Electric vehicle and method of forming a charging chain of electric vehicles
OwnerÇagdas DÖNERinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle has wireless power transfer devices at the front and rear of the vehicle. A charging chain of such vehicles is established. Each vehicle in the charging chain acts as one or more of a source in which the vehicle is a source of electrical power for another vehicle in the chain, a sink mode in which the vehicle is a sink of electrical power from another vehicle in the chain, and an intermediary in which the vehicle receives electrical power from one vehicle in the chain and passes the electrical power to another vehicle in the chain.
Claims15
A method of forming a chain of electric vehicles to enable an electric vehicle to provide electric power to charge another electric vehicle, the method comprising:
- creating a chain data structure for the chain;
- receiving a request from a vehicle to join the chain;
- determining that said vehicle should be permitted to join the chain and updating the chain data structure to include an identifier of said vehicle;
- receiving a request from a further vehicle to join the chain;
- determining that said further vehicle should be permitted to join the chain and updating the chain data structure to include an identifier of said further vehicle;
- whereby the chain of electric vehicles comprises at least three electric vehicles, the at least three electric vehicles being said vehicle, said further vehicle and a yet further vehicle which is either a vehicle that created the chain structure or another vehicle that has joined the chain;
- and
- setting a mode for each vehicle in the chain, wherein the mode for a first vehicle is a source mode in which the first vehicle is a source of electrical power for another vehicle in the chain, the mode for a second vehicle is a sink mode in which the second vehicle is a sink of electrical power from the first vehicle, and the mode for a third vehicle is an intermediary mode in which the third vehicle receives electrical power from the first vehicle and passes the electrical power to the second vehicle.
An electric vehicle, the electric vehicle comprising:
- a rechargeable battery;
- a first wireless power transfer device at the front of the vehicle such that the vehicle can pass electrical power to or receive electrical power from an external wireless power transfer device that is at the front of the vehicle;
- a second wireless power transfer device at the rear of the vehicle such that the vehicle can pass electrical power to or receive electrical power from an external wireless power transfer device that is at the rear of the vehicle;
- and
- a power line which is selectively operable to connect the first wireless power transfer device and the second wireless power transfer device;
- whereby electrical power received at one of the first and second wireless power transfer devices from an external wireless power transfer device can be selectively passed to the other of the first and second wireless power transfer devices or to the rechargeable battery.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.