Design considerations for power converters supplying the SAE J-1773 electric vehicle inductive coupler

Abstract

Inductive charging technology offers a safe and reliable method for electric vehicle battery charging. With inductive charging, the energy is transferred to the electric vehicle via magnetic induction rather than metal-to-metal contact. The high frequency electric vehicle inductive charger is basically a transformer with movable/separable parts for which a recommended practice has been published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE J-1773). The practice specifies the inductive coupler (transformer) equivalent circuit and values. This paper investigates the design considerations for power converters suitable for supplying the SAE J-1773 inductive coupler. The investigated topologies utilize the coupler's equivalent circuit components effectively.