System and method for intelligent vehicle access for vehicles with power-depleted batteries

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for intelligent vehicle access for vehicles having power-depleted batteries. One system includes vehicles and a system control module, each vehicle including a local control module, a radio frequency (RF) communication module, an energy harvesting module, and a battery module, the system control module in communication with the local control module of each vehicle. The system control module is configured to obtain a vehicle energy status from the local control module of each vehicle, the vehicle energy status including a power donor status, a power preservation status, or a depleted battery status, determine whether at least one first vehicle of the vehicles needs power based on the vehicle energy status of each vehicle, and in response to determining that the first vehicle needs power, identify at least one second vehicle of the vehicles that is capable of supplying power, and facilitate RF wireless power transfer from the second vehicle to the first vehicle. Other example systems and methods are also disclosed.

Description

[0001] The information provided in this section is for the purpose of presenting the general context of this disclosure. To the extent described in this section, the work of the currently named inventors, and aspects of the description that may otherwise not conform to the prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor implicitly acknowledged as conflicting with the prior art of this disclosure. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to systems and methods for intelligent vehicle access for vehicles with depleted battery power. Background Technology

[0003] Vehicles typically include digital access systems for providing access to the vehicle. For example, a digital access system for a vehicle can utilize a remote key fob, a digital key stored on a device (e.g., a smartphone), an app on the device, a fingerprint reader located in the vehicle, etc., to manage and control vehicle entry and access. For instance, wireless readers located in the vehicle (such as Near Field Communication (NFC) readers, Ultra Wideband (UWB) readers, Bluetooth (BLE) modules, etc.) can be used in conjunction with remote key fobs, digital keys, device apps, etc., to manage and control vehicle entry and access. In this example, the components of the digital access system located in the vehicle require electricity to provide access to the vehicle. This electricity is provided by one or more batteries in the vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A system for facilitating energy harvesting in battery-depleted vehicles includes multiple vehicles and a system control module. Each vehicle includes a local control module, a radio frequency (RF) communication module, an energy harvesting module, and at least one battery module. The system control module communicates with the local control module of each vehicle. The system control module is configured to: acquire vehicle energy status from the local control module of each vehicle, including power supply status, power reserve status, or battery depletion status; determine, based on the acquired vehicle energy status of each vehicle, whether at least one first vehicle among the multiple vehicles requires power; and, in response to determining that the first vehicle requires power, identify at least one second vehicle among the multiple vehicles capable of supplying power; and facilitate RF wireless power transfer from the second vehicle to the first vehicle.

[0005] Among other features, the system control module is configured to determine the position of each of the multiple vehicles and select the second vehicle for RF wireless power transmission based on the distance between the first and second vehicles.

[0006] Among other features, the system control module is configured to obtain updated vehicle energy status from the local control module of each vehicle after facilitating RF wireless power transfer from the second vehicle to the first vehicle, and the updated vehicle energy status includes one of the following: power supply status, power reserve status, or depleted battery status.

[0007] Among other features, the updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle is a power reserve status, and the system control module is configured to: in response to the updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle, identify a third vehicle among a plurality of vehicles that is capable of supplying power based on the updated vehicle energy status of each vehicle, and facilitate RF wireless power transmission from the third vehicle to the first vehicle.

[0008] Among other features, the system control module is configured to: determine an energy profile specific to each of the multiple vehicles, representing the minimum electrical power required to unlock the vehicle to maintain connectivity; and determine, based on the acquired vehicle energy status and the vehicle-specific energy profile, whether any one of the multiple vehicles requires electricity.

[0009] Among other features, the system control module is configured to transmit signals to the second vehicle to facilitate RF wireless power transmission to the first vehicle.

[0010] Among other features, RF wireless power transmission includes transmitting at least one of the following: a Wi-Fi signal, a carrier signal in a frequency band permitted by Wi-Fi signal transmission, or Bluetooth wireless power transmission.

[0011] Among other features, the system control module is configured to receive a signal from one set of a plurality of vehicles indicating approval for the supply of power, the set of which includes a second vehicle.

[0012] Among other features, the local control module of the second vehicle is configured to: monitor power degradation of the battery module in the second vehicle; receive reports from multiple secondary control modules in the second vehicle, each performing a different function of the second vehicle, the reports indicating the need for additional power exceeding a set power usage budget; dynamically prioritize the secondary control modules based on the different functions of the second vehicle; and, based on the prioritization, facilitate the transfer of power designated for one of the secondary control modules to another in the secondary control module.

[0013] Among other features, the local control module of the second vehicle is configured to transmit an updated vehicle energy status to the system control module in response to a power degradation of less than a threshold in the battery module of the second vehicle, and the updated vehicle energy status is a power reserve status.

[0014] Among other features, the system control module is configured to: identify a third vehicle among a plurality of vehicles capable of supplying power in response to an updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle, and facilitate RF wireless power transmission from the third vehicle to the first vehicle.

[0015] A system for locally facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle includes multiple secondary control modules within the vehicle and a local main control module communicating with the secondary control modules. The multiple secondary control modules are configured to perform different functions of the vehicle, each secondary control module having a set power usage budget. The local main control module is configured to: monitor power degradation of the battery modules in the vehicle; receive reports from each secondary control module indicating the need for additional power exceeding the set power usage budget; dynamically prioritize the secondary control modules based on different vehicle functions; and, based on this prioritization, facilitate the transfer of power allocated to one secondary control module to another.

[0016] Among other features, the vehicle is the first vehicle involved in the radio frequency (RF) wireless power transmission from the first vehicle to the second vehicle having a depleted battery module.

[0017] Among other features, the local master control module is configured to transmit the vehicle energy status to the system control module in response to a power degradation of the battery module that is less than a threshold, thereby facilitating energy harvesting between the first and second vehicles.

[0018] Among the other features, the vehicle's energy status is its electrical reserve status.

[0019] Among other features, the secondary control module is configured to perform different functions of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a power-off state.

[0020] A system for facilitating energy harvesting to access a vehicle includes a vehicle with a door having a locking mechanism and a wireless communication receiver adjacent to the locking mechanism. The wireless communication receiver is configured to receive radio frequency (RF) wireless power transmission from a user equipment adjacent to the wireless communication receiver, and in response to receiving a threshold electric force, transmit a signal to the locking mechanism to unlock the door.

[0021] Among other features, the user equipment includes a wireless communication transmitter configured to facilitate wireless power transmission from the user equipment to a wireless communication receiver in the vehicle.

[0022] Among other features, the wireless communication receiver is a near field communication (NFC) reader.

