Abstract: An expert system manages a power grid wherein charging stations are connected to the power grid, with electric vehicles connected to the charging stations, whereby the expert system selectively backfills power from connected electric vehicles to the power grid through a grid tie inverter (if present) within the charging stations. In more traditional usage, the expert system allows for electric vehicle charging, coupled with user preferences as to charge time, charge cost, and charging station capabilities, without exceeding the power grid capacity at any point. A robust yet accurate state of charge (SOC) calculation method is also presented, whereby initially an open circuit voltage (OCV) based on sampled battery voltages and currents is calculated, and then the SOC is obtained based on a mapping between a previously measured reference OCV (ROCV) and SOC. The OCV-SOC calculation method accommodates likely any battery type with any current profile.

Abstract: A generic transducer interface includes a hardware connector, such as a pin connector, with connection points for electrically connecting to a transducer, a control, a non-volatile memory for storing firmware used to configure the control, and a wired/wireless communication interface. The firmware indicates pre-assigned functions of the connection points, as well as providing: (a) data processing services, which perform operations on data elements from the transducers to obtain results which are reported to an external host, (b) data reporting and reception services, which include a data reporting protocol for reporting data from the transducers to the host, and a data receiving protocol for receiving data from the host, and (c) transducer management services, which allow retrieval and reconfiguration of transducer-specific properties. Transducer-specific configuration data received from the external host configures the control with the information it needs to act as an interface for a particular transducer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a pressure housing for in-water pressure based systems and to a method for improving the life of the transducers and electronics of underwater systems by maintaining a humidity-free and clean environment around them by avoiding the entry of humidity, dust, or any suspended particles in the air during occasional data offloading and battery replacement in a humid and dust-laden field station; improving the ease of closing and opening of the pressure housing by the use of a novel arrangement thereby avoiding the use of conventionally employed cumbersome protruding and corrosion-prone locking devices such as screws, bolts, or clamps; and implementing reliable transmission of water pressure to the pressure port of the transducer, simultaneously minimizing the errors arising from dynamic pressure effects, preventing its chemical corrosion from saline water, and arresting bio-fouling in the vicinity of the pressure inlet.