Apparatus, system, and method for vending, charging, and two-way distribution of electrical energy storage devices

• US 10,040,359 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2015
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gogoro Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gogoro Inc.
• Inventors: Chen, Jung-Hsiu, Chen, Shen-Chi, Wu, Yu-Lin, Huang, Chien-Ming, Chan, TsungTing, Yang, Feng Kai
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Mohammed
• Application Number:
  US14/842,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20160068075A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 320107
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/00 Arrangement or mounting of electrical propulsion units B60K7/00 takes precedence; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion B60K6/00; electric transmission arrangements B60K17/12; electric equipment or propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles per se B60L; current-collectors for power supply lines of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0494 with arrangements for sliding
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/20 by driver identification
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/34 of parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/18 Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/51 Photovoltaic means
• 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 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/16 responding to battery ageing, e.g. to the number of charging cycles or the state of health [SoH]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/27 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/126 Scooters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/006 dispensed for the electrical charging of other devices than vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/06 by returnable containers , i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value, e.g. bottles
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 : Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00045 : Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 : specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• 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

A two-way distribution, charging, and vending system permits a subscriber to exchange one or more partially or completely discharged portable electric energy storage devices for a comparable number of charged portable electric energy storage devices. The two-way distribution, charging, and vending system includes a number of charging modules, each with a dedicated power converter, communicably coupled to at least one two-way distribution system controller and to a power distribution grid. Upon receipt of a discharged portable electric energy storage device, the at least one two-way distribution system controller validates a manufacturer identifier and a subscriber identifier stored in a nontransitory storage media carried by the discharged portable electric energy storage device. Responsive to a successful authentication and validation, the at least one two-way distribution system controller dispenses a charged portable electric energy storage device to the subscriber.

Claims

1. A charging module to charge portable electric energy storage devices, the charging module comprising:

a housing having a base, a peripheral wall secured to the base and an entrance into which a portable energy storage device can be inserted along a longitudinal axis of the housing and into an interior space formed by the peripheral housing wall;

a number of electric contacts projecting from the base at least partially into the interior space of the housing;

a locking mechanism projecting from the base at least partially into the interior space of the housing that is controllable to selectively mechanically engage the portable energy storage device;

a housing door positioned in the interior space of the housing, the housing door axially displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the housing from a first position perpendicular to the housing wall and proximate the entrance to at least a second position perpendicular to the housing wall and proximate the base of the housing;

an aperture concentric with the longitudinal axis of the housing through the housing door, the aperture to accommodate the passage of at least a portion of the locking mechanism and at least a portion of the number of electric contacts when the housing door is displaced to the second position;

at least one biasing element biasing the housing door towards the first position; and

a displaceable cover disposed proximate the aperture and displaceable from a closed position in which the aperture is occluded, to an open position in which the aperture is unobstructed, the cover operably coupled to the housing door and to the housing such that as the housing door is displaced from the first position to the second position, the cover is displaced from the closed position to the open position.

2. The charging module of claim 1, further comprising:

an actuator coupled to the locking mechanism, the actuator causing a displacement of the locking mechanism responsive to a receipt of the portable energy storage device in the interior space of the housing.

3. The charging module of claim 1, further comprising:

a modular electrical interface projecting from the base of the housing into the interior space of the housing.

4. The charging module of claim 1 wherein each of the number of electric contacts are positioned concentric to the longitudinal axis of the housing and electrically isolated from any other of the number of electric contacts.

5. The charging module of claim 4, wherein each of the number of electric contacts comprise a circularly annular electric contact positioned concentric to the longitudinal axis of the housing and electrically isolated from any other of the number of electric contacts.

6. The charging module of claim 4 wherein each of the number of electric contacts comprise at least one of:

a polygonally annular electric contact or a rounded polygonally annular electric contact, each electric contact positioned concentric to the longitudinal axis of the housing and electrically isolated from any other of the number of electric contacts.

7. The charging module of claim 4 wherein the number of electric contacts form an electrically continuous circuit with a corresponding number of externally accessible electric contacts on the portable electric energy storage device when the portable electric energy storage device is inserted in the housing.

8. The charging module of claim 7 wherein the number of electric contacts form an electrically continuous circuit with a corresponding number of electric contacts on an exterior surface of the portable energy storage device independent of the rotation of the portable energy storage device casing about the longitudinal axis of the housing.

9. The charging module of claim 4 wherein the locking mechanism is positioned radially concentric to the number of electric contacts and is electrically isolated from the number of electric contacts.

10. The charging module of claim 1 wherein the displaceable cover comprises a rotatably displaceable cover;

and

wherein the rotatably displaceable cover rotates from the closed position to the open position as the housing door is displaced from the first position to the second position.

11. The charging module of claim 1 wherein the displaceable cover comprises a slideably displaceable cover;

and

wherein the slideably displaceable cover slides from the closed position to the open position as the housing door is displaced from the first position to the second position.

12. The charging module of claim 1 wherein a central region of the housing door includes a depression symmetric about two orthogonal transverse axes, the two orthogonal transverse axes mutually orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the housing, the depression corresponding to a projecting portion of the portable energy storage device casing.

13. A charging module to charge portable electric energy storage devices, the charging module comprising:

a housing having a base, a peripheral wall secured to the base and an entrance into which a portable energy storage device can be inserted along a longitudinal axis of the housing and into an interior space formed by the peripheral housing wall;

a number of electric contacts projecting from the base at least partially into the interior space of the housing; and

a locking mechanism projecting from the base at least partially into the interior space of the housing that is controllable to selectively mechanically engage the portable energy storage device;

a portable electrical energy storage device thermal control system that includes;

at least one input channel communicably coupled to at least one two-way distribution system controller, the at least one input channel to receive an input signal from a portable electrical energy storage device inserted in the respective housing, the input signal including digital data representative of an internal temperature of the portable electrical energy storage device inserted in the respective charging module; and

at least one output channel communicably coupled to the at least one two-way distribution system controller, the at least one output channel to provide an output signal to at least one of a temperature control subsystem or a temperature control device to maintain the internal temperature of the portable electrical energy storage device inserted in the respective charging module in a defined range at least while charging the portable electrical energy storage device.

14. The charging module of claim 13, further comprising:

a housing door positioned in the interior space of the housing, the housing door axially displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the housing from a first position perpendicular to the housing wall and proximate the entrance to at least a second position perpendicular to the housing wall and proximate the base of the housing.

15. The charging module of claim 14, further comprising:

an aperture concentric with the longitudinal axis of the housing through the housing door, the aperture to accommodate the passage of at least a portion of the locking mechanism and at least a portion of the number of electric contacts when the housing door is displaced to the second position.

16. The charging module of claim 15, further comprising:

at least one biasing element biasing the housing door towards the first position.

17. The charging module of claim 16, further comprising:

a displaceable cover disposed proximate the aperture and displaceable from a closed position in which the aperture is occluded, to an open position in which the aperture is unobstructed, the cover operably coupled to the housing door and to the housing such that as the housing door is displaced from the first position to the second position, the cover is displaced from the closed position to the open position.

18. The charging module of claim 17 wherein the displaceable cover comprises a slideably displaceable cover;

and

wherein the slideably displaceable cover slides from the closed position to the open position as the housing door is displaced from the first position to the second position.

19. The charging module of claim 13, further comprising:

an actuator coupled to the locking mechanism, the actuator causing a displacement of the locking mechanism responsive to a receipt of the portable energy storage device in the interior space of the housing.