Patent Description:
In current society, people live more conveniently attributed by industry and technology, meanwhile, living quality is gradually improved as well. However, there are large numbers of potential problems caused by industry and technology, such as ecological damage, energy crisis, source crisis and so on. Therefore, it's important to realize and start to solve the potential problems above for sustainable development of the earth. Everyone is under the obligation of energy conservation to protect earth ecology.

Take the development of public transportation as an example, bicycles and rickshaws in agricultural period were developed to motorcycles, vehicles and plans through industrial revolution to reduce the distances and times of transportation. Motorcycles and vehicles are driven by petroleum, thereby causing petroleum shortage and soaring the price of petroleum. Worse still, some irreversible problems would be generated, such as air pollutions. Therefore, it's important to develop green transportations which are low-pollution and low-energy-consumption, such as electric vehicles are common green transportations.

Rechargeable battery of electric vehicles could replace petroleum of traditional transportations to reduce pollutions. However, the rechargeable batteries have limited storage capacity, then, they should be charged regularly at stationary point. As a result, it's not convenient for drivers of electric vehicles. An example of prior art can be found in <CIT> and <CIT>.

In order to solve the problem of the conventional arts, the present invention provides a movable charging apparatus with communication which could move anywhere in the same plane. Furthermore, the movable charging apparatus of the present invention can be carried away to other place.

The present invention is defined by the attached independent claims. Other preferred embodiments may be found in the dependent claims.

The application discloses a movable charging apparatus comprising a housing for receiving a power converting module, characterized in that said movable charging apparatus comprising:a first storage portion, located at a first side of said housing, for receiving a power cable power converting module and an outside AC source;a second storage portion, located at a second side of said housing , for receiving a charging cable which being coupled to said power converting module and an outside electric car;plurality of wheels, located at a bottom of said housing; a control unit; said power converting module, coupled to said control unit; a circuit breaker, coupled to said power converting module; and a metering module, coupled to said circuit breaker, calculating fee-charging based on usage of power and modifying or varying fee-charging standard according with an energy policy being varying from country to country.

The components, characteristics and advantages of the present invention may be understood by the detailed description of the preferred embodiments outlined in the specification and the drawings attached.

Some preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail. However, it should be recognized that the preferred embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration rather than limiting the present invention. In addition, the present invention can be practiced in a wide range of other embodiments besides those explicitly described, and the scope of the present invention is not expressly limited except as specified in the accompanying claims. The layout of components may be more complicated in practice.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> & <FIG>, <FIG> shows a diagram of movable charging apparatus of the present invention. <FIG> & <FIG> show the back views of movable charging apparatus of the present invention. <FIG> &3B show the back-exploded views of movable charging apparatus of the present invention. It should be noted that the configuration of modules and units of the text and drawings is one of examples for illustration, but not limited to the present invention.

The movable charging apparatus <NUM> of the present invention comprises a housing <NUM>, at least one storage portion <NUM> and a plurality of wheels <NUM>. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus <NUM>, made by aluminum integrally, has high efficiency heat dissipation and being carried easily. The power converting module <NUM> which is installed inside the housing <NUM> for converting AC current into DC current, a charging cable <NUM> and a power cable <NUM> are coupled commonly to the power converting module <NUM>. AC current, generated from AC source, would be transmitted to the power converting module <NUM> via power cable <NUM> for converting to DC current which would be transmitted to electric vehicle through charging cable <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, it shows a schematic drawing of charging system of the present invention. Each of length of the power cable <NUM> and charging cable <NUM> can be modified and varied based on desire requirements.

Referring to <FIG>, it shows a diagram of modules and components of the present invention. The power converting module <NUM> comprises AC/DC converting unit 1022b for converting AC current into DC current to transmit to electric vehicle, as shown in <FIG>. In one embodiment, the AC/DC converting unit 1022b includes rectifier, transformer, and so on. The power converting module <NUM> further includes but not limited to power unit module, transistors, transformer, capacitor and digital signal processing (DSP), and so on. In one embodiment, the output voltage range of the power converting module <NUM> is between 200V-750V, and output power of that is up to 20kW.

