Battery electric vehicle charging transfer system

Abstract

Battery electric vehicle charging transmission system comprising: a first battery electric vehicle electrical connector (101) adapted for connection to a standard charging port connector (116) in a first battery electric vehicle (110a); a second battery electric vehicle electrical connector (102) adapted for connection to a standard charging port connector (116) in a second battery electric vehicle (110b); an electrical cable (103) establishing electrical contact between the first battery electric vehicle electrical connector (101) and the second battery electric vehicle electrical connector (102); and wherein each of the electrical connectors (101, 102) is arranged in electrical contact with a respective battery pack (113) located in the first and second battery electric vehicles (110b), respectively.a second battery electric vehicle (110a, 110b) is arranged, wherein at least one of the first and second battery electric vehicles (110a, 110b) is configured to calculate and display a quantity of the electric charge transferred by transferring electric current between the first and second battery electric vehicle (110a, 110b), the transferred electric charge being displayed in a selected metric corresponding to the quantity transferred.

Description

[0001] Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). In particular, illustrative embodiments of the disclosure relate to a jump-start cable for battery electric vehicles and a method for starting battery electric vehicles with a jump-start cable.

[0002] Under certain circumstances, the electrical charge of the batteries in both combustion engine and electric vehicles can become depleted, causing the vehicles to break down. Conventional combustion engine vehicles can be jump-started using a pair of jumper cables. This involves connecting the battery of the first vehicle, which provides the electrical charge, to the depleted battery of the second vehicle. The first vehicle is then started to supply electrical current to the battery of the second vehicle, while the ignition of the second vehicle can be switched on to start the engine.

[0003] A jump start cable for battery electric vehicles and a procedure for starting battery electric vehicles with jump start cables are required.

[0004] For the state of the art, please refer to US 2012 / 0 109 409 A1.

[0005] One object of the invention is to provide an improved battery electric vehicle charging transmission system.

[0006] This problem is solved with a battery electric vehicle charging transmission system according to claim 1.

[0007] The invention relates to a battery electric vehicle charging transmission system comprising: a first battery electric vehicle electrical connector adapted for connection to a standard charging port in a first battery electric vehicle; a second battery electric vehicle electrical connector adapted for connection to a standard charging port in a second battery electric vehicle; an electrical cable establishing electrical contact between the first battery electric vehicle electrical connector and the second battery electric vehicle electrical connector; and wherein each of the electrical connectors is arranged in electrical contact with a respective battery pack located in the first and second battery electric vehicles, respectively.a second battery electric vehicle is arranged, wherein at least one of the first and second battery electric vehicles is configured to calculate and display a quantity of the electric charge transferred by transferring electric current between the first and second battery electric vehicle, the transferred electric charge being displayed in a selected metric corresponding to the quantity transferred.

[0008] Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a battery electric vehicle jump start cable for battery electric vehicles. An illustrative embodiment of the battery electric vehicle jump start cable comprises the following: a first battery electric vehicle electrical connector adapted for connection to a standard charging port in a first battery electric vehicle; a second battery electric vehicle electrical connector adapted for connection to a standard charging port in a second battery electric vehicle; and an electrical cable that establishes electrical contact between the first battery electric vehicle electrical connector and the second battery electric vehicle electrical connector.

[0009] Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to an electrical power transmission system for battery electric vehicles. An illustrative embodiment of the electrical power transmission system includes the following: a battery pack of a first battery electric vehicle; a battery energy control module of the first battery electric vehicle connected to the battery pack of the first battery electric vehicle; a first charging port of the first battery electric vehicle connected to the battery energy control module of the first battery electric vehicle; a battery pack of a second battery electric vehicle; and a battery energy control module of the second battery electric vehicle connected to the battery pack of the second battery electric vehicle.a second charging port of the second battery electric vehicle, which is connected to the battery energy control module of the second battery electric vehicle; and a battery electric vehicle jump start cable that establishes electrical contact between the first charging port of the first battery electric vehicle and the second charging port of the second battery electric vehicle. The battery energy control module of the first battery electric vehicle is designed to transfer electrical current from the first battery pack of the first battery electric vehicle to the second battery pack of the second battery electric vehicle through the battery electric vehicle jump start cable.

