Wireless charging system for electric vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wireless charging system for an electric vehicle, configured to wirelessly charge the electric vehicle. More specifically, the wireless charging system for an electric vehicle is characterized in that: a pad aligner is provided outside a power supply pad; and electric vehicle charging starts after the power supply pad or a power supply coil is moved and aligned horizontally or vertically with a current-collecting coil by the pad aligner before the start of charging. In addition, in this process, foreign substances on the pad can be directly inspected and removed by the pad aligner, thereby simplifying the overall structure of the wireless charging system for an electric vehicle and reducing costs.

Description

Electric vehicle wireless charging system

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless charger for electric vehicles that charges by magnetic induction between a supply coil installed on the floor of a parking lot and a collection coil installed on the floor of an electric vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wireless charging system for electric vehicles that implements low cost and high efficiency by providing a pad aligner on the outside of the supply pad and, before charging the electric vehicle, moving the supply pad or the supply coil through the pad aligner to precisely align the supply coil horizontally and vertically with respect to the collection coil.

[0002] The content described below merely provides background information related to the present embodiment and does not constitute prior art.

[0003] Electric vehicles generally have a wired charging method that charges by connecting a charging cable between the charging gun and the inlet of the electric vehicle, and a wireless charging method that charges by contactlessly transmitting charging power to the electric vehicle through magnetic induction between the charging coil on the charger side and the collecting coil of the electric vehicle.

[0004] A typical electric vehicle wireless charging system may be configured to include at least one electric vehicle wireless charger including a power supply pad installed on the floor of a parking lot, a power collection pad installed on the bottom of an electric vehicle, an inverter that converts charging power and provides it to the power supply pad, and a charging cable that electrically connects the inverter and the power supply coil.

[0005] While wired chargers offer high charging efficiency, they suffer from the inconvenience of having to plug in and unplug a heavy, messy plug every time you charge. Wireless chargers, on the other hand, offer the convenience of automatically charging simply by parking. However, precise horizontal alignment of the charging and collecting pads can be challenging, depending on the person parking the car. Furthermore, ground clearance (height from the ground) can vary significantly depending on the vehicle type, making vertical alignment challenging. Current wireless charging technology must allow for a certain amount of horizontal alignment error and be designed with a wide air gap range. Current international standards require a tolerance of ±7.5cm in the forward and backward directions and ±10cm in the left and right directions. Vertically, the charger must accommodate air gap variations ranging from a minimum ground clearance of 12cm to approximately 30cm. This leads to a significant increase in the size of the charging pad relative to the collecting pad, significantly reducing charging efficiency.

[0006] Furthermore, wireless charging systems for electric vehicles must have a Foreign Object Detection (FOD) function, as the presence of metallic objects between the charging and collecting pads can lead to fires due to inductive charging. Furthermore, a Live Object Detection (LOD) function is essential, as living things, such as dogs or cats, can be hazardous to their health if they are near the charging pads during charging. Furthermore, a Position Detection (PD) function is required to determine whether the electric vehicle's collecting pads are aligned with the charging pads.

[0007] Current FOD, LOD, and PD technologies have the disadvantage of being expensive and prone to errors due to their complex hardware and software algorithms.

[0008] In addition to the problems of high cost and low efficiency (roughly a 5% difference compared to wired charging), the inability to significantly increase capacity is also a problem. Currently, only slow chargers with a capacity of around 11 kW have been developed, and even these are not commercialized due to high costs. Upcoming robotaxis will require rapid charging at least 50 kW, but overcoming the high cost and low efficiency challenges presents a significant challenge.

[0009] Recently, a method has been proposed to maximize power transfer efficiency between the feed and collector pads by leveraging the electric vehicle's automatic parking function to horizontally align the feed and collector pads. This method also incorporates a height adjustment device within the feed pad to adjust the feed coil height regardless of the vehicle's ground clearance, thereby maintaining a consistent gap with respect to the collector pad. This method offers the advantage of dramatically reducing the feed pad size and maximizing efficiency if both horizontal and vertical alignment are achieved. However, the current automatic parking technology's low accuracy prevents precise horizontal alignment, and it is difficult to standardize the pad attachment location across electric vehicle manufacturers, making this method difficult to implement. Furthermore, existing FOD, LOD, and PD functions are still required, and the high cost of the feed coil height adjustment method reduces the advantages.

[0010] Therefore, in order to properly commercialize wireless chargers, it is necessary to develop a wireless charging technology that supports the above-mentioned conventional functions while also being economical and highly efficient.

[0011] The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to minimize the size of the power supply pad and maximize efficiency by providing an inexpensive alignment means capable of horizontally and vertically aligning the power supply pad and the power collection pad, and to minimize the cost by separately implementing the FOD, LOD, and PD functions.

[0012] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention comprises: a power supply pad installed on the floor of a parking space and including a power supply coil on the upper portion;

[0013] A current collecting pad installed at the bottom of an electric vehicle and including a current collecting coil that receives power through magnetic coupling with the above-mentioned power supply coil; and

[0014] An electric vehicle wireless charger including an inverter connected to the above charging pad and providing charging power;

[0015] It is characterized in that it includes at least one of the above electric vehicle wireless chargers and has a separate pad aligner that can move the power supply pad or the power supply coil outside the power supply pad of the electric vehicle wireless charger, and before the electric vehicle starts charging, the power supply pad or the power supply coil is moved by the pad aligner to be horizontally or vertically aligned with respect to the power collection coil, and then charging starts.

[0016] In addition, in the present invention, the pad aligner is characterized by including a function of checking whether foreign substances are attached on the supply pad or under the collection pad.

[0017] In addition, in the present invention, the pad aligner further includes a foreign matter removal device, and is characterized in that it removes foreign matter when foreign matter is attached to the power supply pad or under the power collection pad.

[0018] In the wireless charging system for electric vehicles according to the present invention, a pad aligner capable of moving the power supply pad or the power supply coil outside the power supply pad is provided, and before starting charging for the electric vehicle, the power supply pad or the power supply coil is moved using the pad aligner to horizontally and vertically align it with respect to the current collection coil before charging can begin, thereby simplifying the power supply pad, minimizing the size of the power supply pad, and maximizing efficiency. In addition, there is an advantage in that the cost of the wireless charger can be minimized by removing functions such as FOD, LOD, and PD from the power supply pad and placing them in the pad aligner. Since one pad aligner can cover a large number of wireless chargers (approximately 20 to 50 units), it does not significantly affect the cost. In particular, it can be implemented regardless of the attachment location of the current collection pad depending on the vehicle manufacturer, and it has the advantage of being advantageous for large-capacity charging of 50 kW or more because it can align well with small gaps.