[0023] Among other features, RF wireless power transfer includes at least one of the following: Wi-Fi wireless power transfer, ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless power transfer, or near-field communication (NFC) wireless power transfer.

[0024] This disclosure includes the following technical solutions:

[0025] 1. A system for facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle with depleted battery, the system comprising:

[0026] Multiple vehicles, each including a local control module, a radio frequency (RF) communication module, an energy harvesting module, and at least one battery module; and

[0027] A system control module, which communicates with the local control module of each vehicle, is configured to:

[0028] The vehicle energy status is obtained from the local control module of each vehicle, including the power supply status, power storage status, or depleted battery status.

[0029] Based on the acquired vehicle energy status of each vehicle, determine whether at least one first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles requires electricity; and

[0030] In response to determining that the first vehicle requires power, at least one second vehicle among the plurality of vehicles is identified as capable of supplying power, and RF wireless power transmission from the second vehicle to the first vehicle is facilitated.

[0031] 2. The system according to Scheme 1, wherein the system control module is configured as follows:

[0032] Determine the position of each of the plurality of vehicles; and

[0033] The second vehicle is selected for the RF wireless power transmission based on the distance between the first and second vehicles.

[0034] 3. The system according to Scheme 2, wherein:

[0035] The system control module is configured to obtain an updated vehicle energy status from the local control module of each vehicle after facilitating the RF wireless power transfer from the second vehicle to the first vehicle; and

[0036] The updated vehicle energy status includes one of the following: power supply status, power reserve status, or depleted battery status.

[0037] 4. The system according to Scheme 3, wherein:

[0038] The updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle is its power reserve status; and

[0039] The system control module is configured to, in response to the updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle, identify a third vehicle among the plurality of vehicles that is capable of supplying power based on the updated vehicle energy status of each vehicle, and facilitate the RF wireless power transfer from the third vehicle to the first vehicle.

[0040] 5. The system according to Scheme 2, wherein the system control module is configured as follows:

[0041] Determine an energy distribution map specific to each of the plurality of vehicles, the energy distribution map representing the minimum electrical force required to unlock the vehicle to maintain connectivity; and

[0042] Based on the acquired vehicle energy status for each vehicle and the energy distribution map specific to each vehicle, it is determined whether any of the plurality of vehicles requires electricity.

[0043] 6. The system according to claim 2, wherein the system control module is configured to transmit a signal to the second vehicle to facilitate the RF wireless power transmission to the first vehicle.

[0044] 7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the RF wireless power transmission includes transmitting at least one of the following: a Wi-Fi signal, a carrier signal in a frequency band that allows Wi-Fi signal transmission, or Bluetooth wireless power transmission.

[0045] 8. The system according to Scheme 1, wherein:

[0046] The system control module is configured to receive signals from a set of the plurality of vehicles, the signals indicating approval for the supply of electricity; and

[0047] The set of the plurality of vehicles includes a second vehicle.

[0048] 9. The system according to Scheme 1, wherein the local control module of the second vehicle is configured as follows:

[0049] Monitor the power degradation of the battery module in the second vehicle;

[0050] Reports are received from multiple secondary control modules in the second vehicle, each of which performs a different function of the second vehicle, and the reports indicate the need for additional power beyond the set power usage budget;

[0051] The secondary control modules are dynamically ordered based on the different functions of the second vehicle; and

[0052] Based on the sorting, the transfer of power designated for one of the secondary control modules to the other is facilitated.

[0053] 10. The system according to Scheme 9, wherein:

[0054] The local control module of the second vehicle is configured to transmit an updated vehicle energy status to the system control module in response to a power degradation of the battery module in the second vehicle being less than a threshold; and

[0055] The updated vehicle energy status refers to the power reserve status.

[0056] 11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the system control module is configured to identify a third vehicle among the plurality of vehicles capable of supplying power in response to the updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle, and to facilitate the RF wireless power transfer from the third vehicle to the first vehicle.

[0057] 12. A system for locally facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle, the system comprising:

[0058] Multiple secondary control modules in the vehicle are configured to perform different functions of the vehicle, each secondary control module having a set power usage budget; and

[0059] A local master control module, which communicates with the secondary control module, is configured to:

[0060] Monitor the power degradation of the battery modules in the vehicle;

[0061] Receive reports from each secondary control module, the reports indicating the need for additional power beyond the set power usage budget;

[0062] The secondary control modules are dynamically ordered based on the different functions of the vehicle; and

[0063] Based on the sorting, the transfer of power designated for one of the secondary control modules to the other is facilitated.

[0064] 13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the vehicle is the first vehicle participating in radio frequency (RF) wireless power transmission from a first vehicle to a second vehicle having a depleted battery module.

[0065] 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the local main control module is configured to transmit the vehicle energy status to the system control module in response to the power degradation of the battery module being less than a threshold, so as to facilitate energy harvesting between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

[0066] 15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the vehicle energy status is a power reserve status.

[0067] 16. The system according to claim 12, wherein the secondary control module is configured to perform the different functions of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a power-off state.

[0068] 17. A system for facilitating energy harvesting to access a vehicle, the system comprising:

[0069] A vehicle includes a door having a locking mechanism and a wireless communication receiver adjacent to the locking mechanism, the wireless communication receiver being configured to receive radio frequency (RF) wireless power transmission from a user equipment adjacent to the wireless communication receiver, and to transmit a signal to the locking mechanism to unlock the door in response to receiving a threshold electric force.

[0070] 18. The system according to claim 17 further includes the user equipment, the user equipment including a wireless communication transmitter configured to facilitate the wireless power transmission from the user equipment to the wireless communication receiver in the vehicle.

[0071] 19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the wireless communication receiver is a near field communication (NFC) reader.

[0072] 20. The system according to claim 17, wherein the RF wireless power transfer includes at least one of the following: Wi-Fi wireless power transfer, ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless power transfer, or near field communication (NFC) wireless power transfer.

[0073] Further applications of this disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and accompanying drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0074] This disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0075] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of an example system for facilitating energy harvesting in a battery-depleted vehicle, according to the present disclosure.

[0076] Figure 2This is an example vehicle that harvests energy from received wireless communication signals according to this disclosure;

[0077] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of another example system according to the present disclosure, which is used to facilitate energy harvesting in vehicles with depleted batteries;

[0078] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of an example system available from the vehicle for providing vehicle energy status to a system control module, according to the present disclosure.