[0010] Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a method for starting battery electric vehicles using jumper cables.An illustrative embodiment of the method for starting battery electric vehicles with jumper cables includes the following: configuring a first battery electric vehicle to transfer electrical current to a second battery electric vehicle; inserting a first battery electric vehicle electrical connector of a battery electric vehicle jumper cable into a charging port of the first battery electric vehicle; inserting a second battery electric vehicle electrical connector of a battery electric vehicle jumper cable into a charging port of the second battery electric vehicle; and transferring electrical current from a battery set of the first battery electric vehicle to a battery set of the second battery electric vehicle through the battery electric vehicle jumper cable.

[0011] Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure will now be described by way of example with reference to the associated drawings: Fig. Figure 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a BEV (battery electric vehicle) jump-start cable; Fig. Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary battery electric vehicle designed to implement an illustrative embodiment of the BEV jump-start cable and the method for starting with a jump-start cable; Fig. Figure 3 is a block diagram of a pair of vehicles, consisting of a first and a second battery electric vehicle, wherein an illustrative BEV jump start cable connects charging ports in the respective vehicles, implementing an illustrative embodiment of the BEV jump start cable and the method for jump-starting; and Fig. Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for starting BEVs using jumper cables.

[0012] The following detailed description is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. The term "exemplary" or "illustrative," as used herein, means "serving as an example, embodiment, or illustration." Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "illustrative" is not necessarily to be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable a trained user to implement the disclosure, and they are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the claims.Furthermore, the illustrative embodiments described herein are not exhaustive, and other embodiments or implementations are possible than those described herein and which fall within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, it is not intended to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding sections "Field of Invention," "General Prior Art," "Brief Description of the Invention," or in the following "Detailed Description."

[0013] With regard to the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2: First, an illustrative embodiment of the BEV jump-start cable is generally referred to by reference number 100 in Fig. Figure 1 shows an exemplary battery electric vehicle (BEV) 110, suitable for implementing the BEV jump-start cable 100, in Figure 1. Fig. 2 shown. The BEV 110 can be any type of EV (electric vehicle) or PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) that uses at least one battery or battery pack and an electric motor for vehicle propulsion. Non-restrictive examples of commercially available BEVs 110 suitable for implementing the BEV jump start cable 100 include the Ford Focus™ BEV, Ford Transit™ BEV, and Ford C-MAX™ PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle). In general, the BEV 110 may include a charging port 111. The charging port 111 may include an industry-standard BEV charging port connector 116 on the outer surface of the BEV 110. A battery energy control module (BECM) 112 may be connected to the charging port 111. A battery pack 113 may be connected to the BECM 112.The battery pack 113 may contain at least one battery (not shown) that supplies electrical energy to an electric motor (not shown) that enables the movement of the BEV 110 either alone or in combination with an internal combustion engine.

[0014] Throughout the normal operation of the BEV 110, an electrical power source (not shown) is periodically connected to the charging port 116 of charging port 111 to recharge the battery pack 113 when its electrical charge is depleted or nearing depletion. The electrical power source may include a standard wall outlet or a power station equipped for charging BEVs, by way of example and without limitation. The electrical power source may be electrically connected to charging port 111 by a flexible connecting cable (not shown) equipped with an industry-standard connector compatible with charging port 116 of charging port 111, as known to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, electrical current may flow from the electrical power source to the battery pack 113 through charging port 111.The BECM 112 is used to replenish or partially replenish the electrical energy supply in the battery pack 113. Once charging of the battery pack 113 is complete, the charging port 111 is disconnected from the electrical energy source. The charged battery pack 113 typically supplies electrical current for the operation of the BEV 110 in the conventional manner. The electrical charge in the battery pack 113 may be replenished periodically in a similar manner.

[0015] The BEV jump start cable 100 may contain a first BEV electrical connector 101 and a second BEV electrical connector 102. An electrical cable 103 may connect the first BEV electrical connector 101 and the second BEV electrical connector 102. Both the first BEV electrical connector 101 and the second BEV electrical connector 102 may each contain an industry-standard BEV electrical connector compatible with the charging port 116 on the charging port 111 of the BEV 110. Accordingly, both the first BEV electrical connector 101 and the second BEV electrical connector 102 of the BEV jump start cable 100 can typically be plugged into the corresponding charging port 116 of the BEV 110 in the conventional manner.The BECM 112 of the BEV 110 is designed to transfer electrical current from the battery pack 113 to the charging port 111 in order to transfer electrical energy between BEVs 110 via the BEV jump-start cable 100, as will be described below.