[0019] Figure 1 is a drawing for explaining a conventional electric vehicle wireless charging system.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining an electric vehicle wireless charging system according to another conventional embodiment.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining the configuration and operation method of an electric vehicle wireless charger according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a pad aligner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating the operation of a pad aligner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 is a drawing for explaining a horizontal alignment process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 is a drawing for explaining a vertical alignment process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a power supply pad according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 9 is a drawing for explaining the configuration and operation method of an electric vehicle wireless charger according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Fig. 10 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a pad aligner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating the operation of a pad aligner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 12 is a drawing for explaining the horizontal alignment and vertical alignment processes according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 13 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a power supply pad according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 14 is a drawing for explaining the horizontal alignment and vertical alignment processes according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Fig. 15 is a drawing illustrating an alignment method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention and a structure of a power supply pad therefor.

[0034] Figure 16 is a drawing for explaining the FOD method according to the present invention.

[0035] Fig. 17 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a power supply coil and a power collection coil according to the present invention.

[0036] Figure 18 is a drawing for explaining the structure and charging process of an electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention.

[0037] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The following detailed description is merely exemplary and merely illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional electric vehicle wireless charging system. Fig. 1 illustrates the structure of an electric vehicle wireless charging system in a case where the power supply pad is implemented as a fixed type fixed to the floor of a parking space. Meanwhile, in the process of explaining the electric vehicle wireless charging system below, including Fig. 1, for a clearer distinction, only the current collection pad, excluding the vehicle body, will be illustrated and described in the case of an electric vehicle. Furthermore, in the case of the power supply pad and the current collection pad, the specific shapes of the power supply coil and the current collection coil provided in each pad will be omitted, and only the pad will be illustrated and described.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 1, an electric vehicle wireless charging system may be configured to include at least one electric vehicle wireless charger, which includes a power supply coil (102) at the top and a power supply pad (100) installed on the floor of a parking space, a power collection coil (112) that receives power through magnetic coupling with the power supply coil and is installed on the bottom of the electric vehicle, an inverter (120) that is connected to the power supply pad and provides charging power, and a charging cable (122) that electrically connects the inverter and the power supply pad.

[0040] Here, the power supply pad (100) is partially or completely buried in a parking space and fixedly installed, the inverter (120) is placed apart from the power supply pad (100), and the charging cable (122) electrically connects the inverter (120) and the power supply pad (100), but can be implemented to be buried in the ground or placed above the ground through a cable duct to transmit charging power to the electric vehicle through the power supply pad (100).

[0041] Wireless charging of electric vehicles is a method in which a vehicle equipped with a current collecting pad (110) is placed on a power supply pad (100) buried in the ground, and then current is applied to the power supply pad (100). This method transfers electric energy to the vehicle's current collection pad (110) through magnetic induction, thereby charging the battery installed in the vehicle. In general, the power transmission efficiency of such a wireless charging system is determined by the degree of alignment of the power supply pad (100) and the current collection pad (110) and the distance between the power supply pad and the current collection pad, i.e., the air gap.

[0042] The fixed charging pad method, in which the charging pad (100) is fixedly installed on the parking surface, can be difficult to align accurately depending on the parking method of the electric vehicle. Although the driver can check the position information of the charging pad and the collecting pad on the electric vehicle's monitor and park with good alignment, accurate alignment is difficult in reality. Therefore, international standards require a horizontal alignment error of ±7.5 cm in the front-back direction and ±10 cm in the left-right direction. In addition, since the air gap between the charging coil and the collecting coil varies widely (12 to 35 cm) depending on the vehicle's ground clearance, the size of the charging pad generally has to be considerably larger than the collecting pad size to accommodate this alignment error. Despite this, the efficiency of wireless chargers is at most 90%, which is about 5% less than that of wired chargers in reality.

[0043] Moreover, since induction heating may occur if there is a foreign metal substance between the feeding pad and the collecting pad, a function to detect foreign metal substances (FOD: Foreign Object Detection) is essential. In addition, live object detection (LOD: Live Object Detection) is also necessary because pets such as dogs or cats may be harmful to their health when they are on or near the feeding pad, and a position detection (PD: Position Detection) function of the feeding pad is necessary to determine the alignment of the feeding pad and the collecting pad. This presents a problem in that, in order to implement wireless charging for electric vehicles, the size of the feeding pad (100) becomes larger and the price also becomes much higher. In addition, since the perfection of the FOD and LOD technologies is low, charging failure problems due to false detection sometimes occur.

[0044] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a wireless charging system for electric vehicles according to another conventional embodiment. Figure 2 illustrates an electric vehicle wireless charging structure implemented to maintain a constant gap with respect to a current collecting coil (112) by adjusting the height of a power supply coil (102) on a power supply pad (100). This method utilizes the electric vehicle's automatic parking function to horizontally align the power supply pad and the current collecting pad, and adds a height adjustment device within the power supply pad to adjust the height of the power supply coil regardless of the vehicle's ground clearance, thereby maintaining a constant gap with respect to the current collecting pad. This method has the advantage of being able to drastically reduce the size of the power supply pad and maximize efficiency if both horizontal and vertical alignment are achieved. However, the accuracy of current automatic parking technology is low, making precise horizontal alignment difficult. Therefore, the size of the power supply pad must be implemented to a certain extent to accommodate horizontal alignment errors. Furthermore, implementing horizontal movement in addition to the height of the feed coil can minimize the size of the feed pad and maximize efficiency. However, the vertical and horizontal movement drives significantly increase the cost and increase the probability of failure, leading to reliability issues. Furthermore, the existing FOD and PD functions are still required within the feed pad, further increasing the cost.

[0045] Accordingly, the present invention proposes a new alignment type wireless charging system for electric vehicles that solves the problems of the conventional wireless charging systems for electric vehicles as described above and is economical and highly efficient.

[0046] The wireless charging system for an electric vehicle according to the present invention may be configured to include, similar to a conventional wireless charging system for an electric vehicle, at least one electric vehicle wireless charger including a power supply pad (200) installed on the floor of a parking space and including a power supply coil (202) at the top, a power collection pad (210) installed on the bottom of the electric vehicle and including a power collection coil (212) that receives power through magnetic coupling with the power supply coil (202), an inverter (220) that is connected to the power supply pad (200) and provides charging power, and a charging cable (222) that electrically connects the inverter and the power supply pad.

[0047] Here, it can be configured to additionally include a charging platform (430) that controls the entire charging system.

[0048] The wireless charging system for electric vehicles according to the present invention differs from the conventional wireless charging system for electric vehicles in the method for aligning the supply coil and the collection coil. More specifically, the wireless charging system comprises a pad aligner capable of moving the supply pad (200) or the supply coil (202) outside the supply pad (200), and the pad aligner moves the supply pad (200) or the supply coil (202) to horizontally and vertically align it with respect to the collection coil (212).

[0049] That is, the electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention has the advantage of minimizing and simplifying the size of the power supply pad (200), maximizing efficiency, and minimizing cost because the direct driving means for aligning the power supply coil (202) and the power collection coil (212) exists outside the power supply pad (200) rather than inside the power supply pad (200) and the power supply pads (200) of a plurality (20 to 50 units) of wireless chargers can be aligned with one pad aligner.

