Magnetically coupled systems for power transfer to electric vehicles

There are a number of problems associated with inductive power transfer (IPT) techniques when applied to electric vehicles operating on a roadway. Firstly, a significant air gap between the base of the vehicle and the roadway must exist for practical operation and secondly, the tolerance to lateral displacement must be extremely high. This paper describes the adaptation of an IPT technique used for electrified monorail systems to a roadway powered electric vehicle. A prototype vehicle has been constructed and tested on a 200 m track. An average power transfer of 1.2 kW has been achieved with a lateral displacement tolerance of /spl plusmn/400 mm and a vertical clearance of 75 mm.<>