Magnetic coupler with omnidirectional misalignment tolerance of dual-channel wireless power transfer system

To achieve the power sharing and improve misalignment tolerance of dual-channel wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, a dual-channel magnetic coupler is proposed based on the traditional double-layer quadrature double-D coil structure. This coupler exhibits excellent misalignment tolerance, namely tolerance for misalignment in any direction within the plane composed of X and Y axis. Its transmitting and receiving sides respectively include two decoupled coils, and mutual inductance between the two pairs of coils is symmetry within a certain misalignment range, which can achieve the power sharing of dual-channel WPT systems. Firstly, for dual-channel WPT systems using resonant compensation, detuned compensation and hybrid topology, the common requirements of magnetic couplers are discussed. Then, a design method for the proposed magnetic coupler is given and a case design is carried out. Furthermore, the conformity of the designed case with various performance indicators is analyzed by finite element simulation. Finally, a magnetic coupler prototype is developed for experimental verification. The results show that, within 100 mm misalignment in X and Y axis direction except for the extreme misalignment position, the magnetic coupler efficiency remains above 91.12% and the ratio of channel output power is greater than 0.87, demonstrating a good power sharing effect.