초록 ▼

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is an automobile which can use either electricity or gasoline. With high gasoline prices, electricity is becoming a promising alternative to power next generation automobiles. One advantage of the PHEV and the BEV (battery electric vehicle) is that charging c

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is an automobile which can use either electricity or gasoline. With high gasoline prices, electricity is becoming a promising alternative to power next generation automobiles. One advantage of the PHEV and the BEV (battery electric vehicle) is that charging can be done at home. However, the small battery capacity of PHEV's may require recharging the batteries almost daily. It would be convenient for an owner of a car with batteries to not have to plug in the battery each and every day that charging is required. Our invention is a system that plugs the power automatically into the vehicle with minimal human intervention using an automated docking system. The system is composed of a robotic manipulator with a camera and a processing unit. The system uses the camera and vision processing to identify the vehicle's position, and consequently, the location of the vehicle's charging receptacle. The robotic manipulator then directs the charging cord's plug into the receptacle of the vehicle. Once charging is complete, the robotic manipulator removes the plug from the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A system to automatically charge batteries in a vehicle, the system comprising:a light-sensitive device which outputs a 2-dimensional array of pixel information;a computing platform;a means for moving a charging cord of a charger in the three linear directions x, y, z relative to the ve

We claim: 1. A system to automatically charge batteries in a vehicle, the system comprising:a light-sensitive device which outputs a 2-dimensional array of pixel information;a computing platform;a means for moving a charging cord of a charger in the three linear directions x, y, z relative to the vehicle;a means for determining the relative position of the vehicle relative to said system using the light-sensitive device and operating said means for moving said charger to bring said charging cord into the correct position to convey power to the vehicle;a means for detecting if people are located within the vicinity of the charger; anda means for defining precautionary actions the charger can take if humans are detected in the vicinity.