Via-wheel power transfer to vehicles in motion

Abstract

This paper proposes a non-magnetic non-resonant wireless power transfer scheme to vehicles during in motion, which is called via-wheel power transfer or V-WPT. We focus on the steel belt usually built in a tire for vehicles. It can collect RF displacement current if another electrode is buried beneath the road by analogy to an overhead wire for railways or trolleys. Since the tire always surely touches the road surface, it could be an ultimate wireless power transfer scheme. Being free from air gap (zero-gap coupling) unlike the twin coils, high dielectric constant of the tire permits high efficiency displacement current with much less electromagnetic field leakage to outside than trans-air-gap approaches. V-WPT can power the vehicles even while running, extend the cruising range without regard to battery limitations, and be the finest solution for future green mobility.