor coil 114 generates an impedance detected by the second inductor coil 116 (e.g., the detected impedance is signal 202). That is, the converter 118 may supply AC to the second inductor coil 116 at various times (e.g., perturbed low-voltage AC) when the second inductor coil 116 is beyond a threshold distance from the first inductor coil 114, as shown in Figure 2A. In that example, when the vehicle 102 is steered over (e.g., near or at least partially overlapping with) the first inductor coil 114, as shown in Figure 2B, the presence of the first inductor coil 114 may generate an impedance detected as signal 202. In some examples, the second induction coil 116 (or components associated with the second induction coil 116) may be configured to increase the likelihood that the second induction coil 116 and the first induction coil 114 communicate with each other, or otherwise sense or detect each other. For example, the second induction coil 116 may be coupled with a secondary capacitor 117 configured similarly to the primary capacitor of a current regulator (e.g., 242 in Figure 2D).Further, the second induction coil 116 may include a component configured to determine whether the impedance is within a target range indicative of proximity of the first induction coil, which may increase the likelihood that the signal 202 (in the form of detected impedance) is associated with proximity of the first induction coil, as opposed to lower or higher impedance that may be generated by another object.

[0025] The signal 202 indicating that the second induction coil 116 is in proximity to the first induction coil 114 may include other types of signals in addition to or as an alternative to detected impedance. For example, the second induction coil 116 may include (or be associated with) a proximity sensor that detects proximity of the first induction coil 114 (e.g., at a distance equal to or less than a threshold distance). In one example, the proximity sensor may include a Hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, a magnetic pickup, or other sensor that detects a magnet coupled to the first induction coil 114 (or elsewhere as part of the adapter 108), in which case the signal 202 may include sensor data detected by the sensor. In some examples, the sensor may detect a magnitude of a magnetic field that exceeds a threshold, the magnitude being indicative of proximity of the magnet. In another aspect, the proximity sensor may include a camera that provides image data representative of the first induction coil 114, or other perception sensor that provides perception data representative of the first induction coil 114.

[0026] In addition to receiving a signal 202 indicating that the second induction coil 116 is in close proximity to the first induction coil 114, other actions may be performed to verify that the vehicle 102 is properly positioned for charging. For example, the vehicle 102 may use one or more sensors to verify that the vehicle 102's current position aligns with the adapter's position. In some examples, the vehicle 102, or a remote computing device communicating with the vehicle 102, may maintain a map storing the positions of the wireless charging adapters. Once the vehicle 102's position is determined (e.g., using one or more vehicle sensors), the vehicle position may be compared to the stored map to verify that the vehicle position aligns with the adapter. In other examples, the vehicle 102 may use one or more sensors (e.g., LiDAR, radar, camera, etc.) to verify that the vehicle position aligns with the adapter.

[0027] In the examples of this disclosure, AC204 may be supplied to a second induction coil 116 in response to the detection of signal 202 and / or verification that the vehicle position is aligned with the adapter position. That is, DC from the energy storage unit 120 may be converted to AC (by converter 118) and supplied to the second induction coil 116 as AC204. In the examples of this disclosure, the AC in the second induction coil 116 may induce AC210 (e.g., high-frequency AC) in the first induction coil 114 and, in turn, create a magnetic field 206 that energizes the adapter (e.g., “Energizing Adapter 208b” in Figure 2B). AC210 may be transmitted to a current regulator 212a and, in some examples, to a power supply 228a, which converts AC210 to low-voltage DC (e.g., via rectification). In some examples, power supply 228a may include a transformer for converting the high-frequency high-voltage AC 210 to a low voltage and a rectifier for outputting a low voltage DC. The low voltage DC can include a range of magnitudes, and in the example, the low voltage DC is in the range of approximately 3 volts to approximately 24 volts. The low voltage DC may be supplied to the gate driver 224a as DC 214, and DC 216 may be supplied to the controller 226a.

[0028] In a further example, the power adapter 208b may exchange information 205 with the vehicle 102 after receiving power. For example, the adapter 208b may establish a wireless communication link between the communication unit 113 of the power adapter 208b and the communication unit 136 of the vehicle. Furthermore, the adapter may receive one or more communications from the communication unit 136 of the vehicle 102 (e.g., directly and / or via a backend server) via the wireless communication link. The information 205 may include both information used to initiate power transfer and information that may be used throughout the charge to safely provide power (e.g., short circuit detection, overheat detection, etc.). In particular, the information from the vehicle 102 may include the vehicle identifier, the current charge state related to the vehicle's energy storage unit (e.g., State of Charge (SOC) level), adapter use permission, details of the vehicle 102's power system, vehicle-specific charge parameters (e.g., maximum and / or range of voltage, current, etc.), and any other information that may be used to effectively and safely supply power to the vehicle 102 from the DC fast charger. Additional actions may be triggered (or coincide with) supplying power to the power adapter 208b. For example, contact 217 may be activated to receive DC from a DC fast charger (e.g., as part of an isolation test, as part of receiving DC for wireless charging).

[0029] In an additional example, controller 226a (powered by DC216) sends one or more communications 218 (e.g., messages) to DC fast charger 104 indicating a vehicle connected to the DC fast charger for contact-based charging. One or more communications 218 can contain various data, and in some examples, communications 218 mimic vehicle communications and safety checks, such as when plug 106 is directly mated to the vehicle for charging. For example, if adapter 208b has not yet determined the protocol of DC fast charger 104 (e.g., has received some identifier of the protocol or other identifiers), communications 218 may query DC fast charger 104 to determine the protocol (e.g., SAE J1772-CCS1, CHAdeMO, IEC-Type 2, China GB / T, etc.). However, in some examples, adapter 208b may have already determined the protocol of DC fast charger 104 (e.g., when initially connected), in which case the query communication may be postponed. Furthermore, communication 218 may include any other data (e.g., a signaling protocol) conforming to a determined protocol in order to initiate DC supply from the DC fast charger 104. For example, the DC fast charger and adapter may exchange signals to perform external isolation tests or other safety checks. Communication 218 may be communicated using one or more wireless networks such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, or via a wired connection between the connector 110 and the plug 106 (e.g., via pins). After the signaling protocol, communication, and safety checks have been performed via communication 218, the DC fast charger 104 may provide DC to the power adapter 208b.