[0079] Figure 5 This is a block diagram of an example system for locally facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle, based on this disclosure;

[0080] Figure 6 This is a block diagram of an example system for facilitating energy harvesting to access a vehicle, based on this disclosure;

[0081] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of an example control process for facilitating energy harvesting in a battery-depleted vehicle, according to this disclosure; and

[0082] Figure 8 This is a flowchart of an example control process for locally facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle, according to this disclosure; and

[0083] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of an example control process for facilitating energy harvesting to access a vehicle, based on this disclosure.

[0084] In the accompanying drawings, reference numerals may be used repeatedly to identify similar and / or identical elements. Detailed Implementation

[0085] Vehicles typically include a digital access system for providing access to the vehicle. This digital access system generally includes components located within the vehicle (e.g., vehicle-side components) to manage and control vehicle entry and access. These vehicle-side components (e.g., Near Field Communication (NFC) readers, Ultra Wideband (UWB) readers, Bluetooth (BLE) modules, fingerprint readers, keypads, etc.) require power to provide access to the vehicle. This power is provided by one or more batteries within the vehicle.

[0086] However, current implementations of digital access systems fail to account for scenarios where the vehicle has a completely depleted battery. In such a scenario, power to all vehicle control modules or electronic control units (ECUs), including the digital access ECU, is lost. Therefore, a vehicle with a depleted battery will be unable to supply power to components of the digital access system (e.g., NFC readers, etc.) to perform their intended functions. Consequently, if the vehicle battery is depleted, conventional digital key systems and / or fingerprint / keyboard readers will be rendered useless and insufficient for vehicle access. Instead, when the vehicle battery is completely depleted, vehicle access can be obtained via a physical key (if available) or by charging the vehicle battery (if possible). This is undesirable, as users may be denied access to their vehicles for an extended period.

[0087] The systems and methods according to this disclosure utilize wireless energy harvesting technologies (such as UWB and Wi-Fi energy harvesting technologies) to harvest energy from nearby vehicles to power up depleted vehicle batteries. In various embodiments, the systems and methods may utilize one or more aspects to address the problems associated with depleted vehicle batteries. For example, the systems and methods may utilize a local control aspect and / or a central hub-centric aspect. In the central hub-centric aspect, vehicles may be connected to a system control module (e.g., an Internet of Things (IoT) hub, etc.). In this example, the system control module may dynamically maintain a matrix and track vehicle status information, and classify and reclassify vehicles acting as primary energy harvesters, as explained further below. In the local control aspect, each vehicle is equipped with a local master control module, which may act as an IoT hub. In this example, the local master control module may use degradation / performance of the power converter in the vehicle associated with key access control and / or the vehicle battery to maintain a tracking energy budget. Using this method, each secondary control module or ECU in the vehicle can send dynamic or event-based reports to the local primary control module, allowing the local primary control module to maintain the order of the secondary control modules to facilitate power delivery, as explained further below.

[0088] By employing the systems and methods described herein for harvesting energy from nearby vehicles, battery depletion in vehicles can be prevented and / or the batteries in vehicles can be recharged. Consequently, the vehicle-side components of the digital access system can be adequately powered, ensuring vehicle access is maintained. Therefore, users are granted access to their vehicles, enhancing the user experience. Additionally, in some examples, energy efficiency can be optimized by employing the systems and methods described herein, as further explained below.

[0089] Now for reference Figure 1 A block diagram of an example system 100 for facilitating energy harvesting in vehicles with depleted batteries is presented. Figure 1 As shown, system 100 generally includes multiple vehicles 102, 104, 106 and system control module 108. In this example, system control module 108 may be a vehicle dealership office or an IoT hub at another suitable location for maintaining communication with vehicles 102, 104, 106.

[0090] like Figure 1 As shown, each vehicle typically includes a local control module, at least one battery module, a radio frequency (RF) communication module, and an energy harvesting module (or circuitry). In this example, the RF communication module may be powered by the battery module and / or the energy harvesting module. For example, in Figure 1 In the vehicles, vehicle 102 includes a local control module 110, a battery module 112, an RF communication module 140, and an energy harvesting module 142. Vehicle 104 includes a local control module 120, a battery module 122, an RF communication module 150, and an energy harvesting module 152. Vehicle 106 includes a local control module 130, a battery module 132, an RF communication module 160, and an energy harvesting module 162. Each battery module 112, 122, 132 may include one or more battery packs, each battery pack having multiple battery cells capable of storing and supplying electricity.

[0091] Although system 100 is shown as including three vehicles 102, 104, and 106, it should be understood that more or fewer vehicles may be used as desired. For example, system 100 may include two vehicles (e.g., one vehicle capable of supplying electricity and one vehicle requiring electricity), five vehicles, ten vehicles, twenty vehicles, fifty vehicles, and so on.

[0092] Each vehicle 102, 104, and 106 can be any suitable type of vehicle, such as an electric vehicle (e.g., a pure electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, etc.), an internal combustion engine vehicle, etc. Additionally, each vehicle 102, 104, and 106 can be an autonomous vehicle, a semi-autonomous vehicle, etc. For example, Figure 2 An example vehicle 200 is depicted, which includes a local control module 210, a battery module 212, an RF communication module 214, and an energy harvesting circuit 216. Figure 1 Any of vehicles 102, 104, and 106 can be represented by vehicle 200.

[0093] Continue to refer to Figure 1The system control module 108 communicates with vehicles 102, 104, and 106. More specifically, the system control module 108 communicates with local control modules 110, 120, and 130 of vehicles 102, 104, and 106. In this example, the system control module 108 may receive and / or transmit signals 114, 124, and 134 between each of the local control modules 110, 120, and 130, respectively. In various embodiments, signals 114, 124, and 134 may be transmitted and / or received by the system control module 108 via a wireless network (such as a cellular network, Wi-Fi network, etc.).

[0094] In various embodiments, system control module 108 obtains vehicle energy status from local control modules 110, 120, and 130 of vehicles 102, 104, and 106. In this example, vehicle energy status can be provided using signals 114, 124, and 134. In some examples, each local control module 110, 120, and 130 can determine its own vehicle energy status (as explained further below) and then transmit or broadcast the corresponding signals 114, 124, and 134 to system control module 108. In other examples, system control module 108 can transmit a request for vehicle energy status for the respective vehicle 102, 104, and 106 to each local control module 110, 120, and 130.

