POP UP ELECTRICAL APPARATUS WITH WIRELESS CHARGING COMPONENT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

• US 20160207406A1
• Filed: 02/05/2016
• Published: 07/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alan Kauffmann
• Original Assignee: Alan Kauffmann
• Inventors: Kauffmann, Alan
• Granted Patent: US 9,862,284 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/12 Inductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/124 Detection or removal of foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• 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

An electrical supply apparatus including a containment unit with a bottom, at least one side wall forming an enclosure with an open top; a tower extendable and retractable from the containment unit and a charging unit attached to the tower which, in preferred embodiments, is a wireless charging component provided in a cover, for charging electric vehicles, and particularly to induce optimal current transfer to a receiving component without requiring a corresponding extension of the receiving component out of an electric vehicle and featuring a flexible bellows having an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein said upper edge is continuously affixed about said cover and a lower edge is continuously attached to a flange forming the bottom of the crown ring such that said bellows provides a watertight barrier preventing contaminants from entering an area under said cover.

Claims

1. An electrical supply apparatus with a safety system comprising:

a permanently installed, weatherproof containment unit, wherein the unit has

a bottom;

at least one side wall; and

an open top;

a extendable tower that has

at least one side wall,

a cover and,

at least one electrical module installed in an extendable tower;

wherein

the extendable tower is extendable within the containment unit such that when said extendable tower is retracted in a closed position, said extendable tower is fully secured and enclosed within the containment unit and when said extendable tower is extended in a use position, the electrical module is accessible to a user, wherein power is available at the electrical module when the extendable tower is in the use position, and wherein the electrical module includes a means to secure and contain electric vehicle charging components so that said components are available to a user when said electrical supply apparatus is in said use position but are unavailable and secured away from said user when said electrical supply apparatus is in said stored position.

2. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 1, wherein said extendable tower is manually moved between said stored and use positions.

3. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 1, wherein said extendable tower is moved via a power assist between said stored and use positions.

4. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a user access that will qualify said user and thereafter will allow said user access to said electric vehicle charging components and electric power from said electrical supply apparatus.

5. An electrical supply apparatus with a safety system comprising:

a permanently installed, weatherproof containment unit, wherein said unit has

a bottom,

at least one side wall, and

an open top;

a extendable tower that has

at least one side wall,

a cover and,

a programmable logic control; and

at least one electrical module installed in extendable tower;

wherein,

said extendable tower is slideably extendable within said containment unit so that said extendable tower can be raised or lowered within said containment unit such that when said extendable tower is lowered and in a down position said extendable tower is fully secured and enclosed within said containment unit or said extendable tower can be raised to an up position so that said electrical module is accessible to a user;

wherein power is available at said electrical module when said extendable tower is in said up position.

6. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 5, wherein said electric supply apparatus can provide both low voltage and high voltage electricity.

7. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 5, wherein said first safety ring is mounted to a bottom of said cover and said second safety ring is suspended below said first safety ring and further includes a flexible membrane that allows said second safety ring to move upward if it contacts a foreign object and thereby serves as a watertight seal for said safety rings.

8. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 5, wherein said electrical supply apparatus is used as an electric vehicle charging station.

9. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 5, wherein said electrical supply apparatus further comprises:

a means to secure and contain electric vehicle charging components so that said components are available to a user when said electrical supply apparatus is in said up position but are unavailable and secured when said electrical supply apparatus is in said down position.

10. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

a user access that will qualify said user and thereafter will allow access to said electric vehicle charging components and electric power from said electrical supply apparatus.

11. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a power assist, including:

a programmable logic control;

wherein a signal is sent to said programmable logic control to thereby move said tower.

12. An electrical supply apparatus with a wireless charging component for charging an electric vehicle, comprising:

a containment unit having

a bottom;

at least one side wall extending upward from said bottom to an upper rim and forming an enclosure having a hollow core and an open top;

a tower disposed within said containment unit wherein said tower is extendably moveable out of said containment unit in a use position and said tower is retractably moveable into said containment unit in a stored position, wherein said tower is configured for attachment of an electric vehicle wireless charging component so as to adaptively orient said electric vehicle charging component proximate to said receiving component so as to optimize current transfer to said receiving component in said electric vehicle when said tower is extended out of said containment unit; and

a cover affixed to said tower, said cover being configured for mated seating on said open top of said containment unit when in said stored position.

13. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a crown contiguously secured about said upper rim of said side wall of said containment unit so as to form a watertight seal of said containment unit.

14. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 13, wherein said crown extends below said rim of the containment unit and further comprising an outer flange protruding from said crown ring to form a bottom of an open well, and a flexible bellows having an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein said upper edge is continuously affixed proximal to a bottom surface proximate to an outer perimeter of said cover such that said bellows drops down from said cover, and wherein said lower edge of said bellows is retained about said outer flange of said crown ring such that said bellows provides a watertight barrier blocking contaminants from entering an area under said cover.

15. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 12, wherein said tower is oriented in proximate position so as to induce optimal current transfer from said charging component to said receiving component in said electric vehicle when said tower is extended out of said containment unit without requiring a corresponding extension of said receiving component out of said electric vehicle.

16. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 14, wherein said wireless charging component is attached to said cover.

17. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a power assist to extend said tower out of said containment unit to thereby adaptively orient said wireless charging component proximate to said receiving component so as to optimize current transfer to said receiving component in said electric vehicle when said tower is extended out of said containment unit, thereby inducing wireless charging of said electric vehicle.

18. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 12, wherein the containment unit is installed beneath a surface of a substrate such that said cover of said tower is aligned in a flush position with said surface;

and wherein said power assist extends said tower out of said containment unit to adaptively orient said electric vehicle charging component in proximate alignment to induce optimal charging of said receiving component in said electric vehicle when said tower is extended out of said containment unit, and wherein said power assist retracts said cover into said containment unit to said flush position upon occurrence of a predetermined condition for charge termination.

19. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 18, wherein said predetermined condition comprises a member selected from the group consisting of:

completion of charge, termination by user, safety system alert, and power surge above a threshold set point.

20. The electrical supply apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a heater disposed within said containment unit.