[0030] Figure 2B shows one hardware and software configuration that may be included in adapter 208a or 208b (specifically, current regulator 212a) according to another aspect of the present disclosure, and with a brief reference to Figure 2C, an alternative hardware configuration that may be included in wireless charging adapter 208c (e.g., an alternative configuration of current regulator 212b) is shown. In Figure 2C, adapter 208c includes components similar to adapter 208b, including connector 110, first induction coil 114, and current regulator 212b, although the components of current regulator 212b may be configured differently from current regulator 212a in Figure 2B. Current regulator 212b may include converter 222b, gate driver 224b, controller 226b, and power supply 228b. Similar to the explanation related to Figure 2B, in Figure 2C, the high-frequency AC 210 is still supplied from the first induction coil 114, except for the adapter 208c, and the AC 210 is rectified in converter 222b before being passed to power supply 228b as high-voltage DC 220. Power supply 228b may supply low-voltage DC 230 (e.g., between approximately 3 volts and approximately 24 volts) to the gate driver 224b and low-voltage DC 232 (e.g., between approximately 3 volts and approximately 24 volts) to the controller 226b. Similar to controller 226a in Figure 2B, controller 226b in Figure 2C (when powered) exchanges information with the vehicle 102, operates contact 217, and sends one or more communications 234 to the DC fast charger 104 to begin supplying DC power to the adapter 208c. Similar to the subject matter described with respect to Figure 2B, after the signaling protocol, communication, and safety checks are performed via communication 234, the DC fast charger 104 may supply DC to the power adapter 208c.

[0031] Referring to Figure 2D, once the signaling protocol, communication, and safety checks are performed via communication 218, the DC fast charger 104 provides DC 236, which is sent to the converter 222A. In some examples, the current regulator 212a may include an input filter capacitor 238 for filtering out high-frequency voltage ripple (e.g., from the DC provided by the DC fast charger). The converter 222a can convert the high-frequency DC 236 to high-frequency AC 240, which is supplied to the first inductor coil 114 (after being compensated, e.g., via capacitor 242). The high-frequency AC 240 flowing through the first inductor coil 114 creates a field 244 that induces AC in the second inductor coil 116. The AC induced in the second inductor coil 116 can be rectified to DC and sent to the energy storage unit 120 for recharging.

[0032] Figure 2D shows current regulator 212a, but in other embodiments, similar operation may be performed by current regulator 212b shown in Figure 2C. For example, after communication 234, DC is supplied to current regulator 212b by DC fast charger 104, and current regulator 212b may convert DC to AC (via converter 222b) and supply high-frequency AC to the first induction coil 114.

[0033] In an additional example, adapter 208b or 208c may monitor the power supply to the second induction coil 116 and, based on various events, control the DC signal from the DC fast charger 104 (e.g., decrease, increase, terminate, etc.). For example, using communication units 113 and 136, during wireless charging, adapter 208b or 208c and vehicle 102 may exchange information regarding the vehicle's current charge state and power system state. As the charge state of the energy storage unit 120 increases (or other conditions such as system temperature), adapter 208b or 208c may communicate with the DC fast charger to adjust the DC 236 or self-adjust or throttle the power. In another example, adapter 108 may detect a change in impedance (e.g., when vehicle 102 with the second induction coil 116 moves away from adapter 108) and, based on that change, infer that the vehicle has moved beyond a threshold distance from the adapter (e.g., is no longer close), terminate the DC (e.g., via a disconnection device or via signaling). In another example, adapter 108 may receive a signal from vehicle 102 indicating a reduction in contactless power or a charge condition exceeding a threshold (e.g., reducing additional power, such as when the energy storage unit is charged well above a threshold). In yet another example, adapter 208b may detect a loss of communication link between adapter 208b and vehicle 102 (e.g., between communication units 113 and 136), and based on the loss of the communication link, adapter 208b may terminate the DC from DC fast charger 104.

[0034] Figures 2A to 2D and related descriptions include several examples in which proximity between the second induction coil 116 and the first induction coil 114 is determined (e.g., equal to or less than a threshold distance), and based on the proximity determination, a charging sequence is initiated (e.g., safety checks are met and DC transfer from the DC fast charger is initiated). In other aspects of the present disclosure, proximity may be determined using other techniques. For example, the vehicle 102 may transmit communications (e.g., using a communication unit 136) to adapters 108, 208a, 208b, or 208c, to the DC fast charger, to the backend system of the DC fast charger, or to any combination thereof, and communications from the vehicle may initiate a signaling protocol (e.g., according to SAE J1772-CCS1, CHAdeMO, IEC-Type 2, China GB / T, etc.). Based on a compliant signaling protocol exchange, the DC fast charger 104 may supply DC to adapters 108, 208a, 208b, or 208c, which can then power the first induction coil 114. Furthermore, adapters 108, 208a, 208b, or 208c may include proximity sensors for detecting the proximity of the vehicle and / or the second induction coil. For example, the adapter may include a sensor for detecting the magnetic field arising from the proximity of the second induction coil (e.g., the adapter's sensor includes a Hall effect sensor, a magnetic pickup, etc., and the second induction coil includes a magnet).

[0035] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process involving the technology described herein. For convenience and ease of understanding, the process illustrated in Figure 3 may be described by referring to the components and elements described above with reference to Figures 1A, 1B, and 2A-2D. However, the process illustrated in Figure 3 is not limited to being performed using these components, and the components are not limited to performing the process illustrated in Figure 3. These processes are shown as logical flowcharts, and each operation represents a set of operations that may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In a software context, an operation represents a computer executable instruction stored in one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the enumerated operation. Generally, computer executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular function or implement a particular abstract data type. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be interpreted as limiting, and any number of described operations may be omitted or combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process. Referring to Figure 3, which includes a flowchart showing the operation or steps of method 300 for wirelessly charging a battery, method 300 includes changing the vehicle to pre-charge mode in operation 302. For example, in Figure 2A, vehicle 102 can enter pre-charge mode when one or more conditions are met, such as when the vehicle enters a charging station depot or when vehicle 102 detects that the charge state of the energy storage unit 120 is below a threshold.

