CarCharging

CarCharging, a US-based provider of convenient electric vehicle (EV) charging services, has filed a utility patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for an inductive EV charging station that is in the form of a parking bumper.

Energy transmission through an easy-to-install bumper requires less effort as it only needs the EV driver to park the wheels of the car near the charging equipment.

Many EV charging stations feature a typical18ft-long cord to plug in and charge vehicles; however, the inductive charging methods, which use an electromagnetic field to transfer energy, eliminate these plug-in cords.

CarCharging said its focus will be on the design and placement of the inductive charging station rather than the technology of wireless energy transfer involved.

The company plans to adapt the design of the inductive EV station to combine with the magnetic coupling technology offered by providers such as Qualcomm, Delphi, Siemens and Evatran, among others.

CarCharging aims to incorporate charging standards, currently being developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers International, into the design of the inductive EV station.

"Energy transmission through an easy-to-install bumper requires less effort as it only needs the EV driver to park the wheels of the car near the charging equipment."

Inductive charging equipment for EVs today are mainly in the form of charging plates that can be misaligned and result in reduced efficiency of the charge.

The installation of the charging plates for multi-level parking garages can also cause structural issues.

CarCharging CEO Michael D Farkas said that the current inductive charging options have removed the station’s plug in cord, but they add alignment issues between the charging station and the EV, and installations of the stations can be expensive.

"To reduce these obstacles, we believe that the energy source for the charge should be placed in the parking bumper," Farkas added.

In October 2012, CarCharging announced filing of a provisional patent application for an EV charging station with a toggle unit that will have the ability to charge multiple vehicles consecutively without the insertion or removal of plugs during the process of charging.

Image: Energy transmission with easy-to-install bumper needs fewer efforts as it will only require the EV driver to park the wheels of the car near the charging equipment. Photo: courtesy of Marketwire, Incorporated/Car Charging Group, Inc.