Patent Description:
There are known charging systems that comprise a charging station to which an electric vehicle may be connected to charge the battery of the vehicle.

A Polish patent <CIT> discloses a mounting kit for energy transmission devices, especially for terminals designed for charging electric vehicles, wherein the kit is characterised in that a head and a socket are mounted on a base, and a terminal body is seated on a base, wherein the terminal body, in its lower part, has a built-in clamping piece with at least one opening for a ball secured against falling out by a clamping ring, in which a limiter with a circlip is installed. In the lower part of the terminal body handles with a lever are installed, wherein the lever is fitted with two rollers.

A <CIT> discloses a power supply plug on-board an automobile, including: contacts exposed to external contacts; a means for engaging with a complementary plug for said external contacts; a holding element for holding the complementary plug in a vehicle-powering position, said holding element being movable between a retracted position in which the holding element enables said complementary plug to be released from the vehicle and an operative position in which said element prevents said complementary plug from being released from the vehicle; an actuator for switching the holding element between said retracted position and said operative position, characterised in that said holding element is rotatably mounted on the vehicle and the actuator moves the holding element according to the rotational movement during said locking of said complementary plug in the vehicle-powering position.

A <CIT> discloses a securing system for securing an electric bicycle to a bicycle docking frame including a female connecting assembly mountable on the bicycle docking frame and a male connecting assembly mountable on the electric bicycle and sized to be received within a tapered recess of the female connecting assembly. When so received, first current coupling elements in order to be fit into the charging station socket. Alternatively, cable connectors can be used, which is troublesome for the user.

There is a need to provide a charging system that would be devoid of the disadvantages known so far. In particular, there is a need for a charging station that could handle a plurality of different vehicles, having connectors located at various positions.

The invention pertains to charging motor vehicles having an electric drive, regardless of whether it is a purely electric drive or a hybrid drive, when there is a need to charge the battery of the vehicle drive It should be understood that the term "micromobility vehicles" refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles which are driven by users personally. Thus micromobility devices (vehicles) include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycles, electric pedal assisted (pedelec) bicycles and also vehicles such as golf carts, handcycles, hobcarts, hoverboards, kick scooters, microcars such as neighbourhood electric vehicles, mobility scooters, onewheels (board), quadracycles, personal transporters or ridable (also referred to as 'personal light electric vehicle'), roller skates, segways, skateboards, strollers, tricycles, electric unicycles, velomobiles, electric wheelchairs.

The system is intended for use in public places such as car parks, the vicinities of bus/tram/metro stops, as well as in underground garages, the vicinities of hotels, or other places.

An advantage of the invention is its versatility for various types of vehicles with charging connectors placed at different heights, which can be charged using a single station/post. The invention allows safe charging of vehicles with various wheel sizes and front fork heights.

The invention relates to a system for charging electrical micromobility vehicles comprising a post; a socket located in the post; and a plug to be mounted on the vehicle. The socket has a longitudinal opening arranged vertically on the post. The height H of the opening of the socket is larger than the height h of the plug. The socket comprises a socket first contact means for providing contact along a first vertical line and a socket second contact means for providing contact along a second vertical line distanced from the first vertical line; and the plug comprises a plug first contact means and a plug second contact means arranged correspondingly to the.

of the female assembly electrically interface with second current coupling elements of the male assembly, which can allow current flow therebetween to charge a battery of the electric bicycle.

The charging stations known so far are not designed to be compatible with different types of vehicles, that may have a charging connector located at different heights. Namely, the charging stations are typically designed to charge a vehicle having a dedicated connector that must be located in a vehicle at a particular height in order to be fit into the charging station socket. Alternatively, cable connectors can be used, which is troublesome for the user.

The invention is set out in the appended independent claim <NUM>. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described by the dependent claims.

The invention pertains to charging electrical micromobility vehicles having an electric drive, regardless of whether it is a purely electric drive or a hybrid drive, when there is a need to charge the battery of the vehicle drive It should be understood that the term "micromobility vehicles" refers to a range of small, lightweight vehicles which are driven by users personally. Thus electrical micromobility vehicles include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycles, electric pedal assisted (pedelec) bicycles and also vehicles such as golf carts, handcycles, hobcarts, hoverboards, kick scooters, microcars such as neighbourhood electric vehicles, mobility scooters, onewheels (board), quadracycles, personal transporters or ridable (also referred to as 'personal light electric vehicle'), roller skates, segways, skateboards, strollers, tricycles, electric unicycles, velomobiles, electric wheelchairs.

