Granted Patent B2

US 7,402,978 · App. 11/428,056 · Granted Jul 22, 2008

Abstract

Claims (32)

1. A vehicular charging system deployed on a vehicle configured to be charged from an external power source, the vehicular charging system configured to communicate with the central controller of a fleet charging management system, the vehicular charging system comprising:

a battery assembly;

a memory configured to store a predetermined charge initialization time;

a transceiver deployed on the vehicle; and

a processor coupled to said battery assembly, to said transceiver, and to said memory, said processor configured to: (i) establish the predetermined charge initialization time utilizing data received via said transceiver and provided by the central controller, and (ii) electrically couple the external power source to said battery assembly to commence charging said battery assembly at the predetermined charge initialization time.

2. A vehicular charging system according to claim 1 further comprising a user interface coupled to said processor, said user interface configured to permit adjustment of the charge initialization time.

3. A vehicular charging system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a cable configured to be coupled to the external power source; and

a detector coupled to said cable and to said processor to detect when said cable is connected to the external power source, wherein said processor is configured to commence charging said battery assembly when the predetermined charge initialization time is reached and when said detector indicates that said cable is coupled to the external power source.

4. A vehicular charging system according to claim 1 further comprising a sensor coupled to said battery assembly and configured to determine the charge level of said battery assembly, said processor configured to commence charging of said battery assembly when the predetermined charge initialization time is reached and when said sensor indicates that the charge level of said battery assembly is below a predetermined threshold.

5. A vehicular charging system deployed on a vehicle configured to be charged from an external power source, the vehicular charging system comprising:

a battery assembly;

a control module deployed on the vehicle and coupled to said battery assembly that monitors the charge level of said battery assembly;

a memory configured to store a predetermined charge initialization time, a predetermined charge termination time, and a minimum charge threshold; and

a processor coupled to said battery assembly, to said memory, and to said control module, said processor configured to: (i) commence charging said battery assembly when the charge level of said battery assembly is at least partially depleted and when the predetermined charge initialization time is reached, and (ii) terminate charging said battery assembly when the current time has reached the predetermined charge termination time and the charge level of said battery assembly is greater than the minimum charge threshold.

6. A vehicular charging system according to claim 5 further comprising a telematics module coupled to said processor, said processor configured to receive data from said telematics module indicative of the location of the vehicle.

7. A vehicular charging system according to claim 5 further comprising:

a cable configured to be coupled to the external power source; and

a detector coupled to said cable and to said processor to detect when said cable is connected to the external power source, wherein said processor is configured to commence charging said battery assembly when (1) the charge level of said battery assembly is at least partially depleted, (2) a predetermined charge initialization time is reached, and (3) said detector indicates that said cable is coupled to the external power source.

8. A vehicular charging system according to claim 5 further comprising a user interface coupled to said processor, said user interface configured to permit user selection of a charge mode.

9. A vehicular charging system according to claim 5 wherein said control module comprises an energy storage control module coupled to said battery assembly and configured to monitor operational parameters of said battery assembly.

10. A method for charging a battery assembly from an external power source, the battery assembly deployed on a vehicle including a processor, a user interface, and a memory, the method comprising:

storing a predetermined charge initialization time in the memory;

monitoring the current time with the processor;

receiving user input via the user interface selecting between an economy charge mode and a standard charge mode;

when the battery assembly is connected to the external power source and the standard charge mode is selected, immediately commencing charging of the battery assembly; and

when the battery assembly is connected to the external power source and the economy charge mode is selected, commencing charging of the battery assembly only after the current time reaches the predetermined charge initialization time.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the vehicle includes a sensor coupled to the processor and to the battery assembly for determining the charge level of the battery assembly, the method further comprising commencing charging of the battery assembly when the current time reaches the predetermined charge initialization time and when the sensor indicates that the charge level of the battery assembly is depleted below a predetermined threshold.

12. A method according to claim 10 further comprising receiving user input from the user interface indicative of a desired charge initialization time.

13. A method according to claim 10 wherein the vehicle further comprises a transceiver coupled to the processor, the method further comprising determining the charge initialization time from external source data received via the transceiver.

14. A method according to claim 10 wherein the external source data comprises an assigned charge initialization time.

15. A method according to claim 10 further comprising storing a predetermined charge termination time in the memory.

Assignments (12)