[0050] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0051] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure and operation method of an electric vehicle wireless charger according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, for convenience, a single electric vehicle wireless charger is illustrated in the description of the electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention. However, an actual electric vehicle wireless charging system may include at least one electric vehicle wireless charger and one or more pad aligners.

[0052] As can be seen in Fig. 3, when an electric vehicle is parked randomly in a parking lot, the power supply pad (200) and the current collection pad (210) are not aligned well in most cases. In this situation, the alignment method of the electric vehicle wireless charger according to the first embodiment of the present invention provides a separate pad aligner (300) outside the power supply pad, and the pad aligner (300) lifts and moves the entire power supply pad, thereby horizontally aligning the power supply pad (200) with respect to the current collection pad (210). After the horizontal alignment is completed, the pad aligner (300) lifts only the power supply coil (202) arranged on the upper portion of the power supply pad (200), thereby vertically aligning the gap between the power collection coil (212) and the power supply coil to be even.

[0053] To this end, in the first embodiment, the power supply pad (200) may be implemented in a movable form rather than a form that is buried or fixed in the ground. At this time, the cable connecting the inverter (220) and the power supply pad (200) may be implemented by including a reel-shaped cable length variable structure (400) for variable cable length so that the power supply pad can move forward, backward, left, and right. In addition, a part of the cable may be configured as a cable protection cover (412) and a part may be configured as a corrugated tube-shaped protection cover (413) so as to be movable.

[0054] According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the size of the power supply pad (200) does not have to be increased, and preferably, the power supply coil (202) and the current collection coil (212) can be configured to have the same plane size and coil structure to be one-to-one symmetrical, and the core structure can also be configured symmetrically to each other. For example, the power supply coil (202) and the current collection coil (212) can be configured to have a structure in which the core structure wraps the remaining portion in a “ㄷ” shape except for the surface where the power supply coil and the current collection coil face each other. This can be equally applied to the structure and alignment method of the electric vehicle wireless charger according to the second embodiment of the present invention described below.

[0055] The power supply coil and the collection coil may include a temperature sensor for overheating detection, thereby enabling the prevention of overheating or fire that may occur during the alignment and charging process.

[0056] Hereinafter, the means for horizontal alignment and vertical alignment according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0057] FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a pad aligner (300) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 4, the pad aligner (300) is basically configured to include a driving drive unit (301) capable of changing direction, two arms (320) on a body (310) and one or more forks (321, 322) provided on the inside of each arm, an elevation drive unit (330, 331) for lifting the arms or forks, one or more cameras (340), a lidar sensor (342), a lighting device (343, 344), a thermal imaging camera (345), and a pad aligner controller (not shown) including wireless communication.

[0059] In the present invention, the pad aligner (300) uses a lidar sensor (342), a camera (340), etc. to find a parking space where an electric vehicle requiring charging is parked in autonomous driving, and can approach a power supply pad (200) using a lighting device (343, 344) and a camera (340). Thereafter, the pad aligner (300) extends forks (321, 322) to both sides of the power supply pad (200) to move the power supply pad (200) or the power supply coil (202) to align it horizontally or vertically with respect to the current collection coil (212).

[0060] For this purpose, it is preferable that the driving drive unit (301) is equipped with a steering device for each of the four wheels.

[0061] The pad aligner (300) includes an energy storage device (not shown) and can be driven using energy stored in the energy storage device. The pad aligner (300) can move to a designated location and charge when the pad aligner (300) is not in operation or when the energy storage device has discharged below a certain level. At this time, a charging means for charging the energy storage device using a contact or non-contact method can be provided at the designated location.

[0062] The pad alignment device (300) may include a warning means to prevent collision with people or animals during autonomous driving. In this case, the warning means may be a flashing light or a speaker, etc.

[0063] When an obstacle appears during autonomous driving, the pad aligner (300) can stop and go around the obstacle to find a path.

[0064] Here, the pad aligner (300) according to the first embodiment can be configured to easily perform horizontal or vertical alignment with respect to the current collector coil (212) by lifting and moving the power supply pad (200) and the power supply coil (202). For example, the pad aligner (300) is preferably configured such that two arms (320) are integrally fixed to the body (310) and protrude so as to easily lift and move the entire power supply pad, and the length of the arms is preferably long enough to safely lift the power supply pad.

[0065] In addition, the forks (321, 322) provided on the inside of each arm include a function of extending and pulling out the forks (321, 322) so as to be able to hold the power supply pad (200) or the power supply coil (202), and the forks (321, 322) can be implemented to be able to vertically rise and fall so as to be able to move the power supply pad (200) or the power supply coil (202).

[0066] Referring to FIG. 5, the overall operation of the pad aligner (300) approaching the power supply pad and performing alignment can be confirmed. Meanwhile, the electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention can be implemented by including a guide line (420) on the floor of the parking lot to assist autonomous driving of the pad aligner (300). For example, the pad aligner (300) can autonomously drive more efficiently by moving along the guide line (420). In addition, if a wish mark means (421), such as a barcode or QR code, is placed on or around the guide line, the pad aligner (300) can easily find a parking space where it wants to charge while driving.

[0067] In more detail, referring to FIG. 6, after the pad aligner (300) approaches the power supply pad (200), the forks (321, 322) are extended toward the power supply pad (200) to lift the entire power supply pad (200), and then the entire pad aligner (300) is moved in the XY direction to move the power supply pad (200) in the horizontal direction to perform horizontal alignment with respect to the current collector coil (212), and then the power supply pad (200) is put down again and the forks (321, 322) are removed to complete the horizontal alignment.

[0068] In addition, referring to FIG. 7, after the pad aligner (300) performs horizontal alignment, the fork (321, 322) is extended again toward the power supply pad (200) to grab the power supply coil (202), more specifically, the plate constituting the power supply coil (202), and then the power supply coil (202) is moved vertically to perform vertical alignment, and then the fork (321, 322) is removed, which is the overall process of vertical alignment.

[0069] In the first embodiment of the present invention, the power supply pad (200) may be provided with one or more codes or markings (not shown) to facilitate the pad aligner (300) to approach, grasp, and move the power supply pad. In addition, since it may be dark under the vehicle, the lighting device (343, 344) provided on the pad aligner (300) may be turned on to enable the camera (340) to easily recognize the power supply pad.

[0070] In addition, the power supply pad (200) may be provided with two or more grooves or protrusions (e.g., lower groove (600)) on the lower side of the power supply pad (200) so that the entire power supply pad can be lifted through the forks (321, 322) of the pad aligner (300), and may be provided with two or more grooves or protrusions (e.g., upper groove (601)) on the upper side of the power supply pad (200) so that only the power supply coil (202) can be lifted.

