Source: https://insight.rpxcorp.com/pat/US20100328057A1
Timestamp: 2020-02-18 20:02:47
Document Index: 580386106

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 61', 'art 320', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'art 440', 'arts 444', 'art 446', 'art 448']

Patent US 20100328057A1
US 20100328057A1
a light detector located within the EPV recharging inlet and positioned between the recharging inlet pins and the light source; and
a plurality of threads around the inside wall of the recharging inlet and positioned between the light source and the light detector,wherein the light detector is configured to detect light from the light source and/or external light,wherein the threads are configured to receive a housing cap that substantially blocks light from the light source and external light from reaching the light detector when the housing cap is properly mounted onto the EPV recharging inlet, andwherein the threads are configured to allow light from at least one of the light sources and external light to reach the light detector when the housing cap is not properly mounted onto the EPV recharging inlet.
An apparatus comprising a charging pin in a recharging inlet of an electric powered vehicle (EPV) recharging inlet, a ground pin in the recharging inlet and substantially parallel to the charging pin, a safety pin in the recharging inlet and substantially parallel to the charging pin and the ground pin, an electric power source coupled to the safety pin, and a control circuit coupled to the electric power source and the safety pin, wherein the length of the safety pin extended in the recharging inlet is substantially shorter than the length of the ground pin and longer than the length of the charging pin.
INLET BOX MOUNTING STRUCTURE OF CAR
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Battery charging system and connection apparatus therefore
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PREMIER ENGINEERED PRODUCTS CORPORATION
William R. Rose II
a charging pin in a recharging inlet of an electric powered vehicle (EPV) recharging inlet;
a ground pin in the recharging inlet and substantially parallel to the charging pin;
a safety pin in the recharging inlet and substantially parallel to the charging pin and the ground pin;
an electric power source coupled to the safety pin; and
a control circuit coupled to the electric power source and the safety pin,wherein the length of the safety pin extended in the recharging inlet is substantially shorter than the length of the ground pin and longer than the length of the charging pin.
a first coupling component in a housing cap for the EPV recharging inlet that matches the ground pin;
a second coupling component in the housing cap in parallel to the first coupling component that matches the safety pin; and
wherein the first coupling component and the second coupling component are coupled on one side.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the charging contact, the ground contact, and the safety contact are pins, and wherein the first coupling component and the second coupling component are pin slots.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising any pins required for EPV recharging as defined in SAE J1772.
13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the ground pin, the safety pin, the first coupling component, and the second coupling component are configured to establish a closed loop circuit when the housing cap is properly mounted onto the EPV recharging inlet, and wherein the closed loop circuit grounds an output current of the current source.
14. An electric powered vehicle (EPV) system component comprising:
at least one processor coupled to a memory and configured to;
receive a signal from a component in a recharging inlet;
determine if the signal indicates that a housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet; and
alert a driver if the signal indicates that the housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet.
15. The EPV system component of claim 14, wherein the signal comprises an electric voltage level, and wherein an “
UNMATED”
voltage level indicates that the housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet, and wherein a “
MATED”
voltage level indicates that the housing cap is properly mounted on the recharging inlet.
16. The EPV system component of claim 15, wherein the “
voltage level is detected where a light detector detects substantial light in the recharging inlet, and wherein the “
voltage level is detected where the light detector does not detect substantial light in the recharging inlet.
17. The EPV system component of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive a second signal from a second light detector in the recharging inlet;
determine if the second signal indicates that external light intensity is sufficient to determine without using the signal from the light source that the housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet; and
turn off the light source if external light intensity is sufficient to determine that the housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet.
18. The EPV system component of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to:
operate the light source intermittently; and
receive the signal from the light source to determine if the housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet when the light source is turned on.
19. The EPV system component of claim 15, wherein the “
voltage level is detected on the “
signal where a safety pin in the recharging inlet is not connected to a corresponding pin slot in the housing cap, and wherein the “
signal where the safety pin is connected to the corresponding pin slot.
20. The EPV system component of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to:
operate the DC power source intermittently; and
receive the signal from the “
signal to determine if the housing cap is not properly mounted on the recharging inlet when the DC power source is turned on.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/220,068 filed Jun. 24, 2010 by Jinshui Liu and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Electric Powered Vehicle Recharging Safety”, which is incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in its entirety.
