Patents Examined by Tarikh Rankine
  • Patent number: 10279696
    Abstract: A structure is provided. The structure may include an alignment mechanism used to align an electric vehicle in a parking lane of an electric vehicle charging station, and a coupler assembly including an arm and a charging coupler located in the parking lane and positioned beneath the electric vehicle, the charging coupler is positioned at one end of the arm, and is moveable in a vertical direction relative to the parking lane, and another end of the arm is pivotally mounted in the parking lane, where the charging coupler includes one or more electrical contacts in a shape of a right conical frustum extending from the charging coupler in the vertical direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Eli M. Dow, James P. Gilchrist, Brendan C. Lewis, Khaalid P. McMillan, Christopher J. Nycz
  • Patent number: 10186912
    Abstract: Systems and methods for wireless power transmission are described herein. In one aspect, a charging pad to transfer power wirelessly comprises a power antenna assembly configured to receive wireless power. The power antenna assembly is configured to charge the battery based on the received wireless power. The charging pad further comprises a ferrite layer assembly. The charging pad further a shielding layer defining a shape configured to receive a part of the host device and/or conform to a shape of a host device. The shielding layer can define a notch or can define a concave shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Milenko Stamenic, Edward L. Van Boheemen, Simon Islinger, Wojciech Adam Chlebosz, Stefan Raabe, Alberto Garcia Briz
  • Patent number: 10166873
    Abstract: A battery charger for electric vehicles includes at least three identical current controlled AC-DC converter modules having reverse current protected outputs connected in parallel to a charge terminal of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: ABB B.V.
    Inventors: Menno Kardolus, Jos Schijffelen, Mark Gröninger, Dolf Van Casteren
  • Patent number: 10135292
    Abstract: A system for simultaneously charging an energy storage device from multiple energy input devices includes energy input devices in the form of solar and non-solar modules and an energy storage device in the form of a rechargeable battery, which is part of an energy storage module. A first solar module is able to generate solar power and delivers this power to the energy storage module, while the non-solar module delivers, for example, electrochemically generated electricity to the energy storage module via the first solar module, which acts as a backplane. The system may also include additional solar modules that can be connected to the first solar module in collapsed or expanded states to adjust the amount of electricity generated from solar power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Neah Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Derek Reiman, Chris D'Couto, Saroj Sahu
  • Patent number: 10069459
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a solar cell having internal storage capacity includes a working electrode, a counter electrode, an electrolyte provided between the electrodes, and a composite layer of material applied to an inner side of the working electrode, the layer comprising a photosensitive dye and a conducting polymer, wherein the conducting polymer is capable of storing energy generated within the cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: University of South Florida
    Inventor: Arash Takshi
  • Patent number: 10059216
    Abstract: An accumulator battery, comprising at least: first and second stages electrically connected in series, each stage including at least first to third accumulators electrically connected in parallel. There are at least first and second current limiters via which the first to third accumulators of said first stage are connected in parallel and via which the first to third accumulators of said second stage are connected in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
    Inventors: Sebastien Carcouet, Bruno Beranger, Daniel Chatroux
  • Patent number: 10044069
    Abstract: The invention relates to a battery comprising a plurality of modules arranged in series, characterized in that a module comprises a cell and a cell switch arranged in series with the cell, and in that a circuit for controlling the cell switch is electrically fed directly by at least one cell of a module of the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
    Inventor: Ghislain Despesse
  • Patent number: 10020665
    Abstract: An electronic apparatus may include a charger device to obtain information relating to a first battery, and to set a limit of a battery charge current of a second battery based on the obtained information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: INTEL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Alexander B. Uan-Zo-Li, Patrick K. Leung, Tod F. Schiff, Scot Lester
  • Patent number: 9969290
    Abstract: A charging system for an electric vehicle and an electric vehicle including the same are provided. The charging system includes: a power battery; a first charging interface and a second charging interface connected with an external power source respectively; a first charging control branch connected between the power battery and the first charging interface, and a second charging control branch connected between the power battery and the second charging interface; and a controller connected with the first charging interface and the second charging interface respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignees: SHENZHEN BYD AUTO R&D COMPANY LIMITED, BYD COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Zheqing Tang, Zhiyong Du, Fu Tang
  • Patent number: 9947972
    Abstract: A battery pack and a method of inspecting a storage state of a secondary battery in the battery pack are provided. In the method of inspecting a storage state of a secondary battery in the battery pack, the battery pack includes (A) a plurality of secondary batteries and (B) a housing, the housing having a plurality of storage sections and containing the secondary batteries in the respective storage sections; a conductive member 30 is attached to an outer surface of each of the secondary batteries made of a non-conductive material; each of the storage sections is provided with at least two detection sections; and depending on a storage state of each of the secondary batteries in each of the storage sections, two detection sections are in contact with the conductive member, or at least one detection section is not in contact with the conductive member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Atsushi Ozawa, Shin Hotta, Kentaro Marutani, Shinichi Uesaka
  • Patent number: 9948127
    Abstract: A power supply circuit can be configured to generate a supply voltage that provides power to the apparatus. A signal generation circuit can be configured to generate a radio frequency (RF) charging signal. An amplification circuit can be configured to amplify the RF charging signal using the supply voltage and to present the amplified charging signal to a power transmitting coil for transmission of wireless power to a remote device. A communication circuit can be configured to detect amplitude variations in the RF charging signal; detect variations in a voltage level of the supply voltage; adjust the detected amplitude variations in the RF charging signal to compensate for detected variations in a voltage level; and decode data represented by the amplitude variations in the RF charging signal based upon the adjusted amplitude variations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Klaas Brink, Rene Geraets, Oswald Moonen
  • Patent number: 9937805
    Abstract: Disclosed are a battery charging system and method. The battery charging system according to the present invention includes a first connector connected to both ends of a battery of a charging providing car; a second connector connected to both ends of a battery of a charging target car; a converter configured to convert a voltage transmitted from the battery of the charging providing car through the first connector and transmit the converted voltage to the battery of the charging target car through the second connector; and a controller connected to each of a battery management system (BMS) of the charging providing car and a BMS of the charging target car to control a voltage conversion ratio of the converter based on a state information on each of the batteries transmitted from each of the BMSs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: LG CHEM, LTD.
