Reactive replenishable device management

• US 7,444,192 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2004
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Webasto Charging Systems, Inc. (Webasto Beteiligungs Verwaltung Gbr)
• Original Assignee: Aerovironment
• Inventors: Ramer, Nathaniel Jordan, Dickinson, Blake, Horiuchi, Lisa Lei
• Primary Examiner(s): DeCady; Albert
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHANG, SUNRAY
• Application Number:
  US10/974,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20060089733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• Field of Search: 700/83
• US Class Current: 700/83
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/10 Air crafts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/12 Bikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/32 Waterborne vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/42 Fork lift trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/44 Industrial trucks or floor conveyors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/32 Auto pilot mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/12 Recording operating variables ; Monitoring of operating variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/00 Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles; Charging stations or on-board charging equipment therefor; Exchange of energy storage elements in electric vehicles
• 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 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• 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: H01M 10/4207 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/60 : Electric or hybrid propulsion means for production processes
• 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 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Reactive replenishable device management comprises receiving device measurement data from at least one device, updating one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, and if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal, performing one or more of: controlling at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device, issuing one or more device management recommendations to a user of the at least one device, and issuing one or more user alerts to the user. The at least one device comprises at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices.

Claims

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

receiving device measurement data from at least one device, the at least one device comprising at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices;

updating one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal, performing one or more of;

controlling at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device if the controlling is enabled;

issuing to a user of the at least one device, one or more device management recommendations if the issuing of the recommendations is enabled; and

issuing to the user one or more user alerts if the issuing of the alerts is enabled.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein

the one or more replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack;

and

the one or more replenishers comprises a battery charger.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more other devices comprises an electric vehicle powered by the replaceable battery pack.

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

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the 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, further comprising controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more management recommendations.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more user alerts.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the device measurement data comprises one or more of:

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

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

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

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling further comprises issuing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling further comprises issuing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling further comprises storing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling further comprises storing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling comprises adjusting one or more charge rates of the at least one device.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling comprises adjusting a battery monitor identification (BMID) device to optimize charging rates of the at least one device.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling comprises watering a battery.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling comprises performing an unscheduled battery equalization operation.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling comprises adjusting one or more performance levels of the at least one device.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the one or more performance levels comprises at least one of a vehicle traction acceleration, a vehicle speed, a vehicle lift rate, and a vehicle lift lockout.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more management recommendations comprises one or more of an asset rotation recommendation, an asset addition recommendation, and an asset reduction recommendation.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering the management recommendation to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering the user alert to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or maintenance schedule milestones for the at least one device.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or fault codes that indicate a fault for the at least one device.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of non-compliant usage of the one or more other devices.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of the end of a warranty period.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required maintenance that has not yet been performed.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required unscheduled service of the at least one device.

28. A computer-implemented method for reactive replenishable device management, comprising:

step for receiving device measurement data from at least one device, the at least one device comprising at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices;

step for updating one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

step for if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal, performing one or more of;

controlling at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device if the controlling is enabled;

issuing to a user of the at least one device, one or more device management recommendations if the issuing of the recommendations is enabled; and

issuing to the user one or more user alerts if the issuing of the alerts is enabled.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein

the one or more replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack;

and

the one or more replenishers comprises a battery charger.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the one or more other devices comprises an electric vehicle powered by the replaceable battery pack.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein the 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 method of claim 28, further comprising step for controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more management recommendations.

34. The method of claim 28, further comprising step for controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more user alerts.

35. The method of claim 28 wherein the device measurement data comprises one or more of:

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

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

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

36. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling further comprises step for issuing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

37. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling further comprises step for issuing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

38. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling further comprises step for storing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

39. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling further comprises step for storing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

40. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling comprises step for adjusting one or more charge rates of the at least one device.

41. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling comprises step for adjusting a battery monitor identification (BMID) device to optimize charging rates of the at least one device.

42. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling comprises step for watering a battery.

43. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling comprises step for performing an unscheduled battery equalization operation.

44. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for controlling comprises step for adjusting one or more performance levels of the at least one device.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein the one or more performance levels comprises at least one of a vehicle traction acceleration, a vehicle speed, a vehicle lift rate, and a vehicle lift lockout.

46. The method of claim 28 wherein the one or more management recommendations comprises one or more of an asset rotation recommendation, an asset addition recommendation, and an asset reduction recommendation.

47. The method of claim 28, further comprising step for delivering the management recommendation to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

48. The method of claim 28, further comprising step for delivering the user alert to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

49. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises step for issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or maintenance schedule milestones for the at least one device.

50. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises step for issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or fault codes that indicate a fault for the at least one device.

51. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises step for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of non-compliant usage of the one or more other devices.

52. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises step for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of the end of a warranty period.

53. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises step for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required maintenance that has not yet been performed.

54. The method of claim 28 wherein the step for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises step for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required unscheduled service of the at least one device.

