Extending charging availability after vehicle ignition off
AssigneeToyota Motor North America, Inc.
InventorEvan Vijithakumara
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system includes an ignition switch, a power source, a power outlet, and an electronic control unit communicatively coupled to the ignition switch. The electronic control unit is configured to: determine that the ignition switch is set to an OFF state, determine whether a state of charge of an electronic device coupled to the power outlet is below a target state of charge, and in response to determining that the ignition switch is set to the OFF state and determining that the state of charge is below the target state of charge, provide power to the electronic device, from the power source and through the power outlet, while the ignition switch is set to the OFF state until the state of charge of the electronic device reaches the target state of charge.
Claims15
A system comprising:
- an ignition switch;
- a power source;
- a power outlet;
- and
- an electronic control unit communicatively coupled to the ignition switch and configured to:
- determine that the ignition switch is set to an OFF state;
- determine whether a state of charge of an electronic device coupled to the power outlet is below a target state of charge;
- determine an available amount of energy in the power source;
- determine an amount of energy required to charge the electronic device to the target state of charge;
- and
- in response to determining that the ignition switch is set to the OFF state and determining that the state of charge is below the target state of charge, and when the available amount of energy in the power source is equal to or greater than the amount of energy required to charge the electronic device to the target state of charge, provide power to the electronic device, until the state of charge of the electronic device reaches the target state of charge, and
- when the available amount of energy in the power source is less than the amount of energy required to charge the electronic device to the target state of charge, electrically disconnect the power source from the power outlet.
A method comprising:
- determining that an ignition switch is set to an OFF state;
- determining whether a state of charge of an electronic device coupled to a power outlet is below a target state of charge;
- determining an available amount of energy in a power source;
- determining an amount of energy required to charge the electronic device to the target state of charge;
- and
- in response to determining that the ignition switch is set to the OFF state and determining that the state of charge is below the target state of charge and when the available amount of energy in the power source is equal to or greater than the amount of energy required to charge the electronic device to the target state of charge, providing power to the electronic device, until the state of charge of the electronic device reaches the target state of charge, and
- when the available amount of energy in the power source is less than the amount of energy required to charge the electronic device to the target state of charge, electrically disconnecting the power source from the power outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.