[0071] FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a power supply pad according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As described above, in the case of the first embodiment of the present invention, the pad aligner (300) approaches the power supply pad (200), first holds the power supply pad (200) through the forks (321, 322), moves the entire power supply pad (200) to horizontally align, and then holds the power supply coil (202) to adjust the height of the power supply coil to vertically align it with respect to the collection coil (212).

[0072] To this end, the power supply pad (200) is installed in a manner such that the bottom surface of the power supply pad is not fixed to the parking lot floor but is movable, and the cable connected between the inverter and the power supply pad is provided with a variable length. As described above, the cable connecting the inverter (220) and the power supply pad (200) can be implemented by including a reel-shaped cable length variable structure (400) for variable cable length so that the power supply pad can be moved forward, backward, left, and right.

[0073] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the power supply pad (200) can be implemented by including a 1D-structure (700) that can vertically move the power supply coil (202). Accordingly, the pad aligner (300) first lifts the entire power supply pad (200) and moves it horizontally to perform horizontal alignment with respect to the power collection coil (212), and then holds the power supply coil (202) and moves it vertically to adjust the 1D-structure (700), thereby performing vertical alignment with the power collection pad.

[0074] In the present invention, the 1D structure (700) can be basically composed of at least one 'X'-shaped vertical lift (701, 702) between the bottom plate of the power supply pad and the plate constituting the power supply coil. For example, in the case of the present invention, it is exemplified that two mutually symmetrical vertical lifts are provided, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

[0075] In more detail, the vertical lift (701, 702) can be implemented in a form in which one side is fixed to the bottom surface of the power supply pad and the plate forming the power supply coil by a fixed bearing (703, 704), and the other side is connected to the bottom surface of the power supply pad and the plate forming the power supply coil by a sliding bearing (705, 706).

[0076] These vertical lifts (701, 702) can be implemented to vertically align with the current collector pad by vertically adjusting the position of the power supply coil within the range of the contracted and expanded states. For example, when the pad aligner (300) lifts the power supply coil, one side of the vertical lift connected to the sliding bearings (705, 706) slides and moves to the opposite side, and the vertical lift gradually changes from the contracted state to the expanded state. When the pad aligner (300) positions the power supply coil at the alignment position with the current collector coil, the vertical lift is fixed and operates to maintain the alignment state between the power supply coil and the current collector coil.

[0077] Meanwhile, the 1D structure may be equipped with a fixing means (710) to fix the structure so that it does not move after the pad aligner moves the feeding coil to align it with the collecting coil.

[0078] For example, the fixing means (710) may be configured to include a tooth (712) and a wedge (714). The fixing means (710) operates so that the 1D structure (700) can be fixed to the current position by fixing the wedge (714) to the tooth (712) when the power supply coil is moved to the alignment position. At this time, the tooth (712) and the wedge (714) may be implemented to be in close contact with each other by having a spring.

[0079] The securing means (710) may be implemented to be released automatically or manually. More specifically, the gear (712) and the wedge (714) are provided with an electromagnet (720) on the opposite side where they are engaged with each other, and in an abnormal condition such as when charging is terminated or a heavy object presses on the power supply coil, the electromagnet (720) can be implemented to pull the wedge (714) as shown in the drawing to release it from the gear (712) so that the power supply coil can be lowered to the origin. This has the additional effect of preventing damage to the vertical lift that may be caused when the power supply coil is pressed by an external force.

[0080] In another embodiment, the wedge (714) may be configured with a smooth slope on the teeth (712) and the mountain of the wedge (714) so ​​that the wedge can slide by the force applied to the power coil when the force exceeds a predetermined value.

[0081] In addition, when the 1D structure (700) is not charging and the power supply coil is completely lowered, a support (730) may be provided between the power supply coil and the bottom plate of the power supply pad so that no direct load is applied to the 1D structure even if a person or a vehicle climbs onto the power supply pad and the load is applied.

[0082] Additionally, the 1D structure (700) may be configured to include at least one spring element between the power supply coil and the power supply pad. For example, the 1D structure (700) may be configured by combining springs of a certain height, and may be implemented such that the power supply coil is brought into close contact with the current collecting pad by the spring when vertical alignment is performed.

[0083] Meanwhile, in the present invention, the power supply pad (200) may be configured to include a wrinkled cover (201) on the side of the power supply pad so that the interior of the power supply pad can be protected even when the height of the power supply pad is changed by the 1D structure (700).

[0084] FIG. 9 is a drawing for explaining the configuration and alignment method of an electric vehicle wireless charger according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0085] Meanwhile, the second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the first embodiment in terms of the basic configuration of the electric vehicle wireless charger, but differs in the alignment method utilizing the pad aligner. The following will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0086] In the second embodiment of the present invention, the bottom surface (204) of the power supply pad is fixed on the parking surface, and the pad aligner (500) is implemented so that horizontal alignment and vertical alignment can be performed simultaneously by moving only the power supply coil.

[0087] In the case of the second embodiment of the present invention, when an electric vehicle is parked in a parking space for charging, a pad alignment device (500) autonomously searches for the parking space where the electric vehicle requiring charging is parked, and then approaches the power supply pad (200) and moves the power supply coil (202) in the XYZ direction simultaneously to align the current collection coil at once.

[0088] Referring to Fig. 9, it can be confirmed that horizontal alignment and vertical alignment are simultaneously achieved between the supply coil (202) and the collection coil (212) through the alignment process using the pad aligner (300).

[0089] Hereinafter, the means for horizontal alignment and vertical alignment according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0090] Fig. 10 shows in detail an example of the structure of a pad aligner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0091] Referring to FIG. 10, the pad aligner (500) has basically the same basic configuration as the pad aligner (300) according to the first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 4, but there are differences in some components depending on the difference in the pad aligning method.

[0092] That is, the pad aligner (500) according to the second embodiment can be configured to easily perform horizontal and vertical alignment with respect to the collector coil by lifting and moving only the supply coil (202) while the bottom surface of the supply pad (200) is fixed to the parking lot floor. To this end, the pad aligner (500) according to the second embodiment may include two arms (520) to lift only the supply coil (202) to perform horizontal and vertical movement, and may include one or more forks (521, 522) on the inside of each arm. The forks (521, 522) provided on the inside of each arm may include a function of extending and pulling out the forks (521, 522) so as to hold the supply pad (200) or the supply coil (202).

[0093] Here, the two arms (520) need to be designed slimly so that they do not hit the fixed power supply pad (200) during horizontal movement. It is preferable that the thickness of the arms be smaller than that of the power supply coil (202), but in case the fork length is long, the thickness of the arms (520) can be slightly larger than that of the power supply coil.

[0094] In addition, the two arms (520) can be configured to be able to vertically move up and down for vertical alignment. The horizontal movement of the power supply coil (202) can be performed by moving the pad aligner (500) forward, backward, left, and right. However, in order to move the power supply coil (202) in the opposite direction to the position of the pad aligner (500), the two arms (520) must be lengthened so that the pad aligner (500) and the fixed power supply pad (200) do not collide. In order to normally reduce the length of the arm (520), the arm (520) may be provided with a function that can vary its length.

