Overhead charging apparatus for electric vehicles

A charging apparatus, comprising:

• a control assembly comprising:
• a support structure that is disposed at a height above a floor surface;
• a cable holding unit that is disposed on the support structure, wherein the cable holding unit comprises a cable passage;
• and
• an actuation mechanism coupled to the cable holding unit, wherein
• the actuation mechanism includes a motor, and
• the actuation mechanism is configured to engage with the cable holding unit via a spindle;
• a power supply unit comprising an electric cable having a first end electrically coupled to a charging connector,
• wherein the electric cable comprises a first portion that is disposed in the cable passage such that the first end of the electric cable retractably extends from the cable passage to a first location;
• and
• an electronic device that is communicatively coupled to the actuation mechanism and is configured to:
• detect a change in state of a charging lid of a charging port of an electric vehicle from a locked state to an unlocked state;
• and
• transmit a first input to the actuation mechanism based on the detection of the change, wherein
• the motor is configured to rotate in one of an anticlockwise direction or a clockwise direction based on a control signal from the electronic device, and
• the spindle and cable holding unit rotates based on the rotation of the motor.

A method, comprising:

• activating a charging apparatus, wherein the charging apparatus comprises:
• a control assembly comprising:
• a support structure that is disposed at a height above a floor surface;
• a cable holding unit that is disposed on the support structure, wherein the cable holding unit comprises a cable passage;
• and
• an actuation mechanism coupled to the cable holding unit, wherein
• the actuation mechanism includes a motor, and
• the actuation mechanism is configured to engage with the cable holding unit via a spindle;
• a power supply unit comprising an electric cable having a first end electrically coupled to a charging connector,
• wherein the electric cable comprises a first portion that is disposed on the cable passage such that the first end of the electric cable retractably extends from the cable passage to a first location;
• and
• an electronic device that is communicatively coupled to the actuation mechanism and is configured to detect a change in state of a charging lid of a charging port of an electric vehicle from a locked state to an unlocked state;
• and
• transmitting a first input to the actuation mechanism, wherein
• the first input is transmitted based on the detection of the change,
• the first input causes the actuation mechanism to displace the first portion of the electric cable from the cable passage such that the first end of the electric cable moves from the first location to a second location that is proximal to a location of the charging port of the electric vehicle,
• the motor is configured to rotate in one of an anticlockwise direction or a clockwise direction based on a control signal from the electronic device, and
• the spindle and cable holding unit rotates based on the rotation of the motor.