    Inventor: Sun Jong Lee
  • Patent number: 9921270
    Abstract: A battery system with at least one module includes a plurality of battery cells. A cell voltage detecting circuit is associated with each battery cell of the plurality of battery cells. The cell voltage detecting circuits of the at least one module are connected to a multiplexer. An output of the multiplexer is connected to a communication bus via an analog-digital converter. The communication bus is connected to an evaluating unit. The multiplexer is additionally connected to at least one auxiliary voltage source that is known to the evaluating unit. In a method for monitoring a battery system with at least one module including a plurality of battery cells, a voltage of each of the battery cells is detected and fed to an evaluating unit via a cell voltage detecting unit. An output signal of the cell voltage detecting unit is tested for plausibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignees: Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Stefan Butzmann
  • Patent number: 9885758
    Abstract: There is provided a voltage monitoring apparatus for monitoring an output voltage of an assembled battery. The voltage monitoring apparatus comprises: voltage monitoring sections, each section monitoring a voltage of each block of the plurality of blocks into which the plurality of unit cells are divided, wherein the voltage monitoring sections are connected one another through communication lines; and a control unit which is connected to the voltage monitoring section through the communication lines. The voltage monitoring section compares the respective detected voltages of the unit cells with the threshold voltage to determine a result of the comparison, and transmits the comparison result to the control unit. In a case where the threshold voltage is changed, the control unit transmits a registration signal indicating the changed threshold voltage, and when received the registration signal, the voltage monitoring section changes the stored threshold voltage to the changed threshold voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: YAZAKI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masashi Sekizaki, Satoshi Ishikawa, Kimihiro Matsuura
  • Patent number: 9884561
    Abstract: A system includes a vehicle with a charge socket and a contactor switching unit, and a charger for charging an electrical energy accumulator of the vehicle at a vehicle-external AC power system. The charger is a vehicle-external charger device. The charger is a portable charger. The charger has a DC-DC converter, and includes first and second charging cables. The first charging cable has an AC power system plug, and the second charging cable has a charge plug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Josef Krammer, Jens Berger
  • Patent number: 9878630
    Abstract: A device for transmitting data between a data transmission device of a vehicle and a data transmission device of a communications network, as part of a charging process of an electrical energy store of the vehicle, is disclosed. The vehicle data transmission device is based on a first communications protocol with a first signal level, while the communications network data transmission device is based on a second communications protocol with a second signal level. The device includes a signal-matching device having at least one first coupling transformer, which couples a data transmission device of a charging station to the data transmission devices of the vehicle and of the communications network via respective coils. The signal-matching device is configured to match the first signal level to the second signal level and vice versa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Michael Kaindl, Michael Schwaiger, Christian Jahn, Harald Thierauf
  • Patent number: 9882243
    Abstract: An improved electrolyte including a strontium additive suitable for lithium-sulfur batteries, a battery including the electrolyte, and a battery including a separator containing a strontium additive are disclosed. The presence of the strontium additive reduces sulfur-containing deposits on the battery anode, thereby providing a battery with relatively high energy density and good partial discharge performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: EAGLEPICHER Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ramanathan Thillaiyan, Wujun Fu, Mario Destephen, Greg Miller
  • Patent number: 9882248
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling access to one or more memories in a rechargeable battery includes a switching circuit that connects the memory to a device data contact, and disconnects the memory from a charger data contact, when the rechargeable battery is connected only to a device powered by a battery. The switching circuit, however, connects the memory to the charger data contact and disconnects it from the device data contact. In some embodiments a second memory that contains a subset of the data in the first memory is connected to the device data contact when the first memory is connected to the charger data contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Roy L Kerfoot, Jr., John E Herrmann, Mark C Taraboulos
  • Patent number: 9876376
    Abstract: A multiple battery charger is provided. The multiple battery charger includes an input unit configured to receive or block power from a power supply unit, an output unit including a plurality of output terminals, wherein the plurality of output terminals are commonly connected to the input unit and charge a plurality of batteries, and wherein each of the plurality of output terminals includes at least one of a plurality of second switches for a selective receipt of the power from the input unit and the plurality of output terminals are controlled in a time division multiple control manner, and a switching control unit configured to transmit a pulse width modulation signal to the input unit and the output unit so as to independently control the power applied to the plurality of batteries. Accordingly, a plurality of different kinds of batteries and the same kind of batteries in which charge states are different can be simultaneously charged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: FOUNDATION OF SOONGSIL UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COOPERATION
    Inventors: Woojin Choi, Long Tran Van
  • Patent number: 9866055
    Abstract: Techniques are described herein for detecting one of multiple (e.g., at least three) charger types that may be connected to a portable device. In response to detecting a charging device (e.g., a charger) of a particular charger type, the portable device is configured to charge its battery by drawing the maximum voltage and/or current that is/are allowed by the particular charger type. In an example embodiment, a portable device detects a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection to a charging device and determines whether the charging device conforms to a first, second, or third charger type based on voltages on data lines of the USB connection. The portable device then charges its battery at maximum charging power available from the charging device according to the third charger type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Rishi Agarwal, Nicholas Bodnaruk