[0095] For these reasons, it is preferable to first perform vertical alignment and then horizontal alignment in the pad alignment according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0096] Referring to FIG. 11, the overall operation of the pad aligner (500) as described above in approaching and aligning the power supply pad can be confirmed. As with the first embodiment of the present invention, the electric vehicle wireless charging system may be implemented by including a guide line (420) on the parking lot floor to assist autonomous driving of the pad aligner (500). In addition, a location indication means (421), such as a barcode or QR code, may be included on or around the guide line to assist in position recognition of the pad aligner.

[0097] More specifically, referring to FIG. 12, after the pad aligner (500) approaches the power supply pad (200), the arms (520) are fitted on both sides of the power supply pad (200), the forks (521, 522) are extended to grab the power supply coil (202), and the pad aligner is moved to perform horizontal alignment, and the height of the arms (520) is adjusted to perform vertical alignment. However, although horizontal alignment and vertical alignment can be performed simultaneously, it is preferable to give priority to vertical alignment.

[0098] In addition, the power supply pad (200) may be provided with two or more grooves or protrusions (e.g., upper groove (601)) on the upper side of the power supply pad, more specifically, on the plate forming the power supply coil, so that the pad aligner (500) can lift the power supply coil through the fork (521, 522).

[0099] FIG. 13 is a drawing illustrating the structure of a power supply pad according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0100] As described above, in the case of the second embodiment of the present invention, the pad aligner (500) approaches the power supply pad through the camera (540) and the lighting device (543, 544), extends the fork (521, 522) to grab the power supply coil (202) on the upper side of the power supply pad (200), and moves the body (510) or the arm (520) to move the power supply coil (202) in the XYZ direction, thereby performing horizontal and vertical alignment with respect to the power collection coil.

[0101] To this end, referring to FIG. 13, the power supply pad (200) may be implemented by including a 3D structure (800) in which the bottom surface of the power supply pad (200) is fixed to the parking lot floor and the power supply coil (202) can be moved horizontally and vertically simultaneously. At this time, the pad aligner (500) can perform horizontal and vertical alignment with respect to the power collection coil by adjusting the 3D structure (800) by holding and moving the power supply coil (202) located on the upper portion of the power supply pad.

[0102] In the present invention, the 3D structure (800) can be implemented with a 3D robot arm (807) composed of a three-axis or more robot arm (806) and two or more rotary joints (804, 805). The 3D structure can be implemented with one or more 3D robot arms (807) to stably fix the power supply coil (202). It is preferably stable to implement with three or more 3D robot arms (807).

[0103] More specifically, the 3D robot arm (807) can be implemented in a form in which rotary joints (804, 805) are attached to the bottom surface of the power supply pad and the plate constituting the power supply coil, respectively, and a robot arm (806) that is linked to the first to third joints (801, 802, 803) is connected between the rotary joints (804) and (805). In this configuration, the role, pitch, and yaw of the power supply coil (202) can all be adjusted based on the bottom surface of the power supply pad, so that complete alignment is possible for all states of the power collection pad.

[0104] For example, if there is a difference in the air pressure of an electric vehicle's tires, the collector pads will not be level and will tilt, and if the vehicle is parked incorrectly in a parking lot, the direction of the collector pads will be distorted. Even in these cases, the above 3D structure can perfectly align them.

[0105] The 3D structure (800) may be provided with a fixing means (710) that fixes the pad aligner so that it does not move after the power supply coil is moved. This fixing means, like the 1D structure described above, may be configured to include teeth (808) and a wedge (809), and may be implemented to be in close contact with each other by having a wedge-spring (810). In addition, in order to release the fixing means (710), the teeth (808) and the wedge (809) may be provided with an electromagnet (811) on the opposite side where they are engaged with each other. The configuration of the fixing means and the releasing means of the 3D structure (800) is the same or similar to the configuration of the fixing means and the releasing means of the 1D structure described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0106] Meanwhile, the 3D structure (800) may be provided with a return-to-home induction spring (820) on the upper part of the bottom plate of the supply pad and the lower part of the bottom surface of the plate constituting the supply coil to guide the supply coil to return to its original position when the fixing means as described above is released.

[0107] In addition, when the 3D structure (800) is not charging and the power supply coil is completely lowered, a support (730) may be provided between the power supply coil and the bottom plate of the power supply pad so that no direct load is applied to the 3D structure even if a person or a vehicle climbs onto the power supply pad and the load is applied.

[0108] In another embodiment, the 3D structure (800) may be configured to include an intermediate plate between the bottom plate of the feed pad and the plate constituting the feed coil, an 'X'-shaped vertical lift between the bottom plate and the intermediate plate, and an XY-table (not shown) between the intermediate plate and the plate constituting the feed coil. The XY-table may be implemented by two or more LM-guides. In this case, the vertical lift folds and unfolds according to the movement of the feed coil by the pad aligner (500) to change the z-axis position of the feed coil, and the XY-table may perform horizontal alignment and vertical alignment of the feed coil by moving the feed coil in the x-axis or y-axis, respectively, according to the movement of the feed coil. At this time, the formation and operation of the vertical lift may be the same as or similar to the vertical lifts (701, 702) on the 1-D structure illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0109] Fig. 14 is a drawing of a configuration and alignment method of an electric vehicle wireless charger according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Meanwhile, in Fig. 14, the pad aligner (300) according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used as an example, but this is only one embodiment, and depending on the situation, the pad aligner (500) according to the second embodiment may also be used.

[0110] In the case of the third embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that horizontal alignment is achieved within a certain error range by automatic parking when the automatic parking function of an electric vehicle is advanced. When the electric vehicle is accurately parked on a parking space, the power supply pad and the power collection pad are automatically horizontally aligned. The vertical alignment is a method in which the bottom surface (204) of the power supply pad is fixed on the parking space and the pad aligner (300) moves the power supply coil vertically to achieve vertical alignment. The 1D structure for vertical alignment can be implemented as a vertical lift (701, 702) as shown in FIG. 8, and the method of vertical alignment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0111] Even with automated parking, perfect alignment is impossible, so small errors in horizontal alignment are inevitable. In this case, gap control through vertical alignment can partially match the impedance of the resonant circuit. If impedance matching is difficult through gap control alone, a tuning circuit can be added to the resonant circuit.

[0112] Fig. 15 is a drawing illustrating an alignment method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention and a structure of a power supply pad therefor.

[0113] In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the method of horizontal alignment is the same as in the first embodiment. Accordingly, as described above, the pad aligner (300) approaches the power supply pad (200), first grabs the power supply pad (200) through the forks (321, 322), and moves the entire power supply pad (200) to perform horizontal alignment. Similarly, for this purpose, the power supply pad (200) is installed in a state where the bottom surface of the power supply pad is not fixed to the parking lot floor but can move, and the cable connected between the inverter and the power supply pad is provided so as to have a variable length.