[0036] In further examples, operation 304 includes conducting AC through an induction coil (e.g., a second induction coil 116 on the vehicle or a receiver coil on the vehicle or a secondary coil on the vehicle). For example, the energy storage unit 120 may provide DC which is converted to AC (e.g., using the inverter components of the converter 118), but AC is provided to the second induction coil 116 (e.g., as a perturbation of a low-voltage AC signal). In some examples, operation 304 may include perturbing a relatively low-voltage AC.

[0037] In operation 306, method 300 includes detecting impedance. For example, when the second induction coil 116 overlaps at least partially with the first induction coil 114, the second induction coil 116 (or components associated with the second induction coil 116) may detect the impedance generated by the first induction coil 114.

[0038] Method 300 includes determining in operation 308 whether the impedance indicates the presence of another coil. For example, the impedance may be compared to a target range to determine whether the impedance is within the range. If the impedance is within the target range, the method proceeds to 316. If the impedance is not within the target range, the method returns to 304.

[0039] In further examples, after operation 302 (which includes changing the vehicle to pre-charge mode), operation 310 includes determining the vehicle's position (for example, in parallel with or consecutively with operations 304, 306, and 308). For example, one or more sensors 134a-134c of vehicle 102 may be used to determine the vehicle's position. In operation 312, the vehicle position may be compared to the adapter position. For example, a map may store the adapter position (e.g., coordinates), and the vehicle position may be compared to the stored adapter position.

[0040] In operation 314, a decision is made (for example, based on the comparison in operation 312) as to whether the vehicle's position aligns with the adapter's position. For example, in Figure 2B, a decision may be made as to whether the position of vehicle 102 (for example, based on sensor data) aligns with the adapter's position (for example, based on map data). If the vehicle aligns with the adapter, the method proceeds to operation 316. If the positions do not align, the method returns to operation 310.

[0041] In a further example, method 300 may include determining in operation 316 whether both conditions in operations 308 and 314 are met (for example, the impedance indicates the presence of another coil and the vehicle is aligned with the adapter). If both conditions are met, method 300 proceeds to operation 318; otherwise, method 300 may return to operations 304 and 310.

[0042] In operation 318, method 300 includes inducing a high-frequency AC in a first induction coil. For example, in Figure 2B, AC 204 may be supplied to a second induction coil, and a magnetic field 206 may induce a high-frequency AC in the first induction coil 114, which may be transmitted as a high-frequency AC 210 to a current regulator 212a or 212b.

[0043] Method 300 may also include, in operation 320, converting a high-frequency AC to a low-voltage DC. For example, a high-frequency AC 210 may be converted to a low-voltage DC 216 by power supply unit 228a. In another example, a high-frequency AC 210 may be converted to a low-voltage DC 232 by converter 222b and power supply unit 228b. Once converted, in operation 322, the low-voltage DC may be used to power a microcontroller (e.g., microcontroller 226a or 226b).

[0044] When the microcontroller is powered, in operation 324, method 300 includes receiving charge-related information from the vehicle. For example, in Figure 2B, after powering the adapter 208b, the communication unit 113 may be used to receive charge-related information (e.g., 205) from the vehicle 102, such as the vehicle identifier, the current charge status, permission to use the adapter, details of the vehicle 102's power system, and any other information that may be used to effectively and safely supply power to the vehicle 102 from the DC fast charger. In an additional example, when the microcontroller is powered, in operation 326, method 300 includes executing a signaling protocol using the DC fast charger. For example, controller 226a or 226b may send message 218 or 234 to the DC fast charger.

[0045] Method 300 further includes, in operation 328, receiving a high voltage DC from a DC fast charger, and in operation 330, converting the high voltage DC to AC. For example, DC 236 may be received by converter 222A, which converts DC 236 to AC 240. In operation 332, the method includes transmitting the AC to a first inductive coil. For example, AC 240 is transmitted to the first inductive coil 114 to wirelessly induce a charge in the second inductive coil 116 (for example, to inductively charge a storage unit 120 connected to the second inductive coil 116).

[0046] The method 300 shown in Figure 3 comprises various steps. In some examples, all steps may be performed when the battery is wirelessly charged. In other examples, only some of the steps shown in Figure 3 may be performed when the battery is wirelessly charged. Furthermore, in the example provided by Figure 3, the determination that the first and second induction coils are in close proximity to each other (e.g., within a threshold distance) may be based on a detected impedance exceeding a threshold. In other examples, the determination may be based on other or additional signals, such as sensor data or radio communication exchanged between the vehicle and the adapter and / or DC fast charger. In other examples, the power supply to the microcontroller in operation 322 may be conditioned on different criteria (e.g., more or less conditions than those explicitly identified in Figure 3) indicating that the vehicle is in close proximity to the adapter.

[0047] Figure 4 shows a block diagram of an exemplary system 400 for implementing the technology described herein. In at least one example, the system 400 may include a vehicle 402. In the exemplary system 400 shown, the vehicle 402 is an autonomous vehicle, but the vehicle 402 may be any other type of vehicle. The vehicle 402 may be the vehicle 102 shown in Figures 1A and 2A to 2D, and may be configured to recharge a battery (e.g., a power storage unit 460) using a wireless charging adapter (e.g., adapter 108, adapter 208a, adapter 208b and / or adapter 208c).

[0048] Vehicle 402 can be an unmanned vehicle, such as an autonomous vehicle configured to operate in accordance with the Level 4 classification issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which describes a vehicle capable of performing all safety-critical functions throughout its entire journey without expecting any driver (or occupant) to control the vehicle at any given time. In such an example, Vehicle 402 may be configured to control all functions from the start to the end of the journey, including all parking functions, and therefore does not need to include a driver and / or controls for driving Vehicle 402, such as a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and / or brake pedal. This is merely an example, and the systems and methods described herein may be incorporated into any ground, air, or water vehicle, ranging from vehicles that must always be manually controlled by a driver to vehicles that are partially or fully autonomously controlled.

[0049] The vehicle 402 may include one or more computing devices 404, one or more sensor systems 406, one or more emitters 408, one or more communication connections 410 (also referred to as communication devices and / or modems), at least one direct connection 412 (for example, for physically connecting to the vehicle 402 to exchange data and / or provide power), and one or more drive systems 414. One or more sensor systems 406 may be configured to capture sensor data associated with the environment.

