Wireless energy transfer for arcade racing game

Abstract

An arcade racing game includes a plurality of vehicles that move along a race track and derive power from the race track. The race track includes a series of concentric power supply coils embedded beneath the top surface of the race track. Each of the power supply coils receives a supply of power. Each vehicle operating on the race track includes a pickup coil that inductively receives current from the power supply coils. The induced voltage in the pickup coil is used to charge an internal power storage device and a drive motor within the vehicle.

1 . An arcade racing game comprising:
 a play field having a plurality of power supply coils positioned beneath a top surface;   a power supply circuit connected to the plurality of power supply coils to provide a source of electric power to each of the power supply coils; and   at least one remotely operated vehicle movable along the play field, the vehicle including a pickup coil contained within the vehicle and an electric drive motor coupled to the pickup coil,   wherein when the vehicle is positioned on the playfield, the pickup coil is inductively coupled to at least one of the plurality of power supply coils such that electricity is induced in the pickup coil to power the drive motor.   
     
     
         2 . The arcade racing game of  claim 1  wherein the power supply coils are concentrically positioned beneath the top surface. 
     
     
         3 . The arcade racing game of  claim 2  wherein the power supply circuit generates a plurality of power signals, wherein each of the power signals are provided to different power supply coils. 
     
     
         4 . The arcade racing game of  claim 3  wherein the power signals are each phase shifted relative to the other power signals. 
     
     
         5 . The arcade racing game of  claim 3  wherein the play field includes eight power supply coils and the power supply circuit generates four power signals, wherein each of the four power signals are connected to two of the power supply coils. 
     
     
         6 . The arcade racing game of  claim 1  wherein the vehicle includes a tuning capacitor coupled to the pickup coil to tune the resonant frequency of the vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The arcade racing game of  claim 4  wherein the power supply circuit includes a tuning capacitor coupled to each of the power supply coils such that a resonant frequency of each power supply coil and the associated tuning capacitor can be selected. 
     
     
         8 . The arcade game of  claim 1  wherein the vehicle further comprises an energy storage device positioned between the pickup coil and the drive motor to store electricity from the pickup coil and power the drive motor. 
     
     
         9 . The arcade game of  claim 4  wherein the power supply circuit includes a control unit that controls the phase of each of the power signals. 
     
     
         10 . The arcade game of  claim 2  wherein each of the power supply coils includes a plurality of loops of wire. 
     
     
         11 . The arcade game of  claim 10  wherein the power supply coils are concentric with each other and the outermost coils have a smaller number of loops of wire relative to the innermost coils. 
     
     
         12 . The arcade racing game of  claim 1  wherein the pickup coil is positioned above the top surface of the play field such that the pickup coil does not touch the top surface. 
     
     
         13 . An arcade racing game, comprising:
 a plurality of control stations each having a steering controller and a speed controller;   a track having a top surface that defines a race course, the track having a plurality of concentric power supply coils positioned beneath the top surface;   a power supply circuit connected to each of the plurality of power supply coils to supply electric power to the power supply coils;   a plurality of vehicles movable along the race course, wherein each of the vehicles includes a pickup coil, an energy storage device and a drive motor,   wherein the pickup coil of each vehicle is inductively coupled to the power supply coils when the vehicle is positioned on the track such that electricity is induced in the pickup coils when electric power is supplied to the power supply coils.   
     
     
         14 . The arcade racing game of  claim 13  wherein the track extends between an inner boundary and an outer boundary, wherein the power supply coils are equally spaced between the inner boundary and the outer boundary. 
     
     
         15 . The arcade racing game of  claim 14  wherein the pickup coil is inductively coupled to different power supply coils as the vehicle moves between the inner and outer boundaries. 
     
     
         16 . The arcade game of  claim 13  further comprising a control unit that generates control signals to each of the vehicles based upon the position of the steering controller and the speed controller of each of the control stations. 
     
     
         17 . The arcade racing game of  claim 13  wherein the power supply circuit generates a plurality of power signals, wherein each of the power signals are provided to different power supply coils. 
     
     
         18 . The arcade racing game of  claim 17  wherein the power signals are each phase shifted relative to the other power signals. 
     
     
         19 . The arcade racing game of  claim 13  wherein the vehicle includes a tuning capacitor coupled to the pickup coil, wherein the tuning capacitor is selected to tune a resonant frequency of the vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . The arcade racing game of  claim 19  wherein the power supply circuit includes a tuning capacitor coupled to each of the power supply coils, wherein the tuning capacitor is selected to tune the resonant frequency of each of the power supply coils such that tuning frequency of each of the power supply coils and the associated tuning capacitor is generally matched.