VEHICULAR BATTERY CHARGER, CHARGING SYSTEM, AND METHOD
A vehicle battery charger and a vehicle battery charging system are described and illustrated, and can include a controller enabling a user to enter a time of day at which the vehicle battery charger or system begins and/or ends charging of the vehicle battery. The vehicle battery charger can be separate from the vehicle, can be at least partially integrated into the vehicle, can include a transmitter and/or a receiver capable of communication with a controller that is remote from the vehicle and vehicle charger, and can be controlled by a user or another party (e.g., a power utility) to control battery charging based upon a time of day, cost of power, or other factors.
1 . A vehicle charger for charging a battery of a vehicle and for communication with a first controller of a battery to which the vehicle charger is connectable, the vehicle charger comprising:
an electrical power cord releasably attachable to at least one of the vehicle and a source of power;
a second controller;
at least one of a group consisting of a transmitter and a receiver coupled to the second controller for communication with the first controller;
wherein the second controller is configured to receive data from the first controller indicative of at least one of a group consisting of a capacity of the battery, a type of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model of the battery, and an age of the battery;
wherein in response to the data retrieved by the second controller, the second controller changes a supply of electric power to the battery by at least one of a group consisting of increasing a rate of charge of the battery, decreasing the rate of charge of the battery, starting battery charging, and stopping battery charging.
2 . The vehicle charger of claim 2 , further comprising a memory coupled to the second controller, wherein the second controller is also configured to store the data in the memory.
3 . The vehicle charger of claim 3 , wherein the second controller, the memory, and the at least one of the group consisting of the transmitter and the receiver are all located in a common housing.
4 . The vehicle charger of claim 4 , wherein the housing is located along the electrical power cord.
5 . The vehicular charger of claim 1 , further comprising at least one user-manipulatable control coupled to the second controller and by which a setting of the vehicular battery charger is input by a user, wherein the setting at least partially controls when the vehicular battery charger supplies power to the battery.
6 . The vehicular charger of claim 5 , wherein
the setting comprises a time of day, and
in at least one state of the second controller, the second controller changes supply of electric power to the battery based at least in part upon the time of day input by the user.
7 . The vehicular charger of claim 1 , wherein the second controller is configured to communicate wirelessly with a third controller that is remote from the second controller and the vehicle, the second controller responsive to signals from the third controller to change supply of electric power to the battery.
8 . A method of charging a battery of a vehicle, the method comprising:
releasably connecting an electrical power cord to the vehicle;
receiving, by a controller of a vehicular battery charger, signals from a controller of the battery representative of at least one of a group consisting of a capacity of the battery, a type of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model of the battery, and an age of the battery;
receiving, by a user interface, commands from a user regarding a time of day when the vehicular battery charger will begin or end a battery charging session; and
commencing the battery charging session based at least in part upon the signals received by the controller of the vehicular battery charger and the commands from the user.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the signals from the controller of the battery are received wirelessly by the controller of the vehicular battery charger.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the user interface comprises a display screen.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the user interface is part of the vehicular battery charger and is electrically coupled to the controller of the vehicular battery charger.
12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving signals representative of the commands from the user from a portable controller that is remote from the vehicular battery charger and the vehicle.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving, at the portable controller, signals indicative of the level of charge of the battery; and
displaying, on a display screen electrically coupled to the portable controller, the level of charge of the battery.
14 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising displaying, on the display screen, at least one of the group consisting of the capacity of the battery, the type of the battery, the manufacturer of the battery, the model of the battery, and the age of the battery.
15 . A vehicle charger for charging a battery of a vehicle and for communication with a first controller of a battery to which the vehicle charger is connectable, and for communication with a portable second controller that is remote from the vehicle charger and the vehicle, the vehicle charger comprising:
a vehicle charger controller; and
at least one of a group consisting of a transmitter and a receiver coupled to the vehicle charger controller for communication with the first and second controllers;
wherein the vehicle charger controller is configured to:
receive signals from the first controller indicative of at least one of a group consisting of a capacity of the battery, a type of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model of the battery, and an age of the battery;
receive wireless signals from the second controller containing instructions for when the vehicle charger controller will begin or end a vehicular battery charging session; and
automatically change a supply of electric power to the battery by at least one of a group consisting of increasing a rate of charge of the battery, decreasing the rate of charge of the battery, starting battery charging, and stopping battery charging, based at least in part upon the signals received from the first controller and the signals received from the second controller.
16 . The vehicle charger of claim 15 , wherein the signals from the first controller are wireless signals.
17 . The vehicle charger of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle charger controller is releasably connectable to the vehicle via an electrical power cord.
18 . The vehicle charger of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle charger controller is further configured to send wireless signals to the second controller indicative of a level of charge of the battery.
19 . The vehicle charger of claim 15 , further comprising a display upon which the vehicle charger controller displays at least one of the group consisting of the capacity of the battery, the type of the battery, the manufacturer of the battery, the model of the battery, and the age of the battery.
20 . The vehicle charger of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for when the vehicle charger controller will begin or end the vehicular battery charging session include a time of day.