Automotive components maker Continental has big ambitions to make the life of an electric vehicle driver easier – it will be showcasing its inductive wireless charging solution at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, which it says will change the way people use and charge their vehicles.
Said to work with both cars and bikes, the system enables the driver to simply park over the charging pad on the ground to start charging. “At present, there can be any of a number of reasons why EV drivers are reluctant to use every available opportunity to recharge their vehicle. If it’s cold outside or wet they may not feel like getting out and grappling with the charging cable.
“We have to make recharging more practical and user-friendly. Inductive charging technology will be a big step towards achieving this,” said Continental expert Thomas Röhrl. The company claims that because the system requires virtually no effort on the part of the driver, it will improve the overall energy balance and increase the vehicle’s available range at any given time.
Drivers are automatically authenticated as soon as the vehicle approaches the charging pad, and are guided into the space via a micro-navigation system. A human-machine interface indicates when the vehicle is parked correctly and confirms that charging is started. The system has a positioning tolerance of more than 10 cm, allowing the best possible power transfer from the ground pad to the vehicle.
Induktive Ladeloesung reicht von der Fahrzeugpositionierung ueber die elektronische Kommunikation, das Lademanagement bis zur Sicherheitsueberwachung und Datenabfrage
The ground pad works with a receiver pad mounted on the underside of the vehicle, allowing for a charging rate of 11 kW – equivalent to a kilometre of range added every minute. “So in the space of a 20 minute shopping trip, the available driving range can be increased by up to 20 km,” says Röhrl.
A number of safety features have been incorporated into the system, such as an integrated gap-monitoring function that can detect a foreign object between the ground and vehicle pads and immediately interrupt power transmission. The ground pad itself can withstand a load of up to 500 kg.
Continental says that because the charging pad is located either on the ground or recessed into it, the system can be easily integrated into confined parking spaces compared to a bulky wallbox, and there’s also a reduced risk of vandalism.
The company is also working to standardise inductive charging systems, drafting technical recommendations as a member of the German standardisation project for inductive charging interoperability (StiLLe).
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