According to the invention, the system for charging electrical micromobility vehicles comprising a post; a socket located in the post; and a plug to be mounted on the vehicle. The socket has a longitudinal opening arranged vertically on the post. The height H of the opening of the socket is larger than the height h of the plug. The socket comprises a socket first contact means for providing contact along a first vertical line and a socket second contact means for providing contact along a second vertical line distanced from the first vertical line; and the plug comprises a plug first contact means and a plug second contact means arranged correspondingly to the socket first and second contact means so that when the plug is inserted into the socket at any position along the height H of the opening, the socket first and second contact means form an electrical connection with the corresponding plug first and second contact means.

By providing the longitudinal opening with the socket contact means, arranged along separate lines, wherein the height H of the opening is larger than the height h of the plug it is possible to insert the plug at any position along the height H of the opening into the socket. Therefore in different types of vehicles, for example scooters, bicycles, motors the plug may be mounted to the vehicle fork <NUM> at any distance from the ground which is within the length (height H) of the opening of the socket. For example in case of a scooter the plug may be mounted closer to the ground than it is in case of the bicycle (it results from the fact that the wheels of the scooter are significantly smaller than the wheels of the bicycles, therefore the dimensions of the vehicle fork are also different).

In case of a single-track vehicles, when such a vehicle is plugged into the post, it is maintained in a standing position without the need of using any additional holders or supports. In other words the plug functions both as a charging plug and as docking element for holding the vehicle.

The ratio of the height (H) of the opening of the socket to the height (h) of the plug is preferably equal from <NUM> to <NUM>. The bigger the ratio between the height H to the height h is, the more flexibility in selecting the plug mounting level (distance from the ground) is provided.

The socket may comprise retractable elements for covering the opening of the socket. The retractable elements protect the interior of the post against atmospheric conditions or against penetration of foreign objects through the opening.

The retractable elements may have a form of blocks slidable in a horizontal direction wherein during insertion of the plug the blocks may be pushed by the plug towards the inside of the socket. As a result, the section of the socket which is not at the level of the plug is still protected (remains closed).

The post may comprise a presence sensor for detecting the position of the retractable elements. The signal of the presence sensor may be used to control operation of other elements of the post, such as activate the charging process upon detection that the plug has been inserted to the socket.

The socket may comprise a socket third contact means for providing contact along a third vertical line and the plug may comprise plug third contact means corresponding to the socket third contact means. The third contact means may be used for communication between the socket and the plug.

The system may further comprise a locking bar for securing the plug inside the socket, wherein the plug comprises a plug notch for receiving the locking bar and the retractable elements comprise a blocking notch for receiving the locking bar. This prevents insertion of foreign objects, fingers etc. into the socket while charging, providing protection against electrical shock and short circuits.

The plug can be mountable aside a vehicle fork, for example on the left or on the right side of the vehicle fork.

The post can be mounted on a base that is secured to the ground, therefore the post can be easily replaced when damaged.

According to the invention, the base comprises a wheel positioning mechanism for positioning the wheel of the vehicle and the vehicle during plugging in of the plug into the socket. This facilitates insertion of the plug into the socket.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, descriptions and claims.

The present invention is shown by means of preferable embodiments in a drawing, wherein:.

The description presented herein is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention.

The following detailed description relates to an embodiment configured for charging electric bicycles, but it can be equivalently applied to other types of micromobility vehicles.

The embodiment presented herein contains all features foreseen by the present disclosure. However, other embodiments are feasible as well that do not contain all features necessary to achieve particular technical advantages corelated with such feature.

The system comprises a post <NUM> with a socket <NUM>. The socket <NUM> is designed for accommodating therein a plug <NUM> to be mounted on the vehicle.

The base <NUM> may have a front housing <NUM> and a back housing <NUM>. The front housing <NUM> can be made of stainless steel.

The internal components of the post <NUM> can be fixed to a section <NUM> made of bent stainless steel. It acts as the main frame for all the other internal components. The electronics casing <NUM> is mounted on two flat bars screwed to the section <NUM>. The electronics casing <NUM> is made of steel and is shaped so as to allow heat to dissipate outside, thanks to which heating of the charging station <NUM> is limited. Inside it, there is the main printed circuit board (PCB).