EPVs are being promoted in many countries, such as Germany and the USA, and are becoming more popular for their potential benefits in managing global climate change and reducing worldwide air pollution. EPVs may have limited battery storage, and hence their batteries may need to be recharged often. Typically, since the EPVs'"'"' battery recharging time may last many hours or minutes, the EPVs may be used for commuting or transportation during day time and may have their batteries recharged during night time, for instance using recharging stations at garages. Because of the time duration needed to recharge the battery, it may be possible to forget that a vehicle is connected to a recharging station and drive the vehicle away without disconnecting the vehicle from the recharging station. Driving the vehicle without properly disconnecting the vehicle from the recharging station may cause damages to the vehicle and/or the recharging station, and possibly to other vehicles that may be in close proximity.
A plurality of schemes related to recharging EPVs have been proposed, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,569 by Fukushi Ma et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,268 by Rose et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,790 by Okada et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,439 by Keith et al., and other U.S. patents, as well as the J1772 standard adopted by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in January 2010. Many of the proposed schemes are related to connector assembly designs of the electric powered vehicle systems. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,406 by Hoffman et al., a connector assembly is disclosed. The connector assembly comprises a control contact that is shorter than the current carrying conductors. As such, the charging current path may be disconnected if the vehicle moves away from the recharging station while the vehicle remains electrically coupled to the recharging station, e.g. by an electric cable. One disadvantage of this system is that mechanical damage by the electric cable to the vehicle and/or the recharging station may occur even if the charging current path is disconnected. In another U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,802 by Rose, a recharging station design that uses exposed surface current contact is disclosed. Some of the disadvantages of this design may include contact surface corrosion, potential electrical shock due to accidental touch of the electric surface contact, and supporting a limited range of sizes and/or shapes of electric powered vehicles. All of the patents mentioned above are incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in their entirety. While the schemes above disclose improved connector assembly designs for EPV systems, the previous schemes may not prevent damages to vehicles and/or recharging stations. The SAE J1772 standard specifies a proximity detection method by putting a permanent magnet in the recharging connector and corresponding Hall Effect switch in the vehicle recharging inlet to detect the presence of the connector in the vehicle inlet, but leaves the details at the discretion of the EPV manufacturer.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of an EPV recharging apparatus 100, which may be used to recharge a vehicle'"'"'s battery, for example during night time. The EPV may be an electric vehicle (e.g. electric car) powered by a rechargeable battery or a hybrid powered vehicle (e.g. hybrid car) that uses gasoline, diesel, or natural gas and a battery rechargeable by an external electric power source. In both types of vehicles, the battery may be recharged by a recharging station. The recharging station may comprise a device or an apparatus that provides electric power to recharge the battery in the EPV. The recharging station may be located at a household (e.g. house garage) or a public facility to provide vehicle recharging service.
The EPV recharging apparatus 100 may comprise a recharging inlet 110 that may be coupled electrically to the battery and a housing cap 120. During battery recharging, the recharging cable 140 (wherein the recharging plug 130 is part of the recharging cable 140) is plugged into the recharging inlet 110. The housing cap 120 may be coupled to or mounted on the recharging inlet 110 when the vehicle is on the move, e.g. during day time, to protect the recharging inlet. The housing cap 120 may also be used to prevent electrical contact with the pins in the recharging inlet s and improve safety. Although the recharging inlet 110 and the housing cap 120 in FIG. 1 have a cylindrical shape, other embodiments of the EPV recharging apparatus 100 may comprise different shapes and/or sizes for the recharging inlet 110 and the housing cap 120.
To recharge the vehicle'"'"'s battery, the housing cap 120 may be removed from the recharging inlet 110 and a recharging cable 140, which may be coupled to the recharging station, may be coupled to or plugged in the recharging inlet 110. As such, the recharging station may provide power (e.g. electrical current) to the battery via the recharging cable and components in the recharging inlet 110.
The first light detector 212 may be a photodiode (or any other type of photo-detectors) and may be positioned at the inside wall of the EPV recharging inlet 200, e.g. at relatively close proximity to the recharging pins 210. The first detector may be configured to detect incoming light from the edge (e.g. front side) of the EPV recharging inlet 200, such as light emitted by the light source 214 and/or external light. The light source 214 may be a light-emitting diode (LED) (or other type of light emitting sources) and may also be positioned at the inside wall of the EPV recharging inlet 200 but further from the recharging pins 210 than the first light detector 212. The light source 214 may be placed at relatively close proximity to the edge of the EPV recharging inlet 200. For example, the light source 214 may be positioned between the first light detector 212 and the second light detector 218. Additionally, the light source 214 may be aligned to emit light in the direction of the first light detector 212. The light source 214 may emit light continuously or intermittently, e.g. at a predetermined period, to save battery power. The period of turning on or off the light source 214 may be adjusted based on available battery power and/or the availability of external light.
