Parallel tuned contactless power pickup using saturable core reactor

This paper proposes a novel contactless secondary power pickup designed for inductively coupled contactless power transfer systems. It is based upon parallel LC tuning with the equivalent capacitance varied by a saturable core reactor (SCR). The proposed technique allows the power pickup to achieve full-range operation for power flow regulation and maintain constant output voltage at a high quality factor Q. The method eliminates the tedious fine-tuning process associated with traditional fixed power pickup tuning methods and eases the component selection. Moreover, it can overcome the online circuit parameter variations and automatically achieve the maximum power transfer capacity when required. In order to meet dynamic load demands, the SCR is controlled to be a variable inductor. A simple algorithm is developed to change the tuning condition of the power pickup. The effectiveness of the proposed power pickup and its applicability to general wireless power transfer applications has been demonstrated by both simulation and experimental results.