The socket <NUM> has a longitudinal opening <NUM> arranged vertically on the post <NUM>. The height H of the opening <NUM> is larger than the height h of the plug <NUM>, for example the ratio of H:h can be from <NUM> to <NUM>. For example the height H of the opening <NUM> can be equal from <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably from <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably <NUM>, wherein the height h of the plug <NUM> can be equal from <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably from <NUM> to <NUM>. The bottom end of the opening <NUM> can be located at a distance equal from <NUM> to <NUM> above the ground, preferably from <NUM> to <NUM>.

The socket <NUM> has a socket first contact means <NUM> for providing contact along a first vertical line and a socket second contact means <NUM> for providing contact along a second vertical line distanced from the first vertical line. The plug <NUM> has a plug first contact means <NUM> and a plug second contact means <NUM> arranged correspondingly to the socket first and second contact means <NUM>, <NUM> so that when the plug <NUM> is inserted into the socket <NUM> at any position along the height H of the opening <NUM>, the socket first and second contact means <NUM>, <NUM> form an electrical connection with the corresponding plug first and second contact means <NUM>, <NUM>. The contact means <NUM>, <NUM> may be made of copper and the contact means <NUM>, <NUM> may be made of brass.

The socket first contact means <NUM> and the socket second contact means <NUM> may have a form of longitudinal electric bars or may have a form of a plurality of single point contacts (such as pins) arranged vertically, wherein the socket first contact means <NUM> may be positive contacts for providing positive charge and the socket second contact means <NUM> may be negative contacts for providing negative charge, wherein the positive contacts are grouped in the line separately from the negative contacts. In other words the plurality of single point socket first contact means <NUM> are arranged along a first line and the plurality of single point socket second contact means <NUM> are arranged along a second line parallel but separate to the first line.

The plug <NUM> may be mounted to the vehicle for example on a vehicle front fork <NUM> by means of an adapter <NUM>. The adapter <NUM> can be selected such as to mount the plug <NUM> to different types of vehicle forks <NUM> (or other parts of the vehicle structure), depending on the fork thickness, length etc. The plug <NUM> may also be mounted to other elements of a vehicle (such as a fender, a bumper, generally to a body of a vehicle) in such a manner that it is possible for the vehicle to approach to the post <NUM> and connect the plug <NUM> to the socket <NUM>. The adapter <NUM> can be mounted by means of two metal mounting connectors <NUM> (only one shown in the drawing) that are to be wrapped around and clamped on the fork <NUM> of the vehicle. The plug <NUM> can be made of stainless steel. It may have two plastic inserts <NUM> in which the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are mounted. The inserts <NUM> may also be made of another non-conductive material, for example, an elastomer.

The plug <NUM> may have a form of a substantially flat plate wherein the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM> are arranged at one end of the plug <NUM>, opposite to the end at which the adapter <NUM> is attached, correspondingly to the arrangement of the socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM>. Thus when the plug <NUM> is inside the socket <NUM> the socket first contact means <NUM> are in contact with the plug first contact means <NUM> (being for example positive charge contacts) and the socket second contact means <NUM> are in contact with the plug second contact means <NUM> (being for example negative charge contacts). The thickness of the plug <NUM> may be equal from <NUM> to <NUM>.

The socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM> may be arranged on one side of the socket <NUM> or may be arranged on opposite sides of the socket <NUM>. Similarly the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM> may be arranged on one side of the plug <NUM> or may be arranged on opposite sides of the plug <NUM>.

The socket <NUM> may comprise retractable elements <NUM> for covering the opening <NUM> of the socket <NUM> to protect it from the outside environment. The retractable elements <NUM> may have a form of blocks slidable in a horizontal direction wherein during insertion of the plug <NUM> the blocks <NUM> are pushed by the plug <NUM> towards the inside of the socket <NUM>. Each retractable element <NUM> may have a height substantially smaller than the height of the plug <NUM>, for example the plug <NUM> may have a height of five retractable elements <NUM>. During insertion of the plug <NUM> into the socket <NUM>, the blocks <NUM> are pushed by the plug <NUM> at the region equal or greater than the height h of the plug <NUM>, thereby allowing the plug <NUM> to be inserted into the socket <NUM>, wherein the blocks which do not interact with the plug <NUM> remain still. The retractable elements <NUM> may be mounted slidably on horizontal guides <NUM>, wherein the horizontal guides <NUM> are provided with a retracting spring <NUM> for maintaining the retractable elements <NUM> in their initial home) position when the plug <NUM> is outside the socket <NUM>. In order to ensure the required safety features of the device, a gap of no more than <NUM> shall remain between the plug <NUM> and the next retractable element <NUM> that has not been pushed inside. This prevents an electric shock to the user once the charging process begins. The retractable elements <NUM> in the form of blocks ensure linear charging of vehicles with plugs <NUM> at different heights and also provide electric shock protection.

