Patent Publication Number: US-2023143736-A1

Title: Universal, prefabricated foundation system for electric vehicle charging stations

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Statement of the Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to foundation systems for electric vehicle charging stations and, in particular, to foundation systems configured to receive electric vehicle charging station equipment of various shapes and sizes. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Electric vehicles are becoming ever more prevalent in the modern age. In the United States alone, there are hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles on the road. There are differing types of electric vehicle, ranging from, for example, purely electric to semi-electric. 
     Many electric vehicles are purely electric vehicles in that they do not have the option of running on electricity or gas. Since these vehicles cannot run on gas, they cannot refuel at standard gasoline stations. Instead, these vehicles must be plugged into an electrical outlet in order to recharge. While gasoline stations are plentiful in many countries, electric vehicle charging stations are vastly less so. As more electric vehicles enter the roadways, the need for electric vehicle charging stations increases. 
     The installation of electric vehicle charging stations often requires the installation of foundation systems onto which the electric vehicle charging stations are mounted. However, these foundation systems are often bulky, complex, and non-user friendly. Additionally, foundation systems are configured to enable an electric vehicle charging station of a specific shape and size to be mounted thereon, requiring a differently designed foundation system for each type of electric vehicle charging station. 
     For at least these reasons, a user friendly, light-weight, and adaptable foundation system for mounting one or more electric vehicle charging stations is required. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a prefabricated foundation system for mounting one or more electric vehicle charging stations is provided. The prefabricated foundation system includes a body, including a top opening, a plurality of sidewalls, and a plurality of sidewall openings, wherein each of the plurality of sidewalls includes at least one sidewall opening. The prefabricated foundation system further includes a lid configured to be secured to the body over the top opening. The lid includes a lid opening configured to receive one or more components of the one or more electric vehicle charging stations. 
     According to various embodiments, the body includes one or more of: cement; and concrete. 
     According to various embodiments, the lid is removably secured to the body. 
     According to various embodiments, the lid includes at least one opening into the top opening. 
     According to various embodiments, the prefabricated foundation system further includes one or more securing mechanisms configured to secure the lid to the body over the top opening. 
     According to various embodiments, the one or more securing mechanisms includes one or more of: screws; bolts; nails; and adhesive. 
     According to various embodiments, the plurality of sidewall openings taper toward an inner surface of the body. 
     According to various embodiments, the body includes a bottom wall. 
     According to various embodiments, the plurality of sidewalls is four sidewalls. 
     According to various embodiments, the plurality of sidewall openings are configured to enable conduit to pass through one or more of the sidewall openings. 
     According to various embodiments, the plurality of sidewall openings are configured to enable a hardenable material to pass through one or more of the sidewall openings. 
     According to various embodiments, the hardenable material includes control low strength material. 
     According to various embodiments, the body is constructed out of a singular piece of material. 
     According to various embodiments, the body is divided into a plurality of chambers. 
     According to various embodiments, the plurality of sidewall openings are positioned such that access is provided, through the plurality of sidewall openings, to each of the plurality of chambers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view of a prefabricated foundation system, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a perspective view of a body of a prefabricated foundation system, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a perspective view of a lid of a prefabricated foundation system, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS.  4 A- 4 B  illustrate an isometric view ( FIG.  4 A ) and a front view ( FIG.  4 B ) of a prefabricated foundation system body, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an isometric view of a prefabricated foundation system body, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS.  6 A- 6 C  illustrate perspective views of lids of a prefabricated foundation system, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a cutaway view of a lid mounted on a body of a prefabricated foundation system, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    illustratively a series of prefabricated foundation systems having conduit installed therethrough, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  9    illustratively a series of prefabricated foundation systems having a hardenable material applied therethrough, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As used in this document, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” Definitions for additional terms that are relevant to this document are included at the end of this Detailed Description. 
     In this document, when terms such as “first” and “second” are used to modify a noun, such use is simply intended to distinguish one item from another, and is not intended to require a sequential order unless specifically stated. In addition, terms of relative position such as “vertical” and “horizontal”, or “front” and “rear”, when used, are intended to be relative to each other and need not be absolute, and only refer to one possible position of the device associated with those terms depending on the device&#39;s orientation. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  1   , a prefabricated foundation system  100  configured to be integrated with one or more electric vehicle charging stations is illustratively depicted, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     According to various embodiments, the prefabricated foundation system  100  includes a body portion  105  (shown in more detail in  FIG.  2   ), having a plurality of sidewalls  110 , and a lid portion  130 . The body  105  includes at least one opening  115  in each of the plurality of sidewalls  110 . According to the embodiment shown in  FIG.  1   , the prefabricated foundation system  100  includes 4 sidewalls  110  and an opening  115  in each of the sidewalls. 
     Since the foundation system  100  is prefabricated, the more weight the system  100  has, the more unwieldy and difficult to move and position the system  100  becomes. The plurality of openings  115  in the sidewalls  110  decreases the weight of the prefabricated foundation system  100 , which decreases installation and shipping costs and decreases installation times. The plurality of openings  115  additionally provides greater access to the internal structure of the prefabricated foundation system  100  causing the prefabrication foundation system  100  to be more user friendly by aiding users during conduit manipulation and installation processes. 
     According to various embodiments, the body  105  includes a hardened material such as, e.g., cement, concrete, and/or other suitable materials. According to various embodiments, the body  105  is a singular structure formed from a single piece, decreasing the complexity of the prefabricated foundation system. It is noted, however, that, in other embodiments, the body  105  includes two or more components. 
     According to various embodiments, the openings  115  of the body  105  taper inward towards the center of the body  105 . When the body  105  is formed via a mold, the taper enables spacers (used to hold the shape of the openings  115 ) to be removed from the body  105  subsequent to the formation of the body  105 . The body  100  may include a bottom wall  120  to aid in securing the body  105  during installation. 