[0050] One or more sensor systems 406 may include time-of-flight sensors, position sensors (e.g., GPS, compass, etc.), inertial sensors (e.g., inertial measuring unit (IMU), accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, etc.), lidar sensors, radar sensors, sonar sensors, infrared sensors, cameras (e.g., RGB, IR, brightness, depth, etc.), microphone sensors, environmental sensors (e.g., temperature sensors, humidity sensors, light sensors, pressure sensors, etc.), ultrasonic transducers, wheel encoders, ball joint sensors, chassis position sensors, and the like. One or more sensor systems 406 may include multiple instances of each of these or other types of sensors. For example, the time-of-flight sensors may include individual time-of-flight sensors located at the corners, front, rear, sides, and / or top of the vehicle 402. As another example, the camera sensors may include multiple cameras positioned at various locations around the exterior and / or interior of the vehicle 402. One or more sensor systems 406 may provide input to the computing device 404.

[0051] Vehicle 402 may also include one or more emitters 408 that emit light and / or sound. One or more emitters 408 in this example include internal audio and visual emitters that communicate with the occupants of vehicle 402. For illustrative purposes only, but not limited to, internal emitters may include speakers, lights, symbols, display screens, touch screens, haptic emitters (e.g., vibration and / or force feedback), mechanical actuators (e.g., seat belt tensioners, seat positioners, headrest positioners, etc.). One or more emitters 408 in this example may also include external emitters. As a non-limited example, external emitters in this example include lights for signaling the direction of travel or other indicators of vehicle operation (e.g., indicator lights, signs, light arrays, etc.), and one or more audio emitters (e.g., speakers, speaker arrays, horns, etc.) for voice communication with pedestrians or other nearby vehicles, one or more of which may incorporate acoustic beam steering technology.

[0052] The vehicle 402 may also include one or more communication connections 410 that enable communication between the vehicle 402 and one or more other local or remote computing devices (e.g., wireless charging adapters, DC fast chargers, remote remote-controlled computing devices, etc.) or remote services. For example, one or more communication connections 410 can facilitate communication with other local computing devices and / or one or more drive systems 414 on the vehicle 402. Alternatively, one or more communication connections 410 can enable the vehicle 402 to communicate with other neighboring computing devices (e.g., other neighboring vehicles, traffic signals, etc.).

[0053] One or more communication connections 410 may include physical and / or logical interfaces for connecting a computing device 404 to another computing device or one or more external networks 442 (e.g., the Internet). For example, one or more communication connections 410 may enable Wi-Fi-based communication such as via frequencies defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard, short-range radio frequencies such as Bluetooth, cellular communication (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, etc.), satellite communication, dedicated narrow-area communication (DSRC), or any suitable wired or wireless communication protocol that enables each computing device to interface with other computing devices.

[0054] In at least one example, the vehicle 402 may include one or more drive systems 414. In some examples, the vehicle 402 may have a single drive system 414. In at least one example, if the vehicle 402 has multiple drive systems 414, the individual drive systems 414 may be located at opposite ends of the vehicle 402 (e.g., front and rear). In at least one example, the drive system 414 may include one or more sensor systems 406 for detecting the conditions around the drive system 414 and / or the vehicle 402. By example, but not by limitation, the sensor system 406 may include one or more wheel encoders (e.g., rotary encoders) for sensing the rotation of the drive system's wheels, inertial sensors (e.g., inertial measurement units, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, etc.) for measuring the orientation and acceleration of the drive system, cameras or other image sensors, ultrasonic sensors, LIDAR sensors, RADAR sensors, etc. for acoustically detecting objects in the environment surrounding the drive system. Some sensors, such as wheel encoders, may be specific to the drive system 414. In some cases, the sensor system 406 on the drive system 414 may overlap with or supplement the corresponding system (e.g., sensor system 406) on the vehicle 402.

[0055] The drive system 414 can include many vehicle systems, including a high-voltage battery (e.g., energy storage unit 460), a second induction coil 462 for wirelessly charging the high-voltage battery, a motor for propelling the vehicle, a converter 464 for bidirectional conversion between DC and AC, a steering system including a steering motor and steering rack (which may be electric), a braking system including hydraulic or electric actuators, a suspension system including hydraulic and / or pneumatic components, a stability control system for distributing braking force to reduce traction loss and maintain control, an HVAC system, lighting (e.g., headlights / taillights for illuminating the exterior of the vehicle), and one or more other systems (e.g., a cooling system, safety systems, an onboard charging system, a DC / DC converter, a high-voltage junction, high-voltage cables, a charging system, a charging port, and other electrical components). The drive system 414 can also receive and preprocess data from the sensor system 406 and include a drive system controller for controlling the operation of various vehicle systems. In some examples, the drive system controller may include one or more processors and memory communicably coupled to one or more processors. The memory can store one or more components for performing various functions of the drive system 414. Furthermore, the drive system 414 also includes one or more communication connections that enable each drive system to communicate with one or more other local or remote computing devices.

[0056] The computing device 404 may include one or more processors 416 and a memory 418 communicatively coupled to one or more processors 416. In the illustrated example, the memory 418 of the computing device 404 stores a perception component 420, a positioning component 424, a prediction component 434, a planning component 436, a map component 438, and one or more system controllers 440. Although depicted as residing in the memory 418 for illustrative purposes, the perception component 420, the positioning component 424, the prediction component 434, the planning component 436, the map component 438, and one or more system controllers 440 are intended to be additionally or alternatively accessible to the computing device 404 (e.g., stored in different components of the vehicle 402) and / or accessible to the vehicle 402 (e.g., stored remotely).

[0057] The perceptual component 420 may include the ability to perform object detection, segmentation, and / or classification. In some examples, the perceptual component 420 and / or the object detector 422 may provide processed sensor data indicating the presence of entities in proximity to the vehicle 402 and / or the classification of entities as entity types (e.g., automobile, pedestrian, cyclist, building, tree, road surface, curb, sidewalk, unknown, etc.). In additional and / or alternative examples, the perceptual component 420 may provide processed sensor data indicating one or more properties associated with the detected entities and / or the environment in which the entities are located. In some examples, properties associated with an entity may include, but are not limited to, x-position (global position), y-position (global position), z-position (global position), orientation, entity type (e.g., classification, etc.), entity velocity, entity range (size), etc. Properties associated with the environment may include, but are not limited to, the presence of other entities in the environment, the state of other entities in the environment, time of day, day of the week, season, weather conditions, darkness / light indication, etc.

