Vehicular accessory

• US 10,549,729 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2017
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Max Moskowitz
• Original Assignee: Max Moskowitz
• Inventors: Moskowitz, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): Frejd, Russell
• Application Number:
  US15/817,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20180118174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 806 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 2001/0405 characterised by their position
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0416 Arrangement in the rear part of the vehicle
• 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: B60K 2001/0461 from the side
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0466 from above
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0472 from below
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0477 from the back
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0494 with arrangements for sliding
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/50 Charging stations characterised by energy-storage or power-generation means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

An electrical vehicle including a vehicle body, a passenger compartment, a chassis supporting the passenger compartment, a plurality of wheels and at least one electrical motor for driving the wheels. A battery compartment of the vehicle is configured to removably mount therein a plurality of more than two rechargeable batteries which are movable into position in the battery compartment by a battery conveyor system which has a battery access opening through which batteries are installed or removed, one by one, to and from the battery compartment. In the battery compartment, a connection mechanism effects the needed mechanical and electrical connections. An overall control system controls the conveyor system and the connection mechanism to enable rapid replacement of the removable batteries, whereby an electrical vehicle can be instantly driven, even after its batteries have been discharged by a replacement of the discharged batteries and the installation of freshly charged batteries.

Claims

1. An AC power distribution system for providing AC power to business and residential consumers, the AC power distribution system comprising:

utility power generators configured to provide utility-originated AC power;

home-based power sources that store or generate DC electrical energy;

a home-based DC to AC converter configured to convert the home-based DC electrical energy to home-originated AC power;

an AC power grid comprising electrical lines configured to carry and distribute the AC power to the business and residential consumers;

a home battery rack including home-based switching devices for selectively coupling the home-originated AC power to the electrical lines of the AC power grid; and

wherein the home-based power sources include vehicle-mounted batteries located within private vehicles, wherein said private vehicles are electrically coupled to said home-based switching devices via said home battery rack, and wherein the home-based power sources also include said home battery rack removeably holding a plurality of standardized vehicle batteries and a charger configured to electrically charge said batteries in said home battery rack enabling said batteries to be selectively removed from said home battery rack and installed by end users into said private vehicles, said private vehicles being coupled to said home battery racks, whereby the AC power being provided to the business and residential consumers includes electrical power components from the utility-originated AC power and from the home-originated AC power that contains power derived from the batteries located within the private vehicles and within said home battery racks; and

a controller configured to communicate wirelessly with end users and to enable said end users to control said switching devices, including by setting time periods when electrical power is supplied from said batteries to said grid and vice versa.

2. The AC power distribution system of claim 1, wherein said home-based power sources include one or more of a home-based solar power generator, a gas-driven power generator and a wind-driven power generator electrically coupled to said home battery rack.

3. The AC power distribution system of claim 1, wherein said business and residential consumers interact with the home-based switching devices through wireless devices.

4. The AC power distribution system of claim 3, wherein the wireless devices are personal communication devices.

5. The AC power distribution system of claim 1, wherein each of the vehicle-mounted batteries is configured for being normally and selectively installed into and uninstalled from said private vehicles and each said battery comprises a housing having an internal volume of less than 2,000 square inches.

6. The AC power distribution system of claim 5, wherein each one of said vehicle-mounted batteries weighs not more than 50 pounds.

7. The AC power distribution system of claim 5, wherein each one of said vehicle-mounted batteries is configured to be lifted and lowered into a battery access opening of said private vehicles, utilizing a human operable lifting winch.

8. The AC power distribution system of claim 5, wherein each one of said vehicle-mounted batteries comprises a handle by which it can be lifted by a human.

9. The AC power distribution system of claim 5, wherein each one of said vehicle-mounted batteries comprises grooves in a housing thereof by which the battery can be engaged, to be conveyed into and from a battery access opening located in each said private vehicles.

10. The AC power distribution system of claim 5, wherein each said electrical vehicle comprises:

a vehicle body, including a passenger compartment, a chassis supporting the passenger compartment, a plurality of wheels, and at least one electrical motor for driving the wheels;

a battery compartment comprising at least eight battery slots, each sized to removably receive one of said batteries;

a battery conveyor system extending substantially from a battery access opening to the battery slots and configured to engage and convey each of said batteries individually from said battery access opening to a desired one of said plurality of battery slots, and for conveying said batteries over a battery-guiding path that extends mostly horizontally;

a connection mechanism for effecting mechanical and electrical connections of each of the batteries in the battery slots without use of manual labor; and

a control system included in said electrical vehicle and coupled to and configured to control said conveyor system and said connection mechanism to carry and guide each of said batteries to a specified slot in said battery compartment, in a manner that enables a vehicle operator and/or a vehicle battery replacer to install or remove batteries during normal vehicle use.

11. The AC power distribution system of claim 1, further comprising a solar panel array which is coupled to said battery charging rack and is configured to provide power for charging said batteries.

12. The AC power distribution system of claim 11, wherein the solar panel is mounted on a single pole.

13. An electrical vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body, including a passenger compartment, a chassis supporting the passenger compartment, a plurality of wheels, and at least one electrical motor for driving the wheels;

a battery compartment comprising at least eight battery slots, each sized to removably receive one of said batteries;

a battery conveyor system extending substantially from a battery access opening to the battery slots and configured to engage and convey each of said batteries individually from said battery access opening to a desired one of said plurality of battery slots, and for conveying said batteries over a battery-guiding path that extends mostly horizontally;

a connection mechanism for effecting mechanical and electrical connections of each of the batteries in the battery slots without use of manual labor; and

a control system included in said electrical vehicle and coupled to and configured to control said conveyor system and said connection mechanism to carry and guide each of said batteries to a specified slot in said battery compartment, in a manner that enables a vehicle operator and/or a vehicle battery replacer to install or remove several or all of said batteries during normal vehicle use.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, in combination with a home-based battery charging rack, the combination comprising:

said battery charging rack, wherein said battery charging rack is configured to hold at least eight of said batteries and wherein said battery charging rack is connected to an AC power source and comprises a converter/charger that is capable of charging simultaneously said at least eight batteries while they are located inside the rack.

15. The combination of claim 14, further comprising a solar panel array that is coupled to said battery charging rack and is configured to provide power for charging said batteries.