In other words, the operating principle of the retractable elements <NUM> in the form of blocks is based on the use of a mechanism of two guides as well as two sleeves <NUM> and rods, also called horizontal guides <NUM>, onto which a spring <NUM> is located to ensure that the retractable element <NUM> in the form of block returns to its initial position after the plug <NUM> is removed from the post <NUM>. The entire mechanism of the retractable elements <NUM> in the form of blocks is contained in a post <NUM> made of stainless steel, which consists of two parts. This is the main component of the mechanical interior of the post <NUM>, responsible for carrying out the entire process of both locking and charging the vehicle.

In other embodiments the retractable elements <NUM> may have a form of swivel or pivotable flaps or other closing means suitable for securing the opening <NUM> of the socket <NUM>.

The post <NUM> may further comprise a presence sensor <NUM> for detecting the position of the retractable elements <NUM>. For example the presence sensor <NUM> may have a form of an optical sensor. The presence sensor <NUM> is configured to detect the retracted position of the at least on retractable element <NUM>. The retracted position of the retractable elements <NUM> corresponds to the information concerning proper insertion of the plug <NUM> into the socket <NUM>, as the plug <NUM> acts on the retractable elements <NUM> during insertion. For example when the plug <NUM> is fully inserted into the socket <NUM> the retractable element <NUM> crosses the light path of the optical sensor providing signal to a charging controller located in the post <NUM>.

The socket <NUM> may have a socket third contact means <NUM> for providing contact along a third vertical line and the plug <NUM> may comprise plug third contact means <NUM> corresponding to the socket third contact means <NUM>. The third contact means <NUM>, <NUM> are signal contacts and provide communication between the post <NUM> and the vehicle. In particular they provide communication between a charging controller located in the post <NUM> and the battery controller located in the vehicle. Therefore it is possible for the charging controller to receive information concerning the type of the battery, state of the battery mounted in the vehicle in order to select appropriate charging parameters like voltage, current etc..

After inserting the plug <NUM> into the charging socket <NUM> and after recognising the appropriate type of charging parameters for the vehicle battery the charging process is initiated. After the battery is fully charged or when the user decides to stop the charging process the locking bar is moved to the unlocked position allowing the plug <NUM> to be removed from the socket <NUM>.

The charging circuit may comprise a converter for providing suitable charging voltage and current. The converter may comprise an LLC resonant circuit, a controller, and two feedback loops: a current loop and a voltage loop. The converter may also have a circuit for switching the LLC converter controller on and off with a microcontroller. The current loop ensures that the battery charging current remains constant during constant current charging, whereas the voltage loop maintains a constant output voltage during constant voltage charging. The charging voltage and current are set by changing the reference voltage for the current and voltage loops. The reference voltages for the current and voltage loops are generated by a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) that is built into the microcontroller.

The plug <NUM> may comprise an electronic circuit that stores information about the voltage and current intensity at which the battery in a particular vehicle should be charged. After the plug <NUM> has been inserted into the post <NUM> and the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are in contact with the socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> this information can be transmitted via one of the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, preferably via the third contact means <NUM>, to the converter of the charging station, which then generates a current at a given voltage and intensity according to the requirements of the battery in the particular vehicle.

Furthermore, the post <NUM> may have two LED strips <NUM>. The LED strips indicate that the post <NUM> is ready for use. The LEDs may light up in green or red, informing the user whether it is possible to connect the vehicle to the post <NUM>. Red LEDs may light up, for example, if the post <NUM> is damaged or if another user has already reserved this charging station for their vehicle.

The system may also comprise a locking bar <NUM> for securing the plug <NUM> inside the socket <NUM>, wherein the plug <NUM> comprises a plug notch <NUM> for receiving the locking bar <NUM> and the retractable elements <NUM> comprise a blocking notch <NUM> for receiving the locking bar <NUM>.

The locking bar <NUM> is mounted slidably on guiding members <NUM> along a horizontal direction. Wherein the locking bar <NUM> is maintained in its locking position by means of a spring <NUM>. The spring <NUM> may be located on one of the guiding members <NUM>. When the plug <NUM> is being inserted into the socket <NUM> the locking bar <NUM> is retracted by means of the retractable elements <NUM> which are being pushed by the plug <NUM> (the blocking notch <NUM> comprises one inclined sidewall which pushes the retractable elements <NUM> aside). When the plug <NUM> is fully inserted the locking bar <NUM> jumps into the plug notch <NUM> and into the blocking notch <NUM> of the retractable elements <NUM> which remain in their home position (the retractable elements <NUM> which were not pushed by the plug <NUM>.