[0095] exist Figure 1In the examples, vehicle energy status can include one of a variety of different conditions or states. For example, the vehicle energy status of each vehicle 102, 104, 106 could be (i) a power supply status, (ii) a power reserve status, or (iii) a depleted battery status. In this example, a power supply status indicates the ability to provide a predetermined set of functions, such as powering vehicle control modules (e.g., ECUs for digital access control) and sending periodic and / or event-based battery energy status signals, as well as supplying some of its stored power. In other words, in this state, a particular vehicle may include a battery module with sufficient (e.g., above a first threshold) remaining capacity to be shared with one or more other vehicles for a period of time via RF signal transmission (e.g., via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or BLE signal transmission) if needed. A power reserve status indicates the ability to provide vehicle access, but will not participate in supplying energy to other vehicles due to low available power. Therefore, in this reserved state, a particular vehicle includes a battery module that can have sufficient remaining capacity (e.g., above a second threshold, which is below a first threshold) to provide a predetermined set of functions, including vehicle access, but the remaining capacity is reserved for the vehicle itself, rather than being partially used to supply energy to other vehicles. A depleted battery condition indicates that the battery module is completely depleted or otherwise exhausted to a level insufficient to power vehicle control modules, such as an ECU for digital access control. Figure 1 In this context, vehicles 102, 104, and 106 can have any of the vehicle energy states described above. For example, vehicle 102 can have a depleted battery state, vehicle 104 can have a power reserve state, and vehicle 106 can have a power supply state.

[0096] In various embodiments, system control module 108 can generate and maintain an energy harvesting matrix. In this example, system control module 108 can dynamically maintain the energy harvesting matrix by tracking (e.g., received from vehicles 102, 104, 106) vehicle status information and classifying (and reclassifying as needed) specific vehicles based on their vehicle status information. For example, Table 1 below provides an example of an energy harvesting matrix, illustrating the correlation between vehicle identification (ID) and energy harvesting status. In this example, system control module 108 can receive or otherwise obtain the vehicle ID and energy harvesting status from each vehicle 102, 104, 106. For example, in Table 1, vehicle 102 has vehicle ID ZZZZ and depleted battery status, vehicle 104 has vehicle ID HHHH and power reserve status, and vehicle 106 has vehicle ID AAAA and power donor status.

[0097]

[0098] Continue to refer to Figure 1 The system control module 108 determines whether any of the vehicles 102, 104, and 106 requires electricity based on the acquired vehicle energy status of each vehicle. In some examples, the system control module 108 may make this determination solely based on the acquired vehicle energy status. For instance, if the acquired vehicle energy status of a particular vehicle is a depleted battery state, the system control module 108 may identify that vehicle as requiring electricity.

[0099] In other examples, system control module 108 makes this determination based on information other than the acquired vehicle energy status. For example, in some embodiments, system control module 108 may determine an energy distribution map specific to each vehicle 102, 104, 106, and then determine whether any of vehicles 102, 104, 106 requires power based on the acquired vehicle energy status and the energy distribution map specific to each vehicle. In this example, the energy distribution map represents the minimum electrical power required to maintain connectivity and unlock that particular vehicle 102, 104, 106. For example, one or more of vehicles 102, 104, 106 may be different vehicle brands and / or models with different minimum power requirements. In various embodiments, system control module 108 receives energy distribution maps from each vehicle 102, 104, 106 (e.g., together with vehicle ID and energy harvesting status) and / or determines the energy distribution map from each vehicle 102, 104, 106 based on the vehicle ID. In the latter approach, the system control module 108 may include or access a database that stores such information based on the vehicle ID.

[0100] Then, in response to determining that at least one of vehicles 102, 104, 106 requires power, system control module 108 may identify at least one of vehicles 102, 104, 106 that is capable of supplying power, and then facilitate RF wireless power transfer from the power-supplying vehicle to the power-requiring vehicle. For example, and continuing to refer to the example above, system control module 108 may identify vehicle 106 as capable of supplying power based on the power supply status of vehicle 106, and then facilitate RF wireless power transfer from vehicle 106 to vehicle 102 which has a depleted battery.

[0101] exist Figure 1In this example, system control module 108 can facilitate RF wireless power transfer between vehicles in any suitable manner. For example, system control module 108 can transmit a signal (e.g., signal 134) to vehicle 106 to facilitate RF wireless power transfer to vehicle 102. Based on this signal, RF communication module 160 in vehicle 106 can then broadcast wireless communication 136 toward vehicle 102, enabling vehicle 102 to harvest energy from the wireless communication. In this example, the energy used by vehicle 106, which has sufficient power, for RF signal transmission originates from its battery module 132 (not from energy stored in its energy harvesting module 162 or circuitry).

[0102] RF wireless power transfer can be implemented using any suitable wireless communication protocol. For example, RF wireless power transfer can include at least one of the following: Wi-Fi wireless power transfer (sometimes referred to as power over Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless power transfer, Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless power transfer, or an unmodulated excitation waveform having a carrier frequency used to transmit signals using one of the above technologies. For example, a waveform having a frequency in the 2.4 GHz ISM band or in the unlicensed 5 GHz band can transmit power for a predetermined duration and within the permitted power transmission range of Wi-Fi signal transmission. In this example, a wireless communication signal can be used to wirelessly transfer energy from one vehicle (e.g., vehicle 106), which can be received by an energy harvesting circuit in another vehicle (e.g., vehicle 102). The energy harvesting circuit can then harvest energy from the wireless communication signal by, for example, converting the energy (e.g., electromagnetic energy) from the wireless communication signal into direct current (DC) power to charge a depleted battery module. As an example only, an energy harvesting circuit may include a rectified antenna (or rectified antenna) with a suitable antenna (e.g., a dipole antenna, etc.) and one or more switching devices (e.g., one or more diodes, transistors, etc.) for rectifying the received energy.

[0103] In various embodiments, the vehicle capable of supplying power can be determined based on the location of that vehicle and other vehicles requiring power. For example, the wireless communication signal providing power transmission may have a limited coverage range extending from the vehicle capable of supplying power. In such an example, the range is reduced due to, for example, obstacles between vehicles, frequency bands, etc. Additionally, in some examples, the strength of the wireless communication signal may degrade with distance. Therefore, as the distance between vehicles increases, RF wireless power transmission may become inefficient or ineffective.

[0104] Therefore, in some embodiments, system control module 108 may determine the location of each vehicle 102, 104, 106, and then select a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 106) for RF wireless power transmission based on the distance between vehicles capable of supplying power and vehicles requiring power. In this example, system control module 108 may determine the location of vehicles 102, 104, 106 in any suitable manner. For example, each vehicle 102, 104, 106 may provide its location to system control module 108. In other examples, one or more of vehicles 102, 104, 106 may determine the location of these other vehicles based on characteristics of communication signals received from other vehicles (e.g., signal strength, time of arrival, angle of arrival, etc.), and then provide these locations to system control module 108.

