A Compact Solenoid Magnetic Coupler for UAV Wireless Charging

This article proposes a solenoid type magnetic coupler for wireless charging of industrial logistics equipment unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on 5G communication. The transmitter consists of two series-connected solenoid coils, and the receiver is wound around the landing gear of the UAV. The proposed magnetic coupler is compact, conformal, and lightweight. A comparison between rectangular coils of the same specifications and the proposed solenoid coils shows that the latter exhibits better misalignment tolerance. Furthermore, the circuit topology is modeled, and the output power and efficiency are derived. A 160W experimental setup was built, achieving a maximum output current of 2.53A and maintaining a 1.57A output current even with a 100% misalignment. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed magnetic coupler.