[0016] In some embodiments, a discharge level indicator 118 may be connected to the BECM 112. The BECM 112 may be programmed to calculate the electrical charge drawn from the battery pack 113 of the BEV 110, which supplies the electrical energy, and may—as an example and without limitation—display the transferred electrical charge in the discharge level indicator 118 in a selected metric, such as cents and kilowatt-hours. The discharge level indicator 118 may be positioned on the vehicle's instrument panel (not shown) or in another visible location inside or on the BEV 110.

[0017] With reference to Fig. 3: Next, an exemplary implementation form of an illustrative embodiment of the BEV jump-start cable 100 is shown.

[0018] Accordingly, the BEV jump-start cable 100 may be used to transfer electrical charge from the battery pack 113 of a first BEV 110a to the battery pack 113 of a second BEV 110b under circumstances where the battery pack 113 of the second BEV 110b is depleted or nearly depleted. The first BEV electrical connector 101 of the BEV jump-start cable 100 is plugged into the charging port 116 of the charging port 111 in the first BEV 110a. In the same way, the second BEV electrical connector 101 of the BEV jump-start cable 100 is plugged into the charging port 116 of the charging port 111 in the second BEV 110b. The first BEV 110a is switched on to allow the flow of electric current from the battery pack 113 through the charging port 111 of the first BEV 110a, the first BEV electrical connector 101, the electrical cable 103, the second BEV electrical connector 102 and then to the charging port 112 or to the battery pack 113 of the second BEV 110b.Thus, the transferred electric current replenishes or partially replenishes the electrical energy stored in the battery pack 113 of the second BEV 110b, so that the second BEV 110b can be driven to an electrical energy source (not shown) for a full charge.

[0019] During the entire electrical current transfer, the user (not shown) of the first BEV 110a may monitor the amount of electrical energy being transferred to the battery pack 113 of the second BEV 110b and stop further electrical energy flow once a desired amount of electrical energy has recharged the battery pack 113 of the second BEV 110b. After the recharging procedure is complete, both the first BEV electrical connector 101 and the second BEV electrical connector 102 of the BEV jump start cable 100 may be disconnected from the charging port 111 of the first BEV 110a and the charging port 111 of the second BEV 110b, respectively. The BEV jump start cable 100 may then simply be stored in the first BEV 110a or the second BEV 110b for later use.

[0020] With reference to Fig.4: Next, a flowchart 200 of an exemplary embodiment of a method for jump-starting BEVs is shown. In block 202, battery electric vehicles may be configured to transfer electrical current between the vehicles. In block 204, a first BEV electrical connector of a BEV jump-start cable may be plugged into a charging port of a first BEV. In block 206, a second BEV electrical connector of a BEV jump-start cable may be plugged into a charging port of a second BEV. In block 208, electrical current may be transferred from a battery pack of the first BEV to the battery pack of the second BEV through the BEV jump-start cable to at least partially replenish the electrical energy in the battery pack of the second BEV. In block 210, the electrical charge drawn from the battery pack of the first BEV may be calculated and displayed.In block 212, the BEV jump-start cable may be disconnected from the charging port of the first BEV and from the charging port of the second BEV.

Claims

[1] Battery electric vehicle charging transmission system comprising: a first battery electric vehicle electrical connector (101) adapted for connection to a standard charging port connector (116) in a first battery electric vehicle (110a); a second battery electric vehicle electrical connector (102) adapted for connection to a standard charging port connector (116) in a second battery electric vehicle (110b); an electrical cable (103) establishing electrical contact between the first battery electric vehicle electrical connector (101) and the second battery electric vehicle electrical connector (102); and wherein each of the electrical connectors (101, 102) is arranged in electrical contact with a respective battery pack (113) located in the first and second battery electric vehicle (110b), respectively.a second battery electric vehicle (110a, 110b) is arranged, wherein at least one of the first and second battery electric vehicles (110a, 110b) is configured to calculate and display a quantity of the electric charge transferred by transferring electric current between the first and second battery electric vehicle (110a, 110b), the transferred electric charge being displayed in a selected metric corresponding to the quantity transferred.

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