[0105] In another embodiment, a vehicle may act as a proxy for one or more vehicles within its immediate vicinity, and send the energy status of one or more vehicles, in addition to its own, to the system control module 108. For example, the proxy vehicle may be closer to the vehicle it serves than a threshold, such that communication between the served vehicle and the proxy vehicle consumes less energy than communication between the served vehicle and the system control module 108. Therefore, the proxy vehicle receives energy status updates from the vehicles it serves and sends these updates, along with its own, to the system control module 108.

[0106] For example, Figure 3 An example system 300 is depicted, which has Figure 1 The system control module 108 and including Figure 1 Multiple vehicles, including vehicles 102, 104, and 106, are involved. In this example, the system control module 108 obtains the vehicle energy status from the vehicles, which include vehicles 102, 104, and 106 within the defined area 330. Specifically, in... Figure 3 In the diagram, each vehicle in a power supply state is represented by X, each vehicle in a power reserve state is represented by a circle with dots, and each vehicle in a depleted battery state is represented by a square. Figure 3 In the example, due to the proximity between vehicles 102 and 106, vehicle 106 is selected as the vehicle for supplying electricity to vehicle 102. More specifically, in Figure 3 In this process, the system control module 108 selects vehicle 106 by comparing the distance between vehicles 102 and 106 with the distance between vehicles 102 and 306, compared with other vehicles (e.g., vehicle 306).

[0107] In some examples, vehicles within a defined area 330 may be required to consent to or approve RF wireless power transmission. For instance, system control module 108 may receive a signal from a group of vehicles indicating approval to supply power. Figure 3 In this example, system control module 108 can receive signals from vehicles 106, 306. In this example, approval for receiving RF wireless power transmission may not be required. In other words, not all vehicles in the defined area 330 are active participants in RF wireless power transmission. With this arrangement, one or more vehicles that are not actively participating can benefit from the wireless communication signals if the vehicles have suitable energy harvesting circuitry.

[0108] For example, in Figure 3 In this example, vehicle 304 is shown located within defined area 330 and between vehicles 102 and 106. Therefore, vehicle 304 is positioned within the coverage area of ​​the wireless communication signal between vehicles 102 and 106. In this example, vehicle 304 does not provide its vehicle energy status to system control module 108 and therefore does not actively participate in RF wireless power transmission. However, when vehicle 106 transmits wireless communication signals toward vehicle 102 (which requires power), vehicle 304 can harvest energy from the wireless communication signals in a similar manner to vehicle 102.

[0109] Additionally, in various embodiments, Figure 1 and Figure 3 The system control module 108 can group vehicles for selection and pairing based on common architectures or application needs to intelligently utilize RF energy harvesting. For example, in Figure 3 In this system, the system control module 108 can identify some or all of the vehicles in the defined area 330 as a grouped / fleet environment, where the grouped vehicles have similar vehicle types (e.g., similar brands and / or models), similar energy distribution maps, similar digital access systems, etc. Using this method, the system control module 108 can identify individual or multiple energy-efficient vehicles in the grouped / fleet environment for power supply. Furthermore, energy harvesting can be optimized based on situational awareness such as transmission rate, selection technology, and vehicle type.

[0110] Continue to refer to Figure 1The system control module 108 can acquire an updated vehicle energy status after facilitating RF wireless power transfer between vehicles. For example, after vehicle 106 provides a wireless communication signal for energy harvesting, the power degradation of battery module 132 in vehicle 106 can be reduced below a threshold. In this example, vehicle 106 can provide an updated vehicle energy status (e.g., one of power donor status, power reserve status, or depleted battery status). Specifically, in this example, the updated vehicle energy status of vehicle 106 can be a power reserve status.

[0111] Then, in response to the updated vehicle energy status, system control module 108 can take various steps. For example, system control module 108 can update (e.g., dynamically maintain) the energy harvesting matrix, such as the energy harvesting matrix in Table 1 above. Additionally, in response to the updated vehicle energy status, system control module 108 can identify a new vehicle capable of supplying power (e.g., vehicle 102, vehicle 104, or another suitable vehicle) based on the updated vehicle energy status of each vehicle. System control module 108 can then facilitate RF wireless power transfer from the new vehicle, as explained above.

[0112] In the examples presented in this paper, the vehicle energy status of each vehicle and its updates can be determined locally. For example, Figure 4 Depicting including Figure 1 The system control module 108 and the system 400 of the vehicle 106, wherein the vehicle 106 determines its vehicle energy status and its updates, and transmits the status and updates to the system control module 108.

[0113] For example, in Figure 4 Among them, vehicle 106 includes Figure 1 The local control module 130, energy harvesting circuit 402, power converter 404, high-voltage battery 406, and low-voltage battery 408 are included. In this example, the high-voltage battery 406 and / or the low-voltage battery 408 may be a battery module (such as...). Figure 1 This is part of the battery module 132. The energy harvesting circuit 402 may include suitable components (e.g., an antenna and one or more switching devices, as explained above). Additionally, and as... Figure 4 As shown, the local control module 130 includes a central gateway module (CGM) 410 and an RF communication module 412 with a wireless communication protocol 414. In various embodiments, and as further explained below, when the vehicle battery power is not low, the wireless communication module (e.g., the RF communication module) 412 can use the energy of the battery 408 to send status messages to the system control module 108.

[0114] exist Figure 4In the example, the local control module 130 can monitor the remaining capacity of the high-voltage battery 406 and the low-voltage battery 408, and then determine their vehicle energy status and / or its update based on the remaining capacity. After determining the vehicle energy status and / or updating it, the communication module 412 of the local control module 130 can then transmit a signal (e.g., signal 134) to the system control module 108 having a wireless communication protocol 416. In various embodiments, the wireless communication protocols 414, 416 can be any suitable messaging protocol, such as the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol.

[0115] In this example, the signal can indicate the power supply status of vehicle 106. In response, system control module 108 can store or update the vehicle energy status in an energy harvesting matrix located in database 418 to designate vehicle 106 as capable of supplying power (or having a power supply status). CGM 410 can then subsequently receive an energy harvesting request from database 418 or system control module 108 indicating an expectation that vehicle 106 will provide a wireless communication signal to enable communication from vehicle 106 to another vehicle (e.g., Figure 1 RF wireless power transmission of vehicle 102.

[0116] In various embodiments, the examples herein may utilize local control aspects, where a local master control module in a particular vehicle can track the energy budget using degradation / performance of the power converters in that vehicle associated with key access control and / or the vehicle battery. For example... Figure 5 A system 500 for facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle 520 locally is depicted. In this example, vehicle 520 can be equivalent to... Figure 1 Any one of vehicles 102, 104, and 106.

