VEHICLE CHARGING STATION HAVING A DUAL POSITION LOCKING DOOR
First Claim
1. A vehicle charging station, comprising:
- a compartment having a door;
a receptacle disposed within the interior of the compartment for receiving a charging cord from a vehicle; and
a door locking mechanism including;
a first latch for locking and unlocking the door from a closed position, the first latch locking the door without drawing power and keeping the door locked in the closed position if power is lost to the vehicle charging station while the door is locked in the closed position, anda second latch for locking and unlocking the door in a second position such that the door is ajar allowing the cord to pass from the vehicle to the interior of the compartment, the second latch allowing the door to open beyond its ajar position to allow the cord to be removed if power is lost to the vehicle charging station while the door is locked in the second position.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle charging station including a compartment having a door, a receptacle disposed within the interior of the compartment for receiving a charging cord from a vehicle, and a door mechanism. The door mechanism includes a first latch for locking and unlocking the door from a closed position. The first latch locks the door in the closed position without drawing power and keeps the door locked in the closed position if power is lost to the vehicle charging station. The door mechanism also includes a second latch for locking and unlocking the door in a second position such that the door is ajar allowing the cord to pass from the vehicle to the interior of the compartment. The second latch allows the door to open beyond its ajar position to allow the cord to be removed if power is lost to the vehicle charging station while the door is locked in the second position.
94 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A vehicle charging station, comprising:
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a compartment having a door; a receptacle disposed within the interior of the compartment for receiving a charging cord from a vehicle; and a door locking mechanism including; a first latch for locking and unlocking the door from a closed position, the first latch locking the door without drawing power and keeping the door locked in the closed position if power is lost to the vehicle charging station while the door is locked in the closed position, and a second latch for locking and unlocking the door in a second position such that the door is ajar allowing the cord to pass from the vehicle to the interior of the compartment, the second latch allowing the door to open beyond its ajar position to allow the cord to be removed if power is lost to the vehicle charging station while the door is locked in the second position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for locking and unlocking a door of a vehicle charging station, wherein the door is coupled with a compartment having a receptacle for receiving a charging cord of a vehicle, the method comprising:
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locking the door without drawing power in a first position while the vehicle charging station is idle to prevent access to the compartment, wherein the door remains locked in the first position if the charging station loses power while the charging station is idle; upon receiving a request from a customer to use the vehicle charging station, unlocking the door from the first position to allow the customer to open the door and insert the charging cord; receiving the charging cord from the customer; locking the door in a second position to prevent access to the charging cord, wherein responsive to the charging station losing power while the door is locked in the second position, unlocking the door from the second position allowing retrieval of the charging cord; and upon receiving a request from the customer to retrieve the charging cord, unlocking the door from the second position. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A charging station to charge electrical vehicles, comprising:
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a power receptacle compartment hingedly coupled with a door, the power receptacle compartment including a power receptacle to receive an electrical plug coupled with a battery of an electrical vehicle; a locking apparatus including; a first locking unit to lock the door in a closed position without drawing power such that if power is lost to the charging station the door remains locked, wherein the power receptacle is inaccessible when the door is locked in the closed position, and a second locking unit to lock the door in a charging position when the electrical plug is inserted into the power receptacle to prevent access to the electrical plug, and to unlock the door from the charging position if the charging station loses power. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A charging station, comprising:
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a power receptacle compartment including a power receptacle to receive an electrical plug; a door hingedly coupled with the power receptacle compartment, the door to cover the power receptacle when the door is closed; a first locking means for locking and unlocking the door from a closed position without consuming power to control access to the power receptacle compartment such that the door remains locked in the closed position if the charging station loses power; and a second locking means for locking and unlocking the door from a charging position to control access to the electrical plug such that the door is unlocked from the charging position if the charging station loses power. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A method in a vehicle charging station having a power receptacle compartment coupled with a door, the power receptacle compartment having a power receptacle to receive a charging cord of a vehicle, the method comprising:
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while the vehicle charging station is not in use and the door is closed, locking the door in a first position without consuming power to prevent access to the power receptacle, wherein the door remains locked in the first position if the vehicle charging station loses power; and while the charging cord is inserted into the power receptacle, locking the door in a second position to prevent access to the charging cord, wherein responsive to the vehicle charging stating losing power, unlocking the door from the second position allowing retrieval of the charging cord. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification