Dynamic replenisher management

• US 20060089844A1
• Filed: 10/26/2004
• Published: 04/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Webasto Charging Systems, Inc. (Webasto Beteiligungs Verwaltung Gbr)
• Original Assignee: Aerovironment
• Inventors: Ramer, Nathaniel Jordan, Dickinson, Blake, Horiuchi, Lisa Lei
• Application Number:
  US10/974,335
• Publication Number:
  US 20060089844A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/32 Auto pilot mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/54 Energy consumption estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/11 DC charging controlled by the charging station, e.g. mode 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/40 for controlling a combination of batteries and fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0057 for the hiring or rent of vehicles, e.g. cars, bicycles or wheelchairs car rental G07B15/00
• 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
• 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: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Replenishable device asset management comprises accumulating device usage information for fleet assets comprising a plurality of replenishable devices and vehicles associated with the replenishable devices, storing the device usage information for the fleet assets in a global memory, and using the device usage information to manage the fleet assets.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for replenishable device asset management, comprising:

accumulating device usage information for fleet assets comprising a plurality of replenishable devices and vehicles associated with said replenishable devices;

storing said device usage information for said fleet assets in a global memory; and

using said device usage information to manage said fleet assets.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein each of said vehicles comprises an electric vehicle powered by said replaceable battery pack.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said electric vehicle comprises at least one of an electrically-powered automobile, truck, motorcycle, moped, scooter, airplane, locomotive, submersible vessel, boat, spacecraft, automated guided vehicle (AGV), and automated unguided vehicle (AUGV).

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said device usage information comprises one or more of:

identification data that describes one or more time-invariant attributes of said at least one device;

historical data that describes one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device; and

real-time data that describes a single sample of one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises switching a first vehicle with a second vehicle if said first vehicle is over utilized, said second vehicle is under utilized, and said second vehicle is capable of performing substantially the same functions as said first vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises adding one or more vehicles to said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is over utilized.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises removing one or more vehicles from said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is under utilized.

10. A computer-implemented method for replenishable device asset management, comprising:

step for accumulating device usage information for fleet assets comprising a plurality of replenishable devices and vehicles associated with said replenishable devices;

step for storing said device usage information for said fleet assets in a global memory; and

step for using said device usage information to manage said fleet assets.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein each of said plurality of replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each of said vehicles comprises an electric vehicle powered by said replaceable battery pack.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein said electric vehicle comprises at least one of an electrically-powered automobile, truck, motorcycle, moped, scooter, airplane, locomotive, submersible vessel, boat, spacecraft, automated guided vehicle (AGV), and automated unguided vehicle (AUGV).

15. The method of claim 10 wherein said device usage information comprises one or more of:

identification data that describes one or more time-invariant attributes of said at least one device;

historical data that describes one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device; and

real-time data that describes a single sample of one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein said step for using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises step for switching a first vehicle with a second vehicle if said first vehicle is over utilized, said second vehicle is under utilized, and said second vehicle is capable of performing substantially the same functions as said first vehicle.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein said step for using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises step for adding one or more vehicles to said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is over utilized.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein said step for using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises step for removing one or more vehicles from said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is under utilized.

19. An apparatus for replenishable device asset management, comprising:

means for accumulating device usage information for fleet assets comprising a plurality of replenishable devices and vehicles associated with said replenishable devices;

means for storing said device usage information for said fleet assets in a global memory; and

means for using said device usage information to manage said fleet assets.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein each of said plurality of replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein each of said vehicles comprises an electric vehicle powered by said replaceable battery pack.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said electric vehicle comprises at least one of an electrically-powered automobile, truck, motorcycle, moped, scooter, airplane, locomotive, submersible vessel, boat, spacecraft, automated guided vehicle (AGV), and automated unguided vehicle (AUGV).

24. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said device usage information comprises one or more of:

identification data that describes one or more time-invariant attributes of said at least one device;

historical data that describes one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device; and

real-time data that describes a single sample of one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device.

25. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said means for using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises means for switching a first vehicle with a second vehicle if said first vehicle is over utilized, said second vehicle is under utilized, and said second vehicle is capable of performing substantially the same functions as said first vehicle.

26. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said means for using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises means for adding one or more vehicles to said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is over utilized.

27. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said means for using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises means for removing one or more vehicles from said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is under utilized.

28. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for replenishable device asset management, the method comprising:

accumulating device usage information for fleet assets comprising a plurality of replenishable devices and vehicles associated with said replenishable devices;

storing said device usage information for said fleet assets in a global memory; and

using said device usage information to manage said fleet assets.

29. The program storage device of claim 28 wherein each of said plurality of replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack.

30. The program storage device of claim 29 wherein each of said vehicles comprises an electric vehicle powered by said replaceable battery pack.

31. The program storage device of claim 30 wherein said electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

32. The program storage device of claim 30 wherein said electric vehicle comprises at least one of an electrically-powered automobile, truck, motorcycle, moped, scooter, airplane, locomotive, submersible vessel, boat, spacecraft, automated guided vehicle (AGV), and automated unguided vehicle (AUGV).

33. The program storage device of claim 28 wherein said device usage information comprises one or more of:

identification data that describes one or more time-invariant attributes of said at least one device;

historical data that describes one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device; and

real-time data that describes a single sample of one or more time-variant attributes of said at least one device.

34. The program storage device of claim 28 wherein said using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises switching a first vehicle with a second vehicle if said first vehicle is over utilized, said second vehicle is under utilized, and said second vehicle is capable of performing substantially the same functions as said first vehicle.

35. The program storage device of claim 28 wherein said using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises adding one or more vehicles to said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is over utilized.

36. The program storage device of claim 28 wherein said using said device usage information to manage fleet assets comprises removing one or more vehicles from said fleet if said accumulated device usage information indicates said fleet is under utilized.