Mobile cart and power system therefor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A power system for a mobile cart, comprising:
- a battery assembly comprising one or more rechargeable batteries, a battery support for supporting each respective one of said batteries wherein said battery support is mountable on a mobile cart and said respective battery is removeably engageable with and disengagable from said battery support from an exterior of said mobile cart, said battery assembly including a battery connector for each said battery which is engageable with said battery when said battery is installed on said respective battery support, each said battery being individually removable from said battery support independently of any other said battery supported by said battery support;
a battery control system for recharging said batteries, which has a control unit comprising a power supply removeably connectable to external power, a charge controller receiving power from said power supply when connected to external power and controlling battery charging and discharge, a first power outlet receiving power under the control of said charge controller to provide power to electrical equipment on a mobile cart, a power port for each said battery support, which is selectively connectable to said battery through said battery connector, power flow through each said power port being controlled by said charge controller to control charging of each said battery by external power and discharging of each said battery, wherein discharging of said battery supplies battery power to said first power outlet for use by cart equipment, said control unit permitting removal of any said battery during charging of any said battery on said battery support; and
said charge controller charging a respective said battery to an upper charging threshold, wherein said upper charging threshold reflects a battery charge below which said battery is chargeable at a first charging rate and above which said battery charges at a slower second charging rate, each said battery being charged to said upper charging threshold before said charge controller begins to charge each said battery above said upper charging threshold to a full charge using said second charging rate, said charge controller permitting charging of one said battery during removal of any other said battery from said battery support.
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Abstract
A mobile cart has a battery assembly, which includes an on-board charger for selectively recharging one or more batteries to ensure constant operation of the powered equipment provided on the cart. The battery assembly possesses a removable battery configuration and is operated by a Battery Control System (BCS). The BCS is an intelligent control system for removable batteries and battery cell packs to provide an improved system of charging and discharging the individual batteries.
36 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A power system for a mobile cart, comprising:
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a battery assembly comprising one or more rechargeable batteries, a battery support for supporting each respective one of said batteries wherein said battery support is mountable on a mobile cart and said respective battery is removeably engageable with and disengagable from said battery support from an exterior of said mobile cart, said battery assembly including a battery connector for each said battery which is engageable with said battery when said battery is installed on said respective battery support, each said battery being individually removable from said battery support independently of any other said battery supported by said battery support; a battery control system for recharging said batteries, which has a control unit comprising a power supply removeably connectable to external power, a charge controller receiving power from said power supply when connected to external power and controlling battery charging and discharge, a first power outlet receiving power under the control of said charge controller to provide power to electrical equipment on a mobile cart, a power port for each said battery support, which is selectively connectable to said battery through said battery connector, power flow through each said power port being controlled by said charge controller to control charging of each said battery by external power and discharging of each said battery, wherein discharging of said battery supplies battery power to said first power outlet for use by cart equipment, said control unit permitting removal of any said battery during charging of any said battery on said battery support; and said charge controller charging a respective said battery to an upper charging threshold, wherein said upper charging threshold reflects a battery charge below which said battery is chargeable at a first charging rate and above which said battery charges at a slower second charging rate, each said battery being charged to said upper charging threshold before said charge controller begins to charge each said battery above said upper charging threshold to a full charge using said second charging rate, said charge controller permitting charging of one said battery during removal of any other said battery from said battery support. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for operating a power system for a mobile cart, said power system comprising a battery assembly comprising a battery support and one or more rechargeable batteries which are supported in said battery support and are removable from said battery support independently of any other said battery, and a battery control system for recharging said batteries, which has a control unit comprising a power supply removeably connectable to external power, a charge controller receiving power from said power supply when connected to external power and controlling battery charging and discharge, a first power outlet receiving power under the control of said charge controller to supply power to electrical equipment on a mobile cart, a power connector for each said battery, which is selectively connectable to said battery to permit removal of any said battery independent of any other said battery during said battery charging and discharging, said method comprising the steps of:
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controlling power flow through each said power connector by said charge controller to control charging of each said battery by external power and discharging of each said battery, which provides battery power to said first power outlet for use by cart equipment; initiating charging of each said battery by said charge controller when external power is present; continuing charging of a respective one of said batteries by said charge controller until a charge level of said battery reaches a respective upper charging threshold for said battery being charged, wherein said upper charging threshold reflects a battery charge below which said battery is chargeable at a first charging rate and above which said battery charges at a slower second charging rate; after said one battery reaches said upper charging threshold, discontinuing charging of said one battery and initiating charging of the other of said batteries to said upper charging threshold; and after each said battery is charged to said upper charging threshold, then charging one of said batteries by said charge controller to a full charge and then charging any remaining said batteries to said full charge. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A power system for providing battery power to mobile equipment, comprising:
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a battery assembly comprising one or more rechargeable batteries, a battery support for each respective one of said batteries wherein said battery support is mountable on a support frame and said respective battery is removeably engageable with said battery supportindependently of any other said battery engaged with said battery support, a battery connector for each said battery which is engageable with said battery when said battery is installed on said respective battery support; a battery control system for recharging said batteries, which has a control unit comprising a power supply removeably connectable to external power, a charge controller receiving power from said power supply when connected to external power and controlling battery charging and discharge, a first power outlet receiving power under the control of said charge controller to provide power to electrical equipment on said support frame, a power connector port for each said battery support, which is selectively connectable to said battery through said battery connector, power flow through each said power connector port being controlled by said charge controller to control charging of each said battery by external power and discharging of each said battery, wherein discharging of said battery supplies battery power to said first power outlet for use by cart equipment, said control unit permitting removal of any said battery during charging of any other said battery on said battery support; and said charge controller charging a respective said battery to an upper charging threshold, wherein said upper charging threshold reflects a battery charge below which said battery is chargeable at a first charging rate and above which said battery charges at a slower second charging rate, each said battery being charged to said upper charging threshold before said charge controller begins to charge each said battery above said upper charging threshold to a full charge using said second charging rate wherein after said one battery reaches said upper charging threshold, said charge controller discontinuing charging of said one battery and initiating charging of the other of said batteries to said upper charging threshold; and
after each said battery is charged to said upper charging threshold, said charge controller then charging one of said batteries by said charge controller to a full charge and then charging any remaining said batteries to said full charge.
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Specification