[0114] Meanwhile, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, a means for adjusting the height of the power supply coil is included within the power supply pad, and by adjusting the height of the power supply coil, vertical alignment is performed with respect to the current collection coil (212).

[0115] To this end, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the power supply pad may be configured to include a 1D structure (700) capable of vertically moving a power supply coil inside the power supply pad and a vertical driving unit (830) for driving the same.

[0116] Here, the 1D structure may be configured to include one or more 'X'-shaped vertical lifts (701, 702) in the same basic configuration as in the first embodiment. Similarly, the vertical lifts may be implemented in a form in which one side is fixed by a fixed bearing (703, 704) and the other side is fixed by a sliding bearing (705, 706), and one side of the vertical lift connected to the sliding bearing (705, 706) slides and moves to the opposite side, so that the vertical lift can gradually change from a contracted state to an expanded state.

[0117] The vertical driving unit (830) driving the vertical lift may be first composed of a motor (840) and a rack-and-pinion gear (850, 852) as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 15. In this case, the pinion gear (850) rotates according to the driving of the motor (840), and accordingly, the rack gear (852) moves back and forth to drive the vertical lift.

[0118] In another embodiment, the vertical driving unit (830) may be implemented by including a motor (840), a reduction gear (860), a nut (862) gear meshed therewith, and a bolt (870), as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 15. In this case, the reduction gear (860) and the nut gear (862) rotate together according to the driving of the motor (840), and accordingly, the bolt (870) may move back and forth to drive the vertical lift. At this time, preferably, a ball bearing type fixing unit (872) may be additionally provided on the vertical driving unit (830) to assist in the rotation of the nut (862) while being fixed.

[0119] Meanwhile, a fixing means for fixing the 1D structure so that it does not move after the power supply coil has been moved may be unnecessary depending on the reduction ratio of the reduction gear and the bolt-nut, but is not necessarily limited thereto and may be implemented by including the fixing means depending on the embodiment.

[0120] In embodiments of the present invention, horizontal or vertical alignment using a pad aligner can be primarily performed using a camera. Afterwards, charging can begin, and fine horizontal or vertical alignment can be performed in a direction that maximizes the output of the current collector coil. In this way, the efficiency of the electric vehicle wireless charger according to the present invention can be maximized.

[0121] Figure 16 is a drawing for explaining the FOD method according to the present invention.

[0122] As described above, the wireless charging system for electric vehicles according to the present invention is implemented so that it can inspect for the presence of foreign substances on the power supply pad or the current collection pad and remove them by utilizing a pad aligner without a separate, complex, and expensive FOD device.

[0123] To this end, first, the pad aligner (300, 500) according to the present invention can be implemented with a function of inspecting whether foreign substances are attached on the power supply pad or under the current collection pad. For example, the pad aligner can inspect whether foreign substances are attached on the power supply pad or under the current collection pad by using a camera (340, 540) and a lighting device (343, 344, 543, 544) provided in the pad aligner.

[0124] That is, the pad aligner (300, 500) can operate to perform a foreign substance inspection before or after horizontal alignment while approaching the power supply pad for pad alignment, thereby removing foreign substances in advance before charging begins.

[0125] In another embodiment, the pad aligner further includes one or more thermal imaging cameras (345, 545), and when the inverter (220) supplies current to the power supply coil, the thermal imaging cameras (345, 545) can be used to detect the presence of metal foreign substances by identifying heating points on the power supply pad.

[0126] In this way, the foreign substance inspection using the pad aligner (300, 500) can be re-performed if necessary even after charging has started. For example, the pad aligner (300, 500) starts charging after the horizontal and vertical alignment of the power supply coil with respect to the current collection coil is completed, and after a certain period of time has passed, the power supply coil is lowered again to check for the presence of a heating element between the power supply pad and the current collection pad using a thermal imaging camera (5345, 45). If the pad aligner (300, 500) determines that there is no foreign substance based on the confirmation result, the pad aligner can perform vertical or horizontal alignment again to allow charging to continue.

[0127] In addition, the pad aligner (300, 500) may further include a foreign substance removal device (900), and may be implemented to remove foreign substances when they are attached to the supply pad or the collection pad. For example, the foreign substance removal device (900) may be implemented to have a movable brush assembly (902) on a pad aligner arm, and to sweep the supply pad or the collection pad with a brush (901) to remove foreign substances. At this time, preferably, the pad aligner (300, 500) may have brushes (901) on both sides above and below the brush assembly (902) so as to remove all foreign substances attached to the supply pad or the collection pad, thereby simultaneously removing foreign substances attached to the supply pad and the collection pad, or the brush (901) may be placed on only one side of the brush assembly (902) and the brush assembly (902) may be turned over to remove foreign substances from the supply coil and the collection pad separately. Additionally, the pad aligner (300, 500) may include a function for adjusting the height of the brush assembly (902) to facilitate removal of foreign substances depending on the height of the power supply coil or the height of the current collecting pad. The brush assembly may be configured to be stored out of the way so as not to interfere with various sensors such as cameras when not in use.

[0128] In another embodiment, the foreign matter removal device may be implemented to remove foreign matter by blowing compressed air.

[0129] In another embodiment, the foreign matter removal device (900) may include a movable electromagnet and may be implemented to be able to pull and remove magnetic foreign matter with the electromagnet.

[0130] In the present invention, the pad aligner (300, 500) can operate to search for a non-charging power supply pad during a break time when there is no charging demand, move a movable power supply pad to a preset position, inspect the power supply pad for foreign substances, and, if present, remove the foreign substances through a foreign substance removal device (900). Meanwhile, in the electric vehicle wireless charging system of the present invention, a separate power supply pad position marking (422) can be provided on the floor of the parking lot to assist the pad aligner (300, 500) in moving the power supply pad to the correct position.

[0131] If the pad aligner (300, 500) does not remove foreign substances using the foreign substance removal device, it can report this to the charging platform (430) and make a manager call.

[0132] The wireless charging system for electric vehicles according to the present invention also eliminates the need for a LOD device. The gap between the power supply coil and the collector pad is extremely narrow, less than 20 mm, preventing any living organisms from entering. Furthermore, even if a living organism were to be present near the charging pad, the high height of the coil and the small gap during charging would limit the amount of magnetic field emanating from the pad. Consequently, the magnetic field exerted on the living organism would be significantly lower than the standard value.

[0133] Since the FOD, LOD, and PD devices, which account for a significant portion of the cost in existing wireless chargers, can be eliminated, the wireless charger according to the present invention can drastically reduce the cost.

