Tripolar pad for inductive power transfer systems

Inductive Power Transfer (TPT) systems have been proposed in recent years as a safe, convenient and robust method of battery charging in EVs and robots. In an IPT system, the magnetic design of the primary and secondary pads is an important factor that determines the power transfer capability. This paper proposes the Tripolar Pad (TPP), a novel three coil magnetic pad utilising mutually decoupled coils. The TPP maintains tolerance to rotational displacements similar to nonpolarised pads, but uses polarised fields to improve power transfer. Simulation results are first shown in the paper and then validated by a scaled prototype.