Displacement safety system for electrical charging stations

• US 20130241479A1
• Filed: 09/06/2012
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WMK Safety Solutions, LLC
• Original Assignee: Robert W. Wright Jr
• Inventors: Wright, Robert W. Jr., Maddox, James E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,368,959 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 320/109
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/08 Arrangements of devices for controlling, indicating, metering or registering quantity or price of liquid transferred arrangement of flow- or pressure-control valves B67D7/36; computing, calculating, counting G06; coin-freed apparatus for dispensing fluids G07F13/00; prepayment devices for metering liquids G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 5/10 responsive to mechanical injury, e.g. rupture of line, breakage of earth connection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0029 with safety or protection devices or circuits
• 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 safety circuit for disconnecting the power feed to an EV (electrical vehicle) charging enclosure or gasoline station fuel pump enclosure in the event that the enclosure is partially or totally dislodged from the foundation and dangerously high voltage has been exposed due to underground conduits being torn apart and electrical cables being exposed and in contact with sheet metal cabinets and other metal parts, thus creating the possibility of an explosion or the electrocution of a user or bystanders. The safety circuit comprises at least two proximity sensors, each of which transmits a signal into a control circuit which causes the power feed to the enclosure to be disconnected at the source when either or both of the proximity sensors inform the control circuit that the station has moved either vertically or horizontally more than a few thousandths of an inch.

Claims

1. An electrical vehicle charging system comprising:

an enclosure including a power converter unit capable of receiving incoming power from a remotely located main circuit breaker and converting said incoming power to the proper DC voltage and current levels to charge the batteries of said electrical vehicle, said enclosure being mounted on a foundation which is fixedly secured to the ground, said enclosure having one proximity sensor mounted to each of two opposing walls therein, said proximity sensors monitoring the presence of two respective targets, said targets being mounted onto said foundation, said proximity sensors each inputting a signal to control circuitry contained within said enclosure, said signals informing said control circuitry of the presence or absence of said targets, said control circuitry sending a trip signal to a remotely located shunt trip main circuit breaker in a situation wherein one or both of said proximity sensors senses that no target is present, thus causing said main circuit breaker to trip remove power from said enclosure.

2. The electrical vehicle charging system defined in claim 1 wherein said proximity sensors are selected from the group consisting of inductive probes, capacitance probes, optical sensors such as photocells, LVDT sensors (linear variable differential transformer), microwave sensors, absolute position encoders, eddy current sensors, Hall effect devices, piezoresistive accelerometers, servo accelerometers, force gages, laser Doppler vibrometers, tilt and vibration sensors, linear potentiometers, optical triangulation, ultrasonic sensors and limit switch sensors.

3. A vehicle fuel delivery system comprising:

an enclosure including a fuel dispensing unit capable of receiving and dispensing fuel to the fuel tank of a vehicle, said enclosure being mounted on a foundation which is fixedly secured to the ground, said enclosure having one proximity sensor mounted to each of two opposing walls therein, said proximity sensors monitoring the presence of two respective targets, said targets being mounted onto said foundation, said proximity sensors each inputting a signal to control circuitry contained within said enclosure, said signals informing said control circuitry of the presence or absence of said targets, said control circuitry sending a trip signal to a remotely located shunt trip main circuit breaker in an event wherein one or both of said proximity sensors senses that no target is present, thus causing said main circuit breaker to remove power from said enclosure.

4. The vehicle fuel delivery system defined in claim 3 wherein said proximity sensors are selected from the group consisting of inductive probes, capacitance probes, optical sensors such as photocells, LVDT sensors (linear variable differential transformer), microwave sensors, absolute position encoders, eddy current sensors, Hall effect devices, piezoresistive accelerometers, servo accelerometers, force gages, laser Doppler vibrometers, tilt and vibration sensors, linear potentiometers, optical triangulation, ultrasonic sensors and limit switch sensors.

5. The vehicle fuel delivery system defined in claim 4 wherein said fuel is selected from the group consisting of gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas, and hydrogen fuel.

6. An electrical vehicle charging system comprising:

an enclosure including a power converter unit capable of receiving incoming power and converting said incoming power to the proper DC voltage and current levels to charge the batteries of said electrical vehicle, said enclosure including an electronic board containing a motion sensor, said sensor capable of sensing a selected amount of movement of said enclosure whereupon said electronic board sends a trip signal to a remotely located shunt trip main circuit breaker in response to a selected amount of movement of said enclosure as sensed by said motion sensor, thus causing said main circuit breaker to remove incoming power from said enclosure.