DC fast charger wireless-charging adapter
AssigneeZoox, Inc.
InventorVamsi Krishna Pathipati
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wireless-charging adapter is connectable to a direct current (DC) fast charger and includes an induction coil for wireless charging a second induction coil on a vehicle. In some instances, the adapter may include an electrical connector to mate with a DC fast charger. In addition, the adapter may include hardware and/or software to receive a DC from the DC fast charger and provide an alternating current (AC) to the induction coil. The induction coil of the adapter may be positioned (e.g., on a ground surface) to align with an induction coil on a vehicle.
Claims20
A method of wirelessly charging a battery of a vehicle, the method comprising:
- receiving a signal indicating that a vehicle is proximate to a wireless-charging adapter;
- transmitting, via one or more processors and based at least partially on the signal being received, a message via a contact-based coupling to a charging station pursuant to a signaling protocol, wherein the message is indicative of the vehicle being coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging;
- receiving, from the charging station, via the contact-based coupling, power;
- and
- transmitting, by the wireless-charging adapter, non-contact power to the vehicle, wherein the non-contact power is derived from the power from the contact-based coupling.
A wireless-charging adapter comprising:
- an electrical connector to connect to a charging station;
- a power converter coupled to the electrical connector;
- a first induction coil coupled to the power converter;
- one or more processors;
- and
- one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the wireless-charging adapter to perform operations comprising:
- receiving a signal indicating that a vehicle is proximate to a wireless-charging adapter;
- transmitting, based at least partially on the signal being received, a message via a contact-based coupling to the charging station pursuant to a signaling protocol, wherein the message is indicative of the vehicle being coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging;
- receiving, from the charging station and via the contact-based coupling, power from the charging station;
- and
- transmitting, via the first induction coil, non-contact power to the vehicle, wherein the non-contact power is derived from the power from the contact-based coupling.
One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause a wireless-charging adapter to perform operations comprising:
- receiving a signal indicating that a vehicle is proximate to the wireless-charging adapter;
- transmitting, via one or more:
- processors and based at least partially on the signal being received, a message via a contact-based coupling to a charging station pursuant to a signaling protocol, wherein the message is indicative of the vehicle being coupled to the charging station for contact-based charging;
- receiving, from the charging station, via the contact-based coupling, power;
- and
- transmitting, by the wireless-charging adapter, non-contact power to the vehicle, wherein the non-contact power is derived from the power from the contact-based coupling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.