METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VEHICULAR ENERGY MANAGEMENT
First Claim
1. A method for energy capture and management comprising:
- gathering energy from a plurality of harvestable energy sources available on a vehicle, the vehicle having a primary propulsion mechanism, and at least one load, the load consuming power independent of the primary propulsion mechanism;
storing the gathered energy; and
employing the stored energy for powering the load when the primary propulsion mechanism is inactive.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle energy management system for gathering, storing the energy, and distributing the stored energy supports various subsystems on the vehicle such as driver comfort systems, payload refrigeration, liftgate mechanisms, and roof de-icing, for example. The system harvests energy from various sources available to the vehicle, such as solar panels, regenerative braking and shock absorbers. The harvested energy is gathered for battery storage. Management logic allocates the stored electricity to various vehicle loads defined by the subsystems, based on factors such as time of day, ambient temperature, and weather conditions, which are used to predict the electrical demand called for by the loads. Harvestable energy sources available to the vehicle, combined with sufficient battery storage, provides electrical power for supporting these loads without relying on an idling engine for providing electrical or hydraulic power to accommodate the vehicle subsystems, such as comfort stations for an idle-free vehicle implementation.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for energy capture and management comprising:
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gathering energy from a plurality of harvestable energy sources available on a vehicle, the vehicle having a primary propulsion mechanism, and at least one load, the load consuming power independent of the primary propulsion mechanism; storing the gathered energy; and employing the stored energy for powering the load when the primary propulsion mechanism is inactive. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A mobile energy storage and management controller comprising:
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a storage interface to an electrical storage component on a vehicle, the vehicle having a primary propulsion mechanism; a gathering interface configured to receive electrical energy gathered from the vehicle, the gathering interface responsive to generation sources on the vehicle; and power management logic for allocating power to loads on the vehicle based on current and anticipated demand, the allocated power for accommodating inactivity of the primary propulsion mechanism when allocating the power. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A remotely selectable solar panel interconnect, comprising:
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a first set of power connections adapted for electrical coupling with a first adjacent solar panel; a second set of power connections adapted for electrical coupling with a busbar or a second adjacent solar panel; and a switch responsive to switching logic for establishing a serial or parallel connection between the first adjacent solar panel and either the second adjacent solar panel or the busbar. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification