Underground Vehicle Charging System with Adaptive Notification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing movable vehicle charging systems pose a risk of hindering pedestrian passage due to the lifting and lowering of their movable portions, which are difficult to notice when stored underground, and can cause annoyance to residents with excessive lighting and sound notifications.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle charging system with a movable portion that includes an elevation device for lifting and lowering, a notification device comprising a light emitter and a speaker to alert pedestrians, and a control device to manage the notifications, reducing light and sound emissions during nighttime and synchronizing sounds across multiple charging stands to minimize disturbance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the movable portion is stored underground when not in use, then space utilization is improved, but pedestrians cannot easily notice the presence of the movable portion, causing passage to be hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The notification device uses light emitters that emit light in different colors (e.g., yellow during lifting, red during lowering) to indicate the operational state of the movable portion. This visual signaling makes the otherwise invisible underground charging system detectable to pedestrians, resolving the contradiction between space utilization and detectability.
2Reliability
If the notification device emits light and sound during lifting and lowering, then pedestrian safety is improved, but annoyance to neighborhood residents or pedestrians increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device operates the notification device periodically or intermittently rather than continuously. The light emitter and speaker are activated only during specific periods when the movable portion is lifting or lowering, and remain inactive during other periods. This periodic operation maintains pedestrian safety while reducing unnecessary annoyance to residents.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the notification device based on time of day. During nighttime hours, the control device reduces the intensity of light emission and the volume of sound output compared to daytime operation. This parameter adjustment maintains adequate notification for pedestrian safety while significantly reducing annoyance to neighborhood residents.
3Reliability
If sound is output from all charging stands simultaneously, then notification coverage is improved, but annoyance to neighborhood residents increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device assigns different operational characteristics to different charging stands. When multiple charging stands are lifting or lowering their movable portions, the system selectively activates the speaker in only one charging stand while keeping the light emitter active in all stands. This local differentiation maintains comprehensive visual notification coverage while limiting sound output to a single location, thereby reducing overall annoyance to residents.
Data Source
AI summary
A charging system for a vehicle includes at least one charging stand. The at least one charging stand includes a movable portion, an elevation unit, and a notification device. The movable portion includes an inlet for transmitting electric power to the vehicle. The elevation unit lifts and lowers the movable portion between an exposed state in which the movable portion is exposed from ground and a stored state in which the movable portion is stored underground. The notification device includes at least one of a light emitter that emits light during lifting and lowering of the movable portion, and a speaker that outputs sound during lifting and lowering of the movable portion, to notify a surrounding of the lifting/lowering of the movable portion.