ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EVS) OPERABLE WITH EXCHANGEABLE BATTERIES AND APPLICATIONS FOR LOCATING KIOSKS OF BATTERIES AND RESERVING BATTERIES

• US 20150127479A1
• Filed: 01/12/2015
• Published: 05/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emerging Automotive, LLC
• Original Assignee: Albert S. Penilla, Angel A. Penilla
• Inventors: Penilla, Albert S., Penilla, Angel A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,177,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/31 Charging columns specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/50 characterised by the display information being shared, e.g. external display, data transfer to other traffic participants or centralised traffic controller
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/70 characterised by an event-triggered choice to display a specific image among a selection of captured images
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0645 : Rental transactions; Leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 : Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0866 : the electronic data carrier being a digital video recorder in combination with video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 : dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 : for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• 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 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Electric vehicles that use replaceable and exchangeable batteries, applications for communicating with a service that provides access to kiosks of batteries, and methods and systems for finding charged batteries, reserving batteries, and paying for use of the batteries, are disclosed. One example is an electric vehicle having an electric motor and at least two receptacle slots formed in the electric vehicle. The receptacle slots having at least one connection to the electric motor and at least two batteries configured for hand-insertion into the receptacle slots to enable electrical engagement of the batteries with the at least one connection when disposed in the receptacle slots and each of the batteries are further configured for hand-removal out of the receptacle slots. The vehicle further includes wireless communication circuitry configured for wireless communication between the electric vehicle and a device when linked for wireless communication with an application of the device. A computer on-board the electric vehicle is interfaced with the wireless communications circuitry and is configured to interface with the batteries via the connection to the receptacle slots to access a level of charge of the batteries present in the receptacle slots to enable data regarding the level of charge to be accessed by the application. A display panel of the electric vehicle is configured to display information regarding the level of charge of the batteries in the receptacle slots.

Claims

1. An electric vehicle having an electric motor, comprising,

a receptacle slot integrated in the electric vehicle, the receptacle slot providing a connection for providing power to the electric motor;

a battery configured for sliding into the receptacle slot to enable electrical engagement of the battery with the connection when in the receptacle slot, and the battery is further configured for sliding out of the receptacle slot to remove the battery from electrical engagement with the connection, the battery configured to store and supply charge to power the electric motor of the electric vehicle, the battery being replaceable by sliding the battery out of the receptacle slot and sliding in another battery into the receptacle slot to further supply charge to power the electric motor of the electric vehicle with said another battery;

a communications module for enabling wireless communication between the electric vehicle when linked for communication with an application of a device;

a computer on-board the electric vehicle, the computer is interfaced with the communications module and is configured to interface with the connection of the receptacle slot to obtain a level of charge of the battery present in the receptacle slot to enable communication of data regarding the level of charge to the application; and

a display panel of the electric vehicle, the display panel configured to display information regarding the level of charge of the battery in the receptacle slot.

2. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the electric vehicle is one of a two-wheel vehicle, or a three-wheel vehicle, or a four-wheel vehicle, or a motorcycle, or a car, or a truck, or a pickup, or a utility car, or a delivery vehicle, or an industrial vehicle.

3. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the communications module is configured to process radio communication, or Wi-Fi™

communication, or Bluetooth™

communication, or a near field communication (NFC), or a combination of two or more thereof.

4. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the battery includes memory for storing information regarding the level of charge of the battery, or data regarding a number of prior charges of the battery, or data indicative of a heath of the battery, or data associated with a radio frequency communication identifier (RFID), or data from a combination of two or more thereof.

5. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the battery forms electrical engagement in the receptacle slot when the battery is inserted and seated in the receptacle slot, wherein the electrical engagement is one of direct contact between terminals or wireless charge contact.

6. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the application of the device when linked with the electric vehicle provides for display of the level of charge of the battery and operational data of the electric vehicle on one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of the application.

7. The electric vehicle of claim 1,

wherein the application of the device when linked with the electric vehicle provides for display of the level of charge of the battery and options for identifying locations for obtaining one or more batteries for replacing or exchanging the battery;

wherein each of the locations have a kiosk of replacement batteries, the kiosks being associated with a network of kiosks having the replacement batteries that are pre-configured only for the electric vehicle;

wherein the identified locations being selected by a server relative to a current location of the electric vehicle.

8. The electric vehicle of claim 1,

wherein the application of the device when linked with the electric vehicle provides for display of the level of charge of the battery and options for identifying kiosk locations for obtaining or reserving one or more batteries for replacing the battery;

wherein the identified kiosk locations being selected by a server relative to a current geo-location of the electric vehicle.

9. The electric vehicle of claim 1, further comprising,

an energy recovery system for capturing energy from braking functions of the electric vehicle, the energy recovery system configured to replenish at least some charge of the battery during use of the electric vehicle;

wherein data regarding an amount of energy captured by the energy recovery system is accessible from at least one user interface display rendered by the application.

10. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the battery has memory that stores data that comprises the level of charge, the computer of the electric vehicle is configured to interface with the device or at least one computing device that enables interfacing with a computer of a kiosk that is defined to store one or more replacement batteries that can be used to replace the battery of the electric vehicle, the kiosk has a plurality of slots for holding the replacement batteries.