The locking bar <NUM> may have a form of an aluminium bolt. The bolt may <NUM> move on two linear bearings <NUM>, that travel along a guide, also called guiding members <NUM> and ensure smooth engagement and disengagement of the locking bar <NUM>, as well as short springs, also called springs <NUM> responsible for pressing the locking bar against the retractable elements <NUM> in the form of blocks and the plug <NUM> in which a groove, also called a plug notch <NUM> and a blocking notch <NUM> is milled with a shape corresponding to that of the locking bar <NUM>.

The system may comprise a blocking mechanism <NUM> for blocking the locking bar <NUM> in a position where the locking bar <NUM> is inserted into the plug notch <NUM> and for moving the locking bar <NUM> to an unlocked position in which the locking bar <NUM> is retracted from the plug notch <NUM>. As a result the locking bar <NUM> is blocked in its locking position by the blocking mechanism <NUM> and the movement of the retractable elements <NUM>, which remain in their home position, is blocked. Thus the socket <NUM> is secured on its entire length.

The locking bar <NUM> may acquire three different position states. The position states are determined by means of three position sensors <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, which may have a form of limit switches.

The first position state is a locking position in a blocked state (<FIG>) where the movement of the locking bar <NUM> is blocked by the blocking mechanism <NUM>. In the first position state the first position switch <NUM> is in an open state while the second position switch <NUM> and the third position switch <NUM> are in a closed state (in the closed state the position sensor may output the control signal). In the first position state the movement of the retractable elements <NUM> and the plug <NUM> is blocked.

The second position state is a locking position in an unblocked state (<FIG>), where the locking bar <NUM> is in the locking position maintained only by the spring <NUM>. In the second position state the opening <NUM> of the socket <NUM> is covered by the retracting elements <NUM>, but the movement of the retracting elements <NUM> is not blocked, thereby while introducing the plug <NUM> into the socket <NUM> the locking bar <NUM> is pushed aside by the retracting elements <NUM> allowing the plug <NUM> to be inserted into the socket <NUM>. In the second position state the first position switch <NUM> and the second position switch <NUM> are in an open state while the third position switch <NUM> is in a closed state.

The third position state is an unlocked position where the locking bar is retracted by the blocking mechanism <NUM> as presented in <FIG>. In the third position state it is possible to remove the plug <NUM> from the socket <NUM>. In the third position state the second position switch <NUM> and the third position switch <NUM> are in the open state while the first position switch <NUM> is in the closed state.

However apart from the abovementioned configuration also other arrangements of position sensors and other types of position sensor are possible within the present invention.

According to the invention, the base <NUM> comprises a wheel positioning mechanism <NUM> for positioning the wheel of the vehicle and the vehicle during plugging in of the plug <NUM> into the socket <NUM>.

The wheel positioning mechanism <NUM> have a form of a plate mounted to the base slidably on rails <NUM> by means of bearings <NUM> along axis X which is perpendicular to the axis Y (<FIG> and <FIG>). Axis Y is the axis along which the plug <NUM> is introduced into the socket <NUM>. When the vehicle is to be connected to the post <NUM>, the wheel of the vehicle is standing on the wheel positioning mechanism <NUM>.

In case when the plug <NUM> is not positioned in line with the socket <NUM>, the users might tend to incline the vehicle in order to insert the plug <NUM> into the socket <NUM>. However when the plug <NUM> is inclined with respect to the socket <NUM> it is hard to properly introduce it into the socket <NUM>. Therefore when the vehicle is inclined and the plug <NUM> is already at the opening <NUM> of the socket <NUM> (the plug <NUM> is in front of the retractable elements <NUM> but between the sides <NUM> of the opening <NUM>), by inclining the vehicle toward the vertical position the plug <NUM> abuts the sides <NUM> of the opening and the wheel of the vehicle tends to slide sidewards along the X axis thereby moving the positioning mechanism <NUM> along the X axis as well. As a result positioning the vehicle towards the vertical position is easier as the wheel is not skidding on the base or ground but is moved to the side together with the slidable wheel positioning mechanism <NUM>.

