A robotic system for fueling or charging a vehicle having a vehicle connector, the robotic system including a robotic arm having a plurality of sequentially arranged articulated links and at least one group of operating cables extending from a proximal end of the arm to terminate at a control link, for controlling the position of that link, the cables each having a path comprising a passage in each successive more proximal link for closely receiving the cable, a flexible conduit operably connected with the robotic arm for delivering a fluid or an electrical current, respectively, to a vehicle, the conduit being connected to a source at a first end and a delivery connector at a second end, and a control system for operating the robotic arm and the hose or cable, wherein the control system directs the robotic arm to engage the vehicle connector with the delivery connector and, upon engagement of the vehicle connector and delivery connector, the control system relaxes the robotic arm to an under-constrained condition.

A robotic system for fueling or charging a vehicle having a vehicle connector, the robotic system including a robotic arm having a plurality of sequentially arranged articulated links and at least one group of operating cables extending from a proximal end of the arm to terminate at a control link, for controlling the position of that link, the cables each having a path comprising a passage in each successive more proximal link for closely receiving the cable, a flexible conduit operably connected with the robotic arm for delivering a fluid or an electrical current, respectively, to a vehicle, the conduit being connected to a source at a first end and a delivery connector at a second end, and a control system for operating the robotic arm and the hose or cable, wherein the control system directs the robotic arm to engage the vehicle connector with the delivery connector and, upon engagement of the vehicle connector and delivery connector, the control system relaxes the robotic arm to an under-constrained condition.

A method for operating a motor vehicle including a traction electric motor, wherein the traction electric motor can be actuated for producing a creep torque that brings about a slow movement of the motor vehicle, wherein a plurality of creep torques of different magnitude can be set by a user of the motor vehicle.

A system for charging one or more batteries of a vehicle may include a charging box mounted to a vehicle to facilitate connection to a charge coupler from under the vehicle. The charge coupler may be configured to provide an electrical connection between an electrical power source and the charging box. A vehicle including the charging box may maneuver to a position above the charge coupler, after which electrical contacts of the charging box and the charge coupler may be brought into contact with one another. The charge coupler and/or the charging box may be configured to provide electrical communication between the electrical power source and the one or more batteries, so that the electrical power source may charge one or more of the batteries. Thereafter, the electrical contacts may be separated from one another, and the vehicle may maneuver away from the charge coupler.

A battery management system for batteries, such as, but not limited to, electric vehicle battery packs and cells, lithium iron phosphate batteries, lead acid batteries, gel batteries, and absorbed gel mat batteries, in engine start applications is disclosed. The battery management system is configured to control the charge and charging of each cell individually. The battery management system may be configured to control the charge of a battery which may consist of a plurality of cells, such as, but not limited to, lithium iron phosphate cells, and in at least one embodiment, the battery may consist of, but is not limited to being formed from, four lithium iron phosphate cells connected in series and a battery management system to ensure proper charge and safe operation.

Method for providing advice to an occupant of an electrical vehicle comprising at least one electrical energy storage, comprising the following steps: estimate an energy usage for a planned traveling path between a first (A) and a second (B) location, determine if there is a need to recharge, and when there is: identify at least one point of interest (POI.sub.1) which can be reached by a current amount of electrical energy, wherein the at least one point of interest (POI.sub.1) comprises at least one recharging station, provide an advice to stop at the at least one point of interest (POI.sub.1) for recharging, and further provide an instruction to recharge to a first state of charge level (SOC.sub.1), wherein the first state of charge level (SOC.sub.1) is such that the second location (B) or at least one other point of interest can be reached with a state of charge safety margin.

A parking assistance control apparatus for assisting parking a vehicle including a charging port that is connectable to electrical supply equipment via a charging cable. In the apparatus, a charging port recognizer is configured to recognize a mounting location of the charging port on the vehicle. An electrical supply equipment recognizer is configured to recognize an installation location of the electrical supply equipment. A parking assistance controller is configured to, based on the mounting location of the charging port on the vehicle and the installation location of the electrical supply equipment, determine a parking manner to park the vehicle, and based on the determined parking manner, perform parking assistance control.

A system for charging one or more batteries of a vehicle may include a charging box mounted to a vehicle to facilitate connection to a charge coupler from under the vehicle. The charge coupler may be configured to provide an electrical connection between an electrical power source and the charging box. A vehicle including the charging box may maneuver to a position above the charge coupler, after which electrical contacts of the charging box and the charge coupler may be brought into contact with one another. The charge coupler and/or the charging box may be configured to provide electrical communication between the electrical power source and the one or more batteries, so that the electrical power source may charge one or more of the batteries. Thereafter, the electrical contacts may be separated from one another, and the vehicle may maneuver away from the charge coupler.

A vehicle-mounted charger having voice control function includes: a contact plug, a charging socket, a voice acquisition unit, a recognition control unit, and a first BLUETOOTH unit. The voice acquisition unit collects a voice signal and converts the voice signal to an electrical signal. The recognition control unit includes a conversion module, a first storage module, an operation module, and an executive module. The conversion module converts the electrical signal into a data signal and sends the data signal to the operation module. The operation module compares the data signal with predetermined storage data stored by the first storage module, operates the data signal, and sends control command to the executive module. The executive module sends executive command according to the control command. The first BLUETOOTH unit sends BLUETOOTH signal to the portable device according to the executive command to control the portable device to execute corresponding operation.

A controller outputs a notification that supply is necessary for a vehicle based on information on a travelable distance of the vehicle and information on a distance from the vehicle to a supply station.