[0117] like Figure 5 As shown, system 500 generally includes multiple secondary control modules 502, 504, 506 and a local main control module 510 that communicates with the secondary control modules 502, 504, 506. The secondary control modules 502, 504, 506 and the local main control module 510 are located in vehicle 520. In some examples, the local main control module 510 may be equivalent to... Figure 1 Any of the local control modules 110, 120, and 130 in the system. Although system 500 is shown as including three secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506, it should be understood that more or fewer secondary control modules may be used as desired.

[0118] exist Figure 5In this example, secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 are configured (e.g., programmed) to perform different functions of vehicle 520. In this example, at least some of the functions performed by secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 can be performed when vehicle 520 is in a powered-off state (e.g., power-off). For example, secondary control module 502 may be a digital access ECU for controlling and powering components (e.g., NFC readers, etc.) to access vehicle 520, and secondary control modules 504 and 506 may be used for other vehicle control features. To achieve this functionality, secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 require power. Figure 5 In the middle, the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 can receive power from the battery module 512 via the power converter 514 in the vehicle 520.

[0119] In this example, each secondary control module 502, 504, 506 has a set power usage budget for execution when the vehicle 520 is in the off state. For example, due to the limited power stored in the battery module 512 when the vehicle 520 is off, each secondary control module 502, 504, 506 can have a set power available for use within a given period of time. This ensures that none of the secondary control modules 502, 504, 506 monopolizes the available power stored in the battery module 512.

[0120] exist Figure 5 In this system, the local main control module 510 receives reports from one or more of the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506, indicating the need for additional power beyond its set power usage budget. For example, a report from one secondary control module may indicate the need to continue supplying power to components to access the vehicle 520, and a report from another secondary control module may indicate the need to update the firmware in that secondary control module when the vehicle 520 is in a powered-off state.

[0121] Then, the local main control module 510 dynamically sorts the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 based on the different functions of the vehicle 520. For example, when the vehicle 520 is in the off state, the secondary control module 502, which controls the power to the components to access the vehicle 520, can be sorted higher (e.g., have a higher priority) than the secondary control module 504, which updates vehicle parameters.

[0122] Then, the local master control module 510 can, based on sequencing, facilitate the transfer of power designated for one of the secondary control modules 502, 504, 506 to another of the secondary control modules 502, 504, 506. For example, when secondary control module 502 indicates a need for additional power exceeding its set power usage budget, the local master control module 510 can transfer power initially designated for secondary control module 504 to secondary control module 502. This is because secondary control module 502 has a higher sequencing (e.g., higher priority) than secondary control module 504.

[0123] Additionally, the local main control module 510 can monitor the power degradation of the battery module 512 in the vehicle 520. This can be achieved by measuring the electrical characteristics of the battery module 512 (e.g., voltage, current, etc.) and one or more sensors with known battery characteristics. For example, due to the power transfer explained above, the power degradation of the battery module 512 may be less than a threshold (e.g., remaining capacity value). In response, the local main control module 510 can transmit the vehicle's energy status or its updates to the system control module, such as... Figure 1 The system control module 108 facilitates energy harvesting between vehicles.

[0124] For example, vehicle 520 can participate in the RF wireless power transmission of another vehicle with a depleted battery module. In this example, if the power degradation of battery module 512 falls below a threshold, the local master control module 510 can update its vehicle's energy status from a power supply status to a power reserve status.

[0125] In other examples, the vehicle energy status (or updated status) of vehicle 520 may be a depleted battery status. In this scenario, as explained above, the system control module can facilitate RF wireless power transfer from another vehicle to vehicle 520. In this example, energy harvesting circuitry 508 in vehicle 520 receives a wireless communication signal from the other vehicle and then harvests energy from the wireless communication signal by, for example, converting energy from the wireless communication signal (e.g., electromagnetic energy) into DC power, thereby charging the depleted battery module 512.

[0126] In various embodiments, energy harvesting can occur between the user equipment and the vehicle to enable vehicle access. For example, Figure 6 A system 600 for facilitating energy harvesting to access vehicle 620 is depicted. In this example, vehicle 620 can be equivalent to... Figure 1 Any one of vehicles 102, 104, and 106.

[0127] like Figure 6As shown, system 600 generally includes a vehicle 602 with a door 604 having a locking mechanism 606 and a wireless communication receiver 608 adjacent to the locking mechanism 606. In this example, the wireless communication receiver 608 may be an NFC reader and / or any other suitable wireless receiver. Additionally, the locking mechanism 606 may be any suitable mechanical device that can be actuated to lock or unlock the door 604 based on signals from the wireless communication receiver 608.

[0128] In this example, wireless communication receiver 608 receives RF wireless power transfer from user equipment 610 adjacent to wireless communication receiver 608. Then, in response to receiving a threshold electrical force via RF wireless power transfer, wireless communication receiver 608 transmits a signal to locking mechanism 606 to unlock door 604. In this example, wireless communication receiver 608 may include or be coupled to energy harvesting circuitry (not shown) in vehicle 620, capable of harvesting energy from wireless communication signals provided by wireless transmitter 612 in user equipment 610, as explained above. In this example, RF wireless power transfer may be Wi-Fi wireless power transfer, UWB wireless power transfer, or NFC wireless power transfer.

[0129] Figures 7-9 Example control processes 700, 800, and 900 for facilitating energy harvesting are illustrated. For example, control process 700 may be... Figure 1 The system 100 is implemented to facilitate energy harvesting in vehicles with depleted batteries, and the control process 800 can be controlled by... Figure 5 The system 500 is implemented to facilitate energy harvesting in the vehicle locally, and the control process 900 can be controlled by... Figure 6 System 600 is implemented to facilitate energy harvesting for access to the vehicle. Although example control processes 700, 800, and 900 are described below with respect to systems 100, 500, and 600, any of control processes 700, 800, and 900 may be adopted by another suitable system.

[0130] like Figure 7 As shown, the control process 700 determines the group of vehicles (e.g., Figure 1 Whether vehicles 102, 104, and 106 are in a public location and whether they actively participate in RF wireless power transmission begins at 702. If no, control process 700 returns to 702. Otherwise, if yes at 702, control process 700 continues to 704.

[0131] At 704, system control module 108 obtains the vehicle energy status from the local control modules 110, 120, and 130 of vehicles 102, 104, and 106, as explained above. Then, control process 700 continues to 706, where system control module 108 sets an energy distribution map specific to each vehicle 102, 104, and 106. For example, and as explained above, system control module 108 can determine an energy distribution map specific to each vehicle 102, 104, and 106 based on vehicle brands and / or models with different minimum power requirements. Control process 700 then continues to 708.

