Patent Description:
With the proliferation of electric devices (such as power tools, appliances, personal portable communication devices, laptops and tablets, personal media devices, vehicles, etc.), people's interest in designing battery connection modules has also increased. The conventional battery connection module usually includes a battery holder and a battery connector. The shape of the battery holder is usually designed to match a part of the battery to accommodate the part of the battery. However, the battery holder has a larger size, and the structural design of a vehicle, charger or charging station equipped with such a battery connection module is also limited by the appearance of the battery holder.

In addition, in general, power transmission between a vehicle, a charger or a charging station and a certified battery is a better operating scenario. If the vehicle, charger, or charging station is connected to a non-factory battery, it may be damaged due to the poor quality of the non-factory battery. As a result, the vehicle, charger or charging station may fail to operate normally.

Accordingly, how to provide a bridge to solve the aforementioned problems becomes an important issue to be solved by those in the industry. <CIT> discloses a autoclavable container for sterilizing a wirelessly chargeable battery and the battery, wherein the battery can be inductively charged by the autoclavable container, and wherein the battery comprises a connecting platform, an inductive connector disposed on the connecting platform, a wireless communication module disposed on the connecting platform and configured to receive a wireless signal, and a processing unit configured to carry out a verification process on information included in the wireless signal, and allow the electrical connector to transmit power when the verification process on the information turned out to be true. <CIT>, <CIT>, and <CIT> show further possibilities of how to electrically connect batteries to other devices and how to charge and discharge the said batteries.

The present invention provides a bridge according to independent claim <NUM>, that can efficiently solve the aforementioned problems. The dependent claims show further preferred embodiments if the said bridge.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a bridge includes a connecting platform, an electrical connector, a wireless communication module, and a processing unit. The electrical connector is disposed on the connecting platform. The wireless communication module is disposed on the connecting platform and configured to receive a wireless signal. The processing unit is configured to: carry out a verification process on information included in the wireless signal; and allow the electrical connector to transmit power when the verification process on the information turned out to be true.

The connecting platform has an abutting surface and a groove recessed from the abutting surface. The electrical connector protrudes from the abutting surface. The wireless communication module includes an antenna. The antenna is accommodated in the groove.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the bridge further includes a protective cover. The protective cover covers the wireless communication module.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the protective cover is flush with the abutting surface of the connecting platform.

The antenna surrounds the electrical connector.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the wireless communication module further includes a matching board. The matching board is connected to the antenna and configured to adjust a communication frequency of the antenna.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the bridge further includes a connection detector. The connection detector is disposed on the connecting platform, and is configured to be triggered to generate a trigger signal and transmit the trigger signal to the processing unit. The processing unit is further configured to carry out the verification process on the information upon receiving the trigger signal.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the connection detector includes a detecting switch and an elastic member. The detecting switch is disposed on the connecting platform. The elastic member covers the detecting switch. The detecting switch is configured to be triggered by a deformation of the elastic member caused by an outside force to generate the trigger signal.

The connecting platform has an abutting surface. The electrical connector protrudes from the abutting surface and, in an embodiment, also an connection detector might protrude from the abutting surface.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the verification process includes at least one of following steps: determining whether a battery manufacturer data included in the information meets a predetermined list; determining whether a battery status/health data included in the information meets a battery status/health standard; determining whether a charging history data included in the information meets a standard for number of charging times; and determining whether a battery type data included in the information meets a subscription plan.

Accordingly, in the bridge of the present disclosure, the processing unit can carry out a verification process on the wireless signal received from an external battery by the wireless communication module, and only allow the electrical connector and the external battery to transmit power when the verification process on the information turned out to be true. In this way, the charging and discharging of the external battery can be managed and controlled, and the device (such as a vehicle, a charger, or a charging station) equipped with the bridge can be prevented from being damaged due to the poor and uncontrolled quality of unverified external batteries. In addition, instead of the conventional battery holder, the connecting platform is chosen for accommodating a part of the external battery in the bridge of the present disclosure. Therefore, the bridge has a smaller overall size, which can effectively reduce the restriction on the structural design of the device equipped with the bridge.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed.

The disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:.

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. However, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describing example embodiments, and thus may be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only example embodiments set forth herein. Therefore, it should be understood that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.