11. The electric vehicle of claim 10, wherein the computer of the kiosk is configured to supply availability of the one or more replacement batteries and enable reservation of one or more of the replacement batteries present at the kiosk, the kiosk and other available kiosks being mapped on at least one screen of the application or mapped by an online mapping application interfaced with the application.

12. An electric vehicle having an electric motor, comprising,

at least two receptacle slots formed in the electric vehicle, the receptacle slots having at least one connection for providing power to the electric motor;

at least two batteries configured for hand-insertion into the receptacle slots to enable electrical engagement of the batteries with the at least one connection when disposed in the receptacle slots and each of the batteries are further configured for hand-removal out of the receptacle slots, each of the batteries configured to store and supply charge to power the electric motor of the electric vehicle, wherein the batteries are exchangeable with other batteries by hand-removal and hand-insertion of batteries out of and into the receptacle slots;

wireless communication circuitry configured for wireless communication between the electric vehicle and a device when linked for wireless communication with an application of the device, the application having options specific to the electric vehicle and therefor designed to link with the electric vehicle;

a computer on-board the electric vehicle, the computer is interfaced with the wireless communications circuitry and is configured to interface with the batteries via the connection to the receptacle slots to access a level of charge of the batteries present in the receptacle slots to enable data regarding the level of charge to be accessed by the application; and

a display panel of the electric vehicle, the display panel configured to display information regarding the level of charge of the batteries in the receptacle slots.

13. The electric vehicle of claim 12, wherein the electrical engagement is by way of electrical terminals on the batteries and the receptacle slots, or by way of a wireless charge connection between the batteries and the receptacle slots,

wherein the electric engagement is made upon the hand-insertion of the batteries into the receptacle slots.

14. The electric vehicle of claim 12,

wherein each of the batteries has memory that stores data that comprises the level of charge;

wherein the application is preconfigured to interface with a computer of a kiosk or server having communication access to the kiosk, the kiosk is defined to store one or more replacement batteries that can be used to replace at least one of the batteries of the electric vehicle;

wherein the kiosk has a plurality of slots for holding and charging the replacement batteries.

15. The electric vehicle of claim 12, further comprising,

a kiosk defined to store one or more replacement batteries that can be used to replace at least one of the batteries of the electric vehicle,

wherein the kiosk is part of a system that has geographically distributed kiosks linked by one or more servers, the one or more servers providing information exchange for obtaining replacement batteries for the electric vehicle via the application.

16. The electric vehicle of claim 12, further comprising,

an energy recovery system for recovering energy from braking functions of the electric vehicle, the energy recovery system configured to replenish at least some charge of the battery during use of the electric vehicle.

17. The electric vehicle of claim 14,

wherein the computer of the kiosk is configured to supply availability of the one or more replacement batteries and enable reservation of one or more of the replacement batteries present at the kiosk;

wherein communication to the computer of the kiosk is from the wireless communication circuitry of the vehicle, or wireless communication of the device, or via the application communicating with a server that has access to the kiosk and other kiosks of a network of kiosks.

18. The electric vehicle of claim 12,

wherein the electric vehicle is one of a two-wheel vehicle, or a three-wheel vehicle, or a four-wheel vehicle, or a motorcycle, or a car, or a truck, or a pickup, or a utility car, or a delivery vehicle, or an industrial vehicle;

wherein the application is configured for communication with a server that communicates with a network of kiosks where each kiosk has a plurality of batteries, the network of kiosks being accessible using a user account via the application to enable communication with the server, the application enabling reserving of one or more batteries from at least one kiosk of the network of kiosks.

19. A method for processing information regarding at least one battery of an electric vehicle having an electric motor, the at least one battery being replaceable by hand-removal and hand-insertion out of and into slot receptacles of the electric vehicle, comprising,

communicating, by a computer of the electric vehicle, with at least one battery when in one of the slot receptacles, the communicating returning data that identifies a level of charge in the battery;

communicating, by the computer of the electric vehicle, with a device having an application that is configured to link with the electric vehicle, the computer of the electric vehicle configured to provide data to the application regarding the identified level of charge,

wherein the application is configured for communication with a server that manages communication with a plurality of kiosks having batteries for replacement of the at least one battery in the slot receptacles of the electric vehicle,

wherein the server is configured to enable instruction to a control system of a kiosk of the plurality of kiosks to reserve at least one battery for use in the electric vehicle;

wherein the application or the computer of the electric vehicle is configured to interface with the control system of the kiosk to control dispensing or release of the least one battery when the electric vehicle is present at the kiosk.

20. The method of claim 19,

wherein the application, being in communication with the server, is configured to render a map finding geo-locations of one or more of the plurality of kiosks;

wherein the application processes and communicates instructions for the reserving of the at least one battery;

wherein the electric vehicle is relatable to a user account for accessing the application, the user account is managed at least in part by the server to enable the finding of the kiosks, the reserving, and payment for the at least one battery when obtained for replacement or exchange of at least one of the batteries in the slot receptacles of the electric vehicle;

wherein the electric vehicle is one of a two-wheel vehicle, or a three-wheel vehicle, or a four-wheel vehicle, or a motorcycle, or a car, or a truck, or a pickup, or a utility car, or a delivery vehicle, or an industrial vehicle.