Vehicle sharing system and method with vehicle parameter tracking
First Claim
1. An energy tracking system for a fleet of battery powered vehicles, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors, each sensor being installed on a respective vehicle in the fleet for sensing a state of charge of at least one battery on the vehicle;
a plurality of vehicle subsystems, each vehicle subsystem being installed in a respective vehicle in the fleet, operatively coupled to a corresponding sensor, and configured to transmit information reflecting the state of charge of the at least one battery; and
a central station in wireless communication with said plurality of vehicle subsystems and configured to allocate vehicles in the fleet in response to the information regarding the state of charge of the at least one battery to effectuate an efficient battery charging operation in the fleet, wherein allocating vehicles to effectuate an efficient battery charging operation in the fleet comprises allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a non-linear charging rate if such a vehicle is available, otherwise allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a linear charging rate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A shared vehicle system includes a central facility, at least one vehicle distribution port facility and a plurality or fleet of vehicles, each having a vehicle subsystem. In general, the central station and port facility and the vehicle subsystems communicate in a manner to allow a user to enter information at a port facility. That information is then communicated to the central facility, where the information is processed to select a vehicle from the fleet to allocate to the user at the port facility. Selection of a vehicle for allocation to a user may be based on selecting an available or soon to be available vehicle according to various algorithms that take into account the vehicles state of charge. The central station also communicates with the port facility and the vehicle subsystem to notify the user of the selected vehicle, to provide secure user access to the selected vehicle, to monitor the location and operating status of vehicles in the fleet, to monitor the state of charge of electric vehicles and to provide other functions. The vehicles communicate with the central station to notify the central station of the PIN number of the individual attempting to use the vehicle, and of vehicle parameters such as state of charge and location of the vehicle.
184 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An energy tracking system for a fleet of battery powered vehicles, comprising:
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a plurality of sensors, each sensor being installed on a respective vehicle in the fleet for sensing a state of charge of at least one battery on the vehicle;
a plurality of vehicle subsystems, each vehicle subsystem being installed in a respective vehicle in the fleet, operatively coupled to a corresponding sensor, and configured to transmit information reflecting the state of charge of the at least one battery; and
a central station in wireless communication with said plurality of vehicle subsystems and configured to allocate vehicles in the fleet in response to the information regarding the state of charge of the at least one battery to effectuate an efficient battery charging operation in the fleet, wherein allocating vehicles to effectuate an efficient battery charging operation in the fleet comprises allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a non-linear charging rate if such a vehicle is available, otherwise allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a linear charging rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A battery powered vehicle sharing system including a fleet of vehicles and a plurality of ports, comprising:
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a sensor installed on each vehicle in the fleet for sensing a state of charge of the vehicle;
a vehicle subsystem installed on each vehicle in the fleet and operatively coupled to the sensor on the vehicle for transmitting state of charge information corresponding to the state of charge sensed by the sensor; and
a central station including;
a tracking system that provides vehicle location information corresponding to a location of each vehicle; and
a computer system programmed to select and allocate vehicles to users based on the state of charge information and the vehicle location information to effectuate an overall efficient battery charging operation in the fleet of vehicles, wherein allocating vehicles to effectuate an overall efficient battery charging operation in the fleet comprises allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a non-linear charging rate if such a vehicle is available, otherwise allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a linear charging rate. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A battery powered vehicle sharing system including a plurality of ports and a fleet of vehicles with each vehicle having a state of charge, comprising:
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a sensor associated with and installed on each vehicle in the fleet for sensing the state of charge of the associated vehicle;
a vehicle subsystem including a wireless communication unit associated with and installed on each vehicle in the fleet and operatively coupled to the sensor on the associated vehicle for transmitting state of charge information corresponding to the state of charge sensed by the sensor; and
a central station coupled in wireless communication with said wireless communication units, including a tracking system that provides vehicle location information corresponding to the location of each vehicle and a computer system for processing the state of charge information and the vehicle location information, said computer system being programmed to;
provide an estimated time of arrival of each vehicle at a port;
define a vehicle search group for each port including vehicles present or having an estimated time of arrival within a predefined time period at the port; and
select and allocate a vehicle for a user at a given port from the vehicle search group defined for that port.
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19. A battery powered vehicle sharing system including a fleet of vehicles with each vehicle having a state of charge and a plurality of ports with each port having a charging facility for selectively coupled to a vehicle to increase the state of charge thereof over a charging time period, comprising:
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a sensor associated with and installed on each vehicle in the fleet for sensing the state of charge of the associated vehicle;
a vehicle subsystem including a wireless communication unit associated with and installed on each vehicle in the fleet and operatively coupled to said sensor on the associated vehicle for transmitting state of charge information; and
a central station coupled in wireless communication with said wireless communication units, including a tracking system that provides vehicle location information and a computer system for processing the state of charge information and the vehicle location information, said computer system being programmed to;
include a vehicle in a vehicle search group of a given port if the vehicle is located at a charging facility at the port and has a charging time period which is due to expire within a predefined time period; and
select and allocate a vehicle for a user at a given port from the vehicle search group defined for that port.
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20. A battery powered vehicle sharing system including a fleet of vehicles with each vehicle having a state of charge and a plurality of ports with each port having a charging facility for selectively coupling to a vehicle to increase the state of charge thereof over a charging time period, comprising:
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a sensor associated with and installed on each vehicle in the fleet for sensing the state of charge of the associated vehicle;
a vehicle subsystem including a wireless communication unit associated with and installed on each vehicle in the fleet and operatively coupled to the sensor on the associated vehicle for transmitting state of charge information; and
a central station coupled in wireless communication with said wireless communication units, including a tracking system that provides vehicle location information and a computer system for processing the state of charge information and the vehicle location information, said computer system being programmed to;
determine a charging order for a plurality of vehicles located at a port based on an order of the state of charge of the vehicles, from the lowest state of charge to the highest state of charge; and
select and allocate vehicles to users based on the state of charge information and the vehicle location information.
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21. A method for tracking charging state in a battery powered vehicle sharing system, comprising:
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sensing a state of charge of each vehicle in the vehicle sharing system;
transmitting state of charge information to a central station;
processing the state of charge information at the central station; and
in response to a user request at a vehicle port, allocating a vehicle available at the vehicle port to effectuate an efficient charging operation of the vehicle sharing system, wherein allocating a vehicle to effectuate an efficient charging operation of the vehicle sharing system comprises allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a non-linear charging rate if such a vehicle is available, otherwise allocating a vehicle with a state of charge corresponding to a linear charging rate. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification