# US 11,897,353 B2 · Systems and methods for charging parked vehicles > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,897,353 B2 - Document ID: US11897353B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/452,472 - Filed: 2023-08-18 - Published: 2023-12-07 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2021-04-22 - Assignees: Dasher Lawless Technologies, LLC - Applicants: Dasher Lawless Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Christopher Alan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897353B2 ## CPC - B60L 53/30: Constructional details of charging stations - B60L 53/18: Cables specially adapted for charging electric vehicles - B60L 53/62: in response to charging parameters, e.g. current, voltage or electrical charge - B60L 53/67: Controlling two or more charging stations - G08G 1/0175: {by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules} - G08G 1/144: {on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]} - G08G 1/146: {where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space} - G08G 1/149: {coupled to means for restricting the access to the parking space, e.g. authorization, access barriers, indicative lights} - H02G 11/003: {using gravity-loaded or spring-loaded loop} - B60L 53/305: {Communication interfaces} - B60L 2250/12: by confirmation, e.g. of the input - B60L 2250/16: by display - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - H02G: INSTALLATION OF ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES, OR OF COMBINED OPTICAL AND ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract 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. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A pallet assembly for supporting a vehicle, comprising: a body having a top surface configured to support a vehicle thereon and an underside, an opening in the top surface being in communication with the underside; a charging cable housed on the underside of the body in a retracted position and extendable through the opening onto the top surface of the body, the charging cable extending to a plug at a distal end of the charging cable, the plug being configured to couple to a receptacle in an electric vehicle, the charging cable being movable between the retracted position where substantially all of the cable is housed in the underside of the body and an extended position where a user selected length of the charging cable extends through the opening onto the top surface; and a cable retraction mechanism on the underside of the body, comprising: a first pulley rotatably coupled to a first support frame, a first spring coupled at one end to a side beam of the body and at an opposite end to the first support frame, a second pulley rotatably coupled to a second support frame, the charging cable extending at least partially around the first pulley and at least partially around the second pulley and extending toward the opening, a second spring coupled at one end of an opposite side beam of the body and at an opposite end to the second support frame, a track, the second support frame configured to travel linearly along the track, the track having a ratcheted edge that selectively engages a spring loaded pawl coupled to the second support frame, and a wire extending between and coupled to the first support frame and the second support frame, wherein the first spring biases the first pulley toward the side beam of the body and the second spring biases the second pulley toward the opposite side beam of the body to maintain the charging cable under tension when the charging cable is in the extended position or in the retracted position. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The assembly of claim 1, wherein the pawl is configured to engage the ratcheted edge of the track to lock a position of the second support frame relative to the track to maintain the user selected length of the charging cable outside of the opening. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The assembly of claim 2, wherein the pawl is configured to be disengaged from the ratcheted edge by pulling on the charging cable, allowing the second support frame to be moved away from the opening by the second spring to retract the charging cable. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first spring extends at least partially around a third pulley and couples to the side beam, and wherein the second spring extends at least partially around a pulley and couples to the side beam at an angle. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The assembly of claim 1, wherein a proximal end of the charging cable is fixed on the underside of the body and extends from a contact plate configured to releasably engage an electric vehicle coupler, the charging cable carrying power when the contact plate is engaged with the electric vehicle coupler. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The assembly of claim 1, wherein the wire causes the first pulley to move in a first direction when the second pulley is moved in a second direction, the second direction being opposite to the first direction. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a recessed compartment adjacent the opening, the recessed compartment configured to house the plug of the charging cable when the charging cable is in the retracted position. ### Claim 8 A pallet assembly for supporting a vehicle, comprising: a body having a top surface configured to support a vehicle thereon and an underside, an opening in the top surface being in communication with the underside; a charging cable housed on the underside of the body in a retracted position and extendable through the opening onto the top surface of the body, the charging cable extending to a plug at a distal end of the charging cable, the plug being configured to couple to a receptacle in an electric vehicle, the charging cable being movable between the retracted position where the charging cable is housed in the underside of the body and an extended position where a user selected length of the charging cable extends through the opening onto the top surface; and a cable retraction mechanism on the underside of the body, comprising: a first pulley rotatably coupled to a first support frame, a first spring coupled at one end to a side beam of the body and at an opposite end to the first support frame, a second pulley rotatably coupled to a second support frame, the charging cable extending at least partially around the first pulley and at least partially around the second pulley and extending toward the opening, and a second spring coupled at one end of an opposite side beam of the body and at an opposite end to the second support frame, wherein the first spring biases the first pulley toward the side beam of the body and the second spring biases the second pulley toward the opposite side beam of the body to maintain the charging cable under tension when the charging cable is in the extended position or the retracted position. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The assembly of claim 8, further comprising a track, the second support frame configured to travel linearly along the track. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The assembly of claim 9, wherein the track has a ratcheted edge that selectively engages a spring loaded pawl coupled to the second support frame. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The assembly of claim 10, wherein the pawl is configured to engage the ratcheted edge of the track to lock a position of the second support frame relative to the track to maintain the user selected length of the charging cable outside of the opening. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The assembly of claim 10, wherein the pawl is configured to be disengaged from the ratcheted edge by pulling on the charging cable, allowing the second support frame to be moved away from the opening by the second spring to retract the charging cable. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The assembly of claim 8, wherein the first spring extends at least partially around a third pulley and couples to the side beam, and wherein the second spring extends at least partially around a pulley and couples to the side beam at an angle. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The assembly of claim 8, wherein a proximal end of the charging cable is fixed on the underside of the body and extends from a contact plate configured to releasably engage an electric vehicle coupler, the charging cable carrying power when the contact plate is engaged with the electric vehicle coupler. ### Claim 15 (depends on 8) The assembly of claim 8, further comprising a recessed compartment adjacent the opening, the recessed compartment configured to house the plug of the charging cable when the charging cable is in the retracted position. ### Claim 16 In combination with a mechanical parking system, one or more pallet assemblies for supporting a vehicle, each pallet assembly comprising: a body having a top surface configured to support a vehicle thereon and an underside, an opening in the top surface being in communication with the underside; a charging cable housed on the underside of the body in a retracted position and extendable through the opening onto the top surface of the body, the charging cable extending to a plug at a distal end of the charging cable, the plug being configured to couple to a receptacle in an electric vehicle, the charging cable being movable between the retracted position where the charging cable is housed in the underside of the body and an extended position where a user selected length of the cable extends through the opening onto the top surface; and a cable retraction mechanism on the underside of the body, comprising: a first pulley rotatably coupled to a first support frame, a first spring coupled at one end to a side beam of the body and at an opposite end to the first support frame, a second pulley rotatably coupled to a second support frame, the charging cable extending at least partially around the first pulley and at least partially around the second pulley and extending toward the opening, a second spring coupled at one end of an opposite side beam of the body and at an opposite end to the second support frame, and a track, the second support frame configured to travel linearly along the track, the track having a ratcheted edge that selectively engages a spring loaded pawl coupled to the second support frame, wherein the first spring biases the first pulley toward the side beam of the body and the second spring biases the second pulley toward the opposite side beam of the body to maintain the charging cable under tension when the charging cable is in the extended position or the retracted position. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The combination of claim 16, wherein the mechanical parking system is a puzzle parking system. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The combination of claim 17, wherein a proximal end of the charging cable is fixed on the underside of the body and extends from a contact plate configured to releasably engage an electric vehicle coupler, the charging cable carrying power when the contact plate is engaged with the electric vehicle coupler. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The combination of claim 16, wherein the mechanical parking system is a stacker parking system. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The combination of claim 19, wherein the one or more pallet assemblies is a pair of vertically spaced pallet assemblies.