Battery life has always been a fetter for the rapid development of electric vehicle industry in China. In the case that battery technology can't break through in a short time, improving the charging method has become another breakthrough direction. In fact, as early as the development of electric vehicles, wireless charging has been mentioned, as long as it is in a special parking space, you can stop and charge. However, such a good thing failed to benefit the public because the cost was too high.
At present, Apple has registered the "Wireless Charging Calibration System". In addition to Apple, BMW, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other auto giants, as well as Bosch, Qualcomm, Huawei, ZTE and other suppliers are vigorously promoting wireless charging. At present, nine of the top 65,438+00 automobile companies in the world are developing wireless charging interfaces, which brings us one step closer to wireless charging of electric vehicles.
"Wireless charging" changes the future
After more than ten years of hype, mobile phone wireless charging has finally entered life, and the utilization rate is not high. The reason is that the power of mobile phone wireless charger is too low, and the charging speed and efficiency are not as fast as that of mobile phone wired, but the form is convenient, that's all. For pure electric vehicles, the battery is larger and requires higher charging power to ensure full charge in a short time.
Recently, Apple began to dig Tesla's vehicle designers one after another, ambitious to build cars seriously. In addition, Apple also applied for a patent for wireless charging of electric vehicles, called "Wireless Charging Calibration System". In the patent application document, Apple also describes a car that may use the auxiliary steering propulsion system to realize parking, and describes how the car is charged by using a wireless power receiver connected to the car body.
According to the description, once the car is parked in the special parking space, the wireless power transmitter around the car body will automatically charge the car. Apple's wireless charging technology is more like mobile phone wireless charging. A big sucker is added to the parking space to charge the battery at the bottom. But what Apple is doing is completely automated, which other companies can't involve at present.
As we all know, Apple recently acquired a self-driving car startup, Drive. Ai, and is developing self-driving battery-driven cars. According to the latest report, Apple's self-driving battery-driven car will be released before 2023. Will it be equipped with a "wireless charging calibration system"? Let's look forward to it.
From the acquisition of car companies, the former designer of Tesla, to the patent of wireless charging, it is obvious that Apple hopes that the new car can change the market perception in wireless charging and autonomous driving, and reproduce the glory of the IPhone 4 that is popular all over the world, but such a dream is easier said than done.
"R&D and Realization" are the two peaks of Mount Tai.
In fact, wireless charging has long been included in the research field, and its original intention is very healthy. It is to convert solar energy into electric energy, and there is no need to supply power to the charging system separately. The vehicle only needs to be placed in a small container, and the four-wall battery panel is used to charge the battery in the car. Although this technology does not need external power supply, its huge size hinders its worldwide popularization.
However, the characteristics of simple operation, safety and high environmental adaptability of wireless charging still make many electric car owners want to wear it. In order to realize wireless charging of vehicles, it is necessary to have a receiving terminal on the vehicle body, a transmitting terminal on the ground or near the vehicle, and use electromagnetic technology to charge remotely. At present, there are three main ways to use wireless charging technology: induction, * * * vibration and microwave response.
On the whole, electromagnetic induction and magnetic field vibration are the most suitable choices for electric vehicles. At present, the research, development and application of wireless charging basically adopt the above two methods. Because the wireless charging charger transmits energy between electrical devices through magnetic field, there is no need for wired connection, and both the charger and the electrical devices can realize the exposure of non-conductive contacts. Compared with the traditional charging pile, it has a milestone improvement in electricity safety.
Of course, this is also the difficulty that car companies actively overcome. In 20 18, BMW 530e became the first vehicle in the world to use wireless charging equipment for electric vehicles. This wireless charging device has also been used in some BMW cars in Chengdu, China. In addition to BMW, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and other auto giants, there are also suppliers such as Bosch, Qualcomm, Huawei, ZTE, etc. All of them vigorously promote wireless charging. At present, 9 of the top 10 auto companies in the world are developing wireless charging interfaces. ?
Car wireless charging system is not only a power supply problem, but also a comprehensive system integrating communication, control, power supply, radio frequency and payment technology. Therefore, it is difficult to unify only by automobile enterprises and wireless charging suppliers, and the whole interest chain and supply chain are very long, which is also a reason why wireless charging has not been formed.
The industry revolution is worth looking forward to.
There is no doubt that wireless charging is the best choice to replace charging piles. If public parking spaces can be popularized, the charging problem of electric vehicles will be solved to a great extent.
Advantages of wireless charging: first of all, it is convenient, and wireless charging can stop charging; Secondly, security, wireless charging can realize no metal parts exposed, and charging facilities do not have problems such as wear and leakage; The third is compactness. Wireless charging facilities are installed underground, so it can save space, especially for big cities with tight land resources. The fourth is environmental integration. Compared with charging piles and charging wires, wireless charging has the advantage of being more beautiful and less cumbersome. ?
? But everything has its negative side. The first difficulty is: industry standard, which is difficult for all enterprises to do under the condition of research and development. The charging system can adapt to many brands of vehicles to a great extent, but it can't be completely universal. Just like the mobile phone system, it is impossible for a brand and a system to be incompatible with each other, and the ultimate loss must be the market itself. However, the current charging pile interfaces are facing the problem that charging interfaces in various countries are not uniform.
Another pain point is the cost. Today, when charging piles are not popular, the radio transformation of parking spaces requires a lot of manpower, material resources and funds, and it can only be carried out on a large scale, and it can't be built alone (it can't be powered alone).
In fact, wireless charging has been promoted in China for some time, only used in buses. At that time, the bus company and Guangxi Power Grid jointly built a wireless charging road, allowing vehicles to "charge while walking" on the road. However, in the end, the cost of the optical expressway cost billions, the cost is too high, the conversion rate of electric energy is low, which does not conform to the direction of the energy-saving era, and finally it has not been widely adopted.
Charging pile companies are still worried about building piles, while wireless charging companies have begun to develop new charging environments to replace charging piles. Technology companies like Apple are also entering this industry to "spoil". I have to say that Apple's release of its new car will really bring revolutionary "wireless charging technology", just like the original IPhone, but Apple has to build a car first. After all, the last time Apple built a car, it ended in a jump ticket. ?