55. An apparatus for reactive replenishable device management, comprising:

means for receiving device measurement data from at least one device, the at least one device comprising at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices;

means for updating one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

means for if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal, performing one or more of;

controlling at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device if the controlling is enabled;

issuing to a user of the at least one device, one or more device management recommendations if the issuing of the recommendations is enabled; and

issuing to the user one or more user alerts if the issuing of the alerts is enabled.

56. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein

the one or more replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack;

and

the one or more replenishers comprises a battery charger.

57. The apparatus of claim 56 wherein the one or more other devices comprises an electric vehicle powered by the replaceable battery pack.

58. The apparatus of claim 57 wherein the electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

59. The apparatus of claim 57 wherein the 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).

60. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising means for controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more management recommendations.

61. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising means for controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more user alerts.

62. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the device measurement data comprises one or more of:

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

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

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

63. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling further comprises means for issuing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

64. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling further comprises means for issuing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

65. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling further comprises means for storing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

66. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling further comprises means for storing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

67. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling comprises means for adjusting one or more charge rates of the at least one device.

68. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling comprises means for adjusting a battery monitor identification (BMID) device to optimize charging rates of the at least one device.

69. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling comprises means for watering a battery.

70. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling comprises means for performing an unscheduled battery equalization operation.

71. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for controlling comprises means for adjusting one or more performance levels of the at least one device.

72. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein the one or more performance levels comprises at least one of a vehicle traction acceleration, a vehicle speed, a vehicle lift rate, and a vehicle lift lockout.

73. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the one or more management recommendations comprises one or more of an asset rotation recommendation, an asset addition recommendation, and an asset reduction recommendation.

74. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising means for delivering the management recommendation to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

75. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising means for delivering the user alert to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

76. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises means for issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or maintenance schedule milestones for the at least one device.

77. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises means for issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or fault codes that indicate a fault for the at least one device.

78. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises means for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of non-compliant usage of the one or more other devices.

79. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises means for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of the end of a warranty period.

80. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises means for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required maintenance that has not yet been performed.

81. The apparatus of claim 55 wherein the means for issuing the one or more user alerts comprises means for issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required unscheduled service of the at least one device.

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

receiving device measurement data from at least one device, the at least one device comprising at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices;

updating one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal, performing one or more of;

controlling at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device if the controlling is enabled;

issuing to a user of the at least one device, one or more device management recommendations if the issuing of the recommendations is enabled; and

issuing to the user one or more user alerts if the issuing of the alerts is enabled.

83. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein

the one or more replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack;

and

the one or more replenishers comprises a battery charger.

84. The program storage device of claim 83 wherein the one or more other devices comprises an electric vehicle powered by the replaceable battery pack.

85. The program storage device of claim 84 wherein the electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

86. The program storage device of claim 84 wherein the 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).

87. The program storage device of claim 82, the method further comprising controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more management recommendations.

88. The program storage device of claim 82, the method further comprising controlling at least one attribute or operation of the at least one device upon receipt of the one or more user alerts.

89. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the device measurement data comprises one or more of:

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

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

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

90. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling further comprises issuing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

91. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling further comprises issuing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

92. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling further comprises storing one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

93. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling further comprises storing one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

94. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling comprises adjusting one or more charge rates of the at least one device.

95. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling comprises adjusting a battery monitor identification (BMID) device to optimize charging rates of the at least one device.

96. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling comprises watering a battery.

97. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling comprises performing an unscheduled battery equalization operation.

98. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the controlling comprises adjusting one or more performance levels of the at least one device.

99. The program storage device of claim 98 wherein the one or more performance levels comprises at least one of a vehicle traction acceleration, a vehicle speed, a vehicle lift rate, and a vehicle lift lockout.

100. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the one or more management recommendations comprises one or more of an asset rotation recommendation, an asset addition recommendation, and an asset reduction recommendation.

101. The program storage device of claim 82, the method further comprising delivering the management recommendation to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

102. The program storage device of claim 82, the method further comprising delivering the user alert to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

103. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or maintenance schedule milestones for the at least one device.

104. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts with respect to one or fault codes that indicate a fault for the at least one device.

105. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of non-compliant usage of the one or more other devices.

106. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of the end of a warranty period.

107. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required maintenance that has not yet been performed.

108. The program storage device of claim 82 wherein the issuing the one or more user alerts comprises issuing the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required unscheduled service of the at least one device.

109. An apparatus for reactive replenishable device management, comprising:

an aggregator adapted to receive device measurement data from at least one device, the at least one device comprising at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices;

an analyzer adapted to update one or more device usage profiles based at least in part on the device measurement data, the one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

a determiner adapted to determine if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal; and

an automatic controller operatively coupled to the determiner and adapted to control at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device if the controlling is enabled.

110. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein

the one or more replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack;

and

the one or more replenishers comprises a battery charger.

111. The apparatus of claim 110 wherein the one or more other devices comprises an electric vehicle powered by the replaceable battery pack.

112. The apparatus of claim 111 wherein the electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

113. The apparatus of claim 111 wherein the 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).

114. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the device measurement data comprises one or more of:

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

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

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

115. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to issue one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

116. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to issue one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

117. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to store one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

118. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to store one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

119. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to adjust one or more charge rates of the at least one device.

120. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to adjust a battery monitor identification (BMID) device to optimize charging rates of the at least one device.

121. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to water a battery.

122. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to perform an unscheduled battery equalization operation.

123. The apparatus of claim 109 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to adjust one or more performance levels of the at least one device.

124. The apparatus of claim 123 wherein the one or more performance levels comprises at least one of a vehicle traction acceleration, a vehicle speed, a vehicle lift rate, and a vehicle lift lockout.

125. The apparatus of claim 109, further comprising an adviser operatively coupled to the determiner and adapted to issue to a user of the at least one device, one or more device management recommendations if the issuing of the recommendations is enabled.

126. The apparatus of claim 125 wherein the one or more management recommendations comprises one or more of an asset rotation recommendation, an asset addition recommendation, and an asset reduction recommendation.

127. The apparatus of claim 125 wherein the adviser is further adapted to deliver the management recommendation to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

128. The apparatus of claim 109, further comprising an alerter operatively coupled to the determiner and adapted to issue to the user one or more user alerts if the issuing of the alerts is enabled.

129. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to deliver the user alert to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

130. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts with respect to one or maintenance schedule milestones for the at least one device.

131. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts with respect to one or fault codes that indicate a fault for the at least one device.

132. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of non-compliant usage of the one or more other devices.

133. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of the end of a warranty period.

134. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required maintenance that has not yet been performed.

135. The apparatus of claim 128 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required unscheduled service of the at least one device.

136. A system for reactive replenishable device management, comprising:

a communication means;

at least one device comprising at least one of one or more replenishable devices, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices; and

a remote device manager comprising;

an aggregator adapted to receive device measurement data from the at least one device via the communication means;

an analyzer adapted to update one or more device usage profiles based at least in part on the device measurement data, the one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

a determiner adapted to determine if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal; and

an automatic controller operatively coupled to the determiner and adapted to control at least one of an attribute or an operation of the at least one device if the controlling is enabled.

137. The system of claim 136 wherein

the one or more replenishable devices comprises a replaceable battery pack;

and

the one or more replenishers comprises a battery charger.

138. The system of claim 137 wherein the one or more other devices comprises an electric vehicle powered by the replaceable battery pack.

139. The system of claim 138 wherein the electric vehicle comprises a fork lift.

140. The system of claim 138 wherein the 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).

141. The system of claim 136 wherein the device measurement data comprises one or more of:

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

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

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

142. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to issue one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

143. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to issue one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

144. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to store one or more command to perform one or more maintenance operations with respect to the at least one device.

145. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to store one or more command to adjust one or more parameters of the at least one device.

146. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to adjust one or more charge rates of the at least one device.

147. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to adjust a battery monitor identification (BMID) device to optimize charging rates of the at least one device.

148. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to water a battery.

149. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to perform an unscheduled battery equalization operation.

150. The system of claim 136 wherein the automatic controller is further adapted to adjust one or more performance levels of the at least one device.

151. The system of claim 150 wherein the one or more performance levels comprises at least one of a vehicle traction acceleration, a vehicle speed, a vehicle lift rate, and a vehicle lift lockout.

152. The system of claim 136, the remote device manager further comprising an adviser operatively coupled to the determiner and adapted to issue to a user of the at least one device, one or more device management recommendations if the issuing of the recommendations is enabled.

153. The system of claim 152 wherein the one or more management recommendations comprises one or more of an asset rotation recommendation, an asset addition recommendation, and an asset reduction recommendation.

154. The system of claim 152 wherein the adviser is further adapted to deliver the management recommendation to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

155. The system of claim 136, further comprising an alerter operatively coupled to the determiner and adapted to issue to the user one or more user alerts if the issuing of the alerts is enabled.

156. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to deliver the user alert to the user via one or more of a phone call, a pager, an email message, a message on a display screen, and an alarm.

157. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts with respect to one or maintenance schedule milestones for the at least one device.

158. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts with respect to one or fault codes that indicate a fault for the at least one device.

159. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of non-compliant usage of the one or more other devices.

160. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of the end of a warranty period.

161. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required maintenance that has not yet been performed.

162. The system of claim 155 wherein the alerter is further adapted to issue the one or more user alerts to inform the user of required unscheduled service of the at least one device.

163. The system of claim 136 wherein the communication means comprises a network.

164. The system of claim 163 wherein the network comprises the Internet.

165. A computer-implemented method for reactive replenishable device management, comprising:

receiving device measurement data from at least one device, the at least one device comprising at least one of a plurality of replenishable devices under common management, one or more replenishers associated with the one or more replenishable devices, and one or more other devices associated with the one or more replenishable devices;

updating one or more device usage profiles associated with the at least one device, the one or more device usage profiles comprising performance data of the at least one device gathered over a period of time; and

if an analysis of the one or more device usage profiles indicates usage of the at least one device is sub-optimal and if issuing of recommendations is enabled, issuing one or more device management recommendations to a user of the at least one device.