Operation of an inductive power transfer system based on detecting an arrangement

A method of detecting an arrangement of a plurality of arrangements, each arrangement of the plurality of arrangements comprising a primary unit of an inductive power transfer system and/or a secondary unit of the inductive power transfer system, wherein each primary unit comprises a primary winding structure for generating a magnetic or electromagnetic field to be received by a corresponding secondary unit, wherein each secondary unit has a secondary winding structure in which an electric voltage is induced when the magnetic or electromagnetic field is received and wherein the method comprises:

• using a detector device to detect an arrangement of a plurality of arrangements, the detector device comprising at least one electrical conductor,
• determining at least one electrical property of the detector device and generating determination results consisting of a determination result for each region of different regions of the detected arrangement,
• comparing the determination results with existing information about a plurality of signatures to generate a comparison result, wherein each signature of the plurality of signatures is characteristic for each possible arrangement of a plurality of possible arrangements that can be detected, wherein the existing information includes information about expected values for the different regions of a possible arrangement that can be detected, wherein different types of primary units have different signatures and/or different types of secondary units have different signatures,
• deciding, from the comparison result, whether the determination results indicate that the detector device has identified the detected arrangement as expected, thereby identifying the detected arrangement comprising a primary unit and/or a secondary unit,
• wherein the detected arrangement comprising the primary unit of a specific type of primary unit and/or the secondary unit of a specific type of secondary unit for which a specific type of primary unit and/or a specific type of secondary unit information about its signature exists, is identified by deciding from the comparison result whether the determination results indicate that the detector device has identified the detected arrangement comprising the primary unit of the specific type of primary unit and/or the secondary unit of the specific type of secondary unit.