Vehicle Charging Pallets for Dense Automated Parking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The infrastructure needed to charge electric vehicles can be prohibitively expensive and not feasible in dense vehicle parking situations, such as residential towers or large surface parking lots, due to high power requirements and manufacturing waste associated with multiple charging stations.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses transportable pallets with retractable charging cables and a conveyor system to efficiently manage the charging of electric vehicles by rotating vehicles into and out of charging stations, and a common charge station that selectively provides power to subsets of head units based on vehicle charging status, reducing the number of required charging stations and infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple charging stations are deployed in dense parking situations, then charging availability is improved, but infrastructure cost and complexity increase prohibitively
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically moves vehicles between parking positions and charging positions using an automated conveyor system. Vehicles are transported on pallets to charging stations when needed, and returned to parking positions when charging is complete. This dynamic repositioning allows a single charging station to serve multiple vehicles sequentially, eliminating the need for multiple fixed charging infrastructures throughout the parking facility.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated conveyor system serves multiple functions: it transports vehicles to charging stations, positions vehicles for charging, and returns charged vehicles to parking positions. The single charging station serves multiple vehicles sequentially through this universal transport system, replacing the need for multiple dedicated charging infrastructures.
2Productivity
If multiple charging stations are installed, then charging capacity is improved, but power requirements and environmental impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses dynamic vehicle rotation to provide charging capacity. Instead of having multiple charging stations operating simultaneously with high power requirements, a single charging station charges vehicles sequentially as they are brought to it by the automated conveyor system. This maintains overall charging capacity while dramatically reducing peak power requirements and environmental impact.
3Adaptability or versatility
If charging infrastructure is expanded in dense parking areas, then charging accessibility is improved, but land use and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated conveyor system enables vehicles to be transported from dense parking positions to a centralized charging location. This dynamic transport allows charging accessibility for all parked vehicles without requiring charging infrastructure at every parking space, thereby maintaining high accessibility while minimizing land use to only the area needed for the conveyor system and single charging station.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are disclosed configured to charge an electrical vehicle. The systems include a pallet sized to support and transport one or more vehicles. The pallet has a retractable charging cable housed on an underside of the pallet and extendable through an opening on a top surface of the pallet to couple a plug of the charging cable to a receptacle in an electric vehicle supported by the pallet. The pallet includes a cable retraction mechanism that maintains the charging cable under tension when the cable is in the extended position and protrudes from the top surface of the pallet or in the retracted position where the charging cable is housed on the underside of the pallet. The pallet can be used in mechanical parking systems, such as puzzle parking systems and stacker parking systems.