Systems and methods for charging electric vehicles and for quantitative and qualitative load balancing of electrical demand are provided.

A method for controlling an electric hand truck includes determining whether user manipulation is present due to a user input on the electric hand truck; and, if there is no user manipulation, then braking an electric motor that drives the wheels of the electric moving vehicle in a softlock manner in which, instead of power being applied to the electric motor, electrodes of the electric motor are short-circuited.

The present disclosure relates to methods and associated systems for operating a battery exchange station. The present method includes (1) receiving a ratio associated with a plurality of vehicles served by the battery exchange station; and (2) based on the ratio, storing different sets of information in memories associated with the batteries respectively, in accordance with received ratio.

A braking control device of a vehicle in which a braking force generator is connected to a differential mechanism to which a plurality of wheels is connected, and a friction brake is provided for each of the wheels includes a controller configured to control braking forces of the braking force generator and the friction brake. The controller is configured to: detect the wheel having a tendency of locking in which a slip ratio is larger than a predetermined determination value in a state where the braking force is transmitted to each of the wheels from the braking force generator via the differential mechanism; and reduce the tendency of locking by changing the braking force of the friction brake that is provided for the other wheel connected to the differential mechanism.

An apparatus comprises a power electronic energy conversion system comprising a first energy storage device configured to store DC energy and a first voltage converter configured to convert a second voltage from a remote power supply into a first charging voltage configured to charge the first energy storage device. The apparatus also includes a first controller configured to control the first voltage converter to convert the second voltage into the first charging voltage and to provide the first charging voltage to the first energy storage device during a charging mode of operation and communicate with a second controller located remotely from the power electronic energy conversion system to cause a second charging voltage to be provided to the first energy storage device during the charging mode of operation to rapidly charge the first energy storage device.

An apparatus for guiding an autonomous vehicle towards a docking station including an autonomous vehicle with a camera-based sensing system, a drive system for driving the autonomous vehicle, and a control system for controlling the drive system. The apparatus includes a docking station including a first fiducial marker and a second fiducial marker, wherein the second fiducial marker is positioned on the docking station to define a predetermined relative spacing with the first fiducial marker, wherein the control system is operable to receive an image provided by the camera-based sensing system, the image including a representation of the first and second fiducial markers, and to control the drive system so as to guide the autonomous vehicle towards the base station based on a difference between the representation of the first and second fiducial markers in the received image and the predetermined relative spacing between the first and second fiducial markers.

An electric vehicle charging station charging electric vehicles dynamically responds to power limit messages. The charging station includes a charging port that is configured to electrically connect to an electric vehicle to provide power to charge that electric vehicle. The charging station also includes a power control unit coupled with the charging port, the power control unit configured to control an amount of power provided through the charging port. The charging station also includes a set of one or more charging station control modules that are configured to, in response to receipt of a message that indicates a request to limit an amount of power to an identified percentage and based on a history of power provided through the charging port over a period of time, cause the power control unit to limit the power provided through the charging port to the identified percentage.

The invention relates to a device and a method for automatically charging an electrical energy storage means in a vehicle. For this purpose, firstly, the position of a charging socket on a vehicle is determined, based on vehicle-specific data. Subsequently, a charging robot travels on the ground near to the charging socket. Then, the charging robot establishes a galvanic connection between the charging station and charging socket. For this purpose, the charging robot introduces a contact head connected to the charging station into the charging socket of the vehicle. After termination of the charging process, the contact head is removed from the charging socket, thereby releasing the vehicle.

A high-voltage battery for a motor vehicle, the operating voltage of which is greater than 12 V, in particular, greater than 50 V, having two power connections at a high-voltage network power system of the motor vehicle, which can be connected without voltage through first safety contactors provided inside a housing of the high-voltage battery, and storage cells for electrical energy that are connected to the power connections via the first safety contactors. The high-voltage battery additionally has two charging terminals, which are connected to the storage cells by circumventing the first safety contactors by way of charging lines.

A matrix-type flexible charging pile and a charging method capable of dynamically allocating power are disclosed in the present invention, and the method comprises the steps of: S1, connecting each charging terminal to a corresponding electric vehicle; S2, receiving a charging power demand of the electric vehicle and comparing the charging power demand; S3, calculating the number of charging modules required to be additionally allocated to the present DC-bus and delivering it to a matrix controller; and S4, allocating the required number of charging modules in a dynamic power region to the corresponding DC bus and switching the module communication line to a corresponding communication bus synchronously. The implementation of the charging method capable of dynamically allocating power can satisfy the electric vehicle charging demands for different energy storage capacities and different charging rates, as well as improve the conversion efficiency and the utilization rate of the charging device further.