Please refer to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> & <FIG>, in one embodiment, the housing <NUM> further comprises control unit <NUM>, auxiliary power module <NUM>, metering unit <NUM>, circuit breaker <NUM> and other main components. The control unit <NUM> can be as center for driving the apparatus <NUM>. The control unit <NUM> comprises memory 1024a for storing instructions and parameters. It is well understood by the skilled person in the art that the apparatus <NUM> is controlled by the instructions and parameters storing in the control unit <NUM>. The control unit <NUM> further comprises other main components, fireware or software, such as logic unit (not shown in figures). Therefore, not being further illustrated hereinafter. In one embodiment, the auxiliary power module <NUM>, coupled to the control unit <NUM>, provides power to other components, such as control unit <NUM>, display interface <NUM> and so on, to maintain function. The auxiliary power module <NUM> also can be called secondary power module or supplemental power module. The difference between power converting unit <NUM> and auxiliary power module <NUM> is that: the auxiliary power module <NUM> provides power to only electric components within the apparatus <NUM>, but not electric vehicle outside. In the embodiment, the output voltage of the auxiliary power unit <NUM> could be 12V and 24V, the output power of that is between <NUM>-700W, preferably 400W. The circuit breaker <NUM>, coupled to the power converting module <NUM>, is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overcurrent or overload or shot circuit. The circuit breaker <NUM> includes magnetic circuit breaker, thermal magnetic circuit breaker, common trip breaker, medium-voltage circuit breaker, high-voltage circuit breaker, and so on. It is well understood by the skilled person in the art that the principle function of circuit breaker <NUM>, and category of that is based on desired requirements, therefore, the redundancy illustration is omitted hereinafter. The metering unit <NUM>, coupled between the circuit breaker <NUM> and power cable <NUM>, calculates the usage of power generated from AC source to outside electric vehicle, then calculates fee based on the usage of power and fee-charging standard which can be modified or varied according to requirements, such as energy policy being varying from country to country. The circuit breaker <NUM> comprises a detective module (not shown in figures) and protective mechanism (not shown in figures). If power is over or short circuit detected by the detective module, then charging circuits would be closed by protective mechanism.

Please refer to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> & <FIG>, in one embodiment, the apparatus <NUM> further comprises a button <NUM> located at top thereof. It should be understood that the location of the button <NUM> is not limited to the top side, can be located at anywhere of the apparatus <NUM>. The protective mechanism within circuit breaker <NUM> would be triggered by pressing the button <NUM> which is coupled to the circuit breaker <NUM>, to stop charging to avoid from damage. In one embodiment, the button <NUM> includes a micro switch. To phrase it another way, the apparatus <NUM> can be terminated charging by remote server automatically, or by pressing the button <NUM> by users manually.

The storage portion (also could be called receiving portion) <NUM> includes a first storage portion <NUM> and a second storage portion <NUM>. In one embodiment, the first storage portion <NUM> is located at a side of the apparatus <NUM>, and the second storage portion <NUM> is located at other side of the apparatus. In other words, the locations of the two storage portions are corresponding with each other. For example, in the preferred embodiment, the first and the second storage portions <NUM>, <NUM> are located at the right side and the left side of the apparatus <NUM>, respectively. The first storage portion is used to receive at least one power cable <NUM>, the second storage portion is used to receive the charging cable <NUM>. In another embodiment, the first storage portion <NUM> is provided to receive the charging cable <NUM>, and the second storage portion <NUM> is provided to receive the power cable <NUM>. The locations of the power cable <NUM> and the charging cable <NUM> include but not limited to the design of right side and left as the foregoing embodiment, it can be modified and varied by the skilled person in the art depending on the desire and expectation of the users. The alternative design for achieving the same effect as the foregoing embodiment can be modified or varied by the person skilled in the art in the light of the need in use, thereby not being further illustrated hereinafter. It should be noted that locations of the charging cable <NUM> and the power cable <NUM> depends on the configurations of electronic units inside the housing <NUM>.

In one embodiment, each of the first and second storage portions <NUM>, <NUM> has a scroll bar and an elastic unit (not shown in figures). Some length of the charging cable <NUM> and the power cable <NUM> are drawl out to required length by the elastic unit, and the remaining length of the charging cable <NUM> and the power cable <NUM> are storage into the scroll bar. As a result, it's convenient for receiving cables to avoid the tangled wires.

