Patents Examined by Dung V Bui
  • Patent number: 11447028
    Abstract: An exemplary charger removal method includes, among other things, transmitting a request to remove a charger from an electrified vehicle. The request is routed based on encoded information within a charger request label of the electrified vehicle. An exemplary charger removal system includes, among other things, a charge port assembly of an electrified vehicle that can transition from a locked to an unlocked position with a charger in response to a command. The system further includes a charger request label on the electrified vehicle. The charger request label contains encoded information enabling a first user to initiate a transmission of a request for the command from a second user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Kin Wayne Moy, Julie D'Annunzio
  • Patent number: 11450901
    Abstract: A power supply unit for an aerosol inhaler includes: a power supply able to discharge power to a load for generating an aerosol from an aerosol source; a control unit configured to control the power supply; and a sensor configured to output a value related to a remaining amount of the power supply. The control unit detects a short circuit of the power supply based on an output value of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: JAPAN TOBACCO INC.
    Inventors: Takeshi Akao, Manabu Yamada, Hajime Fujita
  • Patent number: 11444476
    Abstract: A lightning strike probability-based coordinated power control method for an energy storage system and a load adjusts output power of an energy storage system and a regulatable load based on a real-time predicted lightning strike probability. This reduces a correlation between a power grid in a lightning region and an external power grid, minimizes impact of a lightning strike if any on the external power grid, and decreases an economic loss due to the lightning strike in the lightning region. The present disclosure establishes a relationship between the output power of the energy storage system, the regulated power of the regulatable load, and a lightning strike probability in a same region, and then regulates the power of the energy storage system and the regulatable load in real time based on the lightning strike probability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignees: STATE GRID JIANGSU ELECTRIC POWER CO., LTD., Wuhan University
    Inventors: Zhijian Wu, Chong Tong, Jian Xu, Tao Wang, Zhihao Fang, Yi Hong, Jinwen Mai, Min Xiang, Jiahuan Feng, Yang Xu, Qi Pan, Dongsheng Jing, Peng Wang, Weiliang Wang, Siyang Liao, Yongling Lu, Dan Wang, Junlin Su
  • Patent number: 11444343
    Abstract: A removable modular energy pack may include a first housing, and one or more energy cells. The modular energy pack may also include a processing system that aggregates power from the plurality of energy cells, and a first interface that communicates a status of the modular energy pack to a second housing. The modular energy pack may further include a second interface that transmits the aggregated power to the second housing, and a thermal material enclosed in the first housing. A thermal material may be arranged in the housing adjacent to the plurality of energy cells to transfer heat away from the plurality of energy cells and to transfer the heat to the second housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: SynCells, Inc.
    Inventor: Gerard O'Hora
  • Patent number: 11437840
    Abstract: In the battery control system pertaining to the present invention, one antenna is provided for each cell controller or each group of cell controllers. A battery controller switches between antennas by using a switch and performs wireless communication with each cell controller or each group of cell controllers. Hence, even if the number of cell controllers increases, a countermeasure can be taken by adding antennas and changing switches, and an increase in the number of battery controllers can be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takanori Yamazoe, Kei Sakabe
  • Patent number: 11433774
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a battery charger for electric vehicle includes a motor configured to generate power for driving the electric vehicle, an inverter configured to provide the power to the motor, an AC power input terminal configured to be input at least one AC power of single phase AC power and polyphaser AC power from a slow charger, a power factor corrector configured to include a plurality of full bridge circuits through which the AC power is input through the AC power input terminal, a link capacitor configured to connect in parallel with the power factor corrector, a switch network configured to include a first switch SW A provided to connect any one of a plurality of AC power input lines and a neutral line constituting the AC power input terminal with the power factor corrector, and a second switch provided to transfer one of a direct current power input from a quick charger and an alternating current power input from a slow charger to a high voltage battery and a controller configured to control the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Woo Young Lee, Sihun Yang, Jin Myeong Yang, Jongpil Kim