[0134] Fig. 17 shows an example of the configuration of a power supply coil and a current collector coil constituting a wireless charger for an electric vehicle according to the present invention. Since the wireless charger for an electric vehicle according to the present invention precisely aligns the power supply coil and the current collector coil and minimizes the gap, the coil (911) has the same size and structure, so that it can be configured like a transformer with a gap. The magnetic core (910) of the power supply coil or the current collector coil can be configured in a 'U' structure that surrounds each coil, thereby minimizing magnetic flux leakage. As a result, the power supply pad and the current collector pad according to the present invention can be implemented in a minimal size.

[0135] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the structure and charging process of an electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention. Meanwhile, FIG. 18 illustrates an electric vehicle wireless charging system in which multiple electric vehicle wireless chargers are installed, and alignment of these electric vehicle wireless chargers is performed through a single pad alignment device.

[0136] Hereinafter, in the process of explaining the structure and charging process of an electric vehicle wireless charging system, an electric vehicle wireless charger according to the first embodiment is provided as an example, but this is only one embodiment, and an electric vehicle wireless charger according to the second, third, and fourth embodiments may be deployed depending on the situation.

[0137] Furthermore, in the wireless charging system for electric vehicles according to the present invention, the pad alignment device (300, 500) is not limited to a single wireless charging system for electric vehicles, but can search for multiple wireless charging systems for electric vehicles and perform alignment processes as needed. This is more cost-effective than conventional wireless charging systems for electric vehicles that require separate alignment means for each power supply pad.

[0138] In the present invention, the number of pad aligners provided in the electric vehicle wireless charging system and the number of electric vehicle wireless chargers handled by each pad aligner are not limited to a specific number.

[0139] In the case of the electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention, when an electric vehicle enters a parking lot, the inverter (220) recognizes the vehicle number with a camera (410) and communicates with the electric vehicle to perform pairing.

[0140] The charging platform (430) communicates with the smartphone of the user who wants to charge and the inverter (220), and when a charging request comes from a specific electric vehicle or the smartphone of the person who owns the electric vehicle, the charging platform (430) communicates with the inverter (220) to share the charging request and simultaneously issues a command to the pad aligner (300) to control the electric vehicle to move to the parking space where it is parked. At this time, the charging platform (430) commands the pad aligner (300) to move to a specific parking space according to the charging request information, and the pad aligner moves to the corresponding parking space autonomously.

[0141] The pad aligner (300) recognizes a location indicator (421) such as a barcode or QR code displayed on a parking lot pillar or the floor in front of a parking space, enters a specific parking space, turns on a lighting device, and approaches a power supply pad located in the corresponding parking space.

[0142] The pad aligner (300) uses a camera (340) to check the alignment status between the power supply pad and the current collector coil, and moves the power supply pad or the current collector coil to perform horizontal alignment with respect to the current collector coil.

[0143] The pad sorter (300) uses a camera (340) and a lighting device (343, 344) to check whether foreign substances are attached to the power supply pad or under the power collection pad, and if foreign substances are present, the foreign substances are removed using a foreign substance removal device (900).

[0144] Meanwhile, the pad aligner (300) can check for the presence of metal foreign substances by checking the heating point for the power supply pad using a thermal imaging camera (345) when the inverter (220) supplies current to the power supply coil.

[0145] Once the inspection and removal of foreign substances is completed, the pad aligner (300) moves the power supply pad or power supply coil to vertically align it with respect to the current collection coil. At this time, the pad aligner can adjust the height of the power supply coil according to the surrounding environment, such as the battery voltage or temperature of the electric vehicle.

[0146] Meanwhile, in the case of the second embodiment, the pad aligner (500) first performs a foreign substance inspection and removal process prior to alignment, and then moves the power supply coil to perform horizontal and vertical alignment with respect to the current collection coil.

[0147] The pad aligner (300) performs fine horizontal alignment to maximize power transfer between the supply coil and the collection coil when charging begins after completing horizontal alignment and vertical alignment for the collection coil, and can then perform fine vertical alignment after the completion of the fine horizontal alignment.

[0148] To this end, the pad aligner (300) can communicate with a vehicle, wireless charger, or charging platform (430) to check information about the power currently being transmitted.

[0149] In another embodiment, the pad aligner (300) can adjust the height of the power supply coil based on the surrounding environment, such as the battery voltage or temperature of the electric vehicle. To this end, the electric vehicle wireless charging system according to the present invention can pre-collect and store information on the appropriate height of the power supply coil based on at least one surrounding environmental factor.

[0150] The pad aligner (300) starts charging after the horizontal and vertical alignment of the power supply coil with respect to the current collection coil is completed, and after a certain period of time, the power supply coil is lowered again to check whether there is a heating element between the power supply pad and the current collection pad using a thermal imaging camera (345), and if there is no foreign matter according to the result of the check, vertical alignment is performed again and charging continues. Thereafter, the pad aligner moves to a preset waiting location or to another electric vehicle.

[0151] When the height of the electric vehicle changes, such as when a person gets on or off the electric vehicle during charging, and the gap between the charging pad and the collecting pad changes to a value greater than a predetermined value, the charging platform (430) stops charging and calls the pad aligner (300) back to the position of the electric vehicle to perform vertical alignment.

[0152] After charging is completed, the power supply coil is lowered automatically or by the pad aligner, and the charging platform responds to the next charging request. Meanwhile, the pad aligner searches for power supply pads that are not charging during the rest time when there is no charging request, moves each power supply pad to a preset position, inspects for foreign substances, and removes any foreign substances found using the foreign substance removal device (900).

[0153] Although Fig. 18 describes each process as being executed sequentially, this is not necessarily the case. In other words, the processes described in Fig. 18 can be modified and executed, or one or more processes can be executed in parallel, so Fig. 18 is not limited to a chronological order.

[0154] As described above, the present specification and drawings have disclosed embodiments of the present invention. Although specific terms have been used, they are used in a general sense only to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and to aid in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical concept of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0155]

[0156] [Explanation of symbols]

[0157] 100, 200: Power supply pad 102, 202: Power supply coil

[0158] 110, 210: current collector pad 112, 212: current collector coil

[0159] 120, 220: Inverter 122, 222: Charging cable

[0160] 201: Power supply pad cover 204: Power supply pad base plate

[0161] 300: Pad aligner 301: Driving drive unit

[0162] 310: Body 320: Arm

[0163] 321, 322: Fork 330, 331: Lifting drive unit

[0164] 340: Camera 342: Lidar sensor

[0165] 343, 344: Lighting device 345: Thermal imaging camera

[0166] 400: Variable cable length structure 410: Inverter camera

[0167] 412: Cable protection cover 413: Corrugated pipe protection cover

[0168] 420: Guide line 421: Position indicator

[0169] 422: Marking the correct position of the power supply pad 430: Charging platform