[0132] At 708, system control module 108 determines whether any of vehicles 102, 104, and 106 requires electricity. For example, and as explained above, system control module 108 determines that vehicle 106 requires electricity based on the acquired vehicle energy status and / or an energy distribution map specific to vehicle 106. If yes at 708, control process 700 continues to 710. Otherwise, if no at 708, control process 700 continues to 712.

[0133] At 710, system control module 108 identifies at least one of vehicles 102, 104, 106 capable of supplying power and then facilitates RF wireless power transfer from the supply vehicle to the vehicle in need of power, as explained above. For example, an RF communication module in the supply vehicle (e.g., vehicle 106) can broadcast RF communications toward the vehicle in need (e.g., vehicle 102), thereby enabling vehicle 102 to harvest energy from wireless communication. In this example, the energy used by the supply vehicle with sufficient power for RF signal transmission originates from its battery module (rather than from energy stored in its energy harvesting module or circuitry). Control process 700 then proceeds to 712, where system control module 108 obtains updated vehicle energy status from one or more of vehicles 102, 104, 106, as explained above. Control process 700 then proceeds to 714.

[0134] At 714, system control module 108 determines whether any status change has occurred in the power supply vehicle. For example, and as explained above, the power supply vehicle may update its vehicle energy status from a power supplier status to a power reserve status. If yes at 714, control process 700 returns to 710, where system control module 108 identifies another vehicle capable of supplying power and then facilitates RF wireless power transfer from that supply vehicle to the vehicle in need of power, as explained above. If no at 714, control process 700 continues to 716.

[0135] At 716, system control module 108 again determines whether any of vehicles 102, 104, and 106 requires power. In some examples, system control module 108 may confirm that vehicle 106 still requires power or that another vehicle requires power. If the answer is yes at 716, control process 700 returns to 710. Otherwise, if the answer is no at 716, control process 700 may terminate.

[0136] exist Figure 8 In the process, control process 800 transmits the vehicle's energy status to the system control module (such as...). Figure 1 The control process 800 begins at 802 with respect to the system control module 108. For example, and as explained above, the local main control module 510 can determine and provide the system control module with information on the power supply status, power reserve status, or depleted battery status. The control process 800 then continues to 804, where the local main control module 510 monitors for power degradation in the vehicle 520. For example, and as explained above, when the vehicle 520 is off (e.g., power off), the battery module 512 can continue to supply power to one or more control modules in the vehicle 520 (such as secondary control modules 502, 504, 506). This will ultimately cause the power level (e.g., remaining capacity) of the battery module 512 to degrade. The control process 800 then continues to 806.

[0137] At 806, the local master control module 510 receives a report from one or more of the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 indicating a need for additional power exceeding its set power usage budget. In this example, a report from secondary control module 502 might indicate a need to continue supplying power to components for access to vehicle 520, a report from secondary control module 504 might indicate a need to update firmware while vehicle 520 is off, and a report from secondary control module 506 might indicate a need to update vehicle parameters while vehicle 520 is off. Then, at 808, the local master control module 510 generates a local collection matrix for vehicle 520. For example, the local master control module 510 creates and stores a local collection matrix with an identifier for each secondary control module 502, 504, and 506 and its corresponding set power usage budget.

[0138] Control process 800 then proceeds to 810, where the local master control module 510 dynamically prioritizes the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 in the vehicle. In this example, the local master control module 510 can prioritize (and update if necessary) the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 in real time based on the different functions they perform for the vehicle 520. For example, when the vehicle 520 is off, the secondary control module 502, which controls power to the components to access the vehicle 520, may be prioritized higher than the secondary control module 506, which can update vehicle parameters. Then, at 812, the local master control module 510 determines whether any of the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 requires power (e.g., additional power exceeding their set power usage budget). If no, control process 800 continues to 816. If yes, control process 800 continues to 814.

[0139] At 814, the local master control module 510 facilitates the transfer of power designated for one of the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506 to another secondary control module 502, 504, or 506 that requires it. In this example, the power transfer is determined based on the order of the secondary control modules 502, 504, and 506. For example, secondary control module 502 may have a higher order than secondary control module 504. In this scenario, when secondary control module 502 indicates a need for additional power exceeding its set power usage budget, the local master control module 510 may transfer power initially designated for secondary control module 504 to secondary control module 502. The control process 800 continues to 816, where the local master control module 510 transmits the updated vehicle energy status to the system control module. For example, and as explained above, the local master control module 510 can determine a change in its status (e.g., from power supply status to power storage status) and then provide the updated vehicle energy status to the system control module. As desired, the control process 800 can... Figure 8 End as shown or return to another appropriate step.

[0140] exist Figure 9 In this example, control process 900 begins when the battery state of vehicle 620 is depleted or exhausted. In other words, in this example, the battery module in vehicle 620 cannot provide sufficient power to, for example, control modules, such as those used for control... Figure 6The locking mechanism 606 unlocks the digital access ECU of door 604. In this example, the control module can receive power from a user device near the wireless communication receiver 608 of the vehicle 620. In this example, the control module may be part of or communicate with the wireless communication receiver 608. Therefore, at 902, if the user device is near the wireless communication receiver 608 (yes at 902), the control process 900 continues to 904. Otherwise, if the user device is not near the wireless communication receiver 608 (no at 902), the control process 900 returns to 902.

[0141] At 904, the control module facilitates RF wireless power transfer from a user equipment located near the wireless communication receiver 608. In this example, the wireless communication receiver 608 may include or be coupled to energy harvesting circuitry in the vehicle 620, capable of harvesting energy from wireless communication signals provided by a wireless transmitter in the user equipment, as described above. In this example, the RF wireless power transfer may be Wi-Fi wireless power transfer, UWB wireless power transfer, or NFC wireless power transfer. The control process 900 then continues to 906.

[0142] At 906, the control module determines whether the power received from the user equipment (e.g., collected from wireless communication signals from the user equipment) exceeds a threshold. For example, if sufficient power is collected from the wireless communication signals, the control module (e.g., a digital access ECU) can control the locking mechanism 606 to unlock door 604. If not at 906, control process 900 returns to 904. If yes at 906, then at 908, the control module controls the locking mechanism 606 to unlock door 604. Control process 900 then proceeds as follows: Figure 9 It ends as shown in the diagram.

[0143] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit this disclosure, its application, or use. The broad teachings of this disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes specific examples, its true scope should not be so limited, as other modifications will become apparent upon examination of the drawings, specification, and the following claims. It should be understood that one or more steps within the method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of this disclosure. Furthermore, while each embodiment is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of this disclosure may be implemented in any other embodiment and / or combined with features of any other embodiment, even if such combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and the arrangement of one or more embodiments with respect to each other remains within the scope of this disclosure.