  • Patent number: 11424625
    Abstract: A method and server for managing mobile rechargeable battery pools of multiple stations, comprising steps of: (a) in a response to a selection of a specific location, the management server displaying pieces of location information on the stations by referring to a current location of the specific user and the specific location; (b) in a response to a selection of a k-th station among the stations, the management server displaying (i) information on (k_1)-st mobile rechargeable batteries available at a current time and (ii) information on (k_2)-nd mobile rechargeable batteries available at an estimated arrival time; and (c) in a response to a selection of a specific k-th mobile rechargeable battery, by the user device for a future need, the management server sending information on the future need to an administrator device or a provider device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: BLUE NETWORKS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Soon Yong Noh
  • Patent number: 11407312
    Abstract: A charging cable for a motor vehicle can be operated by electricity having a filter device. The charging cable includes a first conductor and a second conductor configured to transfer a current, a safety ground line, and a signal line configured to transfer charging information relating to a charging process. The filter device includes a core around which the first and second conductors and the safety ground line are wound, and the signal line is wound around the core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Richard Bogenberger, Harald Ernst, Sergey Kochetov, Stephan Riess, Volker Zwillich
  • Patent number: 11404894
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of battery technologies, and disclose a pre-charging circuit for a high voltage battery pack and a pre-charging method therefor. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, during a charging process, a control module switches on a charging switching module and switches off a charging pre-charging module after determining that a voltage at the first end of the charging switching module and a voltage at the second end of the charging switching module comply with a first constraint relationship; during a discharging process, the control module switches on the main positive switching module and switches off the main positive pre-charging module after determining that a voltage at the first end of the main positive switching module and a voltage at the second end of the main positive switching module comply with a second constraint relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited
    Inventors: Dachun Yang, Baohai Du, Yanhui Fu, Qiandeng Li
  • Patent number: 11398726
    Abstract: A method for identifying the switch topology of multiple energy storage module connected in parallel and/or in series, which respectively have at least one energy storage element, each module has a switch element for selectively activating and deactivating the module and a unique identifier, wherein each module is assigned to a module string in that a total current flowing across the switch topology is checked, and individual modules are activated successively via the switch element until the total current is detectable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: Technische Universität München
    Inventor: Thomas Zimmermann
  • Patent number: 11394232
    Abstract: A rechargeable battery jump starting device having a highly conductive electrical pathway from a rechargeable battery of the device to a vehicle battery being jump started. The highly conductive pathway can be provided by a highly electrically conductive frame connecting one or more batteries of the rechargeable battery jump starting device to battery clamps of the rechargeable battery jump starting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: THE NOCO COMPANY
    Inventors: Jonathan Lewis Nook, William Knight Nook, James Richard Stanfield, Derek Michael Underhill
  • Patent number: 11375656
    Abstract: Methods and systems are presented for making good use of recently obtained biometric data, for configuring propagule capsules (e.g. containing seeds or spores with growth media and other helpful materials) for deployment via drones so that each has an improved chance of survival, and for configuring drones or piloted craft for safe fleet deployment in remote locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: DroneSeed Co.
