Autonomous Trailer Repositioning for Single-Stall EV Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicles towing trailers face challenges in efficiently and conveniently charging at standard charging facilities designed for single vehicles, due to the need for specialized layouts, charger placement, and limited availability of suitable charging stations that can accommodate both the vehicle and trailer.
Innovation Solution
An electrified vehicle system that includes a rechargeable onboard battery unit, a trailer interface for communication with a trailer controller, sensors for characterizing the charging stall, and a drive control system to independently move the trailer to a target position within the stall for charging, allowing for autonomous navigation and uncoupling from the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If charging facilities are configured for single passenger vehicles with standard parking stall sizes, then the charging infrastructure is widely accessible and easy to deploy, but electrified vehicles towing trailers cannot be accommodated for charging
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the charging task into two independent phases: first the vehicle is charged while towing the trailer, then the trailer is uncoupled and autonomously repositioned to the charging stall. This segmentation allows standard single-vehicle charging stalls to be used without requiring complex dual-vehicle accommodation infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The trailer is equipped with autonomous navigation capabilities including sensors, controllers, and drive systems that enable it to independently navigate from the vehicle to the charging stall and connect to the charger without human intervention. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by making the trailer autonomous rather than requiring manual positioning.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the trailer is equipped with autonomous drive control systems and sensors for independent navigation to charging stalls, then standard charging facilities can be utilized, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous navigation system components (sensors, controllers, drive mechanisms) are designed to serve multiple functions: navigating to charging stalls, positioning for optimal charging connection, and potentially serving other autonomous operations. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by providing broad adaptability to various charging facility types.
3Productivity
If the trailer autonomously navigates to the charging stall and uncouples from the vehicle, then charging can proceed efficiently at standard facilities, but the automation and control requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The trailer performs preliminary actions including sensor-based mapping of the charging stall environment, calculation of optimal navigation paths, and autonomous execution of drive sequences before actually connecting to the charger. This preliminary automation prepares the system in advance, enabling efficient charging operations without manual intervention during the critical charging process.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous navigation system incorporates continuous feedback loops where sensors monitor the trailer's position, orientation, and environment, and the controller adjusts the drive sequence in real-time based on this feedback. This feedback mechanism ensures accurate navigation to the charging stall and proper positioning for connection, enabling reliable automated operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A driver assistance system aids a driver in charging one or more trailer-mounted batteries in a trailer being towed by an electrified passenger vehicle. Many existing charging facilities for electric vehicles have charging stalls with a layout configured to accommodate single vehicles. Charging facilities having drive-through or elongated charging stalls able to accommodate larger vehicles which are towing an electrified trailer are much scarcer. When attempting to charge a trailer-mounted battery in a charging stall meant for a single vehicle, it may be necessary to unhitch (i.e., decouple) the trailer while in the charging stall so that the passenger vehicle does not block the aisles of a charging station. Sensors in the vehicle perform a sensor sweep of a selected charging stall, and after unhitching, the trailer uses an independent drive system to park itself in the selected charging stall using driving commands which are calculated from the sensor sweep.