Robotic drive-thru electric vehicle battery swap station

Abstract

A drive thru EV battery swap station comprising a drive in facility, a roller conveyor belt, mechanical wedges and a trap door mechanism to allow for precise vehicle positioning and to reveal a robotic interface tray. The robotic arm and interface tray operate in coordination to remove the battery from the vehicle and replace with a fully charged battery. Also claimed is a method of extracting the battery, placing it into a battery storage and charging facility, and the robotic arm positions the new battery into the electric vehicle. The swap station communicates with the robotic arm and selects a fully charged battery. Also claimed is the battery swapping process taking no longer than five minutes, and a battery subscription model. The battery swap station has network capability via a dedicated mobile application or the vehicle control panel. Also claimed is a method of protecting the swapping station from unauthorised use with encryption protocols and monitoring.

Claims

1. Claim 1: Drive-Thru Electric Vehicle (EV) Battery Swap Station System- A drive-thru EV battery swap station system comprising a combination of a drive-in facility, a roller conveyor belt, mechanical wedges, and a trap door mechanism for facilitating precise vehicle positioning and revealing the underlying robotic and interface tray system.

2. Claim 2: Robotic Arm and Interface Tray Coordination- A robotic drive-thru EV battery swap station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the robotic arm and interface tray work in coordination to seamlessly remove the old flat battery from the electric vehicle and replace it with a new fully charged battery.

3. Claim 3: Rapid Battery Swapping Process- A battery swapping process performed by the drive-thru EV battery swap station of claims1-2, wherein the entire process, from the vehicle entering the drive-thru lane to the completion of the swap, takes no more than &minutes.

4. Claim 4: Subscription-Based Model- The battery swap, station of claims 1-3, wherein the driver subscribes to a service model, eliminating the need for battery ownership and enabling continuous, seamless access to fully charged batteries for the electric vehicle.

5. Claim 5: Network Accessibility- The battery swap station of claims 1 -4, further comprising a network accessible through a dedicated mobile application or the vehicle's management systems control pane, allowing users to conveniently locate the nearest battery swap station.

6. Claim 6: Interface Tray Movement and Battery Extraction- A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the interface tray first moves into position under the electric vehicle, extracts the old flat battery, and passes it to the robotic arm for placement into the large underground battery storage and charging facility.

7. Claim 7: Robotic Arm Charging Station Interaction- The method of claim 6, wherein the robotic arm, having received the old flat battery, places it into the charging station for recharging within the large underground battery storage and charging facility.

8. Claim 8: New Battery Placement by Interface Tray- The method of claim 7, wherein the robotic arm passes a new charged battery to the interface tray, which precisely positions the new charged battery within the electric vehicle.

9. Claim 9: Intelligent Battery Selection- The battery swap station of claims 1-8, wherein the technology within the swap station communicates with the robotic arm, providing information on the status of batteries and guiding the selection of a fully charged battery for the next swap.

10. Claim 10: Protection Against Unauthorised Replication- A method for protecting the method of electric vehicle battery swapping drive-ins or drive-thru as claimed in claim 1, comprising the implementation of proprietary Al algorithms, encryption protocols, and continuous monitoring to prevent unauthorised replication or use of the Al-driven robotic drive-thru EV battery swap station technology.

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