Charging Pad

The charging pad is the user-visible power transfer interface: the area where transmitter flux crosses the air gap and induces current in the vehicle receiver. Pad geometry — coil diameter, turns, ferrite thickness, and gap to vehicle underside — sets the coupling coefficient k that every subsequent control decision depends on.

Unlike consumer phone pads rated for occasional use, industrial charging pads must survive continuous duty: repeated thermal cycling, floor cleaning, metal debris proximity, and thousands of dock events per year without drift outside FOD baselines.

01Pad construction elements

• Litz or stranded copper winding optimized for skin-effect loss at operating frequency.
• Ferrite plate or distributed cores to shape flux and limit backward radiation into floor steel.
• Aluminum or composite shield below ferrite to contain stray fields toward the receiver.
• Replaceable top cover: textured polymer or sealed epoxy rated for AGV tire load and IP requirements.

02Power class and footprint

Pad size scales with target power and vehicle receiver dimensions — not linearly. A 3 kW AMR pad may use a single DD coil; a 10 kW fork AGV may need a larger or dual-coil pad with phased excitation. SiCore pads are specified as matched pairs with receiver boards so impedance compensation is validated as a system.

03Environmental considerations

Floor-level pads in wet or dusty environments require sealed enclosures and drain paths. Elevated pads reduce debris in the coupling gap but change vehicle approach geometry. Pad height, marking, and guarding are co-designed with LOD and site safety policy — the pad is both an electrical component and a floor fixture.