The charging station operates as follows. In order to start the charging process, the vehicle is wheeled onto the wheel positioning mechanism <NUM>. The user directs the plug <NUM> into the socket <NUM> located in the face of the front housing <NUM>.

When bringing the vehicle into the socket <NUM>, the user pushes the retractable elements <NUM> (which may be also called blocks), thus pushing some of them into the socket <NUM>.

When inserting the plug <NUM> into the post <NUM>, the locking bar <NUM>, yielding to mechanical force, fits into the plug notch <NUM> in the plug <NUM>, ensuring that it gets locked. The surfaces of the plug notch <NUM> in the plug <NUM> and those of the locking bar <NUM> are parallel to each other and also perpendicular to the forces that occur when an attempt is being made to pull the vehicle out of the post <NUM>, which, combined, makes it impossible to pull the vehicle out if the locking bar <NUM> is not mechanically retracted. The locking bar <NUM> is pressed so that it is impossible to introduce neither any parts of the human body nor any tools into the socket <NUM> that would physically touch the socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> on the plug <NUM> and the socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> in the post <NUM> are in contact with each other. One of the socket contact means <NUM> is responsible for communication, via the plug contact means <NUM>, with the electric vehicle wheeled onto the post <NUM>, while the other contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are responsible for charging. Confirmation of the signal between the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and the socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> as well as the signal from the system of sensors lead to activation of the linear stepper motor, which further presses the locking bar <NUM> making it impossible to pull the vehicle out.

At this point, the charging process begins owing to the socket contact means <NUM>, <NUM> contacted with the plug contact means <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> on the plug <NUM>.

The invention has a set of two position sensors allowing to control the motor and to inform about the correct position of the locking bar <NUM>. The vehicle gets unlocked by means of a mobile application or a Near Field Communication (NFC) card brought near the post <NUM>. The locking bar <NUM> is then unlocked by the return movement of the motor shaft, also called blocking mechanism <NUM> that has a tongue <NUM> shifting the locking bar <NUM> into the correct position - unlocked. When that happens, an acoustic signal is produced indicating that the vehicle can now be removed from the post <NUM>.

Technical maintenance of the post <NUM> can be carried out by turning the lock located on the rear part of the back housing <NUM>, which allows the back housing <NUM> to be removed and provides access to the PCB. On the underside of the post <NUM>, space has been provided in order to route cables out of the unit through grooves prepared in the base <NUM>. In the upper part of the post <NUM>, in the cover <NUM>, there is a plastic stopper <NUM> to prevent water from entering the vehicle.

Claim 1:
A system for charging electrical micromobility vehicles comprising:
- a post (<NUM>);
- an electrical micromobility vehicle;
- a socket (<NUM>) located in the post (<NUM>); and
- a plug (<NUM>) to be mounted on the electrical micromobility vehicle; wherein
- the socket (<NUM>) has a longitudinal opening (<NUM>) arranged vertically on the post (<NUM>);
- wherein the height (H) of the opening (<NUM>) of the socket (<NUM>) is larger than the height (h) of the plug (<NUM>);
- wherein the socket (<NUM>) comprises a socket first contact means (<NUM>) for providing contact along a first vertical line and a socket second contact means (<NUM>) for providing contact along a second vertical line distanced from the first vertical line; and
- wherein the plug (<NUM>) comprises a plug first contact means (<NUM>) and a plug second contact means (<NUM>) arranged correspondingly to the socket first and second contact means (<NUM>, <NUM>) so that when the plug (<NUM>) is inserted into the socket (<NUM>) at any position along the height (H) of the opening (<NUM>), the socket first and second contact means (<NUM>, <NUM>) form an electrical connection with the corresponding plug first and second contact means (<NUM>, <NUM>);
- wherein the post (<NUM>) is mounted on a base (<NUM>) that is secured to a ground,
characterized in that
the base (<NUM>) comprises a wheel positioning mechanism (<NUM>) for positioning the wheel of the electrical micromobility vehicle and the electrical micromobility vehicle during plugging in of the plug (<NUM>) into the socket (<NUM>), wherein the wheel positioning mechanism (<NUM>) has a form of a plate which is mounted to the base (<NUM>) slidably on rails (<NUM>) by bearings (<NUM>) along an axis (X), which is perpendicular to an axis (Y) being the axis along which the plug (<NUM>) is introduced into the socket (<NUM>), wherein when the electrical micromobility vehicle is to be connected to the post (<NUM>), a wheel of the electrical micromobility vehicle is standing on the wheel positioning mechanism (<NUM>).