Charging is probably going to be totally different for the next gens...

Very cool tech, and great video demonstration, but in all seriousness, does anyone really believe that this is what will ship with the new PiP, or that municipalities and businesses will invest in additional parking spaces and high costs involved for this type of charging?

As a (very high priced) option, maybe this charging feature may become available to the masses some day, if the internals of this induction pad device can be totally kept out of the way of ground water intrusion, such as in a dry personal garage. But even then, you'd have to put up with limited and exact parking almost 100% of the time.

I fully expect the same type of corded charging options will be standard with the GenIV PiP.

 

I like high end things. Inductive charging however - is not high end. It's loss-ie when compared to hard wired charging. Our national grid is flimsy enough. There's not enough spare juice to waste on things less efficient and more expensive. Maybe some day .... but not yet.
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Totally agree with you. I meant high end as in pricing.

 

If Toyota is smart (and they usually are) the cars will have BOTH the inductive charging equipment AND the plug-in port. One can't assume that the induction mat will be available at every location the car needs to charge-up.

Bill the Engineer

 

This makes me want to ask the question about PIPs that I've been curious about since I don't own one. Since they are still hybrid vehicles, I would assume if it was induction only charging, that you could still drive it like any other hybrid until an induction charger was located even if it was back home. Doesn't driving the PIP charge the battery as needed just like all hybrids? One other thought is, if they make it an induction charged/hybrid without the plug in capability then it would no longer be a PIP would it?

 

It's a high end add on. It has use for sure. It would be ideal for fleet operators, those in areas prone to vandalism and theft and those prepared to pay for it, but with the losses at what 10%, it'll cost you money.

10% losses on £500 are £50. Not a lot, but if I knew that by plugging in I'd be saving a couple of quid, I'll stick to plugging in.

Also, the problems highlighted of manufacturers struggling to agree a standard on PLUGS will pail into insignificance when you try and get them to agree standards on wireless charging.

 

^ This.

 

OK. OK .... I have been looking at "This" for days now. markabele and GrumpyCabbie both like "this" ..... what is "this?"

 

A bit of that.

 

I would find them stupid not to include it on all models to increase adoption of the technology if they become serious about it. Although I feel like seeing one of these spots ICEd would be worse since you can't try to reach the cable to the spot nex to it.

 

This thread has been dormant for too long. There is interesting news out there. The following appeared on line in the Toyota European website.

Share Story​

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CORPORATE: 13 FEB 2014​

Toyota To Begin Wireless Vehicle Charging System Verification Testing

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces that it will begin verification testing of its newly developed wireless battery charging system for vehicles with an electrified powertrain, such as plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, in late February in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The system can charge a vehicle parked in alignment over a coil on the surface of the ground, making the charging process simpler and more convenient.​

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Assuming inductive charging becomes cost effective at some future date, a thought: Might this work well coupled with municipal or private parking meters?

This could be pretty convenient. Cars could be outfitted with a device similar to those that allow automatic payment on toll roads/bridges.

And rates could also be set in any number of ways. Maybe if the spot gets ICE'd, that car could still legally park there but get charged premium $$$ for the honor.

 

spark and gas stations, probably not a good combination. lol

I think that the charge pad and the part of the car must have to be close to each other, not sure if pad on the ground would be close enough unless part of the car lowered down to it. I wonder if this really is the way of the future, It would be nice to pull up to parking and put your car in park, the car sences the charg pad and lowers the hookup and charges then when I get in car and turn it on it auto unhooks and off I go. I think these would be great at places you park for extended time. If they are built smart they could auto charge your bank account also,

 

It appears my post was erased. I had commented that inductive charging is less efficient (versus direct plugin) due to the inverse-square law.
And no the car does not need to be lowered. I saw a car with an inductive charger & it used a centering screen for the driver to pull forward/backward in order to achieve optimum location. That was it.

 

The inverse square law I am familiar with, as you double the distance you reduce the intensity to 1/4 if the charging area was very far apart then this would not work well, I am unfamiliar with this system but I think you would want a drop down charge plate that retracts up into the car when not in use.

 

I am out of my league here,
but .... does the "charge plate "need to be beneath the car?
For example, could it be within the rear facade? I seem to recall the illustration (I think Toyota) depicting charging, showed the car backing over the "charge plate." But if possible, it could just as easily back up to the device. That said, my wife would never be able to charge the car (poor backing skills). But, it would be easier for the car to auto back-up to a "charging plate" than parallel park .... and they can do that.

 

I don't think the charging pad need be there at all. More probably that recharging design would be available as a high cost extra feature, or at least I hope so.

 

Inverse square law does not apply here. If the charging pad radiated energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation like a lightbulb then it would apply, but that's not how it works. The charging pad doesn't radiate anything. The two halves of an efficient induction charging system are both hi-Q oscillators, in resonance, and magnetically coupled, but weakly. Tesla (not the car) demonstrated this a century ago.

The charging circuits in electric toothbrushes and qi pads are typically not efficient, but they're small and cheap. I researched qi chargers and got the Koolpad that actually stays cool charging my nexus 7.

Resonant inductive charging system can be greater than 90% efficient.

 

If distance did not matter, I could inductively charge my car from a pad, even if I'm a mile away. (In other words: Of course the distance matters. The farther away you are, the weaker the link between your car and the pad.)

And by the way, inductive charging does involve EM, so Maxwells laws and the inverse-square law apply.

 

Troy, I don't want start a match here. I'm an electrical engineer with benign intentions. I suspect you are as well.

The discussion at hand concerns efficiency, not field strength. Tesla could light bulbs from 2 miles away. Its freaky stuff. If you have two systems, mechanical or in this case LC circuits, in perfect resonance they synchronize. An oscillation in one causes the other to oscillate or "ring up".

In theory this works at any distance, but naturally there are practical limits. You are correct, the magnetic field does obey inverse square law. I stand partially corrected. Fortunately for Tesla (not the car) and future Prius owners, only weak electromagnetic coupling is needed. I've seen white papers on inductive power transfer over 3 feet with 95% efficiency. This requires active control and feedback which would not have been possible for Tesla. Distance is a factor of coil size. Tesla used really big gear. The Prius will likely have a bigger coil than my toothbrush so 10 inches or so shouldn't be too bad.