[0058] The perceptual component 420 may include the ability to store perceptual data generated by the perceptual component 420. In some examples, the perceptual component 420 may determine tracks corresponding to objects classified as object types. For illustrative purposes only, the perceptual component 420 may use the sensor system 406 to capture one or more images of the environment that may be used to determine information about the environment.

[0059] The stored perceptual data may, in some examples, include fused perceptual data captured by a vehicle. The fused perceptual data may include fused or other combinations of sensor data from sensor systems 406, such as image sensors, lidar sensors, radar sensors, time-of-flight sensors, sonar sensors, global positioning system sensors, internal sensors, and / or any combination thereof. The stored perceptual data may additionally or alternatively include classification data, which includes semantic classification of objects represented in the sensor data (e.g., pedestrians, vehicles, buildings, road surfaces, etc.). The stored perceptual data may additionally or alternatively include track data (location, orientation, sensor features, etc.) corresponding to the movement of objects classified as dynamic objects through the environment. The track data may include multiple tracks of multiple different objects over time. This track data can be mined to identify images of a particular type of object (e.g., pedestrians, animals, etc.) when the object is stationary (e.g., motionless) or moving (e.g., walking, running, etc.). In this example, the computing device determines the track corresponding to a pedestrian.

[0060] In general, the object detector 422 can detect semantic objects represented by sensor data (among other things). In some examples, the object detector 422 can identify such semantic objects and determine the two-dimensional or three-dimensional bounding box associated with the object. The object detector 422 can determine additional information associated with the object, such as its position, orientation, attitude, and / or size (e.g., length, width, height, etc.). The object detector 422 can transmit data to other components of the system 400 to determine positioning and / or calibration information, as described herein.

[0061] The positioning component 424 may include the ability to receive data from the sensor system 406 and / or other components to determine the position of the vehicle 402. For example, the positioning component 424 may include and / or request / receive a 3D map of the environment and continuously determine the position of the autonomous vehicle within the map. In some examples, the positioning component 424 may use SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) or CLAMS (calibration, localization and mapping, simultaneously) to receive time-of-flight data, image data, LiDAR data, radar data, sonar data, IMU data, GPS data, wheel encoder data, or any combination thereof to accurately determine the position of the autonomous vehicle. In some examples, the positioning component 424 may provide data to various components of the vehicle 402 to determine the initial position of the autonomous vehicle for trajectory generation or initial calibration.

[0062] The prediction component 434 can generate one or more probability maps representing the predicted probabilities of the possible locations of one or more objects in the environment. For example, the prediction component 434 can generate one or more probability maps for vehicles, pedestrians, animals, etc., within a threshold distance from vehicle 402. In some examples, the prediction component 434 can measure the track of an object and, based on the observed and predicted behavior, generate discretized predicted probability maps, heat maps, probability distributions, discretized probability distributions, and / or trajectories for the object. In some examples, one or more probability maps can represent the intent of one or more objects in the environment.

[0063] The planning component 436 can determine the path that the vehicle 402 will take to traverse the environment. For example, the planning component 436 can determine various routes and details of the route and at various levels. In some examples, the planning component 436 can determine a route to travel from a first location (e.g., the current location) to a second location (e.g., a target location). For the purposes of this explanation, the route may be a series of waypoints for traveling between the two locations. In non-limiting examples, waypoints may include roads, intersections, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, etc. Furthermore, the planning component 436 can generate instructions for guiding the autonomous vehicle along at least part of the route from the first location to the second location. In at least one example, the planning component 436 can determine how to guide the autonomous vehicle from a first waypoint of a series of waypoints to a second waypoint of a series of waypoints. In some examples, the instructions may be a route or part of a route. In some cases, multiple paths can be generated substantially simultaneously (e.g., within technical limits) according to receding horizon technology. A single path from among the multiple paths in the receding horizon data with the highest level of confidence can be selected for vehicle operation.

[0064] In other examples, the planning component 436 may, alternatively or additionally, use data from the perception component 420 and / or the prediction component 434 to determine the path that the vehicle 402 will take to traverse the environment. For example, the planning component 436 may receive data from the perception component 420 and / or the prediction component 434 about objects associated with the environment. Using this data, the planning component 436 may determine a path to move from a first location (e.g., the current location) to a second location (e.g., the target location) in order to avoid objects in the environment. In at least some examples, such a planning component 436 may determine that there is no such collision-free path and provide a path that leads the vehicle 402 to a safe stop that avoids all collisions and / or otherwise reduces damage.

[0065] Memory 418 may further include one or more maps 432 that can be used by a vehicle 402 to navigate within the environment. For the purposes of this description, a map can be any number of data structures modeled in two, three, or N dimensions that can provide information about the environment, including, but not limited to, topology (such as intersections), streets, mountain ranges, roads, topography, and the environment in general. A map may further include object identifiers, object classifications, three-dimensional locations, covariance data (e.g., image data or represented in multi-resolution voxel space), etc. In some examples, a map may include, but is not limited to, texture information (e.g., color information (e.g., RGB color information, lab color information, HSV / HSL color information), intensity information (e.g., LIDAR information, RADAR information), spatial information (e.g., image data projected onto a mesh, individual "surfaces" (e.g., polygons associated with individual colors and / or intensities)), reflectivity information (e.g., specular reflectivity information, retroreflectivity information, BRDF information, BSSRDF information, etc.). In one example, the map may include a three-dimensional mesh of the environment. In some examples, as described herein, the map may be stored in a tiled format such that individual tiles of the map represent distinct parts of the environment and can be loaded into working memory as needed. In at least one example, one or more maps of the map component 438 may include at least one map (e.g., an image and / or a mesh). In some examples, the vehicle 402 may be controlled at least in part based on the map component 438. That is, the map component 438 may be used in conjunction with the perception component 420 (and subcomponents), the positioning component 424 (and subcomponents), the prediction component 434, and / or the planning component 436 to determine the position of the vehicle 402, identify objects in the environment, generate predicted probabilities associated with the objects and / or the vehicle 402, and / or generate routes and / or trajectories for navigating within the environment.

