Systems and methods for transferring electrical energy between vehicles
Motor vehicles may need to exchange electrical energy. At least one vehicle may determine a target charge state. The vehicle may then identify another vehicle with which to exchange energy. The vehicles may negotiate a quantity to be transferred, transfer parameters for the exchange, and/or the like. The vehicles may be in a common fleet or an affinity group. A central location may facilitate the identification and/or negotiation process. The transfer may be monitored and may be controlled based on monitoring data collected. The transfer may be wired or wireless, and the vehicles may be stationary or in motion during the transfer. The vehicles may be, among others, pure electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and/or fuel cell vehicles.
1. A system for transferring electrical energy between first, second, and third vehicles, the system comprising:
a plurality of subsystems associated with the first vehicle in a first location, the subsystems configured to:
identify a target destination,
identify a second vehicle with a limited amount of excess electrical energy with which the first vehicle can negotiate a transfer of electrical energy, wherein the second vehicle is located at an intermediate location between the first location and the target destination and wherein the limited amount of excess electrical energy is insufficient for the first vehicle to travel to the target destination, identify a third vehicle with which the first vehicle can negotiate a transfer of
electrical energy, wherein the third vehicle is available to travel to meet the first vehicle between the intermediate location and the target destination,
determine a second intermediate location for the first vehicle to receive electrical energy from the third vehicle subsequent to a transfer of electrical energy between the first and second vehicles, wherein the third vehicle and the second intermediate location for receiving electrical energy from the third vehicle are determined based on the limited amount of excess electrical energy of the second vehicle and the distance between the intermediate location and the target destination, and
determine a target charge state for the first vehicle to achieve from the transfer of electrical energy between the first and second vehicles based on the determined second intermediate location for the first vehicle to receive electrical energy from the third vehicle; and an energy transfer mechanism configured to transfer a quantity of electrical energy from the second and third vehicles to the first vehicle.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, and third vehicles are in a common fleet or affinity group.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by determining a distance to be travelled by the first vehicle.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by determining a distance to a next charging station along a projected route where additional electrical energy is available for transfer to the first vehicle.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is further configured to receive from a central location an indication of the distance to a next charging stop.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state based on an indication of the target charge state received from a central location.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by performing an initial step of reporting status data to the central location.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to report status data selected from the group consisting of location data, route, traffic conditions, stops completed, stops remaining, energy remaining, and average energy usage.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by receiving user input.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by receiving user input including an anticipated destination.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by receiving user input including an anticipated route.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine a target charge state by accessing a travel itinerary from a remote location.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is further configured to determine the quantity of electrical energy to transfer.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to determine the quantity by:
calculating an amount of energy required to reach the target charge state; and
calculating an amount of energy expected to be lost during transfer.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is further configured to calculate a transfer rate and a transfer time required to reach the target charge state.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to identify the second vehicle by receiving an indication of the second vehicle from a central location.
17. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a monitoring subsystem configured to determine a final charge state for at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is further configured to report the final charge state to a central location.
19. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the subsystems is configured to report at least one of the quantity of electrical energy transferred, an identification indicator for the first vehicle, an identification indicator for the second vehicle, and a time stamp to a central location.