    Inventors: John William Thomson, Grant Everest Canary, Matthew Mehdi Aghai, Benjamin William Reilly, David Nathan Gray
  • Patent number: 11381092
    Abstract: A modular power converter system includes a plurality of active power link modules (APLMs) coupled to each other, each APLM having a plurality of switching devices including first and second switching devices coupled to each other, and at least one first-type energy storage device (ESD) coupled in parallel with both of the first and second switching devices, the first-type ESD configured to induce a first direct current (DC) voltage. The system also includes a plurality of relays coupled to the first-type ESD, and a charge controller coupled to at least one APLM of the plurality of APLMs and coupled to at least one of an electrical power source and a discharge circuit. The charge controller is configured to alternately charge and discharge the first-type ESD in response to a plurality of switching states including switching states of the plurality of switching devices and the plurality of relays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Inventors: Tomas Sadilek, Rui Zhou, Zhi Zhou, Philip Michael Cioffi, Dong Dong
  • Patent number: 11381161
    Abstract: An example method includes controlling a switching order of a plurality of power switches. The power switches are coupled to a flying capacitor and include parasitic bipolar transistors susceptible to the voltage overstress in response to excess stray inductance of the flying capacitor. The method further includes, in response to the controlled switching order, converting an input voltage of a first voltage level to an output voltage of a second voltage level while mitigating the voltage overstress of the parasitic bipolar transistors of the plurality of power switches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Suming Lai, Kenneth Chung Yin Kwok, Fuchun Zhan
  • Patent number: 11374415
    Abstract: Systems and methods to maintain a fleet of aerial vehicles may include a maintenance system, a charging power source, and a control system. For example, the maintenance system may include a plurality of workstations to perform maintenance tasks, a charging rail that connects the workstations with the charging power source, and a plurality of platforms that move along the charging rail. The control system may instruct a platform to receive an aerial vehicle, couple the aerial vehicle to the charging rail, move the aerial vehicle among the workstations, and charge a battery of the aerial vehicle via the charging rail during movement and/or performance of various maintenance tasks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Ben Martin Schweitzer, Jean-Guillaume Dominique Durand
  • Patent number: 11368027
    Abstract: In one embodiment, an electronic device may include a battery, a charging circuit electrically connected to the battery, a first connector, a second connector, a first switch configured to electrically connect the first connector to the charging circuit or to open an electrical connection between the first connector and the charging circuit, a second switch configured to electrically connect the second connector to the charging circuit or to open an electrical connection between the second connector and the charging circuit, a first control circuit configured to control the first switch to electrically connect the first connector to the charging circuit and to control the second switch to open the electrical connection between the second connector and the charging circuit based on first power supplied by a first external electronic device through the first connector, and a second control circuit configured to at least partially control the second switch to electrically connect the second connector to the char
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Myunghoon Kwak, Yongsang Yun
  • Patent number: 11358491
    Abstract: Disclosed is a vehicle capable of efficiently managing a battery. The vehicle includes the battery, a battery sensor configured to sense an output voltage and an output current of the battery, and a power management device configured to control charging of the battery based on a state of charge (SoC) of the battery. The power management device may calculate an estimated SoC of the battery based on the output current of the battery, calculate an actual SoC based on the output of a battery model corresponding to an input of the output voltage and the output current, and based on an error between the actual SoC and the estimated SoC, activate a power generation control, which controls a generator based on the SoC of the battery, and an idle stop & go (ISG), which turns off an engine during stopping of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Seung Won Kang
  • Patent number: 11358489
    Abstract: A system for charging electric vehicles includes an optimization module configured to construct a charging profile representing a first charging power suitable for being supplied by the charging device in order to charge an electric vehicle, a regulation module for regulating the electric power supplied by the charging device. There is a first mode of operation in which the regulation module applies the charging profile and a second mode of operation in which the device supplies a second charging power. The system further includes a coordination device for communicating with the charging devices, which is suitable for triggering a coordinated optimization phase during which charging devices construct a charging profile from an individual charging data item and for triggering a coordinated regulation phase during which some of the charging devices implement the second mode of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Olivier Beaude, Bayram Kaddour, Bertrand Augustin, Julien Pennec, Alban Jeandin
  • Patent number: 11362530
    Abstract: Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for a wireless charging system that includes a charge circuit and a housing configuration having a substantially conical outer profile. Additionally, one or more charge coils may be positioned within the housing configuration and coupled to the charge circuit, wherein the one or more charge coils define a charge field direction that is perpendicular to the substantially conical outer profile. In one example, the housing configuration includes a plurality of segments arranged in a stacked configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Songnan Yang, Hong W. Wong, David Zhou, Wah Yiu Kwong, Xiaoguo Liang
  • Patent number: 11356017
    Abstract: A DC-DC converter converts voltage from a battery source providing a voltage Vin to a lower level. A four-level transistor stack selectively connects an input voltage and flying capacitor voltages to an output inductor. Stress reduction transistors limit the charging of the flying capacitors to Vin/3. The stress reduction transistors can also limit switching transistor voltages to Vin/3. Freewheel switches can be used to limit ringing in the output inductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Sally Amin, Patrick Mercier