[0066] In at least one example, the computing device 404 may include one or more system controllers 440, which may be configured to control the steering, propulsion, brakes, safety, emitter, communication, and other systems of the vehicle 402. These system controllers 440 may communicate with and / or control the corresponding systems of the drive system 414 and / or other components of the vehicle 402, which may be configured to operate according to the paths provided by the planning component 436.

[0067] Vehicle 402 can connect to a computing device 444 via a network 442 and may include one or more processors 446 and a memory 448 communicably coupled to one or more processors 446. In at least one example, one or more processors 446 may be analogous to processor 416, and the memory 448 may be analogous to memory 418. In at least one example, the computing device 444 may include wireless charging adapters (e.g., 108, 208a, 208b, and / or 208c). In the illustrated example, the memory 448 of the computing device 444 stores a current routing component 450 and / or a messaging component 452. In at least one example, the current routing component 450 may perform operations for routing current (e.g., AC and / or DC) between various adapter components (e.g., inverters, rectifiers, coils, power supply units, gate drivers, and / or controllers). In at least some other examples, the messaging component 452 may perform operations to send messages to and / or receive messages from internal adapter components (e.g., coils, controllers, etc.) and / or external components (e.g., DC fast chargers, vehicles, electricity usage billing systems, etc.). For example, the messaging component 452 may perform operations to exchange messages between adapter components (e.g., confirming connection to a DC fast charger plug, confirming wireless connection to a vehicle and / or on-board coils for charging the vehicle battery, etc.). In other examples, the messaging component 452 may exchange messages with a DC fast charger (e.g., 218 and / or 234), messages with a vehicle (e.g., determining vehicle proximity, determining battery charge level, etc.), and / or messages with the vehicle's on-board induction coils (e.g., determining proximity, alignment, etc.).

[0068] The processor 416 of computing device 404 and the processor 446 of computing device 444 may be any suitable processor capable of processing data and executing instructions for performing operations, as described herein. For example, and not limited to, processors 416 and 446 may comprise one or more central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), or any other device, or any other part of a device, that processes electronic data and converts that electronic data into other electronic data that can be stored in registers and / or memory. In some examples, integrated circuits (e.g., ASICs), gate arrays (e.g., FPGAs), and other hardware devices can also be considered processors insofar as they are configured to implement encoded instructions.

[0069] Memory 418 of computing device 404 and memory 448 of computing device 444 are examples of non-temporary computer-readable media. Memories 418 and 448 can store operating systems, as well as one or more software applications, instructions, programs, and / or data for implementing the methods described herein and the functions assigned to various systems. In various implementations, memories 418 and 448 can be implemented using appropriate memory technology, such as static random-access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), non-volatile / flash-type memory, or any other type of memory capable of storing information. The architectures, systems, and individual elements described herein may include many other logical, programmatic, and physical components, the ones illustrated in the accompanying drawings being merely examples relevant to the description herein.

[0070] In some examples, some or all aspects of the components discussed herein may include any model, algorithm, and / or machine learning algorithm. For example, in some examples, the components in memories 418 and 448 can be implemented as a neural network. In some examples, a machine learning model may be trained for object detection (e.g., image data used to detect a vehicle, a DC fast charger, or a wireless charging adapter) or for trajectory planning for parking in a given position to align coils.

[0071] As described herein, an exemplary neural network is a biologically inspired algorithm that passes input data through a series of connected layers to produce an output. Each layer of a neural network may contain another neural network, or it may contain any number of layers (whether convolutional or not). As can be understood in the context of this disclosure, a neural network may leverage machine learning, which can refer to a broad class of such algorithms in which an output is produced based on learned parameters.

[0072] Although described in the context of neural networks, any type of machine learning can be used in accordance with this disclosure. For example, machine learning algorithms are not limited to, but include, regression algorithms (e.g., ordinary least squares regression (OLSR), linear regression, logistic regression, stepwise regression, MARS (multivariate adaptive regression splines), LOESS (locally estimated scatterplot smoothing)), instance-based algorithms (e.g., ridge regression, LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator), Elastic net, LARS (least-angle regression)), decision tree algorithms (e.g., classification and regression tree (CART), ID3 (iterative dichotomiser 3), chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID), decision stump, conditional decision tree), Bayesian algorithms (e.g., naive Bayes, Gaussian naive Bayes, multinomial naive Bayes, AODE (average one-dependence estimators), Bayesian belief networks (BNN), Bayesian networks), clustering algorithms (e.g., k-means, k-median, expectation maximization (EM), hierarchical clustering), correlation rule learning algorithms (e.g., perceptron, backpropagation, Hopfield network, RBFN (Radial Basis Function)).This can include networks, deep learning algorithms (e.g., deep Boltzmann machines (DBM), deep belief networks (DBN), convolutional neural networks (CNN), stacked autoencoders), dimensionality reduction algorithms (e.g., principal component analysis (PCA), principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares regression (PLSR), summon mapping, multidimensional scaling (MDS), projection tracking, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), mixture discriminant analysis (MDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), flexible discriminant analysis (FDA)), ensemble algorithms (e.g., boosting, bootstrap aggregation (bagging), AdaBoost, stacked generalization (blending), gradient boosting machines (GBM), gradient boosted regression trees (GBRT), random forests), SVM (support vector machines), supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, etc.

[0073] Additional architecture examples include neural networks such as ResNet40, ResNet101, VGG, DenseNet, and PointNet.

[0074] As described above with reference to Figures 1-4, the technology described herein may be useful for recharging electric vehicle batteries. In some cases, wireless charging is more convenient than conventional physical contact charging systems and may reduce maintenance associated with wear and tear of physical contacts. Furthermore, the wireless charging adapter, upon determining the proximity of the electric vehicle, provides the ability to mimic the vehicle's connection to a DC fast charger and initiate the supply of DC from the DC fast charger. In particular, this helps to conserve energy (for example, since the DC fast charger does not supply DC when the vehicle is not nearby) and may reduce safety concerns associated with a first induction coil being charged when a second induction coil is not present.

