Electric vehicle, power supply station, and power maintaining method for electric vehicle

• US 10,464,431 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2015
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chih-Chan Ger
• Original Assignee: Chih-Chan Ger
• Inventors: Ger, Chih-Chan
• Primary Examiner(s): Dolak, James M
• Application Number:
  US15/505,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20170253138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/04 of the electric storage means for propulsion exchanging batteries for electric propulsion of vehicles B60L53/80; for auxiliary purposes only B60R16/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0438 Arrangement under the floor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0455 Removal or replacement of the energy storages
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/67 Controlling two or more charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 15/22 comprising a series of co-operating units
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A power maintaining method of electric vehicle includes the following step. In step 01, an energy power is provided by a main battery pack to drive a first electric vehicle (EV) moving to a first power supply station. In step 02, a first swappable battery pack is installed on the first EV at the first power supply station, and the first swappable battery pack is electrically connected to the main battery pack of the first EV so that the main battery pack is charged by the first swappable battery pack. In step 03, the first EV is driven to a second power supply station from the first power supply station. In step 04, the first swappable battery pack is uninstalled from the first EV at the second power supply station. In addition, an electric vehicle and a power supply station is disclosed in the present application.

Claims

1. A power maintaining method for electric vehicles that is applied with at least a first electric vehicle and a first power supply station, the first electric vehicle has a main battery pack, at least one swappable battery pack holding space and a DC recharge socket, the main battery pack is solidly combined with a body structure of the first electric vehicle and there is a connector disposed in the swappable battery pack holding space used for electrically connecting the swappable battery pack to the main battery pack, the first power supply station has a swappable battery pack installing and uninstalling device, a first DC charging device and is able to provide a plurality of swappable battery packs, the method comprising:

installing a first swappable battery pack, which is integrated with a DC power converter, into the swappable battery holding space of the first electric vehicle at the first power supply station, wherein an outward size and appearance of the first swappable battery pack is different from an outward size and appearance of the main battery pack, the first swappable battery pack is able to charge the main battery pack through the DC power converter;

electrically connecting the first DC charging device to the DC recharge socket to charge the main battery pack while installing the first swappable battery pack;

uninstalling the first swappable battery pack from the first electric vehicle at the second power supply station, which has a second DC charging device, a second swappable battery pack installing and uninstalling device and another plurality of swappable battery packs; and

installing a second swappable battery pack, which is integrated with a DC power converter, into the swappable battery pack holding space of the first electric vehicle, wherein the capacity of the first swappable battery pack is different from the capacity of the second swappable battery pack.

2. The power maintaining method defined in claim 1, further comprising:

electrically connecting the second DC charging device to the main battery pack to charge the main battery pack while uninstalling the first swappable battery pack at the second power supply station.

3. The power maintaining method defined in claim 2, further comprising:

charging the first swappable battery pack, which is uninstalled from the first electric vehicle, at the second power supply station; and

installing the first swappable battery pack, which is already charged, into a swappable battery pack holding space of a second electric vehicle, wherein the outward size and appearance of the first swappable battery pack is different from the outward size and appearance of a main battery pack of the second electric vehicle.

4. The power maintaining method defined in claim 1, wherein the electric current of the first DC charging device for charging the main battery pack is 3 times greater than the nominal capacity of the main battery pack.

5. The power maintaining method defined in claim 3, wherein the first swappable battery pack further has a plurality of batteries, which are electrically connected to each other, the second DC charging device of the second power supply station is electrically connected to the switched mode DC power converter which is internal to the first swappable battery pack to charge the batteries through the DC power converter.

8. The power maintaining method defined in claim 3, wherein the first swappable battery pack further comprises a plurality of batteries electrically connected to each other, and wherein the second DC charging device of the second power supply station is electrically connected to the batteries to directly charge the batteries.

6. A power maintaining method for electric vehicles that is applied with at least a first electric vehicle, a first power supply station and a second power supply station, the first electric vehicle has a main battery pack, at least one swappable battery pack holding space and a DC recharge socket the main battery pack is solidly combined with a body structure of the first electric vehicle and there is a connector disposed in the swappable battery pack holding space used for electrically connecting the swappable battery pack to the main battery pack, the first power supply station has a first swappable battery pack installing and uninstalling device, a first DC charging device and is able to provide a plurality of swappable battery packs, the second power supply station has a second DC charging device, a second swappable battery pack installing and uninstalling device and another plurality of swappable battery packs, the method comprising:

installing a first swappable battery pack, which is integrated with a DC power converter, into the swappable battery pack holding space of the first electric vehicle at the first power supply station, wherein an outward size and appearance of the first swappable battery is different from an outward size and appearance of the main battery pack, the first swappable battery pack is able to charge the main battery pack of the first electric vehicle through the DC power converter;

electrically connecting the first DC charging device to the DC recharge socket to charge the main battery pack while installing the first swappable battery pack at the first power supply station;

uninstalling the first swappable battery pack from the first electric vehicle at the second power supply station;

charging the first swappable battery pack, which is uninstalled from the first electric vehicle, at the second power supply station; and

installing the first swappable battery pack, which is already charged, into a swappable battery pack holding space of the second electric vehicle at the second power supply station, wherein the capacity of the main battery pack of the first electric vehicle is different from the capacity of the main battery pack of the second electric vehicle, and the first swappable battery pack is able to charge the main battery pack of the second electric vehicle through the DC power converter.

7. The power maintaining method defined in claim 6, wherein the first swappable battery pack further has a plurality of batteries, which are electrically connected to each other, the second DC charging device of the second power supply station is electrically connected to the DC power converter which is internal to the first swappable battery pack to charge the batteries through the DC power converter.