Reference is made to <FIG> is a side view of a vehicle <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the vehicle <NUM> (for example, a straddle-type vehicle) includes a housing <NUM> and a bridge <NUM>. The housing <NUM> has an accommodating space <NUM>, and the bridge <NUM> is disposed in the accommodating space <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. In some embodiments, the accommodating space <NUM> serves as a battery compartment for accommodating external batteries, and the bridge <NUM> is configured to establish an electrical connection between the power system of the vehicle <NUM> and the battery pack.

Reference is made to <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is a perspective view of the bridge <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> is another perspective view of the bridge <NUM> in <FIG>, in which a protective cover <NUM> is separately displayed. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the bridge <NUM> includes a connecting platform <NUM> and an electrical connector <NUM>. The connecting platform <NUM> has an abutting surface <NUM>. The abutting surface <NUM> is configured to abut against an external battery (not shown). In other words, the abutting surface <NUM> can be used as a support surface for the external battery. The electrical connector <NUM> is disposed on the connecting platform <NUM> and protrudes from the abutting surface <NUM> of the connecting platform <NUM>. Therefore, when the external battery abuts against the abutting surface <NUM> of the connecting platform <NUM>, the electrical connector <NUM> can be plugged into the external battery to be electrically connected.

Compared with the conventional battery holder for accommodating a part of the external battery, the bridge <NUM> of the present embodiment that replaces the conventional battery holder with the connecting platform <NUM> can have a smaller overall size, thereby effectively reducing the restriction on the structural design of the device equipped with the bridge <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the bridge <NUM> further includes a wireless communication module <NUM>. The wireless communication module <NUM> is disposed on the connecting platform <NUM>. The connecting platform <NUM> further has a groove <NUM> recessed from the abutting surface <NUM>. The wireless communication module <NUM> includes an antenna <NUM>. The antenna <NUM> is accommodated in the groove <NUM>. In this way, the wireless communication module <NUM> can receive the wireless signal (e.g., the wireless signal sent by a communication module installed on the external battery) through the antenna <NUM>. For example, the wireless communication module <NUM> may be an NFC (Near-field communication) card reader, which can read information of an NFC module installed on the external battery.

The antenna <NUM> is ring-shaped and surrounds the electrical connector <NUM>. Correspondingly, the groove <NUM> of the connecting platform <NUM> is also ring-shaped. In this way, no matter in which orientation the external battery is connected to the electrical connector <NUM>, the communication module disposed on the external battery can be aligned with a part of the antenna <NUM> up and down, so that the signal strength of the wireless signal received from the communication module of the external battery by the antenna <NUM> can be ensured.

As shown in <FIG>, in the present disclosure, the bridge <NUM> further includes a protective cover <NUM>. The protective cover <NUM> covers the wireless communication module <NUM>. Specifically, the protective cover <NUM> covers the antenna <NUM> of the wireless communication module <NUM> and is ring-shaped, so as to fitly cover the opening of the groove <NUM> of the connecting platform <NUM>. In this way, the antenna <NUM> of the wireless communication module <NUM> can be protected by the protective cover <NUM>, thereby effectively preventing the antenna <NUM> from being worn by the external battery.

In some embodiments, a material of the protective cover <NUM> includes plastic, but the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. For example, the protective cover <NUM> may be a piece of Mylar, but the disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, the protective cover <NUM> is flush with the abutting surface <NUM> of the connecting platform <NUM>. With this configuration, the bridge <NUM> can abut against the external battery with the abutting surface <NUM> and the protective cover <NUM> at the same time, so as to improve stability when the external battery abuts against the bridge <NUM>.

Reference is made to <FIG> is another perspective view of the bridge <NUM> in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, in the present embodiment, the wireless communication module <NUM> further includes a matching board <NUM>. The matching board <NUM> is connected to the antenna <NUM> and configured to adjust a communication frequency of the antenna through the operation of internal circuit, so as to make the wireless communication module <NUM> meet the predetermined factory standard.

Reference is made to <FIG> is a functional block diagram of the bridge <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the bridge <NUM> further includes a processing unit <NUM>. The processing unit <NUM> may be disposed at any position on the housing <NUM> and connected to the electrical connector <NUM> and the matching board <NUM> of the wireless communication module <NUM>. The processing unit <NUM> is configured to carry out a verification process on information included in the wireless signal. The processing unit <NUM> is further configured to allow the electrical connector <NUM> to transmit power when the verification process on the information turned out to be true. On the contrary, the processing unit <NUM> is further configured to not allow the electrical connector <NUM> to transmit power when the verification process on the information turned out to be false.