The threads 216 may also be positioned at the inside wall of the EPV recharging inlet 200, between the first light detector 212 and the light source 214. Specifically, the threads 216 may be aligned to enable the first detector to detect the light emitted from the light source 214 when the housing cap is not properly mounted onto the EPV recharging inlet 200. The height or extent of the threads 216 from the inside wall of the EPV recharging inlet 200 may be limited to prevent blocking the light trajectory from the light source 214 to the first light detector 212, as indicated by the dashed arrow line in FIG. 2. The threads 216 may also be aligned to interlock with corresponding threads located around the outside wall of part of a housing cap (e.g. the housing cap 120) to properly mount the housing cap onto the EPV recharging inlet 200. For example, an extended part at the center of the hosing cap may be screwed in or twisted inside the EPV recharging inlet 200 to interlock the threads 216 with the treads of the housing cap. In this case, the light trajectory from the light source 214 (and from outside the EPV recharging inlet) to the first light detector 212 may be blocked and the first light detector may not detect a significant amount of light.
FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an EPV recharging safety detection system 300, which may use an optical detection scheme. The EPV recharging safety detection system 300 may be used to detect whether a housing cap is properly coupled to an EPV recharging inlet, such as the EPV recharging inlet 200, and to alert a driver if the housing cap is not mounted properly. The EPV recharging safety detection system 300 may comprise a first light detector (D1) 312, a light source (L1) 314, and optionally a second light detector 318, which may be configured substantially similar to the corresponding components of the EPV recharging inlet 200. The EPV recharging safety detection system 300 may also comprise a cap part 320 of a housing cap and a control circuit 322 that may be coupled to L1, D1, and D2.
Additionally, D2 may be configured to detect the intensity of the external visible light to determine if the amount of external light is sufficient for determining whether the housing cap is properly mounted without using L1. For instance, during day time the intensity of the external visible light may be relatively high, e.g. in comparison to night time. Thus, D2 may signal the control circuit 322 to turn off L1, and thus D1 may detect the external visible light, but not light from L1 to determine whether the housing cap is properly mounted. For instance, the control circuit 322 may detect a substantial voltage or current output from D2 that corresponds to the intensity of light detected. However, during night time, the intensity of the external visible light may be significantly lower, and thus D2 may signal the control circuit 322 to turn on L1. For instance, the control circuit 322 may detect a substantial voltage or current output from D2 that corresponds to the low intensity of external light. In another embodiment, L1 may be turned on or off intermittently (by the control circuit 322) at a period that may be adjusted based on the detected intensity of the external visible light. For example, the time period for turning on or off L1 during day time may be longer than the time period for turning on or off L1 during night time. In other embodiments, the EPV recharging safety detection system 300 may not comprise D2 and/or L1, and D1 may use the external visible light and/or L1 to determine whether the housing cap 320 is properly mounted.
FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of another EPV recharging safety detection system 400, which may use an electrical detection scheme. Similar to the EPV recharging safety detection system 300, the EPV recharging safety detection system 400 may be used to detect whether a housing cap is properly coupled to an EPV recharging inlet, e.g. the EPV recharging inlet 200, and to alert a driver if the housing cap is not mounted properly. The EPV recharging safety detection system 400 may comprise a recharging inlet 430, which may comprise a charging pin 432, a ground pin 434, and a safety pin 436, and some other pins required for EPV recharging, e.g. those defined in SAE J1772 specification. The charging pin 432 may be coupled to the vehicle'"'"'s battery, the ground pin 434 may be couple to an electric ground for the circuitry in the vehicle, and the safety pin 436 may be coupled to the vehicle'"'"'s control system.