     The body  100  is configured to be partially or entirely underground when installed. According to various embodiments, the body  105  is configured to receive a hardenable material. The hardenable material may be, for example, cement, concrete, resin, plaster, and/or any other suitable hardenable material. According to various embodiments, the hardenable material is concrete such as, e.g., flowable fill, which is similarly known as Control Low Strength Material (CLSM). The flowable fill is configured to flow through the openings  115  and over any foundations, conduit, grounding systems, and/or any other suitable structures or devices. According to various embodiments, the flowable fill has a minimum density of approximately 15 pcf. It is noted, however, that, in various embodiments, flowable fill with other suitable densities may be used. 
     Once the body  105  is set in place and the hardenable material set, the prefabrication foundation system  100  can be secured in place. By enabling the hardenable material to fill all or a portion of each of the sidewalls  110 , the body  105  has more points of contact with the hardenable material, increasing the stability of the prefabricated foundation system  100  once the prefabricated foundation system  100  is installed. 
     According to various embodiments, the body  105  includes a top opening  125 . The prefabricated foundation system  100  further includes a lid  130  (shown in more detail in  FIG.  3   ) positioned on an upper portion of the body  105 , over the top opening  125 . According to various embodiments, the lid  130  includes a material different from the body  105 . It is noted, however, that, in other embodiments, the lid  130  and the body  105  include one or more of the same or similar materials. According to various embodiments, the lid  130  includes steel, aluminum, and/or other suitable materials. The lid  130  is secured to the body via one or more securing means  140 . The one or more securing means  140  may include bolts, screws, adhesives, nails, and/or any other suitable form of securing mechanism. 
     An example securing mechanism is shown in  FIG.  7   . As shown in  FIG.  7   , the lid  130  may include an anchor plate  131 . According to various embodiments, the anchor plate  131  can be secured to the lid  130  via one or more securing means such as, as shown in  FIG.  7   , one or more anchor studs  132  secured (e.g., welded, etc.) to the anchor plate  131 . According to various embodiments, the lid  130  can be secured to the body  105  via the anchor plate  131  using a securing means such as, for example, a screw  133  and/or other suitable means. 
     According to various embodiments, the lid  130  is removably secured to the body  105 , enabling the lid  130  to be removed from the body  105  to be, for example, repaired and/or replaced. 
     The lid  130  includes an opening  135  configured to receive one or more components of various electric vehicle charging stations of various shapes and sizes. According to various embodiments, the lid  130  may be secured to the body  105 . 
     It is noted that the prefabricated foundation system  100  can, according to various embodiments, take other forms and shapes. For example, as shown in  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B , an isometric view ( FIG.  4 A ) and a front view ( FIG.  4 B ) of a prefabricated foundation system  100  body portion  105  are illustratively depicted. 
     According to various embodiments, the prefabricated foundation system  100  of  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B  includes a body portion  105  having a plurality of sidewalls  110  forming a generally rectangular outer perimeter shape. The body  105  includes a plurality of openings  115   a ,  115   b ,  115   c  in the plurality of sidewalls  110 . The openings  115   a ,  115   b ,  115   c , as shown in  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B , are of differing shapes and sizes. It is noted, however, in some embodiments, all or a plurality of the openings are of a same or similar shape and/or size. 
     According to the embodiment shown in  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B , the openings  115   a ,  115   b ,  115   c  narrow along the sidewalls  110  as they extend from a top side of the openings toward a bottom side of the openings. It is further noted, as shown in  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B , that, in some embodiments, the sidewalls  110  extend toward an interior of the body  105 , as shown, for example, at wall  111  which slopes toward an interior of the body  105 . 
     The prefabrication foundation system  100  can include one or more chambers within the body  105 . As shown in  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B , wall  112  separates a top opening of the body  105  into a first chamber  113   a  and a second chamber  113   b . According to various embodiments, the chambers may be configured for utility access and/or customer access. As shown in  FIGS.  4 A- 4 B , at least one sidewall  110  includes an opening  115   a ,  115   b  to each of the first chamber  113   a  and second chamber  113   b.    
     According to various embodiments, the sidewalls may have more or fewer openings  115  or chambers  113 . For example, as shown in  FIG.  6   , a prefabricated foundation system  100  body  105  is illustrated which has one opening  115  per sidewall  110  and a single chamber  113 . 
     According to various embodiments, as the body  105  of the prefabricated foundation system  100  can include multiple configurations, so can the lid  130 . As shown in  FIGS.  6 A- 6 C , three lid  130  designs are shown. According to some embodiments, the lid can have a plurality of openings  135   a ,  135   b , such as shown in  FIGS.  6 A- 6 B . According to some embodiments, such as that shown in  FIG.  6 A , the openings  135   a ,  135   b  are of relatively equal size. According to some embodiments, such as that shown in  FIGS.  6 B- 6 C , the openings  135   a ,  135   b  are of non-equal size. According to various embodiments, the openings  135   a ,  135   b  are aligned with the chambers  113  of the body  105 . 
     Referring now to  FIG.  8   , a series of prefabricated foundation systems  100  having conduit  155  installed therethrough is illustratively depicted, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG.  8   , the electric vehicle charging stations  145  are mounted onto the prefabricated foundation systems  100  and the openings  115  are configured to easily enable the conduit  155  to pass through the openings  115  of the body  105  of the prefabrication foundation systems  100 . Once the conduit  155  is installed, the hardenable material  150  is poured onto the conduit and through the openings  115 , as shown in  FIG.  9   . Once hardened, the hardenable material  150  securely fastens the prefabricated foundation systems  100  into the ground. 
     Although the present solution has been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the present solution may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present solution should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the present solution should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.