The pluralities of wheels <NUM>, located at a bottom of the housing <NUM>, are provided for supporting and moving the apparatus <NUM> on the ground. The wheels <NUM> include wheels with braking system, located on the bottom of the apparatus <NUM>. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus further includes gripping portion <NUM>, such as handle, located on the top of the apparatus <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> & <FIG>, it's more easily to adjust the apparatus <NUM> to appropriate location by the combination of the movable unit <NUM> and the gripping portion <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> & <FIG>, in one embodiment, the apparatus further includes a display interface <NUM> coupled to the control unit <NUM> and located at a side of the apparatus <NUM>, such of the top side, as shown in <FIG>. In the preferred embodiment, the display interface <NUM> may be a human-machine interface (HMI) for displaying status of the power module, such as storing, charging, warning and so on, Furthermore, users can input parameters via the human-machine interface. The display interface <NUM> includes touching screen.

In another embodiment, the apparatus <NUM> further comprises a communication module <NUM> for transmitting/receiving parameters and instructions from servers, preferably, the communication module is a wireless communication module. The communication module <NUM> is coupled to the control unit <NUM> to supervise and modulate the charging status. The users can transmit information, such as invoice, quotation, advertisements, and so on, to display on the display interface <NUM>. The communication module <NUM> includes multiple communication ports (not shown in figures), but not limited to USB port.

In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a recognition module <NUM>, coupled to the control unit <NUM> through the display interface <NUM>. The recognition module <NUM> includes but not limited to automatic non-contact recognition, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), so that the user can be recognized by certification (such as credit cards) or inputting identifier (such as ID number) to control charging procedure. In another preferred embodiment, the recognition module <NUM>, the display interface <NUM> and the communication module <NUM> can be integrated a platform (not shown in figures), so that the users can supervisor charging and transmit information via the platform.

In one embodiment, the control unit <NUM> calculates fee with specific ratio based on power provided by the power converting module <NUM>, and the fee would be deduct from the credit card of user.

In one embodiment, the apparatus <NUM> further comprises multiple thermal units (not shown in figures) for dissipating heat generated from the power converting module <NUM> and auxiliary power module <NUM> to avoid being crashed or short circuit. In the preferred embodiment, the thermal units may be thermal fins for dissipating heat generated electric units inside housing <NUM>. Preferably, the thermal units can be positioned around the power converting module <NUM>.

In one embodiment, the apparatus <NUM> further comprises multiple filtering units (not shown in figures). In the preferred embodiment, the filtering units may be fire protection material with mesh including but not limited to polyester fiber and acetate fiber & Nylon which conforms the fire protective international standard, such as European DIN <NUM>-F1 and U. UL <NUM>-Class <NUM>. The purpose of the filtering unit is: insulate from impurity, such as dust.

As description above, the present invention provides a movable charging apparatus, and further provides another movable charging apparatus with communication. The movable charging apparatus comprises a housing which is made of aluminum alloy. The housing comprises a control unit, a power converting module, a recognition module and a communication module. On the other hand, the housing further comprises two storage portions for receiving power cable and charging cable, respectively, and comprises handle and wheels located top and bottom thereof, respectively. Accordingly, the present invention not only is convenience, but also offers storage capability to solve the issue of the prior art.

Claim 1:
A movable charging apparatus (<NUM>) comprising a housing (<NUM>) for receiving a power converting module (<NUM>), characterized in that said movable charging apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
a first storage portion (<NUM>), located at a first side of said housing (<NUM>), for receiving a power cable (<NUM>) which being coupled between said power converting module (<NUM>) and an outside AC source;
a second storage portion (<NUM>), located at a second side of said housing (<NUM>), for receiving a charging cable (<NUM>) which being coupled to said power converting module (<NUM>) and an outside electric car;
plurality of wheels (<NUM>), located at a bottom of said housing (<NUM>) characterised by a control unit (<NUM>);
said power converting module (<NUM>), coupled to said control unit (<NUM>);
a circuit breaker (<NUM>), coupled to said power converting module (<NUM>); and
a metering module (<NUM>), coupled to said circuit breaker (<NUM>), calculating fee-charging based on usage of power and modifying or varying fee-charging standard according with an energy policy being varying from country to country.