It can be seen that the processing unit <NUM> can carry out the verification process on the wireless signal received from the external battery by the wireless communication module <NUM>, and only allow the electrical connector <NUM> to transmit power with the external battery when the verification process on the information turned out to be true. In this way, it is possible to prevent the device (such as the vehicle <NUM>, a charger or a charging station) equipped with the bridge <NUM> from being damaged due to the poor quality of the unverified external battery.

In some embodiments, the verification process includes determining whether a battery manufacturer data included in the information meets a predetermined list. For example, the predetermined list may include the provider of the vehicle <NUM>. If the battery manufacturer data included in the information is consistent with the provider of the vehicle <NUM>, the verification process turned out to be true.

In some embodiments, the verification process includes determining whether a battery status/health data included in the information meets a battery status/health standard. In some embodiments, the verification process includes determining whether a charging history data included in the information meets a standard for number of charging times. In some embodiments, the verification process includes determining whether a battery type data included in the information meets a subscription plan. It should be noted that the verification process is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, in the present embodiment, the bridge <NUM> further includes a connection detector <NUM>. The connection detector <NUM> is disposed on the connecting platform <NUM>, and is configured to be triggered to generate a trigger signal. By designing the position of the connection detector <NUM> on the connecting platform <NUM> (for example, the connection detector <NUM> protrudes from the abutting surface <NUM>) to make the connection detector <NUM> generate the trigger signal when the external battery abuts against the abutting surface <NUM> of the connecting platform <NUM>, the generation of the trigger signal can be used as an indication signal indicating that the bridge <NUM> is connected to the external battery. After the connection detector <NUM> generates the trigger signal, it will be sent to the processing unit <NUM>. The processing unit <NUM> is further configured to carry out the verification process on the information of the wireless signal when receiving the trigger signal. In this way, the processing unit <NUM> can carry out the verification process only when the bridge <NUM> is connected to the external battery, thereby reducing the operating burden of the processing unit <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, in the present embodiment, the connection detector <NUM> includes a detecting switch <NUM> and an elastic member <NUM>. The detecting switch <NUM> is disposed on the connecting platform <NUM>. The elastic member <NUM> covers the detecting switch <NUM>. The detecting switch <NUM> is configured to be triggered by the deformed elastic member <NUM> (e.g., pressed by the external battery) to generate the trigger signal. In other words, the detecting switch <NUM> is a contact switch and can generate the trigger signal when it receives a physical contact.

In some other embodiments, the detecting switch <NUM> of the connection detector <NUM> may be a non-contact switch. For example, the detecting switch <NUM> may be a reed switch, a photo-interrupter switch, etc., but the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, a material of the elastic member <NUM> includes rubber, but the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

In some embodiments, any number of the bridges <NUM> can be connected in series, and these bridges <NUM> can share the same processing unit <NUM>. Therefore, the bridge <NUM> of the present disclosure also has the feature of high scalability. In addition to being installed on electric vehicles, the bridge <NUM> can also be installed in any system that uses rechargeable batteries, such as charging stations, street lights, generators, uninterruptible power systems, power tools, and so on.

Claim 1:
A bridge (<NUM>), comprising:
a connecting platform (<NUM>);
an electrical connector (<NUM>) disposed on the connecting platform (<NUM>);
a wireless communication module (<NUM>) disposed on the connecting platform (<NUM>) and configured to receive a wireless signal; and
a processing unit (<NUM>) configured to:
carry out a verification process on information included in the wireless signal; and
allow the electrical connector (<NUM>) to transmit power when the verification process on the information turned out to be true;
wherein the connecting platform (<NUM>) has an abutting surface (<NUM>) and a groove (<NUM>) recessed from the abutting surface (<NUM>), the electrical connector (<NUM>) protrudes from the abutting surface (<NUM>), the wireless communication module (<NUM>) comprises an antenna (<NUM>), and the antenna (<NUM>) is accommodated in the groove (<NUM>);
wherein the abutting surface (<NUM>) is configured to abut against an external battery and is configured to be used as a support surface for the external battery; wherein, when the external battery abuts against the abutting surface (<NUM>) of the connecting platform (<NUM>), the electrical connector (<NUM>) is configured to be plugged into the external battery to be electrically connected;
wherein the antenna (<NUM>) is ring-shaped and surrounds the electrical connector (<NUM>); and wherein, correspondingly, the groove (<NUM>) of the connecting platform (<NUM>) is also ring-shaped.