In the EPV recharging safety detection system 400, a cap part 440 (e.g. in the housing cap) may match the recharging inlet 430. The cap part 440 may comprise a plurality of slots that correspond to the pins of the recharging inlet 430, which may comprise a ground pin slot 444, and a safety pin slot 446. The ground pin slot 444 may be coupled to the safety pin slot 446, for instance via an internal conductor 448. Alternatively, the ground pin slot 444 and the safety pin slot 446 may be a single component in the cap part 440 that comprises two slots. In an alternative embodiment, the ground pin slot 444, safety pin slot 446, and internal conductor 448 may be part of the recharging plug, e.g. recharging plug 130 of EPV recharging apparatus 100. The SAE adopted J1772 standard specifies a 5-pin recharging plug including a ground pin, e.g. 444 of cap part 440.
As shown in FIG. 4, the charging pin 432, the ground pin 434, and the safety pin 436 may be located inside the recharging inlet 430. The charging pin 432, the ground pin 434, and the safety pin 436 may be metal conductors and may extend from the back side of the recharging inlet 430, e.g. adjacent to the inside wall of the vehicle. As such, the charging pin 432, the ground pin 434, and the safety pin 436 may face the front side or the EPV recharging inlet. Further, the charging pin 432, the ground pin 434, and the safety pin 436 may have different lengths. Specifically, the length of the safety pin 436 may be substantially shorter than the length of the ground pin 434 and the entire length of the recharging inlet 430.
The ground pin slot 444 and the safety pin slot 446 may extend at least a portion of the length of the cap part 440. When the housing cap is properly coupled to the EPV recharging inlet 430, the pins of the recharging inlet 430 may be plugged into the corresponding slots of the cap part 440. As such, the ground pin 434, the ground pin slot 444, the internal connector 448, the safety pin slot 446, and the safety pin 436 may establish a closed loop and ground any current provided by the DC power source 460. Consequently, when the housing cap is properly coupled to the EPV recharging inlet, the control circuit 462 may detect a “MATED” voltage level on signal “MATED.” Since the safety pin 436 is substantially shorter than the recharging inlet 430 and the ground pin 434, the closed loop may not be established unless the cap part 440 is substantially inserted into and properly mounted on the recharging inlet 430. In this case, the driver may drive away without damaging the vehicle and/or the recharging station.
However, if the cap part 440 is not substantially inserted into the recharging inlet 430 and the housing cap 440 is not properly mounted on the EPV recharging inlet, the safety pin 436 may not be in contact with the safety pin slot 446 and the closed loop may not be established. Consequently, the control circuit 462 may detect an “UNMATED” voltage level on the signal “MATED” and, in response, send an alarm to the vehicle control system. When, the driver receives an alarm from the vehicle control system, the driver may verify whether the recharging cable is properly removed from the EPV recharging inlet 430 and/or whether the housing cap 440 is properly mounted onto the EPV recharging inlet before attempting to drive away. In some embodiments, if the control system 462 detects an “UNMATED” voltage level on the signal “MATED,” then the control circuit 462 may alert the driver and prevent the driver from operating the vehicle. The control circuit 462 may then allow the driver to operate the vehicle after properly mounting the housing cap 440, e.g. when a “MATED” voltage level is detected on the signal “MATED.”
In the alternative embodiment wherein the parts 444, part 446 and part 448 may be part of the recharging plug, the control system 462 may detect a “MATED” voltage level on the signal “MATED” when the recharging plug is removed from the recharging inlet 430, and an “UNMATED” voltage level on the signal “MATED” when the recharging plug is properly plugged into the recharging inlet 430, and the rest functions work in the same way as described above.
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of an EPV recharging safety detection method 500, which may be used to detect whether a housing cap is properly coupled to an EPV recharging inlet, e.g. the EPV recharging inlet 200, and to alert a driver if the housing cap is not mounted properly. The method 500 may start at block 510, where an EPV recharging safety system output may be monitored, e.g. when the vehicle is turned off during night time. For instance, a vehicle control system may monitor the output of the EPV recharging safety system, e.g. as described in the EPV recharging safety detection system 300 or the EPV recharging safety detection system 400. The output may correspond to a voltage level output from a light detector (e.g. D1) in the case of an optical detection scheme or to a voltage level output from a DC power source (e.g. power source 460) coupled to a safety pin in the case of an electrical detection scheme. At block 520, the method 500 may determine whether an alarm signal is detected at the output. The alarm signal may correspond to an “UNMATED” voltage level on the “MATED” signal output in the EPV recharging safety detection system 300 or in the EPV recharging safety detection system 400. The method 500 may proceed to block 530 if the condition in block 520 is not met. Otherwise, if the condition in block 520 is met, then the method 500 may proceed to block 540.