Shopping Cart Wireless Charging Rail for Precise Coil Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless power supply systems for shopping carts face challenges in efficiently transmitting power due to the need for precise alignment of power receiving and transmitting coils, which is difficult to achieve with carts designed for easy movement.
Innovation Solution
A wireless power supply system that includes a guide rail with engagement means, such as bumps, to precisely guide shopping carts to a position where power transmission can occur, along with power transmission devices arranged at intervals along the guide rail to ensure alignment with the power receiving device on the cart.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a guide rail with roller stoppers is used to precisely locate shopping carts for wireless power transmission, then power transmission alignment is improved, but system complexity increases when multiple carts are nested and stored
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the roller stoppers from the guide rail system, extracting the problematic component that caused complexity when multiple carts were nested. The guide rail alone provides sufficient guidance to the charging position, while the carts can be freely nested without interference from stoppers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the guidance function (provided by the guide rail) from the stopping/positioning function (achieved by the magnetic attraction between the power transmission device and power reception device). This segmentation allows the guide rail to remain simple while positioning precision is maintained through the magnetic interaction.
2Ease of operation
If shopping carts are designed for easy movement, then ease of operation is improved, but precise positioning for power transmission deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rail acts as an intermediary that provides gentle guidance to the charging position without requiring fixed or constrained cart designs. The magnetic attraction between power transmission and reception devices serves as a secondary intermediary that fine-tunes the positioning, allowing carts to remain easy to move while achieving precise alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamic magnetic attraction forces to achieve precise positioning rather than static mechanical constraints. The magnetic force automatically adjusts to guide the cart into the correct position, maintaining ease of movement while ensuring accurate alignment for power transmission.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively guides multiple shopping carts to a position for efficient wireless power transmission, ensuring alignment and improving power transmission efficiency, even when carts are nested and stored.
Implementation Method 1
power transmission devices configured to wirelessly transmit power to the power receiving device
Data Source
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AI summary
A wireless power supply system includes a power receiving device disposed on a bottom surface of a cart, a guide rail extending along a first direction for guiding wheels of carts, and a plurality of power transmission devices configured to wirelessly transmit power to the power receiving device. The power transmission devices are arranged along the guide rail at predetermined intervals. The guide rail has a plurality of recesses arranged at the predetermined intervals such that one of the power transmission devices faces the power receiving device when a wheel of the cart fits into one of the recesses.