[0144] Spatial and functional relationships between components (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including “connection,” “joint,” “coupled,” “adjacent,” “next to,” “on top of,” “above,” “below,” and “deployed.” Unless explicitly described as “direct,” the relationship between the first and second components described in the above disclosure can be a direct relationship, where no other intervening components exist between the first and second components, or an indirect relationship, where one or more intervening components exist between the first and second components (spatially or functionally). As used herein, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C” should be interpreted as meaning logically (A or B or C) using the non-exclusive logical “OR,” and should not be interpreted as meaning “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”

[0145] In the diagrams, the direction of the arrow, as indicated by its head, generally illustrates the flow of information (such as data or instructions) of interest. For example, when components A and B exchange various kinds of information, but the information transmitted from component A to component B is relevant to the diagram, the arrow can point from component A to component B. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that no other information is transmitted from component B to component A. Furthermore, for information sent from component A to component B, component B can send a request for or confirmation of receipt of that information to component A.

[0146] In this application (including the definitions below), the term "module" or "controller" may be replaced by the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include the following: application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC); digital, analog, or mixed-signal analog / digital discrete circuit; digital, analog, or mixed-signal analog / digital integrated circuit; combinational logic circuit; field-programmable gate array (FPGA); (shared, dedicated, or group) processor circuitry that executes code; (shared, dedicated, or group) memory circuitry that stores the code executed by the processor circuitry; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or combinations of some or all of the foregoing, such as in a system-on-a-chip.

[0147] A module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuit may include a wired or wireless interface that is connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or a combination thereof. The functionality of any given module of this disclosure can be distributed among multiple modules connected via the interface circuit. For example, multiple modules can allow for load balancing. In another example, a server (also referred to as a remote or cloud) module may perform some functions on behalf of a client module.

[0148] The term "code" as used above can include software, firmware, and / or microcode, and can refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and / or objects. The term "shared processor circuit" covers a single processor circuit that executes some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term "group processor circuit" covers a processor circuit that, in combination with additional processor circuitry, executes some or all of the code from one or more modules. Reference to multiple processor circuits covers multiple processor circuits on discrete dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or a combination of the above. The term "shared memory circuit" covers a single memory circuit that stores some or all of the code from multiple modules. The term "group memory circuit" covers a memory circuit that, in combination with additional memory, stores some or all of the code from one or more modules.

[0149] The term "memory circuit" is a subset of the term "computer-readable medium." As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" does not cover transient electrical or electromagnetic signals propagated through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); therefore, the term "computer-readable medium" can be considered tangible and non-transient. Non-limiting examples of non-transient, tangible computer-readable media are non-volatile memory circuits (such as flash memory circuits, erasable programmable read-only memory circuits, or mask read-only memory circuits), volatile memory circuits (such as static random access memory circuits or dynamic random access memory circuits), magnetic storage media (such as analog or digital magnetic tape or hard disk drives), and optical storage media (such as CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs).

[0150] The apparatus and methods described in this application can be implemented, in part or in whole, by a special-purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to execute one or more specific functions embodied in a computer program. The aforementioned functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements serve as software specifications, which can be translated into computer programs through the routine work of skilled technicians or programmers.

[0151] A computer program includes processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium. A computer program may also include or depend on stored data. A computer program may encompass a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with the hardware of a special-purpose computer, device drivers that interact with specific devices of the special-purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

[0152] Computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, such as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation); (ii) assembly code; (iii) object code generated from source code by a compiler; (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter; (v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time (JIT) compiler; and so on. As an example only, source code may be written using syntax from languages ​​including: C, C++, C#, Objective C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, etc. Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th Edition), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Visual Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK and

Claims

1. A system for facilitating energy harvesting in a vehicle with depleted battery, the system comprising: Multiple vehicles, each including a local control module, a radio frequency (RF) communication module, an energy harvesting module and at least one battery module; as well as A system control module, which communicates with the local control module of each vehicle, is configured to: The vehicle energy status is obtained from the local control module of each vehicle, including the power supply status, power storage status, or depleted battery status. Based on the acquired vehicle energy status of each vehicle, determine whether at least one first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles requires electricity; as well as In response to determining that the first vehicle requires power, at least one second vehicle among the plurality of vehicles is identified as capable of supplying power, and RF wireless power transmission from the second vehicle to the first vehicle is facilitated.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system control module is configured as follows: Determine the position of each of the plurality of vehicles; and The second vehicle is selected for the RF wireless power transmission based on the distance between the first and second vehicles.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein: The system control module is configured to obtain updated vehicle energy status from the local control module of each vehicle after facilitating the RF wireless power transfer from the second vehicle to the first vehicle. as well as The updated vehicle energy status includes one of the following: power supply status, power reserve status, or depleted battery status.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein: The updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle is the power reserve status; as well as The system control module is configured to, in response to the updated vehicle energy status of the second vehicle, identify a third vehicle among the plurality of vehicles that is capable of supplying power based on the updated vehicle energy status of each vehicle, and facilitate the RF wireless power transfer from the third vehicle to the first vehicle.

5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the system control module is configured as follows: Determine an energy distribution map specific to each of the plurality of vehicles, the energy distribution map representing the minimum electrical force required to unlock the vehicle to maintain connectivity; and Based on the acquired vehicle energy status for each vehicle and the energy distribution map specific to each vehicle, it is determined whether any of the plurality of vehicles requires electricity.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the system control module is configured to transmit a signal to the second vehicle to facilitate the RF wireless power transmission to the first vehicle.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the RF wireless power transmission includes transmitting at least one of the following: a Wi-Fi signal, a carrier signal in a frequency band that allows Wi-Fi signal transmission, or Bluetooth wireless power transmission.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The system control module is configured to receive signals from a set of the plurality of vehicles, the signals indicating approval for the supply of electricity; and The set of the plurality of vehicles includes a second vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the local control module of the second vehicle is configured to: Monitor the power degradation of the battery module in the second vehicle; Reports are received from multiple secondary control modules in the second vehicle, each of which performs a different function of the second vehicle, and the reports indicate the need for additional power beyond the set power usage budget; The secondary control modules are dynamically ordered based on the different functions of the second vehicle; and Based on the sorting, the transfer of power designated for one of the secondary control modules to the other is facilitated.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein: The local control module of the second vehicle is configured to transmit an updated vehicle energy status to the system control module in response to the power degradation of the battery module in the second vehicle being less than a threshold. as well as The updated vehicle energy status refers to the power reserve status.

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