AUTOMATED ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:
- identifying vehicle information corresponding to the electric vehicle based on an electronic image of the electric vehicle;
retrieving from an electronically stored database a location of a charging port on the electric vehicle based on the vehicle information; and
robotically moving a charging connector according to the retrieved location to engage the charging port of the electric vehicle to charge a battery.
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Abstract
A system and method for charging an electric vehicle includes identifying vehicle information corresponding to the electric vehicle based on an electronic image of the electric vehicle, retrieving from an electronically stored database a location of a charging port on the electric vehicle based on the vehicle information, and robotically moving a charging connector according to the retrieved location to engage the charging port of the electric vehicle to charge a battery.
71 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:
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identifying vehicle information corresponding to the electric vehicle based on an electronic image of the electric vehicle; retrieving from an electronically stored database a location of a charging port on the electric vehicle based on the vehicle information; and robotically moving a charging connector according to the retrieved location to engage the charging port of the electric vehicle to charge a battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:
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identifying vehicle information corresponding to the electric vehicle using a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag on the electric vehicle; retrieving from an electronically stored database a location of a charging port on the electric vehicle based on the vehicle information; and robotically moving a charging connector according to the retrieved location to engage the charging port of the electric vehicle to charge a battery. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:
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a first camera, configured to acquire an electronic image of the electric vehicle; an electronic database; a processor, configured to identify vehicle information corresponding to the electric vehicle based on the electronic image of the electric vehicle, and retrieve from the electronic database a location of a charging port on the electric vehicle based on the vehicle information; and a robotic arm, configured to move a charging connector according to the retrieved location to engage the charging port of the electric vehicle to charge a battery. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:
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a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, configured to identify vehicle information corresponding to the electric vehicle using an RFID tag mounted on the electric vehicle; an electronic database; a processor, configured to retrieve from the electronic database a location of a charging port on the electric vehicle based on the vehicle information; and a robotic arm, configured to move a charging connector according to the retrieved location to engage the charging port of the electric vehicle to charge a battery. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A computer-readable storage medium embodying instructions executed by a processor to perform a method for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:
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acquiring a plurality of images of a field of view while in a vacant state; detecting whether the electric vehicle has entered the field of view based on an analysis of the plurality of images while in the vacant state; initiating a tracking state upon detecting that the electric vehicle has entered the field of view; tracking a position and pose of the electric vehicle while the electric vehicle is in motion based on a plurality of features of the electric vehicle extracted from each image while in the tracking state; initiating an identify state upon detecting that the electric vehicle is no longer in motion; identifying a matching vehicle model candidate in a database using the position and pose of the electric vehicle in each image while in the identify state; initiating a connect state upon identifying a matching vehicle model candidate; verifying whether a charging port on the electric vehicle is in an expected location based on a most recently acquired image while in the connect state; and engaging a charging connector into the charging port upon verifying that the charging port is in the expected location while in the connect state. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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Specification