[0170] 500: Pad aligner 501: Driving unit

[0171] 510: Aligner body 520: Arm

[0172] 521, 522: Fork 530, 531: Lifting drive unit

[0173] 540: Camera 542: Lidar sensor

[0174] 543, 544: Lighting device 545: Thermal imaging camera

[0175] 600: Lower groove 601: Upper groove

[0176] 700: 1D-structure 701, 702: Vertical lift

[0177] 703, 704: Fixed bearing 705, 706: Sliding bearing

[0178] 710: Fixing means 712: Gear

[0179] 714: Wedge 720: Electromagnet

[0180] 730: Support

[0181] 800: 3D structure 801: First joint

[0182] 802: Second joint 803: Third joint

[0183] 804, 805: Rotating joint 806: Robot arm

[0184] 807: 3D robot arm 808: Gear

[0185] 809: Wedge 810: Wedge-Spring

[0186] 811: Electromagnet 820: Return spring

[0187] 830: Vertical drive unit 840: Motor

[0188] 850, 852: Rack-and-pinion gear 860: Reduction gear

[0189] 862: Nut 870: Bolt

[0190] 872: Fixed part

[0191] 900: Foreign matter removal device 901: Brush

[0192] 902: Brush assembly 903: Sliding module

[0193] 910: Coil 911: Core

[0194] 912: Shielding Core

Claims

1. A power supply pad installed on the floor of a parking space and including a power supply coil on the upper part; A current collecting pad installed at the bottom of an electric vehicle and including a current collecting coil that receives power through magnetic coupling with the above-described power supply coil; and An electric vehicle wireless charger including an inverter connected to the above charging pad and providing charging power; An electric vehicle wireless charging system comprising at least one electric vehicle wireless charger and a separate pad aligner capable of moving the charging pad or the charging coil outside the charging pad of the electric vehicle wireless charger, wherein the charging is started after the charging pad or the charging coil is moved by the pad aligner to be horizontally or vertically aligned with respect to the collecting coil before the electric vehicle starts charging.

2. In paragraph 1, The above power supply coil and the above current collection coil An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the coil structure is identical and configured to be one-to-one symmetrical.

3. In paragraph 1, The above power supply coil or the above current collection coil An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the core structure has a structure that wraps the remaining portion in a 'U' shape except for the surface where the above-mentioned power supply coil and the above-mentioned power collection coil face each other.

4. In paragraph 1, The above electric vehicle wireless charging system An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized by aligning the power supply pads or power supply coils of one or more electric vehicle wireless chargers through one pad aligner including a charging platform.

5. In paragraph 1, The above pad aligner, A driving drive unit capable of turning and driving; Two arms provided on the body and one or more forks provided on the inside of each arm; A lifting drive unit for lifting the above arm or the above fork; One or more cameras; One or more lidar sensors; One or more lighting devices; One or more energy storage devices; Including an alignment controller including wireless communication. An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that it uses the lidar and the camera to find a parking space where an electric vehicle requiring charging is parked in autonomous driving, approaches the power supply pad using the lighting device and the camera, and extends the forks to both sides of the power supply pad to move the power supply pad or the power supply coil to align it horizontally or vertically with respect to the power collection coil.

6. In paragraph 5, The above power supply pad An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the pad aligner is provided with one or more codes or markings to facilitate access to and grasping of the power supply pad and movement.

7. In paragraph 1, The above electric vehicle wireless charging system An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that a guide line is included on the floor of a parking lot to assist autonomous driving of the pad aligner, thereby allowing the pad aligner to move along the guide line.

8. In paragraph 5, The above power supply pad An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the bottom surface of the above-mentioned power supply pad is fixed to the floor of a parking lot, the power supply coil includes a 3D structure that can move in horizontal and vertical directions, and the pad aligner holds and moves the power supply coil located on the upper part of the power supply pad to adjust the 3D structure, thereby horizontally and vertically aligning the power collection coil.

9. In paragraph 5, The above power supply pad A wireless charging system for an electric vehicle, characterized in that when the electric vehicle has an automatic parking function and the horizontal alignment of the power supply pad and the current collection pad is automatically performed, the bottom surface of the power supply pad is fixed to the floor of the parking lot, and the pad aligner includes a 1D structure that can vertically move the power supply coil, and the power supply coil is vertically aligned with respect to the current collection coil by holding the power supply coil located on the upper part of the power supply pad and moving it vertically to adjust the 1D structure.

10. In paragraph 5, The above power supply pad An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that it includes a 1D structure that is not fixed to the parking lot floor and can vertically move the power supply coil, and the pad aligner is implemented to horizontally align the power supply pad by lifting the entire power supply pad and moving it horizontally to align it with the current collection coil, and to vertically align the power supply coil by adjusting the 1D structure by holding the power supply coil and moving it vertically.

11. In paragraph 1, The above power supply pad An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the pad aligner has a fixing means for fixing the structure so that it does not move after the pad aligner moves the supply coil to align it with the collection coil.

12. In paragraph 11, The above fixing means An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the fixing means is automatically released and the power supply coil is lowered to its original position in an abnormal case where charging is terminated or an external force exceeding a certain level is applied.

13. In paragraph 5, The above pad aligner An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that, after the charging starts after the power supply pad or the power supply coil is moved using the camera to complete horizontal and vertical alignment with respect to the current collection coil, fine horizontal alignment is performed so that power transfer between the power supply coil and the current collection coil is maximized, and fine vertical alignment is performed after the fine horizontal alignment is completed.

14. In paragraph 5, The above pad aligner An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that the height of the power supply coil is adjusted according to the surrounding environment, such as the battery voltage or temperature of the electric vehicle.

15. In paragraph 11, The above electric vehicle wireless charging system A wireless charging system for electric vehicles characterized in that when the height of the electric vehicle changes, such as when a person gets on or off the electric vehicle during charging, and the gap between the supply coil and the collection coil changes to a predetermined value or more, charging is stopped, the fixing means is released to lower the supply coil, the pad aligner is called again to perform horizontal and vertical alignment again, and then charging is continued.

16. In paragraph 5, The above pad aligner An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that it inspects whether a foreign substance is attached on the power supply pad or under the power collection pad using the camera and the lighting device.

17. In paragraph 5, The above pad aligner An electric vehicle wireless charging system further comprising one or more thermal imaging cameras, characterized in that when the inverter supplies current to the power supply coil, the presence of a metal foreign substance is inspected by checking a heating point on the power supply pad using the thermal imaging camera.

18. In paragraph 5, The above pad aligner An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that it further includes a foreign substance removal device to remove foreign substances when foreign substances are attached on the power supply pad or under the power collection pad.

19. In paragraph 1, An electric vehicle wireless charging system, characterized in that the above-mentioned power supply coil or the above-mentioned power collection coil includes a temperature sensor for detecting overheating.

20. In paragraph 4, The above charging platform is The electric vehicle to be charged communicates with the user's smartphone and the inverter. The above inverter An electric vehicle wireless charging system characterized in that when the electric vehicle enters a parking space, the vehicle number is recognized and pairing is performed by communicating with the electric vehicle, including a camera.

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