[0075] Exemplary clause A: A wireless charging adapter for wirelessly charging a vehicle battery, wherein the wireless charging adapter is An electrical connector that connects to a DC fast charger, A power converter coupled to the aforementioned electrical connector, An induction coil coupled to the power converter, One or more processors, One or more non-temporary computer-readable media for storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, The wireless charging adapter is equipped with the following, and when the instruction is executed, The vehicle is positioned in close proximity to the induction coil to detect the alternating current (AC) induced in the induction coil, Sending a message to a DC fast charger according to a signaling protocol, at least in part, based on detecting AC, the message indicating that the vehicle is coupled to the DC fast charger for contact-based charging, Receiving DC from a DC fast charger, Converting DC to a second AC, The second AC is transmitted to the induction coil to inductively charge the battery. A wireless charging adapter that enables the execution of actions including those mentioned above.

[0076] B: The wireless charging adapter according to clause A, further comprising a power supply unit that supplies power to one or more processors based on AC induced in an induction coil by the vehicle, the one or more processors transmitting the message to the DC fast charger, at least in part, based on receiving the power.

[0077] C: The above operation is, Based at least in part on receiving the aforementioned power, a wireless communication link is established between the wireless charging adapter and the vehicle. The vehicle receives data representing one or more vehicle-specific charging parameters via the wireless communication link, Controlling the electromagnetic induction charging of the battery based at least partially on one or more vehicle-specific charging parameters. The wireless charging adapter described in Clause B, further including the wireless charging adapter described in Clause B.

[0078] D: The wireless charging adapter according to clause C, wherein the operation further includes determining that the wireless communication link has terminated and, based on the termination of the communication link, stopping the transmission of a second AC to the induction coil.

[0079] E: The operation described above involves receiving an identifier for a signaling protocol, including SAE J1772, CHAdeMO, IEC 61851-C, or GB / T, from a DC fast charger. Formatting the message according to the aforementioned signaling protocol A wireless charging adapter as described in any one of clauses A through D, further comprising the features described in any one of clauses A through D.

[0080] F: A method for wirelessly charging a vehicle battery, The vehicle receives a signal indicating that it is close to the wireless charging adapter, via one or more processors, at least in part, based on the reception of the signal, a message is sent to the charging station via contact-based coupling in accordance with a signaling protocol, the message indicating that the vehicle is coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging, Receiving power from the charging station via the coupling of the contact base, The wireless charging adapter transmits contactless power to the vehicle, wherein the contactless power is obtained from the power from the contact base coupling. A method for providing this.

[0081] G: The contactless power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter, and before transmitting the message, the method Receiving alternating current (AC) from the first induction coil, wherein the AC is induced in the first induction coil by the second induction coil, The AC power supply is used to power the wireless charging adapter. The method of clause F, further comprising:

[0082] H: To establish a wireless communication link between the wireless charging adapter and the vehicle, The wireless charging adapter receives one or more vehicle-specific charging parameters via the wireless communication link, Controlling the electromagnetic induction charging of the battery based at least partially on one or more vehicle-specific charging parameters. The method of clause F or clause G, further comprising:

[0083] I: Receiving sensor data indicating the position of the vehicle, Receiving map data indicating the location of the wireless charging adapter, Based on the position of the vehicle and the position of the wireless charging adapter, it is determined that the vehicle is in close proximity to the wireless charging adapter. Based on the vehicle being in close proximity to the wireless charging adapter, the message is transmitted to the charging station. The method described in any one of the clauses F through H, further comprising:

[0084] J: The contactless power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter. Before sending the aforementioned message, the method The second induction coil detects the impedance generated by the first induction coil based on the vehicle being in close proximity to the wireless charging adapter, The second induction coil induces power in the first induction coil, at least partially based on the impedance. The method described in any one of the clauses F through I, further comprising:

[0085] K: The contactless power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter. Before sending the aforementioned message, the method The second induction coil detects an impedance indicating that the first induction coil is within a threshold distance from the second induction coil, Based on the position of the vehicle and the position of the wireless charging adapter, it is determined that the vehicle is aligned for electromagnetic induction charging using the wireless charging adapter. Based on the detection of the impedance and the alignment of the vehicles, power is supplied to the wireless charging adapter. The method described in any one of the clauses F through J, further comprising:

[0086] L: The method according to any one of the claims F to K, wherein the signal includes sensor data from a proximity sensor, the sensor data indicating that the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter and the second induction coil of the vehicle are within a threshold distance of each other.

[0087] M: Based on the query to the charging station, determine the signaling protocol, including SAE J1772, CHAdeMO, IEC 61851-C, or GB / T. Formatting the message according to the aforementioned signaling protocol The method described in any one of the clauses F through L, further comprising:

[0088] N: An electrical connector that connects to the charging station, A power converter coupled to the aforementioned electrical connector, A first induction coil coupled to the power converter, One or more processors, One or more non-temporary computer-readable media for storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, A wireless charging adapter equipped with, where when the command is executed, the wireless charging adapter, The vehicle receives a signal indicating that it is close to the wireless charging adapter, Based at least in part on the reception of the aforementioned signal, a message is sent to the charging station via contact-based coupling in accordance with a signaling protocol, the message indicating that the vehicle is coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging, Receiving power from the charging station via the coupling of the contact base, Transmitting non-contact power to the vehicle via a first induction coil, wherein the non-contact power is obtained from the power from the coupling of the contact base. A wireless charging adapter that enables the execution of actions including those mentioned above.

[0089] O: The above operation is, Receiving first data representing vehicle-specific charging parameters from the aforementioned vehicle, To transmit to the charging station second data representing the vehicle-specific charging parameters The wireless charging adapter described in clause N further includes the following:

[0090] P: After transmitting the contactless power to the vehicle, the operation is performed. Receiving a second signal from the vehicle indicating one or more of the following: state of charge (SOC) or the vehicle being located beyond a threshold distance from the wireless charging adapter; To reduce the power from the charging station and A wireless charging adapter as described in clause N or clause O, further including the following:

[0091] Q: Before sending the above message, the above action is performed. Establishing a wireless communication link with one or more of the server or the aforementioned vehicles, The wireless communication link is used to receive vehicle-specific charging parameters. A wireless charging adapter as described in any one of the clauses N through P, further including the following:

[0092] R: The non-contact power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle. Before sending the aforementioned message, the aforementioned operation is performed. Receiving alternating current (AC) from the first induction coil, wherein the AC is induced in the first induction coil by the second induction coil, The AC power supply is used to power the wireless charging adapter. A wireless charging adapter as described in any one of the clauses N through Q, further including the following:

[0093] S: Further comprising a disconnection device configured to control power from the charging station, The wireless charging adapter according to any one of the clauses N to R, wherein the operation further includes activating the disconnection device based at least in part on the signal to enable the power to be received.

