SBIR Phase I: In-Motion, Capacitive, Wireless Charging System for Material Handling Vehicles

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛和商业影响将消除物料搬运车辆（MHV）电池充电的停机时间（即，移动的机器人和叉车），并配备动态电容式无线充电，从而提高仓库的生产力和经济竞争力。 在仓库和道路上实施动态电容式无线充电将使大多数电动汽车（EV）和MHV使用更小的电池（最多小80%），大大降低成本，使其比汽油动力的同类产品更便宜。这一大幅降价将加速从内燃机到电动汽车的转变。大规模道路部署动态电容式无线充电将大大减少空气污染和美国对石油的依赖，提高美国的国家安全。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一个电容式无线充电系统，用于MHV的运动充电。该项目将开发一个强大、安全和全自动的系统，能够按需为MHV无线充电，功率高达1 kW。该研究将解决三个技术挑战：1）在存在耦合器未对准的情况下实现高功率传输; 2）以无缝和安全的方式激活和停用充电设备;以及3）保持热稳定的连续操作，并使用市售功率半导体器件实现1 kW，6.78 MHz的高效整流。将通过增强的耦合器设计来实现未对准容限，与传统耦合器设计相比，该增强的耦合器设计确保在基本上扩大的重叠区域上的全功率输送。自动激活和去激活将通过包括调制光学致动方案和基于功率传输的决策的感测、控制和通信系统来实现。持续的电力输送将通过定制设计的热管理解决方案实现。通过匹配网络设计的创新，可以减轻整流器寄生效应的影响，从而实现高频下的高效整流。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader and commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will eliminate the downtime for battery charging of material handling vehicles (MHVs) (i.e., mobile robots and forklifts) with in-motion capacitive wireless charging, thereby increasing the productivity and economic competitiveness of warehouses. Implementation of in-motion capacitive wireless charging in warehouses and roadways would enable the use of much smaller batteries (up to 80% smaller) for most electric vehicles (EVs) and MHVs, dramatically reducing costs and making them less expensive than their gasoline powered counterparts. This dramatic price reduction will speed up the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Mass roadway deployment of in-motion capacitive wireless charging would significantly reduce air pollution and the US dependence on oil, increasing US national security. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a capacitive wireless charging system for in-motion charging of MHVs. The project will develop a robust, safe, and fully automated system capable of wirelessly charging an MHV on demand, at power levels up to 1 kW. The research will address three technical challenges: 1) achieving high power transfer in the presence of coupler misalignments; 2) activating and deactivating the charging apparatus in a seamless and safe manner; and 3) maintaining thermally stable continuous operation and achieving efficient rectification at 1 kW, 6.78 MHz with commercially available power semiconductor devices. The misalignment tolerance will be enabled through an enhanced coupler design that ensures full power delivery over a substantially enlarged area of overlap compared to conventional coupler designs. The automated activation and deactivation will be enabled by a sensing, control, and communication system comprising a modulated optical actuation scheme and power-transfer based decision making. The continuous power delivery will be enabled by a custom-designed thermal management solution. The efficient rectification at high frequency will be enabled by innovations in matching network design that mitigate the impact of the rectifier’s parasitics. Addressing these challenges will enable the technology to be commercializable.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.