[0094] T: The above operation is, Receiving an identifier of the signaling protocol, including SAE J1772, CHAdeMO, IEC 61851-C, or GB / T, from the charging station, Formatting the message according to the aforementioned signaling protocol A wireless charging adapter as described in any one of the clauses N through S, further including the following:

[0095] While the examples of clauses described above illustrate one specific implementation, it should be understood that in the context of this specification, the content of the examples of clauses may be implemented through methods, devices, systems, computer-readable media, and / or other implementation programs. Furthermore, any of clauses A through T may be implemented individually or in combination with one or more of the other clauses A through T.

[0096] summary While one or more examples of the techniques described herein have been described, various modifications, additions, substitutions, and equivalents thereof are included within the scope of the techniques described herein.

[0097] The illustrative descriptions refer to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, illustrating specific examples of the subject matter claimed as illustrative. It should be understood that other examples may be used, and modifications or substitutions, such as structural changes, may be made. Such examples, modifications, or substitutions do not necessarily deviate from the scope of the subject matter intended to be claimed. While the steps in this specification may be presented in a particular order, in some cases the order may be changed to provide specific inputs at different times or in different orders without altering the functionality of the described systems and methods. The disclosed procedures may also be performed in different orders. Furthermore, the various calculations in this specification do not need to be performed in the order disclosed, and other examples using alternative orders of calculations can be readily implemented. In addition to rearranging, calculations can also be broken down into sub-calculations having the same results.

Claims

1. A method for wirelessly charging a vehicle battery, wherein the method is: The vehicle receives a signal indicating that it is close to the wireless charging adapter, Receiving alternating current (AC) from the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter, wherein the AC is induced in the first induction coil by the second induction coil of the vehicle, Using the aforementioned AC power supply, the wireless charging adapter is powered, via one or more processors, at least in part, based on the reception of the signal, a message is sent to the charging station via contact-based coupling in accordance with a signaling protocol, the message indicating that the vehicle is coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging, Receiving power from the charging station via the coupling of the contact base, The wireless charging adapter transmits non-contact power to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter, wherein the non-contact power is obtained from the power from the coupling of the contact base. A method for providing this.

2. To establish a wireless communication link between the wireless charging adapter and the vehicle, The wireless charging adapter receives one or more vehicle-specific charging parameters via the wireless communication link, Controlling the electromagnetic induction charging of the battery based at least partially on one or more vehicle-specific charging parameters. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

3. Receiving sensor data indicating the position of the aforementioned vehicle, Receiving map data indicating the location of the wireless charging adapter, Based on the position of the vehicle and the position of the wireless charging adapter, it is determined that the vehicle is in close proximity to the wireless charging adapter. Based on the vehicle being in close proximity to the wireless charging adapter, the message is transmitted to the charging station. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. The aforementioned contactless power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter. Before sending the aforementioned message, the method The second induction coil detects the impedance generated by the first induction coil based on the fact that the vehicle is in close proximity to the wireless charging adapter, The second induction coil induces power in the first induction coil, at least partially based on the impedance. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

5. The aforementioned contactless power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter. Before sending the aforementioned message, the method The second induction coil detects an impedance indicating that the first induction coil is within a threshold distance from the second induction coil, Based on the position of the vehicle and the position of the wireless charging adapter, it is determined that the vehicle is aligned for electromagnetic induction charging using the wireless charging adapter. Based on the detection of the impedance and the alignment of the vehicles, power is supplied to the wireless charging adapter. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the signal includes sensor data from a proximity sensor, the sensor data indicating that the first induction coil of the wireless charging adapter and the second induction coil of the vehicle are within a threshold distance of each other.

7. Based on the query to the charging station, determine the signaling protocol, including SAE J1772, CHAdeMO, IEC 61851-3, or GB / T. Formatting the message according to the aforementioned signaling protocol The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

8. One or more computer-readable media that store instructions, when executed by one or more processors, configured to cause a device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An electrical connector that connects to the charging station, A power converter coupled to the aforementioned electrical connector, A first induction coil coupled to the power converter, One or more processors, One or more non-temporary computer-readable media for storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, A wireless charging adapter equipped with, where when the command is executed, the wireless charging adapter, The vehicle receives a signal indicating that it is close to the wireless charging adapter, Receiving alternating current (AC) from the first induction coil, wherein the AC is induced in the first induction coil by the second induction coil of the vehicle, Using the aforementioned AC power supply, the wireless charging adapter is powered, Based at least in part on the reception of the aforementioned signal, a message is sent to the charging station via contact-based coupling in accordance with a signaling protocol, the message indicating that the vehicle is coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging, Receiving power from the charging station via the coupling of the contact base, The non-contact power is transmitted to the second induction coil of the vehicle via the first induction coil, wherein the non-contact power is obtained from the power from the coupling of the contact base. A wireless charging adapter that enables the execution of actions including those mentioned above.

10. The aforementioned operation is, Receiving first data representing vehicle-specific charging parameters from the aforementioned vehicle, To transmit to the charging station second data representing the vehicle-specific charging parameters The wireless charging adapter according to claim 9, further comprising:

11. After transmitting the aforementioned non-contact power to the vehicle, the operation proceeds as follows: Receiving a second signal from the vehicle indicating one or more of the following: state of charge (SOC) or the vehicle being located beyond a threshold distance from the wireless charging adapter; To reduce the power from the charging station and A wireless charging adapter according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising:

12. Before sending the aforementioned message, the aforementioned operation is performed. Establishing a wireless communication link with one or more of the server or the aforementioned vehicles, The wireless communication link is used to receive vehicle-specific charging parameters. A wireless charging adapter according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising:

13. The system further comprises a disconnection device configured to control power from the charging station, The wireless charging adapter according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising activating the disconnection device based at least in part on the signal to enable the power to be received.

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